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"Delandir! Delan, where are you, lad?"

Delandir heard the cries of his father, but he stayed hidden among the deep, dark green foliage, stray sunbeams flitting across the densely covered forest floor. He peered through a few scraggly bushes, hazel-green eyes unblinking, leaves and twigs stuck in his dark hair, making him look like a tree spirit. Delandir moved further back as his father came near, his face reddened from effort and anger.
"Delandir! Get out here now, or I'll skin you alive!"
Delandir smirked, and wriggled through the mud toward a low tree that he could climb, his pale body smudged with dirt.
-You'll never catch me..I will never grow old to be a Lord! I'd rather die!-
His unspoken thoughts were fierce, and he bared his teeth at his father, invisible in the shelter of the tree he had climbed.
-I'm just something to toy with, until he can marry me off and drop the whole business of pretending to be a wise, caring father!-
Delandir's father finally gave up, and muttering vile curses and threats, stalked away.
-Well, I hope he has second thoughts about marriage! 'Cause I'm never going back, and especially not to some prissy blond Lord's daughter, I could stay here, where I belong, safe in the cool green hammock of my trees-
Delandir dropped to the ground in a crouch, then straightened, and walked into the deepness of the forest, abandoning himself to the wilderness. Throwing his arms back, he fell into the cool dirt, smiling up at the emerald canopy, where a happy birdsong took place.
-I wish I was a bird..I could fly wherever I wanted!-
Delandir rolled through the dirt, then got up and raced toward a little pool of crystalline water that he had visited before, took a running leap, and dived into the blissfully chilly waters.


Drying off, Delandir lay on a rock at the edge of the pool and let his drowsy thoughts drift around dizzily in his head. He looked down at the water and grinned at his mussy reflection.
Another reflection flitted across the surface, and Delandir's thoughts turned to it. He slowly lifted his eyes...which met the eyes of another person. A young girl, perhaps his age, perhaps younger, stared at him. Her hair was a creamy white, and straight, and cut to just past her chin. Her eyes--a bright blue, almost turquoise--were wide and intelligent, with pale long lashes. She wore very short creamy pants, almost the same color as her hair, and a tightly fitting shirt, with puffy sleeves. Her expression was quizzical.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, in a whispering purr, soft as a breeze, but also stiff and cool, such as an unexpected snowfall.
"You mean on Danach? Well, the last time I checked, it was because of my mother and father."
A brief laugh reached his ears, and the girl replied, "What are you doing in the forest? Aren't you young Lord Delandir? Why have you-" a titter, "-graced my home? I am honored, Lord."
Delandir growled angrily, and sat up.
"I might as well ask what you are doing here! I've been here countless times, and never seen you. How dare you speak to me in that tone?"
Delandir rarely used his power, the power to make others obey and cower, but sometimes, when people were being too irritating, he had to dismiss them somehow.
"I told you," replied the girl, "I live here. My name is Delywiel. So tell me, truly, why have you come?"
"My father wants me to marry Lady Pithraniel. I have no interest in the silly thing; alas, she has much interest in me. Too much. So I'm staying here."
Delywiel smirked, and twitched her toes in the water so that sparkling drops splashed Delandir.
"Stop that!"
"Why?"
"...Because! I said so."
"Not a good reason. Come and stop me."
"Alright then! I will!"
Delandir hesitated, then splashed across the pool to her, showering her with water. Delywiel chuckled--a startling refreshment from giggles--and hopped off her rock, and ran, backwards.
"See you later, Lord Delandir!"


Delywiel and Delandir met many times after, and became fast friends. Delywiel taught Delandir the skill of pickpocketing, and within a year, his father had stopped looking for him, and he had mastered it. One day, he and Delywiel were walking down the streets of a small town, looking at the many booths on the street, selling all manner of things. One man was selling dragonchen eggs. Delandir stepped up to him, and asked, "How much?" The man shook his head, and lifted one up. "Free. I can't seem to get rid of them if I try to gain money. I guess it's because people can find their own nests.."
Delandir shrugged, and held out a few coins--which he had stolen, before--and said, "Well, I'll buy two, anyway, and give you a tip. Thank you, sir!"
Jiosk gently set the two mottled eggs in his little pouch, and ran to find Delywiel.
"Delywiel! Guess what!"
"What?"
"I got us each a dragonchen egg!"
"Wow, Delandir! Thanks! Oooohh..mines cracking!"
"So's mine!"
The two watched as the little eggs began to hatch, holding meat at the ready that the man at the booth had thrown in. One egg cracked all the way, and Delywiel quickly fed her brand new green dragonchen, and smiled, ecstatic. Delandir fed his new brown, and soon the two firedraces--named Brit and Brat--were happily snoozing in the crooks of their arms.


