Dealing with Dragons (Glob!) [M]

[DragonSong]

Again, peacock, Elora thought at him, crinkling her nose up and returning the little nuzzle he gave her as they walked.

"Well, I think you'll be doing that anyway," Melly chuckled pleasantly, evidently still unaware of the silent communication between her two companions. "The two of you certainly don't look local. But Sahana can at least get you in the proper clothes."

Elora snorted quietly, rolling her eyes at the word "proper"--to her, no one on this island wore anything more than what should have amounted to undergarments--but she was smiling as Melisma and her mate ushered her along into a smallish, rounded building that was mostly open to the air, with only a cloth covering stretching over about half the space. Colorful fabrics draped over every available surface, even hung up on strings crisscrossing the room and overlapping one another.

Her eyes widened a bit. It was a riot of color--she had to blink, like it was a bright light. "Well then."

"Melisma?"

Melly beamed as a woman who looked to be somewhere in her early thirties, with crimson-streaked hair and bright, blue-and-red wings stepped out from behind a rack of jewel-toned cloth wraps and beamed, opening her arms. The dragoness embraced her eagerly, already chattering in Yoreiqi as she gestured toward Merradin and Elora, then around at the clothes. The woman--this must be Sahana--responded just as quickly, smile just as bright, and for a few moments the two women simply gripped each other's hands as they stood in the middle of the little shop and practically spoke over one another in what was clearly an excited chance to catch up.

[DaGlobster]

Sweet warmth settled in Merradin's chest when Elora returned his little token of bestial affection and he kept close to her side as they walked. Had he a tail at that moment, it no doubt would have been bumping against Elora's hip.

"What makes us stick out? Is it my accent?" Merradin chortled, letting a proper laugh sweep through him.  His laughter died down as they stepped into the small tailor's shop. The place was so well lit by the natural light and Merradin's eyes were able to take in the veritable kaleidoscope of colors inside. Indeed, his pupils widened as he absorbed all the details, all the swirls.

Merradin couldn't help but smile when Melly re-united with her friend, eyebrows rising curiously as they both just got straight into catching up. With an apologetic brush of his fingers, Merradin parted from Elora to inspect a sheet of cloth that seemed to have every shade of blue imaginable.

"Incredible..." he murmured to himself.

[DragonSong]

"I should've known," Elora chuckled, moving up next to him to take a closer look at the fabric that had caught his attention.

"You like this one?" The Yoreiqi woman turned her attention from Melisma as though she could smell a potential sale--but her eyes were bright and excited as she continued in stilted, heavily accented Common. "Is...good taste, this one."

Melly chuckled and said something to her in rapid-fire Yoreiqi. Sahana seemed to relax, a flash of gratitude over her face, and replied just as quickly. Turning her attention back to the two foreigners, Melisma translated, "She says you can take that down to look at, if you want. And she'd like to show you something specific." The last was said to Elora with a bright glimmer in her eyes that made the knight instinctively nervous.

She had a sudden flashback to being fifteen, with her governess trying to coax her into a skirt and corset. "Oh, err, really, that's--"

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

Melly grabbed her arm excitedly and passed her along to Sahana. Completely bemused, Elora craned her neck around to look at Merradin with wide eyes as the older woman started guiding her through the draping rows of cloth, mouthing, Help!

[DaGlobster]

He could take it down? What a delight! With a giddy smile that could only come from a dragon sampling a new flavor of exquisiteness and extravagance, he coaxed the cloth from its display hanger and into his hands.

"Oh, this is an absolute wonder," he said to himself, only noticing Elora's plight when the knight disappeared from his side. He had spread the cloth and held it up to the light, letting it filter the sunlight and marveling at how light it was but with such strong colors.

He sensed more movement, and broke his gaze from the cloth to see Elora being spirited away into the shop. She asked him for help, and with a distinctly reptilian blink and small smile he merely uttered an amused "Have fun, you two," before he sidestepped closer to Melisma, eager to show her his new obsession, and then yet more cloths that captivated him.

[DragonSong]

Damn overgrown lizard, Elora thought petulantly as she was led away.

Melly giggled lightly and waved before her attention was claimed by Merradin. She grinned, evidently thrilled with how much enjoyment he was getting from her friend's little shop. "I take it you're glad I brought you two here then?" she laughed quietly, passing one hand gently over the fabric and making a small, pleased noise at the feel of it.

