Name: Zan Turun, (two ROON, the Turun namesake will inherit in offspring or be modified by partner's naming convention accordingly)
Gender: Male, you choose preferences/pronouns
Size: 7'6" s/ 40' l/ 60' ws
Build: Noodle cat bird steed
Physical Features: four legs, two wings with feathers and membranes, head has small horns and external ears, pupiled eyes, lots of sparkly floof, paw pads and claw feet, long tail with feathers, orb with magic
Colors: Body sparkle mist, Membranes iridescent light grey, Wing edge sparkle high white, Wing main feathers pearl mist, Wing primaries sparkle flat black, Floof pearl smoke, Orb high black, eyes red, claws and horns and paw pads light
Stats: Strength 4, Speed 4, Endurance 3, Agility 2, Health 3, Intelligence 6
Abilities: Tattoo Dragon, requires a tattoo imprinted on a living thing (or approximately living, with life force) that it can develop within - a place called its 'paradise', and on maturation, the dragon is able to manifest outside of this image; Winged Flight; 6 sense magic; 5 light breath, constrtuct, paradise; 3 plane travel, divination; 2 spell magic, verbal speech; 1 telepathy
Parents: Sta Turun and Shiyo
Bond: Aria, Voluntary Bond, Multibond
Meeting Notes: There is a moment when the venue itself seems to waver and fold. Where is she? Why is she even here? This long pale-walled hallway? It doesn't even look much like the rest of Rapture come to think of it, much taller walls, no ceiling to speak of though light comes from it. Not unlike Aria herself! At the end of this hall is a comfortable square room, this time with what appears to be a ceiling and a padded chair fit for reclining, not quite an office chair, definitely not a dentist's contraption, but bearing similarities to both. She sits in the chair, since it's all that is in the room. Something catches her eye, the walls move? Vanish? Become intangible? Who can say, this feels more like a dream than a real place after all, so it might be all three, and shadows coalesce in the air. They indicate her right arm, which she offers by sliding out of the jacket and shirt - the formalwear for the Ball. Aria remains seated mostly upright, the chair needs no further angle or adjustment for these shadows to manipulate their tools. Whispers come to her ears, or the sound of machinery moving, gentle clicking as if a slow but constant sewing machine, or a methodical scrape of stone on stone as a mortar and pestle. A strong smell, antiseptic and incense, blending in a pleasing if slightly pungent manner, comes to her nose. And pain? Yes, there's pain. Her human form doesn't wince, for some reason she's quite well equipped to deal with this momentary flash of impact and injection. Barely below the surface after all, but far enough to be permanent. Even if she would take another form, this image will remain, because it is formed of magic and light as much as it is ink and blood. It takes just long enough for the endorphins this body creates to wear down, to put the the last filigree around a vertical design. A domed top, gently angled sides, a sturdy base. A Bishop, with the top of its mitre bearing a slightly too large bulb, but that bulb was in a strong black shade, while most of the rest in a speckled pale grey, save for some edging in black and striking white. Once it was finished, the shadowy 'limbs' of this room carefully wiped down the new tattoo with a soothing gel. It didn't really seem to take any time at all to heal, but there were minutes - maybe months - that Aria felt it itching like crazy, and it was all she could do to avoid scratching it. But could it have been months? She stood, a little woozy and quite hungry (did she ever feel hungry like this before? an elemental?), and headed back out to the party to make sure that Shy and Striga or anyone else under their care weren't getting into too much trouble.

She went about her business enjoying the ball, delighting in the dancing, watching antics when she didn't feel like participating in them herself, spotting strange people with their eyes on Shy.

**

It would be right around midnight when Aria felt a tugging at her arm, not painful, but insistent. She didn't need to remove any of her sleeve, however, as a darkly shining blackness had come from her tattoo - the orb atop that bishop's hat, come to life. The dragon that this tattoo implied? Of course! He was always there, inside her heart, as if he had been part of her magic, her senses, her mind. He had been, in fact, because his entire life had been spent inside that tattoo and the Paradise it provided. Whether his 'entire' life was six or seven hours as everyone else seemed to think, or a decade gestating and collecting magic from his host... that was a question for philosophers, or more accurately: for the Stage and the Den and the Labs to hash out, and she did not feel like asking.

But she did ask, what to do now? He offered insight, when to act or when to watch and wait - and offered more, his Paradise could be made real, or at least real things moved into it, almost like a private oasis created from nothing but magic and imagination. And he asked her to help him decorate it! She didn't need to voice a question, for she already knew the name he carried: Zan Turun, it had been part of her as much as the rest of the magic that created him.

