Blood and Sand

[Magyar]

Bolion grunted in agreement, flourishing a hand at Erthas, belly up and sunbathing as he was. The giant lizard had all four legs in the air and one of his hind legs was twitching idly.

"My noble steed, for the lady," he said snootily, trying for all the world to keep from smiling. Erthas was something, even if lizards weren't his thing. He beat out horses for sure.

"You can take the reins," Bolion said, "I'm going to catch a nap."

[DragonSong]

"Oh, you leave him alone," Della laughed, going up to the lizard to scratch his chest and tummy. Erthas crooned and rolled over onto his side, then lumbered to his feet as she nudged him, murmuring, "C'mon, boy, up."

She nodded at Bol as she swung up onto his back, holding her hand down. "Just don't fall off. Goodness knows little l' me wouldn't know how to survive this strange city all by my lonesome." She batted her eyes innocently, mouth curved into a smirk at one corner.

[Magyar]

"Oh I think you'd be fine," he said, taking her hand and swinging up, "You would never go hungry for sure, seeing as you could pay for meals with storeroom romps." He lifted her tail, sliding his leg underneath it and securing himself in the saddle. Once he would have been uncomfortable with the ass-appendage draped over his thigh, but he didn't mind.

He let his hands rest on her hips, fitting his fingers to the same grooves he'd explored with his thumbs moments before. "Let's get out of here."

[DragonSong]

"Ass," Della accused, but almost fondly. She gave Erthas a little click and a nudge with her heels to get him moving as she settled back into the curve of Bol's body, which felt suddenly easier than it had been before.

"Point me in the right direction, then you can take your nap," she tossed over her shoulder as she moved the lizard out onto the street.

[Magyar]

"Down the main road, the one that goes through the whole city," he told her, tracing the mental map as he did, "A large domed building five minutes south of here, just east of the road. Don't stop for the vendors, half of them are thieves and the vending is a gimmick to get you distracted."

A cheeky grin that she couldn't see spread on his face, before he said, "Ass? Why do the random cooks and waiters get ass? Seems a little intimate for a plate of decent southern food."

[DragonSong]

Della elbowed him. "Take your nap, or I'll put you to sleep," she warned as she turned Erthas to follow his directions.

[Magyar]

"If you threaten me," Bolion started, "I'll never get to sleep. I'll constantly be wondering about the horned crazy lady who wants to kill me."

He leaned back in the saddle, against their travel bags. It was an inpromptu chair, but it worked. He snickered to himself, before saying, "Y'know, that would make a great mystery-thriller. A travelling assassin who fucks people, and then hunts them down. It's like the best death sentence ever. Or you get tot choose," he dropped his voice, low and foreboding, "spend one night with the deadly temptress, and pay the consequences, or leave a womanless wanker, but live to fuck another day!"

He laughed to himself, still not napping. He continued, "It really brings a wholeness new meaning to flirting with death."

[DragonSong]

Letting Erthas's reins go slack as they trundled down the street- there really wasn't anywhere for him to wander off-- Della flopped back until she was pressed against Bol's chest, horns nearly pricking his skin.

"If I promise you'll love to fuck another day, will go to sleep? Because of you keep this up, I'm certainly not gonna be the one fucking you."

[Magyar]

"It's not like you won't if you're feeling horny," he said, tracing a finger across the ribbed surface of one of her horns, "Because I'm all you've got as of now. Unlike you, however, I have no qualms with finding a fuckbudy at a pub."

As tired as he was, conversation was fun and he wasn't doing much else. He was resting, if not sleeping, and that's what mattered.

[DragonSong]

Della reached back at an awkward ankle to tickle his ribs vindictively. "I'd gone three years without getting some before you and along. I'm perfectly content with three more."

[Magyar]

"Hey now," He said, suppressing a spasm and grabbing her hand, "Don't tickle me, I'll fall off. Then you'll be all alone, and you'll have to become an actual prostitute. I don't want that, I don't think you want that either."

