Heartshy and the others were enjoying themselves at Lantessama Isle. She knew that this place would be best for her, their chances of bonding seemed limitless. There were lots of eggs, even of different types of dragons, not just the regular ones. She snuck around and watched as the Easter Dragon hatching was done, all those lucky people with the cute long-eared bunny dragons!

Pause got big, just like Dusk did, and he was still just as careful about taking things before asking, as he had been as a flit. Heartshy was busy finding something for Pause to play with (other than her favorite ribbons that she kept in her hair!) when the hatching was announced.

She rushed down with the others, excited and expectant. When the first of the eggs broke open, she was thrilled to see a dual colored cream and purple. That one would have looked so good with her. Then, a silver - oh how she looked like a bangle. The blue and green which paired off to Warmhand and Orange Peel left Heartshy with a bit of a pang.

What if she was alone, and didn't pair up? What if the dragons just didn't think she was good enough? She was hardly a bondrider like at Twin Peaks, and never thought much about them herself. But now... could that attitude be preventing her from bonding?

Two coppers broke out of one shell, and paired off. They were very sturdy looking and one of them even bonded a man who was a King! He smelled like death to Heartshy - how odd. A superby dual colored bronze and green postured around until bonding, and then a green found her friend. Heartshy was getting more nervous. There were three people and three eggs left, but the whole audience was watching now, and she felt a bit on the spot!

A brown and another blue hatched, one slamming into the other. While the brown got up and found his bond, the blue was unhappily crying near his egg. Heartshy knew that sound - he'd stumbled and hurt himself, his wing was pinned. How awful! She went to his side instinctively, because all good shepherds knew when a youngling was in danger.

But it was the last boy on the sands who paired off with the blue, looking into his eyes.

Heartshy stood by the last egg, biting her lip. What would she do? It wasn't moving much, and there was always talk of dud eggs which never hatch. Determined, she walked to the egg and tapped it's shell. She knocked on it, and it responded with a gentle sound from the inside. The egg must be thick, but soon, it began to crack.

A black wet head came out of the hole that was made, and the dragonet licked Heartshy's cheek. The dragon was small compared to even her smallest sibling, but to Heartshy this hatchling was bigger than her flitter, and that was saying a lot!

I'm Shivay, the dragonet told her.

With great relief, Heartshy said, "Why do I feel like you've been ready to hatch from the start?"

Because I was... I just don't like people watching me. Heartshy knew that feeling all too well, as they were the last on the sands. Plus she thought that there was more to this than met the eye.

"How do you feel about elves?"

Better.

"That's good. You have so many people to meet!"

They left the sands together, and the next batch of eggs actually started hatching almost just then! Heartshy almost wanted to watch that one too, but Shivay was tired and hungry, and wanted the attention that her bond could give.

Shivay and Heartshy prowled around the corridors of Lantessama's back area, both of them feeling like eyes were upon them - when none really were. Their exploration of the place continued until they came to a hallway that only the elfin woman was able to fit into.

"I guess that's as far as we go," Heartshy said, half sadly. "I wonder what's on the other side of that curve?"

I know - we can fly around it, I know I can carry you already.

"But Shivay, you're too young and the fledge masters haven't told us we can yet!" Heartshy said, she didn't want to get into trouble with the local leaders!

I can do it quietly - and besides, it is night time. They cannot see me in the night time! And you can almost see everything in the dark. Your eyes are very keen.

Heartshy blushed, and they scurried around to the nearest ledge. The corridor they found might lead all the way outside, so Heartshy left a little piece of stone that she marked as far in as she could reach - she'd find it if their hunch was right.

"How many times are you going to get into trouble, before you turn into a human?" Warmhand asked, with a grin. "I mean, you sure seem to have picked that up from them."

She knew that he was only joking, but in a way he was very right too. Heartshy and Shivay had certainly been in their share of close calls, scrapes and danger - and got caught only a couple times. Shivay claimed that her night flights and their narrow escapes were sharpening her skills - after all, they wouldn't be in nice protected territory like Lantessama all the time, would they?

"Nope," Heartshy said, packing her few pieces of clothing and looking around their den. "I am going to miss this place, even though it's all humans and big things..."

They make life interesting. And you know that all humans are not bad news. Shivay said, nodding her tall-crested head.

"I do know that. It's a lesson I wish that the humans at home could learn too." Heartshy sighed. Warmhand placed his fingers on her hair, moving a tangle out of it.

"They will learn eventually. They have many generations to learn what we can teach them. And if the message is the same all the time, how can they mix it up?" He said.

"Are we going home now?" Asked Orangepeel, his brightly colored green dragoness prancing about and getting nervous.

"Yes, we are," Warmhand announced, and they bid Lantessama Isle farewell. Heartshy though - she knew that she would return some day. She had come to love this place after just over a turn in their lands.

Perhaps she would go with a mate, perhaps she would come home with one? Who knew!