Name: Sefrasa (sef RAW suh, rasa designates their clutch, they do not carry the Moonshield name)
Gender: (choose+preference as desired)
Size: 3'10" s/l/ws
Build: Muscular and lean, long, noodly
Physical Features: as shown
Colors: white pawn 2, matte pale grey-white, with bright checkerboard wings, neck frill, and tail spade; yellow eyes
Stats: Strength, Speed, Endurance, Agility, Health, Intelligence average 3 in most, with 1 in one and 4 in another
Abilities: 5 telepathy; 4 local teleport, empathy; 3 and 2 average in most including Firebreath, nexus teleport, verbal speech; 1 moon magic + (not functional)
Parents: donors Rakki + Sasazik, knockoff clone until proven a Pawn
Bond: Aria (multi with Zan)
Meeting Notes: the Midnight bell had rung, and Aria along with Zan, barely emerged from his Paradise, were still feeling the sound of cheers and laughter and toasts to the new year. She'd thought it was not-quite-over, there was still half a buffet table and a good few dragonets walking around without attendants. They'd been at this all for hours, perhaps weeks, perhaps months... but weren't entirely too tired to give one last sweep around the ballroom. Nearer the windows than the wet bar, this one particular skinny dragonet skidded across the marble floor, long claws threatening to gouge into the flooring; it was still little, and would never be higher than Aria's hip - but it was to Zan that the dragon first chittered and creeled, demanding. When Zan nudged it toward Aria's hand, it was clear that this little cloned creature (they all had checkerboard colors not found anywhere on the parents and definitely not in nature) wanted to be part of the crew.

They could also be welcomed into Zan's Paradise, and the pale dragonet seemed to light up with interest at that thought.

Name: Dantel Dumani (dan TELL due MAN ee), meaning Lace Smoke (Turkish origin); the Dumani name will inherit in offspring or be modified if partner has similar forms
Gender: female (+preference as desired)
Size: 7'3" s/l/ws
Build: as shown, long hind legs
Physical Features: four legs and two wings, long neck and tail, beak-like face, smoke based webbing and crest/tail that may vanish entirely
Colors: solid pale grey with dark and light grey markings on legs and wing arms - these markings move gently but rarely go off limbs; wings underside dark grey, backs oil black; crest and tail smoke dark grey; faceted eyes green
Stats: Strength 3, Speed 2, Endurance 2, Agility 6, Health 3, Intelligence 6
Abilities: 6 dense* (see notes about density and size) local teleport; 5 shadow walk, vapor manipulation; 4 telepathy and verbal speech, fire breath (assisted only); 1 particle manipulation, nexus teleport
Parents: Dantinath and Dymati
Bond: The Steward, Voluntary Companionship
Meeting Notes: Things had gone... reasonably smoothly all evening. The Empress had enjoyed her groupies, and there were plenty of people to keep everything nice and safe. He took the time to marvel, looking at the walls, the tables and chairs, even though they were functional - were they part of the venue? Or did someone build these and put them here? The music was ... something else, would he dance? Perhaps. Would she? Definitely, which was a sight.

Around 3 hours to midnight, he hears an odd sound, and glimpses ... something? Maybe nothing. He's not sure it's anything at all. Until a voice breaks into his private thoughts.

I am not nothing! But I am not always something!

Then it tittered and left a trail of wispy ... steam? Smoke? it didn't smell like smoke, but it was too dark to be steam. So he followed it, her - the voice was distinctly female. In one of the dimmer nooks, out of the spotlight and away from the groups and booths, the Steward saw a sleek form coalesce from the dark wall. No that ... wasn't a wall at all, well it wasn't dark! It was quite light in color, and what came off of it was that darkness, gently forming into a wavery set of wings, and a long billowy tail. The markings on her legs and wing arms never quite stopped moving, particularly when she eyed the corner of the room and fled into it when a group of people came stumbling into this nook...

Name: Aninovoth (anni NO voth, new year, Portugese), -TH ending required with Pernese dragons
Gender: female (+preference as desired)
Size: 6'2" s/l/ws
Build: muscular, whip-like tail, very long wings
Physical Features: four legs, two wings, long tail, crest and tail spade, visible fangs
Colors: body solid graphite, wings silvery grey with delicate festive black markings on edges, crest and tail spade porcelain white with black festive markings; faceted blue eyes, claws dark
Stats: Strength 4, Speed 6, Endurance 6, Agility 2, Health 4, Intelligence 3
Abilities: 6 telepathy; 4 local teleport, multibond receptive* 3 nonhuman receptive, assisted firebreath 2 nexus teleport *if Nalia chooses to attend other hatchings, Aninovoth will be quite happy with helping raise or guide new dragons!
Parents: Ancheoth and Tehndarinth
Bond: Nalia, Impression
Meeting Notes: 4 hours to midnight, it seemed that the 'original pair' really wanted their dragonets to be shown off and finding their way. Maybe they were kind of tired of having waited this long, they wanted to party! It was with the same kind of confidence that Nalia herself showed, that this dark bodied dragonet pranced up, and extended her brilliantly contrasted wings.

If we need to signal others, I can do that! They cannot help but see me!

The voice was feminine, strong, encouraged by the pressure of finding a bond. She'd found one, in the form of Nalia. The Steward's daughter looked over this delightfully energetic dragoness and an actual smile moved over her perfectly painted lips. This would be quite the night.

I can watch you dance if you convince her to join you, the dragon said, plopping down next to Nalia. But right now I'd like it if you would help me find the food. I was hoping you'd have it with you.

Nalia looked at the tables nearby, "I don't think you will want my food, little dear... But," she consulted her Ball pamphlets, "there is some right... over there," she easily spotted the nook where new dragonets and partners were already gathered. By the time they got to the area, it had thinned out, which suited both of them.

