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Post by Anari on Aug 19, 2014 22:21:20 GMT -8
Anari chuckled. "Well, I can't really say whether you are warming or cooling me to the idea. It honestly all sounds... remote, to me, if that makes any sense. I'm certain there are those around who would be much more suited than I would. And I'm not trying to denounce myself, either. It's just simple logic that with my distrust and skittishness for dragons, why would one want to bond to me? I'd probably be something of an anathema to a hatchling." She paused to admire the nest, and to stare at the number of eggs. Cain hadn't been kidding to their size! "Though... somehow I do find the thought of one playing like that appealing. When I was growing up, there was this big dog that would lurk around the temple where I lived, just a street dog that liked the scraps we gave it, and sometimes the acolytes and I would get it to play with us. It liked to jump on me and knock me over. Granted, if he was still alive today and tried it, I would be much harder to tumble."
As her eyes tracked over the nest, she could see places where some flowers would look nice. Yes, after this was done she would definitely find some to offer Dorth for her kindness and understanding in dealing with her mistrust. As Anari caught sight of some of the other dragons winging their way through the Nexus, she felt a small shiver of apprehension, but just looked at Cain. "Alright, where should we start?"
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Post by Tidfe on Aug 21, 2014 20:34:26 GMT -8
"I would say..." The ones closest to you. That way we aren't getting in each other's way. Dorth shook herself from her hiding spot by the nest, her brown scales almost blending in perfectly with the sand surrounding them. Stretching, she moved to the far side of the nest. Glad to see you could make it Anari. I am grateful for your help. With that said, she started to turn over the eggs furthest from them carefully, but quickly.
Cain maimed rolling up his sleeves and gave her a grin. "Ready for this?"
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Post by Anari on Aug 22, 2014 4:24:03 GMT -8
Anari gave Dorth a nod of understanding, then chuckled at Cain's pantomime. How on whatever-realm-this-was could it be that he had not only helped relax her greatly, but had made her laugh more in the past half an hour than she had in the past month! With an amused shake of her head, and tugged her leather gloves more into place and too a position at one end of the closest egg.
"Ready! Just tell me what to do."
Anari's profession and training, both as a simple watchman and then as a lieutenant, served her well here as she quickly responded to any instruction or advice either offered, subconsciously putting them into the position of her 'captain' for this task since both of them had far more experience in handling dragon eggs. Her physical training held her steady as well, as she had the stamina to keep up with Cain, and the perseverance to ignore the ache in her leg when it reared up, focusing on her task. She was very glad it wasn't just her by herself, though - he was right! Those eggs were not only heavy, but unwieldy. Alone she knew she would run the risk of dropping one! After a bit, once she was confident she had the hang of it and could maybe talk a bit at the same time, she decided to try a bit more conversation.
"So, about how long are these from hatching?"
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Post by Tidfe on Aug 22, 2014 11:35:52 GMT -8
Cain gave instructions clearly as possible and watched her for any signs that she was growing tired. The one good thing about not having any organs: hard to feel fatigue or any sort of soreness. He still got the phantom feeling, but knew it wasn't real. Did not stop it from pricking at the back of his mind every now and then though. At Anari's question, he looked at the egg they were handling and then at the others scattered about the nest. "I'm guessing a week at the most. Apparently it does not take long for a dragon to hatch. Just grow up." Which made sort of sense. If a pload could possibly swallow a saydar egg, he would hate to see what it would do to attempt to swallow a dragon egg.
"Will you be coming to impress a hatchling?"
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Post by Anari on Aug 22, 2014 16:28:05 GMT -8
The question nearly brought Anari up short, if she hadn't been kinda locked in to keeping up with Cain, her body moving nearly on its own.
"I... don't know. It might be nice to see it, at the very least. But I don't know how suitable of a partner I would be for a dragon." She kept the answer at that, as they lifted and carefully turned another egg. Unconsciously she flinched as another dragon passed overheard, earning a warning hiss from Dorth, then took a moment to try to discreetly rub her thigh. "Phew! You weren't kidding; this is hard work. But it's satisfying." She tried a grin. "Have you handled them often?"
