Fur: pale pink colored.
Marking color: lilac tipped oval ears.
Markings in above color are blush-like marks on cheeks.
Hair is cut short and straight, held in a tail, indigo with marking color tips.
Eyes: red.

Clothing: orchid colored high boots and coral skirt and strawberry 3/4 length sleeve shirt.

The magic she specializes in is animal-totem (porcupine) manipulation/defense.

Her favored weapon is dagger.

Genetic History: mostly Usagi heritage with a touch Human.
Mother and Grandmother raised the children, and she has several siblings both older and younger.
Raised on a large farm (near Gelgela). They are adept with animal husbandry (hoofstock).

She has a Clumsy, Tender personality.

Fur: neon orange colored.
Marking color: beryl blue tipped dangling lop ears.
Face Markings in above color are swishy over one eye.
Hair is very short and frizzy, platinum with marking-color tips.
Eyes: fuchsia.

Clothing: sea green colored tight leggings and avacodo one-shoulder top.

The magic he specializes in is nullification of others magic.

His favored weapon is bladed staff.

Genetic History: grandfather (father's side) Human.
His parents are both living happily together, and he has a younger brother.
Raised in a small town (near Gelgela). There, they learned animal husbandry.

He has a Quick Tempered disposition.

Fur: neon violet colored.
Marking color: salmon tipped tall-standing ears.
Markings in above color are straight dotted line on muzzle.
Hair is very short and in cornrows, lime with marking-color tips.
Eyes: ultramarine.

Clothing sulfur colored simple skirt and hazel green toga.

The magic he specializes in is animal-totem (Panther) manipulation/defense.

His favored weapon is mace.

Genetic History: mostly Usagi heritage with a touch Human.
His community (Usagi) raised the children, and he has an older genderless sibling.
Raised in a crowded urban monastary. There, they learned medicine (skin, burns).

He has a Weird disposition.

(Fur/Skin: khaki colored. Marking color: apricot tipped pointed long ears. Face Markings in above color are fire-markings over both eyes.)
Hair is very short and tightly curled, bracken with marking-color tips.
Eyes: plum.

Clothing: hazel brown colored leather pants and tangerine 3/4 length sleeve shirt.

The magic he specializes in is enhancement of others magic.

His favored weapon is shuriken.

Genetic History: grandmother (father's side) Usagi.
His parents have drifted apart, he was raised with friends.
Raised on a small garden plot and animal ranch (near Gelgela). There, they learned berries, picked fruits.

He has a Steadfast, Brave personality.

They'd been together for several years. When Brycalla's family sent him away to the monastary they expected him to learn, and he did so. But he also wanted more company than the stuffy monks! They bought him back around five years ago, and by that time, Chrin had been left at the ranch just outside the eastern wall. Ui's family traded with them frequently enough that they had become friends long before that. Finally once the boys got over the 'cooty factor' of having a girl around, when they would pass Dosea's farm they would let her come along.

Dosea is the youngest of them, at 11. She's going to grow into a lovely young woman but will always be extremely petite and delicate looking. She hardly likes to admit it, but she does very well throwing her daggers around. On the farm she was well-known for killing mice with them, even better at it than some of their mouser cats! However, get her to stack plates or set a table? Better have a cushion ready for those dishes - because she just can't handle something much bigger than a palm-sized object before it just slips out of her hands entirely.

Chrin is the second youngest, at 12. His very Human appearance probably was what got him dumped off at the ranch, but he enjoys his life among his long-eared kin. Though he doesn't look it, he definitely is Usagi in parts - his skin is just not the same color as some Humans might expect it to be, plus he has those bizarre markings on his face! If someone didn't know he was mixed-breed, they might accuse him of piling on women's makeup! He put up with that kind of taunting from Ui and Brycalla for a bit, but finally just told them to stop. They did, he meant busines.

Brycalla is 14, and certainly lives up to his vivid coloration. He enjoys the stares he gets, after all most Usagi are slightly more natural-shaded or at least not so bright! His human companions at the monastary expected much of him, and he delivered. He's quite good at looking over wounds of the skin (or around fur), and administers exceptional care over burns. He can't handle looking at guts and gore, however, he really doesn't like cutting anything open. His choice of a mace for sparring is fairly logical, as it can smash but not usually burst anything open... too much...

