It is a hot summer day at Jerdan Weyr. As you spiral down on the green dragon you are riding, you can see most of the dragons are sunning on their ledges and soaking up the warm rays. You climb off of the dragon and strip off your wherhide jacket. You thank the rider and the dragon. As you walk toward the lake where you can cool off, you spot your friend Zaeralis walking from the weyr toward the lake, too. Her bright red hair gives her away instantly, and you run to meet her.
"Hello," you say catching your breath. "How is everything?"
"Everything is great," she says reaching you.
"I heard there was a Hatching here about a sevenday ago," you say excitedly. "Did you Impress?"
"Yes, I did," she answers you beaming with joy.
"Well, where is she," you ask casually.
"Well, it's not a she," Zaeralis mutters.
"What was that," you ask missing what she had said.
" Never mind," she says walking toward the lake. You follow closely behind. When you reach the lake, you spot a marvelous blue dragon. His hide is the color of the lake and his eyes are whirling happily. "This is Cymbalth," Zaeralis says scratching the blue's eyeridges. The blue's eyelids close in pleasure.
"He's very lovely, but where is your dragon,"you ask confused.
"This is my dragon," Zaeralis says indignantly.
"I'm sorry," you stammer. "I didn't think girls Impressed blues."
"It's okay. I've gotten used to it," she says calming down. She sits down on the grass next to her blue. You sit down next to her. There is a slight moment of silence which you finally break.
"What did you say his name was," you say trying to cheer her up.
"It's Cymbalth," she says with laughter in her light green eyes.
"That is a perfect name for your blue dragon," you say laughing.
"Why is that," she asks curiously.
"Well, you were a harper. The harper color is blue. You have a blue dragon, and his name is cymbal with a th on the end. Harpers use cymbals to make music, right," you say explaining.
"Right. That is cool. I hadn't realized that until now," she says amazed.
"So what are you doing here," you ask conversationally.
"I'm about to bathe Cymbalth. Would you like to help me?" she asks as her bronze fire-lizard Treble pops out of between and lands on her right shoulder. "Hello, Treble," she says to the little fire-lizard. She turns back to you. "You remember Treble don't you?"
"Of course I remember Treble," you say scratching the bronze's eyeridges. The bronze croons with delight at the attention."Well, now that we are all here, do you want to start bathing Cymbalth?"
"Yes, we need to go ahead and get it over with," she says leading Cymbalth into the water. You follow her, and soon, Treble joins in. You work along side Zaeralis as Treble scrubs Cymbath's back with the sweetsand. Soon, you are thoroughly soaked. It doesn't take very long for all three of you to wash the little hatchling. He croons with joy as he goes to dry out in the sun. Treble goes with him.
"Will he be okay up there with all of those adults. They're so much bigger than he is," you say concerned and dripping wet.
"Of course! Dragon will never fight dragon! Cymbalth has nothing to fear from the adult dragons. In fact he's one of the weyr favorites," she says angrily in one of her characteristic mood swings.
"I am sorry. I don't understand a lot about dragons and the way things work in a weyr. I really need to get out of these wet clothes," you say trying to wring out the bottom of your tunic.
"Me too," Zaeralis says as she inspects her own clothing. "The last thing we need is too catch a cold. You can come back to my weyr with me and dry out. It's going to take my hair forever to dry."
You start to follow her into the weyr. Then you stop abruptly as you realize something's wrong, and it finally occurs to you. "Zaeralis wait," you call after her.
She turns around puzzled at your sudden stop. "What's wrong," she asks walking back to you.
You go red with embarrassment. "I feel so stupid," you say ashamed of yourself.
"Why is that," she asks concerned.
"I forgot to bring clothes with me," you say covering your face with your hands.
"That's okay," she says trying to cheer you up. "Everyone does that once in a while. You can borrow some from the storage until those dry out." She takes your forearm firmly. "Now come on. There's nothing to bo ashamed of."
"Thank you for the reassurance. I really needed it. I guess I was just in too much of a hurry to even notice," you say explaining. She leads you into the Lower Caverns and down a little hall into the storerooms. You follow her into the first room on your left. It is filled with clothes covered in dust from turns of disuse.
You spy a short, thin lady with short, blonde hair. Zaeralis goes to her and talks in private. You are unable to hear what is being said between the two. You wait patiently, and suddenly the lady leaves. She comes back quickly and hands you a tunic and a pair of trousers. As you are examining the clothing, she disappears before you can thank her. Zaeralis leads the way out of the room and to her weyr.
"Who was that," you ask curiously as you walk across the Bowl toward the weyrs.
"That was Tulsa. She helps out around the Lower Caverns. She is really shy, and she doesn't like visitors," Zaeralis tells you casually.
You follow her into the main hall, up a flight of steps, and finally into her weyr. It is a small, tidy weyr. Everything is neatly put away. There is a table in the corner with a couple of wooden chairs and a big ledge jutting out for Cymbalth to land on.
"This is a nice weyr," you say turning back to Zaeralis.
"Thank you. It took me forever to get it this way. When I first moved in here after Cymbalth hatched, it was a mess. There where things everywhere, butI eventually found time between feeding Cymbalth to straighten it up. I am glad you like it," she says grateful for the compliment.
You both take turns changing out of your wet clothes in the little bathing room. When you come out, you already have something else to ask Zaeralis. "Will you tell me about the Hatching since I was not fortunate enough to se there," you ask her kindly.
She smiles at you. "Of course I will." You sit down and make your self comfortable. She settles herself into the chair next to you and begins. As she recounts the marvelous Hatching, your eyes grow in amazement as she continues. After she is done, it is time for the midday meal.
"I am very sorry," you say getting up, "but I must be going, now. Thank you for everything." You walk toward the door with Zaeralis behind you.
"I hope I see you again soon," she says in her pleasant voice. You say your final good-byes and walk out of the room to do the errands you were sent here to do. As you walk down the hall, you promise yourself you will visit Zaeralis after you have done all the errands you need to do.
Stats
Name: Zaeralis
Age: 17 turns
Job: Journeywoman Harper
Parents: Jamas and Susair
Siblings: Blazin brown dragonrider, Emelsa
Birthplace: Athal Hold outside of Southern Weyr
Links
