The sudden fit had Hanna stumbling to uncoil himself from his comfortable pile, taking a few steps back, wings open and ready. "I already said I wouldn't eat you!" He returned, not sure why he was so incredibly irritated, but he supposed as a prince, he expected much better things out of his life. "I'm not going to treat you like a slave...it was on option that I figured was better than going to be eaten by wolves."
Hanna settles once again when Maurice seems to have lost his will to fight, raising an eyebrow at the young man, "You're rather strange, did you know?"
"I am not," he insisted, stowing his sword and gathering up the map. He twisted it between his hands and thought about his fate. There surely were worse endings than being an errand boy for an overgrown pink kite. He was so pink.
"Alright, Dragon." He drew himself up. "Since you seem to be in need, I'll take pity on you and reside in your chambers to assist you in...whatever it is dragons like you do."
"Well, should I draw up a contract for you, or would you rather shake on it?" He gets up again, though this time, doesn't stand as tall, his whole body looping around Maurice, wing claws holding him up, head level with Maurice.
"So long as I can trust you won't steal from me, I think We'll be just fine."
"I am a Prince of Gallus! My word is as good as a carved gold tablet!" He puffed his chest out again and tried to scrape together what shreds of regality he had left. "What on earth would a dragon have that I could possibly want? And where would I put it?"
"Be careful then, I might want your word for my collection." He grins back and snorts again, blowing a puff of hot air at the prince in a playful attempt to knock him over. "If you would follow me please, I'll give you a tour."
And without answering his question, Hanna turns and starts his odd ferrety walk back towards his cave.
Maurice couldn't help it--he cries out again when Hanna blasted him with his dragon's breath. He huffed and fanned away the cinnamon smell before whistling for his pony. After taking his sweet time putting away the map and scroll, followed so that it looked like it was more his idea than the dragon's.
He'd never been inside a cave before and eyed the ground where the rune had been with suspicion as they approached it. It was amazing though. The dragon wrote it just like a person...he wondered if the dragon kept scrolls as well. Then he chuckled at the idea. A dragon keeping scrolls! One sneeze and his whole library would be ablaze!
To be completely honest, the cave, as they walked in, was far more sophisticate than one might believe a dragon to be. The runes along the wall lit up the area, casting a pink glow that wasn't hard on the eyes, much better than candle light, and in rock shelving that had been so obviously carved out of the walls, lay things that one might find in a human wizards home. Paints, jars of things, and scrolls, some large tomes even that seemed rather old and wrapped in some kind of animal hide.
"If you're going to look at my library, be careful. Some of it is rather old and the pages get crispy with how warm it is in here." He himself has to be careful, which is one reason why he might want help. Continuing further in, a soft glitter lit up the back of the cave, some hallways here and there went down into the ground, but the main way, where it was obvious he slept, was a large pile of gold. It was around the size of Hanna himself, and while it wasn't much in comparison with other dragon's hordes, he was rather fond of it. "I do intend on paying you, but if I catch your fingers in this I'll bite them off, understand?"
Maurice let his eyes rather than his hands wander the walls and shelves. It was incredible...and a lot nicer than he'd expected. There wasn't a single pile of bones anywhere! And it smelled a lot like their wizard's keep.
Hanna's words snapped him out of his wonder when they reached the creature's bed. The prince was quick to frown his royal frown again. "Don't worry, I'll keep my hands away from your piggy bank."
He did look though. He wondered if any of it had been stolen from their knights.
"It's called a horde, thank you." He returns, his tail snapping at the end to gently smack Maurice for his 'insolence'. "If you need a bed I have quite a few furs in the storage down that hallway, but as I said, it gets quite warm in here, so you might not need them."
He shifts, looking around and considers Maurice, "So. How good are you at haggling?"
He flung up his arms in time to fight against that barbed tail. This dragon sure wasn't shy about throwing his bulk around! He glowered at the dragon's back as he followed him.
"I don't need to haggle! I'm a Prince of Gallus, I get whatever I want...usually." He was quick to remember his unique situation.
While he was quick to fling his tail, he was careful with it, not stabbing Maurice with it at the very least.
"Well that's helpful." He says unenthusiastically, "Well you best learn because I don't like wasting magic going into town, and stealing doesn't help making going into town any easier." And there were some things he needed from shops that he couldn't get on his own out in the hills. "Do you know anything about magical catalysts or ingredients?"
Maurice flinched back before balling his hands into fists.
"I can ride and I can fight!" He thought he was pretty good at both since he only fell off of Sally once on the way here and he was still alive in a dragon's nest. "I can do arithmetics and angling and archery! If I'd brought my bow with me, you'd be nothing but a hide right now."
"Oh, im so sure." He rolls his eyes at the prince's bravado, moving towards the long hall to the right, in search of the furs he had promised for Maurice's bedding. "If it is half as good as your sword play i wouldnt even stand a chance."
