Almost tribble-like...but not really (Ce'thian)

[Ember]

Ae'on could have sighed when Sfelyth informed him that a bronze was already at the feeding grounds. Really? Really!? Of all the colours in the dragon spectrum, the one that the blue actually didn't really get along with just had to be there at the same time. Truth be told, he didn't particularly like bronzeriders any more than his dragon liked their shiny dragons. Most that he had met were just oh-so-handsome and charming and mightier-than-thou. Not that all bronzeriders were like that or that only bronzeriders were like that but...well, stereotypes had a basis in truth.

Thankfully he wouldn't have to deal with Me flirting with the rider of the bronze up ahead. She was busy drapping herself all over Nephele's remaining firelizard, much to Ae'on's disgust because, really, who wanted their mindmate to flirt with their sibling's mindmate? No one. He only had to deal with a certain hyperactive puppy. A puppy that was attempting to munch on a leaf or a twig or whatever she had in her mouth. "Aldy!" Ae'on snapped upon noticing, scowling at the puppy until she dropped the object and trotted over to her alpha. She automatically sat at his feet, tilting her head as if to say 'what? What have I done?'

"You. You are trouble, with a capital tee! Come," he said fondly, slipping just enough command in the last word that she'd hopefully listen the first time around. They were almost there and he'd really like to stop having so many delays. She stayed behind a moment as her alpha started moving, scratching behind an ear and jostling her purple collar before getting up and bounding past him with a playful bark. "Is that how it is?" He called after her, starting to run after the rambunctious pup along the well-worn trail to the feeding grounds. It wasn't much of a walk so he wasn't too surprised to find others walked there fairly often.

They burst out of the forest into the hunting area in time for Ae'on to see Sfelyth dive past the bronze, quite clearly going for the larger dragon's intended kill with speed and precision. Sorry. Did you want this one? He asked the bronze innocently enough. Ae'on rolled his eyes but didn't have time to reproach the blue because Aldonza was busy happily yapping and running over to pounce her littermate. Broooootherrrr! "Aldy!" Well that explained the vague recognition the bronzerider inspired in Ae'on. A fellow puppy adopter. Great.

[Avu]

Well wasn’t that perfect.

Sparath blinked at Sfelyth’s sudden intrusion, the bronze’s lazy swoop at one herdbeast ending in an impromptu barrel roll he extended to carry him onto another decent herdbeast. It was almost graceful enough to look deliberate—Sparath hadn’t hung around as long as he had without getting used to things like this after all—except for the surprise prominent in his gaze. But hey, whatever. One herdbeast was as good as another when all was said and done. Twisting around the unfortunate creature, Sparath dug claws into the creature’s sides, ignoring the startled squeal before he snapped the spine neatly, tilting his head at Sfelyth.

Well filet mignon is only as good as you make it anyway… he answered on a rumble, not quite annoyed; it was hard to annoy Sparath, primarily because he was so used to poking and prodding at other dragons that he’d made himself impervious to it. And they say company’s the best sauce or something equally cannibalistic, sharing is caring and all that…do enjoy, it’d be such a terrible waste if you didn’t.

Ce’thian, for his part, had managed to be completely oblivious to Sfelyth’s arrival. Consciously, at least; sub-consciously the sound of wings made him tilt his head but his back was turned to the Feeding Pens, his attention focused on Alias, who’d apparently hit the kind of growth spurt that left him all gangly clumsy legs and a giant tail prone to sweeping papers and books all over the place. “You know,” Ce’thian was saying, evenly, one eyebrow raised in affectionate amusement at the dog, “‘Sit’ doesn’t actually mean ‘bounce your butt off the ground as fast as possible,’ maybe we should try that again.” He added, “What do you think?”

And yes, that was the one command that Alias followed every time. ‘Come,’ ‘sit,’ ‘stay,’ ‘down’—as fickle as the wind (even if Alias never needed a leash—the minute Ce’thian threatened to leave him behind, he came just fine), but ‘What do you think’ never failed to elicit a bark or a growl.

