Building Bridges [Closed] - Printable Version
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RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Viala - 11-18-2019
He took the projector from her, and Tiff instinctively reached for it back, her eyes widening slightly. That had taken the rest of her money that she hadn't spent on getting here; her stomach was quite insistently reminding her that she hadn't eaten in two days. "Sir," she started, only for her mouth to snap shut once again as he continued. It was kind of impressive, how thoroughly he managed to ignore the fact that she wanted to say something. But that was one of his many rights as King, wasn't it? "...Ambition is a good way to put it." She admitted, her eyes following crystal's gentle slide along the ground. It was so much brighter now, the little details she had agonized over showing up in stark relief. Her skin prickled uncomfortably as he summed up her little speech in a few short words. He put it so succinctly, and there she was, rambling on. If only she could package her words so neatly, like he did; perhaps she would have been able to get an audience back home if she could.Bridget's scribbling caught her eye once more, and she stared at her in complete bafflement at the message that was sent. 'Meat-based metaphors'? That was important enough for her to try and communicate to her out of the King's sight?? Meat-based metaphors??? 'What the hell are you talking about,', she started to mouth back, confused beyond relief, when suddenly the King was behind her.
Uncomfortably close behind her.
Immediate terror shot down her spine, causing her to go completely rigid as abruptly, his head was right beside hers. He undoubtedly had to bend down quite a lot to manage it, and that just made her even more nervous. His chin was warm through the silk of her shirt, and his voice was a low echo, right in her ear, and she could smell him. Tiff had not come in here today expecting to find out that the King smelled like cinnamon. She didn't dare to move, didn't dare to step away, didn't dare to shake like she so very much wanted to. What was he doing? Why was he doing it to her? What-
And then he tilted her chin up, a sharp claw pressed against the soft, delicate (for him anyways) skin of her jaw, and she stifled the urge to scream. He could so, so easily pierce the skin there and go up under her tongue, right into her mouth. He could kill her like this so easily, with barely a second thought. Now she was trembling, her eyes wide and fearful as she stared at her tower. It was beautiful. It was her favorite building she'd designed to date.
It could be the last thing she ever saw.
He could probably hear her heart hammering in her chest; he probably didn't care. It was difficult to focus on his words, with her every instinct screaming at her to run stay don't move flee, and even more so to actually respond. "I..." it came out as a squeak, her voice cracking on that single syllable. She swallowed, her throat sticking uncomfortably, and tried again. "I see a throne fit for a Dragon King. I see somewhere you can stand, high above everyone else and looking down on your country. A symbol, something that everyone can see and recognize immediately, knowing that you're up there and ruling over them. No one can ignore it; no one would want to." Her voice was shaking slightly, subdued and quiet.
"I see a landmark that I can spread out from, and make my vision a reality."
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - SolitareLee - 11-18-2019
Oh, Bree knew this one. This was how he got you. He got you talking about something you were passionate about, talked like your point of view was something valuable and unique. This was how he got you to put years of work into revamping the entire country's library system and then spend two months chasing him around trying to get him to approve the funds you needed for the damn change. And that was how he got you in other ways, that perfect voice right next to your ear, body cold and breath hot. Bridget flushed a bit to see it from a third person perspective. The way he stood too close, the way his body would feel touching right up against you in so many specific places. His height made Tiff look even smaller. Bridget might have been concerned for her health, but she certainly wouldn't blame Tiff for being inevitably seduced. She took a deep breath to brace herself for it, and that was when she noticed something she hadn't expected at all.
There was no whiff of Tiff's arousal in the room. Bridget's, yeah, but she was pretty sure she was the only one who could smell that at any given time--despite her frequent insecurities on that matter. But not Tiff's. Instead, Bridget got a mouth full of bitter, rank terror.
Tiff wasn't enjoying this display of the King's the way Bridget would have. The way she thought anyone would have. Tiff was terrified. Her voice shook as she answered the King's question. Something about his size or his power or his claws didn't react with Tiff the way it did with Bree. Bridget's ears flattened against her head; her tail shot up again, rigid and at attention. She didn't think; her body just reacted.
