Dread wasn't quite sure what the proper gift-exchanging protocol was, but it seemed to him that setting the pearl down vaguely in Asimona's shadow, and then attempting to pick both the other minerals in his maw, was a good option.

A moment later, both items stuffed into his jaw, he looked back up at Asimona, his eyes shining with the excitement of it all--and remembered the magic words. "FNNK RGH," he offered, and then blinked unevenly.

He realized, rather abruptly, that this would not work. With a soft "pah" he spat both the pyrite and the sapphire down onto the talons of his waiting hind foot, and blinked up again at Asimona.

Take two.

"THANK YOU," he managed. "This one will remind me of you! I wil visit you, in Pisces." A pause, and then--"How do I get there?"

@Asimona

Asimona watched, trying not to show her amusement on her face, as Dread leaned over and attempted to pick up the two stones she'd set down for him. She waited paitently while he tried to figure this out before nodding. "You're welcome. I wish I could have found some real gold for you, but I'll have some for you next time." She picked up the pearl and looked it over again, wondering if it held any life.

And even if it did, would she even revive it?

That thought was inviting other, more upsetting things into her head so she set it down, almost missing Dread's question. She stared blankly at him for a moment while her brain processed his words before clarity returned and she started. "Oh, uh," she raised her head and looked around until she spotted the tunnel she was looking for. She raised a limb and pointed towards the direction of Tunnel O. "From here, you can just go through that tunnel. You'll find my nest where the air is the coldest and frost covers the ground. If you're coming from Monoceros..." She paused and tried to visualize Orion.

"If you turn right when you enter Orion and follow the wall, there's a tunnel at the end. Go straight down the tunnel, don't turn left or it'll take you to Fornax."

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

tags: @Dread
notes:

He nosed briefly at the stones in his talons, and then looked up again, blinking as he tried to pay attention. He blinked, briefly, exhaling hot breath as he imagined the route in his mind.

"Oh!" Dread cried, with sudden realization. "Back home. Or--first-home. Where--Fornax--I HATCHED!" He sounded, for whatever reason, rather excited about this.

"I will find it. I will bring another shiny," he decided, too. He couldn't remember what sort of things he'd given Asimona in the past. It should probably, he reflected, be something new then.

To Dread, the pseudo-ritual "giving of shinies" was a greeting, a declaration of alliance, an assurance of friendliness, or a sign of loyalty, among other things. He valued shiny objects; therefore, giving them to others was a sure sign that he liked them. And the only other dragon he'd ever met certainly featured quite high on the list of those he liked.

Almost guiltily, he glanced back at the flint he'd left lying on the rock. It was threatening to fuse with the stone beneath, and he huffed. "Need to go, take that out of here," he explained, and glanced back to Asimona with something of an apologetic, draconic shrug.

He turned, then, shuffling back to the other stones, very, very awkwardly stuffing as many of them as he could into jaws and talons, so that when he glanced at Asimona again, he seemed simply to be bristling with them. He said something that might have been "goodbye" past the mouthful of rocks, and then stared expectantly.

@Asimona

Asimona started at Dread's sudden outcry, taking the smallest of steps back, more out of instinctive surprise then anything. A confused expression passed across her face, but she realized what he was talking about a moment later. Yeah, they had both been in Fornax, right? When Dread had been very tiny and very cute and Asimona had been quite young herself. "Oh, yeah!" But she didn't really have any other comment to add on, as Dread was already moving on. "And I'll make sure I'll have something gold for you." Yeah, and this time she'd definitely make it gold. Not...fool's gold.

She nodded, casting a slightly amused glance at the flint-stone. Not that there was anything particularly funny about Dread almost killing someone, but just that he was actually taking care of it. "Of course, I understand. I'll see you in Pisces sometime, then." She reached forward and collected her pearl, thankful for the short encounter. It certainly had cleared her mind up thoroughly and she was at last ready to head home without the weight of those crushing memories.

She raised a wing in farewell, almost breaking composure at how ridiculous Dread looked with all those rocks and stones teeming from his jaws and talons.

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

tags: @Dread
notes:

The dragon shook himself, thinking.

"GOLD IS GOOD," he called, at last (with a mouthful of gemstones), seemingly coming to terms with the oh-so-terrible concept of being given a gift of what he cherished above all else.

His wing-beats were laborious, huge bass whumps of air as he thrust himself into the sky (such as it was). His tail lashed behind him for balance, and it was clear that Dread was having trouble carrying all the things he was carrying.

He considered, briefly, his path. Tunnel N was shorter, but he really didn't want to have to land and waddle slowly through with his feet full of shinies. Instead, he turned and banked for Tunnel I, which was broader and would allow him uninterrupted flight to J, and Monoceros beyond.

The black dragon's wingbeats quickly faded, with Polaris left behind.

exit Dread

Asimona watched him leave for a moment before unfurling both of her wings and taking off into the sky. She clutched the pearl in her claws and headed towards the tunnel that lead back to Pisces.

*exit

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

tags:
notes: