Laeurath and Juth

Size comparison Piece and Knockoff/Pawn

Pernese with embellishments, four legs and two wings all with short sharp claws; long muscular tail with spade; dished head with knobs having short horns, and a tall segmented crest

Naming: Traditional Pernese -TH ended naming (Danachian also), names often are either very short or fairly complex; Knockoffs receive -LAEJU

Knockoff stats: average 2 except for Agility of 4; powers as their larger counterparts only they cannot use firebreath and cannot control humanoids, have an average of 2 level in most things otherwise, and a 5 in flitter control

This large clutch is displayed along with their companions in KEBA, in the middle of the 3rd hour until Midnight, and there are a staggering number of them...

Bond : Ari, Multibonded to whoever else shows up, and oddly enough the leader of the group rather than a follower as many of his siblings prefer
Meeting Notes : The night was in full swing, most folks had been there for several hours at least but there were always a few later arrivals. The clock showed 'three hours' until Midnight, who would show up so late to such an amazing party? They had missed other dragon hatchings and parades, but this one was a bigger group than many before. Deeply black sire, incredibly diamond-shiny bright dam, and all manner of sparkles and markings fit for a party among their clutch. Ari appreciated their variety, right up until one of them stepped directly up to her. Not that she didn't appreciate the gorgeous shine on his hide, or the delicate bubbly-edged markings on his wings!

Oh good, I was worried you would find me lacking , the dragonet bespoke to her. He seemed... sure, easy, but also quick witted. He spotted one of the knockoffs marching over to a group of troublesome creatures and almost let off an audible sigh. We will have to watch out for them...

Ari was positively speechless - she couldn't say anything beyond a weak, "... we ?" But she followed the dragonet's gaze over to... the Raptor Queens, and a bunch of other little pests clumped around them.

She hadn't realized that there were other dragons, newly hatched or having been stored in one of the temporally-isolated spots - heading toward her and this dragon. She knew his name, Hoith, it had appeared in her mind unbidden - but... it was welcome. Over the course of the next hour or so, Hoith and Ari collected some checkerboard-winged little ones, and would be needing quite a bit more space when they got home. She'd figure out what to do with them all, how to best put their abilities and sensibilities to work.

Bond : Alos Suid, Impression, Multibond with Belgesu
Meeting Notes : (see also GESU)

For more than an hour, Alos sampled the finger-foods and wines, swished through the dance floor with grace and delight, and stopped by her new dragon partner frequently to make sure that they were safe and happy and fed. Alos knew there were a variety of Zekirans at this party, she recognized a couple faces from the historical documents and modern pop culture articles found in the magazines in her own Ablan and Quman health clinic waiting rooms. With the ghosts present in her life all this time, she hardly even thought 'why would historical figures be alive to be here' - not realizing they weren't from her same Zekiran dimension. She wandered the casino, though as a Sehatan she knew better than to gamble very much: some of her patients couldn't afford her services due to their gambling habits and wound up indentured to her office for a while...

On one circuit around the dance floor the show above ended with a bit of an accident, but she was more on her way back to her small table to tend to Belgesu. When she got there... Belgesu was joined by a darker bodied, lighter winged dragon!

I told you there was still time! I didn't say for what! But it was to wait for our partner! The dragonet happily twittered, giving a bugle which was echoed in the darker dragon. They were about the same size for now, but it looked like this grey one with the shiny white wings was going to be taller and higher off the ground than her first bond.

She held her head high too, dished like a Steed's in a way, with what looked like the starts of horns at the end of those odd knob-things that Belgesu also had (which would not be sprouting such things). The dragonet's wings shone under the ballroom lights, highly reflective, glass-like. "Do you like them? I will need to keep them clean and sound. You can do that, can't you?" The dragonet could speak so clearly? Even freshly hatched like she must have been?

"I... I can!" Alos recovered quickly. "I have tended to much larger dragon wings. You will have plenty of time to learn how to fly and grow strong with yours." The brightly checkerboarded dragonet beside her shifted, "and you too! Both of you will look so good flying around the grounds!"

And neither of them would take up particularly much space, she thought, they're barely bigger than any Steed that's come by!

That will make us easier for you to ride, too, Belgesu hinted, obviously able to read Alos' mind. She giggled, they would certainly be impressive to arrive at a site as well! That got her thinking... what about dragon racing ?

"Qufth," the dragon announced herself, "is my name. I'm not sure I would be very good at racing. But perhaps there would be a new sport for your people to enjoy." So... this dragon could read her mind already too ? But it was a good idea, wasn't it? The racing?

She was about to suggest such a thing, when they were joined by half a dozen nearby fresh-hatched flitters. Where had they even come from? And whose were they?

"They are ours now," Qufth chuckled. It turned out that her own ability to summon such creatures was echoed quite strongly in this new lovely shiny dragon.

Bond : Lux Willow, Impressed, Multibond with Dyalkeba (see KEBA)
Meeting Notes : The middle of the evening, the height of the party, three hours to midnight - it was so busy and packed with fun, at least for most. Lux was a bit intimidated, perhaps the press of the dancers, or the drunken euphoria of the party itself led her mind to be a little overwhelmed. Her owl was somewhere nearby, but likely was hanging out with other familiars or pets up in the rafters. It was too bright and too busy for her, probably. There were mental pings of all types around her though, both in and out of the venue itself. Beyond those big (hopefully thick, definitely magical) windows it was deep sea whales and dragons, inside there were already draconic minds demanding attention.

