As the dragons from Zekira would take flight, Vanya stopped now and again to watch them. Not as entranced as his offspring, his friends or even his rivals, Vanya watched with a bit of distance to his thoughts. They were - like everything - tools to most of the rich members of Zekiran society. They were tools to the poor as well. For if a properly Tuned Slave could get in with the right people they'd be able to buy themself out pretty quickly. Depending of course upon the number of alien attacks in their vicinity.

Because Vanya himself had been Bred to be intelligent, he could hardly help but understand why the attacks seemed to have no rhyme nor reason. The aliens wanted to see how each area reacted to their presence. Once, Vanya sat down and actually plotted out where and when their next assault would be.

He was right within ten miles and fifteen minutes. He warned the local area beforehand - he had relatives there (because let's face it, Vanya already had children, grandchildren and in some cases even great-grand children everywhere) and they took his message to the Dragon Masters. They were up in moments and engaged within minutes. Lives were saved, no one's Holdings were lost. But did anyone tell him he should consider a job in the Dragonry corps? No. They didn't bother to say anything. They'd had it covered, it was okay. Thanks for the offer.

Discouraged, but hardly unaware that this talent for mathematically asserting the locations and times of attacks would be valuable to him and his friends if anything, Vanya retreated to his Emer estate and traveled cautiously like everyone else. He continued to warn his own people. To the sea with anyone else.

His Behat facility was where he'd rather be - even though it was still cold like the Inheritance of Snow, it was not surrounded by high peaks. It was where he could go and actually collect some sunlight outside during his work day, unlike even in the middle of Summer at Emer, where the sun was blocked anyway.

But Behat was going to be under attack within weeks. Should he go? Risk being caught in an 'unexpected' attack?

Just to prove himself right, the BreedMaster arranged for a hovercraft down to the skyport, and picked up his laptop. He'd become increasingly dependant on it alone - since he didn't much care for the gossip-ridden Breeders Network, nor the buggy televid system. He could do his work anywhere with it, and make sure that his own systems were up to par.

Those systems worked pretty well still, at Alabaster. High Master Engell would still call once in a while to get maintenance done on it, since he'd never been able to find anyone else who could do it. Though they had parted company on fairly bad terms, Vanya and Engell were in the process of patching things up. Slowly. The fact that his spliced son Ten - with judge High Master Aeroch - was the person who figured out the aliens weakness, had gone a long way toward that goal. Vanya knew that Aeroch would never truly forgive him for the intrusion of genetics, but Vanya didn't much care. It was Engell that had always been the one Vanya needed more. The Judge wasn't high on his list of required contacts, if he wasn't doing the interrogations any longer. He wasn't needed there either. Well he didn't need either of them either.

Perhaps need was too strong a word, these days. Since Ten had been Raised and vaulted himself into history with the gusto that Vanya knew his fathers provided, and since many of Vanya's born-children were also accumulating dragons, Vanya would go out more often. He saw people he'd hardly been around for half a century. While he was still a bit afraid to be out and around lots of people, Vanya was getting socially more and more adept.

He'd been dragged to a Steed race, more than once. Still hated those big smelly sweaty furballs. He actually found the flights and races to be exciting, but the socialization before, during, and after... That was a pain. Parties with Mirage and Morgontain were enjoyable - but only to a point.

Still, he wasn't about to retreat into himself the way he once had. With the dragons making the society both more demanding of its Breeders and healers, which he was clearly qualified as both, his real services as a medicinal technician were more valuable than they ever were. It was with the dragons that the real tests came. Training the beasts was intense, dangerous work - and those people needed therapy for broken muscle tissue, bruised bones, internal injuries from falls or rolling. All the same things that Steed trainers went through - on a size scale almost fifty times bigger for certain dragons!

Vanya announced on the Healers net that he was available as an in-area Healer, so whenever he did travel he was technically "on call" for injuries or whatever a Healer would be patching up. Of course while he did those things eagerly he was always looking for good Breeding material. Genetics that others would dismiss as too common, he could coax truly fabulous results. Sterile? Since when was that a problem for Sixth Degrees like himself?

Perhaps he even did it just to get the reaction out of people - when he would treat them for a broken wrist, and he'd give them that weird up-and-down look, the "Breeder's Eye". They would glumly announce that they'd been sterile or only faintly fertile since their testing such-and-so many years before.

And he'd tell them, "why worry about that? I'm using bits and pieces of your DNA, not your whole cells. Who would you like to see children with?" Their eyes - uniformly - would grow wide with amazement, narrow with sudden disbelief, and then watery with gratitude when they learned that they'd be able to become a father or mother after all this time, just by donating some cells in return for - what - getting hurt in a dragoning accident?!

It was complicated - but well worth it.

Iva, bless her soul, had taken over most of the business end of the Breedings. Contracts signed, items filed away - it was Vanya's more favored job to work in the lab with the actual cell samples, not with some paperwork and a room filled with lawyers.

He was a terrible lawyer. That's what High Master Engell was for... Once upon a time...

***

Behat was busy, this time of year. The spring thaw had come just a few weeks before and everyone was all but in shorts and tank tops to celebrate. The temperature had gone well into "tepid". It was rarely "warm" here, but it was more than enough for those hardy folks who had been raised in the tundra-scaped city. Vanya thought them to be completely mad. Not that he didn't look appropriately great wearing any given piece of revealing clothing - he just thought it was too cursed cold to be parading about like that.

Breeders like himself ought not to do that. His mind drifted a bit toward one of his shared offspring with Aern, and realized that not all Breeders were like himself. Some were like Aevan. He'd be out there strutting about in a thong and feather boa if he thought it might win him some contracts or even just some praise.

Shaking his head, Vanya smirked and got to walking. He didn't care for carriages, and since Behat wasn't all that terribly large he could walk easily from the hoverport to his business site. He did have to check frequently that he was in the right place, his sense of direction was - like others of his 'breed' - abysmal. He enjoyed this walk, especially in this time of year. The variety of people about was strong, but there were not so many of them to overbear his delicate senses. He'd long since conquered the urge to simply kill every one of them. Fortunately.

But they were smelly, loud, insensitive and haphazard. He much prefered it when they came to him at his office...

As he walked, drifting a little off course to see what the deal was in a particular small park, Vanya remembered that the aliens were going to strike soon. He wanted to distract himself, wanted to make sure that he was in some safe place and that anyone he knew was also well and secure.

