New Arival (open)

[summerrain]

Maika's eyes widened as she, on the back of a Red with beautiful rose-shaped markings, popped from between above the Weyr. The dragon descended, and Taro poked out of the pocket inside Maika's traveling cloak. It was still early afternoon; the journey had taken them all of a few minutes.

Maika swung her legs to one side of the dragon, then slid down off his back. She gave him a quick pat of thanks before looking around. Taro chirped indignantly, and Maika removed him from the traveling cloak. She placed him on her shoulder, where he could get a good look at their new surroundings. She could tell that the little Brown was just as amazed as Maika was. Dragons of every color were lounging around the Weyrbowl. Except, of course, the nocturnals. Maika saw a particularly large Bronze practicing drills above them, as well as a few Browns and plently of Greens and Blues. There were some of the other dragons, with their fan-shaped tails, flying about as well. A single Rose dragon, leading a few Purples, and a bunch of Reds and Oranges.

"Woah... So many colors!" Maika exclaimed softly. She'd never seen so many dragons in one place before! She knew she'd have to study up on the different kinds of dragons if she wanted to know everything that she had a chance of Impressing. It was... Incredible. The idea was almost overwhelming.

Taro chirped excitedly, and Maika laughed at the pictures flowing down their bond. He showed her a few unsurprising things; him lounging in the sunlight streaming through a window, the two of them sitting at a table, and himself eating from a bowl of meat. The last image he showed her was different than she'd expected. It was of herself, simply with him on her shoulder, and a Hatchling dragon. Which was strange. He hadn't seen a Hatchling dragon before. How did he know what they looked like?

Another chirp. Oh. He'd only guessed at the size of a Hatchling. Maika laughed again. Silly flit. He was just trying to help her adjust. To him, anywhere with her was home enough. Anywhere with His and a place to sun himself was all he really wanted.

[catnip]

A green flit that had been sunning herself noticed the newcomer, and with a chirp vanished between. She reappeared in front of Echlerov, who had been tidying up his area in the candidates quarters, and began to chirp insistently at him.

"Woah, little one," he said. "Slow down."

She flew in a circle above him, and then sent him the image of a dragon landing and a fox girl. "Oh, a newcomer then?"

Well, he had decided to get to know his fellow candidates better, and with an arrival like that, it was likely that she was a new one. Why shouldn't he go and introduce himself, and then even bring her here to the barracks. She'd probably like a chance to put her stuff down.

With that, he leaned his broom against the wall, and made his way down to the weyrbowl, the green perched on his shoulder. He could see the dragon that his green had seen, and he moved closer to it, noticing the girl. "Welcome to the weyr," he said, walking up to her, his friendliest smile on his face. "Are you a candidate?" If she wasn't, he'd apologize, and offer to escort her where she needed to go. It would be the least he could do.

[summerrain]

Maika was entranced by the bustle of the Weyr. It was incredible. So many people! Garnet only had this many when the merchants came from the other Holds. She heard a pop, the telltale sign of a flit coming out of between, from above her head. A Green flit. Strange. It vanished as suddenly as it appeared, leaving the thirteen-Turn-old girl a little confused. A chirp from the Brown on her shoulder brought her back to reality. She'd been zoning out a lot, which wasn't normal. Not for her at least. Then again, she'd been imagining her future as a rider.

A boy appeared from the doorway of a nearby building, and Maika turned quickly at his voice, sending Taro airborne. "Sorry, I didn't see you there," she told him. "Yes, I am." She looked over at Taro, who had finished his indignant chirping to hover(sort of) near the Green. He wasn't mentally mature yet, despite the ability to Chase whenever the time came. Maika sighed and snatched the Brown out of the air. "Behave you," she scolded him softly. She returned him to her shoulder before turning to the stranger. "My name's Maika. I come from Garnet Hold, and my older brother is Ik'tamal of Purple Azurath." She dipped her head to him, meaning to set the boundaries. She didn't like being touched by strangers on a first meeting. "Pleasure to meet you. Oh, this is Taro," she added after a moment. "He's only a Turn old, so he still acts a bit like a Hatchling." She laughed softly at the chirps from Taro himself at her comment. "Well, its true," she said. He huffed, pretending to be irritated. She petted his head, and he arched his back like a feline. Maika laughed again. "He's nothing but a lovable kitten," she told the stranger.

