New friend (open)

[summerrain]

Maika was finished with her chores for the morning, and didn't have any more to do until after the evening meal had been served. She was supposed to be studying up on the different kinds of dragons, and already knew quite a bit about the First Set of dragons. The Greens were the lowest rank, almost always female, Impressed to girls and boys, were the smallest and fastest dragons, and Rose but never Clutched. Blues were the same rank as Greens, were pretty much always male, Impressed to both girls and boys, and had higher stamina than the Greens, and they Chased Greens only. Browns were next, and they had higher stamina than the Blues even; they Impressed boys usually, and were always male. Bronzes were always male, and Impressed only boys. They were the Wingleaders and the Weyrleaders, the ones that always Chased and caught the Queens. The Golds were the egg-laying Queens of the First Set, Impressed only to girls, and were the biggest dragons in the Weyr.

As she was thinking about this, Maika was walking out to the trees along the south wall. She had a small bag with a strap that went from her right shoulder to her left hip, and inside it was a small round bundle wrapped in cloth. She had just gotten it from the kitchen, and didn't want it to break too soon. It was something that intreagued her. It was the largest egg of the flit Clutch, which had been abandoned on the hearth in the kitchen. The kitchen workers had said that she could take one if she wanted. She liked the idea of a new flit, but a sudden thought worried her. If she did Impress, she would have a flit that was four sevendays old, and a new Hatchling dragon to take care of. Then again... This could be the perfect way to prove that she could. No one else knew that she was only thirteen. And she'd keep it that way until the Hatching. After all, now that she was here, they couldn't very well throw her out.

She pulled out the cloth-wrapped bundle, unwrapping it tenderly. It fit nicely into the palm of her hand. The egg had a sandy-colored shell with brown flecks, and was on the large side for a flit egg. She had been told by the kitchen workers that it would probably hatch soon, so she'd gotten some meat squares from them to keep with her for the day. They were in a small bowl, one that was easy to hold. She hoped the egg would be a higher rank flit, but knew she would be happy with anything. She looked up when Taro popped out of between above her, then landed softly on her shoulder. He looked curiously at the egg, but made no noise. Maika just hoped that the Hatchling inside it would like them both.

[vworp]

Cyndell's head was swimming with all the information he had been learning since arriving at the Weyr. The customs were all different from what he was used to, and there was so much to get to know, with the dragon colors and ranks. He wasn't entirely sure if he would be prepared for the Hatching, but he supposed he didn't have any control over whether or not he Impressed anyway.

He needed some time to think it all over, so he went out into the weyrbowl to explore, tracing his way along the south wall. He was carrying a tiny egg, afraid to leave it in his room in case it started hatching. The egg had been a gift from his mother before he left the caravan, but it was terribly small and he wasn't sure if it would even hatch.

Cyndell was lost in thought and he almost didn't notice the girl ahead of him. When he did, he stopped, eyes fixed on the other candidate. She looked familiar...hmm, maybe he had seen her at one of the Holds when the caravan passed through. He could have sworn she was with the children, though, not old enough to be a candidate.

Right. He was staring. Remember his manners, Cyndell took a deep breath. "Hello?"

[summerrain]

Maika looked over at the sound of the voice, recognising the boy instantly as one of the Snake Tailed merchants. Her mother had done her best to teach Maika to stay away from the Snake Tailed, simply because foxes and snakes were never supposed to get along. "Snake," she hissed at him. She didn't have elongated canines that were natural to some other Tailed species, but she could be just as fearsome without them. She knew how to fight with her fists if she had to. She saw the egg in his hands, her face softening slightly at the sight of it. She held her own egg in both of hers, as it was easily twice the size of his own.

Her tail flipped out of the back of her skirt, showing that she was indeed a fox, rather than the Wolf. The two species were surprisingly closely related, being cousin species. It was hard to tell if a fox was a fox until the tail was visible. She sighed and pushed off the wall she had been leaning against, jolting Taro off her shoulder. He caught himself with his wings, backpedaling to right himself. She laughed softly at him, ignoring his indignant chirping as he landed back on her shoulder. Snakes and foxes were natural enemies, but then again, foxes rarely got along with any reptilian species. Except maybe turtles.

