By his side, she almost feels secure. By his side, she almost feels like she belongs somewhere, to someone. Like she might mean something more than an acquaintance to someone, like she might actually have a friend in someone who doesn't share her own blood. All these years I've lived, there's so much I haven't done or seen or people I haven't met.. It was a sad thought, it echoed through the numb confines of her mind, only to be replied to by one of the spirits who lingered with Volterra's dragons. It is not the amount of things you do, but rather the way you conduct yourself as you progress, the blue wanted to expand, but he was a wild dragon in his past life, and unfamiliar with communicating through a mind-link like that a bond would create - Amaris appreciated his sentiments though, and tried to agree with them in heart as she expressed her thanks to the dragon. The blue class was made for agility and speed, they were not usually the bulkiest of dragons, but were instead rather slim and sinewy - this spirit used his ethereal body in the most creative of ways, for he did not need to duck and weave between trees or branches, he could go straight through them (and the golden queen, for that matter). Amaris could not help but feed off the dragon's fun, excitable emotions and let them fill up her void, her numb and empty chasm of a mind that was left in the wake of her mother's death.

I keep doing that, he murmurs, his rich tones deeper, masculine, reminiscent of even her father's voice (though his had a different, slightly more draconic timbre to it). The dragonmare enjoys the closeness of him, of brushing, leaning her shoulder against his, which inevitably meant that side of her barrel touched his as well. There was no romance in her touch, no undertones of desire or ulterior motives - Amaris just wanted to be near someone she could trust. And for some reason, she trusted Volterra.

He introduces his gold by name, and Amaris purrs it out with her musical, draconic accents, greeting the golden companion properly. "Vadir," she calls, approving of the name if only because it was a golden dragon who owns it. Amaris knew better than to judge a queen negatively in any way - she was a queen herself, after all.

His next question surprised her somewhat, as she realises that not all who were bonded, especially one who shared his soul with only one other for so long, had the practice and expertise needed to handle multiple personalities all attempting to impress themselves upon the central being. Amaris didn't have Volterra's problem so much as an overwhelming sense of excitement and life from the souls she summoned - what he spoke of was something different, something more permanent - but perhaps something she might be able to help with all the same.

"The souls I summon are usually too enthralled with being back in the living realm to worry too much about whether they like who they've been summoned with. And, most of the dragons I summon are mature, and past such juvenile behaviour. However, arguments do happen.." Her tiara is no longer right beside his as she speaks, her lips quivering in thought as she decides the best way to explain the many ways the bond could be bent between souls. "Somewhere within you, is your soul. And now, it has connections - it is shared, not just by one other, but by two. Understand that the bond can only be broken by death, and even then, should one of the bonded die, they usually carry their bonded into death as well." Or else they go mad trying to exist with half their soul missing, she thought, but did not vocalise the tragic thoughts. Her mother told her of the bond between she and Akaith, and Amaris knew through her own magic the kind of sensation it creates within. Amaris could sever her magic and thus sever the sensation of soul-bonds within herself - she had done so not too long ago, but she longed to forget that time, for it truly was like living with half of herself standing in death's doorway. "Otherwise the bond is nigh unbreakable - but it is pliable. You can hear their thoughts, or at least their basic feelings, yes?" She questioned, and awaited his answering nod.

"Just as they can hear yours, perhaps stronger than you realise. But there is a way to guard yourself from their thoughts and restrict your own within yourself. It takes concentration, and practice, and it involves looking deep into yourself and coming to understand the way one's very soul works." Dragons were powerful beings in that this was largely how they communicated, how they transmitted thoughts and feelings and ideas. "You might have done it already, to an extent. When they go off hunting, and you can feel the physical distance spreading between you, you no longer feel everything they can, but you know your connection, your bond is still there, strong as ever." Her mother had told her as much when Amaris had asked what it feels like when Akaith went hunting alone.

"It truly is up to them to decide whether they love or hate each other. Maybe as they mature they will come to appreciate each other more - or maybe the opposite will become true. But you can bend the bond between them the opposite way as well. Just as you can limit the bond, so too can you enforce your desires upon them in such a way that they believe it to be their own." It was a dangerous bit of information, something she spoke about with distaste curling her maw. "Sometimes such action is required for their own safety, but it is not a practise I would enter into lightly, for it involves completely erasing the dragon's own persona and will, and replacing it with your own, even if only for a moment.." she allowed her words to trail off, as she considered all she had spoken about. She wondered if she had actually answered his question, or if she had just spouted information he already knew.

[ Sorry for the bit of PP with the nod - just wanted to keep the thread moving - let me know if it's not ok! ]

@Volterra

Amaris