Xavier Xander Zoeller

He never realized how fun teaching could be. After the spirit seeker, Zhül, the focus of that one religious cult he'd never paid much attention to had selected to become their figurehead, had sort of opened up Zedd to new ideas a lot of folks like him had left the planet to pursue careers elsewhere. A lot of Zeddians became musicians, models, engineers and assemblers - their arms made all the difference! Some were of course more talented toward academic things, discussing philosophy with a variety of races and species they'd never encountered before.

Xavier glanced around and listened to those conversations - there were just as many deep subjects being discussed here in the Caffetorium at Carramba High than you'd find in a stuffy university on Zedd. Plus, he enjoyed the variety of responses any question might get. Tonight the subject seemed to be political gains versus moral fiber - does the good person always come in last?

Apparently on some worlds they didn't. But most, it was easier to get where you wanted to be by lying, cheating, stealing, embezzling and blackmailing, than by being a hard-working honest person.

Xavier sipped his coffee and looked at his watch. There was still time for another cup but he wanted to get going. There was a night course he wanted to get to, he'd been asked by Doc Sanger to show up and one rarely declined when he had that look in his eye... Well, the look that said 'you won't want to miss this', not the one that said 'if you miss this you're going to regret it'. They were very different looks and it was a good thing that Xavier had a grip on body and facial language.

The course was taking place in one of the teachers lounge areas, oddly enough. Xavier was about to feel like the odd man out, because it looked like everyone was sitting with a partner! He hadn't had time to see if there were any eligible fem-types in the area, he'd been concentrating on teaching for the whole 3 quarters he'd been around Carramba.

It wasn't going to be a real problem though, because very shortly, one of the superhero types came sidling up to him. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," Xavier replied, grinning. He towered over her - most Zeddians were more than a foot taller than typical Humans, he was hardly an exception. "I've seen you around."

"Yup," she said. "Rita," she extended her hand. As her eyes drifted down she noticed he had two sets of arms, so she extened her other hand too. Xavier laughed and they settled down near the other instructors for the class.

Doc Sanger normally taught this kind of thing in the summer, but this was a spring course and somewhat crowded. Xavier wondered why, but then he realized that this was no mere extention of his anatomy or posing classes! This was ... well!

Xavier looked around and suddenly it occurred to him that all the couples - at least the hetero pairs - the woman was pregnant! The Zeddian heard his name being said, and looked up blinking.

"Mister Zoeller here," Doc Sanger said with a grin, "is adept at manipulation, he gives a truly amazing massage I've heard - he'll be able to show you where you can press and where you shouldn't. Ah, and next to him is Rita the Retail Retali8r, I asked her to come just in case anyone managed to actually hurt themselves."

Rita grinned and rolled her eyes, "I think you'll find me enjoying Zoeller's massage technique, that's why I'm here tonight, you know. Aaand to heal folks," she sighed with a laugh.

Doc Sanger introduced the rest of the scattered staff to the folks taking the class, and they got to work. Normally, the course was a bit more... raunchy than this. It was about 'being intimate' to say the least, but this one he had extended specifically to the couples who, in the prior year's night classes, had managed to succeed in their goals of becoming pregnant! Xavier found that while he was a bit uncomfortable with the idea that all these folks would have gotten naked in class ... for the class... He also relaxed enough that he realized all these people were happy partners. They wanted to keep showing each other how much they loved one another, even though they couldn't actually... you know... do it...

But they could certainly give a kiss, caress the skin, soothe achy muscles! That was where he would come in, Xavier realized. His expert eye and the empathy he had used all his life gave him insight. The women who were farther along than others had the same kind of postures that shifted around - the small of their back must be really strained with six or seven extra pounds of offspring kicking their bladder...

Over the course of the night, Xavier visited about a dozen pairs of happily pregnant folks. He could demonstrate with one pair of hands in the air, while holding his other on the partner's own, gently pressing down. Speaking about how easy it could be to accidentally hurt her, Xavier explained clearly that the mother-to-be needed to always be vocal about what she felt. Draped over an armless chair, she could get a very nice massage that couldn't really be gotten while she was face-down.

Rita's services weren't needed during the class, which was nice - at least so she said, because she seemed to really enjoy being pampered for a while. After all she was a heroine and spent most of her time healing others!

"Well thank you all for coming, I hope to see some of you next month, but I would guess," Doc Sanger said looking over the front row of very pregnant women, "a few of you have an excuse not to come to class." That sent everyone out laughing, but Sanger kept the staff in the room with him.

"Thank you for coming," he said more formally, "I know this is going to sound odd coming from me, but I'd like to get some of you to come back and be more sociable. It's been hard for some offworlders to get to know others here at Carramba," he looked at Zoeller and another of the folks from the Nexus who taught a dragonning course. "Maybe if you knew you had something more in common with one another, you'd be able to loosen up a little."

While it did seem odd that a person who was well known to be able to kill something with nothing more than a toothpick (or even just by looking at them hard), the advice was good. Xavier stood up and said, "well then what is it that we will have in common, other than being bullied into helping with your class?"

Rita snickered at that, but Sanger grinned widely and looked behind him at a desk. He gave a little whistle. From behind the desk came a dog-like animal some three feet tall at the shoulder, furry but with feathery wings and multiple tails.

"Ooh, that's an Egyptan!" said someone. Whatever it was, it was pretty cute, Xavier had to admit. She strode around the room and seemed to appraise everyone there. She turned back to Sanger and said something in an exotic barking tone.

"She's going to help find you companions to raise," Sanger said. "You know, how having a pet walking in the park always gets other people to congregate?"

"I see!" Xavier said, "I have noticed that, erm, fem-types seem to like males who have a pet."

"Or a baby," Rita added with a snarky laugh.

