Winddancer paused in her story, even though she had only said so far she was going to tell them all a story. It was clear she didn't really want to tell one, but it was equally clear to her, after glancing around, that she was not going to be able to get out of it.

I should never have started this, Winddancer thought to herself. Why did I start this? Remembering it was to make Amberfeather feel better, a task she was surprisingly keen on doing, she felt better. Even though she didn't really want to look the fool in front of Amberfeather, the thought of him tripping about the forest reminded her he had already looked like a fool in front of her, and he was hardly likely to decide he didn't like her based on her story.

"I am going to tell you about the day I turned 14," Winddancer stated, calmly.

"I had just recently started my scout's training. I was disappointed not to be chosen as a mage, but since I had no magical gift, this was expected. Depressing, but expected."

She quickly gauged her audiences' attention by giving each of the listener's a look, then decided that they needed more to drink and munch on before she continued. After getting more from a nearby hertasi, she gave it to Winterflower who started passing it out as Winddancer continued with her story.

"I was chosen a few weeks before my birthday by a mother bondbird to get one of her latest hatchlings, but they weren't old enough to be without their parents yet, so I hadn't met them. I just knew that I was going to get an awesome bird, a beautiful hawk of some sort, and impress everyone with him, since I couldn't be a big impressive mage."

"On my birthday, I was summoned by my master, who told me it was time to meet my new bondbird. I was thrilled, and excited, and overwhelmed, and so many other things I couldn't bear the excitement. I was to have a party that evening for my friends and family to celebrate my birthday with me, and I couldn't wait to show off my gorgeous new bird."

She paused, and seemed to remember something. She then shook her head and continued.

"I'm not sure if you guys are aware of this, but I am my parents only child, and I was raised pretty close to home. My mother was injured as a young scout, and she is a little… paranoid," Winddancer said, wryly. "She never truly let me out of her sight, so I didn't get to see other young people training, getting their birds, or anything like that. The only time I saw anyone with a bird was my father. Mother's bird had died when I was little, and she hasn't bonded again."

"So keeping that information in mind," she said, smiling, "I went with my master to the nest of my new bondbird. After the parents looked me over, they chose one of their babies for me. They pushed him forward, so that I could accept him. I gave him a good looking over, and I realized one thing." She paused to make it more dramatic. "The little fledgling that was to be my new bondbird was… ugly.

She stopped her story for a minute while they laughed.

"If you really had only seen your father's bondbird before, I'll bet you were surprised!" Silvercloud said, grinning widely.

"I never knew that baby birds were so ugly. I became convinced that I was being punished for something. Okay, fine, I can't be a mage. I will be a scout, but I will have a gorgeous, strong bondbird, and we'll be the best partners, and we'll work together perfectly…" She let her voice trail off.

"There I was, with this daydream I had played through my mind ever since I had heard I would be getting my bird, where all the other trainee scouts and even the trainee mages would be impressed and jealous of my perfect, gorgeous bondbird. When I heard I would be getting her (because of course, my bird would be a girl, so we can show how strong girls really are!) on my birthday, I was even more ecstatic, because I knew I would get the chance to walk into my party with my bird on my shoulder."

"But then I was confronted with the reality of the ugliness of my brand-new fledgling bird." She put her hand up and sent a mindcall to her bird. He came and gently landed on her outstretched arm, then sidled up to perch on her shoulder. He began nibbling on her ear affectionately as they all laughed again at the sight of this bird, who might be many things, but was not ugly.

"You do need to remember I was just 14, not the most reasonable of ages," Winddancer reminded them, sounding embarrassed. "I feel quite ashamed as I think of the nasty things I thought when I first saw Reyyath."

"Well, to make a long story short, I pitched a fit. A screaming fit, to be more precise. I shook the branches above my head and scared all of the fledglings and I really think I almost gave my calm old master a heart attack. I swore that I would never bond with that ugly little thing, thank you very much! I will not be laughed at or shamed!"

"My master must have understood where I was coming from, because unlike what many people would have done, he very quietly and calmly excused us from the birds, after begging their apology, and guided me into the woods where I continued to yell. He waited a little bit to see if I was going to quit, but since I didn't, he slapped me efficiently across the face, then watched me to see if I would need another slap. I could tell he would do it again without pause so I stopped. I'm not completely stupid," she said, with a wry grin.

"That sounds like something I would have done at that age, too, Winddancer," interrupted Starsong. "I think we've both grown up admirably since then."

"Thanks, Starsong," Winddancer said simply. "That does make me feel better. Slightly."

"Anyway, my master knew about how I was raised, so he quietly explained about how all fledglings look like this, everyone's bondbird started out small and… I can't remember what word he used, but it wasn't ugly. It was something much nicer. I just had never seen any. Everyone who has their bird will remember how their own bird looked when they first bonded and think that yours is cute, since he will remind them of their own."

"He went on for awhile until I was calm, then comforted me when I sobbed. Then he smacked my cheeks and told me to stop being a baby, and let's go and meet your bondbird the right way. He is the baby between you two right now, so you will have to take very good care of him until he's able to take care of you."

Winddancer laughed, and told them she didn't think that the parents of Reyyath we all that thrilled to be giving up their baby to her, but how she was very apologetic. "I'm not sure how much they understood, but they looked much happier as I cooed over him, because I had realized he was cute… just not what I had expected."

"The end," Winddancer said, almost unnecessarily. She looked quite glad to have her story over, and glanced at Amberfeather to see what he thought. He was smiling at her sympathetically. She took heart from his gaze, since it didn't seem to hold any ridicule.

Everyone thanked Winddancer for trusting them with her story, then they fell silent, just enjoying soaking in the warm pool.

"This was a great idea, everyone!" Amberfeather finally said, breaking the calm silence. "It has made me feel much, much better. I think I can honestly say I can go to sleep tonight, and not be tortured with horrible nightmares!"

With tacit agreement, everyone gathered up their belongings and bid each other good night, after ensuring that they get together again. They all had felt as if they were making new friends, and not just casual acquaintances, and they wanted to make sure they would not drift apart. It had been a good night spent in the pond, they all decided as they each headed to their ekele.

I finally finished it! Thank you very much if you have been reading all along, and eagerly anticipating the updates. I am writing a sequel to this story, so if you were fond of some of the characters, look for them to appear again! Please review this story so I know what worked and what didn't, and also feel free to email me and let me know what you want to see in a future story. Thanks!