Take The Start

Writers: Avery, Halyonix
Date Posted: 4th May 2025

Characters: A'vel, J'lyas, L'tras, Alaynis
Description: A'vel Searches Juvelyas
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 6, day 1 of Turn 12

Notes:

~*~

Just twelve more precise stitches to go. All of Juvelyas's
concentration was poured into making them perfect because he knew that
his teacher, Journeyman Charit, would be looking at each one for
matching length, angle, and placement.

Eleven more.

"Dragon! There's a dragon here!"

Midway through the tenth stitch left, Juvelyas's concentration was
interrupted. Grimacing angrily, he paused, very carefully and calmly
setting down his piece before he messed up (again) and had to restart.
He looked towards the open window, hearing voices raised in surprise
and welcome. And scowled.

Why the shell was a dragon here? Their little backwater Hold was just
twelve (large, annoying, bickering) families, off the track enough so
that Traders didn't come by but once a Turn, if that. Most of the time
the men of the Hold had to go to one of the larger ones nearby in
order to get what they couldn't make.

Curiosity -- anything novel to break up the monotony -- eventually
beat out his anger over being interrupted. Juvelyas went to the window
to see their draconic visitor.

A’vel was flying Search with brownrider L’tras as his older escort, a
part of the security measures still running. They’d visited four holds
so far and none of them had a single person that Tsogath had sniffed
out as a potential Candidate, and he was wondering if this wasn’t
going to be a fruitless Search run as they popped out of /between/
above the fifth hold.

The dragons landed in the courtyard area where it looked like wagons
could pull into during trading periods and the riders dismounted and
started to head into the hold proper.

“Hopefully they’ll be welcoming here,” A’vel said. At Forest Spring,
the Holder hadn’t wanted them to Search at all.

“They’d better be.” L’tras was a bulky broad Smith and he was a good
visual bodyguard for the slender, still boyish A’vel in case holders
wanted to give a male greenrider in Search trouble.

An older man came up to them. “Dragonriders. Can we help you?”

“Ho the Hold,” declared A’vel, projecting a confidence of a Harper who
knew they could not be denied. “We ride on Search for Dolphin Cove and
are here to see your youth of age.”

The older man waved someone down. "Get the teenagers out here," he
said quickly. That someone ran off to do so. "Can we offer you any
refreshments while you wait?" he offered.

Juvelyas couldn't hear what was being said. But he did think that the
green dragon was pretty, like the first shoots of spring grasses,
especially against the loamy earth of the brown dragon behind her. He
wondered if he could replicate that color in some embroidery.

"Juvie," someone hissed insistently as they barged into the room. "Juvi--"

"That's not my sharding name!" Juvelyas snapped. "Quit sharding
calling me that!"

"Whatever, Juvie. Get down there. They're here on Search."

Juvelyas blinked. Search? To take people away to the Weyr? "And
Tassotel is _letting_ them?" he asked.

"You wanna tell dragonriders no? Be my guest. Or just stand here like
a dimglow. Your choice." They were off before Juvelyas could retort.

Scowling angrily at the interruption, the wrong name, at being told to do
something that he didn't particularly want to do, Juvelyas stormed
towards the courtyard, arriving only to fold his arms across his chest
like he was looking for a fight.

"Show some respect," an elder hissed at him, tugging on his ear.
Juvelyas tried to shoo her away. Why did elders always insist on
pulling ears?! She sidestepped him, ignored his glare, and shooed the
next arriving teenager into proper position. What, were they little
guards now, to form suitable ranks for the dragonriders? Why? It
didn't matter, Search or not.

“Thank you for the offer, but we’re fine,” A’vel told the holder.

L’tras took the chance to ask the man if there was anything the Weyr
could do for this hold, if they needed or noticed anything to pass on.

Tsogath started a soft croon as soon as the people began to line up.
}:Someone, someone.:{ She swung her head back and forth, looking at
them all. }:There is a potential.:{

A’vel eyed the lineup of youths, reading the body language - some were
excited by the riders disrupting their days, others reluctant, some
suspicious. Nobody seemed outright hostile. He probably wasn’t going
to convince them he was a heroic protective figure with his slight
build, so he could go for approachable youth just like them - anyone
can be a rider!

“If anyone wants to see her closer, you can come up and scratch her
headknobs. She’s really friendly. Her name is Tsogath. And she thinks
at least one person here has potential.”

Hearing that, some of the youngsters eagerly came forward. Juvelyas
hung back. He knew better than to show any interest in anything that
could get him picked on later. At least here, closer, he got a better
eye on her coloring. It shouldn't be too hard to replicate. He'd just
have to soak the thread a bit longer to increase the vibrancy. He
could do it though.

