The trip between Aesthrae and Mardusion was disorienting, leaving his head spinning for many minutes afterward. It was a side effect he expected, but had no plan on enjoying. Groaning lightly, he put a hand on a nearby tree for support and peered about his surroundings. A mountain loomed before him, grand dragons soared about the peak but his gaze was drawn more immediately to the lone figure that moved forward to greet him.

Ral'gi'naan, as the hyena anthro introduced himself, lead the disoriented Dauskian back to the mountain and, with occasional prompting, explained what he knew of the Tattoo Dragon's bonding process. The instructions proved simple enough, even with Absinthe's travel lag, and the young male was left to make himself at home.


A week had nearly passed before Absinthe was summoned. This time he was brought to a room with many others and was alerted that the bonding ceremony would begin soon. Quietly the green-eyed male peered around, taking in the other candidates with a curiously arched brow. He appeared to be the only present candidate lacking a full body fur coat, well...aside from the dragon Naru that is. He also appeared to unnerve the fox who was to do his tattoo, but that didn't cause him to hesitate in the least.

It would not be the first time he had creeped someone out. Native Dauskian's had bad reps even in Aesthrae, so it was nothing new to the young demon.

The other candidates went first... The hyena-girl Niala was first, receiving one just above her left elbow, next came the Saram who was given a full chest tattoo. Naru was the next to be tattooed, and his process was a lengthy one indeed for the ink had to be driven deep to stay, but once the tattoo was finished it was finally Absinthe's turn.

The wrist was a sensitive place to be tattooed, but Rakka pulled off the work with skill enough that even the experienced tattoo artist was impressed.


Thanks to a great lack of ability when it came to manipulating magic without someone getting himself hurt in the process, Absinthe was forced to remain at the Dragonry on Magic Isle until Talon contacted him. Which, knowing Talon, was going to take forever. Her skills were highly sought after and it was a rare day when she wasn't doing work for some high up client or another. Absinthe could only hope that she would not take too long to bring him back. Not that the vacation wasn't nice, he merely missed the familiarities of home.

After a bit of discussion with Ral'gi'naan and his wife, Arielle, it was decided that Absinthe could stay until Talon contacted him so long as he helped out with chores. The arrangement worked for the Dauskian and so Zauralo stayed.

During the time that he stayed, another came to the Isle to bond with a Tattoo Dragon: a jackal anthromorphic who was known as "Captain Blackheart". His first sight of the famous pirate brought curiosity flowing into his veins and, were it not for the man's antisocial outer shell, he might've spoken to him. Instead he turned his curiosity to more talkative sorts and was quickly given an account of the famous pirate more commonly known as Slickblade.

It was a disturbing tale of blood and revenge, some of it undoubtedly embellished by truth-warping rumor, but instead of instilling fear of revulsion in him it only furthered the spark of interest growing in Absinthe's mind. The green-eyed rogue watched from afar, studying the strange man whom had caught his fancy and working up the courage to speak to him. Yet, his plans were quickly interrupted as Talon finally contacted him.

With a heavy sigh he announced to Rakka that he would be leaving now, an announcement that finally gained him faint acknowledgement from the legendary pirate. He had been there a while, which was expected, as he'd needed to be shaven and even the tattooing process itself was slow and delicate considering where he'd gotten it done. Just below the eye...ouch...but the completed product was nice.

Absinthe exchanged goodbyes with Rakka, asking her to tell the others he was departing, before casting a final glance at the Captain. With a playful wink and a coy smile, Absinthe offered him a friendly wave before stepping out of the room and exiting the mountain to locate Talon. He wished she had taken just a little while longer so that he could've gotten a chance to speak with the Captain, but there was nothing he could do about it now.