Dealing with Dragons (Glob!) [M]

[DragonSong]

"Well, one of us is," Elora quipped. Her smile still wasn't quite to full strength, but the glitter was back in her eyes. "I'm not sure over a thousand truly counts as young, Master Merradin," she teased lightly.

[DaGlobster]

Merradin's smile widened at her teasing. He chuckled and he started to walk with her. He found her usage of "Master" a tad amusing.

"Still young enough for you, apparently," he said, and he gave her a telling smile. He took the cork off of the bottle and took a light sip from it. He still held it up, in case Elora wanted some.

"Did you grow up here, in Ketra?"

[DragonSong]

She nodded, smiling a bit to be thinking of those memories. "I did, for the most part. My parents had a small estate-- though they really spent most of their time in some set of barracks or another. I was mostly raised by a governess."

[DaGlobster]

"Governess?" Merradin said. He retracted the bottle, assuming she didn't want any, and took another small sip before corking it back up.

"That's a new one."

He looked at her as they walked, smiling.

"So, the military life runs in your blood then, right?"

[DragonSong]

"Mhm." She nodded again, tilting her slightly to the side. "Mum and Da are both military lineage, so...I guess it just sort of made sense for me to follow after," she elaborated with a little shrug.

[DaGlobster]

Merradin nodded. Their walking had taken them to a square. The bustle of the day had given way to a quiet, nighttime peace that made the statue in the center, that of a man struggling with a dragon at the end of a rope, all the more eye-catching to Merradin.

"I never met my father. My mother told me that he went his own way before I was old enough to remember," he started, and he looked away from the statue and to Elora.

"But I know he was a hunter of the skies. My mother was a dragon of the seas, you see. I was raised on an island off the coast of Thanatos."

[DragonSong]

Elora listened, looking up into his face. "Do you miss it?" she asked after a moment. "The place where you grew up, I mean."

[DaGlobster]

Merradin was quiet for a few moments, face straightening out. He leaned against the base of the statue, eyes drawn towards the lights of Ketra's palace, and the dragon knight barracks that loomed in the hills behind the palace. Then, he met her eyes with his own, lightning to her gold.

"I do. And I miss my mother as well," he started, and he took a swig from the bottle.

"She was so proud of me when I flew off on my own. I was happy too, even if I knew I'd never see her again..."

he trailed off, playing with the bottle's cork in his unoccupied hand. He wanted to change the subject now. Merradin motioned to the statue he was leaning against.

"You know, this is my favorite statue in Ketra. Except for my horns, the carvers didn't get that detail right."

He looked back up, smirking at the statue version of himself as it struggled in vain against the ambition of man.

"The king put it up to commemorate my capture."

[DragonSong]

Elora looked up at him again, lips slightly pursed. With some distance and time between herself and that tavern, she was feeling almost fine again. Well enough that she could at least process what he was saying.

And to catch his subject switch. She thought about pursuing it for a few moments, then decided against it. She looked back at the statue, taking it in.

"They didn't make you smart enough," she noted casually. "Even when I first met you, there was...I don't know. Something in your eyes, I suppose."

[DaGlobster]

Merradin brightened at the praise. It was new, being called smart. He was always mighty, or dreadful, or a destroyer. Coming from her, it meant all the more.

"You'll make me blush," he purred, and he offered his hand. His gaze had a hint of adoration in it.

"Take a closer look, Ser Braun. Maybe you'll find the word you're looking for."

[DragonSong]

"Flirt," Elora accused as she took his hand. She was smiling a bit as she looked up at him, head tilted slightly to the side.

"What exactly am I meant to be finding, Merradin," she asked softly. Her expression had lost its playfulness, just a bit, the glint in her eyes replaced with a soft shimmer.

[DaGlobster]

At her words, Merradin's smile widened, and...

...nothing else.

He gazed at her as she smiled at him, the sudden, slight shift of her tone causing his words to catch in his throat. He'd never, ever had his words fail him like that in all his years of life.

Some color rose in his cheeks, and his eyes even faltered under her own, shifting downwards. Finally, he lifted her hand up and kissed her knuckles, trying in vain to conceal how she struck him. His smile returned, and he met her eyes again.

"Someone to share tonight with?"

[DragonSong]

The knight blinked, a little surprised that he hadn't offered an immediate pithy comeback. She swallowed a little thickly and twisted her hand in his so she could lace their fingers together.

"Perhaps," she conceded quietly, letting her eyes flick away for a moment. Trying to lighten the mood a bit, she added, "Of course, you are my ride home, so it would certainly be in my best interest."

She paused, then her eyes widened and she quickly amended, "Your home, I mean, of course."

[DaGlobster]

Merradin chuckled. He glanced down at their joined hands, and held hers just that little bit tighter.

"Regardless, you're welcome anytime," he said, looking back up at her.

"Now..."

He paused, and held the open bottle of Essyrni wine up to her.

"...Are you going to let your ride home drink this all by his lonesome?"

[DragonSong]

Elora chuckled in turn and took the offered bottle, taking a tiny sip. "Just a little bit for me, I think. I'm...perhaps a little bit sick of alcohol, currently," she admitted with a wry smiled and a shrug.

[DaGlobster]

Merradin nodded, taking the bottle back from her when she was done with it.

"I understand the feeling. I don't mind saving it," he said as he corked it back up. He hefted himself up onto the statue's base, resting his back against the leg of his captor.

He looked down at her, invitation in his eyes as he held a hand down for her to join him.

"Sit with me awhile?"

[DragonSong]

Elora smiled slightly and reached up to take his hand, swinging herself up onto the base of the statue beside him with a soft grunt. "Don't mind if I do."

She tilted her head back to look up at what stars she could make out through city lights, sighing softly.

[DaGlobster]

Merradin smiled lightly at her as she gazed up to the stars, and tucked one of his legs up to rest his arm on his knee.

"The view here is good. On clearer nights, you can see the palace and the noble quarters."

He gazed back out, but his eyes returned to her eventually.

"Can I hold your hand?"

[DragonSong]

The knight started slightly and glanced sidelong at him, blinking. Then she smiled and cautiously reached her hand out to him, palm up. "Yes. I'd like that."

She looked away again, back out over the town. "It is a lovely view," she admitted quietly.

[DaGlobster]

Merradin was stunned by his own words just as much as Elora. He didn't show it all that much but it had been the first time in centuries that he'd asked to hold someone's hand like he just did. The dragon scooted a little closer, so their shoulders were lightly touching. His hand slid into hers, fingers locking.

He followed her gaze to the distant lights, buildings indistinguishable from one another in the cloudy night's darkness.

"I've always loved it here. This isn't the first time I've brought a bottle here," he started. He stroked at her knuckles with his thumb, before holding her hand just a little bit firmer.

"But I'm glad I've got to share it with you..."