BACK

It was raining, and the Yautja had been hunting on and off for the weeks that they waited. They could provide for the whole Caer and then some, and of course to prove themselves able they did so. Almost every night. The place was filled with food.

The group of armed and armored hunters had to leave their arms and such at the door when they came and went, but that didn't stop them from being rowdy and dangerous none the less. And they weren't the least of it. Apparently there were other more exotic 'people' that were arriving at this high cavern area, especially right at the time of the hatching.

How did the dragon know? Maybe she was just tuned to the eggs that she'd laid on the sands, but perhaps she was just as antsy as the rest of the spectators. The bugs that might come from the eggs might also have some extra abilities. The Yautja knew that they were dangerous... In fact they'd brought back one of their own who'd been attacked by another Xeno. The locals didn't seem to realize that the Elder would not be surviving this. They tried, valiantly, to get the hatchling off his head, but by then? He was already fertilized.

Eventually, though, Lhalk'ck and Dorraj were sent down to the sands while the rest of the hunters were taken up into the stands to watch. They knew enough of the local language by now (since the Yautja were consummate immitators, and could gather their information quickly) they could place their own bets with the locals. This would apparently be quite the odd hatching, according to anyone. Hunters and Humans alike were surprised that this event was taking place at all.

An egg slipped open, something that piqued the interest of everyone. Not just those who had seen the Seeded world eggs. Eventually the blue-violet-black hatchling found itself wrapped carefully around its bond's leg. A black-green xenodragon hatched at the same time as a gold-black, then a grey-black came out too. Females, warriors. The grey-black bonded first, then the black-green hissed and looked around. She spotted Lhalk'ck and began to run toward her, as though in a hungry daze. And of course Black Tooth readied herself for hand to hand combat. Her weapons were all elsewhere.

But before she could be attacked, the gold-black came up and hit the green-black from the air. Get away from her, you bitch! said a voice, clear only to Black Tooth. Entranced, the female predator watched as the black-gold found a good place to posture, and hissed at the other female. Then, she claimed her bond: Lhalk'ck. She looked at the Yautja with a smug kind of posture.

All at once, Lhal's mind swarmed with images and feelings. A lashing tail that could disembowel an animal even larger than the cattle outside... Snapping jaws... inside and out this dragon was a prize. A prize that had to be won, and kept, with respect.

You and I will be well together. No longer will your hunts have odds we cannot overcome, and no longer will your opponent have a chance. You will come and feed me. And you..., she projected to Caller, you little shithead, are staying here.

Surprised, and feeling rather smug herself, Lhalk'ck had found herself bonding a stunning intelligent warrior. Their partnership would be an exceptional one!

They'd left the sands to find some of the meat that the Yautja had provided, while the rest of the hatching went on. Dorraj felt stunned and a bit out of sorts, when the xenodragoness had chastised him.

Another batch of eggs slipped open, black-steel and black-burdandy, opal and ... the queen. The only true queen, with her large head carapace and the length that said she'd be an impressive specimin. However... She didn't bother bonding right away. The green-black who had tried to attack Black Tooth found her bond, then the burgandy did.

Right about then, the weird insectoid-creatures that had been called to the gathering arrived. There were a number of them, a hextet of them, and Dorraj found it difficult to take his eyes off them. They weren't human, they weren't animal, they were not bugs... Maybe they'd be good to hunt. Or, to hunt with.

Either way, the steel shaded female bonded, and then another batch of eggs burst. Tan, brass and brown all shaded with the slick black chitin that their Xeno forebear offered them. The brown-black male paired up, and at last the queen found it in herself to descend to the masses and find a bond. She attacked one of the insectoid-creatures, and then finally decided that one was her pair.

It was almost scary - this queen did know how to get attention. And then the pair of other males that had just hatched paired off with two others in the insectoid group.

But when a white-and-silver shaded mutant xenodragon hatched, tiny and almost pathetic... The queen denied him - refusing to even name him!

It looked as though the queen was ready to eat him, or just stomp him out of the sands, when he spied Dorraj. He bolted to the Yautja and hid behind his leg, and Dorraj was privy to the frantic sending of the young xenodragon.

I can help you...Together we can prove them all wrong. We are both strong...and useful. But, first...you have to get me the hell out of here! And get me some food in the process...okay?

"That sounds okay to me," Dorraj whispered, but there was still more to the Queen's outrage.

I will allow you your life, but you will have no name, and therefore no rank among your people. You will be worthless. A detriment upon any hive...

So her words stung. Until -

Dhusess, said Lepryiss, defiantly to her mother. She was no queen, but she was the strongest among this group so far (as told by Lepryiss of course!) and though the queen tried to scare her warrior daughter into submission - she wouldn't hear it. And Dhusess, Dorraj, and Black Tooth all found each other congratulating one another.

It wasn't more than a few minutes later when the elder male of the ship began to convulse. The others were a bit angry with this: there was betting going on, and he'd just spilled his drink! So - still twitching - the other two grasped his arms and legs, and tossed him down to the sands.

From his chest, came another hatchling. Surprised, but dead, the elder could hardly appreciate that he'd been part of the hatching. With some of the hatchlings finding their bonds, and others attempting to eat the Elder's still-warm body, the hatching seemed about over.

This would make a great story some day... And to hear Dhusess tell it, it might even become legend among the Yautja! How a pair of misfits proved everyone wrong?!

It took a while for the Xenodragons to mature. Less time than a normal dragon, but the Yautja knew that it would be longer than a typical Xeno creature. The magestic golden black Lepryiss stood tall and proud. She was not a queen, but she would try to find a mate some day. If there were any creatures worthy of her stature as a proud warrior! And how could there be?

It was absolutely certain that little white-silver Dhusess wasn't going to be 'it'. He probably couldn't fertilize a chicken egg if he had a queen to help him.

That thought gave Black Tooth a bit of a chuckle, and finally an uproarious laughter.

The rest of the crew wondered occasionally why she'd do that - but Caller did it too, so they had to assume that it had something to do with their xenodragons.

"Where should we go next?" Asked the now-eldest. "These dragon things are pretty interesting."

"So you're curious about them yourselves?" Asked Dorraj, who was less often struck by his superiors because even 'little' xenodragons like Dhusess were much bigger than would tolerate that nonsense. He would have ducked the elder's hand, anyway, and it looked like the question sparked some thought instead of just an angry glare.

"I have been," he responded. The others too, nodding in turn.

"We have many maps, now," Lhalk'ck said, holding some of them up, "and we could try visiting some of these places. The other worlds with dragons..."

That is what they chose to do. Their adventures continue...