Keeping It in the Family

In the first, shocking instant that Casequin was first bonded with Cherek, he'd been certain he had just made a horrible, horrible mistake, letting his mother bully, coax, and coerce him into standing here. Surrounded by vicious little monsters with varying numbers of heads, being stared down at by a broody, black dragon and a malicious beast with four heads of his own, and watched from the courtyard wall by Rao herself, he was already in a less than comfortable position. He hated being stared at, he had discovered as he spent his first weeks among more people than himself, Rao, and the occasional unfortunate traveler that caught, and he felt incredibly exposed, and incredibly vulnerable. Despite having brought down the multi-headed Cheran'khan once, Casequin did not think he and Rao could do it again-- especially not now that the black beast hated him.

The fact that there were five other people summoned to the courtyard, as well-- two women, one with an ugly little deer-thing, one man who looked human but smelled altogether different, a half-human... thing, and a complete psycfho-- was even less comforting. As he had also discovered during his stay at Hedoro's manor, he didn't much like the company of so many people, either. For all he had complained to himself about being bored and lonely in the wilderness, he would have gladly gone back to that after a week in the mansion, being surrounded by the other candidates. Even if they didn't talk to him-- which, mostly, they didn't, though a few had tried-- they were still there, and he was so used to being surrounded by emptiness that the press of minds bothered him, made him restless and his pelt itchy.

So there he was, watching little multi-headed dragon-beasts burst out of their shells, pose or growl at each other or however they all spent their first few moments of free life, wishing heartily he was somewhere else. One dragon-thing, three-headed and black like cracked gold, had even chased down and killed the pet of one of the women, an act which-- though something of a relief, as now Casequin didn't have to look at it or have it look at him with those disgusting, liquid eyes-- didn't make Casequin feel any more inclined to be charitable towards the beasts. Even at hatching, they seemed quite capable of making a nuisance of themselves by demanding things of their chosen bonds.

More dragon-things managed to free themselves of their shells, including a silvery-black one which reminded Casequin disturbingly of the clutch's father-- it had been quite a shock to learn that the "clutch" he had been tricked into offering himself for were eggs, but at least he now knew what the word meant. As the silvery one snarled at the remaining three candidates en masse, Casequin thought with irony, Maybe he doesn't want to be here, either.

Apparently, the thought-- or something else, who knew what attracted these things?-- brought three pairs of pearly silver eyes to focus on him. Three silvery black heads perked up with interest, and Casequin felt a sinking feeling as he heard, :Well, look what we have here.: The three-headed hatchling began stalking towards him-- or, he hoped in vain, towards the candidates as a group. The purple one stopped him with a tail in his path, distracted him so that two of the three faces looked away from him. The third's eyes remained eerily fixed on his, and if he'd been furry and demonic, like he rather wished he could be, the fur on his neck would have bristled.

:You really want to bond that halfbreed?: the purple one was drawling disdainfully, and for a moment, Casequin did bristle, lack of fur or not. Who said anything about halfbreeds!

:Most of the people here are hybrid in one way or another,: the liquid silver voice of the three-headed one replied. One head, the one crowned with golden spikes, snapped playfully at her. :Now get out of my way before I eat you, sister dear.:

A growl from the black dragon mother send him slinking forward-- not like he had been beaten, but more like he just wanted to look impressive. He did manage to look impressive, whether it had been his intent or not, and he flowed over the courtyard dirt to stop right in front of Casequin. No, there was no doubt, and it was far too late to escape. In an oddly tripled-sounding mind-voice, he heard, :My name is Cherek.:

That was the moment he thought he'd made a mistake, for with those words, Casequin suddenly felt very much like he did when Rao forced her intentions on him mind-to-mind, if he was being difficult with her. There was the sense of being overwhelmed psionically, momentarily loosing track of just who he was and what he'd been doing, and then the distinct feeling of another mind in all to intimate contact with his, once he remembered he was himself again. Panic threatened, his feeble ability with psionics gathering itself in preparation for a hopeless counter-attack, but before the panic could erupt or the psi could even decide just what to do, the feeling of "other" receded to a polite distance, and he could focus again, enough to see three silvery eyes blinking back at him calmly.

:My apologies,: he heard, from the three-headed dragon-thing. Cherek. The "words" echoed faintly-- probably because they were being sent by all three heads. :I didn't know you'd take it so strongly.: Not wanting to admit to his weakness, Casequin shrugged awkwardly. He wasn't entirely sure how to talk back without making it blatantly open for anyone else to hear, so he didn't even try. :Oh, I can show you how to do that. But really, Casequin, we're bonded now; all you have to do is think, and I'll hear it.:

You're fucking kidding, Casequin thought flatly. You can hear anything I think?

:Well, unless you block me, or you tell me not to listen. Yes.:

Well, that was something. At least he would back off if Casequin wanted a little privacy. That was something. He hadn't realized this "bond" thing everyone had been talking about was a direct mind to mind connection; now he felt even more stupid for reacting how he had.

:You didn't know what it would be like, so don't feel bad. Besides, no one knows but me, and I'm not about to tell anyone.:

Oh, he thought, trying to think it at the... whatever you called those things. Hatchling. Well, good.

There was a brief distraction as another dragon, this one with four heads, bonded the furry half-human thing-- and another four-headed one choose the psycho. :Look out,: Cherek warned as the two turned five heads, total, to look over the hatching's hosts and the remaining candidates and dragon-things: specifically, Casequin and Cherek, for the rest had gone inside or were busy on the other side of the courtyard, with the remains of the blue herbivore. Insane malice glittered in all ten eyes. The silvery-black dragon-thing stepped in front of Casequin, three heads lowered and growling protectively-- and in a chorus of three-- but before there could be a confrontation, something massive and black swooped down, roaring in four voices. Cherek shouldered Casequin back so that down-swept wings wouldn't send him flying, and Cheran'khan scooped up both psycho and four-header, disappearing with them.

:Disgusting psychotics,: Cherek's voices rumbled, and Casequin wasn't sure whether to thank the hatchling for at least trying to protect him, or not. :You're welcome,: he heard, making the decision moot. The middle of the three heads turned a smirk on him. :You can make it up to me by getting me something to eat, you know. That is what new bonds are supposed to do for their dragons, you know.:

No, actually, I didn't know, he thought back at him, but they headed down towards the kitchens, anyway.