Remind me to show you my hoard," she added with another little chuckle. "I have a few of Sahana's pieces. They're more like tapestries though, you don't really wear them."

It didn't take too long for the Yoreiqi tailor to return with Elora, and when she did the knight was blushing crimson in her new ensemble. It at least—at her very firm insistence—covered her breasts, but it felt to her as though it covered little else. The skirt had been wrapped and folded so it hung low in her hips, like Melisma's, and was a shade of deep, midnight blue. Tied loosely over her left hip, the fabric then crossed up her back and over her right shoulder to wrap snugly around her chest, any excess, doubling back to flip and and drape down behind her left shoulder.

Sahana was saying something, clearly very pleased with herself, as she lifted a bit of the excess cloth and held it closer to Elora's face—showing that the fabric was picked through with tiny threads of gold that caught and highlighted the similar flecks in her eyes.

Melly beamed and translated quickly, "She says your eyes are rare—well, rare on the islands—and she knew that fabric would suit you perfectly. She's very pleased, she says it's like it was made for you, and she's happy she finished working on it before you arrived." She paused, listening, then added with a chiming giggle, "She says you should find something silver, jewelry, on the mainland to wear with it. To compliment your hair."

Elora, feeling awkward and exposed but far less hunted than she would have thought, tried to give Sahana a smile as she shifted from foot to foot. "Er, that's...thank you. That's a very nice thought."

[DaGlobster]

"It's... I've never seen something quite so exquisite," Merradin said, holding it out so Melly could more easily pass a hand over the fabric. She made a pleased noise, and Merradin mirrored the cadence of the sound, but with his deeper tones.

"Such a lush blue. It's even in my shade," he said, and he let one of his arms become scaly and hands turn to talons. He put the fabric next to him, and Melly would be able to see that it was a near dead-ringer for his own coloration.

Melly offered to show him her hoard, and he was thankful that he was facing away from her, as his eyebrows could have shot into the ceiling with how high they went. Smoothing his expression over, he looked back to her. "That sounds lovely. I'm sure your hoard is very comfortable," he said with a playful glint in his eye. She was young, almost a child by dragon standards, and raised by a human to boot. She didn't know how personal it was for a dragon to let another into their hoard.

Although, with a twinge of sadness, he realized that she hadn't exactly had the chance to show anyone else.

"We'll be in Yoreiq for a week's time or so. We'll have all the time we need to see everything," he said, and then cast his eyes around the shop for another curiosity.

There! The first was simply folded over his arm as he approached a giant sheet that looked like someone had cut a rectangle out of a rainbow. "And this..." Merradin said, letting out a breathless chuckle. He passed a finger along where the red turned into purple, then into blue and green. How had she done it so smoothly? And it was so light!

He repeated this process with several things until he had a sizeable bundle of folded cloths in his arms and he was busy looking over his picks like a very pleased magpie when the rustle of cloth caught his attention. He looked up and saw Elora, his sharp eyes picking up those flecks of gold in the outfit, shimmering with her eyes as she moved from foot to foot. He let Melly and Sahana praise her for a moment, simply appreciating the sight of her before he parted from the cloth.

"I'm sure we can find something for her hair," he said softly, approaching Elora with a calm, inviting energy to him. He raised his hands, as if to preen at her dress, but simply smoothed one over her bare shoulder and used the other to play with some of the excess fabric.

"You make it look good," he said to Elora, meeting her eyes with a lower purr to his voice.

I could pull on this and unwrap you like a gift... came his mental voice, and he let the excess fabric go to simply pop a kiss onto her cheek to contrast his heated thoughts. Then, he turned to the two Yoreiqis, still holding onto Elora's hands and stroking the sides of her hands with his thumbs.

"Can I go next?" he said, looking to Melly with an eager smile.

[DragonSong]

Melly cooed over the shades of blue between his scales and the fabric, her own colorful wings fluttering a bit. She didn't seem to notice any hesitation or surprise on his part at her offer to show them her hoard, just tossed him another of those quick, bright smiles when he said they'd be on the islands for a week.

She stepped back a bit when Elora and Sahana returned, wanting to give the two of them space as she pulled the tailor gently aside; and a good thing, too, it seemed. She may not have been aware of the silent conversation--and was admittedly young and not well-versed in the behaviors of her own species--but even she could read some of the intent in Merradin's body language when he approached his mate.

