(Written by Shard)
The evening was quite interesting. Busy, bustling even. But what struck Naxi'im the most was that the dragons in attendance, for the most part, didn't even notice his group. At least, few of the 'locals' knew or seemed to care to snarl or glare at them.
Good. Because at least in that regard they were equal. He recognized several local dragons, perhaps from... well, yes, from events prior. Dragons that were bonded to those people who remained - carefully sequestered - on their side of the venue. Oh how hackles had raised, oh how she had simply bristled.
But Naxi'im and his queens were not here to cause trouble, at least not the way that Mystic wanted them to. Trouble might follow them, obviously, but it wasn't their purpose. That would come later. After...
For now, though, the trio of Death Court dragons strutted through their side of the venue with confidence and ease. If it faintly bothered the blue King that he was considerably smaller than most of the locals, he didn't show it. Why should he? When there were events that would pit them strength-for-strength, speed for speed... Showing off in a 'safe' environment.
He certainly made note of the various safety measures that they'd set up here. Strong magic, strong psionics, strong dragons, all placed at spots where dangers might accidentally injure participants. Well, injure them more than they'd intended to get. Because obviously with a 'dragon rasslin' and sniping contest arena, they expected to get hurt.
The one very sore ache here, was that... all of these dragons were already bonded to humans. Or near enough, anyway, he spotted one of those odd alien 'vorts' who was talking, through the thick glass wall, to an elegant sea-creature Naxi'im realized was also a dragon.
His queens went off to enjoy their own forms of entertainment, while Naxi'im strode through the massive caverns and domes. He was distracted, as they were, by the presence of clutch after clutch of new dragonets. They had been hatched here, or... made here, his eyes narrowed at the thought that even here, with so much effort put into this, they just had to mess with the dragons. There were far more of them though, than he could really comprehend. Each of the clutches were sequestered in their own private chambers, somehow, and even other dragons weren't allowed - or able - to enter them without permission from the clutch parent.
There was quite a bit of magic at work here, that was certain. Even he wasn't allowed through some doors, ruler that he was.
Just as well, he had to be patient, he had to be good for his word, yes? He knew better than to try and 'recruit' any of these existing bonds - he could all but smell the lines between them and their bonds on the other portion of the venue. But these little ones, these newly hatched, and yes even newly made dragonets?
They were all brought before the King and his Queens. (Well, fine, they were brought out through the draconic side first, not just to him...) They would make their decisions, and some of them went out to the human-side, a good few simply remained here with the other dragons instead. And some - some - came back from the other side.
It was late, the big clocks on their cavern walls all were leading to a midnight moment. For what it was worth, the blue king and his consorts did get a little swept up, a little excited - or a lot. The feasting was amazing, though he didn't leave to go hunting, himself. He let those dragons that were thirsty for it bring back the deer, the fowl, the... well whatever that turtle-like thing was. Meats of many flavors, bones thin and thick to snap and suck marrow from. Even some fruits, long grass and tubers for those who needed more than mere meat, all presented in the feeding chambers.
It did smell good, all that blood. But now, with midnight rapidly approaching, Naxi'im watched from his balcony with his Queens by his side, and waited. A big show on the human side of the stage was followed by fireworks from dragons, impressive flames and bursts of energy.
A mental ping broke his gaze from the fireworks, gentle but confident.
We have chosen, she said.
Naxi'im's eyes narrowed, and then settled on seeking out the source of this new mind in his head. She wasn't difficult to locate, slightly larger than her two companions, and framed by them as they walked toward the ledge's occupants.
The other two were checkerboard-marked, he supposed it was too much to ask that only 'born' dragons come to them. He thought about saying something, and then paused to reflect about it. Perhaps this would be better than his initial appraisal could account for - these were creatures made by and ostensibly for humanoids. And yet. Here they were in front of him.
On closer examination, they were to his liking, as well as this born-type female, given their features and their behavior. This one though, she was marbled like the floor and walls of the biped-venue, though in more muted shades than pure black and white. Darker wingsails than body, but she looked like a carved statue and acted just as cool as stone. He liked her immediately. She showed both deference and surety of purpose.
