The Trouble with Magic

[DragonSong]

@Fukurou

Verik huffed out a sigh as he leaned back against his dragon's flank, glaring around at the people who bustled past. Of course he wasn't really glaring- his brow was slightly furrowed and his lips drawn a little tight, but to those who knew him it was an intense expression of irritation or displeasure.

He didn't really want to be annoyed with the world, he was just uncomfortable. It was unsettling enough that he and Ban had been off their game lately, unable to operate as the cohesive unit they'd once been, but now he was stuck waiting on a mage.

Fine, he was probably a perfectly nice mage. But magic gave him the shivers, and he'd certainly been less than thrilled when a friend in his unit recommended he contact the man about his problem. But of course things could never be that easy, and the man had told him he had a contact who might be able to help, and that they should plan to meet in one of the lower districts of the city in a week.

And here it was, a week later, and no magic man. Of course.

[Fukurou]

Quincey muttered nervously to himself as he scuttled through the streets of Ketra, his wide hazel eyes darting about in search for the man who had hired him. His contact was nowhere to be found and surely the hulking warrior would be quite cross with him right about now. Perhaps if he had contacted him with any other issue, he would have been able to help. But cursed objects? Demons? Spirits? Quincey refused to so much as think about these topics, at least, not with his luck. No, this was a job for someone with a little more background in such subjects. Someone who's just as ill-tempered as the man who was hired. Someone who happened to be late and was nowhere to be found.

Just as the halfling turned the corner, he spotted a very displeased Verik and his dragon scanning the crowd in search for the mage.

"Uh-hem," Quincey said as he tentatively approached the man, rubbing his hands together and keeping his head low so that his shaggy brown hair just barely reached the top of his eyes. "I'm... very sorry, Mr. Verik. I'm sure my contact will be here soon. I--I went looking for him. Maybe he got lost or... had an accident or something. But I'm sure he's on his way and that he'll be arriving soon... I'm very sorry... I'll--" he gulped. "I'll shut up now..."

[DragonSong]

Bane saw their contact first and snorted to alert his rider. Verik looked around at the small man and sighed as he started shuffling and making apologies.

Great. Just great.

"Oh- lift your head, would you? It's not like I'm about to eat you." He had to bit his tongue and take a breath. Relax. Not his fault you're irritable. "Just...stop apologizing. Does your friend normally show up late?"

[Fukurou]

Quincey peered up at the man with his wide, nervous eyes. "Oh, yes I'm sorry. Oh shoot! You told me to stop apologizing! Sorry! Shoot..." He frantically swung his head in each direction, looking for any sign of the mage before he settled his eyes back on Verik. "Master Rylzyr, uh, he... comes when he pleases." A sheepish smile cracked across the Halfling's face as he rubbed his hands together nervously. "He, uh... He'll be here! I promise, he's just--"

"Quincey." A voice rang out as towering figure stepped through the crowd and up to the two men. As the he rested a hand on the top of the Halfling's head, Quincey jumped and quickly turned to meet the mage's scowling face. "Shut up."

[DragonSong]

Verik started and Bane jerked his head back with a growl, tail lashing and almost knocking over a passer-by, who scurried away nervously.

The corporal suddenly narrowed his eyes at the newcomer, instinctively wary. "You." His eyes flicked to Quincey, then back. "You're Rylzyr?" He snorted. "No one told me you were a...whatever you are."

[Fukurou]

"X'zyi," he answered dryly, eyeing the dragon before settling his cold gaze onto Verik. "Well, I'm here. What now?"

"Oh, um..." Quincey squirmed under Rylzyr's hand before finally breaking free and scuttling between the two men. "This is Rylzyr, but  you already know that... Uh, Rylzyr, this is Verik and Bane. They have a, well..."

[DragonSong]

"This." Verik held his left hand out before the poor halfling could babble more. On his wrist was a simple enough bracelet- gold chain with a few red and black stones set along its length. The damn thing had been a gift from his sister, though of course he assumed she didn't know what she'd given him.

"No one seems keen to tell me what exactly it is, but once I put it on I couldn't get it off. And it's..." He looked at Bane with a frown. The dragon huffed and shifted his bulk uncomfortably, a low rumble that wasn't quite yet a growl echoing in his chest.

"It's fu- screwing with us," he grumbled with a shrug. He didn't have any concrete evidence to that fact, but ever since he'd put the bracelet on things had been...strained between he and his partner. Cues were misunderstood, tempers were shorter than ever, even once or twice they hadn't been able to communicate at all.

[Fukurou]

Rylzyr stepped over the Halfling and up to Verik. He inched his face up close to the bracelet, peering at it with narrowed eyes.

