Life was certainly interesting here in America, the dragon God mused as he sat atop his makeshift home. It was only a short time ago that he'd been smuggled into this country, cut asunder from his opulence and cult, left to survive on the generosity of strangers. And though the hospitality of his home country was supreme, he'd been surprised by his time here in America. Though these mutants were haughty and full of disbelief, they still accepted his presence in their world. He'd have to show them some gratuity when he established himself here as a God as well.

However, like with most days, his agenda would begin with his morning meal. Though the term meal could only be applied to Ryoga loosely, his divine body needed no nutrition like that of the mutants or humans he towered above. Ryoga needed not but the morning sun to warm his form to last the day. Sitting atop his earth-craftedShrine, a smallish addition to the Mansion grounds, constructed solely to deal with his size issue, he looked like some magnificent piece of art, his charcoal gray form looking as if cut from the stone itself.

Much like reptiles, Ryoga would sit for a period of time, content to do nothing but absorb the rays of the sun, metabolizing the radiation in ways human science could barely comprehend. And this also gave him time to sift through his thoughts, Gods were not creatures of speed, their mind contemplating things on a far grander scale than mere mortals did, often taking hours to finalize his musings before beginning his actual day. Though his morning nap was cut short as he noticed the presence of another near his home.

Lifting his head slowly, like a fabled dragon sleeping atop it's hoard only to wake when a hero approached. He looked forward, waiting to see which of the mutants that lived on the Mansion grounds had come to gawk at him, or question his divinity this time. Rather than speaking, Ryoga mere took a breath and snorted, waking himself from his sun induced slumber.

Sleep had been rough, lately. It was filled with nightmares; it was a sick amalgamation of horrible memories and the wanderings of a distressed mind. He saw Andrea dying. He saw the friends of his youth dying in that god forsaken alley. He saw it all, and he was helpless to intervene. He woke seconds before his alarm clock went off, finding himself in a cold sweat.

BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP BE-CRASH!

He made it gone. It was the first alarm clock he'd broken in a year. Slowly he sat up in the room, slightly lit by the shade-covered window. A glance to the side showed that the other side of the bed was empty... She'd never come to bed. He wasn't surprised. It hurt so bad that he wasn't surprised. Andrea had all-but withdrawn from the world after the wedding. He was past tears about it; instead, he found himself on a sort of auto pilot. He woke, he showered, he did his security shift, and he went out hunting. That was all.

He was a couple steps into that routine before long, but stepping out of the shower, he couldn't help but notice how dark this room was... In the last few weeks he'd hardly seen the sun. An unsure hand so used to being sure reached out and pulled the shades open.

There it was... brightness... Maybe this was what he needed... Just a little su- wait, what the hell was that?!

A grumpy look came to his face as his eyes adapted to see what appeared to be a giant statue of a dragon sitting atop... what ever the hell it was sitting on.

Great. Was that Matt punk around again? He cursed under his breath as he hurried out the door, throwing on a shirt as he went. The grumbling and stewing got louder and more intensive as he stepped out the door, and started marching across the lawn, crowbar in hand. Ain't noone asked if that could put a statue up. He'da noticed.

What he didn't notice was that it wasn't a statue... until it huffed. He stumbled a bit, and started, taking a second to shift from surprised back to grumpy, and maybe a little embarrassed.

...

"The #$%^ are you supposed to be?"

It was all early morning Saph could manage at this point. He was still gripping his crowbar pretty tightly.

The man whom Ryoga had sensed approaching was unlike the usual children who approached him, their minds enticed by the idea of meeting a fantasy monster straight from their books and movies. Instead it was an adult, a man who came at him looking quite annoyed and surprised as Ryoga stirred. His body, warming up beneath the sun began to move, his head hovering above the ground as he glared down at the man whose name he did not know. As usual, the manners of American's were perfectly non -existant, but Ryoga had grown used to their manner and let it slide.

The man questioned what he was supposed to be, and Ryoga spoke in return. "I am Orochi, and what I am is a God." Ryoga spoke with supreme confidence and moved into returning Saph's question back to him. "And in return I wonder who you are?" Ryoga asked, his tone uncomfortably arrogant, even when speaking a polite question. Ryoga noticed the man was holding a weapon of some sort, a bar of iron? Ah, a crow bar he realized, more a tool than a weapon, but equally useful at both roles. "And I wonder if our conversation is going to be less cordial than I'd prefer." He said, the size of his eyes making it easy to see when his vision briefly turned to the weapon and then back to Saph's face.

"I am Orochi, and what I am is a God."

"Oh F@#$^ me..." The words were muttered under his breath, barely giving the dragon enough time to release the last syllable. Great, a, what, ten foot, 12? Big ol lizard with a god complex. Great way to start the morning. Priceless.

"And in return I wonder who you are?"

"Well, clearly I'm the goddam easter bunny if you're a god." He stared up at the... man? Thing? for a moment, his blood simmering in his veins as he let his mind go to a darker place. How could this goddam clown dare think he was a freakin god. Where did he get off? Also... "This... you build this?" He pointed his crowbar at the "shrine".


"And I wonder if our conversation is going to be less cordial than I'd prefer."

"What's that? You sayin cause how I look you think I'm here to start a fight? That what you're sayin?"

It would seem this conversation was in fact going to be less polite than Ryoga would have preferred, the man seemingly devolving into aggressive childish babble as if something else were weighing on his mind and inhibiting his ability to interact. The dragon sighed softly, his interest in the man all but lost when he realized he was dealing with another aggressive and confusing American. The man's response was overtly aggressive and condescending, trying what little patience Ryoga had for mortals, as the dragon glared sternly at Saphirus, his eyes burning a message through the man's body.

"How typically disrespectful your response is, it does not cease to amaze me how a country touted for it's individuality and pride houses an army of men with the same attitude and lack of manners." Ryoga's voice was hoarse with disapproval of Saph's tone and mannerisms, his opinion already cemented that his man was worth none of his interest or thought. The man questioned his home, which was rightly given to the God by the very home they both shared in this Mansion. "A God does not build, he demands and it is done.This structure was built for me, as I am too large to fit within the Mansion itself. So you can displace your anger somewhere else but my rightful home little man." The God sneered in response.

This man was severely bothered about something, chomping at the bits to try and start a fight with a creature many dozen's of times outside his weight class. Anger and a crowbar were practically a child wielding a stick compared with Ryoga's magnificence. "No, I had assumed you would share the same lack of manners most American's are known for, and as usual my thought was correct." Ryoga huffed, a warm bout of air loosed from his throat purposely to disrespect Saph.

Ryoga couldn't quite smile, but the way his jaws pulled a bit in one direction was clearly the equivalent of a smirk as Saph tried to say he could fight with Ryoga. "Besides, your rage and a crowbar aren't as impressive as you'd hope little one. You would do well to reign in your attitude when speaking with others." Ryoga finished, throwing out a lesson in manners in return to Saph's perceived threat.