[Kallile]

Azazel flinched when he questioned her comparison, but she tried to nod quickly and quell whatever feeling she might have stirred with that comment. “M-my father sometimes worked with humans…t-they like to watch f-f-fights and Father has many creatures he keeps just f-f-for entertaining them. He keeps…many things for entertainment.” She trailed off quickly and stooped lower to the ground. Her eyes never left the stars but she gulped deeply enough that the ball of stress visibly traveled down her long, slender neck.

“They have blunt and useless claws….and I have b-been told by the young ones that sometimes they c-can hold their thumbs up to the moon and their ….’nails’ covers it completely.” She tried, though she wasn’t entirely sure that was how their stories went.  “Father sometimes had me play with the young ones….I d-d-didn’t frighten them as he did. It made their parents pleased and won Father more wealth.”

She frowned and finally lowered her head from the clouds. “I do....I do not known where it was I came from. I stayed inside….safe….and F-Father would sometimes bring in humans.” The fact that she very strongly associated “inside” and “safe” was something that troubled even Azazel. It wasn’t just the inside that felt safe; in fact that was nearly never the case. But in her Father’s lair, inside was safe. She was never tasked with any questionable business there, it was where she was always returned to in order to recover or birth her eggs. It was the lightest spot in her small, dark world.

“Brother and Father took care of business, I just obeyed.” She answered after a few minutes of silence, so quietly that a breeze would have left her words lost in the wind.

[Jaykobell]

Despite the grim topics highlighted in Azazel's answer, Izotz couldn't deny that he was happy the Sailfin had talked so much to him. Maybe if he tried to let her talk about those things, the Sailfin would get to let out some steam and would feel better that everything was now behind her.

For the time being, though, it was heartbreaking to listen to what the Sailfin had to say. Again, some Paragon living in the Hive came from the human areas, but none of them had ever talked about such things. The irony was that some of them had left the human culture because it was too boring. The amazing thing was that Azazel's misery didn't seem to be from humans entirely, but from her own father. While breeding wasn't such a big deal, hatchlings were sacred. Izotz couldn't think of any parent Paragon who would be so cruel as to abuse their hatchlings and use them as tools. Some of them did ignore their offspring, but signs of abuse or violence from a parent to a child hadn't happened all that often here.

"Well, I can assure you you won't get any of that to happen to you here," the Frost eventually answered after the Sailfin was done telling her story. "We don't have any humans around, and we don't do fights for entertainment, nor do we force anyone to do things like that here," he added, trying to ease Azazel into the clan lifestyle.

The only thing the Frost was worried about was to get Azazel to understand the difference between orders and responsibilities. Assigning her tasks to do daily weren't orders so much as they would become her responsibility. The thing was that he was worried about was that Azazel might translate that as orders coming from a superior. Which they were, but it wasn't the same thing as him asking her to breed with him or to entertain others for his amusement. Maybe she would enjoy something like watching over the hatchlings in the Nursery. Maybe happy, cute little babies would relax her nerves. Either that or they would stress her out as she remembered how many times she had to bear eggs herself. Ah, what a dilemma. He needed someone more experienced for this.

Experienced? And then the lightbulb turned on. "Ah, I know! Tell me, Azazel, would you like to meet another Paragon?" Izotz eventually piped up, craning his neck down to be closer to the small Sailfin. "I bet he could help you out — in a good way." The fact that the Paragon he had in mind was a male probably wouldn't please the Sailfin, but there wasn't any other Paragon that was wiser than that one. "He's a very, very old Paragon, so trust me when I say he's not going to do anything to you."

[Kallile]

The smaller female listened quietly as she literally stared off into space. Izotz was trying so hard to make her calm. It was nice, she supposed, but it also made her extra anxious. Ulterior motives were the name of the game with many of the humans and paragon alike that she had encountered—kind words were often just a façade. He might actually be truthful, but Azazel had just arrived a short while ago and had no way of knowing for sure just how genuine the male was being. He had exposed his belly to her earlier, which had never happened before, but the Sailfin’s guard was far from being down.

