Homecoming... (Cairenn)

[Ivy]

Hyphen.

Had it really been two turns since she left the Hold headed off on the back of a Green for what she thought was Selenitas Weyr? Back then she hadn't been a fan of riders and the Weyr, but it offered freedom - the Hold had only offered a forced joining. She had left without a second thought, and found herself stuck in Burimyu Weyr rather than Selenitas. A turn and a half of hiding as a weyrling and then the quake... As Tserieth circled in the sky above Hyphen she couldn't see anywhere that the quake had touched this far west.

A sigh of relief was given - she'd wanted to come out to check on her few friends and what little family she actually liked in Hyphen after the quake. Tserieth had not been old enough though to go so far away from the Weyr, and she hadn't felt comfortable asking another rider to bring her. So it was not until now that she had found time to come out - though her mission this time was for Candidates.

Another circle in the sky before Tserieth found a place to land where she wouldn't crush any buildings or people. Despite the early morning hour Roselle could see numerous people already bustling about the Hold proper. She saw some of the looks given towards her as they descended and finally landed. Jostled slightly by the less than perfect landing Roselle took a moment to right herself before undoing her riding straps. Slipping down from her Green's back she stretched a bit - they had betweened to one of the cotholds a good two candlemarks away and flown straight the rest o the way to Hyphen. Tserieth needed the exercise and practice flying straight, and Roselle needed time to wrap her mind around being 'home' again.

Pulling her bag down she undid it and from inside Pan chirruped lightly. He was not the happiest of razorclaws, being stuffed in the bag for the flight was not fun. Roselle figured she would be forgiven though, after all he could explore while she made her way around the Hold. And he loved exploring.

Rosemine. Tserieth's voice was soft and soothing to her rider, she could feel the wave of emotions running through the woman even if on the surface she didn't show them.

Smiling she looked up to the Green and pet her side softly. "I'm fine love."

Setting Pan on her shoulder she turned and made her way towards the middle of the Hold. I'll come back in a moment.

[Aftershock]

Cairenn adjusted the heavy cloth sack on her shoulder , forcing her way defiantly through the bustling streets of Hyphen. As she often did on days such as this, she had volunteered to take a sack of ore to a smithy her father had business with in order to avoid her family and horrid brother, trading dealing with them for dealing with the early morning crowds. Doing her best not to get trampled or knocked off her feet by the much larger men or their carts and wagons - men who barely gave a glance to the tiny dark-haired preteen - she put her head down and shouldered her way forward, jostled and shoved aside on her way through the crowds.

Suddenly, she heard concerned murmuring, and slowed as the crowds ground to a halt temporarily. Looking up a bit to see what was going on, she noticed that a number of the crowd were looking upwards and pointing at something. Shading her dark eyes with one hand, Cairenn finally spotted it... a spot of green that soon resolved into a shape not seen around the Hold in a while... a dragon! She watched the graceful creature, with a rider upon it's back, circle around and finally land some distance away. She stood for a moment watching the last place she'd seen the dragonrider pair, wondering at what it meant for a rider to appear at Hyphen like this, when her reverie was interrupted by the crowd mumbling various curses under their breath and resuming motion, bumping and jostling the young woman once more until she was forced to begin walking again to avoid being knocked aside by the tide of humanity surrounding her.

Adjusting her burden and resuming her trek once more, Cairenn's mind was filled with various thoughts... thoughts that prevented her from seeing the young woman before she bumped into her, hard. Being quite a bit lighter than the human barrier she had stumbled into, Cairenn was knocked from her feet and fell onto her bottom, crying out in surprise as the sack was knocked from her grasp, spilling upon the ground. Biting back a retort, Cairenn turned onto her hands and knees and began collecting the fallen ore back into the sack, not even looking at whoever she had run into.

[Ivy]

She barely registered seeing the younger girl before being crashed into, giving a small cry of surprise. A few steps were taken back and she looked down to see the girl working on picking up her spilled cargo. Bending down she began to help her, not getting a good look at the girl at first. Offering a handful of ore to her she spoke up, "Sorry about that. I wasn't watching where I was going I suppose."

This one. Tserieth said softly in the back of her mind.

What?

I wish to see her, bring her.

An eyebrow rose and Roselle looked at the top of the girl's head. Dark hair obscured her view of the girl's face but by her build she guessed her to be near 13 turns or so - plenty old enough to be Searched. "I am Roselle, rider of Green Tserieth. Here on Search for Selenitas, and Tse wishes to meet you if you are willing."

