Ryker smiled slowly in entertainment at Noellë's apparent surprise. The breathlessness of the words coming from the man's lips truly brought a sense of satisfaction to Ryker's soul. This was a lovely reunion after the bit of time that had passed between their last seeing each other. Few people brought Ryker such pleasure when he caught them off-guard. Girls were fun, but it was incredibly intriguing to watch his friend squirm.

"Hablamos lenguas otras, now, huh?" Ryker said with a smirk at the pet name assigned to him by Noellë's greeting. "I guess the fancy schooling hasn't gotten you nowhere, hopeless as you are intelligence wise," Ryker teased.

A hand pressed against his chest, he took on an expression of shock and offense as he leaned towards Noellë right as the man leaned towards him, close enough to see all the individual shades of green shining in Noellë's eyes. "I take great offense to the implication I'd do anything but behave myself, dear," the dark haired man said with a false air of superiority, obvious teasing though it was.

It wasn't as if Ryker entertained himself by doing about a million things he really shouldn't be doing. Nah, he was quite the polite gentleman. Came from a noble home of smiths, dressed like royalty, and certainly never flirted with the wrong people.

At Aziza's voice, Ryker grinned at her. "Ohhh, yeah. She's amazing, and a rare breed! I'm gonna have so much fun with her," he chuckled to himself. He really did look forward to getting to know his bond, but he felt a bit more of a pull to converse with the friends he hadn't seen in a while, instinctual though it felt to want to go speak with his dragon. Ryker looked in the direction Aziza pointed, but saw nothing besides a few people. It was at this moment he became aware of Aziza's form floating and moving backwards, and Ryker took that to mean the dragon with which she had bonded was the storm dragon that had, very territorial-y, pulled the young woman a little bit away.

Ryker turned back towards Noellë. Seeing Noellë's gaze soften towards him with the last playful comment, Ryker's face cracked into a genuine, pleased smile. It made him feel accomplished to put the pale haired man at ease, and it gave him a sense of importance when he succeeded. Everyone needs someone that understands them and relates to them in order to feel at home in this world. The world was large and exciting, but that expanse would have felt suffocating rather than inviting without Noellë by his side. Musings aside, the current moment depicted Ryker's human now turning away from him towards the feathered creature that was standing nearby.

Ryker had expected they'd need a bonding moment together, but he couldn't help but feel a minor twinge of jealousy. Of course, he had his own dragon, and he completely understood the pull to be with your new bond. Even as he'd enjoyed his banter with Noellë, he felt the strong desire to go continue the interaction with his lovely new partner. Not only did he want to get to know her, he wanted to get to know the breed a bit more by looking her over. Crystal dragons were so rare, there wasn't nearly enough information on them. Of course, they had years to figure that all out, but he wanted to figure it all out now. That was his instinct talking. Nava did look slightly uncomfortable at his distance from her, but she was conversing with some others, and Ryker was thrilled about hanging out with his friends for the first time in a while.

With Noellë talking to his bond, Ryker threw an exasperated glance towards Aziza, to see that her own dragon was now looking at the rest of the group warily. It wasn't an expression that said 'strike up a chat with my rider.'

So, Ryker did what any self-respecting in-need-of-socializing individual would do in this moment: he walked over and slung an arm around Noellë's shoulders and looked up at the air dragon in a manner that almost said 'sorry, but I really want to bother somebody right now, and you, unfortunately, bonded with my little impact dummy.'

Ryker pulled away from Noellë in order to tug gently on the bow in his hair. "Nice ornament," Ryker said with a teasing tone. "Lovely as it is, it's well suited to your girlish figure," the man joked.

Interrupting a bonding moment wasn't something Ryker had wanted to do, especially since Aziza had cut it off so prematurely before, but the man found he was unable to control himself at this moment. He was feeling ignored, and needed something on which to release the insulted energy.

Belvidere || Male || 71 || New Water Dragon || M: Kaisen

Belvidere grins “wickedly” at Kaisen’s question, pleased that he chose the topic and not him. His eyes follow the boy’s movements for a small while, waiting for him to settle before speaking. He had, indeed, been hit by the splash he created upon entering the cool waters. Water droplets were seen as clear as day upon his face and exposed skin. His clothes were also of a darker color now, with water dripping off the fabric of them like a steady rain. His hair was now a mop, flattened by the liquid that now clung to it. An amusing sight, and one that he was bound to get accustomed to.

Shaking around his horns a bit, the flamboyant dragon places one paw over the other under the water. A “formal” like pose that didn’t really do much for his appearance, considering that no one could really see it. But, nonetheless, it fit the present conversation quite well. Afterwards, he simply waits for his rider to finish moving before finally starting his “lesson” of theirs – watching as he uses his arms and hands to hold himself up as he leans back.

“Well, let’s see…,” the coral coated dragon looks upwards, acting as though he didn’t know this information off the top of his head, “Ah, yes. It’s a passive ability of mine, really. Nothing more than a sign of good health. When on land, anyway. It essentially allows myself and my coral to remain nice and moist when out of the water. It takes from the water I absorb, however, so it can dry up – and myself with it. Not really useful for anything else, besides granting everyone with the dazzling display of rainbows. A bonus to my already glorious self, if I do say so.”

