Stepping out into the sunshine, Daynoren paused, shutting his eyes and letting the light soak into his skin. Summer in Sanctuary was much more pleasant than winter, if this summer was any indication, though even at that, it was nowhere near as hot and muggy as it could get where he grew up. If only there were places where it was like this all the time, he thought absently as the faint chill he always felt when in the underground, windowless dorm room faded into comfortable warmth. I would go live there without a second thought.

Feeling more fully alert, and more relaxed, after a moment of drinking in the sun, Daynoren turned and headed up the steps leading to the walkway surrounding the city proper. Catame and his pair of dragons-- though how Frux could be considered as belonging to anyone, Daynoren simply laughed at; the Light was as self-assured and self-sufficient as Daynoren himself-- would be finding him somewhere along the way to their favorite place for meals in the city itself, a small cafe near one of the ground-level exit points for the dome. It was where they always went, when they had some of their meager allowance available for a lunch not spent at weyr or bonding complex.

Walking with his hands tucked into the pockets of his trousers, Daynoren looked up at the sky, following the wispy path of the few clouds high, thin. It was a beautiful day, of course, the sky contrasting perfectly with the dark green of the forested mountains and the pale white of the clouds. This was one of those days people always wanted to paint-- Tantra would probably have been in fits of artistic ecstasy, seeing it for the first time upon arrival. Daynoren smirked a bit, but a shout from down the walk distracted him.

"Day! Day!" Catame was calling, jogging towards him and waving enthusiastically. Tantra bounded alongside him enthusiastically, mouth gaping in a dragon's pant, and they were followed a young man with pale skin and iridescently green hair, as silky as Daynoren's own and nearly as long: Frux, in his very recently-gained human form. Tantra hadn't even attempted it yet, but Catame wasn't pushing her.

Smiling, Daynoren waved back, and kept walking to intercept them. Catame hit him at nearly full force, but Daynoren had gained several inches over the past six months, and Catame was still as small and slight as ever, so all he did was stagger a little before chuckling and putting his arms around his brother. "Hello to you, too," he said with amusement. Tantra joined in, coiling catlike around them both and nuzzling her bond's leg. She had grown some, too, almost half a foot. The spell that averaged a bonded pair's aging was starting to take effect, for Frux had hardly grown an inch.

"Hi!" Catame giggled, then, face resting against his brother's chest. The feel of him was happy, full of affection that Daynoren thought was directed at him as well as Tantra. He wasn't as good at reading the magical mood of another as Catame was, but he'd been picking up something, at least, and he was better at it with Catame than anyone else, presumably because they were so close.

"Hi," Tantra echoed softly, looking up and smiling at him. He freed one hand from around Catame to stroke her neck, returning the smile. She really was a sweet thing, perfectly paired with his gentle brother, even if she was a little odd about some things.

"Hi," Frux added, smirking faintly under brilliantly green eyes, obviously amused by the repetition. "Having a good morning?"

"It just got better," Daynoren answered truthfully as Catame released him.

"Was it bad before?" he asked sympathetically.

"Something doesn't have to be bad in order to get better," Daynoren pointed out, ruffling the younger boy's already-messy hair. It wasn't exactly an answer, but it satisfied Catame.

"Are you hungry?" Catame asked, taking his arm and leading him towards the gateway to the city. Tantra padded along beside him, Frux on her other side, as if he were a protective force between her and Catame, and the rest of the world.

"Starving," Daynoren admitted. "I missed breakfast."

"You keep doing that," Frux commented. "I think you like sleep too much."

"One can never like sleep too much," he responded loftily. "There's only danger in it if you actually do sleep too much."

"And spending half the morning abed isn't sleeping too much?"

"Of course not. Only if I spent the whole morning abed."

"Ah. Clever rationalization."

Whenever they got together, it was common for Daynoren and Frux to end up in pleasant little bickering matches. They disagreed on almost as much as they agreed upon, but their argument were always amiable. Daynoren suspected that, should he have been actually living with Catame and the dragons, their arguments would have been less amiable, but the current arrangement worked out rather well for them both.

Even so, Daynoren choose to change the subject. "So are you three coming tonight?" Not exactly an easier one, but at least one that would include his brother.

"Of course," Catame said, grinning.

"Well, Catame and Tantra are going," Frux corrected. "I'm staying in the city, but supposed to meet my parents then." The dragon-boy made a face, as if that wasn't really a pleasant prospect.

"I'm sorry," Daynoren said, understanding how he felt. He would rather be watching someone else strive to win over a dragonet than having dinner with his aunt, himself. In fact, he would rather be the one the one trying to win over a dragonet than have dinner with his aunt, despite the anxiety involved in the former. At least the former had a ray of hope attached to it. If Frux's parents were anything like Dana, he could definitely understand.

"I don't see them very often," Frux answered dismissively, waving one hand airily. "They are very important dragons, after all."

"Of course," Daynoren nodded, but Catame was already changing the subject again.

"Oh, Day, did you hear about class yesterday? We finally managed that joint-spell, me and Tantra!"

After Daynoren warmly congratulated the bonded pair, the conversation descended into small talk again-- mostly Catame chattering cheerfully, with Frux adding snide and Tantra adding shy comments now and then. Daynoren was quite content to listen to his brother's voice, and let it distract him for a time from the looming meeting.