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The Dragon Knight (Ren Olvry & AlabasterDragoness)

Ren Olvry

Ren Olvry

Supernova
Joined
Dec 22, 2012
They probably could've crushed them. Could've stopped the planning, could've stopped skirting around things; just gone for pure and simple, brute force. The likes of which he, at least, very plainly had. Well, so the dragon idly mused on the way to the meeting point by wing, where they'd be meeting some of the humans for their truce, the terms of which he'd not been told. But Drace had to come regardless, as the top knight of the Draconus Kingdom; it was just what was ever expected of him, just like always.

Lost in his own thoughts for a little while, he only vaguely noted the other humans there just ahead of them as he, his king, and a few other guards set down on the wide-open, grassy ground. Even then, Drace stood out rather distinctly among them; while the others had red or black scales, much of his form was covered in white scales, and even fur. Never mind that he was taller and rather more muscular than the rest, even the guards that had come along. And while the king stepped forward, the knight, for now, held a somewhat cold stare toward the woman that seemed to be in charge on the humans' side.

"Greetings. We've not kept you long, I hope?" the dragon's king asked, somewhat on the older end were one to judge by the mild wrinkles in his scales along his muzzle. "Drace, if you will," he spoke next, giving a small hand signal to the knight, who simply nodded and stepped up beside his king. "Our own end of this little bargain. You'll not find a stronger one among us. And from you, who shall be coming with us back to our lands?" the king asked in turn, not seeming to notice how the knight beside him was biting his lip in frustration... and making no secret that he'd not known of any of this until now, given the momentary, incredulous glance toward his king.
 
Joanna had been wanting to end the war for some time, but she had no say as long as her uncle was on the throne. With his untimely demise on the battlefield, she quickly ascended the throne and called for a truce. She was finally able to strike up an alliance after much deliberation on both sides; she was to take a knight from the Draconus Kingdom, and they one of her own knights from hers.

Ignoring the cold glare she received from one dragon, she approached the king, her long brown hair pulled into a braid and her amethyst eyes scanning her surroundings as she gave him a slight bow. "Oh, no. Not too long." She offered him a small smile and she turned her attention to the knight that was to be returning with her. Poor thing seemed to be displeased with the whole arrangement. She certainly hoped that he would learn to be comfortable in his new home. Though, she had yet to know how much stronger than the rest of her knights and guards he would be.

"Sir Perseus," she said, and a bulky man stepped forward as he beamed with pride. "He was one of my uncle's closest friends, and he had volunteered to return with you. You'll not find anyone more loyal than him."

She knew her brother would be in a tither, but he would have to abide by whatever she felt was best for everyone.
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With that, the old king of the dragons gave a small nod, glancing somewhat curiously over the man that had stepped forward. On far better terms than his own knight, so it appeared... but he was certain they could work through that. Hearing Drace beside him make a small, displeased sound, however, king Jarus exhaled a light hum before giving the larger knight -- larger still than this Perseus, to some degree -- he reached up to give the knight a small pat on the arm, if just momentarily.

"Sir Perseus, then. We shall walk back, if you like; it may be more pleasant for you than being carried," Jarus suggested, even musing that it might take two of his guards to carry the man besides. A different story, likely enough, if it was Drace, but of course...

"And Drace. Do not be too harsh on them. We fight for each other now," he added, a bit harshly, regardless of the annoyed little grumble from Drace himself. Exhaling a defeated little sigh, the knight ultimately stepped forward, calmly, if still somewhat coldly, meeting her with a rather direct stare.

"Queen Joanna... was it?" he asked, momentarily glancing up to whatever the humans had used to get here... though whether it was carriages or horses, both were rather distasteful to him, if he were to be honest. "By... my lord's pledge..." he half-grumbled, kneeling down before her in the meanwhile. "I shall serve you for now. You alone, should that be agreeable," he pointedly suggested. "Should you agree... then I would much prefer to fly you back. It's safer, and I don't care for walking such a distance."
 
