"Now," someone said across the lawn. Cacopheny paused, squinting through the light at a pale dragon-person, who stopped as if in mid-sentence and glowered at him, his shadow muttering eloquent threats and annoyances. A whole group of people had lined up opposite the line of dragons, none of whom he knew at first glance, and many of them staring at him in surprise for his late arrival. Even a few of the dragons, directly in front of him on a small, slightly raised platform, turned to look at him, their shadows murmuring amongst themselves with a myriad of emotions.

For a moment, fear held him stock-still. He couldn't go out in that, with all of them, being stared at and hated and whispered about. Dragons or no dragons, help for his warped mind or no help, he couldn't. Shadows clung to him, trying to hide him from the stares of so many, whispering reassurances and promises.

Go back inside, little one.

It's dark and safe inside.

Come on, I don't like it here.

Please, lets' go....

Then Aloia smiled, beyond them all, her slim fingers beckoning him on and out. Akija waved cheerfully, as well, and he spotted her peeking around a taller human, amidst the cluster of strangers. The comforting presences of Chiya and Ketvia hovered behind him, just out of sight within the tunnel, still there. It was enough, just enough, to draw him out of his self-imposed darkness again, to face that crowd. At least he wasn't entirely alone in the crowd.

You're never alone.

That's not the kind of alone I mean. Now hush.

Trying to look determined rather than afraid, he made his slow, careful way to the candidates, stopping just at the nearest edge. He didn't want to be close enough to any of them to touch, but not far enough away that he didn't look too much like he wasn't a part of them. Which he wasn't, not really. He'd never be "one of them", but in this at least, he was supposed to be....

"Cacopheny."

He'd only barely stopped moving, settling himself in place, when he jumped again, twitching in surprise and focusing on a familiar little pearly-white face with wide, knowing brown eyes and a short, blunt, dark gold horn between perked ears. Sentio stared up at him, smiling benignly, and Cacopheny blinked at him vaguely. Maybe this was why Aloia was smiling when she'd conveyed Sentio's wish to see him, despite his own certainty that his shadows would have torn the poor dragon to bits.

We still might.

The malice in that lowly-hissed shadow-voice made Cacopheny's hands start to tremble again, but he forced his attention on Sentio. "If you'll have me," the dragon was saying, "I'd like to see if I can help you." He was sitting back on his haunches, holding a rolled something up on his paws, offering it to him.

It's called a scroll, one shadow said, sounding bored.

It's magic... hear it?

The little bound parchment, the scroll, was humming faintly. Sentio's shadow tittered nervously, but his face was calm and even a little hopeful. Cacopheny stared for a moment longer, not quite sure what he was supposed to do now.

Take the scroll, of course, the bored one drawled. What does it look like you're supposed to do with it?

Don't do it.

Don't do it.

Don't.

I will.

He felt like he was pushing through something, like water or fur or air somehow made thick, as he tried to do as Sentio expected. His hand moved so slowly. Maybe it was shadow, trying to hold him back from all that unnatural and unfamiliar light that was the young dragon. Maybe all that light didn't really want him, such a dark and shadowy person, and so it fought him. He didn't care anymore what light and shadow wanted or didn't want, he just wanted it done. His fingers brushed the parchment.

A light brighter than any sun blinded him, and an involuntary whimper escaped before he could clamp his throat into silence-- but only just in time for another sound to invade him and make anything as small and insignificant. A sound like nothing he'd ever heard before momentarily deafened him, and he clapped his hands over his ears in useless mime of wanting to shut out the magical light-sound. He couldn't, though, and it vibrated all the way through him.

Thunder.

A bell!

A roar.

A scream!

I don't know what it is-- I don't know--

It just... is. A sound. It doesn't have to be like anything else, does it?

"Does it?" Sentio's voice repeated itself.

Cacopheny wanted to run. Something very strange had just happened, and he wasn't sure he liked it-- or disliked it. It didn't hurt, but it didn't heal; it wasn't love, and it wasn't hate; it wasn't kindness, but it wasn't anger, either. Everything felt different: like the shadows were more sharply defined but the light even more so; like day had just invaded night, but had joined with it, not banished it; like... he didn't know what it was like. Just like that sound. It had already faded into a vague memory, but he still shook with it; it was still there, someplace, hiding in the shadows or the light or some hidden corner of his mind, just waiting to come out again and frighten him all over again and chase the thoughts out of his head. He felt scattered.

I... think it was just the bonding spell. Just magic. I'm sorry it scared you.

There it was again. Cacopheny squinted down at Sentio, whose voice was now in his head, like a shadow's. But it wasn't his shadow, it was... him. Somehow.

What did you think bonding meant, stupid?

That someone would tie your wrists together?

Sentio jumped a bit and looked wildly around, then back at his new "bond", with wide, startled, even horrified eyes. He obviously hadn't realized that the "voices" he'd heard before weren't Cacopheny, himself. Now he did. Cacopheny wanted to shrink into nothing, but the shadows just kept talking.

He's inside your head now.

And look at him, he hates it.

But he can't help it, can he?

Made the choice, didn't he?

So now he's inside your head, too.

Just like the rest of us.