And then there's Ui. Living on the outskirts of a Gelgelan suburb, he was always expected to tend the animals while his parents bartered or went to parties. They had a very active social life, indeed - however it was all local dances, parties at the pub. His father was not particularly educated, and his mother only slightly more so. But at 15 years of age he now has the size of an adult, and the attitude to go with it. He's always been rather short with people, except those closest to him. His taunt-first think-later attitude has gotten them into trouble more than a few times. His goal at one point was to become a Castle Guard, and thus he has dedicated himself to learning the complicated moves involved with a staff-blade weapon. It's unlikely that with his current training and attitude he'd be acceptable for the Guard. But...

Then there are the dragons.

Well, the possibility of them, anyway!

But we're getting ahead.

***

"I don't think it'll work," Chrin commented, as they walked over the narrow rock-and-mortar bridge. "The water's too high, I think it'll just --"

"I think you'shud jus' hush," Ui grunted. Though his voice was gruff, he was listening to his friend. Their plan wasn't all that complicated, but it was a bit dangerous this time of year with the flooding. They made it to the pond, and Ui slouched. "Okay, mebby y'er right..."

Their rafting expedition was a bust: mostly because the pond had risen far beyond its normal banks overnight, and with all the overhanging tree limbs... Their raft - which they'd taken a lot of effort to build over the last few days - was now lodged high into the trees. Literally, stuck up there and tied up, the waters must have really been swirling about.

"Maybe it's a good thing," Dosea said, her voice a bit frightened. "The waters are really bad this year. Not even like when I was little, and did you see how high the water was in the stream at the bridge?"

Instead of the expected tirade from Ui, Dosea noticed him nodding slowly. "We could get it down," suggested Brycalla. "It's not that high up."

"But the water--" Dosea started to say, but Chrin was way ahead of her.

"The water's much too deep and cold now, if we fell in, that'd be the last of us!" He folded his arms over his chest, he was chilly while the others were a bit less so with their fur. He never complained about it, but it was clear that his furless skin always seemed to get the better of him. It was however easier for him to read his friends' emotions, because their ears and sometimes even the twitching of their tails gave them away. He did have a tail - only it was a nub, it didn't have to be accomodated outside his pants or under a shirt-hem, like the true Usagi's did. His ears were a little longer than normal, but they weren't floppy. Not like Ui's, and that burly rabbit-boy rarely tried to force them to stand up.

Others might have thought that Ui was a bit dense. He wasn't quite as smart as some folks, that was true - but he was really not dumb at all. He crouched down, examining things from another angle, while the trio beside him tried looking for other things to do that day.

It was Spring, there would be more rains and more flooding on the way. But for the moment there were frogs to catch (which they did) and voles to scare into their muddy dens (which they also did), and they saw a fox enjoying the fruits of their terrorizing the voles a little later...

Ui had been thinking, very carefully, about how to do it. "Chrin," he said, gruffly. Well he said everything gruffly, his voice was probably deeper than most Human men's at twice his age! "C'mere a minnit."

The brown-haired boy came by, wondering what his friend had in mind. He kept staring at one particular thing. A rope, and then beyond it, a naturally hanging vine. "Chrin, y'think you could reach that vine, if'n I held you up to it?"

That caught the attention of the other two, who scampered over. Muddy knees and all, they wiped their hands off on clothing that was well-used to being mucky. "What are you doing?" Asked Dosea.

"I think..." Brycalla muttered, but said nothing more. He sidled around to the far edge of the tree's roots, and beckoned Dosea to his side. It was there that the rope hung, and above it was the mess of tangled branches and their raft.

"Yeah," Chrin said, and waited for a boost up. He put his foot into Ui's meshed hands, and leaned one hand on the trunk of the tree. The branches were sturdy, a bit springy perhaps but the tree wasn't ancient and wasn't too young to hold a lot of weight. They'd already grown their bright-green foliage, the shade would be nice come Summer. "I've got it, now what?"

"Huck it o'er the branch, across th' edge o' the raft," Ui said. "An' you two, get th' rope if'n y' can." Ui held on to the smaller boy, patiently. He was strong, his endurance seemed never ending. If his patience could only be said to be the same...

