For a long moment Cacopheny didn't, couldn't, move. He stood there in the middle of all that light, with Sentio standing beside him, as still as he was, and stared at the little black... whatever she was, who had quite thoroughly turned what was already a strange, likely difficult situation into an even more strange, difficult one. Not even the pale dragon-person's roar for attention and subsequent words of suggestion--

More like command, disguised.

Arrogant dragon.

--quite shook Cacopheny back into any kind of focus, much less action. It took Sentio finally shaking himself out of the shock and nudging his thigh, making him twitch and step away immediately, free of the dark dragon to look down at the light one.

"We're supposed to go turn in our scroll," the dragon murmured, and Cacopheny realized he still held it-- a little smashed, by his unconscious clutching, but intact. He blinked at it, then at the crowd gathering around the disgruntled, proud dragon-person, and shivered. He didn't want to get that close... with all those people... he could hurt someone, if a shadow took an opportunity, and he did not want to start his first night bonded like that. It would probably not be good for Sentio.

Besides, he wasn't sure he wanted to get too near that little black one....

"Not much hope of that," Sentio said with a little sigh, looking after Chario and Akija, after whom the black one was trailing. "She bonded me, an' all... but I'll go. You can wait here, I'll take the scroll over."

Relieved, Cacopheny nodded and let Sentio take the rolled parchment in his teeth and trot briskly over to the group with it.

By the time Sentio had gotten through the press of people-- which was abating, now that most people had already turned in their scrolls-- Chario and Akija were already done, and to one side, with tiny Kenjista sitting primly between Chario's forepaws. Neither Chario nor Akija seemed too pleased; Akija looked downright angry, in fact.

Sentio glanced briefly back at his own bond, who hadn't moved since he'd left him, eyes shut and arms wrapped around himself, and whose "shadows" were at least not bothering him at the moment-- that would take getting used to, but at least he'd expected something of the sort when he made this choice.... Then he looked back to his other bond and the fiery pair. With a little sigh, he trotted first to the nearer three; maybe he could get them into some kind of group-- inside, maybe-- so he wouldn't feel guilty talking to one and not the other. They'd need to talk things over, anyway.

He arrived at the trio just in time to hear Kenjista saying smugly, ::I know,:: and he had to stop himself from asking what she knew. He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Instead, he turned back his ears and ducked his head-- he felt all too tall, beside tiny Akija-- saying meekly, "I don't suppose you'd mind coming inside a bit with me and Cacopheny. I think, um, we need to talk about things, and--" he took a quick glance to Cacopheny, who looked something less than comfortable, from his expression and posture; he didn't dare "look" any deeper, not yet-- "I don't think he wants to be out here any longer."

Akija tossed a glance at the half-demon, herself, and answered with a sigh, "Sure."

Sentio nodded a bit and, giving Kenjista-- his other bond-- an uncertain look, turned and trotted quickly back to the one he'd chosen. He caught the petulant, ::Iiiiiii want a bath,:: from Kenjista, and made a mental note to show her the shower he knew inhabited a humanized bathroom at the complex and let her have fun while they all talked. It would get her out of the way for a while, at least.

Cacopheny's eyes opened again as he approached, blinked dazedly, then focused past him at the trio behind him. For a moment a wash of stark fear, a whiff of black hatred, a trill of pleasure all bombarded Sentio, then quite abruptly dimmed, then cut off entirely, as Cacopheny's eyes settled again on his bond and registered what he was doing. Somehow, he blocked off the transmitting through the bond the scroll-spell had formed, wearing a pained and apologetic expression. "Ssssorry," he whispered hoarsely.

"It's all right," Sentio answered, just as softly, though his voice shook. ::You don't need to do that,:: he added silently, trying to sound brave. ::I can take it... really.:: Only a slight headshake answered him, with only faint doubt and shame making it through whatever block he'd erected. Sentio tried again, "Why don't we go somewhere-- your room, maybe? I think we should maybe talk about things. With Akija and Char and.. Kenjista."

