[Jaykobell]

"Evfan and Kone, then," the Carapace repeated as he looked at each Paragon when he repeated the names. "It's nice to meet some decent wild Paragon, for a chance," Sanjiv mused with a sheepish smile. "Usually the wilds we find aren't really... the most pleasant." More often than not, they were pretty primitive and often just came about because they were trying to find food. They were usually weak and unable to fight properly, especially compared to the Paragon here who had been specifically trained for battling. Meeting two Paragon who were seemingly independent and pleasant was a nice change.

"Ah, so you're familiar with clans?" Sanjiv questioned curiously, surprised that Evfan would know about such a thing. Most wilds had no real idea of a "clan" structure, so the concept of being on the Dragon Hive's territory often went right over their head. From Evfan's words, it seemed like the two had at least seen other clans before this one. That was a possibility; Sanjiv had heard stories of there being other clans, although they were apparently very, very far from the mountain. Still, if you had Paragon just traveling around, they were bound to come across herds of Paragon who had had the same idea to come together and form a pack, a clan, a family. "I guess that does make everything a little easier for you guys, then." They would still need to get the hang of the place while they stayed here and worked their fair share for the hospitality, but regardless, it would help the two greatly to have a clan mentality already in place.

In terms of this clan's history, Sanjiv paused for a minute. "The Dragon Hive is old," the Carapace replied simply for a start. "I'm honestly one of the youngest. I'm still a hatchling to some of these Paragon," he mentioned as he glanced up at the Paragon overhead that were flying and pulling stunts, some bigger and some smaller. "This clan's had a pretty rocky history so far. I was born a long time after the biggest crisis that happened to the Hive, but I did hear stories of it. It used to be lead by a tyrannic, power-hungry female Voidbringer named Jezebel. She slowly went mad from power and turned the Hive upside-down, killing Paragon and using others to her own goals. That was quite a long time ago, though. Right now, our leader is a male Frost who goes by the name of Izotz. He was one of the Paragon that forced Jezebel into exile. He's the complete opposite of her: understanding, benevolent, and involved. That's why I know he won't have anything against you guys staying here for a little while," the Carapace assured again, finishing the big picture of the clan's history. Of course, the starting point had been nothing exciting: some Paragon in the wild got together, and they managed to stick together in order to survive and make living just a little bit easier.

"What about you?" Sanjiv asked after his story was over. "Where do you guys come from? I don't remember seeing you around here." His guess was that they were either wilds that traveled a lot, or they were part of another clan that was far away. It was probably something along those lines; or at least, the Carapace hoped so. Learning about other faraway clans and their history and mentality would totally be a blast.

[Azura Rayume]

The Lavamancer listened carefully, his concentration on the tale breaking only for a moment from time to time to check on Kone. The story of the Hive was an intriguing one, the conflict the dominated the telling probably likened to what he heard often tore apart clans like this- one dragon getting too big for the role and tearing everything down around them. This group seemed to have pulled through the struggle though, even come out better for it on the other side. To his knowledge, most didn't end so well.

It made him wonder what had happened to the Spire, though he doubted either he or Kone would be welcome back there should they feel a desire to return. Then again, he had no guarantee that there was anything to return to.

The question of their origins snapped him out of his daydream. "Oh! Eh, yeah," he stammered, recollecting himself. "We used to be a part of a clan, but that was a long time ago. They' never really had a name that I can recall, but the mountain was called the Dragon Spire." Thinking about that place brought back some bad memories, but they had left friends as well as enemies behind there. "They weren't always the most upstanding group of dragons, and some of them were downright savage, but they weren't all bad. The problem was, well, they liked to judge usefulness before a hatchling really had a chance to shine. I was fine, since my parents were both great fliers, and I started fluttering before I had all my feathers in, but Kone's a different story. Poor guy never really had a chance with those colors; they said he was too bright to do anything but scare off prey. If Josta and I hadn't stuck by him, I don't know what would have happened to him." The Carapace probably would have run off on his own and died somewhere, that what.

Kone perked up at the mention of the other name, though he seemed irritated about. "Why are you talking about Josta?" He sounded defensive and a bit hurt by the mention of the name, but he at least was more attentive than before.

"He was asking where we came from is all." The bird colored male shifted back to his story. "After a while, though, we both got tired of it and left. I don't know what has happened to the rest of them since we've been gone." He paused for a moment, then added, "We haven't managed to come across any other clans since, though."

[Jaykobell]

Hearing Evfan's story was quite a treat. Sanjiv hadn't known any other clan beyond the Hive, so hearing about different ones was always a big thing for him. He knew some of the Paragon in the Hive had come from different clans as well, but they were few and far between. The only ones he could really think of were a trio of female Paragon who used to be part of a very savage, male-dominated clan, but he'd never managed to really ask them about it. They were all really edgy around males, so it made it hard for him to ask them much of anything.