Short. Sweet. To the point. She had been forth coming and honest - unlike the rider who Searched her.

[Aftershock]

Cairenn did not comment as the older woman began helping her, focusing on the task at hand and stubbornly maintaining her independence from needing assistance. Her facade instantly shattered, however, when she heard the woman introduce herself... as her aunt, Roselle. Dropping the chunk of ore in her hand, now ignoring the fact that the milling crowd surrounding the woman and girl had begun tripping over and kicking away the precious ore, their angry curses falling on deaf ears, Cairenn turned slowly towards the woman who had just claimed to be someone she thought was possibly dead.

Looking at Roselle, brushing a thick lock of chocolate-colored hair away from her eyes, Cairenn stuttered, "Ro... Roselle? Auntie Roselle?" Recognizing her aunt despite the flightleathers that encompassed the woman, Cairenn cried, "Aunt Roselle! You came back for me!" Diving forward, she wrapped her arms around Roselle's neck, sobbing with joy, repeating over and over, "You came back for me! You came back for me, Auntie!"

Suddenly, however, it was as if a cloud passed over Cairenn's features, and she pushed Roselle away as quickly as she had hugged her, her tears of joy turning to tears of anger and sadness as she began berating her greenriding aunt. "You... you abandoned me! You left me behind, you left me with my horrible parents and my nasty brother! You didn't even say goodbye! Why did you leave me, Auntie? Didn't you love me anymore? I wanted to be just like you, and then you went away!" Falling forward into Roselle's chest, Cairenn again repeated herself over and over, her words muffled as she buried her face into Roselle's shoulder, her tiny fists beating softly at her aunt's chest and shoulders as the preteen lost all pretense of emotional control.

[Ivy]

Roselle had been prepared to be told no.
She had been prepared to be met with hostility.

She had NOT been prepared for THIS.

Ciarenn. Her brother Easin's daughter - her niece. She hadn't even considered the fact that she might run into her niece being back. Why hadn't she? Why hadn't she planned to come see her niece? Regret and guilt washed over her as she realized what a horrible aunt she was.

Instinctively she wrapped her arms around her niece and held her close, until she pulled away. Happiness melted into anger in the girl and she was yelling at Roselle before falling in against her once more. Protectively she held the girl close. After a moment the feel of kicks and eyes staring at her from passer-byes registered with her. Slowly she stood, picking Cairenn up against her.

Making her way through the crowd carefully she brought her around towards Tserieth. As they came into view the Green flared her wings out a bit and crooned softly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was Searched! If I had stayed I would have been forced to join with one of my father's friends, he was a horrid man. I would have been sent away anyway. It was a split second decision, I didn't have time to say any goodbyes. I had to just go." The words came spilling out of her mouth quickly, as well as some tears. She held her close until they were next to Tserieth. "This. This is Tserieth."

[Aftershock]

Cairenn, exhausted mentally from the swings in mood from the return of her aunt, allowed herself to be picked up and led to her aunt's bonded. She heard her aunt's explanation, though inside she wasn't sure if she was quite ready to forgive Roselle completely... at least not yet.

Falling into silence as her aunt began her explanation of what had happened, why she hadn't said goodbye before she left, Cairenn resumed animation once she was presented before Tserieth, pulling away from her aunt as the green spread her wings wide.

Her expression a mixture of fear and wonder, she looked at the green dragon warily, never having been so close to a dragon before, only having heard stories of the mighty draconids, or seen them flying far overhead on rare occasions. "She's... she's beautiful, auntie," she said carefully, fighting within herself to show a brave face in front of the enormous (to the tiny 5'2" girl) collection of teeth, claws, and wings before her. "He-hello, Tserieth," she said with only a slight quaver of fear in her voice, her tongue stumbling a bit over the draconic name, never having heard one before in her life.

[Ivy]

You look like Rosemine, little one. Tserieth observed aloud to both Roselle and the younger girl she was carrying. She heard the smaller one call Hers 'auntie' - and vaguely recalled it was a term of family among humans. She didn't know quite what it meant though. Turning her head to get a better look at the younger girl she crooned again and gave a slight nod.

This one Rosemine. This one should come with us. The Green repeated her message, this time letting the girl hear as well.

Roselle tilted her head a bit and brushed Cairenn's hair out of her face, "I missed a few turndays didn't I? How old are you now? 15? 20?" She teased a bit knowing the young girl couldn't be quite that old. "How is your father? Still a dimglow?"

