Rendezvous in Scarabi (Private)

Sugary's heart started to beat very fast as Maredusa teased him, his face a shade of red darker now as he kept very quiet and took the offer regardless by getting on top of her, though not without his imagination getting in the way at times. The fact she moved so smoothly, her body so smooth and scaly, and her muscles rippled subtly, made him almost second guess being there... Almost.

"An Earth Elemental..." he'd seemingly say out of nowhere along the way as he lay on Maredusa's back more comfortably, but there was a purpose. "You certainly don't sound like any ordinary Gorgons I've known about. It's as if the land has given you a piece of its soul to you and your daughter for affinity, longevity, and fertility. I'm feeling quite humbled actually, getting to know someone like you. I'd say you two... are rather special..." He spoke more softly, seemingly dozing off... Which he was, as much as he tried to avoid it. Evidently, he looked to be in better condition, but he still needed his rest from time to time, and Maredusa was moving and rocking so gently. He yawned, and gave Thryssa a smile. "... Pardon... I'd like to keep watch... But I might need... a power nap... ... ..." And so he slept.

"No, earth elementalss are a completely different creature," Maredusa tells him. "And they mosst certainly don't like gorgonss. Ssee my kind ass ussurperss of their unique powerss, even though we are nothing like them. I sswim though the sstone; they are the sstone. To move through the earth iss no different to them than blood moving through your body; it'ss sso natural that they can't even perceive that they're doing it, it merely happenss." She turns to him with a little smirk at he says that she'd different than ordinary gorgons he knows about. "Of coursse I'm different, you ssilly Sugary sstallion. I'm well north of a thoussand yearss old and most importantly, I'm alive and they are dead." She somehow continues to move forward as she turns around enough to reach out and pat him on the head. "I  can tell you're growing weary, Sugary, sso feel free to resst yoursself on my coilss. By the time you awaken, we'll be in the presence of the ssand drakess and you can give good sservice."
He would be woken up by being lifted by Maredusa's hooves and held in the air above her head. "Hocama a tsut-su novata!" she declares grandly before putting him down on the sand in front of her. He'd find that the sand is white and much more fine than ordinary sand, and that it's a shallow covering over rock. He would also discover that he is surrounded on all sides by large wingless dragons who for some inexplicable reason, are all bowing in his direction. Or, it wouldn't be hard to guess, in Maredusa's direction.
"He is a fine stud indeed," a rumbling, purring, almost sensuous voice says as one of the sand drakes, one who appears to be smaller and much younger than the others, steps out of the surrounding circle, her tongue flickering out like a snake's as she looks Sugary over. "Is he a gift?"
"Not at all," Maredusa smiles. "I jusst wished to sstart by showing off a little. Thiss one belongss to Princesss Thrysssa, firsst daughter of Queen Chryssaliss."
"Yes, we know her," the female says, giving Thryssa a very displeased look. "We know that she's failed to carry our message to her mother, as she was bid, and as you bid as well."
"The firsstborn iss oft headsstrong," Maredusa shrugs. "Ass you yoursself would know better than anyone, Matriarch."

"Guuuh!?" would be Sugary's only words as he flailed in the air when suddenly awoken by Maredusa and her chant, flopping into the ground disoriented when she put him down. "...?" He'd look at where he was and the attention he was being given by the drakes, to the point he looked back to the mares and worded 'Did you just offer me as a sacrifice!?'.

Fortunately, that doubt was cast aside the more he listened, got up and dusted off, and then tried to greet those they had come to visit. "Ah... Yes, we're aware there have been some... issues so far. That's what we're here for; To try and mend things for good... And hello. Are you the Princess by any chance? We'd like to discuss and resolve this matter right away."

