Carja had been settling in well since she'd been inducted into the Monoceros thunder, having fit into the family like a glove. So far she'd entertained herself by terrorizing Svartis with her boundless energy, but as she'd failed to even wake him, she'd gone exploring.

To find other dragons, to be precise.

She fluttered down onto the floor of what she'd been shown as Dread's spot. And Ay... Ay-something. There was... Beetle and Bone who she hadn't met yet- and she was still iffy about the names. Either way! She had arrived.

Carja sniffed around gently, blinking her 6 eyes as she peered around, not really seeing anyone. She certainly smelled dragons (specifically Svartis and Blight on herself), but she didn't see anything. So she dared to toddle further inside, her wing-claws clicking on the floor as she walked, the extra-long limbs too awkward to keep folded up all the time, and they served to be useful when she was exploring, as she would walk on them and her hind legs, allowing her to pick up objects to inspect or carry. She was entirely oblivious to anyone or anything in the den she'd discovered.

@Asimona

Asimona didn't actually live in the same place that Dread did - after all, they required completely different climates to be comfortable and it wasn't like either of them were going to put up with the changing of their own temperature for the comfort of the other. Especially not Dread. Asimona usually rested in the icy corner she had Svartis had made, away from Dread's spot. But she wasn't even there at the moment. She'd left some days ago for a quick visit back to Pisces...to see if her other children had come home. And, perhaps, to get a nice breath of truly freezing air.

She was coming back now, a dead cave deer held in her jaws. A quick hunt in Orion had gotten her a good meal. She landed in the middle of the lair and folded her wings up behind her and curling up her tail. She didn't venture into the cave, but she saw something in there - something that wasn't Dread.

She blinked and leaned forward, eyeing the bluish-gray shape. "Hello? What are you doing in there?"

@Carja

Carja, being used to flapping wings being either Blight or Svartis, didn't look up right away, and only continued sniffing all around the cave before jumping as a distinctly female voice sounded out instead of a tired sigh or a chuckle. She turned around to peer up at the female dragon, blinking gently before looking from her to the cave, and back to her.

"... Hi," she said, finding the blue-white dragon very beautiful indeed.

The whelp looked back one last time before taking a few steps towards Asimona and cocking her head, "Who are you? I was um... looking for dragons. Are you Dread?"

Last she checked, Dread was definitely a dude, but things happened.

Carja shook her head out and rubbed her face gently, "Sfartis- hee hee- told me that he lived here. I wanted to say hi!"

She smiled big and wide, both absolutely adorable and so utterly awkward that it was difficult to figure out which one was a better descriptor of the grin she trained on Asimona.

@Asimona

Asimona stared at the little dragon with distinct surprise. She'd never seen anything like it before - it was quite unlike the rest of the dragons in the lair so she assumed that it had just been brought in from somewhere. But it must have been recent, because she'd never seen it before. She tilted her head a bit as it came out to stand in front of her.

She chuckled softly. "No, I'm Asimona. Dread is very large and black and has gold markings on his neck." She gestured. "That's his cave that you're wandering in. Be careful not to take any of his possessions - he's very protective of his treasure." She relaxed a bit at the mention of Svartis. Perhaps he'd allowed the little dragon in here - in that case, she trusted his judgement.

She leaned towards her deer, grabbing a large chunk and tearing it out. She pushed it forward a bit, offering part of her meal to the young dragon. "Svartis is my son. Did he bring you here?"

@Carja

Carja perked up at the meat that was offered and hopped forward to grab it in her front paws, eagerly chowing down on the meal. She looked up at Asimona and shook her head gently before swallowing and answering.

"Blight found me!" she said, "I was in Polaris... and then I was in Cetus- they told me the names of the places when I described them- and then Blight found me and took me to Fornax to learn to fly! After that he took me here and I met Svartis. And then I brought my friend Lass because she's a dragon too and so small I can carry her easily."

