Kayne had finally psyched himself up enough to actually go and talk to Solstrale about supplementing scouting the border with riders when the dragons began their bonding. And with all the deafening screeching, roaring, and hissing going on, Kayne definitely thought it wise not to get between any dragons and their fated riders. Kayne looked at the squirrel above him, still insistent Kayne leave its tree alone. “Not going out there. I think I’ll choose life.” He leaned back against the trunk, hoping it was all over soon so that he could go back to the stables and hang out with Nyx. Horses were nice creatures. They never ate anyone.

He winced as a light dragon chose its person, glowing so brightly it blinded him for a few seconds. Suddenly, in stark contrast, an eerie darkness fell over the entire clearing as a creepy dragon that literally ebbed with shadows appeared and made its own choice of a rider, not far from where he stood. The dragoness’ body posture and presence told Kayne that it did not appreciate anyone else around, at all, even though crowds of people didn’t seem to be heeding her hisses of warnings.

I think now is a good time to go talk to Solstrale. Kayne thought and crept carefully away from the presence of the dark dragoness.

He went the long way, around the edges of the crowds, away from the dragons and most of the people. He saw a girl, that brave but fidgety one from earlier, walking towards the edge of the small lake near the clearing and began edging closer to the shore. She had the right idea, for there were far fewer people here.

He located Solstrale in the crowd, but he would take an awful lot of work to weave back through all the people and irritable beasts. Should he just keep waiting? Or just go and not worry about it? Sometimes a guy’s got to do what a guy’s got to do, even if that means wading through a sea full of people (which Kayne didn’t like), to talk to someone (who probably didn’t like him), and ask for a favor (which he didn’t like doing). Alright, alright, he’d go.

A sudden movement in the corner of his eye jerked his attention back to the lakeside. A huge dragon erupted from underwater and sank its fangs into the girl’s clothing, dragging her back under with it before Kayne could even react.

The pounding in his chest increased dramatically. Should he save her? Could he save her? No. It was impossible. Even if the dragon had let go of her, and she was still alive by some miracle, it wouldn’t suffer him going down there. And besides, swimming had never been his strongest skill- there was no chance he could swim well enough to save the girl and keep the dragon at bay.

But I can’t just leave her to die! He took a step towards the lake.

No. I’d die as soon as I plunge in.

There was nothing he could do for her except hope she would make it.

He watched for what seemed like an eternity before the dragon finally broke the surface with the girl in its claws. Once on land, she coughed the water out of her lungs and took in deep breaths of air. Kayne let out a breath of relief he didn’t know he had been holding. As much as he hated people in general, he didn’t want to see anyone get hurt. It was part of his duty as a ranger to protect the people, however indirectly he often chose to do it.

The water dragon seemed strangely satisfied with the girl, and Kayne could only assume he was testing her. Now it looked like he would choose her. Still, what if the girl had been injured? Sure, the dragon probably wouldn’t kill her now, but she could be bleeding somewhere, broken a limb, either of which would be detrimental when she would have to complete the challenge of the first flight. Kayne had bandages and could make a splint if she needed a leg or arm stabilized.

A female dragon suddenly thrust itself between the dragon and its new rider, cooing at the girl (who didn’t really seem like she appreciated it), and then turned and started lecturing the massive male, who Kayne figured would likely crush her in a fight. Kayne seized the opportunity to sneak over and check on the girl, now that her murder lizard was distracted. He stalked up behind, glad he could move silently, and tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

“Hey, you okay?” He said, his voice low but strong. “Not hurt anywhere?” He didn’t want to invade her space if she didn’t want his help, but he figured since he couldn’t save her earlier, it was the least he could do to offer to patch her up. She was soaked, and as strong as she was, when she had to go fly, she would soon freeze in the cold air up there if she didn’t have something dry on. He slipped his cloak off and put it in her hands. “At least take this.”

As he did so, he heard someone scream.

He spun around away from the girl to face the threat, and saw the grumpy fire dragon from before finally making his way through the crowd. And make his way he did, clearing a path by knocking the people out of the way, ouch, stepping on one of them. Kayne suddenly wanted very much to go back to his nice oak tree. The beast of smoke and flame stomped closer, his massive frame shaking the ground with each step as he surveyed the crowd with disdain.

Suddenly, he locked eyes with Kayne. Either by accident or on purpose, the dragon had seen him now.

He wanted to look away, maybe the dragon would just walk right past, yet something told him not to. The dragon would see it as a weakness and might just kill him for that reason alone. No. He would not look away. He would not back down. Hopefully the girl behind him would have enough sense, and strength, to move out of the way and her dragon would probably protect her anyway, but Kayne would not move. If he was going to die today, he would die with his pride. No dragon would take that from him.

Aziza Sterling || Female || 18 || New Rider || M: Finn, Tatsuo, Mattis (Ind), Koji (Ind)

Golden eyes glance back to the boy in question, meeting his blue orbs with a slight look of surprise – some lingering blush coating her cheeks. She had just walked into him, and his first response was to gleefully ask how she had been? To comment on how he wished to convince her into coming? Then again, she should have expected nothing less from the ball of radiated sunshine before her. It wasn’t “his style” to respond in the way most nobles did – something she was still not accustomed to after all this time. Though, the wink did still manage to take her slightly off guard.

