Brontide’s first sense was space.

Her whole body was clothed by thick rock. Schorl, the dark, iron-rich tourmaline, squeezed down on her shoulders and neck. It confined her rump, and bound her limbs and muzzle. The intrapped stance was already making her muscles sore. The sloth bear cub flexed, but only found her physical map reminded.

She hated it. Her dark brown eyes, tearing up in frustration, could almost see through the bleary black crystal. There was something out there, loud and perpetual. Brontide knew nothing of this world but instincts advised her that being trapped in a choking material would do no good against anything... dangerous. Brontide huffed the nonexistent air. Her rib cage grew and she threw her limbs together as hard as she could. Her skin receipted a schism.

A sloth bear cub laid on the ground, fractured schorl in long thin crystals around her, hot wind dancing through her shaggy black hair. A small bit of shorl remained on her neck. She huffed at the exertion but never felt more alive.

Brontide raised her head to look around. There were walls everywhere, even above her. They were too far for her to touch, however. She sighed. She traded a small cage for a bigger one.

Brontide got herself in sitting position. The wind still buffeted her face no matter the direction she turned it. Her nose and eyes were already going dry and sore. Frustrated, the cub pulled her two front paws up to her face to shield it. She lifted them slightly to still be able to see, staring straight down. A long shard of schorl, though she didn’t know it’s name, was between her feet. Brontide twisted her torso around to look behind her at the shattered crystals. It was so much smaller than it seemed inside. She squinted her eyes, but couldn’t see beyond the remains. Fully interested now, the cub laid down her protective paws, squinted her eyes, tightened her nostrils, and walked to the edge of the crystal.

It was a ledge. There was just... no more floor. Brontide stepped back as adrenaline coursed through her, then settled and looked down. It went a far way to the bottom. Daringly she stretched one paw over the edge. Wind from beneath tickled it and she snorted in excitement. The cub then stuck out her long tongue into the air. A drip of saliva fell off. She snorted again and started getting ideas. She turned around, grabbed a tube of the black tourmaline from the ground in her mouth, and dropped it off the edge.

There had been a crack.

He wasn't sure, at first, what it was; he hadn't been quite asleep, more drowsing up on his ledge near the light-orbs. Now he could hear a soft shuffling. It was not too far away, and after a moment, curious, he hauled himself up. His long, serpentine body slipped forward, scales glinting in the bright light.

Nothing ever came up here. Not that he had seen, at least. His den, full of shining stones and singing crystals, had long been safely left alone.

Now, with a huff, he began to slowly crawl down the narrow trail leading down, his horned head craned toward the sound. It was strange; when he had been smaller, the trail had been easy to traverse. Now, he was nearly falling off the sides--he had simply grown too large, and he hadn't come up on foot in so long that he had not realized.

With a grumble he turned, spreading wings and dropping into nothingness, leathery limbs unfurling to catch the air. He felt the familiar pleasure of the updraft catching his descent, felt his tail lash downward and back up as he began beating his wings, regaining his balance. He then turned, and flew out a bit from the wall, peering back to inspect the ledge.

It took him a moment to spot the bear cub--a small, furred black thing on a ledge with no trail down. Curious, he lowered himself further, dropping until he was face-to-face with the baby, or nearly so. It was barely as large as his foot--not even--and he had no idea what it was. Was it even a greater gembound, capable of speech..? Did it live here? How had it gotten here? It had, so far as he could see, no wings.

"Who are you?" he rumbled at last, bass voice quizzical with bewilderment.

@Brontide

Brontide watched in amazement as the long shard twisted and turned in the air. It didn’t fall straight down, but was pushed slightly away from the rocks by the wind, spinning fast and carefree. She watched it shrink in size to nothingness. She didn’t fully understand the mechanics at play, but found it fascinating.

She turned away to grab another stick and came back to a huge wall of scales.

The draconian face filled her vision and seemed never-ending. Brontife paused to comprehend the sight in front of her and came to a conclusion: she couldn’t drop crystal sticks with this blocking her way. It roared its question.

Brontide grunted and rise onto her hind legs, raising her sickle-adorned paws above her head in an attempt to be as big as whatever was in front of her. Her feet were not as stable as she’d hoped, and she had to readjust her stance multiple times to combat the wind. Still, she dropped the crystal to her feet and stuck her tongue out between her canines. “I’m me!” she yipped, her lack of upper incisors giving her a lisp, “and you’re blocking my way!” To prove her point, she grabbed the crystal and chucked it off the cliff.

@Dread

The dragon dropped, wings batting backward, in a fierce flinch as the stone bounced off his scales. He peered as it fell, then idly dove down after it, sharp eyes nearly losing track of it as it tumbled down toward the ground far below.

There were a couple of gemstone pieces there, he saw, and in his greed for shiny objects, he carefully gathered each of them in his claws. He was there for a few moments, frustratedly scuffling the tiny stones into his massive forelimbs, before finally leaping back into the air. Wings beat as he made his way back up to where the baby bear had hatched.

"STONES!" he bellowed in approval. "ARE THERE MORE!?" His voice, bass and loud as it was, was completely uncontrolled in his enthusiasm, a boom of unrestrained sound. He then hovered there, wings beating, long tail lashing beneath: a twenty-five-foot-long dragon, staring down expectantly at a newborn Gembound the size of his tail tip. He assumed that it was giving him gifts, and so he added, in another excited bellow--remembering what the bird-dog White had taught him--"THANK YOU."

