There were problems.

First, Zen didn't forgive quite as thoroughly or quickly as Alisa would have preferred. Then there was the whole having to harness him again for lessons, which Zo Rienna, the head dragon tutor, insisted could not be put off. So Alisa had to deal with a very grumpy, very disruptive dragon tugging at the lead while she tried to shape magic into battle spells. Needless to say, she stuck to the back of the class and tried to keep her failure to herself.

Then there was the question of how to slip Zen out, and how to escape for herself. She knew that they'd have a hard life ahead if they got away from the city, as they were technically visiting from another country. Allied, but still foreigners. They wouldn't have many of the default protections that would be available to everyone else. Finding jobs could be hard. Finding secrecy more so.

The city itself was vast enough, she supposed they might be able to disappear into its less well known streets, but something warned her not to be so rash. There were worse places to end up than a posh school for dragon mages.

That more than anything gave her pause. A girl on her own, she'd be vulnerable to any number of nefarious wrongdoers wishing her ill. It would be a huge boon to have Zen to protect her, but it would also make her memorable. An urchin wasn't remarkable; an urchin with a dragon as uncommon as Zen would be unforgettable.

So better to avoid any situation that risked revealing her dragon. She could use magic to protect herself well enough, since dragon-tainted spells were so much more powerful than normal ones. If anyone tried to do anything she could slam them with an earth bolt before they'd have time to finish their own spells.

Of course, she'd always be vulnerable to ambush, unless she started making herself some enchanted equipment. And enchanting was a whole different thing than delayed spellcasting. If she wanted to inscribe proper enchantments, she'd need a better stylus. The school-issued quartz-tipped ones worked well enough for everyday use, but enchanting required at least topaz, if not ruby. Real professionals used diamond, but there was little enough to go around that such styluses were generally heirlooms handed down from master to apprentice with the utmost care and ceremony.

She suddenly realized that if she left the academy, she'd technically no longer own a stylus at all. Hers was school property. She could take it with her, but she wasn't sure if they had tracing built into them. If so, it could lead them right to her wherever she tried to flee. So she'd have to make anything she needed before she left or risk betraying herself with a careless spell.

Hand casting was always a possibility too. She might be able to trace an enchantment circle by hand. The precision would be low and there would be no power compression to speak of, but it was technically possible.

But all of that meant nothing if she couldn't get out of the academy in the first place. So long as she remained trapped in the ever-expanding campus, there would be no point in planning for what came next.

"I wish you were big enough to carry me," Alisa said longingly. Though fewer than half of bonded Aelaniri ever reached sizes sufficient to act as riding dragons, it wasn't entirely outside the realm of possibility. Especially if she remained relatively small and lightweight, there was a chance she could ride Azendandor once he reached adulthood.

Zen ignored her, as he'd been doing more and more in the days since their fight. He may have consented to be her partner for good, but he also was young and petty and had been deeply hurt by what she'd said.

She didn't blame him for holding a grudge. She knew she should never have said such things aloud, should have kept them bottled away forever. It would be fine. She would prove herself to him. They would escape together.

"Lissa got her little leashling," sang out Josephiin, one of Francine's supporters, with a mocking giggle. "Wonder if it bites." She pretended to flinch back when Zen looked her direction.

Alisa breathed slowly and tightened her fist on Zen's leash, trying to keep her temper in check. Direct confrontation in front of Lane Ryvas would be unwise. The battle magic instructor wasn’t watching them, per se, but he was near enough that Francine could get him involved in a hurry if Alisa rose to their taunting. No matter how much she wanted to punch the brat in her perfect grinning mouth.

"Jo, nice to see you today," Sadie interjected with false brightness. "How's your dragon doing?"

Josephiin's smirk dropped instantly. "He's doing fine," she said defiantly, then tossed her head and turned to walk away.

"Then why isn't he with you?" Sadie called after her. "Everyone else has theirs. Even Alisa's is here. What's wrong with yours?"

