ORIGIN

Thwap. Thwap. Thwap.

The sound of beating wings could be heard for a while away. Some might think it a large bird, others who'd had the encounter before would know not to think as such. Currently there were two dragons in the cave and one of them was here. Before him scurried a heard of cave deer, fleeing from the terror above them. Baratheon took joy in terrorizing the deer but he wasn't just doing it for fun. His belly was empty and he needed to fill it with meat but he needed to do it in such a way that he wouldn't go on a rampage. He was even bigger now than before and could do even more damage than before.

He could feel excitement building in his gut as the deer rounded a corner and turned into Orion. This place, he had so much history here. He wanted to explore but he was sure that his sister wasn't here. She was probably long gone unfortunately. He shook his head, now was not the time for memories. Now was the time for hunting. He let out a roar that seemed to shake the very ground that he flew over. With that last he roar he swooped downwards and scooped up two deer, one in each paw. The deer let out terrified bleats but for now he did not hurt them. He simply flew away from the heard and over to the cliffs. There was a rock sticking out large enough for him to alight on. He did so easily, catching on with his rear paws and hovering for a moment to steady himself. The rock slab creaked and a few bits crumbled but it would hold his weight.

He finally eased onto it and tucked his wings at his side as he stared down below. He felt like a great king, a ruler perched on top of the stone slab as he stared down at his city with its, admittedly few servants. With his size who would dare challenge him? He was the king of the rock. The dragon opened his mouth and let out another roar, a loud and triumphant one. For a moment he had forgotten about the two deer who had been in shock for the past few minutes. However, at his call that were startled all over again and began to struggle and yell in his grasp.

His attention was now back on them and easily he tossed one into the air and swallowed it whole, not a drop of blood spilled. The next was soon to follow so that he could look down at his landscape. Booker was safe, he could feel it through their link so he could for the time being focus on being a --pretend-- king.

---

Sleeping was usually a thing that came easy to Bartos. He often tuckered himself out very quickly when he was roving the starry room for interesting rocks or looking at the floorplans of the buildings. He'd been practicing his magic a lot more too, using it to track down shiny stones that he may find lying around the floor or tucked into crevices, previously hidden from the world. A lot of the ones he found were old, sometimes attached to the bones of other creatures, and other times embedded in the rock as if they'd been there for thousands of years. Bartos didn't really think much of it. Taking the rocks back to his home, as well as practicing his magic, was enough to tire him out and let him sleep for several hours. For a cat, Bartos slept surprisingly little. It must have been a misconception that cats slept most of the day away, because Bartos was an incredibly active little feline.

Now was one of those rare moments that Bartos had finally stopped zipping around. It was rare that he was tired enough to sleep - usually his mind was working 24/7, chugging away like a restless steam engine - but here he was, curled up in his cozy little nest, a small bundle of old cloths and rags that he'd gathered during his expeditions. His leather satchel was nestled up against the crevice in the wall of his alcove, which was now spilling with small stone treasures he had found - most of them bland, sandstone or cement compounds. Still, the cat was in no way frugal in his collecting. Barely more than a cycle old and his living space was already littered with artifacts.

A thunderous roar erupted through the cave, causing the cat to wake with a start. He jumped up, his head snapping in the direction of the sound. For a moment, his vision was blurry and he couldn't tell what it was that made the sound, only some creature must have been lurking out there howling away. Bartos blinked a few times and stumbled to his paws, dragging himself to the very edge of the alcove. Somewhere beyond, a white blob began to take shape. Bartos squinted until the details all came into clarity, revealing a massive draconian figure perched atop another nearby cliff. He'd roared again before tossing his prizes, two cave deer, up into his mouth. The cat stared wide-eyed at the being, torn between awe and fear. Eventually, his amazement had won him over. From afar, Bartos shouted his absolute bewilderment at the dragon. Unfortunately, from so far away and being such a small creature, his voice was minuscule compared to the expanse of the cave:

"WOOOOWWWWW THAT WAS SO LOUD! YOU'RE SO LOUD HOW DO YOU GET SO LOUD AND BIG AND WHAT ARE THOOOOOOSE ARE YOU FLYING? DID YOU CATCH THOSE ALL BY YOURSELF AND HOW DID YOU EAT THEM DO YOU THINK I COULD EAT THEM CAN YOU TEACH ME HOW TO CATCH THEM WOW YOU'RE SO AMAZING AND BIG!!!"

