Melinar wandered the forests of Storm's island, looking for anything new or interesting to see or do. He had visited the village on several occasions, meeting some of the pan-thar, wolv and lynnx who lived there. One of the pan-thar told him that her son was offworld, and had bonded a dragon. He was waiting for his friends to bond, and for all their dragons to grow enough to come home.
He thought this sounded interesting. He would go back and check on his cousin, who was now guarding the first clutch of Malnevian eggs to be laid on this planet. She was also helping to watch the clutch of anjir that were due to hatch soon. A few candidates had shown up already, ferried by one of the various unbonded dragons who had come here on their own. They came to Storm and offered their help in anything he might need, in exchange for allowing them to share the land. Given, he didn't know where they got the idea they needed to ask permission, but it helped out when he needed to take someone somewhere, or bring someone here. Other candidates found their way by random magic or portals.
The green dragon dozed in his chamber, partially asleep, but partially thinking about the bonding. The pan-thar, Falima, told him that her son, Fitrev's, biggest surprise was that dragons were standing as candidates. Melinar had never considered bonding another dragon. Of course, he hadn't had the option of bonding anyone when he hatched, since there weren't any humanoids on the moon. Though, unlike many dragons he had talked to, he felt like he had missed out on something. Almost like part of himself were missing, but he wasn't sure because it had always felt this way. He had talked to Mylvara about it once, but she had never felt that way. After talking to Falima, he wondered if maybe he should have had a bond, and missed out since there weren't any available at his hatching.
Thinking about this and his conversations with the pan-thar woman, he wondered if trying to bond a dragon hatchling, or kit, depending on the location, would help fill the void. The more he thought about it, the more the idea pulled at him. Finally he got up and went looking for Storm. He had told them that he heard about clutches that were open to candidates; maybe he'd have heard of one that would take a dragon as a candidate. If so, then he'd tell his friends, and hope they didn't try to discourage him. He didn't want to get in a fight before he left.
When he found Storm, he asked point blank, "Do you know of any open clutches that will accept a dragon?" He stood and waited for an answer.
The other dragon looked carefully at the young green. "I thought you'd ask, sooner or later. You can tell the ones who were meant to bond, but denied. Or, at least, I've always been able to, anyways." At Melinar's slightly impatient look, he continued, "But yes, I did hear of a clutch that I think will work for you. You will have to be accepted as a candidate, though they have nothing against dragons standing. It's called the Copper minifrenzy, and its located at Nidus Avengaea. All the dragons involved were copper, or partially copper. Are you interested?" He waited, not expecting anything but a yes.
He wasn't disappointed. "Yes, I'd like to go there. Where is this Nidus Avengaea?"
"I will give you directions. But you might want to say you goodbyes first, I wouldn't want you to forget the directions in the goodbyes." He had barely finished speaking, and the green was already gone.
He went to the hatching sands first. He knew he would find his cousin there, for sure, and at this time of day, at least one or two of the others. He was in luck; Thrintar, Mylvara's mate and father of the clutch, and Kinlara, his sister, were both there. His friend Khellendar wasn't there, but that was to be expected; it was his week to explore the farther islands.
"I'm going away for awhile," he blurted out first thing upon entering the chamber.
"What?" Thrintar was the first to respond; and as he looked at the other three dragons, Melinar thought that he seemed to be the only one who was surprised.
"Mylvara knows how I've always felt; she can explain later. But I'm going to another world to see if I can bond a dragon. I'll come back, I promise. I hope to be back in time to see the eggs hatch, but it depends. I just wanted to let you know where I was going."
The cream dragoness looked up from her eggs. "I'm glad you've found somewhere to go. Good luck."
Kinlara just nodded and winked at him. "I don't know if I'd want to saddle myself with a hatchling of a species I hadn't met before, but hey, go for it."
"Well, I can't say I like you going off like this, but you're old enough to make decisions for yourself. Just, be careful." The older green male had always looked out for his mate's younger cousin.
"I will. I promise. I'm glad you all don't object. I'll be back as soon as I can. Thank you for being understanding." He dashed back over to Storm.
"I'm ready. How do I get there?"
Storm gave him the directions, and he took off.
When he arrived at Nidus Avengaea, he applied to be a candidate. Now all he had to do was wait. And help out with anything that needed to be done.Melinar is standing at Nidus Avengaea, for the Copper MiniFrenzyContinued
Melinar's Bond, Zhantar