Perseus smiled up at King Jarus. "I would be honored to serve you, Your Majesty," he said, kneeling in front of him.

Joanna, on the other hand, looked at Drace as he stepped forward and knelt in front of her. He seemed to regard the horses and carriage that she had arrived in, but she supposed he was more accustomed to flying to wherever he needed to go. As he told her that should she agree that he would serve her alone, he would fly her back.

"That would be alright," she said, once again disregarding some of her guards' gasps and protests. "They are our allies now. You must remember that." She glanced up at Perseus, who seemed a little saddened that she was about to leave. She turned her attention to Drace once more. "Whenever you're ready to leave, Drace."
 
Would it, then? He had to admit, though he'd brought it up, Drace was surprised -- a bit obviously so, from his expression. A dragon knight she'd just met, who'd clearly not been previously informed of this whole arrangement, nor was he terribly pleased about it, even if he was swearing himself to her out of necessity. Glancing curiously up to Joanna for a few moments, a thoughtful little hum escaped him as he rose back to his feet.

"I could take you anywhere, you know. You'd have nothing stopping me from taking you somewhere far from your castle, to never be seen there again," he suggested, his eyes only briefly flicking over to some guards that had placed their hands on the hilts of their swords, much as he might have expected. Yet for the most part, his attention remained on the queen -- his new queen, he supposed -- a rather curious look in his eyes, never mind the way his head was slightly tilted. "If you expect me to simply hold to my word without any possible consequence... perhaps you're rather more trusting than you should be," he added... though with that, he stepped forward a little, ignoring the guards that didn't seem to dare to move yet for worry of him, and the other dragons who'd still yet to leave.

"Tell me, then, queen Joanna..." he paused, before an ever so slight smirk crossed the dragon's face. With that, he leaned down a little to carefully pick the woman up in his arms, where she'd easily be able to feel the soft fur atop tough scales. "...is there anywhere we should stop by first? I'll not deny that I'm not terribly... pleased with this arrangement, but as you've accepted my terms so easily... I can at least offer this much."
 
Joanna smiled at Drace's reaction, raising a hand to have her guards remove their hands from the hilts of their swords. "I can read others fairly well," she told him. "If I believed you would just whisk me away against my will, I would have no choice but to fight back." Her hand began to have a soft blue aura glow around it.

"Her Grace's family come from a long line of mages," one of the guards piped up.

Shaking her head, Joanna allowed Drace to pick her up, feeling the soft fur against his scales.

"Your Grace, are you sure?" another guard asked.

"I can take care of myself," she answered plainly before returning her attention to Drace. "There's a place only I know about that I would like to stop at before we return to the castle." She wasn't going to divulge her secret in front of everyone, after all. "I'll let you know where to land."
 
Could she, then? If she said so; and she... ah. So she was a mage, was he? So Drace could easily note as he glanced down to the blue glow around one of Joanna's hands, even without one of her guards chiming in. That could explain a few things, he mused... but also wouldn't change the fact that she'd effectively be at his mercy.

"Very well. We'll go in the direction of the castle; just point out this secret place of yours when you're able," he replied with a small nod. With that settled, then, he didn't even look back before he hopped up into the air along with a beat of his large wings, taking the two of them steadily skyward. He didn't want to look back, were he being honest; however this ended, the fact still remained that they gave him away without him having any say in the matter. And it wasn't 'til they were out of sight a short while later that he spoke again.

"A mage, then... of what variety? At least, I've been told there are a few; I'd only cared that they were some of the most troublesome humans to deal with," he curiously asked, glancing down to Joanna held somewhat firmly in his arms so she wouldn't risk falling. And, at least a little, at the scenery down below them, yet unfamiliar to him for as few times as he'd been out this far, much less further, during the war. "That is... I am at least somewhat curious about all this, given that I'm to stay here regardless. If you have any questions of your own, queen Joanna, you're free to ask... though I'll not directly promise to answer every one," he offered. He still didn't like any of this very much, as would be plain enough to tell... but he could at least give it some level of chance while he was stuck here anyway.
 
