Sentio got cold easily: whenever snow came, all he wanted to do was curl up under a blanket, huddle in front of a fireplace, drink hot chocolate, and do very little besides read. Perhaps that made it ironic that winter was his favorite season-- unless one took into account that he loved sitting in front of a fireplace, drinking hot chocolate, and reading. His parents were usually home more over the winter, an added bonus.

Of course, winter in the Watcher house was a little different than winter in the Canaric house. It was crowded, often noisy, sometimes smelly, he got next to no privacy, and the fireplace was usually too full for him to bask in its heat. Akija paced when it was too cold to be outside, not being much of an "inside" sort of person. Kenjista was growing swiftly, but she still always underfoot, complaining about this or that, usually boredom. Chario wasn't too bad, but then, he never was. It certainly helped that he'd learned his human form early in the season, so Sentio-- far younger and, apparently, less skilled at such things-- was the only one who seemed to take up an inordinate amount of room. Not even Kenjista had caught up to him yet. Aeta, though quiet and, Sentio thought, rather jealous of the quartet and tagalong's closeness, was a good friend nonetheless. Sentio got along well with him, and did his best not make him feel too left out. Then, the Watcher parents were delightful, particularly since they seemed to take Sentio in hand like he was their own son. It almost-- almost-- made up for the rarity with which he saw his own parents.

And Cacopheny was just quiet, enough to make him worry but not enough to make him actually try to talk to his bond about it. His shadows still chattered inanely often enough, but they seemed to be oddly tame, as if finally taking note of his sensibilities, sensitivities, and age, or lack of it. Either that or Cacopheny shielded him from the worst of it... which was probably it. At least Cacopheny, shunning bright sources of light and uncomfortable with the flickering heat of the fire, was not one of the ones who hogged the fireplace.

It was hardly to anyone surprise that Sentio, himself, spent a fair amount of time at the manor, whenever his parents were home, once the snows started to fall. Cacopheny only came with him for the occasional dinner-- which were going much better, now that Cacopheny no longer lived at the manor and his parents knew a little more about him. The whole gang came, once, filling the dining room with the unfamiliar sound of chatter and laughter. Most of the time, though, Sentio went alone to spend the night, craving silence and comfort. It never lasted more than a couple nights, though, before he was drawn inexorably, by nightmare or loneliness, back to the crowded little house that was home to his bond but not, yet, to him.

The rest of the household didn't seem to mind the crowdedness and lack of privacy except, on rare occasions, Cacopheny-- and then he either disappeared entirely, into a shadow, or locked himself in the bathroom for a few hours at a time. Inconvenient when someone needed to use the bathroom, but given what could possibly happen if the half-demon didn't hide away, everyone tried to keep inconveniences like that from bothering him.

So, given the communal nature of the house and what he'd discerned about Aeta's feelings about the bonded fivesome, Sentio really shouldn't have been surprised when Akija told them, out of the blue, on Midwinter's eve, that she and Chario were going to go to the bonding complex to watch Aeta bond. And yet, he was surprised. The thought of adding another body to the too-full house shocked and amazed him, but in hindsight he thought he should have thought of it sooner. The most irksome thing about it was Cacopheny's total lack of surprise: apparently he'd heard Chario's shadow talking to itself about it and knew even before Akija had.

Cacopheny had deigned not to attend the bonding ceremony, himself, and so Sentio remained behind in the remarkably quiet Watcher house to keep him company, wait, and make good use of the opportunity to hog the fireplace. Or, at least, only share it with one other, Kenjista. The ceremony seemed to last all night, and Sentio selfishly hoped that it would-- and immediately felt bad about wishing it.

::Things will be better once we move,:: Cacopheny murmured to him from his own shadowy corner where he had put aside his letters for the night and was gazing quietly out the window at the snowy paths outside. Sentio hadn't even been aware he'd been paying his bond's thoughts any attention.

::You think loudly, sometimes,:: he heard, along with the ghost of a mental smile.

::Sorry,:: he sent back, a little chagrined, but then got the impression that Cacopheny didn't mind, so he put it from his mind again and focused on soaking up as much heat as he could before the winter-chilled rest of the family got home and needed the fire.

It only seemed like a moment later that the front door was slamming open and many feet were hurriedly stomping inside, and closing the wind out again as quickly as possible. Sentio sighed and wriggled onto his belly-- which had previously been facing the fire-- expecting to move any moment. "We're back!" Akija called from the kitchen, where she and the rest were probably right that moment shedding snowy garments in the warmth of the little house. Every face, it seemed, turned towards the entry to the kitchen.