A growl, bigger than her body and more feral than a human could have made, rumbled low in her throat before she'd even noticed it was happening. She immediately clamped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide with horror. You didn't growl at the fucking King! Oh god, maybe he hadn't heard, no, that was stupid, they were literally in an empty room, just the three of them. It had practically echoed. Why had she done that! She had never growled at the King before, especially not in these circumstances, and hadn't even known it was a reaction her body could have in his presence.
Great. Fuck. She was going to ruin Tiff's big day by growling at the King like a fucking overprotective dumbass. If she was lucky, he'd just kick her out of the throne room. But just the thought of leaving Tiff alone with him when she smelled so scared was sending her hackles rising again.
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Tindome - 11-18-2019
"Hmm." It wasn't bad—he appreciated her focus on memorializing his glory and letting him look down on his subjects. But he was expecting something more like what he got from numbers people, who'd go on at length about the language of the universe. Or from Bree, when she'd talk about books in her lofty and abstract way that made them sound more than dead trees and dead voices.
He tilted her head so that their noses almost touched. "You're very nervous," he observed. 'Scared shitless' was another way to put it. He didn't mind. It was the appropriate response to his presence. But he thought it might be distracting her from the rambling that had come so naturally to her when he'd been at a distance.
He let her go to stand, frowning at Bridget. He took slow and deliberate steps toward her, circling her. Then he stopped in front of her kneeling form, bending at the waist with his hands on his knees. Reaching out, he gently tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled it so that she'd look at him.
"It's rude to interrupt, Miss Corey," he said mildly, letting her go to tap her on her nose with one finger. "When shall I expect you in the dungeon?"
He tilted her head so that their noses almost touched. "You're very nervous," he observed. 'Scared shitless' was another way to put it. He didn't mind. It was the appropriate response to his presence. But he thought it might be distracting her from the rambling that had come so naturally to her when he'd been at a distance.
He let her go to stand, frowning at Bridget. He took slow and deliberate steps toward her, circling her. Then he stopped in front of her kneeling form, bending at the waist with his hands on his knees. Reaching out, he gently tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled it so that she'd look at him.
"It's rude to interrupt, Miss Corey," he said mildly, letting her go to tap her on her nose with one finger. "When shall I expect you in the dungeon?"
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Viala - 11-19-2019
The low, dissatisfied hum buzzed in her ear, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She had said something wrong. He didn't like her answer. Her gaze stayed focused forward, despite the fact that she was shaking a little harder now. His head turned towards her, and her eyes automatically darted towards him and oh, he was right there. Her eyes widened fractionally, and she stopped breathing completely. His ice blue gaze on her was curious, and this close she could see the perfect points of his slit pupils, could see her reflection in them. She needed to respond. She needed to say something, needed to do anything, something-A loud, feral snarl echoed through the room, and Tiff jumped about a foot in the air, her heart stopping completely. She was dead he was going to eat her she was so dead oh no oh no.
But the King wasn't looking at her.
No, he was looking at Bridget, giving Tiff some blessed space and instead focusing on her. No, frowning at her.
...Had that growl come from HER?!
She turned towards Bridget as well, her face ashen as she watched the King circle her. She knew she was shaking like a leaf, that she should maybe try and say something, but her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth. Bridget looked like a dog who'd been scolded, her ears down and shoulders hunched. The King was studying her like she was just a nuisance, rather than someone who had just growled at him (she was never getting over that, never ever ever) and then.
And Then.
Oh, Heavens. The dungeons. She had to say something, she had to protest, she couldn't just let this happen!
"Um!" She started, her hand shooting into the air like she was back in school, trying to get a teacher's attention. "Um! Is- is that! Necessary!" Her voice was high pitched, panicked. "Sir!" She tacked that on hastily, hoping beyond hope that maybe that would excuse her interrupting his punishment of one of his vassals.
