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Rime walked between Ter and Dierdre, her hand on Spire's head as they neared the location of the shop in the dream world.

"Do you think there will be anyone else there?" Spire asked, turning suddenly and almost bumping her nose into Rime's torso.

Rime shook her head and sidestepped Spire's excited movements. "I really couldn't say. There may have been those who saw the sign before me..."

"I just hope she's doing better..." Ter murmured, and Dierdre nodded her head. Spire, not having been around for the event, simply tilted her head confusedly. She had been told the story, but it was just a story to her, not something real.

The shop appeared before them, and Spire moved ahead in a burst of speed, reaching the shop before the rest and looking around for someone to greet.

Spire leapt over to the new arrivals, stopping suddenly and standing still, though she quivered with excitement.

"Oh, oh! I've never seen you before! I'm Spire, and that's Rime, and that's Teroise and Kimi, and that's Dierdre!" she said, giving breathless introductions to the three who had just arrived.

Rime smiled and waved to Lessa, greeting her warmly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Have you seen anyone else arriving?" she asked, while Teroise settled down with Kimi clinging to his legs, and Dierdre turned her sightless face around, trying to sense if there was anyone else she knew here, and for one in particular.

Spire gave a surprised 'o' at the appearance of another playful dracling, and she giggled.

"Of course I wanna play!" she said, and bounded off, a sudden flurry of motion. But she didn't go far, spinning suddenly into a still, playful crouch, waiting for Transvaal to give chase or pounce or otherwise do something fun.

Rime nodded. "Well, they'll be along eventually, I expect," she said congenially. "I don't know if anyone would be in the shop... Blue used to be here, or R... well, when Blue wasn't here, Kapu Ahi or others would take care of the shop. Might as well knock and see if Kapu is in, or if she's making mischeif elsewhere," she continued, and suited actions to words, heading to the cottage door.

The windows were clean, as though they'd been taken care of, but they were dark. It was hard to see past the glare of the light on the glass to check if anyone was inside. So, Rime raised her hand and with a final look at Lessa, knocked solidly on the door a few times.

"If anyone is in, the must have heard that..." she murmured.

Teroise nodded his head at Rakiba and Agatha, and Dierdre, hearing the steps, turned her head, facing in their general direction.

"Hello," she said, sounding shy. "Have we met before?" she asked, sounding uncertain.

Spire chortled in glee, happy to finally find someone who would race with her.

"I'm gonna getcha!" she shouted, and rounded the corner, only to catch her foot on something and go tumbling head over tail for a bit. She lay sprawled for a moment, shaking her head dizzily, and the giggled and rolled over onto her stomach.

"Oops," she said sheepishly and looked around for Transvaal.


Rime stepped back from the door of the house, not wanting to crowd the entrance, and thought. "Several years now, I think. I was one of Blue's first customers," she said, and looked over at her constant companions, though Spire was out of sight. Teroise and Dierdre looked to be having an interesting conversation with Lessa's pair.

"I actually have a few bonded dragons who aren't here... they either have abilities that don't lend themselves to social situations or they're just not very social to begin with. Thorne and Csilla should be around somewhere, though..." she said, and glanced about, puzzled.

"It does take some getting used to, I will agree with you there," she said, finally, shrugging. They'd either show up or they wouldn't. "It wasn't until several trips that I really got used to how changable this place is. The cottage is one of the only stable places in Almahat," Rime said, smiling.

Teroise frowned lightly at Rakiba, but didn't interfere. It wasn't his place to say who should flirt with Dierdre, but he thought of her as a little sister and he had any older brother's protective nature.

Dierdre herself ducked her head shyly, long hair veiling her face. "You're just saying that," she murmured, though she was secretly pleased. No one had ever complimented her like that before.

Teroise huffed a sigh, and edged away, closer to Agatha. He felt like an intruder, suddenly.

"So, I wonder if we'll be the only ones here?" he wondered aloud, more to have something to say than anything else. Of course, there were some dragons he hoped would show up. He hadn't seen Djin in a while.

Kimi chose this moment to burst into the conversation, and left her hiding space behind Teroise's ankle to creep out and greet Agatha in the typical cheerful chibi babble. Her dress matched Ter's scales, and even if you couldn't really understand what she was saying, the emotion carried through strongly. Right now she was cheerful and enthusiastic as she chattered to Agatha.

(( As dragons come from Almahat, and theoretically already exist before you call them, they do know all about the dream world and how it works.

Most likely, they also had a life before you called them, but since most consider bonding with a dreamer as the start of their real life, they probably wouldn't talk about the pre-life much.

