Keraunilath watched closely as her red-scaled slave knelt before her as he had been trained to do. It pleased her to belittle him, to constantly remind him that he was nothing but a half-breed. To her, Gaulirax was a stunted, misshapen thing that should have been cast out to die the moment he was born. Worse than that, the deep blue she-drake sneered with disgust at the very thought of a dragon lowering themselves to shape-shift and fuck a biped. It was sickening, and Keraunilath was not shy about making her aversion known to Gaulirax.

[b][color=0072bc]"Like a dog on a chain and just as dumb. You can lick the floor while you're down there and clean some of the grime you tracked in from the Deeps."[/color][/b] Her scaled throat bobbed in a silent chuckle as she shifted, forcing the un-named slave girl to hold on to her spines tightly to avoid being thrown off.

[b][color=0072bc]"Watch where you're grabbing!"[/color][/b] Keraunilath snapped, twisting her neck around to glare at the girl, who kept her face averted and trembled at the loud, hissing voice spitting at her in common.

The red-headed dwarf said something in his native tongue, succesfully distracting Gaulirax' mistress from tormenting the girl any further, though it brought her back to the dragonkin.

[b][color=0072bc]"Ah yes. Gurwik here is one of the organizers on the Arena Committee. He has taken an interest in your future, Gaulirax. I suppose I should congratulate you on your recent successes. You've come a lot further than I ever expected, though I'm sure that is mainly due to Rathrid. Whether it's a mongrel or a stone, trust a dwarf to be the only one who can carve something useful out of it."[/color][/b]

The slave girl had abandoned her brush, letting it fall to the tiled floor with a clatter, using a chamoise cloth to polish Keraunilath's spines. It was a fruitless excercise, however, because the dragoness' scales were naturally dull and would never glimmer. Something the girl would be punished for later, no doubt. Even so, the girl glanced at Gaulirax now and then, a sad look in her eyes.

[b][color=f26522]"Yes, red dragonkin very unusual. Many fans. Much money and fame if he allowed to fight in the Games."[/color][/b] The dwarf's command of draconic wasn't perfect, but his message was clear. And if it wasn't, Keraunilath would expound on it in a moment.

[b][color=0054a6]"Stand up you useless lump. As it turns out, you've actually proven to be good at something. I should have guessed it would be something brainless and callous."[/color][/b] Another chuckle at Gaul's expense. [b][color=004b80]"But Gurwik seems to think you might be able to win more, which means Gambling on you might be quite profitable."[/color][/b]

The dragoness lifted herself to her feet, shaking her wings out as she towered over everyone else in the room. She strolled lazily over to the open doors that led out onto the balcony and the long drop to the city below. [b][color=0072bc]"A pity you don't have wings, slave. Some days I am tempted to set you free. The flight would be short, of course, but the sound of you hitting the bottom would be quite satisfying. For me."[/color][/b]

Turning back, [b][color=0072bc]"You will fight in the arena, and you will win. You will win and I will profit from your success. You will be useful to me or you will die in the arena. And I will find a way to profit even from your blood on the arena floor."[/color][/b]

She was wicked and cruel and arrogant, watching him gleefully.