The Story of Twan... 

"You think she likes you?" Twan asked.
"Sure she does. She's always snooping around here. And following us. I bet she likes me."
"Little Faris?" Twan looked puzzled.
"She's not little anymore. She's 15 turns. Only 2 turns younger than us."
"But I know her! She's never mentioned you."
"She's probably just shy and thinks you'll laugh at her. You're terribly insensitive Twan!"
"I wouldn't mock her like that Seronder."
"We know that, but does she?"
"Well, we often played together when we were young. Our mothers know each other."
"And how long has it been since you last spoke?"
Twan thought for a moment and said: "It must have been 3 turns."
"See, it's been way to long for you to remember, she's probably changed a lot too."
"I guess you're right."
The boys went home, and indeed know that he looked around he spotted her too. She was laying sitting under a tree and looking at them. He didn't want her to like Seronder, why he didn't know, but something told him that was wrong. He almost regretted her not talking to him. They had grown apart, growing up and taking on other interests. He hadn't seen her since he had become a full apprentice of his father, learning the sailor trade. But he could always have found time to visit her. He could slap himself for forgetting all about her. It must have been hard on her too. He had been insensitive at the time, but he had learned it wasn't bad to get some perspective on how others felt. He had gotten out of a lot of trouble like that. 
He said goodbye to Seronder and walked home. He saw his mother planting some flowers. As long as he could remember she had worked in the garden for half an hour each day, to calm her, she said. 
"Mother, do you remember Faris?"
"Of course! It was so sad to see you guys grow apart. She must be 15 by now, I sometimes see her on my way to the Weyr."
Both their mothers still had weekly appointments that were never cancelled. 
"How is she, I saw her today."
"Fine, I guess. Swina always talks about how they want her to stand. But she hasn't yet."
"Isn't their a clutch right now?"
"Yes, but I hear it's going to hatch soon, and they still need a lot of candidates, a lot of Weyrs do. It's sad really."
"Yeah...I think I'll help convey the tithes tomorrow."
His mother smiled.
"You do that, and maybe you'll see Faris and you guys can get acquainted again."
"Very subtle Mom, it's not like that."
"Of course not. But we mother's can hope." She smiled.

Once in the Weyr, he told the others from the tithe train that he would stay the day and that he'd be back later that evening. They could manage the empty train without him so they didn't grudge much. 
He was just about to look for Faris when he realized he didn't know where she lived. No problem enough dragonriders around who would know. He spotted a woman who was tending a brown dragon, she would have some time for him.
"Excuse me." He said
"Yes?"
"I'm looking for a girl."
"A girl? That's odd, Tusath says you might be looking for a dragon too."
"A dragon? me? Nooo. Not really." He said.
"Well he says you are and he hasn't been wrong often."
"Well, eh..." seeing he had maneuvered himself into a bad position he tried to win time.
Cris looked closely at the boy. 17 turns of age, or so Tusath told her, with strong arms and battered hands. He had very short brown hair and was wearing trousers and a tunic. Pretty normal. Then Tusath relayed her the image of the girl he was searching.
"You aren't playing matchmaker again?" she signaled the dragon.
"Me? never, he will do ok on the sands. And we need candidates. He won't say no."
"I'm not sure" the boy interrupted her conversation with Tusath.
"Well, we really need candidates. Go back home and think about it."

Puzzled Twan returned home. Thoughts swirling through his mind. The face of Faris when she was young and her face now. The dragon. Eggs. His mother and father at the Sea Hold. All very plain, but what he thought in between wasn't. He had always been so sure of becoming a sailor, but now he wasn't. Being searched was a great honor, even if the Weyr desperately needed candidates. 
He needed to talk to someone...fast. His mother would again be the best person....his father would immediately make him feel guilty for leaving and Seronder would ask what he was still doing here when he was searched.
So at home he waited till his father had gone, to talk to his mates about the weather they'd have tomorrow and who knew what else, to approach his mother. He told her what had happened. As usual his mother gave him good advice, but that didn't make it easier on him to decide. 
"Your father likes you as an apprentice, but he won't be heartbroken when you go, the Weyr searched you, but that is still optional. It's up to you."
Thank you mother, for putting all my problems down in one sentence. Oh wait, she had forgotten about Faris. He'd have to find out what to do on his own. At last he decided to go back to the Weyr. He had let it all come to this: what would I miss more? If he'd impress a dragon, he'd still have time to sail and be near the sea. If he would be a sailor, he'd never impress a dragon. Plus, Faris wouldn't be able to outrun him if he was a dragonrider. He would tell her he liked her, that was the other thing that had kept him awake that night, he knew now why he hadn't liked the idea of Faris and Seronder. He had liked her, but had been to unsure at that time how to tell a girl who was 2 turns younger than him and hadn't shown the least interest in him that he did. He maybe wasn't as handsome as Seronder, but he'd be a far better choice for her. 
His life was a mess. And he knew it. But a mess or not, if he could only tell her that and impress a dragon he'd be set on a nice set trail to the future. 
"Soon" he thought...