But he also wanted to see this performer that everyone had gathered around. She was pretty, not stunningly beautiful. Her skin was a rich shade of lemon-cream, with tiny dots of almost-invisible gold scattered over her face, shoulders and arms (and probably, he thought absently as a Breeder would about such things, her back, legs, stomach...). The way her straight spring-green hair danced about while she performed brought Vanya to a halt, holding his gear casually in the large side-bag that he carried. He could see that her eyes were a striking shade of orange-red, like that one kind of fruit that Ten claimed was delicious and sweet but only when it was fully ripe...

The girl was perhaps into her second decade at most. Vanya knew this by the fall of her hips, how her body behaved when she was at rest (which she was rarely it seemed), how her skin clung snugly to her chin and jaw, her lips were full and drawn into a broad smile.

She danced, a simple but energetic one-member performance. Spinning on her toe, then landing adeptly on her other foot. Bringing her knee to her chest and springing into the air, relishing the sunlight on her bright skin.

It was a lovely dance. It made Vanya forget about aliens, work, travel, or even that he was faintly hungry. It almost made him want to dance too. It had that effect on nearly everyone around her. Eventually, though, after dropping a dec or two into her collection bowl, most of the crowd had thinned and her dance wore down to an end. Exhausted, she bowed and thanked everyone still remaining, and went to collect her rewards.

Vanya still stood there, though, watching her. She barely broke a sweat, in all that time of strenuous exersize. She was healthy, but not overly cut with muscularity that said she didn't eat much - she had a good figure if a little young for his personal tastes.

She caught him staring at her, and noticed his Breeder's pin which glinted in the weak Behat spring sun. Her eyebrow went up a little, but she merely smiled at him and folded the pouch she carried for her money back into her satchel.

"It was a wonderful dance," Vanya said when she was about to turn and leave. His voice stopped her, she turned mid-stride and waited, her head tilted slightly and a faint smile on her full lips. She took the moment when Vanya was trying to consider what he would say next, to tie back her long hair. "Are you tested for psionics?"

She began to say something, "I - er," but then realised that he hadn't asked her whatever it was she'd been expecting. Clearly she got at least one or two people during her outdoor performances who would ask one or two questions repeatedly. This was not among them. She smiled, nervously. "Not that I know of, I've been told I can have children but I..."

"I was wondering if you were aware that you manipulate emotions," Vanya said still with a smile on his lips. "Gently, subtle, not as though you're attacking anyone."

Why would he say that, she wondered, but then the realization that what he said was important, sunk in. "I ... I didn't even realize it. Is it possible?"

"To not know you have that kind of power? Of course it's possible, most people don't realize they have a power until it springs upon them." He stood a little closer, because he realized this wasn't the kind of conversation most strangers like to have out in public. No one was really paying much attention to them, perhaps the drinks vendor with his cart over on the other corner. "You have beautiful skin markings."

That actually surprised the young woman. "You... noticed them?"

"Yes - they're quite pretty, I can see why you seem surprised, though," Vanya looked at her oddly with a bit more of a smile, "I can see them, not so many others have, I take it?"

She shook her head, and smiled broadly. "You're a Breeder, are you in town for the spring festival?"

Now it was Vanya's turn to be surprised. "I ... not really, I have a clinic and Breeding House here, I ..." He recovered quickly, "would you mind terribly if I asked you to come with me to this festival?"

***

Even though the aliens did attack during the festival, there were few injuries and everyone continued their celebration indoors most of the week. Vanya discovered that the Free Worker's name was Tiniil, that she was steps away from Bayaran due to her elder brother's gambling debts.

"Will you help him out, should he ask?" Vanya asked. Tiniil nodded, but didn't look all that happy about the situation.

"He's a fool to keep gambling. Even when he's Bayaran he still does it." She sighed, and sipped at the cold juice drink that Vanya's servant provided. His facility was huge, but it didn't seem much to Tiniil like a 'proper' Breeding House. It was more like a collection of family members offices, a warehouse where she was not allowed to enter, and a big courtyard where she assumed large parties could be held. She was enjoying her stay with the Breeder, largely because he hadn't yet tried to sell her anything or get her to pay for things she couldn't afford. There was a strangely palpable relief that Vanya detected whenever they resolved such things.

"I'd like to test you for further mutations, Tiniil," Vanya said almost at random. He felt the apprehension build, and at least he could identify all the things her mind could throw around, because he'd been victimized by others who were strong empaths. There had not been a really bad emotion from her in the entire week. A bit of annoyance here, some trepidation there, and the occasional fear of losing money - that played high whenever she spoke about her brother. Tiniil tilted her head and got a strange look on her face. "I'm not asking you to pay for it, I just want to run the tests. I can afford that much," Vanya said, smiling and pushing his long brown fingers through his ebony black hair.

Perhaps he'd said that just to feel the wave of relief that came over from her side of the table. The courtyard was covered, but the ceiling had vaulted glass panes in it, letting in all kinds of natural light, and a nice view of the cloudy sky. She looked up at the sky and smiled a little. "Okay, but I don't see the point. It doesn't seem like I can control my ... ability... not even as well as my brother can control his gambling."

Eventually, later that day, Vanya stood quietly over the sample cells and smiled to himself. Tiniil had gone home for the night, though he was far more interested in keeping her close by than he wanted to admit. Her soothing happiness and simple delight at things they saw and did while at the festival was such a change from the everpresent worry and strife that he'd lived through years before.

Her mutations were subtle and low-powered. An empathic strain that he identified went along with the markings on her skin, he compared them to the markings on her brother - who since he was slightly older had been tested more thoroughly by Breeders and his results of course were available on the Net - and found that his own power worked practically in reverse. Muttering to himself, Vanya thought that Tiniil got the best end of that deal. Her brother Narul was as genetically gullible as they came...

But there was something more to her too, a latency that would help out greatly. She was Dragon Tuned, well, she was Tuned to reptiles. Not quite strong enough in ability to get herself a good job working with dragons, but certainly enough that Vanya then started scanning the local Network for available men.

Behat, it seemed, was not as full of Tuned male fertiles as he'd hoped. There were a handful, certainly every city would have a small number who met the criteria for his search. Sadly not nearly as nice as he wanted. But there was one, a Membayar by the name of Chul, that was registered as staying in one of the local hospital facilities for a broken foot. Under the guise of his medical degree, Vanya could go and check him out on the sly.

As though Vanya Sengihr did anything 'sly' - sadly he was still painfully obvious when he was attempting to do most social things. Though he was raised by those who had the talent, he was never afforded a real chance to practice. Morgontain was always saying how he needed to get to more of her parties and show off that brilliant smile, but honestly - when he was at parties most of the time he just wanted to hide in a corner and watch.

He made his way to the hospital and found out what suite the Membayar was staying in. Vanya cruised awkwardly by the room twice before Chul simply called out to him. "What is it you want?"

