Gahn and Sam visit Sidra Weyr

Name: Gahn (left)

Gender: Male, straight

Age/DOB: mid-30s

Origin/Species: Some Earth, Human

Family: unknown

Other: Kinda looking for a smart girl

Height: 5'10" Build: average, good arm strength

Hair: brown, not a bowl cut, just grown out 70s style; full and nicely cut Engineer's Gotee

Eyes: medium brown, often covered by hair

Appearance: light skin, casual loose uniform

Genetic Abilities: exceptionally good with geometry, visual assessment, and math

Enhancements or Augmentations: hardly ever appears without his tool box; EThumb, Comm

Skills or Profession: Engineer, likes safety and structural items, welding, and civil engineering

Personality: Kinda grump a lot of the time

Name: Sam (right)

Gender: Male, straight ish

Age/DOB: early 30s

Origin/Species: An Earth, Human

Family: unknown

Other: it would surprise everyone if he didn't settle at some point

Height: 5'10" Build: broad torso but not dad-bod

Hair: poofy, light brown, eventually kinda long

Eyes: dark brown, small under thick brows

Appearance: medium skin, scruffy mustache and beard; will definitely be a dad bod later

Genetic Abilities: adapts to new tech and ideas quickly

Enhancements or Augmentations: has a Sonic Screwdriver, though who he stole it from is anyone's guess

Skills or Profession: Engineer, clever wiring and tricks

Personality: Pretty cheerful most of the time

Events or History:

Would they have to wait long? That was the main question that Sam kept asking. He wasn't particularly a hurried kind of guy, but he seemed like he really wanted "in" on this dragon thing once they'd gotten to Sidra.

"Did you want to see the eggs?" Asked one of the locals at the Weyr. Gahn thumbed back toward Sam and grunted.

"He will, I'll settle in for a moment first, right?" He said, and pushed himself deeply into the cushioned chair in their room. It didn't look like he would be going anywhere for a while.

"I will," Sam said, suddenly full of energy. "I want to see the rest of the weyr, too, this place is great! It's got secret passages!" He nudged Gahn who looked like he was asleep already.

The tour went from the candidate barracks, into the kitchens, dining hall, and main corridors - where they'd actually already been. The infirmary was pointed out, then the weyrwoman's and weyrleader's chambers and offices, plus other such important folks.

"The weyrling master's place is through here, and the weyrlings rooms are down the hall. Each dragon pair is teamed with an appropriately sized second pair."

"So they'll learn together," Sam said. "Cool."

"When the dragons are either old enough or big enough to reside on their own, they are placed in the senior weyrling barracks, which are higher into the walls of the Weyr."

"How long does that take?" Sam continued to ask questions, and was rewarded with all the answers this tour guide could give. Some, like the "how do you deal with the big wounds they would get" and "does every dragon have the same personality when they're the same color" were kind of less easy to answer, but the guide pointed him into the right direction for his answers.

Eventually, Sam tired of the tour and had to get down to business. He needed to get Gahn interested in seeing the eggs. Maybe they would both be able to do that later on, during their classes.

"I'm not all that happy about class work," muttered Gahn, "I mean, I already went through school. Years ago."

"But we're going to have to learn how to fly and command the dragons and ... all that stuff." Sam huffed, and plopped down into the chair next to his friend. "Even though we're engineers, we've still gotta learn the ropes. It's all new."

"New things like your sonic screwdriver piss me off," Gahn admitted, "but I suppose you're right..."

And by and by, they did get to see the eggs. Sam excelled in the classes, taking on new subjects like they were fine pastries. He didn't seem to dwell very long on any one thing in particular, though, so he didn't really look as though he'd be truly amazing at any of them. Gahn however learned that there was tack and harnessing to make, and that suddenly sparked his interest.

The pair would do their research together, and then help each other out on things they were confused about. It was a very good arrangement.

Until someone, some wiseacre, decided to comment about them being 'together'. "How sweet, d'ya think you'll get a green an'na blue to go with yer sweetie pie personalities?"

At which point both men glared at the offending brown rider, and decked him from two sides at once.

Their punishment was something new to Sam, but Gahn explained that mucking out weyrs for a week, and then cleaning the ashy residue from the landings of the adults dragons, was not supposed to be fun.

"That's why we've been assigned it as a punishment," Gahn explained, "I mean, my old prof at the welderworks would make me clean out the pits and it was disgusting! This is no different..." He grumbled as he pushed the broom into the muck.

"Well, I dunno about that." Sam said. He was not endlessly happy and cheerful, but he came close. Every time he got the chance to see a dragon - even while he was mucking their weyr, he got all giddy and hopeful again. Maybe it was a green that he was destined to ride, but not likely - his attentions were always on his work or something shiny - not his friend Gahn.

Gahn was not endlessly grumpy and sleepy, either. When their leather work was to be judged, or they were to find new hooks and metal parts for their potential saddles, he was intense and focused like never before.

Either way - both of them soon figured that having a dragon to help train, raise and ride, would be the best thing that ever happened to them.

It wasn't so long after they arrived and got into the swing of things that there was a bugling on the sands. The hatching had started! The eggs were odd, in that both their parents were brown - a male and a female!

Over the course of a few weeks, the pair of star faring engineers had learned that this was quite the odd occurrence, as brown dragons were typically male.

It didn't matter much to either of them. They knew only one thing: they'd both like to bond, and they would love to have their dragons show off on Caledrus when they were old enough to return.

