The end of winter always meant moving to Bastian and his sister, Teryl.  They were traders by heritage and they only stayed in holdings during the winter months.  This turn however, they weren't going with their family.  Teryl, Bastian, their twin cousins, Donal and Donar, and Teryl's best friend, Jaicie,were all going off on their own.  Although trading, was in their blood, they wanted to settle down in a hold.  That is, if they could find one that would accept them.
       That spring, when the trader train went northwest, Bastian and his little band went northeast.  They would try their luck at one of the holds they had visited the previous fall.  The first hold they visited had a change of leadership over the winter.  The old holder had died shortly before spring and his oldest son was now in charge.  Ralan remembered Bastian and invited the group to a feast that night.
        At the meal, while Bastian and Ralan discussed the situation, Teryl started a conversation with Ralan's younger brother, Carik.
        "Do you think your brother will let us stay?  I really like it here at your hold."
        "I don't know, but I doubt it.  He has a lot on his mind right now.  He has to keep things running smoothly until everyone adjusts to the new leadership.  Besides, after tonight this isn't really my hold anymore.  This is a going away dinner.  My uncle, Verol, died suddenly over the winter, and since he was not married and had no children, he left me in charge of his hold.  I am leaving tomorrow morning.  My cousin, Alcia, has insisted on coming with me."  Carik pointed to a girl across the table.  She was around sixteen turns, with medium length blond hair and brown eyes.   "If my brother does turn you down, would you see if your brotherwould consider coming with me?  My uncle didn't have many people at his hold; it is a relatively new holding.  I would like to have some friends with me to share the holding."
         Teryl saw a strange look in Carik's brown eyes.  She realized that he was nervous about going out on his own with few people to help him other than one annoying female cousin.  "If your brother won't let us stay, then I'm sure my brother will accept your offer.  Even if Ralan says yes, I'll see if Bastian wouldn't rather go with you.  I think he, and my cousins, would enjoy helping set up a new hold."
         Just then Bastian came over.  He was not in a good mood.  Teryl guessed that Ralan had said no to them staying.  Carik leaned over and told Teryl he would see her later, leaving her to talk to her brother privately.  She waited until he was almost out of the room before  speaiking to her brother.
         "Bastian, did Ralan turn us down?"  Teryl was cautious.  She didn't want her brother to know, yet, that she hoped Ralan had said no.
         "Yes.  He had the nerve to say that he has too many things to deal with right now to worry about a group of traders trying to settle in.  He suggested we try the next hold.  But I remember who runs that hold.  He barely let us trade with his hold.  He certainly wouldn't want us to move in permanently.  I guess we'll just have to keep looking."  His blue eyes were tired, and he ran his fingers through his dark brown hair.  Teryl thoght he looked older than his nineteen turns right then.
           "I might have a solution.  Don't say no until you hear me out and talk to Carik about it.  Carik told me that he is leaving tomorrow for the hold that his uncle left to him.  He told me that we would be welcome to join him in building and establishing his hold.  He would like to have friends with him.  Don't tell him I said so, but I think he's a little afraid to be out on his own with no one to help him if he needs it.  Please, will you talk to him?  I think this will be a good opportunity for all of us."
           "Alright, I'll talk to him.  I think it sounds like a good idea, too.  Did he happen to mention where this new hold is?  Never mind, I'll ask him myself.  Now, where did he run off to?"  Bastian walked off in the direction he had last seen Carik, leaving Teryl alone at the table.  She looked around trying to locate her cousins or Jaicie.  Suddenly someone came up behind her and tapped her arm.  When she spun around her startled green eyes met upset brown ones.  Alcia looked mad.
           "Why did you have to come now?  Carik had almost forgotten about you. The first half of the winter all he talked about was you, your beautiful black hair, your perfect green eyes.  I came to spend time with my cousin and all he did was talk about you.  He was finally getting over it, was going to leave tomorrow for a new place and leave your memory behind.  Now I'll never have any peace.  When he's not talking about you, you'll be right there.  I am sorry if I am not making much sense, I had planned to say something else.  Forget I said anything.  Actually, I am glad to have more people coming with us.  Now I will have someone to talk to while Carik is busy.   Oh, please don't say anything to Carik about what I just told you.  I promised I wouldn't tell anyone what he told me."
