Walk on the shore

[Deleted]

Jakarin gazed out at the sea before him, watching the waves crawl up upon the shore before retreating and then make another attempt to get in farther. Out in the water he watched the fishing boats coming in with what they caught. It seemed like an eternity since he had been out there.

It's for the better, Jakarin thought to himself, it's all for the better.

Being a candidate was tougher than he had initially thought. He had managed to take good care of Kzan, so it seemed reasonable that he would do well at the hatching, but when it was over...

Kzan gave Jakarin quick cry, snapping him back to reality. A short, brief cry from the blue firelizard was usually an indication that he was hungry. Jakarin scratched the blue below his chin, but it didn't seem to do much as he released another quick cry. Two cries? Kzan only did that when...

They had company?

"Who's there?"

[Deleted]

Brown eyes opened lazily to the gentle murmurs of the sea. Tired of being in the public access Candidate quarters, Serkad had escaped to a solace outside to rest and relax. Alone. Shunned as an outcast and lacking any friends, the older teen much preferred being out the public eye and alone. Hidden away, he could drop his thin mask of emotion and just be himself, something that rarely happened. He kept his true nature hidden for a reason. Chronic malice wasn't exactly a trait that drew people to him, and he wanted friends so bad but just couldn't change his natural disposition.

Bright chirps drove the fog of sleep away from his brain. His eyes strained to find the source of the cries, but his ears identified it as a bright firelizard. Vision and hearing finally aligned to see a young man of similar height standing by the shoreline, blue firelizard on his shoulder. Great. People. Unseen, he climbed to the top of the rocks that had hid his nap from view. Looking down at the other Candidate, he struggled to recall the boy's name.

Serkad knew the lad hailed from Tidewalk; nearly all of them did. He had never seen him in the creche at Tidewalk or Mavros, and he couldn't help but wonder if that was the difference between them. If my parents had loved me, would I be happy? Shaking his head in an attempt to dislodge the thought, he sent sand flying out of his curly mop and down to the shore. He trained his eyes on the back of the other boy, waiting.

Serkad never made the first move.

[Deleted]

Sure enough Kzan was right; there was a boy sitting atop. He was about as tall as he was...and maybe even as old as he was. Yet he was...alone.

Something's...off, Jakarin thought to himself, watching the boy shake his head, why would someone be in such an isolated location by himself?

This was certainly a puzzle. He was confident that he had seen someone who looked like that, but who was he...and why was he up there alone? Was it simply a bad day feeling, like everyone else who failed to impress, and was recollecting himself before they attended to other things? Was he simply trying to gain some needed rest? Or was this something deeper?

Kzan gave another quick cry, as if to say 'come down here' to the boy. Jakarin, not wanting the firelizard the take off and fly towards the boy...and create who-knew-what kind of a scene, decided to join.

"Is everything alright up there?"

[Deleted]

"How would you define 'alright'?" Serkad countered. "Up here, everything's great. There's a nice view of the ocean, everything is at peace, and I can barely hear you." He hopped down, landing in a crouch and walked over to the boy. "Down here, I'm not so sure we can ever say that things are alright."

Serkad scowled inwardly. There was no way this boy could understand exactly how "not alright" everything was. He probably wasn't abandoned by his parents and then uprooted and taken away to a strange place in the middle of nowhere. He wasn't treated with scorn after not mourning for the people who never cared about him. This stranger-not-stranger in front of him couldn't know just how bad things life could be.

The friendly firelizard and warm glow that accompanied him declared his happiness in the world. Sure, this boy was taken as a Candidate and away from his family, but his family was still here and still loved him. Serkad refused to believe that the gentle teen in front of him had experienced the same issues that he had been put through.

"Why are you out here?" he asked, turning the subject of conversation away from a potentially dangerous path.

[Deleted]

"Does being in a good mood and not hiding somewhere count?" Jakarin asked. It was pretty plain to see now that the two of them were from different families. Different environments. Whatever happened probably wasn't good.

It's not my place to ask about that, though, Jakarin thought to himself, what happened with him is his own unless he is willing to talk about it.

"As for why I'm out here, I figured it was best to try and go for walk. Not only that, but Kzan doesn't like to be in small spaces for a very long time."

[Deleted]

Serkad bristled. He was not hiding!

"As for why I'm out here, I figured it was best to try and go for walk. Not only that, but Kzan doesn't like to be in small spaces for a very long time."

He studied the blue firelizard wrapped around Jakarin. It seemed friendly enough, but he supposed that even the miniature dragon could claw his way out of a fight if necessary. 

"I've never seen a firelizard up close before," he finally said. "Thiis, that girl who Impressed a brown--" he snorted with disbelief at the notion, "--had a green who kept pretty close to her in the Candidate barracks. The thing never moved without her permission. Yours seems independent." 

