A soft bass whoosh echoed, periodic but erratic--sometimes a single thump, sometimes a few at once. In the interim came a soft, whistling near-silence: the glide of the dragon between those heavy wingbeats. He was slowly circling, gliding around the top of the ruined amphitheatre, his ember eyes picking at the darkness in search of prey. It was, however, an idle hunt; more a reliving of memories, from a time he had come here to hunt when younger.

Smaller.

He had been barely larger than a dog, then, his roar a screech and his body far more agile and unstable in the air. Dread glided slowly, his shadow sweeping over the dimly-lit stone, and he compared the cool air here (rather unfavorably) to the warm updrafts of Monoceros. He had yet to return there, to the den he called home. That would come soon; but for now he'd spent time in Orion, having ventured out to pry quartz free from the Tower. That was stashed nearby, and he would take it back with him when he left, but he was in no hurry to take to hobbling back through the (comparatively) narrow tunnels.

He banked, circling back around the arena's circular edges, and then lowered himself with a few flaps of his wings to land in the arena's center. His body tilted back, wings beating more powerfully to slow his descent--but still gracefully. Feet skidded into dust, briefly, and his forelimbs folded swiftly down to catch the forward-rock of his landing weight.

The dragon's muscled neck craned as he looked around.

Dread wondered, vaguely, what sort of things had lived here before. Had this stone come to be, naturally, or had someone created it so? And if so, why? Why this shape, this form--what was its purpose?

@Envy

Envy was wandering, scampering through narrow back alleys and trying their best to keep away from paths they knew. They were bored, which was bad enough, but worse still was the strange, bubbling feeling of unrest. They'd left the party preparation to the Seven for the time being. They were expecting some results by the time they'd gotten back- they were expecting more food and decorations and maybe even more subjects, but they'd grown sick of looking at the mangled remains of cave deer that their subjects had brought them.

In addition, there was the strange behaviour of Pride as of late- the white deer, who Envy valued and treasured as their most loyal subject, had been acting... strange. troublesome, almost problematic. He followed Envy's orders, sure- but Envy had noticed a stiffness, a scowl or two, an edge to his normally soft voice. But what did Envy care? They were a king. They told themselves that they had to stay above this. If there was a problem, the deer should come to them. They'd followed his advice, which was in itself a stretch for Envy. Didn't Pride see how much that meant? How hard it was to be a good King?

As far as they were concerned, Envy should just sit back on the throne and let their subjects do the work. That was how they'd always imagined Kingship to be. All grandeur and praise. But they were doing more than that, going above and beyond.

Pride should be... proud of them. Pride should be happy. Why wasn't he? What were they doing wrong?

A sudden spurt of energy kicked up the weasel's heels and they bounded forward, surging until they were panting before slowing again to a scampering trot. Even then, their quills rippled and trembled with unrest. Their jaw was clenched, gaze flickering.

They were a good king.

Pride knew that. Right? Everything they did was following his advice! As ridiculous as it was... A king following their subject's advice...--

The weasel was drawn out of their inner turmoil by the deep sound of something overhead. A shadow passed over them, and Envy flattened themselves instinctively to the ground for a moment, glancing upwards. They were half expecting to see claws descending towards them and their heart rate quickened, but only a jagged silhouette- distant, and yet still oversized, glided past. What was that? The shape of a wing? whatever it was, it was far wider than their narrow side street, and it was almost definitely alive.

Envy relaxed their heart rate, and, curiosity piquing along with their namesake, scampered after the fading sound of wingbeats. As always, they wanted to see what it was- they wanted to stand, stare, and satisfy their wondering- even though they knew it would ultimately make them feel worse. It was, at least, a temporary distraction from their kingly duties and their despair.

The wingbeats had soon faded into the distance, whatever it was pulling far ahead of them. Envy once again broke into a sprint, bounding in a flowing motion. They followed until their lungs were burning again, and mouth dry, until the sound had finally stopped. Still the weasel continued on, finally slowing to a trot again. They'd moved out of the back alley and with the ease of cycles living in the fallen city, navigated through wider streets and crumbled buildings. Finally they entered a familiar amphitheatre- they were just about to enter, when they saw the target of their curiosity. Envy's eyes widened, and they froze in place for a long moment before jerking back and out of sight. Raising themselves upright, the weasel straightened their crown and combed back a few of their quills, quickly grooming their whiskers.

