Gadrumon stripped himself of his shirt and was now left only in his shorts. The mugginess of the day was getting to him. I’m starting to regret coming South… but then a hatching with worth this long weight… I think. he smiled slightly and continued on helping out a Sr. Weyrling in oiling his almost large brown sized blue. Every so often the young man from Kutou Hold would glance over at the doorway to the candidates’ barracks and watch Feyin, his young yet loyal canine, as she sprawled out in the shade and slightly cooler area.
“You think we got all of Metreth now, V’sec?” Gadrumon asked as he swiped the oily rag over the almost black blue’s rump. The head of a white haired young man popped out from behind one of the big blue’s forelegs.
“Looks like it,” V’sec replied, “What’dya think, Met, up to your standards?” The blue looked his body up and down then looked to the sky to flirt with the nearest female.
“I think that would be a yes knowing your blue, huh?” Gadrumon chuckled. V’sec nodded as well and watched as an unknown green flew overhead. “Quite a lot of visitors today,” Gadrumon stated with a grin as the blue rider’s eyes clouded over and he flushed slightly, “So what’s next on the agenda?” V’sec returned to his normal coloring and looked beyond the green his blue had pointed out.
“Well, this will be a good thing to hear,” V’sec smiled, “Rain looks like it’s coming this way” The rolling of thunder from the closing in cloud seemed to confirm this and the two humans and the dragon walked back towards the main Weyr. Metreth took to wing soon after, flying towards the opening of the sands as the first drops of rain started to scatter on the ground. No sooner had V’sec and Gadrumon reached the doorway than the rain started to pour. Gadrumon impishly stuck his shaven head outside to wet it in the cooling waters.
“Pays to have something dry out so quickly, doesn’t it?” V’sec more stated than asked of the bald man.
“When need yes,” Gadrumon replied, “But being out in the sun with it causes quite a bit of burning.”
“Yet that’s why you have that,” V’sec deduced, pointing at the miner crafter’s off white bandana that was sown through one of his belt loops. The 21 turn old nodded. The two men were silent for a time watching the rain come down as bolts up lightning split the sky and thunder rolled on the air. It was during this time the V’sec tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.
“They’re rocking?” V’sec asked in curiosity and Gadrumon looked at the slightly taller yet younger man, “They’ll hatch today?” Gadrumon’s memory quickly told him that V’sec could hear all dragons and obviously Naomith was talking. Better get dressed! They might hatch without me! The bald young man dashed into the barracks and started to search out his clothes for after the hatching, even if he didn’t impress the participants were expected to come to the feast.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” V’sec’s voice called to him, “Calm down, Gad, the hatching’s not going to take place too soon. You actually have time to get cleaned up and visit with the spectators.” Gadrumon looked at the blue rider who was chuckling behind him and then looked down at himself. It was true, he was in need of a bathing as his toned muscles were covered in sweat, both cooling a dried. Gadrumon sighed and dashed off for the bathing pools.
He was one of the first male candidates into the large pool and was quick to scrub himself with a fist full of sweetsand, he sighed happily as the sand did it work about his body and scarred hands. Taking another fist full he went after his face and head. Not that he was one to be cocky or even really totally care, but a number of girls had been giving him and his rock hard body quite a look over when they thought he didn’t notice, probably even more when he didn’t.
Taking in a lung full of air he dunked his head under water letting the suds from his cleaning roll off his features. In an explosion of water Gadrumon remerged shaking the excess water off and running his hand over his head. His scarred fingers found the tips of new hair starting to try and shine through, nothing to worry about yet, perhaps at the end of this sevenday or so then he’d have to take a straight edged razor to his head again.
Getting out of the bathing pool, he made it quickly back to the barracks without being seen; he’d forgotten a towel but was starting to get used to the fact that weyrfolk weren’t as concerned about their nudity in public as holdfolk were. At first he was slightly appalled by the idea, but as he got to know the other candidates and the Weyr he’d wondered why the holds never did the same. He’d at one time taken up enough nerve to ask D’tol about this and received the answer of, “The Holds and Weyrs have many differences between the two, that is merely one of many.”
After a month of living in Talor Cliff, Gadrumon had come to know that the South was hot and so the clothing was usually light. In so thinking, the 21 turn old had asked the Weyr weaver to make him a pair of pants and a vest, both made of light weight fabric, fit for a gather to be worn under his robe so he’d be ready for the feast that would come after. He’d not asked for a shirt for under the vest in the fact that we was more comfortable without it and it would make for one less thing to sweat in. The pants had turned out to be a cobalt blue while the vest was green trimmed in a bronzish-brown color thread.