Eventually among the group, they managed to further tie the raft up onto the three distinct branches which it'd landed upon. Snugly done, they could leave it there a while. It'd be much easier than trying to take it down while the waters might swallow them up, in the doing.

"We'll get it later," Ui commented. "Hey - frog!" He suddenly joined the rest in another game of catching frogs... They would be bringing several home for dinner, actually, why not make it worth the effort.

***

When the Gelgelan instructors came past the farm and ranch, it was with a bit of a snooty eye. They were mostly Human, mostly older, and mostly people that the kids didn't want anything to do with. Not for a while, anyway. But they would have to go to school - and over time they came to like it, too. In two years at the courtyard school, under the towering mass of the Castle, they also caught sight of plenty of dragons. The Dragon Guard were patrolling more now, there was still war going on to the North. It was then that Ui started looking into the Castle Guard too, but he only got as far as wheedling some pole-arm training out of the men there before it was harvest time again.

Every available hand was always welcome at the harvests, though Dosea usually kept more to the arrangements for people's sleep or bathing (unbelievable how many people could be cycled in and out of a two-bath farmhouse!) and Brycalla was definitely of more use helping out with minor injuries in the field. He ran here and there patching people up, while Ui hefted a scythe to level the grains, and Chrin worked the orchards, knowing best where to look for the good fruits.

So it went, their rafting expedition became a more or less yearly event, and they kept their raft where it had been: up in the trees. Some other people commented about it at least once or twice, but after getting that gaze of dread doom from Ui, they left well enough alone! It was their pond, and their raft. Others used the place, there were plenty of kids both Human and Usagi (as well as other species, more rarely) but it was acknowledged that this was the group's territory. No one tried to take the raft, nor tried to horn in when the foursome were involving themselves upon the water.

Eventually after the harvest time and they could go back to school, they kept to their studies and learned histories and maths. Dosea was exceptional at numbers, which surprised some of her elders. Ui maintained that he wasn't anything special, and his grades showed it, however he never failed anything. Chrin enjoyed biology and agricultural studies, while Brycalla of course was able to coerse the elders into letting him take more advanced medicine and herbal education.

So they went out one afternoon, into the market courtyard. The courtyard was wide, big enough for one or two smaller dragons to land comfortably, but every room under the single rooftop embracing the square was either a crafter's space, or a shop of some kind. The school was on the other side of this, sprawling down to a creek which eventually led to the pond downstream.

What did they see when they walked around?

***

"It's more complicated than that," said Sean, the Queen. They were in the presence of the Queen of the Usagi, and she was just pacing gently around the wide room occasionally looking at them and thinking aloud. "We know that your magic exists," she looked toward Ui and Chrin, "but... we just can't seem to determine what it does."

The other pair, Dosea and Brycalla, had both managed to turn themselves into animals over the time they had spent with Lucas and the House Domina people. Another world! Dragons! Dragon people! They were excited, but now they were worried. What was going to happen next? It looked like Sean had something important for them to do.

"Now... I've already sent my children ahead, to Darkling Dawn," she told them. "There's something special there. But you... I don't know what to say about your magic! It seems familiar, to a point," she said. "But neither of you seem to be of the types that have focused, external powers."

They had once thought that Ui's magic was with power-words. But that turned out to just have been gas, or something...

They experimented, then. Dosea could turn with some effort into a pink and indigo and lilac colored porcupine. Even Sapadt, the King, had to chuckle when he saw that. And Brycalla was not only able to shift himself slowly into a brightly-colored panther cat, they noted well that one evening as they returned to the ranch for a sleepover, a big cat seemed to shadow them. He summoned it near with a weird magical thought. Though it was skittish, he petted it, and then sent it away, warning it to stay clear of the sheep.

So that left Ui and Chrin.

"Wait, wait," Dosea said. "Chrin... come here a moment!" He slid close up to the small girl. "Okay.... Um... concentrate on me."

He wasn't sure what to do, really, but focused upon the Usagi girl. She went to her sharply spined shape and back very rapidly, with seemingly no effort at all!

"Oh ho," Brycalla said, "that's interesting..."

"Now, you," she told Ui. Though he was a little hesitant, he did so, as Chrin moved away. He didn't want to do anything they'd regret, after all these were his friends, and they...

