Emma

Emma immediately decided she was dreaming. Her sleeping mind must have fused together images of the birds and lizards she'd seen a while back during her field work in South Africa. How else could she explain the winged reptile that had flitted in through the window and dropped the letter on her desk?

She re-read it, eyebrows furrowed. Dispose of it? It made no sense, but then again, dreams never did. She crumpled it and threw it in the wastepaper basket.

If this was a dream, she might as well make the most of it. There was no point in continuing to organise her photos from the recent camping trip - more adventure was always welcome before the inevitable return to everyday life. Shutting down her laptop, she dug out the bag she'd stuffed away only the day before and began packing it. The moment she'd finished, she shielded her eyes with a gasp. A glowing orb had appeared in the centre of the room, rapidly growing brighter. It disappeared as quickly as it had formed. Emma blinked, taking in her surroundings.

Well, this shouldn't have been surprising - dreams often involved ending up elsewhere with no explanation. Still, she couldn't help but stare at the sheer beauty of the place. Wild flowers that looked like nothing she'd ever studied surrounded her, sunlight illuminating their colours. Small, flying creatures darted in and out of the trees, emitting strange chirps. The same kind of creature that had visited her, she realised.

At the sight of the huge, scaly beast in front of her, she stumbled back, losing her balance. She let out a yelp as she scraped her hand on a stone. The stinging could only mean one thing. This wasn't a dream.

She was still struggling to take it in when the dragon left, several other people following. "Hey, wait for me!" she called, scrambling to her feet and running after the group, instantly regretting what she'd said. Was that any way to talk to a dragon? Luckily, nobody seemed to mind.

She found herself in a dining hall, a table laden with all manner of delicious-looking food in the middle of it. The smells made her mouth water. Sitting down next to a girl with a birdcage, she helped herself and looked around. "So everyone knows about as much as I do about the place..." she said. "By the way, I'm Emma. And what's your name?"

Niall Collins

Niall chuckled, settling down into the chair after having fixed himself a plate of food. He looked easily at the girl who'd questioned him about his choice of clothing, fixing his warm caramel eyes on her before speaking. "I do have a bike, I rode it to the location specified on the second letter which is why I'm dressed like this. If it bothers you I'm sure I can remove some clothing." He cocked an eyebrow, keeping his eyes on her briefly before moving to take a bite of some of the food he'd collected on his plate. Their conversation amused him but he kept quiet for the most part, awaiting her reply.

He did however take a moment to look over the others here at the table. It would do him good to associate the faces with the names that matched. Another had just joined them, a girl who had said her name was Emma. She was cute, strawberry blonde hair and quite petite. She'd sat down next to a much taller and athletic blonde who's name he hadn't caught just yet. It was the girl who had questioned him that he was most interested in, Jo is what the others had called her. She had dark hair and blue eyes, a trait that was becoming more common. He was one of only two men here currently the other he'd briefly heard say his name was Graeden. That was a nice change, everyone else was female other than the two of them.

Despite this they were here to learn not for him to find his latest in a seemingly endless string of short term girlfriends. Perhaps this would be one time that he didn't have to worry about the women here and could go about his business without being accosted about his wealth. He had a lot of shortcomings and a lack of ability to commit to anything other than his businesses was one of the major ones.

Watching the others from the corners of her eyes, Jo ate quietly until Niall made his remark. He seemed the type to be over confident. Rolling her eyes, she smiled sweetly at him and cocked her head to the side. "I'm sure some people would just love that. Perhaps you can find someone that would be willing to help you later once we're all settled. I, however, don't want to lose my appetite." Her grin widened as she laughed a quiet musical laugh.

Emma drew her attention away as she started to speak. "I know next to nothing. I'm Jo." Still smiling, and shook her hand softly. This place was amazing. Everything was constantly moving and bustling around, making it seem louder than it really was. Jo peeked up from under her lashes at Niall, waiting for the retort that she knew was coming. She could read people fairly well, and she knew who the ones were that would banter and retort with wit as sharp as steel.

Looking around at the others at the table, she took a deep breath and pushed her plate away. "I am so full. I wonder where the good doctor went? I'm ready to explore!"

Shaking Jo's hand, Emma smiled back. "Exploring sounds good," she replied. Her wide brown eyes shone with excitement. "I can't wait! This is like nothing I've seen before. Well, nowhere I've been before has involved dragons, and travelling by glowing ball of light is a bit of a novelty. Seems like a quick and easy way to get around. Like a fast train, except no tickets, and no chewing gum on seats, and no seats for that matter, and no carriages, and... uh, not really like a train at all." She gave a nervous laugh. "I'm rambling, right? Sorry." This tended to happen when she was overexcited. She took another mouthful of roast potato, hoping she wasn't about to find herself on the receiving end of one of Jo's sharp-tongued comments.

Even so, she couldn't help but inwardly chuckle at Jo's remarks towards Niall. People were acting like they recognised him... Come to think of it, he did look vaguely familiar, but she couldn't think where she'd seen his face. If he was some kind of famous person, that proved how little she knew about celebrities.

Graeden Yourshaw

After having his fill, Graeden merely listened while the others conversed. Someone offered up the idea of exploring the place which he would have to say he agreed. The rooms could wait who could possibly sleep when there was so much more that could be seen among other burning questions that needed to be answered.

