Zenite must hate me, Keshnarmeynee snarled to herself as, for the third time, she removed something from Rasil Na'carrah's mouth that did not belong there. And she'd only known the brat for an hour, maybe not even that.

It was the only explanation. This was the fourth time she'd come in contact with a bondless dragon intending or intended to leave its previous surroundings with her-- the third time that dragon had been a hatchling. Fifth-- and fourth-- if one counted the hatchling that little wretch Giblettes had been assigned.

Every single time had been a complete ruin. Verklei: strong but stupid, completely indiscrete and dangerous to a demon living a lie. Iszgih: brilliant but too scattered to even remember his brilliant ideas from moment to moment, and more interested in being a-- a cuddle-whore than a tactician, anyway. Giblettes: that traitorous, sniveling, useless-- Keshna did not want to think about Giblettes right now. Giblettes, if she weren't bonded directly to her mind, would be subject to a mental flaying at that very moment. No matter that she couldn't see her third-bonded, no matter that she had been firmly shut out. Giblettes could not hide from her second chosen bond, not completely.

And finally, now, Rasil and Zourin Na'carrah. Worthless, the both of them, but she knew she couldn't just leave them here. They might have a use someday, and even if not, their beloved "grandfather"-- who had, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt, purposefully orchestrated the foil of her latest plans-- would probably do his best to flay her, mind and body alike, if she abandoned them or hurt them.

And Verklei would be disappointed. The idiot had, somehow, gotten the idea into her head that she'd like more company in their small, motley, useless pack. She had been looking forward to seeing the small ones upon their return to the planet. Verklei's disappointment was, she had to admit, the more engaging reason to not just relieve the creatures of their miserable existences now. If Giblettes had not already claimed the "honor", actually, Verklei would have been the one to carry Keshna to the space station from their rocky home. 

Claimed the honor. Sneaking, subversive, sour, submissive Giblettes. Oh, yes, so submissive... meek, for the first time in her life, probably. She should have seen through that, should have known something was strange. Especially once the traitor had followed her into the hatching bay, even though she supposedly had no reason to. Keshna had played that very game for far too long to have let it slip by her now, and yet she had. She'd never expected Giblettes to act on her mutters and glares-- especially not at the worst possible time.

So now, rather than one useless and obnoxious hatchling, they had one useless and obnoxious hatching and one attention-grabbing, useless, and obnoxious hatchling.

Yes, either Zenite truly hated this particular member of her child-species, or else liked her very much and planned great challenges for her in the future. Neither prospect was particularly appealing, as the beloved of the demon-goddess were rarely particularly blessed, but rather hounded by their goddess's attention and demands. Keshna fervently hoped she just had a long string of bad luck.

It was at that thought that she felt teeth suddenly sink into the tip of her tail. She let out a high-pitched squeal of a roar-- she was too small for anything full-throated, really, and being startled was not at one's best for a roar, anyway-- and surged to all four feet, out of her irritable crouch, with a great lash of the bitten appendage. The little blue dragon who had, briefly, been attached there went flying, only without the benefit of his wings. He looked, in that instant of flight, quite surprised. Keshna, having just as briefly forgotten the little brat's presence and penchant for chewing, was too slow to stop him from smashing into the door--

--which slid back to reveal a familiar and newly-hated gray face, which Rasil promptly smacked into, rather than hitting the door, itself. He scrabbled for purchase, baby-soft claws probably raising welts rather than actually cutting skin, and Giblettes, wincing, promptly ducked her head to let him slide harmlessly onto the floor. Keshna's lip curled automatically at the gentle treatment. It curled even further as Rasil promptly stuck the tip of his tail into his mouth.

"Don't chew on that," Giblettes chided, remarkably and disgustingly kindly, as she hooked one foreclaw into the loop the stubby tail made and tugged the tip free of his mouth.

"That's disgusting," a much younger voice exclaimed from Giblettes's back. The yellow hatchling-- Zourin-- clung there, and accompanied her words with a shudder. She was clean, unlike Rasil-- Keshna had fed him and then sat here to wait, not wanting to venture any further into that ship than she had to-- and after making her comment, she promptly buried herself deeper into Giblette's silver mane, as if hiding there. Worthless, the both of them....

Before Keshna could do more than draw breath for a snarl at her insubordinate bond, Giblettes stalked right past her, surprising her into swallowing the snarl and glaring suspiciously over her shoulder at the undead beast. ::I'm not backing down, Keshna,:: she heard, and for the first time she heard... backbone... in Giblettes's tone. ::I'm taking her-- and yours, if need be-- and raising them, and protecting them, to the best of my ability.::

::You? Protect anything? Don't make me laugh.::

Giblettes paused, ostensibly to wait for Rasil, who toddled after her with a wary glance at Keshna herself, but also to answer stiffly, ::Whether or not I made another mistake in bonding you, but I am not making another with Zourin.::

Keshna snorted but didn't deign to answer her. All she did, instead, was demand, "Are we going home, or not?" and shift down into her human form, so she could ride Giblettes back to Avengaea.

"Wow!" Rasil gaped, apparently impressed by the shape-shift. Keshna glared at him, and he shut his mouth.

The demon-dragon, a disgrace to all things calling themselves "demons" out there, stood stiffly for another moment before twitching her wings, relaxing just slightly, and nodding. Keshna clambored up, making a point to push Zourin out of the way-- if the pack was stuck with them, they ought to at least know who was in charge-- and settled behind Giblettes's shoulders. The yellow hatchling scooted back, pawing frantically at where she'd been touched, and then began a vigorous wash at the same spot.

"Climb up, Rasil," Giblettes said quietly, crouching to let the blue one scramble up, as well. He first tried to sit pressed against Keshna's back, but she made the same point with him that she did his sister: even if he wasn't disgustingly sticky, she would never allow that much familiarity. Zourin fell into another flurry of frantic grooming when he tried to press himself against her, so he just hunched unhappily on Giblettes's back, and started chewing absently on her fur. Keshna was struck with the desire to laugh-- humorlessly, hopelessly.

No, Zenite didn't like her at all.

Chapter Five

Back to Keshnarmeynee - Back to Verklei

Back to Iszgih - Back to Giblettes

Back to Rasil - Back to Zourin