Name: Genuhenth (geh new HENth) -TH ended Pernese
Gender: male (+preference as desired)
Size: 10'6" s/l/ws
Build: strong and burly
Physical Features: Technically Pernese, four legs and two wings, horned head with small external ears, faceted eyes, sharp spikes with webbing between on neck and hips/tail, tail fin similar, large conical claws
Colors: body smoky grey, wings brightly white, webbing shiny light grey, spikes, horns and claws shiny bright white, eyes faceted indigo
Stats: Strength 2, Speed 5, Endurance 5, Agility 2, Health 4, Intelligence 3
Abilities: 6 local teleport, verbal speech, unassisted firebreath; 5 empathy; 4 telepathy, foresight; 3 nexus teleport; 2 time port
Parents: Thaljath and Olelikoth
Bond: Tamin, Impression
Meeting Notes: It was not 1 hour left before the ring of the new year, people had been milling about - and dragons had as well, all night. Some went immediately to the side of their 'just right' or 'new best friend', while others seemed to be taking their sweet time. Tamin was uncomfortable here, even Simya knew it. He kept his eyes moving, sharply watching one corner and then spotting the stage, or one of those weird half-magical archways into other dimensions. Anything could come through them. Anything.

"I came through that one," it sounded both like a child and like a bar of steel being grated against gravel. Sharply, Tamin looked around - and equally sharply, indigo eyes watched him. "You are angry. But you don't need to be angry with me. I'll be here with you. Point me in the right direction, my friend. That is," the dragon tossed his head, showing short nubs that would definitely be growing into long, dangerous tines like his mother's, "if you'll have me by your side."

Name: Regroth (REE gruth, as regrowth) -TH ending Pernese
Gender: female (+preference as desired)
Size: 5' s/l/ws
Build: barrel bodied, short limbed
Physical Features: typicalish Pernese, four legs, two wings, all with claws; head knobs and soft short neck ridge, tail spade, faceted eyes
Colors: body snow-capped soft white (head, neck, shoulders, spine, and down to mid-tail is shiny white and is a marking); shiny soft white wings, soft white and ice blue white dappled crest and tail spade; claws ice blue-white, eyes very pale blue
Stats: Strength 5, Speed 6, Endurance 2, Agility 6, Health 4, Intelligence 3
Abilities: mostly typical pernese; 6 nexus teleport, communicate through nexus or between, unassisted firebreath; 5 telepathy, time port; 4 local teleport, sense through nexus/void/between - among the strongest overall powers in the clutch
Parents: Gertith and Surrith
Bond: Simya, Impression
Meeting Notes: 4 hours to midnight, the small pair of brightly white dragons Surrith and Gertith paraded their offspring around the main ballroom. They were followed by a group of checkerboard-winged ones too, and those were barely the size of some flitters attending! Simya, normally cooly eyeing where she knew Tamin was lurking (he could hardly be seen, but she knew that eyes were on them both - lots of eyes), felt distracted. She felt hungry, even though she'd had plenty of little finger foods and even a glass of champagne (well she had a couple sips and decided it wasn't very pleasant). She could hardly see over people's shoulders at her size, so she climbed to a rafter - how convenient that they were built into the arched dome's walls. At first all she could really think of was how hard this place was to clean... And chided herself because this place didn't even exist before now, and probably wouldn't exist after they all left. No one needed to clean it. (There are cleaning staff... there really are!)

We could see if it's still here later, if you want to, a voice called, it echoed from the wall behind her - no that was just a wall. There was nothing there. Must have been the alcohol; she'd imagined it.

You did not imagine me! We need to make sure that he's safe. He will get us all in trouble. And we can make sure he is not hurt. You and me.

She had to crane her neck down, down, farther than that, down - the ball floor now filling back up with dancers and revelry no longer hosted those bright white dragons, but there was one sitting directly below Simya looking straight up. How had she gotten so far from the rest of her family!?

How had you? Now I am here. And look, he's stealing more nuts, go tell him he can just ask for them!

Name: Lit Path, exactly as it sounds, however she does have -TH ended history and will carry that feature if bred to a Pernese-descended
Gender: female (+preference as desired)
Size: 8' s/l/ws
Build: sleek and muscular, hind heavy
Physical Features: 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
Colors: body white with light grey belly, armor medium grey, wings light grey with black stars, spikes soft white, horns and claws medium grey; eyes pupiled golden-amber
Stats: Strength 3, Speed 4, Endurance 2, Agility 5, Health 4, Intelligence 4
Abilities: 6 verbal speech; 5 telepathy, stealth; 3 local and nexus teleport; 2 long life; 1 unassisted fire breath
Parents: Amrith and 50 Shades of Grey
Bond: Saris, Companionship, not a full bond unless desired
Meeting Notes: It was 3 hours until the midnight bell, and Saris was getting into the swing of things. He'd gambled at the casino (and won modestly), watched some already-drunken folk belt out tunes at the karaoke bar, and danced with a dozen people (human and otherwise). He'd taken in a long look at the underlit deep-sea floor visible on one side of the venue - and then another double take at the starry night sky with lighthouses dotting a strange coast through one window, and a beach as seen from underneath a wooden pier in the foggy night time from another. He'd spotted entirely different looking lighting and equipment briefly when the Stage over there was being fit for a new act, too, behind the curtains.

