Name: Witamsh (WITT amsh, Naming convention is unusual, 'word-based' names for those who take strongly after non-Pernese in power types, with -TH ended names for those who take after their Pernese parent; Knockoff naming ends in -AMSH, if promoted to Pawn either ending may show up as needed)
Gender: (choose+preference as desired)
Size: 4' s/l/ws
Build: Springy, lean
Physical Features: Pernese/Pyrrhan, four legs, two wings, all with claws; strong neck; spaded tail with double row of spine/nubs; hide with scaled armor (spliced features carry as-is to any Pernese, may lapse to scaled with similar pair); face sharp with back-pointing horns, external ears, spike crest; eyes may be faceted or pupiled; Bond not required but enjoyed, sponsorships accepted, multibond unlikely, non-human bond accepted
Colors: Black Pawn 5; body medium grey with pale grey belly from face to mid-tail; face, wing, and limb armor alternates bright white and shiny black; neck armor shiny black, tail ridges lighter grey; wingsails and tail spade large checkerboard; pupiled eyes green
Stats: Strength, Speed, Endurance, Agility, Health, Intelligence average 3 for most, 4 for one and 2 for one your choices
Abilities: average (3) ability with most things available to the clutch Pieces (Telepathy, Verbal Speech, local and nexus teleport, firebreath), however no added longevity and Stealth limited to 2
Parents: Donor Clutch Amrith + 50 Shades of Grey
Bond: Talylet (below) Meiker Zecchou Wanderer Creator
Meeting Notes:

He had been brought to the village's healer and left, that's all that he knew. There was always a hint of suspicion or uncertainty whenever the elders had to deal with Talylet, because that was all they knew either. So his life had always been filled with mistrust, hesitance, doubt. He was put to work with the kitchen staff, after being tended to as a very young child by a variety of fosters like most of those who had his fate. He never learned how to read, but he knew it was important, because people would get notes and messages and could send information far and wide with it. He never learned his family name, he had been given the one they called him. He'd gone with one group away from that Hold, into another, and another, and another. And he didn't know what the future would hold for a drudge or thief or dockworker or cart-wright or whatever else he'd had to learn to do to get by. He didn't know that he'd been Searched, that his parentage was hardly low-born, but they had other things on their mind, apparently. Things enough to abandon their child to this nameless place. He never felt right, there. He never felt like he belonged in this place; he'd heard tales of dramatic rescues and fights against nature, those times distant and unknowable, and wondered.

But what he knew right now, was that there was a weird glimmering ... thing, a window, a fracture, a portal, and he'd seen a few people go through it, laughing, nervous, anticipating something big on the other side. He saw them vanish into it, like passing through a still pond's surface and leaving no trace behind. How was this even possible? And there were dragons with the people that guided them, walking beside - it was not a small portal, but it wasn't big enough for those dragons. Yet they vanished too.

The edges of that weird wavering portal were shrinking. He had nothing left to lose, he'd never had anything to lose. So he slipped unnoticed through it as the thing wobbled to a rippling close behind him.

He tumbled out of it and skidded to the side, no one was there to greet him but he definitely saw the fancy-dancy ruffles of the group that had gone through before him, fading into the tunnel that this portal brought him into. His instincts were strong here, why? He wasn't on edge, just alert. Looked behind where the portal still stood, but he knew that it had closed? Maybe it was open somewhere else. Maybe he could use it to move somewhere he was wanted.

There was a strangely nagging sensation in the back of his mind, however, that instead of investigating the darkness and forbidding tunnel behind that portal, he ought to go forward, follow the group, enter this place properly. He straightened himself, pulled at his half-ripped and badly maintained tunic, and wished that maybe he knew better sewing techniques because the shoulder was going to fall off any minute. He knew he smelled weird too, the fish market wasn't the best place to casually smell someone, and he had been working pretty hard for days getting the catches cleaned. He wanted to let the rags he wore fall to the floor and just stride up naked. It might be better than this. The sounds of many people, music, and more were beyond; would he even be presentable?

Even if he wasn't, even if he'd stolen away and left a world behind, Talylet still didn't feel any dread or fear. What he'd done, maybe it was meant to be. Maybe this big party he heard up ahead needed someone to lift boxes or cut meat or...

"Oh child you're going to need so much work, let me help with that," he heard a distinct, high-born sounding voice. Male, not annoyed, more... concerned. That same tongue-tisking as one or more of his foster mothers, but not with 'and you'll be punished' tone, more 'stand still and let me fix it'. Which he did.

The man's name was Noone (he said it like noo nee, and had no idea that the spelling made some people giggle and mispronounce it) and he was a Lord Rider, in charge, apparently, of greeting folks arriving through this tunnel. He appraised Talylet with a critical, artistic eye, and called in someone else, two people actually, "this will take a moment," he held his finger up to Talylet's nose, "Fantell, you are needed," he sang. "Wilson! Wilson this is urgent!"

Talylet stood mutely as this pair of incredibly disparate people rounded the nearby corner and pulled up short. One of them could pass for a well dressed brick wall, the other for the most delicate flower. Yet they both had the same look as Noone, and moved into action a moment after a silent apprasial. The three of them moved as a unit, measuring, muttering to one another, clucking about style or snugness and fabric or fur. Noone also nudged Wilson and said something about bathing.

With Fantell doing ... something... behind the white laquered counter and silver-trimmed black door nearby, Wilson did another up and down appraisal before nodding, "you do that, we'll handle this."

"Right this way, my boy," Noone announced, as if he was a tour guide now. Well he sort of was, though it was to a bathing chamber that didn't seem like anything Talylet had ever seen. Brass fixtures, a big porcelain tub with a strange pipe and - oh that was a shower? Noone patted a pile of thick black and white trimmed towels, "take whatever time you need, there's no rush. When you're done cleaning up, just ring this and I'll come fetch you, we'll get you set up right. And... don't ... be surprised if you don't get those filthy rags back, unless you really want them back."

"I don't," Taly managed to say before the man scampered away, his voice echoing in a greeting to apparently another group that had arrived. Other voices could still be heard as the chamber's black door slid shut, but right at this moment, Talylet realized he had an opportunity like no other. A luxurious bath? Him? Hah! He smelled the soaps and looked over the items in the nooks of this tub, he could identify a few, thought he'd seen one of the foster mothers using that nail scrubber, and oh this could reach his back...

