Compromise, then, was evidently not an option. Asbel closed his arms all the more tightly around the pack in his arms and bit down on the slow tide of anger that began to burn through his veins. What did Frey gain by being so rude to someone who was trying to be politely friendly? And why such mockery? Always, []always[/i], why such mockery?

But the phoenix kept his mouth closed and refused to rise to any of the baiting so abundantly set forth by the youngest prince. He was correct -- surely he was correct -- in his assessment of Frey's fears. There had been, for a moment, so much anger in the prince's expression; those eyes had burned like wildfire (a beauty -- and a danger -- not lost on Asbel). So whatever snide remarks Frey made about strawberries, Asbel still retained an upper hand.

Perhaps that was what bothered the prince: the fact that someone had found him out. But revenge seemed petty now, with such a monumental errand looming ahead, and Asbel shrugged off, for now, thoughts of an abuse of such power. Frey was a tyrant, but Asbel would not lash out in anything but self-defense.

He followed Frey outside and found his heart lodged in his throat. Beyond the pen, Cassius had already shifted into the much larger, green-and-black winged behemoth that was his natural form, and the dragon stood patiently while Augustine fastened the harness into place and tied their packs to the creature's sides. "Climb up," the eldest prince insisted, taking from Asbel the last pack and nodding at the saddle in place on the dragon's back. "I'll sit in front, you two sit behind."

"No bickering," Cassius added in a deep, deep rumble, fixing Frey with one large brown eye. "And be patient."

Dragons always made Asbel uneasy, though he did not quite know why, and Cassius had never paid him much attention. Surely this was... this would be just a harmless flight. The phoenix took a breath, hauled himself up onto the creature's back, and sat stiffly at the far end of the saddle. Augustine leapt into place at the front, and pulled his harness on before twisting to help Asbel with his. The phoenix sat as still as one of the sacks of provisions, as wary of those nearly invasive hands as he was of the dragon.

"Come on up, Frey," the general called then, turning again to his brother still on the ground. "You sit behind me. You both should have an excellent view."