Name: Boippi

Gender: Male

Age/DOB: 16 at search

Origin/Species: human, Alskyr / Paniya / House Chagga

Family: Mother, Father, 2 sisters, 1 brother all remaining at Chagga

Other: possibly finding partners?

Height: 6'2" / Weight: too little for his height

Hair: caramel tan, straight, usually in a pony tail

Eyes: coffee brown, high and keen

Appearance: tan skin, prefers loose fitting clothing; 'large teeth', handsome

Genetic Abilities: ? possibly strong empathy for dragon bonding

Enhancements or Augmentations: none

Image Credits: Josie's Dolls

That's right, poor Boippi is a vegetarian, and a vocal one at that. But in his sixteen years in Chagga's House buildings he has never wanted to touch the stuff. It's "icky".

Boippi's mother, father, two sisters and one brother are a close family - however he's the only one with this "affliction" (as their mother would have it) and also the only one smart enough to have been selected to attend Guild-level classes for mapmaking.

Boippi wants nothing more than to stay in the Guild hall, it's a fantastic place of tall walls and huge libraries...

He spends most of his time buried in the books and scrolls there, but every so often he looks up at the sight of a dragon's shadow.

Boippi crumpled the paper on his desk, when the shriek of someone outside broke the silence of the Guild.

"Dragons! Dragons!" It was a child, too young to remember to be quiet around the libraries. But that wasn't much of an excuse, and it was really annoying to Boippi. He'd almost finished the map, from memory, but it had a ways to go and then - shrieek! And that last line was just completely destroyed. In pen, naturally.

He sighed, gritted his large teeth, and settled back down in his seat. There were others who had also jumped when the boy yelled, and one even bolted out of the room to see the dragons.

It was a momentous occasion, but it was also study hour and Boippi would be tested on this map. Now he had to start over. That little brat. If Boippi had been just a bit bigger, more muscular, he might be of the bent to beat the little brat senseless. Fortunately for everyone, Boippi was pretty skinny. And everyone knew that he didn't eat enough to hurt a fly.

The handsome tan-haired boy was about to start on his new map, when someone else entered the big echoey library room.

"They're searching, you need to come out here. They're beautiful!" The girl whispered, at least. Good for her.

The others stood, and Boippi grudgingly did so as well. He threw away the paper into the pulp-collector by the library door - if he wasn't going to use the paper, it'd be used again after mashing up with the rest of the practice pages. The Guild was very efficient that way, and he thought it was very smart.

The skinny lad tucked his hair behind his shoulder, as it kept waving about his face from its tail. There were already so many people waiting to look at the dragons, he wondered why he bothered at all. Well, they were searching.

And? Boippi did want to ride, that would make his mapmaking so much easier. However, he'd heard of how hard the work was involving the dragons, their tack and care, all those things that dragon riders must do. Was it worth it?

He glanced up at the handsome rider on the coppery-bronze shaded dragon in the courtyard, and knew it would be.

The dragons were sharp, long, and had interesting frills on their necks. He learned that they were from Wild River Caer, that sounded thrilling!

Boippi stood a little impatiently with the other younger students at the Guild, in a long line while the dragons took their time examining each one of them. Of course, Boippi had come later, and was therefore toward the end of the line. That left a long wait.

He could only think of how big and strong that dragon looked, the way the muscles rippled showing off the sheer bulk of it all... That was the only way to interrupt thoughts of how long it was taking that beautiful dragon to work his way down the line to him.

Having the map due now was just an annoyance. Perhaps he could be searched and then be able to send in his work from where this Wild River caer was? He didn't own a caerlizard, or a gryph, so that might be difficult. Would he have the time to do both?

When he looked up and focused back on the dragon, the rider and bronze stood looking at him intensely. Boippi straightened, embarrassed that he'd not been paying attention and was instead just dreaming about the future. That wasn't like him at all.

"You are how old?" Asked the rider, the same as he'd done for all the others.

Boippi responded with a curt "Sixteen, sir."

"And you're a cartographer I see?"