"And?" Chaith's deep voice rumbled, faintly amused, Sentio thought, and certainly expectant. Akija and Chario didn't answer, turning the corner into the room, crossing to one of the unoccupied basket-chairs, and flopping down into it together. Sentio inched aside to give the next-coming and likely cold pair plenty of room, nosing Kenjista out of the way, as well, with his most adult-like mental warning not to protest, because they needed the heat more than she-- and besides, he would gladly cuddle with her, if she was cold. Which she couldn't have been, given how much heat that black coat of hers retained. Cacopheny, farthest from her and wreathed in shadow, graced them both with a smile that looked like little more than a flash of fang and reflective eyes.

There was faint conversation from the kitchen, Aeta speaking to-- Sentio could guess-- his new bond. He politely didn't listen, waiting for the new pair to reveal themselves in their own time. They did so a moment later, Aeta with a very small Water dragon braced against his legs. Aeta was all but glowing with pride and contentment-- a good thing, Sentio thought, remembering the shocks he'd had upon bonding-- when he introduced, "Mom, Dad-- this is Onis!"

Onis! Sentio gave the shy-faced Water a second look, and this time recognized the lilac fins. He remembered Onis, a quiet one who had spoken to Akija and Cacopheny that first night, before Chario had usurped Akija and Sentio monopolized Cacopheny. Onis, he thought, wouldn't be a bad additional roommate. He broke into a grin that he hoped looked welcoming rather than relieved. "Hi, Onis!"

"Welcome to the family, Onis," Chaith seconded, smiling.

"Happy to have you aboard," Deiv added, smiling as well.

"My mom is Chaith, and my dad is Deiv," Aeta explained.

Onis looked decidedly embarrassed, and Sentio tried not to look amused despite his grin. With so much attention on him, Sentio thought he'd be mighty embarrassed, too! At least Onis didn't have to worry about blushing too obviously: his fur was dark enough to hide such a thing, unlike Sentio's. "Thank you," the little Water said with a bashful smile, "nice to meet you."

That over with, Aeta came further into the room and dropped down in front of the fire, where Sentio had been a moment before. Onis joined him, looking very small beside Sentio himself, and Kenjista, who had by now grown to actually be the blue dragon's size. And was still growing....

The very instant Sentio thought of Kenjista, who had settled down at his chest after their shift, Onis seemed to notice her for the first time. "Oh!" he squeaked. "It's... uh, Kenj... Kenjista, wasn't it?"

::That's right,:: she agreed coolly. Sentio arched his neck to better see her expression. It was not particularly friendly.

"Heard of you?" Onis exclaimed. "I remember you! You made a mess last time."

That was definitely the right thing to say. Kenjista's chilly detachment melted into a smug smile, radiating satisfaction. ::So I did,:: she agreed.

"'Mess' is an understatement," Sentio interjected, rolling his eyes a little. "But it worked out, at least." Mostly, anyway.

"Heh," was Onis' response as he stretched out on his belly in front of the fire, smiling. "You shoulda seen Bergez lecturing this session's daemon eggs. Made 'em promise not to double-bond or bond dragons. She sounded pretty annoyed."

::I'll bet she did,:: Kenjista cackled, and Sentio shook his head with a grin. Talk about her, and you were automatically a friend. Onis was either very lucky, or he knew how to handle himself with self-centered children.

"I think you've given all the other daemonets something to live up to, though," Aeta confided with a little amusement. "One of your new sisters made trouble, anyway."

::What'd she do?:: Kenjista asked gently. Kenjista was never gentle unless she was hiding something else, so Sentio didn't even need to arch his neck to look at her to know her eyes would be glinting maliciously at the thought of possibly being outdone by a sibling; he could certainly feel her suddenly tense muscles against his chest. Onis' suddenly anxious expression and subtle inch towards Aeta proved it, and Sentio considered shifting a paw in front of her to catch her should she decide to do something rash.

Aeta, oblivious, answered, "Her name was... Elaka, I think. And she took Bergez's words literally. Bergez said to only bond a humanoid-- so Elaka bonded Bergez!"

Apparently Kenjista didn't think this was outdoing her, for she relaxed and scoffed, ::Is that all? That's lame.:: Aeta snickered, but Onis still looked anxious.

::She's not too bad,:: Sentio told the little Water privately. ::Don't worry too much about it.::

Onis was going to be a lot like Sentio in some respects, the Light could tell: his emotions were plain to read on his face, and Sentio suspected Onis would be as terrible a liar as he was. First he read doubt, cast entirely in his direction-- then sudden embarrassment, which Sentio guessed was due to that doubt. Sentio, after all, would know his own bond better than someone who had just met her. That made him feel a little guilty; Kenjista wasn't something to be afraid of, exactly, but one did have to tread lightly around her, if Sentio and Chario weren't there and paying attention, to curb her more selfish or malicious impulses.

