Haven shook her head as she entered the secondary cave of Leo, sighing, "So why did you leave if it was like here?"

She trotted forward and into the massive cavern, head bobbing up and down as she clicked and sniffed at the ground, trying to pick up scents and anything else she could to navigate the space.

"There's armor and other valuable things here," she said, "And it's warm. But be careful of the lizards with friendly faces, they'll trick you into following them into their dens. They'll use your eyes against you to hypnotize you."

Electrum had nearly fallen to their tricks.

"I believe there are good dens down here," she said conversationally, "And it's a big, warm cave of it's own, separate from the ocean up above. Big enough for a dragon."

Really, Haven couldn't hint harder.

@Dread

"NO. THE WATER-PLACE IS MY CAVE NOW." Again, it seemed to be an odd, hostility-less statement of fact. The dragon turned his head, regarding Haven with eyes that seemed to spark with the forge's embers. "I STARTED IN FORNAX. THE CAVE WITH WARM WATER. I MISSED THE WATER. BUT THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH LAND. IN MONOCEROS, THERE WAS LAND. BUT NOT ENOUGH WATER. SO THIS PLACE IS MY CAVE NOW."

He wing-walked forward with abrupt rapidity, head dipping lower to allow him to sniff, here and there, with flared nostrils. "ARE THE LIZARDS GOOD FOR EATING?" he asked, after a moment's debate; and then, as if to offer like for like, he gave a piece of advice. "DON'T EAT BATS. THEY MAKE YOU SICK."

Snout tipped over a piece of metal corroded by time and half-hidden by rock. It was something useless, twisted and damaged, but it was metal and he wondered what else he might find down here.

He seemed oblivious of Haven's attempts to rehome him; Leo was the perfect mix of everything he loved, and he certainly wasn't even thinking of abandoning it.

@Haven

Haven grumbled under her breath and hunted through the piles, ignoring metal and shiny objects as she hunted for things that could add to the wind chimes she had hanging from the tree atop her den.

"Not really, they're slimy and claws don't catch well on their skin, and their bite can paralyze, I've seen them eat before," she said, "One nearly got my mate. They trick you into following them and then they bite you and eat you alive if you're unlucky."

Terrible creatures. Many would call them cute but she hated the things.

"If you see one, close your eyes or turn away," she said, "Once they've opened their frills, it's difficult to resist."

It had been scary, watching Electrum fall prey to one.

"I lived in a place called Pisces once. It was full of water and stone, but it was chilly," she said, "Too cold for us, so we wandered around. When this cave opened we were the first to explore it, and since we had no belongings to transport we just moved in right away."

@Dread

Dread noted these facts down, keeping it in mind. Fiery lizard, nice face, messed with your head and killed you, no good to eat. Check. "I WILL CLOSE MY EYES," he agreed.

He was pushing forward, now, poking his snout here and there in investigation, sniffing and peering. Fins rose and fell with his piqued interest, ember eyes darting to and fro as he searched for anything particularly interesting. And Haven's mention of Pisces had him practically continuing her thought; his experience had been much the same, it seemed.

"THAT IS WHERE ASIMONA HATCHED OUR CHILDREN. BUT IT WAS TOO COLD FOR ME TOO. AND FOR BONE," he added, with a shudder. Spines flattened against his neck as if in mere unpleasant memory of the cold. "I LIKE HOT."

And too, his experience of Leo seemed to be the same. "ME, TOO. I WAS FIGHTING A ROCK BEAR AND THEN THE TUNNEL WAS OPEN SO I CAME HERE, AND I STAYED." Leo had been his accidental immediate destination as he'd pursued Bone from the "raid," and he'd left since only twice: once, to transport his stash back from Monoceros. And the second... A pause, a shake of his entire neck, as if in draconic grimace: "THE SNOW CAVE--URSA--IT IS TOO COLD."

"THAT IS WHERE BONE LIVES, NOW. SHE USED TO LIKE THE HOT BUT SHE SAID SHE MAKES HER CAVE WARM," he added, but there was another shudder to it; that's not how he would want to live.

