Laughing, Varan smiled at the craft master. "A fine joke sir, a fine joke." The craft master did not smile back.
"Varan, this is no joke." Varan looked up into the serious eyes of the master cheif with panic. No! It could not be? He, Varan, had followed all of the rules,  worked his hardest, why would the craft master have any reason to kick him out of the craft hall.
"But sir, Why? I am an obediant apprentice, you know I work hard!"
"Yes Varan, I know that, and I am truly sorry, but...I hate to say this Varan, but some have the talent for it, some don't, and I'm afraid that you dont.  To stay on as a journeyman, you must be dedicated yes, but you must also have skill in the craft, and Varan I'm afriad--"
"Oh I get it!" Varan replied hotly. "I'm not good enough for you, am I? Well then, If I'm noot good enough to forfill my dream, then I'm not good enough, you can just say it straight instead of beating around the bush like you are! I will have my things packed by tomorrow and will leave as soon as I can. I don't know where I'll go, but perhaps I could borrow a runner? It would be a lot faster than going on foot." With that, Varan stormed out of the room In anger. It wasn't fair! He worked harder than any of the other cheif apprentices in the Hall, yet he was the one to be sent away becaues he didn't have the talent! Well he was clumsy, true, but this was something his father before him had done, and that he wanted to do. He had left his home hold to come here and do it, now just to find he wasn't good enough! Well there was nothing to do but leave. Where he would go, he did not know, but he obviously had no place left here!
A squawk startled him, and a cold burst of air spun him around to see Arib and Norr, his firelizards, dancing around in the air. Once a dragonrider from the Twin Weyr had come to his home hold in search, and had brought a clutch of firelizards along for Varan to impress Pink Arib and Brown Norr. He had had them most of his life, and they were strangely calm, for firelizards. Right now, he thought he could use one for sending a letter to his stepmother at the hold, saying he would be returning.
The flits followed him to his quarters where he pulled out quill and paper and began scribbling a letter to his stepmother. Shards but he hated to return there and leave his dream behind, but he had nowhere else to go. Life at the hold had never been bad for him, but it hadn't been that great either. He sighed, thinking of growing up a holder, just joe average. That burned more than anything else. If there was one thing Varan loved to be, it was different. He liked being unique, he liked being original. If everyone else was doing something one way, he would do it another, just to be the oddball.

Attaching the message to Arib's leg, she was more trustworthy than Norr, and ordering he to go between to the hold, Varan stood and began to pack his things. He hoped he could get a runner, it would be faster than walking and much more fun. Packing up his things took little time, he didn't own much and never cared too.  With a sigh, he lay down on the bed. Well, it had been a wonderful life at the craft hall while it lasted.
***********
Early the next moring, Varan rose and set out. He always rose very early,  he did not like to sleep in as most did, and today was no exception. It was still dark as he left the hall of his craft on a gray runnerbeast in start of his venture. Little did he know what a venture that would end up being, and that his destination would change entirely.
It was a pleasant ride in the dark predawn air, and soon Varan was humming to himself despite what he was leaving behing. This in itself wouldn't be a bad life roaming where he pleased, living for himself..except for thread. He would have no idea where and when thread would fall, and he did not much like the idea of being caught out in it.
After he had been going for a while, his firelizards became excited. Trying to calm themhad no effect, but Varan caught the images they gave him. There was a mighty dragon nearby! Varan didn't know weather to be afriad or in awe, he had heard legends of these dragons, some good and some bad, but he had never been around them himself.  He knew they fought thread, so they must be good.
"Where is it?" He demanded of the firelizards, but they went off into excited chirps and did not answer. He chanced a glance upward...and there it was, in the sky! A blue dragon, spiraling down to earth, towards him? Varan was unsure weather to keep going, to stop, or to boot his runner into a gallop. He stared dumbfounded at the sky to see if the dragon was indeed circling to land, which he was. In another few minutes, it would be apon him.
Varan's descision was made for him as his runnerbeast saw the great dragon and took off in a frightened run. Caught by surprise, Varan lost his grip on the reins and fell to earth, his belongings and his runnerbeast racing away from him unhindered.
"No!" Varan cried, knowing it was no use. He turned to see the gargantuan blue beast land, a handsome rider sitting on a saddle on his neck. Varan stood to face the rider as he dismounted.
"Hello." The rider said cheerfully.
"Hello." Varan replied.