"I am Gakth," she announced aloud, which somewhat surprised him - she was a Pernese breed, wasn't she? "And this is Yruthol," the dark-bodied and spike-covered one bowed its head, "and this is Roemami," the other whose wings were already bigger than most took their turn to dip their head in reverence. Gakth continued, however, "after considering the options, we have made our choice. It was... not easy, for any of us, to resist the allure of those on the other side," she glanced toward that half of the venue, and Naxi'im saw that she had horns growing from her 'head knobs', another unusual feature for a Pernese dragoness. "We are... not typically bonded to other dragons."
She did continually stress the word we. He felt around in the mental air, sensed that her own connection was to him as well as to them.
"It does take effort," Naxi'im said, "so you have overcome this...?"
We have chosen each other, first, the spiked one bespoke. Their two-toned companion placed their wide wing over the other's, they were a bonded pair of dragons among a breed who would have only ever chosen a human if that was all that was offered. But we also chose Gakth, and she has brought us to you. So we will work toward your goals.
The other dragon, Roemami was it? remained silent both mentally and vocally, but seemed attentive enough to the momentous event.
Perhaps it was his own sense of self-worth, or perhaps because he'd been attending hatchings in a more... aggressive manner than now, but he realized with a start, that this was a momentous event for them, just not for the same reasons he presumed. His reasons of course: to assemble an army, a breeding population, a dynasty. But theirs? The thrill in their minds was because they were literally new young dragons and they just bonded at hatching. It was the only thing they knew. All three of them were going to be on the small side, but... not as small as a couple others approaching the Queens...
* * *
If she'd known they were going to be able to go offworld to hunt, she would have prepared better! But no, no - the fun to be had here was obvious from the start. That start included "messing with Mystic" of course. The mage was so furious, so absolutely deliciously angry, that she almost started a fight right then and there at the entrance to the Ball venue. How completely predictable.
But the Death Court had an invitation, and had chosen to come in style, graced with dark cloths and silks, onyx and opal garnishes. Though the dragons were colorful their adornments were in keeping with the theme. Perhaps a chess game here and there might entertain his people, perhaps a distraction of abstract war games might do for some. Hexeth considered them more seriously now, it was all smacking them in the face at this party!
She was honestly a little surprised that Naxi'im hadn't smacked Mystic in the face, but he was dead serious when he brushed off her accusations and they bantered... Before Baeris got there, anyway. The Death Court would have so much to talk about after this...
For the moment however, she went her way through the big portal after her King and their young companion, and marveled at the mass of dragons assembled. And Hexeth was ... let's be fair, slightly relieved that Takith wasn't present. There would be too much temptation for that dragoness - queen or no - to cause trouble.
They weren't here for trouble. They were here for the potential, and it walked around them every once in a while for the entire duration of the event. She had a slightly different view on the private chambers for the hatchlings, than her King did: a little privacy was very nice, indeed, a bit of preparation time for the hatchlings. They were still led out by their parents, mostly, and still searched high and low, but they were far from helpless mewling babies when they did so.
Magic, the power here was so strong it kept young Pernese dragons from dying without their bond in those first hours of life. Good. At least the hosts of this event had that going for them: they knew that dragons should be allowed to live and thrive in their own time and their own direction.
And it also seemed that time was weird here. It felt like days, lounging on soft piles of hide and down, eating fresh meat from those hunts beyond the world, watching mock battles of strong dragons and amazing power displays! The night stretched into its last hour before midnight, before she even realized it. That it was created and hosted by humans, that did still bother her - and definitely their King. But some of them seemed to at least understand that it was a time of change.
We have changed a little, a small mental voice came to the Queen. I am sure that my clutch mates will be shocked that I want to be with a dragon and not a human-person. I don't know any human-person. I don't care to.
Hexeth gazed around, realizing that almost all the clutches of dragons had been moved out of their hatching dens, and there were several now sitting nearby. The one who had bravely spoken to her was short-legged, broad, and had those incredibly improbable checkerboard wingsails common to the genetically-engineered dragonets. But it was clearly a Pernese-type, which made their choice even more profound.
