The newborn dragon protects his hoard from the two intruders, and Volterra's mind fills with pincers of amusement from red king and golden queen alike. Possessive little fella, isn't he? Vadir sniffs, haughty, at the notion of the hatchling boy trying to keep his food away from her, when all - regardless of their colour - should submit their every possession to her whim. She coils her scythed tail around her body and preens her glimmering scales, studiously ignoring the newborn. Vérzés, in contrast, doesn't let his fierce gaze leave the hatchling, and his muscles are tense beneath his scales. He knows the masculine desire to protect one's bonded, and does not think Dramyrth will be best pleased to have a stranger touching his new mind-mate.

He is correct. The newborn suddenly appears in front of Volterra, defending and roaring (well...squeaking in a manly manner) atop the prone form of Amaris. Vérzés rises, taking to the wing as quick as blinking, circling above the hatchling and giving small huffs of warning. Gold he may be, but the blood-king is his elder and demands respect - attacking his bonded will not be well-received.

From her position on the ground nearby, Vadir chirps an alert, notifying her bonded that there is another present. Through her eyes, the behemoth sees a black-winged creature with a bird beside him, but pays him little heed. If the stranger attempts to harm Amaris, he'll have to go through three dragons and one fiesty stallion in order to do so.

The dragonmare stirs, and the beast retreats to give her some space. She hushes her new companion, then addresses Volterra directly. "Indeed," comes his rumbled reply. "Congratulations, Amaris. You deserve this." And she does. Her mother was a queen, bonded to a queen, so it was surely written in the stars that she would bond to a royal as well. Vadir is quick to point out that she has bonded to one step down from a golden queen, as dragon size and gender hierarchy means they still consider males to be inferior regardless of colour, but it is still a remarkable achievement.

She rises, her body whistling past his - he's reminded of their last encounter, the heat that sparked between them, heat he's still not fully sure was not just a figment of his horny imagination - and touches her muzzle to his own, a gesture he returns with gusto. She then moves to greet the black stranger as well, and jealousy spikes within the hellion's soul. Especially when her companion seems to object to her touches towards this other male much less than he did when she touched Volterra, a thought that makes the leviathan's face twist into an unsightly grimace. Well, fuck you too, he thinks, irritated. His ears pin for a second, testosterone-fuelled pride raging through his system, but he quickly smothers it and re-arranges his features into neutrality. He does not want to ruin this day for Amaris, as much as he would dearly love to charge the ebony hybrid away from his dragonmare.

She pronounces her bonded's name, and her draconic purr makes both Vadir and Vérzés turn to face her, letting her tones wash across them. Her gaze seeks his, pointing out his colour and gender, and the beast nods absently. "I did not think it was possible. If males can be golden, then perhaps everything else we thought we knew about dragons is wrong as well." It is an interesting, if slightly concerning, thought. The stallion genuinely thought he knew all there was to know about the magnificent species he has chosen to tie his soul to, but Dramyrth's very existence brings all of his beliefs into question.

He summons a small grin. "I think Vadir is already smitten." His queen gives an indignant squawk at this, and flares her magnificent wings to demonstrate her gargantuan size and power as well as her age, as if to point out that she could have her pick of any male dragon in Helovia and is most certainly not beholden to a newborn. Smoke spirals lazily from her nostrils, which Volterra is deeply excited about - he hopes she will begin to breathe fire soon. With her flame and his red's frost, they will be a formidable duo.