OPEN my melancholy blues

[Montgomery]

The first stop on his trip was not a pleasant one. Montgomery had visited the Descendants of the Departed before to exchange pleasantries, but more importantly to beg for any scraps they could give. The Congregants of Genesis did not have much to trade either, so they took what they could. Luckily, the former leader of the Descendants of the Departed had been more than kind... somewhat. Valerius had ended up giving the canine food for his congregants, but not without a snark reply that hinted towards using the meat to fatten congregants for future consumption. 

Last time, he had ridden on the back of a dragon congregant to get to the island. Upon arriving to the edge of the neutral lands though, it appeared some changes had occurred though. He had planned to take a boat, but a set of obsidian stones now laid in front of him. The archon's gaze narrowed and stared out at the horizon, seeing the volcanic island in the distance. To him, it looked like these rocks went all the way there. There was only one way to find out.

His leg sauntered forward to step on the first. The surface was hot, but the cold ocean waves splashing against it cooled it quite a bit. Upon finding it suitable, the canine continued forward to the next... and then the next... and the next until he arrived on the black sand beach. 

By the end of his travels, he was panting and his paws were hurting. His pawpads were on fire and were starting to grow calloused from the long, treacherous walk. Montgomery ranted under his breath as he settled, eventually letting out a sigh when he sat down. The canine could not walk any further. It was too much. He would wait for an audience instead, praying to Neandryne that someone would come quick with answers. In the meantime, he watched as crabs scuttled around the beach, noting their similarity to the congregant's own.

MONTGOMERY S. - ARCHON OF COG

[METEOR]

METEOR

As part of his assessment of the ecological damage, Meteor had been investigating the mainland-facing side of the island. Fortunately, the wind and water systems had prevented embers from spreading here… but the earthquakes had toppled many trees. There were hills where there used to be flatland. And flatland where their used to be hills. However, the beach’s black sands—perhaps because the beach was already a fairly desolate landscape—had survived.

But, by Requiem and Vayu, where the fuck had those obsidian stepping stones come from?! The weirdest fucking ecological damage he’d seen thus far.

Therefore, Meteor didn’t even notice Montgomery until he stepped closer to the stepping stones and spotted the dog. The canine’s white fur popped out against the black stones and sand, but maybe it was the dog’s miserable posture. Clearly, the visitor hadn’t enjoyed hopping across the stepping stones.

“You.” Meteor ‘greeted’ as he approached the dog, then squinted and sniffed.

“Montgomery, isn’t it?” Meteor’s golden eyes narrowed. Perhaps, as one cult leader to another, he should be more courteous. However… Montgomery was an idiot, because he seemed to truly believe in the fiction he peddled to his followers. But what Meteor couldn’t forgive was his inefficiency. They lived in a frozen hellscape, and, as a consequence, Meteor had witnessed Montgomery beg Valerius for food. If Valerius was inefficient because of his sadism, then Montgomery was inefficient because of his inadequacy. A leader provided for his followers. Even sadistic narcissist Valerius could provide.

“If you’re hoping for Valerius, my father is recently deceased, and I am the new pharaoh.” With a flick of his tail, Meteor gestured to the devastated forest behind him. “As you can see, I’m in no mood for generosity.”

[Montgomery]

At the sound of another's voice, the canine's head snapped up from the ground and his gaze moved away from the crabs. His weary eyes landed upon Meteor. Montgomery did not appreciate the lion's vague and blunt statement, but kept that to himself, especially considering Meteor did remember him moments later. "You would be correct," he commented back. "I have surely seen you before when I have visited, but I do not think I ever caught your name..." At least from what he remembered. Stress could have cauysed a lapse in his memory. Even so, the new pharaoh's pelt was unlike his father's and stood out among the dark palette of the Descendants of the Departed. Perhaps it was never mentioned.

Before he could even ask the other's name, Meteor continued on. The news he had to give was quite disappointing. More so about the rations, rather than Valerius. Montgomery tried his hardest to keep his expression positive, but the corners of his mouth were already slanted downwards from exhaustion. "I'm sorry to hear that," the dog mumbled, eyes flicking over to the devastation behind them. The volcanic eruption clearly caused some trouble for their territory, but also provided some new additions, including the stepping stones. While he was usually one to point out the silver lining during hard times, he bit his tongue. There was no way Meteor would appreciate that.

He offered a frown. "But you can offer nothing to us? Even if I could offer some assistance in return?" A paw gestured at the forest. The Congregants of Genesis had a large forest and a few knocked down trees would not hurt them. A few plants couldn't hurt either as long as they weren't herb-related. "Perhaps I can offer labor and some wood if you can offer them a full stomach." Not only would it give the Descendants of the Departed a needed hand, it would give his members some purpose and allow them to eat. With his craned head, he looked expectantly at Meteor. "That's all I ask." Besides their safety, of course.

MONTGOMERY S. - ARCHON OF COG

[METEOR]

METEOR

Meteor’s golden gaze narrowed. The canine must be desperate, to offer his congregants’ labor for a hot meal. Question was, how useful were the congregants? How about on an hourly labor per calorie basis? Chernabog was useful as all hell, but, even as a cold-blooded dragon, she consumed far more meat than vampiric Kole. The earth elemental was a resource worth the calories. Vale and Kole, clearing out the worst of the felled forests, were also worth the calories.