"It does indeed sound like a good idea," Graeden said once the girl named Emma stopped talking ",Might as well get accustomed to the surroundings." He stood from the table and began to leave but paused wondering where exactly to begin. He left the dining area to a side hall, looking left and right deterring where to begin. He picked to go left not waiting for anyone else as he began to traverse the new location with curiosity.

"Now what shall we find?" he pondered to himself as his footsteps echoed down the hallway on this new quest.

Vivii watched the others carefully as she fawned over her little birds. When the other girl sat down beside her she smiled lightly, "Name's Vivii, short for Viviana." She nodded at the other girls briefly, wondering why there were so many women and just two men. This could get interesting to say the least. She wasn't much on having friends that were girls do to the way most of the other acted, perhaps these would be different. She really hoped that they would so that she could be friendly for once in her life.

She finished her small portion of food quickly, she'd never been one to eat very much and people usually made rude comments about it. Her mother had called her a little bird her whole life because of her eating habits. She wanted to let her own birds loose but she was afraid they would get snapped up by some of the smaller dragons that zoomed around the complex carrying various items. Just as she stood up the whole room shook with heavy footsteps making her stumble a bit, grasping the back of a chair to ensure she didn't fall. She was not a clumsy person but she was beginning to think that was going to change. Normally people commented on her grace when they weren't bashing her eating habits.

Here though it seemed like she was permanently off balance. She steadied herself, bracing for the rest of the earthquake like footsteps as she moved across the room. "Ahh, do not wander so much my dear students the workers in the incubation caverns are finally ready for us to make a trip down there!" The booming voice of Dr. Nidhogg engulfed the room as the others had started to dissipate in various directions. Vivii turned to look at the massive dragon, pausing as she regained her orientation. She looped her slender arm through the handle of her bird cage as she turned to look at the others.

Glancing around the room she noticed the grandeur of it for the first time, the moldings were so detailed that she could not believe that they were carved from stone, this whole room was a giant cavern within the side of the mountain. Gold leaf covered many of the items in the room and the designs on the walls, jewels encrusted many things as well. She supposed that the whole thing about dragons collecting treasure was the truth. The whole room screamed opulence and richness.

The good doctor did not wait for anyone apparently as she turned swiftly right around and headed back down the hallway, she jogged after him like a puppy, trying her best not to shake the living day lights out of her tiny finches on her arm. They chirped their displeasure at her angrily from inside the ornate little cage she carried on her arm. Down the corridor she jogged after the doctor and thought keenly about how she was going to be getting her exercise just from following him around. He had obviously slowed his gait considerably to go this slow so it was up to them to fill in the gap between the two speeds. Portraits hung along the walls but she didn't have time to inspect them.

Finally they made a turn, heading downwards in a sloping hallway towards another set of heavy wooden doors that blocked their path currently. The doors opened with an otherworldly groan just before they arrived at them. Just as she got inside the door she stopped short. Nearly falling in her carelessness. The room was filled to the brim with eggs, most of them nearly three feet tall and they were all shapes and colors, some matte while others seemed to nearly glow.

Emma

Emma nearly slopped the last forkful of her food over herself as the ground shook. Quickly finishing her meal, she stood up to face the giant dragon who had made his presence known with crashing footsteps. His words sent a thrill through her. Incubation caverns... It was time. It was finally time for the students to do what they'd come here for, and each bond with a dragon.

The moment Dr Nidhogg had finished speaking, he turned and left down the hallway. Emma ran, her short legs working furiously to keep up with the dragon's thundering strides. If it hadn't been for the regular swimming and long walks, she'd never have been able to even come close to matching his speed. Her bag kept knocking against her shoulder, but she didn't care. This would be more than worth having to rush.

A pair of wooden doors creaked open in front of her. At the sight they revealed, she stared, her mouth open. Veering to the side to avoid crashing into Vivii, who had stopped abruptly, she slowed her pace and leaned against a rocky wall. Her gaze swept over the clutch of eggs that filled the room. Many of them reached up to her waist, and she'd never seen eggs of these colours, from jewel-like to metallic. Weren't reptile eggs usually plain white? These dragons were utterly unlike any creature she knew of.

"Dragon eggs..." she breathed. She looked up at Dr Nidhogg. Here she was, with a university degree, and she hadn't said anything intelligent since she'd arrived. She felt her face heat up. It wasn't like her to be shy and self-conscious, but then again, standing before an ancient, majestic being would do this to anyone. "So... Soul bonding," she said, recalling what Dr Nidhogg had said earlier. "How does it work?" She knew she and the others would find out soon enough, but this way they'd know what to expect.

Graeden Yourshaw

Graeden didn't make it for before the voice of Nidhogg stopped him and made him quickly return to the rest of the group. Trying to keep up with there host proved quite a challenge it seem, having to keep a good jogging pace to match the dragon's strides and that was just barely keeping pace. He was glad he had decided to do daily walks and runs or else he would of been quite out of shape to follow the dragon.

They passed a few rooms, only catching glances of what were inside those before reaching the destination. He barely stopped himself colliding with anyone else when the dragon suddenly stopped in front of a pair of wooden doors. When the doors were opened they revealed quite the sight. Eggs that rivaled the beauty of crafted gems and of a size that made an ostrich egg look small. He was glad someone spoke up for he couldn't seem to form a single sentence while coming here.

"Also when bonded how exactly is this going to work?" He added when he could put words together.

