Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hooves echoed on the wooden floor of the upper hallway as Xu Yong strode purposefully down it. Upon reaching the end of the hallway, she hesitated, looking at the closed door to her right worriedly. Biting her lip, she turned to the left and entered the room that had been granted her. Her master dwelt across the hall, but it had been explicitly spelled out that no one was to enter his rooms without permission, save only when assigned to clean, and even they had to wait until he was gone. This edict held doubly true for when the door was closed, which also made the improvised study off-limits. A bronze ear flicked in annoyance as she closed her door behind her. It was so frustrating, serving Futs Lung in this life. He had changed, some time during the long Ages of the Fading, and the Aoide was not quite sure she liked it.

To be sure, much had also changed within her, but she had long held to the hope that her Lord would be returned as himself, as she remembered him, whole and unharmed. A silly hope, perhaps, but it had kept her going when all else seemed lost. But now, now he was distant and wary, even of her - especially of her, after that disaster when she arrived. Xu Yong's ears burned in embarrassment at the memory, the slightly horrified and almost fearful look on Jin Huang's face, the way he had practically ran from her - Oh! It was all she could do to keep herself composed, instincts telling her to crawl over and apologize until he forgave her.

But no, she and he, perhaps, were too proud for such things, and so the space between master and Aoide seemed farther than their living arrangements would indicate. A low moan escaped her as she wondered once again what had happened to her Lord. He had become intensely private, where before he had been merely secretive, hiding information about himself only from outsiders - something Xu Yong had become. "Unacceptable!" she snarled, not caring if the third resident of the house heard her. Lysander had secluded himself, all wounded dignity, but Xu Yong privately suspected him of lurking about, hoping to gain some sort of advantage over her. It was small reassurance that Jin Huang trusted the demon about as much as he did her. There would be others, eventually. Xu Yong remembered well the clan that served her Lord, including much that both had forgotten.

There had been individuals favored among them, given status and power nearly equal to an Aoide. It had been an affront to her dignity at the time, and the Fading had done nothing to ease the slight. A thought struck her then, before she could dwell further on her long-standing grudge against the demons. Jin Huang held practically everyone at arm's length, no doubt only truly trusting those of his siblings who had also returned. But he had shown no recollection of her, or the demons, and that...that could be worked to her advantage. Oh, not to lie to him about the past; something inside the Aoide shuddered at the thought. However, she and they had essentially been given a blank slate, starting their respective relationships over completely. And if she had erred in assuming her Lord was unchanged, they had made no small amount of mistakes themselves.

This could work to her advantage, oh yes. Gradually regain Jin Huang's trust and favor, while subtly blocking Lysander or any other demons from doing the same...With a laugh, Xu Yong threw herself on her makeshift bed, visions of honor and glory spiraling out in front of her as she began to lay her plans.

Delmin hadn't really wanted to return the Pantheon - not even after knowing he had been back, once already. It was that little adventure Jin Huang had taken while Del was...indisposed that really turned the human off from ever desiring to go back. The glimpses of the Gehenna chrysalis had been quite enough viewed from memory, thank you very much.

But Jin had insisted they return. They needed information currently, information that could hopefully be acquired from those in or around the building. So return they did, without servants, much the same way Jin had arrived previously.

Do you see anyone? Jin asked anxiously as they headed inside.

"No, and I know you're perfectly capable of looking yourself," Del replied irritably, running a hand through his hair. "Let me know if you sense or see anything." Jin rumbled unhappily in Del's mind, but let the comment slide as they stood there for a moment, looking about.

Zhijian was snuffling unhappily at the empty refrigerator in the kitchen when he heard the sound of a door opening. Leaving the fridge be in disappointment, he shut the door and padded out from the kitchen on all fours to see who - or what - had come in. The dragon sniffed in the stranger's direction, peering at him with suspicion in his eerily all-green eyes.

"Hello," he rumbled, sitting back on the ashy floor.

"See, no one's here. We can go back -- what the hell," Del gasped out, staring at Zhijian in shock. He'd never seen - or heard - of anything like the creature who now sat before him. And was talking to him. With a groan, Del rubbed his forehead. Things just never got any easier, did they.

Stop. Say 'Hello' for me, Delmin. You can still do that, yes?

"Hello," Del said, somewhat automatically, sounding vaguely annoyed, although not at Zhijian. "You can stop that," he said, in a softer voice, tapping his chest, after which a muffled metallic noise could be heard.

Zhijian was quite used to startled reactions - in fact, he rather liked them. He smiled smugly, making a show of examining his claws. When the stranger spoke more softly and tapped his chest, he could only assume he was a host talking to his god.

"Zhijian," he offered after a moment, unasked, "And you and your god?" The god being the more important of the two, of course.

Del flinched back slightly as the claws were shown. Jin huffed slightly, but refrained from commenting. Really, did he have to jump at everything out the ordinary?

"Delmin Brock, host to Jin Huang, Dragon King Futs Lung," came the reply, Jin pushing himself to the forefront at the other's name. "Tian Yue mentioned you, when I saw him," Jin said joyfully, taking a step closer to his brother as the dragon easily asserted dominance over his host.

That's unpleasant.

I'm unconcerned with how you feel on the matter. I will be speaking to Ying Long now.

Jin Huang! Brother! Easily able to tell when he took over from his host, Zhijian sprang the little distance left between them to slink and twine around Futs Lung like the giant cat he was, to cling joyful and possessive to his fellow dragon. He rumbled loudly, purr thrumming deep through his chest, and rubbed his great head against him.

Brother brother brother! Brother~

Suddenly, I'm glad I'm not the one in control, Del said in amusement as he-Jin staggered a little at the affectionate greeting. Jin chose to ignore the man, and settled instead for a tentative pat on Zhijian's head.

"It is good to see you again," Jin said with a small smile. This wasn't really his sort of thing, this excess of contact, but he'd endure it - happily so - if only because it was Ying Long. "I trust your search was fruitful?" he asked after a moment, recalling that Tian Yue had mentioned a search for armor restored - from the Ancient Pantheon. Biting his lip, Jin refrained from demanding the information he sought, namely how to get to The'ta'naa, and from there...Yggdrasil, to find his bones and the Manacles he had guarded until the end...his end.

"I had missed you," Zhijian confessed, staying happily attached to Futs Lung for now. He was all about 'excessive contact,' especially in regards to his siblings, and generally quite oblvious to any exception they might take to it. For so long, it had been only him and Tian Yue - two of nine. It still got lonely sometimes, felt part-empty. "It was."

Finally! It felt like it had taken an age. Not that it was likely to be of any immediate good, seeing as his Lord was in nothing even resembling a fit state to ride him, but...hopefully they would be able to change that.

"Then I regret my delay in returning," Jin said, offering another head pat when the first was not rebuffed. That was one thing about this life - when he had last attempted this, he hadn't been aware of any of the other dragons. It was now a little disheartening, but at the time he hadn't given the matter much thought. He stood there for a moment longer before letting out a small sigh. There was something oddly soothing about the presence of his siblings, but the Crown's needs always, always came before such things. "I regret interrupting, but the Crown," he began somewhat helplessly. "I have been asked to find the Manacles our Lord wore in the past, something I once was tasked with safekeeping. They lie, along with my bones, in the roots of the World Tree."

He looked down at his brother, a frustrated expression on his face. "Except, I do not know the way."


Zhijian purred happily, basking in the attention with a contented sway of his tail. He didn't mind the 'business' question - you could talk and glomp your brother at the same time. "I will find you an erras," he offered cheerfully, "Who knows the way to The'ta'naa."

"You'll need to remember your passname for getting through the caryatid, though."

"Find what?" Jin asked, looking rather baffled. Was an erras a guide, something - someone? - who could tell him how to get from here to there? And what was a passname? Or a caryatid, for that matter.

"You've confused me greatly," he said in a mock-serious tone, tweaking a furred ear playfully.

"An erras," he repeated, "A creature who is able to traverse the spaces between worlds. It can get you from here to there relatively simply, though sometimes more or less time passes than what it feels like."

Zhijian flicked his offended ear, nipping harmlessly at his brother's hand. "Is your mind really so much slower now?" he teased. "You must stand between the statues and speak your name for the Crown. They are broken, but work all the same."

"That's inordinately helpful," Jin said after a moment. Where had his brother found - or rediscovered - such an interesting creature? He didn't spare a thought for why Zhijian would find one for him; it was simply something expected. Jin would have done much the same, if their situations had been reversed.

Allowing the bite, although Delmin momentarily protested, Jin let out a small laugh. "Oh, and I suppose you remembered everything right away?" Still, the information was useful - and it was good to have it now, instead of later, when he was there already and beyond such ready aid.


Zhijian ran clawed fingers nonchalantly through his mane, doing his best to look smug - which he was very good at. "I remembered before Tian Yue."

Of course, it had still taken him days, but that was beside the point...as was the fact that when the memory of his death had struck him, he'd fallen right out of the sky. That was just between him and Tien Lung! Hopefully.

"Oh? So now should all seek the counsel of Ying Long, wisest of the Dragon Kings?" Obviously, outrageously teasing, Jin had a wide grin on his face. He had missed this, the banter and simply being around his siblings.

"Not the wisest," he sniffed delicately, "For I've always thought books were more tasty than interesting. So not he wisest, but perhaps the best." The dragon paused for a moment before adding, "If anyone comes for counsel, I hope they bring an offering of fried chicken. I've had the most terrible craving since we stayed with those bird-men, and all the restaurants have closed."

Jin looked momentarily horrified at the thought of someone actually eating books. "You must have been terribly hungry to contemplate something like that," he murmured quietly, shaking his head. At the rest of his brother's statement, however, the other dragon laughed once more. "Ah, the long suffering Zhijian. It's too bad such matters are out of my control."

"No," he corrected, "That is just how little I like books. The spines are lovely between the teeth, though." Tian Yue, no doubt, would heartily disapprove of such a use for boring old tomes. "Maybe we'll get Hearth back one of these days, and then we can all have some good home cooking. Some banana pudding wouldn't go amiss, either. Or cherry pie..." Zhijian had inherited much of his host's taste in food, right along with her sweet tooth.