Baratheon sat, staring down at his imaginary subjects below. Only, the imaginary subjects turned into real ones when a tiny figure came out from one of the buildings. The dragon wouldn't have even noticed it had it not been for the sounds coming up from it. Those were sounds right? He leaned his neck forward slightly, ears pricking forward to catch the tiny noises but whatever was hailing him was too far away. Baratheon's eyes were sharp, easily as keen as any bird so he could tell that the animal was feline in shape and that it was brown in color with other lighter and dark ones, but that was it.

A low rumble sounded from his throat, it was irritated at first but then he thought of how this creature had come out to see him --no doubt due to the excess noise-- and that he had a chance to show off. Perhaps this a creature that was admiring him for what other gembound was as large as he? Well... Raheerah but he wasn't here! Stupid black dragon...

Baratheon arched his neck, pink eyes staring down at the creature as he spread his wings slowly. He wanted to make sure that the other saw how large he really was and get a chance to marvel at him. For a moment he stayed there in that pose until he leaped and prepared to descend to the feline's level. For a while everything went well and he could be due to land right before the cat. However, Baratheon decided to make himself look even more majestic he should loop around the cat and come back rather than just doing it the easy way.

The dragon passed over the tiny creature and looped around a building, only to misjudge the distance due to his new increase in size. His wing clipped the building which didn't cause him much harm but threw off his flight. With a yelp of dismay he pitched to one side and began to fall into a spiraling descent.

Clumsily he tried to land on his paws but was still going to fast. Instead of stopping himself he managed to go head over tail across the grassy ground. Finally he rolled to a stop a yard away from the feline, on his chest with his rear in the air, tail over his head, and ears across his eyes. A puff of pink smoke was released from his nostrils as he groaned, "Oouuuccchhh...." So much for majestic.

---

If shouting his amazement at the dragon would belie the cat's eventual and unfortunate death, then so be it; Bartos had no grasp of mortality and goddamnit that dragon was cool. He perched himself precariously at the ledge of his home, teetering over the edge as his toes grasped the rock, leaning out as far as he could as if it would give him a better look at the beast lingering above. His eyes were wide and round, drinking in the image of the dragon as from upon his perch he extended his wings out to his sides, posing there for a few seconds - probably to indulge Bartos, who continued to gasp and revel in awe. Then, the dragon took off.

The massive movement caused Bartos to flinch and step back - if the dragon hadn't looked massive before, then taking to the air and flying above the city in the room definitely did. His ears pressed flat and he dropped close to the ground, watching, gaze trailing after the dragon. Until his wing clipped the building. At that point, Bartos' ears popped back up and he straightened, craning his neck to watch. It immediately sent him off-kilter and the massive, furry dragon suddenly hung a left (a right?), and as Bartos realized what was happening, his expression shifted comically from amazement to the horror one would display upon witnessing the slow and steady crash of a blazing dirigible. That dragon was going down.

Bartos danced upon his paws as he watched the dragon descend, back arched and tail puffing out in alarm. As soon as he hit the ground, Bartos flinched again and held his breath - there, he watched the dragon tumble ass over tea-kettle, rolling until he finally came to a stop in a tangled mess on the ground in front of the cliff face. The cat sheepishly peeked over the edge, staring down at the dragon. Then, a puff of smoke crawled out of his nose and the dragon groaned. Oh good. He was alive. That confirmation alone was enough to cause Bartos to spring into action, racing down the jagged trails carved in the wall until he had dashed all the way from his ledge to the dragon and stopped right in front of his face.

"ARE YOU OKAY?? GEEZ THAT WAS QUITE THE CRASH THAT WAS SO INTENSE I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO DIE! HOW DO YOU FLY AROUND HERE AND NOT CATCH YOUR WINGS ON ANYTHING DO YOU FALL ALL THE TIME IS THAT WHY YOU HAVE FUR TO CUSHION YOU WHEN YOU FALL DO YOU THINK I'LL EVER GET THAT BIG DOES IT EVEN HURT WHEN YOU FALL??? WHERE DID YOU EVEN LEARN TO DO THAT AND ALSO WHY DID THAT SMOKE COME OUT ARE YOU FULL OF SMOKE??"

For a moment the dragon just lay there, unmoving. In his belly burned an intense flame of embarrassment. If only he had been more frugal with his show of theatrics, perhaps then he wouldn't have royally failed. He hoped that the cat had left. Had seen how juvenile he was and just went on his way to be bothered with someone else. He lifted both ears then comically flopped them onto the ground on either side of his head. It was then that he noticed the cat hadn't left. The cat, unfortunately, was standing right there in front of him.