He was told there was no rush, so he didn't. It had been years, if ever, that he'd been actually clean. It had also been years since he'd looked himself in a nice full mirror, and he was... a bit underwhelmed. His build was more like that Fantell, but his height taller than Noone. And now, he was free from years of grime, the smell of fish, and even a calloused heel. He didn't know exactly how long he'd spent in there, either, long enough for his twisted hair to dry. He'd had to be careful, but it did smell, and wasn't pleasant. Maybe they had hair ties, maybe there were people ready to chop it all off - he didn't want that, he liked his hair... But it didn't stink now. He did need to shave, the scraggly beard he had never been able to grow wasn't going to get anywhere, and there was a straight razor for just such a thing. Didn't even nick himself. After working with fish and sharp knives, he knew how to handle a blade.

He pulled the bell cord, heard a ring somewhere. He'd bundled up in those towels, they were the most absorbent thing he'd ever felt. Not so soft that they couldn't pull dead skin or spare dirt off, but not rough. Noone knocked and called out, "we're ready, I hope you are!"

He emerged with his hair bundled in one towel and the rest of him wrapped in a larger one - and nearly dropped that one when he saw Fantell holding up a white linen shirt, Wilson with a long black pair of pants, and Noone with a brilliant white sash and boots. Boots! It was perhaps the first time he'd almost regretted showing up - was this embarrasment? Nearly swooned. But didn't. No, now they moved into action, this weird trio, and soon he was comfortably in an outfit that he hadn't in his wildest dreams ever imagined.

"I ... I can't pay for this," he started to mutter, but Wilson was the one who waved his hand and shooed him away.

"No need to pay for anything here, you got an invite, you're at the Ball."

That did cause Talylet to pause, visibly, and if his skin was any lighter they would have seen his face drain of color entirely.

Fantell gave a sweet, sly, smile. "You're here, you got an invite." She phrased it quite significantly, patting the collar of his new tunic and making sure it wasn't too snug around his neck.

"Now, go have fun," Noone suggested, looking rather pleased with the results of their efforts. Taly bowed as though he'd never been happier to be thankful, and did so.

--

There was so much to see and do, dancing! That was fun, with people he had hardly imagined could exist. Some were, admittedly, a bit weirdly intimidating: with big wings, extra arms, feathers for hair, furry faces. But it was like a dream, where everyone was just 'okay with that'. As he wandered this Ball, there were drinks and platters of food, a gambling chamber, more music and acts on stages that defied description. He had been there for 'a couple hours' whatever that meant - he heard someone else say in a more familiar term, 'more candlemarks than it seemed like'. But there were seats and booths, places to rest up. He toyed with his sash, the finest material, Fantell had called it 'silk'. He ate spicy meat and sugared fruits, he ate like a lord.

And like a lord, he surveyed the territory below, as he sat in a small nook well above the ballroom's floor. Every once in a while dragons would come from the other side of the place, hidden away through their own portals, but now proudly showing off their offspring. How improbable these dragons looked! He didn't recognize their appearance - some of them had similar features to ones he'd occasionally glimpsed flying over the hills or the ocean. But most of them looked so unlike the way the harpers would sing! And in colors like these? Or, he corrected himself, in the distinct lack of colors.

Was this place a Weyr? It was exactly nothing like those same harpers hinted. After all wasn't a weyr a hatching ground? Training and fighting against Thread? It had been decades since Thread had fallen over his world, but he guessed that maybe, having dragons around wasn't going to be a bad thing!

There were little dragons with what looked like armor on their face, their knees, their long long tails. Oh they were delightful! Their dam, a crackled-marble looking white had guided her little hatchlings out, though it was uphill work, there were quite a few of them. Especially those smaller checker-winged ones? He'd long since stopped asking himself how it was possible, he wouldn't understand anyway, and it didn't matter.

He had descended the curving stairway down toward the ballroom floor, almost unconsciously. Talylet wanted to see these closer up, and they obliged. Though a good number of them had scampered or tripped their way toward other folks, the white mother strode carefully with a few under her wings. And she looked right at Talylet.

Oh, you have finally come. I am glad. Perhaps you will find your home, once more, or that of your line. She spoke? To him? He was still reeling from this, what did she even mean? When another voice came into his mind as well as his ears.

Together! We will find your home together! We do not have to fight that stuff, but we could fish, I can still smell fish can't I?

Though the mental voice was quite clear, the little dragon's speech was unpracticed, it sounded amusing - but Talylet didn't laugh, not at his dragon.

His. Dragon.

It was one of the smaller types, but they would still be probably big enough to ride, particularly if they were as broad shouldered as the big black starry-winged sire over there... And particularly since Talylet wasn't exactly a burly man himself...

"Witamsh," he pronounced, surprising himself, "that's your name, isn't it? I want you to fish as much as you want, as long as I don't have to gut it for you!"

***

TALYLET (T'let? T'aly? Ly'let?)

Status: Wanderer Age: 17 Gender: male Siblings: unknown Born: unknown Legitimacy: born before their parents could marry
Childhood Health: frail child
Adult Height: a moderately tall person
Adult Build: lithe but muscled
Skin Tone: dark brown
Hair Color: red brown Hair Style: afro-curled, in braids Hair Length: to high back
Eye Color: pale teal
Literacy Level: can neither read nor write
Politeness Level: they complain about their status but rarely appear hostile to superiors
Focus: their attention might slip a bit but they are usually focused on their work
Though some might find them ugly, most just call them plain
They often share with their friends

Values and Goals
Enjoys deeply: the unusual trait that they really are from another era, and had been moved here somehow
Values: town life
Average goal: build or create
Very weak fear: enclosed spaces
Extremely strong hatred: their clothing
Odd Skill (learned outside of craft if any): animal driving (cart/carriage)

Originally From: unknown area, has lived many places; follows (npcs) through a portal from a seaside area (might add npcs to someone's group if they are adopted) Searched: as an infant

Name: Belamsh (bell AMSH, Naming convention is unusual, 'word-based' names for those who take strongly after non-Pernese in power types, with -TH ended names for those who take after their Pernese parent; Knockoff naming ends in -AMSH, if promoted to Pawn either ending may show up as needed in offspring)
Gender: (choose +preference as desired)
Size: 4' s /l/ws
Build: quite sturdy, limber
Physical Features: Pernese/Pyrrhan, four legs, two wings, all with claws; strong neck; spaded tail with double row of spine/nubs; hide with scaled armor (spliced features carry as-is to any Pernese, may lapse to scaled with similar pair); face sharp with back-pointing horns, external ears, spike crest; eyes may be faceted or pupiled; Bond not required but enjoyed, sponsorships accepted, multibond unlikely, non-human bond accepted
Colors: White Pawn 3; body is very pale grey with medium grey belly from face to mid-tail; face, limb and wing armor alternates high shiny white and black; horns white, claws black, neck armor shiny black, tail ridge nubs dark grey; wingsails and tail spade large checkers; pupiled eyes green
Stats: Strength, Speed, Endurance, Agility, Health, Intelligence average 3 for most, 4 for one and 2 for one your choices
Abilities: 3 average ability with most things available to the clutch Pieces (Telepathy, Verbal Speech, local and nexus teleport, firebreath), however no added longevity and Stealth limited to 2
Parents: Donor Clutch Amrith + 50 Shades of Grey
Bond: 'Didn't realize you came with a person but that's okay' multibond to Tulouth (primarily) and Amathim
Meeting Notes: A good number of the search riders tapped for this big event were enjoying their tales of 'and then the Lord Holder came out and we had to run' stories in one of the many relaxing lounges that the biped side of the Ball's venue offered. Some of them gambled, others drank and danced, flirted like they ought as befitting an event of this scope. That left their dragons to enjoy doing much similar things on their portion of the Ball's venue - the dragons had rarely been treated with such things, some of them didn't know what to do with themselves. And while a fair few were quite stunningly able to work magic or act as storytellers, some showed their strong claws and burly wing muscles off in contests.

