Azureon mocks Krasus

[moonshadows]

Azureon pauses, the interlacing spellwork held mid-note. One of the wards is ringing in a nagging tone. He waits, but there is no impact of enormous feet, no rolled-eye sigh. Malygos is not home, and someone has come calling. The young Blue - barely past his first millennium - eyes his spellwork while the ward nags for someone to answer. There's no hope for it; he sticks a placeholder in the matrix to keep the cascade on hold and flings himself off the floating platform he was working from.

He can't resist doing a few loops as he twines through the air to the portal.

The ward nags more instantly as he lands by the portal out of Coldarra and into the vast, echoing cave that the rest of the world thinks his Aspect haunts. He's never taken the gaunt shape the Spellweaver uses to convince visitors that he does not want company, but the lithe Blue fakes it as best he can and steps through.

The visitor is wearing the shape of a Highborne man with brilliant red hair elaborately done up in what no doubt was high style at some point, the echo of an enormous red dragon surrounding him.

Azureon realizes that he has no idea what his father actually says to his visitors. Time to improvise!

"Who disturbs my solitude?" the disguised Blue howls in a thin, windy voice.

The Red's head whips around in shock. "Malygos...it's me. Korialstrasz. Don't you recognize me?"

Oops. Time to change the subject. He lets out an unearthly wail and launches into an impression of his Aspect's occasional depressed fits. "Aloooone! All of my children, goooooooone!" Melodramatic gestures and pacing round out the effect.

Korialstrasz hurries after him, little Highborne legs scurrying frantically after the long insectoid limbs of Azureon's assumed form. "Malygos...Spellweaver...all is not lost, my Queen says-"

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!"

"-eggs, salvaged from-"

"You mock my pain!"

"No! I would never!" The Red shakes his head in vehement denial, making his ridiculous hairstyle jiggle and wave.

The enormous stick-thin ice construct stops dead and crouches menacingly in front of the Red's mortal form. "...your hair is very silly."

Korialstrasz blinks. "What-"

One giant ice-claw flicks the elaborate arrangement, making it jiggle again. "Bouncy bouncy bouncy..." Oops. He let himself be distracted.

"Malygos, are you feeling alright?"

"I'm sitting in a cold, windy cave with a Red who has very silly hair, and the rest of my Flight is dead. Why wouldn't I be feeling alright?"

"But...you..." The other dragon's expression softens into sadness and pity. "...you're mad. This has driven you mad."

The seriousness is boring. "...bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy..."

Korialstrasz pats the ice-wrist comfortingly. "Maybe my Queen can help you. Just hang in there, old friend."

Azureon cocks his head to one side. "...do I know you?"

"I guess not," the Red says with a sigh. "Farewell."

As he begins a teleport spell, Azureon waves cheerfully. "Come back again sometime!" The other dragon vanishes. "...that was fun," the Blue announces to the empty cavern.

Several hours later, familiar resounding impacts announce the Spellweaver's return and Azureon comes tumbling through the wide halls towards him.

"Daddy Daddy Daddy!" The much smaller blue swarms up his Aspect's foreleg, across his shoulders, and down the other leg before sitting upright, tail curled around his body twice. "You had a visitor!"

"I did?" Malygos scoops up his progeny, still small enough to hold in one claw, although the tail spills out and circles his wrist gently. "Did you see who it was?"

"A Red named Korialstrasz," Azureon chirps dutifully. "He has very silly hair."

The enormous blue-scaled face splits into a broad grin. "He does indeed. What did you tell him?"

"I pretended to be you!"

A re-enactment follows, complete with flicking of illusionary Korialstrasz's illusionary hair. At the declaration of Malygos's supposed madness, the Aspect bursts into rolling laughter.

"He thinks I'm...oh, that's too funny. That was brilliant, little one. 'Mad Malygos'. That's what he gets for sneaking out behind his Aspect's back. Reds are too serious anyway. No doubt Alexstraza will be just as amused when she hears about this. Mad Malygos..." He chuckles again as Azureon twines around his wrist. "Next time he comes for a visit, I'll let you do the talking, and I'll watch. Would you like that?"

Azureon slither-scurries up his Aspect, coming to a rest on top of the big blue head. "I would!"