"Aren't you the bold ones," Rieyr commented melting from the shadows into the cavern that the enchantments on her lair had led the other dragons to. "You're lucky I don't just let the caves treat you like any other intruder."

Veshron turned to her immediately and approached, striking out at her without pause or comment. The claws of his front-right talons slashed across the side of her face, etching light crystalline scratches into the tough scales of her jaw. "Where is he?" he demanded, drawing his other foreleg back for another strike.

Rieyr recovered from the short daze of the attack, and quickly invoked the protective magic of her lair. Strong lines crossed the room at multiple angles, binding to Veshron's left talons and anchoring them before he could lash out again. "Where is who?" she asked calmly, meeting his fierce gaze with a stern expression of her own. Any other day he would not have succeeded in his first strike, but any other day she would not have needed her lair's assistance.

"Removing the boy was not part of the arrangement," he snarled, further infuriated that she would choose to bend their setting to her favor rather than meet him on even terms. He shifted his perspective towards his sense of magic, beginning to draw power to his will with which to dissolve the binds. He arrested the process almost immediately, however, as the severe change in Rieyr's magical presence became apparent. "What... have you done?" he hissed.

"You agreed to allow whatever steps were required to repair the boy," She responded calmly, pacing away from him towards the center of the room. "Bringing him here was necessary, as was removing that nest of malment you were choking him with." She released the male from the enchantment, confident he would remain civil for the time being.

"Rieyr, you didn't..." Rynnion started to speak, concern entering her expression, or even well-masked fear. "Rieyr, that's an elf you're dealing with. If he stumbles onto his strength, he'll be a serious danger to anyone around him."

"To harm someone, he would have to want to cause harm, whether he discovers his magic or not," Rieyr told her. "That was your first mistake: causing him to hate you was unnecessary; it can only make him resist more."

"There was little potential for 'resistance' while he was under control," Veshron shot, glaring at her. "He must be drained now before this goes any farther. Bring him to me."

The ridges above Rieyr's eyebrows rose as she spoke, and Rynnion could almost detect amusement in her voice. "And let you undo my hard work? I'm amazed his organs haven't atrophied, considering what you've put him through. When it does come time for a harvest, I'll perform it myself and pass it on to you, until he's fully recovered at the least."

"You don't know what kind of monster you're dealing with," he hissed.

"Oh, I know very well," she smirked. "I'm dealing with two monsters, in fact, both of whom are going to leave my home before word of their little abduction reaches beyond our circle."

Veshron's eyes narrowed at her. "You wouldn't dare..."

"And both of whom should learn to respect the masters of the lairs they enter," she added, rising to disappear into the caverns once more.

"The wretch..." Veshron growled, watching her fade into the shadows. "If that witch doesn't allow me to take from the elf before my strike tonight..."

Rynnion snorted at him. "If you're so reliant on a runt's strength that you're afraid to work without it, all the more proof that it's time to learn how to make do."

He snorted at her with a sideways glance. "Mighty talk, for a claw-brain," he shot back. "At least I'd be smart enough to put it to good use."

"Better a claw-brain than a finger-wiggler," she smirked, flexing her fore-talons in an intricate pattern to demonstrate. "I'd beat you at aerial any day." It was a true statement; in the air he would have nothing solid to which he could anchor his spells, and his concentration would be split between fighting and flying. Rynnion, however, would benefit from the greater freedom of movement as well as the momentum of flight, easily combined with her strikes instead of hindered by it.

Despite her attitude towards the situation, Veshron knew that the elf's strength had indeed become an important part of his operation. Runt or not, he was still bound by their first enchantment, one that ran deeper than the curses and taint Rieyr had removed. Blessing the one elf, and cursing the other, the boy had access to far more energy than he otherwise would. If any part of Rieyr's "repair" went wrong, he would need any advantage he could get.

Veshron watched as she turned to leave the meeting cavern; a lair would always allow you to leave more easily than it would let you enter, or even assist your exit. One merely had to follow pathways that sloped upwards.

"You're doing it again."

Ryuen blinked his nearer surroundings back into focus. The hatchling stared across the pool at him, watching him intently. "Doing what?" he asked.

Haravor's tail flicked back and forth, wings flaring outward for a moment. "I have predatory instincts, you know. When you glaze over like that, I start to think of you as easy prey, especially when I'm hungry."

"Rieyr said we would have to get along," Ryuen reminded, holding him in a steady gaze.

"Rieyr says a lot of things. None of them change the fact that you, little elf, are in my home, and with very little to prevent me from making your stay a painful one. We may 'get along,' but as the obvious inferior, that just means you need to stay out of my way."

Ryuen sighed, leaning back against the cave wall and allowing his gaze to drift upwards, away from the young dragon. There was very little he could do other than remain polite, and wait for Haravor to realize how pointless and ineffective his intimidation really was.

In the mean time, there were more important things to think about. Rynnion had said that Veshron was "relying" on him, and Veshron himself didn't seem to be willing to deny that fact. Indeed, he almost seemed to be afraid of Ryuen. The concept of either of them fearing him, after all they had done to torment him and as dangerous as they obviously were, was foreign and confusing. Still, Rynnion herself had said that the elf was dangerous to them, and Ryuen wanted to know why.

Despite Haravor's threats, he made up his mind to continue his "wandering," and watch his owners' actions until he knew more.