Boippi furrowed his brows, and tilted his head, "... yes? How did you-"

"Your tools, I recognize them," the bronze rider said, flipping at the gathered tools which Boippi hadn't removed, from his vest pockets. "Dragons and mapmakers are a good pair..." He turned to his dragon and they apparently conferred. Then, the dragon leaned his great head back.

"You will come with us to Wild River. There are clutches needing you there." The bronze spoke aloud - only to him! Only to Boippi! The sudden excitement of this all was just - it wasn't overwhelming, it wasn't going to make him faint--

Boippi caught himself grinning like a moron, and being congratulated by some of the other students. More of them glared at him and scoffed that he'd never make a good rider. Boippi located the bronze rider and tugged at his jacket sleeve.

"Sir, if I may prepare? I don't know what to do first?"

The rider instructed him as to what he might need, and then suggested he point the man in the direction of the administrator, so he could negotiate his (at least temporary) release from the Guild's contract.

Boippi went to his room to gather everything he had. His clothing fit into only one smallish box, and his cartography papers and tools, as well as his books, fit into another slightly larger one. Soon in the afternoon, they were ready to fly.

***

The sun glinted off the sea in the center of Veritas Isle. A beautiful place, half a world away from Paniya and everything that Boippi knew. He was thrilled, fluttery, and in one small moment even humbled. That took some work, given how apt Boippi was to over-state his worth.

When the dragon dipped into a landing circle, it was over a peaked hill that led into a huge waterway.

"Well, here's the cove," announced the rider.

Boippi paused, looking hard at the ... sea dragons, which were moving about in the water. Their wings were long and solid, not fanned out like a flying dragon's would. Something inside Boippi dropped as if he had fallen from the dragon.

"Sir... Sir?" He asked, holding on to his travel sack and trying to kick at his clothing box on the ground, "sir, I'm not sure this is right..."

The rider turned, and tilted his head. "We've got several eggs on the dunes here at the cove."

"But sir, they're ... they're water dragons. How am I meant to... How could I fly with one of those, to get maps?"

The rider lifted his eyebrow, and sensed something from his dragon. They conferred again. "Well... this is the place that my dragon insisted we take you. I can't properly drop you off anywhere else. You aren't afraid of the sea are you son?"

That gave Boippi pause. "No, sir I'm not... I don't think I am, I mean, Chagga's right on the tide line on the coast of Paniya, and I grew up there. My family even has land on the bay. No, I'm not afraid of the sea..."

He dragged his brown-coffee colored eyes to the dragons themselves, and the rider took in a breath. He walked toward Boippi quietly.

"Son, the sea dragons are fierce and prideful - I daresay that if one of them accepts you as a bond, you'll find a way to make your maps. In fact, they might be of greater use than you think. And this, too, you won't have to be out there fighting Ants or Rampage, you're aware of that, aren't you?"

"... Yes, sir," Boippi said, still with a lump in his throat. "I ... guess they do kind of intimidate me. They're quite large."

Larger than the bronze, perhaps. Boippi didn't know how to react to any of this. He shrank from the eyes of the big lavender-purple dragoness who rose from the waters edge. She came out onto the beach, and Boippi carefully held the box of his paperwork above the water that sloshed out.

"Oh, I don't know if this will work..." He groaned. The way the dragoness looked at him was like... The way he'd seen some of those brutes at the Guild hall eye their steak dinner! It was just like that!

Spooked, he asked for some help with his boxes, so that he'd be able to bring them all at once, and then scampered into the Cove's buildings.

***

"But sir, I just don't think it's going to work..." Boippi said to the CoveLord. The man licked his lips and gazed at the worried looking boy.

"Boippi, you're going to have a chance to bond to one of the more unique dragons on the world. Only recently have the sea dragons even shown themselves to humanity, and we've been here so many years. It isn't like they want to eat you. Is that what you're afraid of?"

Boippi gulped, and found himself nodding before he could stop it.