“I’m glad you agree,” Ce’thian told him, reaching down to ruffle the fur on his head and the nape of his neck. “Okay, Alias. Can you—”

Alias’s attention snapped away from him at the first sound of his sister, the mismatched eyes going bright and curious as he went still, ears pricked, and Ce’thian turned to follow his line of sight in time to see the puppy equivalent of a furry bullet rush past him to Alias, who greeted his sister with an eager whine, sitting back on his haunches and wagging his tail furiously as he leaned out to sniff Aldonza before he sprang to his feet and away from her, inviting her to play.

“You have terrible timing,” Ce’thian observed to Aldonza parenthetically, fully expecting to be thoroughly ignored, and stepped out of the way of the puppies, tilting his head at them before he glanced up to search for the owner. Ah, that one boy. He waved at Ae’on casually, and thought to tilt his head back to glance at Sparath and his company (with whom Sparath was mildly bemused). When had that dragon gotten there? Well. In any case. “What’s her name? ‘Aldy’? Least she can make him sit for about half a second longer than I can.”

[Ember]

Sfelyth watched the bronze's movement with a critical but seemingly content green-blue eye. An experienced bronze, judging by the fluid motion. Minus the surprise in the older dragon's eyes and the faint hint of it in the bronze's flight that he picked up of course. He felt a bit of smug pride and destabilizing the other dragon even just a bit. The relief drifting over from Ae'on had the blue commenting to his rider, Aww, worried about little old me? You should know by now I don't do anything dangerous! Bullshit. The blue didn't have the time to respond to Ae'on before Sparath was responding or he'd have given an appropriately defensive answer.

As it was, the blue realized his prey was in fact still alive and trying futilely to wiggle out from under his paws. He closed his jaws around the poor creature's windpipe, chocking the life out of it as he dully regarded the bronze and his words. He wouldn't deny being a little surprised at the bronze's magnanimous attitude. When the herdbeast went still and Sparath stopped talking, Sfelyth decided he would respond to the bronze. But first he ripped out a large chunk of the beast and chewed consideringly. I shall try to enjoy it, but the sauce seems a little weak, Sfelyth expressed, no hint of offence in his tone even if it could be construed from his words.

Aldonza was considerably more happy with her company than her pack leader or his giant blue thing. It was her brother! How could she not be anything but ecstatic at seeing him? When she got close enough she skidded to a puppy-clumsy stop in front of Alias and returned his greet sniff with a wagging butt. Not just a wagging tail, no there was full on furry butt movement in there. Her ear quirked at a different human voice than her leader's butt she thoroughly ignored it in favour of bounding off after Alias with much excited barking.

Ae'on, with a dramatic scowl on his face, realized that Aldonza wouldn't be listening to him for a while unless he used the Master's Voice. He really didn't much like that voice so he made the choice almost immediately after he'd noticed Alias that he was just going to let another puppy tire his little girl out for once. That pretty much meant being civil with Ce'thian. Lovely. He returned the wave half-heartedly as he approached the man with the air of one forced to do soemthing unpleasant. "Mm. Short for Aldonza. So she can make others listen but not do the same herself, little brat."

[Avu]

Sparath regarded the blue with a half-curious, half-calm green gaze, head tilting to one side for a moment before he flashed his teeth in a sharp-edged grin and leaned down to rip open the stomach of the herdbeast. The stringier muscle could come later; organs first. And in any case he felt that having a still-warm rib splintering between his teeth added quite nicely to the drama factor, You know using passive-aggressive not-really-subtle insults only works when someone isn’t rude enough to call you out on it…but by all means, at least it’s entertaining, life does get boring without a nice little spat once in a while, don’t you agree?

