Pallienth had named herself after a goddess, in the hopes that it would impress her bond more, bring them good luck. But no such luck was forthcoming, and Fortune vanished into the great void, leaving a youngling dragoness to wander about the Healing Den. However, Pallienth did not remain at the Den the whole time she was growing up. In fact, she learned to teleport to other worlds long before she could even fly. Her great, curved wings could carry her for hours above a warm stretch of land, but her keen psionic abilities were honed to perfection by the time she could leap from a cliff and not simply fall.

The tiger-striped markings on her skin were both a blessing and a curse to Pallienth. She could sneak through a forest - imagine, a creature standing the height of a house and the length of three, 'sneaking'! - dappled under the sunlight, or hide among Autumn leaves while resting on the ground... But the moment she took to the air, unless it was in some strange land like the Shadow Shard or that nightmare of Old Pern, her coloration hardly kept her hidden.

She'd gotten used to the fact that her bond abandoned her, but it still bothered her a bit. After all, her whole lineage was all about impression to a human or humanoid, and ... well, she didn't have a bond. That didn't mean she didn't still want something more, to not be alone would be a good thing. So she visited the Healing Den regularly, but infrequently enough that she never quite caught up with anyone standing at their sands.

One day though, she did bump into Baeris Kshau. The dark-haired woman looked with some concern, and blurted out, "I know you, you hatched at the Halloween nest..."

"I did," Pallienth spoke aloud, a skill which many of those born at the Den had mastered. "I am honored that you recognize me."

"But... where..." Baeris started to say, and then realized: the bond hadn't been true. So many dragons had come back like this, alone. But Pallienth didn't seem to have that desperate, angry feeling coming from her. "Are you alone?"

"Yes, I have been. But that is acceptable. My decision to befriend one person was in error. I was young. I forgive myself my lack of good judgement."

Baeris's fine black eyebrow went up, and she smirked. "That's an astonishingly well-balanced view of things," she said. "Well, you have free run of any place in the Den if you wish, feel free to set up in one of the caverns if it suits you. I haven't seen you around, so I'm guessing you have other homes."

"I do," Pallienth admitted. "But I will roost here for a bit. I ... feel that I am needed elsewhere for other things though. But I will return."

***

And return she did. But ... well, with more than just stories to tell! She'd been to Holic, found mates (or at least, sort of - participated in some kind of mating ritual or event, Baeris wasn't sure, and wasn't asking) and was now interested in introducing herself to more of the regulars.