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Azzie and Val met as children and struck up a relationship. Initially, Val was only interested in Azzie for his wings (like Villie, he was looking for draconic traits), but this eventually blossomed into friendship, and then love. After their relationship has developed for a while and becomes established, they choose to tie the knot, so to speak.

Val’s views of dragons and draconic culture is generally violent; that is, the lifemating can only be broken when one of the party dies, or by the party wanting the divorce defeating the other in battle (no matter who wins, the losing party is often killed). (They both show polyamorous tendencies and may sire children with other mares; however, only the bond between them is considered pure and legitimate.) Val instills these beliefs in Azzie at a young age (he was the one to develop the crush first, and had been hinting at it with things like this), so that Azzie comes to believe them. (To clarify, these beliefs re: marriage is between Val and Az. It does not reflect the Flight's values.)

For a time, things go well. By means of the wishing star, Val forms his own firstborn heir with Azzie. But then, the disagreements start coming in. The most prominent one are their feelings regarding Lazarus. Now, both Azzie and Val look up to their fathers. However, while Val is being groomed to take over his father’s place should Smaug die before his time, Azzie is being trained to work for his father; for Azzie, there is no future, no “inheritance.” Val says that Azzie’s being given the short end of the stick, and that he should rebel. Azzie doesn’t mind his place in life, however, and though he isn’t overtly affectionate towards his father, Lazarus was a prominent figure in his development and he does not appreciate the insinuations Val makes. This eventually escalates, and grows heated to the point where Azzie is ready to cut his ties. According to the laws of divorce, this means they fight to the death.

After a gruesome battle, Val comes out victorious. However, he still has feelings for Azzie and, rather than killing him as is his due for Azzie’s attempt (and subsequent failure) at a one-sided divorce, he shows mercy. Azzie is allowed to live, but he cannot sever his ties with Val. In addition, he is forced to the mines to work as a prisoner.

Of course, this doesn’t go on in a bubble. Smaug maintains a large territory, and he’s not very inclined to allow non-herd members to have such easy access to and from the herd lands. (This meant that even if Azzie weren't a prisoner, he would have had a difficult time escaping the herd.) However, despite Azzie’s kirin traits, he clearly values the blood and ideologies of draconics, which would be valuable for future progeny of the herd. Thus, after the failed divorce, Smaug offers him a deal: sire children by Villie, and he is free to serve as an honorary rankless member (a step up above a prisoner) while he remains mated to Val.

Villie and Azrael breeding isn't a new concept, but Azzie avoided it in the past (hence why it had to come up as part of a deal) because 1. Val loathes females, especially his mother and sister. And 2. as the one being trained to replace his father, Val constantly feels he is under Smaug’s shadow. To have Azrael obey Smaug over Val – and form a union with Villie, of all people – would be taken as betrayal. At the end of the day, Azrael loved Val more than he feared Smaug. He respected Val’s feelings on the matter, despite the fact that it threatened his own skin. At least, until the failed attempt at divorce. Val has humiliated him; first by showing mercy, then by directly going against Azrael’s wishes and keeping their marriage intact. In an act of spite, he somewhat agrees to conceive children with Villie.

He doesn't agree entirely with the terms and makes a counteroffer. Once Villie is confirmed to be pregnant, he wants permission to be able to leave the herd lands (he has no interest in staying around as a "not-technically-an-ex" husband, and definitely doesn't want to deal with Val's reaction to Villie's children, either). Smaug agrees, but later changes his mind when Villie says she wants him to stick around until the children are grown (she does this to spite her brother, Val, since it was his negative views towards females and Villie/Vesta that prevented her from breeding with Azrael earlier). This goes against the contract, but there is little Azzie can do to fight this. Azzie is forced to stay within the herd boundaries, where the dragons’ numbers are too large for Azzie’s family to rescue him.