"Mm. Well, that is something I will have to keep in mind, if ever you decide to visit me." That, and to keep plenty of food on hand. It was unlikely that Jin Huang would receive many visitors at his current residence outside the Pantheon; he would greatly prefer to either go to them, or perhaps...The Treasury was always impressive.

Are you really going to stand around here talking about food? Del asked acerbically, having kept quiet long enough. You're the one in a hurry to get out of here.

Jin's eye twitched briefly and he resisted the urge to swat at his host's self - it would not do to damage him at this point. "How do you summon this erras?" he asked, genuinely curious, as well as attempting to angle the conversation back. Del made an exasperated noise, but didn't comment further.

"In that case, I think a visit would be necessary," he chuckled, tail flicking and then curling agaisnt his brother's leg.

"I will send my own, Shanti, to look for another of her kind who would be willing to serve." The erras had chosen to stay with him and serve, to his hearty approval. "Where do you stay? It may take a few hours, but she can tell them where to find you."

"At least give me warning so I can lay in a supply of food," Jin requested, somewhat jokingly. At the request, Jin quickly outlined how to get to the house he had co-opted earlier on; while the dragon had not approved initially, it had become a a safe haven of sorts in these times.

"And will you stay?" he asked softly after a pause once he had finished. "Our Lord needs us now more than ever, and I wish..." His hand spasmed briefly before forming into a loose fist. "I wish I could do more."

Zhijian nodded. "I will. I will wait for Tian Yue to be ready before returning to the old City. In the meantime, I will be in the throne room almost always."

"That is good. He should not be alone," Jin said firmly, although whether or not the Crown could appreciate that there was someone with him...Well, that was no matter. It was simply something that should be done.

Now what? Del asked as Jin fell silent. You can't just stand here forever.

Hm. This was slightly awkward. Brother-dragon curled around his legs would make it hard to leave, and he would not ask Zhijian to move. Not right now, anyway.

Zhijian would indeed have been perfectly happy to stay there forever, wrapped around his brother - or, well, his brother in his host's body. It was close enough! The dragon was inside. Eventually, however, he did disentangle himself a little bit, enough that Jin-Delmin would be able to move away if he wished.

"I should be off," Jin Huang murmured regretfully, stepping easily away from his brother. "It is good to see you again. Fare well, Ying Long," he continued, offering another quick but affectionate pat to his brother's head before making quick time towards the exit.

Jin Huang remained in control until he was certain Arden could no longer see him, reluctantly relinquishing control back to Delmin. "That is unnerving," the man said with a shudder, patting himself down as if the dragon had somehow rumpled his clothing. A snort was all he got in reply as they both contemplated the walk back to the house they had claimed.

Perhaps we could wait, and see if Zhijian was able to summon one of his Erras. It would be easier than making it search us out. This time Delmin was the one to snort, but he walked over to one of the nearby lava pools, amusing himself by throwing small bits of debris as far in as he could. Jin Huang contented himself with ignoring his host and wondering about what sort of creature an Erras was. His brother had not mentioned it, merely saying that it was a world-walker, one who could guide him through the planes to reach the world of The'ta'naa. And from there...the Ancient Pantheon, the World Tree. And himself, of course. Although that was the least of his concerns.

"I wonder what kind of shape they're in," Delmin asked idly, having followed along with the dragon's train of thought. It was almost distressingly easy to do so, from both sides. While the man had become accepting of his eventual fate, it was still unsettling to have forcefully brought to his attention that one day he would simply be gone. The dragon had promised him that, once, in a moment of anger. And Jin Huang tended to keep his promises.

We still have time, came the whispered thought, seeking to reassure his troubled host. They had spent an inordinate amount of time this week fighting, but there were still moments of peace, such as this. Though what amount of time either had remaining was, as always these days, an uncertain and fragile thing. Delmin worried about the end of his own life, and the beginning of Jin Huang's, but the dragon worried more about the End. And I imagine that they are in fair shape. Not many beings would disturb the final resting place of a Dragon King, he continued more briskly, almost forcefully cheerful.

"Yeah, well, hopefully you're right. And hopefully everything else stayed intact." With that cheerful though, Delmin abruptly turned away from the lava, crossing his arms over his chest. There was something pervasively depressing about the Pantheon, something that ran deeper than whatever power came from the Throne. It was one thing to have Destruction hold court, but there was no stability in the current situation. Everyone and everything spiraled down into furtive desperation, losing all hope, until at the last. When everything ended. But that is what they were seeking to prevent. The Manacles, to chain the End for a time. They would not hold forever, but perhaps they would hold long enough for a more permanent solution to be found.

They will. They must.

"Is that a horse?" Delmin asked, interrupting the dragon to point out an approaching figure.

It does appear to be one. I wonder what it is doing out here. Delmin did not reply, but watched the horse approach curiously.

Are you Jin Huang, the Dragon King Futs Lung? a voice asked not long after the horse had drawn much closer. Delmin jumped slightly at the quesion he heard with no sound, througholy unused to telepathy and mental speech, except when used by the being in question. The horse, clearly the speaker, peered at the pair curiously, but with a hint of challenge in his murky green eyes. He appeared to be covered in dust, as if from travel, but closer inspection as well as the quick shake he gave himself, revealed that it was his natural color. Small wings, likely useless, lay close to his back, while a spiraled gold horn sat firmly in the center of his white splashed head.

"Who asks?"

I have been sent by Zhijian, and if you don't mind, I'd rather confirm that you are who I am looking for. This has been a long enough trip already, he said, tossing his dark mane irritably.

"You must be the Erras who answered his call. Yes, I am Jin Huang. Have you a name?"

Huore. Do you dwell here?

"...A talking horse," Delmin interrupted, staring. "This day cannot possibly get any weirder."

A talking human, how novel. Too bad it does not speak intelligently. And I am not a horse, I am an Erras, a planeswalker. Delmin bristled at the insult - insulted by a horse! - but Jin Huang clamped down tightly on his host.

"He hails from a mundane world. Do forgive him. No, we do not dwell here, though it is not far to our house."

Very well. Lead, and I shall follow.

"Can't we...?" Huore cast a dangerous look at Delmin, taking a somewhat threatening step forward. "Nevermind, alright, whatever. You're the talking horse."

I am not a horse!

Before he had even finished ascending the stairs to the upper level, Jin Huang had already relegated his new guest to a corner of his mind. There was an idea brewing in the back of his mind about the man, but any verification would have to wait until things were properly settled between the dragon and his host. He'd thought they had been, the discussion from earlier in the week drifting to mind, but clearly he had been misunderstood. Striding down the hallway, he listened carefully for any echoing footsteps behind him. He heard none, which caused a tight, satisfied smile to work its way onto his face. Lysander and Xu Yong had so far learned well his habits and moods, and it was likely that any others who arrived, demon or Aoide, now would similarly learn. Xu Yong seemed obscurely upset by his tendency to, as she put it, brood, and often cast looks at her erstwhile master that made him uneasily recall her arrival.

Putting that matter out of mind as firmly as he shut the door behind him, Jin Huang sourly surveyed his domain. The bedroom was of course the largest in the house, but was quite bare of decoration, and to a large extent, furniture. There was a bed tucked away in one corner, and chair in front of one of the windows, but other than that, it was painfully empty. He once again made a mental note to have one of his servants find something else to put in here. The emptiness made his skin crawl, although Delmin seemed content with it. No doubt a holdover from his days as the leader of a cult; sparse decorations and stark surroundings seemed nearly a staple of those.

"You are merely delaying the inevitable," he breathed out, though whether he spoke to himself, or perhaps the mortal still held locked within the coils of his mind, was entirely uncertain. It was enough to firm his resolve, sliding to the floor to sit cross-legged and closing his eyes.

One...





That was all it took, three relaxed breaths. Jin Huang 'opened' his eyes, noting with satisfaction that his mental landscape still held strong. Delmin hadn't managed to leave his temporary prison of twining dragon coils, and with a shuddering sense of movement, the dragon was there, looking down at the man now sitting in an eerie mirror of his corporeal body. "I thought we had an agreement," he said calmly, not bothering to look up at where the dragon's presence was strongest.

We did. You seem to enjoy testing the boundaries of my patience, however. Delmin snorted in reply, folding his arms across his chest.

"And your patience is not endless?" he asked sardonically, with no trace of his earlier fire. "I don't think my actions warranted all of this," he continued with a wave of his hand. "But you'd know best, wouldn't you?" Jin Huang stirred uneasily. Had he learned something, deep within the recesses of the dragon's mind? There were memories there, most ancient, but some...Some were very recent indeed.

And not all dealt with the man named Delmin Brock, who had continued speaking. "You asked about my past, and I think it's about time I asked about yours." A casual snap of his fingers summoned the memory-image of a man. His silver-blonde hair hung loosely past his chin, his pale complexion making the twining red dragon tattoo on his right arm more immediately visible than Delmin's own markings. Feathered jade green wings flared slightly, a similarly colored serpentine tail hanging loosely behind him. The arrogant smirk the man wore made Jin Huang growl deeply in his throat, as if in challenge. "So. Who was he?"

Yu Huang, he replied on a slow breath. Delmin finally looked upwards then, casting a sharp glance at the hazy figure of the dragon. As I'm sure you've guessed, he continued dryly, He was once me. Or rather, I was once him.

"What happened?"

He failed. The host fought, even after Yu Huang had taken possession of the body. Fought, and burned through the dragon's power, leaving nothing behind but ash and a weakened gem.

"So when you said you had been waiting for me to find you, and that I was meant to be yours..." Delmin trailed off angrily, unable to finish his sentence. But the dragon was able to pick up the train of thought, and snarled in reply.

I was not lying, Delmin Brock. You were and are a far better choice than my first. You are more suited to bear my power, and you have accepted your fate. Do not argue with me! he said suddenly as the man opened his mouth. There is not much that remains hidden between us, now. And I can tell. Beneath your defiance, beneath all your fears, you have accepted this.