The young female drake looks steadily at him for several moments, clearly somewhat confused by the question. "Fleshy ponies have princesses," she speech-purrs. "Armor ponies have a queen and princesses. We sand drakes have a matriarch, and I am she." She does something that looks like she's doing her very best to smile although it looks more like she's baring her teeth menacingly than smiling. "I apologize for not being a princess, fleshy horny pony. I hope you are not disappointed."
Maredusa sighs and gives the matriarch a very level look. "Sstop with all the theatricss, Ssandsstrider. You know all the proper namess of poniess."
Sandstrider looks affronted. "You chastise me for being theatrical after you seized the adorable unicorn and hoisted him into the air and declared him a prize stud for the impregnation of all the world. And in Zebrican too. After that, how can you possibly get after me for being dramatic?"
Maredusa grins at her and hisses with laughter. "I like to shatter overly formal ceremoniess with outrageouss commentss. You know thiss of me, and have ssince you were barely able to sspeak. You have grown into your sskin and your throne, but the quesstion iss..." Her face becomes hard and she looks at the circle of sand drakes "do your people resspect you?"
"Are the sand drakes prepared to obey the bidding of Queen Chrysalis, daughter of Queen Pupa, and fulfill her requirement to be welcomed at her court and begin formal relations again?" Thryssa asks immediately after, almost as if she and Maredusa and rehearsed this. "You know why my mother turned you out of her throne room. Will you repent?"
"What is this 'repentance' you speak of?" one of the older male drakes snorted contemptuously. "We have done no sin in trying our matriarch as our people always do. It is long and proud tradition, and no matter how great your queen, she may not demand otherwise."
"She doesn't demand you do anything," Thryssa says. "She simply has set the requirements for you to be treated as an equal at the diplomatic table. If you want to be as much friend to the changelings as you have oft alleged to wish, you will treat your new matriarch with kindness and respect."

Somewhere during the conversation between Maredusa and Sandstrider, he once again looked back to the mares briefly and worded 'Did you really just announce me as a lover!?' before looking right ahead again and listening further, admittedly amused by some friendly sounding verbal jabs. "Hm... Sounds like there's a faction issue going on...?"

Just as the male drake had moved forward, Sugary took posture to full confident height as he stared right at the one who spoke in place of the Matriarch. "If what you say is true, then what exactly will it take to end such 'trials'? From what I was informed, the invitation to the alliance has been given quite some time ago. For that matter..." He then cast his gaze right over to Sandstrider. "Are you actually interested in accepting the invitation at all? That's the main thing we've come to confirm."

Maredusa waits until Thryssa is speaking before she grins at and words back, 'You would make such lovely foals'.
The male drake turns his face towards Market before leaving his place in the circle and walking closer, until he can loom menacingly over Sugary, looking down at him from a greater height. "You have the status of the paramour of those that speak," he growled. "You have no status of your own. You shall not ask questions, nor answer them without leave."
At this point, Maredusa somehow imposes herself between the drake and Sugary and rises up on her coils until she, in turn is looming over the drake who immediately looks extremely uncomfortable with his position as abruptly shorter than someone else. She crosses her front lags and stares down at the drake with eyes partly hooded by the shadows that the angle creates. Flaps of skin that Sugary will likely have never even noticed before rise from around her neck and shoulder areas and extend out, framing her head like the hood of a cobra, decorated with a dizzying array of beautiful colors and patterns. "You will not sspeak ssuch to Ssugary Market, whelp," she hisses at him. "Go back to your place in the circle and sstay there."
The drake's eyes get as wide as they can possibly be and he backpedals in a panicked way, tripping over his legs and falling before scrambling to his feet and rushing back to his place in the circle. Sugary can see that the rest of the drakes, except for Sandstrider, are visibly tense and cringing, subtly trying to edge away from Maredusa in this state, noticeably frightened of her.
"I take it that the cock-measuring contest has just been called off on account of gorgon," Sandstrider purr-speaks in a very dry tone of voice. "You," she says, gesturing to the drake that challenged Sugary, "I will talk with you later. Maredusa, I apologize that the young are occasionally reckless and rude. Please stop terrifying the circle."
Maredusa lowers her hood and lowers herself back down to ground level, smiling in an exceptionally harmless way. "Of coursse, Ssandstrider," she says cheerfully. "Jusst making a point, that'ss all."
"And what point might that be?"
"That the ssand drakess are not the biggesst bulliess on the block."
Sandstrider bares her teeth at this in another fangy smile. "Nor have we been since Scarabi came to be filled with the people of Queen Amaryss," she says, now looking around the circle at the other drakes. "Things changed over a thousand years ago when a pregnant gorgon took shelter in the barrens. They changed again when the changelings made a city of a mountain. When the dunes shift, we must shift with them or be covered over in sand and be lost. Now a queen of the changelings reaches out to us in friendship, and her heir comes to reinforce that offer. It is time to change again."
"Which means...?" Thryssa asks.
"Which means that it is my desire to accept what you offer," Sandstrider says. "Although I speak only as the matriarch. My word has weight but is not the only word." She nods to the circle. "These must agree as well, as per tradition."
"The weight of the matriarch iss, by tradition, sso weighty that only unity can opposse it."
"That is still the case."
Maredusa blinks and looks around at the drakes slowly, each one shying away from her gaze as it sweeps over them. "You jesst."
"I do not."
Both Maredusa and Thryssa stand there in stunned silence for several seconds. "And I thought that the old stories about how changelings and ponies would treat each other during the bad times were spiteful," Thryssa says, sounding somewhat awed. "Every single one of you stands against your matriarch in this matter? Not a single one of you would have a bond of friendship with Scarabi?"
"It was a poor contest," one of the drakes said quietly. "The matriarch had no heart in it, and the queen pitied her. Tradition does not allow the contest to be renewed, yet the contest showed us nothing of the pony that would be friend to us, as it was over in a single instant without any effort on Chrysalis' part."

