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Post by Avery on Aug 7, 2009 15:36:16 GMT -5
Avery was fidgeting around on the stump. As hard as he tried to though, it seemed near impossible to calm his nerves. They were in the Valaia Plains, were the Order had just recently moved their camp to. Or a fraction of the Order. A reassuring hand set itself upon Avery's shoulder and squeezed. Avery looked up to the tired face of his sister. She stood next to him near the heart of the camp, where the temporary Nursery had been set up.
Her kind eyes were soft and filled with encouragement. Avery's nerved seemed to relieve slightly, but his eyes broke from hers and wandered about. He scanned over the creatures in the Nursery. There were very few of them. Cadelen had said that they were having problems in the Nursery. Those problems being a lack of creatures. Avery was a smart kid, he also knew there were also very few riders, so breeding options must have been slim.
"She'll be here soon," came Cadelen's voice, breaking Avery from his thoughts. He looked up just in time to see a fading gold light from her necklace. He'd seen all the Council Members with one. And the normal riders with their rings as well. When he'd asked, Cadelen had said they were a gift from a friend and all the riders had one, then explained how they functioned. She'd said he'd get one too, once he bonded. Which brought him back to his current predicament.
At long last, after having spent little under a year with the Order, he'd overcome his nerves and told Cadelen he wanted to bond. She'd grinned widely and told him to follow her. So here they were, at the make-shift Nursery. In the silence that lay between them, Avery asked: "So...How's Esten doing?"
Cadelen turned to look at him. She paused for a moment, cocking her head, obviously conversing with her bond. "He's fine. Resting at the moment." Currently, her bond was out on a scouting mission, as were half the other more experienced bonded creatures in the Order. He was told they were sniffing out any large place that the Order could move into. Somewhere hidden, safe, and large enough to accommodate the creatures of the Order.
((As you guys can already tell, Aidan is meant to come in later.))
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Post by Mirai on Aug 7, 2009 16:53:08 GMT -5
Mirai moved through the camp, seeking out Cadelen and her younger brother, Avery. She wanted to have him-and the other two potentials- go through selection as soon as possible. It would help them out if all three of them were riders before they established their new home.
Aricia walked behind her rider, a group of young creatures with her. Five. That was all they had had left before the Shades had come and destroyed the Keep. Luckily they'd been able to get them all away safely. Though they were old enough to defend themselves fairly well, the dragon still watched over them like a hawk, which why she had remained in the camp rather go out scouting with many of the others.
Mirai smiled at Cadelen and Avery as she approached. "Hello," She said, then looked to Avery, "Are you ready?"
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Post by Avery on Aug 8, 2009 13:47:14 GMT -5
Avery nearly jumped straight out of his skin when Mirai arrived and said hello. He looked in her direction to see her walking towards him with all the grace and power that was a council member. Just behind her was the large dragon known as Aricia. She was large indeed and very intimidating. Avery couldn't help but shrink back a little in their presence. At least it was an improvement from a year ago, when he would feel the need to duck and hide behind his sister whenever they were around. He noticed the five tiny creatures bounding around Aricia's feet. It was very apparent that Aricia was the mother hawk of the order. It seemed as though even little creatures of another race considered her their mother.
"Are you ready?" Mirai asked. Avery looked up to meet her gaze, then looked to his sister, who only grinned wider. "Uh... About as ready as I'll every be," he answered quietly. He walked over to Mirai, fingers gripping the edge of his shirt in a nervous habit. "What do we..uh... do?"
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Post by Mirai on Aug 10, 2009 15:58:37 GMT -5
"Just give me you're hand, that's all you need to do," Mirai told him. It never failed-they were always nervous when it came time for their selection. No matter how excited or scared they were, nervousness was always mixed in with it. Nervous that they might not be bonded at all, or not to a creature they liked, she supposed. She waited patiently for him to release his shirt and hold out his hand.
Behind them, the young creatures had settled down, and were watching Mirai and Avery with interest, as though they were aware something important was going on.
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Post by Avery on Aug 17, 2009 22:09:01 GMT -5
"Just give me you're hand, that's all you need to do," Mirai said. Avery did so nervously. He felt ridiculous, his palms were sweaty and he could swear he was shaking. He remembered Cadelen had told him that their was a chance he wouldn't bond all together. He'd been scared to death after that. What would he do if he didn't bond? He felt like he would be letting Cadelen down if that happened. He stopped his train of thought to stop from worrying and looked at Mirai.
She was completely calm. Since she was the Selector, as well as a Council Member, she must've had to deal with those kind of things all the time. It was even more astounding to look behind her to see the little creatures were intently focused on the both of them. Maybe one of those little ones will be mine... he thought. He set his face in a stern-like expression and looked back to Mirai, ready for her to take his hands.
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Post by Mirai on Aug 19, 2009 22:59:40 GMT -5
Mirai could feel him shake and the sweat that soaked his palm as she clasped his hand in her own. It was something she'd grown used after years of being a selector. She let herself fall into the trance, and it wasn't long until she saw Avery, looking like a mosaic of tiles. It always interested her, getting to see what the potentials looked like in the trance. She'd often wondered if they had any mean, or were merely random images.
