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The Lodge on Kilandaia seemed a very friendly place to work so far, and Mykha struck a pleasant chord with Troe. She was interested in new technology and willing to fund just about anything that she could be convinced was necessary for the Lodge. To top it off, shortly after hiring him she'd sent him to Star City to investigate some new technology, something he loved doing, but he was shocked she would trust him with so soon after being hired. In addition the company she sent with him had every likelihood of being very pleasant indeed.
Or so he thought.
Nyera, while pleasant and fun, if a bit quiet and pensive when they first met and got to spend time together, turned out to be reserved, shy, and downright reclusive while enroute to Star City. Baffled, Troe left her alone and tried not to worry about it too much. She was dating his cousin after all, so no matter how pleasant she might have seemed there was really no reason to be overly friendly with her.
Once they reached Star City the two of them headed to the hotel and Nyera seemed so tense in his company that while checking in he asked the woman behind the counter to put him on a separate floor from his coworker. She gave him an odd look but complied and when he told Nyera where his room was she looked so relieved he was glad he'd gone to the trouble, as they were intended to have adjoining rooms.
What Nyera did those first two days Troe had no idea, but he dove right into his investigation and found many interesting technologies to inform Mykha about when he got back. The third day, feeling a little burned out, he decided to spend wandering around seeing the sights in Star City. He wandered through the streets, intrigued by the wide variety of inhabitants and visitors Star City had. He browsed through the Automaton Emporium, where he was watched closely by a copper-chrome IHD that eventually dissuaded him from purchasing anything.
About midafternoon he found himself wandering through the Hatching Bays of Star City. The word was that the bays used to be open for public hatchings and the like but now they seemed mostly empty and he had heard they were reserved for private clutches mostly. Still, he wandered through until he came to a bay that was quite obviously occupied. Intrigued he poked his head through the door and was immediately spotted by a dragon pup.
The clatter that arose in his head was shocking and though he was tempted to duck back out again immediately the words being projected directly into his head made him feel he needed to stay and attempt to respond at least.
~Look Daddy, another sponsor!~
~Hiiiiiii! Who are you?~
~Oh boy! Someone to entertain us!~
~Hi there! Who are you? Did you come to sponsor one of us?~ asked one decidedly feminine voice.
This was the voice that stood out above the others so he answered her aloud. "I'm Troe Nanash, and I just happened to poke my head in here. I understood the hatching bays were only in use for private clutches at present."
~We got special permission! Why didn't you come to sponsor us though? Don't you like dragons?~ came that same determined female voice and finally he managed to pick out a trio of dragonets padding toward him.
"Of course I like dragons, I just had no idea that you were here!"
~Then you might be interested, but would need to get to know us, right?~ asked a masculine voice.
"Per...haps," replied Troe as a frown wrinkled his brow. "I'm sorry, could you please identify yourselves so I know who I'm talking to?"
~I'm Supra!~ said the intense female voice and the white, opaline dragonet with fiery red and yellow hair that led the group tossed her head and flicked her tail, her mouth opening in a gaping dragon grin.
Then the male voice spoke again and a bronze dragonet lifted a paw as if to shake his hand. ~My name is Halubaphie. Nice to meet you, Troe.~ Troe smiled and offered his hand to shake, careful to avoid the dragonets growing claws. He could tell it was an effort for the dragonet to keep up this air of decorum with his youthful energy straining to be loose.
~I'm Savnorafeta~ said a quiet voice and the third dragonet tilted his head and eyed Troe as if he had a hundred questions to ask but wasn't sure if he should.
Supra took matters out of his hands though. ~So now you know us, are you interested?~
~Just because he knows our names, doesn't mean he knows /us/, Supra!~ said Halubaphie with a roll of his eyes, but it was obvious he was wondering the same thing. Even Savnorafeta seemed to be waiting for an answer.
Troe blinked in surprise and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I only just started working at the Lodge so I'm not entirely certain what sponsoring is exactly."
~You'd adopt one of us and we'd go home with you and stay with you until we were old enough to go out on our own if we wanted,~ replied Supra readily, padding around him and looking him over. ~You certainly look like you'd be capable of caring for one of us!~
~Supra! Remember Daddy said to be polite!~ scolded Halubaphie and Troe stifled a smile.
"It sounds to me like a lot of that would depend on whether one of you wanted to come with me. I'm working at the Lodge on Kilandaia so I know I'd have room for one of you, if indeed you wanted to leave Star City with me in a few days."
~What exactly is the Lodge on Kilandaia?~ asked Savnorafeta, determined to know, despite his quiet nature.
"Well, where do I begin? It's a place a little like Star City used to be..."
Troe spent a great deal of time talking to the three pups. He told them all about Kilandaia and the Lodge and what his job was there, why he was in Star City and how he'd be getting back to the Lodge once his business was complete. The longer he talked, prodded by questions from all three, the more he thought that maybe it would be fun to take a dragonet home with him. He suspected the Lodge would be welcoming to the pup, considering how many other 'mutt' dragons resided there at present.
Troe made up his mind there and then and had only to wonder which of the pups would decide to go home with him...
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