Oversized? That thing was huge. It was colossal. It was huge and jagged and thorny, with big wings and none of the ethereal strangeness of the Three Kings. And Envy could bet their tail barb that it had big teeth, too.

Why couldn't they have been one of those?

The weasel finished fixing themselves up and shivered. As King of Orion, they wanted to speak to this thing. They had that over the enormous creature. Besides, it might be friendly. Might be. Besides, if it attacked, there was always plan B. To squeeze their way into a tiny crack and disappear. If there was one thing they were good at, it was disappearing. They would need to be careful, though.

The weasel once again appeared in the entrance of the amphitheatre and pattered towards the hulking form of the dragon, holding their crowned head high. They stopped a respectful (but most importantly safe) distance away.

"Greetings!" they shrilled, high-pitched voice echoing around the circular structure. They stood on their hind legs, trying in vain to look tall despite the fact that they could probably have curled up on a single scale of the massive dragon. "I am King Envy of the Sinful Seven! Welcome to my domain!"

Speech. Thought.

@Dread

Dread was broken from his reverie by a shrill voice off to his left. If he had had ears, they'd have flattened back at the noise, but as it was he merely winced a little as he whirled to face it. Wings shuffled and tail lashed away behind him through the dust as his muscled neck pulled around, and ember eyes locked on the tiny creature.

For a moment he simply crouched there, hulking and silent, as he puzzled out Envy's words.

King? Domain? But that meant territory. If this was this creature's territory, why was it greeting him? Why was it saying anything? Surely one fought for territory, and defended it, or if so terribly outmatched (as it seemed to the dragon that the weasel clearly was), it would slink away?

But what if it had magic? Magic, like the little fox had had--that terrible creature that had spoken into his mind, and driven him away? The dragon shook himself briefly, as if clearing his head, or shaking water off; his spines rattled, and then he lowered his head down further to peer with narrowed eyes at Envy.

His voice bellowed forth, echoing through the arena in challenge.

"I AM HERE NOW!" It was a declaration, if vaguely-stated, that he was indeed present and was not going to go anywhere based on the challenge of a tiny weasel! --Unless it did magic at him. And then he'd try to burn it first! Or eat it! ...Though it hardly looked enough for a mouthful, let alone a meal.

That crown, though-...

A few rapid, shuffling steps forward, with a burst of speed perhaps unexpected for something his size, and he was peering down at Envy's crown. He hadn't tried to go right up to them--undoubtedly the weasel would take that as an impending attack--but now he eyed the shimmering gemstone with one eye, then the other.

Was it Envy's stone? White had told him that he could not take those. But if it wasn't, this gold-thing was shiny.

He liked shinies. He wanted shinies.

"I want that!" he added, tone equally demanding as before. Yet it wasn't an outright insistence; more a decision that he indeed wanted this thing. Whether he'd try to actually get it remained to be seen--and for now, at least, he utterly forgot to introduce himself.

@Envy

The dragon's head lowered towards them, and Envy puffed themselves up, the quills along their back subconsciously puffing up to make themselves appear bigger. With their forepaws they combed the pale green fur on their chest- a nervous gesture. They couldn't stand any taller- but they tried. And when it spoke- the booming voice left their ears ringing. They couldn't help but wince, shaking their head to try and ease the throbbing pain.

When they settled to try and think about the creature's words, the weasel opened their mouth slightly in disbelief. Was the dragon stupid? "...I can see that," they said, blinking slowly. Their tail twitched from side to side, quills lowering slightly. Well, at least it wasn't attacking. And now that they were up close, they could see all of the details in its scaly hide, its enormous wings and tail and eyes like burning coals. They clenched their jaw, unable to look away, but finding themselves desperately wanting to.

Envy flinched as the dragon lurched forward, jumping back and pausing on all fours before again standing up. They realized that he was looking at their crown and their quills trembled with rage. "No!" they said firmly, voice shrill with indignance. "It's mine!" They opened their mouth, about to begin a lecture on what their crown meant and why this stranger couldn't have it- before promptly realizing that that probably wouldn't be wise. After all, if the dragon knew what it symbolised, he might only want it more, and Envy would be hard-pressed to stop him taking it by force. After all, they were only a weasel.