She soon moved passed it, seeing the image of a creature, appearing as a mosaic like Avery had. She tugged herself out of the trance and smiled, turning towards Aricia. She brought forward a gangly looking hippogriff, who was practically tripping over its own feet. "This is your bond, Avery," She told him, "Touch him to form your bond, and give him a name."
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Post by Avery on Aug 20, 2009 1:08:29 GMT -5
Avery became slightly nervous when Mirai didn't respond after taking his hands. Her eyes became glossy and laxed. She did nothing but stare and hold his hands. When Avery was about to turn to Cadelen to make sure everything was okay, Mirai let go of his hands. When he looked back, she had been smiling and was walking towards Aricia. Had this meant that he bonded? Avery's hand went to the edge of his shirt. It almost felt like the wind had been knocked out of him when Mirai returned with a little Hippogriff.
It was tall and lanky and did more of an awkward dance-like tripping motion that could vaguely be related to walking. Mirai's voice pulled Avery back into reality, reminding him to breath before he started turning purple. "This is your bond, Avery," She told him, "Touch him to form your bond, and give him a name." It took a moment for him to tear his gaze away from the hippogriff to Mirai. He nodded slightly and kneeled down slowly before the little creature. It seemed as terrified of the whole ordeal as Avery was: his eyes were wide and rimmed with nervous fear, he was shaking and looked like he was flat out fall over and kiss the dirt any second.
Avery reached out his hand very slowly, shaking perhaps as much as the little creature was and touched the hippogriff's head tenderly. For a moment Avery felt as though he had blacked out. His mind went blank and the world disappeared. Then a sharp and icy pain went from his hand to his mind, jump-starting his heart and suddenly he was viewing the world again, his sight returned. ...Are you alright? came a meek and quiet voice, sounding hesitant. Avery stared in fascination at the hippogriff. So this was what being a rider felt like. Now Avery really understood why the riders sometimes seemed quiet and reserved. They were merely conversing with their bonds.
Yes, I'm alright... I suppose were bonded together. The little hippogriff did nothing but stare, his little eyes impossibly large. Had they gotten bigger? Avery hadn't thought it possible. He reached out once more for the hippogriff. He stroked the feathers along his face and gazed into his eyes. There was a funny feeling forming in his heart and mind. Was this the bond that held all the riders together? Whatever it was, from it, came a name. The little hippogriff chirped.
"We've decided. Hugo. Hugo will be his name," he said to Mirai, in a voice stronger than his natural personality deemed.
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Post by Mirai on Aug 20, 2009 21:29:39 GMT -5
Mirai watched the two nervous males form their bond, and smiled once they had, relaxing. As she told him the name of the hippogriff, she produced a small notebook and a pen from her pocket. She opened up to the first blank page and wrote down the boy's name and the hippogriff's. This was something to be remembered. The first bond since the Keep's destruction. And she was determined that it not be the last.
The notebook was filled with little tidbits she wanted to remember, or thought were important. A good portion of the pages were already filled with her notes. She had taken it upon herself to record the history of the Keep-that which she could remember from her reading in the library, and what had happened recently and was happening now. Most of the records had been destroyed along with the Keep, and what hadn't she didn't wish to bring with her. She brought only what was of utmost necessity, plus a few sentimental things. The history books she could carry on without; she recalled enough to make do.
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Post by Avery on Aug 20, 2009 22:32:59 GMT -5
Avery glanced up as Mirai wrote down something in a notebook she had produced from her pocket. His attention returned quickly to Hugo, however. Cadelen came over then, touching Avery on the shoulder. "Come, I'll take you to Aidan now, he'll give you your Rider's Ring," she told him, eyes glowing with pride. Avery also took note again of the fading golden light from her necklace as she finished talking to another Rider. The griffin on her necklace shuffled a bit, but returned to a relaxed lying position. "Okay," he said and stood, brushing grass from his knees. Hugo looked up at him with big eyes and chirped. "Hugo says so long as we can go eat afterward."
They chuckled and started to walk off, Hugo at Avery's heels, when Avery stopped suddenly. He turned around and looked back to the Order's Selector. "Mirai," he said to get her attention. When she took notice of him, he simply said, "Thank you," with a genuine smile on his face. Cadelen smiled kindly and waved. "Goodbye." Esten simply nodded to Mirai, then Aricia.
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Post by Sen on Aug 30, 2009 0:11:25 GMT -5
(((Noticed that Aidan was invited. figured I would post! ^^ )))
Aidan glanced at his ring as it flashed a golden color signaling a counsil member had gotten his attention. That must mean Avery was bonded. Aidan grinned from ear to ear and Creon looked suddenly more interested than he had been in a while. "First new rider since the attack. Im glad its Cad's little brother." He said as he pushed some white blond hair from his eyes and strode through the keep with Creon in tow.
When he spotted Cadelen and Avery and a tiny hippogriff he grinned and waved in a friendly manner. Though the calmness was there. Before he left for a year his energy would have him jumping up and down yelling by now. Its obvious Aidan had calmed a drastic amount since then, But his overall niceness hadnt changed. "Congrats" Aidan said to Avery. "And a hippogriff too, rare." He said. Creon was eyeing the little creature curiously but it was obvious he was wanting to go off to see Aricia.
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