An Inn on the Road to Selevea [DragonSong]

[MadEmperor]

Grav's posture relaxed and he lowered his arms. "They said it wasn't full size and it—he was injured. So I thought I could handle the job alone..."—He slouched a little as he actually listened to himself —"Whiiich sounds really dumb now that I say it out loud."

He suddenly shifted his mouth into a smirk. "Waaiit. Back up. 'the guy?' Did you tell your friend about little ol' me?" 

He may, may, be jumping to the wrong conclusion about the kind of impression he had made. 

[DragonSong]

Kit snorted and grumbled something about full size or not being perfectly capable of taking one overly-confident, wet-behind-the-ears adventurer, thank you very much. Kiara shot him a Look and he subsided, plopping his head down onto his front paws.

"Gods' teeth, kitten, you're lucky it was just us," she laughed, turning back to Grav. "A proper dragonrider might've slit you navel to nose just for the audacity."

She found herself, quite irrationally, blushing a bit as it seemed to be his turn to smirk. "Hold your horses, lad. I just told him about our little run-in with the lovely locals, that's all."

Which was true. She may have mentioned a slight--very slight--admiration for his confidence, even if it seemed a bit misplaced. She couldn't help it! It was oddly endearing.

"Anyway! Suppose proper introductions are in order, yeah?" She gestured between man and dragon. "Kit, this is Grav. Grav, this is my partner, Kittsareyn." Smiling crookedly, she added, "And as you can see, we're not much interested in ravaging the countryside."

[MadEmperor]

"A pleasure, my good man, err, dragon."  He gave a playful bow, a stray bang flopping over his face. 

He stood straight and fixed his hair. With a sheepish look that was slowly replaced by reassurance, he said, "Then my job is a success. One I can't get paid for. But a success nonetheless."

His confidence had wavered under the weight of logic but was quickly recovered. It would take more than that to dull his sunny disposition. 

[DragonSong]

"Is it?" Kit grunted without raising his head. "A pleasure or a success? Just because you're sweet enough on Kiara to buy what she's selling doesn't mean the rest of the locals will."

"Kittsareyn," Kiara snapped at him, glowering and flushing now in equal measures.

The dragon snorted a smoke ring, unrepentant. In her mind, he quipped, I'm right and you know it.

She sighed and scratch at her nose, frown deepening. "I hate to admit it, but he has a point--" She suddenly paused, staring at Grav as though it was the first time she'd ever seen him.

"You." She blinked, then slowly started to smile. "Did you mention something about getting paid?"

[MadEmperor]

Of course he was sweet on her; she had breasts and a pulse. 

"There's a collection going to reward whoever, aheh, brings them his head. Dragons aren't popular around here, it seems. Back home, dragons are something that only exist in other places; so I wanted to judge for myself if he was dange—well, of course he's dangerous, he's a dragon—if he was hostile."

He completely missed the scheming look on her face. 

[DragonSong]

"Oh, he's plenty hostile," Kiara said flippantly, earning an offended huff from Kit, "but we won't be causing the locals anymore trouble than a few nicked herbs."

She considered her slowly forming idea, turning it over in her mind as she pursed her lips. "Which direction you heading, Grav? Toward the city?"

[MadEmperor]

"Yeah. I've got an uncle in Selevea. He runs a tavern. He might be able to find a job for me." The way he said job gave her the sense he was fantasizing about epic quests and noble deeds. Or maybe it was just that new adventurers often had their heads in the clouds until grim reality beat them down. 

"Why? Where are you headed?"

[DragonSong]

"Perfect!" Kiara clapped her hands together, beaming. "We're heading to Selevea ourselves. Have a job lined up--and you, kitten, are just what we need to get there without a crowd with torches and pitchforks on our heels."

Kit snorted in surprise and jerked his head up, staring at her incredulously. What are you thinking?

Trust me. "No one would look at you and think you're up to anything nefarious," Kiara continued, gesturing broadly in Grav's direction. "This...Whole Thing you've got going on is just so perfectly innocent. If you tell people you're traveling with us, we won't have to deal with half as many angry villagers." She shrugged. "Normally we wouldn't need the escort, but with Kit grounded for the moment, it's more than a tenday walk to the city." She cocked her head and added, "I can pay you."

Kit continued to stare at her. With what?!

[MadEmperor]

She was right; he was a goody-two-shoes but not enough to turn down some coin for his help. 

"How much we talking?" 

Oh, please, you know you'd do it anyway.  And she does too. 

Shut it, brain. 

"Because I could always use the coin." 

[DragonSong]

"Well, the job's worth sixteen crowns," Kiara mused, ticking hypothetical coins off on her fingers. "Let's say...six of that is yours, provided we get to Selevea without any mishaps?"

It was a good deal, and she knew it. She knew he knew it too--he probably would have tagged along for half that, but she didn't like cheating people.

Well. Usually.

Grinning crookedly, she took a step toward him and put out her hand. "So? We got a deal?"