Dropping the act to a small degree, he levels his gaze to his rider’s own, “Though it can cause me to be a tad slippery. Hard to grasp, in other words. But that won’t be a problem for us, will it, darling?”

His sharp grin grows as he stares into the eyes of Kaisen, even if the emotion expressed didn’t reach his eyes. It was a challenge, per say. A ‘will you be able to handle this’ sort of warning. Deep down, Belv honestly hoped that he could. But he’d never show that, let alone say it.

Breaking the stare, his multi-colored eyed glance to the side – looking into the waters around him. Something shimmered underneath its surface. A fish perhaps? He’d have to investigate. “What else would you like to know,” he inquired, curtain shaded eyes glancing back to Kai’s own dark ones, “I could talk about the coral and spines some more. Or, we could go onto another one of my abilities. Something to do with currents, mayhaps?”

The large dragon made a low rumbling in this chest, something akin to a pleased purr, a noise of satisfaction when Kenji acknowledged his ability to thwart the slim air dragon that had claimed his brother. He didn't deign the sentence with a verbal response, allowing his rumble to speak for itself in his agreement. He glanced, again, at the feathered air dragon, considering he was likely going to be stuck alongside him considering their riders affiliations.

'You have too many friends.' Rhyhor stated plainly, considering the three humans around him. The one with the Light Dragon was moving away, and hopefully the Lunar Dragon would be leaving too. 'Company.. irks me. I suppose I will learn to tolerate it, but do not expect me to form a companionship with everyone and their dragons.' He turned back to Kenji, opening his mouth slightly to run his tongue over the fangs that protruded from his jaw as he spoke through their link.

Rhyhor followed Kenji's gaze when he mentioned another friend, no, a cousin. One side of the dragons muzzle twitched, his mind narrowing in on the girl, Clarabelle as Kenji had introduced her, began approaching them. The scent of another dragon registered in his brain before the scent of the new human, and Rhyhor didn't bother suppressing his low growl, intending to tell the girl she'd come close enough.

Slowly, Rhyhor lowered Kenji back to the ground, but kept his weight on his wing-forelegs, while his actual forelegs remained on either side of the human. The dragon glanced around slightly, wanting to spot any dragon that came to reestablish a claim on the girl before they got the jump on him.

'She has a dragon. I can smell it.' Rhyhor said through the bond to Kenji to explain his behavior. 'I don't want her too close to me, in case the other dragon is as territorial as I am.'

Hearing the growl coming from the direction of her rider, Navi lifted her head finally. She didn't particularly like the way this dragon was eyeing her new partner. Standing and shaking out her wings, Navi padded over to Clarabelle, standing close behind her.

She couldn't lie to herself, she was intimidated by the other dragon. But she didn't show it. Her gaze wasn't threatening or challenging, though there was the faintest hint of a challenge, as if to say, "I dare you to try to hurt her." But aside from that, her posture was relaxed, though slightly protective as she stood close to her rider. She knew Clarabelle could most likely take care of herself perfectly well, but she didn't want any harm to come to the girl. So she would stay here, right behind her if she was needed.

Navi stifled a yawn from escaping her, clamping her jaws together firmly. The action made her eyes water a little, though she blinked back the liquid before it could spill down her scaly face. Sitting down, she planted herself firmly, coiling her tail around her front legs in an elegant posture. Her wings were mostly folded, but held back. She looked almost as though she were posing for a painting.

Kai grinned in response to the dragon's statement. "Slippery like a fish? Cause those little buggers are slippery," he laughed. "If that's the case, I should be able to handle it. I grew up fishing for my family, so I should be able to handle it." He paused, glancing down at his legs. "Though... not sure how well my legs can grip. I wonder if there's some pants I can get to help grip better..." his voice trailed off into thought, his gaze squinting up at the clear sky. He shook himself suddenly, snapping back to the present. "You can do things with currents? What in particular?" His eyes glint with curiosity as he listens to the dragon. "Wait, quick question..." he interrupted himself. "You're not... gonna toss me around like that, are you...?" He pointed towards the rider that had been unfortunately snatched by his dragon and tossed in the air.

(I can't remember who got tossed in the air, oops)

Aziza Sterling|| Female || 18 || New Rider || M: Ra’d, Noellë (Ind), Ryker (Ind), Serikornis Ventus (Ind)

It was honestly hard not to giggle at her dragon’s teasing gesture – hand covering her mouth and all. Her shoulders bounced from the force being exerted from her voice box. Very improper, young lady, her mind would chastise in that oh-so-familiar voice. She pushed it aside as best she could, choosing to focus on the interaction at hand. A much more preferable one at that.

If not for being her dragon (and having been nothing but gentle towards her) Ra’d audibly snapping his jaws shut would have likely been intimidating to the small girl. Maybe even viewed it as a threat due to those teeth of his. Which is likely what most would assume if not for her laughter. But she knew better than to think it was anything but a jab at her obliviousness. The giggles died out a small while afterwards

The response following her apology and ‘thank you’ caused a small smile to drag itself out from the depths of her heart – any amount of concern and worry washing away at his offered words. She could understand the sentiment her companion held, and she was truly grateful that he hadn’t completely divided her from her friends in the process of it. She was certain many others in her life would have done just that. However, she does not verbally respond to his statement. She just simply hums in acknowledgement.