Oh great...

Before he could get a word in edgewise the feline began speaking in an extremely elevated volume. Now, Baratheon's ears were sensitive things. How could they not be with their shear size? When the cat spoke up with his loud voice Baratheon first gave a grimace of pain and then that quickly changed to a groan of shear agony as the cat continued on. "AGH! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I'M NOT DEAF! RAAH! DAMNIT!" He yelled back at the feline as he sat up, paws held to either side of his head, clamping down his ringing ears. He clenched his eyes shut and wrinkled up his snout in annoyance.

What was that cat even saying? Flying? Smoke? Big? Slowly, the words started to come together in his mind. Baratheon's eyes opened as he glared down loud-mouthed mammal. As if to get back at the cat for talking so exceptionally noisily the dragon lowered his head, stared for a moment and then exhaled forcefully through his nostrils. The result was a large cloud of warm smoke that would hopefully envelop the feline. Hmph. Damned cats... First they wanted to start some stupid cult and now they wanted to scream in his ears.

Baratheon lowered his paws from his ears and crossed them over his chest. He put on a distinctly cross expression as he looked down his long muzzle. "Now, then, rule number one when around a dragon with over-sized ears." He leaned closer. "DON'T YELL IN HIS EARS! IT HURTS!" He bellowed down at the brown cat before leaning back up. "What were you askin' before? All I can remember is how painfully loud your voice was."

---

The dragon nodded, satisfied that the cat had been properly cowed and wouldn't yell again. Good. "'S fine. Just remember it in the future." He couldn't stay angry anyway. Not when the cat was obviously admiring him. He gave a satisfied grin before he lifted his head slightly in what he imagined to be a kingly pose. "Understandable." Who wouldn't get excited around him?

"I mostly fly, yes. It gets me around much quicker than walking does. It's also easier to snatch up prey." Ah, questions about himself... His specialty. "I got two deer, snatched'em up in both paws because I was able to fly right over the herd. Far faster than they could run." It wasn't bragging if he was asked right? That was fair wasn't it? His bragging was dependent on what the small ones asked of him.

He stood tall and lifted both wings slightly, head still tilted upwards in what he presumed was an alpha pose. It certainly felt that way. It showed how large he was and made all of his weapons more visible. He wondered if there would be even questions. He certainly hoped so.

---

He sniffed and watched the dragon as he shifted into a magnificent posture, cocking his head up high with a stance that reminded him of a king. Bartos looked wide-eyed up at him; he couldn't help the awe that washed over him time and time again at the sight of the large beast. Had Baratheon's intentions been malicious, Bartos would stand no chance against the dragon. In fact, the cat would probably be absolutely terrified. Even the sight of the dragon taking down those deer had been a little unsettling, but the cat felt assured that the dragon wasn't going to attack him. If he wanted to make a meal out of Bartos, he most certainly would have done so already. "Do you crash a lot?" He couldn't help but ask. After all, the only time he'd seen the dragon, he had crashed. In Bartos' mind, it was a 1:1 ratio of flying:crashing, so it would only make sense that he usually crashed when he flew.

He looked down his muzzle at the small cat. Not in an insulting way but just to see how the feline was reacting. It looked to him like that cat was staring at him and admiring his pose. Good! It was as it should be! He was about to lift himself even higher but the cat asked a question that instead made him slouch. He was no warmonger... well, not most of the time, so he wouldn't be rude with his answer. "No." It usually only happened during growth spurs which he'd just recently had. He remembered when he was just barely bigger than the feline before him and now he towered over pretty much everything. It was strange but also made him feel stronger and powerful.

The only other time that he could remember that he'd crashed was when he'd first began to fly back in Pisces. That was the first time he'd used his wings so it was understandable. "I'm an excellent flier so crashes are one in a million. You just got unlucky to see me drop today." He snorted, pink smoke rising out of his nostrils. That was enough of that talk about crashing. "Want to see something cool? Cooler than flying?" With that he turned his head as he searched for something nearby. What he saw was a large crumbling building, a perfect opportunity to show off.

With a wink at the cat he turned his head towards the building, opened his mouth and let loose with one of his signature silent blasts. While there was nothing to hear it would be obvious that he had shot some sort of pulse from his throat because a chunk from the top of the building flew off and landed on the ground. Baratheon turned his head back to Bartos with a self-satisfied grin.

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