1: Star City Dragonry
2: Shazae's Hatching

1: Star City Dragonry
It was one thing to be determined to do something, and quite another to do it.
Set-re was finding this out the hard way. He’d been contemplating his plan of action for the past week, and though he was given many opportunities to put it into play, he never took a single one.
Oh, there were many reasons, but it all boiled down to one—Set-re was intimidated by Lord Kimur, Lord of the Jousters. He was the head of this jousting compound, and though he was fair and practical, he wasn’t to be bothered by childish requests.
Which this wasn’t, of course, but every time Set-re approached Kimur’s quarters, he found himself tounge-tied and turned back, unable to remember the sentences he’d spent so much time carefully wording. This had to be handled with delicacy, this plan—not the usual whining with which he got everything he wanted from his parents.
Currently, he was trying again.
He hovered in the entrance of the hallway that lead to the Lord of the Jouster’s quarters, absently tucking a strand of hair behind his ears as he ran over the carefully planned words. It wasn’t even Lord Kimur himself that would throw him off guard, but that dragon of his… He shuddered, thinking of the white cavedweller—it was her that would make him get all toungetied and forget what he was saying, which would then cause Kimur himself to become annoyed and send Set-re out. He hated that disturbing beast with all of himself—it was nothing personal, but she was just so… creepy, it got under his skin.
Only two things would make him brave going into the office and facing both of them—his boyfriend and the possibility of getting a dragon.
So he summoned to mind these two things—the image, thusfar unclear in terms of specifics, of a little baby dragon full of love, and another image of Makhet in his current boneweary state, and stepped into the hall. He straitened, making himself appear the in-charge and confident boy he usually was, and walked proudly all the way to that cloth-covered entrance that was Kimur’s office quarters.
For a noble, and one with a leader position, Kimur was distinctly informal. He was much more concerned with the performance of his Jousters than what was proper, and thus did not demand the usual formalities of having a slave or a servant escort his charges into his office, if they ever needed to speak to him. All Set-re had to do was knock on the wall outside the entrance, and walk through the cloth that kept the bugs out of the airy room. It was the middle of the day, and thus the Lord of the Jousters was relaxing in his rooms, going over the paper-work portion of his job. The room itself—spacious and comfortable, despite it’s main purpose as a room for work—was lit partially by the sunlight peeking through the long, slit-like windows beneath the ceiling, and partially by some interesting glowing plants that one of the newer jousters had brought from some other world. That was an interesting change—normally it would be partially lit by burning lamps, which would only serve to make the stifling mid-day heat more unbearable.
Kimur looked up with mild interest at the sound of the knock, putting down the reed-pen in his hand. His dragon, who had been sleeping in the corner, did so as well, raising her blunt, white head to stare at Set-re through those empty, blind eyes. “Can I help you?” the lord of the jousters asked.
Set-re tried to ignore the blind dragon’s gaze, looking decidedly at Kimur’s face and surprising the disturbed shudder that ran through him. Electrum, while certainly the smallest dragon currently in the compound, nevertheless took up a little more than a fourth of the room, and she occupied the space directly beside Kimur’s desk, making it hard not to see her no matter where you were. What was worse was that she focused on him, either out of interest or because she knew it creeped him out, and he couldn’t get over that stare. He could feel the skin on the back of his neck crawling. Something about those empty, numerous eyes just reminded him of those webspinners he so hated…
But here he was, letting his thoughts wander at the sight of the creepy dragoness. He swallowed thickly, and continued to focus on Kimur’s face, blurting out the first part rather quickly. “Sir, you know those new dragons in the compound?”
