Fingers tightening around both Keziah and Kenji, she took another step back, gaze glued upon the nearing storm dragon. "What was that you said about all of us bonding with a dragon," she managed to hiss out, suddenly against the idea altogether as the beast neared. It was headed towards them, there was no doubt about it. They were at the edge of the crowd after all; there was nobody behind them.

Beatrice watched with careful eyes as the storm dragon advanced. He was so close now, that if she extended her hand, she'd be able to brush his scales. Not that she would. Beatrice may be a fool at times, but she was no idiot. Her arms would remain upon her sides, holding her friends as close to her as possible. That is, until the dragon passed.

And thankfully, it did.

Even then, her fingers remained intertwined with her friends, keeping them at a safe distance. And when Kenji positioned himself slightly in front of them, she held him back gently, remaining stiff and preparing to launch him into a run dare anything transpired. She was planning in her head, trying to figure out a way to offer her friends an advantage, after all, a dragon was still a dragon. They were here to bond, but they also had instincts. What if-

Her gaze snapped onto another figure, a second dragon approaching. This one was equally eerie to Beatrice, with feline-like eyes and spikes. So many spikes. It was approaching at a rapid pace, filtering through the crowd like the storm dragon did only moments prior. Beatrice hardly had time to react before it was.. there.

"You are quite foolish to get between a dragon and their Chosen, boy." It spoke, nudging him aside. "I-" She began, finding herself speechless for once. Could it be? Keziah was chosen? Glancing to her friend, Beatrice offered her a brief look of pride. However, it didn't last long, for within moments, her thoughts froze, mind drawing a blank as the storm dragon paused in her peripheral vision.

What was only a moment felt like hours. It stood there, staring blankly into the distance before slowly, so very slowly, turning its head towards them. Beatrice was so close now. Could practically smell the dragon's smokey breath as it exhaled, staring at them.

No, not them.

Kenji.

It stood there, watching. And then, all at once, he shifted. The movements were rapid. Had she blinked, she would have missed them. One moment, the storm dragon stood there, the next, he was pivoting, using his weight to his advantage before snatching Kenji from them. From her. He was ripped from her grasp within seconds, shoved onto the ground, and trapped. She was certain that she would have flown with him, had she not felt herself being held back.

Glancing behind her, her gaze was met with the lunar dragon once more, to which Beatrice stared at before breaking out into a flurry of movements. Scrambling, she waved her limbs around as she was placed onto the ground once more, nearly stumbling. Putting a few steps between Kez's dragon and herself, she refocused on the current issue.

Beatrice knew about dragons, but not enough. So, upon seeing Kenji torn away from her, she stepped towards Kez, tugging her on her arm gently. "Is he going to kill him? Shit, Kez, what do we do?" She was frantic. Was Kenji chosen? Was this how the bond worked? With such aggression? What if the dragon was hungry? Could Kez's dragon stop this? How did this work? "Oh, god.." Watching for a moment, Beatrice's gaze snapped onto the ground next to her. All at once, she released Kez's hand reaching down towards the grass. Picking up a stick, she took a step forward without thinking..

And then she hit the storm dragon with it.

"Get off of him!" She snapped, only to pause. Beatrice stood there, watching in horror as the stick broke into pieces immediately on impact. Alright, perhaps she didn't think things through, but could you blame her? There was so much happening, between Kenji being ripped from her, to the storm dragon pinning him down, to the lunar-looking dragon peering at her. It was enough to break anyone.

"Call your dragon off," she suddenly said to Kez. "Or better yet, get her to help Kenji." Practically out of breath by this point due to the current events, she felt a sudden nudge upon her side. Shooting a glance to the dragon near her, Beatrice turned to Kez, prepared to speak once more before a painful feeling in her head emerged. Grimacing, her hands shot up to her temples, rubbing them gently as the pain throbbed across her entire skull. Just as quickly as it came, it vanished, leaving her to face the dragon before her with wide eyes.