Smiling tenderly to the girl she set her niece down on her feet and then put a hand out to gently touch Tserieth's side, You think she would Impress?

This time just to her rider she said, Yes Rosemine, eventually.[/color]

[Aftershock]

Cairenn jumped in surprise, looking around confusedly for a moment before she realized the words in her mind came from the dragon... from Tserieth. As the realization sunk in, she was too shocked to reply... from what she had heard in one of the few stories of dragonriders that wasn't berating, it was very rare for a dragon to speak to anyone beyond their rider.

A little too shaken up by all the experiences piled onto her in such a short time, Cairenn did not hear the joking manner in her aunt's voice as her attention was brought away from Tserieth by Roselle's manipulation of her hair. "It has not been that long, Auntie... though it has felt that long," she began, her expression changing from the look of stunned confusion she had held since Tserieth spoke to her to one of disgruntled unhappiness. "Eairen is still a horrible jerk, but he never gets in trouble because Daddy loves him. But Daddy never loves me... no one does..." she continued, giving her aunt a betrayed, yet sad look before adding, "...no one has since you left. I've been all alone." Then, Cairenn's expression twisted into one of preteen defiance, though one fresh tear squeezed out to run down her still-damp cheeks, and she pulled away from Roselle's touch and crossed her arms, huffing, "I don't need anyone, though. I learned that from you. I'll be just fine by myself... you left me behind, and I'm still fine. I can do it."

Suddenly, Tserieth's shared her second insight with Cairenn, and the girl's angrily independent facade shattered as her expression changed from defiance to desperate hope. Moving back close to Roselle, Cairenn grabbed at her aunt's flightleathers and looked up pleadingly with her dark brown eyes, questions falling from her lips like the ore from her forgotten sack back in the streets, "Come with you? You'll take me away from this? Take me with you? I can become a dragonrider like you?"

[Ivy]

"I shouldn't without your father's permission first..." Roselle spoke slowly, as if she didn't really believe the words coming from her mouth - knowing her niece would not be happy with her answer. "If he says yes then you can come with me to Selenitas. I can't promise you will Impress but there will be a clutch soon..."

A silent moment passed before she added, "Eggs. Dragon eggs." She had forgotten that living in Hyphen was like living under a rock - no news from the Weyr came their way. And any "news" that did was often something that put the Weyr in a bad light.

Tserieth crooned, amused that the little one was so shocked by being spoken to. Suddenly Pan flew by and twittered at the pair of humans before landing on Roselle's out stretched arm. "This is Pan."

Looking around she gave a heavy sigh and then straighten out her flight leathers, "Let's go get some things and ask your father if you can come. Don't fret, I'm sure I can convince him."

She wasn't looking forward to seeing her elder brother - they had never been friends. Simply siblings. She understood how Cairenn felt when it came to her brother - the boy got the love and the girl didn't. She had grown up in a similar situation. She was only asking his permission because she knew if she returned to the Weyr with a kidnapped child she would end up in trouble - though even if he said no she planned to take Cairenn anyway. The girl was her niece, and if she left her here again she'd never be forgiven.

So turning back towards Hyphen she put on her best reassuring smile, "Come on, we need to get going again before nightfall." Pan hopped up her arm to her shoulder where he roosted. Exploring was fun, but he felt this might be just as entertaining for him without so much flying.

[Aftershock]

Cairenn's expression of hope fell into one of worry when Roselle mentioned asking her father's permission. "Do... do we have to? You left without telling anyone... why can't I?" Biting her lip, she added, "He barely notices I'm there, but I worry that he'll say no just because he doesn't want to lose me as free labor... or as leverage to Join off to some horrible man like what you said happened to you." Shuddering a bit in a mixture of fear and disgust at such a thought, she nodded in understanding of Roselle's explanation about the upcoming clutch, and as her aunt began walking, she latched on her elbow, slightly dragging her feet as if trying to physically slow Roselle down and make her change her mind about asking Easin for permission to leave.

Seeing Pan land on Roselle's arm, Cairenn's worry about her father was momentarily forgotten, and she smiled at the razorclaw and said, "Oooh, what a pretty bird, Auntie! What is it? Is he yours? What's his name?" Pausing for a moment in her stream of questions, her expression became a bit bashful and she added, "Um, or her, I suppose..."