- Niall Collins; Collins Industries -

Niall had not yet even finished the last bites of his food before the professor returned, his footsteps shaking and rattling all of the items in the large room. All of the plates and cups, though nice seemed to have cracks and chips, probably from falling off the table in the wake of the vibrations from the dragons. An environmental hazard one might say. He was looking carefully at all the items in the hallway as they passed through it, descending downward into the depths of the earth to the incubation caverns.

When they arrived Niall was quite stunned, what he wouldn't give for a camera to try and capture the sheer beauty of the hundreds of eggs that lay within. They awaited their soul mate, the one true match to their heart stone. One that would breath the final breathe of life into them so that they could hatch. One of the others asked, questioning about the process. Niall had just about asked the same question but it had breached her lips before his own. He looked towards Dr. Nidhogg in hopes of an answer, but the large dragon only smiled before speaking. "You will understand very soon, go explore for now." Niall took the words to heart as he ventured past the others, heading out into the aisles of eggs to walk among them, to find his match.

As he moved through the rows of eggs he found himself on a direct path for a massive ivory colored egg flecked with black. It was matte and nearly 3 feet tall. There was something drawing him towards the egg and he couldn't help but reach out and touch it. His mind didn't yet understand but his body did as his large hand caressed the thick shell of the egg. Giving the infant dragon trapped inside the final breath of life that it needed to begin the rock the egg. As he looked at it his eyes widened, mind trying to process the sight before him. Several of the smaller nursemaid dragons zoomed his directions to hold the egg as he watched captivated by the scene.

It wasn't five minutes before a sharp looking nose was poking through the shell and snorting bursts of smoke and sparks from its nostrils. Before much longer an elegant face with brilliant sapphire eyes seemingly made in the likeness of the gemstone itself gleamed back at him. He realized only when he released the big breath that he had been holding it. The dragon made it's final struggle before shaking the remaining wetness from the egg off itself. The nursemaid dragons and their humans bringing a towel to finalize the process. One of the humans smiled and nodded at him, handing him a towel to allow him to touch the dragon for the first time.

His next breath that he exhaled was on the wings of a word, a name that he could not even remember where he had heard but he knew it was the name of this dragon before him. "Allaire," Her name was all he could think for a moment and she bobbed her head. She was nearly as long as he was tall already as he looked her over he could see each individual scale on her body, they looked as if they were carved from the most valuable ivory. Her blue eyes looked carefully at him, she knew his name instinctively but she had not yet learned to speak verbally. Niall, the word caressed his mind like a warm breeze would caress one's skin and he knew it was Allaire speaking to him. She stepped towards him nuzzling his waist with her muzzle as he used the towel he had been given to dry her off.

Graeden Yourshaw

"You will understand very soon, go explore for now," Dr Nidhogg answered and so that is what Graeden began going among the rows of eggs marveling at all the unique designs that each egg had. How were they ever going to bond with just one? Even then how would they know that such a partnership would work? Could a choice be wrong? Graeden pushed the negative questions aside figuring best now was to just go by instinct. He continued onward.

His eyes caught hold of one egg after a few minutes. In varying angles of the light the scales danced with colors, shifting from a deep navy blue to black, sparking with the slightest of silvers that made it look like a starry night. He was drawn closer to the egg, somehow it called for him and all the others in the room did not matter after his eyes had set upon it. As he drew closer he could feel the hair on his neck stand up. He barely had put a finger on the egg when it moved ever slightly causing Graeden to leap slightly backwards in surprise. He could see a crack begin to form in the egg with the creature inside now trying to escape. Those who worked in the room suddenly appeared, beginning to take care of the situation with precision.

A few minutes went by and a nose poked through for the briefest of moments before the rest of the face came out. The scales on the creature matched the darkness of a night sky with elegant designs of blue covering its body in various designs. Its eyes met Graeden who could only marvel at the shade of violet they were which seem to hold a spark of electricity behind them. Once fully out of its confined home, the process of cleaning off the remaining egg from it began and Graeden was pushed forward, where the towel in his hand came from he wasn't sure. He reached out and touch the dragon, a spark felt to jump from flesh to scale before they met and he could only gaze in wonder from the longest of times.

"Apollyon," he whispered as the dragon looked around the world for the first time before ending on him. Her name was the only thing that seemed to matter, no more questions needed answered as everything seemed to be as it should be. In length she was as tall as he was if not more. She nuzzled him as he continued to stroke her scales with the towel to dry her off.

Emma

Excitement welled through Emma as she headed into the cluster of eggs. Somehow, she knew which direction to take. Something, someone, seemed to be whispering to her. The dazzling beauty of the eggs made her breath catch as she turned her head left and right, pulling her phone from her bag and taking photos.

Finally, she stopped in front of a brown egg mottled with shimmering green patches. Reaching out, she skimmed her fingers across its shell. It mostly had a very slight rough texture, like bark, yet the green speckles were as smooth as the outer layer of a sapling. She gasped in surprise as it cracked with a sound of snapping wood. Something moved inside, rustling like leaves. As pieces of the shell came away, the smell of grass and flowers drifted into the air. With a squeak, a head poked out.

The closest resemblance was to a lizard, but not even that was a truly apt comparison. The dragon blinked, staring at her with emerald-coloured eyes, and clambered from its shell. Branch-like protrusions covered the creature's body, tangled with leaves, vines and the buds of flowers. Several nursemaids approached with a towel, gently cleaning the newborn dragon, revealing every shade of green from leaf to moss.