Still pleasant. Testing, even if the words probably couldn’t have been much more straightforward if he’d tried. No need to start making silly assumptions. Much. Supposed the blue could play it off like a joke, but jokes tended to be considerably funnier when they were recognizable as jokes. Which, each to his own, and all, but. But hey, if the sauce isn’t spicy enough for you, you can always add your own pepper… And okay, had he killed that metaphor? Probably. Human metaphors never made sense anyway. Your humanthing isn’t enough either? conscientiously concerned, voice dipping in a low rumble-purr in macabre contrast to the blood seeping through snapped ribs between his claws as Sparath snapped the heart out of the ribcage.

Oh, hey, he’d gotten an entire microsecond of not-quite acknowledgment. Ce’thian snorted in amusement, shifting over to give the puppies more room as Alias barked, his voice still high and sharp (“haven’t hit puberty yet,” as Ce’thian had cheerfully put it) and then bounced at his sister, bumping up against her lightly. He looped her once in a too-tight circle, claws digging into the dirt so he didn’t tip over sideways, and then took off running down the line of fence, yapping once at Aldonza to get her to follow him. Which, okay, Ce’thian would admit was cute; if one puppy was good then two puppies was, logically, better, right?

Even if the owner was a little lacking, because really, who’d peed in his cereal? Maybe he was in that snotty teenager phase where everyone was wrong and he hated everyone and the world sucked, or something; Ce’thian was pretty sure that stereotype was rooted in fact. Or maybe his girlfriend had dumped him. Who knew. Still, the kid’s attitude earned him a quizzical head-tilt, and Ce’thian raised an eyebrow at him. Tempting to straight out ask—because Sparath’s utter lack of boundaries was sort of really contagious. It was like a socially inept disease of the brain—but Ce’thian doubted he’d get anything remotely close to a helpful answer.

Instead, he flashed a smile at Ae’on, ignoring the kid’s reluctance. “Cute name. Cute pup. That’s Alias. From what I’ve heard through the grapevine—which is pretty much what Sparath’s told me—the entire litter’s all A’s. Seems fitting,” crooking a wry grin, “But that might just be my cheap sense of humor. Ce’thian, by the way. You’re…?”

[Ember]

Sfelyth eyed the bronze mildly despite the surprise he was actually feeling when Sparath did indeed call him out on his insults. Interesting, if a little annoying. The bronze had officially upped the stakes in the game. I would have continued without you permission if I wanted to but, hey, thanks. Life does get ever so dull sometimes. The blue rudely slurped on some meaty juices as he let his eyes shade into something distinctly amused at Sparath's expense. Poor little bronzie thinking he could actually give him permission to say what he liked.

Sfelyth's eyes quickly grew even more amused as Sparath proceeded to butcher the whole sauce metaphor. That...was a bit sad, don't you think? So difficult to find worthy competition these days, he commented woefully, though his tone edged a bit too much into amusement to be all that insulting. Sfelyth didn't bother to deign the comment about His with an answer. A faint, almost impossible not to miss thread of offense danced through his eyes though. Instead he offered, Sfelyth.

Where Alias barked, Aldonza growled playfully in her high puppy voice. She nipped at him without intending harm when he bumped her. Then he was running off and with an excited yip and a bounce she bounded after him without so much as a look back at her master to see if he approved - for the record, he really didn't. Seeing his pup running off so far made him anxious because she wasn't the best listener and wasn't even fully trained yet. Still, as long as he could see her he didn't really have a reason to freak out in front of some random guy...right?

Speaking of random guy...Ae'on returned an irritated raised eyebrow at the bronzerider's expression. A kind of what, got something to say? expression, as it were. He was pretty sure what the bronzerider's problem with him was but Ae'on didn't really give a damn about his opinion. He was a grouch and openly acknowledged it too. He really didn't get why it was any random stranger's business why he preferred the company of only certain people and felt put upon by any others. A traitorous part of him remembered Jenna weedling her way in but since he hadn't seen her in ages it was kind of moot. Ithanna, however, was not so moot. Che.

