Name: Ryntai
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Eyes: Medium Brown
Hair Length: To the ears and fluffy
Hair Color: Black
Skin Tone: Fair
Height: 6'
Build: Thin
Occupation: None
Siblings: None Known
Parents: Unknown, product of a mating flight
Pets: None

Ryntai leaned against the cavern wall as he paused for a moment to catch his breath, but he knew he couldn't rest for long. Otherwise, the Headwoman would have his hide for not getting back to her more quickly. He took one last deep breath before bolting off down the corridor and towards the Lower Caverns where he knew the Headwoman would be waiting.

He found her quickly enough going through one of the storerooms. "Where have you been, Ryntai," she asked as she looked up to find the gasping young man before her. "I know you can move faster than that with those legs of yours. I bet you stopped off at the kitchens, didn't you," she accused with a shake of her head.

Ryntai shook his head. "No, ma'am," the young man replied emphatically. "I swear by Faranth's first egg I came straight here from the hold. It just took a while to get a reply for you," he continued handing over a message.

The Headwoman snatched the message from him and opened it. She read through it quickly. "Well, I just need you to go..." she broke off as she looked up to find Ryntai long gone. "That rascal," she exclaimed with a shake of her head. She'd catch him later.

Ryntai ran as quickly as he could away from the storeroom. He knew he'd be in trouble with the Headwoman later, but he really needed a sugar boost right now. Running between the weyr and the hold took a lot of energy out of him after all, and that meant a trip to the kitchens to see his favorite baker. "Emcha," he called happily as he ran towards the older woman with open arms.

The baker neatly sidestepped the younger man without even pausing in her work. "Hi, Ryntai," she greeted as she continued to stir the batter she was working on.

"Emcha, you deliberately dodged me," Ryntai complained as he turned towards the woman with hands on his narrow waist. "I thought you'd be happy to see me since I haven't visited you all morning!"

"That's why it's been so quiet around here," Emcha replied dryly as she stopped for a moment to taste the batter. "Hmm...something isn't quite right," she said more to herself than to Ryntai.

"What are you making," Ryntai asked as he glanced at the batter that the baker was working on. He was used to dealing with Emcha's protective instincts when it came to her workspace.

"I'm working on a spice cake," Emcha replied automatically as she tasted the batter once more. "I want it to be light and fluffy but full of flavor."

"Let's see," Ryntai stated as he snatched up a spoon and swiped a bit of the batter off the side of the bowl. "I think it's a bit too dense for what you're looking for, and maybe it could use a bit more of this," he continued as he grabbed one of the spicees off of the racks.

Emcha shook her head. She was used to Ryntai's antics, but she also trusted his opinion on sweets. For someone as young as he was, he had a rather sensitive palette, and she often used him to test new recipes. "We'll see," she answered as she began to throw different ingredients into the bowl to try and fix the batter.

"So, Emcha, what have you got in your kitchen today for a starving young man who's worked hard all morning long," Ryntai finally asked with a big grin as he glanced around to see what goodies she'd already finished for the day.

"Nothing," the woman replied sternly. "It's almost lunch time. You can wait until then," she finished as she continued to work on her cake batter.

"But, Emcha, I missed most of breakfast, and I'll have to run back to the hold soon once the Headwoman finds me. So, I'll miss lunch, too. Besides, I'm feeling really weak. Everything is going dark," he said dramatically as he leaned against a counter. It was partially true at least. He had been feeling a bit lightheaded from running back and forth all morning.

Emcha shook her head again as she shoved two cookies into Ryntai's huge hand. "There. Take that and go," she said waving him away.

"Just two," Ryntai asked as he blinked huge eyes down at the older woman. "I guess that's okay. I mean it should keep me from collapsing on the side of the road, and even if I do pass out, I'm sure someone will help me get back to the weyr. But, then the Headwoman is going to be so mad at me for being so late," he said with a huge sigh. "But, I understand that you can only part with this many even though we're supposed to be married one day and all. So, thanks, Emcha," he finished with a big grin for her before leaving the kitchen.

Emcha looked down at her cookies to realize that half a dozen were missing. While Ryntai had been talking, she'd inadvertantly been giving him more cookies, and he'd walked away with six instead of two. This was how it always was though. He was one of the only people that could weedle sweets from her, and she wasn't even sure how he did it. He would come in, blink those big eyes of his, and walk out with half a candlemark's worth of work. Even her brother couldn't do that. She shook her head again and went back to working on her cake batter.

Ryntai smiled to himself as he walked away with his cookies in hand. Emcha always gave him more sweets than she said she would. He wasn't really sure why, but it had always been that way. He'd known her for several turns now since they'd both been born and bred in the weyr. Given the age difference, however, it had only been recently that he'd been able to get to know her and her wonderful baking skills. She was also one of the few people that didn't pity him, which he also appreciated.

While it wasn't uncommon in the weyr for illegitimate children to be born due to mating flights, most weyr-bred children at least knew who their mothers were. In Ryntai's case, he had been born at a time when there had been several flights in a row. The women in the Lower Caverns at the time had simply been too busy to pay much attention to another baby in their midst, and if any of them had known who his mother was, the knowledge was long forgotten amongst lists of storeroom goods and other daily matters. Since his parents had never come to visit him, Ryntai had grown up with no knowledge of who they were. This led some people in the weyr to pity him, but he saw no reason for this.