After staring in awe for a few seconds, Emma crouched down and stroked the dragon's head. Something surged to life inside her, something ancient and otherworldly. Images of overgrown wilderness, the scurrying and flitting of woodland creatures, magnificent blooms opening to the sunlight, filled her mind. With the images came a name. "Maia..." Emma whispered. "Your name is Maia."

Looking up at Emma like a newborn baby towards its mother, Maia gave a happy chirp. Emma, came the dragon's soft response in her head.

The night after receiving his letter to go to the dragonology school Allan couldn't sleep for he was too excited. He had always dreamed about dragons since he first read about them in fairy tales and mythical stories but never thought it was possible for them to be real! When the second messenger dragon arrived with the next letters for him and his brother Al was wide awake and thanked the dragon before rushing off to wake up his brother.
"Nate wake up!" Was all Al had said before Nate opens his eyes and he himself starts running around to get ready after tossing the letters on top of his brother's face.

A few hours later and Allan was standing next to his brother, re-reading his letter for the 5th time that day as he made sure they were at the right place. He heard his brother say something but wasn't paying enough attention to hear as he looks around for any sign of where they were supposed to go. As if on queue two orbs of light started glowing and he quickly hit his brother to get his attention before running off towards one of the lights. Before he even can have a second thought his surroundings had changed but before he could make sense of where he was two dragons around the size of full grown German Shepherds.

"Hello sirs," said one, a coal black dragon with golden eyes and horns.
"Please follow us if you will," the other said right after as if it was scripted. This one was more of a burgundy with black eyes and markings.
"We've been waiting," they both said in unison before turning around and walking.

It didn't take Allan that long to trust these creatures and follow them.



The following night after getting his letter Nate fell asleep early for he knew his brother would want to go as soon as possible. It had been the most excited and happy he had seen his younger twin in many years and for this he hoped and prayed that this wasn't some elaborate prank for he knew Allan would be crushed if it was. While he slept the whole scene of getting the letters: the grin on Allan's face when he realized what the letter was saying, the way the two burned their letters at the same time, the phone calls to get their friends to take in their pets, everything. His dream had changed to imagining the various types of dragons they could possibly get when he heard his brother.
"Nate wake up!"
Not even 5 seconds after his brother's wake-up call he felt letters land on his face and watched as Allan left the room to get ready to leave. As he slowly got himself out of bed and got ready he read over the letters his brother left with him and before leaving he handed Al his to give him something to read while they were on the bus.

When the two reached the spot Nate noticed his brother reading the letter over and over again. With a small chuckle he said "we're in the right spot, Al. No need to read it so mu--ow! Hey watch it!" Nate rubs his shoulder after Allan hit it in excitement and before he could see what was the cause of the excitement he saw Allan already halfway to the orbs.
"Hey are you sure those are safe? Allan!" With a noise of exasperation Nate followed close behind, connecting with the second orb just as Allan vanished.

When the surroundings change Nate was going to tell his brother how dangerous that could've been when he was interrupted by the sound of something walking towards them. He looked up to see two dragons and well, you already know what they said to them. Nate watched Allan follow the dragons with no hesitation and decided he may as well do so too. After all, this is where they were supposed to be...right?

"One...Two...Three..." The brunette stole a glance towards the back of her open shop. When she was satisfied that nobody could see her, she pushed all of the brass coins in a pile and raised her voice. "Fifty!" Tucking her hair behind her ears, she reached for a very dusty and crust-covered sack. When her hand hit the dirt, she flinched her hand back and rolled her eyes. "You forgot to clean the bag, idiot!" With a shake of her head, she dumped the coins into the bag before bending down to place it in a bin under the counter. Hearing the front door bell chime, she stood up in time to see a rather odd looking statue suddenly appear at the end of her counter. Veronica raised a brow and looked around the front of the shop. "Hello?"

Not seeing a customer, she tilted her head and walked down to the statue. It was black, and definitely a dragon. She had to give props to the creator as the thing looked incredibly lifelike. Scrunching her nose, she looked it over. "Vinny? Did you put this thing here?" She looked over her shoulder and raised a brow at not seeing, nor hearing her brother. "Helloooo, Earth to Vin Vin! What am I supposed to do with this-" Ronnie stopped in her tracks. She could swear the thing just moved. Taking a slow step back, she smirked at how stupid that thought was. "Right. A dragon statue is alive. Funny." Shaking her head, she stepped back up to it and poked it. As soon as her finger touched the surface, her eyes widened. "Wow...So much work put into this. Seriously, Vinny, where did you-"

"Honestly, Miss, if you could stop poking me, I would be much obliged."

Blinking, she quickly straightened before looking the thing over. "Did you...Did you just- no, no you didn't just talk." The statue shook it's body, causing a small squeal to escape from Ronnie's throat. "Holy hell, you're real? Right? You're real, like, I'm not tripping. This is a joke, right?"

The dragon sighed and dropped the letter at the woman's feet. "You have one day to comply with the terms of that letter. Good day, miss."

The tanned parchment hit the toe of her black heels and her eyes followed it down. She looked back up in time to watch the dragon fly out of the open door, just as her twin brother walked in. Bending down, she looked over the writing and tilted her head. She grabbed it and walked over to the furnace. "Before you say anything- yes, that was a dragon, it was real, and apparently I'm destined for greatness." Opening the door, she tossed the letter in and watched it quickly burn away. "I'll be in my room, packing."