Maurice felt like he would explode. He drew himself up and stomped after the dragon, for once focusing on the back of his head instead of the spear of his tail.
"I AM a good archer! I only brought a sword because the heroes in the scrolls all used swords! You ever try to behead anything with an arrow?"
"I don't try to behead anything. Burning it is so much easier." He returns, his tail swishing behind him, half tempted to swipe under Maurice's feet, but he decides to be kind this time around.
"Though I can definitely behead things easily with my tail. I can't imagine it's so hard, I'm terribly sorry for your incompetence."
The Prince was so flustered by the insults constantly being flung at him that he didn't even quail at the thought of the dragon spearing him with his barb. Instead, he just let out a very ungraceful angry yell that tried to be a roar.
That got him to shut up. The blast of the shrill inside the cave walls was too much for Maurice. He clapped his hands to his ears and blinked away tears, properly humbled. Slowly he moved his hands and winced. The sound remained, just so and it would for the next hour.
He mumbled something yielding under his breath but had no intent of repeating himself.
"Now that that is settled..." Hanna says in a casual way, he continues down the hall and reaches the end, a sort of storage full of things that he had gathered or purchased over the many, many years. It's almost as big as the main cavern itself and rather full. Whether or not Maurice assumes he's stolen all of it is up to him. Hanna isn't going to defend his things in the presence of a prince who doesn't know how to respect his majesty.
"Now, pick your bedding as you choose. You can take what you feel is necessary." He gestures to a stone shelf that is covered in furs, many different animal hides present.
He winced when the dragon spoke again, his ears still ringing. Maurice trundled up to the shelf and prodded at what looked like the hide of a bear curiously. He dragged it down and held it out with both arms as far apart as they would go.
Did the dragon tan this himself? Did he use magic? And what did a dragon who was full of fire need with so many furs? These were all questions he was grimly reminded he'd have all the time in the world to ask. He sighed into the fur and folded it over his arm before dragging down a lamb skin.
And he was thirsty...thirsty and hungry after such a hard day. But he wouldn't give the dragon the satisfaction of having him ask. No, he'd sleep the night through and...then he didn't know what.
"We must leave Father's horse somewhere the guard can easily find her..." He didn't think Hanna had the resources to care for the prize pony.
Hanna, who had taken the time to organize a shelf of what looked to be bottles of fire, glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow. "I assumed you had wanted to keep her, though I suppose I don't own a stable. Fortunately the town isn't too far a walk."
He sets the bottles down and moved to head back down the hall. "Don't touch what isn't yours, I'll be sleeping if you need anything. Your bed is where you make it, my lord." It's a clear enough warning, though as he moves down the hall, taking his heat with him, the room starts to cool almost immediately. He's obviously not too worried about Maurice.
"Well I--" Sally was a great pony and he'd miss her so much. But Hanna had confirmed. He needed grain and brushes and good hay...wait. What town? His castle was two days away. He whirled to ask but Hanna had left after laying out his warning.
Maurice shivered suddenly. The beast had taken the warmth with him and now he was left in a chilly store room. And for several long hours, that was where he stayed. He huddled in a corner near a large boulder and wrapped himself in the skins. And fumed. He tried to sleep but all he could think of was the soft bed he'd never see again. The smiling faces he'd never see again. His mother's hand never again fondly ruffling his painstakingly fixed hair.
No.
This pink abomination wasn't going to steal his life from him! It was him or the dragon! Quietly as he could, the fool prince crept through the dragon's quarters, sword in-hand. He listened for the creature's breathing and soon came upon the room with the pile of gold. In the light of the runes, the dragon and his bed both glowed. He crept closer and closer, hands sweating inside the leather riding gloves he'd yet to pull off. The sword shook. Hanna was long and thin, his head almost seeming too big for him. There was a narrow place, right in the middle of his neck...
Surely the weight of the sword would do much of the job. He didn't dare set foot on any of the coins least they rustle. Slowly he lifted the weapon and suddenly it felt as though his elbows had frozen up like the mote in winter. Why...why couldn't he do this?
Hanna, who had actually fallen asleep, half buried in his coins that acted as his blankets, opened one eye when he first heard the steps creeping down the long hall. He snorted, half asleep, and closed it again, letting his body wake up, even if he still looked rather limp, entirely too boneless to not be asleep.
His soft breathing continued, filling the large cavern with warmth, his chest rumbling on a snore that sounded almost like a purr or a gentle rumble. He had been ready to defend himself, but part of him wanted to wait. Wait to see what his new help would do, and when that sword raised, he could feel the coolness of the metal above him, and yet it didn't fall.
Either this prince was a coward, or he had far more heart than he let on. He supposed putting him to task further would help him be the judge of that.
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theattic2014-11-09 08:06 pm
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Hanna settles once again when Maurice seems to have lost his will to fight, raising an eyebrow at the young man, "You're rather strange, did you know?"
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"Alright, Dragon." He drew himself up. "Since you seem to be in need, I'll take pity on you and reside in your chambers to assist you in...whatever it is dragons like you do."
