Though he was the sole target of Frey's abuse, Cassius did not even flinch as the mallet went whistling over his head, dusting the ends of his short hair as it went. His impassive gaze marked the younger prince's irritation, but made no like reply. He could recognize subject-less anguish when he saw it, and Frey was surely no more mad at him than he would have been at anyone else who had caught his eye after such a miserable night and day. Certainly the prince would not be so foolish as to deliberately pick a fight with a dragon.

Augustine, on the other hand, heard his younger brother's howl of rage and turned in time to see Frey hurtle the mallet at Cassius. Without pause, without thought, the general surged forward. Frey dropped to his knees of his own accord, and Augustine slammed into him, knocking him forward into the dirt and pinning one of the younger prince's arms behind his back.

"Don't you [i]dare[/i]," he gasped, trembling. "Don't you [i]dare[/i] touch him, Frey! If you hurt him-- If you-- I don't care what you do or say to me -- abuse me all you like, I swear it -- but if you [i]ever[/i] think that Cassius is just a victim for you to torment, I will smash your face into the dirt. Do you understand?" The young man's fingers tightened around Frey's wrist and shoulder. "I don't care if you don't have any friends or any appreciation for the people who care about you, but Cassius is [i]my friend[/i] and you will [i]not[/i] hurt him. You will not--"

The prince broke off as Cassius caught his arm and hauled him upright, but still Augustine glared down at his younger brother with eyes aflame, shaking with unexpressed indignation. "I'm fine," the dragon growled, dragging Augustine farther away. "Let the boy be. He's hurt." Augustine made no reply, only gritted his teeth and tried to shake his arm free from Cassius's grasp.

Asbel, hanging back with heart hammering at the confrontation, only now edged closer. He had seen Frey angry before, if only that morning, but he had not known that Augustine had it in him to be so blindly aggressive. Perhaps the two brothers were not so different after all, and, afraid now of all three parties, the phoenix twisted his hands together and hovered on the other side of the tent from the hate that poisoned the air around the others.