"Come on, Evizo."

"No, Evoizo."

"You'll have fun!"

"I will not."

"You don't know that until you try!"

"Yes, I do. I'll be bored and uncomfortable and unhappy. I don't want to go."

"If you opened up a little, actually talked to people, maybe you wouldn't!"

It was an old argument. Every other day, or so, Evoizo would try and convince her brother to come with her to something, whether a function at the Nidus, a party at Sanctuary, something off-world, anything, really, that involved a lot of other people. Ever since she'd grown up and learned how to teleport, she'd started meeting people-- humans, daemons, Asandae, off-world dragons, anything and anything she could-- and started visiting them. She was remarkably social, but she seemed to get so involved in large part in an attempt to bring her brother and her bond with her. She seemed, after all, rather more happy when she was at home with the both of them, or at least on-planet working. Evoli suspected that was because he and her brother were close at hand: no matter how proud and social she was, she still loved them and wanted to be near them.

Her bond, though, was still too young for most of the things she went out to do. While the two Gepernan dragons had grown up swiftly, taking five years to do what took fifty among Asandae, Evoli had lagged behind yet again, still in adolescence when his two bonds hit adulthood. This time, though, he didn't really mind. It gave him an "out" when he didn't want to do something, for one thing, but really, he just didn't feel left behind, the way he had with his sister. Perhaps, he thought, it was because he wasn't left out, as well. 

However, that meant Evoizo focused more on her brother when trying to wheedle someone into coming with her to a party or a trip or even just a meal out with friends. She even offered to pay his way; she made plenty of money as a weather mage, combining her Air Majyk and Whyte Fyre in truly creative ways to affect local weather systems, and so could certainly afford it.

Most of the time, Evizo even gave in, not able to stand up to her well-intentioned bullying. He could pay for himself, contributing to the household income by relaying telepathic messages, as a stronger psionic than all but the most powerful of Makanan telepaths and rather more available than they were-- but only did if he were feeling unusually rebellious. Evoli thought, sometimes, that he saw his sister's tendency to pay for him as condescending. He rarely enjoyed himself while out, and usually came home, shifted down to the size of a housecat, and curled up in Evoli's lap for as long as he could hold the shape, craving quiet and affection that crowds and chatter couldn't give him. He always told Evoli, then, that he'd never go out with his sister again, that he hated being forced into her rowdy group of friends, that next time he'd say no. But next time came, and like usual, he caved in and went.

Today, though-- and the past few weeks, for that matter-- Evizo had been resisting. Evoizo didn't seem sure what to make of it. Neither, really, did Evoli. He was glad his quieter bond was finally standing up for himself, but he had no idea what had brought on the change. It was certainly nothing Evizo had told him about. But it was decidedly unnerving to hear the two of them actually fighting.

"Evoizo, I'm not going!"

"Why not? You always go!"

"And I'm always miserable!"

"Because you're a hermit and never say anything!"

"I don't like talking with strangers!"

"They wouldn't be strangers if you'd let them be friends!"

Evizo's voice was getting more and more upset, and Evoizo's was getting more and more frustrated and confused. Evoli finally decided he couldn't pretend he couldn't hear them any longer, and poked his head out of his own room to interrupt.

"Evoizo, let him alone," he said as sternly as he could. Despite being younger, biologically, than his two bonds, he still felt like the most mature of the three some days. "If he doesn't want to go out with you and your friends, he doesn't have to."

"But--" Evoizo began.

Evizo, quite out of character, interrupted her before Evoli could. "And I don't want you asking me again!"

Looking very pout out, Evoizo said, "I'm just trying to help you be happy."

"Well, you're not doing a very good job!" Evoizo cried. "Just leave me alone, and maybe then I'll be happy!"

Evoli didn't think he'd ever see Evoizo-- proud, self-secure, self-centered Evoizo-- look hurt, but as her brother promptly shrank to the size of a sparrow and zipped out of the apartment before she could even retort, the expression on her face was definitely hurt. "Let him be for a while," Evoli suggested gently. "He'll cool off."

"I just don't get it," Evoizo said sadly.

Evoli bit his lip on what he wanted to say, that she'd never really tried to get where her brother and bond were coming from; she just assumed that if she badgered them enough, they'd start coming from the same place she did. Instead, he said, "I'll go talk to him. You go on our to your party, or whatever, okay?"

"Okay," Evoizo sighed. "But I'm going to talk to him when I get back!"

Once she'd gone off, Evoli went out searching for his more timid bond. It wasn't as easy as it sounded. He could tell Evizo was somewhere in the Nidus, and he followed their mental connection out into, to his mild surprise, the central courtyard, housing the extensive gardens and the currently crowded hatching sands. That was the closest the bond itself could get him, and from there on he had to look the old-fashioned way.

::Evizo?:: he called, trying to keep the sending as pointed and private as possible.

He didn't get an answer, exactly, but he did get a twinge of miserable and slightly guilty "go away" emotions. Of course, he didn't listen, because usually when Evizo told him to go away, he didn't really want him to.

That got him as far as the carefully nurtured trees that had been planted just far enough from the hatching sands, and in just such a location, that they never actually cast their shadows on the sunning eggs, but just close enough that overheated mothers could duck aside for some relief, themselves. Evoli peered up into their branches, looking for a tiny white speck that would be Evizo. The white dragon liked being high up when he was unhappy. His love of height was one reason they had chosen the top-level, hillside apartments they lived in-- well, that and Evoizo's massive size requiring somewhere open to the outside, as she didn't fit in the Nidus hallways without shifting.

After a few minutes of squinting as high as he could see, he spotted him in a tree near the middle of the artificial copse. It was, he noted immediately, one that he could easily climb in human form. A few minutes and shift later, and he was as high as he could climb without the branches giving up their support and letting him fall. Evizo, still several feet above him, was much smaller and clung with more ease to his slender limb.

"Want to talk?" Evoli asked after a few minutes of silence.

::No,:: Evizo replied shortly. Then, after a pause, he said, ::I'm sorry... I'm not mad at you.::

"I know. What brought all this on? I think it's great that you're standing up to her, really."

::But I've never done it before. I know. I don't really want to talk about it....::

"All right," Evoli said, and fell silent again, looking out over the hatching sands. There were six different mothers with their clutches out there, making the sands meant for two or three at a time seem very crowded. Evoli could occupy himself watching them while he waited.

As he expected, Evizo spoke up again. ::How did you know you wanted to bond?::

That wasn't really what Evoli had expected to hear. He answered slowly, thinking as he spoke. "I saw what my sister had, and what other kits at Sanctuary had, and I was-- jealous, I guess. I guess I just didn't want to be alone."

::Did bonding make you happy?::

"Nothing makes you happy except you, Evizo. But I'm glad I did."

The geperna was quiet for a few minutes, maybe thinking that over, maybe just not wanting to ask more. He finally just said, aloud this time, "Okay," and fluttered out of the tree and off... somewhere.

He had the air about him of a decision made. Evoli hoped it cheered him up, whatever it was.