Delmin set his jaw stubbornly, still prepared to argue, when all the anger seemed to run out of him. "Don't mess it up again," he ground out. "I don't think you'll get a third chance." With that, the man moved back over to what was nominally 'his' consciousness, leaving behind a thoughtful Dragon King.

After Cosine had departed, seeking what she had originally come to find, Jin Huang stood near the kitchen and looked up each flight of stairs speculatively. Up the one, the way to his Lord's apartments...and the Treasury. Up the other...There were apartments there, suites and rooms for those who had asked for them. He had none of his own, no, but an old friend dwelled up there. Behind him lay the chrysalis, and his brother Ying Long. In front, the doors to leave and return home to prepare for the journey he'd been set upon. Four directions, four possibilities to choose from...Four different encounters.

We should go home, Delmin said, pushing a little to regain control. Jin Huang ignored this suggestion, and the push, easily resisting what had been a half-hearted attempt to begin with, and moved towards one of the staircases. Hey! Where are we going?

"To see Phaedra. I would ask if she knows anything else, other than what her servant told me," the dragon said as he ascended the staircase. The Treasury could wait until later, after he had reclaimed the Manacles. Ying Long and what remained of his Lord would still - he had to trust that this would be true - be there when he returned. In truth, a visit to the Goddess of Greed should wait, were it not for that most precious of commodities: information. Once at the top, he moved easily down the hallway, eyes searching for the door that had been described to him.

It was easily distinguished from the rest; a door made of golden rutilated quartz, studded with rubies and moonstones, gave off enough of a sparkle to draw attention. A small smile curved across his face as he knocked on the door, not wanting to enter until the traps within the Labyrinth had been disarmed.

The sound of the knocker made Avita jump a bit, and she quickly got to her feet and clopped over to the small gap that allowed one to see - by way of cunning workmanship and mirrors - who was at the door. At the sight of the Dragon King's host, she flicked one ear and turned around to find her mistress.

She had sent Malh'reth away, to tend to his own things for a while. After the initial relief of her descent from the Throne, she had been afflicted with a deep uneasiness. She had not managed to do much while on the Throne; what could she do in this state? She was afraid, and it did not become her in the least.

She did not want it recorded.

"Imperatrix, I believe Jin Huang is here," Avita said, with a bow.

That got her interest, at least, her own ears perking up unbidden. "Is he, now? Did I promise to turn the traps off?"

"You did, my Lady."

"Damn." A smile quirked on the goddess' face. "Best admit him freely, then."

The Aoide bowed again, then moved to the hidden door that permitted passage to the outer door without going through the Labyrinth. She opened said door and raised one eyebrow at the man waiting outside. "Be welcome, Golden-Scaled King. Lady Greed awaits you, within."

Jin Huang gave a small nod of his head in greeting when the Aoide opened the door. "I thank you for the welcome," he said, entering the rooms behind Avita. He would not mention the traps, or the Labyrinth; having expressed interest in navigating such when he was more himself had been quite enough for now, and besides. She had told him that he was welcome to enter without going through such lengths, and that was something Jin Huang would trust in. Delmin made a small scoffing noise - trust Greed? - but the dragon calmly ignored him.

When they finally arrived in front of Phaedra - not a long journey - his eyes flickered over her as Jin Huang offered a half bow. Ah, there it was. A small, pleased smile curved over his face as he recognized the ruby glittering in her hairnet. It was unlikely she would have gotten rid of it, no matter the source, but it gave him an obscure sense of satisfaction that she was still wearing it. "Phaedra," he murmured warmly in greeting.

"Ah, Jin Huang... so kind of you to come to me without the lure of the Throne to call you," Phaedra said, rising with a sly smile, extending one hand to him. "And was Avita's note of use to you? Your brother was most insistent that you know of the Manacles."

"It would have been rude of me not to come," he replied, taking the hand and brushing his lips over it delicately. Releasing it after a moment, he frowned slightly. Brother? "Tian Yue, I assume." A logical enough conclusion, given that he had only met two of his brothers so far, and Ying Long had been after his audience with Phaedra.

"It was of use, however. I have not yet gone to reclaim the Manacles, but even to provide the impetus to do so is useful," came the rest of the reply, accompanied with a regretful shrug that he had delayed leaving.

"Yes, yes, Tien Lung... Not yet gone?" Phaedra's tail lashed behind her, betraying her unease at this revelation. "Was the map not to your liking, Golden-Scaled? You must make haste, must chain the chrysalis as your office demands-" For if the Manacles were not recovered, then the sum total of true accomplishment during her reign would be nothing... and they all might die, besides.

"Universe was most distraught," she said, after a moment, another whip of the tail.

Jin Huang arched an eyebrow at her unease. The tail - and the ears - were such tells on her emotions that he had to wonder if she would keep them once ascended further. "It is easy enough to say 'go there, do this', Lady. It is quite another to actually do so," he replied firmly, folding his hands over his stomach. "I had preparations to make, a means of transportation to acquire," he continued. "And information to discover. Did you know of the passnames required? It would have been a fine mess if I had arrived and not been able to enter. Thankfully, Ying Long was able to inform me of the state of things." And provide the aforementioned means of transportation; the erras would prove to be useful even after the Manacles were recovered.

"Even so," Phaedra acknowledged, after a moment. "I am not to know the ways of Dragon Kings, small goddess that I am. And yet, now you are here... when all the information I have has already been given to you by my Aoide. Why?" She tilted her head to one side, honest curiosity in her gaze.

A small laugh escaped him at her words. "Unexpected modesty," Jin Huang murmured, allowing a tiny grin to flicker across his face.

"To see you is not enough?" he replied playfully, turning serious a moment later. "Truthfully, I don't know. I told myself that I came to seek any further information you might have. But that is not all of it, I don't think."

You're nervous about going alone. Del sounded thoughtful, not accusatory, but the remark still elicited a mental snarl from the dragon.

She laughed. "Modesty, is it? Sometimes the small can slip past the eyes of the very great, Golden Dragon. Remember that, hmm? And plug the chinks in our Lord's Treasury, to keep out the mice."

Phaedra sobered, though, after a moment. "I could try and describe what I Saw in more detail, I suppose - the map and note were terse, written quickly. But other than that small thing..."

"I thank you for the warning, and will keep it in mind," Jin Huang replied seriously with a half bow.

"That would be appreciated," he said slowly, as if wrestling with something.

Too proud, dragon, Del barked out with a laugh. You'll never learn.

Phaedra sighed and took a few steps back to her chaise-lounge, then sat down and closed her eyes to try and call back the memories again. They were sharp, searing in her mind - designed for someone more powerful than she was. The pressure of a headache built up nearly immediately, waiting to pounce once the memory was gone.

"The world... is simple, once you're there, a massive gate, the figures tumbled into each other and broken. Gehenna and Origin, they're named, old, old names..." Her eye moved under her closed eyelids, and the gem shifted as well, just a little bit, that movement also visible under the skin. "Between the gates, and then the mana goes directly there... the throne room, and down. With Sight... I needed no doors... straight into the trunk through the ancient bark, and down, and down." Her finger traced a path in the air in front of her. "A room, massive, vast, tumbled with treasure... oh, how I'd like to play in that, my dear Dragon... and there, bones, old and splendid things."

She opened her eyes, and winced as the headache immediately tumbled in to place. "It is so large, so hard to put into words."

Jin Huang listened to her recitation, making no movement. This was obviously painful for her. It would not do for him to give anything less than his full attention. "I thank you, Lady," he said once she had finished. "That will be most helpful indeed." With another bow, Jin Huang turned to leave, placing one hand on the door to exit.

"Want to come with?" The body froze for a moment as Del spoke, host laughing at dragon as he easily slid back into control of himself.

Phaedra looked up, taken by surprise, her ears perking - but no, that voice hadn't the resonance of the Dragon. The host only, she realized, with an inaudible sigh. "Delmin Brock, I presume?" she said, regaining her composure.

"You think I should plague your dear master, hmm? Loot his bones for ivory?" She smiled, teasingly. "I have been at loose ends, perhaps I should. It would be most entertaining." She was kidding, of course. Only a joke.

Wasn't it?

Delmin offered a quick, confirming nod - and even quicker smile - to Phaedra. "Why not? He's not using them now, and I daresay he won't be later, either," he offered, holding up a hand and looking at it appraisingly.

How droll.

"Perhaps you should, indeed. What will you accomplish here?" he asked with an innocent look in his eyes. "A chance to do something, instead of wondering what you could be doing."

Phaedra smirked. "You are amusingly persuasive, mortal host." She rolled the mortal on her tongue, savoring it for a moment, and arching one delicate eyebrow. "But what does your master say about Lady Greed?"

"The legacy of a misspent life," Delmin replied, looking entirely too amused.

"I say...I would welcome the company," Jin Huang admitted once Del stepped aside to allow him to speak.

"Well, then," Phaedra said, thinking for a moment, "I do believe you might be right, Delmin Brock. A wise invitation... provided I can play with some of the beautiful things I saw when I searched so hard for your master, hmm?" She tilted her head to one side, utterly charming.

A brief hesitation as Jin Huang warred with himself, but eventually he nodded stiffly. "That would not be unacceptable."

There, that wasn't so hard, was it? The only response Delmin received was the angry snarl of a dragon.

"My! Such excitement, I see!" Phaedra exclaimed, raising one eyebrow again. "Very well, then. Since I have your tacit approval, I will do what I do best... which is desire, and let that draw us both to the salvation of the world. Hm." She smiled, in a playful yet predatory fashion.

"It is hard, to let go of my Lord's treasure," Jin Huang explained, resting one hand over the pocket where the key to his Treasury waited. "But I will trust in that desire of yours, Lady." A pause, as he adjusted the half-formed plans he had already made. "I have preparations to attend to. By your leave?" he asked, arching an eyebrow questioningly. He had already attempted to leave once, without asking even rhetorically. This time...it would be best to make sure the audience had ended.