Elora went still under his touch--not the kind of automatic, tense wariness she sometimes got when he touched her without her expecting it, but rather something warm and shivery that seemed to surge to meet his voice in her mind.

Still blushing, she tipped her head slightly to the side and raised one eyebrow at him as he pulled back from kissing her cheek. Careful, Lightning Eater. You tug too hard and that's exactly what you'll be doing--I have no idea how she even got this thing to stay on me.

Blissfully oblivious to the silent conversation, Melly beamed in response to Merradin's question and nodded quickly. "Of course! Though I fear you may have to pick just one or two of those to start with, if you want to emulate island fashion," she added with a chuckle, nodding to the pile of fabric in his arms--and then quickly turning to Sahana to translate the request.

[DaGlobster]

At Elora's affirmation that indeed, the garment could come off with just a tug, Elaros' cheeks warmed considerably and he just smoothed a hand along her shoulder. A ripple of anticipation shot through him involuntarily, but he reigned in his potent instincts and instead turned to face Melly with a smile, hoping the young dragoness could take his mind off of the growing warmth in his chest.

She succeeded, but not in a way he wanted. Merradin's features fell a little, and he looked to Sahana, then Melly.

"I have to pick?" he said, sounding just a little bit like a spoiled child and not like a dragon that had been around longer than the current dynasty ruling Adela's throne.

He looked down at the riot of colors in his arms, and set the bundle down onto a seat. After a moment looking down at it, he instead looked back to Sahana, speaking directly to her and expecting Melly to translate.

"Do... do you have anything that goes with this?" He started, and he held his hands out to Sehana, letting his human disguise fall away and revealing the deep sky-blue scales and black talons of his reptilian limbs. His shirt fluttered up on his back as he let his wings out and an electric crackle filled the room for just a moment. His dark horns sprouted up, sweeping back across his head with a few bright crackles of lightning jumping between them for a moment, framed by his blackish-grey hair reminiscent of a storm cloud.

[DragonSong]

Elora seemed entirely unmoved by Merradin's distress, rolling her eyes fondly, but Melly hurried to reassure, "I did say to start."

Sahana, despite a lack of direct translation, seemed to understand that basics of what was happening and smiled brightly, starting to say something to the younger dragon before Merradin held out his hands to her and let scales ripple out over his skin. The Yoreiqi woman's eyes widened and she took a step back, a flicker of fear in her expression before she looked to Melisma.

Without thinking, Elora found herself moving forward, placing herself partially between Merradin and the two women. Immediately, Sahan's expression softened--she actually chuckled, murmuring something that Melly quickly translated as, "She says it's, ah...it's unusual to see the maiden defending the dragon." Flicking her eyes up to Merradin's, she added as Sahana made a wide gesture with her hands before disappearing back into the riot of fabrics, "She's going to find something, shouldn't take but a few minutes."

Elora, who had gone a little red, cleared her throat and tried to shuffle to she side to give Merradin more space. "I thought you said these people were used to dragons?"

Melly shrugged a little apologetically. "They're used to me, but I'm not exactly...typical." She smiled brightly and continued quickly, "She was just a little nervous for a moment, she's fine now."

[DaGlobster]

Sahana's comment about the maiden defending the dragon elicited a pleased smile on Merradin's face, and he nodded gently to agree with her. As Elora shuffled aside, embarrassed by her protective instincts, Merradin simply approached and gave the side of her neck an appreciative nuzzle.

"It's partly my fault, me and my flair for the dramatic," he said, face still turned into Elora's neck. One of his wings went to her back and he held onto her rather tenderly. His tail started to make pleased little waves.

"Although this one is hardly a maiden," he said in a lower tone, more to Elora than to Melly herself as a little color entered his cheeks and he popped a kiss onto Elora's temple.

[DragonSong]

A faint shiver rippled through her when Merradin came in close behind her and nuzzled into her neck, making her flush a little darker. Still, she tilted her head slightly to accommodate him, not noticing the way Melly glanced at them and then quickly away again with a wry, blushy smile.

Getting the feeling this was distinctly not a moment to intrude on, the younger dragon busied herself with examining a sheet of thin fabric that moved like liquid silk as she drew it through her fingers.