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - SolitareLee - 11-19-2019
Bridget looked determinedly down towards the floor some distance away, turning her face away from the King as he circled around her. She couldn't believe she'd growled at him! Honestly, she knew she didn't always have the best control over her instincts, but that was ridiculous! And right in front of a foreigner... talk about embarrassing. Not content to let her 'oh god oh god if I just avoid eye contact he won't notice me' her way out of the situation, the King tangled his fingers into her hair and slowly, deliberately, tilted her head back so that she had to look in his eyes. It was difficult, her instincts telling her to avert her gaze, but she made herself make eye contact and look as contrite as possible, ears flat against her head and her best puppy dog eyes on display.
"As soon as you want me there, your majesty," she replied in what was hopefully an appropriately apologetic, submissive tone. She didn't want to look bad in front of Tiff--well, more than she already had. And she felt bad for growling at him. In his throne room! Honestly, what was wrong with her?
But then Tiff had to go and protest. Bree lost a few shades of color, whipping her head around to look at Tiff. Bridget would feel awful for messing up her job interview if it went sourly because of her. "N-no, it's fine!" she assured Tiff, forget momentarily that she wasn't supposed to be interrupting. "Really, I deserve it! I should know better. Please, ignore me, you're doing great! You don't need to be scared, he likes you, I can tell!"
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Tindome - 11-19-2019
He looked at Tiffany, with her earnestly raised hand. He looked at Bridget, trying frantically to reassure her.
"Our Miss Corey requires a firm hand," he explained, standing straight. "She is well-accustomed to the dungeons by now; they're practically a home away from home. Isn't that right, dear?" He grinned down at his librarian, before turning his attention back to Tiffany.
"You're going to take longer than I'd planned for," he said thoughtfully. "How near is it to lunch?" he wondered, almost to himself.
"Bridget, darling," he said. "I have other petitioners to hear. Escort Miss Hart to find something to eat, will you? Once you have her taken care of, you can bring her to me in the garden. We may go to the dungeon afterward, if nothing more pressing comes up." There'd be more time, among the flowers, to coax this halfling into blooming.
And anyway, as long as he looked like this, he might as well have them send in the Countess of Vanesbright. She used to be one of Rosey's girls, and she could do the most marvelous things with her tongue when she wanted an expansion permit.
"Our Miss Corey requires a firm hand," he explained, standing straight. "She is well-accustomed to the dungeons by now; they're practically a home away from home. Isn't that right, dear?" He grinned down at his librarian, before turning his attention back to Tiffany.
"You're going to take longer than I'd planned for," he said thoughtfully. "How near is it to lunch?" he wondered, almost to himself.
"Bridget, darling," he said. "I have other petitioners to hear. Escort Miss Hart to find something to eat, will you? Once you have her taken care of, you can bring her to me in the garden. We may go to the dungeon afterward, if nothing more pressing comes up." There'd be more time, among the flowers, to coax this halfling into blooming.
And anyway, as long as he looked like this, he might as well have them send in the Countess of Vanesbright. She used to be one of Rosey's girls, and she could do the most marvelous things with her tongue when she wanted an expansion permit.
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Viala - 11-20-2019
Distantly, Tiff noted that the situation was somewhat ridiculous. With Bridget kneeling on the floor, her raising her hand like an overeager student, and the King looking between them with mild bemusement, it felt like something out of a comedy. Except for the whole 'Bridget being on the verge of being tortured' thing, that wasn't really funny. It was a little funny to hear her stammer out something about the King liking Tiff, which was patently untrue, but the King's toothy grin killed any sense of humor to be found in their mutual stutters.Her hand stayed frozen in the air as he straightened, though her shoulders rose a little higher as she instinctively hunched in on herself. "They- they are?" She asked faintly, her eyes flicking down to Bridget. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, but clearly that was a fear flush. Or something. Did people blush when they were scared? Was she even still scared by the idea of the dungeons? What kind of things did a Royal Librarian do to end up in the dungeons all the time.
Tiff shrank down even further as the King's attention turned to her, her jaw locking shut as he appraised her-
AND THEN WONDERED ABOUT LUNCH OH NO.
