Serek stared at Dragon, his teeth gnashing in his mouth. He'd really come out of his resting place to be introduced to a little runt of a cat? This was a waste of time. He didn't care about Wilder and as she got closer, he took a step back. But she was suddenly rubbing against his legs. His lip curled again with disgust as he raised his leg and moved away. But she'd already managed to get her scent all over his paws. As if he wasn't dirty enough from all the mud.
But when Dragon spoke the word "Bonebound" he paused. He'd also heard the name before. It connected back to Canis, as Dragon had. He hadn't been home in a long time...but yes, he knew the name. And, after a moment of thinking, he remembered.
He looked back down towards Wilder and frowned.
Wilder completely ignored the venom in Serek's voice, as if she hadn't even noticed. She smiled up at him.
She turned back to Dragon, fairly satisfied that she'd learned a good amount of the Children of Rot. And perhaps enough to tell the Collector.
Dragon listened, bemused, to the kitten's rapid speech. Serek had spoken, too. The hybrid's aggression toward his mother, for whatever reason it was present, was totally lost on Dragon--as was his bitterness about Wilder. However, the challenge was there--the question--and so Dragon turned to Serek and spoke levelly.
"Many of our members have been small. Birds! Bats! Snakes. They go where we cannot, and listen where we would be seen; they take messages swiftly. Size means little." Perhaps it was a reproach, or perhaps reassurance to Wilder--or maybe Dragon was just speaking fact.
In any case, he turned back to Wilder, afterward. "Go, then; and go well. Return this leader to me, Child of Rot."
Dragon turned, then, hauling himself into the swamp. "If either of you two wish to speak, I will be at the offering pile," he added over his shoulder, just in case; he wasn't trying to abandon his brethren. He was simply hungry.
(if anyone wants to follow Dragon just make a new thread & tag me--in any case, exit Dragon!)
Serek huffed. He had no reason to stick around. He didn't want anything from the cat. He glanced at Dragon, wondering if he should take him up on his offer to chat but then he thought better of it. He wanted to back to his hole and sleep more.
Without a word, he turned around, his tail swishing behind him, as he left the scene to return to his den.
*exit