Fullfillment. (egg)

[-Pan-]

Pan stood at the base of the mountain, craning her neck to look up at her destination in awe. She couldnt even see the top from here, about halfway up the three thousand step path there was a layer of clouds blocking the peak from view. It looked to be a rather daunting task, but she still held the determination that had gotten her this far. It had been a bit of a quick decision for her to embark on this journey, and her mother certainly hadnt approved. But she had seen other riders who had come to Naja's End, and it had looked so glorious. Zanita didnt want to be a bump on a log her whole life; she wanted to accoplish something. And what greater thing could there be then being a dragon rider? So when one of her old friends had marched in to their neighborhood on his beautiful new dragon, she had decided on a whim that that was what she wanted to do now. And here she was, about to make it happen.

With this conviction in mind, the girl started up the steps of the journey that would change her life. After about fifty steps, she realized exactly how many another 2950 was. It would take all day to make this journey. Even if she had strong legs, that was still quite feat to accomplish in a short time. And she couldnt camp out somewhere in the middle even if she had brought gear with her; it would just feel really awkward. But then again, if you wanted the responsibility and honor that came with being a dragon rider, this shouldnt be such a big thing to ask, should it? Nevertheless, she was still intimidated. She imagined that most shifters who went up used their animal forms, but making herself even smaller would hardly be a solution. So she would have to do like all the regular humans and elves. Awesome.

After about two thousand steps, the girl had to stop and take a little break. She wasnt used to nearly this much physical activity. Hopefully the elders, or the spirits, or whoever would decide to present her with a dragon egg wouldnt take this as a sign that she wasn't worthy of one. She had heard that many who went up came back down empty handed, and desperately hoped she wouldnt be one of them. She had no idea what to even expect.

Pan was pulled out of these thoughts by noises off to the side, and instinctively shifted in to a tiny mouse, fearing it was a fox or something else that could eat her. Of course, turning in to a mouse heightened that possibility, but she didnt think about that before scurrying off in the opposite direction of the noise, and popping in to little clump of grass. After a few minutes of silence, she poked out her little mouse head, and seeing that it was clear, made her way back to the middle of the steps to turn back in to elven form. Zanita again hoped that her actions wouldn't be frowned upon, and resumed her journey, hoping she might reach the peak before nightfall.

Her destination was finally reached in the early hours of twilight, and she let out a huge, long breath of relief before stepping on to the short, soft grass. The view up here was beautiful at this time, the air around her glowed orange with the sunset and the fading light sparkled in each of the dew drops percolating on the foliage around her. But the scenery wasnt why she had come. So Pan stepped out in to the middle of the empty space and spoke in a clear, ringing voice. "I've come here to get a dragon egg." She felt a little odd speaking to no one, but knew somewhere that there was someone or something listening. But after she spoke, she didn't know what to do. Would an egg appear in front of her, or would someone appear with it? What was gonna happen?

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Word count: 680

[THE SPIRITS]

THE SPIRITS HAVE HEARD YOUR CALL.

The ground itself begins to shake, knocking the dragon's egg loose from its place in the underbrush and causing it to roll in front of the destined rider.



The egg is heavy and solid, candy red in color, with light yellow speckles covering its surface.