Welcome to Gaia! ::

Though the air was cold on the heights at High Reaches, the sun was bright and its rays warm on the skin. Two dragons, an immense bronze and an impossibly small white, transferred in from between and swooped down to land in the weyrbowl. Their riders dismounted, two young men who looked enough alike to judge them kin, and set to work removing the dragons’ tack. The dragons lazed comfortably while the men worked, having just hunted and sated themselves with a couple of nice wild wherries.

Once he was done with Vee’s tack, A’myl went to help his brother with the bronze. At his touch, Yffengeth blinked sleepily and, with a sweep of one of his massive forearms, gathered the little white to his chest like a child cuddling a beloved doll. Vee struggled for a few moments, eyes flashing a startled yellow, but he quickly gave up and instead spent his energies gazing about, craning his neck this way and that.

“Farin’s still upset that he didn’t Impress, but frankly, I’m relieved,” A’myl said, rolling up one end of the bronze’s long riding straps. “If he’s going to have a dragon, I want him in my sight. He’d have been a menace if he’d Impressed at Western.”

“Right,” was the terse reply.

A’myl glanced at his brother, as always a bit saddened by Ay’ril’s indifference to Farin. He’d certainly guessed the cause for it, after all these turns, but Faranth knew they never actually talked about it. “The firelizard egg was a fair consolation prize, at least. When it hatches, he’ll be busy with his new pet until the next gold rises.”

I hope it hatches soon, Vee said. It will be fun to have a firelizard in the family!

All conversation was cut off at the strange airborne howl, four heads craning up to see what the fuss was about. “That blue is coming down too fast,” A’myl snapped. The dragons had seen it too, and Vee let out a distressed creel. Yffengeth began to rise, but he was too big and slow to actually get into position to catch in time. They braced to witness a disaster, but the blue managed to slow enough to land—none too cleanly, of course—but safely. Both men sighed, and returned to breathing again.

A girl dismounted from the blue, and startled quite vigorously when she turned and saw them all standing there, falling onto her backside with a loud expletive. At her strange utterance, auburn-haired Ay’ril laughed. “Graceful and well-spoken. I like her already.”

“Are you all right?” A’myl asked, ignoring his elder brother’s amusement. This could have been a serious accident!

Meanwhile, it was Ay’ril’s Yffengeth who was asking the same of the woman’s blue, hovering over him like a massive bronze mountain. Have you any injuries, Nusueth? Any pain in your limbs or wings? You were descending so quickly! White Viyanakerth was there somewhere as well, but the massive bronze was everywhere at once, and had likely blocked him from view.

As Nusueth spoke, there were muffled grunts as the little white dragon tried in vain to push the bronze’s vast bulk out of his way. Eventually he settled for taking the long way around, arriving just in time to hear the blue speaking of Children? Of course they would enjoy such a show! I also adore listening to their laughter and cheers as I swiftly flit about, making those hulking bronzes and browns look like a still life painting.

Rude, Yffengeth pretended to sulk. Vee playfully bumped him with a shoulder, and he bumped back—sending the white sprawling. But it was all in good fun. Viyanakerth trotted back to his previous spot, eyes a firmly jubilant blue.

Both men offered their hands to shake with Laasya, Ay’ril holding out the wrong one at first and then laughing at himself as he switched. “Laasya?” Ay’ril repeated. “I think I’ve seen you around. I’m Ay’ril, Wingsecond for the Hurricanes.”

His younger brother gave a slight eye-roll at Ay’ril’s blunder, guessing he’d probably done it that way on purpose. “And I am A’myl, Vee and I ride for the Tsunamis. We’ve just returned from hunting.”