She had been mistaken. The dragon didn't come for Keziah, but for her? Shaking her head lightly, she glanced to Kez, and then back to the dragon. This was a mistake. Beatrice couldn't even identify the class of dragon that had bonded with her. Could hardly fathom the idea of such a thing. As if things couldn't get any worse, something in her mind spoke. It wasn't her internal monologue, either. But a loud voice. A feminine one.

"You're quite small compared to me," it said, to which Beatrice responded aloud. "I think most are small compared to you." Her voice quieted, her mouth nearly hanging agape as she fluctuated between staring at Kenji, Keziah, and the two dragons within the vicinity. It was perhaps one of the rare cases where Beatrice had little to say. Truth be told, she was overwhelmed.

"Thank you," she suddenly said again. Your eyes are.. pretty as well. Like a feline. Once more, she paused. Beatrice's mouth had made movement, but no words emerged. For a moment, she believed that she had gone mute, that is, until the dragon responded. Had this been that odd mental ability she had heard about? If so, she wasn't sure how she did it, or if she could do it again.

"Pardon me?" She had asked, staring as the dragon introduced herself as.. Haki.. the Lunar Dragon. Could you repeat that once more, she added on, hand reaching out for Kez's once more.

Late to the party, Ryker jogged his way down the hill towards the large crowd of people with dragons both on the outskirts and wandering through the crowd. His watchful gaze scanned the dragons quickly as he slowed his pace to a walk, noticing a few striking individuals among the group. There were many common and even uncommon dragons, but Ryke even noticed a few rare ones. Notably, a very pretty looking crystal female. He made a note to make his rounds and check out all the interesting dragons he could.

He honestly didn't expect to be paired. At 18, he had about given up hope, but he did want sketches of and notes on some of the dragons he'd not seen in previous years, and that started with the Crystal female, as he wanted to get her down before she bonded with someone so that he didn't get in their way.

Nearing the edge of the crowd, Ryker palmed his notebook in his back pocket to assure himself it was there, and he pulled out his pen, fiddling with it as he melted into the masses. There were many people, though they were spread out enough that it wasn't claustrophobic, and he easily wove his way through the crowd on his way towards the lovely pink dragon.

Walking to about 50 feet away, Ryke brushed his hair out of his eyes and pulled out his journal, beginning to sketch a rough outline of the female before writing notes. Not that he was particularly artistic, but one could make out the intended shapes of his sketches and they weren't offensively bad by any means. Yet, musing on his artistic ability was not what he came here to do, he smiled to himself at the thought.

Lightly shaking his head to himself, he began taking notes. Her class, color, rough measurements, and the way she interacted with the dragons around her. She seemed an intelligent and friendly creature from what he observed. An interesting individual, indeed, by her build. She was quite pretty, but there was an air of superiority and intimidation about her.

Not to mention the water dragon next to her was a deep and sparkling color. Common though the class may be, this individual was inspiring with its perfectly designed build, clearly very efficient in its comfortable liquid environment. Together, they made a picturesque pair, almost opposites in both build design and coloring.

Desmodus Draculae

Male Dark Dragon || Rider: Arya || M: (Dir) Arya. (Ind) Kaisen.

~

Desmodus made a small huff at the squeak the human made. It was quite annoying that she kept squeaking, but what was even more annoying was how protective her brother looked. If I have to put up with her squeaking for the rest of my life, I swear I will literally die of annoyance before we even were bonded for a year. He flicked his ears around when she began to speak, his eyes narrowed and his pupils striped. It was quite strange to be not only standing in front of a human, but talking to one. Even after all the cruel things they'd done.

Then, Desmodus leaned down and roughly grabbed the human with his two wing claws, carefully making sure he didn't cut her on accident, before turning around and walking a few steps. When he was away from the crowd, he set the human down and then he sat down in front of her, reaching out his two wing claws to her, perhaps wanting a hand shake. "I guess, nice to meet you?" A strange hiss came from his jaws; he felt awkward with his terrible attempts at being nice; it was strange to be standing in front of a human and trying to be nice. But this human didn't make him boil with rage, or want to screech in their face. He just felt... normal?