Now, after that exchange, Aziza continued to rest her back against his scales – watching as Ryker slung his arms around Noellë’s shoulders to once more interrupt the bonding moment he was having with the feathery dragon (which said dragon was possibly going to be rather upset about). A particular action that she herself still felt slightly guilty about doing, even if her motives were mostly justified. It wasn’t like she wasn’t going to try and understand the situation of her best friend’s tears. If only she had actually used her head beforehand…

Pale gold eyes flicker backwards as the stormy dragon behind her lays his large head on one of his forelegs. His cyan eyes seem to scan the environment before settling upon her following the question about the bond they shared. He seemed to take a moment or two to think things over before answering.

Ra’d words rumbled through her head in a surreal sort of fashion, much like they had up their meeting. Obviously, this came from the telepathic link her brothers had told her about time and time again. Still, it was nothing like she would have imagined.

I wonder… do all links feel the same?

She tunes back at the mention of sensing emotions, a concept she had only heard of in whispers and gossip. Her head tilts at the idea, long brown hair crossing over her right eyes as she does so (which she promptly blows out of her face). The concept of the bond acting as a compass was easy to understand and process – after all, he needed some way of finding her out of all the other humans. But… sensing emotions? She’d never really considered that possibility.

“Thank you, for your intel. Even if it was limited, which I cannot blame you for. It was quite insightful,” taking a pause, her eyes and head straightened out to stare after her friends once more, “Do you think… I’d be able to sense your emotions? If I tried, I mean… Actually, how do I even go about trying? Do I just focus on this connection or…?”

Ixora Pandya

Dragon Rider - Mentor | Female | 21 | Mentions: Kuwaka, Kaia, Tęgomir (ind) Shiro (ind)

Ixora laughed softly, her nose wrinkling again in disgust at the memory. “If I’m honest, I don’t believe I’d ever be able to forget that... even if you did let me.” She remembered how big of a shock that whole incident had certainly been to her strictly refined system – especially for a child such as her who was caught so deeply in her family-enforced perfectionism. It had been such a wild and indelicate thing for her to witness mere days after meeting her dragon, but once she got over the initial disgust, Ixora had found Kuwaka’s hunting skills rather admirable. Still very unappetising, but also impressive.

Plus that whole perfectionism thing had long been lost to time with Kuwaka and the school. With the academy’s rigorous training leaving no time left for worrying, her former ideals had been quickly replaced with better abilities – like, for example, being able to successfully flatter a dragon. She didn’t necessarily want to go ahead and charm herself or others out of a dragon’s rage, but it was something she had found herself able to do over the years. Or it might have just worked out of sheer luck a few times, and she would have to rely on Ku to get her out of an even worse mess one of these days – her smooth talking gone bust. Whatever it truly was though, she could not doubt her words were useful in a pinch.

And that was besides her own willingness to intimidate - or ‘encourage’ in her own words – other riders to grow into their own. Both of those qualities meant she thought she would make a pretty decent mentor alongside Ku – her own dragon a much more friendly beast to combat Ixora’s usual impassiveness. They levelled each other out well.

The young woman watched as her dragon looped around her a few times and shook her head with a grin. “Kuwaka, you are so easily entertained.” She shook her head lightly, “Let’s track down the rest of the mentorship team then. See them anywhere?”

Ixora lifted her hand gracefully above her golden-brown eyes to shade them from the sun’s bright rays. Across the grassland, she watched Kaia as he approached a dragon-rider pair; the squad leader closely followed the movements of a heavily feathered air dragon and a human that Ixora could presume only to be his rider, due to the playful closeness of which the creature danced around him. She raised an arched eyebrow in amusement, nudging Ku softly to ask her, “That seems to be a pretty friendly dragon, hm? Do you think he could be territorial at all?”

If he was, Kaia might need some backup from her and Ku - his dragon elsewhere at that moment. Although, she noticed that the rider didn’t seem particularly frightened, despite the dragon’s rough nature. He seemed to knock a few bystanders over as he flounced about, but they all seemed to recover quickly enough for Ixora need not to hastily rush over. Thankfully. “Well,” she continued, grinning, “If he’s not I think you might have a play-mate, if you fancy it? It might be good to give that poor rider a break from his dragon’s... eagerness.”

She thought she ought to head over to the group at least, and if not to speak with the new rider and dragon pairing, then with Kaia himself. She was curious of what her friend was thinking about the newest dragons and riders of whom he’d seen so far. Maybe he’d even had an idea on some of the newest rider’s personalities and such, which would be helpful on getting a head start for the week ahead. It would be busy, but interesting to say the least - the first week always was.

“I can see Kaia anyway, let's head over.” She pointed in the young man’s direction, petting Ku’s neck for a moment and heading in his direction. Raising a hand in greeting, in the squad leader’s direction, she quickly turned around to be sure her dragon was following with a confident smile on her face.