N'thin's Weyr

First Meeting

You enter yet another weyr. The dragon couch is large and well-shaped, but you'd guess from the amount of dust floating around that it hasn't been used in awhile. Still, the weyr is well made and well lit. You suppose a dragon could be quite comfortable here. Suddenly you are startled by a "Hello" floating out of the back recesses of the cave. You realize that there is another smaller opening back there.

You start walking towards it, but before you can, a young man comes out of it. He walks with a bouncy, entergetic stride. He occationally reaches up a hand to brush back the thick dark hair falling in his eyes, but the unruly mass doesn't seem to want to stay in place. Still, his blue eyes look up at you good naturedly. He smiles, revealing a dimple on the left side, and holds out his hand to you. "Hi! My name is Nythin. I'm sorry to disapoint you, but I'm afraid I don't have a dragon just yet. I am a candidate, though! Up at Dawn Sisters Weyr. I don't know if I'll impress this time, but Silvanon seems to think I have a good chance," Nythin shrugs. "We'll see what happens."

You'd like to stay and talk a bit more, but you can see Nythin begin to fidget, and guess that with the hatching so near, he probably has better things to be doing. "I'd better get going," you tell him.

"Thanks for stopping by!" says Nythin.

A Few Days Latter...

You climb the steep path up to your friend's weyr. "Nythin?" you call out, as you step through the door.

"N'thin," floats back the correction. Oh, that must mean...Yup. There's N'thin, sitting next to a young dragon, industriously popping food into it's mouth. So he did impress! A bronze, too.

N'thin looks up at you and smiles, his dimply making a merry appearance. "Congratulations!" you say immediately. "So what's the young bronze's name?"

"Dalitoth," replies N'thin. The oh-so-hungry Dalitoth bumps N'thin's hand, reminding him to continue feeding. N'thin laughs. "Dalitoth the Pit, I begin to think," and he reaches for another glob of meat.

"It is incredible how much a young dragon can eat," you observe with sympathy.

"Yes, well, he's got a lot of growing to do...so I suppose I don't mind." A stray lock of dark hair falls down to hang in N'thin's eyes, and without thinking he reaches up to brush it back. You wince and then sigh in relief as he stops, takes a look at his greasy hand, and instead reaches for more meat. "It is going to take some getting used to, though," N'thin observes wryly.

All of a sudden Dalitoth seems to feel he's had enough. His mouth snaps shut, his tail curles around his haunches, and within moments he's asleep. N'thin watches with amusement. "I'd better go," you whisper to him.

"Thanks for coming!" whispers N'thin.

A While Later...

As you approach the weyr, the thrumming of beating wings reaches your ears. You round the corner and are met by a sudden gust of wind. Dalitoth stands upright before you, his back claws securely gripping the stone beneath him, and his wings pumping furiously. You remember suddenly that you've seen baby birds do this during the stages when they're learning to fly. It's probably to strengthen the wing muscels. Suddenly Dalitoth flips his wings onto his back, and settles down into a resting position.

N'thin's head peeks out of the bedroom curtain. "Are you done, Dali?" Then he notices you. "Oh, hello. Sorry I wasn't out here to greet you before. It gets a bit windy when Dali's excercising his wings, so I usually go in back."

"So he'll be flying pretty soon, huh?" you ask.

"Oh, he's flying already. He's just not able to make long flights yet. Gotta build up the stamina, you know." You nod. "Can I offer you some klah?" N'thin asks.

You accept, and the two of you spend about a half hour chatting. "I'd better go," you say finally.

"It was nice visiting with you," replies N'thin.

Later...

You walk up to the entrance of the weyr, but you don't go inside as the way is blocked by a now-large Dalitoth. "Uh, hello Dalitoth," you say.

Dalitoth apparently is not interested in chit-chat. He looks over his shoulder and gives an impatient bugle.

"I'm coming as fast as I can, Dali!" the cry comes from back in the weyr. After a moment you hear hurried footsteps, and N'thin appears. He jams a ridding helmet on his head, and then hops around a bit as he finishes lacing his boots. The process is not made easier by the fact that he is dressed in thick new weyr-hide.

Suddenly he notices you. "Oh, hello," he says, sounding a bit muffled. Finally he finishes with his boot, and straightens up. "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid Dali and I are already late for weyrling practice." At this, Dalitoth emits another irritated bugle. N'thin winces. "And Dali's not too happy about it."

With that, N'thin vaults onto Dalitoth's neck. He's hardly settled before Dalitoth takes off. You watch as the pair glide down the the far end of the weyr bowl. You pause a moment inside to take a look at the scrapbook. Then with a philosophical shrug you turn and head back down the path.

Later...

You enter N'thin's weyr, and are stuned by the sight of bronze Dalitoth. He's a fully grown, now, you note, and is he ever big! As you watch, he carefully extends a wing, stretching it out.

You remember that you have a yever fruit in your pack, so you pull it out and offer it to him. He lowers his head and blows at the fruit once, then carefully eats it.

You look up towards the back of the weyr, and notice N'thin. He's at the desk, sitting sideways with one arm over the chairback. He smiles cheerfully. "Hello, friend! Dali says to thank you for the yever."

"I see he's all grown up," you comment.

"Yup, we're all official now." N'thin replies. "Would you like to see the scrapbook?"

Name: Dalitoth
Age: Adult
Species: Dragon
Color: Bronze
Gender: Male
Looks to: N'thin
Mother: Gillith
Father: Branth
Mate: No.
Children: Uh...
From: Dawn Sisters Weyr.


Page last updated: Mon. Jan. 17, 2000