Then, the human blurted something out, then she covered her face while blushing. In fact, he couldn't say that it didn't surprise him, in fact it shocked him. He could feel the shock spike through him when she said that, in fact, he was fighting a blush that was trying to force itself onto his face, but he still began to boil with embarrassment. He could feel a couple stares on his pelt, but he ignored it all. His crimson eyes were wide in shock as he stared at the human, entirely speechless. He didn't know how to respond to such a strange thing, but "thank you" would also sound strange. What to say, what to say? He anxiously thought, but noticed how long he'd gone silent, just staring at her with his mouth open as if he was holding in a gasp.

Instead, he just swallowed and shook his head around before narrowing his eyes at her, although there was a hint of softness in his facial expression that he really just couldn't. "Don't you dare. I am not beautiful." He hissed, his fangs baring as he huffed. Although it still shocked him that a human, of all things, was the first thing to call him beautiful. The one thing that took everything away. His only purpose, now gone due to those creatures, yet one was standing in front of him and calling him beautiful. No, they're all monsters. Nothing can change that. A sigh came from his throat and his facial expression softened before he just growled while turning to the ground, "Thank you.."

Then, the human spoke again, and he just flicked his ear in her direction. "Oh, my name..?" He started, pawing at the ground. Do I really tell this human my name? He watched as a hole began to appear in the ground due to him pawing at it. I feel like I should.. Then, he turned to look back at Arya and growled. "My name is Desmodus. But you won't tell anyone, got it?"

Then, Desmodus started to fill in the hole he dug, gently punching the dirt back into it. The embarrassment and nervousness from the unexpected compliment was starting to fade away, and he could feel that the boiling embarrassment was fading as well. He never expected anyone to call him beautiful, and he definitely didn't expect a human to call him beautiful, although he was quite curious about what made her blurt out such a strange compliment even though they'd just met. It was very tempting to ask, but he didn't want to. He just wanted a nap. His jaws parted in a wide yawn, and he made a strange cooing sound. "That flight was quite tiring. I think I'm gonna take a nap. Sadly, there are no cave ceilings to hang from, so I'll have to sleep on the floor." That being said, he rolled over onto his side and gently rested his head on the floor, folding his wings against his sides. "Wake me up in an hour. Although give me like five minutes extra of sleep. Maybe ten. You decide." He then began to curl up in a ball, using a wing to block out the sunlight. It was getting close to his bedtime anyway now that it was morning time.

Serikornis Ventus

New Dragon - Air Class | Male | 220 | Mentions: Those in the clearing (ind), Noelle (ind)

Seriko's four wings beat lightly against the gravity tugging at him towards the ground - great volumes of air whooshing against his head feathers as he did so. The gravity threatened to tug him towords the cluster of dragons and humans intermingled below, but his lithe body held steadfast against the windy altitude without significant effort. He could just make individuals out - his golden eyes scanning the area like a hawk, only with sight far more superior. There were plenty of dragons scattered around, lazily draped across the valley like lizards sunning themselves on a rock. He briefly wondered if there would be any he recognised - none more than acquaintances, but for Seriko the familiarity of a known face did somewhat alleviate his anxiety.

But from all the way up here, he wouldn't have been noticeable anyway. Not even with his large size; not with any other dragon's brilliant eyesight - nor was it due to his remarkable camouflage against the sky's dotted clouds in soft greys and whites. The air this high was sickeningly thin and he liked it; he was unpercievable to all the creatures and world below. At most, if he had wanted to be seen, he would resemble some sort of shimmering irregularity against the blue of the sky, circling high above. He tucked in his wings, diving down to a lower altitude and circling the valley, spiralling down so that his shape could be move visible in the sky - now more mistakeble as a bird of prey, at least to some unknowledgeable human.

Tilting his body into an arc, he could see some dragons quite close to individual humans. Presumably their riders, or their to-be riders. Seriko doubted any dragon had outright "chosen" their partner yet (not they they had much of a choice in the matter). Perhaps they'd already begun a conversation at most, initiated the bond, but he didn't think they'd collected the youngsters upon their backs just yet. He had a vague understanding of how the whole bonding situation worked, and the importance of that initial contact plus that first ever flight. To get to that point this soon would be hurried.