With a slight wave of her hand to her brother, she quickly headed to their upstairs apartment. Wasn't long before she had three suitcases packed. She set her hands on her hips and nodded in approval. Turning to head back to the shop, Ronnie stopped at light emitting from her bathroom. "What is it with men and not turning off the lights when they're done?" As she neared the door, she realized it wasn't the bathroom light at all; a small ball of translucent colors floated in her hallway. Tilting her head, she reached out and brushed her fingers along it. Next came to the sensation of her stomach being pulled to her throat.

In the blink of an eye, Ronnie was standing at the edge of a field, a castle in sight. "What in the he- Oh, hell-o. Hello." She had corrected her statement as two extremely large dragons appeared by her side. One smaller one seemed to be carrying her luggage. Clearing her throat, she ran a hand through her hair and brushed off her shirt. "I'm, uh, here for the school thing?"

"We know who you are, Veronica Reshard. Please, follow us. You are rather behind in the activities."

She watched the dragons make their way into the castle and she scrunched her throat. "It's Ronnie, actually.." Shaking out the tingles in her arms, she followed them inside. They soon led her down into a cave full of eggs. Her eyes widened. "Shut up. Are those dragon eggs?" Without a glance towards the others, she turned to question the largest dragon she had ever seen before a small light caught her eye. She didn't know what grabbed her attention, but suddenly she knew her destination. Walking down to the very back of the cave, she came upon a purple and ivory egg. Ronnie reached out her hand without a second thought and traced the intricate lines. She jumped back when her trail caused a crack in the egg.

Where she was expecting only one head to pop out, came two. One of the deepest purple color she had ever seen, and the other the brightest of ivory. Somewhere inside her she knew she was supposed to be afraid, but she most definitely was not. As she knealt down beside the egg, her attention was so transfixed that she didn't notice the nurses coming to help. Ronnie smirked and tilted her head as she watched the two-headed creature. They were soon in a staring match as both heads turned to look at her. "Well. You must be Pyre and Jax."

---

It had been another long day of exploring a nearby cave he had found in the Valley. Caves were rare in that area of California, but lucky for him it just happened to appear one day while on a hike. His white t-shirt was now black with dirt and soot, and his jeans had new rips and holes from the jagged rocks. But Vince couldn't have been happier. It was a successful exploration as he had found some weird looking rocks that he knew his sister would enjoy.

Hopping into his Land Rover, it took him a good thirty minutes to get back to the shop. He didn't dare drag his hands through his hair without at least washing them first. Parking the vehicle, he grabbed his sack of goods and headed towards the door. He opened the bag and swore before ducking. A large creature took off into the sky over his left shoulder, and Vince had to squint to see it in the darkness. He groaned and rolled his eyes. As he took a step inside, his eyes caught sight of a piece of paper laying at his feet. With a quirked brow, he knealt down and read the letter. It was a good chuckle. Maybe one of their more worldly customers dropped this on their way out.

Vince stepped inside to hear his twin sister's proclamation. He looked once more over his shoulder towards the door before turning to watch her burn the parchment. Surely she wasn't so wrapped up in their line of work that she actually believed in any of this? He rolled his eyes and tossed his paper into the fire as well. It didn't hurt to at least get rid of the mockery.

He made his way upstairs and rose a brow at how quiet it was. Looking around, he peered into his sister's room. "Ron?" He could have sworn she came up this way. Shaking his head, he headed into the bathroom for a quick shower. Ten minutes later, he was all clean and in some fresh clothing when he noticed a bright light coming from his sister's room. He sighed and walked towards her door. "Ronnie, what the hell are you up to now?" He opened the door in time for the scene to transform around him.

Stumbling some, he eyed the gazebo and fountains. "Did you do something to your room? Ron? Ronnie!" He headed off towards the building- was that a castle?- in front of him, only to be stopped by an extremely large creature. Taking a couple steps back, he raked an olive colored hand through his dark brown hair. His hazel eyes squinted to take in the sight before him. "You, uh...You're a dragon."

The large creature gave a throaty chuckle. "How observant of you. Right this way, please, Mr. Reshard." It turned and walked off.

Blinking, he quickly hurried after the thing, which was saying something as its' steps were rather large. "Um, excuse me? How do you know my name? Where am I? What's going on?"

The dragon shook his head and continued to the cave, clicking it's tongue. "My, my. Somebody didn't read their letter."

"My letter? You mean-" He stopped at the sight of the cave, hundreds or more eggs varied about. One caught his eye and he eased his way towards it. There was nothing more spectacular of it than the rest, but Vince knew it was his. It was a dark jade color, tucked away in a corner. The very edge was resting in a puddle of water. As he knealt down next to it, he swore he could hear the sound of the river, could see the very movement of the water on the egg itself. Suddenly, a head burst through the egg and stared directly at Vince.

He stumbled back out in surprise, landing his rear in the water puddle. With a chuckle, he rose a brow as he studied the very thing he swore didn't exist just an hour before. As he looked it over, he noticed the blue and green scales, the almost wet texture of it's body. Suddenly, a name popped into his head. "Lotan.."

Jo followed the others into what appeared to be an incubation chamber and watched curiously as each person was pulled to an egg and hatched their own dragon. She walked among the rows for what seemed like an eternity, only to feel nothing. Discouraged, she leaned against the wall and folded her arms across her chest as the small dragons hatched from their eggs and bonded with their new partners.

Suddenly, she felt a small tug on her heart, like a small child had tugged on her shirt. It pulled her to the right, along a row that she had already ventured down twice. Rolling her eyes, she walked the path again. 'come on.' she thought to herself with a sigh as she passed egg after eff, nothing catching her attention.