She made a sound like a strangled mouse, her eyes huge as he moved on like he hadn't just implied that she was lunch. Was that what he implied? Was she projecting? Projecting wasn't the right word, probably, but-
"Lunch sounds nice!" Her voice came out much higher pitched than she would have liked, a near hysterical edge to it. She winced, forcibly cutting off whatever else she was going to say. So he was going to make her eat lunch, and then eat her for lunch? That was... kind of gruesome. Maybe it was like stuffing a turkey or something. Abruptly, she remembered her hand was still in the air, and she jammed it back down against her side, her eyes going back to Bridget at the King's clear dismissal.
...she. She should probably gather her things.
With that thought, it was like the spell had been broken, and Tiff hastily darted away from the King, grabbing her notebook, collapsible stand, and the crystal off the floor as she tried to calm the hammering of her heart. It wasn't working very well.
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - SolitareLee - 11-20-2019
Bridget flushed again at the King's reminder of how much time she spent in the dungeons. Look, it wasn't her fault she had natural inclinations and trouble controlling them. Okay that last one might have been her fault. But! The King was the one who needed someone sturdy to test the equipment, so if you thought about it, it was at least partially his fault. Either way, she nodded in embarrassed acquiescence. She stood when she was instructed to, brushing off her knees. Her tights, black and specked with golden snowflakes, had been a rather obvious attempt to appeal to the King's ego. They couldn't all bring giant throne-towers. Well, Tiff would love the garden, and he would probably manage to finish his seduction there, which made her more than a little glum. And she'd be waiting around, either in the garden or sent to the dungeon to wait! She didn't know which one was worse.
But at least she was being granted this little reprieve to calm Tiff down. The poor girl smelled--and looked--completely terrified! Bridget must have messed this all up when she'd tried to warn Tiff about the King. She'd straighten her out in no time, and she could probably do it better than the King. Bridget really hadn't expected this much fear! Oh, sure, a little bit of fear of the King was to be expected. It was primal! But once Tiffany was reassured that the King liked her, Bridget was confident it would all work out the way the King wanted. It always did, after all.
She gave an apologetic smile to the King, ears down against her head and tail wagging hopefully. It was the expression of a dog who'd been caught in the trash can but knew you still loved it, and the King saw it a fair bit. Then she scurried over to help Tiff.
"Come on," she said, putting her hand gently around the smaller woman's shoulders. She seemed shaky, and like someone who could use a firm hand to help steady her. It was forward, but Bridget had a limited understanding of personal space to begin with. "I'll take you to the kitchens." Cara never minded Bridget dropping in unannounced, and Bridget had her own section of the kitchen dedicated to the King's excellently kept promise that she could eat as much as she wanted. "And I'll answer any questions you have about the King," she added, as she steered Tiff quickly out of the throne room.
"So I feel like you're maybe freaking out a little right now," Bridget said after they'd put a little distance between them and the throne room. She was leading Tiff down to the kitchens, but taking a bit of a round-about way so that they wouldn't pass near the dungeon at all. She seemed peculiarly terrified by the concept, for some reason. "I think I might have scared you too much earlier! I'm sorry; I must have forgotten how intimidating he is at first." Bridget hadn't been nearly so intimidated upon first meeting the King. She'd picked him up and spun him around, in fact. But she was a werewolf, not a halfling. Maybe she was biologically programmed to be less skittish. "Some caution is healthy, but you don't have to be terrified of him. I mean, he doesn't mind at all... I think he might be into it, actually, but..."
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Viala - 11-21-2019
Bridget's arm landed on her shoulder, steering her out of the room before Tiff had time to squeak or protest. She hadn't even noticed the other woman coming over, too focused on gathering her things and deliberately not thinking about the King's presence behind her. As she was led out of the room, Tiff couldn't help but cast one last glance over her shoulder at the King, wondering if he was watching.He was, indeed, watching.
"Um," she started, forcibly wrenching her attention back to Bridget. "I don't think I have that many questions, actually?" Mostly what was going through her mind were potential pleas for forgiveness, or if she could sneak away and possibly make it back to Crithe before the King remembered he was supposed to eat her.
Well, maybe she had a few questions. Mostly involving potential escape routes.
