| Banshee had been teased in his youth, more than a few times, about his name. He knew it wasn't the most masculine name in the world, especially when you thought about the legends of banshees in some cultures he'd read of. But he didn't let it get to him; he was a good natured dragon and didn't let little things like teasing ruin friendships. He had spent a good several years wandering the Nexus now, exploring the worlds his parents had come from, as well as any others that struck his fancy. And now he had returned to one of his favorites: Star City. Which wasn't actually a world, but was fun to visit anyway. There was always something interesting happening there. To his surprise, they were holding a public clutch in one of the hatching bays, something they hadn't done in quite a while. At least, that's what he thought, until he went to check it out. There was apparently a very prolific family of dragons who came back every few years with a new generation holding a semi-public clutch; the last time, it had been three siblings within a few months. This particular clutch seemed to be the grandchildren of one of those siblings. And that was where Banshee decided to stop thinking about the family confusion, and simply sign up for a chance to bond or sponsor one of the kits when they hatched. A short time later, he was called back with the other applicants, and was chosen by one of the female kits. A white with dark opal patches, Cyrosomath was a lovely little hatchling, though she tended to be rather condescending to her siblings. He took the little one to get some food and then back to his room so they could decide what to do next. After talking with his new companion, he decided to stick around for a little while, partially to explore the world below, which he had actually not done yet, and partially so that Cyrosomath could learn from either her family, or one of the schools. He wanted to make sure she had the opportunity to learn whatever she wanted. Within a few months, however, it became clear that this generation was going to be just as prolific as the last, as one day while they were on their way to Atu for a visit, Cyrosomath pointed out some activity in one of the hatching bays. ~Banshee? What's going on there? Are there going to be more kits like me?~ He looked over at the bay; sure enough, there was another sign up list outside the bay. "It looks like it, Cyrosomath. Do you want to go check it out?" He dropped his gaze back to his young friend. She tried to look disinterested, but her kit curiosity got the better of her. ~Could we?~ She asked, after giving up her attempt to be better than the desire to see if there were kits or eggs waiting in the bay. She'd heard in her few months here, that not all dragons were born the way she was, from an egg. Some were born live from their moms and just had to wait to be big enough to go with someone else. She wanted to see if this was true. When she and the older dragon had reached the bay and glanced inside, she realized it must be, as there were a group of kits playing all over their parents inside the bay. Banshee made sure it was okay for them to come in, then they approached the kits. He liked the way they played, and once they saw Cyrosomath, they allowed her to join in for a little while. She thought they were a little odd, at first, as they didn't have wings, but it didn't stop her from playing with the younger kits. After a few minutes, a couple of kits dropped out of the game and game over to talk to the older dragon. One, a little purple-black female declaring herself to be Reimi, asked him if he was going to be sponsoring one of her siblings. When he said he hadn't really thought about it yet, another, this one a green-black male named Deytok, asked why he had come in, if he wasn't planning to sponsor. Then a third, another female, Visinere, said she thought one of the group would gladly go with him if he did sign up, so they could play with Cyrosomath some more, and go on adventures with the pair. By this point, most of the play had stopped and a large number of kits, including Cyrosomath, were staring at the adult dragon pointedly. He looked to the kits' parents for some help, but they just shrugged; this was his decision. Finally he gave in. "Alright, I'll go add my name to the list." He heard a cheer as he left the bay, and as he finished adding his name, Cyrosomath pounced on his tail. ~You don't mind taking care of another kit, do you, Banshee? I'm not that bad, am I?~ "No, I don't mind at all. I always wanted to have a group of friends to travel with; now it looks like I'll finally have one. And no, you're not bad at all. I'm glad you picked me to take care of you. Now let's get some rest. I have a feeling we're going to need all the energy we have soon."
A few days later, they returned and were given charge of the lovely purple-black, Reimi. She bounced toward them, and practically tackled her cousin before Banshee led them both out of the bay. "Come on, you two, can we save the rough play for somewhere a little less busy? I wouldn't want you to accidentally trip someone." Though, he tried to be serious, he couldn't help the smile on his face as he watched the two roll around on the floor, before they realized he was right and jumped to their feet. |