Crinyx's fortress of choice was, perhaps ironically, a little too much sunshine for Solalon, what with his natural preference for the mists of Vereheq. But the rocks here are often bleached by sunlight and the vegetation is sparse at best, making for a rather all-encompassing brightness outside.
Inside is a different matter, of course. Strategic scratchmarks placed against the horizontally stretched passages' ceiling guide the way. It's a system that's borderline intuitive for the Legendaries, though Crinyx has still communicated as much to his fellow Council members, should they want to pay him a visit - and it leads directly into the heart of the Isle, darker shades and all, sound of the ocean beyond the island's perimeter warped to a sound like a gurgling, whistling, barely audible wind, a background hint of a drone that's wholly perceptible to Solalon, used to the silence to Vereheq as he is.
The dragon's proverbial lair is… full of carved bones. There's nothing crude about it - the detail is quite astonishing, even if the shapes formed are purely abstract, delicate helices and faux knots in the figurines, arranged deliberately and decoratively. Crinyx seems to be napping right now, bundled atop what looks like a rug he must have stolen off some human at some point - seeing as it was vanishingly unlikely he'd chosen to lie upon something that represented a flayed pokémon, guaranteeing it an entirely artificial construction. In his slumber, his teeth are locked around one end of an unblemished femur, arms wrapped around it, and like an infant gnawing on a plushie in its sleep, is predictably drooling ever so slightly on his otherwise so fancy setup.
The journey to Corral Isle grants somewhat less ability to think than Solalon would have liked, simply because it's a trip he makes infrequently enough that it demands some amount of constant focus from him. Still, he has some time to consider the various ways he could approach the topic, enough to settle on one that he thinks there's a chance Crinyx might come to accept. As long as he makes it clear that nothing is actually changing aside from that Dakarai will be doing something other than occupying a room indefinitely, there's a good chance things will go smoothly here.
It's hard for him to see how Crinyx stands this place. The outside is far too bright, and the inside is filled with the distant sound of the sea muted to a drone just barely loud enough to be audible and mildly distracting. The first is presumably just a difference of tastes, but the second he'd have to learn to tune out or go insane. At least navigating the interior isn't difficult, and soon enough Solalon finds himself in the central lair. Looks like his collection of carved bones is coming along well, and… oh lovely, he fell asleep gnawing on a human femur. Yeah, this isn't going to end well at all, is it.
A slow, soft sigh spills from Solalon. Might as well get this over with. He approaches his fellow Legendary, pausing a few steps away and lowering his head. ~Hello, Crinyx,~ he greets quietly.
The Legendary stirs quite slowly, suggesting that the sounds from Solalon don't register as potential danger to the Blood-type despite the intrusion into the dark crimson Legendary's sleep. Eyes slowly open and the metallic plume rattles lightly as the maw reluctantly dislodges from its prize and a groggy muzzle rises to look for the source of the sound.
And then he spots Solalon. The first instinct is to react as past Council sessions have conditioned him to - with a distinct 'oh shit' and a cower away from the Light-type. That is quick to pass, though, and is instead replaced by an emotion spawned more by his rational mind - that of friendship and safety. Mildly self-consciously, he licks some slobber off the femur as if in retrospective apology for his drool, and nods across at Solalon in a minimalist but respectful motion. ~Welcome, brother,~ Crinyx greets him. ~What humble service may I be to you?~
A hint of unease worms its way into Solalon's features at Crinyx's question, but a light shake of his neck manages to dispel it quickly. ~I apologize for interrupting your rest,~ he says, bowing his head respectfully. ~I came to discuss a decision with you that the Arbiter and I recently agreed to,~ he states, tone purely informative. A tense pause later, he adds, almost tentatively: ~…regarding Dakarai.~
Crinyx regards Solalon in some incredulous mixture of incomprehension and mild but good-natured confusion. The human's name, repulsive as he was, hardly was cause for irritation. For all he knew they'd gone back on their ridiculous decision to let the sociopath live. For a moment, he simply waits, before deciding it would do better with a prompt. ~What about him?~ he asks, evidently without a preconception.
~Jagdish believes that it would be better to put Dakarai to some use rather than having him simply occupy a cell in Taqnateh,~ the light-type responds solemnly. ~In particular, he's going to act as something of an observer for humans on the gym circuit, in order to gather additional information.~
Crinyx' reaction, at first, is not one of rage at all. Instead, he looks at Solalon in a certain stupor, then with the raptorian equivalent of a light, nervous smile, remarks: ~Forgive me, brother, I can't altogether tell whether you're serious. That strikes me as… foolhardy, to say the least, and I cannot in good conscience ascribe such a thing to you - or the Arbiter, as it were.~
There's a subtle hardening in Solalon's features at that. ~I assure you, I'm being completely serious,~ he replies, mild hint of undirected irritation in his reply. ~And I'm no happier about the prospect than you are. But after hearing the entirety of his proposal, I believe it is a sound one. Let me assure you, he is still going to be kept under constant supervision, and Jagdish is still taking full responsibility for him.~
The notion that his fellow Legendary truly is serious seems to be a difficult one to grasp, perhaps owing to that Crinyx is still busy waking from his nap, synapses sluggish to accept notions that are quite firmly outside of his accepted reality. But Solalon means every word. And with that realisation comes a visceral rejection of everything those words represent. ~…'supervision'?~ Crinyx asks, voice dipping to a chill, eyes narrowing, left forepaw fingering one end of the bone, only to clamp down on it in tension. ~Let's not mince words here - you honestly intend to grant that sociopath some… semblance of freedom. And yet… I believe the Council ruled in favour of sparing his life on the simple condition that he be kept on a tight leash. The tightest leash. And yet here you are and… you're letting the Arbiter undermine it?~
Solalon closes his eyes at Crinyx's response, taking in slow breaths, trying to mentally dissect the argument over the soft droning in the background. Perhaps coming here before speaking to all of the others was a foolish move; perhaps hearing Icechel's or Fyrrcla's arguments would have prepared him better for this. Then again, it's often difficult for him to anticipate Crinyx's arguments, even with his experience.
