All Great Plans Must Start Somewhere
Solath sprawled out in the sun in his dracoform, wings fully extended over the grass of the pasture, body arranged to expose as much as possible to the warm sunlight. Truthfully, it felt good to sprawl out, even if he did take up most of the pasture and had to move the horses to the opposite side of the castle every time he wanted to sunbathe. Cetirnen's castle wasn't near large enough for him to walk around as a dragon (even Sycho, a good ten feet shorter than him, constantly complained about the tight spaces), so he kept to his human or serval forms, but...
::Playing at being a dragon-skin rug?:: Oli's mental voice interrupted his reverie.
Solath cracked one large eye open, watching the delicate-looking (but not delicate!) green make her way across the ground towards him. Barring Rukhayma, who was barely larger than his smallest claw, Oli was the smallest dragon in their little group... not that she cared.
::Well?:: Oli teased him as she finally made it over to him. She settled on her haunches, one paw resting on Solath's muzzle, a draconic smile teasing at the corners of her mouth.
Solath snorted, then sent his words with a mock-haughty tone. ::I am enjoying the sun in my birth-form, not 'playing at being a dragon-skin rug'. Besides, I'd make a terrible rug, Sycho would work better.::
Oli chuckled, flicking her lacewings out then back down almost faster than Solath could follow. ::Nia and I are convincing Cetirnen to carve a new home for us in those cliffs to the west. Think of it - east-facing ledges, a cliff-top that gets sun practically all day... it'll be wonderful when we get it done.::
::Oh-ho! And now we come to the true reason you're out here!:: Solath practically crowed over their connection. ::What do you want me to do, milday? Bumble around in dracoform? Complain about the lack of space? Look at Cetirnen with my cute kitten eyes?::
Oli calmly thwapped him on the nose, making Solath rear back, eyes watering and nose stinging from the 'playful' thump.
"That was hardly fair," Solath grumbled, as he rubbed a paw across his nose, trying to make the stinging go away. "I don't see what I did to deserve that."
::You assumed I would want your lumbering assistance,:: Oli teased him, as she reached up (and up, and up...) and swiped her tongue across Solath's nose in apology. ::I do want your input, though. Do you think we should do this?::
Solath blinked down at her, then slowly settled back down on the ground, spreading himself out in the sun again. Did he think they should do this? Fury, hadn't he been the one to propose the move, albeit jokingly, before Nia and Oli had even come into their lives? Sycho took up a lot of space, and if Solath didn't have the recourse of other forms...
::I think it necessary,:: Solath eventually stated. ::Sarvatha has gone to stand at the FGPC, and who knows how many more dragons we'll eventually attract. Resonant, as it stands, barely satisfies the four of us.::
Oli nodded thoughtfully, as she spread herself out near Solath's head, draping her head over the back of his neck and otherwise making herself comfortable. ::We need a place where we can hunt without worry.::
::What about that large box canyon? It has water, food, and shelter aplenty. With some modifications, it could be perfect.:: Solath answered.
::Mmmm.:: Oli responded, as she shifted herself slightly to catch a bit more sun. ::Water for us?::
::Easy. The lake atop the plateau.::
::Dens, then.::
Solath snorted, shifting his right wing to poke Oli's side. ::Now you're just being silly. Carved into the cliff itself.::
::Am not,:: Oli lifted her head enough to snap her jaws together loudly. ::Who's going to carve it out?::
::Err...:: Solath blinked, letting his wing drop back to the ground. She had a point. Who was going to carve it out? None of them had the skill, and hiring that many laborers would bankrupt Cetirnen. ::Couldn't we just ask someone from the Nexus to do it?::
::How's that different from hiring laborers out of the locals?::
::Mmm... trade? Surely we have something here that other places might want?:: Solath mused. ::We have the entirity of the resources of Ristos at our disposal. Nearly untouched forest for both game and wood, and plenty of crafters. I've seen what the cloth-trade alone brings in, and it's impressive. Perhaps other places would like our silks and cashmere? Or perhaps produce? Our groves are usually very productive.::
::A fine idea.:: Oli's voice was amused, ::But who's going to negotiate?::
Solath blinked several times, ::Why wouldn't Lashir... oh. Right.::
::Oh, right, indeed.:: came Oli's droll response. ::Lashir doesn't like flying, and he can't teleport himself around like Cetirnen can.::
::Well... I suppose I could, if I got Cetirnen's permission.:: Solath added hesitantly. ::I can teleport, and shapeshift, and I've learned quite a bit from both Lashir and Cetirnen...::
Oli nuzzled him behind the ear. ::Would you? It would help get this plan off the ground.::
::We'll see what Cetirnen says.:: Solath said firmly. He would do nothing in his friend's name without permission.
"Cetirnen?" Solath knocked on the door to the Neo'Savok's chambers. He tugged absently at the dark teal clothes he always appeared in whenever taking his human form, then reached a hand up to brush futilely at his black-and-silver hair, trying to keep it from falling into his eyes.
"Enter!" Cetirnen called out.
Solath pushed the door open and strode it, stepping carefully over Nia's tail as he did. The brown dragon was curled up on one side of the room, taking up nearly half of the space (and, Solath assumed, when Oli came to sleep here, the rest of the space promptly disappeared as well). Very little furniture graced this large 'sitting room', mostly just a desk shoved against the wall under a window and four chairs, all but one of which were also pushed completely against the wall. Cetirnen was currently sitting at the desk, bent over a book, a sheaf of papers stacked next to him upon which he continually jotted small notes as he read.
Solath cleared his throat, then decided to cut right to the chase. Cetirnen appreciated directness. "Oli approached me about moving us all to the western cliffs."
"She told me," Cetirnen replied drolly, looking up from his book and setting his quill aside. He gestured for Solath to take a seat. "What she didn't tell me, however, is exactly what you spoke of."
Solath nodded, tugging one of the chairs away from the wall and spinning it about so that he sat down in it backwards, crossing his dark arms over the back of the chair and resting his chin on them. "Logistics, mostly. Where we could keep food, where we would get water, and where we would get the labor required to carve it out."
"Any solution to that last one?"
"We think so, but I need your permission for this." Solath took a deep breath, meeting Cetirnen's emerald gaze. "Trade - labor for resources - with other places of the Nexus. Things like wood-crafts or cloth, maybe game or produce."
"With you as my ambassador, I take it." Cetirnen smiled faintly.
Solath nodded. "Lashir doesn't like flight, nor can he teleport. I can get myself around, as well as meet other humans as an equal. What we have on hand is mostly useful only to humans, so I'd need to speak with them, mostly."
Cetirnen leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling as he thought the proposition over, his fingers tapping out an absent tattoo against his skin. "You've been with me for four years. I'll trust you with this, Solath, but make sure to contact me if you're not sure about a deal you're about to strike."
"Of course," Solath said, breathing a mental sigh of relief. It had been possible (not probable, but still possible) that Cetirnen would deny his request. "I'll speak with Lashir about what we have to trade, exactly, and approximate worth of everything."
"Good. Crystal shine upon you, Solath." Cetirnen nodded his head in dismissal, turning back to his book and notes.
"Upon you as well, Cetir. Nia." Solath nodded his head to both, as he rose and crossed the room once more, intent on speaking with Lashir.
Five hours later, newly burdened with enough information on trade goods and trading to make his head spin, Solath once more took to his dracoform and took off. He had no idea, precisely, where to start, but that was the fun of it, in his mind.
Time to visit the Nexus, planet by planet.