The orthoclase would hate to admit it, but the sound of large, leathery wings had its heartrate increasing by no small amount. It'd abandoned the rat nest it was in the process of stalking up on and moved to something resembling cover, eyes pointedly on the skies.

When it wasn't, in fact, Dread come for fiery revenge, it eased up slightly, rocking back up to its full height and trundling back to the rats - only to find, with keen disappointment, that they'd all jumped ship when it did. The frantic squeaking and chattering in the distance said as much. Alpha narrowed its eyes with a huff, attention forced to turn on the bone-white dragon as she went off. It recognized her as the one being on fire (maybe) and coming in after the largest of them.

It worked its jaws, contemplating for a moment whether or not it should launch an attack.

Then... it remembered some idle, passing words from its Overseer; something along the lines of "we must remain cordial with these beasts until we can acquire their stones." That wasn't verbatim.

In this beastie's mind, cordial was sitting in the same space and not attacking.

Alpha took surprisingly wary steps towards the alcove the dragon'd gone, shuffling on the outskirts of the bone pit and just listening for once. It idly recognized the scruffy, relatively small creature from that battle in Cetus, but hadn't bothered to remember anything about her short of being assigned to guard duty. It swung its head towards Bone, staring for a moment.

Then, the orthoclase made a poor attempt at looking casual, padding the length of the bone pit until it was a respectable distance from either of them, and just plonking down to watch. All without a single word or sound. Cordial.

@Giggle

Giggle snapped her head toward the sound of footsteps, and blinked as she recognized Orthoclase-Alpha. She hadn't expected it here, though she wasn't surprised; she was aware that it, and its allies, whoever they might be, lived in Canis and its surrounds.

"Hello," she greeted it--not bothering with the theatricality--but before she could continue, Bone had drawn up tall and towering. Giggle glanced between them, the realization flashing through her mind--Oh, of COURSE this thing is related to Vargas, look at it. How did I not see? This must be the one who attacked-... and then she rushed to bark, "No fighting at the bones."

Orthoclase seemed calm enough, but the way Bone was bristling did not bode well, and Giggle didn't want the pit, and all its memories, destroyed.

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

Upon spotting Orthoclase--shortly after hearing it--Bone swivelled and pulled herself to her tallest height. Her neck was held high, head tilted to stare down; she didn't intend to outright attack but Giggle beat her to it.

The dragon glanced at her. "I don't intend to start a fight," she answered; and then, looking back to the toxic beast that had attacked her brother, "I do want to know why you attacked my brother, and what your people want from us."

Her wings shifted across her back, a brief readjustment with a leathery rustle, her massive bulk moving slightly to one side as if to get her a better view. The thing looked a little more battered than she remembered--but she was battered, too. Then again--had Orthoclase ever even seen her when she hadn't set herself on fire..? She didn't think so, anyway.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

The dragon drew up, and Alpha instinctively heaved up to its feet. Quills rattling and venom reflexively forming in its teeth, it postured. Any thought Giggle might've had about its relaxed state was certainly going down the toilet now. Pacing forwards a few steps - still a good distance away, in case Bone took flight - Alpha hissed, "I don't, either."

Easy to believe when you're immediately taking a fighting stance.

It narrowed its eyes, growling across the pit, "I told your - Dread that it was a spar." Quills rattled as it took another step, bristling, "he was weak and I left a reminder." Ironic, given the matte lines in its own exoskeleton where it'd essentially started roasting in its shell. "We want you to give us your stones."

A huff, and it smoothed out ever-so-slightly, "cooperate later, and killing won't be necessary." Acidic eyes challenged despite its words, "I was ordered not to provoke further."

@Giggle

Giggle stared, blinking.

They were demanding the dragons' stones-... and its phrasing. "Cooperate later, and killing won't be necessary?!" She remembered thinking Vargas must have been from a time before--a time of authority--but this-... this was bad. And from the way, out of the corner of her eye, she could see Bone bristle and inhale--that was bad, too.

Giggle shoved to her feet, barking at Orthoclase-Alpha in her best angry mother's voice--which she hoped worked because by the bones she hadn't the power to step between these two if it broke into a real fight.

She could remember its name--because it was an odd one--and it erupted from her throat in a shocked tone.

"ORTHOCLASE-ALPHA!" she cried. "That is NOT how we speak to other GEMBOUND IN THESE CAVES! Who taught you your manners?!" Bluff, bluff, bluff- "We don't threaten to kill other Gembound here-!" For not complying with our orders--seriously what the fuck?! she thought, but didn't say.

Okay, change the topic, Giggs. Get it thinking about something else. A sidelong glance at Bone at least showed that she'd stopped the dragon outright retaliating, for now; and her own outburst had been meant to sidetrack that as much as anything. If it seemed she had control over the situation (which she most certainly didn't) maybe she'd leave it to Giggle-...