Joanna allowed Drace to take off as he asked her what kind of mage she was. "I specialize in illusion and destruction spells," she said. "My uncle insisted that I knew enough spells to defend myself. Were it up to anyone else in my family, I would be more adept to restoration and alteration." Her brother hardly ever approved of her personal decisions but he would never openly say anything.

As she didn't even bother to look down, she took the time to keep her attention on Drace. "Do you have any family back at home?" she asked, running a hand over his fur. She took a moment to look down and directed him to land in a secluded patch of woodland.

"I tend to come here whenever I need to have time to myself."
 
Illusion and destruction, no less... two of the more problematic varieties, Drace had always found. Making a small, though fairly indistinct, sound at that thought, it followed a little while after with a thoughtful little hum as Joanna suggested what she'd wanted to be. It seemed... she perhaps, had her own circumstances, but he wasn't really in a place to put much mind into that sort of thing anyway. One step at a time, in acclimating himself to... what was happening now.

Though, to the queen's first question, the dragon's oddly-shaped ears curiously flicked a little, the dragon himself glancing down to her with a somewhat odd look especially as her hand started to slide through his fur -- an easy task on its own, given that he, like many others, preferred to go around with no more than just pants, as a matter of comfort. "Some, yes. Estranged, mostly," he replied, allowing a little grumble to escape him. "Many parts of the war were not so agreeable to many of the older dragons, shall we say. I, however, am -- was -- loyal to king Jarus regardless," he added. More than she'd directly asked, certainly... but if he wasn't likely to see his home, or them, for however long this last, it seemed of little consequence to share, while he meanwhile started to drift steadily downward, toward the place she'd pointed out.

"You don't bring others out here, then?" he asked once he landed lightly on the ground... though for now, he didn't let the woman go just yet. Not until one more point. "Because I will warn you now that I will insist on going where you go. Both to make certain to preserve this little truce, however I may personally feel about it... and because you're an odd one, queen Joanna," he added, before carefully lowering the woman to her feet. "And you may wish to ask first before you help yourself to someone's fur," he suggested in turn, a bit of a feigned cold look in his teal eyes... betrayed by a smirk tugging up at the edges of his lips.
 
Joanna chuckled to herself. "I've been told how unladylike I am to know such horrible spells." Really, if she wanted to, she could splice a man in two with a snap of her fingers. But she only had to do that once, an incident she wasn't overly proud of. She listened intently as he told her that he had estranged family.

As they descended to where her hiding spot was, she glanced up at Drace when he insisted that he'd followher wherever she went.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," she said, following her statement with a small chuckle when he told her to ask the next time she wanted to touch his fur. "Sorry." She remained close to him and glanced down at his arm. "May I touch it?"
 
'Unladylike'... a statement Drace himself had never been able to understand from these humans. Someone was strong, or they weren't; they were good at something, or they weren't. Though he didn't say anything to the effect, the slight, displeased huff that escaped him would likely say enough of how much he disagreed with such a notion. Perhaps... he'd just have to learn a little more, then. Especially while they were out here with just the two of them, with none apparently knowing how to get here to be able to disturb them.

To her next question, then, the dragon tilted his head slightly in seeming thought before exhaling an amused little sound. "Bold, aren't you? Perhaps it's little wonder, then, that you managed to convince our king to make such an arrangement," he suggested, that smirk of his only serving to grow slightly. Or at least, one wasn't likely to convince him that Jarus might have come up with such an idea... especially as the older dragon had failed to inform everyone who would've needed to know. "If you wish... then go ahead. You'll find it's at least taken good care of... but no tugging at it," he replied, before glancing around a little as he mused on something, his eyes falling on a particularly large tree, with a nice grassy patch beneath it.

