Ryou was very surprised-- and a little suspicious-- to discover she actually liked Rusaleon. She still half-expected him to decide her hydra-ness made her worthy of dead, or something, and though he seemed attached to-- even deferential to-- Kae-Ryss, Ryou was well aware that his species usually had it in for hers. There hadn't been any sign of it so far, though, except in his utter loathing for Kae-Ryss's father. Well, Ryou wasn't going to blame him for that, even if it kept her suspicions up; Shishayair made her more than a bit nervous, though she'd taken care not to show it as best as she could. She always had the impression that he would have been perfectly happy to snatch her up for a midday snack.

For the most part, Rusaleon was soft-spoken, friendly, and hard-working. If he was a bit militant and a bit inflexible at times-- those "antiquated morals" Kae-Ryss told her once he had, and that desire to go out and defeat evil; Ryou doubted she'd ever understand either-- well, everybody had their faults. Except Ryou, of course, but that was a given. As Kae-Ryss was so fond of saying, she was a cat.

After a month of living "on their own" on the space station-- Kae-Ryss had gotten a doubled discount for her doubled hatching results, so they were living in one of the new dragoner apartments; it was a bit old and rusty, but at least it was clean and had the right, working appliances-- Ryou was starting to think she liked this life much, much better than her last. It wasn't as crowded, for one. Kae-Ryss might not have lived with her hive-family-thing, but she stopped by often enough to get Ryou's loner hackles up. Worse, her hive-family-thing was really rather difficult to deal with, being so varied and so... well, varied. From mean to nice, from frightening to frightned, Ryou was never sure just what to expect or how to deal.

Or, she should say, her hive-family-thing had been difficult to deal with. Ryou was not forced to deal with them anymore, at all. Kae-Ryss never visited. True to her word, she had simply vanished from their lives. Only her sister knew what had happened to her, and her sister could not speak in any way to explain to anyone else. Every now and then, Ryou wondered just what they all thought of Kae-Ryss's-- but at the same time, she didn't really care. At most, she hoped maliciously that they were all lost without her and missed her terribly, even though she was never coming back. Most of them deserved it.

Of course, now she did have school for four hours every day, which, though not as bad as time spent with the hive, was still annoyingly loud and crowded. At least Kae-Ryss made Rusaleon go, too, bonded or not, while she went to work. The dogdra had, surprisingly enough, been taken up as a salesdragon by some computer software company. They'd said her "trustable" doggish traits, charming smiles, and generally unruffleable demeanor made up for her being a hydra-- and besides, some of that stigma was starting to wane, anyway. So she kept busy, too. It was a better life than skulking in the shadows, anyway.

Unfortunately, not everything was well, despite the generally improved quality of life that Ryou enjoyed. She might have been perfectly happy, but Kae-Ryss was not, and because Kae-Ryss was not, neither was her little black bond.

::She just can't seem to let go,:: Rusaleon told her unhappily while they worked on homework together, waiting for Kae-Ryss to get home from work. He was much more diligent about things than she was, and she mostly just watched him work and quietly copied his answers when he wasn't looking, since he wouldn't let her copy them outright. He didn't pay a lot of attention, though, so it was easy enough to get them, anyway. 

::Let go?:: she repeated back with lazy curiosity. She'd given up on the verbal speech thing again once she gave up most of her dislike of the yautja-beast and her desire to distance herself from him in mannerisms. Telepathy was much easier to organize. ::Of what? What in the world did she even have to let go of?::

::Wanting to make her father happy,:: Rusaleon said, sounding both frustrated and confused. Ah, it was this again. Rusaleon seemed to dwell on that quite a bit. ::It's like-- she feels like-- she's drifting. I can't explain it.::

::Maybe she wants to make someone happy,:: Ryou hazarded. ::Perhaps we're too low-maintenance for her.::

Rusaleon politely did not snort at that, though they both knew she was wrong. Kae-Ryss never seemed overly concerned with their happiness, these days, though she did make sure they were looked after and well fed, and let them snuggle up to her when they wanted to. ::If that is the case,:: he said instead, ::then she has not figured that out and is still wishing for his approval. I hear her thoughts; she does not guard them well. All the time, it comes up... what would he think of her if he knew? What would he say if he saw? Would he take her back if she went back? Would he care for her at all if--:: He broke off and looked away from Ryou, back to his homework. If Ryou didn't know any better....

But then, she didn't know any better. She blinked multiple eyes at him slowly, amusedly. ::Don't tell me your jealous.::

The dark dragon glowered at her, and she smiled blandly back at him. ::Not jealous,:: he said stubbornly, looking away again. ::I would never, could never, give someone like that such-- such--:: His mind failed at coming up with a word for whatever he was feeling. ::I'm not jealous. He's not worth jealousy.::

::Well, if you're sure, then,:: Ryou told him with a flirt of her feathered tail that said more plainly than words that she doubted him.

::All I want is for her to be happy,:: Rusaleon said, and he sounded vaguely lost, like a puppy who didn't know why his mistress wasn't paying attention to him. Heh, how apt. The puppies belonged together, Ryou figured. ::Even if she broke the bond and left us both, I wouldn't begrudge her if I thought it would be better for her. I always half-expected she'd leave me, or I'd leave her, in the end, but I can't just give up. Not yet. Not until I know she'll be happy.::

Ryou watched him sidelong from two heads, the other two focused on her homework and his. It was getting altogether too serious for an afternoon chat between children-- not that either of them were particular childlike, really. Maybe Rusaleon, a little, in his innocence, but then, he was younger than she was. Right then, though, she didn't have anything wise or insightful to say, however, so she changed the subject. Just a little. ::You know,:: she said conversationally, ::I think the only thing I care about that much is privacy. I think caring that much about everything you care about would be exhausting.::

The yautjadragon surprised her by laughing-- and it was a soft chuffing sound rather than a harsh bark, like she would have expected, too. Maybe he wasn't as doglike as he appeared. ::It's not as bad as it seems,:: he promised. ::I have a hard time not caring about anything I think is important, but I like it that way. I'd rather care about everything than nothing.::

::Maybe I just don't think very many things are important enough to care about,:: Ryou mused.

::You think Kae-Ryss is important,:: Rusaleon said.

Giving him a sidelong look out of one head this time, Ryou said, ::I suppose. I like her, anyway, and she pays for my room and board.::

He ignored her qualifications. ::And you think I'm important.::

Ryou sniffed, and lied. ::Because you're important to her.::

Rusaleon smiled at her, knowing the lie, but since she didn't have to get mushy by admitting it, that was all right. Instead, she nipped in his general direction with her longest-necked head, but her others smiled, back. ::Now are you going to finish that problem, or do I have to actually work for once?::

He looked so dismayed when he cried, ::You were copying again??:: that she laughed and actually finished the problem herself.

For once.

Chapter Twenty-Four

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