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 Welcome
Genni smirked as she watched her little alis gryph kit pounce rodents scurrying across the patch of grass she was currently relaxing on. Ricu was named after her father, who'd taught her how to hunt and escape the normal routines planned out for girls once they reached the age of usefulness. The plum kit was a good hunter himself, so the name fit.
Yes, she had a lot to thank Papa for. Having no son had been a problem for him until he realized that she was just as competent as any boy in the village. He'd snatched her away from the boring, monotonous chores that she hated and raised her as he would a boy, teaching her to hunt and skin what she caught, to survive in the wilderness for a while until the hunting became better. Her mother had been absolutely disgusted at first, but with two younger daughters to raise she couldn't really protest.
Besides, she'd never been cut out for all that girlie stuff and her mother knew it. She was of average height but strong build, well muscled from vigorous physical activity and heavily tanned from being out in the merciless tropical sun for many hours at a time. Beautiful she was not, but neither was she a monster. Again, just average.
Her hair had once been a nutty brown, but now it was streaked blond in places from constant exposure to the sunlight. She kept it cropped short at just below her shoulders, usually held back by a bit of string. Eyes a dark purpley brown, they were no doubt her best feature, though she didn't realize it.
Hunters were something of a rarity among the folk of Lathis Cove, formerly Lath Village. Living right at the water's edge, they ate fish of all types and variety but red meat was a rare treat. Therefore, all those who knew how to hunt land creatures had more rank than the average fisher would. Even if she was a girl, she was still granted the title of hunter because she brought in more game than most of the other boys, always having to work harder to be noticed because of her gender. It was irritating, but a part of life. She accepted it and just worked harder to show them all what a girl could do.
 Just then something whizzed by and Ricu, with infallible accuracy, crouched down and pounced into the air, grabbing it and dragging it down into the soft grass.
She frowned and crawled over, lifting the kit off its prey, which happened to be a very disgruntled little red flit. It cheeped angrily at the plum gryph, then looked up at her with slightly slitted eyes. The way it hummed made her a bit nervous, and she nearly jumped out of her skin when someone spoke from behind her.
"If you're done traumatizing poor Opi, would you please let him go? He seems to like you, but I need to be sure."
He was a tall young man, probably in his early twenties and looking quite amused. She glared at him and let go of the flit. "Who are you and what are you talking about? It's your flit's fault for flying over Ricu."
He just smirked. "Whatever. What I meant was that you're the kid me'n my aqua have been looking for. You weren't at the Cove or along any of the beaches, so I sent him out to find you. He did, though you're not being very pleasant about it, are you?."
The explanation hadn't really helped. "I still don't know what you're talking about."
He sighed and began speaking slowly, as he might to a halfwit. "I - am - a - Bond - Searcher - and - I - have - just - Searched - you. My dragon actually did the Searching, but I do my part. We're helping Agendor Cove at the moment, seeing as they're having a bit of trouble finding suitable Bonders. You're rude but you'll do."
After blinking at him a few times, she nodded uncertainly. "Um...yeah. Sure. Whatever."
"You'll come with us?" he prompted.
"Uh, why not?"
 The sky had just begun to darken, early as always in the north, when a deep hum split the silence of Agendor Cove's frosty spring air, followed not a moment later by a higher melody line. It took Genni a minute to figure out what the noise meant, but when she saw yellow Kelar and her Bond she knew and followed them to the small beach where indigo Caswir had clutched.
Her sister was already there, eyes glued in absolute fascination to the shaking eggs, and she moved to stand beside her. When the other two potential Bonders arrived and Berbria tried to shove between her and her sister, she shoved back.
"Quit," she said sharply.
The other girl glared at her, but she was a wimp. No match for her, since she actually used her muscles. Instead she turned to Caswir and started whining, as was her wont.
"Clutchmother," she whined, "Genni won't let me see. My sea dragon won't even be able to see me! I don't know why I bothered coming with that idiotic blue when he brought me here! This beach is pathetic. We had better pocket beaches than this back home."
Genni smirked and tuned the brat out, imagining the indigo's response but not really interested in seeing it. She was focusing on the eggs, though not as unwaveringly as her sister, and held her breath as the first one split with a sound like tearing silk. A pretty little brindled female spilled onto the sand and stood, tossing her head and making her way to Culisa.
"Culisa," the calf declared proudly. "Come away with me, and you can spend forever with sea dragons! At least one, anyway. I am Velishaess."
She grinned widely, pleased for her sister. Maybe a Bond would settle her down and stop her annoying performances on how everyone in all the world hated her and was out to get her in some way or another.
The next egg dumped its occupant with little ceremony. A rough-and-ready brindle male, already larger than his siblings, sped toward the Bonder group as fast as his flippers could take him. But, to the surprise only of the preBonders - the sea dragons certainly had no quarrel with it-he flung himself at Genni's feet. "Gen," he panted gladly. "I thought I wouldn't get here in time! You know I would never, ever let anyone else have you."
 The girl grinned at him broadly. "Of course, Xeinyiss!"
"Now, howsabout we follow your sister and mine to the food? There should be some ready and waiting." He stood up and nosed at her hand. "Whaddayasay?"
"Whaddaisay? Whaddevayawant, Xein!"
 Xeinyiss was now a fully grown adult sea dragon. He'd shed his brindle coloring for a rich emerald green, quite an impressive sight jetting through the water. His lack of the usual head crest in males might have been a disadvantage in swims - if it hadn't been for the sweeping manta wings that graced his sides. He had yet to participate in one, but now that he was an adult things would be different.
Genni didn't have a problem with that now, though her answer would have been different a year or two ago. Bonding to a male had been good for her, giving her normally direct and aggressive personality new depth. She turned out liking girls as much as her lusty young male.
When they'd informed Lathis of their plans to transfer back, Covelord Diasc had been very pleased. After only a short while the two of them had been assigned as Pod Leaders of the main defensive pod, Sonae. Breezing through calf training as they had, the added responsibility was no problem for them. What she found trying was getting Berbria and Culisa to respect her authority. Xein had no trouble controlling their female Bonds, since male sea dragons were dominant. She wished it were that easy with her sister and the over-spoiled brat.
As Pod Leaders, they also did some out-of-Cove traveling. It gave them a chance to see how other sea dragoners at older Coves managed themselves and their Pods, and when they returned they always gave a full report to the Covelord.
It also gave Xein a chance to look over the females at other Coves...
"I feel it," Xeinyiss murmured to Genni as they glided through the twilight waters of yet another new Cove. "A female has announced her desire to mate, and the local males are assembling. I wish to participate."
"You don't even know who's swimming yet, love," she murmured back, easily keeping pace with the long strokes of his emerald manta wings.
"I do, because she and her Bond are right over there." The green male indicated a spot not too far off. "She is a silver, her Bond is female. Will you object to my joining the battle?"
The young woman surveyed the competition and smirked. "It doesn't look like you should have any problems from the locals. Why not?"
(Ricu's picture is from Furtim Aerie)
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