For all the loosening up she might have been slowly doing, she tightened back up like a spring as soon as Izotz mentioned that she might benefit from meeting a male. The assurance that he was old did little to calm her; age was often not relevant to her when it came to the more masculine gender. “M-m-meet him…now?” She asked timidly as she slowly sunk back down to her belly to look up at Izotz timidly.

Despite her unsure tone of voice and even the fact that Izotz had asked if she wanted to meet him, the female only nodded her head timidly. “I w-will go and meet him.” She managed to stutter out. To her, it still sounded like a well-manipulated order. Like it or not, she was going to meet with this aged male. It was her new leader’s wish and she would follow through with it to whatever end it would lend itself to.

[Jaykobell]

When Izotz felt Azazel tensing up so much at the mention of meeting a male, the Frost couldn't deny that he was afraid the female would run away. He knew very little about what exactly stressed her, beyond the male gender. But that was why he'd left the offer open; if she didn't want to meet the Paragon he had in mind, he would simply go by himself later. While he was waiting for Azazel to answer, the Frost made sure to give her an encouraging smile, although his awkwardness and anxiety could also be seen. He wasn't used to handling Paragon that were this fidgety.

Much to his relief, Azazel did agree to go meet the Paragon in question. Izotz sighed inwardly over that, and his smile got a little more confidence after Azazel gave her answer. "Great!" He was going to add that the Paragon stayed in a den a little bit outside the usual perimeter, so the area was quiet, but Izotz thought against it. He figured that the less he said, the less he would end up scaring off the little female, even more so than she already was. "You can walk on the side closest to the wall, if you don't want the others down in the clearing to see you," Izotz offered as he got up slowly to start making his way down the slope that lead down to the clearing and beyond. "There's not a lot of Paragon around this time, but it's up to you." The attention would probably make the female feel even more anxious, so the less Paragon saw her, the less they would scare her.

Slowly, Izotz guided Azazel down the slope and a little ways away from the main dens and clearing. Not a lot of Paragon were hanging in the clearing, and those that did looked pretty relaxed, just stargazing or snoozing off. Izotz felt a few eyes looking in his direction, but he tried to use his bigger body to hide the smaller Azazel that was walking with him. Now wasn't the time to announce that they had a new member: that would be done in the morning, another thing he didn't know how to handle well for Azazel's sake. Izotz couldn't tell if attention also freaked out the Sailfin, or if it was really just the male gender.

As they eventually got closer to the edge of the forest outlining the Hive, they passed by a small den that was closed off by a small curtain of leaves, which didn't look like a usual den compared to the others. Despite that, Izotz continued a little past it until he reached one of the biggest dens, at least in terms of entrance. It was also covered by a small natural curtain, and it was right next to the forest, giving it a unique area. "Here we are," Izotz quietly said as they reached the den, and the Frost was inwardly hoping Azazel's anxiety level wasn't going overboard. "I'm just warning you that he's a little... grumpy, but that's just because he's old," Izotz warned, giving a small laugh as he mentioned how it was an "old" thing. "But don't be shy," he added as he turned back to the curtain and slowly made his way inside.

The inside of the den was spacious, enough to host quite a few Paragon in it alone. Further down the den was a large Sandshark Paragon that was snoozing away on his own. Izotz saying the Paragon was old had been an incredible understatement. The Sandshark looked more than just old, and more along the lines of ancient. His scales were obviously battered and discolored, the skin looked looser and older, and the spikes across his back, head and tail were almost blunt to the point of being harmless. The image of that Paragon alone was enough to prove that breeding was far beyond his time and that his prime had long since passed.

Approaching slowly, Izotz eventually stopped a few feet away from the Sandshark, craning his neck down towards the Sandshark. "Balthazar?"



When the Frost called his name, the Sandshark shifted slightly in his nest, his head eventually slowly raising up. Eyeless, the Sandshark craned his neck slowly towards the Frost, a loud sniffing noise following as he tried to figure out who was in the den and who had decided to wake him up so late. After the identification was over, the Sandshark growled quietly with displeasure. "Aren't you busy sleepin' like everyone else?" Balthazar asked, his voice old, raspy and crackling as he spoke his words slowly.