All of this, the newly hatched dragonets from each of the Ball's chosen 16 clutches got to see first hand. Without influence from the bipeds, for the most part, without interference, but also without guidance. Most of the dragonets would scamper through, sniff a bit, and then follow their parents out to the biped area happily.

Something in the little 'knockoff' dragonet that came from Amrith and 50 Shades of Grey's artificially-created nest seemed to resonate with one of the storytelling dragons, and they sat in awe - not understanding most of it, because they were still fresh out of the shell. But it sounded amazing, tales of flight and escapes, or rescues and arguments, usually ending when the search rider or the dragon picked up their subject and fled the scene, to happily find a location for them to ... huh.

After a while it became obvious to Belamsh that the whole concept was a touch odd, couldn't dragons survive without a 'bond'? Only parts of their own lineage, only half of their parentage, was of this sort of 'must bond or die'. The urgency of this all had been conveyed by more than one of the search dragons (and their riders on the other side). But this pale grey and dramatically checkerboarded little hatchling - bigger than many of their clutch mates, still half the size of the Pieces - wondered. There was a ping, a tiny blip of need, a desire, something that kept drawing Belamsh to look around and imagine what life might be like, if only there were companions.

They thought on this for quite a while, in fact. But they also enjoyed other things that the party offered. Of particular note, the flight and agility demonstrations, sharpshooting (could they eventually breathe fire? maybe? they knew both their parents could do it) and the food! Belamsh took all of it in with wide green eyes, until the event was nearing its end. Several of the big dragons, more than a few of the 'clutch parents' in fact, had looked this dragonet over, asking them whether they would be wanting to exit with their hatch-sibs, but no, not yet.

Rather, Belamsh had looked around and spotted a lovely dark blue dragon, one of the search dragons. They had brighter, pale blue markings, spots along their neck and shoulders, which Belamsh decided looked intriguing. The hatchling, fed, rested, finally emboldened by the dramatic performances going on above, approached Tulouth.

You're very fancy, I like that. May I come with you? I would love to see the worlds you travel. The dragonet attempted to speak these words too, though they were unpracticed. But they didn't sound like the helpless crooning or chirping that some had made on hatching, they were definitely words.

The blue dragon looked with a little surprise in their mind, replying, why, of course? We can do a tour!

Thus much more confident at having completed their first 'checklist' item, Belamsh raised their head proudly, and nestled up to the blue who continued to regale them with fascinating stories.

Until the end of the event, when they were tasked with finding a few of their companions, to bring home the 'new pairs'. It wasn't within the draconic side, the bipeds were still not quite allowed over there - too many dangers, too many big dragon feet that would easily kill a human even if by accident. Tulouth nudged Belamsh and got them up from a brief and exhausted nap, Now we should head out, let's find Amathim and see if we're still needed for transport.

And the dragon moved through that portal over to the bipedal venue, hesitating only a little when they realized that Belamsh was still getting up, getting their legs moving. Once they'd caught up, Tulouth gave a little bugle, something singular coming from his mind, that Belamsh recognized somehow. A two legged creature, some form of man, raised his arm and waved, happily coming toward them.

It dawned on Belamsh, suddenly, that this dragon they'd selected...

Wait, is that your person? I didn't mean to intrude. The hesitation was back, the doubt and confusion was rising in the little dragon. But... I still want to come with you. If Belamsh had the same guts as a humanoid their heart might have been sinking. But instead, Tulouth nudged the dragonet forward, proudly, so that they stood before this man-creature. That man-creature had a strange expression on his face, one that Belamsh didn't really recognize at all, since they had hardly seen humanoids at all in their very short life.

This is Belamsh, they will return with us and I will show them everything I know!

Tulouth did not have any room for argument in that tone, and Amathim seemed to recognize that fact. A headstrong dragon if any existed... So now they ... were a trio. It might not have been the bond that their other clutch mates intended or got, but Belamsh would still get to travel the worlds, see the sights, and possibly help in some of those dramatic Search stories in the future!

Name: Relcada (rell KAY dah, while pieces have a -TH end to their names, Knockoffs are -CADA ended, if promoted from knockoff to pawn, they might alter their name or keep this ending, becoming Relcadath if desired)
Gender: (choose+preference as desired)
Size: 4'3" s/l/ws
Build: slight, slinky
Physical Features: Pernese-Alskyran/Danachian/Eienic Mutt, four legs and two wings, feet have apparently retractable claws, wings have large wrist thumbs with thick claws; angular head with knobs having very long and sharp horns, faceted eyes, and a jagged tall crest, echoed on the spade of very long slender tail
Colors: Black Pawn 4, shiny and reflective dark grey body with speckled white and pale grey point markings on face, headknobs, feet, tail tip and wing fingertips; wingsails are transparent, backs are deeply black, undersides are marked with small checkerboards, also found on tail spade; crest reflective shiny black; horns and claws white, eyes faceted red
Stats: Strength, Speed, Endurance, Agility, Health, Intelligence have 2s in most, with a 5 in one, your choice
Abilities: average of 3 in most, do not have any shapeshifting nor can they carry it; select one from Telepathy, Verbal Speech, Local Teleport, Nexus Teleport, or Telekinesis to have at 5; they may have Void magic abilities but unless they have a specific attachment that can help them learn, they cannot master spellcasting (Void tops out at 5, spells at 2 even then)^ This dragon does have a strong connection to the Void, allowing them to move through between or the void or the outside or even Xen to collect information or reach specific destinations incredibly rapidly, but at a strange cost to Esali as she also hears and detects what is going on there: the dead? The lost, the wandering, the other travelers; it's not distressing after the first few times but it certainly is unnerving
Parents: Donor Clutch Calietosth + Dairruinth
Bond: Esali (below) Doll Divine La Colombiana Voluntary Bond
Meeting Notes:

She all but stuck her tongue out at Leyui as she packed her night bag and walked with pride toward the huge bronze dragon on the landing flat. Even if a lot of things had changed for Caledrus Hold in her parents lifetime, things had settled into a routine now, and that routine had been disrupted by Leyui - so Esali felt like it was her turn to shake things. That girl was furious, unsearched, would never likely find a dragon pair to share her mind with. Good. Maybe she would eventually quit the healer's guild - maybe they would just kick her out, because she didn't know a thing about dragon wings or intestines or even gryphon health.