"No, it's not like that," Sentio tried to protest, softly but earnestly, and his shadow whimpered. "I'm not like that, I'm--"

Another bellscreamroarthunder sounded, interrupting him, and Cacopheny shut his eyes against the light, the magic, and the little dragon, all. He was the first to bond, but most certainly not the last, and he could hear the other spells. Not as loudly, or as deeply, because it was not a magic cast on him, but he heard and recognized the sound again and again as more pairs were formed.

More normal pairs.

Oh, but we will enjoy taking the boy.

He'll be as mad as you, when we're through with him.

He didn't need to see Sentio's face to know that he was suddenly afraid, horrified again as he had been when he'd first heard the shadows for what they were. Or maybe horrified, still. 

You knew it, one whispered, too softly for Sentio to hear. You knew he'd regret making this choice....

And now you'll regret it, too.

Because of what it will do to him.

Cacopheny shook his head sharply, growling softly at the closer shadows. He's just a boy. A young boy, a good boy. Leave him alone.

I'll be all right, the young voice came again, trying to sound brave. I knew you heard things, and I wanted to do this, anyway. I'll be fine. I trust you.

For a moment, Cacopheny was stunned, and he opened his eyes down at the dragon-child. Trust? Him? A dragon, trusting a crazy, violent, half-demon slave? It was preposterous. Impossible. Stupid. But it was also true, because that voice could not lie, it was too bright.

The shadows were not so stunned.

Ohohoho, trust him, do you?

You hardly know him!

You don't know the things he's done!

The things he can do.

You most certainly do not know us.

Then I'll learn.

He knew the difference, now, between the voices. The shadows were familiar, dark, silky and jagged by turns, but Sentio's was strong, smooth, and bright against the shadows-- not bright enough to banish or even fade the darker voices, but enough to know it wouldn't bring harm if it could help it. Nothing that bright could be lying, not against the dark backdrop of the shadow-voices.

Now, the dragon-voice was determined, defiant, and as solid as it could be despite the fear that still made him tremble, even as Cacopheny still shook with the aftermath of that spell.

I'll learn about him, and you, and whatever it takes. I said I wanted to help, and so I will.

The shadows were going to explode and scream and shout and say nasty things that Sentio had no need to hear, Cacopheny knew it-- so he shoved them forcibly to the back of his mind, where he hoped Sentio would not hear them. He'd never really done that before, since he'd never had anyone to hide them from; he still couldn't shut them out, not from his own mind, but at least he could keep them from hurting Sentio. He hoped.

You'll pay for this, one of them hissed, but subsided. He sighed and rubbed at his forehead.

"Sssorry," he muttered, trying to smile for Sentio. The dragon smiled bravely, back. Despite being rattled by it all, he hadn't turned away from the half-breed, hadn't run screaming or turned fangs on him; his shadow hadn't even said he'd wanted to do any of those things. Instead, though he was afraid, he said he'd learn what he could and help however he could. Maybe, somehow, this would be a good thing....

Finally!

The high-pitched mental voice was not one of the shadows, nor was it Sentio. Cacopheny looked around wildly, blindly, confused.

You dragons take so long about these things, you'd think you were the ones doing the hatching!

Following the too-sharp voice was an even sharper sound, unfamiliar, like a rock hitting another rock, or a rock breaking, but Cacopheny couldn't find the source of the sound or the voice. It hadn't come from inside, he didn't think, but somewhere around him--

"The eggs," Sentio murmured, and Cacopheny followed his gaze, to watch a small, inky black thing step down from one of the baskets placed between dragons and candidates. He shuddered, reminded suddenly of Her, and quickly looked away and squeezed his eyes shut against vision and memory. He somehow felt Sentio look back to him with concern, but shook his head faintly without opening his eyes. Later. He could explain it all later. Somehow.

And watch that innocence of his evaporate fade away.

He swallowed hard. That was the choice Sentio had made, and he couldn't keep the knowledge of what he was, had been, had done, and had done too him from the child. If Sentio was going to grow up very quickly over the next few days as he learned things he'd probably never dreamed were possible, well, that couldn't be helped now. And somehow, Sentio managed to tell him, without words like Chiya sometimes did, that he didn't mind. They were bound, and that was all that mattered. He had to smile. Yes, maybe this would be a good thing....

Now, you're more my speed, that sharp, black-and-gold voice said again, sly and smug, interrupting his thoughts and rattling him all over again. Ha! Cacopheny bit his lip with one sharp tooth and refused to look--

--until Sentio's stunned confusion rolled over him, making the shadows stir, mutter, and giggle. Then he looked quickly back at his new bond, and found him staring at that inky black egg-thing, a very small, very dark girl-dragon with bird-wings and a smirk on her bird-like face. Sentio just stared and stared, even as she turned away and padded off for a moment.

"What--"

"She bonded me," Sentio whispered in confusion. Cacopheny didn't know if that meant what he thought it did, but if it did.... He shuddered and hugged himself, suddenly cold. 

But let's see.... She came to a stop in front of another familiar face: Chario, the Fire dragon, who stood next to Akija. She stared at him, just like she'd stared at Sentio, only now grinning with a ferocity that made Cacopheny shiver.

"And she bonded Char??" Sentio said, still whispered, almost overwhelmed. Not as overwelmed as his bond was feeling.

Boys, he heard, Meet Kenjista.