Izotz gave a small sheepish smile that, fortunately for him, the elder couldn't see. "Something came up."

Another grumble from the Sandshark, who quickly caught on to the "something". Craning his neck even more, his sniffed again a few times as he caught on an unidentified scent. "You, in the back," he called out to Azazel, the only one who was accompanying Izotz. "Come closer. What's your name?" he asked, the same way an old grandfather Paragon would call one of his small hatchlings.

[Kallile]

The Sailfin rose away from the ground as Izotz moved to lead her away. She didn’t argue, much less talk, as they moved but did take up a position between the Frost male and the wall. It wasn’t hard for her to look smaller than the Frost and become almost completely invisible in his shadow. Every now and again she did steal a glance towards the clearing where others….were doing nothing. Her facial scales pulled together in something akin to a look of confusion and furrowed eyebrows. They really were just…doing nothing. Looking at stars, sleeping. Completely relaxed as if nothing in the world mattered at that moment.

For a moment she paused, perplexed by the appearances of the others. Why were they all so calm and complacent? Only Father and Tovin ever looked like that; everyone else was on edge. But there was no possible way that every single creature here was so comfortably powerful that they could afford such lofty ideals like being relaxed. It did not take long for her to take to moving again to keep a minimally slower pace with Izotz. She did not question their journey into the forested rim or the small den they passed. She let out a sigh she hadn’t realized she’d been holding in at the relief of realizing that Izotz wasn’t going to shove her inside the den. When they approached the larger just beyond that stress reformed and she found herself holding her breath in anticipation.

Izotz was given only a nod at his warning and ever so reluctantly Azazel followed him inside. The appearance of the den was mildly calming given the sheer space, as was the sight of the ancient male slumbering in his nest. He looked as if any one of his gentle breathes might dissolve him into dust and bones at any second. But then the old brute moved and Azazel gave a tiny, frightened squeak as her belly hit the ground with her head bowed. It hadn’t even registered to the female that the ancient male in front of her was a Sandshark and therefore sightless. She merely heard the noises he was making and instantly assumed the worst. Instead, nothing happened, and in fact he spoke rather calmly even if he sounded annoyed.

When he spoke more directly to her, however, Azazel squeaked again and lifted her head gingerly to look at the eyeless face turned towards her. She looked to Izotz quickly before slinking carefully and obediently forward towards the Sandshark. She stopped just shy of where a swift strike of his claws might land, cowering before him. She had never met anyone who looked so frail and yet seemed so imposing. “A-a-azazel i-is my n-n-name…”  She finally managed to get out before again ducking her head as if he might snap it clean off her slender neck.

It would appear Izotz encouragement to not be shy had fallen on deaf ears.

[Jaykobell]

It was hard for Izotz to say not to be intimidated by the Sandshark when even Izotz himself was slightly intimidated by the beast in front of him. His old age and appearance were so misleading that more than one Paragon here had gotten a good whip of Balthazar's tail square in the jaw. While he moved slower and wasn't nearly as powerful as he used to be, messing with the Sandshark was like asking for a death wish. The Sandshark wasn't a Paragon to take lightly, even at his age. For Izotz, Balthazar had been a pillar of support and advice for many years: ever since the Sandshark had chosen him as leader after their tyrant had been exiled. Even now, it was thanks to the advice and knowledge of the Sandshark that Izotz had gotten this far. He was, in fact, the best to ask, considering Balthazar had been leader himself for a short time in his youth.

Izotz wasn't surprised that Balthazar turned his attention to the new smell, or Azazel. He turned to the Sailfin, whom he knew probably wouldn't react too well to the attention given to her. When the Sailfin briefly looked at him, all Izotz did was give her a small smile of encouragement to go on and answer. He watched quietly as the Sailfin made her way towards the bigger, more imposing male slowly, looking so afraid that he almost felt bad for dragging her all the way down. Still, perhaps some advice from the oldest Paragon they had around would prove to be helpful.

