[The Dragon Queens Lament]: (Sakura and Birichino)

[Birichino]

Nevi chuckled. He had seen some incredible transformations in his time, but Archa's were unique, if not less impressive. Of course, the form of a massive dragon wasn't one that needed transformations to impress. He did have some doubts about lowering his guard so far as to sleep, but twice now he'd been swallowed alive, and if his host wanted to kill him, the only reason he could think of after such a daring rescue would be to somehow absorb him, which she couldn't. And he was tired.
Accepting her invitation, he curled up in the strange navel. It was both harder and softer than what he was used to, between the scales and blubber, but it had a certain charm to it. She had mentioned that it led directly into her stomach, too. On a human, that might be offputting, but the gut of the dragon queen was more than sufficiently spacious. Perhaps it might even offer a better sleeping place than the unnatural divot she had made for him.

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*Archa dropped onto her oversized rear end for a moment, her tremendous curvature bouncing ever charmingly as she rested her claws on her belly*, "For dinner...hmm, there should be Scrava birds around here, large wild fowl, a favorite amongst the lower class of cladaka...I should be able to fetch us one or two for a quick bite. They are rather large after all." *Archa kneaded her belly, making sure Nevi was comfortable in her navel.*

[Birichino]

"No arguments here," he replied, feeling the fat ripple around him, "they sound interesting, and I have trouble hunting birds sometimes. You seem much more relaxed, though. Is it really safe here? I don't like having to fight right as I get settled..."
He turned to look around the area. The mix of ruins and trees weren't too common a sight. Were she ruins another village Archa had devoured? Or was she the victim this time? "Did you choose this spot specifically?" he asked curiously.

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*Archa moved about the area, her strides causing her engorged belly to bounce ever whimsically, as she kept her head high in search for these wild birds*, "Yes...this is the ruination of Rovoga, I lost it two hundred and twenty six years ago during the war of the vines, the dispute in which the elves tried to obtain sole rights to the production of wine over the entire world...it is true that elvish wine is the best in the world...but they saw all other's as so inferior that they couldn't stand it. And tried to force other nations to begin brewing fifty to one hundred year old wines. "only"...before you ask...I was not this towns destroyer...this was a villiage that made Cladaka's favorite spirit, Firebrand, rich spicy brandy, that goes down the gullet like a piss angry hydra."

"There are things in this world far worse than myself...chief amongst them, is the element of War...a city was destroyed even with my protection, just because some elves got a wild hair up their ass about their wine being better...imagine what will happen if they decide to do it again, without me in my throne..."

"The lords will not support the new queen, she's an idiot, who doesn't even understand the basics, a puppet being controlled by someone else, perhapse the lords are in fact the manipulators here...Duke Saror has always been the power hungry type...and Duchess Varavah is probably abusing her newfound freedom as we speak...she's probably eaten two dragons already for not having her room tidy enough for her tastes...or some other bird brained reason...bah...nobles...I hate them just as much as I need them."

[Birichino]

Nevi scoffed. "So they're the same everywhere, then," he replied bitterly, "I've seen gods kill in petty temper tantrums, and heard tales of that happening for less. Even in this realm, people so desperately want to feel superior that they'll kill whoever they want to maintain it, and if they succeed, they use their power to simply denounce the weak instead of ruling properly, as they so arrogantly claimed they could. I was hoping some dragons were above that. Really, I look for something better in every new species...so far, I like dwarves the most."

He couldn't keep an edge of malice out of his voice. Despite his comfort, all was not yet forgiven, but at least he was seeing an opportunity to make his own amends for failing to stop Archa before. "If some lords are in absolute power, what's the point of the stations below them? I've always understood the idea of dividing up work, but then I've only seen indulgence. I'd just as soon topple a system like that as try to climb it. I mean, why do you need nobles, anyway? I didn't see anybody help you back there! You don't hesitate to eat anyone, so why keep people like that around?"

At this point, he reigned himself in. He had a bad habit of being unsympathetic to Archa, and blaming her for an event she clearly regretted, even indirectly, would have been cruel following his last statement. Besides, this adventure was about making things better, he told himself. The future was what mattered. "...what will we do after dinner?"

