Preparing for the day (open)

[Verity]

Verity yawned and stretched, shaking her wings out as she walked to the entrance of her cave. She was in a good mood today; it hadn't been long since she'd been promoted to deputy of the dragons, and the pride hadn't yet worn off. She was Verity the deputy now, and she couldn't help but marvel at how good that sounded. She mulled over her new responsibilities as she lay down in the entrance, half-in and half-out so that she could watch the activities of the other dragons. She was going to have to work extra hard to prove to Saphira and the others that she was worthy of such a high rank.

With a contented sigh she wrapped her tail around herself and rested her head on her fore-claws. Her dark scales glittered dully in the faint light and her yellow-grey eyes were half-covered by their lids. She intended to report to Saphira's den later, and find out what she would be doing for the day, but for now she was content to catch up on the gossip of her fellow dragons.

[Dawny Dragon]

Saphira was walking her way to the entrance when she spotted Verity laying down. "Hello, Verity. I suppose you must be excited for the big ceremony," she said. She sat down next to her future deputy, and looked at the other dens. "Treble and Kai should be up soon and they we will begin the ceremony." She rested her purple eyes on the entrance to the other dragons den. "I was hoping one of them would volunteer for Healer. With the war starting, we might get injured, and we would need someone to help treat our wounds. Don't you agree?" For a moment, a strand of the streak of silver hair running from the top of her head to the tip of her tail hung down in front of her left eye and she swung her head to get it out of her vision.

[Verity]

Verity looked up sharply as she heard her name, then smiled as she recognised the Head Dragon. "Good morning, Saphira," She said quietly, sitting up in defferance. "I suppose I am a little excited, my life's going to get a lot different from now on." She paused as she considered the second thing Saphira had said. It surprised her that, for all her greatness in logic and strategy, she had completely missed the need for a healer. Dragons were powerful beasts, but with so few living in Gister they couldn't afford to lose even one. Her hard claws tapped out a rythm on the cold stone, a sign that she was deep in thought. "Yes." She said eventually, glancing between Kai's and Treble's den. "We certainly need a Healer, if not Kai or Treble then someone else." After a moment she shrugged. "One of them may volunteer in the future, they're probably still getting used to the idea of having that much responsibility on their shoulders."

[Dawny Dragon]

"Yes, I was very scared when you all picked me as Head Dragon. To tell you the truth, I almost gave it up and ran away. But I realized that this is what I was supposed to do. I realized that this is my destiny. And in the future it will be your destiny, once I pass on," she said as she smiled at Verity. She changed the subject back to the Healer, saying, "But who knows, maybe another rogue dragon will find us and volunteer."

[Verity]

Verity blinked in surprise at the Head Dragon's confession. It was odd to think of Saphira, who always seemed so sure of herself, to be so nervous about taking control. The thought made Verity feel better about the small threads of doubt that still troubled her, and helped to chase them away. She didn't put much faith in destiny, and wasn't even sure that she believed it existed, but it was nice to hear evidence of Saphira's trust. She smiled at the Head Dragon. "Well, hopefully we won't have to worry about that for a long time yet." She meant it. Thr thought of saphira ever not being there was horrible, and Verity wasn't ready to become Head Dragon, not yet.

She was quiet for a moment, then changed the subject completely; "Saphira, what's the situation with those rebels now? Are they still planning on overthrowing the King and Queen" She thought she should be completely up to date on the every aspect of Gister's politice before her deputy ceremony.

[Dawny Dragon]

"Yes, they are very determined to stop the King and Queen. And they have the right to, since the King and Queen have been so vicious. Ever since the last King died, Gister has never been the same. The current royalty raids their own towns with the Military just to recruit more civilians and to get money outside of their outrageous taxes. I once went to the capital to talk to the King and Queen, and the sent out their archers to attack me. I thought the Royal Court would try to stop them, but I guess the King and Queen bribed them. Most of the people who are in power and can stop them are usually only supportive for the money." She paused and sighed. "It's quite sad how greedy and materialistic the human race can be. Fortunately, the Rebellion started. It started out just as a secret group in the sewers of Stetan. Then word spread and they had to escape to the mountains, but many joined them before they left. Then the King and Queen posted guards around the towns and cities to prevent others from escaping and joining. And that's why we joined them. That royal scum deserves to suffer. They have inflicted so much damage to people with their raids." Her eyes glistened with anger.

[stormbreak]

Storm was flying by that area and heard something about a king and a queen. Ohhhhh how she hated them. "Whats this talk about the king and queen?" she asked.

[Dawny Dragon]

Saphira turned her head towards Storm. "Oh, I was just telling Verity about the war and why it was started." Turning her thoughts back towards the upcoming ceremony, she asked, "Storm, Verity's deputy ceremony is today. You should come!"

[Verity]

Verity listened to what Saphira told her about the state of Gister's royalty, taking care to remember everything she could. It really was a pity that the King and Queen had become so corrupt, especially seeing as the previous King had been so good. She was about to question Saphira further when the leathery snap of dragon wings came to her attention. She smiled as she recognised Storm, and listened to her short conversation with the Head Dragon. "Yes, you should come!" She agreed, a note of excitement entering her voice again.

[Dawny Dragon]

Saphira smiled. Seeing the dragons together made her happy. She couldn't help but think of the future. There would be fighting and there wouldn't be many moments like these. There would be hardship and tragedy. Perhaps one of them would, she shuddered, die. She looked down at the ground, her eyes narrowed. "These dragons need a leader, and I will sacrifice my life for them," she thought.

[stormbreak]

"Ok, I'll come." she said, "How many dragons will be there?"

[Verity]

Verity shrugged her shoulders at the other dragon; "As many as decide to come I suppose." Now that Storm had raised the point she had to admit that she had no idea how many dragons would show up for the ceremony. Half of her wanted it to be a quiet occasion, while the other half rather wanted there to be a large crowd. She turned her thoughts back to Storm. "At least one now." She grinned at the other dragon.

[Dawny Dragon]

"I think we will start soon," Saphira remarked. "If you want, Verity, you can go and wake up the other dragons for the ceremony. I am going to prepare what I will say. This is the first deputy ceremony and what I make up will be passed down generation to generation. See you then." She walked off deep in thought, thinking of the proper words to say.

[Verity]

Verity stood and shook out her wings, nodding briefly to Saphira as the Head Dragon left. Excitement was building up in her chest, as well as a little nervousness. She thought that if she could just get through the ceremony without making a fool of herself. She began to walk off slowly, deep in thought as she nodded a goodbye to Storm. It wouldn't take long for saphira to get her words ready, and then the ceremony would start.

[kai]

Kai yawned as he woke up, seeing all the other dragons awake. He stood up. "Good morning." He said.