The pause was barely noticeable, but Sentio thought Cacopheny noticed it, for his black eyes flicked to the tiny daemoness and back. "I... kesss," he answered. "Yess. Zzhoult. My rrroom iss fine." Then, with a quick look around, he turned sharply and stalked back into the tunnelway leading inside.

The odd little group of five made their way past the bonding offices, through the meeting room, and down the hall of candidate dorm rooms almost down to the end. Cacopheny walked swiftly, a little hunched, as if he felt eyes on him still, and not looking at anything but the floor. Sentio had to trot to keep up with him, trying to stay just beside him, and cast an apologetic look at Akija and Chario-- he couldn't see Kenjista, behind them-- for the pace, shrugging his wings in an attempt to convey that he didn't know why they were going so fast, much less how to get his new bond to slow down. He didn't mind, and Chario could easily keep up, but Akija was small, and Kenjista far smaller.

They reached nearly the last room in the hall, and Cacopheny opened it with a little fumbling and slipped inside, holding the door open for the rest of the troupe. Someone inside moved and spoke, and as he entered behind his bond, Sentio recognized the human-formed dragons who had been hovering around Cacopheny both nights he'd met with him, always bustling him off afterwards. His guardians, Sentio guessed. One, a Light dragoness, was smiling tremulously as she bent the half-demon down gently with hands on his shoulders to kiss his cheek. The other, a Fire, just smirked and waved at the rest of the group as they peered past Sentio.

"We'll be out of your hair in a moment, promise," she told them all lightly. "Though you probably haven't seen the last of us," she added, nodding to Sentio. The Light released Cacopheny, and the Fire put an arm around her shoulders. "Introductions later," the Fire said firmly. "I think these fellows have some discussion ahead of them."

"We'll be outside in the meeting room if you need us for anything, Cacopheny," the Light said softly, patting his arm, then both slipped out somehow, past the trio outside and down the hall.

Then, as Akija and Chario filed in, Kenjista pranced in behind them, strutting as if she were queen over it all-- not that there was much to see, much less be mistress of. Sentio had briefly glimpsed empty candidate rooms, and they'd looked more lived-in than this one did. The four beds were stripped, for one thing, and all bunched up in pairs away from the back wall, two on either side of the room. The bulk of the bedding that had, one had to assume, been on the beds at one point was wadded up in one corner, the one opposite the small press for whatever clothes a candidate might have with him. Sentio looked around curiously, but couldn't find any sign of any kind of personal items, clothes, small portraits, not even a hairbrush. Did Cacopheny not have anything but the clothes he stood up in?

A flounce of black and green distracted him from that somewhat disturbing thought, as Kenjista bounded past him and right into the bundle of blankets and sheets in the corner, turning in little circles like a cat. "So much for her highness wanting a bath," Akija muttered.

Behind him, at the still-open door, Cacopheny made a strangled sound that might have been a whimper or a growl, or both. Sentio glanced at him worriedly, to find him staring at Kenjista. He muttered under his breath, a low whine that sounded alien and grating, but somehow made sense: "But that's mine-- she never liked the floor-- there are plenty of beds-- why did she take mine?"

"Cacopheny?" he asked with some concern, ears twitching anxiously. Was that demon-speech he was hearing and-- somehow or another-- understanding? He wasn't sure he liked the idea of being able to understand demon-speech. It made his fur bristle faintly.

The half-demon blinked, then gave a small, tight smile. "Vat?" Obviously he wasn't going to do anything, or say anything, about whatever bothered him about Kenjista being on his bed. If that pile of fabric could be considered a bed.

::If you don't like her on your-- your bed,:: Sentio sent, ::you can just move her.::

"No, no," Cacopheny answered breathlessly as if Sentio had spoken aloud, shaking his head. "Iss fine, iss fine. Really."

Sentio frowned a bit. "No, it's not. You're my bond, and if you don't like someone in your bed, then you shouldn't have someone in your bed." As Cacopheny gave him a pained look, which he ignored, Sentio trotted over to Kenjista and, before she could resist or avoid him, snatched her up by the scruff of the neck in his mouth and lifted her free of the blankets. The daemon-dragon let out an undignified squawk and tried to keep a hold of the blankets, but she was too small, her claws too soft, and the blankets too heavy. She came free even before he'd had his head fully level again, dangling from his mouth.