"Don't worry about it. They eat fish - not people. I think you should give them a chance, and if you don't bond, we'll see about trying to fly you to Wild River Caer instead. How's that?"

Before Boippi could ask that that be done for him instead, the Cove Lord held his hand up and repeated, "please give them a chance."

Grudgingly, Boippi agreed and shuffled off to his den. The caerlet in the cove was smaller than his room at the Guild, and ill lit. At least in his opinion, and that counted for everything. Of course, it gave him the chance to grumble about it to anyone who would listen, from servants working the cleaning detail to cooks, to the few cove inhabitants otherwise who would let him gripe at them.

It was worst in the dining hall - they served fish with everything! Every dish had fish-oil this, or fish-meat that, grilled fish, smoked fish, baked fish... He would either have to starve to death - his first instinct, or he would learn to eat it.

After two days of near-starvation, he found himself eager for a rice and smoked fish dish offered to him by the local mediciner. "It's loaded with the right nutrients to keep you healthy, boy. Don't ignore it. You'll get used to the taste soon enough."

"How can I not, it's in the air..." Boippi groaned.

"And if you don't like coffee, Chagga's the same way, boy," the man reminded him with a wink. Perhaps he would have to give it all a bit more credibility than he had before. Or maybe that was just the hunger talking.

What happens when they have settled at the Cove?

***

There was only one other bonder, and several adult sea dragons at the cove when Boippi arrived. The other was a similarly befuddled young man named Zavier. They barely had time to greet one another when the dam of the long oddly shaped eggs began to croon a beautiful dragon song.

Boippi had never heard anything so wonderful in his life, but it still unnerved him to be standing near the long snakey creatures.

One egg opened, and a long blue dragon came out, not bothering to glance at the boys. Then another broke his egg. An aqua shaded one, which beckoned to Zavier and they bonded in the waist-deep water.

Then, an indigo hatched, leaving for the adults in the pod beyond the cove.

Boippi's heart sunk, even though he hadn't really ever intended to stand at a cove. But there was one egg left, and it hatched into a red sea dragon! Weren't reds rather rare for the ocean dwellers? How Boippi suddenly chided himself for not knowing!

The dragon looked over the shoreline, and cast his gaze at Boippi.

"Well? When are we going to start?" The dragon said, and Boippi wasn't sure if he was speaking to him or ...

"huh?" He said.

"Start, you know, mapping. I already know this coastline. I can show you what it looks like if you want," and he did just that, beaming a mental image directly into Boippi's mind - the contours of the sea below, as well as what could be seen from shore above water...

Amazed, Boippi felt a sudden jolt of wonder and happiness, "Well, I wondered how we'd do this, and now I know, Quiluss," he said, and waded into the water. His pant legs were soaked, but he was grinning.

"Now all we have to do is find a way for the paper not to get wet..." He sighed, laughing.

The bond was made, he was a sea-dragoner! Even if he'd never intended to set foot on a cove, he'd have to get over the irrational fear he had of the sea or the dragons themselves, soon!

***

"I never thought I'd say this, but isn't this GREAT!?" Boippi shouted, as he swam next to Quiluss in the choppy waters off the cove.

I like this, you are happy now! Did you ever think that there were so many nooks and crannies in the coves below the water?

"I didn't," gasped Boippi after surfacing. "I can't believe how beautiful it can be - even though the salt water stings my eyes..."

You do not have nice eye flaps like I do, the sea dragon laughed, So I will be your eyes if you need them.

"Thanks Quiluss," Boippi said with a grin, "thanks a lot."

Bond

Name: Quiluss
Gender: Male
Size/Shoulder/Length: medium-large, 48' long
Colors: Red, very deep along hind body and back, bright on face and foreflippers; belly and dorsal fin bright red to pinkish white
Breed: Alskyran Sea dragon, Riptide variety
Features: (do they change as they grow, what happened to the head things?)
Powers: Water based living, unknown other abilities
Parentage: see below
Origin: Veritas Island / Riptide Cove (apparently different names including Verita island)
Art By: Mystic
Other Info: