Stop, you fiend! [M] [Aeyt!]

[Rhindeer]

"Yes, we have to go," Maya said, and captured his face between her hands as she pressed her lips to his, nibbling and sucking and ruining her makeup. It would be gone by the time they reached the festival, but Maya didn't truly care. It was for him, so he could ruin it. Besides, she had brought some with her, tucked inside a pouch she wore under her skirt. She could reapply it later so he could muss it up anew.

"This only happens once a year," she continued, letting out a little gasp as she arched under his hands, and ground against him in the process. Her hands glided to his shoulders for support and she kissed him again, hard, and dared to move her hips against him just a little harder, just a little more urgently. They were both clothed, so that was fine, right? Him in breeches, she in her skirts and underpants. A little was okay. If she had to be good, she could be a little bad in a safe way. She kissed his neck, nibbled at his earlobe.

"But that doesn't mean we can't still steal away when we've seen all we want to see." Another kiss, fingers curling into his shoulders. "I want to dance with you tonight."

[Aeytrious]

        Lex let out the smallest sound at Maya's grinding. His arousal hard against her, it was a delight to feel her. The dress pants he wore were thinner than the ones he normally wore, the material letting him feel the lips of her sex against his member. His desire to tear off her clothes grew, but he controlled his passion. His hips moved only slightly as Maya controlled the pace of her grinding. Lex explored Maya's mouth with his tongue, as his hands wandered, touching skin in places it was usually covered. A hand slid up her thigh, squeezing gently as it did. The other rubbed her bottom, squeezing it softly through her skirts, feeling the line of her unusually small underclothes.
        Normally she wore those things that went half way down her thigh, but not tonight. He could feel that they didn't even entirely cover her bottom. Perhaps they were Essyrni styled as much of the rest of her outfit. Wherever they were from he liked them, they covered less skin. That gave him a better chance at feeling warm soft flesh in places he normally wasn't able to.
        Lex reached under Maya's skirt in his most daring move yet, moving the fabric of those skirts away completely so only her underwear were between her sex and his breeches. Maya even let him touch the bare part of her bottom, and bury his face in her bosoms. He was feeling quite lucky at how far she was letting him push the boundaries when he remembered his sword. Still belted at his side it was still blessing him with unbreakable luck.
        All at once Lex stopped. No longer did his hips swivel. His hands came out from under Maya's skirts.  He kissed her a few more times, with less passion as he slid her off his lap to sit beside him. He didn't know if the sword worked like that, if it would help him get lucky with Maya, but he didn't want to risk it. At her confusion he simply unhooked his belt and set it aside. Then he pulled her back on his lap, but not into a straddle. He could feel the moisture from her sex, and his, soaking through his pants. Better not to have to deal with wet breeches. His kisses continued, his hands wandered less, but they still caressed across her exposed flesh.
        "I love the taste of your mouth," Lex said between kisses. With a wink and a smile he told Maya, "there are other places I'd love to taste if you'd only let me."

[Rhindeer]

Things were escalating quickly, growing hotter, and she knew she'd relaxed some boundaries drastically as his hands wandered beneath her skirts and touched places usually forbidden, but she didn't care to stop him. She would halt him if he went further than she was ready to go, but for now she enjoyed it, let herself grind against his erection and shudder at the delicious friction. She was growing wet, could feel it soaking her undergarments (and his breeches), but that was what layered skirts were for, she supposed. Tonight was a special night, so why not indulge a little? And her excitement only grew at the fact that they were enjoying each other in a carriage--how scandalously clandestine could they get?

It was just starting to get good--a little too good--her lips swollen from kisses and from biting down on them to keep from moaning when, abruptly, he stopped. His hips stilled, his hands retreated, and Maya looked up at him in confusion and alarm as he slid her off of him.

What? Had she done something? Gone too far? Or maybe it was...the other girl. The woman he'd told her about, the one he loved. Concern bloomed within her, and an unexpected spark of jealousy, but before the emotion could truly take root, Lex removed his belt and pulled her back into his lap.

...Oh.

Was that just uncomfortable?

...Hah. Of course. Of course it wasn't the other girl. She wasn't being paranoid or anything. Wasn't like she cared about that. Ahem.