"Did your sister say where she got this?" Rylzyr reached out to grab the bracelet, feeling a surge of dark magical energy creep up his arm.

[DragonSong]

Verik hissed quietly in surprise and tried to jerk his arm back. He wasn't used to people getting so close, touching him so easily.

Scowling and trying to hide his discomfort, he muttered, "No. Well- I don't think it would help. Said she got it from one of those novelty traders in the market district. Y'know, traveler, his goods' cart doubles as a stall. By the time I figured out the thing was screwy and tried to find him he'd moved on."

[Fukurou]

"Hm..." As Verik jerked his hand away, Rylzry took a step back. "That's too bad..." he said as he continued to examine the bracelet while rubbing his chin. Rylzyr looked up at the dragon, then to the warrior before him. "Tell me... What exactly has been the problem?"

[DragonSong]

"I'm..not sure If I can be exact," Verik admitted reluctantly after a moment. "It's complicated, unless you're familiar with how this works." He gestured between himself and Bane. "Dragonriders, I mean. And our dragons. That...bond."

[Fukurou]

"I see..." Rylzyr muttered. "Could I, perchance, speak with this sister of yours?"

[DragonSong]

That got a real growl out of Bane, but Verik quickly laid a hand on his shoulder in a silent command to calm down.

"That depends." His eyes were narrowed slightly, flicking over the other man. "I don't know you. I don't really trust you. Give me a reason to."

[Fukurou]

"Well, I could just go home," Rylzyr said as he crossed his arms.

"M-Master Rylzyr!" Quincey stammered as he stepped forward. "Please, there's not need!" He laughed nervously as he turned his attention to Verik. "Master Rylzyr means no harm, sir! I'm sure he really wants to help, it's just--"

"I don't really care," Rylzyr interjected with an air of apathy to his voice.

"S-Sir!" Quincey practically jumped in the air and spun to face the towering mage. He whipped back around to face Verik. "What he means is--"

"Ugh, shut up, Quincey," Rylzyr growled. "I swear, you are so irritating!" Rylzyr turned his attention back to Verik, irritation painting his eyes as a slight scowl lay across his face. "Look. I only want to talk to you sister about where she obtained that bracelet. Trust me, I don't want anything else from her. But, as I said, I don't really care and I can just go home."

[DragonSong]

This time Verik didn't stop Bane's growling, and as the dragon lashed his tail he nearly took out a nearby storefront.

"Excuse me for being cautious," the corporal snapped, "but I'm hardly in love with the idea of showing some strange, irritable mage to my sister's home."

But...he really did need the help, and no one else seemed able to do it.

Folding his arms, Verik huffed and leaned back against Bane's shoulder. "You make one wrong move and I swear to gods I will take you down."

[Fukurou]

Rylzyr rolled his eyes at the growling dragon and waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, yes. Whatever you say." He turned to his colleague and gave him a curt nod. "Thank you Quincey. You may go now."

"Y-Yes." Quicey bowed to both Rylzyr and Verik. He smiled at the warrior and said, "If you're in need of my assistance, please feel free to contact me. Oh, and, Rylzyr, your payment...."

"I'll send Bryn over to pick it up later."

"Y-yes. Young Mistress Bryn. That'll do just fine. A-anyway, I must get back to my studies. Have a good day, gentlemen." With another bow, Quincey bolted off, tripping slightly over his feat before disappearing into the crowd.

Rylzyr turned to Verik and looked at him expectantly.

[DragonSong]

Verik arched an eyebrow. "You're awfully sharp with him for someone who's supposed to be your friend," he noted wryly.

With a growling sort of sigh he ran a hand over his close cropped hair and glanced at Bane. The dragon blinked back at him, impassive.

"Fine then." He huffed and looked back to Rylzyr. "So...you're coming with us?"

[Fukurou]

"You don't understand," Rylzyr said with a mix of exhaustion and exasperation. "This is the fifth time he's called me down here within these last two months." He ran a hand through his thick, wavy hair as he let out a long sigh. "Last time, his basement was 'haunted.' It ended up being a group of snot-nosed children with too much time on their hands and not enough adult supervision. Tsch. If anything I'm too nice..." Ryzlry slowly shook his head and sighed once more. "Anyway, yes. I'm coming."

[DragonSong]

"Hmph." Verik didn't really address that- though he couldn't say he was surprised, the little man had seemed the nervous type.

"Fine. Get on." He swung himself up onto Bane's back with the ease of long practice and held his hand down to the mage as the dragon dipped to make mounting easier.

[Fukurou]

Rylzyr hesitated as he watched the man jump onto the back of the dragon. "Is that necessary?" A frown formed across his face as he shifted his weight onto one leg. "Surely she lives within walking distance."