Life as a Bonder ~ Life as a Bonder ~
If she wanted to keep from bonding, Adrasteia decided, what she needed to do was prove to the mothers - or fathers - she was unsuitable as a bond for their offspring. And if she was going to do that, she needed to know and understand the enemy.
That was how she’d come to think of them. She refused to acknowledge their grace, their strength, their innate beauty, because that would have been like admiring a demon come to gobble up her powers, or keep her from working ever again, and that was not an option, as far as she was concerned. There were too many females to spend her time getting to know, so she picked out a few who seemed more dominant, garnered more attention, or just looked to her like dragonesses to be reckoned with. Kerilleth was one of the first she picked out, as she was a prominent white offspring of Neva, and who had yet to produce a white child herself. Chisagilara Selamputo was her second chosen target, not for her dominance so much as her presence. She, oddly, seemed to be a sort of odd-man out, what with her brilliant orangey-yellow colouring. The others chosen were Synya, for her outspoken tendencies, Ririkaedi, for her protective nature toward ‘children’, and even Iadur and L'keltrin ty Fralir Ontreyis, two of the males who had dominant enough personalities that, if she could sway them, they could help her sway the rest. Mind, in choosing who to approach, she also learned who to avoid. Koiri Syaess, for instance, was one male she wouldn’t go anywhere near, and she actually avoided even being seen by him. He had chosen a bond at a Flurry hatching that hadn’t wanted to take home a dragon, and the last thing she needed was him trying to convince her that what would happen would happen. Um, how about no? Yingith was another she learned to avoid, because the one time she had approached him he’d been gruff and unfriendly, and the last thing she needed to do was find out he had a soft spot for those willing to work past the gruff exterior. That, after all, would show patience and a willingness to adjust or compromise, and that was one thing she was not wanting these dragons to pick up. No, if she was going to avoid bonding, she needed to be brash, loud, annoying, dangerous, irresponsible, disrespectful...the list was endless. But she was up to the challenge. Or so she had so arrogantly assumed. Unfortunately, the dragons didn’t seem to take her all that seriously. To them, she was just another pesky human trying to manipulate them to get her way, and while they were partly correct, she was most certainly not human, and if she could only have convinced them otherwise, things would have gone so much easier. But then, when the humans themselves were giving her sideways looks when she declared her species, why should some high-minded, egg-oriented, fire-breathing reptiles pay her any mind. As if hearing her thoughts, Chisagilara Selamputo raised her head and turned to look in her direction, her tail curled lazily about her eggs. “Maybe if you tried to get to one of the eggs?” Syaa suggested hopefully, her stubby tail wagging fiercely back and forth as contemplated Ruair’s tail as her next pouncing victim. Adrasteia had a vision of her running onto the sands with a club raised overhead, screaming at the top of her lungs, and winced. “I’m not suicidal,” she retorted, using her toes to tickle Syaa’s side as she flipped her currently black hair off her face. “Although maybe if they thought I was...” “Don’t even consider it,” Ruair groaned, rolling his eyes as he lay down by her side and rested his head on her lap. “Face it, kid, you’re sunk. They’re not going to let you go, they’re not going to listen to your pleas, and Amitath is definitely not going to renounce your searched status.” Adrasteia scowled at the mention of the search blue, rubbing her bruised shoulder from her latest pinning experience, and glared at Ruair. The stupid blue hadn’t even waited for her to say anything the last time she’d approached him, he’d just pinned her down, called for someone to escort her away from him, and ignored her. “Why don’t you just show them your magic?” Syaa pounced on a small rock and Adrasteia smiled and laughed, though she quickly caught herself and looked around to make sure none of the dragons saw her taken pleasure in the simple antics of a small cub. “It only works if she’s around people for an extended period of time,” Ruair interrupted, catching her surprised look and smiling smugly. “Didn’t know that, did you? It’s been diluted, but you’re still a muse. Your presence, when prolonged around a specific group of people, and if those people happen to be stuck on something or in need of inspiring, is enough to get them moving.” “But I’m nowhere near as powerful as I used to be,” Adrasteia grumbled, frowning as she felt a small burst of pleasure at Ruair’s words. She was actually torn. Her life had been to inspire humans, and for her to still be able to was a blessing she hadn’t even considered, but at the same time, she would never be able to influence them to the level necessary to create a real work of art. And she missed her lounging clouds. Someone heaved a heavy sigh and sat not far from her, but below, so they couldn’t see her. And a good thing too. Thick dark hair, hazel-green eyes, the coppery skin, and the exasperated air of a woman hassled named her Min, and at that moment, along with all the other moments since she’d been searched, Adrasteia wasn’t liking any of the searchers. “Heyla!” Syaa greeted the newcomer with an exuberant bound that sent her tumbling down to knock into Min’s back. Shaking herself off, Syaa grinned and wagged her tail, cocking her head to one side. “Where’s the dragon?” She asked, meaning Min’s bond, of course, and Min knew that. “Outside, resting,” Min told the cub patiently, patting her head when it drooped. Syaa loved the black tail of the night dragon, and she would wait until it was almost dark before attempting to pick it out of the shadows and pounce on it. Thank God the night green was tolerant of winged wolves. As Syaa struggled to reclimb the steps, Min cast Adrasteia a sideways look and narrowed her eyes, as if trying to discern something. “Just don’t look,” Adrasteia told her quietly, smiling and shrugging. “I don’t want to know, and once the eggs hatch, we’ll both see there was nothing to it anyway, so just, don’t look.” Min actually laughed, soft and low, and she sighed and relaxed a little more, leaning back against the step as she looked at the eggs spread out below them. “Most people can’t wait to ask me what I see around them once they find out what I can do.” She cast a glance at Ruair now, who had been the one to warn Adrasteia about Min’s unusual gift, which was what Adrasteia had explained when, the first time she’d met Min, she’d stepped around a corner before talking to her. “I’m not most people,” Adrasteia whispered back, with an amused smile. “Maybe you could tell that to everyone else?” Min just smiled, scratching Syaa’s head where it lolled over one of the steps. “Really truly seriously, you should tell them you don’t see anything, and then I’ll be free to go, and...” “And if I do see something?” “A trick of the light, as it has been every time you look at me.” Her own eyes narrowed, turning from a gentle teal to a stormy blue-grey. “They’ve asked you, haven’t they? Or you’ve told them you see something, so they just ignore me when I try to convince them otherwise. Did you ever consider it might just be my magic you see – the magic of a muse?” “Shut up, muse,” Ruair groaned, butting her fingers to get them back on his head where they belonged, and Adrasteia glared at him before complying. “I can’t stay here,” she finally said, to no one in particular, but Min turned her head away to hide her smile. “You aren’t the first to claim so.”