[catnip]

Well, she was likely to impress, Echlerov decided, having heard that riding often ran in families, and he grinned at her. "My name's Echlerov, and this is Vine. It's nice to meet you both." The green did a summersault in the air, chirping a greeting at both the brown and the girl. "Have you been here before?"

He wasn't sure. She did have a brother, which meant that she could have visited him the barracks, but he didn't want to just assume. It was far safer to ask.

[summerrain]

"Nice to meet you," she said with a smile. Taro flew from her shoulder, hovering next to the Green again. He did a barrel roll, simply trying to play with the Green.

Maika's demeanour darkened slightly when he asked if she'd been to the Weyr. Her brother hadn't written them in a Turn... She'd longed to come to the Weyr before... "No... Ik'tamal never asked if I wanted to come... And I never bothered forcing the issue. I didn't want him angry with me..." She looked away from the strange, Liger-Tailed boy. He seemed to be about her own age, probably only a few Turns older than she was. "Ik'tamal was very protective of me when we were little... After the incident with the first Threadfall, he rarely let me out of his sight." Why was she telling him this? So he would know why there might be some strange feelings between herself and her brother. "I... Resented him... He was like a second mother. So, when he was Searched, I secretly rejoyced. I was glad to have him gone... But now... He hasn't written us in over a Turn..." Worry was evident in her voice. Surely the Weyr would write if something had happened to him... Perhaps Azurath would find them and tell them, before vanishing forever into between. Nothing had happened, though, so Maika could only assume that Ik'tamal was alive, but that something had happened that he handn't wanted the rest to know.

[catnip]

The green trilled happily, darting forward to nudge the brown with her nose. She turned and flew off, chirping for the brown to come and get her.

Echlerov frowned when he noticed the tone of her voice, but shrugged it off. Her brother had probably just gotten busy, especially since he had impressed. He didn't think that she'd believe him though, if he offered it up as an option. "Well, it should be pretty easy to find him now that you're here."

Even if he might be trying to avoid her, there were still ways. She could talk to his wingleader, find him in the mess hall, or even ambush him in his weyr. Hmm. The possibilities there had potential. "I could help you ask around if you'd like, I'm sure there's a dragon rider or two around that knows where his weyr is. Or where his dragon is." Where you typically found the dragon, the rider wasn't that far off.

"First we should probably take your bags to the barracks though."

[summerrain]

A sudden thought struck Maika. Her brother had Impressed when he was fifteen... Would he want her to be here? "Actually... He might not be too happy that I'm here..." she said quietly. He hadn't seemed too happy about being Searched... "He was always really protective of me, and he may not want me to end up risking my life as a Rider... He may not be too happy that I was brought here by a SearchRider... If mother or father were with me, I could get by saying that we had just come to visit, but..." She sighed softly. "He probably won't be happy about my being here without them..."

When bags were mentioned, her mood lifted, if only slightly. "I've just got the one," she told him, picking it up. She had dropped it when she jumped off the dragon, only now realizing it. "We... Never had much..." she muttered softly. She grasped the pendant around her neck, the heart-shaped one her mother gave her just before she left. Mother... Father... I'll make you proud.

[catnip]

Ah. Well, perhaps it would be better to wait until after the hatching, just in case. He'd hate for some drama between her and her brother to bar her from standing. She probably wouldn't be that happy either. "Well, we'll see."

So, just one bag. He could approve of that, and understand. Being an apprentice meant that he didn't have a whole lot before coming here either. "If there's anything that you find you need, such as underlinens, or clothes if yours are too small or starting to be worn out, all you have to do is talk to the candidate master. As long as it's a reasonable request, they'll find it in the stores. You wouldn't believe how much stuff there is just lying around down there."