Kimur hid his smile at the reaction Electrum inspired, and nodded at Set-re’s word. The new dragons belonged to his newest wing of jousters, and were making up for the loss of every single wild-caught dragon that had previously made up the compound. Many of their riders were foreigners, heralding from lands very different from Akhet, but they were adjusting fine, as were their dragons. Still others were natives of Akhet, who had merely decided to travel for awhile, and had returned with dragons as strange as those of the foreigners. These dragons were infinitely more useful, however, than the wild ones—about as useful as those akhet-native dragons that had been hatched from eggs and thus bonded. There weren’t many of them yet—only about 7 or so, compared to the 12 Akhet-native dragons that had been hatched the previous year. So far, none of them had reached the age where they could begin to reproduce, or else had not come into season yet, but he was hoping for some clutches in the future. “Yes, what about them?”
”I. Erm, ah.” Set-re began, as his eyes disobeyed his direct commands and shifted over to that disturbing dragon in the corner again. “I think that, erm.” He closed his eyes, smiled slightly, and took a deep breath, before starting again. “Forgive me, I am not used to seeing something with quite so many eyes as Electrum.” He said apologetically, before continuing. “The Destriers are not yet mature, and will not be the proper age to produce eggs for another two years. The same can be said of the new dragons. What with the loss of the wild-caught Destriers, this means we won’t have any new eggs for at least that long.” He paused, to gage Kimur’s reaction.
Kimur merely nodded, frowning automatically at the use of the term “Destriers”- it was the official name of the Akhet-native dragons, and it meant something along the lines of “war horse,” or “war animal” in another language. The dragons had once been that, but now they were so much more, now that it was confirmed that they could, indeed, bond to humanoids, and could love their riders like they would a clutchmate. He said nothing, however—that was their official name—and waved his hand at the boy to continue.
”From the way the riders of the new dragons talk, there are clutches hatching all the time in other worlds, far from here. Clutches hatching now, in fact. And I was thinking, perhaps you should start sending some of us, who have been waiting for dragons since before the wild Destriers escaped, to these other worlds to bond? At least until the current tame Destriers are capable of producing their own eggs, and perhaps even after, in smaller amounts, for the sake of having a variety.”
Kimur smiled, nodding slightly at Set-re, whose nervousness had not abated much. “Sharp boy. I’ve been thinking of that, actually. Now that I see that some of my charges have thought of it as well, I suppose I’ll have to allow it. I assume you’ve got somewhere in mind, and you’ll be wanting to take Makhet with you?”
It was no secret that he and Makhet were lovers, so Set-re just smiled and nodded. “Yes to both. One of the new riders I talked to mentioned a group of open clutches at some place called ‘Star City Dragonry.’ I think there would be more than enough eggs there, and I’m told you can stay if you fail to bond in the first clutch you stand at. Makhet is working himself to death anyway, and needs a vacation, so I thought it might be good for both of us to be sent there before those clutches hatch.”
Kimur was silent for a moment, eyes closed and head resting on his palms, considering. “I have no objection.” He said finally, opening his eyes and smiling. “Particularly to you bringing Makhet along. Lattice keeps nagging me to send him somewhere for some forced relaxation, and though I can’t imagine where you’re going will be /that/ relaxing, what with the open clutches, I’ve heard good reports and am fairly certain that you’ll be able to keep your little mate out of trouble.” He grinned then, plainly amused. “Off you go. I’ll arrange your transport. Can you be ready to leave by tomorrow?”
Set-re grinned widely—Kimur’s answer shouldn’t’ve been as surprising as it was, all things considered, but he was elated anyway, and he nodded widely in response to the question. “Of course, sir. Thank you for this honour.”
Kimur merely nodded, still smiling, before picking up his reed pen and returning to the paperwork he’d abandoned at Set-re’s entrance. Set-re took this for what it was, and made his way out, smiling and full of relief—both for the permission and for finally being able to escape Electrum’s gaze.
**
About an hour later, another figure made his way through the secluded hallway that led to Lord Kimur’s quarters. Healer Lattice knocked on the wall outside the entrance as Set-re had done an hour earlier, and made his way inside, bowing in greeting to the Lord of the Jousters. Kimur looked up and beckoned Lattice to take the chair before the desk—an offer which Lattice declined, in favor of going to greet the dragon.