The shaky answer from the small Sailfin received no reply from the bigger Sandshark. Instead, the male craned his neck forward towards her, again sniffing loudly to get a good whiff out of her. He grumbled quietly for a while, but his presence had nothing malicious to it: just something big and imposing. "You won't last long if you don't get over your fears, kid," the Sandshark eventually piped up, voice slow and raspy, again as you would expect from an elder. Further to that, Balthazar hadn't moved from his nest since the first appearance of the Frost and Sailfin, still comfortably curled into his nest. All he did was stretch his neck forward or back as necessary, sniffing about his den to know who was around, and grumbling about whatever he was thinking about.

Eventually, the Sandshark turned his attention back to Izotz. "What do you want from me?"

Again with a small awkward smile, Izotz turned to the Sandshark. "Ah, well. It's a bit of a funny story. This little female was dropped here by her brother so she could—"

The Frost found himself stopping mid-sentence when he saw the Sandshark raising a massive clawed hand. "Stop," he commanded the younger male as he turned his attention back to the Sailfin, whose fear scent was so powerful that Balthazar was afraid it could even reach some of the other Paragon out there in the clearing. "She will tell me her story," the Sandshark added as he put his massive hand back down, hidden once again in his nest. "You, Azazel. You will tell me your story, and why you are here." She had to speak. By speaking, she would become herself slowly, step by step. Just speaking and letting off steam and emotions helped someone grow, and that was what the Sandshark wanted out of the terrified Paragon that was squealing and crying in front of him.

[Kallile]

Azazel looked as if she may melt into a spineless blob of scales and simply meld with the floor as Balthazar craned his neck to get a closer sniff of her. But she stayed as still as she could muster when faced with a still powerful elder. His words to her were met with another shiver and very small, frail squeak. Wasn’t going to last very long? No one had ever said she was coming here to be disposed of…

When the conversation seemingly turned away from her the Sailfin relaxed slightly, looking between the two males as she was so very used to. She was just the little toy to be bargained over—this was a familiar and numbingly comfortable feeling in its own right. It was a short-lived comfort, because soon enough the Sandshark was directing his attention straight back to her. Her story? Why she was here? Azazel did her best to become one with the floor.

“M-my story?” She asked carefully despite knowing exactly what he meant. She didn’t consider herself to have a story really. “I was born an-nd given to Father. He was s-s-so upset that I was not male…so I p-paid my debt to him for acceptance.” She managed to stutter out. Her words didn’t sound upset or bitter—just matter of fact. “I…I gave his f-friends heirs and c-company. And h-he would tell me th-that I was a good girl. H-he kept me s-safe in the den when m-my company wasn’t needed somewhere…somewhere else. Told me t-that if I kept being good they w-would all be told to be nice…”

She paused, looking to Izotz again for confirmation that she was doing a good job. “W-when my brother was born…I was given to h-him to p-practice. Father wanted him to be perfect. And for a while e-everything was fine. Then brother brought me here and I…” She paused, sounding a little choked up as she began to realize that she really had no idea why she was here or what she was meant to do. Her brother had dropped her into the middle of this strange world and told her to fit in and be free when she didn’t know how to do either of those things. “I d-d-do not know why I am here. Brother just…just brought me. I-I thought I was needed here, but now I a-am told that I’m n-not. I am so s-s-sorry. Please do not t-tell Father I was b-b-bad. I do not mean to be…”

[Jaykobell]

While Izotz had already heard bits and pieces of the story, now he was hearing the whole thing in one go. Despite having heard the majority of the story, the Frost still couldn't understand how a Paragon could do such things to his own hatchlings. While he didn't have any of his own, he couldn't even imagine of doing such things to his own children. The thought was enough to make him shiver, images of their tyrannic leader popping into his head. That was another one who'd done similar things to her hatchlings as Azazel's father.

