Christo
STATS
Name: Christo
Age: 27
Gender: male (gay)
Description: Christo is a lanky man with long limbs
and a somewhat awkward way of moving about. He has a tanned skin, dark brown
hair and goatee and green eyes. He's often perceived as being "soft".
Personality: Christo may look soft, he can be strict.
(Home)work should always come before relaxation and he never leaves a task
unless he feels he needs to let it rest for a while. He certainly isn't
unreasonable but he believes in planning and scheduling. He is practical and
won't do anything too stupid, but he isn't all that knowledgeable about
survival in the wild which is why he knows better than to venture out alone.
Job: Teacher.
Pets: -
~~°~~°~~°~~
STORY
Christo wandered through the streets of Resnuzik, a
mid-sized Gremynian city. The city was larger than a town by far but it
wasn't as big as some of the metropoli that housed the monarchs or emperors
of certain regions. It still had a welcoming feel to it and Christo felt
bold enough to traverse the city without guards. He was a lowly teacher and
didn't have anything of actual value. Well nothing that could be stolen
anyway.
Sadly, Christo had not found employment here which meant he'd need to travel
onward. And he could not travel on his own. He just didn't have the skills
needed. And it was safer to travel in group. He'd travelled with a group of
soldiers on his way to Resnuzik. Which had been quite pleasant being
surrounded by handsome men, but he'd not made eyes at any of them for fear
they might leave him. Though one of them might have been willing.
Christo shook his head. No it would be better to travel another way. Which
left paying a lot of money to travel by carriage or joining a caravan to
work his way to the next big town or city. And from those options the latter
was by far preferred. So Christo headed toward the market place.
The large square was lively and filled with people. Stalls flanked the
walls, displaying wares.
"Excuse me sirs, are you maybe headed south in the near future?" he asked.
"We're headed North." he got a gruff reply from a bear of a man with lots of
hair.
Maybe that caravan would not have suited him anyway. Christo wandered on,
talking to the merchants until he saw a young man, about his own age who was
lugging crates into a wagon.
"Excuse me." Christo said, "Are you maybe headed south?"
"We are." the young man smiled back, wiping his brow, "If you want to come
you should ask Shunki if you can join us." Tohiji replied, pointing to
another young man around his age.
Christo talked with the blonde caravan leader who seemed to be a jovial
sort. They agreed to Christo working as a means to pay for travel and after
that, Christo was immediately roped into helping load the wagons.
Several days later,
Christo sat next to the fire, drowsy from the meal. The caravan merchants
had retired and the first watch was taken by Tohiji, the thin youth with the
ponytail. Over the past days the two of them had grown closer, talking about
their lives on the road.
"I can't believe you're looking for a permanent residence." Tohiji said.
He'd spent a lot of time trying to persuade his parents to let him go out in
the world. But Christo had lived hand to mouth too many times to not want
the stability of a permanent home.
"Well, you have the caravan but out there on your own it's no picnic."
"I'll never be on my own." Tohiji said with the confidence of one who had
bonded a dragon.
Christo did not know what had sparked that trust in the other young man.
"I'd want a companion too." the scholar sighed, "But it isn't easy."
"Why, you're not too shabby." Tohiji remarked.
"Looks aren't everything." Christo replied feeling like he was older than
his years.
Tohiji slapped him on his back and said: "You know, i'm betting they could
use a scholar over at Dawn Cove. More people have been gathering which means
there'll be children soon enough. And you could always head out to bond if
you want a companion."
"Bond?"
For the remainder of the first watch, Tohiji told Christo all there was to
know about Dawn Cove and it's peculiar connection to another world and the
nekrats that had come from it. And by the time the watch was over, Christo
was feeling quite certain that his plans had changed.
~~°~~°~~°~~
HATCHING
A pleasantly warm day presented itself
on Lantessama. It was a day with sunshine that warmed the sand and invited
to come outside. A cool breeze helped to keep people there while others -
who commented about people risking a sunburn - sought the shade of the
trees. In the bay, nekrats cared for a small clutch of eggs. The donated
eggs were all relatively the same age and once one started to crack, the
others usually followed. And it seemed that today would be that moment as
the sun coaxed even those hiding in shells to come out and play.
The call to gather went out and soon the lazy relaxation of the day was
replaced with the buzz of expectation and exhileration. A hatching meant a
feast and everyone interested in joining had come as soon as they could.
Some were selling food and drinks while others gladly sampled their wares.
But these things were of no importance to the prospective candidates.
Yimeo Inavito stood knee-deep iin the water, her greenish skin blending in
seemlessly. Next to her stood her newly bonded dragon Verderame, whose
copper-coloured wings contrasted with the cool water. Some distance away
stood Christo, a lanky teacher from Dawn Cove who looked a bit out of
place with his pale skin and stiff posture. Deeper in the water waited
Sforzando, a Loch Nexian who had come to see whether or not she would find
a companion here.
The people didn't have to wait long for the tell-tale fountain spurts that
indicated some of the eggs had hatched. Suddenly the bay waters were alive
with fins, tails and the occasional head. Spectators craned their necks in
an attempt to make out the colours but it was hard as most of the
hatchlings had blue or teal colour, but one did stand out. The
orange-brown kitten had splashed her tail and now popped her head out of
the water, making her way to Christo.
"I see you are of a similar mind as me."
She told the teacher in a rather commanding voice,
"You may call me Melbasue."
~~°~~°~~°~~
ADULT
After returning to Gremyne,
Melbasue quickly established that there were few who were on par with her.
The only nekrat she truly respected was Rock Adelynha, who along with her
bond Deriaki were the undisputed leaders of the settlement. Well, maybe
there also was Sforzando who was without a doubt the leader of the resident
Loch nexians, but she was more aloof and kept to herself while Adelynha was
very hands on in her leadership. Melbasue aspired to be like her one day.
But until that time came, she was more than happy to lord over the children
and younger nekrats, being as strict a teacher as her bond but maybe just a
bit less sensible. Oftentimes Christo would have to intervene to defuse the
situation.
One such times, Melbasue swam off sulking. She'd only been doing their job
after all. Teaching the younger ones was difficult and they were want to
grab an arm when offered a finger. Such intentions needed to be nipped in
the butt before they became a problem.
"Your intentions were good." a dark, brooding voice offered.
Melbasue looked around and noticed Storm Ulafar. He was one of the first
local nekrats she'd met as their bonds were friends. Tohiji was on the road
a lot so more often than not, Ulafar was away with the caravan. Melbasue
hadn't heard that he was back so his appearance caught her a bit by
surprise.
"Good intentions won't get me anywhere if people
don't listen." she huffed, still sulking.
"Maybe you should highlight some of their good points while giving
advice, that always seems to work for Tohiji. He gets away with a lot by
complimenting others."
Melbasue considered Ulafar's words but didn't see the point.
"For instance, I could say you're stubborn...." Melbasue ruffled her
fins in protest.
"... But if I also state that I admire your perseverance that would be
less of an attack."
"I guess you're right."
"Would you like to hear more of my thoughts about you?" Ulafar asked,
"There's plenty to share..."
~~°~~°~~°~~
All images found with google
Nekrat and dragonder impressed at Lantessama
Isle