Esali's parents weren't entirely sure what was really going on here, because they knew that their firstborn and strong minded daughter had been searched, but... they had no idea where she was headed. They didn't know whether they'd even see her again. But she promised them, should there be a dragon, she would be able to visit. That was the biggest change in their sixty years: the dragons would come, live with some folks even away from the weyrs and... caers, whatever those were. Some folks had never quite realized they were no longer on the 'old world' of Pern. Or that dragons could come in the colors that they did here.

When Esali and several others climbed to the harness pannier along Synesth's elegant neck, she realized that this dragon was far bigger than those that often visited from the Caer. He was big enough to hold a dozen, after all... She was unafraid though. Even when they swept into the air, his great wings slicing through the early morning fog, and then - through black, chill, endless void. They arrived... somewhere. Odd.

Her ears popped, she heard the others also talking like they'd felt it too. And while most of the group headed straight into the archway carved into the side of this rugged hill, Esali paused. She turned to Synesth, "thank you, what a ride!"

The dragon gave a low, bone-shaking purr of pride.

The party greeters suggested that her bag and cloak could be stored - they had room, they had ways of keeping track of whose was where. Her instinct was to keep it with her, after all Leyui had once soiled her gear as a 'prank', one that could have killed their patient if it had been a real injury. Yet, there was something about the broad squat man that endeared her to the idea, and she handed her things to him. His unnaturally brilliant green eyes glittered, he gathered those things, then chipperly interrupted himself with another hello, visitor! as he spotted the people behind her. Esali had to just hope that she remembered to pick up her things later...

She'd arrived with an early group, but very soon the ballroom was bustling with activity. Music played from a nook, but also there were acts upon a massive Stage. The area above the ballroom floor was filled with people too, flying with their flitters or small dragons, some with wings, and some just- hovering there! Magic? She had hardly known that things like that existed. Esali did watch with interest when a minor incident occurred with one of those littler dragons smacking a flit out of their performance, her own classes hadn't yet gotten to the small creatures but it was all the same in theory. A bone broken is a bone to set, after all.

A group of dragons every other candlemark it seemed, came from the dragon-side of this big busy place, and while she was resting up from one energetic dance with a handsome ... person (he had fur, she wasn't sure what kind of creature to call him, but he was still a man shape so he was still a man!) one particular dragonet slunk toward her. Not in a sneaky-sneaky manner, not to surprise, and not to avoid being seen either. Just that they were currently trying to avoid being smushed by the loud, foot-stomping rabbit people on the dance floor, and the dragonet hadn't yet mastered flight.

But they surely would, with the size of those wings!

"Whew," the dragon gasped, in the safe area near the wide table she sat at. The dragon put its head on the table, just able to reach it from a sitting posture. Big for a hatchling, but not as big as the 'pieces' in that nest that were also finding their new bonds. "I can see why you needed a break... Dancing is dangerous!"

Esali laughed, "well it's not the dancing, it's the bumping into people or getting stepped on part." She looked at the dragon's long tail and big wings, "you did a good job not doing either of those."

I did didn't I! The dragonet's mind touched hers, and while Esali was already a little dizzy headed from dancing and the champagne served, she... recognized that this mind was quite intimate. Not like the ones from the bonded pairs helping learn at the Guild, and not like Synesth's, this one...

I am Relcada, you seem like you could use a partner and I would like to be that partner. It paused for just a moment, their mind still seeking something, beyond just Esali's comfort. I will be honest, the dragon leaned their head onto her lap, I am pretty tired, we did some practice earlier, I guess I overdid it. We were learning about teleporting.

"Wait you already ... you already can go between?" Esali was stunned. Her training, generally speaking from a Pernese group of dragon healers, had hinted that dragons didn't learn how to do that until they were half-adults! And while this dragonet clearly wasn't fresh-hatched (somehow) it seemed so shocking. Also shocking was that they spoke verbally, but this night of surprises was hardly over.

"I can, yeah, I ... got a bit lost. But... there were things I wanted to see! I could show you later, they were really interesting." The lolling head of this dragon was sleek, white over grey, and those long head-knobs had the starts of what looked like horns, sort of like the Alskyran dragons that sometimes visited Caledrus. "Not-quite-dad helped me learn how to find landmarks. Did you know there were landmarks?"

With a tremendously long-held breath finally let out, Esali shook her head and whispered, "no, I did not."

In her mind, then, Relcada implanted a vision of an island, not like Paniya, or any other she'd seen on maps at the Hold. More like...

"That's the Healing Den," Esali said, in her own odd daze, "I recognize the landing area, that's where Synesth and Hollis brought us, to visit this party!" She mentally 'narrowed her eyes' and looked through the dragon's mental image, it wasn't quite as clear as her own eyes might bring but then that might have been both because it was through a dragon's faceted vision, and a memory at that. "See, the sign above the tunnel, it matches, it matches you!"

She suddenly laughed, "Oh my, Relcada, you're just like the invitations and the napkins," the dragon's wings lifted up a little, showing that impossibly marked underside of checkerboards. She paused, just a little, thinking on it, "my Relcada. We'll figure out how to go from place to place... And I think I will try and find another healer's guild, so I can attend dragons in need with you."

That sounds perfect, my Esali.

***

ESALI

Status: Commoner, House Born child Age: 21 Gender: female Siblings: 6 Born: first Legitimacy: born before their parents could marry
Childhood Health: sick occasionally like a normal child
Adult Height: an average-height person
Adult Build: average in build
Skin Tone: very pale, almost albino
Hair Color: raven-black Hair Style: frizzy Hair Length: to high back
Eye Color: hazel gold
Literacy Level: can read fairly well
Politeness Level: they know their place in society and are deferential to their superiors
Focus: their attention might slip a bit but they are usually focused on their work
Their looks are considered spectacular by most
They often share with their friends

Values and Goals
Hates: a friend^
Hates: a Dragonry or Hatchery^
Strong goal: marry and have a family
Average fear: a rival crafter^
Average goal: do nothing at all and relax
Odd Skill (learned outside of craft if any): dragon or gryphon healer
^ This so-called friend had her bumped from the healer's guild they were both attending (at quite a cost to her family at that time), even though Esali was the more skilled and diligent student; whoever it was making the decision went fully along with whatever lies were told, and it could only be one of the higher ranking but young men organizing the classes, the one Leyui flirted with constantly. Esali knows that you can't sleep your way through a dragon's injury, why would anyone -- she's not over it, she'll never be over it, but at least now she's got the opportunity that her 'friend' probably never will have, to ride a dragon!