Pausing, just on the other side of the large open wooden doors, Vanya weakly smiled to himself and then turned the corner into the room. He could in fact pour on the charm individually - his brilliant smile lighting his darkly brown face. "Actually I'd like to speak with you about a Breeding project."

"I'm married," Chul said abruptly. Vanya's eyebrows furrowed, a creasing frown moving over his mouth.

"And.... that means you can't --"

"My wife is ... adamant about it. Several other Breeders have contacted me over the years and ... It just doesn't work that way with her." He sighed. Though he was laid up in a large comfortable bed with his right foot in a huge cast, Vanya could see enough of him to know why any Breeder would go out of their way to get Chul. His dark green skin was shiny with a metallic look to it, he had green-tinted bronze gently curly hair, and piercing orange eyes that stood out brightly over his skin. He had a strong, square jaw, his somewhat heavy set body looked more like a Free Worker's who'd been doing nothing but lifting - it was rare to see a man of his Status with that kind of muscularity. He wore it well, Vanya thought. Chul had a deep baritone voice, and what looked to be perfectly straight teeth. All in all, a Breeder's dream of 'good looking manly man'.

What Vanya wanted was in his genetics, though. He'd snooped his way through Chul's family tree and discovered that three cousins and two nephews somewhat removed, were all Dragon Tuned properly, plus an uncle whose entire line were Animal Masters. That put him in an ideal spot to enhance Tiniil's latency. Plus their appearances would coincide nicely.

Finally, after what Chul thought was an awfully long pause, Vanya said, "she doesn't need to know about it..."

***

"Frankly even if she does look over my payments and accounts," Master Chul said, "she'll only notice that I didn't pay all that much to be in the hospital and leave it at that."

Tiniil sat a bit uncomfortably in the corner, watching the two men. Vanya briefly explained before she got there that her empathy tended to overflow into people, and that he should be prepared to feel something from her. If it wasn't coming from his own head, it was her - nothing to worry about.

"So it'll just be ... Just like that?" Chul asked, and Vanya nodded. "And you'll..."

"I will make a discreet announcement to you." Vanya heard a snorting giggle from Tiniil in the corner, and the worry was suddenly broken up by a giddy mocking. "I will have my daughter Mistress Breeder Iva send a discreet announcement to you," Vanya corrected himself. He glanced at the laughing Tiniil and back at the somewhat confused Membayar. "She's only known me for two weeks and already she knows I can't handle things like that."

Eventually Chul reminded them that his wife would be coming to visit him, so they had to clear out. He'd donated a little earlier, just after they signed the contracts. There would be no 'relationship' with his offspring, certainly it would only be up to him whether it would Inherit or not - and brought up by either Vanya or Tiniil. All this in exchange for the price of his hospital stay and foot pain management.

A pretty good deal, to anyone's eyes. Tiniil commented on their way out to the carriage back to his facility, "I think he did it just to prove to himself that his wife doesn't control everything about him."

"I just cannot believe anyone would be so selfish," Vanya said. "She's fertile enough, but to stifle him..."

"She wants the whole Inheritance," Tiniil said with confidence. She was right, of course. Where money was concerned, in fact, Tiniil was remarkably adept. In the carriage, she duly noted Vanya's motion sickness and was glad when the ride was over. She was getting queasy just from him trying to distract himself. Or maybe - her empathy was starting to develop more fully?

Though when they did get back into the facility, Tiniil paused and looked oddly at Vanya with her head tilted a little. He returned the curious look and felt the faint disappointment in her.

"What is that look for?" He asked.

"Well.... I thought... I guess I'm really naive to think it but-"

"That you were going to be paired up with me, when I offered you Breeding?" Vanya said, smiling widely. A surprised laugh later, Tiniil nodded with a blush on her cheeks. "Tiniil, you're very young. You've got many years of life ahead of you. There will be time for that later." He assured her, placing his long arm over her shoulder and guiding her into the labs.

***

Tiniil seemed almost overwhelmingly pleased with the idea that since she'd donated cells in the lab, her child wouldn't actually be implanted back into her body for a while as Vanya played with it. Meaning, apparently, that since she'd made the first move (that of even asking why he wasn't choosing himself first) they were in the clear to do ... whatever it was that came to mind.

That was quite a bit more energetic than Vanya expected, and while they exhausted themselves on each other, he realized that Tiniil was quite a catch in most respects.

She was young, vital, healthy, pretty, smart, and adept. She was available. When they were laying in a warm heap in the suite where Vanya usually stayed at in the north end of the facility (a nice set of smallish rooms that were somewhat sparsely appointed but had a pleasant arrangement of chairs, bed, tables and mirrors), the Breed Master summoned the voice to ask, "would you like to work for me?"

She sat up (wincing because her thigh muscle had cramped up a couple times that afternoon) and looked at him with curiosity flowing freely from her mind. "Why? What could you need me for? I'm a dancer!"

"You're ... really good with money, Tiniil," he admitted, "and you ..." Here he stopped. He wanted her near him because she relieved the worry and stress that had accumulated over the years in his mind. He needed her to seep out the bad feelings and fill the rest of him with good.

Tiniil's powers chose that moment to flare up.

Her ruddy orange eyes widened, and she touched her fingers to her lips. "You..." she whispered, "you've ..."

Vanya backed away instantly, giving her some room. It would become a terrible feedback loop of his past and her perception if he didn't. He knew that, because it had happened the first time that way with his Psyche Healer Mihr. But nothing more than Tiniil's worried look came of it. Momentarily, Tiniil sat back down and smoothed her straight hair over her shoulders. "You have something to tell me?" Tiniil asked, more to coax him into speaking again, than really her own need to know.

"I've been through some ... bad times. My Breeder was exiled for it. He'd done it to a dozen or more just like me. It was exhausting. Horrible." Vanya pulled in a slow deep sigh. "He made it so that I ... I just accept mental manipulation. When I first felt drawn to you it was becuase your power was going over the whole crowd. But it affected me more deeply because of that."

"I'm sorry! I didn't realize I--"

"It's not a bad thing, Tiniil," Vanya said, moving his fingers over her hand. She clutched onto them suddenly.

"Then ... I still don't understand." Her glimmering eyes shone in the dim evening light. Even though it was spring, Behat's days were always quite short.

"I need to have you keep me happy instead of miserable. ... The job would pay pretty well," he added with a grin. "Iva's going to want to talk it over with you, she does all my real contracts." That lapsed into a silly conversation about how poor he was with money concerns, and with how Tiniil and Chul's contracts were written up already as a fill-in-your-name kind of thing. To Vanya's relief, she agreed to work. To his amazement, she wanted to celebrate by having more sex...