          "Don't worry, I won't tell him.  That would be embarrassing for me, too.  Besides I want to see how he acts when he doesn't know that I know that he is interested in me."  She crossed her eyes for a second.  "I think I just confused myself with that piece of logic."  They were both laughing when Bastian and Carik reentered the room.
            "This can't be good," Carik said, looking first at his cousin, then at Teryl.  Bastian looked at the two girls and agreed.  Then he spoke to his sister.  "Well, I've decided that we'll go with Carik and Alcia to this new hold.  Now where are the others?  They need to know what we've decided, so we can all get the supplies we'll need before we leave.  Let's split up and meet back here in a half hour.  Hopefully we find them quickly.  We need to be ready to travel early, and we still need to get runners for the trip.  Carik says it's a fair distance to Verol's holding."
            As they decided who would look where, Carik took Teryl's arm.  "We'll look around the dining hall and the surrounding rooms.  You two check the courtyard and the stables.  Maybe they went to look at the runners."
            When they returned to the dining hall, having not found their cousins or Jaicie, they were somewhat surprised to find the three of them waiting by the table.  Donal spoke first. 
           "Where have you been?  We were starting to think you left us behind."
           "For the past half hour, we were looking for you.  We've been told we can't stay here."  At their disappointed looks, and before they could say waht was obviously on their minds, he continued.  "However, I have found a hold for us.  Carik is leaving tomorrow to take over the hold his uncle left to him.  He has offered us positions with him.  I have decided to join him.  Is that all right with all of you?  If not, you don't have to come, but I think this is a wonderful opportunity."
           The twins looked at each other for a moment.  You could practically see the thoughts passing from one to the other. Teryl had always thought that they must sometimes think they were looking in a mirror when they looked at each other.  They had the same nearly black hair and golden brown eyes.  Donar spoke for both of them as they turned back to Bastian.  "Of course we'll come.  We said we'd follow you to a new home.  We trust your judgement."
           All eyes then turned to Jaicie.  Bastian hoped she would also agree to come.  Jaicie tossed her redddish brown hair and her grey eyes laughed at them.  "I agree with the twins.  I trust your judgement.  Besides, why would I have come in the first place if I didn't intend on going all the way to our new home?"
            "Well, now that that's settled, Carik, what do we need to do to get ready?  I know you're prepared, what do need to get to help and get us ready?"
           "My brother is supplying seed for planting and money to get us through until fall when we can harvest what we plant when we get there.  There are plenty of places to rest and buy supplies on the way there, so we don't really need much to start with.  You will need runners though.  I don't think you want to walk all the way.  They journey may take two, two-and-a-half sevendays.  Also, the route I had planned to travel takes us past Falas Weyr.  I wanted to stop in and see about getting a firelizard.  They are supposed to be very useful as companions.  I wanted to go to the F.G.P.C. in Falas Hold and try to get a rare color.  Would any of you like to do that?  We don't have to stop if no one else wants to."  Carik looked a little disappointed at the thought that he may not get to impress a fielizard, so Teryl jumped in.
            "I would love to try for a rare firelizard.  Some of the holds we stopped in had firelizards.  I always left wishing I could have one too, but our father thought they were too much of a bother.  I know Bastian wanted one, too.  I think that is a wonderful place to stop.  Who knows; maybe one of us will be Searched!

The next morning, they searched through the stables to find suitable runners.  They each picked one they liked and Ralan gave them a good price.  They left as soon as they could get their things packed on their new runners.  They planned to stop at several holds for supplies and rest, as none of them were accustomed to riding runners for long periods of time. 
          They reached Falas Hold about nine uneventful days in to the journey.  Since they made excellent time (they had not expected to get there for two or three more days),  they decided to stay for a day or two before continuing to the hold.  After they had settled where they were going to stay the night and where they would keep the runners, they went looking fo the F.G.P.C.  When they found it, they got excited.  Carik went to the desk and told the woman that they all wanted to try to impress a rare firelizard.  She told them they would have to go in one at a time and asked who wanted to go first.  They all looked at each other.