@Brontide

Brontide watched in pure astonishment as the dragon exposed its full length, rushing down after the crystal she’d just thrown. Was this a new game? It didn’t seem to be coming back up.

Brontide sat down and sighed. The encounter left her nerves fried. She was beyond curious of what else was in store for her, but her body needed to calm down. She slouched and rested, a clump of black shaggy fur.

That thing was so huge. It was like a cliff came to life. Brontide patted the ground, half expecting it to roar awake. It stayed dirt. She licked the dust off her paw. It tasted like her crystal. Did the beast taste like dirt too? Brontide shakily stood up and wandered around her crystal, looking for a way down. There wasn’t any.

The air exploded as the dragon flew back and screamed. She couldn’t help but flinch, but calmed a little when she recognized it. It liked her chrystals, her “stones”?

“I have more stones,” she spoke, relaxing her eyes in a smile. This thing was fun to talk to. She pointed to her shattered chrysalis. “You can have it if you bring me down.” She walked to the edge and pointed down. Then she looked at him hopefully. He could go up and down in the air, but maybe only big things could do that. She would hitch a ride.

@Dread

Dread blinked.

It would give him more, and all he had to do was fly? Why, that was easy! He'd carried plenty of rocks and lots of prey before. He'd have to be careful not to hurt this thing, though--it was so small.

He rumbled his assent. "YES." And then, as if to temper this with at least some measure of dignity, he added--"I accept your exchange!"

Cautious, he edged forward, reaching out a taloned hind limb as he bobbed up and down, trying his best to pick the bear cub up in a foot. He still had stones clutched precariously in the single-clawed digit on each wing-limb, so this was taking a great deal of concentration!

Carefully he picked her up, keeping his talons not quite pointed at her, and then he slipped back from the ledge--his wings never ceasing their beating. Down he glided, turning and banking, long tail lashing out behind him. The cliffs slipped past, the 'sky' falling away until at last he reached the cave floor, where it stretched warm and vast over the Gorge. Here he slowed, and then hovered, lowering himself by gradual increments until he could safely deposit the cub on the ground.

He then thumped down beside it, leaning on wings and supported by feet, turning his big head to inspect the creature. "What are you?" he asked, curious--and loud.

ooc note - if you want Brontide to resist in any way just let me know and I'll adjust my post! Dread won't force it but I went ahead and assumed she'd allow it since she requested! Sorry if wrong!

@Brontide

Brontide did not understand the words “accept” or “exchange”, but still walked into the outstretched paw. As the dragon descended, she huddled, unable to see what was happening. She did want to see, but part of her was so happy to be held. The paw was gentle, warm, helpful, not at all like the terrible stone that entrapped her. She hummed softly and licked his scales. It did taste like dust, but also like so much more, salty, ashy, holding traces of past things held. The cub licked his claw for the rest of the trip, laying her belly down and stretching out her legs.

Finally the claw unfurled and the hot air once again pushed across her face. Brontide eagerly jumped off and ran around, stretching her legs and eyes. This cave wasn’t small. Is was huge. And if the beast lived here, it also was awesome.

“What am I?” She repeated after it, scared of it no longer. She spoke loudly. She wanted to be just like the beast. “I don’t know what I am! Maybe I’m a stone! Maybe I’m an ‘exchange’!” She answered cheerfully, walking close to him. “What are you?” Her gaze caught his tail and the black stone at its tip. “Are you a stone?”

@Dread

Dread stared down, blinking.

For a moment he was proud that the little one thought, perhaps, that he was a shiny--so much so that he was tempted to say yes. Yes, I am a fabulous diamond. But it was also wondering if it, itself was an "exchange" which was confusing to say the least.

After a moment he spoke simply; as he did, he shifted the little shards of stone from prior so that they were now held in his feet, instead of his wing-claws.

"I am Dread! I am a dragon," he explained. "I do have many rocks." And then, in a spurt of impulsive magnanimity, he added his final bit of knowledge: "You must always say thank you when given a gift!" There. Now he had imparted his worldly wisdom to the bear.

He looked around, snorting hot air as he considered the little one's survival prospects for the first time. There was not a lot it could eat, here--or did it eat meaty things, too? "There are rats and bats below but once I ate one of the bats and became very sick, so now I do not. I burn them from far if they come closer. There are deer down in the gorge. There was a wolf who came and attacked but I set that on fire," he added, "and a creature that tried to steal my stones, but I set that on fire as well. I do not know what of these things you can eat! Or what might eat you."

He had a memory, briefly, of himself as a hatchling--lonely and alone in Fornax, learning to hunt, to fly, without any guidance. He did not think that it had been pleasant; he had longed for company. Perhaps this knowledge, at least, would help Brontide.

Such as it was.

@Brontide

Brontide watched the dragon as he spoke. Yes, this was a very smart guy. It was a good thing she found him.

“If you’re Dread, I’m Brontide.” She said. It sounded like a good name, and felt good to say. “Since you don’t know what I am I’ll find out by myself.” She paused and remembered the stones up on the ledge. “Can only dragons make fire?”

She sat down and grabbed her feet in her paws. If a wolf tried to attack Dread then it must be a big creature. Brontide didn’t want to eat anything that Dread burned, since he burned bad things. In the meantime, at least she had someone to talk to.

@Dread