***

The implanted fetal cells took well, Tiniil was what Vanya had hoped for - an ideally suited physical specimin. Not Hyperfertile like himself, but actually suited toward proper child bearing. Not that she seemed even faintly interested in being a mother. With that in mind, and her contract written adequately to reflect it, Vanya Owned the offspring - as any 6th Degree Breeder did when they played splice-the-dna-strand.

She had no trouble with that, was not uncomfortable with the idea that she'd have to part with her child while he - they knew it to be a he - grew up. She seemed more interested in the jobs that Vanya did, than anything else. When she met Iva, she apparently impressed the dark-green woman enough that there was no complaint about the arbitrarily high amount of money Vanya would be paying her to stick around.

The full title of Tiniil's job read something like, "mood enhancement/protection individual" - or in more conventional terms, an emotional bodyguard. Since she lived in Behat in a rented apartment with her sometime-Freeworker brother, sometimes she would go home for the evening. Sometimes she would remain. Whenever Vanya traveled, she was there as a kind of human-shaped security blanket. And since she'd rarely seen the things that Breeders and other higher Status folks did and saw on a regular basis, her sense of wonder and amazement wore quickly onto Vanya until he actually would go out to meetings with a smile on his face and a lilt in his long step.

It was six months into her pregnancy, just over halfway through, when Narul made a terrifying announcement. He'd blown something like a year's worth of wages that he didn't have yet, on a Steed race. Not even having enough to actually set his bet, he'd had to borrow money from one of the local Lords - who truly detested the idea of working for a living, and that sentiment seemed to be seeped into Narul.

"I'm going to take the Bond," he told her over the vidphone, "and I already arranged that thing we talked about. It'll go quick though, High Master Dharvek said it'd only be about five years."

Vanya wasn't even in the room - he was touching up the strands of dna to some thesis work he was making. But abruptly, all of that ceased to matter. He put down the nanobot tools and walked stiffly and quickly into the communication room. He saw the end of their short conversation, the golden-yellow skinned brother with his darker grassy green hair and yellow toned eyes smiling like a buffoon as the connection died.

Tiniil stood shivering in the middle of the warm room, her hands wrapped around her shoulders and offering herself no comfort. Vanya came to her side, his heart racing almost as fast as hers. Placing his long fingers over hers on her round shoulder seemed to give her a little relief, but then she turned and buried her tear-stained face into his chest.

"I already s-signed," she sobbed, "what an idiot! I should never have signed for him as a supporting member..." Guaranteeing the indebted Bayaran company on his stint working for someone else - legally binding anyone who signed, into that contract. She was the only one foolish enough - or as she hoped to call it, "kindly" enough - to sign on. Their parents and one half-sister had no part in it. With good reason.

"Five years!" She cried, "and that's with both of us working! I can't do that! I'm -"

"You are working for me," Vanya said calmly, "and you will continue to do so. I'll speak with Iva about this. What did he say the High Master's name was?"

"Dh-Dharvek," Tiniil said. She'd calmed down a little, now that Vanya was clearly in control of this. She may be smart in matters of money, but hopeless in terms of conscious control of people. Vanya escorted her out to the courtyard where she could watch the sky darken. It didn't do much for her mood - but it got Vanya out of the line of fire from her emotional barrage.

***

Vanya paced gently around, not like he was interrogating someone, but more like an annoyed lawyer. Iva and Tiniil were in another room, and High Master Dharvek, Narul and Vanya were in the main office discussing the contract.

"It's acceptable to me," Dharvek said seriously, "but you should know that he's a risk."

"Not while working for me he won't be," Vanya said ominously. He looked at the young man, older than his sister Tiniil by seven years, and Narul moved around uncomfortably below that sapphire gaze. "It's in the contract, that if you do any gambling - any - while working for me and my agency, you will immediately be forfeit to Permanent Bond."

"It's - I can't - that isn't fair!" Narul sputtered. "You can't do that!"

"Actually," Dharvek said with a faintly predatory purr in his voice, "I would have suggested it if he hadn't put it into the contract already. This is what, the seventh, eighth time you've become Bayaran? That's twice what I'd allow someone in a bigger city to do before that move."

Subdued, but still a bit angry at the development, Narul said, "well it's hardly fair that people with all the money keep it to themselves anyway. You'd just do it to get out of paying me for work."

Not that you've done any, Vanya thought harshly to himself. "You should think of it as being your one last chance to keep your records clean, Bayaran Narul," he commented sternly, "If you screw this one up you will never be allowed the chance to screw up again. I'd sell you to someone I'd trust would not give you any extra spending money. Slaves aren't worth that kind of hassle."

At that, an odd expression went over Narul's face. "You'd - you would separate my sister and me? You would do that to her?"

With that said, Vanya gave off a loud snort. "Narul, you've screwed her life up more times than necessary already. The farther away from her you are, in my opinion, the better." He nodded. "Right now, Narul, you have absolutely no bargaining muscle. If you serve me well in your Bayaran you'll be rewarded. But I do not intend to have you slacking off and doing nothing at all for your income."

"You picked up my sister when she was jobless! She just dances in the park for gratuities! That's hardly a job!"

"She works for me doing me a tremendously important service now, thanks to her ability to dance in public," Vanya said. "And besides that, she will not be helping your situation. She's been written out of that contract. It's all up to you, whether you sink or float."

Vanya gave High Master Dharvek an elegant bow, bidding him a pleasant trip home. As the High Master left, Vanya noted the small quirkly smile on his lips, he knew that he'd just gotten the better end of the deal. Narul would certainly become a Slave sooner or later. It wasn't going to be to him - so much the better. Whether Vanya could get a full day's work out of the man was not his problem!

As though nothing had happened, Vanya and Tiniil continued with her work and checkups, while Narul was required to work off his Bayaran. The amount of money that he'd owed this Agency was monumental, at least at the local level. Vanya knew perfectly well that Owners and High Holders were capable of racking up some debt that exceeded his own yearly take on a good Breeding season! What fools, he thought.

Tiniil's pregnancy went without flaw, and it was soon enough - almost Spring again - when she was finally unwilling to budge from her room.

"I'm huge! Is that Membayar's offspring going to come out fully adult!?" She laughed. She was in good spirits but her back ached (Vanya applied his expert fingers to nerves and soothed her) and she had to pee constantly (he sadly couldn't do much about that!) as well as the bouts with sudden emotional outbursts (which no one could do anything about). In the time she was pregnant they were able to determine all manner of things about the child.