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Post by Tidfe on Aug 23, 2014 14:22:07 GMT -8
Cain nodded slowly. He would be happy if she came, but he was not going to press the issue. That would be like teaching a hydrophobic how to swim by tossing them into the water. If they truly wanted to learn how to swim, they would do so in their own time and tossing them would only set them so far back that they might never go near any source of liquid ever again. So Cain would leave it at that and laughed at her next comment.
"Yes. Yes it is and I've handled them about once a week although lately it has increased in frequency. Namely to make sure none of them are trying to hatch too early. That would be bad for all involved. Or so I've heard. But you probably know how most rumors work: one grain of truth for every ten or so lies." For him, he knew it would be saddening for a dragon to hatch too early, but he doubt that it would happen to any of Dorth's eggs or be world ending to everyone. It might be world ending to Dorth and Seroth, but those two were a different story. After all, it was their DNA involved here so it would be understandable for them to be heartbroken and think the world had ended.
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Post by Anari on Aug 23, 2014 16:27:48 GMT -8
Anari nodded in understanding. She'd had to console devastated parents before after the loss of a child, and it didn't matter if that child was five or fifty-five, the effects were the same. It was always the hardest thing she'd ever had to do in her old occupation.
Even as she was thinking this, it was like fate tapped her shoulder, and not in the good way. Perhaps it was some sand that had gotten trapped between her fingers and the egg they were lifting, perhaps one of the dragons had done something to make her jerk at just the wrong time, perhaps her leg had briefly given out. Anari wasn't sure, but she knew the moment she felt the egg they were turning begin to slip from her grasp. Her training to defend others from harm kicked in almost before her mind could register what was happening, and her body moved just as she would had it been a child falling from her grasp, legs buckling out and torso twisting so that she took the two-foot impact against the ground, with the egg landing on her midsection. She coughed, the wind knocked out of her, trying to ask if the egg was ok and wincing from the stabbing pain in her thigh.
Yeah, the hard-shelled egg might have taken less damage than she did in this situation, but instinct was instinct, and she'd rather look the fool than let it crack.
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Post by Tidfe on Aug 24, 2014 16:10:25 GMT -8
Cain let out a yell as he saw what was going on. Dorth ignored them as she continued turning the eggs. Apparently a yell wasn't uncommon during this portion of the care. Darting forth, he tried to help Anari cushion the fall of the reptilian egg. Sadly though, he knew he was too late as she landed and coughed trying to get her breath back. "Easy there. Egg is okay. The really question is, are you?" Moving slowly and carefully, he rolled the egg off of her and bent down to help her up. All the while, his eyes scanned her looking for any visible signs of injury.
Though he knew that sometimes the worst wounds refused to show themselves to the naked eye. "Does anything hurt worse than before?" It may seem like a strange question to ask, but he had no idea if she had felt any muscle fatigue before the egg drop. Garland hand come up by this time and did Anari the great disservice of belching in her face. "Garland, not now." Moving, he grabbed the pload by the leg and dragged him off. "Go help Dorth. I'll give you a saydar egg if..." Before he could even finish the sentence, Garland was off to roll an egg. "Now...Honestly. Does anything hurt worse than before? Maybe now would also be a good time to go pick those flowers."
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Post by Anari on Aug 24, 2014 16:29:19 GMT -8
Anari was grateful for the help up, and it had been a long time since anyone had shown such concern for her well-being. It took her a bit to catch her breath again, and Garland's 'greeting' hadn't helped much in that department, but once she was able to she answered from the ground.
"I - I think I'm fine. Doesn't feel like I have anything broken. Maybe bruised." She tried to stand, but could feel her leg refusing at the moment and flashed a smile. "Maybe I should just sit here for a bit, then we can finish up. Those eggs certainly are heavy! And my arms are just a little tired. I'm used to doing a lot of hard physical work." Was it her imagination, or could she feel dragon eyes boring into her back? Under the guise of twisting to see if her back or midsection were injured, she glanced around, but the optical illusion of the Nexus kept her from seeing if any dragons had taken offense at her slip. Wanting to push the thought from her mind, she pushed herself to her feet. "How many more do we have?"
