Riya stood and stretched, grinning over at Evola as she hopped down from her chair. The second bonding ceremony was over, short and sweet with only five candidates and only four bonded pairs-- and no boring speeches! That had to be the best part of all. The Air who had officiated kept things simple, for which Riya was very grateful, and despite the brief excitement as the little blonde boy passed out, it had all been quite a quiet proceeding. Well, other than Keren O'Bannon's laughter, anyway. The girls had been too preoccupied with their own upcoming bonding to even pick on him, so Riya had come to the end of the ceremony quite content, if not actually happy. It reminded him of Evola's choosing, after all, and that had to be one of the best moments of his life. 

Evola wasn't quite as content. Though she'd come into the ceremony cheerful and reminiscent, hugging close to Riya when they moved and constantly nudging him possessively or grinning at him affectionately, at the moment of the four bondings, itself, her mood had turned sour. ::I can't believe it,:: she growled to herself, emanating annoyance, rather unaware that she was thinking so loudly that her bonded couldn't help but listen in. ::Fidena! It had to be Fidena! Of all people! Of course, it makes perfect sense, Miss Bitch and the Little Brat pairing up.::

::Hey,:: Riya interrupted. ::Cut out the language.::

::You say it, too,:: she protested.

::I'm older than you, I'm allowed,:: he pointed out. She sent him the feeling of a raspberry in return, and he chuckled, ruffling the fur on her neck. He was surprised when she didn't subside with a sigh or a purr, but continued to watch Adara with the little Air dragonet suspiciously. Something about this Fidena sure seemed to put her on edge, but Riya didn't really feel like prying to find out what. If it were an issue, he'd find out soon enough.

"Come on, let's go congratulate the new pairs," he said aloud. ::And try to be nice, hey?::

::If she's nice to me,:: came the somewhat sullen response, but as Riya started towards to where Adara was meeting up with Keren, the Air Fidena and the as-yet-unnamed Water at their respective sides, Evola put her chin in the air and had donned her usual cute expression and cheerful smile. Riya could still feel the antipathy roiling around beneath the facade, but anyone not bonded to her-- psionic or not, likely, since she had pretty formidable mental shields-- would never guess.

Evoli met them halfway, trotting to intercept them. Riya paused, grinning, to wait for him. "Hey, you decided to join us, after all," he exclaimed warmly. He'd been a bit worried about the dragonet, noticing his obsession with the bonding and candidates, the tension about him, but he seemed relaxed enough, now.

The little Air shrugged, ducking under his sister's wing for a quick rub of shoulders in greeting before twining around Riya's legs, much like he had when he'd first met Riya, six months before. He was only an inch or two taller, while Evola was nearly a foot taller already, so it felt much the same. This time, though, he didn't fall down, instead bending over to scratch along his cheeks and neck, below the ridges of the armor plates there. "Well, it's good to have you, late or not," Riya grinned while he purred.

"Thanks," he answered. "I saw both of the cadets bonded."

"Did you see who to?" Evola snorted.

Blinking, Evoli glanced back over at the girls-- girl, as Keren had darted off for a moment. "An Air and a Water," he said blankly. "What's wrong with that?"

"The Air's Fidena Ventul," Evola hissed.

"Who's-- oh. Oh yeah, her. Well, maybe she's grown up since then-- maybe you've grown up."

"Someone mind explaining to me just what is the problem?" Riya asked. Being bonded didn't necessarily mean he understood everything that went on in Evola's mind, after all, and she wasn't sharing any memories with him that would make the picture any clearer.

"Fidena and Evola didn't get along, back when we'd first gotten here," Evoli said. "Always sniping at each other. They've mostly been able to avoid each other since the bonding, but now they won't be able to, at least not when we have to go to those drills with the other cadets."

The thought of Evola not getting along with someone made Riya pause. She was usually so easy-going and cheerful, the idea had simply never come to mind. The unbonded cadets were enamored with her, she had plenty of friends in their classes, and she'd even managed to be sweet to Andy and tolerable to Adara, despite how much they disliked Riyikith himself, and both cadets seemed to like her well enough, in return. When he thought about it, though, he could imagine how her attitude and mannerisms might annoy some people.

::Then stop thinking about it,:: she grumbled. ::It's not my fault Fidena's just a--::

::What'd I say about that word?::

::Well, she is.::

::I don't care, I want you to try to be nice. We don't need any more trouble with the cadets, okay?::

Her affirmative was muddled, but it was an affirmative, and Riya knew she would hold to her word-- as much as she could, that is. "We were on our way to congratulate them," he said for Evoli's benefit, though the kit had been mostly unaware of the conversation that had gone on without him. His and Evola's silent communications were usually quite fast, often unnoticeable; soon enough, Riya expected they'd be quite capable of talking privately while both were engaged in other conversations.

"So was I, so I guess I'll come with you," Evoli admitted.

"I think we'd like that," Riya said with a grin.

By now, Keren had returned, and all three cadets were standing with their dragons and their captain. Evola drew up her cute, public face again, and they moved to join them. Riya had a smile on his lips and a hand ready to extend to the ones who hated him, hoping that maybe bonding had mellowed them at least this one night, but the Air dragonet Fidena spotted them first, eyes falling on Evola and mouth pulling up into a little smirk.

"Look who it is!" she drawled. "Little miss priss. I'd wondered what happened to her. Looks like she didn't do too well for herself."

With a squeal of rage, Evola;s public face vanished and launched herself at the other Air kit-- or tried to, anyway. Riya stomped on her tail-fin, pinning her in place, and he sighed as three pairs of hostile cadet eyes turned to him. It was going to be a long, long six months until the next bonding and his next hope at a change of heart for his "comrades"....