Stats
Catena Island
Fledglings
Adult
Tawny sipped at a cup of hot chocolate. It warmed her insides, preparing her for a long day ahead of her. Little did she know that today her life would completely change. Tawny stood up and hefted a large sack onto her shoulders, having finished her hot chocolate. She wasn’t a tall girl, nor was she short. She was perhaps a little short for her age, but she made up for that by being very stubborn and quick-witted. If her master said something to her, she could come up with a comeback immediately. Tawny’s long black silky hair wove around her oval, pale face and shoulders down to the middle of her back.
“Tiny! Yo! Tiny!” Tawny stopped walking, and stared at a tall boy with fiery orange hair and green eyes. She waited patiently for the boy, but was irritated by his constant waving of his hands and repeatedness in shouting her name.
“Whoa, whoa there.” She said, talking to him as she would to aclm down a wild animal. “Just take a few deep breaths, calm down, and then tell me what you’re so hyper about.” The boy shook his head, his short wild hair flapping like her own hair did when it was windy.
“Have…to… Master’s…very…angry…say’s…you been slackin.” The boy finished, bending over, his head hanging down near his knees. “He’s gonna whip you a good’n if you don’ run fer it.”
“What does he mean I’ve been slacking? I’ve been working my butt off every day just to please him. I’m not going to run, no way! If he wants to deal with me let him deal with me, and I won’t be whipped by him. Not this time.” She said, raising herself to her full height, even though the bag of feed weighed heavy on her shoulders.
“The master say’s he’s gonna take all yer food rations away if ya don’ work overtime today.” The boy wheezed, though he was able to breathe much easier. “Say’s that you been slakin and them aminals are gettin thinner by the day.” Tawny frowned.
“Now you listen here Parell, you tell that master of mine that I have been working hard every day and the animals are just fine. If I feed them too much more they won’t looking very pretty for otehrs to see and then the master will be mad! They’ll be too fat and ugly.”
Suddenly, Parell looked up and his eyes widened in horror. He stumbled back and held his hands before his face, as if to ward off an attack.
Tawny suddenly found herself yanked back by her hair. She dropped the bag of feed and fell on her butt. Hey gray eyes flashed in anger and she looked up to see who had been so rude. She noticed her master standing above her, but her expression did not falter.
“Why don’t you have a little more respect for me?” She screamed. “I’m not one of your stupid animals, so I don’t take kindly to having my hair tugged on!” Her master kicked her in the jaw roughly, sending her sprawling across the grass.
“Don’t you dare hert poor Tiny!” Parell yelled. “You dun kicked er! You ain't nuthin but a coward!”
“Coward? I’ll show you who’s a coward!” The master moved to intercept Parell, but Tawny tripped him, reaching out a hand and grabbing his foot.
“Run, Parell! Run!” She yelled.
“What ‘bout you, Tiny?” She swiped her hand in a motion, telling him to not worry about her.
“Just run! I’ll be fine! Get away!” Tawny kept a firm grip on her master’s foot, though he kicked her twice in the face, trying to release her grip. He kicked her a third time and hit her solid in the chin, causing her to bite her tongue and tears to spring to her eyes. This time she did let go.
Tawny was yanked to her feet by her hair and then slapped around. She bit her lip to keep from crying. She went through these beatings almost every week and she was tired of them. She let out a sudden cry and kicked her master in the shin.
“That’s for yanking me back by my hair!” She screamed and then punched him hard in the gut. “That one’s for yanking me by my hair again.” She kicked him three more times in the shin. “And that’s for all the times you hurt Parell!” Her well-placed kicks and punch caused her master to let go of her and she took this window of opportunity to run as fast as she could.
She only got down to the sea coast –for House Corona was only a short distance from the sae- before she suddenly felt herself being tackled. She almost screamed out in pain when her master twisted her arm behind her back. Help me! Oh please, someone, help me! She cried in her mind. Though she knew perfectly that no one would hear her. Anyone, dragon, human, if you can hear me, please help me! Hot tears stung her eyes as she focused back on what was happening to her. She knew that her attempts were futile. Dragons rarely came to House Corona
“That’ll learn ya not to run from me again you little witch!” He turned her over and started slapping her across the face with a stick he’d been able to grab somewhere near. She refused to cry, or even to utter a sound. She just sat there and accepted the blows, one by one.
She prepared for the next blow across her face, but it didn’t come. She opened her eyes just in time to see a man heft her master from the ground and shove him to the side. Then, he began punching him in the face…hard…sending her master stumbling back.
“What in the name of Alskyr do you think you were doing to her?” The man yelled at her master. His face was red and his cheek twitched in anger.
