Rewrites, rewrites, and more rewrites! I’m taking this story elsewhere, I’ve decided. Here we go! Hee ^_^

With all races looking star wards, few remember what once was, and what was said to have been. Only the Humans, the Elves , the Dwarves, and the Yi-rawh remain with sufficient populations worth mentioning. Not to say that the once plentiful number of races had been whittled down to these four. Others still remained, individuals finding tasks which they seemed uncannily suited for to earn their keep among the dominant four. Those four have managed to survive long enough to gain the knowledge that can help them reach the stars. Each with their own strengths and weaknesses, they had somehow managed to come to regard one another as distant cousins, and their own as brothers and sisters. It was this sense the had helped settle countless conflicts, each species knowing that the loss of one race affected all.

Though all dissimilar in some minor way or another, the Yi-rawh have always been set apart considerably from the others. They shared only some small biological similarities, and vast cultural ones. The one science that the other three races shunned for unanswerable moral questions, the Yi-rawh took up with enthusiasm. As they contributed minor discoveries to the others, so, in turn, did the flow of knowledge return, and with minor interest did they achieve space flight along side those they shared their home with.

The Beginning

He was crouched, all senses focused on searching and sifting through all the information his senses were supplying him, all for one thing: Rra'sah'ten. The slightly damp smell of the forest, the bright green foliage, the noisy animal life and the heat the plants reflected and had stored all couldn't distract him from his goal, he was able to become that single-minded. He exhaled slowly, silently, enjoying the small patches of sunlight that broke through the canopy he was under playing about on his deep bronze scales on his back and wings. He was feeling rather pleased with the progress he had made in being able to track others over the last few weeks. Of course, he thought somewhat disappointedly, and perhaps naively, it would be much better were he hunting something- someone even, that he could actually sink his teeth into, and rend with his claws.

He shifted slightly, becoming aware of the sunbeam creeping up his tail slowly, and the heat he was getting from it. He suppressed a small shiver, already beginning to warm up somewhat, like most cold-blooded animals would. He hated that word, cold-blooded. As if we were the cold-blooded ones, he would fume. Word had reached their community that yet another group of T'rrakrrasen had been completely wiped out, simply because of the fact that they were living on a deposit of precious minerals? Precious, perhaps, to the humans. But the end result was the same, over a hundred of them, dead, and simply because of the human's greed. He snorted quietly, not entirely sure how they were even able to overcome any of them. He was stronger, faster, smarter, and had a talent they lacked, and yet somehow they managed to destroy their communities one by one. He sighed, guessing that perhaps they simply overwhelmed them, and glanced about again. He decided that it was time to move, stealing forwards from underneath the tree he was next to.

* * *

That had been the best hunt in his life. Rra'sah'ten, he knew as only one does after 7 years of close friendship with someone, hated to flee, preferring to stay and fight. This attitude was to his advantage though, since he was an awesome fighter. However that time Rra had put all of his sense to the test, and had even employed some new tricks that he was itching to learn, but not then, since they had had to actually hunt.

* * *

After the practice, and hunt, they had had the pleasure of being able to offer their results to the others back in their caves. It had been quite a catch, and they had been sure to get enough for everyone. That, however, wasn't the hardest part of it: one still had to bring it back; but they both managed with their psi. Despite the drain on them both, they were still in good condition by the time they all started eating.

He sat near the fire he happened to be at, in the main cavern. Glancing about, he thought idly as his gaze wandered throughout the cave, with its vaulted ceiling and crystalline torches spaced out along the walls at chest height. Not that the crystal itself burned, but rather it had been infused with psionic energy, and glowed. The cavern certainly was large, and he could appreciate that fact ever since his hatching, although it seemed that it grew smaller with every year. He knew it wasn’t true, but at least that was how it seemed.

Chewing absently, his mind wandered. The cave always seemed large enough to hold everyone, although for some reason there always seemed to be more around in the tunnels whenever they weren’t in it… perhaps simply another perception. Misperception, he corrected himself. His glittering eyes continued their wandering, and he noticed suddenly Kah’ce’see squatting opposite the fire from him. The flames seemed to dance up in between them, partially obscuring his view of her.

Not enough for him not to be able to see how her tail had, again, managed to wrap itself around her right ankle. It seemed to him that whenever she wasn't moving, it always found one of her ankles, and promptly curled itself around it. He looked down at his meal again, she already working intently away at hers with the same single-mindedness and determination that made her nearly the best psionisist in the cavern. He smiled inwardly, tearing off another piece of meat, enjoying the fact that he always managed to overcome her defenses and keep up his during any spar they had ever had. That was strange, since she had always had more discipline then he, and they were both evenly matched. That part puzzled him, but he never really thought about it much.

She, along with Rra and a few others, were hatchling mates. Even though they were laid at about the same time, only he and Kah had actually hatched at the same instant. That was unusual, rare, even, and in the other occasions, tended to have certain effects on the two. This was so because during the hatching, one would send out a small psionic burst once one had emerged. That burst was meant to glean as much information about their surroundings as possible, and those around at the hatching. It also had that being’s ‘impression’ on it, and so it was entirely possible to have two bursts 'trip' over each other, each one leaving a lasting impression on the other hatchling.

He snapped out of that trance, blinking, and swallowed what he had in his jaws, lifting his snout slightly and focusing on Kah again. He suddenly finding both their eyes locked together, peering at each other. Her snout darkened somewhat as she quickly found her food interesting again, tearing a bit more off. He simply blinked, having thought that he had seen some green in her eyes, but decided that maybe he was imagining things.

Tearing off another piece of meat, he began to think about that. It seemed like ever since they had hatched, they had been close friends, almost something more. They seemed to share an innate understanding of each other, even when they didn't have mind to mind going. Everybody always acted as if they were already mates; or at least, for 'each other'. That was probably because they never had any inhibitions about doing anything that came naturally to them, or being seen doing it. At least, some thing which came naturally. A good example was when one was tense, the other offered a rub.

However, it had seemed lately that they were getting a bit awkward around each other, for no reason he could think of, too. One thing they had both learned, and were very good at now, was self-control. Both could mask their emotions quite well by now, even to the point where through sight, smell or mind to mind couldn't tell much. That is, unless one was looking very closely, and for something specific as well. He continued regarding her, the latter pretending not to notice. He smiled, the occasional orange tongue of flame licking upwards between them, casting an interesting glow onto her emerald green hide. He glanced around at the others around the fire, most of them being his hatchling mates as well, although some from the previous year had joined them. Rra’sah’ten came next to him, and they both grinned at each other.

"Hey Dra. Everybody seems to be enjoying the fruits of our labor, no?

Dra kept grinning "Yep, and I'll bet that this'll score a few points for you with Thr'es'sah?"

Rra simply chuckled, grasping Dra's wing 'arm' "Well... it couldn't hurt.... and what about you, huh? I've never seen your green in reaction to anybody let alone sniffed anything from ya... what's with that, huh?" Dra smiled like the one who knows all the answers but won't tell, and smacked Rra on his light red chest

"That's my secret...."

"Awww... come on, guy..."

Dra grinned back, and snapped up the rest of his meat, listening to Rra continue. "Well.... if you won't tell me, then let's see...... I would have to say Kah'ce'see, I mean.. she's the one who is always there wherever you are..." Rra grinned down at Dra, watching for his reaction to his conclusion, which was simply that Dra looked up at his friend, regarding him coolly

"Co-incidence...."

"Co-incidence my shell, guy.... she's green for you!" They both had to chuckle at that, since Kah's scales were green, if not her eyes, at that moment. They both glanced over at her as well, to see that she and Thr’es’sah, and another one of their friends were deep in conversation. None of them noticed their scrutiny, and Rra sighed

"She is beautiful, isn't she?" Dra looked up at him, grinning

"Hey... the wind isn't going to save your hide this time, you know...." and he made a show of inhaling, his nostrils flaring. Rra acked slightly, and made to stretch his wings, giving them a little flick to disperse his scent, what little there was of it anyway. Dra simply chided him as one would a hatchling

"I'm not always going to be here you know..." then they both chuckled.