Elora felt her skin heat slightly as Merradin teased in her ear; she tried to shrug it off with a crooked smile flashed over her shoulder at him. "Haven't been for quite a while, and I make no apologies for it," she sniffed.

Which was about the moment Sahana reappeared, a bundle of fabric in her arms, and started speaking quickly to Melly as she approached and let it unfurl, either ignoring or not noticing how close Elora and Merradin were now standing.

The cloth was a gradient of dark blues, each shade bleeding into the next in a rippling, uneven pattern that make it look like a shifting night sky when Sahana shook the fabric out delicately. Melly listened, then translated, "She says she has others that you might like, some that are...gods, how would you say it? Flashier. But she thought you might like to see this one first. And..."

She trailed off as Sahana continued speaking, reaching into the fold of her own wrapped skirt to retrieve something. What she held out to them on an open palm with a pleased smile was a long, thin cord of braided golden thread.

Melly chuckled quietly. "Ah, that's some of what was left over from making Elora's ha'arin. Er, dress. She says it's...surprisingly strong. Would make for good, um..." She paused, lips pursed. "I'm sorry, there's not a good translation for it. There's this... Some Yoreiqi fashion, ah, accessories of sorts...no, that's not quite right, um...pieces, I suppose, that partners sometimes choose to compliment each other, and each will wear a half of the set." She shrugged. "Monogamy is hardly the done thing on the islands, but there are certainly pairs who have lifelong partnerships."

Elora blinked at the offered cord. "Oh. Ah. That's...very nice of her."

[DaGlobster]

There was something distinct about Merradin's satisfaction with Melly's reaction. Watching the young dragoness turn away with a blush on her cheeks seemed to provoke him somehow, and he'd started to wrap his arms around Elora's waist, keeping his hands on the fabric so he wouldn't tease the poor knight too much.

When Sahana reappeared, Merradin reluctantly parted from Elora so he could pay attention, finding it far too difficult to do so otherwise. The rippling dark blue cloth caught his attention and he detached himself from Elora's side to approach, face full of wonder.

Of particular interest was the gold thread, which he accepted once Sahana had held it out to them. Melly, to her credit, was a dragon who seemed to value art and aesthetic over anything else, but Merradin was the picture of a mainland dragon as he drew wide eyes over the golden sheen of the threads.

A short sniff of the air, and his pleased smile grew further. He turned to Elora, holding the loop of thread up next to her head, using her eyes to gauge just how golden the thread was.

"It's perfect," he said in disbelief, and he dipped his hand back down to hold it towards Sahana, returning it to her. "Almost pure, too." He looked down at the Yoreiqi woman and his wings tucked in tighter to his back. He was conscious that the people of Yoreiq used their wings for body language just as much as any other part of their bodies, so he didn't want to mix any signals in that regard. Still, he addressed Sahana directly, confident Melly would translate.

"I'd rather start with the simple piece, gold thread and all. Something I can let my wings out in," he said, then he dipped closer to Melly to add something else in a lower voice.

"She impresses me. If I like the others, I might just buy half the store."

[DragonSong]

When he tried to hand the thread back, Sahana curled his fingers around it and patted the back of his hand, smiling. Melly felt confident she didn't need to translate that--it was a gift.

She chuckled quietly as she relayed Merradin's words to the tailor, then added to him under her breath, "With mainland gold, she'd be set at the ports for a month or so."

She tilted her head and listened as Sahana started answering the older dragon, gesturing expressively, and translated while she spoke, "There's more privacy in the back, if you like, or she can show you the appropriate styles here. She knows mainlanders are sometimes more finicky about that sort of thing."

Elora huffed quietly behind them, remembering how insistent she'd had to be about the strip of fabric covering her breasts when the tailor had dressed her. "You don't say."

[DaGlobster]

When it became clear that the gold thread was a gift, Merradin's eyes went a little wider and he made sure to delicately set it down alongside the sections of cloth he'd selected. He had to break away from Elora to do so, but he was silently thankful. His heat had been rising within him and he found himself needing a reprieve.

"Gold?" Merradin said as he looked back to Melisma, smile growing quite like that of a very pleased peacock. he chuckled and started to shift his vest off of his shoulders.

"Here is fine," he said, never shy about himself, he said, and he let it flutter down to his elbows so his wings could spread more fully.

[DragonSong]

Sahana beamed and clapped her hands together again before moving forward to begin showing him how to drape the fabrics around his body in a handful of different styles common to the islands.