From two sides, Lux realized there were very demanding hungry dragons heading her way. And one of them was barely half the size of Ophelia her owl! As a hatchling this seemed pretty dangerous, but the checkerboard-winged knockoff still made their way right toward Lux, confidently sidestepping dancers, drunks, and even other bigger dragons.

They will be quite speedy, bespoke a mind that was strong and sure, I bet they will give that bird a challenge.

An incredibly dark and shiny dragoness met nose to nose with that brightly white one, and put her wing over the smaller one to protect it.

Lux still felt the intense hunger coming off both of them, and realized... "Wait, ... wait, both of you want to come with me ?" She asked, baffled. She didn't realize this could happen.

"Of course, I am Rhoiboth, you are both mine," the obsidian gem dragon said, with a little difficulty. Learning how to speak fresh out of the shell was really amazing too! Lux knelt and picked up the tiny white pawn, who gave off a trilling yawn, and the larger dragoness helped herself to Lux's other shoulder. Neither of them would be big, maybe not even big enough to ride, but that seemed to be fine - as, eventually, it looked as though Indigo had found herself one that would get very large!

Size isn't everything, the little white calling itself Dyalkeba sighed. Lux hugged them both, and even offered Ophelia some of that fresh-cut meat they got to eat.

Bond : Multibond with Death Court group (Naxi'im, Roemami, Yruthol)
Meeting Notes : (see also MAMI and THOL)

The evening was quite interesting. Busy, bustling even. But what struck Naxi'im the most was that the dragons in attendance, for the most part, didn't even notice his group. At least, few of the 'locals' knew or seemed to care to snarl or glare at them.

Good. Because at least in that regard they were equal. He recognized several local dragons, perhaps from ... well, yes, from events prior. Dragons that were bonded to those people who remained - carefully sequestered - on their side of the venue. Oh how hackles had raised, oh how she had simply bristled.

But Naxi'im and his queens were not here to cause trouble, at least not the way that Mystic wanted them to. Trouble might follow them, obviously, but it wasn't their purpose . That would come later . After...

For now, though, the trio of Death Court dragons strutted through their side of the venue with confidence and ease. If it faintly bothered the blue King that he was considerably smaller than most of the locals, he didn't show it. Why should he? When there were events that would pit them strength-for-strength, speed for speed... Showing off in a 'safe' environment.

He certainly made note of the various safety measures that they'd set up here. Strong magic, strong psionics, strong dragons, all placed at spots where dangers might accidentally injure participants. Well, injure them more than they'd intended to get. Because obviously with a 'dragon rasslin' and sniping contest arena, they expected to get hurt .

The one very sore ache here, was that... all of these dragons were already bonded to humans . Or near enough, anyway, he spotted one of those odd alien 'vorts' who was talking, through the thick glass wall, to an elegant sea-creature Naxi'im realized was also a dragon.

His queens went off to enjoy their own forms of entertainment, while Naxi'im strode through the massive caverns and domes. He was distracted, as they were, by the presence of clutch after clutch of new dragonets. They had been hatched here, or... made here, his eyes narrowed at the thought that even here, with so much effort put into this, they just had to mess with the dragons. There were far more of them though, than he could really comprehend. Each of the clutches were sequestered in their own private chambers, somehow, and even other dragons weren't allowed - or able - to enter them without permission from the clutch parent.

There was quite a bit of magic at work here, that was certain. Even he wasn't allowed through some doors, ruler that he was.

Just as well, he had to be patient, he had to be good for his word, yes? He knew better than to try and 'recruit' any of these existing bonds - he could all but smell the lines between them and their bonds on the other portion of the venue. But these little ones, these newly hatched, and yes even newly made dragonets?

They were all brought before the King and his Queens. (Well, fine , they were brought out through the draconic side first, not just to him...) They would make their decisions, and some of them went out to the human-side, a good few simply remained here with the other dragons instead. And some - some - came back from the other side.

It was late, the big clocks on their cavern walls all were leading to a midnight moment. For what it was worth, the blue king and his consorts did get a little swept up, a little excited - or a lot. The feasting was amazing, though he didn't leave to go hunting, himself. He let those dragons that were thirsty for it bring back the deer, the fowl, the... well whatever that turtle-like thing was. Meats of many flavors, bones thin and thick to snap and suck marrow from. Even some fruits, long grass and tubers for those who needed more than mere meat, all presented in the feeding chambers.

It did smell good, all that blood. But now, with midnight rapidly approaching, Naxi'im watched from his balcony with his Queens by his side, and waited. A big show on the human side of the stage was followed by fireworks from dragons, impressive flames and bursts of energy.

A mental ping broke his gaze from the fireworks, gentle but confident.

We have chosen, she said.

Naxi'im's eyes narrowed, and then settled on seeking out the source of this new mind in his head. She wasn't difficult to locate, slightly larger than her two companions, and framed by them as they walked toward the ledge's occupants.

The other two were checkerboard-marked, he supposed it was too much to ask that only 'born' dragons come to them. He thought about saying something, and then paused to reflect about it. Perhaps this would be better than his initial appraisal could account for - these were creatures made by and ostensibly for humanoids. And yet. Here they were in front of him.

