A low rumbling growl of disapproval filled the large hall, the crashing sound of dishes and cutlery meeting the stone floor following not too long after. “Get OUT! All of you, before I tear your heads from your shoulders and send them back to your families in bags.” A heavy chair scraped against the floor before tumbling backwards, as large, clawed hands descended to the table with a solid bang, the timber beneath them groaning in disapproval. Silence filled the hall as wide eyed staff pressed themselves against the walls, far out of the line of fire. “Leave my home, leave these lands. If you are not past the boarder by nightfall, my men will have orders to return you to your group in pieces.”

“But Sire, you can't! The boarder is a two day journey from here and...” The voice faltered under the dark red glare of the creature that had demanded their leave. “Then you had better start running.” he said with a wicked smile, his sharp teeth gleaming as he laughed darkly. With a small whimper, the man whom the shaky voice had come from bowed and gestured to the party that stood with him. “Of course, your Majesty. Forgive our insolence, please. We are fools-” The creature growled in response, the only response these stinking humans would get now, and stood to his full height. He towered over them by a good foot or so, his dark crimson scales rippling over muscle as he stepped forward, his teeth bared in a snarl. With that, the small group backed away and fled, their leader left standing there, stammering apologies. Another loud rumble filled the air as a small jet of fire flew past the left side of the mans heads, causing a shriek of terror to rip from the humans throat as he back peddled, tripping over himself as he went. Finally, he got his feet beneath him and took off running, the foul smell of urine and sweat being left behind.

Heavy silence filled the air for a moment before it was broken by the sounds of grunting and wood lightly scraping against stone. Coming back to himself, the large dragon blinked and turned his head to the noise. Giving a small grin at the sight which greeted his eyes, he chuckled lightly and brushed a heavy crimson hand through his black hair. “You know it takes more than four men to even lift that chair, so what makes you think you three ladies could so much as get it set up right?” A small huff sounded from the oldest of the females as she straightened herself and gave the dragon a slight look of disapproval. Her eyes were a soft brown, standing out from the black and white fur of her muzzle . Her hair, which she had pinned to the back of her head in a bun, had started showing signs of her age years ago, the gray now completely taken over what used to be a lush black.

“Now listen here, you big brute,” The female, Sylvia, shook her finger at him with a frown one would expect from your mother. “You were supposed to behave during that meeting, not scare the living shit out of the humans who have come to-” The dragon rumbled laughter, his head tossed back slightly in amusement. “Sylvia, you old badger, you should have had a brood of your own to take care of instead of me. You would have been an excellent mother. You have that disapproving look down perfectly.” He gave the aged creature a gentle smile as she huffed at him and crossed her arms, her right foot-paw tapping impatiently on the floor. Behind her, the two younger females, a fox and a leopard, were still struggling to upright the huge chair that had gone crashing to the floor when he had stood so abruptly.

With a small sigh, he stepped over to the old badger that had once been his nursemaid and stooped down a bit, giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Sylvia, please. You heard everything. These humans, they wish to enter our lands and make them their own. I have yet to meet a single one of them that is genuine in their word that peace is all that they want. The Chasm War was thousands of years ago, and yet we are still on edge with one another. We do not belong in their world, just as they do not belong in ours. It would bring nothing but harm.” Inhaling deeply, the dragon removed his large hand from the badgers small shoulder, and stood to his full height once more. “Besides, he started it.” The old badger scoffed at this and rolled her eyes, but nodded a bit in acknowledgment. “Sylvia, please take your ladies and go for now. I will clean up the mess I made.” He gestured to the large door to the right of the room and nodded his head.

