I just want to note that my last post was a backpost also.  I just didn't
know it at the time.  :p

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     <Well, it's just that this is the first time anyone has called me
Mister.> Lyonnia heard a chuckle in her head.  <It just struck me as kind of
funny.>

     "Um, okay, so what do I call you then?" she asked, moving a little closer.

     <I'm Thrayfar.  My rider is B'larin, the searcher.>

     Lyonnia smiled then.  "I..." she started to say, then changed tactics.
*I know him.  He comes into the kitchens to see Tabita all the time.>

     She could tell, somehow, that the dragon was thinking.  She stood,
waiting for a response.  

     <Ah, so is that where you hide out?  What is your name?>

     Hide out, Lyonnia thought, smiling at the thought.  She was never
"hiding out" in the kitchen: at least she didn't think of it as hiding out.
Does one do anything when they're hiding out, like cleaning dishes or
peeling vegetables?  That's not what she thought hiding out meant.

     Then she remembered something:  what was that second question
again....oh yeah.  *Lyonnia Geldred.  My parents are cooks.*

     <Mmmm... yes, they burn meat for the humans.>

     That's an interesting way of looking at it, she thought, hiding a grin.
*They don't :burn: it, they :cook:--*

     <If it's warm but isn't dripping blood, it's either rotten or burnt.
They take perfectly good meat and put it on a fire and burn it.  I tried
some once and it was awful.>

     Lyonnia thought about that and decided it was a perfectly reasonable
arguement for the case.  She started to say something, to deny that claim,
but couldn't think of anything.  She frowned, trying to think of a good
rebuttal.

     She was still thinking when she heard footsteps behind her.  Stifling a
jump of surprise, she carefully turned around, afraid to see what was behind
her.  When she saw who it was, though, she breathed a sigh of relief.  It
was only B'larin, she thought, chagrined at her paranoia.

     "Hi B'larin," she greeted timidly.  She wasn't sure if he remembered
her.  Almost every time he came into the kitchen, he either talked to her
parents or to Tabita.  Sometimes, he did say hi to her, or give her a smile.
Once, he had even tried to talk to her, but Lyonnia had been too embarassed
to talk back; she knew that every time she tried to talk to someone, other
than family, she always ended up botching the job.  She had learned it was
better to keep your mouth shut and just listen, and try to get in some
short, to the point phrases, and save face.

     He smiled back at her.  "Hi Lyonnia," he answered back, holding out his
hand.  Cautiously, timidly, Lyonnia took it and gave it a brief shake before
she let go.  He smiled again at her then turned back to the dragon.  It
didn't take a genius to figure out that the two were conversing.  She could
tell by the expressions that flitted across B'larin's face.  He smiled at
her once, then his face changed to a slight frown.  Then it went to a
surprised expression and he looked intently at Lyonnia, enough to make her
blush and look anywhere other than B'larin.  He turned back to the dragon
and continued talking.

     Lyonnia took that time to once again notice the dragon.  Gosh, he sure
is beautiful, she thought.  He was as black as night, with golden eyes.  He
had a beautiful serpentine body that was as sleek and lithe as a snake, but
his head reminded her of some of the lizards that sometimes scurried around
the dark places of the warren.  She wondered if all dragons were as large as
this one was; if so, however did the warrens hold all these creatures?!

     Finally he turned back to her.  "I hate to be rude," he said, smiling,
"but I need to take your companion here with me.  But," he said, stepping up
onto the giant leg of the dragon and mounting, "he'll see you soon enough on
the hatching grounds."  With that, the dragon spread its great wings and
took off, leaving a stunned Lyonnia behind on the green.

     The hatching grounds? she thought incredulously.  Me?!  Her daydreams
started off again, thinking about how wonderful it would be to have a dragon
of her own, a pet to care for----  No, not a pet.  A friend.  A friend who
would be there always, like B'larin and Thrayfar.  

     She wondered if she should tell her parents then decided against it.
They didn't need to know; it was her secret.  She started skipping like a
little kid back to the kitchen, her mind in the clouds, practicing her
weapons a forgotten memory.  She had better things to think about now.

     I wonder when they'll come, she thought, opening the outer door to the
kitchen.  I hope it's soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


     "Good morning mom," she said happily, scrubbing the pot she had in her
hand.  Her mother, noticing her mood, gave her a little smile and said, "My,
but you're in a chipper mood this morning."

     You would be too, she thought, smiling to herself, if you talked to a
dragon yesterday.  Instead of saying that though, she just said, "Well,
today's hatching and I heard Tabita say that one of the girls......um...."
She frowned, trying to bring up the name, but couldn't, for the life of her,
think of a single letter of the girl's name.  She shrugged and went on,
"Well, I overheard Tabita say that a little friend of hers, from the
kitchen, was going to go to the hatching grounds to try to impress a
dragon."  She started whistling, blithely unaware of her mother's startled
expression and the quick look she darted at Lyonnia's father.