The pulling ceased as she passed a large, deep green egg with vines and leaves growing out of the shell and over the pedestal that it sat upon. Her fingers seemed to itch to reach out and touch it, and so she did. Once the tips of her fingers came into contact with the egg, a loud crack sounded and the shell splintered into a web from tip to tip. Jo pulled her hand back and watched, fascinated, as small pieces of the shell started to fall away and a small snout with emerald and deep forest green scales poked its way into the world.

With a wide grin, she pulled the remaining pieces away to look at her beautiful green dragon. It's golden eyes blinked up at her as its head tilted from side to side. Tentatively, she reached out to touch its head. The small green dragon lifted its chin and touched the palm of her hand. A single word burst into her mind. "Bane." Jo smiled down at him and scratched the ridge above its eye. Bane closed his eyes and let out a deep purr. One eye opened back up and a soft, deep voice floated through her mind. "Jo Anne."

Jo shivered at the sensation of bonding with her small dragon and picked it up into her arms. Bane flicked his tongue across her cheek and Jo laughed. "This is no doubt, the coolest thing that has ever happened to me. Ever."

When the two dragons reached a door they stopped and the black one looked back at Nate, "now is the time we separate you two for a few minutes. Not even."
Nate looked over at a horrified looking Allan and was the first to speak up. "We go in together."
"I told you it wouldn't work." The burgundy one hisses at the other then looks more gentle as he glances to Allan. "There's nothing wrong dearie, I'll be out here with you and make sure nothing happens." When the dragon notices Allan wasn't changing his expression she sighs and looks at the black dragon, "just let them both in. Nothing will change with the outcome."
With a sigh from the black dragon he opens the door with his tail. "In that case we're not needed here. I hope you enjoy your stay here." Before Nate or Allan knew it the two dragons flew away and the sight before them was immense.

There were eggs. Many, many eggs and none of them were the average sized ones in the store. No, these eggs were much bigger. Nate watched as his mesmerized twin walks forward as if he was following an unseen path when he felt a slight pull in the other direction and starts walking towards it. Nate stops in front of an egg that was black with a blue lightning spiral around it. He gently picks it up when it starts to crack. Nervous, Nate looks around to see if anyone saw what was happening but when he heard a voice he calmed down.
"Xalanth."
Nate looked back down at the egg to see that the shell had broken off and a small bundle of black with blue tips and a tail was laying in his arms. When the wings spread out he noticed the body of the small creature was blue.
"Xalanth," Nate repeated the name he heard in his head and instantly the baby dragon looked up at him, making a small noise of happiness. When he hears his brother call over to him he chuckles a little to himself.


When the two dragons initially said Nate and Allan would need to be separated Allan was terrified. He didn't sign up for that at all. The red haired boy blanked out the whole time the dragons spoke among each other and before he knew it they were gone and he got a good look at what was behind the door. At the sight of the many eggs his fear vanished and was changed to a feeling of awe and another feeling of being gently pulled. Before he knew it he was walking in the direction of a dirt coloured egg.

Upon reaching it he picked up the egg almost instantly and heard one word be spoken. "Soreth" it said and he felt the egg warm up almost instantly. Cracks started to form and before Al knew it a small rust brown dragon was laying curled up in his arms. It made a cooing noise which made Allan nearly squeal in delight.
"Dragons...Nate, there are actual dragons here! I'm holding a baby dragon right now this is the best day ever!"

A cool breeze blew in through the open window of the shed that served as Eun-mi's studio workshop. The radio was on, playing a loud pop song as she worked hunched over at her bench. She tapped a small piece of metal gently, bending it to fit her needs, and then carefully placed it in position to the almost finished ring. She reached over to the table behind her with one hand while using the other to position small pins needed to hold the ring steady as she placed it onto a fire brick for soldering. Grasping blindly, she reached for her torch when suddenly a loud screech broke her concentration. She spun around to see a small, colorful lizard-like creature looking at her with much distain. It had bright yellow feathers covering it's entire body except for its legs and face, which instead glimmered in bright teal colored scales.
"Are you finished yet?" it asked impatiently.
Eun-mi blinked in confusion for a second, before ignoring the dragon and reaching next to it for the torch. The dragon gave an exasperated sigh before curling back down to continue it's nap. "Jeez, you wake me up for nothing," it grumbled. "All I came here to do was deliver a stupid letter. Been here all day and you haven't even touched it. Hump!"
Continuing where she left off, Eun-mi took the torch and brought it into a full bushy flame. Slowly bringing it to her piece, she heated the metal. The ring flashed with blues and reds before the solder finally fell into place, securing the gem-prongs to their place in her ring. Once done, she removed the ring from the brick and dunked it into a bowl of water at her bench. The ring quickly hissed as it sank to the bottom of the bowl.
Finally able to take a break for the first time today, Eun-mi stretched and turned to the dragon.
"Who are you again?"
The dragon gave a groan before getting up and grabbing the envelope it had been resting on top of. “Just read this.” Eun-mi gingerly took the envelope in her hands and turned it over a few times before looking back at the dragon. “Do I have to?” The dragon groaned again and retorted with a simple “yes.”