Alisa looked around, and saw that Sadie was right. She hadn't noticed, being preoccupied with keeping Zen under control, but ... yes, looked like everyone had a dragon now. No more holdout eggs. Except Josephiin ... or, no. She didn't have an egg with her.

"What is up with Josephiin's dragon?" Alisa asked Sadie, once the other girls were out of earshot.

"He's sick, or something." Sadie shrugged. "Special care. He hasn't been in class for over a week now."

"Huh. I'm glad Zen is fine." Alisa picked up the dragon in question, though he quickly climbed over her hands and jumped back down. She let him go. Even the brief contact was enough to reassure herself.

"When you bring this many eggs from so many places together, it's unsurprising some things would go wrong. I'm more surprised only one is out sick. Quetzlens don't tend to do well in drier climates anyway, and I think something went wrong when Josephiin bonded him. He always acted a bit ... off."

"Really?" Sadie hadn't mentioned this before. But, then again, Alisa had stopped paying attention to classroom gossip months ago. "You'd think she'd have more important things to do than mock Zen."

"You'd think." Sadie shrugged. "You know how Francine has been. Ranking everyone by dragon as if that matters. If her dragon pulls through, a Quetzlen will keep her in the elite group by default."

Mirva snorted her own derision. Now about the size of a medium house-cat, albeit a very thick-limbed one, she lay sprawled across Sadie's shoulders listening to everything. Occasionally she relayed it to Azendandor, with her growling hissing chirping voice, since unbonded dragons had a harder time understanding human languages.

Alisa knelt down to run a hand along Zen's shiny side. She thought she almost felt him vibrate with eagerness, but she was probably projecting. She knew he was eager to be fully bonded, so he could be like everyone else around him, but he was so small.

One day. Soon enough. Though she still wanted to escape without performing the ritual tying them together. He thought he wanted to stay with her forever, but she was the only person he'd known for almost all of his short tiny life. If they did this, she wanted his informed consent. Not just consent by default.

"Let's go meet the neighbors," she said, and stood. Zen's tiny spines stood up as they approached a group of boys with their matching dragons standing within the circle formed by their bodies. For all the world, it looked like both boys and dragons were standing around gossiping. Alisa didn't try to intrude on their conversation, but shoved Zen toward the dragons so he could get acquainted.

The five dragons, all varying shades of red and orange, were standard Blaze types. Larger than Sadie's Browning, none of these were small enough to be carried conveniently, and barely small enough to be carried even with great difficulty. They were thinner-limbed, more delicate in feature, with a longer lithe and less upright frame. Roughly halfway between the insanely sinuous Azendandor and the very blocky Mirva, Alisa would say. Maybe leaning a bit more towards Zen in general posture, though substantially wider and less elongated. They had longer legs than Zen's short stubby ones, but they were more lizardlike and oriented to the sides instead of the more doglike shape of Mirva's limbs. The Blazes all had a row of protruding plates down the spine, thicker and larger than Zen's triple row of little horns.

Very pretty, with their brilliant scales, and a lot closer to the default 'dragon' Alisa would have imagined prior to seeing the vast variety here.

Zen did not like them. Not at all. He hissed and flared his wings, bunching up his middle in the way he always did when scared or intimidated, ready to push off like a spring into a rapid charge away from the danger.

The other dragons noticed the intruder quickly, and did not take kindly to the smaller serpentine dragon's intrusion. They began to growl, lining up into a very intimidating row as they advanced on the target of their ire. Alisa immediately picked Zen up and hurried off, ignoring Vikram's voice calling after her.

She really should have done this sooner. The dragons all seemed to have formed into their own little groups. In fact, she saw with a bit of shock that the class seemed to have completely reorganized itself based on the dragons' preferences. Vikram would never have tolerated Zack before, but now they stood next to each other with every impression of obvious camaraderie, for no other reason than that their dragons were the same.

Huh. Imagine that. Maybe there was some point to Francine's campaign against Alisa after all. If she kept not joining any group, Zen would end up being shunned and lonely.