     "Um, honey, we have something we have to tell you," she heard her
mother say.  Looking up from her dishes, she saw the nervousness on her
mother's face and, turning to her father, saw behind his usually stoic face
a small look of frustration and nervousness also.  She frowned, wondering
what could be so big that both her parents were uptight.  "Yes?" she asked,
giving them her full attention.

     Her mother darted another look at Lyonnia's father, and, seeing a faint
nod, started to say something.

     Just then, they heard a great yell coming from outside the outer
kitchen door.  Curiousity got the best of her and, ignoring her father's
bark to get away from the door, opened the door and emerged to see what the
ruckus was about.

     What she saw made her heart swell.  There were two dragons outside, one
being Thrayfar, the other one was one she had not seen before.  Looking
around, she spotted B'larin and waved to him.  He saw her and, smiling,
stepped toward her in a determined manner and, taking her hand, started to,
pretty much, drag her towards Thrayfar.

     She heard her parents' protest faintly behind her but that didn't
bother her. What did bother her, though, was being pulled forcefully in a
specific direction; she balked.

     <It's okay.  Don't worry.>

     She recognized Thrayfar's voice and calmed down slightly.  She saw
people staring at her, and started blushing, wishing she wasn't the center
of attention. People were coming out of the Dining Hall to watch her.

     "Ophelia," she heard B'larin called to one of the woman emerging from
the Hall, "we've got it under control.  Can you take her?"  He pointed at
Lyonnia and she blushed again, starting to back away.  All she wanted was to
run to her bed and die!

     She saw the woman Ophelia nod to B'larin.  Then, she was transferred
from B'larin's holding to the woman's.  She was somewhat forcibly pulled
toward another dragon (smaller than Thrayfar had been, she noticed), and bid
to mount.  Not quite knowing what to do, she tried to remember what B'larin
did and clambered up the huge leg and slid her leg over the dragon's back.
She felt, rather than saw, the other woman mount behind her, then they were
taking off.

     Lyonnia had never rode on a dragon before.  She hadn't even ridden on a
runner before!  She saw the ground quickly fall out of under her and tore
her eyes from the sight, holding on tightly to the huge saddle strapped onto
the back of the dragon.  She tried to control her shivering, but was pretty
much unsuccessful.

     (It's okay.  You're going to be fine.)

     Lyonnia looked at the woman behind her, wondering if she had spoken.
Then, realizing it hadn't been the woman, thought to the dragon *Are you
sure?  I mean, I've never....*

     (Don't worry.  Other young people, like you, go through this all the
time.)  She heard a slight chuckle in her head.  (Some were much younger
than you too.)

     Lyonnia stopped trembling and started to smile.  She hadn't known that
each dragon had its own, unique voice.  It was easy to tell that this dragon
was a female.

     (Female!?  Of COURSE I'm a female.)  The dragon snorted audibly, and
Lyonnia heard a humorous chuckle in the back of her head.  (Don't you even
know what a queen is?)

     *Yeah, she the one who lays the eggs for the Warren.*

     (The one who lays----)  Lyonnia heard a large harumph in her head.
(And who told you that?)

      *Well, that's what my father said...* she thought uncertainly.

      (Well, I hate to burst his bubble, but us queens are one of the most
important parts of a warren.  We help with the day-to-day life of the warren
and help with the wraiths.  Well,) the voice said, sounding slightly
outraged, (we don't exactly help kill the wraiths; we're too valuable.)  She
heard another snort and a mumbled (Laying eggs.  Right.)

     Lyonnia heard no more for the duration of the flight except for angry
mutterings in her head and more snorts.  If she hadn't been so nervous, she
would probably have laughed at the dragon's distress.  As it was, though,
she couldn't shake the feeling that something big was about to happen.

     The ride was, thankfully, over in a short while.  She quickly
dismounted, glad to be feeling solid ground beneath her feet again.  She
looked around at the hatching grounds, facinated and a little intimidated at
the number of people here watching.  Everywhere she looked, there were
people milling about, mostly dragonriders, she noticed, but also what seemed
to be a few servants and others.  She saw also a large group of youths in
the middle of the grounds.  

     "Hurry," the man next her said, giving her a gentle push towards the
youths in the center of the grounds.

     Balking again, she asked timidly, confused and not a little fearful,
"What do I do?"

     The man's face softened slightly and he told her, "Just stand there
while the eggs hatch.  If there's a dragon for you, you'll know what to do
after that."  Finishing that, he turned to another recent arrival, one with
a scared look on her face also.  She looked to be only about 14 or so; kind
of young in Lyonnia's opinion.  Then again, she said, shrugging, I might be
a little old.  Pondering that thought, she headed out to the center of the
grounds with the other people her age.

     When she reached the center, she saw the eggs the man had been talking
about. They had been hidden by the children (like me, she thought, amused to
be calling herself a child) in the center.  Now, on closer inspection, she
saw that they were not like the eggs they used in the kitchen.  Besides
their huge size, their shells looked rubbery instead of hard.  She saw one
in the middle that was huge; it was easily the size of two of the normal
size eggs put together.  Wonder what that is, she thought.