Electrum was quite fond of the healer, and the healer was the same of her. He was one of the very few who was not creeped out by her appearance, and, if anything, found her numerous eyes very comforting. It reminded him of the web-spinning spiders that were one of the healers’ symbolic animals from his home world. “You called for me, my lord?” he said, affectionately scratching Electrum behind the horns, just where she liked it. The dragon sighed and leaned into the touch, all but purring with happiness.
Kimur watched the exchange with amusement—had Lattice been anyone else, he probably would’ve been jealous, but he knew the healer was not interested in trying to seduce Electrum away from him. “Yes, actually.” He replied. “I’ve finally decided to heed your advice and send your little apprentice away for awhile.”
Lattice looked at him curiously, still scratching Electrum’s head. “Really? And where are you sending him, oh esteemed lord of the jousters? Somewhere he can rest, I hope.” Their tone around each other was easy, all formality abandoned, even more than it was with the rest of the jousters in the compound. Lattice and Kimur were old friends, and acted as such.
”To somewhere called Star City Dragonry. Set-re was here an hour earlier, and asked that he and Makhet be sent there, in order to perhaps bond one of the dragons I hear is waiting to hatch there.”
Lattice frowned, raising an eyebrow and adjusting one draping saluki-like ear backwards as far as it could go. “You’ve sent him to some strange world I hear is very different from Akhet, to bond to a dragon, and you expect him to relax? If anything, he’ll work himself into a coma, what with being without anyone to stop him.”
”He’s got set-re—“ Kimur began, but was cut off mid-sentence by his sardonic healer friend.
”Oh, Set-re’s quite fine with holding his own against everyone /except/ Makhet. All makhet has to do is give him those big eyes and say, ‘oh, but just one more scroll, sety!’ and the boy is on his knees.”
Kimur laughed at the image, nodding. “Exactly, my friend. Which is why I propose to send an escort.”
This rendered Lattice silent. He finished scratching Electrum’s head and moved to take the chair offered to him previously, ears perked in interest.
”Specifically,” Kimur continued, “you.”
”But” Lattice began immediately, frowning, “What of the jousters, what if they hurt themselves.”
”We have other healers, my friend.” Kimur said, with a smile. “And there is no war going on. You are by far the best, but let the others handle us for awhile. You need a vacation too, after all. Perhaps some time away from all this heat would do you good. And...” Kimur’s face took on a wicked grin at this thought, “you can get yourself a dragon, and stop trying to win Electrum away from me!”
It was a long standing joke between them, so Lattice raised his ears slightly and put his left hand over his chest, face twisted in a mask of horror. “I’m /angst/, and /appalled/ that you think I’d /do/ such a thing! I thought we were better friends than that, how dare you accuse me?” he said, plainly overacting, as he stood and wandered over to Electrum, scratching her behind the horn.
Electrum sighed loudly in her corner, and put her head on back down on her forelegs in exasperation.
Both of them grinned at this, and lattice patted Electrum on the head, before moving away. “I’ll stop tormenting your dragon now. I have work to do.” He said, making his way for a door, and pausing when he reached the threshold. “But I will take you up on your offer. It might be nice to get away for awhile, make sure my apprentice doesn’t accidentally kill himself, and get a dragon at the same time. I feel relaxed already.” He grinned to his friend, and continued out the door, walking briskly back to his quarters.
**
When Set-re walked through the curtain door of his own rooms after the victory-bath he’d taken, he found them not abandoned, as he’d thought they would be, but rather occupied by a very tired and annoyed looking Makhet. The anthro feline was sitting on their bed, glaring steadily at the wall, stroking Nofret, Set-re’s pet cheetah, who had arranged herself in his lap. Nofret looked perfectly content, but Set-re could tell that dealing with Makhet now would be.. Interesting at best.
Still, Makhet had to be told sometime before tomorrow, so he’d have time to pack. It was now or never.
”Why are you back so early?” Set-re began, somewhat gingerly, as he wandered over to sit beside the smaller feline.
