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Desert Encounter (DragonSong)

Started by Jiaolong, January 04, 2018, 10:46:50 PM

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Jiaolong

"Well..." Ruby flagged down one of the workers, who nodded and went to fetch some plates of food. "I suppose we part ways. Unless you're traveling in the same direction I am," he said, voice rising a little to be heard over the chatter inside the tavern.

The worker returned with two enormous plates of food, the smell of spices wafting from each platter. Ruby eagerly took a bite after it was set down on the table. "Finally, something other than stale bread!" He sighed, red eyes sparkling.

DragonSong

Real food was certainly welcome. "I guess that really depends on the direction you're going," she commented over the plates of food, quirking an eyebrow.

Jiaolong

Ruby took another bite of his meal, savoring the strong taste. "Adela," he said after a while. "I'm going to Adela next."

"What about you?"

DragonSong

She shrugged, picking absently at the food. Necromancy always left her stomach queasy. "Depends, I suppose. I go where coin takes me."

Jiaolong

Ruby simply nodded at that, finishing off the last of his food. Being so hungry, he'd scarfed it down rather quickly.

Music began to play from somewhere across the room. A few men and women were holding instruments, playing a loud and upbeat tune. The people in the tavern turned to watch, some clapping along and smiling while others even got up to dance with their companions. Ruby drummed his finger to the tune, smiling a bit as he watched. "Good food and free entertainment. Desert travels can wait—I'm never leaving this place," he joked.

DragonSong

Maka snorted quietly, not even glancing over at the musicians. "Something tells me the whole atmosphere would get old quick," she muttered. She'd never liked crowds, and the people were packed in here so cold it almost deadened her death sense.

...Maybe not such a bad thing after all.

Jiaolong

Ruby snorted at that, once again turning his attention to the the festivities. A man sauntered up to their table, probably a bit drunk from the way his cheeks were tinged with pink. "Would you two ladies like to dance?" He asked, sporting a toothy grin.

Ruby turned to face the newcomer, lowering his voice a little deeper than usual. "Sorry, we're a bit busy at the moment." The man blinked and shook his head, grunting as he walked away to ask someone else. Ruby sighed at once again having been mistaken for a woman.

"Geez, that guy reeked of alcohol. Dancing with a drunk person who's falling all over you is only fun when you're drunk too. So...do you wanna dance?"

DragonSong

The necromancer snorted into her drink. She couldn't help it- she'd thought the guy was pretty, sure, but that was hilarious.

"Stuff like that happen often?" she asked teasingly, her eyes glinting. A bit of the harshness around her edges seemed to fade, something of what might have been a more playful personality shining through.

And, well...she was feeling better, stronger; more connected to the world of the living. Why not connect a little more?

With a soft chuckle, she stood and grabbed Ruby's hand, tugging him to his feet. "Come on then, show me what you can do."

Jiaolong

Ruby stifled a laugh of his own. "Happens enough that I've considered a haircut," he said, twirling a silvery lock around his finger.

He was surprised when Maka actually agreed to dance with him—he'd been trying to get her to lighten up and couldn't believe it'd actually worked. "As you wish. I'm a wonderful dancer. At least, that's what I'd like to think," he said, rising to his feet with her.

The music became more festive-if that was even possible-as more people joined the dancing. Ruby took Maka's hand and placed his other one on her waist, leading her in tune to the music.

DragonSong

She allowed him to lead her through the steps of the dance, not interested so much on the movements themselves but rather observing how well he could adjust and work with her body. It was surprising sometimes how well dancing could translate to martial skills, worth noting.

Maka was certainly no slouch herself, feet light and hips swaying easily to the music. She allowed herself to twirl lightly away on Ruby's arm before spinning back into his hold- then smirked. She reached back to shift his hand a little higher up on her waist as she settled back into his arms. "Easy there, tiger," she chuckled. "Moving a little too far south."


Jiaolong

Ruby visibly blushed at that, pale skin turning a bright shade of pink. It hadn't crossed his mind before, but now the thought suddenly struck him—he was dancing with Maka of all people, and she actually seemed to be enjoying it. Gone was her cold demeanor—she was practically glowing. Her dancing wasn't bad either.