“She’s…b-been b-b-beatin my animals and making them thin by n-not feedin ‘em right! So I been givin her a bit of what she’s been doin to ‘em.” The man said in terror, His face was a bloody mess as was his some of his hair.
Tawny drew back in anger; her master had just lied to the sea dragoner! She started crawling backwards, she just wanted to get away. She bumped into something warm and looked up. A large sea dragon rose far above her, she had bumped into its right leg…no…not its leg…its flipper.
“Well, we can see about that.” The Sea Dragoner said firmly, his face red in anger. “I think I’ll take a look around and find out for myself. Besides, that is no reason to beat a young girl.”
“I’m no young girl, Mr. I’m 19.” Tawny spoke up. She admitted to herself, quite angrily, that she did look young, but that was because she was small. Tiny, as her friend Parell called her in his accent. Tawny had glanced at the sea dragoner when she’d spoken to him, but glanced back up at the beautiful Sea dragon again. It had never occurred to her what sea dragons looked like. She’d only heard descriptions of one before. Never had she seen one. If one was to be arriving, or even a dragon, which was beyond rare, her master sent her to her room where there were no windows. She was kept a close watch on too.
“You keep your mouth shut witch!” Her master screamed at her for speaking up to the sea dragoner.
“You just hold on one minute. The lady can speak for herself and does not have to listen to you. I just might decide to take this nice lady with me.” The sea dragoner said, no longer referring to her as a young girl. Tawny’s gray eyes widened, she wasn’t sure what to think. She would love to go, but how would she be treated at the next place? She stopped worrying, not many people messed with a sea dragoner, so they wouldn’t mess with her. Besides, she’d just start over again when she got somewhere else.
“You can’t take her without paying me—” Tawny’s master suddenly found himself hefted from the ground by the sea dragoner, a deadly look passed over his face, which also seemed to turn a deep crimson in his anger.
“What gives you the idea that people are for sale?” He said in a cold, dark tone. “What makes you think I’d even pay for her? I won’t pay for her because she doesn’t belong to you or anybody else. She’s her own person and she has a right to anything and everything.”
“You dragoners and sea dragoners are all the same!” Tawny’s master screamed, his face becoming redder by the second, almost as dark red as the Sea Dragoner’s. “You all have everything you want and all you care about is yourselves. Well, I will take over all of Alskyr someday, Janton! Take her and go away. Don’t come back here ever again. In fact, give that message to all of Alskyr!” Tawny was afraid her master might hit the sea dragoner. He was sometimes stupid enough to do those types of things. Of course, he would be sorry if he attacked the dragonrider, but she didn’t want the nice dragonrider to get hurt. Then again, he had made a threat to take over Alskyr, and he always followed through with his threats…only thing was, he’d have to get followers to helphim, and he didn’t have many. Not many at all.
“Ma’am. My name is Janton and this is aqua Sea Dragon, Heselisess.” He introduced himself and his Sea Dragon to her. Striding over.
“You actually heard me call you?” Tawny asked, her eyes becoming normal, she had not realized that her eyes had remained wide the entire time. She thought back to when she had called out, but hadn’t actually thought it would work.
“Uhm…actually no. We are searching for likely candidates and you seem to be the one that we will accept. It’s just happened that we came upon you at this time.” Janton told her, helping her up. She took his offered hand and was surprised at the softness of it and the kindness in his face.
She smiled unconsciously, happy that someone was finally kind to her.
“What about Parell?” Tawny asked, suddenly aware that Parell had not shown up again.
“Don’t worry about Parell, or anybody else, I will send a fleet over here to deal with this creature you had to live with all of your life. He will be dealt with fairly.” Her master began to speak again, but Janton cut him off. “We need you to pack all of your belonging.” Janton said and looked pointedly at her master, who glared at her, then Janton, and finally the Sea Dragon, but his expression changed to fear when he looked at the Heselisess.
“I have no belongings. Only…only what I have on.” Again Janton seemed to become angry. He whirled on her master who stumbled backwards and yelled out.
“You don’t even clothe your…” He paused, his mouth hung open in rage, he looked as if to hit her master hard again, and then looked at Tawny and his expression changed to a look as if he should have known all this already by the looks of her. Tawny shrank back again, afraid of Janton’s scrutiny.
Then Janton turned back to her master. “You. Will. Have. Three. Days. To. Prepare. For. A. Trial. Lord, Tarin.” Janton continued. Tawny was scared from the tone of voice that Janton used to talk to her master. Tawny was almost surprised to hear her master’s real name spoken. She’d only known him as ‘master’ her entire life.
