Aside from her accent, however, Waharli certainly didn�t stick out, at least not at first glance. Star City seemed to have just about as many dragons, of all shapes and sizes, as it did the humanoid forms that seemed to be prevalent in much of the universe. The halls and streets were designed for dragons, the doorways and rooms were designed for dragons- and though Waharli really didn�t know much of the station�s history, she couldn�t help but think that Star City�s vary existence was due to dragons.

Things were very different at home, because while many Tonaa bonded dragons nowadays, the majority of them still bonded traditionally to the other intelligent life of Jhiirsai. Thus, in many places, dragons were an oddity, and though Waharli had never really been bothered by that fact� being a in a place designed for her kind made her realize how far Jhiirsai still had to go.

Realizing that she had been letting her mind wander, Waharli worked her way though the flowing crowd towards the bobbing hind end of her mentor and teacher, Marss Taelaan. The xeno mutt seemed very comfortable, familiar with his surroundings, and not at all as interested as Waharli herself was. She couldn�t help but wonder how many times he had been to Star City, or places like it�

�Are you coming, Waharli?� His face turned to lock her in an eyeless stare. �If you don�t keep up I am going to leave you in this crowd.�

�What�s the rush?� Waharli trotted up next to her teacher.

�I�m not rushing, but at the pace that your gawking will set for us, we might get us to the Abstract Destiny in a few weeks�� The xeno ruffled his wings a bit in a show is disdain and set off at an even faster walk. Waharli lengthened her strides to keep up, which wasn�t too much of a trouble for her, her legs were quite a bit longer than Marss�s.

�I�m sorry for actually trying to enjoy myself�� The dragoness mumbled to herself. �You are the one who dragged me all the way out here anyway� she is your sister afterall.� Marss didn�t react right away- and Waharli couldn�t fathom the dark thoughts going through his mind.

�We didn�t came all the way out here just to see Urnaess� I simply thought it would be polite of us to stop by along our way� it isn�t as though we know eachother all that well.� Unlike most beings, Nexus dragons usually left their parents and blood family in their earliest youth� and though she didn�t think of it often, Waharli did sometimes wonder what it would have been like to remain with her family. She never really felt bad for not really knowing any of them, but she did think that it would be nice to be more familiar with them than she was� she suspected that Marss felt some of the same� though he wasn�t the sort of dragon to voice such thoughts.

�Here it is!� Waharli said brightly, catching sight of the graceful curvatures of Star City�s �moon,� The Abstract Destiny. Marss and Waharli fell silent as they strode towards the great, and not unwelcoming opening to the ship.

�I wonder if she will even be in there,� Marss said finally. It was Waharli who led him in- and who dutifully invited herself into the waiting Alpha hatching bay where Urnaess and her clutch awaited.

The mother dragon, Waharli immediately noted, was unmistakably a sister of Marss�s. She had the same eyeless head, crowned with fur, the same translucent wings� she was a bit more graceful than Marss however, and she had taken on the air of mother quite well- or Waharli thought so at least. She wondered what Marss might be thinking about his sister and her brood.

Waharli�s attention wandered from the watchful mother as her mentor wandered over to greet his blood kin. Fifteen eggs� she could feel the life glowing within each one of them. Glancing towards the two xeno dragons, Waharli crept towards one of the eggs and gently touched its smooth surface with a tentative claw.

Wordless thoughts crowded her mind, and she let a smile come to her face. This one reminded her a bit of Marss� it had the same strange warmth� and what a fiery side to the growing creature! There was fire in Waharli�s blood as well, not in quite the same way� perhaps in her dreams of the flowing rivers of lava so common to MonFiamma� or the young memories of Nin�Queesha and all her elemental quirks. How familiar the new little mind seemed� how welcoming.

�What do you feel?� Marss�s voice shocked Waharli out of her wondering reverie. She turned to regard her teacher. Urnaess was watching intently from behind her brother� if an eyeless creature could ever be said to do as much.

�Feel�� Waharli said, flustered. Things clicked after a moment. �A connection of some kind, I am familiar with it��

�They have beautiful minds, don�t they?� Urnaess asked. Her voice was so close to Marss�s that Waharli nearly felt as though she was speaking to the same creature.

�Yes, very,� Waharli said. It was the truth� though she suspected she would have answered the same even if she hadn�t agreed- she didn�t like the thought of angering any mother dragoness, let alone one with the acidic blood of xenos.

Marss was silent� but Waharli could feel his mind on the edge of her thoughts� pressing her, perhaps towards some end. She knew what it was�

Waharli was the last of Marss�s students to remain without a bond. The last not to have graduated to the higher levels of the Tonaa hierarchy. She had been waiting to find a clutch that would call out to her� that she felt she might be close to- a bond that was meant to be. She stared at the egg that she had been communing with. Perhaps it was finally time to consider it�

No� not perhaps� she wanted to this time, it felt right.