     Then she heard a cry from the girl next to her.  She saw the girl point
and, looking in the direction of the point, noticed that an egg had split.
The room got quite loud, and Lyonnia barely heard another *CRACK* as another
shell split open.  

     She saw a little dragon, midnight blue, stagger out of the shell and
start crawling around, mewling piteously.  It turned in her directions and
she saw it's bright blue eyes stare fixedly on something beside her.
Looking next to her, she saw a young woman looking around, an incredulous
expression on her face.  The little dragon came and butted its head against
the girl's knees and the girl whirled around, staring at the little dragon.
Lyonnia, not wanting to intrud on the moment, stepped aside and let the two
be together for a little while.  She noticed a man, carrying a bucket,
heading towards the girl and the dragon and moved a little more, not wanting
to take up needed space.

     Lyonnia sighed, staring at the girl as she took meat out of the bucket
and fed the dragon.  Wish that could have been me, she thought enviously;
she did like the color blue.  She tore her eyes away from the enchanting
sight and looked back at the hatching grounds.  She saw that most of the
eggs were cracked now, except for the huge one.  More baby dragons were
moving around on the ground, looking for their own special person.  

     A white dragonet was heading towards a nervous-looking young man when
it was intercepted by a crimson that stepped in front of it.  Lyonnia saw
the boy tense, then he relaxed at the crimson dragon went by.  She saw his
eyes lock with the little white dragon and she smiled, knowing that look.

     All around her, candidates were finding their dreams, having a little
dragon go to them, and each time she smiled happily, seeing the joy on their
faces, not thinking about herself.  She saw all the happiness around her
and, smiling, she turned back to the remaining eggs.  And was face to face
with a light blue dragonet with a black nose and silver eyes.

     All she could do was stare.  Those silver orbs were flashing like a
firebug she had seen once, and it was just staring at her.

     ::Hello.:: came a light, female voice.  ::I'm Dianthus.::

     Lyonnia couldn't stop staring.  The baby dragon was a pale blue, with a
dark blue stripe running down its back ridge and pale, sky blue on its
belly.  It's muzzle tip was pure black, with a ragged white line running
vertically between the two nostrils.

     The little dragon took a couple steps closer and butted its head
against her legs.  ::I'm Dianthus and I'm Hungry!!::

     Lyonnia laughed delightedly out loud and, kneeling down, hugged the
little dragon.  It didn't struggle like any other animal might, but instead
laid it's beautiful head on her shoulder and started crooning.  ::You're
mine and I love you,:: it thought to her.

     *And I love you, little one* she thought back, tears streaming down her
face.

     "Miss?  Is your dragon hungry?"

     Lyonnia looked up and saw one of the men who had been carrying the
buckets around the arena and smiled, nodding.  He grinned back at her and,
removing a large steak from the bucket, gave it to her.  She took it and
held it out to the little dragon, who grabbed it as soon as it was close
enough.  Lyonnia snatched her hand back quickly, not wanting to get nipped
by dragon teeth, even baby dragon teeth, but noticed that Dianthus had taken
the meat near the end hanging down; her hand had been in no danger.  Smiling
happily again, she took two more steaks out and fed them one by one to her
little dragon.

     ::Oooh.  That was good:: she heard in her mind.  Lyonnia turned back to
the bucket-boy but saw that he was already leaving.  He probably already
knew what was enough for a baby to eat, she thought.

     "So, I see you found your little mate," a familiar voice said.  Not
even bothering to look, she turned around and leapt into B'larin's arms.
"Oh, thank you!" she cried, smiling for all she was worth.

     "You're quite welcome, young lady," he said, disengaging from the hug.
"She is a beauty, isn't she?"

     "She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Lyonnia replied,
staring lovingly down at the little dragonet.  B'larin, remembering this
time in his life, smiled and softly crept away, knowing he had already been
forgotten in the joy of the moment.
 
     *Isn't it wonderful Thrayfar?* he thought to his dragon.

     <You already know the answer, my best friend>  was the answer.

*******Respectfully submitted********

Lyonnia/Dianthus
Sarah


NRPG

This story makes me want to cry!  I know I sound vain when I say that, since
I wrote it, but it really does.

Lynette, if I didn't do your dragon's personality right, I'm terribly sorry.
I just read that in your bio, Ophelia didn't like being cooped up in the
warren, unable to fight, and I thought that your dragon felt the same way.
Was I right?


DragnQueen




DIANTHUS

APPEARANCE:  Her belly is a sky blue, making her almost invisible from the
ground when she flies.  Her back is a slightly darker hue of blue, with a
dark blue strip running down her ridge.  She has silver eyes, and the tip of
her muzzle is pure black, with a white slash running through it between her
nostrils.

PERSONALITY:  She is the playful type, easy to make friends with, and is
trying to get her rider, Lyonnia, to loosen up a little around people.  She
enjoys pranks, but does everything in moderation; she never plays a
dangerous prank.  Can't wait to make her mating flight, much to the fear and
chagrin of Lyonnia, who adheres to the landborn concept of marriage.