Siruna ran her middle finger and thumb across her brow so that they met at the bridge of her nose. She was tired, really tired, but everything was ready now. She placed the last record in its appropriate stack and then stood to stretch. Several popping sounds along her spine told her she'd been at this for far too many candlemarks. The sun had set long ago, but as her stomach gave a tremendous rumble, she decided to put off going to bed just a bit longer.

Siruna quietly made her way out of the storehouse where the records were kept and towards her own cothold and more importantly the kitchen there. All of her family were well in bed by now, but perhaps they had left her something to snack on since she'd not shown up for the evening meal. She clenched her fist in victory and thanked the stars above that she had a wonderful mother as she saw a covered plate waiting for her on the table. A note had been placed on top, and Siruna couldn't help but smile as she read it.

Dear Siruna, I know you're busy, but that's no reason to go missing meals. You're too skinny as it is. Do you want to disappear all together? Please, eat this before you go to bed, and please, go to bed. Going without sleep is worse than going without food. Love, Your Mother. P.S. Your uncle said to meet him a candlemark after sunrise.

Siruna did her best not to groan out loud as she read the last line. That was only three or four candlemarks away. Maybe she shouldn't bother trying to go to bed, but she knew she would even as she thought it. If she didn't, her mother would worry, and she didn't want that. So, she set her note aside and went to work on the plate of cold meat rolls and tubers. She finished quickly, quietly cleaned her plate, and then headed into her room for some much needed rest.

The next day dawned bright and early, much too early for Siruna's taste, but she still managed to drag herself out of bed and wash up before heading to the kitchen for some breakfast. She stretched and yawned as she left her room, but soon the smells of her mother's cooking overcame her tiredness.

"Mmm...that smells good," she stated as she found her mother busy putting dishes on the table. "What did you make this morning?"

"The usual," her mother replied waving her hand at the table. "Sit down and eat while I go grab your brother," she said as she turned to leave the room.

"No need for that," Siruna's brother stated as he, too, came into the room. "Who could sleep through so many delicious scents wafting through the air?"

"You two," their mother exclaimed as she tried to hide how pleased she was at their comments. "You know it's nothing fancy, so I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of it."

"Whether it's fancy or not doesn't really matter. All that matters is that I'm hungry, and it tastes good," Siruna's brother replied with a grin before tucking into his plate with a will.

"It's nice to actually have a meal together," Siruna commented between bites. "I feel like I haven't seen either of you for at least a turn."

"That's because you haven't," her brother answered with a snort. "You've spent the last sevenday locked up in the storehouse. You even smell like old hides," he joked.

"Enough banter, you two. Hurry up, or you'll both be late, and you know how much your uncle will like that," their mother stated as she ate her food more slowly.

Siruna and her brother exchanged glances before quickly turning back to and finishing their meals. Then they both made a few last minute adjustments to their appearance before hurriedly leaving the cothold and heading off to meet their uncle. Luckily for them, their uncle considered them well within the realms of being on time. "Good morning," he greeted them cheerfully. "I'm glad to see you both made it on time. Siruna, did you manage to finish sorting through everything last night?"

Siruna hid her smile as best she could. Trust her uncle to get right down to business. She couldn't really blame him though. He was the Lord Holder after all, and they were expecting important guests today. "Yes, I did. Everything is in order. The riders could ask us for any information from what crops we grew last year to the turn that each cothold was built, and I would be able to find the record for them."

Her uncle practically beamed at her. "Good! Good! I expected nothing less from my niece, especially considering all the effort I've put into making sure you and your brother can handle things here once I'm gone," he stated before turning to her brother. "Speaking of, we really need to get you married. We can't really have a single Lord Holder running about. It wouldn't be proper. If I had had any children, I would have made sure that they were all married by the time they were your age."

Siruna tuned out the familiar conversation regarding her brother's need for matrimony. Her uncle had already been nagging at him for at least the past turn about it, and she assumed that he wasn't going to stop any time soon. Her brother, however, was stubborn and rather picky when it came to such things. As far as she could tell, he simply hadn't found a woman he liked enough to marry yet.

