Upon arriving home, Talon was apologetic for her tardiness in retrieving him from the foreign world...but she was also hesitant to explain her absence. Never before had Talon failed to tell him about her various missions, secret or not. Such a lack of information could only mean the problem at hand was personal, and Absinthe was likely to never know the truth. In the end, he found it best not to push and let her secrets remain unheard.

As time passed, life resumed its usual routines. Absinthe worked to catch up on the appointments he had missed while on Mardusion, and Talon was...somewhere. He could only assume she'd gotten a new employer, for she was gone far more often and for longer periods, often returning exhausted and frustrated. To her relief, however, Absinthe did not press for details.


Three months from the day he was tattooed, Absinthe felt his tattoo begin to itch and noticed that it had turned red. The sight brought a new wave of excitement into Absinthe's life: the hatchling would be emerging soon.


The final month was the worst when it came to waiting. Although Absinthe knew it was only his anticipation that stretched and distorted time, it still felt as if that single month crawled by more slowly than the three previous months. To make matters more intolerable, Talon had left on business once again and he had no one where share his excitement.

When at last the day came that the tattoo began to itch once more, Absinthe was luckily at his home and not working at the Blue Imp. It would've been an awkward event, to have a dragon blossom from his wrist as he worked and one that would not encourage customers to return. The itching was faint at first, but it swiftly swelled into a near unbearable sensation that caused Absinthe to wince in surprise.

When at last the urge to scratch seemed impossible to resist, the young hatchling emerged from the tattoo and toppled, without even the smallest hint of grace, onto the floor. The hatchling sat there for a moment, an adorable ball of fluffy, copper-hued fur that glistened like finely polished steel even in the artificial lamp light in his living room. Laughing warmly, Absinthe crouched down and helped the little hatchling untangle itself. Once it had found its feet and was no longer wobbling, the little hatchling's bright eyes flashed open to reveal stunning green orbs much akin to Absinthe's own.

Abruptly a voice filled his mind, its mental tone just as warm and coppery as her coat. Hi, Absinthe! I'm Ni! From her voice alone Absinthe knew that this little ball of fuzz was going to be quite the handful, but that would definitely ease the boredom he was facing. The little hatchling interrupted his pleased thoughts by bumping her head into his hand and grinning widely in her dragon-like way. I hate to be pushy, but I'm very, very hungry...

Absinthe laughed aloud and smiled. "Sure thing, Ni... Let's get you fed." With that said, he left his young bond (who turned out to be impossibly clumsy) into the kitchen to ease her hunger.


In the months that followed, Ni grew swiftly and was prone to large growth spurts. There were countless times when it seemed she gained many inches in one night, and other times the growth was more gradual, but one thing never seemed to change: her clumsiness. With time and experience, Ni was able to more aptly conceal her lack of natural grace though all those who knew her were aware of the truth. And, to go hand in hand with her maladroit qualities, Ni also proved unable to do much of anything involving manual labor but in mental prowess she excelled.

While Absinthe was anything but a bookworm, Ni was quite the opposite. She enjoyed reading and learning, but her true passion lay in puzzles and riddles.

By the time Ni reached full adulthood, she had solved many of the puzzles she had access too and had changed tactics. Since she didn't have anything left to solve, she devoted her time to creating challenging brainteasers, riddles, and puzzles for Absinthe and his friends. Absinthe enjoyed them, for they gave him something to distract his thoughts with, and Talon took the same pleasure in them but many of his other friends were left stumped and confused (much to Ni's delight).

For once, Absinthe was actually content with the way his life was going. Yet, there were thoughts which lingered in the back of his mind and hint subtly that things would not remain that way for long.