They were heading towards Lha and her new charge, when Dracothrope replied, "Well, it's loud and there's lots and lots of dragons and other creatures there to play with, and there's tonnes of space. Phe and I went and bought up as much land as we could outside of town--it was mostly cheap since you can't grow much but naascho-plants in the soil, there, and they aren't much by comparison to the Toasty Toe ranch further inland." Denique nodded along with her, his eyes wide and a big grin plastered on his face, even if he had no idea of what she was talking about. "Anyways, you'll see once we get down here. Imagine a ceiling of bright blue that just goes up forever, and dusty brown and green land that just stretches out forever! It's kind of like that."

"He's not going to be able to imagine that yet Dracothrope," Lha supplied, turning her head to give a look to the pair as they came closer.

"I can too," Denique retorted, fluffing his little wings and puffing out his chest. "It's all like this:" and he squinched up his face, 'imagining' the ranch. Dracothrope slipped him a memory image and he said, "ha, see!"... even if he hadn't relayed it to the other two!

Lha and her sponsorling snickered and giggled as their natures permitted, while Dracothrope kneeled to inspect the other young male. "Well now, who are you?"

"I'm Fidelan," the youngster replied, quite the young gentleman (or so he appeared, anyhow!) as he extended a little hand to shake Dracothrope's extended one. "Pleased to meet you."

Denique pressed in tightly against Dracothrope's side, grinning as his bond shook Fidelan's paw, when a sudden belly-rumbling startled him. Dray looked over just as the little red began inspecting his stomach (he'd never heard a belly rumble before, after all!) and laughed! "Are you hungry?"

"Um..." the crossbreed replied, even as a wave of just that feeling began to lap over to her across their bond, "yeah, I think I am!"

"Well then, let's get you something to eat," Dracothrope replied, getting to her feet again. "Coming with us?" she asked the draconic pair as she wiped off her pants of bits of clingy moss-chunks.

"I'd rather not," Lha replied, even as her sponsor nodded agreement. Dracothrope looked across the room at lunch buffet, and before long she quickly picked out the form of Aedelian Landwerlen, conversing with the Light and Fire parents that were watching their children and occasionally chatting with new bonds. She looked back to Lha and shrugged. "Alright, well, how abouts I meet you back at the hotel? I can take these two, you can get our stuff together to take back home?" It was a convenient way out--Lha wouldn't have to go over to the table and be that much closer to her supposedly evil father, and Fidelan would be able to have his first meal without having to worry about it! Speaking of Fidelan, he was making the most sorry-looking face... the 'sigh, what ever am I going to do with this one?' sort of face that you usually see on adults dealing with deviant children... but he kept his mouth shut.

Lha didn't see the look or ignored it, because she replied, "Sure, I'll get us some tickets for the lift down, too."

"Sounds good to me!" Dracothrope exclaimed, trying to dispell any tension the half-Air might have with a big, goofy grin. Lha returned it with a weaker one, then nudged Fidelan with her long, narrow muzzle. "Come back up straight away, alright?"

"Of course," the crossbreed replied, edging towards Denique, who was edging towards the opposite side of the bay, towards the food!

They parted, and Dracothrope followed the two kits across the loamy ground to the food... picking up a sandwich when she got there and offering it to her bond, whose head only just cleared the table! Denique gobbled it down in two bites, unheading that he was being a dreadfully messy eater, and giving her wibbly eyes. "Can I have another?" he asked, being also dreadfully well behaved. Dracothrope giggled and snagged two more, handing one to her bond and passing another to the second crossbreed--who chose to be a little more polite, taking the half-sandwich in his hands to chew at.

Denique asked to sample one of everything from the table, his apparently never-ending stomach allowing the consumption of not only two whole sandwiches, three plates of various kinds of leafy salad, one half plat of pasta salad (he admitted that he hated the taste, and Dracothrope gobbled the rest), but no less then six devilled eggs. "Can I have another?" he asked, licking his muzzle and eyeing the nearly empty platter.

"It's good to share, you know," Dracothrope chided, and Denique ducked his head. He hadn't meant to be a hog!

That was when the sight of the pearlescent, minty-green pigmented dragoness that was his mother. "I'll be right back!" he instructed Dracothrope, and then waddled over to her. Two other kits had already made up their mind to come home with the Avengaean pair, but that wasn't going to stop Denique or many of the other children from saying their last goodbye's! The bright red hatchling waddle-bounded (he was quite full!) over to the Light and reared up to put his hands over her rather larger paw. "Hi, mom!"

Chiya looked down at the little weight on her hand, pardoning herself from a conversation. "Hi, you," she replied, giving the kit a fond, almost teary look.

"I'm sorry that we have to leave," he said, scrabbling up to cover the back of her hand, his little tail drooping off of one end, "but you'll come and visit, right? Fidelan and I are both going to the Ranch of Dooom, so you have to come see us, right?"

At that, Chiya very nearly did break down into tears! Her children, scattered to the four corners of the universe... actually caring about where she ended up, and wanting to see her again? "Of course, we'll visit when we can." Who knew when that would be, with all of their obligations at home! Still, she was determined to do so at some point!

Denique grinned widely, his ears perked right up and his tail wapping against the side of her hand with glee. "Good!" He leaned down to nuzzle her hand, and when she couldn't take it anymore and lowered her own head to give him a lick, he rubbed his small nose against her much larger one. "I'll be waiting!" He then hopped off her hand and trundled the short distance to Ketvia, tackling the Pyralian with his full 3' tall force.

"Hey, kid," the Fire exclaimed, as Denique stuck to her wrist, burr-like. "Mom said you'd come to visit! She promised!" he exclaimed, giving his second mother a devious grin.

"What's this?" Ketvia asked, skewing her tufted ears and giving Chiya a look. She could hardly deal with Callidei's disappearance... having to go back and revisit all of the other children, then leave them again might be too much! Chiya, at least, shot her partner a look, one of those few demanding ones she got when she was being naive and stubborn. Well then. They'd not be getting out of this. Ketvia turned her attention back to her son, who was still somehow clinging vertically to her wrist. "Sure, kid."

"Yeee!" the kit cried, sliding to the ground and then rolling to his feet. "Okay then! We're goin' to the Ranch of Doooooooom!" he cried, bounding off back into the crowd.

Ketvia looked at Chiya, who for just a moment looked back at Ketvia. Neither was quite sure of what to think about that!