Lessons? the flit chirped to his Bonded. Tobias looked up from the book he held in his lap, and smiled at his dragonet. Yes, Zaton. What else would I be studying at this time of day? he responded with a laugh as the splash of brown landed upon his shoulder. Bothersome stuff, Zaton muttered, glaring down at the picture of a powerful looking blue dragon and the words that accompanied it. It's stuff I need to know, Tobias said, reaching to lightly rub his nails over the fire- lizard's brow. The brown thrumed quietly, closing his eyes from the enjoyed scratch. "Hey Tobias...are you gonna come down for class or are you gonna sit in your room all day?" asked one of the other young men who was a candidate for Ryslen's next clutch. The boy and his flit looked up as one from the book; Tobias nodding to Darel while Zaton chirped his agreement. "All right, see you down there then," Darel said before disappearing from the doorway. Bother- some stuff, Zaton rumbled once more as Tobias closed the book and got up. Oh hush. "Do you think they'll hatch soon?" Drilum asked Tobias as they headed away from their dragon care lessons and went for lunch. Tobias merely shrugged his shoulders, glancing up at Zaton as he glided by their heads. Don't ask me... he snipped. I've never sired a clutch. After eating, Tobias passed up going with some of the other Candidates to tease the young ladies into playing Hide N' Seek in the thick fog that blanketed the Weyr. Instead, he headed back to his room. He loved hanging out with the other candidates; they had become like brothers to him. And Galaxia, Shason's sibling, was so much like Pacal she had become the sister Tobias never had. However, he still liked to spend time by himself -- as he always had -- and today was going to be a day where he and Zaton just relaxed. With a sigh, Tobias laid across his bed, looking out his window at the gray cloud that hid the sky. He closed his eyes, imagining it as a clear blue day and he and he dragons were soaring through the clouds...then silently yelped as Zaton landed hard on his stomach. Gotcha! the firelaizrd playfully growled as he launched himself into the air, just barely missing being smacked by Tobias's swinging hand. You little bratt, Tobias mentally laughed at his little Bond, smirking as he made a swoop around the room before landing on the bed again. Zaton puffed out his chest, thrumming proudly before nuzzling his nose against Tobias's cheek. You don't mean it... Of course not, the young man smiled, watching the flit curl up on his chest and begin to dose off. With a sigh, Tobias lightly scratched the brown's head...thinking back to that day. That nasty, rainy day that Zaton had become a part of his life... The weather had been so fickle those first few weeks at the Weyr. First it had snowed, then rained, then fog...and now it was back to rain again. Tobias had been sitting in his room, feeling glum about the weather and homesick for his family. His classes had been harder that day then before...especially since he wasn't able to speak and part of the lesson was to recite the rules of flying. The weyrfolk still had trouble understanding his facial expressions and the few hand signals he had for certain things. Living at Ryslen was nothing like he thought it was going to be...and without anyone being able to know what he was "talking" about, he struggled just to get a second helping at dinner, let alone live a daily life. Quick, but heavy footsteps drew his attention to the hall, watching a pair of unknown figures dash by. He caught the word "hatching" amidst their hurried speech, and nearly felt his heart jump through his chest. The hatching? Could it be happening already? He cast a glance outside. But in this weather? Gah, what a day to be born! Suddenly, someone poked their head in and asked "Hey! Come on, don't you want a firelizard, too?" then disappeared before Tobias got a chance to place the face. Firelizards? Shards, a flit! Grabbing his winter shirt and slipping it over his head, Tobias made a beeline for the smaller sands where the eggs were waiting. When he got down to the crimson sands of the flit clutch, several young men and women had already taken up an egg and were helping their new flitter to peel off the shell. Pressing through the small crowd, Tobias smiled as he saw the eggs, gently rocking and humming as they waited to hatch. Suddenly, a shell split with a loud crack and Tobias watched it disappear in a sea of hands, all grabbing for the hatching firelizard like hungry wolves. Gah! What in the world! he thought as some burly man pushed him out of the way...and came up triumphant with a bronze flit sitting bewildered in his palm. Another crack echoed in his ears, and yet again the rush was on. But this one was different. A single word peiced his thoughts, clear as crystal. Help! the tiny voice screamed, making Tobias cringe back. He looked up from his spot on the ground, barely managing to see a small brown head vanish under a hand. Ouch! Help, make them stop hurting me! Help! the flit cried again. Tobias felt a sense of rage...like he had never felt before...rise up in his soul. With a inner growl he pounced up and pushed the owner of that hand away, reaching to pull the poor flit from the wave of grabbing fingers. "Hey! What do you think you're doing? That's mine!" someone yelled, trying to steal the brown shape away. The flit wouldn't have it. His small, narrow head darted from between Tobasi's fingers and snapped with a firey force at the closest finger, grazing the skin and causing blood to spill before disappearing into the saftey of the boy's palms. "Enough!" Tiyanni's voice suddenly broke through the crowd. Everyone froze as theWeyrwoman dropped in on the scene, looking sternly at allwho was there. "I swear by the Egg, I've never seen such a mess!" No one dared to turn their head as the remaining two eggs hatched, the tiny flits looking around with fear before taking to the skies, unBonded. "You'll all go back to your rooms, whether you've gotten a flit or not!": Tiyanni commanded, watching everyone move with daggers in her eyes. Only Tobias remained where he was. Slowly, Tobias opened his hands to reveal the flit that, although he was small for a brown, barely fit in his palms. Are you ok? he asked it, knowing the mental link between them was already established. I...think so, the brown whispered, blinking his blue eyes with worry. Tiyanni looked at both Candidate and dragon, still seething with anger. "Tobias...get to your quarters," she repeated, taking a breath to try and calm herself. As if waking from a trance, Tobias snapped his gaze up to the Weyrwoman, then nodded. Hugging the flit close to his chest he hurried up to his room...his thoughts spinning with the new presence of the firelizard in his mind. Later that day, Tobias named him Zaton, his father's Pre-Impression name, so the flit would be a living memorial to the man and the dragon that had been such a big part of his life. |
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| Tobias Impressed Zaton at Ryslen Weyr (c) it's creator. |
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