[Ivy]

"Pan is a razorclaw. I've only seen them around Selenitas, they seem to Impress. And yes, he is a male." She gave a half smile to her niece, her mind focusing mostly on what to say to her elder brother when they met. Despite the younger girl's attempt at slowing her down she kept walking towards the Hold. Assuming her brother had not moved she knew where he lived - and since Cairenn was not offering up any correction in the direction she was taking she assumed he had not moved. So a silence fell between them during the walk there, and once they reached the main entry she took a deep breath and looked at her niece. "Sneak around the side and go get your things. Not everything mind you - you won't be able to carry it all. Just what you need. Some clothes. Marks if you have any. Anything you feel you'd miss."

Steeling herself she waited until Cairenn was around the corner of the house and out of sight before knocking loudly on the door. Before it opened she made sure to run a hand through her long locks to straighten them a bit - she also fixed her flight leathers and her rider's knots. Shrugging her shoulder she cursed under her breath, "Pan make sure she grabs something warm for the flight." The razorclaw took off to follow the path the other girl took just as the door opened.

Roselle expected to see her brother's face as the door opened, but instead she was faced with that of her nephew. Not that he looked too different from her brother - he looked like a much younger version of his father. "Hello Eairen." She was curt with the boy, she had never really enjoyed his company as she had Cairenn's. "I need to speak to your father, now."

"Aunt Roselle!" Eairen was clearly surprised to see her, and then he added, "A rider?" He had his father's sneer and snide attitude.

"I did not ask to speak to you, did I? Fetch your father before I come in and do it myself." She was being overly rude to the boy - he was only 11 turns after all, but she needed to make this quick before someone realized Cairenn was in her room packing.

Not pleased with the tone she was taking with him, Eairen opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the deeper voice of his father behind him, "That is no way to speak to my son."

"Oh my sincerest apologies Easin, but perhaps if you had taught the boy how to behave around those older than him I would have been nicer." Roselle shot back, the steel all the way to her eyes now and an icy edge to her voice.

"He knows how to treat those who abandon their post in life just to run off and throw it all away like you did, dearest sister." He practically spat the last word and took on a bit of an amused smirk when he saw his sister's ears turn red with anger.

Rather than lashing out or lunging for him - which is honestly what she wanted to do at this point - she took a deep breath and looked up at him. "I am not here to talk about myself. Though if you ask me I am doing much better than you are. This is a nice shack and all - but nothing compared to my weyr after all. I am here to talk about Cairenn."

"What about her? She is none of your concern." Easin seemed to be a bit worried at his sister bringing up his daughter - he knew how close they had been before Roselle up and disappeared.

"I am taking her with me."

"Like hell you are! She is mine. She is going to be joined off next turn to a wealthy fisherman at Lighttower. She knows her place, and she does not need you here stirring up trouble for her. Run back to your little weyr, your little hole in the wall, and stay away from my family." Easin practically roared out his response and moved to slam the door in Roselle's face.

Moving quickly she shoved her foot in the door, face not even changing expression when the door slammed into the side of it and pinched her foot between the door and the frame. "She is coming with me, regardless of how you feel about it. I had intended to ask your permission, to explain what a great opportunity this would be for her. But you are just like Rusel. Close-minded and a pig."

With that she moved her foot and the door shut. She heard movement from the side of the house and saw her niece coming with a few bags, Pan flying above her. "We need to go, quickly!" Roselle hissed softly to the girl and grabbed one of her bags, quickening her pace.

The door of the house opened and there was Eairen, "FATHER SHE IS LEAVING!!"

Then she could hear heavier footsteps coming behind them, Easin.

TSE! NOW! It was not panic in her voice when she called for her dragon, just an intense sense of urgency.

A few steps and then a jump were all it took to get the Green air born. Feeling where her rider was she betweened - a most dangerous feat for a riderless dragon. Tserieth made it though, coming out just behind Roselle and Cairenn and just above Easin. A mighty roar came from the Green and she dove towards the man, stopping him in his tracks. Fear flitted over his face and Tserieth was inwardly amused by this. Circling quickly she landed, putting her body between Easin, Roselle, and Cairenn.

Facing Easin - and behind him Eairen - Tserieth made a show of her sharp teeth, digging her sharp claws into the ground and lashing her whip-like tail through the air. Mild mannered most of the time she could be dangerous when she wanted to be. You may mount. We will have no problem with these two.

Thank you my love. Roselle grinned and then nodded towards her dragon. "You up first Cairenn. Hurry now, before they get brave."

[Aftershock]

Doing as her aunt commanded, Cairenn went to her room and began packing her things. She never had much to begin with, considering all the marks her father spent on his children went to his favored son, and not his "accident" of a daughter, so it didn't take long for her to pack up almost everything she had that could be easily carried... what little furniture her room contained would have to be left behind.

