Argamath.

How many times had he said that name to himself already? Quietly, reverently, with enough love behind it to blot out the sun should he have to. In only one moment, it had become as familiar and well-worn as his own had been before he'd taken up that coveted honorific, and Ka'ia couldn't help but marvel at the fact.
He was no longer some upstart trying to change his fortunes, nor an observer lurking in gambling dens in the hopes of overhearing just the right bit of information to pass along. That hadn't ended well for him, anyway--he'd wound up a ********, practically beyond all repair, dragging his family down with him instead of bringing them all up as he rose to new heights. Even then, his fortunes had changed, and in a way he could never have truly predicted. He, Ka'ia-once-Kaiator, a mere beastcrafter from Nabol, was a dragonrider now. More than that, his dragon was a beautiful, sparkling Bronze, currently lounging resplendent by his side as he prepared himself for the oncoming feast.
He didn't have much to wear that wasn't obviously patched in one way or another, but at least he could try and make it look nicer with a little careful adjustment--Casris fetched him one of his many sashes after a quiet nudge, while Usurper still stared down the significantly larger Bronze with something that Ka'ia thought was a mix between outrage and admiration. (How dare this flit be so much bigger than him? How dare he be so much more shiny?) Ka'ia was simply glad that his little hellion had been behaving; apparently Argamath's presence alone kept him in line, something that he was more than a little thankful for.

Argamath.

In the space of an hour or so, his life had been completely, unbelievably, irrevocably changed. Ka'ia still couldn't believe it--not entirely. Having his dragon in his life seemed so natural to him--his dragon, his darling Bronze--but some small part of him felt almost as though he was floating through a dream, coasting through everything he could have ever wanted until the eventual, inevitable rude awakening.
When would it happen? Would it be in an hour, when he woke up? A day? A week, a month, a year? Was this truly real? How could he have been so lucky to have been chosen by a dragon at all, let alone one so utterly peerless as Argamath? His motives for becoming a Candidate had been...unsavory, he thought. It wasn't for personal gain--not really, no. Protection, a safe place to stay, and maybe even acceptance--all very self-serving goals, but perhaps not the worst ones he could have aspired to. Surely he would have needed to be more noble for Argamath. Better. More--just more.

Argamath.

Ka'ia.

There he was. Ka'ia turned toward him before he even heard his name, eyes tracing the delicate curves of his lifemate's face, every gleaming, glistening inch that lay before him. He was utterly breathtaking, in every way Ka'ia could even hope to think of.
"Sorry, love. Didn't mean to disturb you." he murmured, tying the sash around his waist after a moment's consideration. The preening he set himself to was mostly to distract his nerves, although he couldn't quite shake the feeling of embarrassment at having his concerns found out.
Don't worry, Mine. I'm here. the little Bronze reassured him, a flow of warmth coming through their bond so strongly that Ka'ia could feel tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. He knew the doubts that Ka'ia had been wading through--of course he did. How could he not? But for His to think for even a second that he wasn't worthy of him, wasn't his equal and more--Argamath's chest tightened, eyes whirling a mix of yellow and purple as his quiet concern warred with every ounce of his adoration. Ka'ia hadn't forgotten Argamath was there--how could he?--but the bond was still a novel experience for him. He knew it would become second nature with time, and the swell of anticipation in his chest was enough to twist his expression from a grimace into a small smile. The idea that he'd upset his dragon with his fretting made his stomach twist into knots, but Argamath wouldn't stand for that, either. And before you ask, I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. My place is here, with Mine.
Where would he go without His? Nowhere that would matter. Nowhere that would fill him with the same joy, the same burning love that he felt when he looked at his rider. There was nothing that could compare to the man he'd chosen, and Argamath knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he'd chosen well. He wasn't a dragon to second-guess himself in the first place, but in this matter--there was no room for uncertainty. He knew.

Ka'ia. His.

Silently, Ka'ia settled down next to Argamath, draping an arm over his dragon's back in a loose embrace. The Bronze leaned into the touch, placing his head across Ka'ia's waiting lap with a pleased rumble. This kind of closeness felt so casual, so completely natural--now, with the rainbow of Impression still fresh in his mind, Ka'ia could well and truly say that he understood why riders called their dragon their missing piece so often. Argamath fit into his being so neatly and cleanly that it was like he should've been there from the start--Impression hadn't been quite so much a new discovery as it had been a reunion, connecting both halves back into one how they should be. They were whole, together. They were each other's, and there wasn't even a grain of doubt in Ka'ia's mind that it was meant to be.
And to think, you dubbed me too haughty for you. Argamath's gentle laughter bubbled into his mind, a sound both new and completely familiar at the same time. It was like a memory he'd always had, but had never quite been able to recall, and it was...beautiful. He wanted to hear it again, and for the rest of his life.
"I'll admit, when I saw you at first, I was...unsure." Ka'ia frowned, disgust blooming in him at the memory of--just how wrong he was. He'd doubted, but worse than that, he'd doubted his Argamath. He'd been worried that the Bronze he saw wouldn't see things the same way he did--while his dearest Argamath didn't necessarily do that, Ka'ia couldn't imagine a better match for himself. "I wanted a partner, above all else."
Are we not just that? You, my gallant rider, and I, your peerless Bronze? He punctuated the statement with a soft rumble, every bit of yellow now gone from his eyes. Partners. You and I, together.

His Argamath. His lifemate, his everything.
If this truly was a dream, Ka'ia never wanted to wake up.