::That's Cacopheny's bed, and you're all sticky,:: he told her firmly as he carried her towards the door leading to the bathroom. ::You're getting a bath at least before you sticky it up, too. And even then, next time you're going to ask before you settle down somewhere that isn't yours.::

::Maaaaaybe,:: she drawled at him, trying to get composed again, giving a very deliberate yawn and waving her feathered tail around, brushing his chest with it.

::No maybes,:: he answered just as calmly, but still firmly, as before. ::Or you sleep outside, and on the floor.:: Just because the little thing had bonded him-- and Chario-- didn't mean he had to put up with her being rude to his own chosen bond. Especially since his own chosen bond was, well, a little unstable. He didn't know if those voices he'd heard before would or could make good on their threats, but they might, and as much as he'd wished the little daemon hadn't bonded with him, he also didn't really want to test what would happen if she got herself killed, or even just hurt. So, they'd have to work on some manners.

Even now, even through the block he'd set up, the half-demon was radiating discomfort, unhappiness, and still a little fear. ::Cacopheny, don't worry about it,:: he added, a little concerned. What was there to be afraid of about a little baby daemon? He got no answer, but then, he was through the bathroom door and dumping Kenjista into the shower and turning on the water, showing her how it worked so she could turn it off again.

"Here you go," he told her, drawing the curtain so the spray wouldn't get everywhere. "Get clean, and then have a roll in these towels to dry off--" he tugged a couple down off the rack and set them a safe distance from the shower, so they'd stay dry, "--then some back and join us." He gave her his most adult smile. "And if you're nice, maybe Cacopheny will let you curl up on his bed, then."

::Thaaaaaank yoooou!:: she sent back cheerily, starting to splash vigorously under the flow of water.

"You're welcome," Sentio replied gravely, then slipped out again.

Cacopheny, still outside, shifted anxiously a moment, then shut the door. "Sit? Vood you like? To sit? Maybe?" he suggested to Akija and Chario, sounding stilted but at least coherent.

Akija blinked at him, distracted from the scene with the bathroom, and said, "Oh, yeah, thanks." She looked around, then sat herself down on the edge of the nearest bed, Chario settling at her feet. Sentio shut the bathroom door gently behind him with a foot, then trotted over to join Cacopheny, who had by then crossed the room to the wall farthest from the beds and his bedding, and there sank down almost bonelessly to sit, smothered in the thick fabric of his clothes. Sentio sat beside him, trying to sit reassuringly close without actually touching him. He didn't think touching the half-demon would be a good idea... he wasn't sure why, but he didn't think Cacopheny would like it much. He always seemed to jump and twitch when he was touched, which didn't seem like a positive reaction.

There was a moment of awkward silence, broken finally by Akija's somewhat surprising comment, "We'll take the brat with us tonight, after this."

Cacopheny didn't answer for a long moment, looking squarely at his hands, clasped together tightly on top of his knees. Sentio nearly said something, against another awkward silence, when the half-demon finally sighed and freed up one hand to rub at his eyes. "Sssss'all rrrright," he said. "You zzhoult not alvays haf to. To vatch her. Ve can zzhare."

::Are you sure?:: Sentio asked, watching his bond with some concern. ::She scares you... something about her. If Akija can take her most of the time, wouldn't that be better?::

::No,:: Cacopheny answered, for the first time since the moment of their bonding actually speaking to him over their link. His thoughts tumbled over each other, like a bag of pebbles, but Sentio somehow sorted them out. ::I will explain. Later. It will be bad. But I will. Should face this. Too much fearlovehate. Too much. It will get better. It must get better....::

There was so much hopelessness in that last thought-fragment that Sentio whimpered a bit and nudged his bond's sholder with his muzzle. ::It will,:: he promised. ::I promised to help. We'll think of something.::

The half-demon smiled faintly at him, then looked back to Akija. The "conversation" hadn't taken all that long, just a brief pause, so he repeated his last sentiment, in a pale echo of Sentio's determination, "Vill be fair, ve can zzhare."

