He remained fixated upon the human before him, his eyes vacant and unexpressive. Staring, Ainarīkaz tapped his tail against the ground impatiently, as if he had somewhere better to be. Then again, anywhere was better than here.

For a moment, his gaze broke, slithering onto Maeleth and the leech by her side. He had observed them for a few moments, his lips peeling back slightly upon seeing the necklace dangle between her claws. A pang of envy withered within him, intertwining itself with a feeling of disgust and nausea. Why was the human smiling? What were they conversing about? It was enough to make him sick, seeing that individual linger so close to her.

"What?" He hissed, breaking his attention away from the illusion dragon and returning to the individual in front of him. He hadn't heard what he said, and frankly, he didn't care enough to ask. Ainarīkaz had believed himself to be saved, but unfortunately, the human had begun opening his mouth. Worse, he expelled words from that mouth. Several ones at that. Goodness, didn't he love to talk.

Staring once more, the dream dragon made no move to respond. It came to the point that several minutes had passed without an utterance from Ainarīkaz, until at last, he lowered his head so that his eyes could meet the human's own.

"To eat you isn't against any rule, though I have heard that it offers great misfortune. In my opinion, I think that the mental suffering would be worth it." Flicking his tongue, Ainarīkaz released a puff of smoke followed by an unimpressed grunt at the mention of being scratched. "If you touch me with your hand, you will be losing it," was all he uttered before raising his head away from the human, pausing a moment as he spoke his name.

"Kyros," he repeated, animosity in his tone, "what a hideous name." Humans and their odd tongue. However did they come up with such appalling sounds? "Ainarīkaz Dýrbiǫrn," he had responded when asked for his own. "Though you may call me Ainarīkaz." All of this small talk, gah, it was torturous!

"Walk," he suddenly demanded. Without so much as a further word of warning, he had turned, beginning to wander off. He needed Maeleth by his side if he were to continue, and so he set out to find her, expecting Kyros to follow.

= Ylva =

Water Dragon = Female = Mentions: The others at the Ceremony (Ind.)

Well, by now Ylva was feeling a little anxious. And hungry. And just a little bit lonely. The feelings had a miserable way of churning together and knawing at her belly like tiny crustaceans pinching at the minisule gaps between her scales. Not nearly enough to hurt, but irritating enough that she was starting to think excessively. Slightly more than she'd care to.

It is important to note that Ylva was not extremely hungry. A dragon such as herself could happily last months without food to fill her belly but the simple primidoral desire for something to hunt or scavenge and eat would still remain. It was mental strength that could truly define a Dragon. In her case, a little forward planning would have been useful too - but there was no time for that now. Actually, whilst on the subject, she'd quite like to show her little Rider a thing or two about hunting. It was a sort-of tradition for her, to teach her undersea whale companions or the occasional younger Dragon how to hunt well in any turmoiltious undersea conditions. Or maybe they'd stick to oversea. Ylva didn't want to bet on her Rider's swimming skills. Or to drown them on the first try.

The other Dragons were making progress with their own riders, judging from what she could see from her little perch. She'd decided she wouldn't introduce herself immediately, nor barge in on some conversation. Instead, she cocked her head curiously and directed her oceanic blue gaze back and forth. The sun danced across her scales and she closed her eyes for a moment, appreciating the sun but much preferring rain. Maybe the weather would turn soon and she'd clear her mind. It would be easier to focus on the connection then, not agressively tugging at her muscles.

Maybe she'd find a Dragon similar to herself. There was that yearn for familiarity that often clawed her when she was far from the deepest oceans. Whilst a traveller along many coastlines, bays or achipelagos, she would never be far from those also surfing the currents, diving down deep below the waves. Perhaps not always Dragons quite like her, but at least creatures enjoying the beauty of her home and sharing in it. It wasn't uncommon for Dragons to dwell part-time below but for such a group so big and diverse, they were spread across the globe. She'd rarely see them. Even for a creature so magnificent and large, the distance between each was so incomprehensible at times. Such a massive and empty and vast space.

She knew she wasn't really alone, nor was the oceans really empty, neither would she never find a life-long companion, but the ocean did that sometimes. It made you feel 'alone' just by the pure boundlessness of it. That was a concept she had been thinking on recently. In front of her stood a sea of people and Dragons all with minds and ideas of their own. One of them to be her Rider, and some hopefully bearers of a worthy friendship. But still there was that inevitable feeling.

Loneliness. But with a gap waiting to be filled.

With so many people suddenly milling around her after her performance, Ivala felt slightly overwhelmed. She pulled her wings closer, though they were already as close as they would come to her body, in order to feel a slight bit of more security. Her eyes had wandered to the people closest to her in her mounting panic and Ivala was caught off guard as she an individual came straight up to her out of the corner of her eye rather than giving her a wide girth. Spines stood rigid and she released a low growl before she turned her head.

The vivid red hair immediately calmed her as if it was a gentle flame in the middle of a black night. The growl turned to a sort of low crackly purr and she felt that familiar tug at her heart that she'd not felt moments ago due to her panic. Something clicked into place and Ivala wondered at how she'd never felt the cold hole within her that had just been filled.

And another thing was that she could understand this human so well. Rather than catching phrases and words of the others, this human seemed to almost be talking to Ivala in her language.

"Hello, and thank you," the dragoness said through the bond, a warmth to her words at the genuine pleasure she felt with the compliment. This was a strange experience, and what was even stranger was how easy and natural it seemed.

The uncomfortable buzz of the crowd faded in the background as Ivala focused on the woman in front of her. Of course, the fiery hair stood out foremost, and Ivala found it rather suiting this woman had been bonded to a fire dragoness such as herself. The girl was dressed well, though perhaps a bit on the plainer side, and mostly simple jewelry adorned her. But the necklace, with its deep red color stood out. It was quite lovely, and the color was one that Ivala favored, probably because it was a color matching her own scales. The girl may have been on the smaller side for a human, but Ivala sensed a sort of wild excitement about her. The dragoness wasn't quite sure if she longed for an energetic rider. It would be a complimentary fit, so perhaps the dragoness hoped the girl was as she appeared.

"I would gather from the current situation that you are my bond, and, I must say, I believe we should be a good team." The dragoness spoke with a seemingly intuitive fondness, hesitant as the feeling was, it felt right to her.

"I'm Ivala - open to nicknames," she added with a feeling that could be only described as a small laugh, as she'd never received a nickname in all her years, "What might your name be?"