The rain had stopped, the night was cold, a small cry echoed throughout the land. Watch weyrs were running through the streets, Runners fled free from their pastures, Felines hissed at the shadows running as well, Canines frantically tore into anything that moved towards them as all of the creatures in this one small place ran for their lives. A small girl shouted in the streets so frightened she couldn’t move. Soon her cries for help died down as her world shattered around her. Was there nobody who would help her? Something appeared above in the sky, but she didn’t notice. Tears ran down her face quickly as a pole from a building crashed down only a few feet away from her. “Daddy!” She yelled finding courage enough to turn and search for her father. She couldn’t see him though. Somebody was running towards her now, it was her father. The little girl happily ran towards him and leapt into his arms. She suddenly felt a lot safer than she had before, but as soon as her father scooped her up into his arms he was off running again.

“Hold on.” He whispered to his only child. “It’ll be fine.” Suddenly flames burst in front of them. The man looked into the sky and spotted just what he was trying to find. A brown was flying trying to find survivors that had managed to get away from the city. It seemed that the rider and the dragon had spotted them down on the ground towards the forest away from the city. Diving down the rider hopped off his dragon and quickly went over to where the man and his daughter were now standing. “Please.” The man said. “Take my daughter to her grandfather.” Then he pushed the little girl towards the rider.

“You must come as well. You know you cannot stay here, you will die.” The rider protested as the father of the girl ran back towards the city. “Don’t be stupid! Come back here!”

He has made his decision, he isn’t going with us. Hurry my rider! We must leave at once. The ground is still shaking and I fear something is surfacing. Get the girl, we must leave. The rest of the Weyr’s wings have gone between, we must leave now!

The rider grabbed the girl as she started after her father. As soon as he did she started screaming at him and flailing her small fists. He picked her up anyway and she banged her fists onto his back. A large shake of the ground sent the rider falling down and the girl ended up getting her head banged onto the ground so hard it knocked her out. The rider picked up the now unconscious girl and ran to his dragon. As soon as possible they were in the air and heading back to their Weyr.

Once back to where it was day instead of night the rider got the girl into a room to sleep. But she did not sleep, she had awoke and now she had yawned many times, but hadn’t gone to sleep as she was told. Getting out of her bed she found herself very confused. Why is she here? For a matter of fact, where was here? These questions spilled forth in her mind, so she crawled out of bed and ran out of the room.

Running outside with bare feet she ran towards the lake. She suddenly then ran towards the hatching sands, then towards the feeding grounds. Finally she merely stopped running and slumped to her knees with a small breeze ruffling her brown hair.

She fell asleep there scared and feeling so alone. Later when the sun was now setting she woke in a warm bed. Beside her a woman smiled at her. “You are awake.” The lady stated. “Tell me little girl. What is your name?”

Blinking her eyes a few times trying to get them to see properly the girl finally said, “What?” The lady repeated her question and the girl looked confused and never answered.

The lady saw the look of confusion and left the girl be telling her to sleep. Once outside the room the girl’s rescuer, the brown rider, greeted her. “How is she?” He asked.

“You must have had her head get hit very hard, she didn’t answer me when I asked for her name. Only looked at me confused. I don’t think she’s knows who she is anymore R’nel.” The lady brushes a stray strand of her dark hair out of her face. “You said that her father told you to take her to her grandfather?”

“I cannot take her to her grandfather, no, even if I found out where the old man lived she wouldn’t know who he was.”

Have her stay here.

R’nel listened briefly to what his brown said and decided that might be the only plan that he could go with. “She will stay here Trini.” He said to the lady.

Trini frowned at R’nel. “That is not for you to decide.”

“I will make sure of it that she will stay here. I will adopt her.”

“You can’t be serious. Take that girl in as your own child? Are you insane?”

R’nel put on a look plainly saying that he was not joking around, for once. “Please Trini. If anybody could get the Weyrwoman to allow me to keep this girl here it would be you.”

“R’nel, honestly, you have responsibilities.”

“Well that’s why you’ll be raising her too.”

Trini frowned. “I will not have that girl calling me mother and calling you her father. No.”

Smiling R’nel says, “Did I say that? She’ll call me father and call you whatever you want.”

“What about her real family?”

“Her father is most likely dead, her mother is probably too. I just think that it’d be better for her to stay here.”

“We shall have to discuss this with the Weyrleader and Weyrwoman. If by some amazing event they let you keep this girl here as your daughter then you know you’ll have to tell her the truth someday.”

R’nel nodded. “I know.”

“I hate your plan. I hope you know that. Besides this mental injury of hers could only be temporary.”

“We shall have to wait and see. In the mean time have you had our Healer take a look at her?”

“Yes, but he said to call him when she wakes.” Trini said.

“Then I’ll go get him if you would please talk with the Weyrleader and Weyrwoman about this.”

“No way. I’ll get the Healer and you go talk to them. This is your idea. Not mine.”

“I need your help to convince them!”