”Lattice dismissed me early.” Makhet answered, frowning. “He said that you had some surprise for me. He also took all my scrolls, and said that I wasn’t allowed to work for awhile. That I had the rest of the day off.”
Makhet took having the day off as a personal offense, at least when it came to learning his trade. He did enjoy the break, but it was time away from learning, and there was so much left to learn.. In truth, it kind of intimidated him, and thus he was determined to put a dent in the sheer amount of knowledge he had left to memorize about healing and magic. Set-re did not understand this particular compulsion—he was fond of learning about dragons, too, but he understood the value of a good break. You couldn’t work yourself endlessly—after awhile the knowledge would slide off your brain like oil. He didn’t say as much, however, merely rubbed Makhet’s back, and smiled slightly.
”Well, you won’t be needing them for awhile..” he started softly, smiling. “And don’t get mad at me, you’ll like the reason. We’re getting our dragons.”
Makhet put an ear back, plainly confused. “What? But the Destriers are too young, they can’t lay eggs, and none of the new dragons are old enough either, or in season.”
”We’re going off-world.” Set-re replied, puffing up proudly and appearing every inch the vain, arrogant creature people assumed he was. “/I/ managed to convince Lord Kimur to let us go and stand at one of the clutches at the other dragonries we’ve heard about.”
Makhet was silent, considering for a minute. The chance to get a dragon! He and Set-re had been in this compound for the last two years, waiting for just such a chance! Of course, when all the captive Destriers had escaped, any chance of getting an egg from them had gone with them, leaving them another four years to wait until the first batch of egg-raised Destriers matured and started producing eggs. Here was a chance to get a different sort of dragon, much sooner, and one probably had more of a chance of bonding closely to him than the Destriers did—even if you egg-raised them, the chances that they would bond as closely to you as one of the new dragons in the compound were slim. “They’re the bonding type?” he asked quietly, moving close to Set-re.
”From what I hear, yes.” Set-re replied, hugging the smaller anthro close to him. “And we leave tomorrow.”
Makhet frowned, “Tomorrow?” he asked, “Isn’t that a bit soon? What about my studies?”
Set-re shrugged. “Tomorrow is what Lord Kimur said. As for your studies..” he trailed off, giving his mate a wary look for a moment, before continuing. “You will be abandoning them, or at least laying off on them, for awhile.”
”What?” Makhet said, attempting to sit up and look indignant. Set-re objected to the attempted movement, so he stayed where he was and looked indignant from there.
”You need the break, Makhet.” Set-re said softly. “You’re bone weary, and the rest you do get is too little to restore your energy. Not that we’ll be getting much rest there, of course..” he grinned slightly, “but with the absence of your teaching scrolls, you should get more rest than here. Besides, it’s the chance for a dragon, Makhet! You’d be fool to give that up.”
He would be, and they both knew it. So Makhet continued to pout, whining slightly in the back of his throat. “I want to be useful here. And I need to learn more to be so. That’s why I work so hard.”
Set-re shook his head, rubbing the smaller feline’s back again. “You’re more useful here than most apprentices, and even some of the lesser healers. Ask Lattice and Kimur. A break from your studies won’t kill you—if anything, it will be good for you. You’re reaching the end of them anyways—Lattice tells me you’ll be finishing your apprenticeship within a year.”
”Longer,” muttered Makhet, “if I can’t study there.”
”Not much longer,” Set-re replied, smoothing Makhet’s hair. “Besides, a dragon is worth it. Isn’t it?”
Makhet made a noise of confirmation, still very slightly indignant, but cooling off.
”Good.” Set-re replied, clapping his hands together and looking proud of himself. “Then let’s pack. We’ll probably be leaving early tomorrow.” With that, he slid off the bed, collecting one of the pack-bags and a trunk from the closet. Makhet watched him for a moment, trying to stay angry, but soon gave into the excitement of their impending adventure, of sorts, and got up to help. This wouldn’t be so bad, not at all, really. The only annoying thing would be loosing some time on his studies, and maybe they were right, and he did need a break. In any case, he could probably get away with studying in small amounts. These thoughts firmly in mind, he cheerfully moved around the room, collecting various essentials and letting Set-re arrange them just so within the trunks.
