A rather mismatched trio wandered the underwater streets of Seshei: a tall, bulky man with pointed ears and thick, brown hair; a small, waif-like woman also with pointed ears, but with her hair black and very straight; and a three-headed purple dragon who kept so close to the pair that she was in danger of trampling on their heels. If she were but a few feet taller, she might have been in danger of trampling them, all together, but she was only half grown, perhaps not even that, so it was only their heels that were in danger. Neither of them seemed to mind, and the woman even reached back often, as they walked, to caress a forehead or jawline absently.

Nonaarama, Ryruraan, and Rane had come to Seshei out of curiosity. They'd heard all the rumors before its unveiling, of course, but trying to visit amidst the crush of people didn't appeal to any of them. Now, a few months after that unveiling and subsequent bonding ceremony, the crowds had subsided and it seemed much safer to make a trip down to see what all the fuss was about. It had been Rane's idea to prevail upon the lady Mishuvel, rather than seeking out a ship equipped to sink as much as sail, and the lady seemed perfectly happy to grant her former ward's wish.

They'd been down on the ocean's floor, within the protected city domes, for almost a week, and had seen all of the usual tourist sites in a comfortably leisurely fashion. All that was left now was Moon Silver, the site of the ceremony itself and the last stop on their list. That was their destination, now, though the pace was as unhurried as ever, leaving plenty of time to gawk at shops, share comments about strange people, and make sure Rane didn't change her mind.

Rane had been both wary of and fascinated with the place of hatchings, births, bondings, and adoptions, and it was the first major source of contention between the three of her various selves. The most assertive of herselves-- usually found in her blue-eyed, right-side head, though at times it switched, and which Ryruraan had taken to calling Rane-wyr, which meant "Rane-One" in the sythyn tongue, was against it. She hadn't wanted to have anything to do with bonding or bonding agencies.

The personality Ryruraan called Rane-syr-- "Rane-Two" and usually housed in her left-side, white-eyed head-- was curious but afraid, entirely irrationally, that Ryruraan would find someone there she liked better, and subsequently leave her. The third voice, predictably Rane-vaa or "Rane-Three"-- Ryruraan never claimed to be creative, and really, if she called one by anything other than "Rane", the other two took offense, so what else was she supposed to do?-- and habitually using the central, red-eyed head, was tentatively for the excursion. That made sense, as Rane-vaa was the most social of the Rane's selves, not to mention the one most secure in the tendrils of bond strung between Rane and Ryruraan.

Bonding. That hadn't been expected. Ryruraan hadn't really had any chance to research dragons, particularly three-headed ones, before she committed herself to helping Rane. She'd known the hatchling had been abandoned, which was bad enough for a child to have to go through, but she hadn't realized until much later that abandonment, when it came to dragons, often included the breaking of a deep and delicate mental bond. She simply hadn't expected any sort of linking between herself and her new ward. The only links in her experience were the wolf-bond and Recognition, neither of which she expected to experience at all, much less with a dragon.

It had nearly been a disaster when she first discovered the faint, new mental hooks latching into her own well-organized and familiar psyche during one morning's meditations. For one dreadful moment, she'd teetered on the edge of panic. On Haven, such a discovery usually meant at best manipulation by a darker souled elf, at worst an outright attack, and even a hint of such a thing now, without her tribe around her, was terrifying. Only the realization that they felt not malicious, but tentative, shy, and even affectionate stopped her from severing them without a second thought.

The realization that they belonged to Rane made her infinitely glad she hadn't followed through with instinct. What kind of damage might she have done the delicate one with such a powerful sign of rejection? No amount of apology could possibly regain her slow trust after that, she knew.

Since then, barely two weeks ago, the little hooks had buried themselves deeper, more securely, but they were still light and fragile. Ryruraan did her best to ignore them at least, and foster them at most, and she felt that she might be getting used to the feeling at last. She was glad, though, that she actually liked Rane, or such a permanent connection might have been troublesome. She was also glad that they had a cargo ship rather than a typical Searcher's craft: there would actually be room for her, whenever they left again.

That wouldn't be for a while, however. Ryruraan wanted Rane to grow up a bit more, have some kind of permanence while she continued to heal from her abandonment, before they uprooted again. Sythwyr and the rest didn't need her, and both she and Nonaarama were happier on solid ground, where the air wasn't recycled and you could go outside if you wanted to.

Well, back at the Citadel, at any rate. The city of Seshei was about as enclosed and recycled as a space ship, being entirely underwater. Ryruraan was starting to feel hemmed in again, and was glad they'd be returning to the surface soon. All that was left was Moon Silver today, rest tonight, and a trip back to the Citadel tomorrow, after a good breakfast.

The "street" they were on finally came to an end at a reinforced tunnel to the next complex, Moon Silver itself. "Rane?" Ryruraan asked, turning to the three-headed dragon behind her. All three pairs of eyes fixed on her.

::I... think we still want to go.::

That was Rane-syr. She was in her usual head today, eyes colorless and blinking shyly. More, though, her voice actually sounded different than the other two. Ryruraan had helped them learn that: now it was next to impossible to mix up who was who, because while they each had a different sense to their minds, previously they had had not known how to express it. Rane-syr's mental voice was softer than the other two's voices, the mental equivalent of being breathy, and reminded Ryuraan of soft rain.

::Well... since we're all the way over here,:: added Rane-wyr reluctantly, pale blue eyes narrowed on the passageway ahead of them. She was a sharper voice, prickly, but she could purr, too, like a wolf's fur: soft but rough at the same time.

::Well, then, let's go!:: Rane-vaa said, sounding almost eager. The third of Rane's personages was the most... normal, though Ryuraan hated to use that word. Still, where Rane-wyr felt like a predator, and Rane-syr brought to mind the quiet sounds of nature, Rane-vaa made her think of an elven child, like a dragon so young should be.

Ryruraan chuckled softly, and Nonaarama smiled silently. "All right," Ryruraan said. "Let's go. Maybe someone will give us a tour."

::I'd like that,:: Rane-syr commented.

::Just keep us away from any of the babies,:: Rane-wyr grumbled.

::Just don't try to eat any of the babies,:: Rane-vaa teased, earning herself a half-annoyed, half-playful snap at her horns.

It was a good start for the afternoon. But for some reason Ryruraan couldn't help but think, as they approached Moon Silver's great doors, that there was something waiting inside that wasn't so good. She didn't know what it was, but like all things strange, it intrigued her. So, as they were let inside, she decided to keep her senses open, to see what came into them.

Chapter Twelve

Back