The King contemplated the strip of fabric she was offering. He wrapped it around his fingers as she spoke, then wrapped one end of it around her wrist. He tied a lazy knot, then did the same with her other wrist. It was more of something to do with his hands than it was an actual attempt at restraining her.
"No," he said finally. He flicked at the impromptu wrist restraint. "I won't use this," he clarified. "You will behave, or else you won't." He pulled them loose again with a tug, a poor party trick. The idea of pulling her around on a leash didn't offend him, necessarily, but he wouldn't be doing it. No more than he'd muzzle her, or leave her shackled alone to her wall.
Shackled to a wall with company was fine.
"I haven't decided yet if I want to go back," he said. The whole point of this outing every year was a vaguely anthropological one. Observation, a show, vicarious enjoyment. He'd brought her along believing that it would be more fun this way. Now, seeing the gulf between how they experienced the event, how little she understood the point, it felt worse than simply going alone. She'd been enjoying it wrong. Like listening to someone clap out of rhythm, or laugh at the parts that weren't jokes.
Her face did all sorts of interesting things as she thought of something she didn't want to tell him, and he turned it towards him to see it better.
"I have created many orphans," he said, with neither regret nor remorse. "I am a dragon." This felt like obvious cause and effect. "I remember the day. I ate many who offered me things that were not theirs." It was as close as he came to tactful phrasing. "It's how the hatchling problem started. It wasn't until later that we realized we would need to tell them to bring in all the strays. We hadn't realized there would be so many… off the books." Not all of them so little, either. "You would be like Cara, if we'd known," he said thoughtfully. "Do you know Cara? No, of course you don't. She's in the kitchen, now. She was a horrible child and now she's a horrible woman. She is my eldest, the first of my nest." He was very proud of her, of course.
The idea that Ren was almost of his nest was troubling, to say the least.
"Smart," he said with a nod. "They will disappoint you well enough on their own. Better not to give them additional opportunities." He paused. "Especially people you like," he repeated, slowly and with careful enunciation.
Gareth had the sense to wait in the water until after Bridget had dried herself off. Then he came up out of the water, wringing out his hair and rubbing his hands over his arms. He'd left a sweater around here, somewhere. Declan had the look of a wet cat, his shirt gone translucent and clingy.
Gareth cackled. "Declan-Directly-To-The-Ground," he repeated.
"Don't you start," Declan complained.
"It works on so many levels!"
"You wish," Declan said half-heartedly, undone when Gareth responded with a cocky grin and a waggle of his eyebrows. Then Bridget started talking. "Wait, what?" he said, but she'd already taken off, and so he bolted after her.
Gareth just kept walking. He'd already proven he was faster than Declan—he'd caught him, after all—but it didn't seem fair to make the poor kid haul a werewolf around.
(Declan was 68 years old.)
"No," he said finally. He flicked at the impromptu wrist restraint. "I won't use this," he clarified. "You will behave, or else you won't." He pulled them loose again with a tug, a poor party trick. The idea of pulling her around on a leash didn't offend him, necessarily, but he wouldn't be doing it. No more than he'd muzzle her, or leave her shackled alone to her wall.
Shackled to a wall with company was fine.
"I haven't decided yet if I want to go back," he said. The whole point of this outing every year was a vaguely anthropological one. Observation, a show, vicarious enjoyment. He'd brought her along believing that it would be more fun this way. Now, seeing the gulf between how they experienced the event, how little she understood the point, it felt worse than simply going alone. She'd been enjoying it wrong. Like listening to someone clap out of rhythm, or laugh at the parts that weren't jokes.
Her face did all sorts of interesting things as she thought of something she didn't want to tell him, and he turned it towards him to see it better.
"I have created many orphans," he said, with neither regret nor remorse. "I am a dragon." This felt like obvious cause and effect. "I remember the day. I ate many who offered me things that were not theirs." It was as close as he came to tactful phrasing. "It's how the hatchling problem started. It wasn't until later that we realized we would need to tell them to bring in all the strays. We hadn't realized there would be so many… off the books." Not all of them so little, either. "You would be like Cara, if we'd known," he said thoughtfully. "Do you know Cara? No, of course you don't. She's in the kitchen, now. She was a horrible child and now she's a horrible woman. She is my eldest, the first of my nest." He was very proud of her, of course.
The idea that Ren was almost of his nest was troubling, to say the least.
"Smart," he said with a nod. "They will disappoint you well enough on their own. Better not to give them additional opportunities." He paused. "Especially people you like," he repeated, slowly and with careful enunciation.
