Orrian Cypress Tordi | M | 77 | Elf | M: Sana, Sol

Once again, Orrian ducked out of the way of the much-taller elf. "Everyone seems to love trying to knock me over today, lovely," he snapped, looking up at her. He hated looking up to people, it made him feel short and looked down upon. As his moment of pent-up frustration passed as he noticed the look on her face. Whatever had happened to her?

"On time. I was on time, Sanasiliare." Orrian retorted, tone hinting at humor although his cool expression didn't show it. The white raven, with its coin in its beak, landed on his head for a moment before hopping down onto his shoulder. With one hand smoothing out his dark hair, he responded to her taunt. "Orr?" he asked, raising a brow "And why do I have the feeling something bad will happen? Not sure I want to do that."

He scoffed at her joke, shaking his head slowly. Typical of her, really. The few times they had interacted she seemed hell-bent on irritating him. Orrian was determined to not let her get a reaction. "Yeah, I don't think they'll appreciate that. The earth's bonded looks scared out of her mind--her thing hissed at me! And that halfling is looking like he'll strangle the next person that so much as looks at his dragon. Thinks they'll take it or something, I don't blame him."

He shifted his feet, spun the ring around his finger, and rose up to his full height. Still shorter than her. Damn. Would you look at that, the raven in his tattoo had returned. As if on cue, the white raven on his shoulder cawed dropping the coin from its beak. "Really," Orrian snapped, awkwardly bending to pick it up and shoving it in his pocket. Wonderful day the elf was having. Now he had expected the bonding to be hectic, but not to this extent. So far a halfing had bonded to the dragon the Dragonborn's Apprentice was expected to have. It was unheard of, really.

Well, this was supposed to be a day to mark history, after all. Hopefully, the most eventful part was now over.

The crowd roared again, and Orrian shot a glance over his shoulder and then back at his fellow elf. The shouting was getting old fast, and as much as he'd like to spend the rest of the day anywhere but in front of the crowd, the elf had duties to attend to. His duties always did come first, even if the roaring would give him a headache.

"Sounds like another one, shall we go and see who was...lucky enough to create a bond?" He spoke, tone even and melodious. He needed to get a firm hold on his composure before he spoke to any more bonded. The halfling had left him rattled more than he should have been. Before he strode off, he tossed a guarded glance over his shoulder back at Sanasiliare. "Try not to scare off any bonded, eh? Makes our job harder in the long run."

Hoping she would join him, he strode back across the stage and toward the bonding tables. Not one, but two stood with their hatchlings. Water and...Storm. Was that the elven prince? Bonded with the Storm dragon? Orrian set his jaw in distaste and leaned back toward his fellow judge. Something like humor glinted in his eyes as he spoke to her without taking his eyes off the newly bonded. "Calling dibs on Water. Storm and the prince are all yours. Have fun with her Majesty the Queen."

Without waiting for a rebuttal, Orrian picked his way through the crowd toward the woman with the dragon. He looked right past her into the crowd with an irritated expression. They were packed together like pigs fighting to get to scraps of rotting food in a trough. Typical.

"Orrian Tordi, Judge of the Games. Come with me, will you? Might want to pick up your dragon for this."

It wasn't until he looked her in the eye that he realized something odd. Her ears, a halfing. Yet he stood head and shoulders over her. The young woman hardly came even up to his chest, and her complexion was in stark contrast to his pale skin. He pondered a moment before speaking to her, tone blunter than he had intended. "Do you have elven heritage, miss?"

Zebeythrae "Zeb" Leoriethty | F | Bonded: Cathix | Mentions: Galladis

You don't think I would be bonding if people didn't quit walking up to me and talking? The snarky comment staying hidden in her mind for the short moment as her eyes moved to her dragon and then back to her mentor. "I would love to be bonding but it seems as though important people keep coming up to speak with me. However in the world am I going to be able to bond with all of these interruptions?" Her arms moved to fold across her chest as she raised an eyebrow in the most unamused fasion. Of course she knew that bonding was important but it seemed she was getting interrupted even in those few short moments.

Zeb's jaw tightened when Galladis brought up his power. It seemed like they had spent too much time together for him to notice the slightest of changes in her body language. "Cathix said that we are family..." Her voice lowering before she continued hoping it would be just be between the two of them. "For once I may take you up on that offer. Something about the way they said that we are family seemed to knock something loose in my head." She didn't realize that she was leaning closer to the male and pulled away with a snort.