Still, he ought to get a move on finding his rider.

With a soft airy growl, Seriko quickly approached the ground - his feet halting a considerable distance above the heads of slightly started humans. He hovered easily there, his wings forming a slight breeze as he swung them up and down to maintain a steady position. Already his head was crained forwards; feathered ears pricked at the sides of his head to pick up as much sound as he could manage. That feeling that meant his rider was close hummed deep from within his wide chest. It nestled in his heart, begging to pull him in the direction of his rider - wherever it was where they stood in this uncomfortable jumble of both beast and man.

He had been there for a while, merely watching. Tęgomir had been one of the first to arrive, yet remained concealed within the clouds. He was waiting. The human he was unfortunately destined to form a connection with was absent. They did not linger below in the crowd with the others, nor were they in the general vicinity. This human of his, it seemed, was hiding.

No matter, Tęgomir always relished games, especially hide-and-seek. As a hatchling, he excelled at hide-and-seek to such an extent that he once vanished so effectively, he was never discovered. His winning streak persisted, so if this human companion of his desired a game, who was he to turn down the opportunity?

A malicious grin twisted upon his face as he soared through the sky, high enough so that his figure would go unnoticed. He didn't need to see the crowd below to know that his human was not among them. He could feel it. The invisible string pulled him elsewhere, past the valley below and into the more.. metropolitan terrain. Wherever his human was, they refused to emerge from their little shelter.

Tęgomir contemplated leaving the area and seeking his human out. He toyed with the idea of venturing into residences merely to savor the astonishment etched upon the faces of unsuspecting onlookers, but he refrained. As tempting as it might be, Tęgomir held true to his gentlemanly demeanor.

For now.

So he had circled the skies, waiting to see what would happen. Would his human emerge, or would he be forced to find him? It would be entertaining for Tęgomir, regardless of the choice. He found himself thoroughly entertained by the impending possibilities. Such musings whirled within his thoughts, to the extent that he caught himself absentmindedly twiddling his fingers in eager anticipation.

And then, he felt the invisible connection grow stronger. His grin stretched even wider, spanning from one eye to the other, a testament to his mounting excitement. His human was in motion! What an interesting choice. Tęgomir couldn't help but wonder why. Why had his human bided their time for so long? Could their interest in dragons truly be so lacking? Impossible, only a fool would miss such a sight!

Oh, but it didn't matter now! His human was coming, and Tęgomir was prepared to meet him. He had been prepared for quite some time. Didn't his human realize that it was rude to keep company waiting?

Continuing to circle the skies, Tęgomir waited patiently, and waited, and waited, until at last, he felt it. The string was no longer aimed in front of him, but directly below. A large sound emitted from his throat, a sound best described as a horrific wail. It stretched on for an uncomfortable amount of time, until, with a swift motion, he plummeted downward.

The rush of wind serenaded his ears as he descended, feathered wings tucked nearly folded against his sides as he fell towards the earth. He maintained a resolute silence, yet the grin upon his features still remained. By now, it had stretched to an uncanny magnitude, occupying nearly half of his face in an unsettling display.

He dove when he was miles from the ground. He dove when he was mere meters. It was only when he was but a few feet away did Tęgomir, with a deft and calculated maneuver, suddenly pull up. His wings unfurled rapidly as he sailed above the heads of humans with dangerously close proximity. Had he gone lower, he was sure that he would take some out, although such concerns held little weight in his perspective. He cared but for one human, his own.

Flying in a straight line, Tęgomir pressed forward, soaring in an unbroken line. He navigated his course, streaking past both dragons and humans with a velocity reminiscent of a jet plane in flight. The motion continued until his human, his target, fell into sight. Grin persisting, he neared his human, arms falling towards the ground and claws outstretched in the air.

"I found youuuuu," he sang between clenched teeth, and then he picked his human up by the arms and rose into the air once more.