"Hmm." The rider replied. "I am K'tay, that is Ineth. I am on Search you see, I was going to the Cheif Craft Hall, when Ineth saw you on the ground, and brought me down here." Varan didn't understand.
"You are Searched." K'tay went on. "I dont suppose you are very familiar with the Weyr ways then, but my dragon thinks you would make a good candidate at my weyr, Dragon Fang Weyr of the Twin Weyrs. There is a clutch on the sands there now that needs candidates. You could impress a dragon, become a dragonrider like me."
This got Varan's attention. It had never been something he had considered, but it sure sounded better than life at the hold. A Weyr!
"All right then." He replied.
******
At his first sight of the Twin Weyr, Varan was amased. It was two weyrs in one, and it was the left one that Ineth spiraled down into. Flying was great, but watching the other dragons of all colors, green, blue, brown, bronze, fly, was equally so. Varan was unsure of what would happen, but didn't care. This would be his life, and he couldn't wait!
"Come." K'tay said. "I can get you a place in the candidate barracks to stay until the hatching." Confused, but still eager, Varan followed him into the depths of the weyr.
******
A sevenday later, the eggs hatched. It was early in the morning, before dawn, the time that Varan was usually awake, that a loud bugle sounded throughout the Weyr, causing everyone else to awaken. Confused, Varan poked his head out of the door of his quarters in the weyr to see what was going on, and saw barely-awake people rushing around excitedly.
"It's time!" A drudge replied when questioned. "The Hatching!" It was then taht Varan saw the other candidates rushing from their barracks up the hallway. He followed them to the Hatching Sands, where the eggs were waiting. Nine of them, though Varan could only count eight. The stands around the sands were beginning to fill with people. The first rays of sunlight were beginning to show on the horizon as the Weyrwoman arrived on the back of the Golden Queen, the largest dragon Varan had ever seen. Weyrwoman Adelia climbed down and approached the candidates.
"You must not be afriad, and you must not let them overeat." She said, smiling at each on in turn. "Good luck.We may have a few surprises this clutch." With that, she went back to her dragon and dragon and rider sat on a nstone ledge along with the weyrleader and his Bronze.
The first egg cracked open, a small eye peering out into the world for the first time. Its body followed, blue as the sky. He went straight to the candidate Joswan. Varan watched as the next egg to hatch caused a large reaction throughout the crowd. A bronze! He hadn't know and still didn't know that muchabout dragons, but he knew that a bronze in a green's clutch was something unusual. Varan watched breathless as the bronze made his selection, a smaller boy named Jaran.
The second shock came when a gold hatched several eggs later. A gold in a green's clutch was near impossible. The Weyrwoman was right, there were surprises in the clutch!
Watching the gold  and her newly impressed rider leave the sands, Varan hardly noticed the blue and green that hatched, nor did he notice the blue impress himself to a girl named Xena. After a minute though, he saw the green.
She watched her brother impress before turning to make her own choice. Strangely, as her brother had found none of the boys worthy, she found none of the girls worthy. Her eyes fell on the somewhat scraggly boy who smiled at her and visibly pushed away fear.  What reason have you to be afraid, silly V'ran?  She teased, walking towards him.
"I don't know what yoi're talking about." V'ran replied stiffly to the green, then it dawned on him that he had impressed her! "Purnath." He began. Well, this certainly was different! He bet he was the only male at the weyr to impress a green instead of the traditional blue, brown or bronze!
Yes?  Purnath replied.

    It was a wonderful life at the weyr for V'ran, if not what he had ever dreamed he would be doing as a child. Being a male greenrider, he certanly was the oddball, but that was fine. He loved Purnath very much, she seemed always to know what was on his mind, and always had friendly encouragement. Other dragons seemed to regard her as odd, for she sometimes had so odd behavior among dragons, but while the weyrlingmaster,  and other weyrling pairs noticed it, V'ran couldn't see it. His Purnath was perfect in every way, even if she did like to toy with her prey before killing it, and flew in odd circles for fun.
Catch me V'ran! She would shout, fluttering in a circle above the ground onher ungainly wings. She wasn't as graceful as the other weyrlings were, and none of them were very gracefull yet. V'ran longed for the day when she would fly beautifully like the adult greens, but long would it be until that day. She was still a child in many ways, her actions oftentimes more like a firelizards than that of a dragon. She was his weyrling Purnath, and he loved her.