He slipped on his clothes and finally picked up the white robe. As he slipped it over his head and let the hem drop to shin height he took a deep breath. This can’t really be happening, can it? I mean it feels like only yesterday I apprenticed to the Miner Craft Hall in Kutou Hold, now I’m going to the sands of Talor Cliff Weyr and try my hand at impressing… this has gotta be a dream. A chuckle came from the doorway coupled by the running of feet. As Gadrumon turned he was suddenly knocked over by the runner who laughted.
“Gaddy, this ain’t no sun dream,” a familiar female voice laughed. As Gadrumon lifted himself up Feyin started barking happily at other visitors in the room.
“Katzy?” he asked as his vision focused on his younger cousin. She looked different now, he’d heard she’d gone to a Weyr nearly two turns ago but hadn’t heard anything sense. He carefully placed both of them in an upright position and assessed her more. She was dressed like all those in the south but had one extra thing on her shoulder. There, a badge with a bronze dragon flying across it and three stars sat on a field of blue and red, underneath were the knots of a Sr. Weyrling, a blue thread weaved into it.
“You impressed at Dawn Sisters?” Gadrumon asked in all surprise. Katzy bobbed her head happily, “I didn’t have time to write anybody back home about it until about seven mouths back, but by then Mother said you we’re working who knows where. It didn’t hit me until N’tron said we were found out that you were working on our Weyr.”
“You’re Weyr?” Gadrumon blinked, “You mean you’re a part of the group who wishes to be there.”
“Gaddy, I’m one of the ones who realized that Dawn Sisters, Rose Circle, and Harana were spreading themselves thin helping out Benden and still trying to keep us safe as well,” Katzy smiled, “So ya’ wanna meet Balaroth?”
“Hey, aren’t you forgetting some people, like introducing your boyfriend other than remembering your other cousin?” another familiar voice asked from the doorway. There by the barking Feyin was Gadrumon’s brother, Montiny, and a young man, blushing, whom he didn’t recognize.
“Cravatomin’s not my boyfriend, Mon!” Katzy stated firmly and Cravitomin nodded rapidly in agreement. Gadrumon chuckled.
“Well it’s nice to put a name with a face Cravitomin,” Gadrumon replied and stuck out a hand to shake the young man’s and they did. Cravitomin cracked a smile.
“You know that fazing is starting to get me nervious,” the young man replied and pointed to his candidate knots bellow the Dawn Sisters Weyr crest, “W’son said the same thing to me the day Katzy and he visited and searched me.” Gadrumon looked at his cousin impressed.
“So you have a potential searchdragon on your hands?” he smiled as they started to walk outside. Katzy rolled her eyes at her cousin but smiled as the meet a fair sized blue.
“Gaddy, I’d like you to meet my lifemate, Balaroth,” she announced as the blue’s head lowered for a scratch on the eyeridge. Gadrumon was impressed and awed by his young cousin’s friend who looked very much like a large version of the blue fire lizard who chirped happily on her shoulder.
“You always did like the blues best didn’t you, Katz?” he smiled as he nodded in respect of the Dawn Sisters bred blue, “And is this that rascal, Squan wasn’t it, that you mentioned in your letters home.”
“Yep, he helped me keep Tana on her toes ya’ know,” Katzy chuckled, “Bally’s even helped me out in that area the day we officially searched Crav, or so he tells me.”
“We should be getting you seats, the hatching might not take place for a while but those seat, I’m told, fill up quickly,” Gadrumon smiled trying to herd off his guests, “It was nice meeting you Balaroth, perhaps you should trying finding yourself a spot above the grounds, don’t get to wet.”
Katzy nodded to her blue and the brightly colored dragon glided off for the opening in the ceiling of the hatching sands. The ran had been light through the meeting but the way the other side of the Weyr Bowl was starting to disappear it was evident that the quartet should run for the sands.
Two hours later, Gadrumon had finished his hellos and thank yous to those who had come to watch the hatching and to Beka and N’tron who’d searched him. As he thanked Beka he watched as her features turned into an amused scowl as she caught sight of his brother. He shook his head and apologized for his brother’s behavior nearly three months earlier. Beka nodded her acceptance but still wasn’t willing to take up a conversation with the cocky Sr. Journeyman Miner.
It was overly hot waiting for the hatching to begin with the excess cloth, the robe, hanging on Gadrumon, so when the Weyrleader, D’ten, announced that because of the heat the robes would be aloud to not be worn this hatching Gadrumon was the first to slip the thing off. He was dripping in sweat once again so the bath had gone to some waist. I could have smelled worse, he thought with a slight chuckle.
The thrumming of the dragonic creatures in the Weyr caused Gadrumon to look to the sands again. It was now obvious that the hatching would take place any moment now. He was down on the sands in moments, thankful for the deep blue boots he wore though soon the heat of the sands seemed to be eating at his feet despite the thick wher hide that separated them from the actual sands.