Now sitting sideways across his lap, she could no longer grind against him, but that was probably for the better. The break (and the worry) had cooled her blood and her passion, and she looped her arms around his neck to hold him and kiss him with more tenderness than heat. Though that heat soon returned in a blush at his next words.

"Other places?" she repeated with a raised eyebrow. Oh, she knew exactly what he meant. A man in Essyrn that she'd traded kisses with had whispered the suggestion into her ear, but she had most certainly not been interested in more than just kissing at the time. She just knew a lady probably wasn't supposed to know, though, and it was fun playing coy.

[Aeytrious]

        Lex could tell Maya was playing coy, and he knew she was extremely turned on. The sword was no longer influencing his luck, so Lex pushed the boundary again. He lifted Maya from his lap again and dropped to the floor in front of her. “There are so many places I want to kiss,” he told her. Maya’s skirts were still ruffled and bunched above her knees so lifting her leg and kissing her bare ankle was a simple task. Lex kisses and nibbles his way up the side of her calf. He spread her legs, pushing her skirts up further to kiss the inside of her thigh. He bit her there, a little harder than usual, in a slow sensual way. Then Lex pulled Maya forward so that her ass was barely on the bench, ducked under her skirts, and put his mouth against her sex.
        Maya’s undergarments were soaked with her arousal and Lex could taste her through their thin fabric. He put his fingertips at each of her ankles and traced them up her legs as he tongued her clit through her wet panties. When his hands were up under her skirts he slid his fingers under the underwear and pulled them free of her hips. He had to pull away as he slid them past her knees, and then lifted one of her slippered feet out of them. The drenched panties were left to dangle around one ankle as Lex went back under Maya’s skirts to feast upon her. He lapped up her pooling juices, and sucked the excess moisture from her dripping pussy before moving up to her clit. While he had only ever had sex with Karis, kissing a woman’s sex was something Lex was a bit more experienced with.
        Lex deftly used one of his hands to hold up Maya’s hood as he pressed his mouth against her pleasure button. He gently sucked it, rubbing it with his tongue. His other hand was rubbing the opening of her slit, dipping the tip of his thumb in on occasion. Lex licked and sucked, reading Maya’s body and breathing, maintaining the movements that elicited the most response from her. He knew they didn’t have long, so he he pulled out all the stops in pushing Maya toward orgasm.

[Rhindeer]

Was she really going to allow this? Maya thought about it as Lex knelt between her legs and kissed her ankle, considered it as he pushed her skirts up and traveled up her calf, her thigh. Her breathing hitched, lips pressed together to hold in a small noise when he bit her inner thigh, and her hands raked through his hair, mussing his style. She could stop him whenever she wanted. She knew he would respect that. But his teeth against her skin, his breath a hot tickle, his lips caressing and teasing...

They all made a very strong argument.

He pulled her forward and ducked beneath her skirts, and the instant his mouth was on her, she knew she didn't want to say no.

"Lex," she breathed, voice low, hushed, face hot, because though they were in privacy she feared the driver might be able to hear. With her skirts in the way, she could no longer grab at his hair, so instead she bunched her hands up in her skirts and leaned back in the seat, gasping as he teased her through her undergarments, which were now utterly ruined. Her hips jerked, her eyes fluttering, and it seemed impossible that it could get better--until she felt him slide her undergarments down, off her hips, off one leg...

"Oh!" she gasped, hips bucking, when he touched her with no barriers between them. It was good, shockingly so. She had explored her body on her own, and she knew how to satisfy herself, but this? It was different, better, like he knew her body better than even she did, knew exactly how to touch it to make her writhe. The excitement of knowing it was him touching her probably played a part, but a tongue and mouth also felt vastly different from fingers, and sucking was far more intense than rubbing. And when his fingers joined with the process, dipping teasingly as his mouth worked its magic...

She gasped, grabbed at his head through her skirts, her body trembling and tensing and breath alternating between frantic pants and not breathing at all. Oh no. Oh no. It was good. Too good. Dangerously so, the pleasure building sharply and threatening to crash over her. She squirmed, tried to speak, but all that came out were little moans. "L-Lex...Lex, wait...!" Oh gods, she was going to come. Oh no...