The conversation ended as they reached their uncle's house. Right now they had things to prepare. They quickly greeted their aunt who looked as frazzled as usual. She was running around the kitchen trying to work with their various servants to make sure all of the food was prepared properly and on time. Although Siruna felt bad for her, she knew her mother would stop by to help later, so she was able to put it from her mind and concentrate on the task at hand.

The three had been talking for about a candlemark when the cry of "Dragonriders!" was heard ringing through the air outside. They all jumped from their seats and rushed out of the house to see the two dragons coming in to land in a clearing nearby. It was time to greet their guests.

The next several candlemarks were spent eating and chatting with the riders as well as going over many of the records that Siruna had prepared. She had to admit that there was a certain sense of satisfaction from having her hard work not go to waste. The riders questioned them about their crops, their population, their land, and many other things. It seemed that there were other holds nearby that had faired very poorly during the previous winter, and the weyr wanted to try to figure out a way to be more prepared to help with such things. So, they were searching for other holds that might have extra crops or untilled fertile land that might be used to grow emergency food.

Their second purpose in coming had been to Search. Sedona Weyr currently had a clutch on the sands that was due to hatch any day, but they were still in need of candidates. So, Siruna's uncle had gathered all of the eligible young people in the area, but the riders had not found what they were looking for. They had simply shrugged and moved on with the other tasks at hand, but as the visit drew to a close, the talk turned back to idle chatter about their Search.

"Have you tried some of the other smaller holds nearby," Siruna's uncle asked the riders conversationally as he sipped on a cup of klah.

"We have not been to all of them yet," the Searchrider replied as he, too, sipped a cup of klah. "We plan on visiting them within the next couple of days, especially since the clutch is due to hatch any day," he finished before pausing for a moment. Then he turned to Siruna. "That being said, have you ever considered becoming a candidate?"

"Me," the woman asked with wide eyes. "Not at all. I mean...maybe when I was a child, but I certainly haven't given it any thought recently. I've been too busy helping out around here."

"Well, would you like to give it some thought," the rider continued. If she was dead set against it, there wasn't much point in pursuing the matter.

"Of course, she will," her uncle answered for her since Siruna seemed to have lost her voice. He then turned to his niece. "This is the chance of a lifetime. Don't pass it up."

"But what about mother and the records and all the other things here," she questioned as she began to tick off the different things she did on a daily basis in her head.

"Don't worry about it," her uncle replied. "We will manage without you though it won't be easy," he added with a grin. "I'm sure that we can ask the Harper Hall to send us a nice attractive young lady to fill in for you," he finished with a significant look in her brother's direction.

Siruna's mouth opened and closed several times like a fish out of water. Go to the weyr? She had never even given it a thought, and now it seemed like she was being asked to decide without much time to think at all. What was her uncle thinking?

Upon seeing her obvious discomfort, the Searchrider spoke up. "If you would like, we could come back for you tomorrow or the day after since we'll be Searching the smaller holds in the area then. That would at least give you a bit of time to think," he offered as he set his empty cup down.

Siruna shook her head. "No, if I'm going to go, I might as well go now. There's no point in forcing you to come back for me. It's a waste of time, especially when the clutch is supposed to hatch soon. Plus, as my uncle said, this is quite an opportunity, and there's no guarantee that I'll Impress. I'm not against trying though I guess. Just let me get my things," she said before heading out of the room.

Half a candlemark later, Siruna had all of her things gathered and was standing next to the blue dragon that would take her to Sedona Weyr. She'd already bid her mother and her friends farewell. Then with one last glance at her home, she climbed up onto the dragon with some help and then disappeared into between. A heartbeat later she found herself flying into the weyrbowl of Sedona Weyr, her new home at least for now.

Siruna Impressed Green-Brown Darileth!



Name: Darileth
Species: Pernese Dragon
Gender: Female
Color: Green-Brown
Size: 23' long
Parents: Green Emeraldth x Brown-Ruby Mikuth
Abilities: Telepathy, Teleportation, Assisted Firebreath
Personality: Determined
Sociability: Likes people
Intelligence: Creative
Mating: Shy around males
Threadfighting: A speedy fighter
Other: N/A
Bond: Siruna



Siruna is a candidate at Sedona Weyr.