Raina Sanoe's Story

Raina sat by a shallow stream deep within the Dragon’s Forest. It was late night and the air was cool, so she decided to let her black, wavy hair hang free around her shoulders. She felt completely at ease in the forest, her dragon companions never leaving her side. One currently flew overhead, riding the thermals with the ease of an expert. It had rough, pale white skin and fierce green eyes that could spot prey from miles away. Size wise, it was relatively small having yet to reach the age of maturity.

Raina smiled as she watched the graceful creature dance through the air. It was a wonder how anyone could despise such beautiful animals, but there were those who made no secret of their disdain. At the thought of the arguments between her father and the head farmer, her mood was instantly sullied. Images flashed through her thoughts, reminding her of the fight that had broken out just weeks ago. It was the same argument they continuously revisited year after year. The head farmer, Kaleo Akoni complained about how the dragons got into his crops and Raina's father would remind him that no damage was caused. However for some reason or another, the heated exchange would continue until both were frustrated and exhausted from the effort.

She shook her head and stood, deciding it was time to go home. It was getting late and she had a long walk back to the Castle District, where a warm bed waited for her inside a welcoming two bedroom house. Her footsteps were quiet as she walked between the trees. She had learned long ago to tread softly so as not to startle the temperamental creatures of the forest. It was dark, but the moonlight supplied sufficient light for travel from its high position in the sky. She was sure of her footing, having trekked the same path so often, but she was quickly approaching something too small to see on the dark road of plodded earth. It caught her completely off guard when her foot hit a hard object causing her to trip and fall forward into the dirt. She cursed aloud as she sat up on her knees and felt around for what had caused her misfortune. Whatever it was felt hard and cool to the touch like dried sea sponge. She could tell it was an egg of some sort from having held so many in her lifetime. However any other details of the egg were kept hidden by the darkness.
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The journey home took hours, but Raina barely noticed in her excitement to return and get a better look at the egg. When she arrived at her house, the candles had longed burned out and the rooms were quiet save the sound of her father snoring. The hearth was still lit in the mainroom and she used the fire to light a candle as she took the few strides to her room. After shutting the door behind her she set the egg on her bed and proceeded to light more candles to get the room bright. After she was satisfied, she plopped down on her bed and took a closer look at the egg. It was red causing her to initially believe that a fire dragon was growing inside, however, upon closer inspection, she noted the speckles of black that dotted it surface, a feature she had never seen on any fire dragon egg. Her eyes widened and a grin quickly spread across her lips as she wondered if she had discovered a new species. All she could do now was wait for it to hatch.

Raina sat by a shallow stream deep within the Dragon’s Forest. It was late night and the air was cool, so she decided to let her black, wavy hair hang free around her shoulders. She felt completely at ease in the forest, her dragon companions never leaving her side. One currently flew overhead, riding the thermals with the ease of an expert. It had rough, pale white skin and fierce green eyes that could spot prey from miles away. Size wise, it was relatively small having yet to reach the age of maturity.

Raina smiled as she watched the graceful creature dance through the air. It was a wonder how anyone could despise such beautiful animals, but there were those who made no secret of their disdain. At the thought of the arguments between her father and the head farmer, her mood was instantly sullied. Images flashed through her thoughts, reminding her of the fight that had broken out just weeks ago. It was the same argument they continuously revisited year after year. The head farmer, Kaleo Akoni complained about how the dragons got into his crops and Raina's father would remind him that no damage was caused. However for some reason or another, the heated exchange would continue until both were frustrated and exhausted from the effort.

She shook her head and stood, deciding it was time to go home. It was getting late and she had a long walk back to the Castle District, where a warm bed waited for her inside a welcoming two bedroom house. Her footsteps were quiet as she walked between the trees. She had learned long ago to tread softly so as not to startle the temperamental creatures of the forest. It was dark, but the moonlight supplied sufficient light for travel from its high position in the sky. She was sure of her footing, having trekked the same path so often, but she was quickly approaching something too small to see on the dark road of plodded earth. It caught her completely off guard when her foot hit a hard object causing her to trip and fall forward into the dirt. She cursed aloud as she sat up on her knees and felt around for what had caused her misfortune. Whatever it was felt hard and cool to the touch like dried sea sponge. She could tell it was an egg of some sort from having held so many in her lifetime. However any other details of the egg were kept hidden by the darkness.

The journey home took hours, but Raina barely noticed in her excitement to return and get a better look at the egg. When she arrived at her house, the candles had longed burned out and the rooms were quiet save the sound of her father snoring. The hearth was still lit in the mainroom and she used the fire to light a candle as she took the few strides to her room. After shutting the door behind her she set the egg on her bed and proceeded to light more candles to get the room bright. After she was satisfied, she plopped down on her bed and took a closer look at the egg. It was red causing her to initially believe that a fire dragon was growing inside, however, upon closer inspection, she noted the speckles of black that dotted it surface, a feature she had never seen on any fire dragon egg. Her eyes widened and a grin quickly spread across her lips as she wondered if she had discovered a new species. All she could do now was wait for it to hatch.