"Then it seems it was a perfect match. A comical dragon for a comical rider...who leaves his students dead asleep in rooms when they have something important to be at." The smile on her features was a sadistic one as she spoke but disappeared for a moment when she shook her head chuckling. "You owe me a drink after this for forgetting me. I almost didn't wake up in time for the bonding and we both know that would not have looked very good on the fae."

A hand moved to rub her neck tracing the path of her scar for a moment before disappearing into her hair. It felt like she had been the apprentice for hundreds of years but in reality it hadn't been that long at all. Honestly it still played in her dreams many nights how her path crossed with Galladis's and what could have happened or been.

"Galladis...Are you sure you made the right choice with me as your apprentice?" Her eyes were looking among the other riders that were holding their dragons and she moved to kneel down by her dragon running a hand along their neck as she waited for the answer. It was something that deep down she didn't want to know the answer to but it was a good question. "Or do you think about what would have happened if Wren wasn't there?"

Not many knew of the fae's past and it seemed she was about to out herself but her carefully chosen words didn't allude to her previous job. Granted she was one of the better known assassins but had gone under a different name. A name that was long since dead since that fateful night of her meeting with the Dragonborn. Of course there were times she felt as though she was being followed or she would find a strange note in her belongings but she was trying to put it behind her. Or at least she was trying to move on from the life she had been a part of for so many years.

Sanasiliare Areauveçh Latitharen | F | Elf Judge | Orrian, Topher

Viciatzea wandered through the dungeon, flinching at everything. A rat skittered across; she jumped back. "You're awfully jumpy today," Marionnach observed. "Better not let boss know, else he'll have you sent in there with the cannibal." He nodded his head to a indent in the wall not far ahead. A feral hissing was coming from it, the smell of humans long dead drifting through the thick air. There were more cannibals, but one won out. Vici shivered. It was creepy.

She was glad Nach understood her. She was five. He was sixteen. Nach knew that a little girl, especially his sister, needed to learn, not be made to see what she had. She could be herself around him. "This is it." Taking a key from his pocket, he hung his torch on the wall sconce and opened the door. "In." Nach closed the door, locking it with a sad tune. "I... I'm sorry, Vis." Vici merely gave a tense nod in return. That blood on the floor... those chains, those glinting golden eyes... wait.

It was a wolf. A luceo wolf. They were almost extinct. They were huge. And they were ferocious. Immediately it lunged at her, chain ripping free from the wall with a terrifying lunge. It was savage, jaws widening and closing with an amazing speed. In terror, Vici hid. She didn't know her arm brushed the feral creature until the last moment; her arms were on fire. But they weren't.

It was dead. Burned.

Electrocuted.

It seemed the memories wanted to come back to her now. All the memories she'd reduced to ash in her mind. The only thing Sana wondered was why. She didn't remember anything. Like who Viciatzea was. Was it her? Everything beyond ten years ago was... fuzzy. Who knew why that was happening? She was an elf. And elves like her... they never forgot. It seemed for her, she kept the feelings and not the true memories. That was a good thing until whatever it was came muddling around with her peace of past.

She barely noticed when Orrian spoke to her. "Try not to scare off any bonded, eh? Makes our job harder in the long run." She turned her gaze on him mutely and with a dispassionate sneer. Shaking her head with only a slight smile, she watched him with a raised eyebrow. "You don't order me. I am older than you. And more famous. With this." She revealed a small dagger up her sleeve, immediately putting it where it was again. "I'll do what I want, thank you, but I'll attempt to follow my inferior's orders."

She nearly stormed over to where the elf prince was with the storm dragon. As she talked, she noticed her meanness returning. Good. Sana didn't have time for kindness. "I am Sanasiliare Latitharen, call me Sanasiliare. Anything else and get punched. Now, mind you I'm only introducing myself- neither of us can keep talking if we don't want." She eyed him warily. He didn't seem threatening, but his dragon would be when older. At least she knew she could defend herself.