"Why, surely you don't need my leave to go, o Dragon King," Phaedra purred, smiling. "But, since you asked, you have it. Simply send word when you are ready to depart, if you would..."

"Of course," he replied, making a quick retreat before Delmin could get him into any more trouble.

It was probably to the disdain of half of the Dragon King's household that the crippled human was still there, taking up space on the couch, spending the majority of the day sleeping and the rest of it being useless. Sure, humans weren't the most impressive race in the multiverse, but they could still heal from injuries over time, and that's what was expected of him: he would heal from his injuries, they'd find some sort of replacement cane for him to walk with, and he would leave.

However, instead of getting better, he had started to get much, much worse. It had come as a surprise to many people that the hailing of the next Week corrupted the body instead of the mind... and being the full-fledged mortal in all aspects that he was, David had quickly become a victim of Plague's influence. Whatever it was he had, it had burned away whatever health he had left after the injuries and his long-term illness - he might as well have been dead with how little he could move or react if it weren't for a fever so intense that it could practically be felt through his clothes, not to mention the splattering rows of red dots that had appeared in patches on what could be seen of his skin. It was as if little armies of insects came and bit him when nobody was looking.

The plan with him was starting to look as if it would soon be changed to "wait for him to die, then deposit his body on the side of the road."

David was, as one might guess, sprawled feverishly on the couch, the skin around his eyes brittle and streaked, hair and face messier than usual, which was easy to see with how it contrasted with the paleness. He made a soft, low noise, wishing he could move, somehow thinking he could wave away the serpentine haze of fever and the things it did while coiled around his mind. There was... something like a voice, except not - it was calling to him, wanting to crawl into his head and whisper little thoughts in with his own but it couldn't quite get there, that had been weaving in and out of his awareness since... he couldn't remember, didn't he get here before the sickness started? But then... no... it's just another damned fever dream, go away

"This is distasteful," Jin Huang said, making a disgusted face as he sat down next to the ailing mortal. His own host had been afflicted with a mild fever, but the dragon's influence made it less severe than it obviously could have been. "I would have preferred to do this while he was healing. I am not sure he'll be able to withstand this."

Then don't do it, Delmin suggested, giving the impression that he had his hands behind his head, uncaring. You're not even sure what you have is really housing a god. And if it is, and David dies because of it...You've just screwed over two beings. The dragon snorted in disbelief.

"I am, of course, unconcerned about the mortal. If he dies, it is likely an easier death than he would otherwise receive. However, the immortal...I would not subject another to the pain of a failed host," he said, quite firmly. His own trauma would likely be worse than anything a still gem-trapped godling would experience. It was still enough to make him wary of trying.

If you're going to do it, do it. We don't have time to waste here while you ponder ethics, dragon. There was no response from Jin Huang, at least not to his host. Slipping the gem from his pocket, he took a moment to admire it. It really was quite a lovely specimen, easy to see why it had wound up in his cache, though he had no memory of placing it there himself.

"Any suggestions for placement?" he whispered, though whether it was to gem or host was hard to say. Receiving no answer, he leaned forward, holding the gem lightly. He placed it on the fitfully slumbering man's forehead, drawing his hand back after gently letting go.

Now to wait, and see what happened.

The gem might have grown warm to the touch in those few seconds as it drew closer to the body of its host, little threads of power eagerly reaching towards the soul and body it had become drawn to - that it had chosen. Jin's natural talents with handling all things of value showed even in the placement of it: where it finally attached, it was almost perfectly in the middle of David's forehead, tilting just a few degrees to one side.

It then visibly sank into the skin and bone, as if it were a lead weight in a pile of soft clay. The host didn't protest much, but that was because he couldn't in his current state: he only managed to make another soft, raspy noise while his face cringed weakly in an expression of pain. His hand twitched a bit, wanting to reach up and touch the place where he had just felt something branding his skull, and then... and then there was the voice, clear and painfully loud, ringing through his head and chasing the fever phantoms away with only a few calm words. It continued to speak while slowly making its way inside my head it's walking inside my head why are you here being careful in its half-imagined footsteps; it was probably David's way of rationalizing it, but that didn't stop the sudden presence from being any less real so loud please why can't you quiet down

introduced itself as who are you, why are

After a moment of struggle that was only hinted at by weak twitches of the limbs and barely-formed expressions, David went limp, looking as if he might be suffering much less than he had been earlier.

And then there was more movement, but different; deliberate. Fingers spasmed briefly like insects, and his face took on a look of something more like confusion than pain. There was more of this for a moment: muscles fluttering under skin, gritting teeth, general shifting of the body, almost like something was trying to settle into it and having a difficult time with it.

You were right, Delmin said sadly, watching as the gem attached itself to David.

"Don't sound so regretful. As I said, he will live longer this way," Jin Huang replied, crossing his arms and frowning slightly. He couldn't quite fathom why his host had objected so strongly to the idea that the man they had picked up and brought home was intended to be a host as well. He would have died, otherwise, and it was entirely likely that Delmin himself would not be around to witness the eventual change.

That doesn't mean I have to like it, Delmin replied rather sharply. It looks like it's done.

"You seem to be correct. Hello," Jin Huang said to whoever it was that would wake - David, or the god who now claimed him.

The shifting tremors and spasms gradually slowed, before coming to a stop. Glaucon sighed internally, carefully pulling back those tendrils of himself that he had branched out, resigning himself to only reach his influence through the facial muscles and vocal chords so he could at least communicate. This body was a bit of a tattered, deteriorating mess. He had a distressing inkling that it was moreso than it should have been. It had taken a concentrated outreach of power just to keep his host's soul from creeping out of its body; there had been but a few tethers left, and those had started to fray and weaken as well. Now the mortal was safely curled up in his own subconscious, recovering from an ordeal that, upon a brief closer inspection, looked like it extended beyond his fever.

This meant he couldn't put up much resistance to the diety's attempts at control, however, so he was able to freely bubble to the surface and reply to whoever it was that had just spoken to him. He could detect another presence nearby. Perhaps it was familiar, perhaps not; but it was easy enough to tell that it was divine in nature.

There was a pause between Jin's greeting and the godling's response, as he shaped and focused his power in a way that would allow him to speak. But when he was able to say his first words as a reborn diety, there was a distinct difference in the quality of his voice, a smooth and appraising tone that contrasted almost directly with David's abrasive one.

"You... placed me here?"

Jin Huang did not recognize the low pulse of power now spread through the other man's prone body, although it was easy enough to detect and recognize. Yes, yes, you were right. Stop gloating already, Delmin complained, curling slightly in on himself.

The dragon waited patiently as the other adjusted and settled within the body of the host. "I did indeed. I apologize for the state that he is in, but these times have not been gentle." That was an understatement; while Destructions reign had started the slow decline of the worlds, it had been rapidly accelerated and was hurtling towards the End. That news, however, could wait to be told until both host and diety were recovered.

Besides, David might know something and be able to relay it, willingly or not.

"There is no need to apologize," the new diety responded, not having it himself to blame someone for circumstances they had no control over. "Instead, I must extend my thanks."

Another moment of focusing and pulling at unfamiliar muscles, and he was able to crack his host's eyes open. Not by very much, though; he could only perceive some blurred and dark smears of color before he let go and allowed them to close again. David stirred slightly at the minor sensory intrusion, but was quick to settle back into the sleep he had been carefully eased into.

"I am Glaucon, Judgement." Short and to the point - introductions didn't need to be complicated, especially when he had questions to ask the individual who had placed him in his host.

Jin Huang waved a dismissive hand at the other's words; not that he could see such a motion, but the sentiment remained. It was too bad David had such a frail body, but that was not what mattered, when it came time to selection.

"Well met. I am Jin Huang, the Dragon King Futs Lung." If Glaucon remembered the Kings and the Court, that would be enough of an introduction. There was no need to list off every title he could lay claim to, after all. Delmin continued to sulk I am not sulking in the back of their shared mind, but it was easy enough to ignore him.

"I am sure you have questions. Ask, and I will do my best to answer."

Futs Lung...?

Glaucon flipped through the singed and motheaten pages of his memories, trying to fit that name to one he could read. All he gained from that endeavor was an irritating familiarity, and an acknowledgment that the Dragon Kings were very important in the grand scheme of things. "I cannot seem to remember you very well," he said, a frown briefly appearing on his face. Not that it mattered too much; he was sure that the information would come back to him in some form or another.

Other things seemed more urgent than memories of the old Pantheon, besides. "I am not sure how to describe it," he started, gradually gaining better control over his-David's voice. "but there is some sort of Wrongness hovering over us. I could feel signs of it, etched into the soul of my host, and it may have made him weaker than he should be." At this point it would have been nice to gesture towards himself, but it was taking so much of his focus just to speak. "Please tell me, if you have the knowledge of it: what has made things so unkind, and why?"

Jin Huang was a little disappointed at not being remembered, but there were more important things to attend to. Memory lost could be rebuilt, relearned as one navigated through the laborious process of rebirth. "A small matter, not worth troubling yourself over," he said, idly fussing with the broken hem of his shirt.

The dragon stilled his movements as Glaucon spoke on, asking about the current state of affairs. "My Lord Harmodius...he has been changed, shifted into some grotesque chrysalis. I know not how or why this happened, only that it has." He sighed, looking off in the general direction of the Pantheon. Did his brothers still linger there, seeking knowledge with which to avert the End of All? "What you feel is the End approaching. The Domains of Destruction hold court, each granted a week in which their influence reigns supreme. This is the Week of Plague, if I am not mistaken."

Here was a long, understandable moment of silence, and his face went slack again, holding no expression but the weariness that David had worn before becoming host to a god. Judgement had withdrawn a bit to think, and carefully weigh the frightening, disheartening information he had just recieved.

