Approval glints in the queen's ruby eyes as the younger gold rises to meet her. He offers submission, yet displays his own power in a way which demonstrates the fact he is gold and worthy of such a royal hue; it is the perfect blend to appeal to Vadir's vain desire to be superior yet also her desire to find an equal. Something burns in the pit of her stomach, something different, something that feeds back to Volterra and causes a somewhat smug expression to drift across his face. This time, it's her turn to studiously ignore him, and she sends another blast of flame into the sky before circling away from Babel in an attempt at aloofness.

Vérzés returns Hubris' cheery wave, waggling his paw so fast he almost topples from his perch on his bonded's back. Volterra pays little heed to the antics of either of his companions, focused as he is on Isopia. It does not matter how many time he meets this remarkable woman, he is always slightly taken aback by the sight of her. Despite everything that has happened, everything they've been through, he still finds himself yearning for those great, muscled curves, those elegant wings, that sacred hide. The most painful thing is that she surely can't see the same when he looks at him - he is just an unremarkable peasant boy who has risen to king, black of pelt and half-heartedly splashed with white, muscular and well built but not godly.. The fact he now wears a crown is surely secondary.

But these are dark thoughts for a darker time. The yours? causes him to break into a shit-eating grin, preparing to launch into a tirade about his newly-owned home, but then the Mountain speaks again. He realises his mistake, then; gloating about his new position would only remind her of Aithniel, and that has always been the straw that broke the camel's back. Oops.

Now it's Vadir's turn to be smug, and she seizes the mantle gleefully as she glides lazily past on a helpfully-placed thermal of air. "At least I only give attention to one," she purrs into his mind, shooting a sidelong glance at Babel. "This what happens when you whore yourself." The stallion pins his ears and glowers up at her, before returning his attention to Isopia. "Yes, I am the Sultan, but not alongside Aithniel. The Sun God has sent her on a quest in his name - I rule alongside Ampere." He is almost waiting for the questions that he sees as inevitable - are you bedding her? Is that why you've promoted her? - but for once he has his answers ready.