That reminded her of the twins. They'd approached her early on, but she'd been too distraught at the time to give their offer serious consideration. Now, though, she thought it might be time to track them down. What were their names? Mmmmm… Ria? No. Reen and Lia. Yes.

Alisa wasn't forbidden from interacting with older students, there was no rule against it. But they did tend to take being interrupted by the newcomers… poorly. The newer students all learned very quickly not to interfere with the affairs of more advanced mages who had more spells at their disposal (and fewer scruples about using them.)

But in this case, she thought it might be safe enough to risk their wrath.

She set off for the classroom she assumed they currently occupied, only to discover that her guess about their schedule was hopelessly out of date.

It wasn't second year students in the room, but thirds. And the door slammed shut almost the moment she peeked in, hitting Zen's nose sharply enough to send him flying back with a pained whimper. Alisa cradled him in her arms and glowered at the closed door, wishing ill on all who dwelt beyond.

"Are you alright?" she asked, as Zen hissed and tucked his head under his wing. She glanced at the folded membrane, the temptation to initiate the bond coming stronger now that she didn't have Sadie and Mirva to act as interpreters.

Why was she hesitating, again? Wasn't it just pride at this point? Not wanting to leave a visible mark on him, but did that really matter?

It might. None of the other dragons bore any physical sign of their mages. If they already ostracized him for being born late and not joining their groups immediately, a physical defect setting him apart might be the final straw.

"Do you need a salve or something?" she asked, worrying over his bruised snout as he continued to whine in pain. Then she narrowed her eyes. "Are you ... exaggerating to get my pity? You've run into things harder than this on your own."

He gave her a derisive growl, and she shook her head. "You little sneak."

She stopped trying to comfort him and draped him unceremoniously over her shoulder. "I need to find the twins. Lia said she had an Aelanir too, so maybe she knows the proper place in draconic hierarchal structure for you."

Zen lifted his head when she started speaking, then remembered that he was shunning her and looked away disinterestedly. But the way he tilted his head, she knew he was only pretending not to listen.

"You're too clever for your own good, you know that, right?"

He didn't deign to respond beyond a huff of air from his nostrils, which left a heat shimmer in the air.

"Yikes. Don't do that in my direction or you might roast me without trying."

Azendandor turned his head long enough to stare imperiously down his snout at her.

"Yes, I know, you'd never roast anything accidentally. You're very purposeful in your roasting, no doubt."

She reached another occupied classroom and hesitated before opening the door. "Wait there and don't try to go poking in," she admonished, as Zen looked ready to launch himself off her shoulder and into the classroom the moment the door opened.

On second thought, she took a firm hold on the leash close to his neck to hold him back, then pushed the door open. A handful of unfamiliar students turned to face her, while the teacher frowned at her. "Yes?"

"I'm looking for Reen and Lia."

"Room seventeen," answered a slim boy who she vaguely remembered being named Kevan. "Upstairs."

"I know where that is. Thanks." She backed out quickly before Zen could escape or the door could be slammed in her face. She hurried up the stairs two at a time, rounded the corner, and came out into the second floor of the lecture hall. More classrooms lined the sides of the hall and she found seventeen without incident.

"Should we go in, or wait for them to come out?" she mused aloud. "That is the true conundrum."

Zen ran down her arm, jumped off, and started scratching at the door with unusual vehemence even for him.

"Okay, okay, I see where your vote lies," she said, laughing. "In we go."

She pushed open the door and Zen immediately surged forward, almost knocking her off balance with his unexpected lunge. She recovered and held the lead tight, as the entire room turned to stare at her.

"Um, Lia?" she asked, and the older girl jumped up at once.

"I'll take care of it," she said. Her dragon lay coiled around her neck, scales pearlescent white that glimmered with rainbow colour in the light. Zen immediately clambered his way up Alisa's body until he perched on her shoulder, leaning out to stare at the other dragon with rapt unblinking eyes.

