Hannibal hadn't even considered the notion that he'd be found acceptable to the riders on Search, once some of his new friends at the Hold had explained what was happening. He was an interloper here, after all. He was grateful enough to have been given a place at all. But now, now he was being offered a chance at the greatest honor the land had, apparently. It excited him, too. Dragonriders helped people, they protected the land. It was what he wanted to do. It was the closest thing they had here to his old life in the Rangers. One of the men at the Hold had suggested that Hannibal try for an apprenticeship at a Crafthall, seeing how skilled he was at constructing things, though he'd followed it with a laugh about how old Hannibal was. He took it in good form, though. If he didn't Impress, he might try that
( ... )
"A fire lizard will choose whoever feeds it. If it doesn't get fed, it'll find its own way." Z'lan shrugged. It was difficult to explain Impression without going through it.
"The dragon will choose you and Impression is for a lifetime. If the dragon dies, the rider does too. If the rider dies, so does the dragon. You are one being with your dragon."
He nodded solemnly. He had already discovered the deep connection with his fire lizard, and dragons were so much more. Mago gave a disgruntled chirp from his shoulder. "Shhh, little guy," he murmured softly, rubbing his head. "I promise I won't stop loving you." Once the lizard was settled again, though, Hannibal looked up at Evreth in admiration.
Lyle hovered close to Hannibal, nervous as hell. How had he been selected for this? What would he do with a dragon? Why would a dragon want him? This was just too freaking weird. So, yeah, maybe he'd gotten used to Mago flitting around. But still. He was tiny. Not big enough to bite someone's head off. Even though they all said dragons wouldn't do that. Lyle wasn't sure he believed them.
He put a hand on Lyle's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. It was understandable to be nervous; this was a huge honor and an even larger responsibility. Hannibal had faith in Lyle's ability to handle it, though. He was a good kid. Hopefully being given real responsibility would teach him how to take it himself.
He nodded. "I promise. I'll take care of you, kid." He squeezed his shoulder again, then pulled away. "This is... pretty incredible, isn't it?" he went on, his tone resonating with awe. "To even be considered for this honor..."
He gave a slight smile. "And if we're chosen, it'll give us something to do." He needed that, more than anything. Lending a hand where he could was good, yes, but he needed a purpose.
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"The dragon will choose you and Impression is for a lifetime. If the dragon dies, the rider does too. If the rider dies, so does the dragon. You are one being with your dragon."
Evreth rumbled, pleased with the description.
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