"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.
Up until now, the prince had been deadly silent. Now he was biting back a sob that was trying its hardest to escape. He choked on it, swallowed it back down. He felt it splash down into the pit of his stomach only to rise again. His gloves creaked as he squeezed the sword's hilt. He raised it higher, and higher.
And in the heat that rolled off the slumbering creature, his eyes burned. He glared and let the tears fall in earnest. It wasn't an animal. Either he'd been lied to his whole life or Hanna was special. He felt stupid and lied to. And as he struggled, he allowed himself to really look at his captor beyond the searing color of his scales.
The dragon had little ox's ears.
How on earth could he kill a dragon with little ox's ears?
He let out the breath that had been souring in his lungs and slowly, slowly, lowered the sword. The blade's tip didn't so much as brush against one of the coins at the edge of the dragon's bed. So this was it, then. The key back to his old life lay sprawled before him and he could not turn it.
With a flutter of the lambskin he'd draped over his shoulders, Maurice retreated back into the store room to fall into a black and dreamless sleep.
The gentle patter of tears hit Hanna's ears, and for all he was worth, he wanted to open his eyes, to speak to this human and perhaps talk him out of the sorrow he felt. He wasn't cruel, even if he was condescending, but he kept his eyes closed, let the prince wander back down the hall. It wasn't until he was sure the man slept, that he slipped out of his golden nest, the gentle roll of coins sounding like heavy rain in a field.
There were things that needed done, clothing for his new charge, perhaps some other things for him to help with the learning process, and if he didn't start early, he would never get them done before Maurice woke the next morning.
Unknown to Maurice, he pulled his wings around him, form shifting to that of a small man, awkward just as he was in his true form, slipping out into the night to gather what he needed. Sleep could come later when his task was done, but for now he needed to reward Maurice for his kindness, even if he was unaware of how much Hanna really knew.
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wolfintheattic) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
theattic2014-11-09 08:06 pm
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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."
no subject
no subject
no subject
He mumbled something yielding under his breath but had no intent of repeating himself.
no subject
"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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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?
no subject
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.
no subject
And in the heat that rolled off the slumbering creature, his eyes burned. He glared and let the tears fall in earnest. It wasn't an animal. Either he'd been lied to his whole life or Hanna was special. He felt stupid and lied to. And as he struggled, he allowed himself to really look at his captor beyond the searing color of his scales.
The dragon had little ox's ears.
How on earth could he kill a dragon with little ox's ears?
He let out the breath that had been souring in his lungs and slowly, slowly, lowered the sword. The blade's tip didn't so much as brush against one of the coins at the edge of the dragon's bed. So this was it, then. The key back to his old life lay sprawled before him and he could not turn it.
With a flutter of the lambskin he'd draped over his shoulders, Maurice retreated back into the store room to fall into a black and dreamless sleep.
no subject
There were things that needed done, clothing for his new charge, perhaps some other things for him to help with the learning process, and if he didn't start early, he would never get them done before Maurice woke the next morning.
Unknown to Maurice, he pulled his wings around him, form shifting to that of a small man, awkward just as he was in his true form, slipping out into the night to gather what he needed. Sleep could come later when his task was done, but for now he needed to reward Maurice for his kindness, even if he was unaware of how much Hanna really knew.