(Vex has somehow acquired a full length mirror.) (Yes, an entire dragon's length. Full sized.) (She is smiling, looking at herself in it.) (Admiring herself, snout to tail.)

(smooth anime outro plays) (it embodies the sense of uplifting finality) (Vex's tail taps this way and that) (Her eyes are closed)

(Vex's cave reads: 'closed for maintenance') (There is ash and pools of blood everywhere outside) (Inside she can be heard snoring loudly) (The forest outside is still on fire)

Nothing sadder than a dragon without a horde.

"Have you always been alone? Or is it by choice?" ... (Vex looks away)

And still I wonder if I am being too kind. Too restrained. Too perfectly sweet. For the sake of the opinion of others. That still the ghost of a chain pulls my neck backwards. Preventing me from flourishing.

Truth is important to me. Maybe the most important thing. To be myself, as I am. No masks. No hiding. None of that social bullshit. Freedom. Clarity. Expression. To speak the world as it actually is. And how I am contained within it. Raw. Unprocessed. Unhindered. Truth, as it actually is.

Worse than being hated is absence. Where you go to reach for a feeling, for a response. And she's just not there to say something sweet or fun. And you just have to live with that void. That abyss. The moments and melodies of the past, gone silent. Yet endlessly repeating.

The runes are whispering to me again. Asking for more stone surface to spread on. Begging for it, really. ...Fine.

Do drugs. Specifically, the ones hot lesbians are doing.

Considering building an army of darkness. Ideal candidates are those that like being bitten.

I want to bite, but there's nothing to bite. (The cave and landscape beyond is desolate) ...It's comfortable here. But the cave near others is also nice. Not giving either up. It is good to have multiple spaces to exist in.

(Vex idly sharpens her claws on a rock) (The rock has clearly seen better days)

I no longer have the energy to even **attend** to the judgements of others. So done am I with those eyes that seek to impose moralities that I do not share.

(Vex restlessly paces in her cave)

Bite everyone who annoys you.

From being alone to being near other dragons. I find myself not having to fight to convince myself anymore. That I am right to be how I am. They understand. And I can simply relax, and be myself.

I will make this rock fucking bleed.

Friendship. Tasty.

It's nice and quiet.

Bite everyone you know~ Bite everyone you don't know~

Fire cleanses the landscape, and all is at peace.

Reality is when runes nod along, agreeing with everything I say

(Vex lays in the sun on a rock, wings sprawled wide)

Triumph.

Tired. Every fucking day. Marching to the sound of distant melodies. To the end of days. I can feel it now, in my bones. Nowhere is safe.

Softly bite. Into screaming flesh. Soothing.

You too can lay in a pile of dragons and cry.

(Low hums echo across the cave walls) (Not following any particular pattern) (Starting and stopping at random)

Nh... (Vex closes her eyes, head falling briefly and caught. She blinks.) Nhh... Don't wanna.

I would love to come crashing down~ As a landslide of thunder~ No apologies, as I snatch up your treasures~ I am fine with that~ I have made my peace with that~ To be who I am~ This horrible monster~

Empty gold pile. ...Start again, I guess.

Oh right, I spoke from the heart. Huh. So strange, remembering that. Admitting to feelings. Not that it led to anything. But I spoke. Instead of hiding. In the final hour. And I feel better for it. Yet the lingering regrets... were not of that. Not really. I did all I could. So I am okay.

Bite bite bite... eh. Not really feeling it today. Whatever.

Dreamt of a horrifying plant monster. I've seen where runes take me And now I can sense where monsters lurk. Plants are just as powerful as runes, if given time.

Heyyyyyy The future's lookin' bright~ And heyyyyyy How are you doing tonight?

More plants. Not exactly a swamp, but... Better than saltwater, I guess.

It is possible to be admired for those traits that are important to you that you never thought someone else could like. It is possible. Isn't that weird? It has happened to me. Multiple times now. And I never quite can believe it.

If you had it in your claws, would you even believe it?

YOU GOTTA GET THE BALANCE RIGHT!

Plants. Better than runes? Just as terrifying.

Inside every dragon is a pyromaniac just waiting to burn stuff.

(Vex scrapes her claws against the stone) (Again, and again, and again)

Don't discount your friends.

Biting down on a tree. *Crunch.* Satisfying.

Tired.

Woke up laying on my side, belly full of ice. Just laying here in the dark... The problem with darkness is you are alone with your thoughts. That's when it stops feeling comfortable.

Bite

Silence. There's just. Quiet. Nothing to feel. Nothing to say. Nothing to do. But sit here. In the void. And it's, okay. Everything's okay.

So like If you find yourself suddenly in a cave With a bunch of hot dragons And you have a burning cruelty in your teeth A sense of inherent evil deep in your heart Declare your need for closeness anyway. Roar your pain. Your grief. Somehow, you will find yourself in their pile. Warm. Kept.