| Volan |
| Cally cried, trying to rush back to her mother when Volan had told her what was wrong with her, "She can't be! She can't be!" Cally would cry over and over until Volan took her up in his arms, sshhing her sweetly. "She is, love, but we have to find somewhere to stay or we'll die as well," Volan sighed, trying to get his sister to stop crying. Her face would freeze if she kept it up. Cally finally nodded, slipping out of Volan's arms and clinging to his tunic. As they trugged on, Volan thought he could make out the outline of a large bronze in one of the snow drifts. He shook his head, thinking he was probably crazy. No dragon would be out in this cold. But as he neared the outline, Cally exclaimed. "That's the dragon Mel said would help us!" Cally exclaimed, rushing towards him. Mel? Volan thought as he ran after her. Cally had already wrapped her arms around the muzzle of the great dragon. He was licking her wet face with his warm tongue, trying to warm her up probably. Volan walked carefully over to the dragon. A Dragoneer was knelt in the snow, trying to start a fire with the wind whipping about him. "We can't take you back wet," The Dragoneer mumbled to Cally. "You'll catch a death of cold if we do." "I'm strong," Cally sighed. "I don't get sick." Volan was stunned. She was talking so freely to this...Dragoneer! Of the same breed of the one who had killed his mother! Mel and F'tin didn't kill your mother. Lokau did, the bronze sighed in Volan's mind, turning to him. You have much on your mind, but you don't think too much about it. You would be perfect...I think. Volan wasn't sure what he was talking about. This had been a very confusing day. Shaking his head, he sat down next to Cally and pulled her close to him. "We'll take you back in the morning," The Dragoneer sighed. "You should be dry by then." *** Volan woke up the next morning in a warm bed, his sister tucked in next to him. Confused, he pulled himself out of the bed and almost fell several feet. Griping onto the bedpost, he swung around towards the stairs and started down. He kept going down until he came to a dang, dark room. Peaking in, he saw a dragon over in the corner, staring out the saw window. It's beautiful, isn't it? A voice whispered to him. I wish I could get back out there, but all of them are gone now, and I alone once again. "You're not alone," Volan sighed. "I'm alone." You have your sister, the voice sighed. I saw her when you came in. She seems very nice. "Nice isn't the word," Volan sighed, sitting down at the entrance. Hyper, maybe? The blue laughed. Volan nodded, "It seems you got over being alone fast enough." Can't let every little thing keep you down, the blue said, turning to Volan. Something like death... Volan jerked his head up and glared at the blue, "You...I can't believe you!" Hush, I've exprenced lose as well. A lose you could never understand, but I don't fuse over it, The blue sighed. I will find someone, someday. Volan sighed, lowering his gaze, "I'm sorry. I didn't think..." It's all right, the blue sighed. I'm Varioth, by the way. "Volan," Volan sighed, moving over to the blue. "You're filthy, you know. Do you want to have a bath? I can help your rider." Varioth crooned, You'll have to do it by yourself. I have no rider. *** Volan was annoyed. He had been dumped in the middle of nowhere, they had killed his mother, and now the dragon he had took such good care of left him for another. His resentment with the world was growing. He had felt so good about himself only a month before, now he felt as though the world had used him as its dumping ground. "Volan?" V'lok sighed. "Do you want to go back to Wild River?" Volan mumbled under his breath and roll over to stare up at V'lok, "I want to go HOME!!!" He screamed. "I want to go back to the Imarald House! I want my mother back! I want you to go away and leave me alone!!!" V'lok sighed as he stood, "Xeirth, we're going back to Wild River," He called. "Volan's staying here." "But, V'lok," Xeirth sighed. "We're going, Xeirth," V'lok sighed. "That's final." "Are we just going to leave him here?" Xeirth asked. "Yes, Xeirth," V'lok sighed. "We're just going to leave him here until he feels he can return." *** Volan hadn't moved from the room he had been in for the past week. His sister had come with another dragon, not Xeirth, to check up on him. He had hated the look on her face, and the words she had uttered. "You're all I have left, Volly. Don't leave me, too," Cally had said just before she had left him there to ponder those words. He had to live, for her at the very least. He pulled himself from the bed. He sighed as he stood and went to look for Tiyanni. If he was going to go back to Wild River, he wasn't going to go back empty handed or empty hearted. *** Volan yawned as he walked out onto the sands with the rest of the candidates. Cally was watching from the sidelines, clutching onto a young Greenrider's leg. Volan smiled as he tried to recall the Greenrider's name. Cally had spoken of her before. Texia, wasn't it? But there wasn't really time to think about it as one of the eggs cracked, revealing a dark blue hide. Volan gasped. But before the blue could hatch fully, his egg knocked into another. A velvety light green tumbled onto the sands. Two comments rang across the sands as the green chose. The blue chose quickly after her as several more eggs hatched. Before anyone knew it, there was only one egg left, and it wasn't moving.Would it hatch? Six candidates and one lonely dragoness looked on, knowing that all but one of them would go back to bed as candidates, and only that one would be able to bond with that creature inside. Echoes of a female voice rang in one of their heads - "Don't leave me, too..." The same voice uttered a gasp as the last egg cracked, and a large brown stepped forth with none of the expected hatchling clumsiness. Tell her not to worry, Volan... The young man blinked. "Cally... his name is Kiemorth." Continue... |