             "Carik," they all said, in unison.   Teryl continued, "It was your idea to come here."
The woman told them to read the rules about impressing the small creatures, and then led Carik through a door to the right.  When he returned a few moments later, he had a small amber hatchling in his arms.  "He's so friendly; I didn't think they'd be this friendly just hatched.  I'll call him Aureo."
"Who's going next?"
          Bastian stepped forward and the woman led him through the door. He took less time than Carik in picking an egg and he soon emerged with a cream colored flit.  He told them he was going to him Rami after an old uncle with hair the color of the flit's hide.
Teryl went next.  She followed the woman into the next room.  The woman told her to pick a case and then one of the eggs in that case.   When the egg she chose hatched, she was surprised to see a black hatchling.  "I didn't know they could be black."  She returned and told everyone that she was going to name her Sidia.
The rest of the group followed one at a time.  Jaicie went next and picked an egg that hatched out a white female, which she called Alba.
Donal went next and came back with a granite colored male that he named Cliff.  Donar came back with a sandstone female that he decided to call Sash.
      Alcia had decided that she didn't want a rare firelizard.  She asked the woman where she might find a normal colored flit.  She was told that the weyr sometimes had firelizard eggs and to try there.
         They all took the new hatchling and decided to go to the weyr for Alcia.  As they exited the building, they were stopped by the sight of a large cream dragon in front of them.  Before they could move on, a voice called, "Wait."
         Turning to look, they saw a woman coming towards them.  "I am Kirra, rider of Lahelinth, and she says that several of you have potential as hatching candidates for the F.G.P.C.  Will you come sign up for the clutch?  It will be the last one here.  There should be some interesting hatchlings."   Kirra pointed to Carik, Bastian, Teryl and Jaicie.  "Lahelinth says its you four."
           They followed her back into the building and signed up as candidates.  They made sure that it was okay for them to leave the hold for a couple of sevendays and then they continued up to the weyr.
            After getting directions to where the firelizard eggs were kept,  the group found the lower caverns.  Alcia went forward to where the eggs were rocking.  She pointed to one of the eggs, and when someone handed it to her she started to step back.  Before she could take more than two steps, the shell shattered, revealing a bright green hatchling.
Alcia named her Cara and they all left the weyr.  The  next morning, they decided to leave for the new hold so they could get it set up and get back for the hatching.  Before they got very far down the road, a large shadow panicked the runners.  A blue dragon landed down the road a little ways and his rider came towards them.  "Siyeth told me yesterday about a few potential hatching candidates for the weyr.  He wasn't sure where they were exactly, then.  Now he says they are in your group.  He says there are three.  Two boys who think the same and the girl who wanted a normal firelizard."
      They all looked at each other.  Bastian spoke first.  "Donal, Donar, Alcia, I guess it's your turn now."  They all followed P'mir and Siyeth back to the weyr and the three chosen this time signed up as candidates for the clutches that interested them most.
          Then they left saying they would be back as soon as possible.  They travelled for three more days, finally ariving at Carik's new hold.  It was rather a surprise, as it looked more like a small weyr than a hold.  It even had an area that looked as if it had been used as a hatching sands.  They decided that if they all Impressed, they would come to live here and, maybe try to start their own weyr.  It would depend on how things went.
Donar and Donal are candidates at Falas Weyr
Bastian, Teryl, and Jaicie are candidates at the F.G.P.C. at Falas Hold
Alcia and Carik are candidates at Talis Weyr
   When they had been at Falas for a while,  all but Alcia had found a clutch to stand for.  The current clutches were all full, and she did not want to stand at the F.G.P.C.  A visitor from Talis Weyr mentioned to her that there was a clutch there.  His dragon thought she might be acceptable to the hatchlings there, and when he had left there had still been several spots open.  He offered to give her a ride there after she talked to her friends.  So, shortly after arriving at Falas, Alcia left again.  However she promised to visit her cousin and friends whenever she could.
continued...
Donal and Donar have Impressed!
See them here