Zloy is a dragon, and where he comes from, dragon bones and scales are extremely valuable, used in magic and different tools.
He's spent most of his life hiding in a human form, pretending to be a monster hunter so people would be less suspicious of his glowing eyes. It comes from his trinkets, they're magical - he claims. It pains him to see how the remains of his kind are treated, as sharing a part of your body with someone else in his culture is the highest honor someone can have.
Pixlriffs is a monster hunter. They work together. Pix has the help of an actual dragon on his hunts, and in return he vouches for Zloy whenever people get too suspicious.
One night they were ambushed by a group of dragon hunters they argued with last night in a tavern. Both of them got captured. They were put in a cage together, poisoned and weak, the hunters waiting for one of them to shift back to their original form.
Pixlriffs was mostly fine, only a minor headache, but Zloy, Zloy knew he didn't have much longer. The poison was too strong, and once the hunters realize it isn't working on Pix he'll be dead as well, sooner or later.
Trying to escape would be his best chance. So Zloy shifted back, his form breaking the cage. Pix jumped on his back and they flew away.
Zloy crashed not much farther. With his last breath he begged Pix to take his horns, his teeth, his eyes. He couldn't bear the thought of the hunters having them, so Pix listened. He took as much as he could carry, his skin and clothes stained in gold blood which could never be fully washed away.
Pix has never felt more wrong in his life.
Several years later, rumors spread about a dragon-worshipping cult of necromancers searching for monster hunters to avenge the fallen dragons, and they may or may not have a certain undead dragon on their side.
There's nothing that can be taken from Zloy now. Ghostly mirages replace what once was valuable on his body, black smoke rising from the illusions. His body, though decayed, takes on a new meaning of majesty.
At least, that's what Pix says, and Zloy calls him a sap. Zloy just thinks he's super cool, and the fast healing is a massive benefit. He also wouldn't describe their group as a cult, but he guesses necromancers don't have the best reputation.
Not that it's ever mattered to Zloy. Pix will always be beautiful to him, despite the gold permanently staining his fingers. And Zloy will always be beautiful to Pix - he wouldn't have dedicated so much time to reviving him otherwise.