"Can I introduce Nerisavisen," Lia said, and her dragon straightened to perform a deep elegant bow of greeting. "He also answers to Riss."

"And this is Azendandor, who goes by Zen." Alisa held out her arm, and Zen scampered down it to stare at Riss. The other dragon feigned disinterest, but tilted his head in a familiar curious motion that Alisa recognized at once. She laughed softly as Zen mimicked it, and for a long moment the two dragons stared haughtily in opposite directions, before slowly turning to peek at each other again.

Lia smiled. “Come on, let’s collect Reen and Raxi.”

“Raxi?”

“Itharaximi. She’s the third in our little thunder.”

Zen and Riss continued to hesitantly get acquainted while their mages walked down the hall. Riss seemed perplexed and dismissive of Zen’s harness, while Zen nosed at the sigil seared into Riss’s wing with a look of superiority.

“Is it standard to use wings for bonding?” Alisa asked.

“For Aelaniri? Yes, always. They tend to be headstrong enough even with the bond, if you let them get too far developed before taking the reins, they can be impossible to work with.”

Alisa nodded, but didn’t feel entirely right about the suggestion. “Just how much control does the bond give you over your dragon?”

“It varies for everyone,” Lia said, glancing at Alisa. “Have you not been paying attention in class?”

Alisa shrugged.

Lia sighed, but summarized it for her anyway. “A mage bond is a direct link between the mind and spirit of the individuals involved.”

“I know that, that’s the same whether it’s a human or a dragon. But normal mage bonds would never be said to give you control over your partner.”

“Because battlemage bonds are reciprocal. You both bond each other. The spell echoes back and forth between you, the control is nullified by your cooperation. Dragons don’t bond mages; mages bond dragons.”

That immediately raised some very serious concerns in Alisa’s mind. “Does that mean it’s possible to control another person with a uni-directional bond?”

“Of course it is. Did you think the oaths you swore upon acceptance into the academy were frivolous? This kind of knowledge is heavily restricted.”

Alisa had to pause to think back. Yes, she had promised something along the lines of ‘I agree not to use my power to subvert the will of another,’ but she’d been thinking of it more like that she’d promise not to strong-arm anyone or threaten them with her spell repertoire. She shivered at the thought of taking direct control of another person - or someone else doing it to her.

“Relax, it’s practically unheard-of.”

“Practically? Not reassuring.” Especially when the entire government had just been overthrown in less than two weeks. Especially when the most prestigious academy in four countries had been forcibly converted into a dragon mage training facility. That was already two too many unheard-of things.

“I always forget you’ve only been here a few months.” Lia sighed. “The bond is very easy to disrupt before it’s complete. Unless you’re drugged out of your mind, you can almost always prevent it from being formed if you choose to resist it.”

“Can dragons do that too?”

“Yes. Another reason it’s important to bond them immediately. But here we are.” She tapped on the classroom door before opening it, then beckoned to her brother to come join them. Reen emerged with a midnight-black dragon coiled four or five times around his forearm, looking like an ornate obsidian armor piece more than a living creature.

He nodded in greeting. “Nice to see you again, Sadie.”

“I’m Alisa. Sadie is my friend.”

“Oh, sorry. I’m so bad with names. I’m still Reen, in case you’ve forgotten.”

“I hadn’t.” Alisa smiled. Reen was … kinda cute. “Thanks.”

“Feeling better about your dragon now?” he asked.

“Oh, yes. I’m surprised you remembered.”

He laughed. “I’m bad with names, not events. It’s hard to forget someone as deeply passionate as you.”

Alisa felt herself blushing and tried desperately to put the conversation on a less awkward track. “Um, yes. Dragons. This is Zen. I love him and want him to be happy.”

“Zen, meet Itharaximi.” He held out his arm, and the black coil lifted her head to stare at the dark-silver newcomer. Her head was longer and narrower than Zen’s, her body a bit thicker, and she had pale green eyes that seemed larger and more piercing than Zen’s. “Raxi, this is Zen.”