Originally From: Caledrus Hold located on Paniya Island, Alskyr; Searched: privately, to avoid any trouble, not too long ago

Name: Zaicada (ZEYE kay dah, Knockoffs are -CADA ended, if promoted from knockoff to pawn, they might alter their name or keep this ending, meaning if desired they may become Zaicadath)
Gender: (choose+preference as desired)
Size: 4'9" s/l/ws
Build: sturdy, muscular
Physical Features: Pernese-Alskyran/Danachian/Eienic Mutt, four legs and two wings, feet have apparently retractable claws, wings have large wrist thumbs with thick claws; angular head with knobs having very long and sharp horns, faceted eyes, and a jagged tall crest, echoed on the spade of very long slender tail
Colors: White Pawn 2, body is high contrast shiny white with 'gritty' black-graphite to softly mottled pale grey at paws, face, knob ends, wing finger tips, and tail tip; wingsails are incredibly black on the outsides, and somewhat transparent if you look right, undersides however are medium to small checkerboard; tail tip is checkerboard; neck crest is high-shine black; claws and horns white; faceted eyes red-orange
Stats: Strength, Speed, Endurance, Agility, Health, Intelligence have 2s in most, with a 5 in one, your choice
Abilities: average of 3 in most, do not have any shapeshifting nor can they carry it; select one from Telepathy, Verbal Speech, Local Teleport, Nexus Teleport, or Telekinesis to have at 5; they may have Void magic abilities but unless they have a specific attachment that can help them learn, they cannot master spellcasting (Void tops out at 5, spells at 2 even then)
Parents: Donor Clutch Calietosth + Dairruinth
Bond: Faeji (below) image from Pastelkatto Space Nobility Voluntary Bond
Meeting Notes: The family was, if anything, somewhat relieved that their youngest would at least have something to do with herself. She was a smart girl, a healthy child, and her skills might have been of more use to a weaver's guild than a dragonry, but... Well, perhaps they needed someone with those hands. They hadn't realized that dragons might come to their children, and hoped for the best. But they also prepared themselves, as she was gathering her dress and comfortable dancing shoes; they might not see her again. She might be lost to dangers that dragons fought, she might be too busy at a Weyr or wherever dragons could roost, to come home to them now and again. They did love her. But it was also time that she, as an adult, did what she could do for herself.

They hadn't realized that she only packed enough for this Ball - she would be back because she had her life with them to account for! But she blissfully left that out of her excited if teary-eyed exit from their home. She hadn't anticipated the place they would be arriving, either. Not unprepared for a ball, but ...

"Oh my hair," she muttered, Faeji pawed at it. Normally curled, now almost poofy with the strange humidity of this place. Why was it so humid?

Speechless, she looked at the sea-floor view outside the ball's window, and knew. This was approximately as far as one could get from the high, desert air of her home Hold. Rather than become concerned, worried, or even frightened (she spotted each of those things on some of her companions, as well as random strangers at this ball!) Faeji decided that it was a party first, and a scary undersea domed city second. Faeji met with the approval of the tan-skinned and incredibly pretty woman at the one desk, who seemed to be more like the weaver's guild head examining her work. She was proud to show off her broad skirt and ruffled tunic, when that woman moved her fingers for her to twirl around: she'd made them herself.

There were familiar looking knots and rank sigils on a small portion of people attending this big ball, but Faeji was intrigued by a wide variety of the people. Some of them had fur, long tails, and she even recognized the look of distress on another of those furry types, whose own head of brilliantly white-silver hair had puffed up just like her own. They shared a laugh, complimented each other's attire, went dancing with their appropriately dapper partners. The man Faeji had danced with was human, this other girl's was... well, a lion? And if his mane was frizzy no one could tell!

This was the life, Faeji thought. There were official looking folk up on the balcony, groups of younger teenagers - some human, many not - scattering through the place and dancing or trying to sneak a drink from the bar (they failed to get the alcoholic ones, thanks to some diligent little colorful flitters shooing them away). So finally, after an hour or more of dancing and brief breaks, looking for places to watch people and sneak a touch or even boldly ask to feel the weight of a cloth wrap on an attendee, Faeji finally plopped herself down on a black cushioned booth seat overlooking one portion of the ballroom floor.

This IS the life, a thought repeated within her mind, but it wasn't her mental voice. I found the meat, I know where you are but now I'm too tired to go up all those stairs, what is up with all these stairs!

There was a pause. As if Faeji knew there would be more to this.

WAIT I have wings. We trained for this, I know how to fly, I can ...

"Give my legs a rest!" The voice was the same as in her mind, but this dragon, this dragon was speaking. To her.

Had she been more simple-minded (like her elder sister) she might have fainted dead away. But then again Forrei would faint from being surprised in the hallway.

I would like to meet them, I could sneak up on them and give them such a--

"No! No, she's ... my sister is delicate," Faeji tapped her forehead, "she's not ... suited to dragons." She looked away and faintly added, "she's not really suited to anything but I guess that's fine."

"I am glad you are suited, you suit me. Aren't those things called suits too? Can you make me one?" The dragon was lookingat a group of very finely dressed young men leading a group dance on the ball floor below. With their long nose pointing at them, Faeji noticed that the backs of their head knobs would surely have horns growing from them, but also that fine, shiny black crest. What a handsome dragonet. "Thank you," the dragon asserted, apparently just reading her mind.

Am I not supposed to? You're my one, Faeji, I am your Zaicada. I chose you because I like how you looked at people, I like looking too! But you are the one that stood out to me.

Faeji blushed, this dragon's mind was sure, honest, and embedded deeply into her own by now. They could make a good team, now, couldn't they? She could ... fly far and wide to find the right materials, make the finest cloth and deliver it with style!

"Well you stand out to me too, Zaicada," the lack of that -th name, kind of strange. But again... tonight was a night of surprises!