"The... Twin Crown?" he asked, brow furrowing in uncertainty. The only god that they would refer to as... yes, that must be it. "He is becoming...? but that... seems unnatural," he continued, voicing the opinion that was already on the minds of many gods. Why would he just now have started his own re-ascension if the world wasn't going to be around for long enough for him to make any progress? He was sure that question was an obvious one next to another who had probably thought the very same thing.

"I certainly chose a fine time to be reborn..."

The blank facial expression slightly intrigued Jin Huang; had he looked much the same when Delmin had first succumbed to the Wave? Rather morbid, the man in question commented acidly. The dragon ignored his host and waited for the other god to process the information.

"That does seem to be the generally held opinion," he replied rather dryly. Indeed, it was something that had been on his mind rather often of late. It was, however, a rather obvious conclusion for someone presented with the information to draw, so he could not fault Glaucon for saying such. A small laugh answered the second comment. "Quite so. It almost seems to be unworthy of the effort, on both our and His part. But, it is what it is."

"If... it's an irreversible outcome for Everything, then... I shall learn to... accept it." Glaucon's voice was slowing, but it wasn't out of any sort of concentration - he had quite simply been overexerting himself over the past several minutes, and his control was slowly slipping away from him. He wanted very much to continue this exchange and not waste any time resting in the back of his host's mind, but it looked like for now he had no choice. He was a terribly weakened god in a nearly mortally-weakened host. At least the Futs Lung seemed considerate and understanding enough to not be too bothered if he suddenly dropped off.

"I would... appreciate some advice on where to... spend my time, who to meet," the godling requested, the meanings behind the casual words quite obvious. He hoped for a chance that there might be a way to change what looked like a distinct lack of a future. It wasn't that he could do anything himself - but he was a deity that dealt in information. He might be able to spread the correct knowledge; help others make crucial decisions, if nothing else.

"There are those working to correct it," Jin Huang assured the other god. Eyeing Glaucon/David appraisingly, he gave a small sigh. It looked as though he was weakening in control; unsurprising, all things considered. However, he would be leaving shortly, and it was unlikely he would have a chance to speak with Glaucon again before he returned.

"The Pantheon, if you can manage it. There are many gathered there, I suppose, although I have only seen a bare handful. A sign of the times, one would assume," he replied thoughtfully. Either there were fewer reborn deities than he had thought - had hoped - or they truly were all elsewhere about their own business. "I regret to say that I will not be here to offer further advice to you, but I am leaving on what may prove to be an extended journey. If you require anything, one of my servants will assist you." The emphasis was more to remind himself to speak with Lysander and Xu Yong about what to do in his absense, especially regarding their guest. "Rest. Regain your strength, and that of your host," he said, standing, and offering a small, likely unseen smile. On his way out to attend to what remained of his preparations, Jin Huang paused. "Regardless of the timing, it is good to see another reborn. Farewell for now, Glaucon."

After what was a much shorter ride than walk, Jin Huang ascended the stairs to the upper level of the Pantheon once again, this time with a bit more urgency to his steps. Huore waited outside, with what little his servants had been able to scrounge from the surrounding neighborhood that would be fit for travel. There was not much, all told, but it would hopefully be enough. And hopefully the Lady was prepared to depart, though it had taken him a few days longer than he would have liked to return. He reached the golden door in a few long strides, knocking sharply on the door, fussing absently with the hem of his shirt as he waited for it to open.

The door banged open almost immediately, with Phaedra on the other side - rather obviously agitated. Her one eye reflected a spark of frustration, and her fur was bristly, all the way around. But when she saw Del, she paused, took a sharp breath, and then let it out in a hiss that seemed to take the tension with it. "Jin. At last," she said, with the last of that breath.

Then she turned, dissembling, trying to pretend she hadn't been waiting with anxious pacing and bated breath for that knock. "You are ready to go out on our little vacation, are you?"
"I am indeed. I apologize for my delay in returning, but it proved unavoidable, he replied, more than a little amused at her reaction. Was she truly so eager to be gone? Or was it simply that she was anxious to prove herself? No matter, if she was as prepared as her display indicated, then that was all to the good. "Are you bringing anything with, or shall we be off this instant?"

Phaedra merely turned her head. "Avita! Jin Huang is here, and we are gone - tell Malh'reth as much when he returns."

The Aoide appeared in the doorway behind her mistress, hooves clopping on the floor. She bowed. "As you wish, Imperatrix. Safe travels, my Lady, Golden-Scaled Lord."

"There, as you see," Phaedra said, with a nod. "And what is to be our conveyance?" Now that the time had finally come, the tenseness was unraveling from her, making way to her more usual playfulness.

Jin Huang offered a curt nod to the Aoide; he was anxious to be gone, and began moving back to the lower level even as he made a reply. "An erras. My brother found one willing to serve me. They are planes-walkers, and telepathic," he explained, letting out a short laugh. The telepathy was certainly useful, all things considered. "There is only the one, however," the dragon said, sounding only slightly contrite.

"A creature, is it?" Phaedra padded down the stairs; though her ear flicked towards the throne room, she did not actually turn towards it, did not actually cast her glance in the direction of the chrysalis and Throne. "Well, we shall have to ride together, then." She smirked. "How cozy. Will Delmin mind?"

"A horse," he confirmed, although Jin Huang could hear his host laughing a bit at the comment. "And if he does mind, it is no concern of mine." Firmly ignoring the presence of the chrysalis, although the dragon would swear that he could feel the thing lurking there, pressing against the fabric of All.

Two of you? Huore commented when they finally exited the Pantheon, stomping one hoof impatiently, projecting to both. I will manage, as I must.

"This is Huore. He seems to find himself funny," Jin Huang said, sounding quite unamused.

As you say. Who shall be riding where? Or have you thought that far ahead?

"Ah..." Phaedra paused at the voice in her mind, then grinned. "Charmed, I am sure. What a lovely beastie you are, and useful besides. I do seem to find myself beset by horned creatures these days, though I do believe my pet bardling is somewhat more... amusing, if not more convenient..."

The next moment, she was up on Huore's back, in the front; she turned to one side at the waist and patted the back of the erras. "Come, come, let us be on our way," she said, but her smile said that she knew entirely what game she was playing.

Ah, Malh'reth. So, she had kept her pet, then. It was unlikely that Phaedra would let him go of his own will, but it was interesting that she did not seem to have become even slightly bored with him.

You move quickly, Huore whuffed, shifting slightly at the sudden addition of weight. He is not quite so quick to action.

"I am not an altogether impulsive creature," Jin Huang replied, offering a slight frown to the erras and an arched eyebrow to Phaedra. "Although speed is of the essence," he continued, settling himself in behind Phaedra.

I would suggest holding on, my Lord, but that is your own decision, the erras said as he began to move, slowly at first but picking up speed once he had truly adjusted to the added mass. His easy stride ate up the ground, taking them steadily away from the Pantheon. There was a door near here that he remembered - there it was. With a burst of speed, Huore headed for an oak tree, gnarled and ancient, although it looked to have taken damage recently. He didn't slow, in fact continued to gain speed -

and then the world twisted for a moment, setting itself back aright. Or at least as right as a blank and featureless nothing could be.

Phaedra chuckled to herself, thoroughly pleased - then gasped, unable to help herself, as the world shifted and changed to a strange blankness. Her legs tightened around the errras and she wove one hand in among the creature's mane. "This is... your transit between worlds?" she managed, tense.

Jin Huang gave a brief spasm, and wrapped his arms loosely about Phaedra's waist in reaction. This nothing was disturbing, to say the least, and tactile sensations did much to reassure the dragon that there was still something there, and would be again.

It is, Huore replied shortly. If you please, I should like to concentrate on getting through quickly. Not everything was destroyed here. The erras had made few transits since that first, destructive wave had struck, but it was enough to know that there still lurked dangers within the chasm.

"It cannot end soon enough," Jin Huang murmured softly.

Phaedra would have taken pleasure in the Dragon's 'embrace' had she not been mildly freaked out herself, her tail puffed out like a bottlebrush where it lay at her side. She remained grimly quiet, not wanting to spend a moment longer in this place than was needed, allowing the erras time to concentrate. The goddess fancied that she could see strange and distant lights here and there, above, to the sides, below. There was no up and down. No entrance, no exit.

She closed her eyes, to make it better.

Huore charged grimly on, looking for something that he would have been hard-pressed to explain if asked. He would know it when he saw -- with a slight change in direction, the erras charged forward, having found what he was looking for. With another twist, the nothingness gave way to stark white. Huore backed up a step and shook his head at the difference before moving forward again at a much more sedate pace. Now where? he asked.

"Can you not see?" Jin Huang asked, loosening one arm from Phaedra to gesture at the stone cliff - no statues - that rose up and up. It was crumbled, broken, but still recognizable. Ghosts of ancient memory swam tantalizingly out of his reach at the sight of the paired caryatids, and he dismissed them with a sharp shake of his head.

That is well and good, Lord, but how are we to pass?

"I must remember the name," the dragon said with a heavy sigh, dropping his arm back down.

I suggest you hurry.

A sudden chill of a much more physical nature curled around Phaedra's fur, followed shortly by the sharp slam of scent-touch-taste-sound crashing back into being. She opened her eyes immediately, her fur changing from a scared-fluff to an in-need-of-warmth fluff. "This is right, yes... that world, The'ta'naa, as I Saw..." The real place seemed somehow less than what she had Seen, with no lines of mana dancing, invisible to her normal sight. But the caryatid were resplendent, more impressive for her now 'small' size.

She remained on the erras but released Huore's mane, choosing instead to rub her hands up and down her arms. Neva would take delight in this, but Phaedra preferred warmth, especially now in this more feline body. "I see," she said, quietly. "Such names I never saw. They are yours, not mine."

Huore refrained from comment; of course it was the right world, to imply otherwise cast asperions on himself that he did not appreciate in the least. But he held his peace, as Phaedra did not seem to be quite as forgiving as the Lord he now served. He paced forward, closer still to the imposing statuary. Will we all be able to go through?

