Bond Story of Isaak Isaak and the two searchers burst onto the dunes unnoticed by the rest of the residents and bonders at the Healing Den. Isaak found himself being pushed forcefully into the crowd and stood very still and very straight, trying not to scream in frustration. He had no idea what was going on, besides the fact that a strangely tinted muzzle was nosing its way out of an egg and everyone seemed to be watching it. The egg crumbled below the strong thick legs of the hatchling. He had pale semi-transparent wing sails, but his coloration was different...looking almost like a piece of metal that was starting to rust. All gray, of course. Cerise whined uncertainly at his legs, and Isaak bent over and patted her head gently, curling his fingers into the warm, silky fur as he wished he'd had more preperation. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't, and the eggs were hatching. He'd just have to make do. Too bad he'd have to make do with everything in black, white and gray. Another three eggs smashed open as the first pair made their way off the dunes. From what Isaak could hear around him, they were all blue, though all he could see was the different shades of lighter gray. None of them looked very pale, and one was much darker, but Isaak couldn't be sure. He patted Cerise again and made his feet stop moving backwards. He would stay. The first two bonded rather quickly, and Isaak had a feeling they knew what they were about. His heart sank to his gut and he ground his teeth. Why had he made such a rash decision in coming along? It wasn't like him at all. At that time, the last blue was wandering about. The dark colored offspring walked back and forth on the sand, pacing near another egg. He sat down by it, waiting, and that was that. Isaak thought he might be up to something, but who could say? He certainly couldn't. A trio of new hatchlings appeared on the sands, scattered around the dunes. One with a sharp crest and long fingered wings, one with a rather pointed head, who stomped around the ground near an unhatched egg before she rushed off to find her bond, and a darkly colored one with long hornlike knobs who bellowed loudly at the first of the three to hatch. They seemed to be having some sort of bellowing contest, from the sounds of things. Cerise whined and Isaak fought down the urge to plug his ears. Five eggs then broke, and didn't leave much time for the worried thoughts running through Isaak's mind. The big red-winged hatchling shook off the sand and spare shells from his back, and walked carefully up to a girl; Isaak knew no one's names or anything. He felt rather....alone. Except for Cerise, he thought as she stuck a wet nose in his hand. A stunning male was next, his wings held high as he shook himself clean of egg and sand. He looked toward the stands and trumpeted. I am Vedoth, I am going to keep everyone safe! Obviously, he had decided not to bond. Isaak was surprised when a speckled, tiny hatchling made it's way to a boy and another snickered that it was green. True, greens usually bonded to females, but Isaak still moved away from the boys with a frown in their direction...no easy task considering his larger frame. A large hatchling stood out of his shell, and very calmly waved his wings in the air to dry them. He was pale, Isaak could tell that, but not overly so. He stood with a strong pair of back legs to support him, and raised his shorter forelegs up close to his chest, making Isaak wonder about his breeding. He gazed at the assembly of bonders, and his sparkling yellow eyes drifted over Isaak and therefore out of his interest zone. The last of one females eggs hatched, much to the enjoyment of the dark blue who had been waiting there near it. A gradient-winged hatchling wiggled out of the narrow hole in the shell she'd made, and plopped out of the egg onto her brother. The two bonded, rather obviously, and decided to stay on at the Headling Den. Isaak wasn't sure if that was good or not. Several more eggs broke at once, not really giving anyone a chance to relax or trade stories or even bet on the outcome. Another nest was emptied of its last egg as a great dark bodied dragon burst the shell open. With deep-colored wings, she fanned the air and stood up dramatically. S he gazed around, but wasn't ready to do anything more until she saw someone standing a ways away from Isaak. His attention wavered again, and he patted Cerise and flicked his fingers, watching her dart away between bonders legs. She'd be back before long, and wouldn't go far in the first place. He turned his attention back to the hatching. All the way on the other end of the sands, a lovely shaded dragon hatched out. She had backwards pointing horns, already, and shades under her wings. The dragon looked around carefully and saw her bond; again a ways from Isaak. He was started to get irritated. Two sets of oddly similar - completely different from one another - hatchlings got out of piles of sand, and wobbled toward the candidates. From one nest came an oddly colored ... brown and gold, if Isaak heard right. The body was a fairly typical brown mottled with lighter and darker bits, but the wing sails on this happy looking dragon were clearly a bright shining metallic gold. Isaak was glad to have people taking around him with such loud voices. It was almost as good as seeing the color himself. Almost. From relatively nearby, another last from a clutch, came ... a two toned tan and beige brown, with ... dark green wings. This, a pair of brother and sister decided, was exactly what they'd been looking for, and the two pushed their forward to claim their dragons. Isaak stood very still and tried to look unappealing. While the folks in the audience were trying to figure out what just happened, something else far easier to understand went on. Two hatchlings of unknown color to Isaak, both from the same nest, broke their shells and bumped into one another. They were sufficiently different to show that they had different sires, but their mother's fine features showed on both. They were both quite dark, too, except for their wing sails which differed in shading. The bonds must have spoken, for one of the hatchlings stood up and flapped his wings for balance, but eventually toppled onto the other dragon, and all four of them had to be untangled before they could get up. Laughter filled the sands, as they were escorted away. At last, a lull! Water and drinks were passed out, it was what most people would consider about 'noon' in the Den, though the level of light didn't change in the slightest. The Den was floating through null space, in the Nexus, guided to its next destination even while the hatching was going on. Isaak shivered when he thought of that, and blocked it from his mind. Cerise appeared unnoticed as he was trying to do so. Finally after about a fifteen minute