[G] [C] 736.07.12 | A Shadow of His Own

He remembered how excited he had been when it was announced they were moving North again. I was someplace new, unexplored by him or any of his friends since they were all born in the South after the plague. They had spent so much time together discussing what it'd be like, what animals they'd see, what the weather would be like, and how much freedom they'd have.

The reality wasn't nearly as exciting.

Sure, a real Weyr was pretty cool at first but Ayontay soon realized that living inside a deep crater was a bit boring. Not nearly as green as Katila and with the lack of surrounding forest, he almost felt suffocated with the rock about to close in on him. It was nice not to worry about as many wild animals sneaking about though.

Still, he found his groove, enjoying settling in with everyone else, something that wasn't always easy given his young age and how much of Katila's population had been settled before he was born or old enough to lend a hand. Now, he had a purpose and while he was still too young for some labour-intensive tasks, Ayontay went around helping everyone that needed it and still sneaking off to play with his friends when he could get away with it.

When the decision to open two more Weyrs came, thanks to too many gold dragons and their territorial nature when clutching, Ayontay wasn't sure what to think. They'd always been a tight community but with new people coming in regularly to Stand and frequent Hatchings, it made sense to spread out. He had waited to see how the dragonriders were being split up before telling his mom his feelings on the matter. His dad was bluerider R'nd --sometimes it felt like everyone he knew had the man for a dad -- and like most of his kids, R'nd didn't know about him. He liked it that way though, after seeing T'ryn bumble his way through the confession he was R'nd's son and the awkward relationship they had. Ayontay was okay with observing from a far and learning who his dad truly was without filters or attempts to be what he thought he should be.

So when R'nd was assigned to stay at Telgar, Ayontay wanted to stay as well. He kind of liked the idea of going to the new Weyr to explore again and help set it up the way it should be, but Telgar was home now. His mom gave him an exasperated look when he tried to explain how he wanted one thing but the other was just as good until she finally agreed that packing up and moving again was too much and she was fine where she was.

The decision was made even better when some firelizards started clutching and he was given one both as a reward for how much help he had been over the years and to help him adjust to the idea of bonding to a dragon when he started to Stand.

Even better still, his little egg that he pampered and looked after as much as he could without actually carrying it with everywhere he went, was that it hatched a few days before the official moves to Ista and Fort. Ayontay laughed with glee when a little blue firelizard appeared and gasped at the sensation he felt when the little fellow accepted him and they bonded. He could only imagine what it'd be like with an actual dragon! This, however, was good enough for him, and he fed the hungry little creature while thinking up a name.

He'd been called a shadow a lot over the years because he wasn't always the most outgoing, happy to tag along and not always speak up. So, that's what he decided his new little friend would be called since firelizards were known to follow along even during awkward encounters.

It was still mid-evening, not too late to head out for a bit and after calling to his mom where he was going, Ayontay dashed outside and down to see Madiquel, who already had her own firelizard. He hoped Clover and Shadow would get along well. Not that it would matter soon, though. Madiquel was moving to Fort with her ex-bronzerider father since he was going to coach the new Weyrleader on how to run the place. R'dare and R'dal were going as well. At least they had dragons and could come visit or bring him there, but it wouldn't be quite the same as being able to run to their door at any given time and pester them. It was his fault, he knew that. He chose staying close to his estranged father instead of begging to follow his friends to Fort.

As he reached Madiquel's door, Ayontay decided that he'd give shadowing R'nd a bit more time, maybe tell him who he is, and then when he was a bit older, move to Fort and start Standing at the clutches there. Someone had to be there when Madiquel decided to as well. She was nervous about it and still had years before being allowed. Having a friend with her would make it easier.

And with that all planned out, he lightly called out her name, not wanting to disturb Jajojin in case he was having a bad day and waited for her to come out or invite him in. He couldn't wait to see her reaction to Shadow!

Madiquel was packing. Again. It felt like she was always packing of late! Though, she reasoned as she stuffed another outfit into a bag, at least this time she didn’t have to pick out the scraps from the mud of the landslide. She shuddered, and Clover crooned where she was perched on Madiquel’s bed, her eyes whirling in concern. The young girl paused to give her sweet little firelizard a pet, reassuring the creature, before kneeling to look under the bed for anything she might have missed. She was pulling out a couple of stray socks when she heard her name called out lightly, and she grinned at the interruption.

“In here!” She called, not bothering to modulate her voice. Her father was out of their little home doing whatever it was adults did before moving. Maybe arranging the dragons they’d be riding on to their new home. She sure hoped he wasn’t expecting them to travel by ground! Madiquel knew it was hard on her father to ride on the back of someone else’s dragon, but it had to be preferable to weeks or even months of travel across the ground! Madiquel’s nose scrunched up slightly, and she stood up, dusting off her knees as Clover took flight to land lightly on her shoulder, tail entwined around Madiquel’s neck like a pretty green necklace.