On closer examination, they were to his liking, as well as this born-type female, given their features and their behavior. This one though, she was marbled like the floor and walls of the biped-venue, though in more muted shades than pure black and white. Darker wingsails than body, but she looked like a carved statue and acted just as cool as stone. He liked her immediately. She showed both deference and surety of purpose.

"I am Gakth," she announced aloud, which somewhat surprised him - she was a Pernese breed, wasn't she? "And this is Yruthol," the dark-bodied and spike-covered one bowed its head, "and this is Roemami," the other whose wings were already bigger than most took their turn to dip their head in reverence. Gakth continued, however, "after considering the options, we have made our choice. It was... not easy, for any of us, to resist the allure of those on the other side," she glanced toward that half of the venue, and Naxi'im saw that she had horns growing from her 'head knobs', another unusual feature for a Pernese dragoness. "We are... not typically bonded to other dragons."

She did continually stress the word we . He felt around in the mental air, sensed that her own connection was to him as well as to them.

"It does take effort," Naxi'im said, "so you have overcome this...?"

We have chosen each other, first, the spiked one bespoke. Their two-toned companion placed their wide wing over the other's, they were a bonded pair of dragons among a breed who would have only ever chosen a human if that was all that was offered. But we also chose Gakth, and she has brought us to you. So we will work toward your goals .

The other dragon, Roemami was it? remained silent both mentally and vocally, but seemed attentive enough to the momentous event.

Perhaps it was his own sense of self-worth, or perhaps because he'd been attending hatchings in a more... aggressive manner than now, but he realized with a start, that this was a momentous event for them, just not for the same reasons he presumed. His reasons of course: to assemble an army, a breeding population, a dynasty. But theirs? The thrill in their minds was because they were literally new young dragons and they just bonded at hatching. It was the only thing they knew . All three of them were going to be on the small side, but ... not as small as a couple others approaching the Queens...

Bond : Ks'uiy Zhiag, Voluntary Multibond with Duteth'Alkar
Meeting Notes : This was a decent party, Ks'uiy felt pretty comfortable among all the similarly colored dragons and guests in shades common to his own body. He'd been asked to help with the stage productions - he could produce sparkling lights and make reflective surfaces dazzle, and he'd done just that a little earlier. Now it was three hours until midnight, he'd been given currencies to play with in reward... it was time to gamble!

He was neck-deep in a complex card game that a Zekiran had taught him earlier, when an extremely skinny girl whipped around behind him, scattering his cards and ... oh, heh, she had been going for his pouch? That might have been amusing to watch as she discovered it was all these weird localized vouchers in use here... She apologized, sped off in a bit of a daze, while the others at the table reset their own hands to politely back up a turn. No one wanted him to lose just because some thief almost pickpocketed him. Ks'uiy got on with the betting!

He'd been doing this for a while before he realized that he needed to get some food into him. With his lower arms he pulled in his winnings (pretty much all of those coin bits on the table, it looked like a couple others there were relieved he was going his way now), with his upper pair he waved at one of the dapper little dragons for help in getting all this exchanged.

That dragon (was it a dragonet? hatchling? new clone? it couldn't possibly have been a full grown dragon) chipperly led him over to the booth at the entrance to the casino, and then tilted its long head. It continued to lead him around, the buffet table was vast and packed with good food! He heard it creeling and assumed that it was going back to its work station in the casino. He was wrong.

Instead, the little dragon pushed into the dance hall, vanishing quickly among the tail coats and dresses and other dragons. Ks'uiy chuckled, found a plate, a big mug for a drink, and started in on that lovely looking food. Right before he was able to sit at one of the smaller tables by the exotic windows to the deep sea, that little tuxedo-marked dragon reappeared and gave a chittering, incomprehensible speech before rushing away again.

"Wonder what that was about," the Zeddian muttered, and tried to take a bite of the salmon... But it was gone. In its place, there was a shiny silvery-grey snout. Connected to a very shiny silvery grey dragon. Though catlike in most respects, it certainly pulled a good 'puppy dog eyebrow twist' at him. "I... guess you can have that fish, I got more..."

"You had more," a strange, high voice proclaimed on his other side. The third chair at this intimate table was now filled with a very bold white-winged silver dragon. Who had the last of the ham slice he'd been about to eat, gulped it back, and tilted her head in a very similar fashion to the other one opposite.

Wait, how did he know that was a she ?

Because you are our bond , the catlike one announced. His voice was very silky, when he added, "can I have some more?"

They have buckets of the stuff over there, the slightly larger female told him. But I like plates! Ooh can I have that one? The smaller bowl that Ks'uiy had taken with 'Swedish Meatballs' in it lifted off the table, tilted, spilled onto his salad, and one of the balls rolled into the dragonet's open mouth.

"I would like to introduce Spinteyth, and I am Duteth'Alkar," the catlike one said, using his double-thumbed wing wrist to snag another piece of sushi.

"You were taking too long, we didn't get any food yet." Spinteyth said, around another gobbling of meatball mixed with lettuce. At this rate, Ks'uiy would never get to eat!

Bond : Dustin, Impressed
Meeting Notes : Dustin was tired, and probably regretted having zipped around the ballroom's expansive airspace earlier. His wings were still maturing, after all. He was still maturing, and though he was young in years, he was growing bigger than most of his friends. Among the youngest of the group - and certainly among the youngest attending the ball - the centaur boy sat on his rump near the big table that several of his group took up.