When Val finds out, he’s absolutely infuriated. Now, instead of just holding Azzie to the marriage, he actively antagonizes Azzie. He makes it clear that not only Azzie, but Azzie’s children will not gain any power in the herd if/when he takes over. He strips his firstborn (with Azzie) of his inheritance rights (along with any potential other miracle children he may have had with Azzie).

This gets to the point where both are caught in a fight to the death once again. This time, however, they are evenly matched. Despite all that they’ve done to each other, they know each other too well for one to get the upper hand. A stalemate is reached, and during this time, they agree to a truce. They are still bitter at one another; they cannot forgive, and they cannot forget. But, finally, they work towards bettering their relationship instead of making it worse.


Relationship with Villie:
Azzie would definitely be up for light flirting and making japes (he respects Val's wishes, but expects respect in turn; that is, Val not controlling who he interacts with, especially since, in Azzie's mind, it's very clear he'd never go further and actually conceive offspring with Vallie -- until the plot, that is! ;3) at the beginning of the relationship!

(The quote below is from Villie's owner, Kitsune Mistress Nyoko.)
"I could totally see her eyeing Azzie from afar and plotting on how to get in his pants herself. Mostly because those dragon genes look super sexy, and she wants some in her offspring. To that end, if you want Smaug to be the one to propose the breeding, it could be that she was pulling the strings behind that. Going to Daddy and batting her eyes all pretty and purring about what strong genes that outsider could bring into the herd, if only he had a strong mare to breed with. But alas! Val has insisted on staking his claim and won't let her anywhere near his handsome stud.

What ever is a cunning mare to do?

As for Villie and Azzie's relationship [after his fallout with Val], I imagine Villie would want to keep Azzie around. She's gotten what she wanted from him - children - so she'd be perfectly happy to keep him at her side as a friend and confidant. She might try to shield him from the worst of her brother's wrath, depending on how far reaching it is, and would allow him to take on a fatherly role with his children. She'd consider herself to be the foremost authority on how to raise them and would have the final say on things, of course, but as long as he didn't go against her wishes she'd let him teach them and bond with them.

And hey, when Azzie and Val finally start to make up, good on them! As long as Azzie isn't being mistreated anymore and the reconciliation is genuine, she'd step aside to focus more heavily on her children. If Azzie wanted to maintain their friendship, that's cool. If he didn't, she'd be willing to accept that as well."


Relationship with the Flight Herd:
Smaug is selective about who enters the herd territory. However, Azrael befriended Val, Villie, and Bryn when they were all foals, and he was allowed on the outskirts of the territory while they played, with Smaug watching from the background. The area he was allowed in expanded after he and Val declared their love for one another.

If he'd joined as a member, he had the potential to obtain a high-rank due to his traits and ideals. However, he chose to stay with Lazarus.


Views on Breeding:
To clarify, Azzie wouldn't have any objections to breeding outside of Val in general -- Azzie travels a lot with his father and made it clear from the get go that he has his needs and will fulfill them as he pleases. xD Unlike Val, he doesn't really judge potential mares -- he has dragon blood himself, and that's enough for him. What the mare is, what their potential children would be, is no matter to him -- he doesn't plan to stick around. In addition, Val realizes the importance of producing heirs, and accepted from the get-go that both would breed outside the mating. The only important thing would be that any children between Val/Azzie would be legitimate/have the highest rank out of all their potential half-siblings, and if any other children get into the line of inheritance, it is up to Val to allow that. Azzie is not a legitimate herd member and he doesn't care about the fate of his children one way or another, unless he finds any he wants to train specifically as Laz did to him.

Out of consideration for Val and saving him drama in the future, Azrael will avoid high-ranking female draconics in the Flight herd and stick to males or slaves so that the mother/children won't try to push for inheritance rights in the future.


After the Drama:
We considered having Azrael and Val search for Val's mother together, so that they could repair and rekindle their relationship. Smaug would have tried to deter them (eg. stating Vesta left him, so why would he want to go and look for her) and when that failed, he would have made them take a familiar that would serve as a messenger and keep Smaug aware of the two's progress.

