The years had gone by while he eagerly awaited this day. It was promised to him, Shay Chross, that upon his sixteenth birthday he might enroll in the Academy. Should they accept him he would become a dragon candidate for the Sekkaian. Now, as he walked down the corridor of the candidate rooms, it felt so surreal. The days spent dreaming of this very day. The years spent pondering what it would finally be like to enter the Academy as an official dragon candidate; this was finally his reality. The papers were signed and he carried a knapsack slung over his shoulder. It was laden with clothing and personal possessions, not the least of which was a beautiful sword handed down by his father to him. His foster father was as much a real father to him as could possibly be, after all. The gift was treasured and he coveted it above any other possession. The sword was undeniably large and required practice to wield. The blade was a bluish silver sheen and the craftsmanship was lovely indeed. It was a treasure, and one which would hopefully see him through many a battle.

However, Shay was not thinking of his sword right now. It was strapped into the sheathe he wore on his back, out of sight and mind for the moment. He was too awe struck by being in the barracks. They were nothing hugely special and yet as he walked along and looked at the numbers on the doors, he knew that this was now his home. Until he found a dragon willing to bond with him, this was home. He was too much the dreamer to think that he might not bond. No, he'd waited his entire life for this; it had to happen. To him being a dragonrider was his destiny. He couldn't imagine being or doing anything else. So as he turned to face the door of room number six, he took a deep breath before entering. He was aware it was unoccupied. The list by the entrance to the corridor has stated as much. He walked in and looked around the room with a smile. Not too shabby!

There were two beds, one on either side of the room. There were likewise two chest of drawers with mirrors over them on the walls, and a night table each beside the beds. Nothing extensive but adequate for what it was. He chose the bed on the left side of the room, gently removing his pack and undoing the tie at the top. Upon doing so, a white head with bright black eyes popped out. Shay grinned and extracted the white ferret from his knapsack and set him on the bed.

"Hey there Ruki," he spoke to it, scratching under its chin. He removed his sword now too, leaning it up against the wall in the corner on his side. Satisfied, he began to unpack. First things out were two small dishes and a little box. These he put on the floor nearby the bed. The box he put wood chips into. Obviously these things were for the animal he'd dubbed 'Ruki'. Then he began to unpack his own belongings. He began to wonder who he would be rooming with. Hopefully someone friendly and interesting! He heard footsteps approaching and stopped what he was doing, curiosity making him go over to the door, open it, and stick his head out to see who it might be...

Lyre, who was at the door, was suddenly struck as the other boy moved to peer out and check on who was where. The head on collision jolted him backwards. He instinctively covered his nose and forehead with his hands, trying to dumb down the pain of the impact and, while it was quite unexpected, nothing was broken. That didn't stop his nose from starting to gush, however. He felt it coming on and so he instantly plugged it, pinching with his fingers, but the crimson made it's way through and began to drip fat drops all over his shirt, sash and pants. Trying fuitily to catch them, he waved in an apologetic way, as if thinking it was more his fault for not seeing Shay. Who was to expect a roommate so suddenly!

Without a noise, he quickly slipped past the other boy and made his way to the basin of water near the window between the beds. Tilting his head up, he quickly dashed to rip apart a paper cloth and, without a second thought, stuffed one of each half up the respective spurting nostril.

"Uhg..." Distorted by the wads up his nose, his voice wasn't that clear. "...'Arry. I'b been moor pone to dese 'ince I'cabe." (Sorry, I've been more prone to these since I came.) He tried to smile whilst cleaning himself up, blotting at the blood with another damp cloth. He had to take off his sash entirely just to try and get the blood out.

Laughing a bit, he didn't have much success, but seemed jovial enough besides that fact. "'r eu mah new roobate?" (Are you my new roomate?)

The last thing Shay had been expecting was an impact from the opposite side of the door. It was a familiar enough sound that he recognized it for what it was: the door had obviously hit someone when he'd opened it. Sure enough, a boy who was pinching his nose came around the door and entered the room. Shay watched with wide eyes as the other teen walked over to the basin of water that he'd not noted yet and proceeded to plug up his nose with a paper cloth, tearing it and just corking it up there. He blinked twice in surprise as he was addressed. The boy didn't seem upset that he'd just obviously suffered a nosebleed by Shay whacking him in the face with a door. Whoever he was seemed like he was pretty darn easygoing. He knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth and grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, that would be me," he replied, glancing over at the other bed. It was made, so was this guy new here or was his stuff already put away? He had thought the room was unoccupied but he wasn't going to complain if he had a guy his own age and apparently willing to overlook his little accident for a room mate. With a motion towards whomever he was, he added, "sorry about that. I didn't expect anyone to be standing in front of the door," he told him honestly, wincing a little. He felt bad but there wasn't much he could really do. The other boy seemed to have it mostly under control. The impact hadn't come with any 'crunching' noises so he felt safe to say he hadn't broken anything on the guy.