"I am unsure," Jin Huang replied absently as he attempted to sort through what remained of his memory. Such an important thing could not have been forgotten so easily! "I shall do this as quickly as I can," he murmured softly, taking note of his companion's distaste for the cold before closing his eyes and diving

____________________within

________to recover the past and reclaim some part of himself

A name whispered as he coiled about the Throne, one that embodied and bound his nature to his Lord's, one that perfectly evoked, to him, everything the Crown was, one name among many, but this was his and his alone

"Zhen Bao," the dragon breathed out, eyes fluttering open to reveal yet another change in scenery.

Again, the world fizzed and shifted - but this time to a place redolent with memory. She did not need to See to feel the mana here, rotting fits and starts that buzzed in forgotten corners. Here they were before the ruins of the First Throne...

The goddess slowly slipped from Huore's back, her arms falling to her sides. "Yes... here, and this... Yggdrasil..." It seemed so much more massive, infinitely larger, than it had from her own Golden Throne. She stroked the dessicated bark almost tenderly; dug at it with one claw and found brittle, ancient resistance. "Now... we must get within... the roots, the root pathways..."

Phaedra shook her head, sharply, and turned back to the Dragon King on his mount. "Your passname. What did it mean?"

A sense of comforting familiarity washed over Jin Huang as he looked about, although everything was quite changed from how he not quite remembered it should be. "If you would lead the way, Lady?" he requested, Huore moving forward a few steps before stopping. She had Seen the roads they must follow, making her far more suited for choosing their path than he.

You mean to go below? I would stay here, if that does not pose a problem, the erras said, ears back at the thought of being below ground, with no sky above him. It was an odd thing, perhaps, for him to be afraid of, given that he semi-regularly traversed a plane of literal Nothing.

"I do not think it will, save only the problem of time," the dragon replied thoughtfully, letting out a soft chuckle as Phaedra questioned him. "What do you think it meant? That which I hold dearest, of course." He paused and dismounted, placing one hand on Huore's neck. "Treasure, simply put."

"A good name," Phaedra acknowledged, with a slight smile. But that expression quickly shifted into a frown as she peered at the Tree. "My Sight knew no physical obstacles; I sent my awareness into the trunk here. But there is no entrance." She raised one hand and knocked hard on the trunk; the sound was brittle and resounded faintly, indicating deep hollowness but no weakness for entry at this place. "We will have to find another way in... somewhere."

I will stay with you until then, Huore said, still looking vaguely uneasy, although with a quick shake he seemed to recover himself.

The dragon made no immediate reply, but examined the Tree thoughtfully. "You mentioned the roots, that what we seek lies tumbled in a large chamber deep within." Jin Huang paused, and waved a hand at the trunk they were standing next to. "If we followed this, perhaps it would lead us to an entrance to those paths?"

"There are paths all through it, roots, branches, everywhere. A labyrinth in truth." She would never have been able to find the Manacles without Lucius' guidance, but she wasn't going to admit that to Jin Huang. "I seem to remember... yes, that the roots were within the City as well..." Phaedra's brow furrowed, and she paced to the great entranceway to the Throne Hall.

The City below took her breath away for a long moment - broken, yes, eroded, yes, but exquisite in ruin for all that. Here and there were gardens run wild long ago, long canals grown stagnant, and yes there were brittle roots dancing under, along, over, through the streets. "Surely somewhere. Ah, Jin, if only you could become dragon and claw your way through the bark."

One root crept into a massive tangle of dead, brown foliage, and Phaedra pointed at it. "There, those plants are dead, and the root goes among them. Perhaps the weakening spread to the root as well."

"Let us hope it is less deadly than yours," the dragon replied as he followed after Phaedra, stubbornly ignoring the flickering ghosts of memory that danced along the edges of his vision. More than anything, this place evoked a deep and longing ache within him; everything he was was crying out that this was home, but it wasn't, not anymore. It, like he - like them all - had changed, shifted almost beyond recognition. Jin Huang shook off what he could of the nostalgic mood and stared out at the City.

"I would like to see this restored," he said quietly, attempting to trace out where the roots led as they twisted and twined throughout. He arched an eyebrow at the shortening of his name, but said nothing. If that's how it was, then...that was how it was. A small laugh escaped him at the rest of the sentence, however and he shook his head in amusement. "It would make much of this easier, I imagine," he said, holding out a hand and eying it critically.

The dragon looked where she pointed. "I hope it has. Shall we go see?" he asked, moving towards the indicated area.

Phaedra smirked, then shook her head and walked down the stairs. How she wished she could have soared over the city's expanse, as her awareness had done while Enthroned, but now she was relegated to mere walking. Her feathers fanned uselessly behind her. "Restored, perhaps, but are you sure you'd want to live your new life surrounded by endless echoes of the old?" She reached out for one of the trees; the branch crumbled at her touch, into dust. "This place is dead. Stagnant." Boring.

The dead garden was not too far away, but up close it looked even more imposing - an angry tangle of dried and dead things, as if it had tried to grow fueled by sheer rage at the impotence of its creator before giving in to death. "My, my. Such a spectacle," she mused, reaching out to paw at these plants as well. Some of them crumbled, and a withered tree creaked ominously at the sudden movement. Phaedra glanced back at Jin. "And here we are with such soft and squishy flesh, so easily poked by thorns. The sacrifices I make for the Crown..."

She did not want to go in there; the thorns did not seem pleasant in the least, but - well, there was treasure down there, wasn't there? Treasure. Shiny things. Desire, awaken and carry me through...

Her ears perked up, and she smiled, slowly. Yes. Walk through fire, flood, and all other obstacles to obtain. That is Greed. "Come along, dear dragon." She took a deep breath and shoved forward, wincing as some plants crashed into dust around her and others scraped angrily at her skin with their branches and thorns.

Jin Huang let out a small thoughtful noise at Phaedra's words; there was truth there, but to ignore the past, this place was a mistake of another sort. While they all had to forge new lives for themselves, from the ruins of the past, did not mean that the entirety of what had come before was something to be tossed aside so lightly. Shaking his head, the dragon moved easily into place behind her. It seemed natural to follow her thusly, keeping an eye on her motions, perhaps a habit developed to keep an easier watch on the goddess. Paranoid, Delmin murmured sleepily, stirring briefly from the enforced nap he was taking; his own choice, this time. Jin Huang huffed a small, indignant sigh at the thought. He was not paranoid, merely cautious, especially in regards to his Lord's treasure. She's leaving you behind, his host pointed out before metaphorically rolling back over and resuming his slumber.

"I am sure He would be fascinated to hear about it," he replied dryly, keeping his own hands firmly folded behind his back, although he did fight down a brief temptation to touch the decayed and brittle plant life, just to see what would happen. About to comment further, the dragon closed his mouth and adopted a more thoughtful look at the small swirl of power Phaedra suddenly emitted. What had that been? Curious, he stepped after, tsking slightly at the damage his clothes were taking; less than the goddess in front of him, to be sure.

A thick branch broke away in Phaedra's hand, but the length of it was still sturdy; the goddess used it as a flail to beat away the thorns, for while she would suffer pain for her own gain if she had to, she preferred otherwise, except in a few select circumstances. "Yes, yes," she purred, "look. Do you see it, Jin? The trees, so angry at their mother, perhaps, have torn a great chasm in the root..."

Sure enough, several trees had their roots braced into Yggdrasil's own, and the twisting of their own wild growth had stretched the bark into an opening big enough to admit a person. "And that is our road; from there, the route to treasure." She licked her lips, hungry for it now. The Manacles were a side benefit at this point.

Jin Huang was amused, and privately a little unsettled, by his companion's strange eagerness to get through the tangled mess of the garden. "I see," he said in reply, eying the entrance with a bit of apprehension. "A bit of focus, my dear? Treasure is not our goal on this trip," the dragon continued with a sharp frown. Did she really think he was going to let her loot his remains? That was his or his Lord's treasure scattered down there, and while he would part with some of it to appease the goddess, it went without saying that he would prefer to keep the larger part for himself.

Huore had stayed further back when the pair began their exploration of the small garden, ears flickering back and forth nervously. When Phaedra reached the hole in the root, the erras shook himself lightly. I will remain here, awaiting your return, he said before trotting off to hopefully find somewhere to graze.

"Now, now... did you think I would plunge heedless through thorns without sufficient motivation?" Phaedra smiled, with the air of a predator. "The Manacles are treasure indeed. Precious links, a chain that will bind the End."

Still, though she wasn't going to admit it aloud in a million years, she flipped back the internal switch of her power. They were past the hard part now; she needed no spare help to keep moving on their journey. Instantly, she was able to relax a bit, and the determined switching of her tail stilled.

She gestured grandly at the hole. "After you, then, my dear dragon." She hadn't missed that phrase he'd used.

"No, but I hadn't anticipated such an action," Jin Huang replied dryly. "I was thinking something more sedate and, hm. Organized, perhaps." Not the best choice of words, but it conveyed the sentiment well enough, he hoped. Such an impulsive creature, Phaedra, but that fit only too well with who and what she was. He waved a hand dismissively, however, not intending to start an argument or discussion; while her methods were not ones the dragon would use, there was no denying the effectiveness, since an entrance had indeed appeared in the root before them.

It was with a small twitch of his shoulders at her emphasized words that Jin Huang moved past Phaedra. "Spiderwebs," he said with a sigh after stepping through the hole and brushing some out of his hair. He took a few short steps 'down' the root-path, but waited for his companion before going any further. She was the one who knew, however vaguely, where they were going, although down seemed like a logical enough conclusion.

"Hmmm." Phaedra said nothing in direct response to the Dragon's words, merely brushed at the thick, clinging webs irritably as she followed him. She was not usually a cooperative creature, and yet... This Age is most demanding of me. To be forced to do so many things... Her nature was her nature; she reveled in it, flippantly used it to excuse her actions. It had always worked so well. Greed was Greed; to expect otherwise was folly, was it not? The logic had been sound.

Yet, now...