While Izotz showed discomfort and gave the feeling that he felt bad for the Sailfin, Balhazar's attitude and presence didn't change as Azazel kept speaking. Even once the whole story had been told, the Sandshark didn't answer right away, nor did he give off any feeling of sympathy or compassion. He did grumble and growl, though, but at this point it had already been established that he did those noises often. "You're in a better place," the Sandshark eventually answered, his nest crackling a little as the Sandshark moved about just barely. Yes, he did think that Azazel's story was quite unfortunate, and he could relate since he'd seen it happen even here, back then. Still, feeding Azazel's fears and cradling her would just intensify her fears. Babying her and treating her like a hatchling would make it all even worse.

"Now I'll you the story of this place," Balthazar continued, craning his neck forward a little towards the Sailfin, regardless of whether she felt afraid of him or not. "We're not associated with Paragon like your father here. Your scent isn't familiar to this place, so I can confirm that he is not here. This place is a peaceful tribe of Paragon where you make your own decisions and your own choices. It doesn't matter if you're male or female. All that matters is that you're a Paragon," the Sandshark explained in a very stern, neutral voice. Unlike Izotz who'd sounded forced and too eager to make the Sailfin feel right at home, Balthazar was just saying things as they were. The Sandshark's approach might sound more convincing than the Frost's, considering Izotz's awkward wording and desire to prove that everything was rainbows and unicorns might've given Azazel the feeling that he was hiding something. Admittedly, Balthazar could expect Izotz to be that clumsy. He still had that annoying goodie-two-shoes attitude that put the Frost in more trouble than it was worth.

"Did you get that?" Balthazar asked the Sailfin in front of him, the older Paragon staying still as a statue as he spoke. He said things as a matter of fact so the others understood that he wasn't hiding anything, nor was he trying to make things sound better than they really were. If the Sailfin still didn't want to believe it, then it wasn't Balthazar's problem. Azazel would have no choice but to believe it and learn it another way. "A Paragon is a Paragon, regardless of gender. You make your own decisions and your own choices, regardless of gender. If someone tells you something that you don't agree with, you tell them upfront. Do you get that?" He at least had to get rid of that submissive mentality that Azazel had. Letting her out when she was still willing to do anything anyone told her because of it could turn into trouble for the Sailfin. As peaceful as this Hive was, some Paragon were still permanently stuck on the despicable list.

"Let's try our lessons, then," Balthazar continued as he finally withdrew his neck and face away from the Sailfin. "You can make your own decisions. I'm telling you to get out there and make some hatchlings with the first male you find. Will you do it?" The chances of the Sailfin actually giving him the answer he wanted were slim, but perhaps the words would sink in after a few tries. He was old, and he certainly could practice patience when he needed to. If he had to ask Azazel the same question all night until she caught on, then he would do just that.

[Kallile]

The smaller female watched the Sandshark with terrified eyes, wondering if that same giant paw that had silenced Izotz would come down to silence her permanently. When no such thing happened she was in a state of confusion but relief as well. She still didn’t understand what her purpose here was, other than she was supposed to do her best at whatever they asked of her. Balthazar spoke in more detail, that genders didn’t matter here. That she was allowed to tell others no. It was a lot to ask of her, considering she had been born and raised in an atmosphere where that had never been the truth nor had it been an option.

She stared up at him blankly, despite the fact he couldn’t see her confused face. He had told her she needed to get rid of her fear, so it was safe to assume he could smell all her emotions. His words were almost like speaking a foreign language to her, something she tried desperately to wrap her terrified mind around. Genders did not matter here. Genders did not matter…

“I—I don’t know…” She managed. She had never been allowed to make her own decisions. She was just strung alone to be a piece in the games of her Father and Brother. She was never moving on her own, they moved her to where she was most useful. At first the meanings of Balthazar’s test were lost to her all together. She heard an order, and while looking horrified that he had just told her all this and was now giving out a command, she nodded feebly. “Y-yes.”