FAEJI (full size image in zip)

Status: Commoner, House Born child
Age: 18 Gender: female Siblings: 6 Born: last Legitimacy: born in a happily married family
Childhood Health: very stocky
Adult Height: taller than their friends
Adult Build: average in build
Skin Tone: very pale, almost albino
Hair Color: strawberry blond Hair Style: frizzy Hair Length: cut short to ears
Eye Color: violet
Literacy Level: can read and write but only with the basics
Politeness Level: they know their place in society and are deferential to their superiors
Focus: they enjoy their work well enough but they love to play more often
This character is pretty good looking
They give and take without thinking of consequences of either

Values and Goals
Values immensely: their appearance
Values: hot places
Practically nonexistant goal: 'get away from it all'
Weak fear: horses
Very weak goal: locate something lost
Odd Skill (learned outside of craft if any): looms and weaving

Originally From: scrubland community Location size: smallish Location climate: very dry Searched: a few months back

Name: Lomnuth (lawm nuh th; throwback -TH ended as most of their lineage has it, why not theirs?)
Gender: Female (+preference as desired)
Size: 8'9" s/l/ws
Build: strong, muscular and burly, but still long and elegant
Physical Features: Pernese-Alskyran/Danachian/Eienic Mutt, four legs and two wings, feet have apparently retractable claws, wings have large wrist thumbs with thick claws; angular head with knobs having very long and sharp horns, pupiled eyes (carries facet), and a jagged tall crest, echoed on the spade of very long slender tail
Colors: Calico body (note - only females may inherit this feature, keep in mind for future breeding - other markings are possible, but calico is restricted to female), with clouded markings of soft white, graphite, and dark grey; wingsails transparent graphite; crest and tail high-shine black; claws and horns black; pupiled teal aqua eyes
Stats: Strength 3, Speed 1, Endurance 6, Agility 5, Health 4, Intelligence 4
Abilities: 6 Telekinesis; 5 Shadow and Spell magic casting, Telepathy; 4 Local Teleport; 3 Nexus teleport; 2 Shift (carried only, but with an innate knowledge of it), Shadow Sense (can sense dark magic or literal darkness), unassisted Firebreath, Verbal speech, Longevity (will live as long as needed but is not exceptionally going to live on if bond doesn't)
Parents: Calietosth + Dairruinth
Bond: Lothniswen, voluntary bond
Meeting Notes:

She had no regrets in coming here. A change of scenery every once in a while was nice, wasn't it? It was pleasant to see that other peoples had a good grasp on the formalities and elegance of a big Ball. The setting was amazing, though the most she showed of this feeling was a careful glance around the area with a discerning eye and a slight quirk to her fine eyebrows. The shaped glass walls soaring up to the curved ceiling, the shiny metallic beams forming a lattice: she'd seen such a thing done with trees and elfin magic back at home. It seemed at once absolutely foreign (metals but not trees? forest against the sea?) and delightfully similar (those designs after all were both structurally sound and made to look casually perfect in both sites).

So Lothniswen spent her first few minutes here in this ball under the sea carefully marvelling at the surroundings and assessing her place in them. Her place, it seemed, would be on the dance floor in a moment or so, when she heard a hauntingly familiar but completely new piece of music being played by the small group of musicians at the far end of the room. Hardly one to take a spot light or seek the attention of anyone, Lothniswen simply arrived at the edge of the dance floor, and was greeted by an elfin man who was decidedly not as formal as his outfit seemed to claim... Those strands of hair were pink and violet, against a silk sheet of white that cascaded down his back. Handsome, longer eared than most elves she had ever met. But such a gentleman, confident, careful, and obviously well versed in customary dances.

But they weren't her people's dances, and she let him lead anyway, for a pair of disparate pieces of music. One sweeping and slow, the other more upbeat and energetic. She laughed and gracefully bowed out of the third because it was such raucous music she didn't even know what to call it. Yet he continued to dance with a slightly raunchy twist, with another elf who was most certainly closer to him in much more physical ways... she'd allowed Lothniswen to interrupt? Well that was interesting!

When she reached one of the booths on the first balcony above the dance floor, there were plenty of people. Important ones it looked like, above this area, talking in slightly-strained tones about this dragon or that occurrance. She knew that the dragons here were supposed to be of the friendly variety, given she'd accepted a ride from one of their type to this place. Well, 'their type'... She idly moved her fingers over the little pamphlet that displayed information about all of the dragons attending, and what to expect out of them.

Eggs, many eggs, she thought. An almost incomprehensible amount of them, by how their information read. But then they would all be splitting up, going to their new homes far and wide. Across space and time, across realities that she hardly even imagined. Her life had been punctuated by oddities and even a slight bit of danger here and there. This Ball certainly posed no actual danger, even when the stage show had a display of impressive alchemical explosions...

Even with the press of people, the smells and sounds of a big party and music and all, she found time to meander through the whole place. Committing it to memory, it wasn't like she would be able to return, and wondered whether this place as it was would even exist when people left it? Ah - well, there was a 'city' of sorts visible through one of the smaller side rooms, it didn't look nearly as shiny and healthy as this portion, under the crushing depths of the endless sea above. But dragons of different types actually swam past those port-holes and windows at times!

She did admire the little collectable items that came with the information packet, the sash that she discovered folded carefully into the gift-bag was of the finest silk, and dyed with amazing care! It was black with silver tassels, and she decided why not - draped it over her already clothed shoulders in a contrast with her white dress.

The party had been going a while. She couldn't tell exactly how long, but then were her people very well versed at detecting the passage of time? It wasn't as pressing for her kind as it was for those humans or whoever else, she knew perfectly well that she was three times older than the eldest human could live, and she'd hardly even begun to mature! In a way she almost wanted this event to last forever. Her perception of all the different folk here had definitely begun to expand: those that didn't exist in her realm, while equally her own kind hardly lived in most of their worlds. But they were all more similar than not.

As she dined on exotic fish and fruit, rice and meats, cake and iced juices, Lothniswen appreciated the sway of the gowns, the dapper looks of the formalwear, even the textures of the booth seat and the napkins under polished silverware - the whole place was immensely satisfying to her senses.

She sensed something odd, perhaps her dancing had loosened her bun, or all the other moving around the place. She'd put that sash over her neck and had neglected to re-tighten the braid? But when she reached her arm up and around to fiddle with the beaded tie that kept it in place, she bumped into something that was decidedly not her hair.

Startled for the first time in perhaps years, but not afraid - she leaned away from the edge of the booth's seat and turned to look with great care. Her hair slightly snugged at that motion, and that was because the end of her carefully crafted braid was in the dark and light clouded muzzle of a dragon.

There wasn't even the hint of shame on its angular and long face, either! The darkest part of the muzzle wasn't exactly chewing on the hair, but had not put it down with her long and slow slightly-shocked look at it.

Mischief was in those teal eyes, though. The start of a graceful shiny black crest cascaded down its long neck, framed by black horn buds. The face of this dragon descended, going under the table and bringing her long braid with it!?

"Excuse me?" Lothniswen finally declared, "that is - my - hair?"

I know! It's lovely, you should show it off more!

