Well, that offer sounded exactly the same, to him! The thing would stay and protect his things and bring more things and be a sort-of-thing, but not entirely a thing, but that was fine. As long as he could stare at its beautiful stone.

He wanted it. He really did. He wanted it more than almost anything but White had told him not to rip off other Gembounds' stones so he did his best not to.

However, he did wind up staring at it again, transfixed, shreds of meat still dangling from his jaws. When the eagle flipped its head back to swallow down a bit of its meal, he'd found the stone glinting in the light again. At length Dread managed to shake himself free of the distraction with a snort.

"IF YOU DIE I WANT IT," he decided, loudly, and then in a slightly more reasonable tone, added, "But White said not to take stone when you are alive. I wait. Don't take," he added in a warning tone, still screechy with adolescense, and a nod back to his pile.

He could feed the thing, if it wanted. It could stay, as long as it didn't steal his things.

"You make fire?" he added. It made sense to him; the thing was a warm golden color, with a fiery gem. Clearly, it must make fire.

@Glory

As Glory continued to eat, he listened to Dread's reaction, hoping he had said the right things. It seemed he did, as the dragon roared his own confirmation that the deal was struck. Personally, Glory was on the edge about letting the dragon treat him like a possession. But it seemed that the dragon cared only for his gem to be a part of his pile, not his whole person. He wasn't sure it this was good or worse.

But, for now, he had done what he had come to do! Make a friend, if that was what this relationship could be called. But Glory hoped that Dread would see, in time, that he was worthy of him, not just as something to add to the pile, but as a friend and a trusted ally. Because having a dragon as an ally...that was glorious.

At the mention of fire, Glory perked up. "As a matter of fact, I do! Well, not completely, not wholly yet, but I will! I will become fire itself!" With a triumphant screech, he sent a blast of hot air the dragon's way, not nearly hot enough to do any damage, but hopefully enough that he would feel it, at least. He stood back up, proudly, fluffing out his chest feathers.

_______________________________________________________

"I speak!"
I think.

tags: @Dread
notes:

Dread wasn't sure what he'd expected. There was no real protocol for showing one's magic to others, perhaps, yet still he'd not expected the bird to blow its heat at him. At first he thought it an attack, and quickly recoiled with a snarl, the spines along his back all bristling; but the heat blew harmlessly over him, and bar narrowing his eyes a bit against its sudden wind, he found it more pleasant than harmful.

He then stared, for a moment, unsure as to what the hell the polite response was to someone blowing hot air over you. He wasn't sure he even cared about being polite, really, but he also didn't want to seem wholly at a loss. He tried, for a moment, to call up his own fire, but after he'd charred this deer to death it seemed content to lie dormant in his belly. With a huff he turned, tail scraping over stone, and tore off another hunk of meat to gulp down.

Better than doing nothing, anyway.

"Are you a phoenix?" Dread asked bluntly, firing a suspicious stare over his shoulder at Glory.

He had no idea what else it might be, but it seemed phoenix-like, so it--probably was..?

@Glory

Glory was expecting the dragon to give a display of fire back at him, but when nothing came he assumed that the spell had failed. That was okay, he understood. He had failed his own heat spells enough times before. The effort was there and that was all that counted to him in this situation.

But as for what he was, it took Glory a moment to think about it. The word 'eagle' had been floating around his head for a while, but this 'phoenix' title sounded equally as awesome! Did he want to go back on what he felt inside to take up this mantle? Well, perhaps he could be both? Dread probably knew more about what being a phoenix was then he did. "I...do not know what a phoenix is. Are they a type of bird?"

Following suite, he reached down and tore another chunk of meat from his carcass and swallowed it as he did before.

_______________________________________________________

"I speak!"
I think.

tags: @Dread
notes:

The dragon huffed, wolfing down another few chunks of flesh and bone before bothering to respond. He seemed far more absorbed in the task of eating than that of conversation.

"Never seen," he growled at last. "Only heard of." He cast another baleful, jealous look at the fiery gem atop the eagle's head, then turned, wing-walking past the tattered fur and bones that remained of the deer to coil slowly and sinuously over his pile of shinies.

With that he lowered his head, sliding it down to rest protectively over his gem-tail. Unfortunately for Glory, he seemed entirely disinterested in conversing; the bird was a mild annoyance, nothing more, to the dragon. It was only due to the gem that Dread was tolerating him now, and he watched with one half-lidded eye as if to ensure the bird wouldn't steal his things while he rested.

@Glory

Glory watched and waited as Dread climbed onto his hoard. He was expecting the dragon to tell him exactly what a phoenix was, as his interest was piqued, but was disappointed that he chose to simply glare at him suspiciously. Slightly put out, Glory stepped back, trying to think about what he would do next. He was no feeling respected, not in the slightest, but he wanted to impress this creature. He felt the need to be seen as an equal, even with a behemoth like Dread.