It was a little easier once the throne room was out of sight; the more distance between her and the King, the better. She could feel herself relaxing by degrees as they walked, and now that she wasn't terrified out of her wits, her stomach was starting to remind her of exactly how long it had been since she'd eaten.
"A little?" She repeated, incredulous. Was she just so used to the King's... terrifyingness that it didn't register anymore? Was that why she spent so much time in the dungeons, because she didn't fear him like she should? "Of course I'm freaking out! He had teeth the size of me! He had teeth the size of YOU!" That was important to elaborate on; the bigger the teeth were, the more likely it was that they would eat things that were the size of said teeth. Probably. That was definitely how it worked.
"Why wouldn't I be terrified of him?! He doesn't know me, there's no attachment there, he could, would, and probably will-" She started to go off, then paused as Bridget's words actually sank in. "...What does that mean, he's 'into it'?" That. There was no way Bridget meant what she thought she meant. No. Tiff refused to consider that possibility.
The King probably did many things, and most likely thoroughly enjoyed most of said things in various ways, but not in... that way. Right?
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - SolitareLee - 11-21-2019
"Well, he's a dragon," Bridget explained patiently. "He's a predator." The problem with humans, she privately thought, was that they had forgotten that they were supposed to be predators, and that made them behave more like prey. A human that had never hunted might as well have been a rabbit. "Like you said, he has teeth the size of me. Some fear is to be expected, and it reminds him of how grand and terrible he is, so of course he enjoys it." Bridget had never really been able to play into that particular love of the King's. She could be scared he'd hurt her, sometimes, in the moment, but it was never the kind of genuine primal fear that seemed to get his blood pumping. She adored him. She knew he'd never hurt her. "But you don't have to be as scared as you are," she continued gently. "He likes you. And not in the 'about to eat you as lunch' way you seem to think." Well. Not in the way she thought. Bridget privately suspected that the King would indeed be having Tiff for lunch, and then herself for desert, but even she had figured out that if she said that, Tiff would panic. She didn't understand the King's tastes, that was the problem. "He liked your speech. He likes your tower, I think, and how tiny you are. Really! If I thought he was going to kill you, I'd be much more upset." She had clearly been extremely upset, to growl at the King, but she didn't think it would help to mention that to Tiff, or ever to anyone because it was super embarrassing. "I was only worried because... Well... you're so small," she said, flushing slightly and looking away. She rubbed at nose, as if she could rub away both the blush and the mental images in her head.
Finally, they reached the kitchens. Bridget breathed a sigh of relief. This would surely calm Tiffany down. Standing this close, Bridget could hear her stomach grumbling loudly. Maybe she was scared because she was hungry. That seemed feasible.
"Don't touch the shepherds pies," Cara said automatically as Bridget and Tiffany came through the door. "Not even one, they're for the--oh, who's this?"
"Cara, this is Tiffany Hart. She's going to be the King's new architect, probably."
"Just his architect?" Cara asked, looking down at Tiff and raising an eyebrow.
"How should I know?" Bridget asked, too sharply. Her ears had gone all aggressive again, her fingers tightening their grip on Tiff's shoulder.
"Well, I mean, just look at her--"
"Don't start, Cara, please; she's scared enough already. You don't have to fuss over us; I'll feed her out of my supply."
"It's not like you to be jealous!" Cara yelled teasingly as Bridget steered Tiffany a bit forcefully through the kitchen and into a separate chamber.
"Ignore her," Bridget instructed Tiffany as she shooed her inside and closed the door. Of course, it might be that Tiffany wasn't at all happy about the situation, given that Bridget had just pushed her into a walk-in meat locker. Hocks of ham, entire pigs, and even whole halves of cattle and goats hung from hooks, meats of all kinds rested on shelves. Most of it was dried, but some of it was clearly fresh. "Oh, shit, I forgot to ask... do you eat meat?" She was going to feel terrible if Tiff was part dwarf or something.
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Viala - 12-02-2019
She kept her eyes on Bridget as she spoke, which was decidedly the stupider option, given how shaky her knees still were. Something about maintaining eye contact with her made it a little easier to calm down. It was a blessing that she didn't stumble as they walked. "The joy of being big and strong." She commented dryly, unable to help a slight edge in her voice. Of course she expected it from a King who was also a Dragon; that didn't mean she had to enjoy it. Being the size she was, she'd encountered far too many people who enjoyed being bigger and stronger than everyone else.The King had them all beat in both bigness and strength, but at least he wasn't as vocal about it as some other people she could name.
"I guess you'd know the King's moods better than I would," she admitted, somewhat reassured in spite of herself. "I figured I was overthinking it, but..." she shrugged helplessly. "I can't really stop once I start, if that makes sense." Which was a recurring, ongoing issue. Forrest had called her a juggernaut once, early on when they'd met; she hadn't known what that meant at the time, but everyone around him had agreed a little too quickly for her to take it as a compliment.
...Forrest probably would have handled this whole debacle a lot better than she had, now that she was thinking about it. He had the right mindset for it, would have known exactly what to say to the King to keep him happy and full-sized.
She was jerked out of her thoughts as Bridget looked away, blinking and catching back up to the conversation. "Wait, what does my size have to do with anything?" She asked, clueless. The King had mentioned not owning a Halfling... was that what she was referencing?
The aroma of fresh cooking and baking hit her nose abruptly, and her stomach roared in response, loud enough that there was no way Bridget missed it. A delicate, embarrassed flush rose to her cheeks, and she looked away sheepishly, covering her stomach with one hand. The doors to the kitchen opened, and the delicious smells got even stronger. Tiff's eyes went wide as she looked around the kitchen, her eyes landing on said Shepherd's pies. The steam was still wafting off of it. She wanted it.
When she heard her name she snapped back to attention, finally looking at the other person in the room as she waved cheerfully. Unfortunately, she was fairly certain that if she opened her mouth, drool was going to come out, so it was a good thing Bridget seemed to be okay doing the talking.
Until they weren't anymore, and... well. That was a strange conversation that she only understood part of! "It was nice meeting you!" She called through the door as she was half-dragged into another room, this one filled entirely with meat. That completely side-tracked her from her previous burning curiosity, and she took in the various hunks of meat and halved carcasses with a kind of horrified fascination.
"No it's okay, I eat meat, I just didn't know they sold meat like that!" She pointed at a massive pig that was hanging from a hook further in the back, large enough that its bottom was just barely hovering above the floor. "Where do you get whole pigs??"
This was probably not the right question to ask right now, but really. An entire PIG! She would ask her other questions after that, honest. She would totally remember.
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - SolitareLee - 12-02-2019
Bridget's ears flicked down, briefly, at the sarcasm dripping out of Tiff's voice on the subject of being big and strong. She herself was both, as well, and the disparaging note in Tiff's voice wasn't missed. She couldn't help it! And she wouldn't if she could have, honestly, which probably meant Tiff was right to judge. Her strength could be a disadvantage a lot of times, but she liked it more often then she didn't, and it meant she was valuable to the King. "That totally makes sense," Bridget said, nodding. She got into anxiety spirals, which she presumed was what Tiff was talking about. "But you really don't have to worry about the King h...arming you," she said, because there was no way she wouldn't be hurt by his dick, at her size, but he probably wouldn't... permanently? injure her? Probably? "You're in the clear there, unless you suddenly start insulting him out of nowhere." She laughed at the implausibility of this. "Just relax a bit and tell him all about your ideas and it'll be over in no time."
She sighed internally. She hoped the King appreciated her wing-manning for him like this. But, well, Tiff had good ideas. Really good ideas. It was best for Aeris if she stuck around to implement them. And Avi wanted her. Bridget could never deny Avi something he really wanted. He was too good to her.
"It, uh, I mean." Would she take offense to Avi liking her being small? Oh no, she was a halfling, what if that was racist? She'd just seemed annoyed by big and strong people! "Well, I just mean, you're so cute?" she blurted out, panicked. "Um!" She walked quickly into the back of the meat fridge.