Zen and Riss left off their mutual awkward introductions, and both turned to look at Raxi. Riss immediately jumped over, flaring his wings to make the hop from Lia’s arm to Reen’s, and coiled himself over the half-asleep armband dragon. Raxi hissed and flicked her tongue at him, before loosening her coils so they draped together perfectly, alternating lines of midnight black and pearly white.

Zen grumbled something and huffed air through his nose, but reached out to examine Raxi more closely. Riss watched him very closely, golden eyes unblinking.

Alisa thought the message was very clear.

Zen seemed to disagree. He continued trying to show up Riss as the three dragons investigated each other quite thoroughly.

“So, now we’re all introduced,” Alisa said. “What next? Should I go ahead and bond him? I didn’t want him to feel like an outsider, but if all the Aelaniri have wing bonds…”

“You should have done so weeks ago,” Lia said briskly. “It’s a ridiculous thing to be hesitating and worrying over. Just do it and move on with things. If he gets much bigger, there won’t be enough chains in the world to keep him in check. And you do not want a half-feral dragon tied to you.”

Alisa felt certain Zen would object to being called anything but proper and well-behaved, but he was fully distracted. Despite Riss’s attempts to convey his prior claim on Raxi’s affection, Zen insisted on trying to show off that he was bigger and stronger than Riss. Which was true by only the barest of margins. Raxi made it perfectly clear that she considered Zen beneath her notice, while surreptitiously watching him attentively.

Needless to say, he wasn’t paying any attention to what the humans were talking about.

“It just doesn’t feel right,” Alisa confessed quietly. “We just had a big argument the other day, and I don’t want him to feel like I’m forcing him into it.”

“You realize that spell had flown the moment you marked his egg, right? There’s no backing out now. Either you take control before it’s too late, or you’ll be stuck trying to wrangle a belligerent adolescent dragon and you will hate your life.”

Alisa tried to imagine Zen as a teen, failed to do so, and shrugged. “Doesn’t he deserve to get some choice in the matter?”

“Ask Riss to check,” Reen said unexpectedly. “Raxi is … distracted.”

The black dragoness was indeed distracted, if by that he meant sound asleep. Riss lay coiled up around and beneath her, looking at Zen with what could only be described as smugness. But the pearl-white dragon stopped his puffed-up display when Lia looked at him intently. He and Zen conversed in grumbling tones for some time, with Lia occasionally asking Alisa to repeat some of her reasoning before translating it, then Zen jumped down to the ground and began weaving in his figure-8 as he considered the options.

Then he stopped and raised his head, staring up at the entwined dragons draped over Reen’s arm. He stretched his neck even higher, chin raised defiantly, then hissed his reply.

“He says not yet,” Lia translated with a faint frown. “He accepts your concern for his beauty and will be patient, unlike others.”

“Ah, is that how it is?” Alisa picked Azendandor up, smiling at him. “You don’t need to make decisions out of spite, you know.”

”Kkkkk”

“He’s certain of his choice,” Lia said. “I’m not. I think letting him decide is a mistake. You don’t ask a child to decide his own bedtime until he’s old enough to understand the implications and responsibility of it.”

“Dragons are a lot smarter than children,” Reen said. “Their innate magical nature is significantly stronger than ours.”

"Not to the extent that they can be trusted to fully dictate their own lives, they're not," Lia retorted. "Look. I know you love your dragon, but you can't just leave these things up to them."

Alisa shrugged. "My dragon, my decision."

"That's true. You'll live and die by your own choices." Lia shook her head. "Just don't take too long. I know you're going to be around, and I wouldn't want a rebellious dragon around having too much of an impact on ours."

"I'll be careful. Zen is good. Most of the time. Some of the time." Alisa grimaced. "Maybe not as much as it could be desired, but still. He's not a bad dragon."

"Just don't let him run all over you. This sets a bad precedent for everyone if you do."