Galladis Verael | M | Re'enalla | Topaz (briefly), Zeb, Wren

Something was definitely off. Instinctively, he looked around. He spotted Topaz. And she was staring directly at him. Oh no. Wren... she knows. He started trembling, watching her walk away; although extremely minor, one could notice if they were standing close enough. Someone like Zeb. If she saw him shaking, she'd ask later. Speaking of her being close... she was leaning near him. Talking about his offer. But why was she so close? She kept her distance from him. Not in a fearful kind of way, but in the rebellious and resistent way she had.

"Zeb..." he ignored her initial question, skipping right to her memories. "You... want to remember your family?" He hadn't realized Wren had reappeared after the moon hatchling went into the tent. She was pushing him into Zeb with her dragonish smile. "You two, together." At this, he was left speechless. She needn't go there. It was taboo at the bonding ceremony, though she'd made comments before. He was sure Wren just didn't want him lonely. Or she'd rather be in on the action. Wren, go off and play with something else.

He huffed at Zeb, now only inches from him as a consequence of Wren. Shaking his head, he grinned. "Hey, don't blame me. You were supposed to wake up early. I'm not your mentor alarm clock." Around Zeb, he found more time to be less... leaderlike. It couldn't be avoided, but put aside for at least a few moments in whatever tangled mess they had of interactions. He grinned at her again. "And you owe me one for almost making me late here too, so we're even." He tapped his wrist, producing a tiny sun dial of a watch. "Don't be late again." Shaking his head, he inwardly grinned at her.

At Zeb's next statement, he frowned. "Zebeythrae." He held two fingers under her chin, the way some people do when they want others to look at them. "I made the right decision." When he said this, Wren was practically dancing in his mind. "Oh you twooo, togetherrr~" He glanced at her. She was watching them with a smug smirk. He let go of his fingers on Zeb's chin. "I always do- I know what could have happened. But what could have been can never happen again; it's in the past, and it'll do everyone good to remember that memories don't change with coulds or woulds."

He should take his advice sometime. It would have made him a Great Dragonborn if he'd stop thinking about what he could have told Topaz, or what he would've given up to choose to stay. Family mattered more to him than his role as Dragonborn. Even if it was minimal, his time with Topaz and Denavea had taught him invaluable lessons of life. He snapped back to the present, shifting away from Zeb from the pained expression his face held. "Go bond with your dragon. If you have questions... I'll answer afterwards."

Cathix|NB|Bonded to Zeb|Mentions Zeb, Galladis, Sana

I am sorry for not pausing to give much time to you. Crowds are not one of my stronger suits. Cathix started slightly as Zeb’s words came to them clearly for the first time. Our bond must be strengthening, they mused. Well, at least Zeb’s priorities are in line. I am a dragon, not to mention family. This last thought was punctuated with a slight flaring of Cathix’s dorsal crest, as the dragonling preened for whoever might be watching. A new non-dragon approached Zeb, and Cathix wilted slightly at the loss of attention. Though Cathix was unable to understand their words, from Zeb’s body language Cathix thought the interaction was less than friendly.

A small creature swooped out of the sky to land on the intruder. The only thing Cathix could really guess was that the two were bonded, as Cathix and Zeb were. I suppose that means I can’t eat it, they lamented. The dragonling hadn’t eaten since being hatched, and Cathix was beginning to eye everything around them as a potential snack. Eventually Cathix and Zeb were alone again, the latter turning to give Cathix their attention once more. Cathix didn’t really understand what Zeb meant about impressions, whatever those were, but they certainly agreed that only a fool would consider the pair of them unimpressive.

Cathix’s hunger was growing, but before they could ask Zeb about finding something to eat, the green-eyed non-dragon returned. They reached out a forelimb towards Cathix, who gave it a cautious sniff before returning to their place at Zeb’s strange, clawless feet. Zeb’s annoyance seemed to be growing, as Cathix didn’t think their family was intentionally projecting the feeling. Then the other individual said something that caused Zeb to deflate, some of the steel going out of them. They reached out to grasp Zeb’s face, the air between them going taut. Cathix still didn’t know what was being said, but they shifted their posture to be slightly more aggressive. With frills erect and wings spread, the dragonling thought themself to be quite the imposing sight. The green-eyed individual quickly let go of Zeb and moved on. Cathix, smugly content with their perceived victory, turned to Zeb. Can we go find something to eat now? Cathix queried.