Others still flew overhead, joined by plenty of people with wings from distant worlds. Some of attendees around them had magic, he could tell; others were very physical indeed and seemed slightly out of place without bristling weapons or shields on their backs. Dustin had the desire to dance, but ... with his hooves? With his size? There would probably be some bruised toes out there.

Around three hours to midnight, however, the dancing started to thin and separate so that a pair of dragon clutches could be displayed. So many of them! Wow that - that was a lot of dragons! Dustin stood up, nestling his wings against his body, and peered out at the bunch of white, silver, grey...

"Woo," he whistled quietly, "that one. Is super black." Around one of the bigger hatchlings, there were also a host of tiny, probably fresh-hatched flitters of a variety of types, they continually landed on the shiny black's neck and head, shoulders, and wing arms. The dragon didn't shoo them away.

It looked so familiar to Dustin, even others at the table muttered about how many little things would fly around him. Dustin rose, brushed his shirt free of the 'fortune cookie' crumbles that had landed on it (the fortune was a little specific, 'you will travel to many exotic places in your life' - but he couldn't say whether this place counted as 'many'?) and headed over to the edge of the dance floor. Even if he wasn't going to be doing a two-part two-step with anyone soon, this black dragon just... Just captured his full attention!

We can raise these things together, and more of them, the dragonet's mind was as sleek and shiny and dark as his hide! I am Swifaumath, you are my One, Dustin. We'll fly strong, we'll learn from one another.

It felt like the first time he'd flown - like when he dove from a high cliff edge over dangerous choppy waters, there for the winds to help him stay aloft. Maybe... maybe he'd return with Swifaumath when he was big enough to fly!

Bond : Ikko, Impression, Multibond with Zadante (ANTE)
Meeting Notes : This event was proving to be quite the profitable one. So many contacts, including that white-haired man whose dragon was apparently the sire of the 'first' clutch of dragons here. He made sure that their producer exchanged contact information with hin, they might have access to dozens of new performance venues after tonight!

The pair of 'adults' chatted and drank and laughed and compared business cards. But the action was all down on the floor. It was around the middle of '3 Hours to Midnight' that quite a few of the dragon clutches were milling about. Ikko looked around, his companions had all sort of scattered, and he wondered whether any of them heard that strange sound.

The blond youth kept squinting at clumps of people, also taking a long look at the Stage performance - how bizarre, that it was a group of people, clearly all performing together, but they were called 'The Solos'... He shrugged that off. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he kept hearing things. Whispers? No, it was more conversational than just some behind-their-backs chatter. He'd heard a lot of that in his time with the team. No it was more like... a chant? Sort of?

Ikko was quite sure he just heard the words 'find us' . He looked around once more, handsome features slightly hidden behind the elegant headgear he wore. No one human-like was looking his way. No human voice had said it. That would only mean one thing.

He brought his gaze lower, like when he had to do trick slides around the stage and not knock anyone else over. Footing just right, speed geared up, Ikko dodged the dancers and twirled around the sidelines of the ballroom floor, and listened carefully. He heard 'colder!' and then 'warmer!' in short order as he changed direction. He heard 'hot!' and noticed that he was near the base of one of the black-carpeted staircases leading up to the overhead balconies. So, whatever it was playing this game with him was up there? He trotted up the stairs, not even close to out of breath.

Before he really understood what he was looking at, he saw the backs of two dragonets at the top of the staircase. Thankfully it was very wide and they didn't interrupt anyone else trying to get to the stairs, but they definitely were plotting something together. A huddle? He joined it quickly, without even a pause.

"What's the plan?" Ikko asked, and the dark dragon to his left twittered something incomprehensible, while the white one on his right gave off an equally excited yip.

"You found us!" That white dragon said, surprising Ikko; dragons fresh out of their shell could speak?

Some of us speak different, the dark dragon replied to that... thought?!

"Don't be rude Zadante, ask before reading minds!"

I can't help it, he's our one! I hear him loud and clear!

The dragonet was quite excited, that's for sure. Ikko finally stood up, grinning ear to ear. The dark dragonet had those checkerboard patterned wings, and the other... wow. Patterns, sure, but gorgeous silver and grey, black on white bubbly...

He likes you better, I just knew it. The black dragonet pretended to sulk. But by now, Ikko's mind had felt the subtle tug of that dragon's own emotion and he knew that the little one was just being dramatic.

"I like you both, you're a perfect team!"

"We are all a team now," the white one said. "I am Neuth, you've already met Zadante. We knew you could keep up with us."

Bond : Tyrnus, Voluntary Multbond
Meeting Notes : Even if he hadn't been specifically invited, or at least, he hadn't thought so, Tyrnus wasn't one to pass up the opportunity to mingle and enjoy a grand party. There were definitely forces at work here that were well beyond his typical 'delivery location' expectations, the place absolutely reeked of magical mixtures. What didn't reek? Dancing with exotic people, whose own appearances varied as much as his from virtually anyone he'd had regular contact with. Unlike quite a few of the attendees here, who obviously gravitated toward each other due to status or employment, Tyrnus came at it all as though it was a grand vacation.

