The trip back to his apartment from the hatching deck was slightly fuzzy or, more appropriately, Zale felt slightly fuzzy while making the trip, much more slowly than he'd made it the opposite direction, thankfully. Wiro walked beside him, full and a little sleepy but supremely content just to be with him and heading towards her new home. She was still a bit sticky from the fluids in her egg, but a promised shower was enough to make her put up with it until then. As the largest of her clutchmates, her head came up to the middle of his chest, she was so big, and her folded wings were at a comfortable height for him to rest his hand on, which he was doing. Not only did she seem to like it, judging from the way affection and weary happiness were drifting through whatever link she'd formed between them when she chose him, but he found that he liked the contact, as well.

Even without music to keep him occupied, he hadn't thought once about what else he could have been doing, that he hadn't done in a year in a half, since before the hatching. That, in and of itself, was a small miracle. The buzz of Wiro's thoughts and feelings in the back of his mind kept him neatly distracted, and it was a welcome relief, and a nice change. As much as he loved music, this was worlds better-- and not just because it was an interactive, responsive distraction, either, though that had to be part of it.

:I should hope that's not all there is to it,: Wiro responded teasingly to the unspoken thought-- more like a feeling, maybe, or at most an idle pondering.

Of course it's not, he thought back-- or just thought, and she heard it, with much more clarity than the fuzzy background-noise of her own thoughts in his head. Her ability to pick things out of his head without even his mentally articulating them was nice, and her habit of treating things he'd only thought as things he'd said was a welcome one. Already, he thought they'd get along wonderfully.

:Good,: she purred back at him. :How much farther is it, anyway?:

They'd already come out of the lift and were walking down the residential "street" Zale's apartment, so it wasn't very far. A few people peered out of windows and one little girl, seated in the "front yard" of her family's little apartment, actually ran to the edge of it for a closer look. Wiro waved her tail at the child, but was too tired-- and too focused on Zale, it seemed, from where her thoughts kept circling back to-- to do much more. Zale managed a wave, though, which made the child giggle and run back inside the house.

"Right here," he said, as they crossed the nothingness that was his own "yard". He had ever particularly cared whether he had holographic images, astro-turf, hardy plots of grass, or anything other than the plain, metallic surface that the apartments came with in front of their doors. Most of the people in this part of the station, the cheapest parts, had astro-turf, with the occasional holograph. Real plants were for the rich who could afford their upkeep.

:You know, I like your voice,: Wiro commented warmly as they crossed the bare-floor lawn. :It's a very nice voice.:

A little embarrassed, Zale shrugged and smiled, and a click from his electronic key sent the door sliding open. For a moment he wasn't even sure whether Wiro would fit through the door, but she hugged her wings tightly to her back and managed it. I'm going to need to move, he thought absently.

:That might be a good idea, soon,: Wiro agreed. :I don't know how fast I'll grow, but I won't fit if I get much bigger.: As she squeezed the rest of the way into the apartment, she suddenly stopped, just inside, with a sudden wash of surprise and a little fear. :What is that?: she asked quickly, and Zale slipped in behind her to see Cannon, having heaved himself to his feet and started to bound to the door to greet his owner, only to be just as surprised, himself, to find a big, silver thing coming in, instead. After a moment of staring at each other, while Zale got the door shut behind him, Cannon broke the stalemate first by scrambling back and hiding behind the armchair.

With a startled little laugh, Zale maneuvered around his new bond. "Cannon-- Cannon, hey." Words failed him, but he went down on one knee beside the chair, holding out his hand. "S'okay," he added, trying to sound soothing. He'd read somewhere that tone was more important than words with a dog-- but since he really wasn't very good with either, he hadn't had much chance to try it out, especially since so little ever phased Cannon, anyway. The dog at least licked his fingers obligingly, but didn't budge.

:I didn't mean to scare him,: Wiro said apologetically, sitting down by the door and radiating indecisiveness.

You scared each other, Zale thought at her, you're just easier to reason with. The idea of her trying to actually talk to the dog, in his furry head like she did with him, crossed his mind.

:I can try, but that might just scare him more.:

Well, if it was just feelings, maybe....