"You do seem rather herd-oriented here," Xavier said and even Sanger had to stifle a laugh. "I would like to try raising one of these creatures," he said, "if I may?"

The Egyptan who sat beside Sanger tilted her head and nodded clearly once. Others also were intent on doing so, it would be interesting to see who among the staff would be coming to work with a little creature. There was already a full time daycare center for those who had children, and right beside it in the Admin building was a full time animal care area.

At that suite, a number of odd coccoons rested like little bowling pins along one specific wall. While most of them remained merely 'breathing' and softly swaying at most, one of them seemed to be quite active. It didn't take much of a nudge to get him to reach out and touch the pale silk object.

It was a brightly white and dramatically black little cub that emerged from the cocoon, and instantly endeared herself to the Zeddian. She seemed to purr rather than bark, which was enjoyable to both her new handler, and those around him. In the first couple weeks he would bring her to class, often holding her in his lower arms to make sure she didn't fall off desks or get into too much trouble. But soon enough she was able to climb and start flapping her paired wings.

The fact that she had two pairs of wings also made Xavier smile to himself quite often.

It was definitely true that having a 'pet' hanging around did draw new faces to him, and definitely didn't hurt that Dapper was friendly and confident. Being brought up in classes that had noisy students, noisy typing, strangely smelling ceramic clay and dyes, and a lot of shoulders needing to be gently massaged, Dapper held her own.

By the time Xavier was entering his second full year of teaching, they'd finalized some classes that had been sort of in flux while he was starting up. But now, his roster had three rather disparate classes to instruct! His favored massage technique classes, of course, would always be the ones that he got into the most. But then since he had enough fingers to go around, he was tapped for the Typing and Virtual Pod Use course, and if there was one thing that Zeddians did, it was use all their fingers all the time. The newest course on the roster though, was amusingly titled 'Dysfunctional Ceramics'. Why? Well, because first off it was designed to take the cast-off remnants, the broken projects, the not-quite-failures, anything that the other ceramics class discarded, and put them together into works of new art. Whether that was piecing together a fractured cup using gold or silver enamel, or re-powdering half worked clay so that they could use it again, it covered a lot of interesting aspects of art that he'd grown up around as a kid on Zedd.

Being the son of artists had its advantages anyway, but now he could leverage it into teaching kids how to pick up the pieces - literally - and continue on with their pursuits!

Dapper learned how to speak in her quiet and dignified high-pitched voice, though she did pick up a few scandalous terms and phrases... which he had to make sure she didn't use in polite company!

(continued below)

An odd shaped cocoon, warm to the touch, that drew Xavier to itself with a hum
	Dapper little cub!
Dapper not so little teen!
	Dapper as a beautiful elegant adult!

When, one day, a few of the newer instructors started looking at him for reasons other than to nudge their party along, Xavier got wind that it would be about dragons. It was hardly ever not about dragons these days! Dapper bumped up against his leg, her yellow eyes sweetly blinking. He didn't even need to hear her ask it.

"Yes of course you'll be coming along, this thing is supposed to be quite the event, and you're just perfect for it!!" Xavier held up the black and white invitation, it had instructions for him to show up with his powers at the ready, helping out at the Henna Art and Massage Table area. The Checkerboard Ball would definitely be a wonderful experience!

Name: Etor Zwitterion (EE tor zwi TEE ree on, last name for the entire clutch regardless of status; name is from chemistry, a molecule or ion having separate positively and negatively charged groups)
Gender: Male (partnered to Dapper)
Size: s/l/ws small, 3'7" s
Build: Sleek, foxy like his partner
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; Bonding is not required; sponsorships are likely, multibonding/pack is preferred, and non-human partners are likely
Colors: Black Pawn 8, steely grey body with white markings on face, belly, under tail, black tie marking on chest; chrome fur, shiny black and duller pale grey armor, fins on neck and shoulders tiny checkerboard, wingsails medium checkers; eyes faceted red-violet, claws light
Stats: Strength 1, Speed 3, Endurance 2, Agility 5, Health 2, Intelligence 2
Abilities: Winged Flight (3)
Teleportation Local (2), Nexus (3) Electric (4)
Communication - Singing (sonic manipulation / perfect pitch) (6), Telepathy (3)
Electric Sense (4), Breath Weapon (electric stun, 2), Computer Use / Control (4)
Parents: Donor Clutch Evocation Zone and Errick
Bond: Xavier and Dapper (multibond)
Meeting Notes: Since Xavier was taller than most at the Ball, he could easily look over the heads of dancers and small dragons alike. After any given Stage demonstration, between show bits, the orchestra would start up more formal dance music or whatever - and after that, every time, an influx of folks needing to be un-stuck from muscle seizures or just have those achy legs worked out. But there were more than enough attendants on hand (and hand and hand) to take care of things if one of them decided to wander the event floor. He didn't deny himself this fantastic luxury, the invitation specifically said be there to enjoy yourself! Even if he was an official part of the event's staff, that never stopped him from enjoying things!

It was obviously that attitude that caused one small half-Hathian dragonet to continue wandering past their booth when he was done at the casino or even out on the dance floor that one time. Xavier could easily tell the difference between these checkerboard-winged ones even if they were standing in a clump together waiting for a big delivery of food to be given to them. After all, Zeddians all came in those colors, and it was good to have such subtle differences seen in other species in shades of grey.

So he could tell that one in particular had snuggled up to Dapper first, and then by the end of the fullly scheduled event (not that Midnight would signify the end of the Event, but that only 'essential' things would continue being formally hosted) the little Zwitterion came up to him to ask, in a sing-song emulation of speech, "may I come home with you two?"

"Why of course you can!" Zoeller laughed, "You've even got a proper Zeddian name, don't you!"