Glory hopped with surprise at the loud dragon's roar, but steadied himself for Dread's arrival. When the great black beast came into view, he raised his head proudly and shuffled his feet with excitement. But then when the dragon landed, dust was kicked into his face and he coughed a little bird, giving his wings a few flaps to try and clear the dust all around him. He waved out his head with his eyes shut, trying to keep the dust out of them.

Finally, it managed to clear enough for him to open his eyes again. He looked up at the dragon, a little annoyed at the mess he had made, but he was too excited to think about it for the moment. "In the tunnel," he answered, proudly. "It's a gem that makes noise and its almost as big as me! I would have brought it to you, but I couldn't get it out! If you want, I lead you there and you can pull it out! I'm sure you're a lot stronger then me! Also," Glory remembered at the last minute the new magic he had discovered, "I found out I could do something cool! Watch!"

He leaned down towards the ground and gathered some of the dust and pebbles Dread had kicked up from his landing. He moved them together with his beak until there was a good sized pile in front of him. He touched the top with his beak and a small glow came from his gem. The dust began to twist and compress, changing color until there was a green crystal in front of him, nice and round and shiny. He opened his beak and picked it up, showing it to Dread before hopping forward and laying it in front of his head. "I can make some more for you, of course! It's kind of fun! Eventually, I'll get so good at it, I can make you an exact replica of my gem!"

@Dread

The black dragon let out a shrieking, short roar of delight. Now this was good! He leaned down, sniffing excitedly over the green round gem. Delight sparked in his ember eyes, and he lifted them happily, almost childlike, to watch Glory.

Another gem, in a tunnel? This was too good!

"Good!" he cried excitedly, completely forgetting the "please" and "thank you" manners White had taught him, in his enthusiasm. "Show! I come!"

He could help, certainly! He could move ANY shiny, and get it back here! Because shinies were great! Tail lashing, almost cat-like, in his joy, he waited--bright eyes fixed on the eagle before him.

He almost, almost, seemed to be smiling.

@Glory

Glory was pleased to see Dread so excited. He was proud that his skills were being used to make another creature happy, even if that creature was a hoarding dragon. I should do this more often!

He quickly picked up the gem in front of Dread and turned, fluttering towards the dragon's hoard and carefully placing it on top where it could be seen. He stepped back, observing it proudly, before turning towards Dread again. "Okay, then lets be off! You'll love the gem, I promise!"

He ran towards the edge of the cliff and threw himself off, his wings immediately picking up the wind, leading Dread towards the tunnel where he had found the singing gem.

*exit again

@Dread

Dread listened closely--or tried to. His ember eyes were fixed on the beautiful green gem, and he almost didn't notice when Glory took flight.

He heard the rustle of feathers, and jerked his head up, glancing sharply after the eagle; with a protesting squawk, only now registering what Glory had said, he followed.

He leapt outward as well, wings spreading and billowing as they harshly caught the wind, his takeoff anything but graceful. With another shrieking roar he banked, pursing, following his friendly bird-guide to whatever shinies lay ahead.

(Temporary exit to This Thread)

The dragon came crashing in, tail lashing as he smashed down into the den. He was too cheerful to care about the clawmarks one foot left torn into the stone, or the plume of dust that left him wheezing. No! He had a giant, singing crystal in one foot--courtesy of Glory--and it was his new pride and joy.

He opened his jaws, spitting out a smaller, imperfect red stone--but still pretty, still worth adding to his hoard. And then he hauled his foot forward and inspected his new favorite: the big, gently-chiming thing that the eagle had found him.

It was... It was perfect. And he'd even remembered to say thank you!

He turned his head this way and that, his ember gaze rapt. He had so many shiny stones--with metallic flecks, or of brilliant colors--and so many Baubled ones that gave off light. But this was the first that gave off sound. Were there others, out there? Perhaps stones that were warm to the touch, or tasted good..? Were there treasures for all the senses?!

Dread slowly curled up, his full attention now on his hoard, tail slowly sweeping to and fro to one side of his face as he gazed upon (and listened to) his trove, entranced.

The dragon was full-sized, by now; his growth had slowed to a crawl, and his massive bulk found even this ledge a little too small.

A grumble; a sweep of his tail. The vocalizations now were a deep and rumbling bass, and he could feel it in the rock beneath, vibrating; he let out another groaning sigh, just to revel in the power of his own voice.

He was not so hungry as much, anymore--but when he was, he needed big meals. And right now, he was hungry. The growling of his stomach echoed his voice, and at length he raised his muscled neck, and shook himself. The spines along his backbone rattled, and he yawned, fangs glinting in Monoceros' orb-light.

Dread hauled himself to the edge, black scales dusty, and looked down.

The Twister was spinning, as always, its deafening howls just far off enough that he could listen for prey--but there was nothing. There never was, not this close, and the Gorge was now dangerous for him. When he'd been younger he could dive in, nimbly darting in and out of the canyon's trenches, diving and sweeping on smaller prey. Now, he risked crashing into the ledges and outcrops along its length, and becoming trapped down there, or even injuring himself in the fall.

With a grunt he shoved himself off his ledge and fell, wings spreading, billowing and catching the warm air. Joy thrilled through him as his wingbeats lifted him to soar on the updraft. A deep, echoing screech of a roar ripped from his gullet, echoing through the canyons.

The dragon was on the hunt again.

Broad wings banked, spike-tail lashing behind him as he began to soar over Monoceros. His ember eyes were pointed down, sharply watching for movement, for prey. There was a startle of black bats, hurtling away in a tumbling cloud from his approach, but he ignored these--some were sick, and that made him sick, and he hadn't liked that one bit.

Instead he kept on, until he was skirting the twister, feeling its warm tug at his wings. He glanced toward it and turned a little away, a few beats of his powerful wings taking him lower and down over the trenches. Gnarled trees flashed by below, little pools of water at the bottom of the canyons, and--there!

A cave deer was racing away, its tawny hide flashing in the light above. Dread was too fast, overshooting before he could react, and he again banked hard to turn and come around again. He could see it--there, dodging among the stones and roots of the Trench's floor. Heat welled up in his gut and he took a breath, feeling the bellows of his stomach and the roil of his magic combine.

A blast of flame shot forth and down. He'd wanted to fill the trenches with fire, so that as he passed over it wholly engulfed the deer--but the stream of fire was thinner, more focused but far less damaging. Still, it hit its mark, a screaming bleat from below and a tumble on the stones audible as the dragon lifted up and past. He was still far too swift in the air to match a cave deer's speed, and so he turned again, this time slowing and coming down feet-first to land at the edge of the gorge.

Hawklike eyes peered down from his reptilian face, and he could see, now, the tumbled-over shape fifty yards or so up the trench, black smoke billowing from it. He could scent burning hair, and the bleating had stopped; he hauled himself quickly over to it.

The dragon's bulk shoved down into the canyon, pushing aside a half-dead tree and squeezing between rock outcrops as he made his way to his prey.

Dead, and fairly charred--good. He picked this up in his jaws and climbed back out, slipping on the dusty stone a few times as he made his way back up.

He'd take this back to his den, and he'd feed; it'd be enough of a meal for him, if barely.

editing into an exit

- Exit Dread