The whelp swallowed gently and looked up at Asimona with awe, "Wait- He's your son? Does that mean you're like... my grandma?!"

Carja was utterly delighted at her observation, already considering Svartis to be her 'dad', since Blight seemed to throw that term around so easily.

@Asimona

She continued to eat, a little slower then Carja, tearing strips away thoughtfully as she listened to the young dragon. "Ah, I see. Svartis has been taking care of you, then?" She smiled and held her neck up, proudly. She was so glad that her son was showing so much responsibility and maturity. "He's a good kid. And I'd like to meet your friend sometime too. She must be pretty small - I've never seen a small dragon before, but all friendly dragons are welcome here." She licked her lips before going for another small bite.

The thought of being a grandmother had her choking on the bit of meat she'd just swallowed and she took a deep breath in an effort not to choke on it. "Oh! Oh, I suppose so! If Svartis is your...dad, then, wow. I guess I am a grandmother." She looked down at the young dragon, thinking to herself, A grandchild. This is my grandchild. Maybe not by blood, but by soul. And I guess Blight is too. And Blight's already full grown! It was kind of a lot to take in at the moment so she covered up her surprise by taking another bite.

@Carja

Carja grinned even wider and nodded, "She likes to take naps in flowers!!"

She thankfully missed the fact that Asimona choked, having bent down for another bite, before looking up again, her tail shifting back and forth as she switched gently, excited, and unable to contain herself.

"Grandma!" she squawked and dropped her dinner to bounce over to the she-dragon and press up against her leg like a cat, so excited that she could squeal.

Carja bounded away again to bounce around Asimona in a circle, giggling and laughing before flopping back down near her meal and gobbling the rest down, her belly now full. Love is stored in the Carja, that was for sure.

@Asimona

She smiled. That was nice - very interesting. She also hadn't heard of a plant-based dragon before either. A tiny dragon that liked flowers and might have plant magic. This family really was expanding, wasn't it? It was warming to her heart - a creature that had always been alone but craved nothing more then companionship, family. The warmth of love surrounding her all the time. She couldn't live without it...yet somehow she had crawled through the muck and mirk of life as a lonesome beast for so long.

Perhaps this was why she didn't hear the voices anymore. She had other dragons to fill up that empty void.

She rumbled happily, almost like a purr, when the dragon leaped forward to rub against her leg. She arched her neck down and gently nuzzled the top of her head affectionately. They might have just met, but the dragon's enthusiasm and sweetness was quickly stealing her heart. She watched her gobble up the rest of her half of the deer before asking, "What is your name? I don't think you told it to me."

@Carja

Carja stood up and grinned happily, "Carja!! I named myself- or uh, Blight did! He told me that I used to babble a lot, and he picked the babbles that sounded the most like a name!"

She toddled forward to plant herself between Asimona's front legs and just in front of her chest, leaning forward to flop against her brand-new grandma's chest and slowly slide down to the floor in a mess of overly affectionate whelpling limbs. She wanted snuggles!! And you bet she could tell when someone else needed them, too.

"Hey- do you wanna come see my shinies?" she asked suddenly, perking up, "I find them all over the place!! Eridanus, Orion- I tried to pull one of the stars out of the ceiling but it wouldn't come out... but I found a broken piece on the ground, so that was nice!"

@Asimona

Asimona inclined her head a bit. "Carja, that's a very nice name!" She chuckled as Carja wobbled up to her, goofing around between her legs. The dragon was quite oddly affectionate and very silly. That was refreshing between all the heavy darkness she'd had to deal with in the past few cycles, with the fight between her family and Vargas's soldiers and the worry for her first litter that always weighed so heavily on her mind from time to time. It was nice to...let go and just laugh at this silly little child rolling around between her legs. She arched her neck down and tried to tickle Carja's stomach as she rolled around.

She pulled back a bit when the dragon suddenly flopped over. "Oh, you collect shinies? Of course I wanna see! I like to collect pretty things to - I'd love to see what you have!"

@Carja