"Lex, Lex, gods, wait, I'm--" She cut off, biting back a moan, and sucked in a trembling breath. "Oh gods, wait, I-I'm--I'm gonna scream," she gasped, and lifted her skirts to bury her face against them, muffling her voice as her body seized, her legs tight against his head and body shuddering with pleasure.

[Aeytrious]

        As Maya climaxed, Lex continued administering pressure on her clit with his thumb as his mouth slid down to drink in her come. As the trembling began to abate Lex pulled his head out from under Maya's skirts to look at her. Panting and a bit ruffled, she glowed with the pleasure he'd given her. He kept his hand on her pussy, gently rubbing it, keeping her in a state of lesser excitement. He pulled a kerchief from his coat wiping any excess that had gotten on his face instead of in his mouth. While Maya was in her current state of pleasure he moved to kiss her, still keeping a thumb gently rubbing at her clit, his hand becoming more and more slick with her come.
        As his lips pressed gently against Maya's, Lex eased a heavily lubricated finger inside of her. It slid right to that magical spot inside of her that felt best. Lex could feel the texture of it, and he rubbed it vigorously, while his thumb worked her clit. Their mouths locked together kept her moans and whimpers from escaping as Lex quickly worked Maya to another orgasm. In the throw of the passionate moment, Maya's dress had slipped out of place, and one of her breasts had spilled out. Lex took the opportunity to cup it in his hand and gently kneed it as he brought his mouth to suck and nibble at the nipple.
        After her orgasm eased passed, Lex brought his hand out from under Maya's skirts and proceeded to lick it clean. Then he used the kerchief to wipe it and his face dry. He straightened his hair as Maya sat panting, and once he was done he helped Maya straighten her dress.
        "I'm so glad you let me taste all your best places," Lex said, leaning in to kiss Maya on the mouth again. "Especially on those lovely lips." Lex double checked the condition of his coat and vest and then tucked the refolded kerchief away. "What do want to do about your underclothes," he asked as he picked up his sword and began buckling it back on. "We'll be there soon and they are quite soaked through." Lex said the last bit with a thoroughly smug smile on his face, and a little eyebrow waggle at Maya.

[Rhindeer]

...Oh dear. As Lex resurfaced, face glistening, Maya's cheeks flushed hot as she realized, erm, why his face was wet. Edging toward mortification, she opened her mouth to apologize, but he didn't seem to mind. He simply wiped his face with a kerchief and continued to gently rub her, chasing away the flash of insecurity and replacing it with pleasure. This pleasure was a slower building one--but not for long.

He kissed her, and she could taste herself on him, but rather than be disgusted as she might have expected outside the situation, she moaned against him and deepened the kiss--and then tensed with a gasp and a quick jerk of her hips when she felt his finger slide inside her. She had experimented a little; she'd touched herself and knew what felt good, but when she'd slipped a finger inside, it hadn't felt like much at all except vaguely uncomfortable. But Lex? Her blush darkened, her breath caught, and her soft moans turned to a sharper whimper as he did--that, stroking something inside her that created a new, deeper kind of pleasure only heightened by the rub of his thumb. She had no idea it could feel like that. She threw her arms around his neck, clinging, beside herself with new sensations and grateful for Lex's muffling lips as the pleasure sharpened and intensified, her hips rocking against his hand, her legs trembling and tensing. It was too much.

She didn't think it was possible for it to get better, but it did, and it wasn't long at all before she cried out against his mouth as her body shuddered and sex spasmed. He broke the kiss and went to her breast, and she slapped a hand over her mouth to hold in her moans as she rode the tail end of her release--and as his tongue and mouth explored, her body hypersensitive now.

Finally, she calmed, the trembles easing. She was still panting, her pulse was still racing, and she wasn't sure how she was going to walk after all that. She certainly didn't have it in herself to care that her breast was exposed and her dress was a rumpled mess, but Lex helped get her presentable again. Thank gods for that. She slumped back in her seat, hands raking through her hair, mind reeling as she thought about what they had just done (and the fact that she had no regrets about any of it), and only snapped out of it when Lex spoke.