The Story of Faris...

"Faris!" her mother Swina called "Diner's ready!!"
"I'm coming!!" Faris replied, she looked once more to the beach were the young dragoncandidates were practicing...Twan was there. She dropped back to the ground and sighed. He was so cool. She didn't know when her friendship had grown into love, but it had. She hadn't seen him in 3 turns though, she wasn't sure why, everyone told her it was because he had been apprenticed, but maybe it was because he didn't like her anymore. But now he was back at the Weyr. Standing for the clutch. 
Suddenly her little pink firelizard Banshee pulled her hair.

                         BANSHEE

"What is it, Banshee?" She got an image of food...yummy food... "We better go if you are hungry..." She got up and only once did she look back before she walked back to her family's weyr in Seiryuu Weyr. The Weyr surroundings were beautiful, long stretched grassy fields where horses and cows stand and sleep...little dust roads where you can sit for hours in the shadow of Pernese trees...and play with your firelizards. And the Mining Mountains up ahead, that make you feel so safe.
She skipped home. Something she hadn't done in years, saying she was too old for foolish skipping. But she was in love, normal rules didn't apply on her.
At home she immediately started feeding Banshee...Her mother walked in.
"How was your day, Faris?"
"Very good" Faris replied, deciding to leave out the handsome young men practicing..."I watched the dragonriders tend there dragons. It must be wonderful to be a dragonrider." Faris sighed...thinking: if I suddenly decide to follow Twan it won't be too obvious...
Her Father would be proud if she followed in his footsteps and became a rider...He would definitely put a good word in for her with the Searchriders C'fron, Ar'wen and Cris. Not that anybody would hold her back...she was old enough to stand, and she had been very good at training her three little firelizards. She knew for a fact she would have been allowed to stand three clutches ago, if she had shown interest. But she never had. It was too great a responsibility for her to have someone being totally dependant of you when you were still so young, but she was ready to reconsider. 

Her little white female Zenit flew in the room and started chirping, telling everyone Andro, Faris' father would be home soon. Zenit had been helping her father flying around...He sometimes needed the little ones and since he never impressed a new one after his last was killed in a threadfall, Faris was happy to lend him one of her happy trio. Zenit was always happy to see her bigger cousins too, so she always volunteered....

                               ZENIT

Faris encouraged her father to get a new one, but he always said he would be to heartbroken if that one was killed in battle. He always felt it was his fault little Shanice had died, she had been a queen and would never have left his side. Banshee, Zenith and Sinji were descendants of her. Sinji was out playing with her brother's firelizards. Mahi had two male firelizards from Shanice's last nest. They were blue Walim and golden Syndra. Since Sinji was a bronze male, he couldn't resist the temptation of a nice gold female...he was still busy courting her when Mahi entered. Mahi was 13 turns and didn't at all like the idea of his sister's bronze flying his queen. He knew all to well what feelings the little flits transferred on a mating flight. He had seen enough of them in the Weyr. Faris knew it wasn't at all wanted, but she had let Sinji go because she thought her father might reconsider if Syndra became pregnant...

Later that night she decided to follow Twan...True love couldn't be fought and she knew he liked her too. He must like her! He had always been so friendly towards her, never once teasing her, because she was 2 turns younger than the others he played with. She knew she hadn't really had contact with him in 3 turns, but those turns had made it clear to her that she liked him.

