"Rowe, shut your sharding canine up!" "I'm sorry but she's excited too Rail!" Groaning, her foster brother buried his head in his hands again and said, "Pleeeease don't say it again!" "Too late..." she thought. "It's only because it's my seventeenth birthday!!" In a sing-song voice, Rowe danced down the hallway, spinning so her new dress spread around her announcing this news. Roxy stood on her hind legs and spun too, bouncing alongside. "What a pair." he groaned again. Prynne trailed along behind, crowing her joy as well, turning flips in mid-air. "Threesome, you mean." Reiss mentioned, carrying in more wood for the fire. Rowe had grown well in the past nine years; maturing alot from the scared little eight-year-old girl they'd found abandoned in their feed store. "Soon to be a quartet." Denasha, Reiss' wife said in a low voice, holding up a pail filled with hot sand and a single small firelizard egg. "Where did you get that?" Railian asked, astounded. Since they lived so far inland and away from any weyr firelizard eggs were hard to come by. Wandering traders had sold both Reiss his blue Skit and Railan his bronze Brute.

"Your father, on his last trip with our newest litter south bought one from a man who swore it contained a rare, and he had to get it for her." Snorting, Railian watched his sister as she and Roxy chased about the snow outside. "She is daddy's little girl." "Hush now," Denasha said with a smirk. "your father got you one too." Holding out the pail she dug a few inches down and revealed another egg already rocking violenty. As if sensing it's siblings imminent hatching, the second began to shudder as well. "Quick! Get your sister, and Reiss get some meat!" Flurry of activity ensued and only when everyone was circled around the table did the room get quiet, except for Roxy's occasional whine.

After was seemed to be an anxious eternity of wodering if the it was just a false alarm, the egg in Rail's hands seemed to explode leaving a small black flit looking bewildered at his world which had suddenly expanded. Ravenous thoughts were sent to Rail who promptly grabbed a hunk of meat and gave it to the flit. In it's greed and hunger, the flit nipped his finger. "Ow!" he shouted, drawing back and putting his finger into his mouth. "What are you going to name it?" Rowe asked happily, her egg unhatched. "Er, give me some time to think about it Rowie." he said with a grimace as he examined his finger. Reiss was afraid that Rowe would be disappointed if hers wasn't the rare he had promised. Another pause as they waited for the second egg hatch. It seemed to be taking it's own sweet time, however.

Suddenly the egg began to shudder again, a small claw puncturing the shell. A tail next, then a wing....the flit still taking it slow. Eventually it was revealed to be a large, prim, light-colored gold. Chirping indignantly, the gold seemed to be asking why there wasn't food right there when she hatched. She let out an odd, high-pitched keel for food, eyes spinning an angry red. "Okay, okay. Here.." Rowe laughed softly as she offered the largest piece of meat there was in the bowl. "She's beautiful Rowie!" Denasha breathed. "What are you going to name her?" Rail asked, holding his stuffed black. The odd keel again filled the room once the flit had finished her first piece of meat. As she handed her a second Rowe replied, "Keel seems to be the best for her." Angry that she had, for the first time in her life, been excluded from the festivities, Roxy set her forepaws on the edge of the table and sniffed at Keel. "Be caref.." She was too late. Keel immediately launched herself at the canine's nose, clamping down hard and jerking. Roxy howled and tumbled away, yelping into her sleeping box. Chirping softly, Keel looked back to Rowe for meat as if nothing had happened.

All the firelizards shared the bowl of meat as their people went about making dinner; Prynne feeding Keel and Brute feeding Railian's unnamed black. Once the sun began to set Rowe left for a walk with Roxy, Prynne and Keel in tow. Finding the perfect rock to sit on, she watched the sun sink lower in a sky splashed with bloody red. Just as she had settled into a trance watching the sun slowly slide away, Rowe caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. Roxy lifted her head and sniffed the cold air as it blew toward her, ears pricked and alert.

A dark shape traced it's way across the sky already dotted with stars. As it came closer, Rowe recognized it to be a dragon, bigger and a different color that she had seen come here. Sometimes a blue or green would come and ferry her father off to a meeting of his craft, Beastmasters...more specifically canine breeding. This one was brown, one of the higher ranking and larger colors. It circled over her home for a few moments before finally landing near the kennels. Her father hurried out to meet it and it's rider, Rowe leaping off the rock and bolting home with Roxy keeping pace beside. The men had gone inside but Rowe couldn't help but stop and gaze up in awe at the huge beast that had lain down near the door. It's eyes glowed softly in the steadily darkening sky, swirling with a soft mixture of a blue the color of deep, clean water and a green the shade of new growth on the needlethorn that grew in abundance nearer to the mountains. He dipped his head in a respectful greeting and watched as Rowe inched to the door.

Roxy didn't know what to make of this huge brown thing in her territory. She treaded cautiously to it's forearm, lowering her head to sniff.

It is alright for you to come closer, I won't hurt you.

A deep, male voice resonated in Rowe's mind and she stopped dead. "The dragon spoke to me?"

Of course I spoke to you. I can't have potential candidates being afraid of dragons can I? I have to give you a good first impression. I am Sylenth of Opal Moon Weyr. You live a long way away from my home, you know. You were lucky you had such a clear signal, and I was close.

The front door opened and Reiss exited along with the brown's rider. "I expect that Sylenth has already told you, right? I'm F'ran." He offered his hand which Rowe shook excitedly. "When he says I'm a potential candidate, does he mean to Impress a dragon?" she asked, her words running together. "He says what he thinks." Reiss looked sadly on as his daughter smiled back excitedly. "What's wrong, dad?" "Nothing" he tried, but his voice choked. "I'm loosing my baby." he explained. Rowe hugged her father, foster father. "I'll be right back! As soon as I Impress and the dragon is big enough to fly, I'll be back here to visit and for you too meet her, or him."

She was all smiles as she entered the house, the sullen faces not even enough to bring her down. Denasha cried as she hugged her, and Railian's face was set. "I know what I'm naming him now, Rowie." "What is it?" "That's the name; Rowie." A grin spread slowly across his face. "I'll miss you too, Rail." Finally Rowe mounted the great brown, Holding tight as F'ran clambered up behind her. Roxy barked from the ground and leapt up, trying to board the brown too. She wasn't about to loose her master now to this big brown thing, even if she had to fight it. "I can't leave Roxy!" Rowe looked to the dragonrider. "You don't have too, she can come." Reiss lifted the canine and handed her up Rowe who strapped her across the dragon's back. At first Roxy struggled, but eventually she calmed once she saw she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Checking to make sure Prynne and Keel were in her coat, Rowe waved goodbye to the only family she'd ever known and turned to face a new, unknown destiny.