“As excited as I am to go to Fort, I can’t believe the amount of crap I’ve accumulated since moving to Telgar! Where did all this stuff come from – Ooh! He’s so cute!” Madiquel’s playful whining was interrupted by a girlish squeal of delight as she spotted the little blue firelizard; on her shoulder, Clover chittered curiously, leaning down Madiquel’s arm to get a closer look, her little head tilted slightly to one side so she could eyeball the new hatchling. “Did he just hatch? Do you want some oil for him? Come!” grabbing one of Ayontay’s hands, Madiquel led him into her half-packed bedroom, and gave him a shove to sit on the end of the bed while she retrieved a little jar of oil she used on Clover.

“What did you call him?” She asked, excited and anxious, as she climbed onto the bed and sat on her knees, watching the little blue hatchling with delight.

Even with the call for him to come in, Ayontay cautiously peeked inside to ensure it really was and then nearly ran inside from the excitement that was about to burst out of him. He laughed as he found Madiquel surrounded by half attempts at packing and let her babble on about it despite how much he wanted to jump in and show off his new little friend. Turned out he didn't have to wait long as her keen eyes landed on the new edition to their club and he laughed some more at her reaction. He knew he made the right choice coming to see her right away!

"He did; if you don't mind; Shadow," Ayontay tossed back the answers just as rapid fire as the questions came at him and he made himself comfortable on the bed, making sure Shadow wasn't jolted too much or afraid of the new surroundings and noise. He clucked a finger under the little blue chin and smiled at the cooing he received for it. He couldn't keep the smile from his face! He hadn't been this happy or felt so important in a long time. It was amazing what a small creature could do and he had to wonder what it'd be like to Impress to an actual dragon.

With Shadow settling into his lap, Ayontay occupied himself with the jar of oil for a moment, before wondering what the best way was to oil him. He'd help bathe and even oil dragons over the years but he usually let the owner of the firelizard handle that themselves since they were smaller and it seemed more personal. After a moment's consideration and a little help from Shadow holding out a wing, Ayontay figured a wing was a good enough place to start. Besides, as long as he got every spot, did it matter where he started?

"Shadow...," he repeated the name as he focused on gently rubbing the oil over blue hide, "because he'll always be there with me," Ayontay offered up before the question came. A small flush coloured his cheeks as he admitted the reason, knowing full well Madiquel knew what kids called him.

“He’s so adorable!” Madiquel crooned, watching delightedly as Ayontay set about oiling the little creature. With a croon, Clover settled on Madiquel’s shoulders, and then half down her arm, sniffing in interest at the new addition. Her eyes were frank with curiosity, but Madiquel kept her from actually interfering by scooping out some of the oil and setting about oiling her own firelizard while she and Ayontay talked. Clover did not have an issue with this, and crooned in delight.

“That’s a good name,” Madiquel approved, not wondering if her approval was needed or asked; it was simply given as was often the way with children. She smiled brightly at Ayontay. “I’m sure he’ll live up to it!” Clover had certainly lived up to her name, she thought with amusement, tickling the green firelizard’s belly and making her chirp and whistle in delight. Madiquel laughed. “And now we can send messages to each other!” She beamed at Ayontay, “when we can’t get someone to give us a lift. I’m sure Papa will let me visit sometimes,” and well, she wasn’t above sneaking away if it came to that! Just… not often enough to cause a lot of trouble.

She smiled brightly, “I’ll make sure to come when you start Standing, too!” She wouldn’t miss her friend standing and Impressing for the world! “You’ll just have to make sure to train Shadow so he is a good messenger,” she said stoutly, poking at Clover again. “Clover isn’t very good at it yet, but I’m sure we’ll perfect the technique now we don’t have much choice.” She pouted slightly, knowing she was going to miss her friend closest in age to herself, even if they weren’t going to be apart permanently. It was just annoying that she’d have to seek out a dragonrider every time she wanted to visit him.

Sometimes she really missed Katila.

"That's a great idea!" Ayontay hadn't thought of that but then he hadn't even had a firelizard of his own for more than hour. He supposed he would have eventually come up with that idea or just gone along with it when Clover showed up one day with a letter for him. Now he could send one to Madiquel first or to the boys since they didn't have a firelizard of their own. It was pretty exciting! He'd definitely work on training Shadow as soon as the little blue was a bit older and seemed ready for such adventures.

"They'll figure out in time for us to need it," Ayontay said cheerfully, rubbing oil into Shadow's belly. He was confident they'd still be able to talk regularly and find people willing to help them see each other. Two of their close friends had dragons after all and he didn't see them protesting to playing ferry when they'd be seeing him as well. He was still sad that they wouldn't be able to get together at any hour like the whim that brought him to Madiquel that night but it wasn't the end of the world just yet.

"Don't worry, Madi, we'll make it work and it'll help us work on our story-telling," he laughed a bit at the idea as he tried to keep his friend happy. He knew she didn't want to move again and even though he wasn't privy to her thoughts, Ayontay was also a bit sad that the life they had in Katila would never be repeated. The new-old Weyrs were different than living in huts in the jungle so even if they were in the same Weyr together, it wouldn't be as easy to run around and sneak off into a forest. But the new life would be just as great, Ayontay was sure of it and he'd do his best to make that happen.

Starting with now. They'd be parting ways soon so he'd leave them on a good note, teasing Madiquel, making her laugh, asking questions about caring for a firelizard and even helping her finish up with the packing.