As she was packing, suddenly the bird Roselle had with her... Pan, that was his name... flew into the room. She greeted him, and he landed on edge of her open clothes chest, turning his head to glance inside, as if searching for something. Figuring he was simply curious, she left him to his search and continued packing, carefully folding and placing what clothes she was taking into a wherhide satchel.

Suddenly, as she lifted a pale blue blouse that she remembered she had purchased when out with Roselle a number of Turns ago, something fell out of it and onto the furs on her bed. Placing the blouse aside, she reached down to investigate, and found that it was a small silver pendant with a red gemstone at it's center... and she remembered that the pendant had been given to her by Roselle for her tenth Turnday, a day that had passed with little interest from the rest of her family. Cairenn had worn the pendant every day since then... until the day Roselle left, and her feelings of betrayal had caused her to stuff the pendant into her clothing chest, not wanting to be reminded of her aunt by the jewelry.

As she stood looking at the pendant dangling from her thin fingers, the light sparkling off the gemstone as it twisted slightly in the early morning sunlight reflecting through the one window in her room, Cairenn began to hear raised voices as Easin and Roselle began to argue about Cairenn's fate. Her fears came to be realized as she heard her father loudly claim that she would not be allowed to leave... but then she heard Roselle claim she was coming with her, no matter what Easin wanted. A smile spread to Cairenn's face, and she took the pendant and put it around her neck... the weight of it felt good settling on her sternum once more, a weight not only physical but emotional, the weight of knowing her aunt was there for her again, that she had someone who loved and cared about her in her life once more.

Hearing the argument get more heated, she decided she had best hurry and finish her packing. She folded the blouse that had contained the pendant, and then a few skirts were carefully, but quickly, folded and packed before she threw the wherhide satchel over her shoulder, and grabbed the small sack she had some of her small essentials in, turning to leave her room for the last time. Hearing a noise, she looked to find it's source was Pan, sitting on the edge of her clothes chest still, and attempting to tug a wherhide jacket she was going to leave behind out of the chest with his beak, making a small krr-rrrk-rr-rrk sound to get her attention, then tugging the heavy jacket as far as he could with his beak. Figuring the small creature was interested in the jacket, she shrugged and reached down to pull it free, throwing it loosely over her shoulders and saying, "There you go, Pan. You can have it, if you wish, though I'll carry it for you. Come on, then, we have to go, it sounds like Auntie Roselle is having some problems with my father."

Leaving the room, looking at it one more time before she left, glad that it would be at her back soon, the lonely memories of her days in her father's house left behind with her horrible life here, she turned and went back around the house towards the front. As she turned the corner, Pan flying above her head, she saw Roselle coming to her, and allowed her to take one of her bags before everything suddenly got chaotic. Cairenn automatically flinched back as she heard her father's angry voice, fear mixed with anger at her brother and father's actions, when suddenly Tserieth appeared out of thin air above them all, the roar making Cairenn scream in terror and fall on her bottom for the second time that day.

Climbing back to her feet with Roselle's help, she sat frozen for a moment, the reality of what was happening here overwhelming her senses and paralyzing her. Suddenly, Roselle's voice penetrated the fear and confusion gumming up her mind, and she walked up to Tserieth's side, carefully grabbing the straps and pulling herself up the green's side to straddle the dragon's neck. Unused to riding anything, she lowered her upper body slightly and held on to the straps for dear life, turning to look at her father and brother from this new position of power. Forcing the fear from her face and voice as much as the tiny 12-Turn-old could, she looked at Easin and Eairen and said, "I'm no longer your 'problem', father. Auntie Roselle is taking me, and you won't Join me off to some horrible friend of yours to improve your own lot in life at my expense. As for you, brother... I hope you get sat on by a herdbeast." Sticking her tongue out at her brother in defiance, she quickly looked over her home once more, knowing she might never see it again... though leaving with Roselle, she did not care. Roselle was the source of the only good memories of this place she had, so in leaving with Roselle, she was taking the only good she ever got from her birthplace with her.

[Ivy]

Tserieth's presence, not to mention all her sharp bits, kept Eairen and Easin at bay. After Cairenn was mounted Roselle swung up behind her with practiced ease and strapped both of them in. Pan landed and Roselle gently put him inside one of the sacks, making sure everything and everyone was secure. Wrapping the jacket Cairenn had over her shoulders a bit tighter around the girl she whispered, "Its about to get cold."

