Perched upon a ledge that jutted out from the mountains, the deep sea water dragon observed with watchful eyes. She had seen the crowd grow, had gazed at the dragons beginning to enter the vicinity.

K'issuk's gaze shifted from dragon to dragon, observing their presence with an innate understanding of their purpose. Sinister ridges adorned her spine, a spine that flexed and drew back in a repetitive cycle the more she surveyed them. Her own eyes glowed in a menacing manner, an eerie cerulean hue remaining. However, there was no malice in her expression. Rather, her facial features remained neutral besides the occasional softening of her orbs.

It was always the highlight of her year, seeing the new arrivals. So much anticipation filled the air, such excitement. She always looked forward to witnessing the moment of connection as dragons approached and chose riders. It was a dance of mutual recognition, a merging of souls if you will. The bond sought to discern the potential for harmony or discord in a partnership. It was really quite lovely.

Such diverse classes. She spoke softly through her mind, noting the presence of a dream, fire, and storm dragon to name a few. They seem to have arrived at once, each piling in shortly after the other. Don't you think so? She continued, head turning to face her own rider, Kaia, who was positioned upon her right.

I find myself excited for them. How many do you believe will arrive this time? Head tilted back towards the vallery, she noted the presence of a dark, psyche, and second fire dragon appear. Shortly followed came another water dragon like herself, though much brighter. A shallow water dragon, I presume. She had muttered to Kaia, tilting her head with curiosity.

On and on they came, a seer dragon appearing next, followed by a third fire dragon. However, this fire dragon appeared disgruntled, a shrill cry sounding from his throat. He seemed older than the rest. Angrier. K'issuk couldn't help but wonder why. Do you think that he will be one of the difficult ones?

Peering down at his scales, she allowed her gaze to linger for a moment before breaking contact, turning back to Kaia. Regardless, do you feel optimistic? I do. The deep sea dragon perked her head up, a soft rumble of content sounding from her chest. Who do you believe will find their human first?

The man stood quietly beside his dragon, watching the crowd of people grow and dragons arrive. He knew K'issuk would be enjoying looking at the dragons, but Kaia couldn't help but find himself mildly distracted, glancing down at the crowd to try and spot the dark hair of his brother, Sedna.

When the deep sea dragon spoke into their bond, Kaia hummed softly. 'There are definitely diversities, hopefully it'll help make them a good team,' Kaia said into the bond, shifting his weight to lean against the dragon. Despite her appearance, K'issuk had always been kind, she had always shown the love of the ocean to him. It helped settle the ache that 'home' left in his chest.

'Some rare ones this year,' Kaia mused into the bond, peering down at the dragons. He spotted fire dragons, a storm dragon, a water dragon, and a seer dragon. The sight of the third fire dragon itched something in his brain, something that he'd read somewhere, maybe. 'That dragon looks a bit old to fit the age that a bond normally sparks,' Kaia said into the bond, his mind distracted as he tried to think back to any records he'd read.

'Difficult, maybe. He reminds me of one of the dragons in the records. Maybe his second time bonding? It would explain his.. attitude,' Kaia looked at the dragon for a moment longer, before glancing around to try and spot his mentors and their dragons. He was close friends with both of the mentors that had been given to his squad, Veetabhi and Ixora.

'I feel okay, a little nervous,' Kaia said, letting more of his weight rest on K'issuk. 'Sedna is supposed to be here today. I'm not sure if I want him to be chosen. He'll be a right pain if I'm his squad leader,' The man chuckled, shaking his head. His younger brother had always been rebellious, and he knew Sedna would near-on raise hell if he was forced to listen to Kaia.

The young man moved through the crowd, finding the push and pull of the bodies crushing against his ribs and his mind. He didn't even want to be here, his aunt had insisted. Terah made an aggravated noise, running a jeweled hand through his hair. He was fine with crowds normally. Well, not fine with all crowds like this one, but normally he made do. For some reason, this one was worse.

A crack of thunder overhead despite the decidedly clear skies reminded him of why it was different, why it was worse. He'd heard of dragons taking out parts of the crowd to get to their human, and Toivo wasn't exactly waiting in line to be the first one trampled to death, by a dragon or the group of humans. 'People are idiots on mass' was something his father would always say, and Terah had to find himself agreeing.

The ginger man had finally, finally, pushed his way to the outskirts of the crowd, where only a few quiet people stood, when other dragons began their appearances. Some descended from the sky, others erupted from the lake the school had nearby. Terah didn't flinch, pah, who do you think he is if you think he'll flinch? But he found himself unsure in the presence of so many large, scaly beasts.

Toivo sighed, folding his arms. He just had to stand here for however long the ceremony would go, and then he could go home and report to his aunt that, no, he hadn't been chosen, and no, he won't be a famed dragon rider, and he could choose his own path in life thank-you-very-much.

To say he was less than impressed would be a severe understatement. Rhyhor found himself almost seething, a pull in his chest, an ache in his heart, demanding he fly across oceans and continents to bond with one measly, pathetic human, and be surrounded by a bunch of irritating dragons. He hoped, maybe even prayed to a God he didn't care for, that the dragons he would be stuck with would at least respect some basic personal space.

The large storm dragon stood out against the clouds when he allowed himself to drift below them, dark colouring blooming like a bruise against fluffy white. He watched others approach, heard and witnessed the extravagant entrances, and found he simply didn't care enough for it. He cared not for the opinion of other dragons, why would those of humans be of any importance to him?

When a moment of calm settled over the valley, it's occupants perhaps assuming that was the last of the dragons, Rhyhor descended. The only noise that came from him was a low rumble in his throat, a constant as he placed his hind legs on the ground. He kept his forelegs up, the claws on his wings joint acting perfectly fine as forelegs when he chose. That being said, his wings landed with a heavy, solid thud.

Eyes of pure, electric blue, missing their pupils and sclera, scanned over the crowd as Rhyhor lifted his head. His stupid heart gave a stupid tug, pulling him in the direction of his stupid bond. He couldn't quite stop the rumble in his throat from moving up into his jaws, making itself known with a flash of teeth and a snarl at the part of the crowd nearest to him.

The storm dragons steps were heavy, uncaring of the humans in his way as he waded into the crowd, following the tug on his heart as if it were a straight line. The crowd of humans, in a moment of surprising intelligence, parted out of the way of his body to allow him an unbloodied passage.