"In fact, why don't we sit, for now? We've both been traveling long enough by now; I think a bit of rest may be called for," he suggested, giving a small nod of his head toward where he'd had in mind.
 
It was a little refreshing to see that Drace didn't agree with the notion of how proper a woman needed to be. Perhaps that notion among her people will change with time. But, for the time being, she gently ran a hand over his arm, feeling the soft fur against her skin.

She shook her head at the mention of her being bold. "Well, I didn't convince Jarus that way. I was a diplomat for my uncle before he died." At least it was something she had handy at the time. She nodded at his suggestion to sit and promply sat underneath the large tree.

"I assume you don't have anyone else waiting for you at home," she added. Surely, he did.
 
So she claimed... but he'd see for himself, given some time. Of which they'd no doubt have plenty, not least of all for his insistence that he stay near -- he'd done much the same for Jarus, and in some way, it was all but habit. Not to mention it would be the best way to assure nothing happened, just as he'd said. Letting go of those thoughts for now, though, Drace walked over with Joanna to calmly take a seat under the tree just about next to her, a light, content hum escaping him now that he'd gotten himself off his feet.

To her next question, though, his ears once again flicked up curiously, the dragon himself giving her another odd look as his head tilted slightly. "What precisely are you asking?" he curiously asked, though he seemed to muse on it himself for a moment. "I've already told you of my family... if you mean the other knights, well, they'll manage. The king... has pushed me to here, so he'd not much care for seeing me back," he offered, before his ears flicked again, realizing what she was likely asking. "Ah... a lover, do you mean? Not presently; not for several months now," he idly shrugged, glancing up momentarily to the cover of branches and leaves above them, filtering much of the sunlight above, before glancing back down to her.

"And yourself? I admit I've not heard much of the succession from your previous king -- your uncle, I presume. If there is a king beside you, I'd prefer to know now... though what I said before still stands. I'd still not be taking orders from him," he asked, making sure to keep that particular point that she herself had agreed to in mind.
 
Knowing he had no one back home waiting for him, she nodded. "I currently don't have a lover," she said. "I made it clear to all potential suitors that I will marry when I'm ready." She couldn't stand the thought of having to be married off because she was expected to. She was only twenty-six, after all.

"And if I happen to find a husband while you're here, you wouldn't be taking orders from him." Joanna doubted she would have a husband anytime soon. It wasn't to say that she hadn't had a few lovers, however.

"And if my brother tries to order you around, tell him that you answer to me." She knew Sebastian would want to stir tension. Poor thing still blamed the dragons for their parents' deaths.
 
To Joanna's response, Drace gave a small nod in turn. No king to worry about, then, comforting a thought as that was in its own way. Dealing with one human was already rather more than he'd done before, or expected to do... and was rather better than potentially dealing with two.

"So I shall, then," he replied on that last point. Exhaling another thoughtful little hum on that point, he fixed his eyes curiously on her for a short while, before coming out with what he next had in mind

"Tell me, then... what are you expecting from all this? That is... what would you have a knight from a formerly opposing kingdom do here?" he curiously asked. Part of him still didn't want to -- it felt rather like attaching himself to this even more so -- but he had to at least have some idea of it, didn't he? "Guarding you would rather be a given... what else, then? If it's cooking, cleaning, or serving as a trainer for your own guards, at least... I must decline in advance," he suggested, a slight smirk once again tugging at the edges of his lips. "And though I will insist on staying close, I'd dare say it would be looked down on to oversee everything, nor would I ever be able to offer suggestions for outfits for any events... as you may be able to tell," he added, glancing pointedly down to his presently bared chest. "I can, however, take you to any number of places, faster than a carriage might... if that was what you perhaps had in mind."
 
Joanna pondered for a moment before she turned to Drace after he asked her what she expected from this arrangement. "Well, aside from taking to places faster, I must admit that I don't know." Based on the number of smirks he gave her, she pegged him as having a cheeky side to him. But it would be some time before he showed that... maybe. But she didn't want to give him the wrong impression.