“I’m fine,” she averts her gaze once more,” just… stressed about this whole situation. And besides, you know my family wouldn’t dare let me miss this,” an empty chuckle leaves her at the end of her statement, eyes moving to look back towards the taller boy.

A soft smile graces her at the acceptance of her apology, but is quickly covered by both her hands as she begins to laugh softly at the jab sent towards his friends (whom she had not taken notice of before) immediately after. Stilling her slight case of amusement, she drops her hands from her face – her smile being a smidge wider than its previous iteration. Leaning to the side of the blonde locked acquaintance, she attempts to sneak a better glance at these friends of his. Her mouth opens in preparation for a question, a simple “and who may these friends of yours be,” but closes at his own.

“Is that all your family? I knew you mentioned them but…”

The brown haired girl shifts to look behind her shoulder, right where the adrenaline junkie’s attention now resided. Sure enough, there her family stood – still as chaotic as they had been when she left. And it seemed her glance back to them had not gone unnoticed, with one of her more excitable younger cousins quickly notifying the rest of the group of her attention. Energetic waves and thumbs up were quick to sprout up amongst them, with all but the twins joining in. She rolls her eyes at their antics… Though, she couldn’t help but notice the confused look shared between her parents during the midst of it. She had a feeling what the reasoning was, but she made sure not to dwell on it at the moment.

Turning her back toward her friend, she responds, “Yes, that would be-”

A flash. The world around her shifted before her very eyes in an instant, a blank canvas of… something now encompassing her view. Aziza jumps back with a partially strangled gasp, eyes blow wide in surprise and fright. A surge of warmth and weightlessness suddenly bursts to light in her very veins, burning through all of her senses while enhancing that of her sight. The wall of white became blinding to her eyes, as though she were staring into the sun itself. Her eyes ached at the rise in brightness… but as soon as the feel had reared its ugly head, it had dissipated.

The girl’s head swings around wildly, searching for the source of this until she freezes. A voice boomed through her mind, as disorienting as the sensation from before. Could… could that be…?

Spinning on her heel, she comes face to face with a dragon – leaving her completely stunned. Her slender face presented tell-tale signs of battle (something which caused her heart to twinge in concern despite their age), with a “marked” eye and busted lip. White eyes all but peered into the small human’s soul, leaving a shudder to run the course of her spine. Equally as white scales, if not a brighter white, lined her entire body. They were as bright as a sun-kissed pile of snow, glimmering under the day’s light in a blinding yet mesmerizing way.

It takes a few seconds for her brain to catch up to the words uttered by this beast just moments before, the very sight of her having been a bit too overwhelming for the petite lady to comprehend the prior statement.

Koji Tveit

New Rider | Male | 18 years | Mentions: Aýnabat, Mattis, Finn, Aziza [ind.], Avery [ind.]

Koji returned to wave to Avery before he saw his friend get approached by another mentor, he quickly pivoted away as the two began what seemed to be a sort of an argument. He could talk to his friend later, that was not something that looked like he should be interrupting.

Despite Koji’s confident look and swagger, he was a bit nervous when it came to this dragon business. They fascinated him, but as he watched a dragon attempt to kill their rider, he started to become a bit nervous. Despite this, those feelings were squashed when he noticed Mattis jogging over towards them.

“About time Matty!” he called in greeting, as his friend crushed him and Finn into a bear hug. “Yeah, where is your impressive Psyche dragon you somehow managed to tie yourself to?” he spoke, echoing Finn’s words. When Koji had learned his friend had bonded not too long ago, he had been in utter disbelief at the rare dragon that had chosen Mattis as his rider. But Koji had never met the dragon, only hearing his friend's stories about him. As Finn retold his heroic story of how he managed to sneak out of the house, he found himself grinning proudly, flashing his arms to show Mattis the damage he had done.

Koji turned from his friends momentarily, looking around the valley. Even through the chaos of Dragon Valley, Koji managed to spy a few others he knew, all of them here for the same reason he was. To bond. He heard Finn speaking behind him and saw him reaching out to Aziza. The girl was his age, a long-time family friend, and basically a sister to him. He turned back to greet her when the pair were cut off, a glaring shield of light encasing Az around her and a dragon. A smile stretched across his face, her family would be proud to see her bonding

As dragons seemed to crawl from the area, many riders began to match up with them. It was at that moment when he noticed one approach him. The creature seemed to shimmer, the dragon's coat a pretty sort of blue. He could only stand mesmerized as she approached, her presence radiating power, commanding respect. Yet he also felt strangely calm. The dragons emitted a low pur, seemingly glowing. The noise caused something in his chest to twist, and Koji felt himself reaching a hand up towards his heart.

“You, my dear one, are my chosen”

The young man gazed up, stunned at the creature before him. He hardly felt her tail wrap around him, but once it did the tightness in his chest eased. The sudden release caused him to blow out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He had bonded.