Sylvia pressed her lips together in a thin line, and studied the dragon. He had grown so much in all the years she had cared for him. From the small, feisty little child she had once chased through the halls, Canhis had grown into a strong, proud, very stubborn man. His attire was simple, some said too simple, for a king. His trousers were a simple black, loose fitting pair, matched with a dark crimson tunic. Its collar sat comfortably around his neck, while the front opened and v-necked down, leaving a small portion of his chest visible. At his waist sat a simple black and silver belt, though no weapon adorned it. Around his neck hung a silver chain and medallion, the most intricate thing he wore, baring an image of a four legged feral dragon breathing fire. The dragon had been crafted with small chips of ruby and obsidian, precious gems that were hard to find. The fire, which had been crafted with dragons opal, erupted from the dragons mouth and shot to the edge of the disk ,where it split and circled at the edge to join again behind the creature. The flames seemed to sparkle with life.

He stood before her now, watching as she looked over his form, her gaze finally meeting his. His eyes full of aggravation and something she couldn't identify, the old badger stepped back and nodded once more. Indeed, he had come a long ways from the young terror she had chased through the halls. Once the king had made up his mind, it was not a wise move to question or argue with him on matters. Giving him a quick bow, the badger hounded the two young females from the room without another word.

Canhis stood there, his red eyes watching the three leave the room. As the door shut, he dropped his head and exhaled a large gust of hot breath from his nostrils, the air around him wavering for a moment with heat distortion. He stood there for what felt like hours, his eyes closed and brow furrowed. His mind raced through the entire encounter briefly before he opened his eyes and turned to the mess he had made. Chairs had been knocked over from the small outburst that had just occurred, and food was scattered across the floor. Fine china dishes lay in shattered pieces here and there, the dark red wine they had been drinking pooling around the shards like spilled blood. Shaking his head at the outburst he had had, the dragon knelt down and began picking things up. His mind drifted back to what the visiting humans had said, these supposed ambassadors of peace and well being.

They had wanted permission to travel North into his territory, beast-ling territory, they had referred to it as. They wanted to bring a settlement of about seventy people, not including the military force they intended to have with them. Military force to protect them from any straying beast-ling, from any that might mean to harm them. Canhis would have believed these words, as some of his people had been known to break the law and hunt humans that entered their land. Laws had been placed hundreds of years ago in order to protect both his people, and those of the human race. The humans were to be brought before him to determine what their business was this far North, yet there were a few of his countrymen that would sooner kill a human party on sight than give them a chance.

He would have believed these current humans words of peace and their want for unity, had their leader not slipped up. He had insulted the great dragon before him, assuming he was just a large, dumb beast that would not truly understand the politics of the two species futures. When Canhis had kindly explained that he did in fact understand what the human had meant, he had scoffed at him and brazenly waved a dismissive hand at the idea. How could an overgrown lizard understand the workings of a civilization when he ruled nothing but a mockery of a barnyard, he had boldly stated. Cahnis had set his cutlery down at that point, his clawed hands clasped in front of him as his gaze narrowed. The human scoffed and waved his hand again in that dismissive way (Cahnis swore he would rip the mans hand off), his voice going up an octave as he spoke again. Even if he was a learned beast-ling, even if he was the king of these animals, he would still slip up at some point, he would eventually let his guard down and he would fall to the humans. That had been the last his temper could handle, and with that he had almost blown the mans head off with a small burst of fire.

Canhis shook his head as he looked at the shattered white pieces in his clawed hands. Dumping them on the table, he looked around at the rest of his mess and grumbled at himself for having such a hot temper around creatures that can't handle it. He grabbed his chair, a large, heavy piece of wood, and set it upright on its legs. Standing at five feet, it was a fairly simple chair, made of oak, that had been beautifully carved and pieced together by the master carver of the city. Images of ivy twined their way around the edges of the back of the chair and down the arms, the vines themselves filled in with pure silver while the leaves had been set with small flecks of emerald. It was more exquisite than what he had asked for when having the chair made, and he had been pleasantly surprised when it had been delivered to the castle. The master carver and the blacksmith had gotten together and decided to do something they thought was more 'appropriate' for their king. It was a rather beautiful chair, and he enjoyed the splendor of it more than he let on. Giving it one more look, he turned and sat down heavily, his wings spreading out wide and relaxing as his mind drifted towards thoughts of what to do with the constant advances of humans. The visits were becoming more frequent, more and more of them wanting to settle North of their territory, each with a different reason or excuse of why he should allow them here.