Of course, unfortunately for Izotz, he was the first male she found. Staying on her belly she simply remained still and moved her tail to one side with a mild shiver. She kept her submissive and prone posture, looking back to Balthazar for approval. The leader had said he had no hatchlings, after all. It came as no surprise in her mind that the elder asked her to find the first male she could when he knew it was Izotz who was standing behind her. Yes, of course. That was why she had been brought here—earn her freedom by mothering heirs to the leadership. It seemed so clear suddenly, if only to her near-sighted mind.

[Jaykobell]

No, Balthazar wasn't surprised that Azazel hadn't answered right. That was fine: the night was still young. He had to crack that mentality if the Sailfin wanted to start living here. There were Paragon here that would jump at her immediately, smelling her fear and seeing how submissive and willing she was. Quasar was like that: a little female hunter, and although he had a certain amount of intelligence, it meant nothing if Azazel didn't say she was unwilling. Palmer was the worst that came to mind: if Azazel didn't learn how to say no, the Nago would eat her up before the Sailfin had a chance to make any sort of noise.

While Balthazar couldn't see that Azazel had looked back at him, he could certainly feel that both Paragon in the den were looking straight at him. Where one Paragon was being submissive and offering herself to the other male, the said male was burning up with embarrassment. Balthazar could read Izotz's awkwardness from miles away. He was such a baby; as if that had never happened to him before.

Instead of the Sandshark scolding the Sailfin or telling the Frost to just get on with it, Balthazar just broke into laughter. This sure brought him back: this was like teaching hatchlings where babies came from. He could imagine the disgusted grimaces of a whole bunch of babies saying how that was gross and disgusting and how they would "never do that with anyone." Of course, children, you could keep telling yourselves that. At least until your hormones started flaring up!

That aside, the Sandshark calmed himself very quickly. "Let's try that again," the older male said, speaking directly to Azazel and acting as if Izotz weren't even in the room. "I'm going to ask you the same question again. A Paragon is a Paragon, regardless of gender. You can make your own decisions. I'm telling you to get out there and make some hatchlings with the first male you find. Will you do it?" In some weird twisted way, this was also becoming a test for Izotz, whom apparently was a terrible prude. Maybe he'd learn to get used to females if Azazel kept redoing the same answer over and over... In some sort of way, he felt bad for things turning this way, since flashing poor Azazel honestly wasn't his intention. Admittedly, her adopting the position hadn't been planned.

[Kallile]

When Izotz didn’t advance on her, Azazel was mildly confused. Was she still doing something wrong? She refrained for looking back at Izotz…maybe he just needed a moment. However when the Sandshark laughed Azazel’s tails snapped back to her haunches in a knee-jerk reaction to keep all her extremities close to herself. Her confusion doubled…was Balthazar amused that she had failed?

Instead of being reprimanded, she was presented with the same logic and question. It was so strange….the leader did not want her, was she still supposed to persist until he did? That had never before been an issue or a consideration; she was almost always there for the purpose of breeding. That gesture had never gone without the male taking advantage before. Though doubts were beginning to crop up in her mind, Azazel once more pulled her tail to the side and remained small and meek.

Not once did she consider that she did not want to flash herself to the Frost, or that it was the entire point of the Sandshark’s game. To the Sailfin it was still an order to be followed, and she would do it as long as he asked. Hour after hour. Time after time. Until the morning sun was beginning to peek out over the horizon.

[Jaykobell]

While he couldn't see any of her movements — something the blind Sandshark regretted, considering how hilarious this little exercise would've been to watch — Balthazar could certainly tell that Azazel had been confused over Izotz not moving in on her. Well, if the Frost did have one good thing about him, it was that he had a certain amount of respect. Perhaps that was why the Sandshark had picked him as leader, considering the one that had lead the Hive prior to Izotz.

Regardless, the Sandshark was ready to repeat this exercise until the Sailfin caught on. If the first time had been enough to confuse her, all he needed was for Izotz to just stay still and not do anything, just like the first time. Maybe he would stop burning up with embarrassment as well. The Sandshark hadn't been born blind, so he could certainly imagine the white Frost turning into a bright red Paragon. To Izotz's credit, it was quite a funny image.