"Yeah, this is my private supply. This is why I mentioned telling him what you want. Obviously everyone needs a wage, but I also get this!" She spun around, demonstratively, gesturing to the room around them, making her skirt flare out like a blooming tulip and her hair bounce. "As much as I can eat! Which is a lot!" She patted the pig cheerfully. For this sort of thing, she tended to eat it whole. She'd just drag it into the garden and eat there, because otherwise it made a mess and people got upset. But it was very good for the flowerbeds.
"You get them from farms!" she said cheerfully. "The King implemented a thing where farmers can just pay their taxes with goods instead of gold, if they want. They get better rates that way, and it lets them skip the merchant middle man." Her tail wagged cheerfully, because she'd helped a lot with the tax code. "I won't give you this, though! I've got some shaving lamb back here somewh--ah! There it is!"
She plucked a pita off a shelf--she did have things other than meat back here!--and a huge cleaver off another. She kept her claws too trim to use them, these days, although she'd done it in the past. Tail still wagging, ears upright, facing backwards towards Tiff, she hummed cheerfully as she shaved off sliver after sliver of the meat directly onto the pita.
"It's already seasoned," she informed Tiff, rolling the pita around the meat and then handing the overstuffed monster down to her. "It's good enough as is if you really like meat, but if you want, I've got some sauce that goes really well with it... sssssomewhere. Cara might have it."
"Are you feeling better about the King now? Do you have anything you want to know about him or the process?"
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Viala - 12-10-2019
...Bridget thought she was cute?
She was struck silent by that, a welcome sort of warmth blooming in her chest. Maybe it was slightly strange (inappropriate? unnatural? weird?) to have the lingering terror of nearly getting eaten by a Dragon King to be so quickly chased away by a tall woman calling her cute, but Tiff had never really been under the impression that she was among the outspoken majority. Very few people tended to possess the same manic fervor about things that she did, or experience the same amount of intensity about... literally anything, actually.
If there was a rhyme or reason to the things that captured her attention, Tiff hadn't found it yet. Whatever force drove her to fixate on the things she did had a cruel sense of humor, as demonstrated by this exact moment. Bridget, twirling in a smooth motion, her curls whirling around her face like they were defying gravity, her skirt a riot of color and movement and a smile on her lovely face. It was an image that belonged in a museum, in a place of honor where everyone could see it and know true beauty. She was beautiful, and while normally the halved pig carcass would be a massive, massive turn off for her, it kind of suited her in a way that Tiff wasn't sure she wanted to put much thought into.
Maybe a meat locker full of dead animals wasn't the place to have thoughts like that, now that she was thinking about it.
"Wait, you... negotiated for this room?" She asked, wrenching herself back to focusing on their conversation. In her mind's eye, she could still see the flaring of her skirt, color and brightness and life in a room filled with so much death. Animal death, for food, but still. It was poetic, damn it. "Along with wages??" That was ridiculous. That was amazing. That was clearly the way a dragon's mind worked.
"That's kind of brilliant, actually!" Her eyes drifted over to the full carcasses, forcing herself to look at them properly. All of them were larger than she was. Not a surprise, but still. It was always a little unsettling to stand next to something that dwarfed you, even in death. "Goods over money... That must make it a lot easier on the people, huh?" She assumed it was, at least; Tiff didn't really know much about economics. Money was certainly a thing that existed, but generally that was something for other people to worry about. Which sounded kind of arrogant, actually? Whoops.
Her attention fell back on to Bridget as she watched her tail wag, her curiosity again getting the better of her. It was definitely rude to stare at someone's behind like that, and really Tiff should be kind of ashamed of herself... but tail.
...Butt tail.
A short giggle burst out of her before she could stop it, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth as she looked up just in time to meet Bridget's eyes rather than get caught staring again. "Thank you!" She beat back her childish amusement, lowering her hand to give her a beaming smile as she took the plate from her and examined the meaty monstrosity in front of her. Her stomach roared again, and she had to force herself to respond to Bree before taking a bite. It smelled REALLY good... "I'll try it without the sauce first."
Picking up the pita gingerly with one gloved hand, she studied it for a moment, considering the best plan of attack...
