| Hindar looked over his shoulder one last time before leaving town entirely. He would miss a few of the people there, but on the whole he hadn't really felt welcome by most people there anyway. He headed west, not really having a plan of where to go, just going away. He had lived with his aunt and uncle as long as he could remember, and had been tolerated by the town, but now that they were gone, he wasn't welcome there anymore. Sometimes, he wondered what his parents had done to earn the animosity of an entire town; so much so that it extended to their child, who didn't even remember them! He'd done what he could to fit in, even becoming one of the better Hunters of his age group. But they stilldidn't accept him. Oh well, he thought. I'm better off without them. They never believed I would amount to anything, so I'll have to prove them wrong. He continued west. He'd heard about other worlds to be explored, and he wanted to get to the shuttle before having to deal with many other people. He hadn't been to any other villages, so he didn't know if he was simply disliked for his parents, or possibly his race. He had been the only young wolv, and once his aunt and uncle had died, the only wolv at all. He got to the shuttle town with no incidents, but he was surprised to see a large number of wolv in town. There were similar numbers of pan-thar and lyynx, and even a few faax. They all seemed to get along fine. He wasn't sure he wanted to socialize with them, but at least it seemed his old village's attitudes were not found everywhere. He did stop and ask for directions to the shuttle and where he could purchase his ticket.
Following the directions to the launch pad, he found the counter easily. To one side was a bulletin board, and one of the notices caught his eye.
"Burstlings? Sounds interesting." Having lived where he lived, he'd never heard of xenos or burstlings, so he'd be in for a surprise when he got there, but for now, he went to the counter and made arrangements for passage to Star City. At Star City, he asked around, found out where this Eluryon was supposed to be living - no longer on the station, of course! - and booked passage to the world where he could be found. Once there, he found the male, and was told what he was looking for. Burstlings seemed to be the young form of a specific type of dragon; a rather malicious type, he was told. These, however, needed a bond, and that was where the hunters came in. They could round them up, but would more than likely be bonded to in the process. It was up to him to decide if he still wanted to join the hunt! He took a short while to consider the hunt, but it really wasn't much of a debate. These burstlings intrigued him, and he was going to try to find as many as would let themselves be found! Making sure he had a decent amount of food and water in his pack, he set out on his hunt, taking careful note of Eluryon's warning about the water. He hunted most of the day without much luck, only finding a couple shed skins as he searched. Towards evening, he started looking for a safe place to hole up for the night. Investigating a nearby cave, he was startled when one of the burstlings leapt from the shadows. Luckily, this one seemed to be interested in bonding him, not attacking him, so once the black burstling settled down from his "ambush", Hindar got his first look at a xenodragon. Even if it was just a burstling, for now. "Well," he said aloud, "you're definitely interesting. I've never seen anything like you before in my life." ~That is because I am not like anything else. I am myself. Aduzein. And I shall stay with you.~ The burstling curled himself around the wolv's pack, which had been dropped when Aduzein had jumped at his new bond. "Well, I guess, I'll stay here for the night then!" Hindar exclaimed, seeing that the burstling was making himself comfortable. "I suppose I can continue hunting in the morning." Luckily, the burstling didn't object when Hindar reached into his pack to pull out his dinner. Aduzein sniffed the dried meat, but turned away. ~That stuff can't be good. It's beyond dead.~ He curled his lip in distaste. "Well, it's what I have for now; it's not the best tasting stuff in the world, but it'll hold me over for a few days. It's not my preferred meal, by any means." Hindar nearly laughed at the disgust that was plain on his new bond's face, even with the burstling's appearance being so completely foreign to him. He ate the rest of the jerky in silence, as Aduzein seemed to have fallen asleep. Well, it had been a long day. Shortly after he'd finished his meal, Hindar found himself nodding off, so he moved as far from the cave entrance as the shallow cave allowed, and drifted off to sleep. Aduzein raised his head, "staring" into the shadows outside the cave. There was something there, but it didn't seem inclined to come too close. He curled back up, content to leave the other being. For the moment. The next morning, Hindar woke with a start. He could feel something on each side of him, and as he looked around, he was startled by the large beast curled around him. He nearly panicked, but the now familiar voice spoke up. ~Don't worry; it's still me - Aduzein. We grow quickly.