[SakuraHanaryuu]

"Every dragon believes themselves to be a lord of the things around them, including myself...especially myself...I am the dragon queen after all, if only in heart at the moment." *Archa stated as she hunted through the ruins, there was plenty of wildlife here, the plants had long since overtaken these old ruins, trees wrapping around old stone walls, squirrels abundant as with any forest, though they were very quiet as Archa 'was' a dragon, and dragons were pretty high up the food chain.* "when someone makes demands of their lord, they are punished, but if a request is made, the lord might listen...but this is influenced by what tribute the lord has received, usually in the form of some kind of taxation. After all, why should a lord give aid at all if there is no profit for them? Their aid will definitely have a cost, and if that cost is enough to ruin them, they would never even consider the option", *Archa having found her fowl quarry lowered herself, and approached before suddenly unleashing a ball of flames, focused and fast, straight into the birds head, it died instantly from blast impact, and a bird twice the size of a man would soon be their dinner. With a bit of magic she collected a huge pile of fallen long dead branches into a clearing in the ruins near a moderate overhang, took half the branches, encircling them in stones, and burned them all with an extended flaming gout from her maw before she again with a few magic incantations, swept the feathers right off the bird, however gutting and cleaning the thing, she did with her own claws, finding a primal satisfaction in that task.*

"Do you know what happens when there is no government no trade routs, no rule? The world falls back into the dark ages, bandits become bold and powerful, and if your not living near a resource you simply can't get it. Meaning if mortals don't have access to fresh water, they will inevitably starve of thirst. Starvation and famine are just one of the threats we rulers combat on a daily basis, constantly struggling to keep our people fed and happy, to that end we employ lords, to watch over lands beyond what a queen can juggle in their own mind. The lords actually living in those towns and provinces, will sense the troubles of the place and prioritize the problems, seeing to the issue in the queens stead."

"After dinner", *Archa began, once the first pile of deadwood was burned down into a heap of ashes and coals, slowly adding more wood and setting the bird atop the pile*, "we shall seek out a new supply of gold for myself, I require gold to undo the effects of the curse I am under, the more of it I eat, the more of my former size and strength I shall reclaim."

[Birichino]

The hunting process fascinated the boy, perhaps more than her explanation. He had cooked his prey before, of course, but never with such mysticism and elegance. A simple current running through his claws flash-fried the creatures he struck down more often than not, though it was more due to a lack of patience than skill. "So, then, dragons are sort of...detached," he assessed, sitting up in the dragoness' navel, "I mean, I don't expect them to be heroes, but not even understanding that their asking price is too much seems kind of foolish. It's better to get deals than to not, isn't it? Mmm, but if you're proud, would you admit that...?"

The past few hours had held a great deal more philosophy than Nevi was accustomed to, and divine though he was, he was still a beast. The roasting bird held a large portion of his attention as he struggled to make use of the thread of conversation. "Then they're peacekeepers?" he simplified, "I mean, obviously you need food and water, but aside from making some deals for that, all the lords have to do is protect the trade routes..." he bit his tongue at the thought of how much damage Archa herself likely caused before they first met. "But even if they have to do more, it has to get done, and it sounds like those dragons you don't like are kind of...bad at jobs that help people. Why do they have to be dragons, anyway? Humans can trade and fight, yeah?"

Leaving his questions in the air, he considered her explanation. He had known that she had a need for gold, but this was the first he had heard of a curse. "Is that breaking the curse, or just playing by its rules?" he questioned, staring at the fire, "I guess it doesn't matter for now, but gold's important for other stuff...and if you eat it, I don't see how it would come back...I'm bad at long-term problems, but that is one, right?"

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*The Scrava bird was roasting nicely on the hot ashes as Archa rolled her hips, feeling Nevi shift about in her navel was quite a little delight.* "The world is complicated, most of it makes no logical sense, I simply put the pieces of the big puzzle together in the path of least resistance. Dragons naturally believe themselves to be lords, so I name them actual lords, the ones with no positions I try to coral beneath me, as when I am their queen, their lordly desires are surpressed."