Hours passed in silence as the dragons breathing grew deeper, his body relaxing into the chair he enjoyed so much. As the sun set outside the castle walls, fires were started in hearths, candles were lit, baths drawn, and meals prepared. Slowly, Canhis came back to the world, his eyes fluttering open at the soft sounds of Sylvia piling wood into the hearth. He had not meant to doze, but had with all the tedious thoughts of humans running through his head. Though they bored him, he knew something had to be done. For now though, he had more important matters to attend to, such as dinner. Yawning and stretching, Canhis scratched at his jaw absently as his eyes adjusted to the soft glow that was starting to fill the room.

Pushing himself from the large chair, he lumbered over to the table and looked at the small heap of broken china from earlier that morning. Frowning, he picked up a shard and examined it, the broken piece making him think of the barely existent peace between humans and Beasts. “Sylvia, there has to be something we can do about the rift between humans and our people. The stories I grew up listening to you tell, I don't want our future generations hearing them. I don't want them afraid and on edge. I need to do something before another war is at our doorstep.” He turned to look at the gentle old badger, only to find her light brown eyes full of sorrow and what seemed a tinge of fear. In her hands, she held a roll of parchment that was crushed against her chest. With slight hesitation, she held it out to him, and cleared her throat.

“There was a message not too long ago. It's from the patrols along the South-West border, Sire. They've checked in on the camp of humans you gave the go ahead to for conducting trade business. They've...” The look in Sylvia's eyes started to border more on fear now as she stepped towards the great dragon and set the paper on the table, pushing it towards him. “They've found them in violation of the agreement you made with them, your Majesty, in more ways than one.” Canhis watched as she set the paper on the old wooden table, his heart sinking as he reached for it. He had such high hopes for this particular group. They had genuinely seemed to want to settle and start a better life. He had given them a two year probation period, with permission to grow to a population of no more than one-hundred in the first year. After the first year and an inspection of their settlement, they would be given the okay to expand within the last year of their probation to two-hundred. After one more inspection of the area and how the settlement conducted itself, they were to be given a clear pass to continue on as they were, growing and expanding at a steady pace, but never over-reaching what they would be given. Unrolling the parchment, the dragons eyes narrowed in anger at the words he read, thin trails of black smoke trailing from his nostrils.

“Sylvia... Please tell General Izaak to gather thirty of his best men, and to meet me at the front gate in fifteen minutes.” He rumbled softly in his chest and opened his giant maw, a small blast of fire erupting from his throat. It hit the paper in his hands, causing the parchment to instantly blacken and smolder. Watching as it turned to ash, he looked up from the remnants, his red eyes finding the light brown ones of his old nanny. The old badger had protected him as her own while he was a child. Caring for him when his parents could not, teaching him, schooling him, guiding him in the ways of right and wrong. She was all that was left now, both his parents passing as their time in this world had come to its end.

She stared back at him, her face worn and tired, her hands clasped in front of her. “You intend to break up the camp?” She already knew the answer, yet still asked. Canhis shook his head slowly, his expression hard and cold. “No. I intend to make them wish they had never crossed me. I plan to destroy them.” Sylvia inhaled deeply at his words before bowing and turning to leave, her mind set on finding the wolf general as her king had asked. Watching as Sylvia left the hall once more at his request, Canhis closed his eyes for just a moment before turning and leaving through a separate door, the scattered breakfast and dishes on the floor long forgotten, and moved towards his room. It was time to prepare, and he knew the possible consequences of what he was about to do. The question was, could his people survive another war on the scale of which was to possibly come?