Evola sat on her bed in the apartment, running her brush slowly and carefully over her short fur, making sure every piece was in place for tonight's event. She hummed to herself as she worked, an old song she only mostly remembered from the year or so right after she and her brother had hatched, a calming song her father would sing for her when she was too excited to sleep or upset by something. As far as she knew, it had no name, for her father had never told it to her. He had never even sung her the words, just the tune-- and even now, when she couldn't remember a line, she would just make it up however she felt like.

Tonight she was excited, expecting that she would be up rather late tonight, no matter what Riyikith and Evoli said and suggested. She really had no reason to be excited, except for the prospect of more friends and a chance to remember how good her own life was, now. Nothing would really change tonight, for her, because she'd been bonded six months ago, at midsummer. Tonight she would just be watching the next batch of Avengaean hopefuls meet their own bonds and forge the magical life bond that was already growing strong between her and Riyikith.

No, she really had no reason to be excited; they were just going as supporters for the candidates and dragonets. Even so, she was. She felt almost as boisterous and cheerful as she had at midsummer, when it was she who was walking confidently out to meet her own future. Not everyone was as confident as she had been, of course, but then, not everyone could be Evola! Even when her brother had been first meeting Riyikith-- first, even!-- she knew she had liked him. It had only been a matter of time before she won him over and got to make her choice, picking him over all the other candidates at that first bonding ceremony to be hers.

And he's still mine, she thought smugly, thinking about her bonded in the bathroom, making sure his hair didn't completely hide his face. Mine and always will be.

::You're thinking awfully hard in there,:: came an amused comment, interrupting her own train of thought. Evola jumped guiltily, caught in the act of being her usual, possessive self. Riyikith laughed at her for feeling like that, which made her angry sometimes, but he really was fond of her, even if he did think she was funny and presumptuous-- it was impossible to hide such things from each other, the way they were connected. Their psionics trainer, Yihoto, told them that once they were good enough, and once their bond had settled into its most permanent state, they would be, but Evola didn't want to ever be able to. She liked being able to peer into her bonded's thoughts now and then, whether to see what he was up to with her nosy suspicion or just to enjoy following his thought processes and daydreams. Being able to share their deepest thoughts and feelings was Evola's favorite part about being bonded-- well, other than having him as her own, to begin with.

::So what are you thinking about?:: Riyikith prompted vaguely curiously, with the air of one making conversation while both parties were physically busy doing something else. Which was true.

::You,:: she sent back coyly. ::What else?::

Amusement drifted between them. He hadn't been paying attention to what she'd been thinking about, more focused on that mane of his, nor was he looking particularly now, so he didn't know what she said was absolute truth rather than playfulness. ::You're an obsessive little minx, you know that?::

::Of course I'm not,:: she retorted cheerfully. ::Is there something wrong with thinking about you on the six-month anniversary of our bonding? Hmmmmmmmm?::

::Oh, no, of course not,:: came his answer, still amused. He found a lot of things amusing, which was worlds better than getting annoyed or upset by it. ::You think about me as much as you like, Evvie. It's your time, after all.::

::Correction,:: her thought chirped back to him, ::It's our time.::

This time he just sent back a wash of affection, but didn't actually answer, which was fine with Evola. She loved the purely emotional communication between them; it was so much cleaner and more intimate than thoughts, and besides, not many others had such an ease of empathy between them. It was good to be unique.

Finally satisfied with the positioning of her fur and the gleam of the light armoring on her face and paws, Evola set down her brush and hopped down from the bed, prancing out into the hall. Riyikith, dressed in his Earthling finery of a dress shirt-- a new one since the last bonding, where Evola had punctured his last one-- in white, and dark black jeans-- also new since last time, when he had worn the slightly better of his pairs of old, faded jeans-- was already finished with his own hair and sitting on the couch, waiting for her. His bangs were stuck firmly together into long, pointy strands with a sticky substance called gel, the rest pulled back surprisingly neatly into a braid that reached right to his skinny little butt. He looked up at her over his interlaced fingers, angled, bright gray eyes fixing on her and laughing silently. For a human, he was incredibly cute. Too bad he couldn't turn into a dragon; he'd probably be even cuter.

"Soooooo?" Evola asked expectantly, striking a pose by the kitchen.

"Soooooo what?" he answered.

"So, how do I look?" she prompted with a little exasperation; he knew exactly what she meant, he was just giving her a hard time.

"Absolutely adorable, like usual," he grinned, rising and grabbing his trusty jacket, swinging it over one shoulder. "Quite cute enough to impress that little Air we were talking to the other night at the meeting. What was his name, Ciano?"

Evola's ears dropped in disappointment and annoyance. "Yes, his name was Ciano," she grumbled. "But I don't care if I impress him or not."

"Oh?" Riyikith asked, glancing at her as he headed for the door, grabbing his keys from the kitchen counter on his way. "You sure seemed to enjoy impressing him, then."

"It was just a game, Riyikith!" Evola pouted. "I'm just playing when I do that, you know that!"

Her bonded laughed softly and dropped to a crouch beside her suddenly, gathering her into a hug that likely undid all her careful work arranging her fur just right, but Evola found she didn't care. "I know, Evvie," he told her. "I know." As she purred forgiveness, he straightened up and opened the door, grinning again. "Now come on, minx, or we're going to be late."