He knew that Jilsea had impressed... she wouldn't have come back to the hold if she hadn't, but in his heart, he knew that Jilsea had done what seemed, to him, to be impossible. Things were looking up, yes, and yet it seemed to him that things would never be the same. It had been half a turn since he'd seen his little sister, and he missed her. His eighteenth birthing day had come and passed without celebration, and he knew that, if he didn't find a way to leave the Hold, he would die a fisherman. There was nothing wrong with that, in Ithamar's book. He just didn't see himself in that profession for the rest of his life. He watched his father's monotonous comings and goings, and Ceavar's path following that, and he knew that fishing wasn't for him.

How to convince his parents of that, he didn't know. Didn't think that was possible. Ithamar longed to see Jilsea again, and to get away from the hold. The day she had left had been a blessing for her, and a curse for him. When his parents had found out, the first thoughts that crossed their minds were that Ithamar had put his younger sibling up to this.... joke. No one from the hold had ever impressed, though a few had tried. They blamed Ithamar for losing their only daughter, and he didn't bother to point out that they had lost her when they had tried to break her spirit.

Finally, it seemed to him that he had a choice to make: he had to take up the fishing profession, or leave. He and his father had been fighting more and more, and it appeared that that was all they ever did anymore. Refusing to have his spirit broken, Ithamar packed the few things he cared about, and headed for the one place where he knew he'd be accepted. The soldier opened him door and hurried his visitor in, looking around outside to make sure that he hadn't been seen. "Ithamar, what are you doing here?? Your parents-"

"They won't find out I'm here. Look, I want to leave a message for Jilsea here, in case for some reason, she comes back to Blue Ridge. I'm leaving." The soldier raised his eyebrows. "You've been Searched??" Ithamar shook his head. "Nope." The soldier found some food to tide Ithamar over, and before long, he was on his way, telling the soldier that he would come back for him someday, after he became a dragonrider, which he intended to try his hand at.

He traveled for a good two weeks, using his skills, staying alongside flowing water, so as to always have food. He was camping out in a large cavern one night when a sound awoke him. Torque let out a mmrow beside him, and he put a hand over the cat to hush him. Looking up, he spied a large, cream colored dragon, and shrank back into the cave. This can't be good, he thought to himself. Just my luck, my parents find a dragonrider to come after me and bring me back. Then, he noticed the woman who climbed down from the dragon. He wasn't sure the exact color, since it was dark, but he could tell her hair was soft and billowy, and, as she spoke to the dragon, he had to make himself stay back. Suddenly, the dragon began to bugle, which scared Ithamar enough that he stumbled backwards, tripping over some stones, and sending them skittering to the front of the cave. Both the bugling and the voice trying to desist it stopped, and Ithamar held his breath.

"Hello?? Who's there??" the woman's voice called. Ithamar didn't breathe, but that didn't matter. Torque gave them away, for though he'd grabbed him in his haste, he'd forgotten that Torque was sweet to anyone who sounded sweet, and who would love on him. He purred from where Ithamar was holding him, and the young man saw a flicker of light, and then a blaze a a fire was lit. Within moments, the woman was investigating the cave, for she knew that she wasn't alone. Picking up a lit branch from the fire, she quickly made her way towards the back of the cave. She had almost decided that she'd been hearing things when Torque mrrow-ed. Without hesistation, she ran around the bend, and nearly ran into Ithamar.

"Were you spying on me??" she asked, trying to understand who he was, why he was there, and if he'd been the one to set Lahelinth off. "No. I could ask you the same thing," he replied, towering over her. She looked up at him, trying to read behind his annoyed expression. "Okay, maybe we started off on the wrong foot. I'm Kirra." Ithamar introduced himself, and flashed a smile as they started back for the front of the cave. Lahelinth immediately tried to get a look at him, and, only because Kirra was there, he didn't flinch. The dragon seemed to be conferring with Kirra, and in a moment, she turned to Ithamar. "I was right, you were the one she searched."