The compliments towards Aldonza went a surprisingly long way to making Ae'on at least a bit more responsive to the bronzerider - and he really needed a name if this was going to take a whille - so the frown smoothed away to something more neutral. "Cute pup, too." He snorted softly and added, "So I've heard." He couldn't exactly claim creativity there though, it had taken a bit to find a name he'd liked for his pup. "Maybe the next litter will all have B names." He doubted it though since the whole A's thing was probably a freak coincidence. Nevermind that his own name started with A too...speaking of which, "Ae'on...pleasure."

[Avu]

Oh of course…how silly of him. Sparath tilted his head in quiet amusement at the blue, a pause of only a few seconds before he nudged his muzzle into the herdbeast’s ribcage again, licking at the blood as he sought the other organs. But sure, even if this wasn’t his favorite kind of game it was still close and he could play it like that if the other male wanted to. Pissing contest, Ce’thian called it, along with a few other less delicate terms that Sparath opted to ignore as being rather wounding to polite sensitivities. He made no immediate response to the blue but for a purred, Well if it doesn’t just make my day…Saucy it is then. You can call me Sparath…or ‘hey you’ or ‘bronze’ or whatever else your heart desires…

He lifted his muzzle from the herdbeast to actually croon at Sfelyth, genuinely amused; Sparath was deliberately ignoring the offense in his gaze actively, except to mentally note its existence, and any annoyance went straight over his head. I bow to your greater creativity and comprehension, I admit myself bewildered by the incoherency of these strange little human metaphors…if you’re going to make sauce out of company you may as well make use of the rest of them too, just the blood seems such a waste doesn’t it. Tongue flicked out to lap at the curve of his muzzle demonstratively, and Sparath dug his claws into the herdbeast’s sides, pulling it apart by the ribs so he could delicately pick out the liver.

Alias was blatantly delighted by his sister’s attention, the puppy doing a clumsy little over-confident hop-skip that tangled up oversized paws and nearly tumbled him straight under the fence, catching himself in a scrambling banking turn and yapping at Aldonza (he’d meant to do that!). His ears flicking forward, the puppy pounced at his sister, aiming to tumble her into a puppy pile, pressing his nose into her shoulder to mouth at the thicker fur at the nape of her neck like his mother had.

Yeah, Alias was, and Ce’thian acknowledged the compliment with a lopsided grin; he was fonder of the puppy than he’d really imagined being. Loving Sparath came with a grain of salt—the knowledge that Sparath would annoy him endlessly if the bronze weren’t mindmate, soulmate, whatever. Alias wasn’t anything like Sparath though—a little show-offish, but a puppy anyway. The boy’s offer of his name widened his grin briefly, and Ce’thian nodded affably at him, deciding not to question the politeness compared to the little spiel of grouch before, “Sorry to be the trend-breaker.”

He added, since the boy obviously adored Aldonza, “How’s Aldonza’s training coming, if you don’t mind my asking? You said she didn’t listen to you yet?” At least she followed him—or Ce’thian sure hoped she did, since she didn’t have a leash on. Alias pretty much tagged along at his heels a lot too, even if coming when called was a gamble at best. “Maybe stubbornness runs in the family too, Alias’s an opinionated little snot, but unfortunately not a very obedient one yet.”

[Ember]

Sfelyth sucked contemplatively on the intestines he'd dug down to with claws and teeth as the bronze gave him a nickname. Saucy...now that he could live with. And it was close enough to his own name that he could learn to respond to it if he must, not that he really planned on being around the bronze all that often. Anything I desire? My, that is quite the generous offer, he responded, tone just this side of sarcastic. I think I rather like Schmoopsie for you. Quite fitting. The blue was back to his patentedly cheerful tones as he finally bit off a length of intestine to munch.

Sfelyth listened surprisingly passively and intently to Sparath's spiel about sauces and spices. If you are going so far as to say we should use more of our company to make our meals better, you might as well just eat them instead. Or too, I suppose, he pointed out evenly. You end up lacking the fascinating conversations but it would certainly add a different element to the meal itself. The blue not-quite-threatening-almost-playfully bared his red-stained fangs in mimickry of a human smile.

