The first thing Sentio thought once he knew Cacopheny was gone was whether or not he should put up a block on his end of their bond; he'd seen Cacopheny do it often enough, and he certainly knew the principle of it. He doubted strongly that Cacopheny would even notice, for he hadn't even remembered the link enough to block it on his end, but at the same time, he knew that Cacopheny wasn't in the best of places, and having that spilling into his own mind would be not only disturbing but distracting. His mind was made up for him when Cacopheny's end suddenly changed from hopeless and expectant to warring between elated and terrified: Sentio couldn't get the block up fast enough, then. It was a shoddy thing, full of weak spots, but it did the job well enough for him.

The second thought he had was to call Akija and Chario. That was the only other place, besides the bonding complex, that Cacopheny really knew. He didn't think that's where he had gone, given the emotions he'd just inexpertly cut off, but it didn't hurt to check, and perhaps Akija would have some insight on what to do. He wasn't a good enough telepath to send all the way across the city and outside the dome, but he knew someone else who was.

"Kenjista," he began, his voice sounding vague and anxious even to his own ears, "are Chario and Akija awake?"

::They'be been up almost exactly as long as we have, and they're just as tired as I am,:: she grumbled from her seat on the floor against the door frame. That was quite obviously a hint to go back to bed, but Sentio knew he couldn't sleep, not now. Probably not even if Cacopheny was home, safe, and curled up on his pile of blankets in the corner of the room, not after the night he'd just endured. ::What's it matter?::

"Do you think you could please ask Chario if Cacopheny went over there?" he requested as politely as he could, then added a hopeful bit of flattery in an attempt to make her at least a little more helpful. "You're a much better telepath than I am, and bonded to him, besides."

The little hatchling gave her tail a flick, completely unphased by the compliment. ::Well of course I am,:: she sent back, jaws gaping into a brief yawn. ::I was made to be a telepath, after all. But I can already tell you that, that freaky half-demon either isn't there, or he's there and they don't know it. Which I guess is possible.:: She shrugged disinterestedly. ::They've been outside almost since they woke up.::

"I don't think they'd not know it if he were there, not today," Sentio sighed, scratching at one ear and trying to think. The thought that they were outside was a little disconcerting; it would be easier for a murderous, forgetting Cacopheny to sneak up on them, like that, though he supposed Chario would notice a half-demon approaching him. But if they weren't at home, they wouldn't know if Cacopheny was there. "Could you, um, ask if they have any idea where he might be? If they've seen him recently?"

::All riiiiight,:: Kenjista sighed, but then paused with sudden thought. ::Or... I think I can....:: It wasn't like her to admit that she couldn't do something, certainly not something as simple as asking a question, but Sentio didn't comment, more concerned about actually getting his answer. Her brow wrinkled in concentration, an expression to be replaced with a look of smug pleasure a moment afterwards. He discovered why almost immediately as she called, ::Chariooo!::

::Oh now what?:: The Fire's mind-voice came back; to his surprise, Sentio could hear it as well, "bouncing" through Kenjista with only a hint of an echo. Despite the words, Chario just sounded more tired than annoyed. Kenjista might have been right about their own lack of sleep; either that or he was just tired of her pestering him, since Sentio hadn't been doing much talking during his frantic search.

::Sentio wants to know if you've seen the half-demon at all. You know, since he ran away,:: Kenjista sent, linking her bonds' minds through her own, so they could speak directly. Amazed and wishing fervently that he knew how to do that, he heard Chario's answer even clearer than before.

::No, we haven't.::

"Thank you, Kenjista!" he said gratefully, bounding over to nuzzle her crest in gratitude, earning a pleased chirp and then a smug look, the latter of which he ignored. Talking directly was much easier! ::Do you or Akija have any idea where he might be? He had a kind of-- bad night, and went somewhere. He's not in the manor, I searched the whole place, and if he's not with you, I'm kind of worried he might be lost somewhere.::

::Sentio?:: Chario's voice sounded surprised, but he quickly got back to the conversation. ::Well, yeah, we figured that much... with the bad night, I mean. Kenji says the thing that woke us over here was a nightmare of his echoing over, though we didn't get much. I got a little picture, Akija got some emotion, not much at all, but neither one of us could fall asleep again afterwards....:: While Chario trailed off for a moment, Sentio winced a bit. He'd been right, all five of them had shared that dream, in some way. At least he was the only one to get the whole thing, it seemed.... Chario came back after a short pause. ::Well, Aki says she met Cacopheny for the first time in the Air Cathedral, but otherwise, she doesn't have any ideas. Can't you track him by your bond?::

::I suppose I could,:: Sentio agreed, ::but... I kind of don't want to. Not too closely, anyway, not with the way he's feeling right now. I know he's not anywhere nearby, and I know which direction he's in, which was kind of in the direction of Akija's house. But Kenjista says he's not there, so--:: He stilled the mental babbling and asked, ::Where are you? Are you closer to the cathedral than I am from home, or should I go look?:: Though he highly doubted that Cacopheny would be in a cathedral, feeling like that. It seemed like... like some kind of sacrilege, or something.

This time there was a longer pause before Chario's reply, suggesting a serious bit of conversation was going on between him and his chosen bond, and Sentio was hard pressed to keep from shifting around and biting his nails in anxiety. He settled for stroking Kenjista absently, just for something to do with his paws. When the answer finally came, it was lengthy: ::Well, we're pretty much still in Akija's yard. We just came outside so we wouldn't wake up her family since they won't get up for a few hours yet... but yeah, sure, we can go look for you. We don't have anything else to do, after all... that cathedral's only a little ways from here, Aki says. Or, hey-- how about you come out here to us? We could all head to the cathedral, but split up and spread out if you got a better feel of his direction between here and there. Especially since I don't think he'd go to a cathedral of all things. Too much dragon-magic, yanno?::

::That never really bothered him before,:: Sentio said doubtfully, ::But I don't really think he's there, either. It's just someplace to look. But I'll come. It's better than just sitting here and worrying. Should I meet you at Akija's, then, or at the city gates?::

::Well, he is your bond, you'd know better than me,:: Chario answered, with a feeling attached to the words that felt remarkably like a shrug. ::We'll meet you at the gates, then. Stretching our legs won't hurt us, and it's not that much extra distance anyway.::

::All right, we'll see you there soon's we can get there. Thanks.::

As soon as they could get there... he turned to Kenjista. "How dyou feel about going for a flight?"