“If they wish to speak with me they will. Now get! I’ll take care of the girl.”

R’nel nodded and walked towards the Weyrbowl in search of either the Weyrleader or the Weyrwoman, who knows which one would be the better to speak with neither of them were the most pleasant of people.

Trini sighed at the brown rider’s back before rushing off in the direction of where the Healer would be. Finding the Healer in his room she said, “She has awaken, but she doesn’t seem to remember anything about herself.”

“Ah! Finally she has awaken! Bought time too! Can't remember anything you say? Must have been that infernal bonk on the head R’nel accidentally gave her.” The Healer said getting to his feet. “Let’s go have a look then.”

“She is probably asleep again, I told her to go back to sleep. Sorry Kanato.”

“Don’t apologize Trini. Now come on.” The two head out of Kanato’s room and towards where the little girl is sleeping.

When they get there they find that the brown haired girl is no longer in her bed. She has vanished and isn’t even in the room. “Where’d she go?” Trini asks.

Kanato frowns. “We’ll split up and try to find her. Who knows what could happen to a girl who knows nothing about the world around her.”

She hadn’t gotten far, but far enough to make a shocking discovery on her part. It was rocks laying next to the fire for some reason. Curious the girl reached out her head to touch one of the rocks, but as soon as she had done so she leapt away from it startled that she had ended up breaking it. A small crack ran down it. “Oh no.” She muttered as more and more cracks appeared. Suddenly the object shattered and in it’s place is a brown firelizard. Turning its yellow eyes onto the girl it squawks at her. The girl is so startled that she grabs a bowl next to her and tosses its contents at the creature. When suddenly another rock shatters revealing a blue creature. With a shocked gasp she throws some at the blue as well. Looking down at the bowl the girl realizes that she is tossing them some sort of food when she sees them eating it. Eventually the bowl is empty and the brown and blue lay back each emitting a small burp. Scaring the girl even more both of them crawl towards her and sit down next to her. The girl doesn’t move for a long time because of fright, but soon she realizes that they aren’t going to hurt her. Slowly she reaches one hand towards the brown and the other to the blue and pets the creatures.

Trini suddenly walked in with Kanato quickly behind her. They spotted the girl instantly and then saw the brown and the blue. “Oh no.” Muttered Trini. “Not good.”

The Healer sighed, but said, “What’s done is done. So she has a brown and blue. We shall live and you shall teach her how to care for them.”

“Why am I always stuck with teaching people things?” Trini says. Then grabs the girl and stands her on her feet.

The girl suddenly reaches down and grabs the two firelizards. They squawk in protest, but as she holds them tightly to her then go silent and she steps away from Trini and Kanato.

“Come here little one. We aren’t going to hurt you.” Kanato says to her.

“Who are you?” The girl demands to know.

“I am Trini and this is Kanato. We are your friends.”

“You are?”

“Yes we are. Now come on, come with us and bring your friends.”

The three then walked back to the girl’s room. The girl set the firelizards down on her bed and smiled at them. They made her very happy for some reason unknown to her. “Now then...” Kanato said.

Meanwhile R’nel hadn’t had any luck finding the Weyrleader so now he rushed off towards the sands in search of the Weyrwoman. Finding her he rushed up and said, “Um excuse me, but if you have a moment I need to speak with you.”

She turned to look at him with her dark eyes flashing curiously. “Speak then.” She said.

“The girl that I brought back to the Weyr forgot everything about herself and I was wondering if she could stay here and I could adopt her and become her father.” R’nel blurted out in a rush then waited for her response.

The Weyrwoman was silent for a long time until she said, “That doesn’t sound that bad.” She paused. “She may stay here. You are in charge of the girl. Now leave R'nel for I have more important things to do.”

R’nel almost fell over. ‘Well. That was easy.’ He thought. “Thank you.” He said to the Weyrwoman.

She merely nodded at him and he scurried off. Reaching the girls room he was startled to see a brown and a blue firelizard lying next to her. He didn’t ask though because he knew he’d hear what happened from Trini later. “Who are you?” The girl asked.

“I’m your father.” R’nel said getting curious looks from Kanato and Trini.

“You are?” The girl seemed confused.

“Yes. My name is R’nel, I’m your father.”

“What is my name?” She now asks.

R’nel was happy that he had a name instantly for her. “You're name is Crynia.”

“Crynia?” The girl asks and R’nel nods. “Crynia.” Scratching her dark hair she lies down on the large bed after yawning. “I’m tired.” She says.

“Sleep Crynia. Tomorrow we will talk some more.” R’nel says smiling.

“Goodnight father.”

R’nel, Trini, and Kanato leave the girl to sleep. As soon as they are outside R’nel tells the others what the Weyrwoman had said. Sighing Trini says, “I just hope you know what you are doing. As I said before, one day you’ll have to tell her.”

“I agree with Trini.” Kanato says.

“I know you two! I know! For now she doesn’t have to know. Now goodnight.” With that said R’nel walks to his room and the others head to their rooms.