Should it have surprised him that the casino accepted his currency? On looking around, that would be 'nope'; imagine the disaster if they had to do conversions? Whose gold was worth more than someone else's latinum? It was weird seeing the money that left his own pockets change into another coin on being picked up by the winner of that one dice game.

There was music, he liked some of it, other pieces not so much. The dance floor was broad and active, and because it was still around three hours until midnight, people weren't yet too tired to join dance circles or energetic jigs. They did have to pause a little now and again, and this time it was because a massive number of small (some downright teensy) dragonets were being shown out from one of the arched hatching areas. That a ball room had hatching areas, that too was weird and wonderful.

His eyes had tried to concentrate on how those hatching areas - or the other hallways, or even the massive windows - connected to the rest of the ballroom, but in that process he wound up getting a touch dizzy. It wasn't the booze, though he'd enjoyed plenty of that along with the finger foods and even a nice plate of stir fry. But now, he looked around as his pair of dragons seemed to be snickering at each other behind his back. "What, what is it?" They said nothing, acted like nothing had happened, nope nothin here but us chickens .

Chicken was sounding pretty good right then. And not one of those chicken-strip or bbq-hot-wing buckets they had over at the one buffet table. No, a chicken, whole, raw.

"Why am I so cursed hungry?" Tyrnus grumbled, and then had to do a double take. A dragon was sitting by his existing pair, emulating their postures and they were encouraging him. Him ? "Oh."

"oh!" The dragon squawked, beak-like muzzle dancing with bright spots. In fact, everything on this dragon was dancing with bright spots. Or dark ones, there was not a single place on the dragon's hide, wings, or other leathery space that was just one color. This hungry little guy seemed like he was keeping himself silent with difficulty, as if he heard a joke he knew the punchline to. At last, he blurted out, "I'm Bokeyneth and I want to eat! I mean I want to come with you! Please? Your friends already like me!"

If you squint you can almost make the dots come into focus , Ahina commented. Their companion gave a draconic chuckle.

We do like him, he's shiny.

Tyrnus did squint, almost on command when the dragon said it, but it only served to make the already-dappled dragon a blur of silver and grey. "I suppose if you've already adopted the little guy we have no choice but to find some chicken..."

Bond : Feersia, Voluntsary Multibond with Squenth'Alkar (KEBA)
Meeting Notes : It was the middle of the party, three hours until midnight, and Feersia was still on edge. This place was just packed with too many people for their senses to handle, so they'd spent a lot of time lurking in the long, dimmer hallways between the casino and the ballroom, or winding their way up the stairs to the balconies. They didn't give off their fear-inducing power too often, and they'd considered shifting into something more bipedal but that would have taken so much energy it wouldn't be worthwhile. So they rested, watching, waiting, snacking on the fresh cut meats that had been reserved more for the dragons than guests. Who was going to stop them? They'd been mistaken for a dragon more than once.

They had donned a black cloak and white draped shirt, to fit in more with the theme, and at least that meant they didn't have to waste energy attempting to shift into a grey tone of skin. There was more than enough black and white out there, Feersia wondered if their eyes were deceiving them since there was so little actual color here.

Their eyes were definitely not deceiving them when two dragons, both small but one considerably smaller than the other even as a hatchling, bumbled over to the hallway where Feersia was curled up people-watching. Both of them had speckly markings, and shiny bits, they were quite attractive actually!

"It's nice to know you like us!" One of them, the darker and smaller of them spoke. Those words were echoed in the mind of that lighter one.

We would like to return where you go, if you would have us? That mind called out, I am Kleisepath, this is Squenth.

Feersia couldn't help but notice that their minds both bore straight into their own, latching on and ... resting there rather comfortably. Feersia nodded simply once, and welcomed the pair. It felt strange, with not one but two intelligent minds nested up with their own, but then the naga noticed something else - the intensity and annoyance factor of the party seemed to have diminished strongly.

Feersia sent their own thought, to both: you are hungry, I know where the meat is! You will enjoy this meal, as I do.

Bond: Zhuo-Ji, Multibond with Woonath'Alkar
Meeting Notes: (see also KEBA)

They'd finally gotten everyone ready, much to his fretting distress. And the evening had started out glorious even from the moment they entered the vast undersea city! The panda seemed incredibly happy to see all the finery, and his friends knew that wasn't all he was about - but tonight, it absolutely should be. Hundreds of people, magical and mundane, churned around the place in all their glory, and he joined them with gusto. There were dancers, and he got in a good couple rounds sweeping the place with a delightfully eager (if not quite light on her feet) wolf-girl. Took in the sights during one or two of the Stage performances, had delicious snacks and drinks!

Oh what a night! But even though the clock said it was well into 'three hours until' the midnight bell, something gnawed at him even though he'd just eaten (who knew that bamboo shoots could be grilled to perfection like that?). He was decidedly hungry but quite certainly didn't need to eat. It was when a large group of very small dragonets arrived. Though they could hardly be said to be 'colorful' (like anything here, really) there were such differences between each and every one of them, they were all so stunning.

"Do you think so? I do." A voice called, from somewhere below Zhuo-Ji's ample waist. Leaning a bit to the side, he had to keep looking because ... well, something was moving around him.

I do too, another voice, but this time it was much more direct, and interestingly, inside his own mind! He'd felt bits and pieces of telepathic communication in the past, and knew there was plenty of it going on here at the Ball, but nothing had so directly connected to him in his whole life.

