Atlas took a final look around the cave he and Moss were cleaning before standing all the way up. His dark blue eyes took in the couch in the corner where his soon-to-be dragon would sleep. He hoped. Moss looked up from the spot he was trying to remove on the floor and asked Atlas, "You think it's ready?" Atlas looked around again and nodded. Moss heaved a sigh of relief and stopped rubbing at the spot. He grabbed the rag in his mouth and dumped it over in the bucket next to Atlas. Atlas untied the thong he had used to tie back his shoulder-length gray hair and dumped it into the bucket as well.
"It needs to be cleaned," he explained to Moss with a smile. Moss just shook his head and whinnied. The little jupicorn was tired from all the work he and Atlas had done, so he lay down on one corner of the stone couch.
"All this work'll go for nothing if you don't get a dragon, Atlas," Moss said before falling asleep. Atlas nodded his head and looked around the room again. Everything seemed to be in order. Brushes and other grooming tools for the dragon sat in one corner of the room. A desk with papers, pencils, and colored pencils sat in another corner of the room, testament to Atlas's love of writing and drawing. Walking over to the table, Atlas smiled fondly at the colorless dragon picture on the top paper. The majestic dragon soared in full flight.
"What color do you think the dragon will be, Moss?" Atlas asked quietly, still looking at the drawing. Moss shrugged his equine shoudlers and replied, "I don't know. It all depends on what dragon likes you. But when you do know, you can finally finish that drawing." Atlas nodded and touched the dragon's head.
"I hope we'll be able to get along," Atlas mused. "It wouldn't be very good if you and the dragon couldn't stand each other." Moss snorted and said, "I'm likeable. I'm sure the dragon and I will get along." Atlas stood looking at the picture for a second, then combed his fingers through his long hair.
Finally, Atlas looked down at himself. His tall, lean frame should be easy for a dragon to carry. He had a lot of energy, so he thought he would be able to keep up with a rambunctious little dragon hatchling. Atlas had a very infectious sense of humor and he hoped that the baby dragon would have a sense of humor, too. Atlas loved to travel and often spent days going on treks with Moss. He loved finding new places and his favorite so far was a little meadow in the middle of a forest. The meadow was very quiet and relaxing and was filled with dragonflies. Atlas was also a scholar and kept a study in the back of his cave. The study was full of books on topics that ranged from gardening to fixing machines.
He needed a shower and his shirt was looking rather threadbare. He tried to remember if he had any other clothes this color blue and resolved to look after his shower. Moss jumped up off the couch and followed Atlas back to the shower room. He jumped into the stall before Atlas and looked expectantly up. Atlas laughed and turned the water on. Moss turned around a few times under the water and leaped out. He ran back out into the main room and shook himself. Then, he lay down on the couch again. Atlas laughed and stepped into the shower stall.
He took a quick shower and changed. Atlas found he did have a blue outfit that complemented his eyes. He dressed quickly, humming a little tune he remembered from childhood. He also picked up his crescent staff. When he came back, he saw that Moss was up off the couch. The jupicorn looked excited and was almost jumping up and down. Then he noticed the staff in Atlas's hand
"Why are you bringing your staff?" Moss asked. Atlas answered, "I need a walking staff. This one works as well as any other. Now I'm leaving."
"I want to come with, Atlas!" Moss said, excitedly. Atlas smiled and replied, "Okay. We're going to the
Fire Ridge Weyr." Then the two walked out to go register for candidacy.