Fifteen minutes later, the letter had been burned to ashes. Eun-mi was adding the final touch to her ring, a small pearl, while the dragon watched from its new perch on her shoulder. Finally finished, she held it up to the light. The ring glimmered gently and Eun-mi let out a small smile. “So, dragon,” she said, “what is this ‘school’ that letter spoke so highly about?” The creature cocked it’s head to the side and looked at her. “Why don’t you see for yourself?” The room suddenly filled with an incredibly bright light. A rushing wind flew around Eun-mi, and when she finally opened her eyes she found herself placed outside what appeared to be a large castle. “We’re finally here,” the dragon sighed, “why did you have to spend fifteen hours today on that ring, Eun-mi?” The girl just shrugged and watched the dragon leap off her shoulder and begin running into the castle. “Well? Come on! I bet everyone has already started without us. Jeez!” Eun-mi shoved the completed ring into her shorts pocket before walking quickly after the small dragon.

The castle was full of many large and exquisite rooms. She followed the dragon through a room with large comfy chairs, and then into a dining room where staff was starting to clean half eaten plates from the large oak table. Eun-mi’s stomach growled; she hadn’t eaten today after getting wrapped up in her work again. Her gaze lingered a moment longer on the food before following the dragon deeper into the castle. She could sense her being led downwards, and eventually the dragon brought her to a cavern. She could see several other people wandering around the aisles stocked high with various dragon eggs. About 30 feet away a large earthern-colored dragon was watching the people as they seemed to search the aisles for something. She heard a squeak behind her and quickly turned to see the small yellow dragon who brought her here dash off.
“Hey! Don’t leave me alone here!” But the dragon was already gone. Eun-mi turned around and looked nervously into the cavern. “Aw man, what am I even supposed to be doing here?”

Storm wasn't the quickest to jump on the ship, after receiving his letter. At first he was sure that it was a silly prank, but that didn't really explain the dragon. He definitely wasn't dreaming or on some kind of acid trip, he doesn't even drink or do drugs. All rationality was quickly thrown out the window. Nevertheless, the letter mentioned that he had twenty-four hours to decide and he took full advantage of the time limit.

The twenty-fourth hour was just around the corner. Storm sat in his room, guitar in hand playing a soft tune, blankly staring at the letter which sat on top of his computer desk. 'To go or not to go?'. The question juggled around his mind. This was actually quite strange for Storm. Normally, he would be the first to jump at the opportunity for adventure. So what was holding him back? Surely if whatever is waiting for him will have more strange things like that dragon, this would be the greatest adventure of his life.

He already had bags packed, so that he wouldn't have to waste any more time after deciding to go. Finally, just before the twenty-fourth hour hit, Storm made up his mind. He recalled the letter having mentioned that all he had to do was discard it by any means. So, he simply tore the letter into tiny pieces and tossed them in the trash. He patiently waited, with his bags and guitar, for something spectacular.

He was not disappointed. It was just moments later when a bright orb materialized in the center of his room. He didn't catch much of the teleportation process, since he closed his eyes and took a deep breath as soon as the orb appeared, as if fully submitting himself to his fate. When he arrived to 'the other side', wherever that was, he was greeted by a rather small, pastel, blue dragon. "Welcome Storm! I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't show. Please, follow me, you're pretty late."

"Well, you know...The coolest people are always fashionably late to the party" he responded with a soft chuckle as he followed, running behind the rushing dragon. They came up to a castle and the pace slowed to a speed walk. Storm let his light green hues wander, in amazement, as they entered. "Where exactly are we?" he mumbled. As they passed the dining area he noted half-eaten plates already being picked up. A sigh escaped, saddened that he missed one of the best parts.

They came up to the incubation chamber and without a word the dragon just left. Storm observed the room and made a quick assessment. A room full of eggs, other humans, and a giant dragon? The dragon must be pretty important and the others must be more chosen ones. He seemed to have figured things out, as his body went into autopilot. He passed a woman by the door, that seemed slightly more confused"Well, whatcha waiting for?" he questioned, continuing aimless down the aisles of eggs, not really sure what he was looking for.

Storm came to a sudden halt after setting eyes on a particular egg that called to him. He couldn't help but get closer, to place a hand on the egg. The egg was of varying shades of blues, with crystalline spots protruding from it. It was a thing of beauty, but his eyes grew ever more starry when it began to crack. A nose poked through and nursing dragons quickly came to assist. Before he knew it, the egg was fully hatched and what lied inside made him scream inside like a little belieber at one of Justin's concerts. The dragon was rather large, but he couldn't help picking up the dragon made entirely of crystal. He grinned from ear to ear "what's up little buddy? You must be Xyalor"

"Well, whatcha waiting for?"

A voice behind her made Eun-mi jump. She had been so wrapped up watching the others in the room that she hadn't heard the man approach from the tunnel. It appeared as if everyone was getting an egg that would hatch into a dragon. She had watched a few of the others wander around before picking up a random egg, and then having that egg hatch in their hands. "I guess we just pick one...?" she muttered to herself. She watched the man who startled her briskly walk into the stacks of eggs, stop at one, and take it. Within a few minutes the egg had hatched, and he was proudly holding a baby dragon. Eun-mi shrugged and began her own adventure of finding a dragon egg among the hundreds of those there.