~ There was a note of amusement in his tone. The xeno stretched and stood, clearing Hindar's view of the cave entrance. As he began to stand, he glanced outside, and his ears flattened against his skull. There were scattered patches of blood-stained earth a few feet from the cave entrance. Aduzein noticed the wolv's distraction, and commented, ~Don't worry about that; it was nothing of significance~, but wouldn't say anymore on the subject. Instead, he lifted Hindar's pack, and held it out to the wolv. ~Here, you probably want your dry stuff for breakfast. Then we can go out and find some of my siblings. If you still want to. We do work better in packs; at least, most of the time.~ Hindar took the bag, and fished out a another ration of jerky. Pulling the pack on, he chewed on the meat, and followed Aduzein out of the cave. Time for a little more hunting. They hadn't even made it five feet from the cave when two new burstlings slithered into view. The first was a surprise when Hindar saw her; he didn't know that it was an unusual color for xenos, but he hadn't expected opal tones on any living creature! He immediately "felt" her presence in his mind, a different feeling than Aduzein, but with similarities. Her name, ~Rofutoc~, whispered through his mind, as she approached her new bonds. The second, another female, was more hesitant, and Aduzein's brief comment of ~Sport~ in a somewhat condescending tone, clued the wolv into the final female's apparent lower status. Her mental presence joined the others, and she also declared her name, ~Nezolur~, though not as boldly as her sister had. She also slithered toward her bonds, and did not protest when Hindar reached down and lifted her up in one hand. His other hand lifted the opaline Rofutoc, who objected slightly, until he shushed her. "Easy! I just want to get a look at your colors; both of you! I've never seen such colors on living creatures. Opal and gold, I never would have believed it if I wasn't seeing it for myself. Thank you all for choosing me; I know I didn't find you! Some hunter I turned into out here; the only "prey" I caught found me!" He could hear their amusement; it echoed through his mind from all three of theirs. This would definitely take some getting used to! He set the two females down, guessing that would be the only time he would get to handle them that way. If they grew as quickly as their brother, he'd certainly not be able to tomorrow! Since the morning "hunt" had ended so quickly, Hindar had time to relax. Aduzein chose to go for a quick hunt of his own, for breakfast for the females and himself, while the wolv considered his options. He could stay, continue hunting, though he wasn't sure how many burstlings would be left to find. There had been a number of hunters that he'd seen, and if they each attracted as many burstlings as he had, or even more, he didn't think there would be many left. Or he could leave. He was seriously considering going back to Star City; he wanted to learn more about these Xenos he was now bonded to. Especially their hierarchy; he wanted to know why Nezolur was different. Aduzein had called her a sport; but knowing nothing about the species, the term meant nothing to the wolv. When the male returned with what looked like a brace of rabbits, Hindar had made his decision. They'd head back to Star City; he wanted to research the species, find out just what he'd gotten himself into! As the two burstlings dug into the meat, the wolv asked what the three of them thought. "I think we should head to Star City; there is a lot to do there, and I want to see if I can learn more about you guys. Sound interesting?" He didn't need their permission, of course, but he didn't want to leave them behind, and there was no way he could force three dragons Aduzein's size to go anywhere! All three seemed to think about it for a moment, their thoughts buzzing around his brain, though he couldn't make out anything specific. Nezolur was the first to reply, though she didn't even raise her head from her meal. ~I go with you.~ Aduzein cocked his head at the "sport"; maybe she wouldn't be so bad, after all. He hadn't expected such a quick response from her, figuring she would wait until the others replied before voicing her opinion. ~I will come as well; this Star City sounds interesting.~ Rofutoc also added her assent, but she actually raised her head from her food to give her reply. As soon as she had, she turned her attention back to her food. Hindar wondered at her tone; she sounded awfully pleased with something. Choosing to ignore it, for now, he sat back and waited for them to finish eating. Aduzein curled protectively around his sisters and the wolv, and asked, ~When did you want to leave, Hindar? I think we can be ready as soon as these two finish eating.~ The wolv looked at all three of his bonds, one at a time. Rofutoc finished as he glanced at her, and she slithered over to him. ~Yes, I am ready to go when you are,~ she declared when she reached his leg. Nezolur also finished and approached her bond, stopping just before his knee. ~I am ready too.~ |