The eight Searchers met again back at the shuttle, hidden among some rocky outcroppings a full mile from the Citadel of Shadows, and all of them were empty-handed-- and disappointed. No one had found anyone with sythyn blood in them, that they could discern. Their first attempt at Searching had fallen flat.

"Nothing at all, Sythwyr," Vurzoon huffed, first to report. She looked the most put out by the lack of results, arms crossed across her chest and mouth set into a frown. She and Byrashyr had climbed down the cliffs and explored the rocks and caves along the water, the former being a thief and so quite skilled at climbing, and the latter an acrobat as well as a mage and so quite able to keep up with her.

Byrashyr, who looked merely disappointed, kept a soothing hand on her shoulder. "No life at all except sea life," she confirmed, "and the occasional strange monster, but we avoided those."

"Only you would talk about strange monsters with a smile," Sythwyr said, always amazed by Byrashyr's ability to take anything and everything in stride.

"Well, they were interesting strange monsters," Byrashyr admitted with that afore-mentioned lazy smile. "We just didn't think that getting eaten by one seemed like a good idea, so we hid and went on by."

"But still didn't find anyone to Search," Vurzoon grumbled.

"It was still exciting," Byrashyr pointed out, elbowing her partner, who grimaced at her.

"And we didn't find anyone, either," one of the three boys said. "The island is... barren. Empty. There's nothing here." They'd been the first back at the shuttle, sitting together and looking as identical as always. "I'm Ssothrysaa," he added, as if as an afterthought.

The three of them had been charged with searching the rocky landscape surrounding the Citadel, since no matter how much magic or years they might have had, they were still children on the outside, and it seemed like the easiest place for children to search. Remembering how they'd needed to get a guard just to wander around the Citadel, Sythwyr believed they'd picked the right people for the right places: either the Wyvryn brothers would have been turned away, or brought inside and not let out again, for fear of other dangers the supposedly helpless triplets might encounter. And while Vurzoon would probably have drawn blades on someone for making her wait, no one else would have been able to make the climb down the cliffs.

No, though they'd found nothing, at least the Search itself had been unflawed. For their first attempt, it seemed to have gone well enough.

"We found nothing, as well, despite three full tours, as it were, of the Citadel itself," Sythwyr said. "Has anyone spoken with Ffadoratha?"

"We did," another of the boys answered, "and he said he can't imagine why we didn't find anything. The computers are all saying there should be someone here."

"But he did say the system was outdated, so there might be some bugs," the third boy said with a grin that set him apart from the other two-- which probably meant that was Ssubyrsyn, for he was the one who smiled the easiest. Which also meant that the second was Rythrys. Sythwyr made an effort this time to keep names attached to children.

"What came of that mind Ry' was sensing?" Byrashyr asked, glancing over at Ryruraan, who stood half-hidden in Nonaarama's shadow. Only Byrashyr and Nonaarama felt comfortable calling Ryruraan by a shortened name, the former because she felt comfortable calling anyone anything, and the latter because of their closeness.

When Ryruraan didn't answer, herself, apparently deep in thought, Sythwyr shrugged his narrow shoulders lightly. "We found it... but it was not a sythyn to be Searched."

"She was a dragon," Ryruraan murmured. "A young dragon, named Rane, who had been abandoned."

Everyone looked at her, and there was an awkward pause. Nonaarama put an arm around her shoulders, mutely protective, though she didn't seem to mind the attention, eyes on the ground. Sythwyr coughed lightly. "Well. Yes. We found what Ryruraan had been sensing, and they spoke a little before we thought it was time to return to the ship."

"Just as well, since you were the last one's back," Vurzoon agreed. "So are we gone from this place yet? It's starting to depress me. It's so ugly."

No one disputed that, so Sythwyr nodded. "Let's go, yes. There are other worlds to visit."

The ship's doors slip open obediently, and Vurzoon zipped inside as soon as there was room. Byrashyr, laughing at her haste, followed on her heels, and the others began filing in, as well. Sythwyr almost stepped up to enter, but Ryruraan caught his sleeve. "Sythwyr...."

Blinking, he turned to her. "Yes?"

Her eyes were dark and wide in the moonlight. "I would like to stay."

He blinked at her again. " ... stay?"

"Ffadoratha thinks there's still someone here... if someone stayed longer, they could look longer, maybe see something that was missed."

It still made no sense. Ryruraan, wishing to stay behind on a barren, dark, and sad sort of world like this? Alone? When there really wasn't much chance of her finding anything? It simply... made no sense. "But-- why you?"

The answer was long in coming, but when it came, Sythwyr was surprised: "Because of her."

"You mean--"

"Rane. I want to try to help her-- and I can look for that other one Ffathadora thinks is here, at the same time. You can come back for me, after you find your next planet to Search, and leave behind one of those... communication things, so we can stay in touch."

Sythwyr didn't know what to say to that. Search teams didn't split up, Searching different worlds by themselves-- but, admittedly, most Search teams weren't like theirs. More pertinently, however, he didn't like the idea of leaving someone behind, alone, on a strange world. He wasn't a particularly emotional or protective person, but he still didn't like it.

"Please, Sythwyr...."

"Sythwyr, I think it would be a good idea," one of the Wyvryn boys said, suddenly and surprisingly at his elbow. When he looked down, the boy met his eyes and added meaningfully, "and I'm Rythrys." Rythrys: the one who could, at times and with effort, see the future. If he thought it a good idea....

"Brother," Nonaarama rumbled, catching his attention.

Looking up, seeing the expression on his brother's face, Sythwyr realized his fear was unfounded: Ryruraan wouldn't be alone, because Nonaarama would stay, with her. That brought up other fears, but they were the fears of family, not of a Search Captain, and so he could not voice them to keep anyone with him. 

He sighed. "It seems I'm being maneuvered into a corner," he commented. "If it means that much to you, Ryruraan, then stay. But it will be noted in the logs that I do not particularly approve-- I don't like splitting up the team like this."

"Oh, Sythwyr, it won't be for long-- thank you...."

To his surprise, he found the tiny woman's arms around his waist. He patted her shoulder awkwardly, while Nonaarama smiled a fondly amused smile and Rythrys giggled. "There, now. Go on, then. We'll see you again soon, yes?"

"Of course, of course."

The parting an hour later-- after belongings had been gathered, communication organized, and rules for hospice on another world gone over once more-- was brief, and Sythwyr admitted privately that it was difficult to see Nonaarama go: he hadn't been separated from his brother for more than a day, perhaps not even that, in all his memory. But if at Ryruraan's side was where he wanted to be, he could not begrudge him that. "Good luck, and may we return swiftly," he murmured from the shuttle's doorway, as he watched the pair start off across the barren landscape again, towards the Citadel.

Then he turned and let the doors shut behind him, and they went back to being Searchers.

Chapter Five

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