"Let's try again," Balthazar would repeat throughout the night as he continued to ask Azazel the exact same question every time. Her brain had to understand on its own; he wouldn't give any pointers or tips or advice throughout their exercise. Azazel would have to understand on her own. If she couldn't break the tip of the iceberg, she would never have the courage or strength to dive and break the rest of it underwater. She had to develop this skill right now, or else she would be stuck with a Paragon constantly until she learned to say "no" to the first male that would try to jump her.

When the sun started to squeeze through the leaves beyond Balthazar's den, the Sandshark heard Izotz yawn and struggle to stay awake. "Balthazar... It's already morning," the Frost pointed out, his voice unable to hide his tiredness and just a slight amount of whining.

"Quiet," the Sandshark ordered the younger Paragon, growling quietly in his direction. "You brought Azazel here. You will leave the den with her. She's your responsibility at this time," the elder instructed, and he heard the Frost complain quietly, although without arguing with him.

"Now," Balthazar continued as he turned his blind head in Azazel's direction again. "The night is over, but our lesson is not. Let's try this again." And once again, the cycle repeated itself. Even Izotz was getting sick of the question, but the Sandshark was being so endlessly patient that the Frost couldn't recognize the elder in front of him. "A Paragon is a Paragon, regardless of gender. You can make your own decisions. I'm telling you to get out there and make some hatchlings with the first male you find. Will you do it?" The same question, the same facts, the same instructions... the same thing, all over again. If the Sandshark had learned one thing, it was to not let go once you had a grip on something. He would have to keep his grip on Azazel until she let go on her own grip on her old mentality of a hatchling-making tool.

[Kallile]

Izotz wasn’t the only one whining about the rising sun just outside; though the other voice of whining kept her thoughts to herself. She had been asked the same exact thing at least a hundred times by now, each time she had offered herself but had nothing done about it. She was confused, tired, and stressed beyond belief wondering what she was doing wrong; why her invitations were not being taken and why the leader did not seek to further his lineage. This was all backwards; all wrong.

This time she did not flinch and cower when the elder growled in Izotz direction. She was too tired to react, at this point punishment would be kinder than this. The words had become so repetitive that for a while the Sailfin had stopped listening to the greater majority of them. But after the Elder’s growl to Izotz she was feeling a little more awake. She listened to the words, and for the first time felt as if she might be hearing them.A paragon is a paragon, regardless of gender. A silly notion, according to her father. She was supposed to be meek and mild; providing eggs to the superior males. Yet, this male had wanted none of it all night.  Make your own decisions…. Azazel closed her eyes for a moment and an almost pained sound escaped from her mouth that was not quite a sob and not quite an exasperated sigh.

“I…I don’t…” She slumped completely onto the floor as she pulled her tail and limbs close to her. “I don’t…want to.” She finally breathed out, followed by another pained sound. She was so tired and so confused, but she knew one thing clearly. She did not want to play this twisted game anymore when there seemed to be no greater end.

"...No..." She finally breathed out. "No more..."

[Jaykobell]

After hearing the exact same question again, Izotz sighed and leaned backwards a little, putting his forepaws over his face. His face was long, tired, and growing extremely impatient. He had far gotten over Azazel's position, seeing the Sailfin doing it so many times in such a short amount of time had saturated the Frost completely. If another female tried to do this to him in the coming days, he would probably just feel sick and tired from remembering this sleepless night.

When Azazel finally gave her answer, Izotz felt relieved, but also bad for the Sailfin. This whole thing hadn't been planned: he hadn't brought her to Balthazar to play this little "game", but the Sandshark had ended up monopolizing the whole meeting, as it were. Izotz could see how tired and exhausted the Sailfin was, considering she'd flown overnight and been forced to stay up for the entirety of it. The Frost had the bad feeling the female might be blaming him for this turn of events, but for now they had to wait until the Sandshark dismissed them.