She shook her head. "I do not know how this pathway connects to the one I Saw. There were... maps, etched into the roots, drawn by the beings who walked these pathways. If we can find one..." Phaedra paced over to a wall and squinted at it, scrubbing with distaste at the dust of ages - and yet more spiderwebs - that coated it. "Nothing here... perhaps a crossroads. This place is vast beyond telling."

"Then for now, I think towards the heart of the City would be best," Jin Huang said with a small sigh as Phaedra found no trace of a map carved upon the rootwall. He waved an arm towards the sloping path he had already started on, ignoring for the moment the trailing webs that came with it on the descent. "Shall we?" he asked, largely rhetorically, begin his trek downwards and hopefully in the right direction.

"The trunk, yes... I found the path there. If we retrace, so long as we come across a path I saw, I could remember from there..."

She followed in silence. It was all so vast, so huge - it was one thing to dance through it with the ease of power, but quite another to trudge wearily along ancient pathways stained with the dust of ages. I think about the treasure... because I know how to make myself want that. I would do anything for what I desire most, for what sates my hunger.

Why can I not summon up that fire for any other purpose? Have I caged myself? She sighed, quietly. A puppet dancing happily to her own strings, content in her blameless debauch. Not that there's anything wrong with that... but it makes it so very difficult to be anything else... "Jin Huang," she said, quietly, and was startled by her voice echoing against the arched wood that surrounded them. "I... am not used to doing things... for others. But I am afraid of dying, too..." She stopped, lashed her tail with frustration. "I want Him to return. I... damn it," she swore. Why had she started talking in the first place? "What do you remember?" she said, finally, after a long pause in which she did nothing but walk, fixed and silent save for her tail's swishing movements that more than betrayed her irritation with herself. "About this place, why your bones would... will we find it in time, Jin? Will we?"

The last came out pleading, trembling, afraid. She cursed her weakness.

A small nod was all the acknowledgment he gave her words before they set off in truth. If that was what it took, then that was what it took. Unless they found the correct path soon, it was likely they would have to stop and rest. He had gained much strength in the past weeks, but it still had a limit, even with Delmin's willing cooperation. Casting mental eyes over his slumbering host, Jin Huang looked thoughtful. It was becoming easier to switch from Delmin Brock to Jin Huang, but the converse was proving to be more and more difficult every time they passed control back and forth. Unlike many others, who would be able to guess at the meaning, the dragon knew quite well what that sort of shift foretold. It excited him, a little, but there was also a core of worry and fear beneath it. Fear, that he would fail again, and a wistful sort of concern for the fate of his host in the coming change. It was, hopefully, still a ways off. Delmin had things yet left undone, and it was unlikely he would survive the initial takeover of the dragon.

Jin Huang walked in grim silence, occupied with his own thoughts and giving little heed to what Phaedra might be thinking. At least until she spoke. He paused for a moment and let her catch up with him. An eyebrow arched in surprise at her words; truly the last thing he would have thought to hear from her mouth! "Is it so very difficult for you to admit that?" he asked gently, glancing at her with fond sadness. For him, this was a matter of duty, something that was ingrained in him so deeply he could never have denied it. It was the same, he realized, for her. To act in such a manner went against everything she was. He shook his head lightly, shaking such thoughts off, unless she wished further conversation on the topic.

"I remember little enough," the dragon admitted with a small shrug. It was a source of irritation, but one he could do little about. "As for why I came this way? That, I think I can answer without memory. This Tree's roots go deep into the Underworld. Many of the demonic races make their homes in planes near to that." He was coming at this obliquely, to be sure, but he was also thinking aloud, working on sheer conjecture based upon only that which he had learned recently. "In times past, I apparently kept a clan of such in service to me. It is likely I intended to place the Manacles and everything else in their care, only to Fade before I made it to them." It seemed to make sense, at any rate. The truth of the matter was lost to the past, lost like so much else.

"We will find it in time. We must." There was simply no other option, and the dragon's voice rang with iron sincerity.

"It was that way on the Throne as well," Phaedra muttered. "I had thought such power would be glorious, such fun - but it carried with it such responsibility. I am set in my ways, Jin Huang. Very set in my ways." The sphinx had called her an old and unkind thing. Perhaps she was, and that was all...

No. She shook her head, sharply. "The Underworld, then. Down, and down, and down." Their footsteps echoed larger than they had, suddenly, and they entered into a larger space, curved on one side, with hundreds of byways splitting away at their level and higher, higher, infinitely higher...

She stared for a moment. How much grander it was when she was standing here, so small. "The Trunk," she managed. "Yes... a pathway. A large taproot. Straight down, stairs. Spiral." Phaedra sped up, darting across the floor, eyes narrowed, a cat intent on prey.

"We cannot remain as we were," the dragon replied thoughtfully, about to elaborate further on the thought when suddenly they came to a large - very large! - area. This was no mere crossroads, this was, as Phaedra said, the Trunk, where all roots led. Jin Huang looked about in wonder, ignoring Phaedra as he drank in the sight. It had been alive when such paths had been cut and carved, and that all stood as it once had was tribute to those who had done the work.

It was only after the goddess darted past him that Jin Huang paid her mind again, taking quick steps to stay with her. It would not do to get lost here, not at all. "Which one?" he called after her, eyes flashing over the walls to find some clue as to where to go - a map, anything at all.

"Straight down..." Phaedra muttered, not really hearing the Dragon King. She darted to the balustrade-marked edge of a taproot and peered down, then shook her head and ran to the next one, and the next, and the - "Here!" Her ears perked, trembling a bit. "It is here, Jin. Straight down."

A spiral staircase was carved down the sides of the massive taproot. "Not all the way down," she added, though that was hardly helpful, seeing as how even the eternal lights clinging to the interior vanished into the apparently bottomless root below. "I will know when." Coming back up wouldn't be a bit of fun, but... well.

Following at a much more sedate pace, Jin Huang was able to get more of a feel for the area. There were signs that this was not as sturdy as it seemed; a darkened patch of wood here, a crumbled or withered railing there. It had weathered the passing of time remarkably well, however, except for the damnable blankets of spiderwebs over much of the higher levels. Thankfully, they were not headed that way, and would instead descend into the larger root systems.

"It is too bad Huore was unable to come with," he remarked thoughtfully, not particularly relishing the thought of climbing up and down the seemingly endless stairs. Oh, to be dragon in truth! To go sliding down, much quicker than mere legs could carry him, would make this all go much faster. Jin Huang stilled suddenly, his eyes catching a faint set of claw marks along the wall. There was nothing to say he had made them, on that last journey, but something made him think he had. He chose not to draw Phaedra's attention to the scratches, following the goddess once she started down the stairs. "I am glad you are here," was all he said as they began. Indeed, he would have been quite lost, if not for her Sighted memories.

The pathway twined down, down, down. Here and there the railings were crumbled away to dust, and there were gaps in the stairs in a few places. Some of the stairway made alarming groaning noises at the touch of the gods' feet, but though the sounds were startling nothing came of them.

"These... these are marked, more and more," Phaedra murmured, stopping and crouching. The stairs had become worn, damaged thickly in the middle, scraped. Clawed. She glanced back at Jin Huang. "Some creature passed here. Mere beast, or Dragon? The next root is close, I think." They had been walking for so very long. Her legs ached, but she would go past endurance for her Lord, and supplement her stamina with Greed should it become important. She would not think about the ascent.

Ahead of them yawned a tunnel, and Phaedra's ears perked again. "There. It is that one, and then a left, a right, a left... two more rights, a smaller staircase, then the great chamber and the bones." Her head rang a bit with the immenseness of the Sight-memories, too big for her now-small power to properly contain without discomfort.

"I think Dragon," Jin Huang murmured quietly in response, hearing but not quite the soft hiss of scales and the scrape of claws against the wood. "It was very near the end, that I came down here," he continued as they descended further yet. "My strength nearly spent." He chuckled, a sudden thought striking him. "It is just as well. I do not think I could have survived the trip back up, after everything else." The stairs did not end, so much as continue on beneath them, but there was a stop, a path laid flat before them that Phaedra said they must take.

"Then we shall go on," the dragon said, exhaustion finally flagging in his voice. He had pushed himself - and his host - far beyond anything they had ever attempted, and it was beginning to show. He would, of course, protest any decision to stop, determined to see this to an end, regardless of cost.

"Good, because your bones are hardly likely to eat us, whereas a beast might," Phaedra said, and got to her feet again. She walked with care, not trusting to the banister to hold her weight, keeping near the interior of the trunk, and paid careful attention to her feet. One foot in front of the other. She had to concentrate.

At last, the opening yawned - and it, too, was marked with gouges. Her heartbeat quickened. They were near, very near. The room, the place... with the treasure... "Yes, here..."

The journey took a while; they had to stop and rest, for Delmin's sake, even as Phaedra made herself be calm and sit despite the thoughts of treasure and bright prizes. When at last they moved, she darted ahead and came back, reporting. "Three more turns. One more. More gouges ahead."

And then she did not come back at all...

He laughed at that, sound echoing in the tunnel. "It would have to be a very resilient beast, to survive the Fading and, hm. Lack of food," Jin Huang commented as they started off once more. The trip was silent, until they reached the next opening in the root-path. Closer, yes. The dragon could tell, claw marks and gouges speaking to him on a different level than Phaedra. There were wisps of memory attached to such marks, memories of ancient pain. He shuddered slightly. If this was how he felt after seeing such transient things as this, how would the sight of his bones affect him? It was not something he had ever dreamed of facing, but now there was no choice.

It was with these thoughts that he brooded over throughout the rest of the trip and it's frequent stops. Jin Huang was aware that the pace had slowed, because of him, and was oddly shamed by such. It should not be that way. Phaedra had gone ahead again, and he waited for her report back. When it did not come, the dragon frowned. "Phaedra?" he called out, standing up and going down the same path she had taken. What had she found, that she had not returned?

Beautiful.

