Nona gently placed a hand on the griffin's head and allowed it to cry without saying anything. After a time the tears stop.
"You are not like the others here. You are kind." The mental voice of the griffin says at last.
A tinge of guilt plagues Nona's conscious as he thinks of how he almost fled. Forcing that thought down he replies, "I know what it is like to be alone and did not want others to go through it. That is all."
"You have come to this place seeking something otherwise Firehide would not have lead you straight to me." The griffin lifted its head and the whites of the eye could be seen as well as the golden irises.
Nona hesitated before deciding to be completely honest. He was unsure of how much he could trust his mentors and decided he wanted a true and willing friend. "I came to the grasslands seeking a companion. The stallion knew me to be a dragon and would not let me bond with one of his herd for fear of leaving it alone once I was able to fly. Instead he led me to you."
"Firehide misled you. I am unable to fly right now. My wings were just getting strong enough when those who could teach perished." The griffin was guarded in its response.
Nona was puzzled by this since he had assumed that flight was an instinct for a natural winged creature, but since he himself would get wings and knew nothing of flying he let the matter rest. "I do not require flight right now only by the time I am able too."
Aquiline seemed to get lost in thought before responding. "I will accompany you. There is nothing left for me here anyway." Grief and determination mixed with his mental voice.
Nona was hopeful for this outcome but did not want to rush it. "It is getting late. Let us rest here and we will meet up with my mentors in the morning."
"There are others with you?" Aquiline immediately became defensive.
"Yes, they are teaching me how to fend for myself. Though I do not trust them completely I can think of no other way to learn the things I need to survive the things going on with me." Nona wanted the trust of the griffin so he held nothing back.
"Tell me more about these mentors you do not trust." Aquiline replied after a time.
The two of them passed the night with Nona relaying all that has happened in the past few days with the griffin listening with rapt attention.
"Many things have happened to you in such a short amount of time. It is no wonder you cling to these people, but you have not shared on why you have your doubts in trusting them."
Nona hesitated before responding, "The timing of their appearance and the awakening of my abilities are to coincidental. They are seemingly to straightforward and shared to much information freely. They want something but are dodgey on the what. Until they prove themselves I am unable to remove this doubt."
Aquiline nodded before laying down. "We should rest now. You will need your energy if things continue on as they have for you."
Nona was unable to argue and laid down next to the griffin. His mind was racing over all the details he had shared. He could not shake the feeling that he was missing something crucial. When it got to the point of replaying the fight between him and Aquiline he finally had time to analyze why he had almost ran away, but just as he was about to find the answer he passed out.
***
Nona awoke to the sun shining warmly on his body. The sound of crickets greeted his ears and birds happily chirped nearby. Opening his eyes in wonder at the overnight transformation he saw the griffin a little ways off seemingly talking to the birds.
He could not surpress a smile as he rose to his feet. "Shall we get moving?" he asked Aquiline.
Aquiline nodded, "Get on my back. We will move faster this way."
Nona was elated since Aquiline was supposed to be a mount to begin with, but he had felt rude everytime he thought about bringing it up.
It was awkward at first as Nona tried to find a place to sit that did not hinder the griffin's movement. Finally, settling just in front of the wings to the eye roll from Aquiline they started trotting off. Aquiline's stride was slightly off as he adjusted to a rider, as well as Nona adjusting to the rhythm of claw paw claw paw.
It took them several hours to get back to Merle and Skelly. With the sun high overhead the two looked up at the approaching rider. "Ah I see you have befriended a griffin. This will make an excellent lifetime companion for a dragon." Were the first words out of Merl's mouth.
The duo came to a stop and Nona dismounted. "I agree Aquiline will be a great friend." Aquiline bowed his head, but kept his eyes trained on the new pair.
"Than there is no reason to delay. The process of soul bonding is simple and painless. Simply touch Aquiline and feed pure mana into him. He will in turn cycle the mana through his body and back into yours. At the same time he will be doing the same to you. Once you have cycled the mana through each other use your mind to speak to his. This will establish the connection. Be sure to feed small amounts at a time so as to not cause injury." Merle explained.
Nona And Aquiline looked at each other before Aquiline bowed his head, and Nona placed a hand upon it. Nona conjured the image in his mind and pushed gently through his hand. As he was doing this he also felt power flood into his body. Struggling to maintain his concentration he forced the new energy into a river and made it cycle through his body and connect to his pool of mana so it would naturally cycle back to the griffin. He than reached out with his mind to find Aquiline doing the same. Almost immediately both felt a string of power tie itself to their manapool.
"I guess we are now bonded." chimed the griffin's mental voice.