wait, the next set of eggs seemed ready to break. Someone called out that there were hatchlings on the sand, and everyone's attention was diverted back to the dunes. A richly toned hatchling shattered the last solid egg of her nest, and stepped out from it. Her legs were stout but she looked quite confident. Beyond her, another egg had broken open and a bright dragon had emerged, though Isaak couldn't have placed shade or color had his life depended on it. When two blues, Isaak heard someone name their color, hatched near one another, in the right-hand side of the sands, they almost instantly started fighting. One of them was bore a slender pale line on his side, like a knife cut. It was really the only way Isaak could tell them apart at this distance, besides the beginnings of horns on the others head. Both of them seemed rather oblivious to the rest of the world. But while they were intent on one another, two males in the candidates area were also intent on them. Pulling the blues apart proved to be harder than either thought possible, and Isaak was amused to hear the boys were brothers, and acted much the same as the blues had been; fighting all the time. While the brothers and blues were brought off the sands to separate areas for their meal and oiling, a lovely static speckled grey white hatched. Isaak was thrilled that he was seeing her real colors. She had sharp wings, and a long straight spine coming from her wing wrist. She lay on the warm sand, and looked around with bright eyes. Her bond eventually found her, but Isaak was already watching elsewhere. From way in the back of the right side of the cavern, and nearer to the stands toward the front, came the sounds of two eggs shattering. Both with some force, but the one in the back opened up first. The hatchling which came from the egg was medium in color, but looked to have an attitude. Isaak avoided even looking at her. The last thing he needed was a dragon with attitude. The other egg to hatch was the last of of her clutch. She was long, this dark winged hatchling, and had beautiful shimmering scales on her hide, plus her mother's distinct antennae off her eyebrows. She snaked around the candidates, looking at each one - and there were still many - before stopping in front of a strong willed looking girl. Cerise whined again, showing her obvoius distaste for the dunes. "A while longer." Isaak muttered, wondering who he was talking to. The next eggs to hatch were a while in coming, but everyone was eager to see how the rest of the hatching would go. There were just under half the candidates, and perhaps just about half the dragon eggs left whole on the sands. Two of them wobbled around until they broke, a large dark egg on the left, and right up in the very front of the sands the last of some smallish eggs shattered. The dark egg showed a shimmer, a hatchling with a strong ridge on his neck and scaled belly and long wings. The dragon looked around, and calmly turned to the doors leading to the feeding area. Another choosing not to bond. While all the dragons had been hatching, and everyone had been doing the typical things that people did while watching this hatching, Isaak was having a lot of trouble figuring out what the hell was happening. He obviously wasn't the only one, but it sure felt like it. A light colored dragon suddenly appeared and bonded a man looking around with much the same look Isaak knew he must be showing. The man passed out, or something, and was carried off by his bond. Isaak shuddered, hoping that didn't happen to him. He was prepared. He was! Cerise whined uncertainly. During a brief quiet lull, Isaak looked around and petted Cerise, trying to calm her...and himself. A pale hatchling with a strong crest and long straight legs walked out of it's shell, catching Isaak by surprise, and the hatching was back on. The hatchling picked up his feet, carrying himself with pride across the sands. And, fortunately for him, he did not face-plant or trip before he got to his destination. Head held high up, he looked at the big black dragon in the corner. He bonded the black dragon, as far as Isaak could tell, and the two left. Isaak shook his head to clear it and sighed, biting back a yawn. This was taking a lot longer than he'd originally thought it would. Three eggs began to break, all of them right in the center sands. The bonders perked up when they saw three very different hatchlings emerge, and not one of them were 'typical' of their kind, in color at least. Isaak listened carefully to their color. The first to fully break out of his shell was from the last egg in it's nest, and the sea-faring dragon opened his solid wings, and shook the sand from his webbed feet. He looked around, carefully, and watched his two scattered clutch mates breaking out of their own shells. The deeply mottled orange and deep brown-black male nudged a girl, careful of her dangerous scales. The two bonded, left, and Isaak stood, wondering what was going on. He really should have thought more about what he was doing before agreeing to bond. Next time. Cerise snorted. Isaak glared. The hatching continued. Meanwhile a surprisingly red and sunset-shaded dragon marched beside a pale white-ice-blue from the other nest. Isaak frowned at the pale blue, wondering if he was really as light as he looked. They seemed to pace one another, but then as they looked at the bonders they split up. The red with high single ridge spines and wings held high looked at a girl and gave off a cheering chirrup, and that bond was done. The pale blue looked around at the remaining bonders, and Isaak felt the eyes stop on him. It was then he noticed Cerise rubbing up against the long-tailed dragon, and the warmth that seemed to encompass him from head to toe. I think this belongs to you, but so do I. For your information, I am just as pale as you think I am, and just as handsome, smart and entertaining too. The ice-blue gave a shake of his horned head, and his mother, up in the rafters groaned that her last egg had to hatch into a comedian... "Glupith, I guess you're everything I'd ever want in a dragon, huh?" Isaak nudged the dragon, and Cerise gave a little bark so he patted her head too. Isaak felt...overwhelmed. The dragon was beautiful, from what he could tell, and for some odd reason, because of the bond he knew he now shared with Glupith, he could tell the dragons exact color. Tears welled in his eyes and he hurried the hatchling and Cerise off the sands. Just as they were leaving the sands, and Cerise was very happy that she'd be able to gobble down as much meat as she could handle along side the ice blue, two more eggs started shaking, and Isaak smiled and laughed. Two more people were about to have their lives changed....just as surely as his had, if he knew it or not. Isaak bonded at the Healing Den Cerise is from Tavrobel Cove on Lantir-Setia