For a moment, Dread's blunt mind was ready to dismiss Wilder's talk of redemption. It was a waste of time, of effort; and how could anyone tell if they were 'saved' or just faking it, in the end? But as he took aim at the far wall, he... stopped, and after a moment, looked distant. He stared off, as if looking past the stone.

He was-... thinking.

His daughter. Bone. She was likely Hive, likely infected. He sure wasn't about to kill her, and she wasn't even an enemy--was she?--and was he even right about all of that? But could she be... 'saved?' Would she even want to be? It was a guilt, a distant chip of misery that he tucked away in his heart and promptly tried to ignore, on most days.

Ember eyes flicked back to Wilder, studying her silently though his snout stayed pointed at the wall. "I hope that you can save some," was all he offered, at last, quieter than usual. He shook himself, then, dismissing the thought, and snapped his jaws back open. The torrent of flame that guttered out was crackling, roaring, and flared out across a relatively wide span of the wall before him--right to left, in sweeping cinders.

When he'd finished, he did not look back to Wilder.

"IF YOU WANT TO LEARN, THE PALACE IS GOOD FOR LEARNING." He shook himself, again--eyes closed, fins and spines all rattling--then turned to glance away. As for discovery, and peace-... Well, he could understand that. Just lazing about was the best possible sort of day, in Dread's books. Setting things on fire, though, was a very close second.

"I WILL GO AND REST NOW. BUT I WILL COME BACK, TO BURN MORE. IF YOU ARE STILL HERE, WE CAN TALK AGAIN."

@Wilder

Wilder was surprised at the…was that a note of tenderness in his voice? It wasn’t his usual commanding roar and Wilder wondered if there was more of a connection between Dread and the Hive beside his greed for gold and setting things on fire. Well…she wouldn’t pry, since Dread was already collecting himself, blasting another torrent of flame that made her feel like she was in an oven.

She nodded, shaking her pelt out, bits of ash and puffing off her black fur like a light snow. ”Okay, thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” She knew this already - the palace library was full of books and scrolls filled with knowledge and she’d begun taking baby steps in learning how to decipher them.

Taking a last bit of the burning fungus and flinging it around to light more, she felt satisfied in what they’d done here. The area around them was still smoldering, but a good amount of the fungus had been cleared away. She stretched out, ready to say goodbye and leave when something nagged at her brain. The vision. She hadn’t really mentioned it to Dread - it had seemed insignificant in the moment, but now that she thought about it again, she wondered what it had meant. Tunnel T? She had no idea where that was.

Before she left, she stepped up again, thinking of the strange blur she’d seen. ”Before you go…do you know anyone that has…uh…a face of arms? And wings. They’d be mostly black and gold.” A little random, but it had only occurred to her then that Dread might know.

@Dread

What a strange question! "NO?" Dread blurted when the description did not immediately trigger memory--and then it did a moment later, and he blinked. Wait. "-YES!" he corrected himself. "IT FOUGHT ORDER IN THE NEW CAVE. WHEN THE COLD ONES OPENED UP," he explained, shaking himself like a wet dog and blinking.

He thought for a moment. "I DO NOT KNOW HIS NAME. MAYBE ASTRAEA DOES. -WHY?" he asked, tilting his head curiously to peer down at the cat.

@Wilder

IT wasn’t much, but it was something to start on. If she wanted to find out what was at the end of this trail that was suddenly forming in her mind, she might go ask about the fight for the new caves. Or ask Astraea.

But the thought of facing the deer after what she’d witnessed associated with him…no, she couldn’t. She shivered, but still looked back up at Dread and gave him a nod. ”Okay, thanks. I’ll ask around.”

She paused. Did she want to divulge all of it to Dread right now? She imagined it might take a while to explain - he might ask about how she’d seen it and she didn’t imagine that it was something the dragon would grasp right away. His magic was all fire and fury and destruction. Very different than her subtle mind trickery and visions.

She shrugged. ”I’m just looking for them. Some stuff I wanna ask them about. If it fights Order, then it should be alright.”

Nodding again to Dread, she took a step back. ”I’ll see you around, Dread. It was nice to see you.” Yeah, nice was certainly a word to describe this meeting, but Wilder wasn’t going to get specific with the details. A last flick of her tail and she turned, trotting away to start on her new mission.

*exit

@Dread

When she had given her answers, he huffed a thread of smoke in farewell. "MAYBE YOU CAN FIND BUG," he offered, though he did not know if she really wanted to or not.

It didn't, he supposed, matter. Though he imagined Bug might like to meet her other parent. To him, though-... He wanted to go and rest; he could return later and continue his work here.

He turned, wing-walking for a broader open area between the crystals--and as he picked up speed he turned, inhaling and then exhaling a long, lingering blast of flame that scoured a section of white-choked, glittering purple he hadn't yet touched. Then he was airborne, wings beating to carry him (very carefully) to the tunnel beyond--where he'd need to land and walk again, but that was the downside of having the wingspan of a dragon.

exit Dread