"What were you hoping would come out of this?" she asked. Well, she did need to know what intentions he might have before they went back to the castle and, inevitably, introduce Drace to her brother. It was more for her to know than anything else as she didn't want to be caught off guard by anything later on.
 
She didn't know? Well... but perhaps he shouldn't be entirely surprised. What her normal knights did likely wouldn't apply so directly to him, and his habits were largely his own. At Joanna's next question, though, he blinked in some surprise, letting out a small, partly annoyed and partly thoughtful, sound.

"What I thought, hm. I didn't think that any of this would happen; that I'd be sent away to here, to serve you," he offered, leaning a bit further back into the tree and turning his head up to stare at the leaves, and the light filtering down between them. "I don't know either, really. It's not exactly something I've been prepared for, in any way. But... for the years I've spent fighting your people, I suppose I also know rather little about any of you, anything here, when it comes to it," he mused. "For now, at least... however it may sound, I'd like to take at least a few days to study, without any outside orders. I'll still go where you go should you leave the castle -- and would much appreciate times like this to relax without anyone else to worry about -- but... you'll have to give me time. This is all a bit... much," he lightly sighed, before glancing back down to Joanna... and then a bit further down to her arm.

"And... if I may? As I've offered you much the same," he requested, one hand reaching up slightly to show a bit more what he meant. He had to admit, he was at least a little curious.
 
"I see." Seeing as this was likely the first time Drace had been able to interact with a human without violence being involved, she could understand his being apprehensive and trying to figure things out. When he asked her if he could have a few days to study her people without outside orders, she placed a hand on his arm and gave him a slight nod.

"That would be best, I think," she told him, looking up at the light filtering down between the leaves. "That would give me time to catch up on my studies on your people. I may not venture outside the castle walls for a few days, anyway. My brother is worried enough that our meeting would have been a trap." Obviously, he worried too much. She returned her gaze to the leaves that were dancing in the breeze before she looked at Drace again.

"I'm sorry that I'm not giving you much to go on. I hardly had enough time to figure out how to approach Jarus and who would escort me."
 
To that, Drace gave a small nod, his ears curiously flicking up at Joanna's suggestion that she'd be studying as well. It was... more than he might have expected, though he couldn't say he expected much at the start of this whole thing. For her brother, though... well, he couldn't much blame the man. By all rights, it could have been, on either side, especially for as simple of a trade as it seemed to be to the knight himself.

"Mm... you're fine. You couldn't have known you'd be getting someone who'd not been told any of this until our meeting," he assured, once again glancing thoughtfully upward on his own part. "A few days, then... and perhaps we could return here after that, after our own personal studies have gone a bit further. If you've no immediate need of me, and the castle remains safe, it should be fine like this, for now," he suggested. "Before then, though... I will need to know how I'm to get around the castle, and where I'll personally be staying," he added, turning his eyes back down to her.

"Whenever you'd like to go back, then, I can take you to the castle. Unless it cause any trouble to see me carrying you?"
 
Joanna rested her head against the trunk of the tree and sighed. "You'll be free to fly through the windows and halls, if that's what you want to do. Your room will be connected to mine in case someone or something were to come to my room." She wasn't about to risk a possible assassination and not have someone close by who can help her dispose of the threat; and on top of that, she wasn't going to restrict his movements, either.

When he told her he would take her back unless this would be an issue. "No, it shouldn't be. It might startle some people, but they should be alright with it." They would have to be, anyway. She wasn't ready to leave just yet, she was simply enjoying the open air and the cool breeze that went by. It reminded her of the simpler days where she could sneak out of the castle and come here to enjoy the night sky and the symphony of crickets.

But that was a lifetime ago, it felt like... "Just one more moment."
 
