She was focusing, instead, on the intensely heavy mist that originated from the hatching sands. Scowling harder still, she took a step closer, and yelped when a sharp pain burrowed through the thick fur of her ankle and into her skin!

Shaking her long foot, shocked and disgusted, Kalyturn managed to throw the skull that had been defending the sands into the darkness, and she now decided to keep her eyes peeled for any further dangers.

That was when she noticed a looming figure approaching out of the mist, and she crossed her arms and waited, trying to look composed. The creature was tall, for a quadruped, less in the unmeasurable way of a dragon and more in the way of a hulking draft-horse. It had a serpentine neck, a pointed muzzle, and two long, forward-cocked ears. From its back it sprouted a set of delicately veined webbing, and behind it, five tails lashed venemously, as if of their own volition. The creature didn't quite step out of the mist, but when he was certain that he had Kalyturn's complete attention, he settled onto the sand. He glanced at the two nearest burning pots and as he did so, each was finally quenched in the torrent of rain. "How nice of you to show up," he finally spoke. "Sit. Good. Now, what is it you go by now? Kalyturn? Yes? How original." He chuckled when she bristled, but she didn't take further action, so he continued, "now I believe that we are in a place to do a bit of honest business. For once. You have your little dragon-agency set up, and are in need of dragons to fill it, are you not?" When she nodded, he continued. "And I have dragons to give. However," and now his grin twisted, just a little bit. "I have a price and you should know that by now. No, I'll do the talking, you just listen. since you have an agency, you have access to the Nexus as a whole in ways that people... can appreciate. I want access to your facilities--dependant upon which of our brats picks you and your NA there, since it has always been the dragonets choice, of course. One picks you that likes you, I'll take a day's access. One picks you that likes me, and we can further negotiate how much... access... I have." He was smirking darkly, and it was her tails that were lashing behind her, now. "So," he cocked his head to one side, dropping the devious, toothy grin for an utterly polite and business-like smile. "Do we have a deal?"

"...." She didn't say anything at first, so he waited. Finally, "yes," she agreed, though the venom in her voice was enough to melt stone. "Yes, we have a deal. And that isn't my NA." She gestured to Tabla. "Things are different now. We're not in a place where you can kill whatever you feel like, and where your rules are the only rules. Keep that in mind." But he was chortling at her, and before Kalyturn could grab him by the muzzle to smack some decency into him, he'd vanished. "Hmph." she snorted. Raising to her feet again, she and her partner finally went to seek out shelter from the despicable rain.