Boarandin held Kyoskay’s muzzle tightly closed as he listened to the receding footsteps outside the broom closet he had hidden in. The young brown didn’t protest to the action, he’d been in this situation before and it wasn’t as if his master held his beak tightly, Boarandin only lightly gripped him to remind him to be quiet or they would be found. Boarandin slowly let out the air he had been keeping in his lungs. That was a close one, he thought to himself and stroked the dark brown fire lizard before relieving it of the small toy he had sent the flit to get.

Earlier in the day Boarandin had found out that one of the teens who regularly bullied him had a small fire lizard figurine that was the boy’s favorite. Being a bit mischievious that day the candidate sent his fire lizard to retrieve the piece as part of the browns training. The brown had gotten the item away without being seen… sadly somebody guess right as to where the item had gone and the hunt for the small time thief had begun an hour back. Boarandin had only just managed to loose his pursuers for the time being.

“Good work, Kyoskay,” he whispered to the brown who had taken to blending in with the young man’s equally dark brown hair; the only part visible of the dragonic creature was part of his tail which was wrapped about Boarandin’s neck and his head which stuck out looking at the object he had taken. The little brown sniffed at the carved piece of wood and licked it as if trying to get all his senses working on the object. Kyoskay sneezed at the little statue showing his slight dislike for the piece.

“It is shabby looking isn’t it,” Boaradin agreed as he finished looking over the worn object. He threw the piece of wood into the air and caught it before pocketing the item, “Now for your next exercise my, little friend. You have to put it back in the room where you got it, in plan sight.” He looked at the brown who seemed to look back at him with a sly whirling green eye.

Boaradin carefully looked around outside the broom closet before heading back in the direction the crime had taken place. To those watching him he looked like he was taking a stroll around the Weyr. At a junction he made as if to grab some scraps of food from a pouch on his belt to feed his young brown fire lizard. With a flick of his hand he had retrieved the object he was intending to return and handed it to the brown at the same time as giving the flit a piece of meat. Kyoskay chirped, wolfing down the meat and taking the figurine in his claws launched off his master’s should and glided down a corridor. Boarandin continued on walking knowing his thieving fire lizard would soon be back.

It was as he went around a bend that lead to the kitchens that he encountered trouble. Before him stood the boy whom he had stolen the object from with two other lads. All four looked startled at running into each other but the young man who had been robbed recovered quickly.

“Where is it?” he snapped at the shorter man.

“Where’s what?” Boarandin asked innocently. The man turned bright red. Figures he didn’t tell his friends of what it was, Boarandin thought with a chuckle though his features still made him look like he was confused.

“You know what it was now where is it?” the boy growled.

“What’s the trouble here?” a voice suddenly interrupted. Boarandin turned to find the brown rider who had helped him out the day of green Sanith’s flight, T’bre. Thank Faranith for good timing!

“Nothing,” the man stated, “I lost a prized object and believe that this man stole it.”

“Boarandin?” T’bre turned to the burly young man, quirking an eyebrow up at him; he knew that the candidate had a reputation of sometimes stealing items, nothing really serious since he became a candidate but not many took chances with the lad.

“I didn’t take anything of his,” Boarandin argued. T’bre wasn’t one to be fooled easily in this case and asked the candidate to empty his pockets, “See, nothing.”

“Are you sure you didn’t misplace the object?” T’bre started questioning the lad.

“Defiantly not,” the man replied, “I left it on a dresser in my room for only a moment and it was gone. I saw him leaving the hall outside only a minute after it disappeared.” Well that explains why he started after me so soon.

“Well show us where you left it and we’ll see if we can help you find it,” T’bre replied knowing if he left any of the boys alone with Boarandin he would be under attack again. The young man, though irritated at the interference with his revenge plans agreed to show where he’d left the object. The now quartet headed down the hallway Kyoskay had only glided down minutes earlier. No one noticed that the fire lizard had returned to his master. Boarandin had to hid his laughter as the young man found, to his embarrassment, the object of his search was one again in his room. It wasn’t where he’d left it but on his bedside table.

Before anything else could be said though, a humming started up. Boarandin for a moment thought nothing of it, hatchings happened every few months in the Weyr, it was nothing different here. When T’bre turned to him though, seemingly surprised that the man was still there Boarandin remembered the key factor.

“Gotta go!” he grinned and dashed off. A yell of protest told him that the three men who had been trying to track him down earlier had been held back by the brown rider. Thanks for keeping me alive till today, T’bre.

He ran, grabbing a white candidate rob off a peg in the hall way to the hatching grounds. Slipping the shift on he dashed onto the grounds. Boarandin’s grin faded some as he realized that he needed to impress. He could handle himself but he didn’t want to have to spend many more months dodge bullies and people who were out to get him for other reasons. He looked pale more than tan on the grounds as this thought ran through his head. He noticed the many of the other candidates looked sleepy compared to him, he hadn’t realized how late it was.

It seemed fairly fast as three greens hatched, one by herself and the other two at the same time. Two of the greens went and found their bonds quickly while the other green seemed to wait. Seconds later, a brown hatched and Boarandin looked at the hatchling in amazement. What a rare find in a blue sired green’s clutch?

Go on, sister, you know your bond is here, a voice spoke coyly in his head and the brown hatchling headbutted the green who was still on the sands.

“Okoth!” Boarandin yelped at the brown’s actions only realizing then that the brown was his. He didn’t even notice a girl call out the green’s name. Okoth’s eyes whirled between a hungry red and a happy green. Hello, B’randin, the brown seemed to grin as he took a few steps towards his rider, They try going after you any more they’ll have to deal with me! I thought as much Okoth, but you shouldn’t bully your sister ya’ know. Why not? I’m a brown, she’s a green. Because you’ll never know who you might fall for later on in life. The brown cocked his head at his rider, he obviously didn’t have any idea yet about crushes or even love.

“Well let’s get you something to eat instead of that conversation,” the newly dubbed B’randin continued changing the subject to something he knew the newly born brown would understand. That sounds good! Okoth replied swishing his tail playfully before following his weyrmate towards the caverns where three other new riders were already feeding their dragons.