"I can't do it," Dosea said, after a moment. She squinched her face up, looking for all the world like she was about to have a bad stomach incident. The boys chittered about that, but then she looked up with wide eyes at Ui. "I think you make it so I can't shift! Try it with Bry!"

"Hey - wait!" Brycalla said, but laughing he moved to replace Dosea in the corner of the ranch house's play room. And upon trying to shapeshift he found he had almost no energy left and nothing to show for it. "I ... I think she's right, I think you put a blanket over the powers! Just like he tosses a light on em!" He indicated Chrin.

"Well I'll be," Ui grunted. "Me pa' allus said we 'ad no powers," he shook his head, "but there I go."

"It's just like the Queen said," Dosea said, hushed. "We've all got powers, we just don't know how to use them well. I don't think it's enough to go back to that school of theirs," she meant Domina, "but ... now we know! And ... what will we tell Shin and Kai?"

"Well they're off somewhere, she said," Brycalla tried remembering, "duckling dawn I think."

"Darkling," said Chrin with a laugh.

"Well I dunno where it is!" Brycalla shoved his friend's shoulder gently.

Chrin shoved it back, and they tussled while the others laughed.

***

"Well that certainly is interesting," Sean announced, "and I've arranged for your travel," she added. "I don't think your families will really have much to worry about, after all if you bond with a dragon - or even just bring one back with you, you'll be trained in aspects of the Dragon Guard and get a suitable wage for it."

"We'll - we'll get what?" Dosea sputtered, "really?"

"Of course," Sapadt commented, leaning gently on the doorframe nearby, to his own den. "We want to make sure that our Guard is well cared for and properly trained, after all. I don't want to insist you remain, but... you know, that loyalty to the crown thing," he waved his fingers and they chuckled nervously.

"Guard, finally," Ui said, nodding.

"Not just any guard," Chrin said, happy. "Dragon guard!"

They were sent on, meeting back up with Ryokai and Ryoshin, the twins. They admitted that the twins were far and away more powerful than they could ever be. But... Even then, Ui made it plain that he knew he could try cancelling out their powers - even to the extent of asking in his gruff way, if he could train up - along with Chrin, to the opposite extent. They needed to know how it felt to be doing magic. Neither of them wanted to be left thinking they could have done more.

But now, they were surrounded by dragons. They'd seen the Guard's dragons - flying and running beasts. But these were of so many different types! Amazing! Some were still in eggs, while others blundered around mewling as they had been born live. They split up, meeting other magic-users from Domina, in the process. Dosea and Brycalla could probably stand to learn to correct their colors, from the other Animagus students!

And now they wait...

***

The foursome of Usagi fit in, they thought, surprisingly well at this 'fauna' frenzy. Ui wasn't too certain why it was called a frenzy, in his words, "they don' look too scar't t'me."

They learned it was more or less the parents of the eggs that had 'frenzied', that wasn't important - what was, was that a group of newborn... er, hatched dragonets were seeking their own fate among those at this hatching.

A tiny, white-sized dragonet hatched out of Chylandra's clutch, and the pale male dragon shook the sand from his hide. Though mostly white, he had striking gray marks on his hide that drew attention to him. Attention that he didn't seem to mind. He strode casually toward the candidates and stopped at Dosea's feet. Hello Dosea, the hatchling's voice was almost like a purr. My name is Pauda.

Dosea gave an involuntary squee - this beautiful boy came to her? "Oh my, Pauda, you're so beautiful!" She tentatively scratched his skin, half expecting to meet deep fur, but it was hide like a dragon's. He seemed to truly enjoy that touch, and leaned into her hand as they walked together away from the other hatchlings.

I guess we'll go with you. Apparently we're not allowed to live on our own, the dark red cub muttered.

Shua obviously didn't much care either way who else was bonded or not, she only knew that now she had someone that would never leave her as well as someone who would help them find their way in life. She said nothing to Ui, but didn't resist when he beckoned them over. But that wasn't the end of his connections to this hatching...