There was a knock on the egg as it gave itself a slight shake. Right on queue, cracks began to form on the surface of the egg. A moment of struggle later, several pieces of the egg fell off as a curious looking reptilian creature poked through from the darkness. Slowly but surely, it crept forward and as it did, the creature seemed to close its eyes as it dragged itself out with its arms.

The first thing that could have sent a stir was how frighteninly pale it was. Indeed the "dragon" had been so white that if it had been sleeping, one would have guessed in the egg itself. It looked soft, rubbery even, though this was mostly the case for young hatchlings. However, what did seem alot more off was the fact that it was still dragging itself along with its arms and for good reason too. This creature had no legs.

Instantly, it began to yelp for help, crying out as if crying to its mother. However, such things would perhaps not come for the more and more the creature yelped, the more it looked as though it was abandoned.

Its eyes struggled to peel open, glints of its red eyes peering through the narrow slits. It was looking at Raina . . .

As Raina sat on her bed staring at the egg it began to tremble and pieces started to crumble away. The creature that emerged was pale and soft looking. It had no visible scales which made her afraid to handle it. She watched as the last remaining bits crumbled away and the small creature struggled across her rough wool quilt using only it's arms. After analyzing the rest of its body she noticed the lack of legs. She took in a ragged breath as her heart took up a rapid beating. Fear was mingled in with excitement and a strong feeling of motherhood. The creature looked utterly helpless and alone as it mewled over and over.

Suddenly, its eyes opened and it began to stare up at her. It had red eyes and though it was a strange little animal, she found herself wanting to take care of it. Proceeding with caution, Raina held her hand out in front of the creature. She did not touch it or otherwise coax it into coming to her, but instead waited to see if it would trust her on its own. It was a show of friendship.

Feeling its only sense of warmth in Raina, the hatchling dragged itself to her hand. The egg goop that had covered it, stuck to her hand in a warm gooey embrace. It nuzzled her.

The feeling of dragon goop on her hand wasn't an abnormal sensation, so she brought the Wrinn to her face welcomingly. It was warm in her hand and she wondered to herself what it was.

As the creature looked at Raina lazily, it cooed and gurgled happily. For whatever reason, it seemed as though it was bonding fairly well to Raina. Suddenly, its mood changed as it struggled around. The drool and squeals were familiar, like that of a starving dragon asking for a meal.

Raina looked down at the creature worriedly. She wasn't completely sure if it was a dragon. What did little pale things eat, she thought to herself. Being as gentle as she possibly could she set the creature back down on the bed and hopped up to go to the kitchen. There was a pot of stew in the stove simmering lightly. Her mother had probably put it on before she went to bed so it would be ready some time the next day. The meat inside was still slightly raw and so she thought she would give it a try as many of the dragons she took care of ate meat. She headed back to the room and placed the small cube of beef on the bed in front of the Wrinn.

The wrinn tilted it head as it smelled the meat. Immediately it went for it, failing miserabely as it chewed the meat without any sort of teeth or cutting bits within its mouth. Its tiny arms tried to help, but they too were unable to do much. Luckily, the creature's efforts had dragged on to the point of actually wearing down the meat and it would soon be in its tummy in no time. The creature was smiling ... or at least, what could be percieved as smiling.

Raina laughed as she watched the little animal sucessfully eat the piece of meat. She was happy that she had been able to satisfy one of its needs. A yawn escaped her lips and she realized the hour was very late and it would soon be morning. There would be plenty of work to be done when the sun came up. The dragon breeders of Autumn Island were responsible for taking care of any newborns that were to be sold to the dragon riders. She would have to check that they were fed and practice riding with them so that they could get used to the weight of a person on their backs. She stood and blew out most of the candles, save for a few that would burn out on their own. After heading back to the bed she picked up the Wrinn and set it on the small table next to her bed on top of a clean towel. She hoped it have sufficient comfort as she leaned back on her bed and let her head rest on her pillow.

Feeling its only sense of warmth in Raina, the hatchling dragged itself to her hand. The egg goop that had covered it, stuck to her hand in a warm gooey embrace. It nuzzled her.

The feeling of dragon goop on her hand wasn't an abnormal sensation, so she brought the Wrinn to her face welcomingly. It was warm in her hand and she wondered to herself what it was.

As the creature looked at Raina lazily, it cooed and gurgled happily. For whatever reason, it seemed as though it was bonding fairly well to Raina. Suddenly, its mood changed as it struggled around. The drool and squeals were familiar, like that of a starving dragon asking for a meal.