As Onis caught himself staring at Kenjista nervously-- Sentio could only imagine the expression that would be on her face to elicit such a stare-- and quickly looked away, into the fire, Sentio smothered a sigh. ::If you say so,:: Onis mentally murmured, ::I'll try.:: Sentio promised himself he'd have a more thorough talk with Onis, later, to explain things in more detail. It might be a good idea, anyway, if just to make sure he knew Cacopheny wasn't going to suddenly turn murderous, or taint their magic, or anything else that the unbonded dragons whispered about him.

Even as he had that thought, he noticed that those demon-tinged shadows in the back corner had been slowly dissipating over the past moments. Only the thought of Cacopheny, reminding him his otherwise silent bond was there, alerted him to it. He cast a glance at the half-demon, caught a faint smile and a wordless bit of thought, and almost smiled, himself. No wonder he was being so careful: he didn't want to scare poor Onis out of his wits!

::Never thought you were so thoughtful!:: he sent lightly, teasing.

::Every now and then, I am,:: was the response, so serious that for a moment Sentio was afraid he'd been misunderstood. Before he could start mentally babbling apologies, Cacopheny added dryly, ::I really must work on this "sense of humor" thing.::

::Ha ha.::

The last of the unnatural darkness gone, Cacopheny shifted out of his corner, rising just as carefully and pacing just the few steps it took to reach Akija and Chario's shared wicker chair. He dropped with unusual lightness beside it, making the physical step that symbolized actually joining the group.

Sentio wasn't the only one to catch Cacopheny's movement: Onis' eyes flicked towards the corner, blinked through the steady steps, and even stared a little as if surprised as he settled himself down again. That didn't last long, though, for after a shy wave of his tail in the half-demon's direction, Onis looked quickly away, expression embarrassed and facial fins starting to darken with a Water dragon's blush. Sentio blinked blankly at him; what was embarrassing about Cacopheny?

Cacopheny noticed the embarrassment, as well, but he did nothing but nod expressionlessly at the small kit, acknowledgement of Onis' acknowledgement, and then appear to turn his attention onto Akija, taking her braid between his fingers and idly unbraiding it. He kept his eyes on claws and hair without looking up again, and Sentio settled back to look into the fire in the comfortably quiet living room.

What Sentio didn't know was that he'd done more than just nod. Privy to the voices in dragons' shadows-- often, he was discovering, the private thoughts of those dragons-- he heard the source of Onis' embarrassment. Remembering Cacopheny and watching him join the group also meant remembering the many unkind things Onis hadn't meant to hear others say-- not just about Cacopheny, but about everyone he lived with, too. The kinds of things some people had invented about the half-demon ranged from sad to cruel to downright embarrassing. Cacopheny knew that; he was already aware of the things being said, because shadows said them all the time. His shadows said the same things, sometimes; compared to them, dragon gossip was tame.

But he didn't want Onis to be embarrassed for him, or by him, or because of him in any fashion. Their new house was over half finished, so they wouldn't be living in the crowded Watcher house together for very long, but he expected they would visit often. Onis' discomfort only made others uncomfortable, including, to some extent, Cacopheny himself. Rather than speaking and embarrassing the little dragon further, however, or even taking him aside, he spoke instead directly to his shadow, the way he spoke to his own. I already know, he told the kit. I have heard it all, and worse. It does not bother me, so do not let it bother you.

That was partly a lie. He didn't mind people talking about him; he, after all, had been talked about all his life, with worse things said, less respect, and certainly no fear. What he minded was the talk about Sentio and Akija, but thus far, he could think of nothing that could stop that short of violence upon the speakers-- but he doubted that would be a good idea.

Onis was clearly surprised by the contact, starting and looking over his shoulder with a bewildered expression, in Cacopheny's direction. Akija distracted him neatly, so he didn't even have to try and look innocent and harmless. "You better know how t'rebraid that once yer done," she whispered to him, smirking, making him smile.

"Of course," he replied, just as softly, giving the hair a gentle little tug before going back to picking his claws carefully through the strands, almost finished. When he looked back at Onis a moment later, the dragon was much more relaxed, and no longer embarrassed, his shadow content. Since that was the whole reason he'd spoken, to save the kit the embarrassment of feeling like he had a dirty secret that he didn't want to have, Cacopheny just smiled quietly to himself and began rebraiding Akija's hair for her.