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"So long as I can trust you won't steal from me, I think We'll be just fine."
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It was his turn to raise a brow.
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And without answering his question, Hanna turns and starts his odd ferrety walk back towards his cave.
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He'd never been inside a cave before and eyed the ground where the rune had been with suspicion as they approached it. It was amazing though. The dragon wrote it just like a person...he wondered if the dragon kept scrolls as well. Then he chuckled at the idea. A dragon keeping scrolls! One sneeze and his whole library would be ablaze!
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"If you're going to look at my library, be careful. Some of it is rather old and the pages get crispy with how warm it is in here." He himself has to be careful, which is one reason why he might want help. Continuing further in, a soft glitter lit up the back of the cave, some hallways here and there went down into the ground, but the main way, where it was obvious he slept, was a large pile of gold. It was around the size of Hanna himself, and while it wasn't much in comparison with other dragon's hordes, he was rather fond of it. "I do intend on paying you, but if I catch your fingers in this I'll bite them off, understand?"
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Hanna's words snapped him out of his wonder when they reached the creature's bed. The prince was quick to frown his royal frown again. "Don't worry, I'll keep my hands away from your piggy bank."
He did look though. He wondered if any of it had been stolen from their knights.
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He shifts, looking around and considers Maurice, "So. How good are you at haggling?"
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"I don't need to haggle! I'm a Prince of Gallus, I get whatever I want...usually." He was quick to remember his unique situation.
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"Well that's helpful." He says unenthusiastically, "Well you best learn because I don't like wasting magic going into town, and stealing doesn't help making going into town any easier." And there were some things he needed from shops that he couldn't get on his own out in the hills. "Do you know anything about magical catalysts or ingredients?"
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<:J No, Hanna. He does not. He doesn't know how to do jack shit.
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It stretches a little while longer before, "Really? Really?? This is pathetic. What can you do?"
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"I can ride and I can fight!" He thought he was pretty good at both since he only fell off of Sally once on the way here and he was still alive in a dragon's nest. "I can do arithmetics and angling and archery! If I'd brought my bow with me, you'd be nothing but a hide right now."
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"I AM a good archer! I only brought a sword because the heroes in the scrolls all used swords! You ever try to behead anything with an arrow?"
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"Though I can definitely behead things easily with my tail. I can't imagine it's so hard, I'm terribly sorry for your incompetence."
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He mumbled something yielding under his breath but had no intent of repeating himself.
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"Now, pick your bedding as you choose. You can take what you feel is necessary." He gestures to a stone shelf that is covered in furs, many different animal hides present.
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Did the dragon tan this himself? Did he use magic? And what did a dragon who was full of fire need with so many furs? These were all questions he was grimly reminded he'd have all the time in the world to ask. He sighed into the fur and folded it over his arm before dragging down a lamb skin.
And he was thirsty...thirsty and hungry after such a hard day. But he wouldn't give the dragon the satisfaction of having him ask. No, he'd sleep the night through and...then he didn't know what.
"We must leave Father's horse somewhere the guard can easily find her..." He didn't think Hanna had the resources to care for the prize pony.
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He sets the bottles down and moved to head back down the hall. "Don't touch what isn't yours, I'll be sleeping if you need anything. Your bed is where you make it, my lord." It's a clear enough warning, though as he moves down the hall, taking his heat with him, the room starts to cool almost immediately. He's obviously not too worried about Maurice.
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Maurice shivered suddenly. The beast had taken the warmth with him and now he was left in a chilly store room. And for several long hours, that was where he stayed. He huddled in a corner near a large boulder and wrapped himself in the skins. And fumed. He tried to sleep but all he could think of was the soft bed he'd never see again. The smiling faces he'd never see again. His mother's hand never again fondly ruffling his painstakingly fixed hair.
No.
This pink abomination wasn't going to steal his life from him! It was him or the dragon! Quietly as he could, the fool prince crept through the dragon's quarters, sword in-hand. He listened for the creature's breathing and soon came upon the room with the pile of gold. In the light of the runes, the dragon and his bed both glowed. He crept closer and closer, hands sweating inside the leather riding gloves he'd yet to pull off. The sword shook. Hanna was long and thin, his head almost seeming too big for him. There was a narrow place, right in the middle of his neck...
Surely the weight of the sword would do much of the job. He didn't dare set foot on any of the coins least they rustle. Slowly he lifted the weapon and suddenly it felt as though his elbows had frozen up like the mote in winter. Why...why couldn't he do this?
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His soft breathing continued, filling the large cavern with warmth, his chest rumbling on a snore that sounded almost like a purr or a gentle rumble. He had been ready to defend himself, but part of him wanted to wait. Wait to see what his new help would do, and when that sword raised, he could feel the coolness of the metal above him, and yet it didn't fall.
Either this prince was a coward, or he had far more heart than he let on. He supposed putting him to task further would help him be the judge of that.
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