Beside it, another with those bold marked wings sat, tail curled around their long and muscular legs. We come together, with you, it bespoke, we need to remain together, but we will come with you. The taller and more slender dragonet nuzzled their bond, and a third joined in.
This one was not marked as an engineered project, and was bigger than both by a long shot. Though... that said, the granite-speckled dragonet was much smaller than most other breeds here outright. He was truly beautiful, though, elegant, he looked like a statue, freshly rained upon. And, he seemed quite conscious of Hexeth's opinion on him.
"Why thank you," he said, verbally speaking though with a high child-like voice for a dragon. "I am quite happy to come with you all, my family always likes being around a lot of folk. I'm pleased to be your family if you'll have me."
They introduced themselves, finally. The smallest, lowest-to-the-ground was Hiegesu, their longer and slender partner Jodrasa, and the cat-like one called himself Cebth'Alkar. They were each so different, but all united in their desire to remain with the Death Court, or at least, to not be going over to the human-sided venue and pick among those foul two-leggers for their companionship.
The Blooded Gold queen rolled her head around and leaned down toward the trio. They could easily scramble to her shoulders, hatchlings were so small... even smaller for two of the three. But they were hungry! And Hexeth would provide them with their first proper meal - and likely, many more to come.
* * *
The evening was nearly overwhelming to Oadicaeth, but she took it in stride. After all, she was royalty, and had to act like it! There were many things to do and see here, though, and she was particularly fond of the 'rasslin' event... So much strength in some of these dragons! She wandered over to their main observation dome, and unlike the biped-side of the place, the windows here were more like hexagonal shapes, fit onto one another like pieces of a hive. But still, many of them didn't show what was beyond in the waters outside! Some had brilliant sky, others deep space. This place was positively filled to the brim with magic.
She wanted to learn some of it. Perhaps there would be time. A bunch of dragons were practicing magic over there... oh. Did she feel a little weird sneaking into the demonstration that Myrah'Care was giving? Yeah, a little. She didn't know Mystic personally, but wow Naxi'im's responses to the woman when they got here were... something. Even if he held it together like he did, she learned from that moment: that was how to phrase things with a sting, this was how to give a sorely wounding backhanded compliment.
It would be best to avoid mentioning that she was actually learning a little extra magic from Mystic's dragon bond to anyone else. Right? She blended in with the other young (and older) dragons watching their elders weave spells or demonstrating how to block out unwanted magical interference.
I can see why that would be desirable, a voice spoke into her mind. I hope you don't mind my intrusion... Wouldn't want to block out someone who wishes to return home with you. And others, they distractedly faded out from her mental ears.
Oh. That was because the dragon itself was somewhat... hazy. Even with the brilliant checkerboard looking wing sails and tail, they weren't solid enough to be called 'leathery', and sort of... drifted here and there. Never losing continuity, but also never quite sitting still. It was actually a bit entrancing.
"Pfff," another dragonet made a disparaging noise, "spells are for brainacs," they said.
That is your opinion, an incorrect one but yours to have I suppose. The first replied, and why were they allowing her to hear this?
Because we are going with you, you ought to know us, the smoke dragon bespoke more clearly, as their wings grew more solid as well. Odd that its mental voice followed suit.
"I want to see some action," the other dragonet said, the improbable splay of tiny checkerboard on the backs of its wings was dizzying. "I know some of my kin can do those things, but not me, it's not in here," they tapped a long, curved claw to their dark head, "but that's okay. That just means I don't have to worry about learning how to control it."
Might learn to control your mouth, the smoke dragon muttered, but it didn't appear to faze the other one. They were both confident and assertive, that was for sure! But they weren't apt to snipe at each other, which was good - because they would also need to not snipe at her, nor the other queens, nor most importantly at Naxi'im.
"Oh I'm not dumb enough to anger anyone important, like you," the bigger, white-socked one said. "Just point me at the thing you want to ruin."
We will be able to mess up whatever you like, privately or... loudly, not to worry. By the way, I'm Gunn Dumanish. And the loud mouth is Gatt'nye. Independent contractors. It bowed, the smoky crest on its neck faintly billowing around a little.
::Where do hatchlings learn such complicated notions,:: Oadicaeth muttered, ::you'll both do well as my personal guard, if you like.::
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