If you've read 'Heralds of Valdemar', they're a bit like Companions. Guides, the other half of your soul, friends, what have you. But they are separate creatures with their own minds and personalities. They can have their own ideas, disagree with you, all that. But, most don't since they usually come with a personality that doesn't clash with yours.

As a reminder!

Almahat is a fluid place for us humans. Just like a dream, it shifts and changes depending on our moods, thoughts, wants, etc. Things may appear and disappear, flicker back and forth, change its shape and color and things like that. The longer a human stays in Almahat, the better they are at controling their surroundings, even their own clothing and to a point appearance. Appearance doesn't change too much though, since your dream-self will reflect who you truly are. On the flip side, you may look a little different than your waking self for that reason too. A person in a wheelchair, for example, walking around in Almahat.

Dragons, however, and all creatures born in Almahat, are a part of it, so they can't change their surroundings. They can also, in theory, be affected by what the dream changes the world to be. Hurt by flying stones, warmed by a fire, things like that. Someone with a mermaid could, with practice, create a floating bubble of water so the mer could travel comfortably with them.

The general landscape reflects the landscape of the real world, but only things that are semi-permanent at least. Things like that make a mark on the real world, and that mark translate into the dream world. Things like a doll left in the road for a day, wouldn't make that sort of mark, unless it was there for years. Things that once existed for many years, then crumbled and disappeared, would still be in Almahat if they made enough of a mark in the real world, since things in Almahat don't decay and crumble.

Travel in Almahat is also much like in dreams... think of a place and you're suddenly there, subconsciously dragging things with you that you're attached to, like your dragon. ))

Spire took a moment to slow down and try to find Transvaal, not knowing that the other dracling was quickly approaching from behind. Finally, she stopped entirely, and pouted. Where in the world had she gone? Well, she must be somewhere up ahead, the purple dracling decided, and started trotting ahead again.

Dierdre didn't realize how close Rakiba was getting, though she heard him moving, and didn't have much concept of personal space anyway, having been a clingy dracling. She preened a little unconsciously, curving her neck in a manner that could be thought of as flirtatious, if one had such a mindset.

"You're very nice," Dierdre said, a little sad that she couldn't say whether or not he was handsome. Lack of sight was a shortfall.

Kimi wandered over to Agatha, and patted her on the leg, gently, still babbling unintelligibly in chibi language, but seeming cheerful enough about it.

Teroise, meanwhile, had bunched himself up in the shoulders, trying not to get up and tell Rakiba to sit down further away from Dierdre. It wasn't his business. Maybe if he kept telling himself that...

Rime smiled as they walked the short distance to the dry patch. "More than a few, actually. Thorne and Csilla are flowers, namely a rose and a lily. They're both rather sweet, but shy. The ones that probably won't get into the thick of things are Euryale and Pheobe, a Gorgon and a Harpy, respectively. I'm sure you can understand why they don't like crowds," she said, and rolled her eyes.

It was then that Blue came out, and the attention of everyone on the lawn was drawn to her, or to the decorations and tables that were suddenly there.

"Blue!" Rime said with warmth in her voice, stopping just as she was going to sit down on the grass, and reversing her course. Of course she noticed that Blue looked different... but she wasn't going to say anything. It was against her nature to mention something like that until it was brought up by someone else.

"It's so good to see you again," Rime said, looking for signs of grief or healing on the halfling's face. She looked over at Lessa, and then made a gesture that welcomed her to come forward with Rime, in case she was hesitant.

At first it seemed to be a smudge on the shifting horizon of Almahat, but with that peculiar suddenness dreams have two figures appeared, walking up towards the shop. The smaller one was dressed in black, but a head full of bright green hair stuck out like a beacon. The larger, and clearly inhuman of the two was black, for the most part, with a large pale skull for a head and a big black scythe in one hand.

Mouse smiled to see people and dragons outside the shop once, both known and not. She'd been avoiding this part of Almahat because she couldn't stand to watch Blue's shop fall into disrepair, but now things were going back to the way they had been.

"Yo," she greeted Blue, Rime and the unknown woman with a short wave, but the brusque word was tempered by a big smile that even lit her jade eyes.

Morbus had been talking to his dreamer as they walked, telling her this and that about his new form and his power over shadows, but he fell silent as they came near. There was, yes, that was Blue, and that Rimel, and he recognized Teroise, Kimi...and Dierdre.

She'd grown, adult and beautiful and he was suddenly less than confident in this two-legged body as he approached her long and sinuous one. He wanted to talk to her, but there was a dracling already there, one he had never seen before and which was occupying her in the way children tended to.

Uncertain and nervous, he stood off to the side, watching.