He'd grown up in a fairly happy environment. Even if he lacked parental love, he had never been neglected, and he had a naturally cheerful personality. So, it didn't bother him that he didn't know his parents. As he saw it, there was no need to know. He had the entire weyr as a family, and that was enough for him. His thoughts and his munching were interrupted as someone firmly grabbed him by the ear.

"I knew I would find you near the kitchens, you young rascal! I see you've been to see Emcha again! I don't know how you're so thin when you eat so much sugar. Now, come with me. I have another message for the Lord Holder for you to deliver," the Headwoman said firmly as she dragged Ryntai off.

"Ow! Why the ear? Why must it always be my ear? You can barely reach them! Wouldn't it just be easier if you grabbed my arm," Ryntai complained as he followed obediently behind the other woman. He'd known this was coming, but Emcha's goods were always worth it. "My ears are going to wind up deformed!"

"It would serve you right for running off and bothering one of my workers," the Headwoman snapped at him as she tweaked his ear. "Now, no more arguments. You have work to do!"

Ryntai looked around at Sedona Weyr in awe. He couldn't believe he was here! Just yesterday he'd been in utter despair at the thought of never tasting Emcha's baked goods again, and now he was just moments from seeing her. She was sure to be surprised! A light touch on his arm brought him back to the present.

"Ryntai," Nyia said again to get his attention. Once she was sure he was listening she continued. "We'll be here for at least three or four candlemarks, so you should have plenty of time to visit your friend. Okina likes to talk sometimes," she explained with a smile. "We'll meet you in the Lower Caverns. Do you want me to show you the way?"

Ryntai shook his head. "No, that's okay, Nyia. I'm sure I can find them, and even if I get turned around, it'll be okay since I'll be able to explore more of the weyr," he replied before heading for the main entrance. "I'll see you later then," he called back with a wave.

After several wrong turns, directions from a kind dragonrider, and half a candlemark, Ryntai finally found himself in the Lower Caverns, and his mouth began to water as his sensitive nose picked up familiar scents. "Ah," he said with a sigh, "I guess she's already hard at work here." He wasn't at all surprised when he found her completely covered in flour mixing a batter for some wonderful goody she was making. He snuck up behind her as quietly as he could.

"Whoever you are, you obviously haven't heard that I don't take kindly to people filching goods from me," Emcha declared without turning around.

"Emcha," Ryntai exclaimed happily as he hugged the shocked baker from behind. "I've missed you so much! I haven't been eating properly since you left, and I'm sure that I've lost weight. Just look at me! I know I'm thinner than before, and I'm in desperate need of sugar. So, can you make me one of everything," he asked as he finally stepped back so he could grin at her.

"Ryntai," Emcha declared as she blinked several times to be sure she was seeing him clearly. "What are you doing here?" She'd been sure that she had left the young rascal behind when she'd come to Sedona.

Ryntai continued to grin as he quickly related the story of how he had arrived. "So, that's how I got here! Do you think I might be able to stay? Then we could really get married!"

Emcha scoffed at him. "When did I ever agree to that? You don't know the first thing about me! You only want to marry me so you can make me bake for you all day long," she scolded him.

"I do so know things about you," Ryntai returned with a frown. "I know you hate it when people steal your baked goods and that you look your best when you're covered in flour. Besides you told me that when I became the same age as you we could get married."

"You only say that because being covered in flour means that I'm baking things, and you want to eat them. Plus, you'll never be the same age as me, Ryntai. I'll always be eight turns older than you," Emcha replied with a shake of her head at the younger man's antics.

"You mean you lied to me," Ryntai asked with big eyes as if he were truly hurt. "I can't believe this! I've been had! All this time I thought that we were engaged, and you didn't even mean it. I traveled all this way just to see you. I think my heart is breaking."

"Don't blame me if you misunderstood," Emcha replied with a roll of her eyes as she grabbed a tray and began to load it with several sweets. "Here, go eat this, and I'm sure you'll get over your broken heart," she said handing over the tray.

"Thanks, Emcha," Ryntai said quickly before disappearing around the corner with a huge grin on his face.

Emcha shook her head. Now she really felt at home here. She supposed the thing she had been missing was a sweets-obsessed young rascal to bother her all day long and taste her creations.

Ryntai smiled to himself as he sat down with his tray of goodies. He really had missed Emcha, especially joking around with her. She was like an older sister to him, and he enjoyed talking to her. He continued to grin as he bit into a cookie. He'd neglected to tell her that the dragonrider that had helped him earlier had been a Searchrider and had asked him to stay and stand on the Sands. He'd save that little surprise for later.

R'tai has Impressed Brown Uikuth!



Name: Uikuth
Species: Pernese Dragon
Gender: Male
Color: Brown
Size: 33' long
Parents: Gold Kioqawth x Bronze Tasirth
Abilities: Telepathy, Teleportation, Assisted Firebreath
Personality: Crazy
Sociability: Makes lots of friends
Intelligence: Easily confused
Mating: Gets jittery and nervous
Threadfighting: Dodges easily
Other: Particularly sensitive to talent: would make a good searchdragon
Bond: R'tai

Emcha is the property of Weyrowman Rhiannon and was used with her permission.
Ryntai is a candidate at Sedona Weyr