Speech. Thought.

@Dread

The dragon's eyes flicked over the gold-sheened crown, Envy's words an irritating, shrill blur in his ears. He twitched, a half-shake that again made his own spines rattle. Irritation rose in him, and where most civilized creatures would have fought it down, Dread promptly succumbed to it and allowed it to guide his actions.

There was no malice to it; he just wanted, and so, he tried to take.

The problem was that Envy was very tiny, and the crown moreso, and also, Dread was comparatively a slow-moving half-frozen slug compared to the little weasel's flitting agility. His strike was carefully-calculated to maybe, sort of, hopefully not take Envy's entire head off--but this took time, and even then he had to rush-shamble a few hasty paces forward before the lunge.

Almost before he'd moved the weasel was gone, his jaws clapping shut on thin air, his head whipping to and fro to relocate them.

Dread voiced his frustration with a loud, screeching roar, a sound akin to a dragon's childish tantrum but what might have sounded instead, if one didn't know that (or was at said dragon's potential mercy) monstrous and terrifying.

The dragon huffed, jaws snapping shut again as he looked around. Once he'd spotted Envy, his anger still high--though he knew he could do little about this without outright trying to kill the weasel--he hissed.

"I will trade you," he decided. "What do you want?!"

@Envy

The moment that Envy saw dread beginning to move, their adrenaline mounted. Then when he lunged, massive bulk coming towards them as if in slow motion, Envy transferred their crown to their mouth and skittered out of the way. Almost as easily as avoiding a stationary stone in their path, they darted to the side and crouched elsewhere, considering simply fleeing back to their throne. But no- the harder the dragon tried, the more it became apparent to Envy that they had the advantage here- and suddenly the situation went from being wholly terrifying to the slightest bit exhilarating.

In fact, by the time Dread turned to speak to them, they were grinning impishly, heart hammering in their chest and every quill standing on end. They were immensely pleased with themselves. Just wait until Pride heard about this! ...He'd probably scold them for it. Their smile faded. The dragon's booming roar sent the weasel's thoughts crashing down. They let out a shrill squeal of their own as they clamped their ears down with their paws, folding in on themselves until the echoes had faded. They squinted up at him, expecting another go, but were surprised when none came.

The weasel cautiously lowered their paws from their rounded ears, shaking their head once again in an effort to clear out the ringing.

Envy him suspiciously, expression growing more thoughtful. Their ears cocked to the dragon's offer. A trade? The weasel straightened up, grooming themselves from head to tail. What an opportunity! But they couldn't give this thing their crown. It was a symbol of everything they'd worked so hard for! The weasel paced in a small circle as they thought. finally they stopped and looked back towards the huge thing towering over them. "Look. I can't give you this one, but how about I make you something better?" they coerced. "Watch this!"

Envy sucked in their breath and transferred their energy to the ground at their paws. They thought fast. What could they make the dragon that would be better than a kingly crown? What could they do? Definitely not a crown. Maybe just... an orb. Yes, yes! I'll show him what I can do so that he believes me. Then he can decide!
Envy felt their magic flowing, and they felt it surging through their paws and quills, shocking them momentarily with its intensity. Then their tail was lashing, they were grinning wildly. The earth at their paws reformed, glittering, shifting- the sound of glass, crackling and creaking. Before them had formed a crystal orb- pale blue and about twice the size of their head, glistening like diamond. It wasn't perfect, but it was certainly pretty.

Envy gave the object a nudge with their nose, and it rolled towards Dread even as they eyed it themselves. They were quite proud of it. They wished that someone would make them an orb like this. "See? What do you think?"


Speech. Thought.

@Dread

Dread paused, staring suspiciously. For a moment he'd realized that Envy couldn't give them the stone because it was their gemstone--but no, they had it off, and were smoothing it over their head.

When the other blue gem was rolled toward him, Dread lowered his jaws, sniffing at it. It was larger than the golden crown, and shining; but it wasn't the golden crown itself. He lifted his head again, arched to peer down at Envy, as one taloned foot carefully slipped forward and curled the gem out of sight within its claws. This was pulled back again, as if it was an offering that had been accepted, though his ember eyes now flicked again over Envy's crown.