Though he came from a world where he knew other places touched up against it... this was something else entirely. The whole place was just... Everywhere at once. He had never been to a location quite like it. Right now, he was in no fewer than four, and it was making his head swim. Tired for the moment, he found a spot at a large table near the Stage where a number of small dragons were giving a markedly emotional performance in their native language. But from one wide archway near that spot, he could see movement. There was a woman, one of those who had asked him to dance! She was beckoning again. Quite attractive, a feline with alabaster colored fur barely marked with small spots. She did have a strong glow to her, and it wasn't just the drink she had in her hand making her light up. She tossed her head, staring right at him, and indicated with her bright blue eyes that the room beyond the arch was somewhere he ought to be. Saris carefully stood, wiped his fingers clean (he'd been munching on spiced nuts, they were quite delicious), and headed over to that alluring form.

It wasn't the Alabaster Goddess that held his attention when he'd passed under the arch, however. It was the group of newly hatched dragonets! Saris made note of a few other people there, but it was likely that there would be more over the course of the next few minutes - the cheetah goddess had slipped into the main hall and was obviously looking for people to attend to ... her dragon's clutch! The marbled white dragoness that nudged the little bicolored (would you call them 'colored' if there wasn't a shred of hue to them?) dragonet while her much larger darker colored mate looked on quite proudly. Saris kept edging around, unsure if he ought to just step in and find a dragon or if one might come to him? Was this what they'd wanted, when they demanded he dress up and...

"It seems quite odd, my children hatching on a world with not only merely one moon," the male dragon spoke, "but in this place which has never seen the light of even that single orb." The dragon's wings were grey, with paler spot markings... No, those were stars, they appeared to shimmer as he moved. One of the wing tips he extended nudged a little bit of shell that had broken - but the dragonet that had been in the shell was nowhere to be found. "And yet, here we are," Shades glanced right at the man, who suddenly realized he was being addressed. "And there she is, right on time..." Saris could have sworn that the dragon smiled with a father's delight.

A creel turned into a yawn, beside Saris. At his heel was a dragon no darker than the shell that she'd come from, speckled with dark on her wingsails... Those stars, like her sire's, moved, but they moved even if she was quite still.

"How did you even get there, no shadows to hide in?" He asked, and though she might eventually learn to speak, her mind reached his with a gentle laugh. It was entirely unlike Samra's, that laugh. But he knew better than to think a dragonet that was bright as a bulb who could sneak up without being noticed, was any less sharp than she was. He could match that sharpness now. With Lit Path's extra eyes, paws, and mind on it.

I will be sure to help you sneak around if you ever need to!

Name: Zeos Nye'nnay (ZEE ohs NYE en nay) Since they are supermutt with Legend Drak bloodlines they have a given name, a clutch moniker (in this case nye standing for New Year's Eve/nt for several different pairs), an ' elide, and a parent-determined last portion (in this case females get nnay, males get aynn). If they breed with further Drak like lines, or those which have naming conventions of some sort, this should carry logically, though the complexity of the Legend Drak naming has been simplified a bit for this clutch
Gender: female, queen (+preference as desired)
Size: 9'4" s/l/ws
Build: leggy and lean, tail heavy
Physical Features: drak-like supermutt, four legs with heavy claws, fluff on back legs; four wings two main and two butt-wings, with claws on the fore and Shatternak-styled wing barbs on hind; head has two horns, ear floof, a silky mane, tail has floof and a sharp (poison?) spine; they are furry but they are also egg-layers
Colors: Body clouded flat black and soft white; wings burnished pale grey on outer, soft less metallic undersides; butt wings burnished high white similarly matte underneath; mane, leg, and tail floof storm grey fade to mist white; horns/claws high white, extra horns/spines storm grey; ear floof silver; cyan rainbow eyes
Stats: Strength 1, Speed 6, Endurance 4, Agility 5, Health 4, Intelligence 4
Abilities: 6 genetic manipulation (own offspring), verbal speech; 5 spit (potent, choose effects); 4 local and nexus teleport, stinger poison (choose effects) 3 telepathy; 2 portal creation (specific location), color shift (carried only)
Parents: Merajanay and Bales apa Larsis'Iann
Bond: Ait' Pillar-taj, Companionship / sponsor only, though Zeos isn't interested in leaving the Matriarch's side any time soon, is also not 'super possessive' should another come along (should one come along, they would really, really want to be very careful and quite strong, deferential, because queen is as queen does)
Meeting Notes: The night was young, 4 hours to midnight, and Pillar had seen shapes similar to the ones attempting to be graceful on their way around the edge of the large ballroom. Those similar shapes - with the bright checkerboard patterns? They were of little interest to the Matriarch. They were cute, noisy. And for the most part, so were these. But the ones attended by their disparate white and black parents were larger by a good bit than the checkerboard-bearers, and had plenty of noteworthy features. Those Pillar could easily see from this distance with her eyes said they would eventually all grow taller at the shoulder than any of her tribe were at the head, perhaps even higher than their long arms could stretch up. While she waited for word from Rao, Pillar allowed her eyes to continue gazing on these little dragons being carefully shown off. They were definitely pretty, and had quite a vast variety of source material going on in their genetics.