"I'm Shay," he offered with a friendly smile. The white ferret who had up until now been in his bag seemed to realize there was someone else in the room. It trundled out of the bag and onto the bed, staring curiously at the stranger with bright, intelligent eyes. Shay turned around and scooped him up before facing the other boy once more, and then offered, "he's Ruki. He's box trained so you won't have to worry about stepping in anything. Plus he's pretty clean and won't get in your way--much," he finished. The ferret scooted up onto his shoulder and licked his ear before giving it a gentle nip and snuffling behind it. Shay laughed and regarded his newly met room mate with a grin from his bi colored eyes.

He didn't exactly have much left to unpack. Mostly it was just clothes and not much else. He didn't really need much besides that and his sword. After all they provided the meals and stuff here. Not like he had to worry about food. He had a water bottle and a couple of writing utensils and empty books with mostly blank pages. He liked sketching. There were a couple of sketches in one of the books but nothing more. His foster parents wanted him to send letters back home to them, too. So he had paper for that, too. There wasn't much else he needed. Ruki had a couple of little toys but really that wasn't anything worth mentioning. He wondered, then, if his room mate had any little friends. He did so enjoy animals of all sorts. Still, not everyone did. He hope whoever this was wasn't one of them.

Without the sash, the shirt fell upon his form lightly. He wasn't at all muscular in build and was a little feminine as far as bone structure and tone went, but he had a certain lack of fat that made it acceptable.

"Ab, i'h ok. Eue 'idn't ehcspect it." (Ah, it's ok. You didn't expect it.) Almost finished fiddling with his sash, he made some final washings in the basin and then let it hang over the side to drip idley on the floor. As Shay introduced himself, greeting the other boy pleasantly, the dark haired boy quickly took the rolls from his nose and, wiggling it for a moment with his face, he found it had stopped rather suddenly. Thank goodness for kind favors. As he moved to take care of the waste, he saw the little creature's ascent and, having never seen such a little thing before, was not just a little surprised. He let his mind set to wonder just what sort of an animal it was. It seemed friendly, at least. He wasn't so much worried about the rest of it's habits.

Rolling the bloody bits in another paper, he gently let them fall into a trash bin and put out his hand, but then looked concerned for a moment and quickly withdrew to wash them in the still clean basin instead. Finally drying them on yet another towel, he felt able to put his hand out again, clean this time. "Sorry." He sniffed a little, starting to breathe out his nose again. "My name is Lyre." Finally able to speak in his true voice, the few words fell of his tongue in a shining spill, alighting on the air. There was just some sort of a strange quality to it, indescribable, but lifting.

Lyre's side was neat, but only because he had yet to use it. Last night he had spend outside, having fallen asleep on the fields unintentionally. What little belongings he had, he usually took with him, but there was a small sack of working tools somewhere, probably under the bed itself. Having no little pets like Ruki, left him companionless, but with less to worry about.

It wasn't too hard to make out what the other boy was saying; with or without the tissue paper up his nose, since he was used to those who'd caught cold speaking in much the same manner. It was a lot easier--and surprising--to make out his true voice. It was quite distinct in a way Shay could not have placed. His own voice was lighter in tone and pleasant enough. It hardly sounded gruff even when he was angry. But the other boy's? Was almost like listening to what he would have imagined a talking bird to sound like. Light and silvery. Maybe like little bells ringing, but not quite? It was nearly impossible to put it into words and so Shay gave up trying. It was what it was and it offered an interesting aspect to his newly met room mate.

"Lyre, huh? It's a good name. Suits you," Shay commented, half to himself while it was obviously directed at Lyre. He made no attempt to remove the curious white critter on his shoulder. Instead he let it be and then asked curiously, "did you just get here too?" He didn't notice Lyre carrying anything. Maybe the boy was neat and his things were already away? He wasn't a neat freak but he was certainly not like some layabout boys who left his things all over the place. Clothing, garbage and belongings all had a place. He might have been guilty of leaving his bedsheets a little askew and yet that was about the worst of it. He didn't want his ear pulled or a scolding. He had gotten plenty of those. Besides, now that he was here? He wanted to keep up good appearances. Not that he actually thought it would have any influence whatsoever on him bonding to a dragon. No, it was just that if he did bond he'd want to make sure he set a good example. Or something like that.

Ruki went back to eying Lyre with open curiosity. New one. New one with a new scent-taste. He wanted to go look-and-taste this new one. His head tilted to the side as he sniffed the air, whiskers all a quiver. His did not approve of him climbing upon new ones. He would have to wait but he would certainly get to sniff-and-see up close. Soon. Just had to wait.