Since Vanya was able to manipulate the genetics before hand, he made certain that the Tunings the boy would have would show up quickly and solidly. Though he wasn't going to be a world-shattering powerful psionic, this child would clearly be strong enough to be tagged as Tuned right off. Normally psionics appeared during puberty, but with many animal and dragon Tunings they appeared earlier, often at birth or in childhood.

Vanya made sure there were no physical deformities - not that there was much of a chance of it from the promising genes that both parents gave him. Even so, Tiniil's pregnancy went on and they continued to check up on her. It became clear that the child would be Tuned just by bringing Tiniil to a party and sort of waving her around at the Dragon Breeder there.

So it was for the last month of Tiniil's pregnancy. She had continued to work as long as she could, but eventually even Vanya had to admit that it was time to just let her waddle through the Clinic and make all the waves she had to, to get it off her mind. One thing that wasn't particularly on anyone's mind, was Narul.

Though they should have been paying some attention. Having been working on a ranch house, planting trees and moving rocks (an appropriately physical job, for someone who needed to keep his hands anything but idle), he had met a man who claimed to be quite good at getting around contracts. Maybe he could do something, work something out. But of course, for a price.

Everything on Zekira had its price, after all. So Narul waited until his sister was in labor (though it was pretty clear he didn't know it at the time of course), and took his current earnings (including that which was intended to pay off his debt), and gambled them away.

The story he told Vanya a week or two later, when his debt-pay was due, was that he was trying to get some more money to get Tiniil a nice present and something for the baby - how was the baby, was he okay? Did he come out all right?

But while Vanya knew he was lying, it was Iva (always present at such things to make sure they went smoothly) who lost her temper.

"Narul, we know why you were doing it. Dovan?" She called, and Narul jolted. His 'partner in crime' was here? The long-faced dirt-colored man came into the room with an odd expression on his face. It wasn't judgemental, and it wasn't shamed. He almost looked proud of himself. "Worker Dovan explained to us that you wanted to steal your paperwork and change it," Iva said - to the shock of Narul, who went from glancing nervously at Vanya, to angrily at Dovan.

"Why would he have said something like that?" Narul started to say, but Iva cut him off with a sharp mental nudge.

"Because it's the truth." Dovan said, "if I'd known who you were talking about, stealing this stuff, I would never have even spoken to you. The BreedMaster saved my sister's life, she'd have been infertile from an accident, if not for him." He looked at the Breeder, "she's had two chidren since then, BreedMaster! Two!"

"Well be certain to pass on my congratulations, Dovan," Vanya said, bowing. The Freeworker exited, none too quickly for Narul's taste.

Vanya's face moved from a pleasant cheer looking at the door and his ex-Bayaran, to glaring at Narul. "You know this finishes your contract, and puts you into my Hard Stock."

"You wouldn't!" Narul said. "You don't  - you don't believe him do you?" He had stood up, begun pointing and pacing.

"Of course I believe him, he spent two years in Bayaran to me, helping his sister to pay off her debt. Excellent with plants, that boy. I kill them, they'd just--"

"Father," Iva said, then turned back to Narul. "You signed the contract specifically stating that you would not gamble."

"I ... I'd saved that money, it was mine! I can do whatever I want with it! You--"

"Your contract," Iva said, tossing it hard onto the nearest desk, "states that any gambling, regardless of whose money, or how it was gained, cancels your Bayaran and enters you automatically into Permanent Bond. Two witnesses signed. I suggest you remain calm and collect your things, Slave Narul. You're going to be moving into the Clinic's quarters."

***

Narul stayed away from his sister, when he knew she was in the Complex. Perhaps out of embarrassment, but more likely out of anger. She knew he blamed her for his problems - her! Somehow he had managed to justify it in his own mind. Anyone with a hint of mental spying ability, like Iva, could easily tell what was churning around in the man's mind.

He was kept busy with more gardening work, while he wasn't great at it, he wasn't good at anything else either. Especially gambling and ways of money, so in order to get his money's worth from the young Slave, Vanya just made sure never to put money near Narul.

By the time that Chiitil was around six months old, and more and more Alien attacks were happening, Vanya knew what he had to do with Narul's nephew. It was a little early for him to really be removed from Tiniil, though she was aching to get back to work and to dance. She claimed she was utterly out of shape, Vanya disagreed vocally - especially when she had to chase the little spotted, greenhaired child around her quarters to change his diapers.

"I'd like to bring him up more quickly," Vanya said, guiding Tiniil through the breeding vats where embryonic and foetal stage offspring were being stored for whatever uses he seemed to have. They were sometimes donations, sometimes experiments, all of them wholly Owned by the Breeder. He would never dream of injuring one of them, but he also knew when they became aware of themselves - all Breeders had to know that much.

"But ... what do you mean, quickly, he's growing so fast as it is," Tiniil said with an exhausted grin. She carried her son around in a harness on her back, and he looked with brightly orange eyes at everything.

"He's Tuned for dragons, Tiniil," Vanya said. He indicated a larger room with half a dozen full-sized medical vats. Sometimes they were used as hybernation chambers for heavily injured people, but... "I'd like to grow him. I have done it many times before, with exceptional results."

"Age him, you mean," Tiniil said with a faint frown. By now, Vanya was very used to her emotional controls, and felt her reaching for him with them. "But... why?"

"Because he's needed, if not guiding dragons to battle, then at the very least, here at the Complex to help keep us safe."

Tiniil took in a low breath. "You've been doing more calculations, haven't you?"

Vanya nodded. "Within a year, this whole area will be targeted like the desert was before. It's different here, it's not just snow and stone. Out in the desert they have lots of dragons to keep the foot troops away, but here? There are cities, roads, clear signs of civilization for the aliens to attack. They've been working up to it. I would guess that Ri'iri would be first."

"No," Tiniil said, with a strange look on her face. "Lantu. There are mines there, weapons made there."

Vanya's expression changed from surprise to something more: "Tiniil, how do you even know that?"

"I... I saw it in your memories, High Master Engell's place. I ... I know I wasn't supposed to see it but you know how I am." She thought he would be tremendously angry with her, but instead, Vanya nodded.

"Yes, you saw it, it's a good thing too. I had almost forgotten about it. It isn't the kind of thing I often find myself dwelling upon. Tiniil, give me the boy, let me set this up. I have to speak to him about this."

As she reluctantly handed over her first child to Vanya, she said, "him, who?"

"Engell. I owe him that much, if there's to be fighting done, he'll be able to provide everyone with the right equipment, and if that's lost I don't know what will happen."

***

"You lead such a complicated life, Vanya," Engell said with half a grin on his pale face. He looked more seriously at the numbers and paperwork before him, that Vanya had printed out before leaving for Fi'ir. "So... these are all your older predictions."