The first to hatch was... a brown. What a surprise. The second to hatch ... was also a brown. This seemed to greatly displease Weyrwoman Tai. But she calmed herself, as the brown went around to the candidates.

He sniffed out, wandering around the group. The dragonet waved his wings in the warm air to dry them, and then bespoke to Gahn.

You better get used to mucking out the weyrs. You'll have to do it for me too. Unless... you don't want me.

There was a little worry in the dragon's mind, and Gahn sensed that. "Of course I want you," he replied, "why else do you think I would have come here, to impress a human?"

I'm Kemoth, the dragon told him, proudly.

When Sam watched his companion walk away with the sturdy second brown, he wondered what would happen next. He was intent on watching the rest of the hatching, no matter what. He was really interested because at last there was a green who hatched. She bonded to a dragon who was attending alone.

Yet another brown hatched, and bonded to another young man. Amazingly, then, a bronze dragonet hatched! Bronze! At last a blue hatched, and Sam thought absently that it was a bit underrated after that bronze. Another blue hatched, bursting out, and then a second one came out - they were about to fight between their bonds but they were stopped before doing any damage.

Then another blue came out of his shell. He staggered forward until he saw Sam.

What is it like cleaning out the weyrs of other dragons? Is it fun? Is it boring? Will you mind cleaning out our weyr? Will you show me around the weyr too? Am I the last dragon to hatch? Why do you look so startled?

Hardly a moment to think, Sam felt the incessant noise of the dragon's mind hammering at his own, and he loved it.

What is that strange fur on your face? Hey, this place has secret passages? Will you show them to me? What's it like in a ship? Why is your hair so poofy? Is it always like that? Will you tell me everything you know? Will you feed me? Did you know my name is Shenith? You didn't? Well, now you do! Will I be able to fly in that ship? Will--

The questions didn't stop coming, as Sam led him away to where his partner Gahn and his brown waited, they had eaten and maybe - just maybe - some food in the belly of this ravenous-minded blue Shenith would slow him down a bit.

Kemoth took to food like nobody's business. He would be a medium sized brown, but not for lack of trying.

"Slow down on that!" Gahn called out as Kemoth swooped down onto his second 'lunch sized' meal of the day.

I need to be bigger and stronger! I will be carrying you after all!

"Oh, like I'm all that big!" Gahn complained.

You ARE big!

"I am not all that big! You're going to grow up to fit me!" Gahn whined, and then heard Sam in the other portion of their shared dorm laughing at him. "Oh, shut up."

Sam chuckled to himself, and then turned back to tend to Shenith. He put his tools away, but Shenith nudged his arm with his blue nose.

You should show me what to do with that sonic screwdriver thing you have. I want to learn! What do you do with it?

"Well, Shenith, I think I'd best use the tools. You're a dragon. You'll be able to help me lift things, but I dunno about a screwdriver." Sam said. But his dragon was undaunted.

I know I will be able to be useful! I like being useful! What else can I do? Tell me! Tell me!

It was Gahn's turn to laugh.

Kemoth and Shenith flew as an expert pair in the air. Their riders were excited at the idea of finally getting to head back to Caledrus and the Cherry Cream. It'd been just over a year their time, and both of the young men wondered if Sidra had had enough of them and their dragons. Born here or not, they were pretty annoying.

I am not annoying.

I think you are, snapped the brown.

Well I think you're just a fuddyduddy and that's what my Rider says too.

He does not!

"He does not!" Gahn said, "now both of you, hush up. We've got to time this right to get back to the ship. Woodstock left us Thumbs, but I don't think we'll be needing them."

"I think we should use it, just in case," Sam said, "it'll make extra sure that the ship is where we need it to be."

Gahn nodded, "yup," he said.

"That's my line," Sam laughed.

They put out their electronic thumbs and turned them on. A faint beeping could be heard from both small devices, and eventually they got the green light from the big invisible ship. It would be there when they were ready.

"Well, let's go. Sidra," Gahn said with a bow, "thank you for everything. We might come back and haunt you!"

Several riders below, not the least of them the brown rider who'd insinuated that the pair were 'a pair' so long before, waved them off and wished them well - well enough, anyway.

The dragons focused on the image in their riders' minds. The interior of the big ship they called Caledrus, which was to be their home from now on.

They made it, and met up with the few people who were waiting.

-- (dragon images below are color-corrected from the very crusty gif format)

Features: Sidra, very barrel bodied with strong legs; four legs with 3 huge talons; 2 leather wings with 3 visible fingers and strong wrist thumb/claw; heavy and chunky head with large eye ridges and slight crest; tail is long, and spade ended
Origin: Sidra Weyr Clutch 4; art by Weyrwoman Tai
Lineage of both dragons

Dragon of Gahn

Name: Kemoth
Gender: Male
Size/Shoulder/Length: medium 14' s / 55' l / 90' ws
Colors: Brown, medium to dark
Powers: Winged Flight
Teleportation local, long-distance, temporal, Nexus
Telepathy
Telekinesis* learned later
(now Un)assisted Firebreath
Other Info: Formal, a bit stodgy, quite smart; enjoys large construction efforts

Mates and Descendants

Dragon of Sam

Name: Shenith
Gender: Male
Size/Shoulder/Length: medium 11' s / 45' l / 75' ws
Colors: Blue, very rich and dark
Powers: Winged Flight
Teleportation local, long-distance, temporal, Nexus
Telepathy
Telekinesis* learned later
(now Un)assisted Firebreath
Other Info: Short Attention Span Theater Kid; is actually quite helpful with big things

Mates and Descendants