Aldonza barked in amusement and a little concern as her brother tripped over his own paws. She snorted in open rejection of it being a planned thing before she ended up in a two pup pile as Alias pounced her. She growled at him in play, kicking at him with her little legs and attempted to grab a hold of his ear while simultaneously canting her head to try and protect her nape. The conflicting goals left her looking a tiny bit spastic but that was dog play for you.

Ae'on snorted softly at Ce'thian's reaction to the compliment of his puppy. It wasn't a reaction born of scorn but one of understanding. He was fairly sure he got grin-y and stupid faced when people complimented Aldonza. Well, sometimes anyways. Also...trend-breaker? Oh, right, names. "Someone had to eventually, though you have guts for being the first," he commented, voice edging just a tiny bit into sarcasm that Ce'thian would hopefully take it as the joke it was. They didn't exactly come along often so it would be a pity if it was missed.

Ae'on almost visibly perked up when Ce'thian brought up Aldonza's training. Almost. "Oh, she soaks things up like a damn sponge. She just likes to make me repeat everything ten or twenty times before she does it," he said dryly, though the speed he spewed that information communicated his excitement about the subject. He shook his head a bit ruefully at the stubborn comment. "I'd say so. They learn though, eventually. Little brats."

[Avu]

Well if he wasn’t just racking up the nicknames…Sparath’s eyes flashed sharp blues at Sfelyth’s choice of name, and the bronze purred in genuine amusement at the blue. You’ll forgive me if I’d be infinitely more thrilled by a lady granting that nickname I’m sure… he didn’t think that would come as too much of a surprise though, though he also doubted that any female would take well to the conversation they were having to begin with. (Then again maybe he’d just met all the wrong females.) And you never know…I’m sure the conversations could come before the meal…

He tilted his head on a deviously playful rumble, eyes slitting into bright green at the blue’s display of blood-stained teeth, patently tempted to return the favor but digressing for dignity’s sake, You could think of it as an appetizer…nothing like intelligent conversation to make dinner slide down easy, don’t you agree dearest Saucy? The herdbeast in his claws had gone forgotten for the seconds he spoke, and at the end of his comment Sparath lowered his head to snap another bite like punctuation. He swallowed with two quick snaps before he added in mellow meditative tones, I suppose company would last you a month or so in that case…but I do like weekly meals, perhaps we ought to invest in the human ice storage ideas.

Alias grumbled a cracking puppy growl back at his sister, planting his feet and mouthing wetly at her fur; the first good pull away from him, coinciding with her flailing kicks, tumbled Alias head-first into her into a sprawling mess of wildly scrambling limbs and furiously wagging tail. Her teeth finding his ear earned a mock-outraged pulse of a growl, and Alias dug his hind legs into the ground and pushed so hard he flipped onto his back over Aldonza, still chewing at the fur at the nape of her neck and pawing at the back of her head and spine.

“Oh yes,” Ce’thian answered, straight-faced and raising one eyebrow at Ae’on, “I was just born to be a trend-breaker, my parents saw it immediately and knew it was their duty to name me anything but an A-name.” The deadpan answer melted into a faint quirk of his lips at the kid, as Ce’thian arranged his forearms against the fence of the feeding pens and settled long legs into a suitably comfortable position. The kid’s enthusiasm when Ce’thian inquired about his puppy wasn’t missed—the bronzerider’s eyes flicked to the two puppies briefly to make sure they were still within range—just because Alias wouldn’t go off on his own didn’t mean he wouldn’t get distracted and literally roll off with Aldonza.

“Maybe after Alias tires her out she’ll be more willing to listen first time around,” he suggested. “Mind seeing, provided they’re physically capable of getting tired? Maybe Alias’ll get the hint if Aldonza doesn’t mind being an example.” Ce’thian wasn’t really sure it would work—far as he could tell puppy minds just didn’t operate like that; Alias would probably just think it was another game—but it was worth the try anyway, and yeah, he was deliberately offering Ae’on the chance to show off Aldonza.