But how could he do that when, compared to his physical size, he was so small? Well...he could collect him more things! For his hoard! Do him a favor, make him happy and perhaps he would see that he could be respected! Besides, hunting for pretty things could turn out to be pretty fun. Glory ruffled his feathers, leaned down to nip one last bite of food, and then looked at Dread. "Okay, my friend! I shall go now and find you gems and pretty things worthy of this magnificent hoard! And none I shall keep for myself! I shall see you soon!"

He turned away from the dragon and stepped towards the end of the ledge outside of his cave. He spared a last glance before opening his growing wings and hopping into the wind. He struggled for a second, but then let the air catch him. He would find him the best gems - even greater then the one he wore on his head!

*exit

_______________________________________________________

"I speak!"
I think.

tags: @Dread
notes:

Dread shifted on his pile with a huff, watching the eagle go. He was about to protest--to tell Glory that he could keep some of the stuff he found? It seemed only fair. But the bird was gone before he could speak, and truth be told, he felt relieved.

Relieved, and a little excited about what the fire-bird might bring him.

For now he let his ember eyes slip shut, curled almost entirely over his pile of shinies, just a few pieces sticking out here and there under his bulk. Soon he was breathing deeply and evenly, twin strands of smoke at times twining up from his nostrils.

The path below was still charred black, and now, added to the scattered bones around the dragon, lay the fresh almost entirely-eaten deer carcass strewn haphazardly over the stone.

It was not exactly a welcoming sight.

Thread still open to any interaction.

The days blurred; he came and he went. More stones were added to the pile; more charred bones piled up outside it, their burnt and rancid stink tainting the air around the den.

Dread liked it.

In fact, he loved it. He was smugly content in his little home, and he gladly spent many hours of the day curled up on his pile, basking. He hunted; he ate, he slept. He gathered shinies, at times, when he was bored.

It was a long while later--days? Weeks?--that something jarred him from his pleasant tedium. A prickle, felt first along his spines. He woke abruptly, with a chill, the spines all on end and a strange feeling like cool winds ruffling along his scales.

But it wasn't wind, was it? No. It is still hot. Hot. Not cold. So what is this..?

He lifted his scaled head higher, peering around with hawk-sharp ember eyes, body shifting entirely as he came to full attention. Something is wrong. Something is... different.

He hissed quietly to himself, and lay there for a time, but heard and saw nothing out of the ordinary. No, he merely felt... energized? Yes. Energized. As though he had more power than before.

Dread shook himself, dog-like, and hauled himself to his feet. He plodded forward with a quiet, leathery rustle on his wing-arms, then peered down and around Monoceros.

The Gorge looked normal. The Twister was still... well, twisting. Shaking himself again, he at length--after watching, for a time, and seeing nothing out of the ordinary--leapt from his ledge. His wings spread, catching the air, and he soared forward, swiftly arrowing toward the storm that raged at the cave's center. Here he circled, for a time, avoiding the violent winds themselves. He flew at a distance, then banked away, flapping his way with powerful beats of his broad wings off toward the farther cave wall. The strange, energized feeling filled him, and he opened his jaws, letting out a triumphant roar that echoed through the caves.

He then flew for a time, this way and that. At times, he thought he heard a strange sound--a tinkling, a chiming; but he found nothing, and the dragon simply continued to fly, leaving his hoard--for now--unguarded.

Glory went flying back to Dread's hoard immediately, hoping that the gems he had left behind wouldn't get stolen before the dragon could get there. He fluttered the best he could on sore wings back to the cave where the dragon had been before but, to his surprise, found it empty. He thought that Dread would always stay here, guarding his hoard! Curious, but Glory wasn't going to give up!

He turned and ran towards the edge of the cliff, trying to catch sight of the huge creature flying around while taking a deep breath, ready to call out as loud as he could. The squaking voice that came out squeaked a little out of excitement and from youth, but it at least projected enough to start echoing around the walls and carried through the winds. "DREAD!! I FOUND SOME SHINY THINGS FOR YOU!! DREAAAAD!!!"

@Dread

Dread heard his name, shouted out over the sound of even the storm and the strange tinkling sounds. He turned, banking, letting out a loud roar of acknowledgement as he flapped his way toward the voice. It was, he thought, the eagle--and it was coming from his den. Shiny things? Good!

Heavy wings beat a loud, rapid thump in the air as he arrowed his way back, and in the distance he could see the eagle perched at the den.

Dread landed a bit overenthusiastically, greedily excited to see what Glory might have found. Wings and feet skidded onto rock, sending dust pluming up all around him. He hissed and shook his head, blinking, and when he could at last see through what he'd kicked up, he quickly scooted forward, inspecting him. But he saw no shinies.

He jutted his long, narrow head closer, ember eyes flicking over Glory--then pulled back, narrowing them suspiciously. Was this a trick?! Bitterly disappointed, he let out a sound like a groaning whine.

"Where?!" he half-demanded, half-lamented, gaze fixed on the fire-headed eagle.

@Glory