"And the final results as far as I could find them," Vanya said. "And do not ask me why I haven't brought this all to the attention of the 'authorities', they already proved useless."

"They ignored you?" Engell said, "that's ... well, stupidity is probably not all they had to worry about. If they had a schedule of events, people would wonder about it."

"True," Vanya said. "But now, with the possibility of attacks coming through Altem and Polaen..."

Engell looked at the large map on the office wall. It wasn't a normal map, with Areas or Zones on it. It was a mining map, with rivers and waterways, airflow and concentration of ores in varying colors. He scanned the Curran continent, and nodded slowly.

"With an attack at Lantu, not only would most conventional mining operations come to a halt, but there would be considerable pollution coming down the mountainside into the lowlands. Astel and Frea would be devistated even if never hit with a single shot." Engell saw all kinds of things on the map that neither Vanya nor Tiniil could. "They would be free to bomb or land, nearly anywhere around that area."

Tiniil could feel the High Holder's mental defenses from where she sat, he was so much stronger than she, but even then she could tell he was agitated. She tried to give off a little comfort, like she'd do for Vanya. Engell's blue eyes flickered toward her from the map, but he didn't try resisting her. He knew she meant well, that was what Vanya hired her to do, and far be it from him to interfere.

"So what... will we do?" Vanya said. "I must admit that I am at a loss, Engell. Without compromising your ... operations there, how can it be defended properly?"

"Well I do have my own fleet of Dragon Masters," Engell smirked, then shook his head. "But I've got to think about it. What is the time scale here?"

"Two years, at most, before they begin waves. Three for a full scale invasion with foot patrols and land machinery. I think they learned a bit from their excursion into Kiran, but this isn't Kiran. The terrain is different, they know that no Desert dragons await their foot soldiers."

"Stone dragons then," Engell said, "but there aren't nearly enough of them in that area. There are ... three breeding houses for Stone Dragons near Lantu, I'll arrange some nests to be ... encouraged."

"Tiniil's son is going to be a Dragon Master," Vanya said, "though I don't know how Tuned he will be to Stone dragons. I would be willing to buy one if you've got them arranged."

"You won't need to," Engell said. He leveled a serious face toward his ex-employee. "We don't have to worry about give and take, Vanya, both of us have made the mistake of thinking that the other will want something in return. We already have done that. When the time comes there will be defense for you, in Behat if you wish it, and in whatever other Holdings you need. I know you'll be ready to work with me if you are needed." He looked again at Tiniil, then back to Vanya with a mysterious faint smile. "Her child, eh?"

"Not mine," Vanya said rolling his own eyes. "Not yet."

***

Within three months, with a process of 'remove-train-reinsert', Chiitil was grown up to around age twelve. That was old enough to earn pay if he passed any exams outside of his Slave status, or begin paying for Bayaran if he were Bonded. Having learned from prior experiences, Vanya removed the boy constantly - at least once a week - in order to aquaint Chiitil with the world as his brain expanded. He learned to walk before going in, but he was in need of strength training now after being removed the final time. He had learned to read and do simple math at week five, but speech would come with hard work and intense concentration.

While the boy grew, Engell was on the prowl for any kind of defenses that he could get. As a High Holder he could easily afford to have the walls of his Holds reinforced, but he had to be careful still who he hired to do the work for his mining and extraction facilities. People asked questions all the time, he had to make sure that he could trust they would not blurt anything out if they learned answers.

It was true that he did have his own cadre of riders, not the least of which was a bodyguard he picked up along the way, Telis, who was ready to guard the Lantu site with her life and that of her gigantic and colorful off-world dragon. But the Stone dragons were slow in coming, and even Engell was getting a little worried.

Ten, that wonder child that Vanya had created, came through yet again. "I've located a new ... sort of dragon."

"A new type?" Engell said, but Ten shook his head and laughed.

"A sort-of dragon. It is draconic, but not like any that I've seen before. And surly, like a pack of Hern rats on a bad day."

"Wonderful!" Telis erupted with a raucous laugh, startling both Tiniil and her son Chiitil at the big conference table. "Can I meet one?"

"You've got your hands full," Ten reminded her, and she waved him off. "I was more thinking Chiitil here ought to do it."

The boy looked a bit shocked, still unable to really control his expressions as he wasn't quite willing to sit in front of a mirror and make silly faces at himself. "Me? Why me!? I'm just a kid!" He glanced at his mother and Vanya, "I mean, I'm only less than a year old!"

That broke the tension at the big black table, even Engell gave a chuckle. Others were there, not just Engell's private friends or associates. Business partners, family he didn't admit to having. The Blackstones, Skye (his father) and Hollis (his half-brother), along with a number of High Holders who had land interests in the Lantu mines. They were closer now, than they had been months before when Telis had to run off a number of little operations - Engell had these men and women buy out the smaller shares outright, keeping anyone who wasn't an Alabaster or Blackstone from the mountain side for the time being.

"But you're the most appropriate among us," said Suzerinne Teyia, "you're Tuned properly, it's what you're meant to do." She seemed about to add something about being a Slave and doing what he's told to do, but realized that it was true: Vanya had sped up the child's aging and he really hadn't had time to learn how to be a proper Slave. He probably never would, especially if he had any aptitude with dragons.

Chiitil nodded, "I know, I was just joking. I want to see them, HighMaster Ten, could I do that?"

"I'll take you, and you if you wish, Vanya, Tiniil," Ten offered. "Arumdaoth is more than large enough to support you all."

So they'd finally agreed. First they went back to the Behat home and collected the things they'd be needing.

And Narul. They collected him. They had to, he was starting to yammer about rebellion and escape and all manner of things which would get him imprisoned if he tried them. His sister was barely able to contain his anger, and his mouth, on their trip through the Nexus.

***

Ten knew perfectly well that Vanya would have trouble on their journey but he hardly expected this young woman (just shy of half his own age) to be so expert in handling his motion sickness and distress at the height they flew. That had, after all, been Ten's job for some years before being Freed. But now, on their way to a subsidy of Cy Dragonstake which was geared to handling these creatures and getting them involved in activities at the Dragonstake, Ten almost felt nostalgic for those days. He was a right manipulative bastard, this child, and he knew perfectly well that Tiniil would never seek to harm Vanya - not even if he wanted her to. Ten half thought about offering to do it again for him in private...

Perhaps if he'd been paying more attention to his other passengers, Ten would have seen the unabashed expression of shock on Chiitil's face...

They swept through the air on the long yellow-golden Vella Crean born dragon, Arumdaoth bugled proudly to announce their arrival.