After wishing his parents goodnight, he left their cave, travelling first back to his, but changing his mind, and going through the nearly deserted tunnels to the pools, passing through the main cavern, which still had some others in it. He glanced around as he entered, and noticed happily that there weren't too many others in it, as well as the fact that his favorite pool was empty. He wandered over to it, and slipped into the farthest pool, one that had formed slightly away from the others. It had almost always allowed him to be alone with his thoughts or himself. He exhaled slowly, enjoying the coolness of the water, and letting his first set of eyelids close, obscuring his vision, but also almost covering up the glow from his lustrous blue eyes.

He sat on a small bank, some two and a half feet beneath the water, his arms resting up on the cool stone behind him, his wings sagging along his back into the water. He began to realize just how drained and tense he was, not really from the hunting, that was no problem, but from using most of his energy to bring the catch back home. That didn't really come as a surprise though.

He sank a bit more into the water, beginning to feel tired now as well. Of course, the temperature of the water could easily account for that. He almost started as he heard someone in the pool closest to his disturb the silence that had fallen over that room by getting out of it (he knew this for he had learned to recognize the sound and where it came from, in time that he might be able to concentrate on something else, lest he be found at an… awkward moment), followed by the padding of claws across stone, and the sound of someone slipping into a pool.

His pool, he knew as he felt the surface of the water rise and then fall along his mid-section. He didn't bother to move, feeling much too relaxed at that moment, and instead reached out with his mind, making contact with whomever was there, and simply 'pathed <<hello?>>.

The reply was unmistakably Kah's, and he smiled, both of them opening up their minds to one another. As he began to inhale again that time, he realized that he could smell the slightest traces of something in the already slightly musty, humid air; his confusion registered in his mind, and hers withdrew ever so slightly, Dra just glimpsing a hint of embarrassment. He smiled inwardly, asking aloud "Supper good?" She seemed to jump on the distraction

"Yes... very... however did you get it all home?"

He simply reached a claw up and tapped the side of his head twice before allowing it to drop down back into the water with a small splash.

She blinked "By teek? Showoff…"

He nodded, grinning and she continued "didn't know I could do that..."

He opened his eyes slowly, and turned slightly to regard her. She was sitting much like he was, only leaned back farther then he was. She looked back at him "What? You know just as I do that I can anything you can do, as well as you can....."

He simply grinned, not rising to her bait as she had expected him to. She continued after a pause "You must be pretty tense and tired, no?"

Dra nodded slowly, giving one of his shoulders a stretch, and a mock grimace flashing on his face "Yeah... I think I'm going to be somewhat sore 'morrow..." She smiled back at him, pausing as if considering something weighty.

"…Want a rub?"

Dra smiled, feeling somewhat relieved that it seemed that things were returning to how they always had been. "Sure..." He had turned around then, so that Kah really didn't have to ask, and he heard her rise out of the water somewhat. He exhaled slowly as she pressed her claws down on his second shoulder. His left wing 'arm' twitched at that, and he began to concentrate lightly on her touch. She continued her massage, which would have seemed like a hard job to any other species, since by now his scales had hardened to almost their full potential. But, to one's own kind, that sort of thing rarely poses any problems, as it was then. One simply had to press somewhat harder, and focus on one point, as they both knew. She had worked her claws steadily along his left wing arm, smiling whenever he hummed as she found an especially tender or tense spot. She finished off that wing tip by kneading it between her thumb and forefinger gently, before doing the same with the other wing.