Shay could feel the white ferret leaning forward to get a better look at Lyre. However until he was sure that Lyre was comfortable with it he would keep Ruki at bay. Surely the ferret would make his own way to Lyre's side and inspect things. He couldn't keep an eye on the ferret at all times. Even though Ruki would not leave the room even if the door were ajar he would certainly want to go and inspect Lyre's things. It would only be fair to warn the other boy so that he didn't become startled at finding the white bundle of fur inspecting things.

"Um, just so you know? He might go and inspect your stuff. So if there's anything you don't want him to sniff at it would be a good idea to have it in a bag or drawer," he saids sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. It wasn't as though he wanted the little creature to be so nosy. But the ferret had an insatiable curiosity--kind of like Shay's own. Only Shay didn't go snooping through other people's belongings and well, Ruki did. He cleared his throat and gave Lyre an apologetic sort of look. The other boy seemed easy going enough but there were some people who were really picky about their things, their privacy. Even if it was just an animal Lyre might not like the idea of it nosing around his property.

"Lyre, huh? It's a good name. Suits you"

"Haha." He laughed with a soft grin. "I guess so! Who knew my parents would predict my passions." Wringing his clothing carefully, he shook them with a few snaps over the basin. "Yeah. I just got here the day before. I was so inspired, I forgot to come here and accidentally fell asleep outside in the gardens."

He became aware, over the next few moments, that the little white fellow on Shay's shoulder was eyeing him. He was a strange new person. Maybe this was to be expected, though, he hadn't even thought of what to do if his roommate had a pet. He had heard tales of the voracious appetites of young dragons and had just assumed that other creatures about would be a bad idea. "Um, just so you know? He might go and inspect your stuff. So if there's anything you don't want him to sniff at it would be a good idea to have it in a bag or drawer."
"Oh." The young boy paused to think. What did he have that may too valuable to leave out? Well, everything had a certain value to him. He had so few things from home, so every little bit counted. "I think the only real things I'd be worried about are my instruments. I'll put those away, but i'm sure he's well behaved. I don't mind him." Lyre slipped a hand through the front of his dark hair to pull it back some. "I couldn't bring much with me from home. I grew up on an island and it's pretty far." Half consciously, he used his hands to gesture that it was, indeed, an exceptional distance. The boat had been so small too. He had to pack very light and most of the space was taken up by rations and tools, having no idea when he'd be able to sleep in a bed again.

"Where do you come from?" He was so engrossed with learning more, seeing what features graced the world. He could only imagine far away lands, cultures, almost like different worlds. "Uh-- If I may ask, that is?"

His face lit with curiosity, thinking of all the stories that could be told or written. "Oh, and... What exactly is Ruki? I've never seen anything quite like him before."


As his eager voice let fly these questions, he realized he'd also have to warn Shay about his ... musical habits.

Shay hadn't a clue what Lyre meant about 'predicting his passions'. He tilted his head to the left a little and nodded in understanding to the second statement. He hadn't expected the Academy to be so big! He had imagined it being huge but even his imagination couldn't have fathomed the true majesty of the place. Plus there were dragons and dire wolves all over the place! He had seen so many already that it made his head swim. So he well understood how Lyre could be inspired by the Academy. He felt the exact same way! With a lopsided grin he replied enthusiastically,

"It's great, huh? I knew it was huge but this is something else altogether," a pause to glance out the window of their room, and then, "and there's dragons everywhere! I can't even begin to guess at how many kinds live here. Plus the wolves. Have you seen them? They are totally not your regular kind of wolves. I only used to see them from a distance, but here..." he trailed off, his eyes shining brightly, fist clenched and raised. He seemed about to burst with his enthusiasm.

It seemed his earlier question answered itself. So, Lyre...played instruments? That made sense. He could play a guitar a bit but he really loved drums. The beat and rhythm of things was something he felt even when walking down the roads in Nyushi. Everything had a beat. The way you breathed, walked--even spoke. However goo he was at playing the drums he was not very good with much else. He had an average singing voice at best. Capable of reaching five octaves but untrained and not used enough to be of much use. It was clear he could hit notes but he only sang for fun and could never compare to anyone really good with it--not without much practice. His love wasn't in any more than playing drums and he only did that on occasion now.

"You have instruments, huh? Sounds cool--what kind?" Of course he would have noticed a set of drums immediately. It was a pity there were not any here. Getting his from home would require a horse just to bring over and he had not come here to focus on that. Maybe Lyre had a guitar though. If he practiced a few times he could perhaps learn a song or two. If Lyre was really good he could even perhaps deign to teach him how to play properly. The idea was interesting but again Shay wondered if they'd have time for such things.