Bass is part of Fiamma Eterna, a herd of lantern-bearers who seek to use their light to guide others. He takes advantage of his wings to get a rough layout of the terrain and help lost travelers find their way.

He chose to travel in hopes of finding his father, Lazarus, who abandoned his mother as soon as she revealed she was pregnant. His mother never spoke badly of Laz, but the more Bass traveled, the more bitter he became.

When he eventually comes across his father, Laz will take advantage of him, manipulate him into becoming his lackey, and dump him when Bass eventually snaps and grows mad.

Bass' plots with Concordia will take place before he reunites with his father. This plot would contribute to his bitterness, as well as make him more susceptible to Laz's manipulation.

---

They meet when Bass, still a little green behind the ears, makes a sloppy landing and crashes into Concordia. She attacks him in retaliation, and he'd have fled with his tail between his legs if he hadn't realized she was only reacting, and not being aggressive for the sake of it. He knows the mistake was his and tends to her wounds to make amends. Throughout it, she teases him for his inexperience with herbs and healing in general.

The interaction marked the beginning of a common trend. When Bass showed any hesitation or weakness, Concordia picked at it, wearing away at his esteem and convincing him that no one could love him—that, perhaps, his father had not been wrong to leave, and that his mother and sister will leave him, too.

At first he stayed to minister to her injuries and nurse his own bruised wing, but as time passed, he clung to her like a drowning man clings to wood. After all he'd heard, how could he bear to insult others with his presence? Concordia, with her vast kindness and deep patience, was the only one who would care for him. That she was at times mean and hurtful was of no concern; it was what he deserved.

After time, Concordia grows bored of him. Her words are more cutting, and she'd no longer even pretend to be kind to him. However, his desperate condition convinced him to stay with her, as well as his idea of what love should be. Ever since childhood, he had grand views of his "one and only," and how devoted he'd be (these feelings were, of course, fueled by his own bitterness towards his father). The harder it was for him to stay, the more it meant that he chose not to leave. Their toxic relationship was, to him, proof of a strong bond.

His dedication had its benefits, and was tolerated. Eventually, he fathered children with her. Bass thought this would be the turning point—that their relationship would grow fonder, and that he would be a great father and would be able to move on from his own childhood.

However, Concordia left, and returned to him a skinwalker. No matter what he did, or how long he stayed, he knew he could never save her. All that was left for him was to rescue their baskets, and leave behind his dreams of love.

---

• The basket I keep will be evil, which would break Bass' heart further.
  
• Lazarus would find him after the children have grown into adults and left him. In Lazarus' own timeline (starting from after he left a pregnant Crusnik, to when he finds Bass), he would have:
  - Found Nellene and Mest.
  - Adopted Growl. (Up until this point, Bass has grown up, helped a few people, and has started his plot with Concordia.)
  - Have Anchovy. (Lazarus has Anchovy roughly around the same time Bass has his own children.)
  - Leave Mest and the family they have together when Anchovy is an adult, and Sardine and her brother are baskets.
  - Until he finally finds Bass. Bass serves as a nanny to Laz's children with Kianzio.
  
• For a time, Bass and Azrael work as partners. As Bass falls closer to insanity, Azrael rises in strength.
  
• Bass' sister, Rose, finds the three of them (Bass, Az, Laz) and stirs up conflict. When Bass ultimately snaps, Rose takes him back home to heal.
  
• Bass meets Vistada's Labyrinth and reunites with his childhood friend, hanging gallow's Breath of Life.
  
• Bass and Laby fall for one another. Despite his own trauma, their relationship is steadied by Laby's calm demeanor. They have a wishing star child together, after which they realize that although they are friends, they don't feel romantic love for each other. This plot helps Bass grow out of his glorified view of what love is.
  
• Bass ultimately falls in love with Breath. However, Breath has her own history, wherein she abandoned her children to obtain her freedom. This plot helps Bass come to terms with his own abandonment.