"Trade routs, war, famine, plagues, medicine, wild animals, monsters, bandits...oh yeah, being a lord is so easy, a monkey could do it right? And forget about being a queen, all she has to do is sit in her palace all day and eat quail like a fancy pants clown." *Archa stated in a mocking tone.* "Its not like 'she' ever does anything, the last time that demon lord farkalot blew the gates of Maul open she didn't rush their army down and send em packing herself, oh no, when the sky whale went around eating dragons she didn't do a damn thing did she, oh no the armies brought him down, with their mana ballistae that couldn't hit the giant turd if he was standing still way up in the stratosphere."

"You sound like a typical ungrateful commoner that knows nothing about politics...the ammount of money it takes to keep people safe and happy is absurd, most people think I keep all the taxes for myself when in reality I earn only a bit more than the lords themselves through my own businesses, the national treasury is used to support 'the nation' not its queen."

[Birichino]

Now Nevi chuckled, amused by both her explanation and her jiggling fat. "Ahh, so the ones who might post the greatest threat are given titles to pacify them. I've seen that, too. Same guy who got cooked until his body was like bronze, actually."
He crossed his arms after a moment. "Well, queens actually make important decisons. I guess dragon queens also eat a lot of problems, too, which must save on military. But alright, so you need these other dragons...then how should we deal with them? You made it sound like they're our...well, your enemy, and you don't seem the type to spare many opponents, so will you just eat all of your old lords and replace them?" he began to get carried away with questions. "How many dragons even are there? If it's a lot, do you think one would like to travel with me after this?"

After a moment, he settled down a bit, though his legs still childishly swung from the edge of her belly button. "You've kind of made my point, though. If it really takes that much wealth to run a nation, and you're going to eat most of it to regain your power, is it enough just to retake your kingdom? Or will you have to declare war on someone else? And then, no matter who wins, there would be more suffering..." he hopped out from Archa's navel, turning to face her properly. "...I'm protecting you because we owe those people absolution, and helping you because I trust you to cause less harm than anyone hunting you or ruling in your stead, considering how that...Virus woman acted. I don't want to pick the wrong side, though...it's happened before."

His voice falling, he stared at the ground. Not being naive was more difficult than it sounded.

[SakuraHanaryuu]

"The bird is done, have your fill then little Nevi", *Archa stated*, "The gold I'm eating has to be going somewhere, its not just dissappearing, My guess would be the treasure hoard of whoever cast the spell to begin with. My guess is the caster tampered with someone elses spell to try and steal from my hoard, simply put, I shall skim ten percent of all of the lords hoards...if they cannot provide me with the culprit...once I am back on the throne of course." *Archa toyed with Nevi a bit, poking him back into her belly button as he tried to climb out a few times*, "Hmhmhm, I daresay I'm enjoying having you in there, its quite a pleasing experience."

[Birichino]

After being shoved a few times, Nevi gathered his energy, carefully watched the movement of her claws and, with a hop using more power than a reasonable person would dedicate to the task, the raiju dashed to his dinner and deftly extracted a piece with his claws, taking in its aroma before putting it in his mouth. He closed his eyes and savored the meat, enjoying his meal before turning to its provider. "You're a surprisingly good cook for someone so good at swallowing things whole," he began, clearly not upset by her teasing after a single bite of his reward, "and it's pretty nice being in your belly, too, but you can't just keep me from food like that, you know? It's been about four days since I last ate..."

Archa would feel a faint tingle as Nevi's burst of energy rippled throughout her flab. At her size, even if he had wished to harm her, his electrical properties alone were no threat to her massive exterior, especially through her bountiful scales. "So whoever cursed you is making you collect gold for them...it's dirty, but it's smart," he mused, "but as long as it's not making them stronger, that's no problem, right? You can just catch up with their level, find where they're storing your gold, and eat as much as you need to lift the curse! But if they ALSO get stronger from gold...hmm...can dragons not actually digest gold? Everything else seems to vanish in your stomachs. Well, except me."