A loud crack of thunder and the sands went quiet, save for a few overly excited fire lizards and the spectators who were betting how many would fall from their perches in the exuberance. Gadrumon shook his head slowly at such a thing to do. Then the cracking of a shell caught his attention, no one was sure which shell had cracked first but a blue and a bronze were working their way out of their old “weyrs.”
That was when the betters really started to make a ruckus as to who hatched first. Could they never take a hatching seriously other than for bets? Gadrumon rolled his eyes chuckling as the betters were threatened with being thrown out. The blue had finally struggled his way out of his shell while the bronze and found a way to practically slide out of the hole he’d made in his egg.
Why they should care which one of us hatched first is beyond me, Bergonath. Gadrumon suddenly heard inside his head as the two hatchlings shrugged at the performance the betters were putting on for them. He watched as the blue marched over to the girls and right up to Kaede giving a melodic chirp.
They should be looking at me, not him. Ah well, I’ll just get the attention I’m made for. Gadrumon heard once again the happy go lucky voice. It was then that the bronze lifted his head high and started to strutting towards the male candidates. Did I mention to you, Gadrumon, that my name is Malbath. It is you know? What do you think, you think they like what I’m doing? Those humans up there can’t take the attention away from me, no sir!
Gadrumon chuckled both at the young bronze and at the fact that he’d impressed being still so far from the bronze. He ignored the looks from the other candidates around him as he chuckled. “Malbath, knock it off! They’re fighting,” Gadrumon suppressed a chuckle as he nodded back to the betters, “and you’re prancing” He shook his head hiding the laughter that threatened to burst from him, “What an odd Hatching this is starting out to be.” As if in agreement the hatching sands were lit with a flash of bright lightning from outside.
We go to eat now, right Gaddy? Malbath asked happily as the followed the path his blue brother had taken. Gadrumon chuckled, Katzy’s only aloud to call me that… but I guess you can to, my dear friend. But I think from now on I’ll be G’rumon so it will have to be explained if anybody calls me Gad or Gaddy after today. The bronze rumbled still strutting to the amusement of the people having to prepare the feast instead of getting a chance to watch the hatching.
“You did it, Gaddy! You impress, and what a fine bronze he is!” Kazy said excitably as Feyin inspected her master’s new friend who though was much younger than her was already twice her size, “And Balaroth said he calls himself Malbath?”
“Yes, that’s what he’s named,” G’rumon replied scratching his lifemate’s eyeridge lovingly.
“You picked a good ‘un there, Malbath,” Montiny told the bronze proudly, “Best of the lot, but don’t go getting hungry and eat Feyin; she’s his dear friend too.” I would never eat her, G’rumon, she has too much fur to do so. Tell him I said that and he should not be so silly, only I’m aloud to do that! the bronze finished holding his head high but ducking it once more as he gobbled down more raw meat. G’rumon laughed before telling his brother Malbath’s response.
“Well, that’s good to hear, won’t have to worry about my fire lizard then should I impress,” Cravitomin commented.
“Com’on, Crav, you’ll impress and you know it!” Katzy said firmly to the Dawn Sisters Candidate.
“I’ve only known you sense earlier today and I believe Katzy’s right,” Montiny replied.
“Have you decided on a name for yourself now, Gadrumon?” Cravitomin tactfully dodged the two statements.
“I’m G’rumon, bronze Malbath’s rider, now,” he smiled the new name sounding odd on his tongue yet felt right, “and I don’t think this is going to help you much, Cravitomin, but I believe they’re right, you will impress. You seem to give off a personality of a dragonrider, but this is coming from somebody who only just impressed.”
“Oooo, I like!” Katzy grinned at both statements as Cravitomin hung his head in mock defeat. G’rumon could only chuckle, his cousin hadn’t changed much and something told him he’d know her better in the turns to come.
| Name | G'rumon |
| Age | 21 |
| Height | 6' 5" |
| Hair | Blond(shaved off) |
| Eyes | blue-green |
| Rank | Journeyman Miner/Candidate |
| Dragon | Bronze Malbath |
| Impressed at | Talor Cliff Weyr |
| Born | Kutou Hold |
| Pets | Canine (Feyin) |
| Current Residency | Talor Cliff Weyr |
| Name | Feyin |
| Gender | Bitch(female) |
| Species | Canine |
| Age | Adult |
| Adopted from | Finn Eoch Beasthold |
| Current Residency | Talor Cliff Weyr |
| Malbath | |
| Hatchling | |
| Male | |
| Bronze | |
| Gold Naomith | |
| Bronze Treyath | |
| N/A | |
| N/A | |
| Talor Cliff Weyr Clutch 23 |