Sugary rolled his eyes at the mouthed response, smirking lightly at the sort of company he had; One was a Princess that charmed him with her big heart -a heart as tough as iron, but a big heart nonetheless- and the other an ancient Gorgon whom he thought kept hitting on him with youthful vigor and complimenting his apparent virility... and was finding it increasingly harder to not return her apparent advances towards him, but then again she was probably just being nice. Not that he had any way of knowing that for certain.

Later, despite the obvious difference in size, he remained undaunted when the drake came closer, a light shine coming from his eyes and horn should someone attempt to get smart-alecky with him. Fortunately Maredusa intervened, and he was rather grateful for it as he smiled gently her way; He wasn't really looking for a fight anyway, and he'd be quick to remind everyone of that once he got his chance to speak again, glaring over to the drake that came close with an even brighter shine in his eyes. "Perhaps we haven't been very clear, but then again I'm new in all of this, so allow me to rephrase... We're here as Diplomats who seek to make peace with the Drakes once more on behalf of the Queen." He then looked to the other Drake who spoke with a lighter glare. "The very same Queen one of you has just informed us you know not enough about. Does this not mean you're getting what you wanted in the first place by allowing our meeting to happen without issue?" He looked to the entire circle now with a cocked brow. "... And if the contest cannot be renewed, would it be too ludicrous to ask for a new test then? Or do you all really intend to forever hold judgement over the Matriarch due to a single event?"

When Sugary's eyes and horn begin to glow in preparation for being challenged, he feels Thryssa's hoof on his shoulder and she leans in close to speak to him in a low voice. "I almost wish Maredusa hadn't backed him down. Word came to me about how you dealt with Belladonna losing control at the foundry, and the spells that came quickly and naturally to you in an instant. These sand drakes would be the perfect place to establish that the bashful unicorn shouldn't be underestimated."
The reaction of the sand drakes to Sugary's words and his challenge is most certainly not to take offense. Quite the opposite, they seem suddenly intensely interested in him, one and all, and there are many looks and nods in the circle as he talks. The matriarch, Sandstrider, is looking around at the circle and is looking steadily more apprehensive as she seems to sense what's going on and isn't happy about it.
When Sugary is done, the drake that challenged him and was backed off by Maredusa steps forward. "Strong words," he says. "Perhaps you're also a strong pony."
"No." Sandstrider growls. "I forbid this."
"Tradition does not allow you to forbid this trial," he says, his eyes never leaving Sugary. "He was challenged clearly and fairly. He has challenged clearly and fairly. His challenge a good one, for he speaks for the honor of our matriarch." He stoops a little and makes his face level with Sugary's. "So, Sugary Market, will you prove your claim with your strength? Will you strive against me, speaking for Matriarch Sandstrider?"
"He will most certainly..."
"I did not ask you, Princess Thryssa," he interrupts. "This is not your decision, by our tradition, but his. You may not stay his hoof, if he would do this."
"I will not permit..."
"Hold Thrysssa," Maredusa says, laying a hoof on her shoulder. "Let Ssugary sspeak for himsself. He iss a sstrong sstallion with a sstrong heart and however he did not mean to do it, he hass done the right thing in thiss." She gives the sand drake a fangy grin. "Bessidess... watching the Gallant Tantaluss kick his plot will be fun."