So the next morning she went to the Headwoman Reca. Reca was like a grandmother to her. She always came to her if she needed some quiet time, but today she said she just wanted to chatter a bit and help her dear headwoman with the cooking. They talked sometime when Reca finally brought up her favorite topic: "Why won't you become a rider?" This time Faris replied slightly different:
"I think I might..." Earlier she had always replied Maybe... 
The headwoman raised one eyebrow and looked slightly suspicious.
"You know I always said it was too great a responsibility? Well, I realized that girls my age have been doing it for ages without ever making a mistake, so I will be able to do it too, right?"
Faris started to curl her hair and smiled slightly without knowing it. The headwoman raised that one eyebrow again and started to grasp where the sudden change had come from. Certainly because she remembered Krilly seeing the girl laying in the grass near the beach where the boys trained.
"Well, I believe I can talk to your father about it. Send him over and we'll discuss it, but I think he won't have a problem with it."
The girls eyes lit.
"Thank you!"
She ran out and made little jumps as she took the stairs to her father's weyr. She relayed the message of the headwoman. Andro didn't know what she wanted to speak to him about, but he knew he'd better not make her wait. He walked to the lower caverns and found the Headwoman fast enough. She heard him coming.
"Andro!" she called, "your girl is growing up!"
"What do you mean Reca?"
"She told me she wants to become a dragonrider, and I could hear her breathing shouting BOY the entire time. We have to decide what to do know."
"That isn't a good reason to become a dragonrider."
"Andro, you were always way to strict, she would be a good dragonrider, she will do it for all the good reasons too, if you give her time to see the beauty of the trade..." 
Smiling she held out her hand and together they went to see Weyrwoman Quachir. Quachir looked dashing as always, Andro had thought long about it and decided it was her hair...and the way it swirled around her face, nevertheless he knew he was happier with Swina than he would have ever been with her. 
"My daughter is thinking of becoming a dragonrider." Andro said.
"Is that little Faris? We were wondering when she was going to. She would have been searched a year ago if she would have shown some interest"
"But see, this is somewhat unusual..." Andro started.
"Not at all, Andro dear, she waited a long time to make up her mind, but she is ready now." Reca swiftly intervened.
"Then it is all ok with me, send her in the morning. I'll let Cris take the interview."

Quachir looked at the girl in front of her. Faris had grown up, she had long brown hair and deep blue eyes. She always smiled, but when she was sad, she would have this strange beauty, everybody who saw her after Andro's Shanice had died, wanted to start crying just because she looked so miserable. She almost always wore a white jacket with light yellow spots her mother had woven for her on her 15th birthday. Her mother had chosen the colors with great care and they brought out her eyes... And always she wore pants.

"So Faris, you want to become a dragonrider..." Quachir started her speech. "You know this will bring great joy, but also great responsibility with it?"
"Yes, I know what is expected of me. And I will try my best."
"I expect you know some things about dragon care?"
"Yes, I spent a lot of time with the Reca who has shown me a lot about caring for the dragons...and I know there history, but that is all."
"That is more than your average trainee. You are in luck, we desperately need new riders for the new clutch of golden Mekoth...We were wondering when you would apply. Since you are weyrbred you don't have to be searched, but I'd like you to go to Cris and talk to her." 
"Ok." Faris knew the searchrider wouldn't be as easily fooled as the Weyrwoman who had a lot of other things on her head. 

Faris went looking for Cris and found her near the feeding grounds.
"Cris! You need to interview me to stand at the clutch."
"You chose to stand? Wonderful!"
Faris nodded and looked at Cris' Tusath. The searchrider turned towards her and said:
"Consider yourself searched. We are on a schedule, Mekoth's clutch will hatch in a few days. I know this is sudden, but since your father can help you and you have the approval of Reca and the Weyrwoman, we can make an exception."
Faris was kinda troubled by those words...no-one was going to test her? Well the dragons would, but what if no dragon chose her? Would she be considered a failure? Fear clinged her heart for a moment. But then, if no-one interviewed her, that must mean she was considered having a good chance to impress. She left the rider and her dragon and went back home.
"I know she will do good, but I don't like that boy taking up that great a place in her heart Tusath. It would have been better if she did it for the right reasons, promising or not." Cris looked at her dragon. 
"Now, I know you want another herdbeast, so go ahead and catch it. Having her stand means one less place to be worried about."
 

The days passed slowly, very slowly... And I mean slowly! Faris couldn't wait until the eggs hatched, everybody thought she was nervous to see which one chose her, but the real reason was if she would be picked at all. It was clear as day to anyone else she was perfect for the job, but she didn't believe them. She knew she wasn't going to impress and she got more nervous with the day.
Twan on the other hand tried to get into touch with Faris, but she avoided him. It was very depressing having her run around a corner every time she saw you. He hoped she would at least notice him at the hatching. 
And then the calling came. The eggs were hatching and they had to get ready for them. She entered the hatching sands, almost shaking on her feet from nerves. She noticed Twan and some others she knew. She didn't know all the people present, a lot had come from far away places. So she felt alone again. And nervous. She terribly wanted to scream she didn't belong here, but couldn't. All she could do was stand there and stare at the crackling eggs. 

What Happenes at the Hatching?

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