"Well, yeah," Akija agreed, scratching behind one ear, "I meant something like that. We'll take her for tonight, for starters."

Cacopheny's relief was obvious, even through the block. He nodded readily, even smiled a bit. "All rrright. Ssank you...." Then he shook his head suddenly, briskly, as if a thought just hit him. Judging from the vague dismay Sentio could pick up, that was what had just happened. "Vill ssey let me stay?" he asked anxiously, of all three in the room. "I... ssiss is ssee only place I haf, ssiss room. Vill ssat be k-goot? Goot enough?" He cast a nervous glance at the bathroom door, making it clear why he was worried about "good enough".

"Well, now that yer bonded, you are s'posed to move out to make room for new candidates," Akija replied carefully, looking thoughtful. Cacopheny bit at his lip anxiously with one sharp tooth, but she continued, "And I know newly-bonded are invited to stay in Sanctu'ry o'course, but I never heard if they give ya a place or if you gotta pay...." She glanced at Chario, who shrugged his wings with an apologetic little grin. Akija scratched behind her ear again, apparently a habit for when she was thinking, and then gave a shrug of her own. "I really never thought much 'bout it, cuz I've got a home to go back to an all."

"And I suppose I do, too," Sentio added. He didn't know what his parents would think of him bringing home a half-demon... but then again, they were home so rarely, it might take them a while to even find out. "So if they don't have places for us that you can afford, we could always stay there."

From the brief surge of further anxiety and the flicker of a pained expression, either whatever voices tormented Cacopheny behind that block were being difficult, or the idea of staying in a dragon's home made him uncomfortable. Sentio wasn't sure whether to feel hurt or not; it was his home, after all, and it was a nice one... though he might just have been concerned about his parents, too. However... off... Cacopheny was, he was not stupid, and he knew exactly what he was and how most dragons would view him.

"I don't think that's somethin' you need to worry 'bout immediately, though," Akija said. "There's gotta be a grace period of some kind 'fore they 'spect you to have a new place to go, and there's still chance they do provide someplace... heck, they go through all of this hullabaloo to bring dragons an bonds together, there's no way they'd just dump 'em all after alla the spell-flashes're done!"

Sentio nodded agreement. "We can ask people," he said reassuringly. "Maybe even your friends, that Light and Fire who were in here, might know."

Even as he spoke, though, he couldn't help but notice that in the second before Akija spoke in answer, Cacopheny's eyes flicked to Chario, blinked once, then went veiled again as he looked back down at his hands. His emotions, blocked or not, were still there. For a second he'd seemed almost hopeful, though Sentio couldn't imagine why. The Fire kit hadn't said anything, not that Sentio could hear-- but then, who knew just what Cacopheny heard? He'd picked up one something Sentio had only thought, before.

::He suggested I stay with Akija's family.::

The words were a complete surprise to Sentio, and he turned back his ears and stared at his bond. "What?"

This time it was Cacopheny who realized someone had said something aloud that wasn't meant to be heard by everyone involved-- and it wasn't him. His tiny smirk made Sentio duck his head, embarrassed.

"What, what?" Akija asked immediately, eyes alight with curiosity.

"Nossing," Cacopheny said, smirk growing. Sentio didn't know if he'd ever seen the half-demon amused before. "I ssait somessink to him, inssite," he poked gently at Sentio's temple with one clawed finger-- actually touching him for the first time, to Sentio's amazement. He nearly went cross-eyed with surprise and pleasure. At least his bond wasn't afraid to touch him, or disgusted by him, or anything. "It sssurpris't him, ssat iss all."

"I'm not really a very good telepath," Sentio admitted ruefully, blinking his vision back into focus. "Hearing things still surprises me." That wasn't really why he was so surprised, of course, but he wasn't about to tell Akija why, for reals. He didn't know why the prospect of living with Akija seemed like a good thing, but he guessed that maybe he thought daemons would be more accepting of him. Or something.

"Well you only been a telepath for, what, twenty minutes?" Akija sniggered. "I'll prolly be jumpin at hearin Chario fer the rest of my life-- 'specially if the itch never goes away!" She made a face. "Maybe I'm allergic."