What?

Oh.

Her eyes widened, and she leaned forward to glance down at the floor, and the undergarments still wrapped around one ankle. Oh...dear. Flashing a look back up at Lex, face flushing, she shook her head. "Well, we can't leave them here!" she whispered, as though now she was worried about their driver hearing. "And I can't really wear them, either! I didn't exactly plan this through and bring extra!"

[Aeytrious]

        Lex smirked at Maya, clearly smug. He bent down from the seat opposite her and lifted her leg out of the underwear. He held the fabric up for her to see how thoroughly wet she had made them and his smile grew at her embarrassment. Then Lex pulled out his kerchief again and folded the undergarment into it. He slipped it back into his pocket at sat down next to Maya. He gave her one last passionate kiss before reaching up to pull back the curtains of the carriage and let in the early evening air.
        "You know," Lex said to Maya, squeezing her thigh through her dress, "I now have easier access if you want me to put my mouth and hands there again later."

[Rhindeer]

Maya's blush was bright as Lex showed off her underwear, and she cleared her throat awkwardly. He looked so smug. And she supposed he had a right to, after that, but he also wasn't the one doomed to have to wear soggy underwear! Because that was the only option she saw at the moment and--

Oh. Thank gods he was a gentleman.

She sighed into the kiss, relief flooding through her that was soon followed by a thrill at Lex's words. Easy access, hm?

She arched an eyebrow, lips quirked. "We shall just have to see how the evening transpires, won't we?" she said, in a tone that suggested it was totally happening again, and it was only the open curtain that stopped her from kissing him. Instead, she laid her hand over his where it gripped her thigh and tilted her head. "Perhaps you can show me...other things, as well?" she added, and looked away, her face starting to burn.

Her words came out lower, softer. "Like what a lady might do for a man?"

[Aeytrious]

        The carriage had already been working through some of the streets where festivities had spilled from the main events. The laughter and general carousing grew louder as Lex and Maya drew closer to the festival proper. When the streets began to reach the point where it wouldn't be possible for the carriage to turn around, the driver stopped and stepped down. He put out a step for Lex and Maya to use, and opened the door to the carriage. Lex stepped down first and turned to lend his hand to Maya. After straightening up, it wasn't apparent that Maya had just climaxed twice on the ride over. Luckily, Lex has also thought to open the curtains, so the smell of her wet sex had escaped with the breeze.
        Lex tipped the driver and extended his arm for Maya. "I am but an escort for you this evening, Lady, not your lead. I will follow anywhere you like, you must only show me the way to your hearts desires."

[Rhindeer]

Maya reached up to fix her hair, combing her fingers through it to tame any wild strands. Though she had been going for a tousled look in the first place, she wasn't going for all out "roll in the hay". She needed to look somewhat respectable, even if she had purposely worn clothes that were easy to navigate.

She took Lex's arm when she was satisfied and flashed him a smile. "Oh, I planned on it, m'lord," she said. "I think our first stop is the dragons."

Tightening her grip on his arm, she tugged him along through the crowds, a goal clear in her steps. Most people parted quickly when they saw them approach, spotting their noble attire; the last thing they wanted was to offend the rich and powerful. Maya quickened her pace each time she saw an opening, and though she was trying hard to contain it, it was clear she was excited.

The last time she had joined in the common celebrations was...spirits. Years ago. She had been a child on her father's shoulders, at the age where he was claiming she was getting too big for that but was still willing to oblige. But she still remembered this part, and hoped they weren't too late.

In the town square, a massive bonfire had been set up, though it was not yet lit (luck was with them, apparently!), and a thick crowd had gathered around it. And in the center of that crowd, standing around all that kindling, were the hulking shapes of dragons, one at each cardinal point.

Their riders were with them, some sitting astride them in their saddles and harnesses, some standing beside them. They each held a small drum, beating it to a slow, steady rhythm. Above the square, more dragons circled, casting winged shadows on the ground below as they flicked in and out of the light.

Maya pulled Lex into the crowd and squeezed between revelers, eager to get closer. "It's better when you're close," she called over the crowd to Lex, and huffed. "And I can actually see that way. Why does everyone have to be so tall?"