Now, Lothniswen knew that dragons could speak into minds. She'd felt only two of them do so, though, and they were markedly different from this one. She did know that it was the dragon in question, however. It was extremely clear! The little scamp was dragging her hair away from her head and unraveling all her work?

She still felt the tugging, as she attempted in vain to gather her braid. But when she reached the end of it, it was not actually in the dragon's mouth any longer! The face of that mottled dragon was across the other side of the table! And for all the world, looked to be grinning at her. But there was still the tug and tug of effort opposing her, how was this possible?

It's me, I'm doing it, the dragon asserted, and suddenly two of the dinner rolls left in the basket nearby floated up. But with that done, the hair ceased to be wandering on its own, and Lothniswen nearly flopped over from her own effort to reclaim it. That put her nearer the dragon, however.

"You - you," she fumbled for words as much as her hands tangled with her hair. But finally she sat back up and took a huffy moment or two to assess if there was any damage. There was none... though the end where the dragon had been holding it was a little damp. "You are ill-behaved," Lothniswen finally said.

It's a party to enjoy yourself, and I'm enjoying this a lot, the dragon replied, still with a strange joy. When Lothniswen attempted forlornly to return her hair to its bundled state, the dragon walked nearer once more to her other side, clamboring onto the booth seat with some difficulty, as those wings of hers were very large already. She - how did the elfess know the dragon was a female? - gave a draconic sigh and wrested control over the braid. You can take a break, I will put it back. I remember how it looked.

In the corner of her eye, the elf saw her own hair moving as though by magic, which it was, sort of... The dragon's magic held it aloft and seemed to be actually doing it right? Fascinated, and finally realizing that she didn't really have much of a choice in this lest she draw too much attention or shout about it, she let the dragonet re-fold her braid and settle it back. You can use the tie thing now, I'll hold your hair up if you want.

She did, and did Lothniswen also feel the faintest resistance where the magic was holding that cleverly-twisted bundle of hair? The dragon's magic was tangible? She was also warm, when the dragon laid her neck over her shoulder and nuzzled her jaw. There, now you are perfect just like you are supposed to be!

"I'm hardly-"

You are perfect to me whether your hair is up or down, my friend, the dragon's mind was much, much stronger though not aggressive with that said. I will accompany you now, if you are willing to have me. Even though I'm ill-behaved.

How could she respond? The sparkling eyes of this dragon were emblazened in her mind, even with her own eyes closed. Was this what it was like for her friends Tirithoron and Amathim? If the dragon could reach into her mind, which she could, she already knew how surprised and awed this had made Lothniswen. There was something gently moving through the elf's mind.

"Lomnuth, I am certain that you are better behaved than all that. After all," Lothniswen proclaimed carefully, picking up her fork and beginning to eat as casually as before, "you set things right, no harm done. I think we could make a good life together."

There was a brilliant confidence glowing through her mind from the dragon's, this was certainly going to be much more interesting than merely going home with memories!

Name: Vemikeba (VEH mee kay bah, though directly related with splicing to Keeath'Alkar they need neither the -TH ending to their name, nor 'Alkar, unless promoted from knockoff to Pawn)
Gender: (Choose+preference as desired)
Size: 2'9" s/l/ws
Build: lithe, slinky
Physical Features: Pernese mutt with highly cat-like qualities, including four legs and 2 wings all with sharp large claws, wing wrist has two claws; split-ended tail; head has external ears, and long back-pointing horns; offspring are split with either faceted or pupiled eyes
Colors: Black Pawn 2, body highly reflective soot black; transparent wingsails have medium-small checkerboad on backs, large checkers underneath; horns and claws are black with white tips; pupiled orange eyes
Stats: Strength, Speed, Endurance, Agility, Health, Intelligence average 2 except speed which is 7. Yes, 7, out of a 1-6 scale
Abilities: average powers in Telepathy, Verbal Speech, cannot use the magic of their clutch mates (fire manip, blood magic), but they are able to burst speed (5) and produce fire easily (3), and use one form of teleport (local, nexus, planewalk) at a 3 power level with others lesser value
Parents: Donor Clutch Kelirith + Baniar'Alkar
Bond: Kote, Voluntary Impression
Meeting Notes:

How she was chosen for this Ball was a little bit of a mystery, one of those 'wake up in a field with someone else's clothes on' sort of things. But in a moment of clarity, when she'd arrived on the heels of some others from her dimension, she asked at the greeter's desk whether there were bouncers or, you know. 'Other people' that might want to kind of sort of arrest her?

Of course not. Not here, though she was also warned that any misbehavior while attending the Ball would be met with ... well, expulsion, but that seemed to come with some kind of lingering afterthought on the part of the man telling her these things. He was energetic and quite happy but would just zone out a little, while in a more quiet voice asserting that 'if you're here, you've been selected to win [fabulous prize here] so you can't be excluded entirely'.

Aside from that, though, once she knew it wasn't going to be filled with official folk looking to turn her over to those that she did owe sizeable amounts of coin to, Kote found her way through the main entrance. There were a few others like her at this event, though it was unclear whether they were really from 'her' world. There was one extremely handsome and equally dangerous seeming feline sneaking around the place like she often might case a job site, but she got a very scary vibe off of him while in the casino. (Though she did follow him to the casino.)

And there, she spent what coin she had, which actually? Wasn't so bad! Because truth be told it wasn't hers to start with, which was in turn why she continually looked over her shoulder or kept one ear tilted listening for the inevitable stomp of bounty hunter boots. She wasn't a thief, not really, at least that's what she told herself. She wasn't one of those 'climb up the wall and swipe things out of dresser drawers' types anyway. But yes, she did swindle and distract and outright cheat sometimes.

Only sometimes. And not here. Because here, she realized, this was not a place she wanted to get booted from, because there was a lot more going on than just a bunch of weird foreign card games and dice, and slots and whatever else was making the noises in this smoke-filled club. A club within a club, apparently. So Kote studied the rules of each of these games first (they had a little card with the instructions, which she was positive wasn't in a language she knew until she focused on it) and then dove in with gusto when she recognized how each of them could be nudged into winnings.

While she could certainly have arranged some 'winning hands' by the use or a little magic here or there, she realized not only would that be incredibly stupid in this place, but she didn't need to: she was better at these games overall than most of the already-drunken patrons, and won fair and square! When was the last time she could say that?!

About two years ago? Wasn't it? I saw it in your mind when you came in, you like playing straight, why don't you do it more?

It was a strange voice and not in her ear. She folded before the bet could be won, so distracted by this voice.

Oh! I am sorry, I didn't mean to make you lose!

She had the sense to stand and excuse herself, collect her existing winnings, and move away from the game table before speaking. "Who said that? What's this trick then?"