With that thought in mind, finding out more about this mish-mash that seemed to have turned out quite successfully, Ait' Pillar-taj stood from her place at one black-and-white-draped table, leaving her water and neatly placed empty dish and bowl behind. As each of the dragons swaggered or tumbled by, she spotted hallmarks of mild genetic engineering, and much stronger evidence that their mother was very engineered.

Pillar was aware that there were people watching her, perhaps even with the same kinds of eyes as she had. Because she felt a very distinct scan looking over her own genetics whenever she walked past that one loud-mouthed pale haired girl. Had she taken a moment or two to look back, she'd have seen not-molten-yellow looking boldly at her, amber eyes that matched a small shard of crystal draped around her pale freckled neck, focusing with curiosity and then glancing away to a slender figure up on one of the balconies. Rao would know who she was looking at, then. He was also looking at that same slinky cat-eyed man.

But what Pillar was looking at just now, was a dark and bright dragon. This one stood tall and proud, didn't look at the floor when she walked, and placed her feet carefully and methodically in time with the music that played on the opposite side of the chamber. She had confidence and sureity on her side. She was regal. She was very clearly a queen in her own right. That dragon lifted her head and gently brought herself to a halt after veering slightly off the path of the rest. They continued. She remained. The only splash of color that anyone had seen from these dragons were their eyes, and this one's had odd multicolored sclera, but bright cyan shaded irises. They were focused on the dark woman who slowly raised her brow.

"You have a place for me," the dragonet said; it couldn't have been her first words, they were too well-formed. It was also not a question.

"I like you," Pillar said to the dragonet. She made careful note of those watching nearby, and then slipped into telepathic speech to continue. Where you're bright, you're very bright; where you're dark, you're pitch dark.

Like you, the dragonet caught on quickly to being silent when there were ears on them.

Name: High Void Mistborn'nye; father's naming convention indicates location or clan, in this case 'nye for New Year's Eve/nt; further generations should follow local tradition or family name for this addition; note also that markings indicate strength of magic or inherent abilities, following father's line, not all in this clutch are strong enough in those powers to show; high Void indicates she is adept with void but also has access to ice abilities *Some of these aspects may be similar to but modified from Myrsilk tradition
Gender: female (+preference as desired)
Size: 15'3" s/l/ws
Build: noodle
Physical Features: remarkably long, four legs, two wings with very large ice-cutting claws on all; long head with external ears, sharp back-pointing horns, cheek horns, and paired curved neck spines, end of long skinny tail also has sharp spines; pupiled eyes; hide, armor, possible scales, will breed similarly to other types accordingly
Colors: body flat black with mist belly and socks, markings for female (rounded) in high black with mist star pattern; wings marbled flat black and mist; horns, claws and spines speckled flat black with mist markings; pink-red eyes
Stats: Strength 3, Speed 4, Endurance 4, Agility 5, Health 1, Intelligence 6
Abilities: 6 Void Magic^, body language^, flight speed, void portal^; 5 summoning^, local teleport, dark vision^; 4 nexus teleport; 3 verbal speech, prophesy; 2 ice manipulation; 1 telepathy, ice breath, predction; note that most strong powers are ^Myrsilk based, hence her markings and naming
Parents: Smirch and Nekeel Void Shaman
Bond: Ait' Rao-taj, Sponsored Companion, may drift apart after adulthood but equally enjoys Rao's presence
Meeting Notes: He had been watching for signs of their quarry, all evening. It wasn't hard to locate the man, Shy by name (he'd heard so many people say it, too); but it was much more difficult to find him isolated or even momentarily alone. Either it was by design, or the man was simply able to pad himself with onlookers to ensure he was safe. Not that Rao would be doing anything terribly untoward - but his curiosity was piqued, not sated. People talked about Shy like he was a celebrity here, though not everyone seemed to think that was a good thing. He spent most of the evening milling about catching pieces of gossip or glimpses of those who surrounded Shy. Some of them laughed with gusto, others danced with passion, most though seemed... somewhat normal? And none of them yet displayed that distinct molten-gold color he was hoping to capture as evidence. Of what? Well, that remained to be seen. It was two hours before midnight according to the large silver and black clock above the stage.

It wasn't at the hour exactly, when trumpeting everyone learned to associate with a new dragon clutch blared. They were not freshly hatched, the long dragons that slunk around the main ballroom, looking into different sections of the Event's venue. Those with the checkerboard patterns seemed energetic and much larger than most of the other 'knockoffs' that had been cloned from the main nests here. Rao had seen a good number of them strutting around, keeping their long tails out of the way somehow - it was one of them that distracted him from his prey, and he lost sight of Shy. It was, however, in favor of a dragonet who kept circling toward Rao; he could sense her trying to attract attention - his attention. How did he even know that? He was hardly an expert in dragon mobility or communication.

No, it was her expertise, though. She flicked her tail just so, moved her shoulders a little, shifted her weight. Look at me, she said, I'm better than any two-legged creature in this room...