Raina looked down at the creature worriedly. She wasn't completely sure if it was a dragon. What did little pale things eat, she thought to herself. Being as gentle as she possibly could she set the creature back down on the bed and hopped up to go to the kitchen. There was a pot of stew in the stove simmering lightly. Her mother had probably put it on before she went to bed so it would be ready some time the next day. The meat inside was still slightly raw and so she thought she would give it a try as many of the dragons she took care of ate meat. She headed back to the room and placed the small cube of beef on the bed in front of the Wrinn.

The wrinn tilted it head as it smelled the meat. Immediately it went for it, failing miserabely as it chewed the meat without any sort of teeth or cutting bits within its mouth. Its tiny arms tried to help, but they too were unable to do much. Luckily, the creature's efforts had dragged on to the point of actually wearing down the meat and it would soon be in its tummy in no time. The creature was smiling ... or at least, what could be percieved as smiling.

Raina laughed as she watched the little animal sucessfully eat the piece of meat. She was happy that she had been able to satisfy one of its needs. A yawn escaped her lips and she realized the hour was very late and it would soon be morning. There would be plenty of work to be done when the sun came up. The dragon breeders of Autumn Island were responsible for taking care of any newborns that were to be sold to the dragon riders. She would have to check that they were fed and practice riding with them so that they could get used to the weight of a person on their backs. She stood and blew out most of the candles, save for a few that would burn out on their own. After heading back to the bed she picked up the Wrinn and set it on the small table next to her bed on top of a clean towel. She hoped it have sufficient comfort as she leaned back on her bed and let her head rest on her pillow.

At the morning dawn, Jay was standing right at Raina's doorstep, nervously rubbing his arm. He was unsure of what to do, other than the whole knocking bit. Three years was a long time in like a tiny community like theirs and, to be honest, he was pretty sure that she knew what he did. With her as a dragon caretaker and him as a ... hunter, how could he make this ... not awkward.

Of course, he wasn't an actual hunter ... kind of. Sure he was trained to take down dragons and locate them, but his speciality came from the intelligence side of hunting. He was the strategist that helped take down dragons as efficiently as possible with out the cost of losses. Better yet, he tried to do the same for the dragons, though that tended to have less success. Most of the men had a side to them that enjoyed hurting the dragons, and while Jay may have had a bad experience, he wasn't one to actively search out and thirst for their blood. Control, that was all that was needed, on both man and beast alike.

Gathering himself, he knocked on the door and letting fate decide what to do with him.

The hour was early, but Raina's mother and father sat at the small wooden table in the kitchen enjoying breakfast. They were surprised when there was a knock on the door, but her mother got up to see who it was anyway. When she opened the door the face of her daughter's best friend was staring back at her. She greeted him with a smile and said the three vows of their people--love, valor, harmony--out of habit. She stepped aside to let him in and offered him some quail eggs and toast.

Jay gave a nervous smile and shook his head. He was a bit too nervous to eat at the moment. He tried to avoid looking directly at both their eyes.

"I-is, Raina here?"

Jay gulped as he waited for Raina, still holding his arm and the pendent on his neck.

Raina's mother and father went back to their breakfast and whispered quietly amongst themselves. It had been a few months since Jay had stopped by, so they had thought the two childhood friends had gotten into some sort of argument. In her room, Raina was just starting to stir. She was used to getting up early out of habit and her body couldn't seem to let her get even a few minutes of extra sleep. Her long brown hair was in a messy side braid as she left her room in the clothes she had been wearing the day before. Her eyes were closed as she let out a huge yawn. When she opened them, Jay was staring back at her and she nearly jumped with fright.

"What are you doing here so early, Jay?" she asked a little harsher than she intended. He had stayed away for so long she didn't know how to react.

Raina's hard response gave Jay a slight scare. Truthfully, he had been expecting a venomous response, but he didn't expect it to be this rough. On instinct, he began rubbing at his necklace, but pulled his hand back when he remembered how silly it was. He had always done this when he was nervous, mostly because the necklace had come from Raina and how the necklace always reminded him of her. Obviously, the rubbing wasn't helping him at the moment.

"H-hey," Jay bit his bottom lip, "Long time no see . . ."

"Because of you..." Raina mumbled more to herself than him. She grabbed his arm and tried to head for the door. Her parents were staring at them with maniacal grins on their faces and it was annoying her to no end. "Come on. Let's get out of here so we can have some privacy."

"W-wha-" Jay was blushing as she pulled him out. Being terribely self conscious, both Raina's comment about being alone and her parents smiles had turned him into a sputtering mess.

However, once the door closed, Jay shut his mouth shut as he looked at Raina. He looked depressed and he certainly felt that way, but it was more of guilt than anything else