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Post by Tidfe on Aug 24, 2014 16:38:26 GMT -8
Cain had barely opened his mouth before Dorth responded. None you lazy people. I have already done all the hard work. Though her words might have been cruel, her tone held mirth and laughter as she let out a soft puff of light smoke in the direction of Anari and Cain. It had spread out by the time it would reach the two so the only thing that Anari might notice would be the faint hint of cinnamon. "Maybe if you did not lay such heavy eggs, we wouldn't have to work fifteen minutes to move one." My eggs are not heavy! I can lift them just fine. You are just weak my Cain. "Yeah. And I'm a spring turkey."
Dorth just chuckled and laid her head to take a quick nap. Even the claim of the eggs weren't heavy, turning them tired her out. Cain shot a smile toward her before glancing back at Anari, the smile still on his face. "Sit down and rest for awhile. I know I am." Plopping down onto the sands, he winced as the finely grained ground irritated his tailboone. "I never learn."
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Post by Anari on Aug 24, 2014 17:22:27 GMT -8
Anari chuckled at their banter and at Dorth's teasing (which she was quickly beginning to enjoy), taking Cain's offer and gingerly stretching out her legs right where she sat. The scent of the smoke, though she could only guess that as being the source of the cinnamon aroma, was soothing as well as it was one of her favorites.
She was beginning to think she could figure out some of Cain's expressions, mostly by watching the rest of his body language, something she was trained at. When he smiled his shoulders seemed more relaxed, than when he winced for example. Sensing the intention of others, much like this case, had more to do with body language than some might consider.
"You never learn what? Not to match wits with a dragon who can pick you up and drop you in a lake whenever she wants?" Her tone was teasing herself, partially catching her off guard. Had she become so relaxed so fast? When was the last time she poked friendly fun at anyone?
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Post by Tidfe on Aug 24, 2014 18:24:38 GMT -8
Cain let out a loud laugh and shook his head. "True. That too. I have let to learn that one. No. I mean plopping down on stuff. Sand gets everywhere you know and it can be quite irritating if I get it in my joints. Never stopped me from going to the beach though." Of course he was leaving out the part where the sand was more painful than annoying. He was not afraid to let Anari know about his sensitivity with touch. But at the same time, if she did not outright ask he wasn't gonna outright tell. It had been need to know information for so long, that he had gotten used to just answering the question when asked.
"As for matching wits, I say I do pretty good in that arena. For being a skeleton with no brains after all." He was poking fun at himself, shown in the tilt of his head as if he was sticking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth. If he had a tongue that was. He was also relaxed and content to just sit here and talk with Anari. About the only thing he could think of that would have made this moment one to keep lingering in the time stream was if Taki were there to tell stories or play. "Though I am actually horrible at the game of wits. A punch is just so much more effective. At least for getting out your anger."
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Post by Anari on Aug 25, 2014 4:06:17 GMT -8
She'd made him laugh. Again. Anari shook her head at herself in wonder, an amused smile on her face as he explained. She would admit, he -did- have more places sand could get stuck, and she could only imagine how annoying it would be if the grains got stuck in a joint. Or if it was wet sand! Ug! His self-tease got a smile from the woman, and if she'd known him better she would have 'commented' (ironically) about how he did have brains in his skull... even if it was a rodent's brains. Though she had to offer a burst of laughter herself at his comment about punching things.
"I hear you about that! There were some watch who knew better than to cross this lieutenant when I'd had a rough morning. And when the wrong criminal crossed my path, or said the wrong thing, everyone knew by the black eye. Got me into trouble a time or two..." Her words cut themselves off suddenly, as she remembered the last time her temper got her into trouble, and the path it threw her down. Ironically, which eventually threw her through a runic circle, and here.