**
That they would ‘probably be leaving early in the morning’ was something of a mild understatement. Long before even the beginnings of sunlight began to show on the horizon, one of the new jousters was in the air, angling his dragon down for a landing inside the empty dragon pen connected to Makhet and Set-re’s suite of rooms. The rainbow creature managed the difficult landing perfectly, despite her bulk, landing gently and managing to kick up very little sand from the wallow with the wind from her wings. When she was settled, she folded her large wings and dropped to the ground with a sigh, lowering her head so her rider could dismount.
Though Atsooth was not a Destrier and thus did not mind /too/ badly that the predawn air was not full of the usual desert-heat, the pernese queen nonetheless didn’t enjoy the cold, and to lay on these heated stones was something she found very comforting. She covered her eyes with the first two lids, and half-closed the third, rumbling in contentment while her rider went off to find those two he’d been charged with conveying.
”Oh sleeping beauties~” Kazi said, wandering to the door in the manner of someone who’s had a little too much to drink. That was his manner—he was infamous for acting such even when he’d had nothing to drink and, ironically, he always had the clearest and sharpest mind of any of the current jousters. Atsooth watched him through haflidded eyes curiously, hoping the sleeping boys would take awhile to wake. The hot stones were comfortable…
Sadly, Atsooth was out of luck. Kazi needed only to wander in the door, gingerly bend over the two sleeping boys, and shout in their ears to get them up and sputtering—a reaction he always found very amusing.
After a few moments of cursing, tangled limbs, and thrown objects—a few of which hit their target—Makhet and Set-re were sitting up in bed, glowering at the intruder.
”Glad to see you’re awake.” Kazi said cheerfully, rubbing the spot where one of their makeshift projectiles had hit him in the head. “You’re all packed and everything? Good. Let’s get your bags attached, then, and we’ll be off.”
The boys grudgingly got out of bed, zombie-like with tired, and collected the two weatherproof bags in which most of their things were stored, moving out to the dragon on the floor of the thus unoccupied dragon pen. Kazi picked up the single trunk, and followed them out.
Attaching the bags to the harness was easy, but doing so with the trunk was not so much—Kazi had to do that himself, attaching it to the harness with a special rig that would cause it to hang below Atsooth’s neck when they flew, and not sway to hit her neck and bruise it. Eventually it was all done, however, and Kazi turned to the boys and grinned. “Alright, then. Off with us.”
Makhet nodded and clambered up into the harness after the rider, but Set-re didn’t move. “Nofret.” He said.
Kazi looked at him strangely, wondering if this, perhaps, was one of the words in the native language of Akhet that he had yet to learn. “What?”
”Nofret. My cheetah.”
Kazi opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again. Transporting a /cheetah/? “I think you ought to leave her here.”
Set-re took on an expression of utmost coldness, straitened his back, and all but snarled. “Nofret is coming with us.”
His tone made it clear that there would be no arguments on this issue, and Kazi, who technically outranked the pretty boy, found himself disinclined to do so. But how in any god’s name could you transport a cheetah. “I don’t want her attacking Atsooth.” He replied, patting his dragon’s neck. “And you just can’t trust those big cats…” Not in his mind, anyway. He was too used to the nasty, experimental felines in True Pern, where he’d gone after impressing Atsooth in the BSW. They were known to attack dragons, and were absolutely fearless.
”You can trust the hunting felines of Akhet if they’ve been bred well and have a good and just trainer.” Set-re said firmly, “and you can certainly trust Nofret.”
Kazi still looked apprehensive, but sighed. “Fine. Provided you attack leather bags to her paws, and thick ones. Stuffed with grass.”
