Athanora stood outside the inner door to one of the many cave-dwellings at Kenist Miana, collecting her thoughts before she approached the oldest and most important Enkeyn in the whole place. At least, that was what she'd gathered: Neralt certainly was old, and well-respected, and she certainly was one of the strongest supporters of the whole bonding process. If 'Nora was to talk to anyone, today, Neralt seemed like she might be that person. Dragon. Enkeyn. Whatever.

She felt very short, staring up at the eight-foot-tall door. The whole place was built with Sharians in mind-- the bipedal reptilian sort of creatures who seemed content to fit themselves into the "dragon" category-- and Sharians were usually seven feet tall, or somesuch. Athanora, being on the extreme short end of the Sythyn spectrum, found that the door handle was settled at right about shoulder level. Even a human sized door would have been better than that-- but then, it could have been worse. It could have been an Enkeyn-sized door, like the one on the ledge, or the one that this smaller door was only a part of! It opened as part of a double-set, for an Enkeyn need merely duck its head a little to exit an eight-foot-tall door, if that, but they were considerably wider than bipeds, with their wings.

And yet Kiralraes was so tiny....

Athanora shook her head, and knocked firmly on the thick wood of the door. The sound carried within, and the reply came back, "Come in, please!"

The door opened easily, on well-oiled hinges, and Athanora strode inside, looking around the spacious cavern-room for its occupant: the ancient, snow-white Neralt. She wasn't in the first room, and Athanora went further in, to what looked more like a bedroom than the first, and where Neralt lay comfortably on a well-cushioned niche in the wall, her golden eyes still sharp as she picked out the swath of grays from the shadows of the doorway. That was probably her bed, and certainly the best place for someone so old to rest her bones on a rainy spring morning. "Athanora Ssaarymany, then, isn't it?" Neralt asked amiably, extending a paw. Athanora took one of the clawed fingers and shook it gravely.

"Yes, ma'am, and thank you for seeing me." It hadn't taken Athanora particularly long to learn the local language, though she hadn't started on native Enkeyn yet, and wasn't entirely sure her mouth was capable of all the sounds. Neralt, and thankfully most of the other Enkeyn, were all fluent enough in the common Sharian tongue, however, that everyone could communicate without more than a misunderstanding now and then. Still, Athanora was proud of her lack of accent; she was the best of her Search team in languages, after all.

"Oh, come, it's nothing," Neralt clucked with amusement. "I haven't much else to be doing, at the moment, as it isn't very comfortable to be moving about this morning. Have a seat." There was an appropriately-sized chair waiting, and Athanora dropped herself unceremoniously into it. "Now. What may I do you, Athanora?"

Athanora had first met Neralt in the interviewing process for the bonding, a month ago. She, her grandson Leelk, and various others had all been involved in interviewing potential bonders for the orphaned children. Leelk she still saw regularly, as he was in charge of the small creche-- something like a communal day care and education group, 'Nora gathered-- that Kiralraes was still a part of. Neralt, however, she hadn't actually seen since the bonding. It had been one of the Sharians who had shown her and Kiralraes to their own private suite in the cliff side three days after the bonding, and one of the other Enkeyn Athanora had been introduced to had spoken with her about beginning school with Kiralraes.

And that was what had brought her here. All her planning-- and she had done quite a bit, now, with several alternate plans-- revolved around the ability to continue Kiralraes' lessoning while she continued her duty as a Searcher until the end of at least the first nine-year term she had signed for. Since she would never support leaving Kiralraes behind-- she'd already been abandoned once, and considering how fragile she seemed now, 'Nora refused to subject her to even a partial abandonment again-- Athanora had to find a way to bring the lessoning to Kiralraes. This was what she endeavored to explain to Neralt. "I'd be willing to leave behind a connected computer," she finished confidently. "I'll build it myself, and any lessons, assignments, or whatever your people do in school, she could do by correspondence, during the times we're not on the planet."

"I'm afraid," Neralt said regretfully, "that though that is a noble thought, my dear, it would be quite impossible. No Enkeyn will be willing to use technology of that level."

"But I can't leave her here--"

Neralt held up one clawed finger, and Athanora stopped. "I do, however, have an idea that will work just as well, that you do not seem to have considered."

Frowning thoughtfully-- how could there be something she had not considered?-- Athanora nodded encouragingly. "Yes?"

"You leave when you must," Neralt began, "and when you do, you will take with you an older Enkeyn, versed in our ways, histories, and ceremonies, with one of Kiralraes' magical gifts, to be her tutor. A personal tutor can teach her hunting and flight, whenever you are in a place open enough for such things, teach her the stories and legends, and even begin tutelage in her abilities once they begin to manifest until she can be returned for full training."

Athanora's mouth opened, then shut again. No, that wasn't something she had considered, for she hadn't imagined any of the older Enkeyn would want such a thing! "Do you have someone in mind, elder Neralt?" she asked.

"Actually," the golden eyes twinked, "I do. When will you need to leave?"

"I'll have to discuss it with my captain. I'm sure we can arrange whatever you need."

"Saekana ought to return within a week," Neralt nodded, satisfied. "Give us another two, perhaps, to debrief her of her previous mission and prepare her for a new one. She has been away these past several years, searching for new settlement locations. I think," she added with what looked like a smirk on her muzzle, "that she will be quite excited by the prospect of exploring other worlds, next."

"Not that it's all that exciting," Athanora pointed out wryly. "More like a lot of sitting around, waiting to get to the next planet, maybe a few days of interesting stuff, and then back on board. This has been a welcome vacation, actually."

"Well, you shall be able to extend it until Saekana is ready for you, then," Neralt replied, smiling with good humor.

"And I appreciate that like you would not believe," Athanora chuckled, pleased with how easy-going the old Enkeyn was, but also eager to get back to the creche to reassure Kiralraes that she would never leave her for long. If she'd thought creche meant time alone, Athanora had thought wrong, because ever since the first day and subsequent panic when she'd vanished for three whole hours, she'd made sure to never leave her there alone more than an hour at a time. "Let me know when this Saekana comes in?" she requested. "I'd like to meet her."

"Of course, of course," Neralt replied, then made a shooing motion with her forepaw. "Go on back to your pup, dear, I'm sure she's worried about you already."

"You're probably right about that," Athanora agreed with half a grin, and rose. "Thank you for everything, elder Neralt."

"I should be thanking you, child," Neralt replied. "You are doing well by poor Kiralraes, and that is what matters."

"She's my little imbalance," Athanora answered softly, "and I'll do what I can to see her balanced again."

With that cryptic but personally meaningful statement, Athanora took her leave of the old Enkeyn to search out her captain and fiance, and tell them the news of their "extended vacation".

Chapter Four

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