The equinoid creatures who ran the Eakishi ring that Ten had contacted looked up and waved, and in the skies they saw some rather bizarre looking draconic creatures flying angrily around. It wasn't obvious to the travelers that these weren't local creatures, there were dozens of different kinds of dragons at Cy. But they weren't local at all, nor were the people tending them while the Cy folk got their own bearings on the breed.

As the big gold dragon landed, Tiniil had to coax Vanya down with her strong hands. He was not shaken by the creatures approaching, he'd Bred people that looked like them. No, it was simply that now he was exhausted from the trip and his senses had to have time to settle down.

"I'm going to find... a place to lay down," Vanya said in a hoarse whisper. Ten glanced around suddenly and gave a whistle to one of the locals.

"My companions need places to stay, for at least a short while. Two rooms, connected if you can?" He asked, and the Waizu nodded. He collected all but Chiitil and Ten, and gave long looks at the big gold dragon who'd brought them here.

"Well here they are," Ten said, "the Eakishi. What do you think?"

The young vat-aged child stared with wide eyes at the stiff-winged dragons that spat and hissed and howled.

"They really are like a pack of wild Hern rats," he said.

***

Vanya slept off the trip with a half-fitful rest, he was still excited to be on another world, after all. His mind wanted to see things, ask questions, find out new information - but his body betrayed him at times like these, after travel. When he did finally wake, he found Tiniil there beside him as always.

"I will never complain about a carriage ride again," Vanya said with a grin.

"I think it's time you saw these Eakishi, I've seen them and Chiitil thinks they're amazing. I believe they'd be exceptional at guard duty... If he can make them behave."

"So he does show some interest? And promise with his Tunings?" Vanya asked about the boy's behaviors while he dressed, and was happy with the results. When put into a situation with dragons - or even 'something kind of like dragons' - Chiitil became a very smooth operator indeed. He was careful and attentive, almost physically sensing the creatures around him. He didn't let any of them get behind him, he always looked them right in the eye. Those were the traits of a well-trained Dragon Master, certainly.

Or a madman - in a herd of Hern rats, the last thing you'd want to do is make eye contact... But they fortunately were not. These Eakishi had an odd arrangement of wings and legs, clearly built for fighting but not necessarily riding. Their tails were large, shaped like a paddle - and their neck? Had holes in it, which Vanya quickly assessed were used for breathing and communication vocally. They made the oddest sounds while flying...

And they were ornery things. Vanya had never seen such impressively angry animals. Well, that wasn't really true.

They reminded him of himself, when cornered by his Breeder Jonbyer so many years ago.

He instantly liked the idea of taking one home. Chiitil obviously would get on well with one or two of them - maybe one to start of course. He was quite small still, and wouldn't it be great to have one of these things - which were about the same size in height and length if not weight and build, as a Stone dragon on Zekira - just decide it wanted him for a big lunch?

By the time Chiitil grew into adulthood - he'd be burly, very strong due to his sire's health and musculature. But not as tall as Vanya - though on a whim Vanya wondered whether they would be evenly matched for a fight. Perhaps it was all these aggressive beasts around him, Vanya wouldn't normally have thought such a thing - particularly not with Tiniil being right there.

"They're really great," Chiitil shouted over the din of the pen he was in. "They fight over there, see that big arena thing? And this is where they train em! Hi mom!"

He waved, and then simply turned back to his weird conversation with the local keeper.

"Well I suppose they will do," Vanya said, as Ten arrived with a smile.

"We'll have to wait a little bit, there is a nest of them but we're waiting to see how many will be sold off or made available. There might be one for you this time." Ten said. "But it might be a couple weeks."

"Good," Vanya said. "Because I'm so ready to get back home through that Nexus of yours..."

***

"Now what in the world is this?" ** said, putting down his paperwork and looking up to see the BreedMaster and his newest ... second newest Slave entering the office. "Are you here to place any bets?"

"Oh, no, not at all," Vanya said, and physically felt Narul beside him stiffen up. "Well I am certain he would, but that is exactly what we're here to avoid."

"Well then you'd better go to another office," said the male Waizu. He was going to shoo them away, but Vanya stood behind his Slave and spoke.

"I'm here to sell this Slave to you, in exchange for an Eakishi."

Narul's heart apparently all but expired right there. Vanya remained directly behind the shorter man, long fingers on his shoulders. There was an almost perverse feeling of satisfaction from Vanya as Narul's blood raced through his veins, pulled by a heart that was racing faster than any Steed's could. Narul was about to say something, probably shout if he could get his constricted throat to behave, but Vanya tightened his fingers on his shoulders.

"Say nothing, Slave, this is your lot in life, and don't go trying to make it any worse." Vanya hissed. He looked back up at the attendant, who was seemingly trying to appraise something he couldn't quite see. "Narul is... well, to be honest he is a problem Slave. He had been free, but his debts to many people caused him to surrender his freedom in exchange for their money. He is competant enough at simple work, but he's never been the best at self-motivation. I've found he works best at physical chores that take his entire day, and allow him a good sound rest at night. He does, has had I should say, a gambling problem, which got him into this position. But he has expressed interest in seeing the world - I just don't feel it necessary to allow him to be doing it at my expense." He sighed, "I know that isn't the best of sales pitches, but frankly I can't use him. I would hope you'd find a good job for him cleaning the dragons' stables or cleaning up after a fight. I don't think he ought to be near any money, but he does well with other people."

The Waizu blinked, put his paper down, and tilted his head. He had bangles on his horns and several of them led to piercings in his wide ears. He looked a lot like some Animal Masters that Vanya knew. "Well I... I ..."

"I realize that it is odd to spring it on you like this, but I had to spring it on him as well." Vanya grinned widely, and the Waizu almost laughed out loud.

"I will have to think about it, I ... could use a little help around the ring..."

***

"We're in luck!" Ten said, "there's a nest of them being brought out for show and tell, come on." Ten led the group, including a very sullen and muttering Narul, to the domed enclosure where the nests were sequestered. The nesting females were by nature rather annoyed to have anyone near them, but they were apparently even more annoyed to have a batch of young nipping at them. The foals were just under two months old, and were now ready to be shown off for the first time.

"Normally they're a bit older, but you'd be taking it to this 'Zekira' right? Where is that?" Asked one of the attendants. She seemed to have a firm grip mentally on the dam of this nest, who growled constantly at the intrusion.

"It's reached through the Nexus," Ten supplied. That was apparently all she needed to know, for she didn't ask any further.

"Oh look that one's taken a liking to your boy," she said a moment later. A darkly colored female foal had paced around Chiitil and sniffed him up and down.