A small island? Nothing like Shay's own life, growing up in the last protected place in all Sekkai. He was instantly curious but decided to answer Lyre's questions first. They were simple ones and to someone like Shay, Lyre's island home seemed way more interesting so he was quite eager to answer the questions so that he might in turn question the other boy.

"I grew up in Nyushi, Lihn. It's a really big city, so far as Sekkai cities go. The biggest, actually," he admitted. It was, after all. He felt safer there than anywhere save maybe here. The Academy was a place that was well protected and no Taint would want to openly attack; not if they were in their right minds. If any Tainted could be said to even be in their right minds at all...

"Ruki? He's a ferret. They're not that common but I guess I've seen one or two people in my lifetime who manage to get one." He seemed to be thinking, and then added, "he eats meat and fruit both. Berries and stuff like that and just about any kind of meat. Seems to prefer bird meat though. Umm...don't know what else to tell you. They're kind of like cats but smarter in some ways." It was the best he could do to explain what a ferret was like. Ruki could fetch certain items and do a couple of tricks that Shay had spent some time teaching him. Usually for treats; the ferret didn't like to work for nothing.

"What about you? No pets I guess? What was your island like? Were there dragons or dire riders over there? You came by boat, right?" He had to stop himself from assailing Lyre with a ton more questions, biting his tongue to keep them from spilling out. He sat down on the edge of his bed, pleased to find the mattress was firm but not too much so. He would at least sleep well here. He wondered what their daily routine would consist of once they had dragons. Probably a lot of training and lessons. Now it was just some chores and taking care of themselves. Which was great and all but not nearly exciting enough for Shay, who had far bigger goals in mind!

"It's so awe-inspiring here. It's just so different from my home, I don't even know where to start the comparisons in my head!" He took his eyes off his roommate for a moment to realize he should probably change the water in the basin... "Oh!" he turned back, starred voice rolling from him. "No, I haven't seen the wolves yes, though, I heard them last night." The moon-songs had been so sad sounding, but very eerie to one who was unused to their notes. "They sounded big."

Lyre recalled his words and it dawned on him that his 'passion' statement wouldn't have made much sense to Shay. He was so used to everyone around him at home being used to his musical tenancies. "I play just about anything I can get my hands on. I couldn't bring anything big with me, but I have my flute and, if I find the right type of wood, I could probably carve other things. My dad was a carpenter." His heart, on cue, beat out several harder blows within him, dredging out his homesick feelings. They really were so far away. "I've never been to Lihn either. How big is it? As big as here? How many cities are there?" His mind wandered, straying from thoughts of his family for now. He'd see them again. He had promised.

Talk, however, wound away from places and things, back to the little creature enthusiastically set on Shay's shoulder. Lyre had hoped the little one would be so inclined, food wise. "Ah, I see. I was worried for a moment he might like to snack on wooden things. I know some animals do go for that sort of thing. I'm glad he doesn't, or my violin may have been on the menu... had I brought it." Ah, something else he forgot... not that he probably could have carried the thing with him over the seas had he wanted to. "i don't have any little companions. At home I had a few sheep that would follow me around, but nothing really pet-wise." Though, there had been several occasions when he had been suddenly beset with a eclectic collection of furry woodland creatures to watch him. They startled him the first time he went singing out by himself as he had found them staring from the underbrush and from behind shrubbery. "My home is very austere compared to the splendor of this place. We lived outside the town, in between the fields and the forest. I couldn't even see the sea. I grew up there, though. Everyone was pretty nice." He had had his share of bullies, though. They seemed to be pulled to him after his voice developed. He was kinda girly back then...

"We didn't even have horses, let alone wolves or dragons. To be honest, I thought them more myth than anything. I never really imagined I'd see one. You know, breaking right into legend. I'm pretty sure I stopped to stare at one for a while. He or she was probably really annoyed with me." He found it very hard to tell the genders apart with dragons.

"But I did have to get here by boat and then on foot. I was lucky enough to be taken over by experienced sailors. I had no idea the waters were so dangerous. In fact, I feel really blessed I got here in one peace from what I hear about the darker dragons that attack frequently." Lyre had very little idea about the grave threat that the taint really presented. He had grown up so far away from it, he had never needed to worry about an attack. His island was beyond fortunate.


"I don't really know what to do here yet. I've heard it may take a while for a dragon to choose you, but I'm willing to wait." He brightened, wondering. He couldn't place his bets on even bonding one, but that was ok. He was thankful enough just to be inspired by them. "Maybe I can help out in the mean time or something. I've been meaning to visit the library. Maybe they could use an extra set of hands. What about you? Any plans?"


He couldn't get his hopes up, but he was so excited anyway. He'd be ready, even if it took years.