They kept walking, and Delywiel smiled softly, and touched Delandir's arm. An electric tingle ran down his spine--he couldn't understand it.
"I'd like to thank you, for my chen. It's been a wonderful day. I should go, now, though. It's also been a long day, and I'm tired. G'bye."
"G'bye, " Delandir whispered softly. He bent to kiss her cheek, and his lips barely brushed her soft skin. She whirled away, with a grin to take away the sting of her rejection of his kiss, and ran--no, floated, Delandir later thought--back to the forest. Delandir continued to look around, tho' the sun was nearing the horizon. Most people had gone home by now. Delandir turned the corner, and gasped. In front of him stood an imposing man, and behind him was a dragon. It was too dark to make out the features of either, but Delandir thought that the man was smiling.
"Hello," said the man, "I'm a rider from Cathair Dark Moon. My dragon seems to have Found you, and I'm wondering if you'd like to try to Imprint?"
"Huh? Imprint? At Dark Moon?"
The brown chen, jokingly named Brat, lifted into the air, agitated. Delandir calmed Brat down, and set him back on his shoulder. The chen continued to chirp nervously. Delandir gathered that Brat was afraid of the dragon.
"Shhh, it's alright." He turned back to the Rider. "Brat seems a little afraid of your dragon."
The rider's eyes narrow. "He would never harm your chen."
"I know, but Brat doesn't know that. It's really just the size, that scares him..as for being Found..I'd love to try to Imprint!"
The Rider's lips relaxed in a smile. "Good. Come with me, then."


Delandir stared in amazement at the ground, so far below, as he was transported to Dark Moon. Landing, dismounting, he stuttered his thanks, and went into the Cathair.

A few months later, Delandir journeyed back to the forest where he had first met Delywiel. He smiled with the memories of her saucy attitude, and the memory of Imprinting Brat, who perched on his shoulder, asleep, at the moment.
Walking through the tangled brush, Delandir came upon the pool that he and Delywiel had promised to meet at. His heart beat quickly at the thought of meeting his more-than-friend again, and he sat on a stone, impatient for her return.
A few minutes passed. Then a few hours. At the end of three hours Delan was shouting frantically, searching every high and low of the green landscape, suddenly turned evil. Every limb, every frem, seemed to be hiding a secret from him that concealed Delywiel's prescence.
Finally, he found her, lying unconcious some miles away from the pool. Blood surrounded her, and dried flecks of it stained her small lips. Delandir cried out in horror, and lifted his friend from the red earth, carrying her quickly toward any type of humanity. After stumbling in circles for a while, Delandir found a hut where a small family lived. A doctor was brought, but he couldn't figure out what had happened to Delywiel. Yes, she had been attacked, but the blood around her mouth had not been put there by a cut.
Delywiel passed away that night, and a sleepless Delandir paced back and forth in agony.

Eventually, the only comfort, weeks from the incident, was the hope of Imprinting a dragon at Dark Moon. If he lost that, he was sure his heart would break over again.


Name: Delandir
Age: 17 Years
Looks: Dark hair, hazel eyes, tall
Personality: Hesitant, 'wild', loner

Delandir waited miserably on the Sands. He guessed that he probably wouldn't Imprint, and this thought made him nearly cry in agony. It seemed like forever that he waited on those burning Sands, mulling over Delywiel's death, and his wretched life, but all too soon there were just two eggs left on the Sands. Would one of them be for him? The first hatched; a green, who ran to the girls, and quickly chose the last one Standing.
"Wonderful!" cried the happy girl.

Suddenly, the crowd held their breath, as an aqua head, with tinges of green in its scales, emerged from the last egg.
The blue/green blinked with astonishment at the bright light, taking a few clumsy steps- awkwardness has come along with his size, that of a brown. However, with one candidate left, both he and Delandir knew they were meant for each other. "Hurry up, Quaelynth! The boy called, waving him down. "I've been waiting for you!"