Beneath the soft croon of the wind and the thunderous beckoning of the ocean, the tenuous ambiance of scales gliding across sand had been rendered virtually silent. Had it not been for the alerting emission of Columba, she may have never so much as seen her assailant before his fangs were wedged within her flesh, and by that time, it may have been too late.

But by some fluke, that would not be the case. The roan dame snapped her head upward abruptly, and without much hesitation her wings followed suit, unfurling reflexively atop the summit of her back. Muscles became tense, coercing the prow of her body to ascend and propel the mare's dark physique away from the path of the serpent's injurious clutches. Vivid blue eyes encased in white beheld the imperiling marauder with an ambiguous expression, and time seemed to decelerate, slinking by with stubborn remission.

Even as time itself seemed to delay, she could hardly collect her thoughts, and it took a moment for her to finally identify her aggressor: a snake, and a dauntingly massive one at that. What's worse, it had regrettably appraised her as a meal - this sort of thing was becoming routine, it seemed. The parlous clasp of his reptilian jowls warbled a devilish lament as the stiletto peaks of his teeth glistened balefully in the moonlight, and for a moment Cassiopeia felt her heart lurch down cowardly within her stomach.

His teeth clamped abortively on a cluster of pale feathers, and without much resistance they were plucked. The pain was hardly a concern as she gathered her feet beneath her, her brusque maneuver having knocked off her equilibrium. Her gaze never left the reptile, even as a cloud of sand partially sullied her view. Cassiopeia swiftly delved down within herself, summoning the only weapon she possessed to defend herself against such a foreboding opponent: her magic. From the deep, fathomless darkness of the sky there emerged a draconic creature, and at what seemed like that last possible moment he was above the basilisk, its nebulous scales radiating an ethereal light which glimmered redemptively upon the serpent's sable armor. It lashed out at it with lethal talons, and a plume of blue fire quivered from its jaw.

The star breather gathered her poise, her lungs heaving as she focused on funneling her energy into the celestial dragon before her. Moonlight seeped down within her skin, and she wielded the strength it imparted upon her with admirable proficiently. It had been a while since she'd had to use her powers in such a manner, but never before had she felt so thankful to have been endowed with such a wonderfully mind-boggling ability.

[ ooc ; The constellation she summoned is the dragon, Draco ]

It would seem as though this creature was not a mindless predator but instead an intelligible beast; one whose reptilian tongue crafted vindication and emit an urgent plea. "Serpent, you speak." She stated, somewhat baffled. She did as he asked however and conducted the draconic asterism to cease its assault. Draco was no ordinary dragon. His celestial form reached an exceptional length, but even that was championed by the massive size of the basilisk before her. He hovered in the air not far from the dame, a subtle reminder to the serpent that this matron of stars and wind was no easy prey.

Soon enough, her initial shock subsided, and anger swiftly filled the void. "What did you mistake me for?" She asked flatly, watching the strange creature with a critical expression. He must've done this before - that is, preyed on equine. She thought dismally of the possible individuals who had been less fortunate than she. Were the serpent to attack once again, she would not refrain from bathing him a second time in the constellation's cosmic fire.

Ears slouched back with incertitude as a sarcastic drawl fell from the reptile's lips, and the blue roan watched him cautiously. He claimed to have misjudged her as a trespasser of these borders, when the allegation of intrusion would seem more sanely directed toward himself. He was a serpent among ungulate beings, vastly out-numbered, and yet he claimed her to be the anomaly, the deviant. "You live here?" She asked, anticipating another saturnine recoil to spill from his lips. The answer to her question was a blatant one, yet still she awaited the beast's response. Could he possibly be a member of the herd?

A look of intrigue then sidled upon his reptilian features, and Cassiopeia found herself somewhat surprised by his inquiry. He knew the constellation by name, and her ears flicked forward. "Magic," she responded, then grew silent, wondering what he might have to interject, if anything. It was rare that the star breather encountered someone who knew her creations by name, and despite that fact he had deigned her as food, he did, oddly enough, interest her.

An artisan, he said. How peculiar, thought the star breather. Cassiopeia couldn't decide if it was smart to have a serpent such as Bazilisk among your ranks or just foolish. Certainly it would be much wiser to have such a tactile predator on your own side than to face him as a foe, but from what she had seen thus far it would appear as though he proved a threat to the safety of the Dragon's Throat. Had he attempted to attack any others as he had her?

If so, had he succeeded?

She listened heedfully as he pondered the enigma of magic. Certainly it was a difficult thing to comprehend, and he made an interesting point. For a moment the matron peered up toward the heavens, her cerulean gaze roaming the scintillating masses of the stars and idly identifying each. It seems introductions are needed. I am Bazilisk. She exhaled softly. "You make an interesting point, Bazilisk." She averred calmly, her suave tone one lubricated in a thoughtful reflectiveness. "I've always thought of magic as existing only within your mind. It's a baffling concept, certainly." She then reverted her gaze back to the snake.

Reluctantly, she allowed Draco to flicker from existence, and in a film of iridescent dust he wafted through the air and upward, until the stars which constituted his being once again constellated the blackness of space. "I am Cassiopeia, Oracle of the Dragon's Throat."

What had only moments ago been a precarious truce, had since evolved into something more concrete. The basilisk softened his expression, even allowing a strange, reptilian smile to spread across his lips. A subtle tilt of her lips was all she offered, yet she too relented her tenseness. She cocked a single hoof up on its rim, resting the leg as she listened to the snake's next words. Magic was more than baffling. She doubted it could ever be fully understood, at least not by the finite minds of mortals such as these two.

"I was granted the rank of Oracle this previous Tallsun, though I have possessed the powers of foresight the majority of my life." She smiled then, the first semblance of such a cordial manifestation. "I was an Oracle in the land of my birth form the time I reached adulthood, but many years have since passed." She concluded her speech with a thoughtful exhale, feeling better now to have purged the information. The only other soul she had ever told such things was Azzuen. "And what of you - how long have you been Artisan?" She questioned kindly.

Another inquiry rang through the air, and she found herself pondering the answer. Shaman, she reiterated in her head, searching for the definition of such a word. Shamanism was more affiliated with the fields of alchemy and spirituality - or at least from what she could recall - whereas Oracularity was prophetic, centering around the divine. "Not quite." She began. "I am a steward of Helovian lore and history. I am also a prophet of sorts of the God of the Sun, and sometimes I am able to catch glimpses of the future in fires; when he wills it, that is." Was she actually beginning to enjoy his company? Yes, ironically enough, she was. "Onni, however, is a Shaman. She is our primary medic; wields powers of healing and such."

Leonine tail flicked thoughtfully behind her svelte physique, as she watched this snake curiously. An interesting individual, he certainly was. "Tell me, what does your rank entitle?"