"Day, your trying to button the wrong button," Catame pointed out from where he sat, cross-legged, on the bed. Tantra lay sprawled half on the bed, half on her bond, eyes half-shut as he stroked her furry neck.

Sure enough, he was. Daynoren scowled at the vest and tried to straighten it again, so that the buttons lined up. The bonding itself was tonight, and he was quite a bit more confident of the outcome this time than last: he was confident that he would be leaving alone again, that is. He knew the dragons well enough by now to know that none of them liked him that much, with the sole exception of the one dragoness who, according to popular rumor, had no intention of bonding. In fact, many were betting on how quickly she would be taking her leave after her third ceremony gone bondless.

Still, the confidence didn't make attending the ceremony and preceding dinner any easier. It actually made it harder, going and anticipating the moments of simply standing there while everyone else paired up, and he was left alone. Now that it had happened once, he knew what to expect, and he wasn't looking forward to it. He had made a commitment, however, and he would be there, smiling and serene, if it killed him. Aloia would say he could stay another six months for his third attempt, he would thank her graciously, and then it would begin all over again.

At least this time he'd be in challenging classes, and he'd have Novitas to share them with him. Even though she wasn't interested in actually bonding, they had connected well enough, Daynoren thought, that she would at least be his friend. The night before he'd invited her for dinner with himself and Catame, in part to escape his father's expected awkward overtures, and she'd actually accepted the invitation. It had taken some work to get her out of her surly habits, but once he'd managed that feat-- a combination of flattery and acidic bite worked best, he'd discovered-- she and Frux had some enjoyable moments of posturing and bickering, and she'd been able to explain a spell that Tantra had been struggling with enough so that the little dragon actually understood what she'd been doing wrong. She even took an interest in Catame's explanations of how he worked magic differently from dragonkind, though she did her best to look bored despite the interest. At the final pre-bonding meeting, after dinner, they'd spent most of the time sharing sharp, amused comments about the rest of the dragons and candidates-- ones that, had anyone else heard, would probably have offended the listener.

But there was still that surety that, even if she liked him enough to share laughs with him, she was too private a creature for a mental bond. Daynoren had spoken with her many times now, briefly at classes and with a little more depth at the bonding meetings, and he still found most of what moved her a mystery. She kept herself so very contained, hidden behind that mask of sullen pride-- rather like his own flippant arrogance, in fact-- that he doubted many people knew what she was really like. Perhaps she'd let him know, given enough time, but he wasn't about to expect that she take that step tonight. He respected that. It didn't make him feel any happier about going to the ceremony, of course, but he respected it.

"Day, you're doing it again," Catame piped up again, sounding a little concerned.

Distracted from his thoughts, Daynoren realized he was right, only now he'd been buttoning it unevenly the other direction. No wonder Catame sounded concerned: it wasn't often that he saw his older brother fumble with anything. With a huffy sigh, Day threw up his hands in exasperated surrender to the tricky vest-fastenings, sending the long sleeves of his tunic flap lightly. "Maybe I should just wear something else," he grumbled, flopping down onto the bed, landing on his back with a bounce. At least his hair spread out attractively-- not that beiny beautiful would help much, tonight.

"Maybe you should let someone help you," a gravelly voice suggested from the door.

Daynoren sat up again, quickly, as Catame exclaimed cheerfully, "Kaur!" The daemoness padded inside, kicking the door shut behind her gently, wearing a slightly lop-sided smile on her long muzzle. Day felt his own mouth twist somehow into a smile, too. He hadn't thought she'd make it tonight.

"I thought you were out of the city," he said, lifting a hand to take the one she offered him. She squeezed it gently.

"And miss this night?" she answered. "I made sure I would be back in time for the ceremony."

"I'm glad you did," Day said, quietly, too quietly for Catame to hear. She smiled and nodded slightly, as if she understood. Kaur was more of a parent than Darkil had ever been, and her solid presence much more reasuring than his could even hope to be.

Then Catame had scampered over to throw his arms around Kaur's neck, breaking the moment before it could get stagnant. The daemoness chuckled, settling her other arm around his shoulders, and she nodded over at Tantra, who ducked her head shyly and smiled, back. "So you are having trouble with your vest fastenings," Kaur rumbled, freeing herself from both of them and, faster than he thought she could move, took his vest in both hands. "Let me."

"Kaur!" Daynoren exclaimed, blushing faintly. "I can dress myself just fine."

"Not from what I saw," she countered, and insisted on finishing the buttoning job for him-- straight, thankfully-- despite his protesting. Catame and Tantra, once again in close proximity as the dragon made her way over to her bond's side, kept their giggles quiet, at least. Day was just glad Frux hadn't arrived yet, or he would be doubly embarrassed.

"There," Kaur said at last, stepping back and sitting down. "Now you look ready."

Since he didn't really feel ready, Daynoren just smiled and brushed back his hair. "I'm glad you think so," he answered smoothly.

"And about time," said Frux, poking his head in the doorway. "They're going to be serving dinner soon, you'd better get out here."

"Already!" Daynoren said, surprised. Usually he didn't loose track of time-- something else to chalk up to his distraction.

"Already," Frux nodded, smirking faintly. He was observant; he could tell Daynoren was flustered. Day just counted himself lucky that the dragon respected him enough to keep quiet about it. With a sigh, he rose and smoothed down his newly-buttoned vest, and ran a hand over his hair. A glance in the mirror proved that yes, he did look ready; his ever-ready self-confident smile looked as natural as ever.

"You will be fine," Kaur told him as she guided him to the door, Catame to one side with Tantra coming up behind him. Daynoren gave her another smile, and hoped she was right.