Avengaea Without a doubt, Squall was having a hard time with the place. Even after having arranged their trip away from the Zoorti nebula - what a shame, they thought, that they'd never see the fine results of that cold nest... - they were surrounded on all sides by humans.
Not just any humans, but ones who had a society. Bustling. It made Squall nervous, at the same time as it made Apogee beam with pride. It was almost as if she herself had prodded them into becoming technologically or magically (or indeed, psionically, which was what the elves were) advanced. Their culture was thriving, and their people were interesting.
Squall tried her best to emulate the elfess she loved... It was tough.
Tonde, she thought carefully, this place makes me chilled. It is too busy...
Tylesh - don't worry. I'll protect you. See, the people aren't harmful. Apogee thought back, they are curious, but they are not like the humans who hurt you. How could they be? Apogee pointed out their symbiosis with the dragons, how they all cooperated and made their lives together.
"They celebrate us?" Squall asked, and Apogee nodded enthusiastically. The group of candidates for the beautiful young dragonets they were to be introduced to had lined up and gathered. They were sent into a large meeting hall with the others, and the dragonets came to greet them. It was a semi-formal kind of thing, not everyone knew everyone else, not every dragon wanted to talk to everyone else. In fact it looked like there was one who just wanted to get the heck out of there.
Squall was halfway surprised that he wasn't the one who chose her - she felt just like him...
A day or so later, another grand meeting was called. Apogee and Squall had picked up just enough psionic energy from people to grasp what was said - though the priest man who presided over the whole thing droned on and on... He had a nice voice. For a human. But anything taking this long would have put them to sleep had they been humans. One of the kids nearest the pair of elves almost did fall to sleep...
Then the dragonets were brought back out, escorted to the group of bonder candidates. They did not have to choose, but if they came and didn't, they had to wait until another batch - three tries, then they had to leave. They weren't fit or ready for a bond at that point. But...
Both Squall and Apogee thought they felt something. It was an outside tingling, like the way that sensitive elves could pick up whether their own magic had been used on things. It wasn't internal, and it was focused on a basket of scrolls which the dragonets were asked to pick up if they felt ready to pair.
Look at the glow, can you see it? Apogee asked Squall of the basket. The flier nodded, but wasn't positive she'd really seen it as Apogee had. She was distracted by the arrival of the dragons. Every eye was on either the dragonets or the people bonding - and that again, made Squall nervous.
Apogee held her hand, knowing that this would be nerve wracking.
Three dragonets chose off, they were wonderfully paired. The scrolls they held sealed their fate.
Squall wasn't sure that this was all a good thing, any more...
"It'll be okay," Apogee assured her. "Look here come two now. Remember them? Oh - they look so funny together like that..."
"I wonder if that's how we look?" Squall said, as the mismatched pair of huge Light and tiny Water dragons came toward them. Squall was sure that the light would come to her, really, but the smallest Water dragon anyone had seen came up to her instead, quickly handing her the scroll.
"You look about my size," he said, a voice that was deep like the ocean already. Suddenly Squall smiled and knew - there was no way that the big female would come to her - that was left for Apogee. Squall and Stallano formed their bond by sharing the scroll's touch - and right then Squall did see the magic so clearly it was as a second sun.
The other dragonet, female Light, came to Apogee. Solemnly, she said, "Leadership can be lonely, and although I think you have the companionship you need already, I'd like to help you fly again." She gave the elfess a smile, hesitating.
Apogee took the scroll, knowing that her bond was precious - like the lifemating of a recognized, only with the open acceptance that they would be apart at times, of one who willingly shares their name.
"Eurani Promontores is her name," Apogee said as they were paraded across the room. "Stallano Altus is his," announced Squall. The other bonders seemed happy with their choices, and both the elves realized that they would be able to show off their partner's bond just as well as their own. Apogee would be willing to swim with the water dragon, while of course Squall could fly already.
***
"He's gotten so big," Apogee commented, as the water dragon lept out from the lake, and flipped his flat tail into the air before splashing back down. Stallano wasn't really big compared to the other water dragons, in fact he had remained the smallest of the whole batch. But still, he was twice the size he'd been when they had their pairing, and it was noticable.
"Yup," Squall said, "and you know you're going to have him in the lake competing with you for dives."
Apogee laughed and nodded. The other dragons and riders were having their day off, the rigorous training and magic practice, flight-readiness and chores were cancelled just for a few days. It was chilly outside, but the lake water almost steamed by comparison. Apogee was the only person who felt like swimming, on a cold day like today. She, and the trio of water dragons who had remained to get their training!
Eurani sat up in their den, on a ledge. The elegant blue-Light spread her wings open and dove over the water, causing a ripple behind her from her speed and size.
"He's not big!" Eurani called out, craning her neck around and stalling in mid-bank to turn her direction. "I'm the big one!"
"You're already bigger than her bird... was," Squall said, coming up to meet the great light-dragoness in the air. Two-claws was a large bird, but he'd nothing on this grand beauty. When would she stop growing? Who knew!
But some day they would head to Abode, where Bald Mountain awaited... Their tribe would be so different after they all got back together!
***
And it was true: the tribe had matured in the time it was apart. Though two turns of the seasons usually meant nothing to these long-lived elves, they had grown in so many more ways than just 'older'. Apogee and Squall arrived back at Bald Mountain and the water dragon immediately looked around from the ledge for the infamous diving pond. He couldn't see it from there of course, because it was on the far side of the south face.
"I want to dive... My skin will simply dry up and fall off if I do not get to dive." He said, Stallano wasn't going to take no for an answer.
So Squall - as per usual - lifted the dragon up with her powerful wind magic, and they soared together out of the ledge again. To meet up with the rest of the tribe, all coming in roughly at the same time. She was so surprised, she almost dropped her precious bond!
"Don't do that to me!" Stallano cried, his webbed tail lashing around, "I cannot fly!"
"I know, and if you're not careful, I won't be strong enough to hold you any more. Stop thrashing!" Squall said, and gently set him down on the low diving ledge. The pond was big enough for him, but not for two, unless they were quite small.
She noticed that not everyone had arrived. Apogee had done a head count as well, and come up short. Eurani was about to make a "you're all elves, of course you're short" joke, but Apogee elbowed the Light Blue in the neck and that shut her up.
"Where is White Eyes?" Asked Apogee. "Should we go back to the Healing Den and find him?"
The others looked around and decided that they'd wait a bit before doing so. It was possible that the youngest of their tribe needed more time, time alone, to sort himself out.
After they'd all arrived, though, there was much preening, introducing, and showing off to be done. And then there was a stunning idea put forth from Whip. They should go introduce themselves to the local human folk.
There were several tribes nearby - and on dragon back it would be but a moment's flight. Not all the humans even knew that there were elves living in this odd mountain but now they would have to.
And no way would there be a repeat of what they'd done when the High Ones arrived: they would not run, they would not be beaten down. They had dragons to help defend their territory now.
Proudly this great line of beautiful dragons - all colors and all sizes - stood on their ledges. They'd found niches that could be further carved, if they only had a rock shaper that would be easier.
