A Birthingday Present

Writers: Eimi, Anna
Date Posted: 16th September 2005

Characters: Kirranna, Wanalon
Description: Kirra meets a young trader and trades some marks her parents gave to her for a firelizard egg.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 7, day 18 of Turn 3

Kirra walked briskly to the Dinning Hall. She had chanced by a kind rider who had pointed her in the right direction and know she felt very pleased with herself, having had a wonderful ride and the prospect of getting a flit lifted her spirits. Her parents had given her the money to purchase such a pet and had told her that a trader would meet her later that day to make the exchange here at Dragon Fall. They were to meet at the enterance to the Dinning Hall and have dinner together, exchange money for egg and be done. She came to what looked and seemed the Dinning Hall enterance, and one step over the thresh-hold of the doorway verified her assumption. The smell of warm Klah and freshly cooked dinner made her mouth water. Kirra stepped back resisting the urge to get some food and waited at the door for the trader. "Are you Kirra?" The voice belonged to a young girl about her same age and height with red hair tied back into a braid and sparkling blue eyes.
She was dressed in an earthen toned, though highly decorated tunic, and trousers that reached only the top of her calf-high and mud stained boots. In her hand she carried a lidded pot. She smiled. "Well, you look like your parents alright. My name's Wanalon, but my people just call me Wana."

"Oh, nice to meet you Wana." Kirra almost tried to shake her hand but thought better of it since the girl had the pot in her hands. She motioned the young trader into the dining hall, "I didn't know you knew my parents."

"I met them when they were doing business with my father our last time out from Dolphin Cove," Wana shrugged. "I have a good memory for names and faces. It's important in my line of work. Let's grab a seat."

Kirra sat down with the girl at a table that wasn't incredibly busy. "So are you here with your father, or are you doing some of the business on your own?" "I'm here with my family of course," Wana nodded as she took a roll from the basket and offered one to the girl. "But I'm the one who found the eggs on the beach, so they are left to me."

Kirra nodded her reply as she took a bite out of her piece of bread.
"What beach did you find them on?" "Sorry, can't tell you. Trade secret," Wana said with a wink. "If I told people where I found eggs, then someone else could beat me to it next time."

The Canditate smiled, and then looking as seriously as she could she replied, "Yes, of course I understand." She smiled again and then nodded towards the tables covered in hot food. "Want me to grab you some food, just in case the pot decides to disapear?"

"I can never refuse Weyr food. Not to say that our cooking is bad, but the Weyr does get the best of the best. As it should," she quickly added.

Kirra smiled at the young trader, and got up to get them both full plates of the delicious food. Wana was right, the weyr did get the best food, Kirra adn't noticed, she had just eaten it. Well nothing that's strange about it anyway. She finished filling the plates and with a pleasant smile sat back down with Wana. "So your folks said that this is a birthday present," Wana said after taking an appreciative wiff of the fare before her. "How old are you?"

"16," Kirra replied before she began digging in. After she swallowed a mouthfull of food she continued, "My parents came and visited me this afternoon with treats. They gave me the money for the egg and said that an old friend was waiting to take me over here to meet you. So here I am." She smiled as she at another mouth full of food.

The trader girl nodded as she swallowed her first bite. "Must be nice to have such freedom to travel. You're in Dolphin Cove one moment and here the next, just like that," she said with a snap of her fingers. "Traveling over land is fun, but it takes time. A _lot_ of time."

"I can imagine." Kirra thought for a moment, "Yeah it's nice, but I think that it would be nice to take my time, you know _see_ the land not just skip it all." "Believe me, trees, beaches, scrub land, they're all pretty, but it loses its charm when that's all you see for days on end." She popped another meatroll in her mouth and took a sip to wash it down. "I suppose the best thing about traveling over land is the people. Your parents, for example."

Kirra blushed, knowing how _friendly_ her parents could be - it got embarassing sometimes. She knew though that it was their big hearts and nothing more that made them so nice. "Yeah they're good people." ready to change the subject though Kirra inquired about the egg and nodded it's way, "How soon tell it hatches do you think?" "Well, judging from the hardness of the shells, I'm told that it should hatch in about a sevenday," Wana said as she opened the lid of the pot and exposed the hardening shell for Kirra to inspect.

Kirra leaned over the table and smiled as a shiver of excitement ran down her spine as she looked at the egg. "I've always wanted a fire-lizard, ever since I was little." she sat back down, "So it's a bronze? Did my parents suggest that?" "Now, now," Wana said with a warning wave of her finger, "I told them I could not guarentee it was a bronze. It was the largest of the lot and certainly not a gold, so I can only guess that it's a bronze. Don't get your hopes up too high there."

Kirra smiled and shrugged, "It's no big deal, it would just be _nice_ if it was a bronze."

"Well, just so long as I get no cries and complaints for getting a really big brown," Wana said with a smile. "Your parents asked for the biggest, and that's what I am giving you. You want a bronze, I take it?"

"Yeah, a bronze was the first dragon I ever saw and I thought it the most beautiful and awesome thing I had ever seen. Of course i could never be a bronze rider so I settled my hopes for a bronze fire lizard, and they are suck sweet and helpful companions that I thought it a good trade of preferences." Kirra smiled at the trader and ate some more of her meat rolls which were getting cold with all their taking. "Certainly makes sense," the girl replied before biting into a piece of red fruit. "But you're a candidate, are you not?"

"Yeah, but I'm a girl so I couldn't get a bronze lifemate. Only green or gold, but I don't think that I could handle their responsibilities. I just feel lucky to be considered a Candidate." "Greens and golds have all the fun, from what I hear," Wana said with a wink. "Much as I would love to have a dragon of my own, I doubt I could settle in one place long enough to Impress."

Kirra gave the girl a broad grin at Wana's first remark and nodded her head in understanding, "It's in your blood." Wana smiled before swallowing her last bite. "Well, speaking not settling, we'd better do our business so I can be on my way. We'll be leaving in the morning and I have to help get things ready."

"Okay." Kirra pulled her marks out of her bag she had brought with her.
Handing them to Wana she eyed the pot with the egg inside, she was so excited!

"Now, do you know how to care for the egg?" Wana asked as she pocketed the marks.

"Uhhh, could you refresh my memory?" "You want to keep the egg warm, by the fire is best. But don't forget to turn it. You don't want to cook one side and freeze the other. In about six days or so, start keeping a sharp eye on the egg. It should be ready to hatch sometime around then. Make sure you have plenty of meat on hand when the shell cracks. Feed the hatching and send it plenty of thoughts of love. You live in a Weyr, so there should be plenty of people who can help you."

"Alright, I think I can do that." She stood up and offered Wana her hand to shake. "It was good meeting you, and thank you. This has been a great birthingday."

Last updated on the September 16th 2005

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A Birthingday Present