The bones were exquisite, a great sprawl of ivory, and all around them precious things, heaped and sorted into containers when such things still survived. Some were merely piles flanked by wood-dust from long since decayed chests and boxes. The idea of finding the Manacles in all of this had flown right out of her mind at the sight of it. It was the equal to a continent's plunder, it seemed, and here it was-

Focus. Focus.

It took supreme effort, but Phaedra drew in a deep breath and... could not make herself turn and leave, but that was what she had a voice for, wasn't it? "Jin. Here. I have found it," she called. She reached out one hand to caress the skull with a faint purr.

"Found...?" Jin Huang asked, trailing off as the cavern opened up before him, placing everything on display. He eyes were drawn first and immediately towards the bones - his bones - sprawled where he had died. There was no sign of the Manacles, he realized, drawing his eyes away and quickly glancing about.

"The Manacles, Phaedra," the dragon ground out, taking a sharp step towards her, a faint growl coming from the back of his throat. "That is what we came for." Not to plunder, not to...His hand worked into a fist, and the strong desire to be a dragon had never been stronger - the feel of his claws closing in such a motion would prove even more satisfying. But no, they had no time for this.
"I know. I'm trying quite hard, I assure you," Phaedra said in a level voice, not looking away from the treasures spilling before her. Did he have any idea how difficult this was for her? Every fiber of her being was making demands that she fulfill her nature... Mine, mine... mine... no, the Manacles. The world first, then me -

when has that ever been true-

I can come back for them. I can come back. And that was enough, that set her free. She closed her eyes and turned herself towards where Jin had been, so she would see him - Delmin - and not the priceless temptation that surrounded them. "They are here. I do not know where, specifically. But they are here."
Jin Huang waited, tensed, as Phaedra wrestled with herself. He had taken another step closer, although he could not have said why. Did he hope to get close enough to shake her out of it? Futile, that. In a way, though, he was grateful. Focusing on her was far better than him falling into memory. Better to have one rendered immobile than both. But she turned, faced him, before he could get any closer.


"It would be marked," he said, still in that tense, borderline angry voice. "Whatever they were placed in. This," he waved a hand in a gesture meant to encompass the vast display around them, "This was mine. Save for those. Something would have set them apart, marked them for the Crown." A dangerous admission, that. To take from the Crown's belongings was unlikely. But to loot his former possessions? Jin Huang held no hope for keeping it intact, not now. Phaedra had Seen and seen the wealth.

"A marking... and what if it has decayed? then what?" Phaedra's tail lashed back and forth. She took a step closer to the treasures, then stopped again. "I cannot," she grated, after a moment, closing her eyes; the lids twitched, as if she were fighting herself. "There is too much. It is too much. If I lose control, I will not be able to regain it."

She stumbled forward, thinking of the Eye and what it had Seen. Her feet kicked something that jingled and skidded gold coins, a gram in weight, nearly pure from the sound and a stone chest caught her toes. She shuffled with her eyes closed, at several points having to reach up and put her hands over them to keep her sight blocked, thinking, thinking of where they had been. What she had Seen. Ruby, three-carat... No, no...

"It is over here," she said, finally, stopping in the midst of a tumbled expanse of metalwork, chains of exquisite filigree work sliding unseen around her ankles like cold snakes. "Over here. Jin. Quickly." Her tail lashed so hard it hurt. "I dare not."

"It has not," Jin Huang replied firmly. If it had - no. It could not have, it must not have. Else this would take time they very likely no longer had, in order to locate the correct box. "We will find it," he said as she moved across the floor, heading towards something only she knew. Had she Seen where the Manacles were held? It seemed unlikely, given what Phaedra had said, but he could not be sure.

It was only when she stopped that the dragon realized he'd been holding his breath (although it would have quickly become obvious when he fainted), letting it out in a long sigh. At her request, Jin Huang moved to her faster than she had made it over there, but he could see clearly where he was going. "I'm here," he said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder before kneeling and beginning to sift through the containers. It took time for him to do this, long agonizing moments for Phaedra, yet there was nothing he could do to speed the process. It was going far slower than he would have liked, as well, but they had not stopped long enough for him to truly regain any strength.

His fingers found it first, roughly feeling the carved glyph on the cover of a box that he knew meant the Crown. "Here," Jin Huang said sharply after an indrawn breath. He sat back on his heels, feeling for the opening mechanism. It slid open with a soft whisper of released air, and the dragon let out a pleased hiss. "Oh, what glory," he said softly, pulling the bands out reverentially, standing only when all 13 were in his grasp.

She heard the soft chime of the links against each other, craved to open her eyelids - clapped her hands over them, would not permit it. I will be lost to my nature. "I hear them," she said, finally. "I am glad. Will you lead me out? Will you.... no, not give me something. Place something before me, rather, that I might take it." She would not be given a gift; she would take. She always took.

The distinction was important. "Then, I will look when this place is far and gone. His Treasure I will not take."

"Of course," he said gravely, shifting the Manacles to one hand before choosing a trinket from the floor. A small sigh escaped him, but Phaedra had shown remarkable restraint. He slipped it into a pocket, then wound the Manacles about an arm, in order to carry them with no entanglement or problem. "Your hand," Jin Huang said softly, reaching up to take one from her eyes. She could have followed his voice, yes, but without the Manacles to focus on, it was all too likely she would lose focus. The physical touch would hopefully do much to keep her on track.

With Phaedra in tow, the dragon began the process of leaving, casting only one last glance at his bones and offering a small nod of his head. "You did not fail. And nor will I," he said, turning his back on the remains. A few moments later, and they were clear of the chamber, but he did not stop until they were well past, and more than out of sight.

"Will you be alright from here?" he asked, not releasing her hand unless she replied with an affirmative.

She could not hear anything but the soft chime of the Manacles anymore; nothing but wood and the scrapes of Futs Lung's death-throes met her feet. No gold-song, no gem-shine. Nothing. Gone.

I could go back and get-

NO.

She was master of herself, was she not? She could lay in wait. She was not impulsive.

Breathe.

"... Yes." She squeezed his hand. A soft thing, no scales, mortal and tender. Her eyelids opened at last, revealing eye and gem beneath, and she offered him a smile that started shy and ended hungry. "The treasure?" she said, tail switching back and forth. "Then, the Manacles."

"Treasure?" he said slowly, releasing her hand, and dipping it quickly into a pocket. A stunningly worked bracelet, gold and set with small diamonds, dangled from his fingers. "You mean this?" Jin Huang continued, tossing it lightly ahead of where they stood, a small puff of dust erupting from the ground when it landed. Taking a step out of the way, the dragon unwound the Manacles from his arm, waiting for her reaction.

The dive was immediate, absurdly like a cat pouncing; Phaedra landed on the bracelet, her tail swaying back and forth as she picked it up and held it up, admiring the facets. "Beautiful," she purred. Mine. Mine, mine, mine... She ignored the little voice complaining you took it like a dog, accepting a toy, fetch- you are no Dragon's beast-

I am not, but I am slave and chattel of Destruction. Such is the way of things. This is in His service, not that of any Dragon.

She stood up in a long, elegant movement, composure returned, and slipped the bracelet over one wrist, enjoying the jangle it made next to the other on that arm. "And the Manacles... ohhh." Phaedra stopped again and assessed it. Exquisite, fair beyond anything she had yet seen... and yet while she desired it, this... yes. I desire it more than anything I have yet seen, so it is most fitting for my Lord. It is ever thus; the first fruits are his. So are my sacrifices made. And that helped, too, for what bigger sacrifice could there be for her than leaving that chamber behind?

"Fair indeed, as Universe said... and now, my dear Dragon..." She gave him a weary smile. "Do you like climbing stairs?"

Xu Yong leaned against the open refrigerator door, sighing heavily. There was no food in it, nor had the device had power in quite some time. But hope springs eternal, and she had already gotten quite desperate in her search for food. Arithon and Lysander were mockingly smug, the younger demon taking special care to point out her frailties. They did not have to scrape and scrounge for every last bit of nourishment. Oh no, they were fed (and quite well, from the looks of it!) from emotions and moods, which meant that Xu Yong was currently their prey.

"Y'know," said a voice behind her in that lazy drawl that still sent a shiver up her spine, "Prob'ly a good thing our Lord isn't here. Wouldn't wan' to t'have two of you starving. He'd get ever'thing anyway." Xu Yong's hands spasmed briefly as she acknowledged the thought. Yes, she would have indeed sacrificed her own food, her own life, if Jin Huang had required it. And he would have, this Week. "Here," Arithon continued, tossing something next to her. "You die, we starve. An' wouldn't that jus' be too bad, eh?"

"Where...?" the Aoide asked, after quickly picking up the plastic bag with a loaf of - wonder of wonders - unspoiled bread.

"Don' ask, Aoide. 'S in our best interests t'keep you fed." She turned to look at him then, curious about the somewhat less threatening tone he'd used. He didn't like her, as their first encounter had all too clearly shown. So why was he showing her any kind of consideration? "What? Don' look at me like that. I'm a guard, not a courtier or any other kind of servant. Not really our jobs. We know our place, our function. An' I think you need t'figure out yours." Xu Yong gaped at him for a moment.

"My function? It's whatever my Lord requires of me."

"But y'don't know what that is. An' I bet he doesn't either." Arithon leaned against the doorframe, eyeing the goat-woman speculatively. "Doesn't remember us, either. But a habit's hard t'break." And their habits had been ingrained over centuries, practically bred bone deep. It was something that Xu Yong had always been aware of, even before the Fading, but to examine it now cast everything in a new light. "Keep y'rself alive, Aoide. Hate to break a new one in," Arithon added with a lazy smirk, pushing himself off the doorframe and heading elsewhere in the house.

Xu Yong stared after for a few long moments, nearly forgetting the precious food she now held. At least until her stomach reminded her forcefully. Barely bothering to tear the plastic wrapping off, the Aoide devoured the entire loaf, regretting afterwards that she hadn't thought to ration it. Perhaps...perhaps Arithon or Lysander would provide something else, but she could not depend on them for anything. Sated for a time, Xu Yong left the ruined kitchen, thoughts tumbling wildly in her head.