"Why is it that you cannot give that one?" he demanded with a huff. Such was his suspicion that he nearly--but not completely--forgot his manners.

Such as they were.

"Thank you," he added, almost mechanically--an afterthought. There was no emotion to it, and his eyes remained narrowed, and fixed on the golden crown.

He liked gold. He wanted gold. He couldn't say why; he just did.

Dread did not, however, move to attack Envy or take it from them. His question stood, and he waited with a wary gaze.

@Envy

Envy watched as Dread accepted- or appeared to accept, their trade. The weasel's quills lowered slightly and they sighed unnoticeably. "And there's more where that came from! I can make them in any colour and any shape you want! Doesn't that sound great?" they asked cheerfully, the otherwise silence unnerving them into speech.

The dragon's aggravated question, seeming (at least to Envy) to balance precariously on the border between anger and calm- set Envy on edge. They tensed for another moment, catlike eyes searching the large creature's face for an intent that wasn't there. They didn't know what the right answer was, but they didn't think that it would be the first one that came to mind. The creature's thanks, though, set their nerves more at ease, if only a little bit.

"...Well... because it's mine," they said anyway, their mind working frantically for more. "It's my... it's a symbol of who I am. How would anyone know I was a king if I didn't have it? And if I lost it, my subjects might think I'm not as strong as they want me to be, and leave." This felt better already. They looked at the dragon hopefully. "...Besides, someone made it for me. He'd be upset if I traded it away."



Speech. Thought.

@Dread

Dread considered this, for a long moment, ember eyes flicking from the crown, to Envy's claws, to their quills. Strange thing. It looks as though it would taste bad. This was a passing thought, however; Dread wasn't actually considering eating Envy.

He was thinking, a moment later, instead of the gems. He'd seen Glory find and make (he thought?) gems, and bring them--he really should have paid more attention to all of that.

Instead he was left somewhat at a loss. He could accept, if begrudgingly, that Envy was unwilling rather than unable to trade--but still. He wanted gold.

"I want gold," he declared aloud, eyeing the crown again. He didn't know that the crown wasn't gold. He just knew that some innate part of him was desperate for it, greedy and hungry and clawing away at his logic with its ravenous desire.

The dragon stood there, staring down, nostrils flaring and fangs all glinting--not bared; he couldn't do that, but his jaws were parted, and there they were. His tail slowly lashed to and fro over the ground, and he adjusted himself with a loud shuffle so as to stand more securely over the stone. He did not acknowledge the diamond-like sphere as part of any trade; his mind had assumed it to be some sort of gift, or offering. And why not? Everyone else he'd met seemed to have simply given him things, just because.

It stood to reason that others would, too.

@Envy

Envy sat awfully, uncharacteristically still as they felt Dread's scrutiny burning over them, setting their skin crawling like ants. Their quills shuddered, the tip of their tail twitching.

Gold, huh?

Every inch of them stiffened in relief as the dragon finally made his demand, and they couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He could have picked anything. Any colour in the world. But for some reason, he wanted something gold. Envy could have made something that was two-toned, or iridescent if he'd asked for that, but instead the dragon wanted something gold... like their crown.

Ah well. Envy wasn't about to try convincing him otherwise, after all, they'd managed to take the hulking creature's focus off their crown. And for a trade, well... Envy couldn't help but marvel at the possibilities. They felt their heart racing as they pictured themselves standing tall atop this creature's head, the proudest and noblest king there ever was, seated comfortably atop a dragon as they went on a grand parade through their domain. Or perhaps, he could guard the throne room! If not all the time, maybe during the party. Surely, Pride would never argue with that. They imagined a stupidly dumbfounded look across the deer's face when Envy presented this colossal beast.

They found themselves grinning at the thought. With a shake of their head, the weasel drew themselves back to the matter at hand.

Sucking in their breath again, the weasel's quills perked, standing on end as they tapped into their magic. They planted all four paws squarely apart and felt magic fizzling to the surface. It took a moment to manifest this time, and this time the resulting gem was smaller- only about the size of their head. But it was gold and glistening, like the first.

Speech. Thought.

@Dread