He kept her hand above her head, grasping it to make sure she couldn't tickle him again. He traced his finger down the underside of the same horn he'd been exploring, feeling along the inner ridges. "I dunno about that. You were pretty desperate to come to me. I mean, look at me: I'm fantastic yes, but not exactly a heartthrob. My talents lie elsewhere, and sometimes I'm so fantastic that some people think I'm an asshole for almost no good reason."

[DragonSong]

A shiver started at the top of her head and cascaded down her neck and spine like a miniature waterfall. Della glared and wriggled a bit- there was nothing inherently sexual in the way he touched her, or even the reaction the pressure of his hand on her horn inspired, but it did bring to mind the last time that had happened...

"I came to you because we'd been playing parts that required you to get me ridiculously turned on and then leave me high and dry for days," she grumbled, twisting her wrist in a gentle effort to free herself from his grip. "And people think you're an asshole because you say things like "I'm so fantastic"," she added wryly.

[Magyar]

Bolion sighed, smiling, and said, "Yeah... I know. That's one of the two reasons I do it, the other being that I'm highly narcissistic. What better way to piss people off than being awesome and knowing how awesome you're being?"

Bolion shot her back a glare, "Stop squirming, I haven't done anything yet. And I will accept full responsibility for assigning those roles. It's not important that they were assigned, I don't think... The important part is what followed, I believe." Bolion leaned over Della, looking down on her. His hair fell loosely off of the back of his head, and he blew at it unsuccessfully. He sighed, resigned to having a hair curtain. Some would say he looked positively brutal.

[DragonSong]

Della giggled as he leaned over her and reached up to brush his hair out of his face, wrinkling her nose at him as she held it back with her fingers.

"You actually look like a merc when you do that," she noted. "Doesn't suit you."

[Magyar]

"No?" he asked, cheeky smile spreading wide, "Don't they say to dress for the job you want? I'm not really looking for a career change."

He looked up at nothing in particular, sneering and dropping his voice to a gravelly rumble, "I need to put on an image Deloria! They need to know I'm a badass!"

[DragonSong]

Smirking, Della sat up and twisted a bit to kiss the tip of his nose, patting his head. "Yes, yes, you're very fierce," she said blandly, eyes glinting, before turning back around to take the reins up properly again.

[Magyar]

"See," he started, swiping back some of his hair behind his left ear in an almost feminine fashion, "I know you're being sarcastic, but that really gets me going. It's like my ego is a ballon and your nonchalant comments inflate it endlessly."

Bolion was left leaning against his saddlebags, and his chest and midriff were no longer warmed by Della. Sure, she was cold by normal people standards, but it was night and a chill was in the air. Anything was better than nothing. He pushed off of the bags, sliding his hands around Della's waist and leaning his chin onto her shoulder. Eyes closed and comfortable, he tried to sleep. His success was limited, and he remained droopy eyed and sluggish, but awake.

[DragonSong]

Della glanced at him sidelong before rolling her eyes and giving a little click to Erthas, urging him to change his gait slightly so their ride evened out.

She figured she'd let her companion sleep as long as she could- hopefully later he'd return the favor.

[Magyar]

The baths were a luxurious affair, large domed buildings containing gigantic wading pools and heated public springs. The showers were arranged almost like cubicles, row on row of single cells, reminiscent of a monastery's barracks.

Bolion had settled into a light snooze, just groggy enough to be of entirely no use to Della, but still close enough to consciousness to awaken when their arrival eventually occurred. He'd gotten plenty comfortable, leaning his cheek on Della's shoulder, effectively using her as a pillow. His dreaming was muddled and incomplete, and even with the constant heat of his riding companion, there was a coldness to him. He was uneasy, asleep or awake.

[DragonSong]

"Bol." Della shrugged her shoulders in an effort to wake Bolion. "C'mon, up. We're here." She slid off Erthas's back, arching her back and reaching her hands over her head in a long stretch.