2024-07-20 - Do not look at THAT, look at ME.

There had been humans during the Touching that had wanted her for glory and had wanted her for power; these humans she had rejected with screeching and harsh words. She knew that they only looked at the fact that she was a dragon. That she was large, that parts of her shell did shine. Do not look at THAT, look at ME.

Rioth stirred from a dream, clouded uncomfortably with the echoes of those minds, and how she wished to push them away. She quivered and shook and blearily reached for her habitual count of her siblings as she woke - even if the memory of the event that had triggered this habit was already blurring into streaks of emotion.

Her count found one extra, then, and she realized she hadn't quite been dreaming at all.

"Hey. Wake up. Someone's here." It was wary, it was terse. Nobody who tried to sneak around Gwillanth was up to any good.

She couldn't know the hearts of all of her siblings - but she'd figured they had deserved better than this human, this cheating human, coming at them with a head and mouth full of all of those dratted rules and expectations about colors. Again?!

And so Rioth decided she would do something rather ridiculous. And hopefully, at least somewhat effective.

Gathering as much mental energy as she could, she shouted, loud and long, trying her best to possibly, finally, maybe bridge the gap between her egg and the minds outside.

"Hey! YO-HOO~! Leave them alone and come over here! I may be cloaked in NIGHT and MYSTERYYY but look on my she-ell! I hear there's gold on it!"

She figured Yjeth had better things to do than be disturbed by this, gold or no gold. And her smaller siblings could do without the hurt feelings or a greedy little mind knocking around theirs.

"THAT'S RIGHT! Come over here, look at me, I'm SO gold right now. I'm shiny and huge and make big decisions all the time and never get to do what I want or fly who I want or have any fun!" Flawless.