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Ivahn attended one hatching with a number of beautiful dragonets at it, really gorgeous fawn-like things with shining scales and long silky hair. But they went to the established candidates, and Ivahn took notes with Dr Schroeder.

And then... There was this disaster with a hydra and some other dragon being synthed. Ivahn had to keep watch over the doctor because, even if he didn't realize it, he was trembling almost non stop since that gyndom - the Red Mage someone referred to her - tore into him in his office.

It wasn't like Ivahn couldn't hear through the walls. Shhee could do that just as easily as any of the other Sangers. So shhee heard the remarks, the simple conversation that caused the good Doctor such a stir. Perhaps it was because shhee wasn't in the same office, Ivahn only saw the serious mage storm away, but Ivahn didn't have any sense of magic on hir and didn't see the angry palpable traces of Mystic's magic.

Ivahn had the sense in hir head to not ask - Just. Not. Ask. Fortunately, fairly shortly thereafter, the next Synth hatching began.

***

Excited, because this time it was uncertain who all would be found to bond or bring home a dragon, and this one was so unique... Ivahn had seen the little one-eyed dragon moping around, but fortunately he grew a lot more bold and happy as time went on. They all looked just like him - well, anyone versed in biology knew the differences, but 'just like' in this case meant fairly small, nubby faces with one eye, and that adorable glowy blob at the end of their single antenna. They were truly the most unique creatures that Ivahn had seen, and hir experiences here were adding up quickly.

Shhee helped keep notes, which color combinations had been born, who bonded right off, and oh! There were color-shifters among them! That was a pleasant (if obvious) surprise from one of the other donors.

"Excellent use of that gene, doctor," Ivahn said when the first of the shifters moved forward to claim their chosen. It went on for quite some time, though the excitement never died in the room. They were almost all verbal speakers, and it occurred to Ivahn that they had pretty good vocabularies for newborn dragons. Each of them found who they were looking for either by accident or simply by looking around for the right match. There was obviously something more going on, Ivahn knew that.

Hir log book was getting full, when it looked as though the hatching was all but over. Some folks were staying around to greet one another, or share the name of their dragonet. Three had stayed on and had to be coersed into leaving with caretakers instead of bonds, they weren't all that interested in being with anyone but their own thoughts. But then one more egg seemed to be there - was it one more than they'd expected? It certainly seemed that way to Dr Schroeder!

**An egg rocking furiously, at that, suggesting the hatchling inside had wound up with a tougher shell than most.

Easily fixed. With a brief psionic touch, Schroeder laced the egg with a few cracks and the occupant was finally able to shatter his prison, rolling to his feet and shaking himself out.

But when the hatchling lifted his green eye, he made a discovery of his own! "No fair!" he exclaimed, looking around and seeing only the hatching attendants—all the newly-bonded and newly-made caretakers had moved to the feeding tables. "There's nobody left!"

"Hmm," Doctor Schroeder rubbed his chin, and turned towards the geneticist from the Kshau Protectorate. "Ivahn, why don't you look after this little one?"

Shhee looked over at the man in surprise, and then looked at the hatchling. "Well… certainly!"

The little male's eye lit up. "Oh! Well, good! I'm Hestor," he said, and walked over to where Ivahn stood.**

Hir notes done for the day, Ivahn handed off the logbook to the Doctor, and held hir hands out to the adorable hatchling. He was small, on the small end of this rather minute set of dragons. But just because he was small, didn't mean he wasn't going to be a handful. They got back to hir quarters and Tairatu instantly started fussing.

Perhaps, it was finally that there was someone smaller than him in the room...

"I can take care of you when Ivahn is not here," the Terigon said while glancing with those big eyes at Ivahn, "because I think our caretaker is sometimes very busy indeed. Why, the times my bowl has gone empty..."

"Tairatu!" Ivahn exclaimed, somewhere between offended and laughing hir head off, "I do not ever let your bowl get empty, so don't you dare be accusing me of that! Especially to little Hestor," shhee glanced at the one-eyed dragonet, "I won't ever do that, so don't you believe a word he says. I think he's jealous that he didn't come to the hatching with me."

"You were busy," the terigon said, laying down and looking away innocently, "it was a job, you said..."

Hestor blinked once, "I don't mind if it's you taking care of me, as long as Ivahn comes back to us..."

Ivahn chuckled, watching her sponsorling Hestor scoot around corners and try to hide. The pale colored walls made all the difference, for his white shade blended in very well. Ivahn was encouraging him to get out more, not be shy, find other friends.

"Don't worry," Ivahn said, "I am planning on being here for the duration, there are some very intriguing experiments going on."

He started to go off in a huff, but was reminded by the presence of the Terigon nearby that he wasn't the only four-footer in his sponsor's life. Nor was he the first... So he went off around the place, seeking anything to catch his eye... so to speak...

In the half year of growing he'd done, Hestor stood around Ivahn's shoulder in height, and was turning into a fairly graceful dragonet. He never would have quite the balance or vision needed to properly fly - at least indoors here - but he could teleport like nobody's business, and loved to do so.

His horns had more than budded, and were growing longer with each week. And, he was practicing. The way he could shift his colors down to an almost flat-paste white impressed Ivahn, not so much Tairatu but who expected that sarcastic little one to compliment everything?

***

"May I? Oh I know I want them and I know I could use them so well!" Hestor said, ears as far up as they'd go, and bioluminescent antenna bobbing between he and Ivahn. Finally the scientist looked over at what he'd gotten so excited about...

"Lumipads? But Hes, you already have luminescence!"

"That is what I'm saying!" He said, trotting in a little circle, "I know just what I want, it would make everything perfect!"

"Well, Schroeder did say that you'd gotten a token... So I suppose if you want to blow it on something like this, go ahead..." Shhee shrugged, and patted Hestor's neck as they went to the cyborware store...

Hestor vanished into the station to get his lumipads, and Ivahn wondered just what shhee would do if Hes ever decided he'd had enough of living with hir. He brightened up the place - sometimes literally, at night he'd glow when he was dreaming. Sometimes, when he was asleep he'd lay there transparent and looking like the carpet was breathing, all except the glowing bits of luminescence on his skin... so now it would be unavoidable? Ivahn sighed, chuckled, and then here came Hestor back again!

He certainly looked pleased, because there at the end of his tail was a balloon of green glowy goo, and patches that matched very well along his tail. He did a circle, changed his color, and even Ivahn was impressed.

"That does work, now... I wonder who we can play a trick or two on, before we get thrown out..." Ivahn said, scheming...