Tsogath considered the brave few who came up. Not that girl who was
brave enough to reach up and stroke her muzzle. Nor the boys who
crowded around her to watch her swing her muzzle and whuffle around
them. He did find it funny when two of the bolder ones turned and
jumped backwards, moving away from her being so close. }:It is none of
these. Further back. Watching.:{

A'vel watched the watchers and then decided to walk through the crowd,
letting Tsogath look through him as well as however she looked. "Would
some of you at the back please come closer?"

At that, the elders all but pushed the lingering youngsters closer.
Juvelyas shot one of them a murderous look. Now he was in the pack of
all of the teenagers, standing next to a lovely but large dragon (if
anyone wanted to argue about greens being the _smallest_ of the
dragons, he would like for them to take a look at their claws) yet
absolutely not touching the dragon. Even though he wanted to.

Tsogath eyed the gaggle of older teenagers. }:In the middle but on the
left - no...over one.:{ she added, scanning over them and sounding
frustrated as A'vel walked next to the wrong ones.

}:That one. And the one next to him.:{

"Hello there," A'vel said to Juvelyas and to the older boy next to
him. "She'd like to take a closer look at you both."

Alaynis had been hanging back because he didn't care about the dragon.
He had hopes to take over the running of their little Hold one day or
to marry a young woman whose father needed a boy to run his hold. A
dragon would just get in the way.

"I just walk up?" he asked.

"Yes. She won't bite," A'vel promised.

Alaynis shoved his hands in his pocket and walked up. Tsogath looked
over him thoughtfully and said nothing to A'vel.

"You say that," Juvelyas muttered. Why did everyone promise that about
big scary things with teeth? There was a reason why it had teeth like
that and it wasn't because it liked tubers. Someone elbowed him in the
back to either silence him or push him closer, who knew. Maybe both.
Either way, now he was close enough to see himself reflected in the
facets of the dragon's eyes. "Do you talk?" he boldly, sardonically
asked the dragon. He knew the answer to that question but hey, maybe
he'd be surprised.

"Dragons don't usually talk to anyone not their rider," A'vel said. He
rather thought Tsogath would only speak to people he was close to,
but...

Tsogath made eye contact with the bold boy, and then slowly blinked
one of the inner lids down over her eye, like a feline doing contented
blinking. Then she turned her muzzle so her head was facing the boy
straight on,heedless that it made another boy to her left have to
scramble out the way, and...poked Juvelyas in the chest, huffing out a
big breath of slightly meat-scented air.

Alaynis yelled and jumped backwards. "Your breath stinks!" he shouted.

}:This one. He will be good for a hatchling,:{ Tsogath said, unbothered
by the startled boy.

"She says, "you"," A'vel translated, grinning at the way.

Juvelyas immediately scowled, disbelieving. "Me? What do you mean,
'me'? Is this some sort of a joke?" He didn't think that dragonriders
were capable of such cruelty but he wouldn't put it past one of the
bullies at the Hold for orchestrating something like this only to
humiliate Juvelyas.

A'vel decided to go for pure honesty. "Harper's honor. If it was a
joke or prank, I would need to know who you are or have been here
before. I can promise you, this is my first visit to your hold and I
don't know who you are. All I know is Tsogath likes you and thinks you
could ride a dragon."

Juvelyas eyed the dragonrider warily. He still didn't believe him but....

He hated the way hope sprouted little green leaves in his heart.

"If you're lying to me," he said before he could stop himself. Someone
whacked the back of his head. "Hey!" Juvelyas snapped angrily, glaring
at the person. He looked back at the dragonrider. "Are...we're going
now?" If they were going to come back for him, he was definitely going
to decline. He wasn't giving those blockheaded bullies any time to get
him over this. It was now or never.

“Some people want to have a few days to pack and say goodbyes, but if
you would like to leave today, I’m happy to wait for you to get your
things,” A’vel answered.

A'vel barely got to finish his sentence. Juvelyas was already dashing
off. He didn't care that some people were chuckling at his alacrity.
Let them laugh. It would be the last time they did. He wasn't leaving
because he wanted to be a dragonrider; he was leaving because he
wanted to _leave_. He'd figure out something else, something better to
do at the Weyr. Or go somewhere else.

This was a start, he told himself, as he rapidly stuffed clothes into
the largest bag he could find. A start to anything. Anywhere. He was
going to take it.

Last updated on the May 12th 2025

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Take The Start