It was remarkably strange, wonderful, in a word, "Magnificent!" He cried, when both of these voices turned out to be from two dragonets. They finally stopped circling him, and sat beside one another for him to appraise.

And praise, thank you, the white bodied one thought, pleased with himself.

They were as different as night and day, one white with black wings, the other black with white wings - but even with those words they were also shiny and delightful and not at all 'merely' black and white. Each had horn buds, again opposing colors. They definitely had different features - one seemed more lanky and leggy with a longer tail, the other was more cat-like in posture and poise. Also they were clearly male and female, and had definitely formed their own bond before even deciding to gang up on Zhuo-Ji.

"I am Woonath'Alkar, and this is Hureurith," the black cat-like female announced.

And like you, there's more to us than just perfect looks, the white dragon added.

"I'm sure that is true," Zhuo-Ji nodded sagely. "Life is not only about appearances, though they are important in their own way."

He did get the impression that they were ready to gobble down some meat when a waiter breezed by heading toward a big table - and both dragons sniffed the air eagerly. "Let's get you fed, I can hardly eat another bite myself... not until I have a few more dances!"

Bond : Alan, Impressed, Multibond with Plaath'Alkar
Meeting Notes : there were so many of these black and white marked dragons all at once, the only way that Alan could tell which clutch was which was by their tails: this group had spades, the other one bore a split tail. Alan had been trying to reach the nearest bar when Laeurath and Kelirith both decided their clutches to be 'ready'. It was three hours until midnight, it was so hard to cross the floor, even though the dancing was a hundred meters away and the bar much closer to their table. He didn't dare glance back at Thomas and Regina, he knew now what was going on. How it had been such a... game, to the man.

"Then play it with them," said a voice, high and childlike, feminine; and he wasn't sure - had he thought it? Was he now going to be in danger of hearing voices in his head in addition to everything else? Alan tried shaking his head to clear it, but instead found even more voices there than ever.

I don't care for that man, the other voice spoke in a purring and faintly annoyed, masculine tone. Alan was pretty certain he'd lost his mind.

It did not help one bit that the woman tending bar was a raccoon, Alan wondered about his sanity; but she did reach over the bar to steady Alan's shoulder, and handed him an iced water. "Looks like you'll be needing this, clear head and all," she said.

"My head is anything but clear," Alan muttered.

"Well that is because Plaath is in it," the girly chipper sounding voice said. Finally, Alan pulled back a long drink of that ice water, it was refreshing. He turned around to see... eyes. Pink ones on a black dragon, blue ones on a white. The way those sky blue eyes blinked very slowly was rather cat like. The dragon was very cat like. Like those being paraded around the ball room. The pinker ones belonged to the bigger dragon, though they were about the same size at this stage. Neither of them came to his knee. Both were very... very shiny.

They looked like tiny opposites, save that they both had black wings.

Wait. "... Plaath?" Alan glanced between the dragons, and decided that Plaath was the pale cat-like creature. "Then... who are you?" He asked of the dark one.

Plaath encouraged him, why don't you say her name, you already know it.

"Hidth," it was a simple sound, but it came out of him like it had been on the tip of his tongue. Alan finally leaned back, tilting his head to see both the dragons and then the table with his 'friends' beyond. Deborah looked positively over the moon, Thomas with that grim pleased look, Regina just pursing her lips.

"We're hungry," the dragons said in unison, this time both with their voices.

Bond : Queen Gleam, Multibond
Meeting Notes : They called many dragonesses here 'queens', but perhaps only this one attending could truly be one. She had offspring in attendance, but also her whole entourage were both her subjects and her protected family. Eager to expand, willing to look into unusual spaces - if usually at a distance. Queen Gleam arrived as a bit of a surprise. She didn't 'get out' much, vastly preferring her dimly lit cavern habitat and her assortment of shiny things to keep her occupied. But still here she was, taking in the sights and sensations, and perhaps wondering what might come of all of this.

She spent quite a lot more time staring out into the odd windows of this manufactured cavern, than mingling, truth be told. There were indeed plenty of other ambassadors and folk to greet - which she did, dutifully, a bit distantly. But out there in the depths around Rapture, there were dragons. Elegant, large, drifting with the tide's pull. They sang, she listened.

Also in those windows, worlds with intriguing landscapes and animals, and people - who weren't just 'humanoid', many who could be said to be crystaline in nature, some that were deadly to those around them. All, assessed for their potential use in her colony. While she had overseen her own children as they went off with their chosen partners and groups, she herself had not experienced this aspect of draconic life before.

There were so many ways a dragon could find their group... A soulmate, a mating partner, a team, a family. No one faulted her for returning to the dragon-portion of the venue when the introductions were finished, here were the riders of some dragons, there were leaders and physicians of that world or this one. Curt, somewhat blunt, Gleam excused herself and got more comfortable to watch what odd entertainment was being provided. Feats of draconic strength did intrigue her. Sharpshooting contests with fire blasts against a well-shielded and magically-contained target. Dragons danced in the air above their floors, but also slunk around and played other games that humanoids simply didn't comprehend.

Each of the nests of small hatchlings were brought here, entering the dragons presence and some formally allying themselves before even bothering with the humanoid portion. It was one such dragon that remained, steadfastly beside Queen Gleam and her attendants. They had made room, though not much was needed for such a tiny creature.