Short girl problems.

[Aeytrious]

        Maya led Lex through the crowds with more ease than was normal. Commoners often avoided troubling nobility, but on a festival night that was quite a bit rarer. Through the crowds the sword led them, Lex enjoying every minute, but also realizing that he was missing out on so much loot. While nobles were rare in the streets, there were still well to do merchants and traders worth his attention. It was unfortunate he wouldn't have time to pick all their pockets, but that didn't mean he couldn't get some loot.
        Every time they passed someone with expendable wealth, Lex hoped for good fortune. A few times a coin flipped into his path and he snatched it from the air without hesitation. One was even a Golden Sun. He even had the extremely good fortune to feel something fall into his pocket. Drawing it out he discovered a beautiful braided ring of mithril, adamantine, gold, obdurite, and platinum. The five braided metals signified magic, and the five gemstones, a ruby, amethyst, sapphire, emerald, and topaz set into it, likely confirmed it. A piece to examine later.
        Maya was now pulling Lex through the tight mass of bodies crowding toward the dragons. They passed two young noble men, who both lost their coin purses without noticing. Then Lex bumped into a young Adelan tribal. An inexperienced pickpocket, the boy dropped a purse he had just snipped. The man was close by, and was realizing his purse was gone. Lex bounced the pouch up into his hand off his toe and slid it into his vest. As he did so he pulled out one of the others he'd stolen and handed it to the boy. It may have been a bit heavier, but it was distinctly not the purse belonging to the man, and so the Adelan boy couldn't be accused.
        "Be a bit more careful boy," Lex whispered as Maya tugged him along. "Practice makes perfect." He flashed the adolescent a smile as he snipped another coin purse with such ease, the kid giggled with delight before melting into the crowd.

[Rhindeer]

Maya was oblivious to Lex's illegal activities, and oblivious to how he'd just saved a boy. She was single-minded in her goal, and the crowd jostling around her stole all her attention. For a moment, she was stuck, the way ahead blocked by the men and women packed tight together, but then one man in front of her turned to leave, too claustrophobic to handle it, and the way opened up.

She pressed forward, drawing Lex behind her, and beamed back at him when they found themselves in the front.

"Made it," she said. "Be sure to use your elbows if anyone tries to cut; they can be awfully pushy. I really ought to have brought my parasol. No one wants to get whacked by a parasol."

But it would have been cumbersome, and this way she could lean back into Lex and draw his arms around her waist, hands holding his. It was just a bunch of commoners all around them, and everyone was watching the dragons. Who was going to notice or care?

And then the drumming began to increase its tempo, and Maya's hands tightened on Lex's. "It's starting," she said, but her voice was drowned out by the sudden roars and screeches of the dragons, on land and in air, as the drumming reached its climax.

Tongues of flame filled the air, different colors, different temperatures, orange and red and blue and white. It poured onto the kindling and shot into the sky as it caught and crackled and sparked, and above the square the airborne dragons joined in, breathing fire skyward.

To mark the darkest, longest night of the year, they would keep the fire burning bright through the winter. The dragons were only part of the initial ceremony; it would be up to the healers and priests of Sanctuary to keep the fire lit, though townsfolk were encouraged to bring their own offerings and kindling to burn. As the dragons stopped, and the flames went from wild to controlled (with a little magical help from the dragons), some townspeople stepped forward.

Many people had already come with offerings and they tossed them into the fire and bowed with respect. Others curiously approached the dragons, who were often so unknowable, so untouchable outside public ceremonies like this. But as the ceremony had officially concluded, both rider and dragon had relaxed, and some of the riders even beckoned children over to come pet the beasts.

