Sayoriss was a spoiled brat. Her older brother was one of those "typical Lordlings", always strutting about trying to impress the girls and get in good with the neighboring Lords. Her younger brother was more sensible and calm, he would most likely be the one chosen to inherit more of the Hold since their older sibling was a bit rough around the edges.

Sayoriss therefore was spoilt by her mother as her only daughter, and given every opportunity to show off herself she will do so. Her mother enjoyed all the fruits of being a fine Lady, and passed those things on to her daughter with style. She knew how to dress, how to flirt, how to embroider beautiful things onto dainty cloth. And she knew how to dance. Oh did she dance.

The girl had a very good dancing instructor, soon eclipsing her ability. So at any given gather, Sayoriss was there to show off her steps, her fancy clothing, and her sharp tongue. That last one was not quite to her parents liking, but what of it? A drudge gets in the way of a Lady while she's trying to demonstrate a dance move, the drudge is going to get an earfull.

Her keen ears heard much in those gathers. While she picked up a bolt of cloth, she also learned of an assassination plot regarding a man who her father had dealings with. She immediately passed that along to her father, who put a stop to it and got the Hold a reward. She more often used her gossipy ear to trade secrets with the other young Ladies, who was seeing whom in private, what disasters had befallen other Holds... And when Dragonriders were going to visit.

Oh the dragon riders. And their dragons! The one thing that Sayoriss did that was hardly Lady-like was to hoot and hollar whenever she saw a dragon in the sky. She loved seeing them, thought they were far more graceful than any other animal in the world. Their riders, so brave and bold - the subjects of most of her own embroidery work, elegant pictures of dragons with their flames and riders and ... Oh how she loved them!

When the riders came down to do their Search, Sayoriss was there as usual, and knew something was up. It was typical that a few people were always called aside, but this time it wasn't her - it was to her father that the riders went. Why? He was much too old to stand, he was in his fifties! Instead, it turned out that they'd Searched Sayoriss the last time they'd been around, but had clear instructions about any Lords families. This Hold was populated strongly, but the Lord Holders had few children and needed to make sure that they could pass their Holdings on properly. Now though, the dragons were getting restless about Sayoriss. It was time, and she wasn't going to be married off to anyone. (Not least because she was a bit rude to anyone she didn't think met her standards!)

So reluctantly her parents came to her side and explained... and Sayoriss nearly exploded with delight. She scampered into her bedroom and sought out all the clothing she thought she'd need... had to pare it down by two bags before the riders would allow it. Sayoriss knew that her mother would worry, but promised that she'd find a proper scribe and get letters back as much as she could.

She was going to ride! Of course she was a bit ahead of herself... But what candidate wasn't?

***

The hard work and constant repetition almost got to Sayoriss after a while. Weeks worth of mucking and marching! But marching was just... less jubilant dancing. Mucking... well, that was a little harder for her to explain away in terms she'd like. But she got to help wash and clean the dragons too, and in the process truly learned more than she'd ever imagined.

Her delicate embroidery work was one thing. But... she learned how to use her hands to sew wounds. She was never squeamish about blood or the dragons injuries, so she set about putting herself to the task of helping stitch together wounds. She'd never be allowed to call herself a dragon healer, but she was a good student of that art. Perhaps if there was one thing she liked more than helping with the dragons, it was helping organize gathers.

At the hatching, though she wasn't the first among the many greens to come from shells scattered around, the second of the hatching headed directly for Sayoriss. My name is Ingeith! The dragonet proclaimed. And I am hungry, but I am not as hungry as I was alone!

"You're never going to be alone any more, Ingeith!" Sayoriss tearfully said.

They worked hard over the next few weeks to make sure that everyone was properly fed and oiled, scrubbed and shed. Sayoriss noted well which features of the little hatchlings vanished in favor of their more adult size or shape, headknobs becoming more ... knobby, the soft ridges growing steadily harder and more upright along the spine.

Ingeith learned to fly early, she would be a strong provider and protector. But more than that, she took after Sayoriss with her enjoyment of being the center of attention. She was quick to praise anyone who did anything for her, the weyrbrats and anyone they met who admired her beauty. They learned their moves in the air very well, because to Sayoriss, every tactic was a dance move. They flew strongly, and by the time Ingeith could be called an adult she'd outflown many little blues... to be caught only by a sturdy brown here and there in clutchless flights. She was far better at flaming and dodging in Threadfall - even Sayoriss knew that to take her off firestone to allow her to clutch would be a mistake unless they knew there would be no Thread for months. Though she did think that the lovely green would make a good mother, perhaps sometime later, perhaps at their new destination.

Sayoriss knew that she was going to have to work hard wherever she went, so when Dragonhope called back their searched candidates - she eagerly went back to Dragonhope with them. She bid farewell to Erose and the others, sharing the knowledge that she could visit when either could spare the time. And then, it was up to the wonderfully chill north and Dragonhope!

Sayoriss and Ingeith were originally expected to do little more than get in the way, according to some at Dragonhope. But in the three years since her impression, Sayoriss matured greatly into a reasonably responsible young woman. And because she'd always loved being near dragons and studied up on their behaviors and anatomy she was given a place in the Weyrling training wing - she could assist healing demonstrations as well as help out with tactical education, a fact which outright surprised the Weyrling master.