It took an hour to find said leather bags, and then attach them to the cheetah’s feet. Nofret did not like them at all, but didn’t complain too vocally, considering that it was Set-re who attached them. When that was done, Set-re deemed them all good to leave, and clambered onto Atsooth’s back, while Makhet gently lifted the cheetah onto the dragon’s neck with magic, to avoid her having to climb onto the dragon with her claws.
The sun was just beginning to rise when Atsooth finally got to her feet, launched herself powerfully into the air, and began fighting the desert air for height. There were thermals, which made it easier once they got high enough, which made the going easier, and once they were at an appropriate height, they teleported, without warning, to Star City Dragonry.
None of Atsooth’s passengers, with the exception of Kazi, had been ready for that. Between was colder than everything they’d ever felt in the desert, and the dark emptiness was unnerving. Thankfully, it was over soon, replaced with the equally unfamiliar atmosphere of Star City Dragonry.
Atsooth landed gently in a plainer area in the SCD, whose metal walls were unadorned, and the floor as much so. They could see the central area of the space station through the open door at the other end, and though it looked a lot less like the bowels of a metal monster than their current room, it was still unfamiliar. All three passengers slid off the dragon’s neck, Nofret jumping down after them, and looked around.
Set-re examined his surroundings with reserved curiosity. It was.. very different from Akhet. Which, of course, was expected—Akhet was an agricultural society, undeveloped since the land itself objected to most technological devices, and it was located beside a lifegiving river in the middle of the desert. Star City Dragonry was a climate controlled, technological hotspot, which was to be expected, considering that it was a space station, in addition to a huge city. Very different, and, to two desert dwellers, very cold.
Makhet shivered, both at the new surroundings and at the colder air, and moved closer to Set-re, hiding his face in the goat-like anthro’s shoulder. He had the strangest feeling he’d never really get used to this, or become truly comfortable here, though it might stop being so frightening eventually. Set-re was thinking along the same lines, or at least that he wouldn’t ever get used to this splendid place, even if he did get comfortable here—It was… Very different from Akhet, and that was all he could think for the moment.
Nofret, for her part, couldn’t care less how different it was from Akhet.. She was agitated from the flight over, and had decided that being in strange places where her people were more occupied with staring at the wall then giving her lots and lots of attention was not her cup of tea. She lay with a huff at Set-re’s feet, worrying at the bags over her paws with her teeth.
Kazi took one look at their faces and then clapped, smiling. “Well, I can see that you two will have no idea what to do when it comes to signing up. I’ll do that for you, then, and arrange for your food and whatnot. Wait here, and don’t move.” With that he turned and wandered out, swaying a bit and snapping his fingers as he went. Makhet and Set-re barely took notice of his departure, or of anything really, too busy examining their new locale. Set-re even moved forward a few feet, to get a better look at the portion of SCD visable through the door, and Makhet followed him. It was huge. Actually, huge didn’t begin to cover it. And it was busy. That area, which was presumably one of the lower ones, according to a helpful sign on the wall, was packed with buildings and people. A modern market place, or something. He could see clothing in the windows of some of the shops, as alien to him as everything else, though visually pleasing in bright colours. A lot of the clothes involved more cloth then the kilt he was currently wearing, and some involved distinctly less. These people were, apparently, a contradictory sort in some ways.
He turned his attention to different shops—one of them had a picture of some food on a sign by the door, which led him to believe that it was some kind of public eating house, like the beer-shops in Akhet. It was from that building that a bunch of savory smells was emanating, floating towards the both of them and reminding Set-re that he hadn’t eaten yet today.
So entranced were the two boys that they did not notice the appearance of another dragon a ways behind them. It was one of the tame Destriers, who backwinged with utmost grace and landed, deposited it’s passenger and his baggage, and then was off again, disappearing silently as if it had never been there, but for the passenger it left behind.
They also failed to notice the footsteps of said passenger as he came up behind them, and thus jumped three feet in the air when said passenger—who was, in fact, the healer Lattice, placed heavy hands on their shoulders.
”Hello.”
Makhet spoke for. “Master Lattice? What are you doing here?”