"Not including me, I hope," Rao said, when he approached. Though still quite young, it was impossible to tell just how long these dragons had been out of their shells. It might have been days, or months. They were going to be very big, long, slender... And powerful. This one had round markings on her face, chest, and tail end. When he looked around he spotted another dragon with similar facial and body markings, though that one was much more extensive: her sire, proudly watching his young make their way. The dragonet before him cleared her throat.

"Not including you, of course," she confirmed. She blinked, the marking over her eye making it look like she hadn't, save for those eyes being red and the marking over them bearing fascinating stars-on-black. "What can you teach me?"

The question caught him off guard a bit. "I... don't really know, I hadn't thought of it. The Pillar would certainly know better than I."

"She is not who I am asking," the dragon kept her eyes on his. "But you respect this one," the dragon spotted his Matriarch, his Pillar, in the side room feeding a young hatchling. "I hope that she respects you as well."

Rao breathed out carefully, maybe tonight was going to be a lot more complicated than he expected going in...

Name: Hoith (as hoist; -TH ending due to full Pernese descent, will pass to offspring if any provided they are similar)
Gender: male (+preference as desired)
Size: 4'10" s/l/ws
Build: sturdy
Physical Features: 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; other than hide coloration this is a pretty standard Pernese dragon
Colors: Body gem soft white, wings transparent sparkling high black with festive mist dot markings, crest and tail spade gem light grey, horns and claws dark; eyes indigo faceted
Stats: Strength 5, Speed 6, Endurance 6, Agility 4, Health 1, Intelligence 3
Abilities: 6 unassisted firebreath, time teleport; 4 telepathy, telekinesis, flit command; 3 local teleport, verbal speech, emotion sway; 2 nexus teleport
Parents: Laeurath and Juth
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.

Name: Elgy (ELL gee) may take the Zwitterion name if they wish, it's patently obvious who they are related to!
Gender: (you choose, only becomes important if breeding is desired, including splicing+preference as desired)
Size: 3'10" s/l/ws
Build: Slinky
Physical Features: Hathian-Whorling, with four legs the front two having wing struts, long sharp claws, very long bare tail, long angular face with eye armor blending into neck fins, a fluffy mane, shoulder armor with similar fins; their mane can stand up if needed
Colors: Black Pawn 6, a medium grey with pale belly marking and bow-tie, facial marking, armor is white and black, all fins and wing sails are checkerboard; mane chrome; claws light, eyes red-violet faceted
Stats: Strength, Speed, Endurance, Agility, Health, Intelligence; average 2, with one being 5 you choose
Abilities: average 2 with 6 in 'singing' (sonic manipulation and perfect pitch), cannot shift in any way, but they do display adept ability with computers and electrical items
Parents: Donor clutch Evocation Zone and Errick
Bond: Voluntary bond with Hoith and Vencada
Meeting Notes: They were always wandering through the place: the checkerboard and tie design seemed so ... perfect? Fitting? The venue needed hosts and ushers, servers and guides, and these little chirping dragonets fit the bill flawlessly. Most adept with offering the menu available or guidance to the restrooms, Ari appreciated their presence more than once, when she needed to re-locate and keep track of ... well, everything and everyone. As time went on however, she noticed that one of them kept coming back to their table, kept following Hoith around - more than Ari, it was the dragon that this one seemed interested in.

"Do you want to come back home with us when this is over?" Ari asked, and the sleek and dapper dragon nodded quickly. Hoith looked very, very proud to have this addition. Vencada not so much, but that was a lie and the dragons all knew it.

Name: Qib ahlTahnhadaa (kib all TAWN hah dah, while Qib is simply their name, ahl tahn hadaa means 'clan of the tiny colorless ones' in Zekiran / Vortigese, and indicates that this is part of the ahlHadaa group, but the knockoff version - should they be promoted to Pawn status the name ahlHadaa will continue or be modified with other parent, but the naming is voluntary for non-shifters)
Gender: (you choose, will only become important if breeding is desired+preference as desired)
Size: 4' s/l/ws
Build: horse dragon
Physical Features: slightly furry hide; 3+thumb / claw paws, +wrist finger wings; mane and tail tuft hair; back pointing straight horns - slight Pernese influence no knobs though; horse-like face; no external ears but hears fine; pupiled eyes
Colors: Black Pawn 2, in this breed of knockoff the wingsails are the only indicator of rank, with similar dark stripes over a checkerboard body; grey claws, horns, and mane/tail, and dark blue eyes
Stats: Strength, Speed, Endurance, Agility, Health, Intelligence average 3 in each with one 1, and one 5, your choices
Abilities: cannot use family shifting abilities at all, though they may be coaxed out in splices thanks to flexible Zekiran DNA; average 3 for Telepathy, Verbal Speech, Telekinetics, and local teleport; 2s in fire/tk, nexus teleport, and longevity
Parents: Donor clutch Evugith and Fadhila
Bond: Sponsored by Ari, voluntarily bonded to Moxmami
Meeting Notes: It was only an hour left until the big celebration - what would happen then? And what might happen until then? The strutting of stuff was continuing unabated however, and the most ... the most marked clutch and their very large knockoff team arrived from one distinct arched room. Fadhila had reverted to not only their upright bipedal form, but their female shape, even though 'he' was the sire of this striped clutch. Yes yes everyone was impressed. (Impressed? Well no, these were only half Pernese...) (They rolled their eyes, the entire Pernese contingent, at that joke.) But it was true, they didn't need to impress or even bond, but then most of them seemed interested in doing so. Even their incredibly eye-burning knockoffs! One of them, with the darker wings indicating they were part of the 'Black' chess side, trotted itself up to Ari's now-crowded table.

