Bonding at Caer Catena
Clan Triptych
Kara and Chel Miller
The Miller girls arrived to Catena shortly, and Qalam packed them up with gifties to give to the Caerlady who'd just retired, Tiala. They looked around with interest, the whole place was so very different from their home on Paniya.
But they knew one thing for certain: there were Dragons! The caer was alive with sounds of them everywhere. They spoke more frequently here, even the silver queen on the dunes spoke to them complaining that her eggs just wouldn't hatch soon enough.
Laughing and relieved to finally be somewhere that they would be able to make something of themselves, Kara and Chel settled in and helped clean the dunes or get water from the kitchens. They enjoyed the bustling activity, more than some of the other bonders for this nest.
There was one who reminded them of their own Clan, but he was a bit shy so they didn't mess with him. Then, finally, the eggs began to break.
Chel rushed up to the side of the dunes, spotted her sister already there, and they clung on to each other's hands in excitement.
They didn't have to wait all that long, either, before something amazing happened. The first egg snapped open, and a lovely cream female stepped forward. She bounded toward Kara, head high.
"Kara!" she bellowed, "I'm sorry I took so long!"
Kara laughed, "I don't care," she brushed away the spare shell bits that the hatchling had ignored on her way out of her egg. "I would have waited longer, Aquilth."
"You wouldn't have," the dragonet smirked, "look there's food over there..." She said and then just bolted off away again. Kara followed her with the amazed expression that she'd had since making eye contact with the cream.
A purple hatched next, and then looked about. Chel watched her and the purple hatchling announced, "Leiroth ought to be out any minute now. Just wait a bit." The dragon went to another egg, smacking it with her big tail. "Leiroth! Chel's waiting for you!"
A silver dragoness exited her shell top first, carefully coming out as though she were a cast member backstage waiting for her fans. "Why didn't you tell me sooner, Maduith?" She then came to Chel's side gracefully and sat down.
"I'm here, Chel. Let's go find your sister, okay?" In her excitement - contained down to her tail but she couldn't seem to control it - she lashed sand at the other bonders as her tail almost wagged.
They didn't really concern themselves with the rest of the hatching - but they knew that several had gone unbonded, and there was talk of sending everyone from Paniya back with a couple of the young hatchlings - so they could bond at the clutch waiting there!
***
Aquilth watched the two knockabout fledglings, the red and brown females, and shook her head. "They know nothing of flight."
"I know you can do this far better than they can!" Kara encouraged Aquilth. "Go ahead."
The large cream fanned her own wings and when the Fledge instructor gave a whistle, she took to the air with grace. Kara applauded, and then nodded. She mouthed the words, 'you can do it'. Aquilth turned in the air, and then landed perfectly on all four feet, folded her wings beside her body and accepted a big hug from her bond.
"That was perfect!" Kara giggled.
Leiroth got herself tangled in a stray bush before coming onto the flight field. That was embarrassing enough, but then she decided that she wasn't quite ready to take to the skies.
"...Leiroth," Chel whispered, "get up there. Don't do this to me..."
The Fledge instructor waited with his eyebrow cocked and arms folded across his chest. The other fledges had taken their turns, almost all of them, and at last Leiroth decided she had preened enough. For all that waiting, her flight was short, to the point, and executed nicely.
ADULT STORY COMING SOON!!
