After splashing around for a while in the river-- the banks of which were sandy and shallow, despite the swifter current in the middle-- Ssothrysaa sat with his brothers on the little river-beach, in the sun, letting the heat dry out his clothes and hair. He kept his eyes shut against the light, and for the moment was content. They couldn't stay out in the sun too long, or else they'd probably burn, but for the moment, the heat felt nice.

Rythrys broke the silence first. "Did either of you pay any attention to what they said this place used to be for?"

"Mmmmm?" Ssubyrsyn asked, rousing from a half-doze.

"Something about bonding, wasn't it?" Ssothrysaa answered.

"It used to be a place for bonding, before it became a school... and now, it sort of is again. Did you hear that part, too?"

"We heard it," Ssothrysaa agreed, though he hadn't really paid a lot of attention to it.

"What do you think 'bonding' is like?" Rythrys asked.

"Didn't ever think about it," Ssubyrsyn blinked, rolling his head to look at the brother between him and Ssothrysaa. "Why, you thinking about it?"

Ssothrysaa did the same, but his eyes were narrowed against more than the sun. "Is this because of Ryruraan?"

Rythrys had looked, briefly, into Ryruraan's future when he realized her interest had been captured on the little dragon named Rane on Kynn, and one of the possibilities he'd seen had been this 'bonding' thing. There was a possibility, and a strong one according to Rythrys, that to help her, Ryruraan would have to bond with her, mentally, or magically, or something like that. Ever since, Rythrys had seemed... curious about it. Ssothrysaa didn't want to think about it, himself. He already half-shared his mind with his brothers. What would it be like to have to share them?

"Well, yes," Rythrys admitted. "It seems... interesting. I'm not saying I want to. I'm just saying I'm curious."

"I don't know," Ssubyrsyn mused, looking up at the cloudless sky, shielding his eyes with his hands. "We're bonded, sort of, aren't we? Mind to mind to mind? It would probably be something like that."

"Hmmm. Probably...."

Rythrys went silent again, after that, but Ssothrysaa could tell he was thinking. With Rythrys, thinking was often synonymous with doing, and Ssothrysaa didn't know what he thought about that. Bonding seemed like such a big thing, even if it wasn't like being connected to his brothers, and he thought he'd want to think about it a long time before he let Rythrys talk him into anything-- or sign him up for anything. 

Suddenly uncomfortable on the hot sand in the hot sun, he got up and moved into the shade of one of the few, stunted trees drooping along the water's edge, a little ways away. He dropped down against its spindly little trunk and trailed his fingers in the water. It felt cool against his sun-warmed skin, and he shut his eyes.

What did you do?

Are you all right?

Fine....

Ssothrysaa's eyes popped back open, and he blinked down at the water-- the water which had remembered someone else who had sat right here, and trailed his fingers in the water the same way. Someone who, it remembered, felt like him. Just a little bit. Just enough, in fact, that he knew just what he'd accidentally found. 

"Rysaa?" Rythrys asked from over his shoulder.

"We've been looking wrong," he breathed, smiling slowly.

"Wrong?" Ssubyrsyn repeated.

Ssothrysaa looked up at his brothers proudly. "There isn't anyone here now... but there was, once, and not that long ago, either. A couple years, at most. I just have to find when, and track him to when he left, and from there find out where he went."

They knew exactly what he meant. "You found someone?" Ssubyrsyn squeaked.

"I'm going to look more closely and see if I can track him," Ssothrysaa continued. "Could you-- give me a little space?"

"Just let us know if you need anything," Rythrys said, nodding, and took Ssubyrsyn by the elbow. He could hear them whispering together as they moved off, but he didn't care what they said. He had Searched someone-- and he was going to find him, no matter what it took.

Sythwyr and the others would be so proud.

Chapter Eight

Back