"You got room?" They tilted their head, and it was a good thing their horns hadn't fully grown in yet, because that action would definitely result in casual damage when the dragonet was older...

"Of course we do," Ari said, becoming slightly more comfortable with the idea that she was going to be sponsoring and quite busy for the foreseeable future. She smiled when she realized that the zebra-dragon was gazing wistfully across the table, at another of their sponsors...

Name: Moxmami (as box MOMMY, naming convention varied from Pernese -TH ended, will only become important if bred)
Gender: (you choose, will only be fertile if raised to Pawn+preference as desired)
Size: 4'1" s/l/ws
Build: slinky high-body
Physical Features: Pernese for sure! hide skin with iridescence resembling scaling, four legs and two wings with large claws on all, boxy head with knobs and a low neck ridge, fleshy ridge on rump and high tail, split ended tail, faceted eyes
Colors: Black Pawn 3, with grey cloudy belly marking and checkerboard wings and ridge, faceted peach eyes, light claws
Stats: Strength, Speed, Endurance, Agility, Health, Intelligence, average 2 in all, with one at 4
Abilities: average 3 in all normal Pernese powers, though unless promoted to full Pawn, cannot use special clutch abilities (search, time, verbal)
Parents: donor clutch Maranth and Minath
Bond: Qib, sponsored until adult by Ari
Meeting Notes: They'd all come nearly at the same time, to this table. Once it was clear that Ari was amenable to it, or at least didn't protest terribly much, several dragonets, almost all of them the checkerboard-knockoff little'uns, milled around. They were offered the right foods at the right time, but none of them were so sleepy like a typical hatchling should have been. Ari was a little concerned, how were they all still awake? Didn't hatchlings need their sleep?

Not me, not yet! It was a mental voice that rang into Ari's, with a strange distance to it. I'm gonna wait here. I just think it's right.

"Well, you... do that? I'm sure there's enough meat to go around?" Ari replied, though it wouldn't have made any difference - the dragonet was already seated on a high stool next to the big table and digging in to shredded meats...

Turned out a little bit later, Qib was the one that would be properly bonding to this Pernese dragon, though they'd definitely both be needing aid to grow in the meantime.

Name: Keeath'Alkar (key YATH AWL car, naming convention thanks to dad's side of things since mother is basically Pernese the first name is -TH ended, if bred to another with a last name, modify it accordingly or use Alkar)
Gender: female (+preference as desired)
Size: 4' s/l/ws
Build: cat flitter
Physical Features: mostly Pernese but 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: body shimmer mist, wings shiny pale grey, claws dark, eyes pupiled pink-violet
Stats: Strength 6, Speed 1, Endurance 3, Agility 6, Health 4, Intelligence 4
Abilities: 5 unassisted firebreath, blood magic (senses nearby life, family connection, empathy, minor emotion control), verbal speech; 4 local teleport, unassisted fire manipulation; 2 telepathy, nexus teleport; 1 speed, plane shift
Parents: Kelirith and Baniar'Alkar
Bond: Multibond with Raptor Queens and all their group
Meeting Notes: There were so many people, and dragons, and dragon people... Everything all at once, and that was exactly as the trio of raptor queens liked it. They weren't entirely clear on this whole 'telling time' thing, but the clock said it was 'three hours to midnight' when more dragons than ever were filling the ballroom's floor. The music hadn't stopped, the dancing hadn't stopped, but it had condensed over to the area with the floor orchestra. That left plenty of room, for such tiny-tiny dragons! Frou realized that the parents weren't even as tall as she was! Their offspring - and their little knockoffs - were adorable.

Two of them came to this group of raptors, but only one of them bore her own color scheme and not the checkerboard pattern. It was clear she needed help, even if they'd been hatched a while ago and were now dry and had had a snack to tide them over, the clutch, as well as the knockoffs, needed to be attached to someone more responsible. Well, more responsible than a hatchling dragon. Not ... responsible.

And 'not responsible' was what the Raptors were all about. So they welcomed this quiet but sensibly smart effervescent looking dragoness and her tinier companion into the fold. Her powers with life sense would come in so handy.