Finally, he opens his eyes once more. ~He's not being granted freedom, or any semblance thereof. For one, Iris is going to be watching over him, and for two, he's going to be expected to check in with gym leaders on a regular and frequent basis. Between those, he won't have much chance to fall into his old patterns - which is precisely why we deemed keeping him on such a tight leash a necessary provision.~
There's very little delay denoting that the Blood-type Legendary is mulling the notion over, a sceptical glance and the inclination of his muzzle the major indicators in that short timespan that he's considering it at all. Then the moment is over. ~Fair. But… now imagine for a moment he murders Iris and vanishes into the urban depths of Nightclaw. How do you presume to fix your error in judgement if it comes that far?~ Crinyx responds, curtly, still clearly bristly toward the idea - and enough so to be viciously blunt. Uncharacteristically, he sounds as if he were scolding a child.
A low growl surfaces from Solalon, lips parting slightly to reveal the Legendary's teeth, coupled with a stern, disapproving glare. A simple, nonverbal reminder for Crinyx to watch his tone and keep in mind who he's talking to. A moment later, the scowl vanishes, and Solalon finds his calm once more.
~In that case, it would be the Nightclaw gym leader's responsibility to hunt him down, as they would any other criminal - and at that point, his life would naturally be forfeit,~ he replies, nodding slowly. ~Should that happen, I'd have no qualms giving him over to you, if you'd prefer to do the honors personally.~
The low growl results in a tinker of Crinyx' plumage as it shifts to fan out in a bristle and he narrows his eyes, drawing thin, reptilian lips back from his teeth to emit a drawn-out, openly threatening hiss. ~Be mindful of your tone here, brother,~ Crinyx remarks - perhaps given a different subject matter, he might have let it slide given his general tendency to pander to the Light legendary, but he's already frustrated about Solalon's naivité… having his supremacy within his territory challenged does not improve his mood.
~Regarding that vermin, however - you trust the humans to find their own? Responsibility is a wonderful notion until someone gets hurt.~ It's clear it's spoken chiefly out of agitation - it's not as refined a retort as he might otherwise be making.
The initial reaction to Crinyx's hiss and change of posture is a step back, and Solalon's own aura momentarily grows brighter in defensive instinct before he manages to battle it down, closing his eyes and lowering his head slightly instead. Lovely, now he's successfully managed to alienate Crinyx - again. A barely-visible twitch of frustration passes through his reptilian features for a moment.
Crinyx's question prompts a look of concern from Solalon, followed by a slow, solemn nod. ~I do.~ It's unclear to him how much that comment is simply due to Crinyx's agitated state and how much is caused by his issues with humans. ~Given that that's part of their role in human settlements, they have both the authority and the experience to do so.~
There's a longer silence, Crinyx' posture still tense as if ready to battle his way back to the top of proverbial food chain despite a complete lack of capability, given his disadvantage. Slowly, the bristly exterior dissipates, leaving behind something fundamentally wary and worn. His right forepaw drags nails along his left forelimb as a corporeal memory of his prior tension. ~You've made up your mind,~ he observes, softly, tone perfectly balanced between disappointment and respect.
A long silence follows that observation, eventually punctuated by a slow, solemn nod from Solalon. They've hit their impasse - the same one, it feels like, they always run into eventually, whenever there's a conversation involving humanity. ~I understand why you're upset about it, and on an emotional level I feel the same way, but I believe it will be to our benefit in the long run,~ he explains. After a pause, he lowers his head and offers: ~If there's anything I can do to soften the blow, as it were, please let me know.~
~What benefit will come of this, exactly?~ Crinyx asks, bitterly, but curbs the urge to let the emotion spill into a deeper rant, letting his plume fold against his neck with the associated soft tinkering. His maw opens for another statement - but he visibly holds back and it clacks back shut for the moment. 'You can leave,' is neither fair nor useful - Solalon was likely to leave soon anyway. ~If you could… - if you could arrange that he never sets foot on my island…?~ It's a wholly different tone - one of weary, pleading resignation - but no less sincere.
Crinyx's first question barbs at the Light-type - he's really in no mood to give it a complete answer right now, and any incomplete answer he can think of would fall flat. Thankfully, a few moments later, there's an out. ~I can certainly do that, if you wish,~ he replies, nodding solemnly. A moment later, he adds, ~Unless there's anything else I can do for you while I'm here, I'd like to take my leave - aside from Psynateh, I've yet to inform the others.~
'And yet you've already made up your mind,' Crinyx finds himself thinking, bitterly, letting his eyes drift closed and tipping his muzzle down and to the side, trying to curb the anger he feels about this circumstance. He should say something, a part of him insists. He should point out that Solalon may be the leader of the Council, but not entitled to such decisions without compromise. And yet, on the other hand, as visceral as his hate for Dakarai is… he is merely a single human being. While the fundamental issue of Solalon's approach is hardly to be discounted, his fellow Legendary is also a friend, first and foremost, even, no matter how borderline narcissistic his behaviour may strike Crinyx on occasion. 'It's all right. I'll be here, now and in future, keeping you honest.' ~Thank you for informing me,~ Crinyx comments, a little dryly, acknowledging the words with a slow nod.