Name: Fuirnith
Race: Hound/Hydra
Gender: Male
Color: Dark Red
Size: 25' long
Abilities: Verbal Speech, Telepathy, Teleportation, Firebreath
Personality: Calmer and less volatile than his bond, Fuirnith is no less deadly if he's truly riled. He is fiercely protective of Shua and distrusts almost everyone, though he respects Ui. He is the brains of the pair: as imposing as he looks, his strength is in his brain (or brains...those snake heads don't have a separate consciousness, but they do their uses).
Notes: Aeter and Cusith's litter
Bond: Shua
Sponsor: Ui

Name: Shua
Race: Wolf/Unknown Beast
Gender: Female
Color: Grey-Black
Size: 9' long
Abilities: Verbal Speech
Personality: Tough as nails, Shua is a very physical being, relying on her muscles and teeth, not her brain. Which is not to say that she's dumb--she can be quite clever when she tries, but she's more proud of her physical strength. She has a short and violent temper, taking offense easily which leads to a lot of fighting.
Notes: Bete and Huil's litter
Bond: Fuirnith
Sponsor: Ui

The next egg that hatched revealed not a dragon, but a grey-feathered and brown-furred gryphon chick. This hatchling gave a cheerful chirp and didn't waste any time looking for her bonded. Fortunately, she was not put off by the ill-tempered canine-pair by Ui, and she looked up at the Usagi fondly. I'm your Lashe, Ui.

At that contact, Ui's face finally brightened. "We'll make sure tha' those two 'ave a place in the Dragon Guard, won't we?"

Another of Murrpau's one-headed children strode around the sands, wandering aimlessly for awhile. At last, however, the hatchling wandered right into Brycalla's arms and was quite pleased. Hello, Brycalla, the hatchling said, relief clear in his voice. I'm hungry, why don't you and me get some food, please? Nekary pleaded to his new rider.

Brycalla chuckled, "of course we can find you some food, Nekary." He looked at the other hatchlings and their selection of odd patterns and colors, "I'm kind of surprised, I thought any dragon friend I might find would be as brightly colored as I am!" Nekary butted his head against the vibrant Usagi's hand.

A dark and handsome male hatchling broke out of one of Ainkar's eggs, and soon he was approaching the candidates as well. Before long, he was joined by another youngster, but the black hatchling, at least, was not interested in bonding. Ah Puch would still be happy to hang around with Chrin for a while, though.

The dragon that followed Ah Puch had hatched from an egg, despite his mammalian appearance, and quickly escaped from Jinggowe's protective grasp. He staggered unsteadily on clumsy paws and looked at the candidates with dark eyes, ears perked and tiny nubs poking out of his head that would one day become antlers. He spotted the older hatchling and was happy to follow after him--which was fortunate, since they ended up going with the same person. "And my name's Elorik, Chrin!" he added excitedly.

Chrin hadn't fully expected a hatchling of any species to be able to talk right out of the egg! But he did! "That's awesome, Elorik, we'll have a lot of fun together, I'm sure!"

The darker dragonet gazed at them, and almost gave what could be said to be a smile of sorts. Or maybe it was a smirk, it was hard to say. What would happen when Ah Puch met up with the necromancers back at Gelgela?

**

Name: Ah Puch
Race: Winged Snake Demi-god/Crow-dragon
Gender: Male
Color: Black-Grey
Size: 36'
Abilities: Verbal Speech, Telepathy, Teleportation, Very long-lived (1000s of years), Major Powers over Spirits and Death
Personality: A lazy, lethargic dragon, Ah Puch is by no means helpless just because he refuses to take action. He's surprisingly extroverted, curious and even nosy about other people's business, and he'll quite happily give advice even when not asked. Especially if he's not asked for it. He's also quite the gentleman, with a romantic air about him.
Notes: Sort-of demi-gods in the same way Kukulcan is sort-of a snake-god. Very powerful in their element(s) and long-lived, but otherwise mortal. The kids all possess a mask that they wear as they get older. The gems on their foreheads and bodies indicate their elements, and their big feathery wings grow out from the rainbow bands on their back.
Notes: Ainkar and Kukulcan's clutch
Sponsor: Chrin

Name: Elorik
Race: Reindeer-Dragon
Gender: Male
Color: Red-Brown
Size: 10' long
Abilities: Verbal Speech, Flame Breath, Warmth (spherical, radius 10 feet), Plant Growth
Personality: Sweet and a little shy, Elorik is kind, but he's not outgoing. He gets nervous around people, which makes it hard for him to make friends. He is optomistic, but a bit naive, but he is loyal and devoted to his family.
Notes: Jinggowe and Kaspar's clutch
Bond: Chrin