Gareth had the sense to wait in the water until after Bridget had dried herself off. Then he came up out of the water, wringing out his hair and rubbing his hands over his arms. He'd left a sweater around here, somewhere. Declan had the look of a wet cat, his shirt gone translucent and clingy.
Gareth cackled. "Declan-Directly-To-The-Ground," he repeated.
"Don't you start," Declan complained.
"It works on so many levels!"
"You wish," Declan said half-heartedly, undone when Gareth responded with a cocky grin and a waggle of his eyebrows. Then Bridget started talking. "Wait, what?" he said, but she'd already taken off, and so he bolted after her.
Gareth just kept walking. He'd already proven he was faster than Declan—he'd caught him, after all—but it didn't seem fair to make the poor kid haul a werewolf around.
(Declan was 68 years old.)
The following 2 users Like Tindome's post: liarliaronapyre, SolitareLee
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Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-05-2019, 06:20 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-05-2019, 06:41 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-05-2019, 07:11 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-05-2019, 07:37 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-05-2019, 07:59 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 03:30 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-06-2019, 04:36 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 07:10 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-06-2019, 08:24 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 09:27 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-06-2019, 09:58 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 10:42 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-06-2019, 11:19 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 12:00 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-06-2019, 12:39 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 01:37 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-06-2019, 02:31 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 03:32 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-06-2019, 04:13 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-06-2019, 11:22 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-07-2019, 05:25 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-07-2019, 08:51 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-07-2019, 09:48 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-07-2019, 12:11 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-07-2019, 01:03 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-08-2019, 02:11 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-08-2019, 03:29 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-08-2019, 04:52 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-08-2019, 05:21 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-09-2019, 03:53 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-09-2019, 04:29 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-10-2019, 11:08 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-10-2019, 11:32 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-10-2019, 04:34 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-10-2019, 05:19 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-11-2019, 01:09 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-11-2019, 03:49 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-11-2019, 06:07 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-11-2019, 07:35 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-11-2019, 10:08 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-11-2019, 11:03 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-11-2019, 04:17 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-11-2019, 04:56 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-12-2019, 04:23 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-12-2019, 06:42 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-12-2019, 11:02 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-12-2019, 11:42 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-22-2019, 02:14 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-22-2019, 03:07 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-22-2019, 10:42 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-22-2019, 11:50 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-22-2019, 02:16 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-22-2019, 02:52 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-22-2019, 03:59 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-22-2019, 05:02 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-23-2019, 01:59 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-23-2019, 02:37 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-23-2019, 03:42 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-23-2019, 05:47 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-23-2019, 10:50 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-23-2019, 11:42 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-23-2019, 01:37 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-23-2019, 02:09 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-23-2019, 03:02 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-23-2019, 03:24 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-23-2019, 04:58 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-23-2019, 05:31 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-24-2019, 11:10 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-24-2019, 11:59 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-24-2019, 01:44 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-24-2019, 02:26 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-24-2019, 11:39 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-25-2019, 12:24 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-25-2019, 09:09 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-25-2019, 09:41 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-25-2019, 12:02 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-25-2019, 12:33 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-25-2019, 03:11 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-25-2019, 03:39 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-25-2019, 11:43 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-26-2019, 06:35 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-26-2019, 01:02 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-26-2019, 01:50 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-26-2019, 03:39 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-26-2019, 04:09 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-27-2019, 04:17 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-27-2019, 07:50 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-27-2019, 03:40 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-27-2019, 04:27 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-28-2019, 10:20 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-28-2019, 10:57 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-28-2019, 01:45 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-28-2019, 02:20 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 06:33 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 07:42 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 08:30 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 08:41 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 09:54 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 10:38 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 12:01 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 12:21 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 01:10 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 01:29 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 01:47 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 02:17 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 02:35 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 02:54 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 04:07 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 04:33 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 04:59 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-29-2019, 05:14 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-29-2019, 11:46 PM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-30-2019, 12:19 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-30-2019, 04:25 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-30-2019, 05:05 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-30-2019, 09:59 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-30-2019, 10:12 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-30-2019, 10:29 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-30-2019, 10:54 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 12-01-2019, 06:15 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 12-01-2019, 06:47 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 12-01-2019, 08:10 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 12-01-2019, 08:27 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by Tindome - 12-01-2019, 09:11 AM
RE: Beg Off [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 12-01-2019, 09:25 AM