“Unless you suddenly have earth elementals, I doubt your congregants can do anything useful to the felled forest.” In which case, Montgomery wouldn’t be begging if they could grow their own food. Meteor glanced at the shoreline. “However.”

Knox had made a valiant effort denting the washed-up garbage, but it was one lion. They had miles of beach. She’d done well with Main Beach, but what of the countless other beaches? And the reefs?

Meteor’s golden gaze slid back to Montgomery. “The earthquakes brought hundreds, perhaps thousands, of kilograms of human garbage to our shores. Your congregants will clean this garbage. At least one of your flock is capable of swimming, correct? A basic skill, and necessary to clear the reefs of this garbage.”

“We’ll handle the garbage disposal once it’s gathered.” Meteor’s mouth turned up in a lopsided smirk. “And your congregants, so long as they keep working at cleaning our beaches, will earn their calories.”

[Montgomery]

Clearly, they did not have any earth elemental users. Even if the congregants had someone who controlled the elements of the earth, many members were carnivores. The carnivores were often the strongest in the group too. Montgomery could not single out a group in favor of the rest for the sake of numbers. Thankfully, Meteor had some work for them. The canine's interest peaked at 'however,' but his expression dropped at the mention of human garbage. Even if it was a way to acquire resources, it was still sorting garbage... but there was a positive.

Meteor did not know what garbage was afloat, did he? Montgomery pondered if there was anything of value among the trash. There was so much of it that there had to be something. The canine made an internal note to mention it to his congregants, but keep it from any of the Descendants of the Departed. They would not be too pleased with anything being taken, but finders are keepers, aren't they? A smile graced his face. "I am sure we could provide some laborers to clean up in exchange," he mentioned. 

The issue was getting a swimmer though. Montgomery was not fond of swimming in the cold waters of his territory, but he knew one individual that was. Lucia. The cabbit hybrid had a water repellent pelt and swam regularly, but her chronic condition was currently flaring up. Along with that, not to mention Lucia's history with the Descendants of the Departed. Lucia had experience with an animal named 'Meteor.' Unbeknownst of Montgomery, that was the new pharaoh that stood before him. The lion had been quite abusive to her and that led him to be hesitant. If he mentioned the task to her, she would surely want to go, but what about her condition and her past? The archon was worried she would get too invested and hurt herself, whether mentally or physically, but she was their best. Internally, he was kicking himself and internally debating his options. He even considered lying by omission. 

The dog set his worries aside (or tried to at least). "As long as you provide them enough to last awhile while back home and not just for the day, then we have a deal." He looked back at the rocks behind him. Montgomery squinted out at the horizon once again, as if to check if the walk got shorter. With a sigh, he got onto all four paws. Nope. Still the same.

With a long stretch, he turned his attention back on Meteor one last time. "Now, before I head off, I don't think I caught your name. You are?" came his nonchalant question.

MONTGOMERY S. - ARCHON OF COG

[METEOR]

METEOR

The lion watched the gears turn in the dog’s mind—externally, at least, based on any details in the archon’s face and body language—but he was not surprised that the dog agreed. The garbage needed to go as soon as possible, in Meteor’s opinion. Otherwise, the state of the reefs might not recover as fast, which meant depleting their coconut crab supply too fast. It took years for those not-sentient fuckers to reach giant size, and he couldn’t bank on Coconut Island supplying them indefinitely. But the reefs? Critical.

“Very well. But everyone you bring is expected to work.” Meteor’s tail tip twitched. “No elderly. No invalids incapable of seeing or properly handling garbage without assistance.” A smirk flashed teeth and fang. “You already know what cannibals do with the useless, don’t you?”

At the end of the negotiations, the lion watched the dog stretch. Why wasn’t he surprised the archon hadn’t bothered remembering the vizier who handled shit when the pharaoh couldn’t be arsed? Meteor scoffed, then lashed his tail. “Meteor Prometheus. Now that I’m pharaoh, I suppose my name will stick in your memory, hm?”

[Montgomery]

As he prepared to head out, he listened to what the new pharaoh had to say. Meteor's requirements were reasonable, but that did not mean Montgomery appreciated them, especially with the added threat. More specifically, his requirement of 'no invalids' rubbed him the wrong way. Seven was clearly excluded by that statement, as were some of his other valuable members who could do much more. If they were not struggling in the first place, perhaps he would be bold enough to make a point to prove the feline wrong, but he did not have the strength or numbers to do so. "That should be no issue," he reassured back. "I am quite aware." The cannibals did not know what the congregants did though, nor did he intend to educate them. Their displays of violence were just that. Displays. The Descendants of the Departed could show off and intimidate the groups into submission, but what judgement would their Gods give them? Compassion had to factor in somewhere, didn't it? Their senseless violence surely couldn't appeal to their higher deities. At least the Congregants gave their deities the reigns, rather than assuming their desires.

The dog finished out his stretch with a deep breath. Casual and cool, he intended to leave without much more to add, but when Meteor's name floated out from his lips, he considered doing the exact opposite. Lucia would not appreciate that though. She had told him the tales of Meteor's cruelty and he should, and would, heed her warning. Montgomery merely stared at the other and offered a false smile. "It sure will," the canine happily replied. 'And it sure has.' 

In an attempt to stifle his frustration, he started to pull away, but not before turning back to the pharaoh. "Stay safe, Meteor." With that, he was off. The fur on the back of his nape was puffed up subtly, but not enough to be visible to any onlookers.

MONTGOMERY S. - ARCHON OF COG