:Oh, that's a good idea,: she responded to the vague thought with a bit more cheer. For a moment her focus shifted, away from Zale, to something beyond their pairing. It was the first time she'd done that since they'd bonded-- even while she'd been eating, she had still been talking to him, or at least thinking about him-- and though it didn't exactly feel bad, it was certainly different. Not quite as comfortably distracting, but he thought it was about time he learned to get along with distracting himself. Besides, he didn't think it was reasonable to want be the center of her attention all the time, so he'd have to get used to it.

Odd, how quickly one adapted to being bonded.... Zale would never have thought about missing the feeling of being the center of anyone's attention, before now.

Slowly, Cannon began to inch forward, peering around the chair and Zale to study Wiro warily. She'd settled down on her stomach, chin on her paws and tail curled around her, looking as non-threatening as she possibly could. To Zale's eyes, she looked positively adorable, but who knew what a dog thought of such things? After a long moment, though, Cannon finally got to his feet and padded over to sniff her over with his usual air of mournful boredom. Zale didn't know what she'd done, but somehow Wiro had gotten him over his sudden-- and understandable, in his case!-- fear, and he was proud of her. It was certainly nothing he could ever have done. Her mental flush of pleasure at the approval made him smile even more.

After Cannon had made his rounds, investigating Wiro, he plodded back to the chair and flopped down beside it, no longer finding her interesting enough to bother over. Wiro glanced back at her bond, hazel eyes questioning. I think you passed, Zale thought at her with a little amusement, and with a little sigh, she rose gracefully and gave herself a little shake, full of disgust for how she felt.

:I've never really been clean before, I guess,: she stated, :but I'd love to find out what it feels like before I find somewhere comfortable to sleep for a week.:

"Oh, yeah," he said, remembering that he'd promised her a shower. He pointed to the single bathroom his one-bedroom apartment sported, then led the way so he could show her how to work it-- or, as it ended up happening, working it for her and helping to scrub her down. If he'd thought getting her through the door was a squeeze, trying to wash her down in his small box-shower took even more creativity. By the time she felt clean, the majority of the bathroom was wet, and Zale was soaked-- but he didn't really mind. Water evaporated, clothes and hair dried, and he had towels. One he donated to Wiro and helped her dry off with. She tried to return the favor, but she was tired, and still baby-clumsy with fine movements, despite grace in everything else.

"Really need to move," he commented with a sigh and a bit of a smile, watching Wiro wriggle her way through the bathroom door and out into the living room again.

Wiro agreed, though didn't bother commenting. Instead, she asked, :Where can I sleep?: Zale thought a moment. Just making her sleep on the floor didn't seem right, and there certainly wasn't room on the couch for her-- but his room was an absolute mess, and he wasn't sure he really wanted her to see it before he'd had a chance to pick things up a bit. :Don't be silly,: she said, yawning widely. :You just thought about it, so I've already seen it.: While he blushed faintly, she added, :Besides, I don't really care... I just want to sleep. That's all.: The gaze she brought to bear on him was pleading and altogether irresistible. :I promise I won't make fun of it or be disgusted or anything.:

"Well...." Though the word didn't come out, his sheepish smile and nod told her yes, and he led her into the clothing-strewn bedroom. That really accounted for most of the mess, clothes he'd been too lazy to put away properly; he didn't have much, other than clothes and furniture and the occasional family picture on a wall or a table.

As promised, Wiro ignored the clutter except to avoid tripping on it, and climbed onto the bed. She had to have weighed twice as much as Zale did, and the low-slung, old bed creaked in protest. At least he'd gotten himself a nice, big bed when he'd gotten all of his second-hand furniture, despite his certainty that he'd never have anyone but himself in it. He hadn't ever thought, even in his most far-fetched suppositions, he'd have a dragon in it.

:Well, I am,: Wiro told him simply. :And I'm not that big. There's still room for you.:

Suppose there is, he thought. After everything that had happened, he knew he should be every bit as tired as she was, but all he really felt was mildly bewildered, and oddly content. Even so, after drifting out to change into something that wasn't chilly and damp, laying down sounded very inviting. By the time he'd settled down on what space was left of the bed, Wiro was sound asleep, though she sighed and nuzzled her head into his chest when he tentatively touched her. It wasn't longer after that, that he was asleep, too.

Chapter Five

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