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Post by Tidfe on Aug 25, 2014 19:47:40 GMT -8
Cain did not miss the sudden cut off and glanced sideways at her. "Did I bring up bad memories by accident? Told you I did not have much Brains." At about this time, Brains poked her nose out, squeaked and then rolled down Cain's ribs to root around in his pelvic bone looking for a good place to sun bath a little bit. "Okay. Let me rephrase that: I have Brains, it just happens to be on par with 'oooo shiny object for nest must take.'" He moved a hand to point at the small echee. "Anari, meet Brains. Brains...Anari. No trying to take anything from her." The skeleton knew it fell on deaf ears, but he might as well said it anyway. "She is one of the ones I was gathering shiny objects for. Though she isn't as bad. She gets my skull so usually doesn't take any of my other bones. Usually."
As if on cue, Gambit ran up and leaped onto Cain's ribs, shooting a glare at Anari. Or as much of a glare as the little fluff could muster. This was his! His he tells you! No takie! Mine! Mine! MINE!!! He squeaked and squawked so much that Brains threw sand at him which started them both rolling around in the sand in a fight that Cain just kept track of. "That one is Gambit."
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Post by Anari on Aug 25, 2014 22:34:41 GMT -8
Anari smiled at being introduced to the little echee. What a fitting name for one that lived in a skull! Though she had to wonder to herself what being nothing but bones and having such creatures scurrying around upon you felt like, especially when Gambit scampered into view and so thoroughly staked his claim on Cain. The scuffle that erupted got a soft chuckle, reminding her so much of young children that briefly she wondered if Brains and Gambit were full grown. If they were, then echee were certainly tiny creatures! They were rather cute, even when they were trying to be furious. Seemed like they were mischievous creatures. And with his bravado, Gambit certainly seemed like a proper name for the brash fellow.
That made her watch lieutenant’s instinct kick in. Back home –well, old-home – had she been out on a street patrol and two street scamps had started such a playful (if seriously intended) tumble, she would be instantly looking about for their accomplice skulking about the crowd, plucking valuables from their pockets. Thankfully she had left her bag behind: her shadow undassa, Rynth, was a rather viscious creature and would bite, and so could Tolkar and Acathala if they thought her things were in jeopardy. But she had stuffed some of papers and bits into her pockets, including the stone and her badge which she didn’t want filched away. Discreetly she put a hand in that pocket, making sure even a tiny intruder would have a hard time getting in. Some things she wouldn’t throw much of a fuss about them swiping from her, but those two things were definitely on the forbidden list.
“Bad memories… not exactly.” She sighed softly then smirked. “I don’t know how badly any present that hear this would think of me for it, but about a year ago I had one of my ‘react before I think’ moments. Back home, dragons aren’t so nice. They’re to put it bluntly tyrants, and the DHS, their enforcers and soldiers that are like vicious dragonmen that hold near-absolute power over commoners and nobility alike. In my hometown, I was a watch lieutenant, temporarily in charge while my captain was on a vacation. A DHS showed up, investigating some report of rebel activity in town which I’d never heard of before. I was in the middle of a murder investigation myself, when all this happened. He basically took over my investigation, was helping himself to whatever goods and services my town could offer, and we just had to accept it, that this was just the way things were. But then he tried to… help himself to a merchant’s daughter, and I – I snapped, I suppose. I attacked him, striking his shoulder so that he let her go. That alone is a crime punishable by lifetime imprisonment. But what happened next would have warranted my death. He wasn’t alone. He had a dragon with him, a small one about the size of an eagle. Sometimes they accompany high-ranking DHS as the eyes and ears of the Highlords, and they are powerful spellcasters. But there's a reason they always travel with a strong defender.” Another small pause to glance at Dorth before she looked back towards Cain. “My first blow freed the girl, the second snapped the dragon’s back and flung it to the ground. I barely survived the battle with the DHS after that, and fled home as soon as I was recovered enough to walk. I couldn’t risk being there when the dragons sent their men after me.” She gave a rueful, dry laugh. “I had a career, respect, a peaceful life, and with a single swing I threw it all away like worthless brass coins.” In her irritation she punched a fist into the sand, then took a couple of deep breaths to try and calm down, adding a few moments later, "And the irony of it all is, I don't even know why I did it."
(word count 600+/500, brass, forbidden, accomplice))
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