"To think you seemed so uninterested in the dancing before... you're pretty good at it," he laughed, giving her a twirl.


DragonSong

She shrugged as she allowed him to spin her, then swayed back into the easy side-to-side motions of the dance. "Dancing isn't all that different from fighting, really. Moves are a little less lethal and you do it to music, that's all."

Jiaolong

He snorted at that. "I never thought of it that way..." he said, moving along with her. The music finally stopped, the musicians wanting to retire for the night. Ruby smiled. He didn't remember the last time he had spent so much time with someone else. Sometimes he grew tired of traveling in isolation.

"So, you said you were an escort before. I will be traveling through some rather dangerous parts to get where I need to go...how much do you charge?"

DragonSong

Maka's eyebrows crept up as she considered it. She wasn't used to being a personal guard- normally she wound up traveling with merchant caravans...or sometimes less favorable work.

"Usually that depends on the job." She tilted her head a bit to the side. In the candlelight, the black of her eyes was revealed to be deep violet. "How far exactly are you planning on traveling?"

Jiaolong

Ruby almost didn't answer, noticing Maka's true eye color. How pretty. He blinked, realizing she had just asked him a question. "It will take a week at most to get to my next trading partner on the outskirts of Adela. My main concern is running into slave traders...and whatever other strange monsters are out there..." he added, shuddering at the memory of what had happened not too long before. "One minute, we're running for our lives. The next, we're dancing," he laughed.

DragonSong

The necromancer smirked and spun away from him again, then back into his arms, so close their noses almost brushed for a moment.

"Welcome to life in the Moraki," she chuckled, swaying from side to side. Gods, it felt so good to cut loose- she couldn't remember the last time she'd been so carefree.

"Alright, for a week of work I normally charge about fifty sovereigns." She shrugged. "But I'm willing to negotiate." After a moment's hesitation, she wound her arms around his neck and smirked. "Later. I haven't had a night of dancing in ages, and I don't wanna waste it."

Jiaolong

Ruby smiled, swaying with her to the music. "I can do 50," he murmured, moving in closer. His eyes widened slightly before a sudden crash from outside the tavern made the musicians stop playing to see what was going on. Ruby whipped around to see what was going on, backing up from the door with his arm still around Maka's waist.

A couple of screams rang out, and another crash sounded before the door of the tavern was ripped open. Ruby felt a chill go up his spine as he laid eyes on the monster that had been chasing them in the underground ruins. "No...I thought we'd lost that thing!" He whispered in horror.

And horrified he was. The lamplight fully illuminated the monstrosity. It stood up on what appeared to be hind legs, covered in fur that wriggled and looked like worms. It seemed to scan the room before zeroing in on Ruby and Maka, letting out an ungodly screech before charging at them.

DragonSong

"Gods!"

Maka's eyes widened, but almost before she realized what was happening she'd lunged for her staff and was twisting it open, twin blades glinting in the firelight.

The creature swung its head toward the glint of steel, snarling and clicking in an insectile way, and she bared her teeth. "Come on then. Let's dance."

Over her shoulder, she barked, "Run!"

Jiaolong

Ruby jumped out of his momentary shock, hesitating before dashing away to the right. Maka had told him to run, but he wasn't going to leave her to fight the beast on her own. He cast an illusion over himself, blending into the shadows of the walls. The monster had probably followed their scent here, so he didn't know how much being invisible would help.

He slunk against the walls, creeping farther and farther until he was almost directly behind the growling beast. He held his breath as it lunged for Maka, baring an enormous set of fangs. Gosh, why did all these monsters have to have such pointy teeth?!

DragonSong

Throwing her blades up in a crossed guard, Maka dug her heels into the ground and gritted her teeth, gagging as the fetid breath of the creature washed over her.

"Fuck off and die," she spat at it, and spun into an almost unsettlingly elegant kick, catching it in the side of the head, before she used to momentum to complete the rotation and swing both blades down toward its neck and midsection as she came around again.

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