[Aeytrious]

Lex fondly remembered coming to the festival as a child. His father always went to one of the large parties held by nobles, and this gave the servants of the house their freedom for the night. Karis's father let her come and run around and play. He was a kind and loving man, and he let Karis be a child. If not for bad business deals and the debts his wife created, Lex doubted he would have sold his daughter into the marriage she was stuck in.
        When they came to this festival, this was Lex's favorite part. The powerful dragons and their riders were a boyhood fantasy. He often played at being a rider. Karis would point out that only people with special powers could be riders, but Lex didn't care, he was going to be one someday.
        Karis would pull Lex along to all the booths and games, winning with such ease. As a man he recognized how easily the games were rigged and that she only won because she was the child of a prominent nobleman. That didn't take away the sting of never winning. Perhaps it made that sting worse, since he was the bastard son of a noble and his servant. That was perhaps why the riders were his favorite part. You didn't have to be noble to be a rider, and being a rider made you better than noble, truly elite. He had been among the commoners that gave offerings to the flames, and he'd continued to do so every year.
        When the ceremony was complete Lex pulled Maya along as he approached the blistering heat. Seeing nobles approach the flames, most of the commoners stepped aside. He released Maya's hand as he stepped closer to the flames than anyone else dared. Normally he came at the end of the night to perform his ritual, but he was here now so he might as well do it now.
        Lex dropped to one knee bowing his head. He said a prayer to the spirits of Adela, a murmur only he could hear. He reached into his boot a pulled out a knife, then drawing up his sleeve, he cut a small line into his forearm across a scar that had been the same spot he always cut. Taking a clean cloth from inside his coat, Lex tore it in two. One half he dabbed at the wound, the other he used to bandage it. The cloth with his blood Lex gave to the fire, his offering to spirits. Bold or desperate, it was the same offering he'd been giving since boyhood. The first time it had been a kerchief with blood from a skinned knee. Afterward he had come up with this new way.
        Sleeve back down, blade in his boot, Lex stood and returned to Maya. He got a few odd looks but not many. His was not the strangest display that would be seen by far, it was probably slightly more strange being that he was dressed so finely. That was okay by him. He looked nothing like his wanted posters, and he was with a woman that he perhaps loved. The night would be perfect.
        "Have you ever pet a dragon," Lex asked as he offered his arm to his date. "I think tonight is a good opportunity for that."

[Rhindeer]

Lex's offering also drew a look from Maya, though hers was more concerned. He had just...cut himself. A blood offering to the spirits? Such things weren't unheard of, but she found she didn't like the idea of Lex hurting himself.

And to offer blood, a piece of yourself...that was a powerful prayer. What was it he wanted? Maya herself had no offering to give; she had forgotten about this part of the festival, had spent too much time socializing at fancy dances during this time. But besides that, she...pretty much had everything. What more did she have to ask for?

She snapped from her thoughts when Lex approached, wanting to ask him about that, but also knowing it was rude; spirituality was such a private matter. So she bit her tongue and took his arm, and soon he asked a question that made her forget, anyway.

"Pet a dragon?" she echoed, and snapped a look to the huge creatures. "Ah. No. Unless kaadir count? But nothing so big as those. Have you?" Her eyes were wide, a little fear in them. A kaadir was one thing, and those were scary enough! But a dragon?

One of the four dragons standing by the fire was a huge brute of a beast, with blood-red scales punctuated with swirling veins of green and black. He was built like a rock, with wicked, bony spines down his back and two sets of long, straight horns growing from his head. All muscle and spike and bone, his long tail even ended in a spiky club. To put it plainly, the dragon looked rather terrifying, and most people were avoiding him and approaching the much gentler, sleeker looking dragon off to the right, whose white scales shone iridescent in the firelight.

Attending the spiky male was a young woman dressed in ceremonial armor, her helmet off to reveal short red hair and a pretty face that was clearly Adelan. She looked bored, watching the festival-goers flock to the other dragons as she leaned against her dragon's thick, trunk-like leg.

But she perked a little when she saw Lex and Maya as the two drew closer to the area. She had witnessed Lex's offering, and saw him speaking to the girl. There was a line around the other dragon, so she cupped a hand around her mouth and spoke over the chatter. "You there," she said. "Would you like to meet Jasper? Siren looks a bit swamped."