She watched with a careful faceted eye, and even began mimicking some of Gleam's motions.

This amused the great dragoness, in her own way. The mottled markings on this black and white dragon would be apt to blend in with the right cavern walls and ore deposits, or the wings with ice and bare volcanic rock.

I will do my best, the dragonet bespoke. Her mood was of far more than merely a follower, she was already dedicated to the cause and the colony. I will find my place. It will be among many!

Well that certainly is true... Truer than she even realized. (See other pages!)

(adopt)

(adoptable)

Bond: Tathi

Bond : Lucius Darknoll, Multibond with Feibuu nye'nnay and Taumami (MEBA and MAMI)
Meeting Notes (for all Lucius): It felt fairly strange to be standing at a bar picking up a dark beer with a pale head - and the bartender was apparently a raccoon woman. Now, she wasn't unattractive, in fact she was... markedly pretty. But if she seemed ill at ease with any of the humans or elves or whatever else was here, she didn't show it in any way. She had a brilliant smile with little pointy teeth, an afro which almost covered her ears, velvety brown skin with black and grey accents, and that distinct mask marking on her face; he wasn't sure whether the fur trim over her snug shiny grey dress was her own or part of the outfit. Lucius was apt to stare, but it appeared she was completely comfortable with that - or she was so used to it that it didn't seem to matter. She pushed the Guinness at him with a napkin under it and a wink. "Have some fun," she suggested.

It was less than an hour later when she took a break, found him, and dragged him to the dance floor. She had a fuller tail than any 'real' raccoon but then she was either half-human or ... something else. Not a shifter, not like him. And yet, this was the most fun he'd had in years. Brandy tugged on his elbow while they were in mid-swing, "Something is happening," she said, and glanced to the edge of the room.

Others paused in their dance too, because a pair of stunning dragons were leading their offspring out from their nook and through the big room. They were on the tall side, but long too, with tails that just kept going, and were covered in a downy fluff even as hatchlings. Most of the little ones bumbled about, occasionally staggering or pausing to gain their footing again. Some of them sniffed at a dancer, moved around, looked at those at the tables beyond, or outright stood up and gave chittering discussions to their new friend. They sure were shiny, and ran the whole gamut between rich black and sparkly white.

One of them nudged Brandy, who laughed, "well, I suppose I can give him up for a dance or two." She'd gone back to her station at the wide bar before he could even speak. But then there was something else to consider, and that was the black furred dragon who had interrupted.

"Mine," she said, "you, we wait now." Perhaps she spoke this way because - well, she was just hatched, wasn't she? She'd certainly become more adept at it with time.

Lucius blinked a few times after pondering that. "Wait, you're -"

"Mine, Feibuu's," she reiterated. And then she walked with confidence to a section of the floor that had been prepared for new dragons to feed. Lucius wasn't the only one with the baffled expression, others definitely were amused or confused in varying degrees by their new friends. He could feel the gentle ping of her mind, though it wasn't as invasive as he expected if this was a bond?

No, that came an hour or so later, when some described as 'Pernese' came out. He heard muttering that the parents were pretty far from 'pure' if that was the breed, but he didn't know what that might mean, and it didn't matter. A dragon much lighter than the first though still clearly 'dark' stomped up and sat down with a stare directly at Feibuu and then at Lucius.

"It is okay," Feibuu said. She didn't seem exasperated, but she might want to work on her inflection.

I want to come with you too. I am Mawlaeju and I am hungry.

Lucius found that he knew both of those things before the dragon even expressed them telepathically. Back to the feeding floor it was! This was one of the 'knockoff' types? Well it seemed perfectly good, if smaller than some. Checkerboard patterns improbably on its wings, now that would be ... challenging, in some settings.

Even more challenging would be the second dragonet that insisted they come along with the existing pair. This one was bicolored with a dark body and lighter belly, but still had the checkerboard patternings on its wings and ridges. (Though apparently these were 'much more like Pernese' than before...) Their features were different, but then again weren't all species just a bit different from place to place? Taomami inserted themselves into the werewolf's mind with a gentle pleased feeling. Much more pleased when they were full of fresh cut meat, and resting with the other two.

His pack was growing, Lucius realized. At least two of them would remain pretty small, but he did wonder... how would he feed them all? Where would they roost?

As the trio snoozed and he sipped at champagne toward midnight, he decided he'd figure that out when he got home. For now, he watched the celebration with a smile.

Bond: Tanyl, Impression
Meeting Notes: There were lords and ladies, drunkards and dancers, gamblers and ghosts here. So many could be seen laughing and chatting or clumped up on the balconies, sitting along low benches with coffee or tea. Tanyl did wonder how any of his many sisters would have responded. Likely entranced by the music, swooning at the slightest hint of a flirt.

Remembering his sister's admonition, however, perhaps they weren't bad things. Eventually, as they all grew up and matured, he would no longer be their replacement-father-figure. He watched as several gorgeous clutches of dragons were shown off, but was very distracted. Odd - he saw a group of young teens excitedly gathered around an intimidating man, obviously not their sire. He encouraged them, and... even laughed when one of them punched his friend.

Would he have stopped that interaction? Was that what this odd vampiric man should have done?

