"Well...where are we?" T'ran asked his white dragon as they hovered above the port town. Don't look at me, Surrith responded, craning his neck to see if any other dragons were around that could give them a clue. "Well, you're the one who brought us here." Not by choice... Surrith sighed as he saw nothing but a town on the edge of the sea. T'ran had to laugh, turning his head skyward to the few stars that sparkled in the dark. "Yes, I love being a Search Rider for the Den." "Well, we better look for a place to land..." And hope we don't freak out the locals, I haven't seen one other dragon in the skies, nor do I sense any. These may not be dragon people. "There's gotta be one of them down there...otherwise, we wouldn't have blinked from between here, true?" True...I see an empty plot of land. I think it'll hold me. "Alright then...let's go for it." And Surrith started his downward spiral to the ground below. Below, people had already spotted the speck in the sky that was slowly growing bigger, and bigger...turning into the form of a white dragon. A good portion of the population ran screaming to their homes...the sailors merely looked up, shrugged, and went about their way. A dragon...so what? They had seen worse than that on the seas. One form sat close to the lot, his tail twitching as he watched the dragon and undoubtedly the rider on its back spiral closer. Took t'em long enoug'... Yes, run! Run! A dragon! Ahhhh! Hahahaha! "Surrith!" Oh...whoops, sorry."Weren't you worried about doing that?" Yes...but then I remembered how much fun it is! T'ran sighed as they landed in the open lot, and Surrith shuddered a bit as he noted the cramped spacing of the streets. Looks like I'm stuck here while you're off Searching. "Ahhh! A dragon!" Boo! "Ahhh!" and a woman ran away screaming. "Surrith, control yourself! I've got stuff to do and I can't leave you here alone if you're gonna terrorize everyone." Oh all right, all right. Sheesh...I never get to have any fun. Well, you two certainly took your time getting ‘ere, a voice said within their minds, and both dragon and rider looked about for the source. "Was that you?" No...and it didn't sound like another dragon, either... Surrith said, lightly sniffing at the air. T'is way... the voice directed, and their attention turned to a shaggy looking brown tabby who sat near the corner of the lot. He regarded the pair out of his good gold eye, the other a paler shade that gave hint of possible blindness. "That was you?" Aye, t'at was me. Been a long time since I've seen a dragon. I t'ink I was still solid brown back t'en. And you... he tilted his head at the interesting species that T'ran was. Your likes I've never seen before. But no matter, e'? As long as you can ride I believe is the policy nowadays. And you've come to find someone for an egg, ‘ave you? Well...let's go. And with a definite nod, the cat got up and started walking away. "Wait! Where are we going?" T'ran looked up at Surrith, then to the feline. You came for a new rider, ‘aven't you? We're going to see Dulcinea. But who's Dulcinea? Aldan stopped and looked over his shoulder at T'ran. He seemed to almost be smiling. Dulcinea is someone you need to meet. The trip to the house was basically painless. They only got into a scrap with some bigheaded bully sailors once, and Aldan quickly took care of them by making them trip head over heels on their own two feet. "How'd you do that?" T'ran asked in amazement as he stepped around the fumbling fools. I'm an Ilori cat, son. I can do more t'an just t'at. Of course, that got T'ran asking to Ilori cats. "Never heard of them." He said after giving a couple of elderly ladies who were looking at him weirdly a big polite smile and a nod. Telepat'ic cats t'at 'ave been in Citric longer t'an most of t'ese know-it-alls, the tabby said sourly. I s'ould know... It sounded like a bad topic. T'ran let it drop. T'ran only became skeptical when they approached the shaggy looking house that seemed the last beacon of hope before the town turned really nasty. "This Dulcinea...she is at least somewhat human, right?" Like you s'ould talk? Aldan chuckled, glancing over at the man with a wise, catlike grin. T'ran smirked, then shrugged. "I'm just asking. I've never Searched a cat before." "As long as it can ride," rig't? Yes, Dulcinea is 'uman. Very much 'uman. I've seen t'is in 'er for years. W'at do you call years w'ere you're from? Ba', can't remember. Finlay's rig't, I'm becoming senile. I'm just wondering w'y it took you so long. My opinion, you s'ould 'ave been 'ere long ago for 'er. By now they had reached the side of the house, and Aldan showed T'ran the door, pushing the board aside and letting him take a peek in first. Not'ing but a bunc' of cats. Most of 'em will be scared of ya...you mig't get a 'iss 'ere or t'ere, but I'll take care of t'em. Dulcinea's in the kitc'en. And with that, the tabby slunk into the house and T'ran could hear him snapping at someone to get out of the way. Well, what do you think? "Someone in there is definitely a person who needs to be Searched. I can smell it. This girl, Dulcinea or whoever she is, should have been brought to us a long time ago. She nearly reeks of Dragon blood." Sure that's not just the cat p... "Surrith!" P...uddles? T'ran could almost see his dragon grin. "I'm gonna go in." Just watch where you step. |
| Text, Characters, and Ilori cats are (c) Jennifer, yr 2002 & Beyond. T'ran and Surrith (c) The Healing Den. |