Level_5

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

Cassius did indeed land gently, his wings flaring as he slowed the descent and settled on the grass like a great, scaly, over-sized feather. Augustine laughed again as the swirl of wild air around them settled, and he raked a hand through his hair as he slid down from the dragon's back.

Asbel moved more slowly, stiff with the cold from the higher altitude and half-hopeful that he might be able to cling to Frey again, as much a brat as the prince may have been. At least he was warm and steady and was back to being an understandable, prickly young man. And whatever else Frey was, at least he wasn't a dragon.

But the phoenix tucked his arms around his pack again as Augustine likewise began to move the luggage from the dragon's back to a heap alongside. "Let's get you turned back to a man, Cassius. You're enough of a lightning risk as a human being, but better that than a too-big reptile."

Cassius rumbled in veiled displeasure, but Augustine patted him gently on the neck and the dragon began the slow melting back into the dark-haired, sharp-featured man he'd been earlier in the day and took the spare clothes from the elder prince.

Asbel took that opportunity to further examine their landing place, and to glance at Frey to make sure he hadn't wandered too far. The younger prince, twenty feet away, could yet not be trusted to stay with the group (as far as Asbel was concerned), and the phoenix trotted over with the intent to herd him back toward the others. "Maybe the lightning frequently strikes the trees," he suggested by way of apologizing for his earlier standoffish. "How far do you think we have to walk?"

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

I have returned! :D

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

As a head's up, partner, I will be gone Tuesday through Friday. :( But I will likely return in full force on Saturday, so I will see you then~

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

"Excuse--" Asbel snapped his mouth shut in sudden embarrassment and turned as pink as Frey, if for different reasons. "You've never been nice before -- what was I supposed to think?" he retorted. If Frey really had been making an attempt to be sociable -- and in hindsight, Asbel felt inclined to believe this was so -- then the phoenix may have ruined the only chance he had of being not-enemies with the hated prince. But the prince was back so quickly to being sharp that Asbel could not help but bristle in response.

"It takes more than one nice word to make you trustworthy." With that final word on the matter, the phoenix let go of Frey's harness and rested his hands on the saddle instead, even if that made the ride more tumultuous than pleasant.

Augustine, meanwhile, had learned to brush off Frey's spitfire responses. The words still stung like barbs, but they were not so sharp as to make him cry as they had when they were younger. Besides, Frey had not matured even as Augustine had, and the elder prince found that easy grounds for dismissing Frey's insults as meaningless tantrums.

The storm clouds, anyway, were far more concerning, and the general watched, brow furrowed, as they loomed closer. "Descend, Cassius," he ordered, touching a hand to the side of the dragon's neck in soft concern. "We don't want you hit."

The dragon rumbled in response and rolled forward in a steep dive -- and despite himself, Asbel yelped and caught again the back of Frey's harness as the earth tilted beneath them and rose far too fast.

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

So many impending warm and fuzzies!! And you're pretty cool yourself, I do say. <3 <3

Alas, I have to go to bed now, though. I'll try to be on again tomorrow night (no guarantees, though, I'm afraid). Have a wonderful night!

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

Asbel almost didn't believe the words that floated back to him, and he stared with outright confusion at the back of Frey's head. Well-wishing? From Frey? What trick was this?

Suspecting that the momentary kindness was quickly to be followed by some cruel prank, the phoenix maintained an unblinking stare even as the prince turned around to stare likewise. The prince's face seemed flushed, either from the weather or the lingering embarrassment of the accident, and Asbel's non-existent feathers ruffled under the observation. He almost preferred Frey's antagonism -- at least that made sense and was, in some ways, predictable. Kindness and such an open expression... Asbel had never seen Frey look so like his older brothers, and the shift set the hair on the back of his neck on end.

"Stop that," he ordered, forgetting for a moment that he spoke to a member of the royal family.

Augustine, finally realizing that his two younger companions were oddly still and silent, hazarded a glance over his shoulder. "Everything alright back there?" he called, frowning in preemptive disapproval. "Don't tell me you're fighting already."

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

Lol I'm fine with it, cross my heart. I think those scenes can be very cute and sweet at the best of times, and I wouldn't want to miss that. And me, too -- I'm glad we're on the same page!

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

Lol, Asbel's getting off without any drama, lucky boy. I think Frey has enough angst for the both of them though, poor baby.

And I'm the sort to go to PMs, but whatever you are comfortable with, even if it's fade to black or not touched on at all, we can do, of course. What's your preference?

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

Yessssss! Although that would be much further down the road, yes. There's plenty to sort out before we consider brutally ripping them apart like that, ha ha ha.

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

Though Frey was well-behaved for the first part of the ride, Asbel had no awareness of the prince beyond the steadiness of the young man that served as his anchor to the dragon. Asbel could, of course, have used the saddle, but a human body seemed more reliable than any amalgamation of leather and metal, and even Frey, most likely, wouldn't be so unwise as to hurl himself down to the ground far, far below.

Cassius dipped, and Asbel closed his eyes against the wind. He should have thought to tie his hair back: he could feel the gale tearing through it, surely tangling it beyond repair, and (vain though it was) he prayed he would be able to tame it before anyone noticed--

A yelp cut through the roar of the wind and a sudden weight slammed into Asbel's chest. As instinctive as any other person in his position, the phoenix wrapped his arms around the prince's waist to hold him steady. He caught the prince's gaze, momentarily as surprised by the accident as by his own reaction to it. And at Frey's unguarded expression, the phoenix suddenly felt as embarrassed as the prince. Two things struck him at once:

First, that there was more to Frey than he had first thought. The prince was shocked -- sheepish -- utterly human. Somewhere behind the hatred and the directionless rage, Frey was a human being.

Second, that this was a side of the prince he was not supposed to see. Gingerly, as if the prince were made of glass, Asbel slid his grasp away from Frey's waist and eased him back into his own seat on the saddle. "Are you alright?" he asked, almost too softly to be heard over the wind, and preparing already for what would surely be the prince's rude reply.