Chiitil watched her, and Ten suspected that he was busy exerting some kind of mental or emotional control over her. Though the foal wasn't much bigger than a show Ferilon at the time, they knew perfectly well she'd grow into a creature at least the size of two Steeds. Vanya had never been around a Stone dragon, they were still relatively young in terms of creation for defense, he couldn't properly compare them with these Eakishi. Ten on the other hand decided that though they were 'small' they were awfully tough.

"So are you interested in her?" Asked Ten, "you seem to have a good grip on her."

"I'm going to have a better grip when we get home, she wants to eat, I plan on using that for a reward..."

***

((regardless of what ya want, Narul's gonna stay with the Cy people for a bit!)) Ten, Vanya and Tiniil return to Zekira for a bit to make a proper enclosure. Narul and Chiitil remain, for very different reasons.

***

Chiitil got the information he needed from the Waizu, about how much to feed and when to stop feeding them what kind of foods. Their behaviors and mating rituals, which wouldn't come for a while, and assorted injuries or treatments to watch for. The main thing he learned, however, was that they were very sensitive about their neck holes - after all wouldn't you be if someone tried to stick plugs in your nose? It was an effective threat to cut off their air supply - but also in the wrong hands it was a challenge for the ring. Even the stupidest Eakishi knew that if their air was cut off they'd have a hard time fighting back.

So while the foal was still rather young, about three months old, Ten returned to take them home. Vanya wasn't needed on this trip, after all the goods had been paid for, and they would come back for Narul only if he wasn't able to do any more work. Vanya had set up some alternative payments just in case. Zpara - the Zekiran equivalent of coffee found on many worlds - was an excellent choice of course. The stuff would put anyone in orbit, why not use it in trade? Furs - they were common enough in the Behat area because of the chill. Vanya wasn't sure about how cold it got at Cy but by looking at the huge tower that the riders and their dragons resided in it couldn't be warm all the way up there!

And if anything, he could always offer his services as a Breeder for any specific needs they did have. Bodyguard? Force field generator? Interrogator with information gathering powers? They were all available to him as a Breeder. He just hoped Narul would learn his lesson. Any lesson, really - he had never learned any before now...

Chiitil on the other hand was quite the quick learner! With the young Ea in his arms - struggling madly - they landed at the Behat facility where the newly constructed 'kishi quarters had been set up. A double-walled area with one large rolling door, an office and warm den for Chiitil if he needed to stay there, and a section for the Eakishi to eat, bathe and sleep in. Outside otherwise, a flight cage was constructed for the duration that training would go on. It wouldn't do to lose their investment, would it.

Engell came along to view the progress after a month. The 'kishi was growing rapidly, but they all knew it would take her two years to mature. In the meantime there would be at least a few Stone dragons, and a pair of Sky that came by with some of the Blackstone holders. Everyone owed Vanya some attention now and again - he'd done work for all the Holders at their various meetings, they knew the value of having this man on their side. His breeding house too, now that they knew it to be the one where Ten was originally created...

The Eakishi shrieked and reared up, but she wasn't big enough to fly yet. Nor were her wings really ready for any sort of abuse - they were meant to catch winds and fly about on a world much windier than here. But Behat had some strong weather so she would be able to train up eventually. Chiitil barked a command, and the creature settled to all fours.

"Malssong is what I've decided to call her," Chiitil said, "she's trouble. She barely obeys me, but she knows better than to disobey."

"Wonder where he got that kind of command from," Engell muttered. Vanya rolled his eyes and looked away with a smile.

"What all can she do, anyway?" Asked one of the other visitors. Telis was there simply drooling and ready to put armor all over the poor thing, which would weigh her down too much to fly if she ever got the chance.

"Well right now, she stops attacking when I tell her to, and she knows her name, and," Chiitil said while trying to ignore the 'kishi's angry whining, "she's learning to attack on command." He gave another word, s'raang, and she looked about for something to latch on to. A fake limb tossed to her did the job, and she gnawed on it until the wood object broke into a dozen pieces.

"Do you think she'll be ready to fight off aliens, when the time comes?" Engell asked.

"Them and anything else that comes into the territory without her permission, I think," Chiitil said. "I'm definitely going to work on her style though, she's got some kind of... mental ability. I don't know for sure because she's quite young still. Come back in a couple months, I'll have an answer for you about that, then."

***

Indeed she did have some kind of powers - strong ones. Sooner than Chiitil expected, she began to use a psionic ability to blow a kind of telekinetic blast toward things. He rewarded her quickly when she did it to the right target, and soon enough she was happy to oblige a demonstration of her abilities. She still was mistrustful of some people, but she even got along with Vanya when he would stop by and watch. As long as Chiitil was with her, she was relatively well behaved.

The moment he took a break, of course, she had to be penned up. They didn't dare let her out onto the grounds, of course, because there were half a dozen pregnant women there at any time. Malssong knew that she shouldn't attack these people here, but those were okay - they had bodies of Aliens brought in (from where? you just don't ask that kind of thing when Engell and Vanya were concerned) and she was trained to immediately attack them. Nothing could dissuade her from that task, and she clearly relished it.

As long as she didn't get a taste for Zekiran flesh, they figured all would be well.

Chiitil decided that while he would take the title of Dragon Master, he wasn't interested in using it to elevate himself just yet out of Slave status. Less than a year had gone by, after all, and he still hadn't fully trained Malssong. Would a Stone dragon be any easier? They were at least of this world, and not outside it, but they were supposed to be pretty ornery too.

He knew he would never find challenge in the Sky dragons - they were too smart. Nor in the elusive and pretty Forest ones, they were so fragile they would break on his first command. Chiitil didn't even want to think about Sea dragons. He was so not going to the ocean! And desert? He was born and raised here in the snowy land almost at the arctic latitude! Who'd want a bunch of snakes anyway? All they'd do is sleep... Swamp dragons intrigued him, they were big but canny in the way that his Eakishi seemed to be. Though there weren't many swamps this far north either.

When the first couple of Alien ships were spotted just a year into her training, Malssong looked up at them with eager eyes, and tried to catch wind with her wingsails. Failing to get into the air was very frustrating to her - but Chiitil rewarded her greatly anyway. Perhaps she was confused by the praise, but she had a good meal in the process. She knew the difference between a local dragon and an alien ship. Maybe it was their noise, or their smell, or just that she wanted to get inside it, crack it open, and get at the chewy bits inside...

***

Name: Malssong
Going with: Chiitil
Gender: female

Strength: 5
Defense: 5
Health: 12
Intel: 2
Temperment: 5
Training: ___

Psy: 4
Communication 0
influence 1
telekinesis 3
Maneuverability 0