Sentio perked with curiosity. "Itch? What, in your head, whenever he talks to you? I don't think you can be allergic to telepathy, it's not biological at all," he mused. "I guess someone might react that way to it, first time an' all, it being new to your mind. I've been a telepath for while, just not a really good one or anything, and I don't even remember when I first heard it. Or you might not've even had your channels open, and the spell did that so you could hear Chario, so that's what's causing it."

Cacopheny shrugged a bit, giving the dragon a somewhat blank look as if everything he'd just said had gone right over his head. Akija looked about the same, and Chario looked just plain amused. Sentio gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry, got all bookish... I can kinda do that a lot. But anyway, I expect you'll get used to it, so it'll stop itching."

"I... hope so?" Akija said, laughing.

"But until then," Chario smirked, "I get to have fun making her twitch." He gave a wicked grin, and quite suddenly the daemon grabbed her ears with a squeal, while the Fire proceeded to cackle merrily. Sentio could guess that he'd just said something in her head, making her "itch" again. Cacopheny even found that amusing-- but then, if he could "hear" telepathy, then maybe he heard whatever Chario had told Akija to make her head itch-- and actually laughed. It wasn't exactly a pleasant sound, rather harsh and rough, like the rest of his voice, but it was still recognizable as laughter, especially with the bubbling laughter-feeling that Sentio could feel coming from him. Even Akija seemed pleased by it, for once she'd finished giving Chario a playful cuff in "punishment" she shot him a grin.

The moment, unfortunately, didn't last. The bathroom door creaked open, spilling out its unwelcome occupant, who flounced out past the bunched-up beds to the center of the room. Cacopheny immediately fell silent and shrank in on himself sharply, eyes on the black daemon-dragon, who posed perfectly, still a litte damp but obviously groomed to what passed for perfection for her.

::I,:: she announced deliberately, giving her feathers a flirty flutter, ::am hungry!::

Cacopheny, who had noticed Kenjista first, judging from his reaction, wasn't the only one whose laughter died at the daemon's reappearance, though his was the one that concerned Sentio most. Chario himself jumped in surprise at the sound of her mental voice, apparently forgetting that inconvenient little reason for this whole get-together, and Akija's expression went very quickly sour. Sentio wasn't sure who to feel sorriest for-- except that it wasn't Kenjista. He cleared his throat a little in the silence, then told the daemon-dragon, "Perhaps if you ask politely miss Akija will get you something to eat on your way to her home."

Kenjista gave him a lazy look, then paced over to Chario, who eyed her like he would something slightly dangerous and certainly unpredictable. Her voice was prim and huffy, as if the situation were entirely the fault of the listeners, as she said, ::You all'd better end up roommates or something, because I won't be happy with this split-home arrangement for very long.::

Only Sentio was close enough to hear Cacopheny's strangled, wordless whine, held under the half-demon's breath. He cast him a concerned glance, but Cacopheny ignored him, and Kenjista was speaking again, looking up at Akija and basically repeating Sentio's words. ::Would miss Akija get me something to eat on our way to her home?:: Then, after a pause and with a condescending air, ::Please?::

"Sure," Akija grunted, obviously still less than thrilled by Kenjista. Sentio couldn't blame her.

::We'll... work on her attitude,:: he told Chario privately. He received the mental equivalent of a grunt in reply.

::Thaaaaank yooooou,:: Kenjista purred, hardly sincere, then went instantly to innocent baby with a demand for Chario of, ::Carry me?::

While Chario crouched down for her to climb aboard, Akija opened the door, sighing, "Guess we'll go feed miss priss, then...."

::Call me if you need me!:: Kenjista called sweetly at Sentio, waving a wing at him from her new perch on her other bond, as said other bond padded out the door with her.

Akija just shook her head. "Well... g'night then."

Somehow or another Cacopheny stirred himself out of the mood he'd fallen into upon Kenjista's rearrival just enough to give Akija a sad little smile. "Goot night," he said gently. "Ssssee you aken ssoon."

And somehow or another, Akija had a smile to give, back. "Yeah," she agreed, gave Sentio a nod of farewell, and slipped out herself, gently clicking the door shut behind her.