And then just promptly stuffed the end of it into her mouth, too hungry to really put much critical thought into being delicate about it. Forrest would have been horrified.
She froze guiltily as Bridget asked her question, her mouth too full of meat for her to respond immediately. She was hungry, yes, but responding to any sort of question with a full mouth was Absolutely Not Allowed. Chewing as rapidly as she could, she swallowed down her mouthful, barely tasting it. "Ah- Um, slightly?" She attempted, setting the pita down on the plate and using her free hand to hunt for a handkerchief. She knew she had one somewhere... "Mostly I'm just worried, really. Is he going to stay human like that the whole time?" She hoped not. He was far, far more unsettling as a human than as a dragon.
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - SolitareLee - 12-10-2019
"Sure did! Well, technically, I negotiated the wage, endless meat was his first offer." This was why you had to beware of meat-based metaphors, with him. He had not been talking about pig carcasses. "He's a dragon. Gold, for him, mostly exists for its magical properties. He'll pay you in whatever works. Normally, it's a combination of a place to stay and wages, but there are plenty of people who get other stuff. I get paid in meat, we've got a spy out there who's basically just doing it to pay him child support, and I'm pretty sure our only knight gets paid exclusively in increasingly fancy women's clothing." Bridget shrugged. "He needs gold for other stuff, so frankly, it's easier for everyone involved to skip the shiny yellow middle man." She patted the pig carcass again, cheerfully. "Which was the concept behind this, too!" Her tail was wagging enthusiastically at the praise. "It was my idea! I grew up on a farm, and tax was always such a pain, because we did all our trading with elves, and they don't even participate in the whole gold-based economy thing. We had to sell shit at a serious loss just to get coin we couldn't do anything with other than ship it off to the capital every year."
She was rambling. She was definitely rambling. This was why she did so good in a library, where most of all she had to say was "shh" or "here's your books."
...Oh dear. Tiff had a mouth that could stretch around a pretty considerable amount of meat for her size. This was a bad sign for Bridget, and a good sign for the King. Absolutely terrible sign for Tiff's esophagus, though. It'd be better if she couldn't even get the damn thing in her mouth to begin with.
Trying to chase that mental image out of her head, Bridget considered the question. "Don't you... want him to?" was her first reaction, which obviously wasn't the desired response. "Oh, are you um, worried he might transform back in the garden and eat you, or something? No, don't worry about that, he'll for sure stay human until he doesn't have a reason to be human shaped anymore. And since he wants me in the, uh, since he wants me later," she said, badly dodging a mention of the Dungeon of Distressing Tiff for Unclear Reasons, "he'll definitely stay person-shaped! It can get annoying for him, flipping back and forth a lot." She could relate. She'd wear herself out doing that, especially this time of the month, when the moon was barely a sliver in the sky. She'd gotten stuck more than once.
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Viala - 12-16-2019
"No," was her emphatic first response. "It's even worse when he's a human, in all honesty." A shudder slid down her spine, and she set the pita down, reluctantly. Just for now, until she could convey her logic to Bridget. After this, she'd definitely ask her to go into more detail about the 'paying in goods' thing. That was amazing, and the fact that it had been her idea...Nope. Focus. Respond and make a case and think about that later.
"And that's the scary part!" She started to explain, setting the plate to the side so she could use her hands. "You're always going to be intimidated by the dragon in one specific way, because he's big and sharp and scaly. And probably hungry." Those probably should have been flipped, actually. Most people found being eaten scarier than being intimidated. Most people. She knew a couple of oddballs. "But a human person has... options, if that makes sense? A person can scare you multiple ways, and then you don't know which way to expect. And that makes it worse."
She was probably explaining herself poorly. Tiff was very good at explaining herself badly, which was a skill in and of itself. "He could be paying me in gold bars and a reliable rebar seller, and I'd still be scared of him... as a human, I mean." Maybe she could actually negotiate his help in setting a rebar person straight. If he already paid people in strange things like meat and clothes, it wouldn't be too big a stretch for him to pay her in salespeople.