Neryth looked around, seeing that most of the dragons had selected their partners. The next stage of the Bonding Ceremony should start soon. She twisted her head to gently nudge Kiran. 'The ceremony should start soon.' She commented to him, another puff of smoke escaping her nose. She made a note that the purple female seemed to have calmed down and accepted the bond, which pleased her. She had worried there may be a casualty during the ceremony, which they had managed to avoid thus far while she had been the Head Dragon. It was a huge relief to know her gentle nudge had worked, even if it had angered Vervada a bit. Neryth knew she sometimes took her role as leader a bit too far, as it did contribute to her vanity. But she was the one in charge, and she felt the other dragons should respect that.

Vervada : Dragon : Warrior : Female
M: Arya (dir.)

Vervada frowned, but snorted in mild acceptance as the girl sat down in front of her. Well at least she knew her place, and wouldn't try to push anything, that was something in her favor. She feined indifference as Arya began telling her about herself.

Hmmm 18... that's quite young, but not too different from Da- she cut her thoughts short, angry at herself for comparing her former rider to this girl. And then suddenly a twinge of emotion slipped through her, just a small flash, there and gone, of sadness, and much guilt. She frowned as she listened to the girl, her voice trembling as she spoke.

Despite herself, her heart gave a slight hitch, a pang of pain she knew few could understand, but apparently this girl had had a taste of it as well. Suddenly Vervada lowered herself to the ground, laying with her front legs crossed in front of her, tail curling around her side and wings settling over her back as she peered sharply at Arya. How could her brother's death have been her fault? This girl honestly didn't look like she could hurt a fly! She didn't want to get involved... but now she was definitely curious.

So now it was she who couldn't help but ask the hard question. "Tell me what happened, and I'll decide who's fault it was" she rumbled in a gruff, indifferent tone. But her eyes gave her away, shining with a sudden, unfamiliar concern and curiosity that hadn't shown itself in years.

Arya bit her lip, fidgeting with a blade of grass with her delicate fingers. "I... I told him he could join the army, that my family could manage without him. But..." her voice hitched, and she had to stop for a few moments, taking deep breaths so she wouldn't start crying. "He was killed on a patrol. He wouldn't have died if I hadn't told him he could go join the army." A tear slipped down her pale cheek, vanishing into her dark blue-black hair. She bit her lip again, finger tips momentarily clenching together on the blade of grass and creating a small rip in the green frond.

Vervada : Dragon : Warrior : Female
M: Arya (dir.)

Vervada listening solemnly, trying hard to keep emotion out of her expression, but a flicker of sympathy couldn't help passing through her. This girl thought she was the cause of her brother's death... how little she knew of actually causing someone's death, Vervada thought with a twinge of guilt passing through her again, this time her own.

Pushing her thoughts away she looked down at the dark haired girl sitting forlornly in the grass, her fingers clenched as she tried to stay strong. And suddenly an urge to protect and comfort her swept through Vervada, an urge to gather her in her wings and brush away her tears, telling her it wasn't her fault. Her wings twitched convulsively but she forced herself to stay still, getting ahold of these strange, foreign emotions, extremely thankful the bond wasn't very strong yet, before speaking in a low rumbling tone, not blunt, but not soft either.

"You must know it wasn't your fault. He would have gone anyway. They always do. The only one to blame is the murdering scum that attacked him." she replied, her purple eyes gleaming down on the petite girl below her.

Arya sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "You really think so?" She asked in a shaky voice. "It's not my fault?" A sense of profound relief took hold of her at the dragon's words. Some part of her deep down had always known it wasn't truly her fault, but she had been blaming herself for the past few years. She just couldn't help it. She couldn't help believing that he would still be alive if she hadn't told him to join the army. But maybe Vervada was right. Maybe he really probably still would've gone, even if she'd told him to stay.

Vervada : Dragon : Warrior : Female
M: Arya (dir.)

Vervada snorted, her tone now scornful "Of course. I'm a dragon, I always say what I think" she pointed out. She could feel small sparks of relief drifting through the bond, and couldn't help but feel happy that she'd been the cause of them. Since she'd been bonded once before, her side was a little stronger than Arya's, and she was able to regularly sense currents of emotions from the girl. She hoped Arya knew what she was getting into... once their bond was stronger there'd be no lying, no hiding truth from each other. And suddenly she realized that that fact terrified her. What if Arya hated her for letting Everest sacrifice herself and her rider? What if she didn't trust her after she found out she hadn't ben able to save Daell? Would shse think her selfish for having escaped with her own life, as she did?

Her eyes clouded slightly, her tail shifting with unease as these thoughts took over her mind. She knew it would be a while till the bond was that strong... but it would come. One day. Now that they had touched, it was inevitable.

Suddenly she angrily shook herself out of her mental state. Enough worrying about the future. She would deal with it when it came. Right now she just had to focus on unscrambling her confused emotions, one minute scornful, the next sympathetic, then angry, then calm... this bond had really messed her mind up.

<br>
Arya laughed. "You're right, I have heard dragons have a tendency to say exactly what they think," she said, her shoulders shaking a little with laughter. Wiping her eyes again, she looked up at Vervada and smiled. "So, tell me about yourself. I love learning things about dragons, and this is my best chance to learn all of the details. What do you like to eat? And why's your fire purple? I've never heard of a dragon having a different color fire, it's really cool."

A toothy smile spread across the female's face. 'Well, now that we're bonded, I could take you there some day.' Her tail flicked lightly before returning to stillness. 'Unfortunately it's not very exciting. We don't exactly live in intricate buildings, just caves in the mountains. But some dragons like to live in the forest north of the Great Ridge. Those dragons typically live underground in burrows.' She wrinkled her nose. 'They live more like rabbits. It just feels claustrophobic to me.'

Dragonfly could sense someone nearby. She knew there where dragons and elves and humans around but it was like she could sense a specific person. She looked around trying to find the source of this feeling. Her eyes were drawn to an elf with long hair and brown eyes. She took a small step forward then hesitated , not knowing if she should stay still or go forward. She let out a deep breath then slowly moved towards the elf. She stopped in from of her a few paces away.