When the mystery clutch at the Abstract Destiny started to hatch, eggs breaking apart and disgorging wet, ungainly hatchlings, Kae-Ryss immediately lost all hope of bonding. She rather seriously considered, in fact, creeping away in the hopes of not being noticed, at all. It was entirely possible, after all, that her presence would cause a lot of problems. After all, there was no mistaking at least half of the hatchlings' heritage, and that heritage was one that saw her kind as enemies. And if she was right in her guess as to the other half, she would be doubly in trouble here.

No wonder the clutch had said "no evil candidates". Kae-Ryss herself did not consider herself evil, and Ryou had agreed with her, so she had felt no guilt or discomfort adding her name to the list. Dark Shadow had created this clutch, after all, and her sister's bond held her in high esteem, so that seemed better than something to which she had no connection at all. Dark was responsible for Lohress, as well, and Kae-Ryss liked him well enough. Surely there would be no problems here.

That, though, had been before hatchlings with both yautjadragon and supernal traits had started breaking shell. Doctor Schroeder looked delighted, standing off to the side and laughing in his pleased surprise, but Kae-Ryss was disappointed. Neither creature was likely to take kindly to her presence-- she half-expected her joking comment about the catdras biting at her ankles to actually come true, at this hatching-- and it would be easier, she expected, to slink up to the audience with Ryou and Mu-Lin and let the hatching proceed uninterrupted by childish attempts at violence. She didn't particularly want to have to fend off babies; it would be too much trouble trying to protect herself without hurting them.

She hadn't gotten more than a crouch and a side-step away, however, when one of the newly hatched spotted her, pulled its mandibles apart-- was that a threatening expression? she couldn't tell-- and bounded awkwardly towards her.

::I don't want any trouble,:: she warned it warily, and privately.

::I don't mind trouble, if it's gotten while I'm getting rid of trouble,:: the hatching-- a male, she heard-- answered, equally privately and surprisingly without malice. ::But I think it's a good idea if we get out of here, anyway. That'll be getting rid of trouble before it starts.::

And when another hatchling spotted her and pulled its mandibles apart-- that time it was definitely a threatening gesture-- the little male paused, looking over his shoulder and glaring from beneath his heavy forehead. The other hatchling gave a start, pulled its mandibles back in, and went on its way.

::"We"?:: Kae-Ryss repeated, watching in honest disbelief as the male hatchling finished his hurried trek across the bay towards her, somehow avoiding tripping on the uneven flooring.

The hatchling looked up at her for a moment before answering, expression difficult to read-- possibly thoughtful, possibly sad, possibly irritated. It was hard to tell, with the odd face of yautja-hybrids. He was black, all the way through, like she was. The nubs of horns on either side of his head, his blunt claws, and the arms of his wings were hard, metallic gold, his feathers and wing-membranes were white, and his eyes were blue, but his body was dark, unrelieved black except for the gray speckling on his forehead and haunches. They matched, she realized wryly.

That was when she realized he'd bonded her, almost without her noticing, and she stopped looking and started staring. She'd wanted to bond-- why else would she come to a bonding-only clutch? Why else would she come to a clutch at all? But being bonded to by-- by someone who would find her entire family, if not herself, despicable and worthy of being destroyed-- it made no sense! Kae-Ryss was shaken out of her usual, cultivated calm by shock, and she stared down at him, unable to believe it.

But he had bonded her, she couldn't deny it even as she couldn't believe it. She felt it, if belatedly: it had been a light touch, deferential and careful, even polite, so as not to surprise her or overwhelm her any more than the revelation of being bonded by a yautjadragon hybrid would, already. She felt him-- not like her, not anything like her, except in his general lack of temper and calm nature-- hovering around her thoughts. He was open to her, polite and waiting, for her to get to know him as he'd instantly gotten to know her.

Well, all right, maybe more like her than she would have thought.

::We,:: he finally said with a heaved sigh as he sensed her realization. ::Come on, we can eat somewhere else. We're going to be stared at, here.::

He was right. Some of his siblings were giving the two of them funny looks, now, as was one of the lab assistance. They all rather looked like they thought the little one was crazy. ::All right,:: she agreed. ::We can tell them your name, pick up my sister, and go get you something more real than a hunk of raw meat.::

He nodded. ::Thank you. My name is Rusaleon.::

Kae-Ryss started for the stairs and the lab assistant standing there to take their names for the records, and the hatchling-- Rusaleon; no hiss at the end of his name, of course-- followed close to her heels. Very close on her heels, in fact. She didn't want to trip on him. ::Is someone with as fancy a name as that too proud for a ride?:: she asked archly, pausing and offering him her tail to grab hold of and climb up with.

::Of course not,:: he answered immediately, sounding both surprised and pleased, and one of her smaller heads turned around to watch him clamor up her spine to rest on her hips, clinging to her mane and half-supported by her folded feathers. It felt oddly right, having him perched there, even opposed to the better-suited species that Ryou represented. It was disconcerting, how much easier it was to start walking again and adjust to his weight and balance, and his quiet pleasure at being carried. Disconcerting that she enjoyed carrying him, even if he should have technically been her enemy.

The lab assistant stared at her when she stopped in front of him. She gave him their names tersely, and he scrambled to enter them-- probably expecting her to bite him, or something, though he ought not to have worried. Obviously someone who had bonded a yautjadragon hybrid wasn't going to go around randomly biting people she got impatient with.

Though she had to admit to not exactly being a model citizen in the past. It had never really been a problem, given no one expected her to be, and she had jobs to do. She hoped it would not be a problem now. It was one thing to adapt to a bond, to compromise, but quite another to completely change herself just to suit him and his antiquated morals.

She sensed Rusaleon's sigh more than heard it, but she refused to comment. There was Mu-Lin and Ryou to greet, after all, both of them making their way through the mostly-still-seated crowd towards them. ::My sister,:: she told the hatchling, though she had the feeling he already knew. They did look rather similar, despite their coloring and size differences. She continued, anyway. ::Mu-Lin. She is mute in nearly every way, but she is sweet. And Ryou D'hothorni. She is my previous attempt at a bond.::

Rusaleon nodded-- the lesser head still trained on him caught it-- and sent a wordless acknowledgement. ::She is much like you?:: he asked.

::Quite a bit,:: Kae-Ryss admitted, a little amused. ::Though perhaps less ambitious.:: "We'll talk upstairs," she told them both briefly as they finally reached the stairs, Mu-Lin's mouths hanging open, doglike and excited, if silent, and Ryou giving Rusaleon a very suspicious look. "Too crowded in here."

::Agreed,:: Ryou said, and Mu-Lin nodded in hasty agreement. She, carrying Ryou much the way Kae-Ryss carried Rusaleon, trotted up the stairs behind her darker sister. She kept beaming at him, though he avoided her gaze. Kae-Ryss had the heart-sinking feeling that the vague guilt in his mind was related to her sister, and did not want to consider the notion that he disliked her already. She could take his disapproval of much of her life, but if he disapproved of her he could take his morals on a long walk to find a new bond.

His nervousness at that unprotected thought did not bode well.

Chapter Twenty-Two

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