Kah finished off that wing just the same way, as well, and absently moved slightly closer to Dra, reaching around his second shoulders to his first. She had massaged both of those shoulders, and was rubbing his back, both feeling completely at ease and relaxed and she looked down for a few moments, his tail beginning to register in her mind as she thought of nothing, idly.

As she had moved to the latter did he notice two things. One, of her proximity; she has moved closer, yes, but she didn't have to be that close. She didn't even need to remain there, since it would actually be easier for her were she to move back a bit. The second thing was that something was most certainly 'up'. It hadn't, of course, come out of his sheath yet, which was basically just a patch of off-bronze colored scales. They had a slit down the middle, which he could relax or tense, allowing or preventing anything from showing, except when he happened to be especially hard. However, that didn’t prevent it from bulging noticeably, and he quickly turned his attention back to her ministrations, feeling her attention to her task waver slightly as his embarrassment registered in her mind. He let his snout dip a bit as she finished up, and he let out a small sigh of appreciation, beginning to feel her hesitation, and closeness again.

She nearly blurted out, as if having trouble convincing herself of saying this, or as she were unsure of her offer "I could... uhmm..... do... your tail.... as.. well....." He stopped for a moment, and nodded slowly, smiling "yeah... you could..." he stated simply, his tail ever so conveniently surfacing between them both, and she took the tip up into her claws, kneading it between her thumb and forefingers, smiling. He suppressed another sigh, never having really appreciated how nice-no, good, that actually felt. His mind seemed to go blank, his eyes glittering idly, not realizing that both her eyes and his were tinged with green, reflecting on the pool's surface. She, however, was, and could also feel the effect she was having on him, and enjoying every second of it. His only concern was his tail at the moment, all his attention focused in on it, and the sensations she was causing, which were beginning to feel better and better as she moved up his tail.

Her own tail began to twitch as what he was feeling began to flood into their link, and her mind; which caused her to feel almost as much as he did. That had prompted her to begin massaging his tail with both her claws, and Dra chrred softly, their awkwardness completely gone now, having been replaced by a different bond, one that had evolved from their friendship. The water around them was sparkling green from the glow their eyes cast upon it, and his began to whirl fast, his breathing becoming deeper, and his sheath beginning to split ever so slightly. Her claws kept pressing insistently against his tail, her own waving about behind them. She almost began to enjoy this 'power' that she had over him, still able to feel the changes happening in his body. Even managing to elicit a response from hers, even though before, she was already responding to him. Hence the way she slipped into his pool as quickly as she had (fast enough so that a lot of her scent wouldn't hang in the air, giving her away entirely). She finally reached the base of his tail, and it was all he could do to let what would've been a moan come out as a sigh, beginning to feel his own reactions and feelings mirrored in her mind. Kah began to slow down kneading his tail, both beginning to realize what was happening between them, or more like to them, and what has happened somewhere along the lines for friendship and competition. The awkwardness set in again, both unsure of what to do or say, and she lets his tail drop gently into the water again, blinking. The ensuing silence had hung thickly in the air, and suddenly they were both overwhelmed, quickly withdrawing their minds from each other, and she climbed out of the pool, almost hopping out.

She was still breathing deeply as well, the scales along her underside (chin, chest stomach, pelvis and the underside of her tail) having darkened somewhat. She had stopped for a moment, Dra turning around towards her, and heard her almost whisper "I'll..... uhmm... see you tomorrow...." and scampered off, presumably back to her cave. He sighed again, ducking beneath the water once more before he got out of the pool, and began making his way back to his own cave, his hide feeling damp and cool, although that was something that he enjoyed.

He passed through the main cavern, glancing in, and saw that there was nearly nobody there, and only a few fires still going. He continued onwards, thinking. Their play,

interaction had never been more then friendly, but that rub had definitely been much more. He slowed, entering the main tunnels. Dra kept working it through his mind, and realized as he

turned off from the main tunnel onto a smaller one, that there was one thing that he had taken for granted, that no longer applied: neither of them were hatchlings any more.