((Dragoon!))

Sugary kept calm in general, even more so as Thryssa made contact with him and somewhat lowered his output; That soon changed once the topic went to him likely getting into a fight after all. He still wasn't actually looking for one but, if the shine in his eyes growing brighter was any indication, he certainly had plenty of vigor in him to dish out. He smirked lightly, confident but not cocky, in his own might even as the drake from before called him out at eye level. "Let me give you my answer in a moment..."

Soon after, his power burst forth; A pink aura circled around him from the ground up, which then expanded as a gust of magic wind past Thryssa and Maredusa, leaving two very large aura circles flanking them. Sand began to rise up and harden into bone-like segments on both sides, followed by 'skin' covering it and taking a rather familiar yet somber look each. The final result would be that of two Dracozombies made from sand and his magic holding them in place as they lay on the ground, until another burst of magic from Sugary made the eye sockets flash bright orange flames, their large quad wings and bodies rising up and moving in an eerily realistic manner.



Each of them dwarfed any one sandrake and even Maredusa herself in height and length, both 'stepping' forth closer towards the young sandrake, and with another burst of magic released, they both opened their jaws and wings wide and released a spine tingling 'roar' towards the drake, a magical wind rushing from them.

Sugary kept ever vigilant to the group before him, magic pulsing and sand swirling around him with ease. "... I am very much ready! Are you going to be the first to face me?" He had a glint in his eyes beyond just the shine he was already giving off. He wasn't about to be easily intimidated by a drake, not when he knew what real dragons were like.

[Note: This video contains the actual sound for the Dracozombies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWOq63VVyY8 ]

((If I can internet from Texas, I'll make sure to get this done. See you in 5 days, turtle.))

The drakes get wide-eyed as Sugary summons his constructs of sand, dragons that are larger than they are. To his credit, the male that's challenging Sugary does not in fact wet himself with two full-grown dragon constructs roaring in his face, but he too is wide-eyed. When Sugary finally speaks the words to accept the challenge, the drakes look at once another, and then begin to applaud.
"What a delightful show of power!" Sandstrider proclaims happily. "The stud male you brought with you is truly an impressive specimen, Maredusa!"
"Ssugary Market iss a mercenary of experience and talent where he comes from," Maredusa says, patting Sugary's barrel proudly. "He tellss taless of befriending bearss called 'Bill' and fighting all manner of fantastical creaturess--ssuch ass dragonss."
"He... has fought dragons and survived them?" The drake asks with an audible gulp.
"It always pays to properly measure your rival before you talk big," Thryssa tells him sagely. "I wish I had this buttery treat that Lepi has spoken of called 'popcorn' because it'll be fun to watch him thrash you as hard as Mother thrashed your matriarch when you pushed her into the fight." She taps her hoof in thoughtful contemplation. "You wouldn't have happened to be the ringleader of that little effort, would you?"
"He would," Sandstrider confims.
"Oh really." Now Thryssa's eye has an evil glint in it. "Perfect."
The young drake looks slightly ill now as he looks between the constructs. "He... cannot use those, though."
"I suspect he knows that," Thryssa smiles to Sugary. "But any soldier knows that wounding the courage can be as important as wounding the body. Put the toys away, Sugary, and I'd dearly love to see what else my future adjutant can do."
The drake nods and as Sugary drops the constructs, he looks highly relieved and glances back to Sandstrider as if waiting for a signal. She grins toothily at him and nods. "Begin."
At the signal, the drake immediately runs at Sugary, clearly hoping to overwhelm him with sheer size, weight, and natural weapons before Sugary can throw powerful magic at him.