What does Impressing a lizard feel like? He supposed it was like a dragon, but did the lizards actually talk and holder conversations with their owners? Or was it just a sense of awareness that communicated emotion -- it was happy, sad, hungry, playful. He knew firelizards to be distant cousins of the dragons, and he supposed that they had to have some form of communication since they were related.

Still, if he was to Impress, he wanted a dragon. Silly little lizards just wouldn't do for someone serious like him.

[Deleted]

"I give him some room to move around in terms of orders," Jakarin said, "kind of like right now. He's moving around freely, but he's not to leave my arm or shoulder."

Kzan gazed up at Serkad; the blue intrigued with the thought of someone having both a brown dragon and a green like himself.

"In my opinion, they can make their emotions known in ways similar to how dragons speak to us. Kzan even seems like he can give me a 'yes' or 'no' in some sort of a way. It helps when he's hungry."

By the way Serkad was looking, it seemed like he wasn't completely interested in fire lizards. Perhaps it was best to move on to a different subject.

"So it looks like you and I are waiting for another clutch. What do you hope to impress. I'd be fine with a blue - Kzan would probably play for hours - but impressing a brown or bronze would certainly be something awesome."

[Deleted]

He paused for a moment. What kind of dragon did he want to Impress? Serkad wanted to be respected again. Certainly a small dragon wouldn't do for that. It took a big, bold, strong dragon, like a bronze or a beast of a brown. He needed a dragon that had physical power and leadership qualities that would help him become a person again. 

His father was a greenrider. No, Serkad decided, a little dragon would not do.

"I want a bronze." There. He said it. Would he tell Jakarin why? He wouldn't dare share anything deeper. This was already a happier conversation than he had ever had in a while. The conversation was turning towards him again. "Flying a bronze certainly would be something awesome."

He pondered and threw out another snippet, another bait to turn the tide. "Would you ever try to get more lizards after you Impress?"

---
_{Ahhhhh I'm sorry! I've been swamped and this totally slipped my mind. Have a post!}

[Deleted]

"BRONZE?!" Jakarin asked, "Man, you've got your work cut out for you. I'm shooting for a Brown, but Bronze would also seem nice."

"Obtaining another lizard certainly wouldn't be out of the question," Jakarin continued, "Kzan has wanted others to play around with."

Kzan gave a simple chirp, as if to say "yes" to those who heard him.
---------------
Same on my part -_-:

[Deleted]

"Yeah, I'd like a bronze." Serkad almost sounded sheepish, but he was trying to hide the desire in his eyes. "I mean, the dragons do pick who they want, but I can always hope." He wanted a bronze with all his heart. Not only would he finally gain a companion, but he would be placed into a position of authority that would force people to look past the lies his parents spread and see him as the person he really is. Serkad was tired of avoiding people and being seen as a sociopath.



"I kind of want a lizard, too," he added thoughtfully, looking at the blue perched with Jakarin. "It seems to be a lot easier to impress one of those than a dragon." Serkad needed a friend, and one badly. He had lived dark and surly for far too long, and the lizards or the dragons sounded like the best company to him. They weren't complicated like humans were. They could get annoyed, or frustrated, but they wouldn't ever turn their back on him.

"Where did you find him?" Serkad finally asked, gesturing at the lizard.

[Deleted]

"I'm not sure," Jakarin sighed, "I obtained Kzan by helping out an older man back at home. As to where that man found him...you're guess is as good as mine. Perhaps they are raised somewhere and you can purchase one...or maybe one just comes to you...."

[Deleted]

The noncommital response somewhat annoyed Serkad; he always liked direct answers. His parents had often given him the go around and answered in half-truths. They certainly hadn't trained him to seek the best in people.

"I see," he responded finally, turning to look out at sea. The conversation lulled and he felt awkward, out of place, almost. Jakarin had drawn him out of his shell, yes, but he wanted to crawl back into the dark hole he was comfortable in. Maybe a friend like the lizard would help me. Bitter thoughts filled his mind and he spat suddenly, pretending the sand beneath him held his parent's graves.

The two provided their seed and gave him life, but they didn't give him family. He would forever be bitter about that. The other candidates -- heck, even that odd brownrider girl -- had a family. His parents had managed to strip him of family and friends in one fell swoop with their selfish behavior. Thankfully he didn't have another sibling who they doted on.

That would just add insult to injury.

[Deleted]

"I suppose you could try and talk to people that visit from to time," Jakarin said, "That's the only thing that I can think of if you want to try and obtain a firelizard. I have seen one that comes by with a blue who says he's willing to part with it, but strangely no one seems interested. Maybe they're hoping someone comes along with a brown?"

Kzan gave a happy chirp. The sound of someone else to play with had caught his attention.

[Deleted]

*Just wondering when you're gona post*

[Deleted]

*I suppose I could start a new topic...*