Finally, Tarin found his voice, “I have…some…extra clothes…they were sewn by my…late wife.” He said, but did not sound at all sorry. Though the other slaves had told her that he had been utterly devastated when his wife had died of childbirth.
Janton beckoned Tawny to follow him, and she did so carefully. They walked back up the sand dune Tawny had run down and up to the House. She shivered, scared, never before had she been inside her mas…Tarin’s House before. Tarin set a fast pace, Janton and Tawny were able to keep up with anyway. Finally, they reached the back of the house and what looked like an abandoned room. This room, Tarin opened carefully, as if afraid to let anything that was inside, out. Then, he immediately walked over to the dresser and started pulling out several pieces of clothing. He turned, walked a few paces and then threw them at Tawny. She flinched, but didn’t duck, and Janton caught the armful before they hit her.
“Rogue.” Tarin spat. He glanced to Tawny, and his expression changed, as if for once he really saw her as her. Then, it was back to the same old face that he had always worn.
“It seems to me that you are the rogue. You had better respect her more when she Bond a sea dragon, Tarin. Her sea dragon will protect her ferociously if you ever attack her.” Janton replied. Tawny almost couldn’t believe her ears! She might be able to Bond a dragon! She’d had dreamed of leaving this place all of her life, and Bonding a Sea Dragon. She never thought it would come true. When Tarin looked at her again, Tawny was able to notice fear in his eyes of her, but also a deep respect and longing. Does being in this room somehow affect his mood? Tawny Wondered..
Janton gripped her by the arm, not angrily, and led her to another room. “Go inside and change into these. You’ll be warmer when we get farther out to the sea.” Tawny nodded excitedly, her heart racing. She was going to ride on a sea dragon and be able to ride the waves! She’d always wanted to do something of the similar!
“Yes, sir.” She said.
“Janton.” The dragonrider corrected. “We always call each other by our names.” He winked at her and gave her a kind push into the room and then closed the door behind her.
She dressed hurriedly, brushing oily and matted strands of her hair from her face. She’d not had a bath in a while; perhaps she could get one wherever she was going. Next she pulled on the warm pants and shirt after discarding her old clothes, tossing them in a pile in the corner of the room. Then she emerged from the room.
Janton stared at her for a moment, not blinking. Then he smiled.
“Here, you got this on backwards. Go ahead and turn it around, I’ll wait.” Tawny smiled an embarrassed smile and went back into the room. She quickly turned the sweater around and stuck her arms back in the armholes.
“That’s much better.” He said when she emerged a second time. “Now come, I don’t think Tarin wants me around much longer, and we must get you to the Vegliante Cove soon.” He led Tawny back outside and over to Heselisess who slipped into the water and Janton helped her on. “Now, don’t worry about falling off. It is a short ride to where we are going.
“I am not afraid.” She answered in reply. Suddenly, Heselisess took off at an extremely fast speed and her head snapped backwards from lack of warning.
“Sorry about that. You’ll get used to it in time though. You’ll be taught how to grip and sit.” Janton said.
“You may wash here, this is the Vegliante Cove, in case you were wondering.” Tawny nodded her head in agreement. “You will stay here until you Bond. If you do. Sometimes the eggs can be duds or the Sea Dragons Bond to each other.” Janton continued. “You must take extreme care of your sea dracling, most important of all, listen to it and love your sea dracling.”
“What do I need to do to Bond a sea dragon?” Tawny asked wisely. She’d heard of the Sea Dragoners and Dragoners and Bondings, but she was not exactly sure what was expected of her.
“First you must get cleaned up.” Tawny sensed the humor in his voice, so was not offended, but she agreed with him wholeheartedly, she felt itchy and dirty, and she could barely see her skin underneath. Her face was mostly clean; that being the only place she’d tanned in summers. Her arms and legs were always too dirty to get any sunshine and were most likely very pale. “Second, as soon as you Bond —who will choose you as its lifelong partner, not the other way around—you must feed it as soon as the meat is brought to you. They are very hungry after hatching.” Tawny laughed at Janton’s last statement.
“I suppose it won’t settle for Tarin, will it?” Janton chuckled lightly at Tawny’s joke.
“I don’t know, perhaps we should see what your partner will think once you Bond.” Janton replied, still chuckling to himself. He was surprised the girl still had a little sense of humor in her. It would most likely increase once she Bonded. Though she did seem one who did not readily crack jokes, and it was probably just to relieve some stress, he was sure that she would have loved to see Tarin get gobbled down by a sea dragon.
Copyright: Janton and Heselisess are not my charachters, I only asked permission to use them. They are copyright Caerlady Tiala.