[Aeytrious]

        Lex laced his fingers into Maya's. He lifted her hand to his mouth, placing a kiss on it before leading her toward the big dragon. Jasper looked very cool, just the type Lex would have loved as a kid. Siren was pretty, but Lex preferred scary. "I think you'll love it," Lex said to Maya. "I used to pet them every time as a kid."
        As they reached the dragon rider and her partner, Lex offered his hand in greeting. Dragon riders were, at least in his opinion, above everyone on the social ladder. It would be rude not to introduce himself. "Sean Alexander Gautier, of house Gautier. It's a pleasure to meet you and your partner Jasper."

[Rhindeer]

There was a brief pause and a lifted brow as Lex introduced himself as being of House Gautier. Who didn't know about them? His name didn't ring any bells, though, but it also wasn't like Khaiya really kept up to date on politics except where it immediately affected her. But everyone knew the Lord of that House was trash, even if no one dared speak it. It was nice to see that some good eggs had come out of it.

"Well met. I'm Khaiya Stone," the dragon-rider greeted as she took Lex's hand, and though her looks were very Adelan, her accent was Essyrni. Above her, Jasper purred his own greeting, deep and gravelly, and Khaiya couldn't help but quirk an amused smile when the girl Gautier was with shrank back a bit.

"Jasper also says 'hello', and I promise he doesn't bite," she said. "No need to be afraid, miss...?"

"Lady Maya Lekari, of House Lekari," Maya said, straightening up again and lifting her chin. "And I'm not afraid." He was just big! And sounded threatening! Why couldn't they pet the smaller, prettier shimmery one?

"Of course not," Khaiya said, and stepped aside so the two could get closer. With an amused rumble, Jasper lowered his head down to their level, red eyes, slit-pupiled like a snake's, regarding them both curiously for a moment.

"I'll take chin scratches now," he said, and Maya jumped in surprise at the fact that he could speak. In their heads, true, but all the same! "I'd take belly rubs, too, but it's far too cramped here for that." He let out a disdainful snort, ruffling both their hair.

[Aeytrious]

        "It's her first time," Lex said to Khaiya. "I've been coming every year since I was a boy. It's one of the few times that degenerate father of mine lets his household free of his constant demands." He stepped forward to scratch Jasper on the chin. Such heavy Serenian lineage was apparent in Lex's features, but he was thoroughly Adelan in his soul. He truly loved the dragons and the cultures s of his homeland.
        "Come Maya," Lex said. "I'm sure Jasper won't object to two people petting him." He gave Maya a wink and then returned his attention to Khaiya. "I notice your accent is not Adelan, though you certainly look more Adelan than I. How old were you when you lived in Essyrn?"

[Rhindeer]

"The more, the better," Jasper said, and Maya sucked in a breath when he bore all those sharp teeth in the draconic version of a grin. Unfortunately, being a dragon, it looked less friendly and more hungry. "There's plenty of me to go around."

Khaiya raised an eyebrow at Jasper, but then motioned Maya closer. "He really won't bite," she said. "Please. Or I'll have to hear about it all night."

"Everyone's scared of me and no one loves me," Jasper said, sniffing.

Khaiya rolled her eyes again. "Please."

Maya shot a look at Lex, who looked quite at home petting the beast, and with a deep breath she inched closer. She really didn't like being so close to those teeth, but he hadn't bit Lex, so after a moment's hesitation she reached out and laid a hand on the dragon's chin.

He was surprisingly warm to the touch, his scales rough and bumpy like a rock, but not sharp enough to take off skin unless one was actively trying. Curiosity soon outweighed nerves as she gave him a little scratch--and Jasper purred in pleasure between the two of them.

At Lex's question, Khaiya froze, for a moment staring back at him like a deer in torchlight. Then she blinked and shook her head, as though checking herself, and smiled. "I was...born there," she said carefully. "I lived there until I was thirteen."

[Aeytrious]

        Lex smiled in return to Khaiya. He caught the lag in her response and the slight oddity to her tone. There was something hidden there. Best not poke at it. "I've thought about going there. Anywhere to escape my fathers influence." He scratched at Jasper with both hands now. "Perhaps Serendipity, though I don't know how I'd fit in there. I may look quite Serenian, but I am strongly Adelan. My mother loved Adela and taught me all about the tribe of our territory. I dreamt of being a dragon rider."
        "Maya is half Essyrni. Her parents are currently on a business trip to Essyrn."