He grinned to himself, thinking of Kah. No, she certainly is no longer a hatchling Dra thought with some amusement, only now beginning to appreciate how beautiful she really was. He reached his cave, but paused in the entrance, feeling rather restless at the moment and so turned, beginning to make his way back towards the main cavern, deciding to forego sleep for tonight. That really wouldn't be much of a problem, since he had slept soundly for the last couple nights.

He finally reached the main cavern again, and saw that the last few others had gone off to rest or sleep, and only one of the fires was still up, one close to the hind wall. However, that fire was also beginning to die, so he grabbed some more fuel, and tossed it on to it to keep it going for a while longer, and sat down, staring intently at the flames. The fire shimmered in front of him, the burning tongues of heat licking off the wood seemed to entrance him, the firelight reflecting off his whirling blue eyes, and hide.

He simply sat there, staring and resting for awhile before he picked up another train of thought. Something about what had happened before pushed his way up to where he actually noticed it; that what had happened before actually didn't bother him at all. On the contrary, it felt quite..... welcome. He had trouble finding the right word for that, and he sighed aloud, lost in his thoughts. He happened to be working out how, exactly, this had come to pass, when suddenly, he could feel someone 'caressing' his mind. He smiled, brought out of his trance by that, and the sudden crackle of the fire, the wood shifting, slightly, sending a swarm of glowing sparks racing upwards. He blinked again, seeing Kah standing across from him, on the other side of the fire, her eyes sparkling a deep blue, with green surfacing here and there in them. They both smiled, Dra opening his mind to her insistent probing, the link between them open again as she moved around the fire and sat next to him, leaning on his side before she spoke.

"Restless..."

Dra nodded in agreement to her words, knowing that, in part it was as much of a statement as it was a question. He looked over at her, actually looking, and smiled a bit at what he saw. His hatchling mate, friend, had grown up quite beautifully. Her somewhat light green scales had darkened somewhat to a deeper, emerald green, her underbelly scales having remained pretty much the same, providing quite a striking contrast between the two. Despite this, her form had managed to maintain the 'soft' quality to it, perhaps in part because of the slightly blue sparkle her underbelly scales had to them, Dra not having noticed that before. Nearly everything about her seemed perfect, really. Her tail wasn't too long or short, too wide or slender. Everything just... fit together.

He could feel her distraction again, obviously the fire. He looked back at it, watching the nearly burnt out wood glow fiercely, seeming to pulse slowly as it hung stubbornly onto it's life. He leaned into her slightly, giving her a small jolt, and she blinked "Huh? What?"

He smiled "thanks for the rub again. I really needed that" The scales about her snout darkened considerably

"Uhmm... yeah... no problem."

Dra chuckled "come on... I really did enjoy it..."

She almost giggled "yeah... I know, and how..."

It was his turn for his snout's scales to turn a darker shade of bronze "well... what can I say?" he asked softly, looking back down at her. She looked up at him, smiling knowingly "how about... nothing... why don't you just open up, hmmm?" and she lifted her snout, nuzzling his neck lightly. He could feel her opening up a bit, and decided to follow suit, finally being able to relax again. What was once friendship had finally turned to love, and they both felt it in each other. It was also a relief to know that the feeling was mutual, rather then just a hunch, also because they no longer had to devote energy to control and mask their responses to hide them from the other. They continued to regard each other, each watching the other's eyes flood with green, both marveling that they could have such an effect on the other.

"You do realize that this was bound to happen right from the start...."

"Yes... I learned that from my trip through my past lives..."

"Same for me" she replied

They both sighed, then chuckled, looking back at the pretty much dead fire, a few embers still glowing and pulsing slowly.

"Good night, Dra’an’tier, my love…" She giggled once she had said it, but it felt nice to hear it like that, he found.

"Good night, dear Kah’ce’see "

They both sat there for the rest of the night, time seemingly racing by as somewhere along the lines, their minds and love intertwined, and got lost in the other's mind and emotions, both feeling strangely... whole...