Even in his vigilance, Sugary still let his pride swell a bit as Thryssa, Maredusa, and Sandstrider praised him while the rude drake briefly cowered. There was a light glint in his eyes when said drake began to make requests of him, dispelling the 'Dracozombies' as the sand eroded away into the wind, flaming eyes going out last. "If you say so."

Right as the duel began, Sugary braced himself, hoping his health wouldn't give in soon. He had no intention of dodging the drake's initial attack however, ready to make a point that magic alone wasn't all he had going for him as his muscles began to ripple subtly... It all depended on how his foe made their striking move...

The oncoming drake lopes closer, losing a half-step as he comes as Sugary does a very unexpected thing and actually stands his ground calmly, having no apparent fear of a much larger and heavier creature with much superior natural weapons closing in on him. Sugary can tell that his defiance is having a definite effect on his opponent because at the last moment, instead of boring straight in on him, the drake pushes off his front right paw to abruptly shift directions and then pushes hard off his left as he lands to try to catch Sugary off-guard by hitting him from a different angle suddenly.

The differences between Sugary and the drake were very notable, but the stallion still did have one definite natural weapon; His horn, and the sturdy bone structure he had to keep it in place during a hard impact. And he'd try to make use of his horn to by shifting his body and crouching just under the larger drake's swift attack and their center of balance, intent on parrying the foe's strike by either deflecting or jabbing their limb as they moved towards him to prevent a direct first strike. The drake was fast, but Sugary was experienced at adapting to subtle changes in battle.

Sugary may be easy for the larger foe to lift, but the stallion's rippling muscles could lift the drake in turn, especially when it was lunging at him. Should the drake's momentum be sufficient, he'd attempt to use it against him, trying to grab the first outstretched part he could -parried or otherwise- with his forelegs, and neighing loudly as the hind legs stressed against the ground and sand to keep balance while standing against the drake's weight. If conditions were favorable, his entire body from horn to hooves would go for a Suplex to slam the drake hard onto the ground along with him...

Sugary would catch a very brief flash of the drake's eyes getting wide as saucers as Sugary doesn't just stand his ground but actually grabs the drake's paw and uses the massive forward momentum and a seemingly impossible amount of strength to lift him off the ground, flip him over his head, and slam him back-first into the sand beneath them. The drake lays there for a moment panting, stunned at the inconceivable turn of events that have befallen him. Meanwhile, Sugary would be able to hear Maredusa laughing and clapping her hooves with delight. "Ssmall yet fierce!" she declares happily. "Again! Again! Thiss contesst iss already gloriouss!"
"Take care, Mister Market!" Thryssa shouts to him. "If you get yourself hurt, I swear I'll let Green Leaf experiment on you!"
"The apothecary?" Sandstrider asks curiously, loudly enough that Sugary can hear over the commotion of the other drakes.
"The same!"
"The insane one?"
"Yes!"
"But isn't a unicorn horny enough without an aphrodisiac?"
"..." Thryssa goes silent and Sugary can easily imagine her blushing fiercely. Meanwhile, the drake blinks, shakes his head, and literally flows to his feet, seeming to briefly turn into sand and return to form standing on his feet. He starts circling Sugary again, watching intently for any opening to rush in again.

Sugary took a bit more effort to get back up, but otherwise looked fine. In fact, he had a light blush too since he could hear the conversation rather well too. But he was still attentive of his foe, slowly getting up on his hind legs as the other observed, with relative ease; A sign of good balance on his part for an equine. "Well now... You move rather interestingly in the sand... But what of me then? You've already demanded I not use the dragons, so I assumed I wasn't allowed magic at all. Should I tie one arm behind my back now too?" He was definitely taunting his foe on purpose, even going ahead and casually placing one foreleg behind him as he held out the other right at his foe, almost as an invitation. His eyes had a rather adamant and fixated stare.

