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The girl was compassionate. No sooner had his plea parted the ink-stained lips than she raised her own voice, communicating with the eerie dragon so that it withdrew and settled upon her whithers. How Amaris could stand having the creature there was more than the colt could understand. He was still shuddering from the close proximity of talons, teeth and obsidian scales, and while all four hooves returned safely to the ground it would take a while before the ears retreated from the safety of his two-toned mane.

"Thank you. No need to be so formal, by the way, we're practically family! Lace has told me so much about you, of this place... Oh, my name is Cathun, by the way." He'd had more pressing matters on his mind, making the finer details like introductions slip. Giving the dragon another wry glance the cold sighed, not quite able to make himself relax like he ought to in the presence of benefactors.

"Passed... wait, that thing isn't real?" He was probably more surprised about this than he had been to lay eyes upon the filly herself. In all her foreign oddness her gilded scales and creamy hide had a form of beauty to it, an exotic quality as fascinating as it was unsettling. The 'real' dragon however was too fierce, too much predator, and while Cathun reluctantly had to admit to himself that it too held a form of ferocious elegance he really rather preferred it when the lizard kept its distance. It really was odd, though. It looked so solid, so vivid and lifelike. Lids narrowed over flaming orbs as he scrutinized the black one, only to eventually shrug as he couldn't find anything to suggest that she wasn't telling the truth.

"I'm not used to magic" Cathun confessed, finally daring a few steps closer to the girl again, opting to believe that she had control over her little demon of a friend. "At least not in others.... There were no dragons where I grew up either. Somehow I just can't get used to them."

Another shrug was followed by a slight, wry grin, an apology as much as an attempt at leaving the topic at that. His skin was still crawling with the proximity to the border, or perhaps it was because he was within it and some force still worked its powers upon him. It was unpleasant, he didn't like it, and he would be much happier if they could leave. Whether there were any other places to go, however... that was more than he knew.

Ah, but while Cathun was glad to leave the subject at that, the following query made the smile slip from his face. Eyes darted aside, and after a bit of uneasy shuffling a hoof raised to scrape at the drying film of algae on his legs. The long neck that someday would swell with muscle bent awkwardly until the nose touched upon a golden necklace that rested against the chest, jingling softly as he thoughtfully fiddled with it.

It was a fine piece of craftsmanship. Thin chains of purest gold had been braided together and held up three large beads, shaped like teardrops, or perhaps overturned flames. Two were pulsating with a pale light, vibrating with power that grew more apparent once you knew where the source of the itching feeling was. The third bead, however, was different. Darkened into a bloody red color, that stone was dead and dull with hairline cracks criss-crossing the surface.

"I have a... condition, if you will." Cathun sounded reluctant as he spoke, not quite looking at Amaris. "This ofuda, this talisman keep it at bay so as not to harm myself - or others. But as you can see, it is wearing down. Lace - father, he thought there would be someone here able to mend it."

Slowly, warily the chiseled head turned until the orange-red eyes rested upon the frame of the young woman. Whether he was afraid of a reaction or longed for one he wasn't sure himself, but if she dared to laugh at him... Well. It's not like they were linked by blood.

"Do you know of such a person?"


@[Amaris]