Elora, for her part, found herself blushing—illogically, considering neither Melisma nor Sahana seemed bothered by the situation, and it wasn't as though Merradin was showing anything she hadn't seen before—and she shuffled back a few steps to give them room. She forced herself to look at some of the fabrics around them rather than the expanse of skin suddenly visible.

Dear gods. She needed to get ahold of herself.

[DaGlobster]

Merradin couldn't help but to chuckle lightly at Elora's prudishness, amused that he could slay the formidable knight with the mere sight of his bare torso. It was fortunate then for her that she had her back turned when he finished undressing and submitted himself to Sahana's preening fingers and enthusiastic gestures.

Soon, the wondrous night-sky garment was draped around Elaros and he settled on an orientation. It cloaked his shoulders and upper chest, leaving the rest of his torso open to the air. The cloth looped back and came to rest low on his hips, widening back out again to offer him minimal modesty in the form of a knee-length section clipped over one side of his hip but not the other, leaving a sensual tilt to the fabric. The back was open, of course, to allow for future usage of his wings. The excess was wrapped around his forearms, trailing back towards the main body of the garment like the trailing whisps behind a dark cloud.

[DragonSong]

Elora had enough training to be able to have a vague sense of the process just by keeping a lookout from the corner of her eye. When Merradin was dressed, she turned back to the little group and gave him a small smile.

“It looks good,” she murmured, taking a step toward him and automatically reaching out to run her fingertips over the fabric where it crossed his chest, following the line of it down to his hip. “Suits you.”

“It does,” Melisma chirped happily, reminding Elora that she was actually there. She startled a bit and snatched her hand back, color rising in her cheeks, but neither Melly nor Sahana seemed to notice. Or if they did, they were tactful enough not to say anything.

Sahana gestured widely, once again using her heavily accented Common rather than letting Melly translate as she tipped her head to the side to look Merradin up and down. “You like it? Trade for it?”

[DaGlobster]

Merradin's eyes smoldered as Elora approached, thrilled that she found how it fit him as irresistible as he'd found hers. He did his absolute best not to purr as her fingers traced down low, eyes narrowing as she dared to go low.

When Melisma chirped in, Elora wasn't the only one who had started slightly, as Merradin was about to start leaning into the hand on his hip.

Merradin was thankful for Sehana and her wide gestures, and was able to focus less on the dusting of color on his own cheeks.

"In a heartbeat," he said, and motioned to himself.

"This one, definitely. And... " he trailed off as he looked back to the sections of cloth he'd picked out. Gauging just how much could fit in the saddlebag, and so on.

From his picks, he procured a section of nearly air-thin cloth with silvery glitters in it, usable as a shawl or cloak, as well as (after another thoughtful pause) a very large cloud white sheet suitable for draping over something at home or as a blanket.

"These for sure, and I don't mind trying out those other outfit ideas you had," he said, preening at his new outfit quite like a peacock.

[DragonSong]

Elora cleared her throat quietly as she stepped away from him, hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt, and watched with some amusement as Sahana enthusiastically began wrapping up the bundled of fabric Merradin had indicated and chattering away at him in Common--now that they were specifically talking business, she seemed to have the proper vocabulary to make do.

Melisma chuckled quietly and moved up beside the knight as she cocked her head at her friend and the other dragon. "It seems you're quite pleased to submit yourself to Sahana's care a while longer," she noted with a quick smile at Merradin, then added, "Would you mind terribly if I stole your mate for a few moments?"

That made Elora start, glancing over at the other young woman with her eyebrows raised. "To do what?"

Melly just grinned at her, eyes sparkling happily. "You'll see!"

[DaGlobster]

"Just for a while," Merradin confirmed, passing his fingers along the lines of cloud-light fabric that covered him. His eyes were mostly on the colorful source of energy and sound that was Sahana. Something about her enthusiasm was contagious and Merradin could only smile as she got to work bundling up his picks, chattering all the way.

"It's not often I meet a clothier that knows how to treat me," he continued. With a gentle pull, he undid most of the garment so that he could get into the next one.

He shot a glance back towards Elora and Melisma, and merely smiled. He was facing Sahana, so the two of them would get a nice view of Merradin's back and rear as he bared himself shamelessly again.

"Have fun you two, I think I'll let this one spoil me for a little longer."