Snow White [Reky]

E'rin had, at that point in the day, been eating. He was always hungry, as thirteen-year-olds often are, and was a frequent sight in the dining hall regardless of the hour. It seemed the majority of what he consumed went towards fueling his rapid vertical growth; he had proudly reached the point where he looked nearly as tall as X'ni unless they were set back-to-back. Of course, the boy had yet to properly fill out, and remained akin to an awkward, long-legged beanpole. He took to toting his pillie Mitzi around on his back to "build some muscles or something." The rest of his hard-shelled herd was too big.

When Jarith's excited, squeaking mindvoice finally came to him, he had finished inhaling his plateful of sustenance. Mitzi seemed mildly perturbed by the way his back suddenly straightened out of surprise, swiping the back of his neck with her feelers. E'rinLOVEmine, oh love, love, love, E'rinlove, OHH! Guess what! And the boy replied with a typical "I don't know, what?" that made the sparkling white feel devilishly brilliant at having stumped him. It's my IRITH. My IRITH is talking to me, oh love day love, and he wants to PLAY and I am his BEST FRIEND FOREVER. See see see how I did that, see? Because he IS my best friend and he is FOREVER. E'rin, Mine, I am going to go play with Iriiiiith! And E'rin could practically feel her leaping from her high-altitude ledge, the rush of joy and adrenaline sparking across their mindlink. He deposited his dirty plate and, not quite feeling full yet, went out into the cold. Mitzi huddled up against his spine.

He check the minds of each of his pets as he left the room as one might check for their coinpurse or keyring. Mitzi was with him; check. Merps, Murmle, and Levi II were placed together in his bedroom like large, coloured rocks, undoubtedly unimpressed with the cold and snow. Levi the firelizard was situated on his regular shelf, and tossed E'rin a reluctant image of his aging dog laying with the pillies. Green Lana was - ah, well, Lana popped out of between in the frosty air above him and quickly clung to his shoulder for warmth. He could hear her little claws scrabbling against Mitzi's shell and the poor dear let out a confused and startled squeak - why weren't her feet holding on? - and finally found tactile fabric to cling to.

Satisfied and relieved that none of his darling pets had mysteriously disappeared, E'rin shoved his hands into his pockets and sought out A'lan in the distance. High in the air, a twinkling Jarith twisted and looped and chattered to herself, letting off some of her boundless energy before touching down to the ground. With her aerobatics to entertain her, E'rin actually beat her to their destination. A goofy grin broke onto his face at approaching his favourite big brother of choice, seeing his long hair let loose and warm. E'rin's was approaching a raggedy shoulder's length and served as acceptable earmuffs; he knew that if A'lan had long hair, long hair was cool.

"Hi, A'lan!" he piped up, and he had meant to say more but was interrupted. Jarith landed on four splayed legs, tail straight out and practically vibrating with excitement. She let out a shrill trumpet of pure happiness and looked wildly around, sparkling like the snow itself. E'rin continued, "How're you? And Irith?" He pried Lana off his back and cradled her like a babe, stroking her little wedge-shaped head.

Jarith was suddenly less content. I CANNOT FIND IRITH,

"Hey, that's good," said E'rin. "Do you think that hatching was a record? I bet it was. Don' think I seen that many mauled in one place!" The diminutive (well, for full-grown pillies) Mitzi had gone largely dormant on E'rin's back. She let him know with a resigned little 'Ma,' and tucked her little limbs and feelers in against her shell. It was seemingly precautionary on her part: not long after, the snowy explosion reigned down on the boy and his pets, and Mitzi was most certainly not a creature who operated well in the cold. And while E'rin laughed and grinned and was overall quite entertained if frosted, the green-striped lizard in his arms was less impressed. She neared flopped out of his grip with fright, and E'rin instinctively grabbed onto her to keep her close.

"No, never," E'rin beamed, shaking the snow from his hair like he was a human cloud.

Jarith squealed. It was a squeal of pure, glimmering delight, all concern forgotten as her beloved Irith bowled into her. Snow twinkled in the air but she twinkled decidedly brighter, eyes crystal blue and gleaming. Ohhh, I am, aren't I? she cooed, craning her neck to admire her own curious hide before nuzzling into Irith. She clung to him. Oh, oh, oh, yes, I am so PRETTY, Irith! I AM SO PRETTY and you are SO MANY COLOURS. A joyous trumpet came forth from her little open jaw. Oh, how she loved her Irith!

Such antics, of course, we fondly familiar. E'rin was always warmed by them, and he praised Faranth that he had Impressed to such a cheerful and energetic dragon. At times, she was his bane - overexcited, tail whipping about disastrously, too full of herself to listen to him - but he always loved her dearly. He was also intensely grateful for Jarith's obsession with Irith, which had brought him the best substitute older brother he could have asked for. Though it made him feel mildly guilty for admitting it, since the greenrider had been partly responsible for plucking him out of orphanhood, E'rin loved A'lan more than X'ni.

"Well, I don't know," he thought out loud, hands idly soothing the scaredy-cat Lana. "I just do the same things!" And this was a realization worth frowning at. "I guess I reorganized my weyr a little, since F'lan kept asking me to, and Jarith was super spacey during wing drills the other day and I was worried Fajra would notice and get made. I guess she didn't. At least, I mean, I hope she didn't and isn't like writing me down on some secret list... It wasn't even me! Jarith's crazy!" This was accented by a whip of the lady white's head, tongue lolling out of her mouth, mid-lick. E'rin waved her off and she went back to tackling and clinging and tackling and clinging to her Irith. "Oh! And there's--"

He paused and blushed. "Well, see, there's this girl..."