Name: Vassago Thain (va SAY go thayn, the parents names combine perfectly from -TH and AIN, it was destiny, and it's possible that any other offspring this dragon has will also follow with a significant family name inheriting, as Sheva; Vassago is the name of a lesser demon of love, revelation, and foretelling, as well as guarding treasure)
Gender: Male, heavily into whoever is willing. and some who are not.
Size: 12'6" hip/l/ws, bipedal
Build: remarkably strong chested
Physical Features: biped, hide, four legs and 2 wings all with strong claws, sharp face with prominent teeth, huge upward curving horns, external ears; sharp upwardly pointed ryslenesque crest, long tail with large poison stinger; some siblings may have varying features based on parents
Colors: body matte black marked with shiny dark black flames on limbs, tail, and face; wings rich shiny black; horns and claws ivory, red eyes
Stats: Strength 4, Speed 3, Endurance 6, Agility 5, Health 5, Intelligence 5
Abilities: winged flight (very strong), Verbal speech, magic breath, infernal senses; strong telepathy; modest (average) teleportation which can be via the Void or between
Parents: Zulain and Marquisth (AU for Shard)
Bond: Voluntary bond to Striga, sponsoring son Niobu Sheva
Meeting Notes: She had come with daddy and the Labs, but she'd have been here anyway, because what party would be complete without Striga to ... liven it up? And while she'd flitted around the food and drink, they held no true pleasure for her, no it was watching the people and the dragons that made her truly happy. It was a lot to take in, she'd wanted to talk to so very many people.

It was getting quite late, an hour to midnight it looked like by the big silver and obsidian clock up above the stage. What was this, what was happening over there by that one archway? Proud parents, they were frequent enough in the last four hours! So many little dragons - and some not so little - that were marched or shooed around the big ballroom.

These were some ... sharp, long, and impressive looking dragons. Even their knockoffs were tall and bipedal like the main group. While the young newly hatched dragonets were still a bit wobbly on their hind legs, and often enough dropped their forelimbs to the floor, most of them seemed willing to try and stand again. The parents, amazingly marked, richly black and white, attended one another with a strong swagger. They led a dance, in fact - they led more than that, before the entire evening was over... it was quite clear that Sheng Stac'ver would be heavy with eggs once more at some point in the future.

The sire noticed one of his brood was lingering, watching as the last in line, almost as opposite in color as could be. He nudged the proud little dragon, who put up his own airs and carried on a conversation that Striga could not hear. Vassago rumbled and chuckled at the end.

But what she heard next was apt to bring static into her ears, a flush of energy into her eyes and mind. Vassago Thain spoke into her mind.

Niobu would like to come with me, he said, mental voice just as distinct as if it had been spoken. It echoed slightly, lingering like soot or shadow. And I believe we should come with you.

"Y-you..." Striga wasn't sure whether she completely understood this... She was pleased, overwhelmed, stunned, comforted. But also, what was that about another?

"We will both come with you, though Niobu may yet find his own way," Vassago indicated the bright silver-flame colored dragon who now peered eagerly at the meats being offered by ushers. "I have waited quite some time to find my one, most of my family have long since discovered theirs. What better time, than now?"

Name: Niobu Sheva (nye OH boo she VAH, a mixture of the parents names, as apparently is now tradition for the dad's line; if bred into more complicated naming, readopt mother's ' or any other changes)
Gender: Male (+preference as desired)
Size: 12'4" hip/l/ws bipedal
Build: massive, leggy, big wings
Physical Features: bipedal though often can run on all fours, with four legs and two main wings, with large claws on all; small hip-wings (nonfunctional), split-ended tail with spikes and poison stingers; angular head with external ears, sharp back swept horns, webbed head and neck spines; pupiled eyes
Colors: body soft white with tall smoke colored socks on legs, tail, and wing fingers, belly has armor (or armor markings, no one's sure) in smoke and lined in high white, face marked with a mask in smoke; wings medium grey with brilliant silver fire markings; spines flat black, webbing delicate fire-lines in graphite with high black; light claws and horns; teal eyes
Stats: Strength 3, Speed 1, Endurance 5, Agility 6, Health 4, Intelligence 4
Abilities: 6 infernal senses; 5 local teleport, verbal speech, poison stingers and spit; 4 nexus teleport; 3 magic breath weapon (choose effects limited to one target); 2 telepathy, chameleon colors (not active) 1 void teleport, strong flight, (spirit magic negated by infernal)
Parents: Sheng Stac'ver and Vassago Thain
Bond: Sponsored by sire Vassago Thain, going with Striga back to the Labs
Meeting Notes: It was no secret that they wanted to wait until midnight's bell, to bring this clutch out. But the eggs had broken hours and hours ago, and while the dragonets might or might not require a true bond to take care of them, they were all hungry and getting crankier by the minute. So it was that an hour until midnight arrived and they just had to go through the shadowed arch into the much brighter ballroom beyond. While dazzling, these dragons were smart and snarky, so any commentary they had might be held in check until they knew their company.

The company that one of them wanted, however, was not to be found here, at least that was what it seemed. Niobu moved toward his sire, letting his other siblings wander away into the throng, and stared up at the bigger dragon's red eyes.

I will not find what I am seeking here, father, the dragonet asserted, mental voice as slick as the silver markings on his wings. Will you bring me with you where you go?

Are you certain that is what you will be satisfied with? Vassago replied.

I know what I'm not satisfied with, this party has nothing for me but snacks.

The dragon gave a fatherly chortle, well then I suppose I have no choice but to bring you along until you know what more there is to find.

Satisfied at least with this, Niobu moved off to pick at the meats offered nearby.