"Now, if you're here for a bone reading to tell your future," (and SELL IT, BITCH screamed her mind, and she emitted another unnatural, echoing cackle to emphasize just what a cool fortune-telling witch she was) "then I can do that, but only if you show respect to my other guests. No more threats, here! By the bones, whoever raised you-..." She huffed and muttered, making a show of turning away, shaking her head, pacing around her pit... Anything to defuse it all.

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

Orthoclase-Alpha's words had her eyes narrowing, smoke twining up from her nostrils, lips peeling back in a snarl. She inhaled, instinct pushing her to use the very same magic she'd burned the shit out of herself with--but before she could act, the hyena had gone manic.

Bone blinked sidelong at her, then glared back down at Alpha, silenced in the face of Giggle's tirade--for now.

But a low, rumbling growl--very quiet, but very deep, and bass enough to gently vibrate the stone underfoot--slowly exhaled from her chest as she watched it, her tail twitching behind her.

It was obvious, then, that they intended to attack the dragon family, at some point; she'd have to warn them.

Bone had never been a violent being, but she was thinking, now, that it might be better if they found, and killed, Orthoclase-Alpha alone before it caused any problems down the road. Its own plans of murder had been made clear enough.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

The hyena rose abruptly and the sheer volume and authority in her voice - maybe the rising cackling and Bone's growling, too - had Alpha... going through a confusing cocktail of motions. It went wide-eyed, head rising just so it could just about retreat into the quills underneath it. Despite the lack of proximity, it took a few paces back. It was less about the words actually being spoken, but the tone; it parsed them belatedly, just looking more confused and voicing a quiet "manners?" before Giggle plowed on.

Onto...

"What?" Bone reading - what's reading? It just... stood there for a moment, absolutely gobsmacked by whatever had happened. Aggression forgotten in the moment, it narrowed its eyes, jaw hanging slightly open. Alpha took a gulp and the higher road, slowly settling back onto the ground; this time, just plopping onto its rear. Just in case.

A wary glance spared to Bone, and it stared back at Giggle, "bone reading? What?"

@Giggle

Giggle blinked, her back still turned, tense, to Orthoclase. That worked-? she thought, shocked, and then--It worked!

She quickly moved to capitalize on it, turning back, struggling to think of how the hell to appear super spooky and esoteric and whatnot. Hell.

She paced toward him, not too close but enough to activate some of the spores of the mushroom ring around the area--hopefully not toward Bone because that would be a disaster--while strutting, and speaking. It was a defense, really, those spores--hallucinogenic--but she hoped that by activating some, not too many, it might just... seem. Supernatural, somehow-? She had no idea what Orthoclase might see, no control over what there might be, but she spoke in the most all-knowing fortune-teller goddess voice she could possibly conjure up, all the while.

"I am a seer, a soothsayer, a bone-reader! I read the bones, and I speak to the Lorekeeper. The bones speak to me, and I can read the future on the wind!"

...Fuck, Giggs, 'the wind?' Really? Was that the best she could come up with?! She pressed on, quickly, turning back toward Orthoclase-Alpha. Her voice dropped low, mysterious, her body language a low prowl. "The secrets of the world are open to me. Even your Overseer has been to consult the bones-! For I see--all!" A pause. ...Reign it in, dipshit, she warned herself.

Oh-! Genius-

"Do you have the courage to face your future? To hear what the bones might have to say?" Courage--it couldn't back down from that, right-?

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

Giggle seemed to have this handled.

Bone didn't want to leave her, entirely--she wanted away from Orthoclase, sure (she wasn't really a combatative creature) but she didn't trust it with her apparent new mentor.

The white dragon turned, instead, with a grunt, and plodded up the trail a little, out of the way in case the hyena went to do a bone reading--getting a little distance.

She'd linger, but stay away, a bit; additionally useful, she figured, if she had to blow fire and needed a little head start in range to do so before Alpha got in close.

Really, though, she just didn't want to be near the bastard. She'd wait until it left, and then pick up where she and Giggle had left off.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

Giggle approached and -

Alpha sniffed again, a strange odor dancing into its six nostrils and - What?!

Its vision blurred everywhere except for the space that the hyena occupied, speaking in a ringing, all-knowing tone - and it parsed all of it as immeasurable volumes of power. Alpha's insides churned and it damn near swayed on the spot, either entranced or legitimately nauseous. A few shaky steps back, it barked in its disorientation, "what?!"

"What magic -" it growled, making an exaggerated effort to blink away the dissociative hallucinations being thrown its way, "- are you -" "Even your Overseer ..." "Vargas?" The orthoclase did its best to look solemn, but it was still pacing away from Giggle, nearly slipping and falling into the bone pit twice.

After the second time, it just stood stock-still, gaze fixated on the disorienting motion-tracking vision of Giggle as she prodded at its - the orthoclase hissed altogether too quickly, "I'm not afraid of my future!"

Being killed, disposed of, a waste - failure, failed product of magic and stone. Recycled -

"I'm not. Show me."

Hook, line, and sinker.

@Giggle