Draconic snout eventually pushed aside a bit of rubble covering another hunk of metal. This one, dull steel by looks, held enough shine to apparently interest the dragon. "THIS PLACE IS GOOD!" he told Haven--one small hunk of metal enough, it seemed, to garner Dread's approval. He stepped over it, clumsily folding it into one hind foot, and then wing-walked back toward the exit. He hadn't actually come here, before; he hadn't bothered looking into the tunnel at all. Now he was wondering how far this hot cave went.

He'd have to come back for more shinies, given time.

@Haven

Haven perked up and peered at Dread, following after him, "You have children?"

A rock bear? She vaguely remembered hearing about it when she'd first come into Leo, but couldn't remember much else. She shook her head and darted around Dread, her slimness allowing her to get around tight corners with ease.

"I've been to Ursa," she said, "It's cold, but there are more caves beyond it. One with a grand castle and another so large you could fly in a straight line and not reach the other side in hours. It's full of green grass and forests and plump prey."

She slowed for a moment before galloping forward again, energetic all of a sudden, "We should go! There are deer there so large that they're nearly the size of us without wings! I've heard talk of many trying to catch one and failing because they're too mighty."

Haven faced Dread, looking a bit to the left, "I'll bet we could take one down together easily."

@Dread

Dread had fallen silent, for a moment, eyes narrowed in thought. It wasn't suspicion but contemplation that had him: how had Haven gotten here before he had? The moment the tunnel had fallen open, he'd arrowed here, seeking Bone--she'd lost him in Ursa, and he hadn't realized at all. Did that mean Haven had been hatched in this cave complex, then?

As he was attempting this mental maneuvering, she spoke again, and he blinked at her, focus shifting. His children--he had mentioned them before, but he wasn't sure if she'd been screaming at the time, or not.

"I HAVE MANY CHILDREN," he answered, matter-of-factly. "BONE IS THE ONE THAT I SAID CAN HEAL THINGS!" He shook himself, spines clattering.

Another piece of metal was uncovered a moment later, his talons and snout pushing dirt from it; this, another battered and useless bit of junk, he greedily tucked into his other foot. Then he was wing-waddling back along the tunnel, turning in a swirl of wingleather and the glint of lava across black and magma-tattooed scales, balanced on wrist and fist-clenched feet.

"I HAVE FOOD HERE," he answered, "BUT THAT IS GOOD TO KNOW." For if he ever ran out of fish and cave deer, or something.

Dread moved to the edge of the tunnel, where it opened back out across Leo's water, and glanced at Haven. "THIS IS A GOOD PLACE TO FIND THINGS," he reiterated, again, twisted dull metal clamped in each foot. Apparently, prize finds.

"I AM GOING HOME," he added, at the edge, pausing to see if there was anything more.

@Haven

Haven just nodded, head down. She stood at the edge of the tunnel and sighed, tail dragging against the ground.

"I'm going home too," she said, "I'll uh... I'll see you around."

She gently took to the air, wings flapping before she caught the breeze, circling around in a wide arc to gain air before gliding towards her den, head low.

"Sorry Electrum," she mumbled, feeling all the world like she failed.

She couldn't get rid of Dread, nor could she defeat him in a fight. She was just useless, wasn't she?

She slunk into her den, into the darkness, curling up in her nest and covering herself with her wings.

Exit Haven
@Dread

Dread launched off when it became clear that Haven wood, calling a simple afterthought of "THANK YOU!" behind him, habit his reminder.

Leathery wings caught the air, the warm updrafts carrying him easily skyward; a beat or two had him sailing high above Leo with his questionable "treasure" in tow. (And in toe.)

When he thought to glance for Haven, he found that she was coursing off another way; with a mental shrug he turned back toward home, powerful beats of his wings carrying him on a contented course up toward his den. He took his time in getting there, enjoying the pleasant wind, the heat of the orb-lights above, the scent of the sea in his nostrils.

He had no idea whatsoever that Haven had meant any harm, or any trickery at least; but he'd not have traded his home for anything.

exit Dread