He would be close, then... that much was good. If anything did happen, then... but, well, he doubted it. Not if he was known to be so close, not this soon after the truce had been carried through. To Joanna's next point, then, Drace gave a small nod, though as she didn't seem to be going anywhere, he himself made no moves for now. He was certainly in no rush to be around even more humans... and a bit of extra time relaxing was nice, he had to admit.

"Then, for the moment... as I've allowed you to touch -- something you may do as much as you wish, at least while we're here -- may I?" he asked, glancing down momentarily to her nearest arm. "I've never much understood it, how you all manage without so much as scales... though I admit, I have just as well heard you tend to be rather soft. I am... a little curious, I admit," he added. "As I figure it, if there is any curiosity we wish to satisfy... this place would likely be the best place for it. Nobody around to worry about what I might be trying in particular."
 
She rolled up her sleeve for her to begin touching her arm. It was only fair, after all. She laughed slightly as he told her how he didn't know how she managed without scales. "Well, I can't miss anything I didn't have." As he mentioned that any curiosity they wanted sated would be in their hiding spot. No one would say anything and there was no risk of having some scandal center around them.

She braced herself to the feel of his claws against her skin. She hoped that he wouldn't accidentally scratch her. But he could also be as gentle as she was. What was so fascinating about her, let alone the fact that she had no scales?
 
Well... true enough, he supposed. Though surely humans knew how durable scales tended to be, especially compared to human flesh...? No, never mind. Regardless of any of his thoughts or musings... when he reached out to touch, his own touch was perfectly gentle; for all the strength his body quite obviously held, all his upbringing as a warrior more so than anything else, he could still at least offer this much. And a small, curious sound soon escaped him as the ends of his fingers -- careful as could be with the claws otherwise -- slid slowly up from her wrist, up to her elbow, further up to the point where her sleeve was rolled up, his fingers drifting along the curiously soft skin all the while.

"Soft, indeed," he idly mused, letting his hand slowly fall away now that his current curiosity was sated. "How you manage while being this soft is often beyond me," he added with a small shrug, before letting his hand move up a bit further again, this time brushing ever so briefly against the woman's cheek.

"But I suppose... I shouldn't be the only one benefiting from this, so to speak. Is there anything more you're curious about? I'll give you one question, that I'll promise to answer," he offered with a curious tilt of his head.
 
Joanna shivered slightly as she felt his fingers and claws gently move up her arm and eventually brush her cheek while musing how her skin could stay soft often. "There are some elixirs that help," she said.

She pulled her sleeve over her arm as she was offered to ask one question that he would answer. "Hm." She thought over question before asking. "If I may, would you be willing to let me study your anatomy?" This part of her usually got under some of the nobles' skin as they thought no woman should be interested in such things. Even her uncle had given her the side eye whenever she was looking over a nude body and making notes about it.

"It would help me learn more about your people and I can start making comparisons. I like knowing how one's body works and the like."
 
Elixirs? Curiously tilting his head on that point, he made a small point to perhaps ask about it... later. For now, then, there was his offer... though on the question that came, his ears flicked up in some surprise, Drace himself letting out a small, curious sound. His... anatomy? Well, there wasn't much to hide of it, really, while he only wore pants... though what she might have meant exactly, he wasn't certain.

"If you wish... then very well. The next time we come out here, in a few days, after we've had the chance to do some other general studies," he suggested with a small nod. "For you humans, at least... I suppose it would be an oddity, then? Seeing someone less... covered. Seeing as how you're apparently so intent on wearing as much coverings as you can a lot of the time," he mused, glancing down over Joanna's own clothing, at least for a few short moments. "Though if it's something like that... I think it would only be fair that we both get such a chance, would it not? Besides, if we're out where nobody will see us, I see little point in wearing so much. Unless it's for more than just appearances or 'dignity'?" he genuinely asked with a curious tilt of his head. Perhaps there was a bit more to it... but he wouldn't know.

"'Til then, though... I believe it may be a fair time to return, and get something to eat. I've not... eaten much today otherwise, I admit..." he suggested.
 
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