But finally, Balthazar was pleased with Azazel's answer. "That's right," he praised once the Sailfin had answered, although he did nothing further to comfort the exhausted Sailfin. You couldn't be soft or gentle with your subjects, or else it would negate your authority. He didn't feel like a bad guy, nor did he feel like he'd done something wrong. This had been a good display of endurance. "Now remember those things, what you just said to me, and why you said it." His guess was that the Sailfin had refused to answer so much as she'd answered the question itself, but ultimately, the result was still satisfying: she'd refused to do something. At least she was on the right track.

With everyone over, Izotz couldn't be more relieved. "Balthazar, I wanted to ask..." the Frost started, pausing and waiting until the Sandshark had turned his head towards the younger Paragon before continuing, "I'm not sure who should teach her and live with her. I don't know who would be the best choice."

There came a grumble from the Sandshark as he thought of a proper answer. "Put her with Agrona," Balthazar replied after a short moment of thinking. Yes, the Voidbringer would be perfect: motherly and gentle, yet strict and capable of disciplining when necessary. They needed someone who could give support, but who could also stand her ground against a cowering, whimpering Paragon.

Izotz blinked at the quick decision, and suddenly the lightbulb turned on. How had he not thought about the Voidbringer? She'd pretty much raised the whole group of orphan hatchlings on her own, so raising Paragon wasn't something she'd never done before. "Then we have to hurry. I need to find her before she leaves for the day."

With everything done and over — fortunately for Izotz and Azazel both — Izotz made his way towards Azazel slowly, so as to not scare the already nervous female. "Ah... Azazel. You're tired; if you come with me, I'll introduce you to the Paragon who will help you get around the Hive. You'll be able to sleep in her den, too." He figured just the offer to sleep would motivate the Sailfin to come with him. Hopefully her reaction wouldn't be to cry and whimper and refuse to move.

[Kallile]

At first Azazel’s brain didn’t register the praise—no matter how mild it was. Instead another strange sound came from her mouth and she slowly and dramatically shook her head while barely whispering “No…no…no more…” But then it clicked; he hadn’t said the same words she’d been hearing all night. Instead it was a new set of instructions—to remember those words and remember why she had answered him as she had.

Her confusion instantly doubled. But…she had told him no. She had ignored his command; no worse than ignored. Refused. Yet she was still in one piece without so much as a single new scratch to her name. Why wasn’t he wasn’t…upset? Blinking bleary and bloodshot eyes at the Sandshark she tried to understand what had just happened. He should be furious; enough so to smite her where she cowered. But instead he had given her praise.

While she pondered why her life had not been snuffed out, the males talked. For once the little female did not try and listen in as to what her fate was to be; there was something much more vexing that had just happened here and she was too tired and confused to truly piece it together. But when izotz spoke to her again she craned her neck down a little and looked up at him. In her eyes, he had still refused her time and time again and therefore she was unworthy of his time. His tone wasn’t upset or disgusted as she would have expected…and instead he offered her sleep and a female guide if she followed him again.

It was all too much. The entire night had been spent turning her world upside down and the Sailfin simply couldn’t bear to fight against it one more minute. She was exhausted both mentally and physically…but what he asked now was something simple and mindless. Just follow. She had done that all her life. It was almost a relief to hear the words again. She found her voice unwilling to chime, so instead she just weakly nodded her head at him and pushed herself up off the ground. If her posture before had looked beaten and defeated, now she was the epitome of a walking shell of a true paragon. Slumped, letting her wings hang just slightly with her neck arched and head down, the exhausted Sailfin managed to move her head just enough to glance at the Sandshark. She wasn’t sure how not to be rude--usually it was her Father that did the dismissing and ushering out of his newly egg-carrying daughter—so she left the situation without a word on her own. He would understand, she hoped.

One final sentence did manage to squeak out of her mouth, this time to Izotz. "Are we going far?" It was a valid question and one that she had never gotten into trouble for asking. She would walk until he gave some sign for her to stop, but she hoped deeply for a short journey so she could put this unusual and torturous night behind her.