Alchemy and Bronze Defaenyath's Den

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It was easier to shrug off comments made by the other candidates at this hatching than Alchemy expected. He was green after all. Well, his ever-so-distant half-sister Amaranth was lavender, and there were furry people as well as folk who dug themselves right up from under the hatching sands -- unexpectedly, from what Alchemy could tell. Amaranth had looked him over good and hard before grinning at him and telling him in no uncertain terms to keep himself away from her when he thought she was most attractive. Alchemy didn't have a clue what she meant, but took the words to heart. The eggs were certainly worth looking at, Alchemy decided. His trips to the hatching sands, along with the other (and younger) candidates, were frequent. The golden mother of the eggs permitted only so much closeness, and then she got snippy. Everyone backed off when she said so, including her night-bronze mate. Alchemy traded information with his sister, knowing that she would be going back to a time before him: he'd just broken the primary rule of time travel. But then again, he wasn't speaking to HIMSELF in a prior era, was he? He was making someone ELSE quite knowledgable. They were both wondering how Ten was doing - they knew that he was waiting for his own bonded dragon, at a place called Vella Crean. But now, the hatching here at Ryslen had started and everyone was called down to the red sands.

Though Amaranth and Alchemy didn't understand why everyone was slightly disappointed by it, the first to hatch was a lovely bright colored blue dragonet. Suddenly... All the emotions of the people around him started to change. Excitement turned to wonder, and hope to anxiety for some. Alchemy tried to concentrate on his own feelings... And he wasn't sure where he stood there. Another dragonet hatched, a dark-brown who bonded shortly. Then, a dark colored green came into the world. Everyone was pleased, it was a good hatching so far, but there was a pensive feeling too. And that feeling suddenly changed, for one young man from Zekira. A bronze dragonet climbed from his shell, and walked carefully out to Alchemy. He was large, graceful. Alchemy looked at his eyes, they were swirling in colors which he suddenly understood to mean 'hungry' and 'seeking'. But they shortly turned more to 'hungry, feed me!' because in a mere moment, the dragon bonded to Alchemy. I thought I felt someone worth my while, the dragon announced to Alchemy alone. The dragon's voice was smooth like his color, a creamy rich metallic shade of bronze. There were other candidates bonding at that time, but both dragon and new rider ignored them wholly in favor of exploring each other's minds.  Alchemy thought he detected a wry streak, perceptive and useful, in the dragon. Defaenyath caught a whiff of his rider's love of experience and wanted to join in. And, if you had not found me? Would you have just walked away from the sands? Alchemy asked, but the dragon did not bother to answer. Why should he? He'd bonded! They left the sands and their sisters, who found one another shortly thereafter.

"He's such a handsome one," one of the local ladies commented on Defaenyath. Or perhaps they were talking about Alchemy, but either of them would be happy to take the credit. It was me they were talking about, Def said, smug. He stood and waved his large wings, and you know it! "I hardly think women on two legs would be talking about four-legged ones like you..." Alchemy said, while flipping through his handbook for riders. "And besides, we've got work to do. You know that you're going to be fitted with a harness today." I ... suppose I am. I do not think it will remain on me for very long. Besides, I am going to grow out of it. "There will be other harnesses," Alchemy laughed, "you know they can make more than one..." He sensed a bit of disappointment in the bronze, but they attended the fitting session anyway...

Now, tell me again. Make it make sense, Alchemy. I trust you to make it sensible this time. "All right. Def, we're going to teleport back to my home world, which is far away. We're going to a place that's in the future of your clutch mate's bond Amaranth. Since we came from two different times. She will stay back at hers, and we will go to mine." The big bronze swung his tail slowly back and forth, and his eyes indicated his displeasure at having to hear this nonsense again. But how will we possibly mate if we're in different times? You're not GOING to mate with her! Amaranth's my sister, and Racynioth's yours! There is nothing wrong with that in either of our worlds, from what your memories state. Why do you have a problem with it now? Because if Amaranth and I ... mate, she'll become pregnant. While it's probably not bad for your kind, it'd be less easy on both of us. Our mother is the same-- Then you are less than pure siblings! See!? Alchemy wanted to extend his coersion powers to the dragon, but knew it would never work. It never had. So, he simply told the dragon, "you'll find a mate in our time, there are more dragons there anyway. And they'll doubtless be descendants of Racy, so you should be happy. We're going to make our impact in the skies not on the sands, okay?" Defaenyath remained unconvinced, but allowed Alchemy to put the coordinates for their teleportation in his mind clearly. It would be a shorter trip than had been at the start- it seemed that the planets or the space between them had gotten closer...