Why do you keep second guessing yourself? No harm was done.

The hair on the backs of his arms and neck rose, "who... said that?"

I did, your Yanlaeju. My siblings are all meant to be with others, I would not stop them... Why would you prevent your siblings from their intended?

He glanced down, as a sparklingly white dragonet sat staring up at him. Not tiny, but definitely not the full sized type, but wise. Definitely wiser than a hatchling should be.

So are your siblings, the dragonet asserted. But they will always need their big brother, you know. I will always miss my not-family, it lifted its checkerboarded wing, but I will be all right with you. And you will be all right with me!

He pursed his lips together and had to take a deep breath. "I ... I know you're right, but it has been hard sometimes."

The dragonet nuzzled into his hand, I can help you remember to give the space they need. And you won't be alone either.

Bond : Yessula Vanelis, Impression
Meeting Notes : (also see MEBA for story bit) This would be so great for extra credit! The whole thing was almost intimidating but Yessula was nothing if not excited about new events and activities. Even though she'd been brought by Baeris herself, she might or might not be going home with the venerated woman, because they'd taken a long side tour of Carramba High... Establishing her as a student before anything else. So maybe she'd head back to Twoarth, but. But. There were so many other places that might suit her too?

For the moment, her place was by the side of a number of the other students that Baeris had brought, on the big Stage (what a thrill!) but their focus was all on the dragons and flitters above them. Even if the venue was under the sea by miles, and indoors, the troupe was practiced with that kind of thing and had even performed at half time in a basketball game at Carramba. With their flitters and small dragons (well, not everyone had both, in fact only the team leader did) they ascended the stage steps and then took to the arena with the orchestra nearby adding zings and stings to their performance.

What they hadn't really counted on was the other dragons arrival - several nests had broken shell and been brought out already but by this time in the night it was so hard to say how many were left. With the break in the dancing for most of their performance about to wrap up, they would have to break again when the two nests worth of tiny little dragonets were brought out.

And that was when disaster struck. One of the overly eager 'checkerboard knockoffs' from one nest tumbled up to Yessula just before their big finale, and interrupted the performers with an excited surge of power! I can do that too! it exclaimed, and ... then... while the rest of the performance did finish up, albeit minus their one black flitter, almost everyone's eyes were on the fallen flit that had landed so hard on the marble floor.

Yessula was mortified , but not just that her role had been disrupted, but that the little dragonet was hers and was so shocked ... She wasn't listening to the other dragons around, only this one checkerboard-winged one, when it pleaded forgiveness and its own terror at having done something wrong from the very start.

The big turquoise and copper dragon ... shapeshifted into a more human version?! And the beautiful shiny platinum one who showed up just then, they acted so swiftly to save the life of the little flitter. Numerous others were there, making certain that all the performers were safe and nothing weird had happened to any of them.

Her dragon - her dragon - bespoke with a tremble, I'm so sorry, I - I didn't... I didn't mean to!

"It's okay, I know it was an accident... it happens. We're just lucky these two were here!" She felt the wave of relief on the dragonet, and once her flitter was restored enough to perch on her shoulder again it seemed that even after such a disruption and sudden trauma, the flit was willing to forgive and forget. ... Well it probably would have forgotten anyway but that's beside the point.

I am Lamlaeju, my one, I promise I will do better next time.

As they went to the feeding area Yessula took that to heart, "we'll make an even better team when we graduate!"

Bond : Albion, Voluntary Multibond with Knuurth'Alkar and whoever else they collect
Meeting Notes : (see also KEBA)
There were so many people, dragons, dragons that were also people, and creatures that defied even his knowledge here. But it was with interest toward some of those scurrying young hatchlings that Albion looked. The sleeker ones that had been there the whole time were attentive and useful, but now that a good number of other breeds were out on the floor it was clear that every one of them would have their proper job and place.

But they were milling about, just like the throng of party goers. Several of them would congregate around groups, and the part ways with their special 'one', with nuzzling and sometimes chittering dragon hatchling speech. It was quite endearing.

"Are we endearing?" A voice asked.

Another replied, "I think so, I think you're endearing. I'm not sure what that means though."

"Then how can you know I am? Be sure first!"

The voices had moved around, and Albion looked down - had to twist a bit because there were two dragons now weaving around his legs. Careful of both each other and his own feet, the dragonets made for quite the dramatic pair. One very dark and shiny, the other a lot lighter and with wings covered with checkerboard patterns. They eventually noticed that they were now being watched, and both of them came to halts, each before his knees - and hardly even approaching half their height when they sat.

"I know we're small," the dark one said, "but we can be of use, can't we?"

"I know I can be," the checkerboarded one replied.

Neither had turned their gaze from him. He felt a little strange, he felt those eyes even when he closed his own.

That is because we will be yours from now until forever, the dark one sent a thought.

We will also love to see who else will be part of our family, the checked one thought. Their minds were very distinct but also very intimate.

Their hunger, the newness of everything, their enjoyment of having found him, all those things crashed into Albion's mind. So this was what it was like, to be 'bonded'? But they also weren't wrong: he could feel how eager they were to spot others, perhaps bring home new friends. They caught his imagination, an image of a helpful flock of dragonets to move goods or spot prey, no matter their size.

I like that idea, I am Knuurth'Alkar. And this is Tsaplaeju, and we are hungry, yes...