To Easin she called down, "I truly hope to never see you again, dear brother."

Just as earlier he had spat the word sister, she practically spat out the last two words of her sentence as Tserieth took off from the ground. She made no attempt to keep the wind and dust blown from her wings down to a minimum - Roselle's anger had leaked into her and she didn't give two shards and shells if the duo on the ground was covered in dirt and grime.

Once high enough in the air to between the green did so, Roselle first wrapping an arm tight around her niece while the other held tight to the straps.

One...
Two...
Three...
Four...

They were out, and warm air splashed across Roselle's face and brought back to it the color that between had drained. A shiver ran through her and she gave a tense chuckle. "Welcome to Selenitas, Cairenn."

Below them the dense foliage and tree tops blocked the weyr from view - Roselle knew that the girl would be wondering what her aunt was talking about. Then Tserieth dove down and found one of the tunnels through the dense top and into the weyr. Bursting into the weyrbowl Roselle squeezed Cairenn's shoulder. "He won't find you here."

It was true, even if Easin did go on a quest to find and bring back his daughter (which Roselle doubted he would, and if he did it would only be out of spite and not out of love) he would have a very very difficult time finding the new location of the Weyr. Smiling to herself she nudged Tserieth with a knee to have her circle the bowl so Cairenn could get a good look. Satisfied the girl had seen it all they finally landed not far from the entrance to the Candidate Barracks.

"You're officially a Candidate Cairenn. You'll need to report to the Candidatemaster, I'm sure you'll have chores, rules, and a curfew. I must warn you being a Candidate isn't all that glamorous, but nothing could be worse than living with Easin I'm sure. I'll do my best to check in with you every chance I get - which to be honest may not be daily." Roselle undid the straps and slid down, bringing some of the bags with her. "You'll do fine though, I'm sure of it. I'll make it a point to be there when you Stand as well."

[Aftershock]

Cairenn squeaked in fear as Tserieth took off, desperately glad for the straps that held her in, but still quite frightened, barely having been on a runnerbeast before, not to mention an airborne dragon. As Roselle wrapped her arm around Cairenn, the preteen turned her head to ask her what she meant when suddenly, they were between. Cairenn attempted to scream in terror, but there was no air, and her tears of fear froze on her cheeks from the apparent complete lack of heat and light. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they were back in the real world once more, and Cairenn slumped forward in her straps, heaving and shivering from her first-time experience in the nothingness of between.

Cairenn was still recovering from the ordeal when her aunt welcomed her to Selenitas, so was not in any shape to ask her what she meant until they had already entered a tunnel that lead into the Weyr proper. Finally having got her breath and bearings back, Cairenn sat up once more, marveling at the vista presented before her... an enormous underground city, with people milling about, dragons flying to and fro, and a general feeling so unlike the Hold she had known as home for all of her twelve Turns of life. She smiled to herself as Roselle squeezed her shoulder and assured her Easin wouldn't find her here... Cairenn was not joking when she said she hoped to never see her father again, and so was glad to hear that he could not get to her here and try to drag her back.

After they landed near the entrance to the Candidate Barracks, Cairenn waited until Roselle dismounted and unstrapped her, not wanting to touch anything and possibly mess something up on the complicated straps circling Tserieth's upper body. Sliding ungracefully to the ground, nearly taking a third fall onto her bottom for the day before grabbing one of the green dragon's straps and holding herself steady, Cairenn got her feet back under her, then took her bags from Roselle, throwing the wherhide satchel over her shoulder and carefully placing her sack of belongings on the floor beside her. Cradling the pendant around her neck between her fingers, she smiled up at her aunt, then came forward to give her a tight hug. More tears squeezing from her eyes, Cairenn said, "Thank you so much, auntie. Thank you for coming back for me, for helping me escape my horrible father and brother, for bringing me here with you." Her voice was thick with emotion, and she swallowed a lump in her throat before continuing, "I promise to do my best to make you proud of me."

Breaking the embrace, Cairenn stepped back, and smiled brightly at her aunt, wiping her tears away with the back of her sleeve. Stooping to pick up her bag from the ground, she giggled a bit, then sniffed, and said, "Here's to new beginnings!" She stood for a moment afterwards, waiting to see if her aunt needed or wanted to tell her anything else, then turned to head into the Candidate Barracks to seek out this "Candidatemaster" Roselle had mentioned and take the first steps of her new life.

{{End of Thread}}