"You were with the merchant caravans," she said after a moment. Her voice still hinted at her cautious nature, but she was intreagued by his flit egg. Her red hair matched the red of her tail and ears, and her bright amber eyes glimmered with curiosity. She took a step closer, eyes on the egg, her own held close to her. She kept her distance, though, knowing from her mother's tales that the Snake Tailed could change moods suddenly, even attacking seemingly out of nowhere. She was quick on her feet, but even Maika knew she wouldn't be able to outrun a snake... At least, not a normal snake. She didn't know about one of the Snake Tailed, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"That egg... It's a flit egg, right?" she asked softly. She held up her own. "This one's from a recent Clutch that was abandoned here in the Weyr." She looked at it as it began to shake, her eyes only on her egg. "Already...? Woah..." Her last two words escaped more like sighs through her lips than real speach. A single crack appeared on the egg's shell. The egg was hatching! What would it be?

[vworp]

As Maika stepped towards him, Cyndell didn't move. His eyes narrowed slightly when she hissed at him, but besides that, he didn't react. He'd grown up around other Snakes and a few Lizards, and sometimes they didn't get along well with other types. But he'd also grown up on the move, and met plenty of different people. He wasn't going to judge the fox girl before he got to know her.

He nodded when she mentioned the caravan, recognition dawning in his blue eyes. "Aren't you a little young to be a candidate?"

Before he could say anything else, however, her egg had started to rock. He smiled, relaxing a little as well. "This was a gift from my mother," he explained, watching as cracks appeared on her egg. Then, he felt a twitch. "Mine is hatching too!" His smile broadened into a grin. Maybe it had been encouraged by Maika's egg.

[summerrain]

Maika didn't answer his question about her Candidacy, completely ignoring it altogether. The egg in her hands began to rock faster, and a scraping noise could be heard from inside. The flit within it was chirping, doing his best to get out. Maika smiled down at the egg, the bowl of meat in her other hand. The egg was held close to her chest, and was rocking now. A crack appeared on the egg, splitting it nearly in half. More cracks spiderwebbed off the first one, and the egg shattered. Maika closed her eyes and looked away for just a moment. She turned back to what had been an egg, which had hatched to reveal an unusually large Bronze. He was easily as large as any Gold Hatchling, maybe even larger.

"Woah..." Maika breathed, amazed. She sat down, legs out to the side, placing the flit in her lap. She fed him a small square of meat, then another. She smiled, closing her eyes when she felt the bond being made. Impression to a flit felt amazing. Impressing a dragon would probably be even more incredible. She felt a slight hunger at the back of her mind, from the new Bronze in her arms. She kept feeding him meat while thinking of a name for him.

"Aki," she called him. He chirped at her, liking the name. He knew the meaning, even if His didn't. Taro flew down to rest on the ground near Maika's knee, then chirped a hello to the Hatchling. Maika couldn't stop smiling. Taro wasn't exactly old, but a Bronze flit was a good find. Ik'tamal would be so surprised when Maika told him about her Bronze flit. He didn't even know about Taro.

Maika looked up at the stranger. "I must apologize for my earlier behaviour," she said, still feeding Aki. "I was taught that your kind can be sly and conniving, and my elder brother was very protective of me when I was younger. He did not like me playing with the children that came from your caravan." She was actually somewhat embarrassed of her immediate reaction. Taro flew over to the older boy, recognising him from Maika's memories. He was much friendlier than Maika had been, as he had yet to learn what fear was. "My name's Maika. I just got here about a sevenday or so ago from Garnet Hold. My elder brother is Ik'tamal of Purple Azurath, if you know him." She said nothing about her parents, who were probably better off without her. They had less to worry about.

"Taro, will you go check on mother and father please?" she asked the Brown. Taro chirped an affermative, then flew above the boy's head. He vanished between, on his way back to Garnet Hold.