The clouds swelled and thunder rolled, the foul temper of a storm that had broken over the so-called "Caer." Rek stood out in the downpour, uncaringly letting the rain wash over her rough hide and waterproof bodysuit. She did not mind the torrent -- it was better to be out here, alone in the rain, than inside the mountain-hold and surrounded by the native "humans."

It had been a week since the giant insects had driven her from her ship, and the blue "dragon" had rescued her. Seven turns of this blue planet since the dragon had swept her off the sands, and because she had amused him, told her of the "bond."

It had been amazing to learn that that dragon species could, at their birth, willingly join minds with someone in something called a "bonding", and that from that point on the dragon and their "bonder" would be friends for life. Two races -- for the dragons were completely sentient and thus it was unfair to call them beasts -- made one in perfect coexistence. It was mind-boggling, and utterly fascinating. And when the dragon had mentioned again that she could be a bonder, the idea had been too intriguing to not merit investigation.

::The eggs on the sands aren't your usual clutch, that's for sure...:: the dragon had said in his mind-to-mind voice, ::...but you wouldn't be a usual bonder, either. You had a rather timely arrival, Rek, if I may say so.::

The dragon -- whose name was Inolith -- had brought her to the Caer. Acting as translator, since Rek did not know the native language, Inolith had introduced her to his rider -- a female human by the name of Laikana. After the woman had adjusted to Rek's alien appearance, she'd proved friendly enough, despite a saddened comment that Rek didn't understand -- ("Rek, huh? That's what I called my father's dragon..."). Then, after Inolith had done some boasting about how he'd pulled Rek from the mandibles of the "Ant" swarm, he'd gone on ramble on how he'd decided he'd "Searched" Rek, and believed she'd make a good "candidate" for a bond. So then Rek had been introduced to the "Caerlady" Kyra, among others, and allowed to see (at a distance) the dragon that had "clutched."

The instant Rek had seen the ebony-plated Ivasheth, she'd been silently awed. The black dragon hadn't just looked imposing, she had felt powerful, as if an aura of strength rolled off of her in thick waves. She had been amazing, and the leathery eggs she guarded had filled Rek's mind with curiosity. Each egg held a tiny miniature of the monstrous Ivasheth, waiting to hatch and find someone to be its "lifebond." Perhaps one of them would finally satisfy The Boss...

But no. The dragons were a sentient race, and though her employer would likely have no pains of conscience towards imprisoning another intelligent creature, Rek herself could not be privy to such a deed.

So she'd radioed Dnyl back aboard the Outrider, and the following day he came down to the planet as well. With the assistance of a pair of robot drones, they'd isolated and captured an Ant without stirring up the entire hive, and Dnyl had taken it back to confine it in the Outrider's animal cargo bay.

Rek, however, had remained planetside. After all, she'd been chosen as a candidate, and there was no harm in hanging around long enough to see what would happen. And though the humans were friendly enough if they had to be and Rek was able to pick up the basics of their language, she'd mostly kept to herself... which the Caerfolk had seemed to appreciate to some extent. They were apparently not used to sharing their home with a dozen or so inhuman sentients (Rek was not the only off-worlder to have shown up on the planet in time for the clutch).

A booming roar, louder than any peal of thunder, tore through the air, pulling Rek's thoughts out of yesterday and back into the present. She turned her gaze back towards the Caer, waiting with arms crossed and watching as the inhabitants gradually emerged from the largest building, wrapped in raincloaks and spurred to action by the sound of the dragon-cry. Someone spotted her and hurried over, bidding her to come along in simple words and motions of his hands.

It was time for the hatching.

She and the other strange individuals that had made up this clutch's candidates were ushered into the poorly-lit confines of the "Hatching Cavern" and arranged before Ivasheth's eggs, while the viewing stands to either side filled up with curious spectators. Rek crossed both arm-pairs and ignored everything but the ebony dragoness' clutch -- she did not care about the other candidates or the crowd watching them all. She was only interested in whatever would emerge from those eggs.

The first egg to finally hatch did not shatter into fragments as eggs usually did -- its fleshy top lazily blossomed open and allowed the baby dragon to effortlessly pull itself out, dripping with slime. With a frenzied glance around, the armour-plated hatchling vanished into the shadows the torchlight was not strong enough to dispel, and many of the other bonders looked about in concern. Rek barely twitched an antenna but did look around as well, more out of curiosity than alarm, and spotted the hatchling approaching one of the other bonders. Soon the bonder walked off with the hatchling in tow, and Rek made note: there was nothing fancy about being chosen -- the hatchling simply walked up to you and that was that.

Three eggs hatched next -- a green-armoured and a gold-armoured both at once, with the third grey soon after, hissing at the other two. The grey immediately moved off towards a candidate, but Rek was more interested in watching the green, which was stalking the grey. Why was it doing that? Would it fight the other, challenging its choice of bonder?

But the grey and its new bond moved off and the green was left to find something else to do. It turned towards a candidate -- one of the mandible-faced people called a "predator"--, and growled. Then, for whatever reason, it charged, and the predator readied herself to fight. The Tlahsn smirked, watching. The dragon-hatchling method of rejecting a candidate? she wondered.

A blur of gold that was another hatchling prevented the green from ever reaching its target, however. The green was knocked out of the air, and after much hissing and posturing, the green was driven off and the gold was left to claim the predator as her bond.

Interesting, Rek thought, glancing over as four more eggs hatched, but then looking back to the feisty-tempered green. One hatchling may disprove of a candidate, but another may approve, and battles may occur. This is not the fluid process Inolith seemed to suggest it was.

A fight erupted on the sands, but Rek did not turn her attention to it. The green was approaching her. Rek had let her posture cant in preparation for the need to be standing through a possibly long hatching, but now she stood fully upright again, her antennae curling to the assertive position that meant, among Tlahsn, 'If you think you're the boss, you're going to have to prove it to me first.' This hatchling had an attitude, that much was clear, but Rek had stood firm against fiercer personalities.

The green halted in front of her, posturing and fluttering its wings with equal self-confident pride -- 'And you think you're the boss, is that it?'

::You. You will do just fine.,:: came the hatchling's voice into her mind, potent and self-certain, filling Rek with a feeling of final achievement the likes of which she'd never before felt. ::Don't you think I'll be impressive, Rek T'sohl? I think I would satisfy his need for curiosities, as well as his lifespan if he's not careful...::

Rek smirked again, feeling a powerful sense of equality she hadn't expected to feel. This wasn't just a hatchling deciding it liked you... the Tlahsn automatically understood that this was really finding yourself mirrored in a different body, finding your other half that was your better and your equal all at once. "You will do very well, I think," she chuckled in simple Alskyrian, and the hatchling all but radiated satisfaction.

::Take me with you,:: the green commanded. ::But first, you must feed me.::

::Qaevuss,:: the mother-dragon announced, naming the hatchling as Rek strode off the sands with the green striding assuredly beside her, baring her teeth at the other candidates and hatchlings they had to walk by.

In the strangest of places and circumstances, Rek T'sohl had been made complete, when she hadn't even known she'd been lacking. Their bond was set, never to be broken.