The drake bares his teeth. "Your constructs are warriors in addition to you. I do not challenge the mindless things built of your magic, I challenge you and all you are capable of. To shift with the sand in which I live is among that which I am capable of. Show me and my kin your strength, pony." At this, he makes again for Sugary but this time comes in lower than he had before, kicking up a cloud of sand as he comes on to try to obscure Sugary's vision, and staying more squat (at the expense of quite as much speed) in the hopes that Sugary wouldn't be able to seize and and suplex him a second time.

Sugary actually began to grin lightly in return as the drake spoke, quickly lighting his horn and spreading energy throughout his body. When the drake attacked, he might be in for a surprise when the sand he kicked towards Sugary would immediately take a familiar shape and harden around his outstretched hoof; It was a dragon's hand, and it would grab the drake as it approached from its crouched position with his cover taken and turned against him as a harsh grip. He'd be lifted as Sugary spoke again with a bit of spice in his voice. "So you don't want me holding back then!? Here's a tip: Those dragons weren't warriors, they were just sand I shaped as I felt like..." His body rippled and sparked with energy flowing from him still as he then moved the arm from behind him, shining blue as something else formed around it; Afterwards, a large ice spike formed over his arm, magic aiding to make it spin like a drill. "... I'm not Changeling Royalty, but I'm not some amateur combatant and magician either, drake. Carefully consider if you still want me to go all out on you..." He could attack, but he choose to give the drake a chance to make his choice, me might even be able to shake himself free.

The drake stares at Sugary as the pony lifts him in a construct of sand, and then as he spoke and demonstrated yet more of his power. He bared his teeth at the end of the speech his face full of real anger. "Do not treat me as a child, pony!" He snarls. "I know magical constructs when I see them. I need not be condescended to, and given any kind of mercy by you. This trial is larger than you, and larger than me, and so I will fight." He promptly opens his jaws wide, roaring directly in Sugary's face, and Sugary would be able to see electricity arcing between many of the teeth, jumping from one to the other as if they're made of metal instead of enamal. At the same time, he'd feel the ground suddenly become exceptionally soft under him. The drake stopped roaring and bared his teeth again, and now Sugary would be able to see that while his vision was briefly obscured by gaping jaws, the drake scales had come to resemble those of Maredusa, seeming to be stone rather than keratin. "Go all out, Sugary Market; tell your story with your strength, as I will tell mine."

Sugary tried his best to keep balance as the sand softened under him as the drake shared his words of chance. He furrowed his brows as the dragon snarled at him and bared his fangs and new form; However, there was a little smirk on the corner of his lips. "Now that's more like it!" He shouted, using magic force to propel the sand fist away with the drake and then aimed the ice spiral onto the ground to propel himself back and away from the fine sand with it while simultaneously launching a barrage of sharp ice daggers towards the direction of the drake he sent off. He was making distance for a second round, but he was not about to give the drake an easy time doing so either.

The drake ducks his head and hunches his shoulders against the barrage of magically-sharp and magically-propelled ice even as he bulls forward, not even flinching as several of the daggers plunge into his armor deep enough that they certainly hit flesh underneath. The soft sand appears to be perfectly solid to him because he charges right over it without hundrance and then leaps at Sugary, the leap carrying him to just inches in front of the unicorn before he pivots on a front paw and swings his entire body around like a club, angling it so that he most certainly cannot be ducked under and it would be a challenge to leap over.

As Sugary moved, he further manipulated the ice to form more fluidly around him as it then took the form of water, gliding over the sand with it and keeping it pressed down in case his foe tried to grasp him with sand all of a sudden from below. With his watery armor at the ready, he'd be able to take the hit from the drake by literally dampening the blow, though a cough and teeth gritting signaled that even he felt that one as the water armor splashed on impact. The drops that came out would be turned to ice quickly and rain upon his foe's face to pelt their eyes as he whipped a stream of water from his arm to smack his foe after gliding back further from the hit, and then attempted to push the foe away hard with a pressurized torrent focused on the torso; Possibly also further pushing in the ice spikes from earlier in the process.