As she walked, Eun-mi marveled at the incredible colors and textures the eggs had. There were eggs covered in bright green swirls, and others had sparkles that glistened as she walked past them. Every once in a while she would hear a quiet chirping coming from somewhere around her, but she ignored it as she continued on. Her hand brushed up against the shell of a brilliant red egg covered in small black bumps. It's surface felt warm and waxy, and she carefully picked it up from the shelf.
"How about you, little egg?" The egg gave a warm pulse as she spoke, glowing brightly for a second before turning dark. Eun-mi waited a few minutes for it to begin hatching, but the egg remained still and silent. She returned it to the self and picked a golden egg with a shell that felt like velvet a few rows down. It wiggled once in her hands before also going still like the first egg. With a frustrated sigh, Eun-mi continued on into the maze of eggs.

'Chirp chirp...'
It was that sound again. Eun-mi stopped and looked around. Where was it coming from? Once again, she heard that sound, and followed it down another aisle. Left, straight, right, straight, left... The chirping was becoming louder. Eventually she stopped in front of a section of eggs with dark colored shells and listened. Nothing... and then, 'Chirp chirp...'
She looked up towards a rough blue and violet egg sitting on the top shelf. It looked like a large odd piece of rock to be honest, jagged and sharp chunks of earth clung to its sides with small flecks of light purple dotting the surface. Looking up, she knew she couldn't reach it, but a brief search nearby provided a ladder which she quickly climbed with ease. Once at the top, she looked at the egg with curiosity. "I wonder if this one will hatch? Might as well give it a try." Gingerly she placed her hands on the egg. From it's core there was a glow, and this time it didn't fade. Eun-mi picked it up and then let out a sudden yelp. The damn egg was so heavy! How did the others manage to hold theirs so easily? This thing must have weighed at least 20 lbs! She felt the ladder rock underneath her and then suddenly she was falling. The egg fell out of her grasp and landed with a loud THUNK on the stone floor. Groaning as she sat up, she looked over at the egg. There was now a large glowing crack reaching from top to bottom. Panicked, she rushed over to check on it. The crack began to pulse as the egg shook violently. The chirping from before got louder, and more cracks began to form. She watched as a foot burst through, and then another, and then within a few minutes a spiky blue baby dragon was sitting a few feet away from here. Eun-mi marveled at it's design; the head and body were covered with spikes, it had thick powerful limbs, and the short bat-like wings on its back had a translucent membrane. Slowly she reached out to touch it, which it suddenly gave a shriek and bit her hand. Blood began to form from the wound and the creature quickly scurried off. "Ow! Hey! Come back here!!" She chased after the small dragon, but soon lost it in the stacks. Irritated and confused, she made her way to the open center of the chamber. Her hand hurt, and she tried to wipe the blood off on her shirt but it just kept coming. With a sigh, she looked over at the others in the room and muttered, "Man, I was definately not expecting this to happen today..."

While Nate was still marveling at his baby storm dragon he hears a woman's voice from the isle over. Xalanth jumped a little at the sudden noise, causing small sparks to fly off his little body as he looks in the direction of the noise. Curious, the baby dragon wriggles free and starts scurrying over to investigate.
"Hey little guy you shouldn't wander off alone," Nate says as he walks behind Xalanth.
His remark makes the black and blue dragon huff and soon Nate hears "I can handle myself just as much as you can, Nate," which causes a small chuckle to escape Nate's mouth. Despite Xalanth's words he made sure Nate stayed close, so the male assumed that was a good thing.

When Nate reaches a girl with short hair Xalanth goes up and sniffs her. "Hey are you okay? I heard you from the other isle and you appear to be bleeding."



When Allan too hears the girl he looks up at his brother who was already headed over. Of course Nate would go right away to see what was wrong, why should Allan think any different? He sighs and goes to follow Nate but when Soreth wouldn't let him he stops. "What is it, Sor?"
"Already got a nickname for me, huh?" Soreth thought to Allan before making a noise that Al could only think was a chuckle. The mountain dragon didn't say anymore but hopped out of Allan's arms and started heading another way. Soreth had scented a dragon scent leaving a human scent and was determined to find it for the girl. Al didn't want to lose his dragon so had no choice but to follow.

About five minutes passed before Soreth found where the baby dragon was hiding. He shows Allan who kneels down so he can see the dragon face to face. With a soft voice Allan asks, "you okay there little one?"

Emma

@unfallenangel @Aurliena Nova

A grin spread across Emma's face, a burst of laughter bubbling up. "Wow... Dragons," she chuckled, staring around the room as other eggs hatched. "Real dragons... Can't say this is anything I thought I'd ever see." She ran her fingers across Maia's head, down the back of her neck, along the thicket of vines that curled around her back and tail.

Maia chirruped and made a clumsy attempt at standing on her hind legs, flaring out a pair of pale green wings with a branching skeletal structure. Emma hugged the dragon, arms wrapped around a mossy patch on Maia's back, careful not to get poked by the many twigs. Although Maia was hardly the biggest dragon in the room, her weight was enough to push Emma off-balance. She teetered and fell, causing a chirp of alarm from Maia. Still laughing, Emma sat up. "Hey. I'm ok," she reassured the dragon, stroking her on the head.

Glancing over, she noticed a similar dragon licking the face of the girl she'd spoken to earlier. She bounded over to Jo, Maia pattering along behind her. "You got the same type of dragon?" she said, glancing from Jo to the golden-eyed hatchling.

A yelp distracted her. She turned her head to see a girl who didn't seem to be having much luck with her dragon, nursing a bleeding hand. "You alright?" Emma asked the girl, approaching with Maia beside her. "I have a first aid kit here." She took her bag from her shoulder and rummaged through it for the emergency medical kit she kept for her outdoor activities.