No trick! Just me, Vemikeba. Come find me. I know you can. And the voice was gone... but oddly... still there. She still seemed to feel it, a soft and dark voice, sure of itself, but also somehow sure of her.

It was to a louder portion of the venue that she was drawn, following - some urge, she wasn't even sure how, and wound up in a poorly lit, strange smelling room where a group of humanoids were firing weapons and magic at targets across a long hall. It could have been the echoes of the guns, booming into her ears, but equally there was raucous laughter, and music blaring from several small speakers that hit all the stone-like walls. It was a mad cacopheny...

You're lucky, my sibling says there's a mad cacopheny on the casino's stage, some idiot with two bagpipes, only my nest-sib thinks it's good! That voice again! And this time, Kote spotted what must have been the source. A teensy black bodied, checkerboard winged dragon!

"There you are," she breathed, "Vemikeba? You said that was your name?" The dragonet nodded. "Well, okay? Now what?"

"Now you show me how to help you win at cards, I think I will enjoy doing that with you. People will think I'm just a pet and I'm okay with that. As long as you don't think that."

Kote realized that this was no pet, no 'pseudodragon' or other such animal. It was a dragon, just a really small one. "It's a deal! I didn't know you could speak too?"

The dragon looked quite smug, it suited them!

Kote Quickshuffle
A female snow-leopard looking Tabaxi Rogue, arkane trickster; Smart, quick on her feet and with incredibly deft fingers, and just charming enough to scoot off shortly before any fight might break out; not a fighter, fragile, and only-just-barely keen enough to know when to cut and run.
Notably 'addicted to gambling' and 'avoiding bounty hunters' - I wonder why?
Note that her spells listed on the character html should likely include Prestidigitation rather than Ray of Frost as a Cantrip (0-level spell) because she's decidedly not the type to hit stuff as a combat-weak rogue. Also seems like the type to have Illusory Script for forgery that lasts a week or so rather than magic missile, and Disguise Self instead of mage armor for obvious reasons.

Name: Togikeba (TOE ghee kay bah, though directly related with splicing to Keeath'Alkar they need neither the -TH ending to their name, nor 'Alkar, unless promoted from knockoff to Pawn)
Gender: (Choose+preference as desired)
Size: 2'6" s/l/ws
Build: a touch chunky
Physical Features: Pernese mutt with highly cat-like qualities, including four legs and 2 wings all with sharp large claws, wing wrist has two claws; split-ended tail; head has external ears, and long back-pointing horns; offspring are split with either faceted or pupiled eyes
Colors: White Pawn 2, speckled snow-white body; semi-transparent wingsails have medium-small checkers on backs, and medium checks undersides; horns and claws are white with black tips; faceted indigo eyes
Stats: Strength, Speed, Endurance, Agility, Health, Intelligence average 2 except speed which is 7. Yes, 7, out of a 1-6 scale
Abilities: average powers in Telepathy, Verbal Speech, cannot use the magic of their clutch mates (fire manip, blood magic), but they are able to burst speed (5) and produce fire easily (3), and use one form of teleport (local, nexus, planewalk) at a 3 power level with others lesser value
Parents: Donor Clutch Kelirith + Baniar'Alkar
Bond: Muma, Voluntary Impression
Meeting Notes:

There was a lot more magic going on than Muma could process. Because let's face it, he was known as Muma the Blunt before he was Muma the Blowhard, and though he did know rudimentary magic to cast during performances, he often forgot that he could do it. Not the type that normally entered the College of Lore when he was learning his trade, but no one could deny his charm, his actual wit if not his brains.

He loved learning, and even here at this Ball he was learning things - sometimes the same thing he'd known only from a different perspective. And sometimes, even without realizing it, he relearned a skill he'd already half-mastered. But when he was up on the stage he was at his best. It was where his one consistent power could be used: he had the ability to blow both of those bagpipes full of air at once, one with his lungs, the other with his magic.

Of course it was why he'd been kicked from that one meeting in the library at Cool Hill Conservatory, and he'd always wondered whether if he could have just used the one set and not been booted? Eh, didn't matter now! For the moment he was under warm stage lights with an audience who were actively cheering him on, which was definitely something he enjoyed. It was a sailor's tune that he'd adapted for these instruments, one of them was belting out a long, strangely nasal note, while he blew into the other and forced out a trilling refrain. It was a good thing that the main Casino stage was magically buffered from this. It was a good thing the whole Casino was buffered from this. But the folks who liked it, really liked it!

When he finally finished the tune, having lingered because you don't just end a bagpipe, it was to rousing applause and cheering, claps on the back from other musicians. They didn't really have the heart to tell him that it was "comedy hour" and not "karaoke", but then didn't this qualify as both?

For some strange reason though, when he finished, his ears rang in a way they hadn't before. He wasn't hard of hearing even after years of learning his instrument, but this hissing after-sound was new to him.

Sorry, it's just me, I'm not used to hearing such a din. I'm new, and all.

He looked around, quite curious now. He put his pipes away in their right portions of his case, a ritual of gently cleaning, then placing each drone between its cloth, and the blowpipe and chanter on the top. This voice did not stop him from finishing this task, his muscle memory did the work just fine.

The appearance of a snowy white dragonet looking pointedly down into his carry case surprised him, but not so much - he knew there were plenty of dragons at this event. A good number of them in this room now, halfway to midnight since he'd gotten there and already more nests of different dragons than he had even heard of were paraded out. He would certainly have to make some kind of tune to commemorate this!

With that thought, the small dragon perked up. I would like a song! I would like you to make me a song, I can tell you all about the other dragons too! We should go watch them, some are big and some small like me!

"I've seen some," Muma said, "they look nothing like the ones of lore where I'm from. And these all seem... friendly. That's good. I wonder if you could learn how to keep time on a drum or with a chime?"

That seemed right up their alley, I would love that! I'll get used to the ringing in my ears, I think. I am Togikeba, we can perform together once I'm grown!

That set Muma's imagination rolling, where they could go to perform, or to learn about new people, tell good stories in music and song. They could become known far and wide, and the dragon curled up on his warm, broad shoulder in appreciation of that fact.

Muma the Blowhard
A male Tabaxi Bard ** while the html says college of Swords, he is MUCH more appropriately hilarous in the College of Lore - those who appreciate honesty and truth over anything else, and tend to meet in libraries or college campuses, who most certainly does blow hard since he's dual wielding those bagpipes. You can't get more honest than bagpipes amirite? So as such some of his info might not apply, that's up to you. He's not all that bright, and not all that perceptive, but he knows what he likes, can tell truth from lies, and can easily convince you to let him get on stage with two bagpipes... It's also possible that the dragonet is just-slightly-as-smart as Muma, which is a touch-on-the-lower-end for their clutch...