That said, hearing about different clans was always interesting. The Carapace always wondered what it would be like if the Hive were closer to other clans. There was the potential for allies, for new friends; but then again, there was also potential for new enemies, threats, and battles for territory and prey. Maybe it was a blessing for the Hive to be so isolated; it didn't have to worry about anything but itself. "So you actually do come from another clan," Sanjiv piped up after Evfan was done explaining the two friends' origins. "Although it sounds really different from our clan here. The Hive doesn't really have any problems like what happened to your friend. Like I said, we do have a good few timid Paragon here, but everyone has a task. If you can't be a hunter, maybe you can be something else that will help the clan just as much," the Carapace explained, giving a small smile to the other red Carapace Paragon. Sanjiv had dealt with cases that had been worse than Kone's, so he was certain the newcomer would be able to fit in just fine if he gave himself some time.

"The Hive is very isolated, so I'm not surprised you didn't find any other clans around here. We do know they exist out there, but we've never tried to go out and find them." They did have some exploration teams, although they were still fairly small and new; the idea of exploring and recruiting different Paragon was quite a new concept for the Hive, so everyone was still adapting to the idea.

"I'm assuming the friend you mentioned didn't follow you? Josta, you said?" the Carapace questioned, though he hoped his curiosity wouldn't earn him a sharp reply from Kone. Evfan could just answer by saying "yes" or "no", if he really didn't want to dwell on the subject. They just had a little ways to go before they reached Izotz's den, so Sanjiv figured talking was the only thing that would prevent them from feeling awkward.

[Azura Rayume]

"She said she was coming," the orange Carapace grumbled, unhappy at the memory of the blue female. Even though the event had happened years ago, he felt conflicted on how to react to thinking of her. Part of him wanted her back, and part of him never wanted to see her again. "She said she would come with us, but she didn't."

Ev rolled his eyes and offered a better explanation. "She was going to come," he said, "but she had a brother there, Jallal. He found out what we were planning and refused to allow her to leave. It's not her fault, or even really his for that matter, that she couldn't be here. They lost their parents at a young age and were practically inseparable. When he said she couldn't go, she couldn't bring herself to leave." He smiled slightly, gaze straying over the other distant dragons. "She did see us off, though. Her brother, too, but he was more supporting her than caring about us."

The lavamancer made to ask how much farther they would have to go but refrained, assuming they couldn't be too far off. He could tell Kone was growing more relaxed as they went, his posturing having shifted from dejected to something than could pass for attentive, his head and tail held at a more confident angle instead of nearly dragging the ground. Maybe this meeting would go well with the larger male feeling better about himself.

((Bad post is bad. I'm sorry.))

[Jaykobell]

By the time they were reaching that point in the conversation, Sanjiv started leading the two up the mountain ledge, which raised into a path that lead to multiple dens and entrances. Among others, the leader's den was just at the end of the ledge, so it wouldn't take much longer before they reached their destination. Sanjiv was trying to walk at a good pace for Evfan, considering the Lavamancer's wings were still damaged and were probably bothering him in some way.

Hearing the story of their third friend, and especially considering Kone's reaction, Sanjiv felt bad for pressing the subject. "Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you remember bad memories," the Carapace apologized to the other red Paragon, although deep down Sanjiv was happy to hear him speak.

Hearing Evfan's explanation, Sanjiv blinked. "That sounds similar to what happened with Sequoia's brother. The Sparkdrake you met earlier has a brother who had a similar... calling, I guess you could say. He found clan life to be dull and repetitive, and he wanted something more. He eventually decided to leave the Hive in order to explore and see the world for himself. Sequoia didn't want him to leave, since... Well, they were orphans here, but for different reasons, so they only had each other here. I think if I hadn't been here, she never would've let him leave." The two being mates, Sequoia could feel secure by having Sanjiv around. If it hadn't been for him, he could imagine the Sparkdrake never letting her brother go, or actually trying to go away with him. "He still visits, though. Sometimes he comes back and tells us stories about his travels."

"Are you doing okay?" Sanjiv asked Evfan afterwards, quickly changing the subject. "We're almost there, but we can rest if your wings are causing you trouble," the Carapace offered, only out of convenience; he didn't want the Lavamancer falling down and breaking his wings all over again.

[Azura Rayume]

"No, no. I'm fine." Evfan said to quell the Sanjiv's worries. "My wings ache a bit, but other than that I'm fine." Since he was able to pull his wings against his sides, he was doing alright with only the minor aches in his shoulders from the movement. He had heard somewhere that a dragon's body hinged on the wings, and his inability to do much of anything without them was convincing him all the more that that was true.

After walking in silence for a while, Kone stepped forward, his expression one of concentration. He had been mulling over the story his friend had told, the one he figured in so prominently, as well as the one the red male had told in return. Was it such a common thing for Paragon to leave their tribe? He assumed not, though it seemed both he and this unnamed dragon might have had something of a special circumstances.

The bright male paused a moment longer, walking beside the Lavamancer instead of behind, then dipped his head apologetically to the other Carapace. "I'm sorry," he said. "The memories are not bad ones. Simply... difficult. I felt wronged at the time, but I understand why her brother took the actions he did." He perked up a bit. "I do hope to see her again some day, though, and her brother as well. He may have kept Josta from traveling with us, but he was never directly cruel."