[MadEmperor]

"S-six crowns?!" He tried and failed to convert that to Serenian currency in his head. "Wait, how much is that in suns and moons?"

He knew he should have paid more attention when his adoptive father taught him about commerce. His mind always drifted when the subject came up. He had a limited attention span and it was just so boring.

And what was this job? Could she use a swordsman?

[DragonSong]

"Oh, sorry. You can take the girl out of Adela, but..." She chuckled and converted for him, "It's about six shiin." Which, if one played their cards right, could fund a good few weeks of adventuring.

It also meant the job she was after was either very well compensated, or stupidly dangerous. Possibly both.

She shrugged, still smiling, one hand still outstretched. "Whaddya say, kitten?"

[MadEmperor]

His eyes widened as he thought of the possibilities. "Wow. I've never had that much coin to myself. I could get better equipment and maybe a halfway decent horse."

"You sure? That's a big share for an escort job. Even if a dragon is involved." He wasn't suspicious by nature but he felt she was leaving something out. Maybe even something dangerous. How exciting! 

[DragonSong]

"Good boy," Kiara praised, nodding. "Never take a job upfront that looks too good to be true--it always is." Her smile softened just a bit at the edges and she added, "This time, though, consider it fair recompense. Kit...means a lot to me. If traveling with you keeps him safe, it's worth every penny."

The dragon snorted and finally raised his head enough to stretch his neck forward and give her shoulder a brief nuzzle. She shooed him away, dark green eyes going a bit darker with worry as they flickered over the wounds that still littered his hide.

Whatever had brought them down so close to this little town, it hadn't been kind to either of them.

"Besides." She gave herself a little shake and looked back to Grav. "We're getting overpaid ourselves for the job. Should be an in-and-out sorta thing, just a few manticores harrying some property near the edge of the city."

[MadEmperor]

As sorry as he felt for the dragon, the mention of monsters to slay won his attention and  brought a sparkle to his eyes. Manticores were nothing to sneeze at. At least, so he'd been told. 

"Just a few manticores? You say that like poisonous murder-cats are no tougher than  field vermin. I mean, sure you have a dragon, but a dragon that can't fly and just crashed through several trees."

He thought it over, nodding as he decided something. And he was difficult to talk out of something once he was set on it. "Yeah, I'm going to help you with that too. No extra charge."

[DragonSong]

"Whoa, hang on, I didn't mean--"

Kit snorted, and she looked at him. Really looked at him. Then some of the bravado bled from her stance, shoulders curving forward, and she gave Grav a considering look.

"...Alright," she agreed after a long moment. "Deal."

Kit huffed, sulfur tinging the air from his breath, and lowered his head to eye their newest companion sidelong. "Welcome aboard, Ser Grav," the dragon rumbled.

[MadEmperor]

 "Great! You won't regret it."

He grinned like an excited puppy. Finally, his first monster hunt. Well, his first that was actually dangerous. He had prepared for years in the best ways he could and now it was the time. 

"So, what are we waiting for? The villagers are restless, so the sooner the better."

[DragonSong]

Kiara gave him a very dry look. "Well, for starters, Kit's being held together by spit and prayers at the moment."

"I'm fine--"

"You shush." Kiara waved him off, then said to Grav, "So, for now, if you don't mind playing lookout, I'm gonna see what I can do with this--" she reached into her belt pouch to pull out a handful of burdock leaves-- "and then we can decide where to go from there. Sound good?"

[MadEmperor]

"Right," he answered apologetically, "Healing first, then murder-cats. Sorry."
 
He positioned himself for a better view of the most likely approach from the village. Then he drew his sword in a graceful motion and began to occupy himself with a few sword exercises. The blade was nothing special but the way he handled it suggested it was well balanced. 

His motions were quick and precise, as if the blade were an extension of his body. His lack of formal training and little actual combat experience would be apparent to a seasoned fighter,  but his innate talent would as well. She would have to see him in action to see just how justified his confidence was; however, he was a promising addition to her job

[DragonSong]

Kiara was more concerned with caring for her dragon initially, but as she ground the burdock into a poultice and spread it over the worst of the cuts, she found herself glancing to where Grav was "keeping watch" every so often.

He's not bad, Kit noted when she tapped his injured wing, indicating she needed to see the tear. Fresh, but not bad.

"He's an idiot," Kiara replied quietly, though there was no venom in her voice. "He has no idea what he's getting into."

Kit shot her a wry look. Do we ever?

That made her chuckle even as she threaded a bone needle and spread the last of a numbing salve that she'd been saving from her last job over the membrane of his wing. "Oi! Ser knight," she called to Grav as she climbed carefully up onto Kit's back and leaned out over his injured wing. "I'm sure your sword is very impressive, but wanna learn something that's even more likely to save your life out on the road?"

She nodded down to the needle in her salve-covered hands, indicating the first aid that she was performing on Kit's wing. "I guarantee, no matter how good you are with that thing, you're gonna have to learn how to stitch yourself up sooner or later."