"This place...this jump between dimensions or worlds or whatever doesn't freak you at all?" Although Nu'lin knew that Raydon was rather easy going, there was no way that the candidate didn't find it a little odd.
Raydon smiled and laid back on the grass and looked at the different sky. "Am I still here?"
Nu'lin knew he was walking into one of Raydon's traps, but he couldn't help himself. "Of course, but..."
"Are you here?" Raydon closed his eyes.
Nu'lin sighed. "Yes. But Ray..."
"Then what's wrong?" Raydon put his hand on Nu'lin's knee. The blue/greyrider bent down and kissed him.
"Sometimes I think you get things that other people don't." Nu'lin smiled, calmed by Raydon's presence.
"Like what?" Raydon closed his eyes again, dozing in the sun of this different world. His granite firelizard, Gnarl, lay beside him, enjoying the sun as much as his owner.
"Like why the sun rises in the east. Like why the stars are where they are. Like why the grass grows and the Thread falls." Nu'lin stretched, feeling edgy. Confondreth obviously thought something important was going to happen and didn't want to bother his rider.
Raydon laughed. "How could you possibly think that I know all those things?"
"Because you make me feel like I do." They stared lovingly into each other's eyes, Nu'lin trying to ignore the fact that Confondreth was attempting to subtely get his attention.
Raydon raised his left hand and brushed his fingers along Nu'lin's cheek. "I think Confondreth wants you."
Nu'lin smiled. "Actually, he wants you. The eggs are hatching."
"What?" For the first time in his life Raydon raised his voice above it's normally quiet tone. "When did they start? What if I'm late?" Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Because for once in your calm, ordered, accepting life I wanted to see you sweat." Nu'lin helped Raydon to stand, he kissed him quickly. "No dragons have actually hatched so you won't be late. I'll be watching from the stands Ray!" Nu'lin waved as Raydon ran towards the Sands. Gnarl cocked his head and flew to the bluerider's shoulder. "I've never seen him run that fast either Gnarl."
* * * She's so beautiful! Raydon knew the gold would never impress to him, but she did seem to be paying an odd amount of attention to him. The brilliant creature was the first hatched and she was definately pausing to regard him. He smiled calmly at her, but was not surprised when she turned her head back to the girls. He watched the gold leave with her newly bonded rider. Her hide glimmers so...
His attention was dragged back to the eggs by the creels of the next hatchling. Raydon had promised himself that he would be calm. He wouldn't run up to the hatchlings and try to force their affection. He would stand out or draw attention to himself. If a dragon wanted him, it would come to him. But I had no idea how hard this would be! He struggled to keep himself from approaching the blues, browns and bronzes that made their appearences into this new world. He was slightly startled by the presence of other odd coloured dragons, like silver and black, but he'd had a good hard lesson in questioning differences in creatures. To everyone his own...
He watched as a cream dragoness emerged from her shell. Having seen a cream only once before, about 10 minutes ago as it impressed to a girl, he knew that it was a female dragon and would impress to the girls. The girls also seemed to know this and crowded around the creature.
She's beautiful... Raydon felt like reaching out to her, but he saw her dodge the girls' grasp and restrained himself. ...and not for me...she's a girl...yet...
All these faces confuse me, Raydon. Please come and find me! The cream looked right at him with pleading eyes. Raydon knew that although Nu'lin couldn't hear the dragoness words, he knew impression had occured. He heard Nu'lin and Shard congratulating each other on their amazing searching abilities. He smiled to himself. Ignore them! I am hungry!
"Sweeth, just relax! I’ll make sure you’re fed... I’m right here..." Raydon soothingly told the cream coloured dragoness. She was very delicate looking, and Raydon, now R'ydon, smiled as he ran his hands over her head and down her body. "You're beautiful."
Sweeth seemed to sigh. No, I'm hungry! R'ydon! Food! All the others will eat it! The cream hatchling knocked the new rider with her head.
R'ydon laughed. "Come on then. There is someone I want you to meet." R'ydon was happier than he'd ever been before, but one doubt was still tugging at his mind...were all dragons as open-minded as Confondreth seemed to be about their rider's weyrmates?
* * * "Ray! Congrats! I didn't catch her name!" Nu'lin hugged his love, showing more emotion that R'ydon was, but definately not as happy as R'ydon was inside.
"I'm sure you meant the last comment as a question, even though you didn't phrase it that way." R'ydon smiled as Gnarl jumped from Nu'lin back to R'ydon. "Her name is Sweeth."
"That's a pretty name..." Nu'lin knelt beside the cream. "I'm Nu'lin. The blue/grey is Confondreth."
Sweeth cocked her head and spoke to Confondreth. Boy you're big!
The blue/grey's eyes whirled an amused green as he told his rider the hatchling's comments. I believe you will grow to be much larger than I am, little Sweeth.
The cream snorted and went back to her food, bespeaking only R'ydon. He won't call me little Sweeth when I'm flying and outdistancing him.
Sweeth...what did you mean by that? R'ydon blushed slightly thinking about the consequences of that flight. Although he and Nu'lin had slept in the same room, even the same bed, they'd never slept 'together'.
The cream seemed to find this funny. Nothing what-so-ever. What is that?
The firelizard? He's Gnarl. R'ydon offered the creature a small piece of Sweeth's meal.
Not that. Although I'm pleased to meet the little creature. Sweeth nuzzled the flit. That.
"What in the name of the first egg?!?" Nu'lin leapt to his feet as he noticed the same odd creature Sweeth had just mentioned.
"Wait! Stupid shardin' ibissinian alissgryph!" A man ran out and grabbed at the odd creature which ducked out of his grasp.
"Okay." Nu'lin raised a brow. "I understood about half of that sentance."
The man gave Nu'lin an odd look while trying to keep his eye on the creature. R'ydon smiled and reached towards the creature. "I believe my companion wants to know what kind of creature this thing is." To everyone's amazement, the anti-social creature rubbed it's head in R'ydon's hand.
The man sighed and cursed at the creature again. "It's an ibissinian alisgryph and if it likes you more than me you can keep the thread-scarred critter."
Gnarl crawled closer to the funny alisgryph and cheeped once. R'ydon's new pet snapped at his old one. The new cream-rider quickly broke the fight up. "Shhh...stop that. Both of you."
The two creatures hung their heads and whined until R'ydon rubbed their heads. They both curled up, putting their heads in his lap. Sweeth seemed to laugh. Cute. I think you should keep him.
"Fine. I'll keep him. If you're sure." The man nodded and stormed off, obviously glad to be rid of the pest.
"What are you going to call him?" Nu'lin smiled and went to pet the creature. It snapped at his hand.
R'ydon smiled. "I don't think Iyou likes you."
Nu'lin sighed and brushed a strand of hair out of R'ydon's eyes. "Why can't you name anything a normal name?"
R'ydon looked up at the rider he loved. "Has anything about me ever been normal?"
Nu'lin kissed him. "Why does the sun rise in the east?"
"Does it matter?"
* * *
Read R'ydon's candidate story.
R'ydon impressed Sweeth at Alabaster Weyrhold.
R'ydon impressed Gnarl at Falas Weyr.
If you want an alisgryph visit Caer Paniya.
Background from Myrror Images.