The drake took the hydraulic strike with a growl and grunt, digging into the sand below with his claws and hunching against the blow, pushed back but not knocked off guard. He braces against the torrent and then starts to slowly drag himself forward, seeming to sink into the sand as he does until he's low enough that his tail tip vanishes beneath the sand as if it was water and Sugary is left standing there  with tons of wet sand in front of him. After a moment, he feels a trembling disturbance under his hooves and electricity arcs between seemingly random points, with him in between those points. Moments later, the drake bursts through the sand under him, going for his underbelly with his jaws and claws.

Sugary remained alert for the hidden drake, his movements subtle as he awaited for the next strike to come, water still flowing around him. When the drake came out from below, he propelled himself to the air while rapidly freezing the water in front of him to try and hold his foe still long enough as he struck. He'd also freeze the water around his arms into two thick club-like objects, and attempted to slam both on the sides of his foes head for a concussive blow.

The drake appeared completely unhindered by the thick sheet of ice laid over his emergence point, but it came at a cost, a cost that would be paid only moments later: the impact with the ice stripped off the sand he'd been using to armor his head. So when Sugary boxes his ears with two sledgehammers, there is no cushioning the impact and the drake keens in pain, collapsing with his paws over his ears, his belly exposed, completely helpless before any attacks Sugary might make.
"Stop." The sharp command from Sandstrider would come just barely after the drake lands, and somehow Sugary would find himself face-to-face with the drake matriach who has imposed herself between the two combatants in barely a second.
Sugary would hear a low rumble, mixed generously with muttering and growls, from the drakes gathered in a circle around them, but Sandstrider turned and swept a look over her people, wicked scythe-like claws flexing in the mix of sand, mud, and shattered ice under her feet. The rumbling cuts off immediately and the drakes visibly quail under their ruler's suddenly menacing gaze.
"This farce is done," Sandstrider said. "Sugary Market has batted one of ours down like a troublesome hatchling and boxed his ears; what more is there to know from this waste of our time and his?"
The rumble picked up again, and died just as quickly at another deadly look from Sandstrider. She then turns to Sugary, fierce violence melting away instantly and he finds himself being hugged (about as much as someone much larger than him can really hug him) and discovering that drake armor is very nearly as pleasantly supple as changeling chitin. Sandstrider parts from him by very lightly flicking her tongue over the tip of his horn, very much like a light kiss on it, and steps back. "Thank you, Sugary Market, for showing my people your strength."
"The Gallant Tantatluss, for the win!" Maredusa declares merrily. "Like I ssaid at firsst... it'll be fun to watch the Sugary ssweet sstallion kick hiss plot."
"And kick his... plot, he has." Sandstrider looks down severely upon the cringing drake, who has seemingly recovered but is looking deeply embarrassed. "I'm not sure how I can add to your humiliation, though I should like to think of a way. Did you honestly think I wanted to forbid you this to protect him?"
"Yes Matriarch," he says in a low and very chastened voice.
"Idiot." She says, putting deliberate emphasis on each syllable. "If you had wisdom for your discontent, you'd have seen him for who and what he is."
"What is he, Mariarch?"
"A Gallant Tantalus, apparently." Seastrider looks at Maredusa, suddenly seeming amused. "As well as a sugary sweet stallion. Now get back in the circle and be silent until our guests leave."
"Yes Matriarch." The drake slinks back into the circle, trying to make himself look as small as he can, his fellows looking scornfully upon him as he joins them.
"May I have my Tantalus back?" Thryssa asks with a fangy grin. "I'm rather fond of him, as you can likely tell."
"Certainly." In a motion too fast to be responded to, Seastrider picks Sugary up with her paw fitting almost entirely around his barrel, and physically walks over and puts him down next to Thryssa. "Sometime, I'd really like to know what a Tantalus is, and what makes this one gallant."