“Here, my little apprentice, I am just Lattice. Your equal.” The hybrid anthro said with a laugh, stepping back and ruffling Makhet’s hair to annoy him. “And I am here on special request of Lord Kimur himself, to both babysit the two of you, and to get a dragon so I can, quote unquote, stop trying to win his Electrum away from him.”
Set-re shuddered at the mention of the multi-eyed dragon, looking away sharply. Lattice laughed. “She’s a lovely dragon, really. All those eyes. She reminds me of the sacred web-spinners, and that pale white skin makes her look like a hungry ghost..”
Set-re made a noise and hid his face, while Makhet stifled a laugh and waved a hand at Lattice. “Don’t be cruel.”
Lattice gave him some sordid imitation of puppy eyes. “Oh, but it’s so fun…”
Makhet looked about to say something, but was interrupted by the imminent return of Kazi, who sauntered back in looking quite pleased with himself.
“Ah, healer Lattice, you’re here as well.” He said with a bow, smiling. “I was expecting you. I took the liberty of signing you up as well, if you don’t mind?”
”Not an ounce.” Lattice said with a yawn. “Thank you.”
”Excellent.” Kazi said, bowing, before turning his gaze on the two younger anthros. “Well then, you’re all ready to go. I’ve signed you up, made arrangements for room and board, and, if you’re all ready, we can get up and go. Are we ready? I’ll show you your rooms.” He said, grinning, and lifted three sets of keys by their chains, shaking them so they jangled together. “Oh, and since I know you two haven’t eaten yet.” He said, pointedly looking at Set-re and Makhet, “I’ve arranged for food to be sent up to all of your rooms. Clothes too, since I assume none of you have anything better suited to this climate. And, Lattice, I’ve left a large amount of currency in your care, please make sure it’s used wisely and sparingly. Akhet gold is not worth as much here as it is in Akhet, so I had to trade more of it for less.”
The three new candidates nodded, and collected their things and wandered off after Kazi, who looked perfectly at ease in these strange settings. Lattice didn’t look that uneasy either—he’d been in somewhere that was, if not similar, more technologically advanced than Akhet was, and was used to changing surroundings anyway. Actually, he could get used to a place like this—and he could use the time wisely, too, to pick up a few alternative uses for his magic and learn some new healing tricks. Hell, he might become as overzealous as Makhet, in that respect, and it would be the two boys babysitting him. But, the healer thought, casting a glance at Makhet, who was looking tentatively around and walking as close to set-re as possible, at least the feline anthro would be far too occupied with getting used to his surroundings then on working himself into a coma.
**
An hour or so later, everything was settled. Kazi had disappeared some time ago with Atsooth, leaving the three candidates to adjust to their rooms. Makhet and Set-re had a spacious suite of them to share, and Lattice had a set of rooms right next door—smaller, of course, but there was only one of him, so he didn’t mind.
Lattice had disappeared some time earlier, to ‘get acquainted with this lovely chaotic mass of a city,’ in his words, leaving his two charges to explore the various features of the rooms, which they were doing to no end. Set-re was particularly amused by the door, which opened automatically, and was thus passing time by walking through it, waiting for it to close, and repeating the whole process again.
”You’re abusing those doors.” Makhet said from his spot on the bed, which was thankfully NOT moving.
”Yes, but they’re so fascinating! I wonder,” Set-re replied, pausing as he went through the door again, and continuing when he came back through. “What makes them do that? Are there little demons inside them, do you think?”
Makhet groaned, staring at the ceiling. “If there are, they can eat you in your sleep. Now come here and lay down with me? I’m tired, we woke far too early. And besides, you’ll ruin your hair if you keep doing that.”
One of those comments had the desired effect, and Set-re huffed at him, but flounced over and complied. After a few moments of searching, they worked out how to turn off the lights, and with that let themselves drift off into sleep, dreams filled with various dragon-related images.

2: Shazae's Hatching
This story was not written by me. It was written by Dray and is located here.