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*Archa was about to chomp into a leg when she heard Nevi's comment about power and stopped for a moment*, "...listen to what your saying Nevi...'do they get more powerful from gold?' ...of course they do, its gold, gold IS power, with it you can do almost anything in the world, build armies, fuel economies, create powerful magics...all through the indomitable power of money...my worry is that whoever is using me will become so powerful in wealth that they'll be able to inflict an even worse curse to me upon my arrival. They just have to higher the right people." *Archa rolled the bird leg in her claw then tossed the whole thing between her teeth, crunching meat and bone alike up in her jaws, giving her huge balooned cheeks for about ten munches before she gulped it all down.* "And yes, I'm a good cook, all fire dragons are, we can sense the perfect temperatures for cooking anything, so we know when any meal is perfectly prepared." *Archa boasted planting her claw on her breast with a smug grin on her face.*

[Birichino]

Nevi gave her a short burst of applause for her cooking prowess before taking a much larger piece of bird to gnaw on. "I'm jealous! Being able to cook everything just right is an amazing power..." he took a moment to chew before continuing, "but I'm still not convinced gold is. I mean, you can pay people to do things for you, but they're still the strong ones, and even then they might fail. Even then, gold will only buy what can be sold, you know? Some people can't be purchased, no matter what. And obviously, anything that isn't people can't be bargained with, either. Illness, nature, even some spirits..."

There was a certain despair to Archa's tone he didn't like. Perhaps it was just her usual absolutism applied to such a hopeless assertion, but he didn't want someone who had given him such a feast to be woeful. "...hey, how about I prove it? We can prove it! Just name someone who needs to be stopped and give me a ride to them! That Duchess eating people, for example. If she doesn't know you're coming, she won't be able to do much about you with any amount of money, but even if she does, I'll bet nothing she hires will account for me. Why not take her gold and get the appreciation of some un-devoured servants in the process?"

[SakuraHanaryuu]

"Hmhmhm, your naivety has a certain charm, I'll admit, but I'm afraid everyone has their price. For instance, to one who will not be bought with gold, one might capture someone they care about, and use the threat of their harm to motivate the stubborn one into service. Or utilize magic to obtain their loyalty. You see, there are many forms of currency, gold is just the physical embodiment of 'value', it is a god, an aspect of the world that nothing can deny. One of the five points of the star of power...to underestimate the power of value is a guarantee for ones own death."

"Hmm, perhaps. She IS quite likely one of the wyrms responsible for the coup d'eta(the term used for overthrowing a monarch pronounced Coo-dee-ta), we shall make our way to the city of Talahok, so I may devour Duchess Varavah and her golden hoard for myself." *Archa grinned thinking of how the instance will feel*, "Shes a glutton like myself...however, she devours selfishly, and greedily. Abusing her status to force others into her gullet. Shes no fighter...it will be like pinning a deer...though, she is larger than I am at the moment, I shall enjoy her all the more for her size." *Archa licked her lips as she took another breast of the bird and munched it down*, "The only thing we need to watch out for are the dragons guarding her...but...if we simply hide in her room, she'll be easy to overpower...though the gold is another trick altogether."

(would you care to time skip to the point where their inside Varavah's castle?)

[Birichino]

He crossed his arms in frustration at the first part. "Everything has limits," he replied stubbornly, "taking a hostage stops working the second they can be freed, or for that matter, can never be freed. Magic can fight other magic forever, so long as the world lives. Gold might be able to do more for more than just about any other source of power, but it's just a shiny rock that lightning travels well through in and of itself...well, and the thing that weakens your curse."

His grin returned upon seeing Archa's voracious excitement. There was no need to bicker when he could make his point in the process of saving however many people this dragon was going to devour, and things would certainly stay more amicable with his new...friend, as well. He finished his own helping of bird meat and beamed. "Ha, I'm not even sure guards aware they're on the menu will bother fighting, but I hardly mind a scrap! I still have to get a fair fight with a dragon, you know? Nngh, but I feel weird about hitting girls...will the guards all be male? ...will I be able to tell? Wait, tell me when we get close. I'm still kind of sleepy."

Lazily, he climbed back into Archa's navel, hoping to nap before they reached their destination.

(That or the approach is fine!)