𝔬𝔭𝔢𝔫 | 𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔣𝔩𝔬𝔴

[sapphyre]

"I may have lost an eye, but I gained a dragon."

Comments

[peasant]

You should know why.

[ the long list of bloody, creative ways in which grisha face persecution is only the tip of her parania. as for the rest — ]

People always have hidden motivations for being "just curious".

[sapphyre]

[ well, he comes from a family more likely to bed a witch than burn one. but he also comes from a different family that definitely would like to burn one.

so, that is fair. he should.]

True. This could just be a creative ploy to get you beheaded.

[ he's joking. he's JOKING. how does one inflect sarcasm into their penmanship?]

[peasant]

[ :/ :\ it's times like these he's fortunate that she's a morbid creature by nature. ]

Beheading? Really? I was hoping for a more imaginative execution than that. Once you've seen one axe aimed at your head, you've seen them all. Loses its appeal very quickly.

[sapphyre]

Would you prefer to first be bathed in dragonflame? I just thought you would appreciate something swift beforehand.

[ there's too much actual necromancy going around to just leave a witch headless. she'll put it back on. ]

[peasant]

Well, that wouldn't do. I'm impervious to heat and flame.

[ she is absolutely not, but why enlighten him otherwise? ]

[sapphyre]

Ah, so you've been burned at the stake before. Is that it?

[ that would explain some things. ]

[peasant]

[ wow. wowowowow. ]

Sounds like hopeful thinking on your part, perhaps.

Immolation is as unimaginative as a beheading. Are you going to suggest boiling me in a pot next?

[sapphyre]

[ it is true that he does enjoy a good excuse to set something on fire. if alina had a dragon at her disposal, she would too. ]

Isn't that something the witch is purported to do?

[peasant]

[ saints, he has a rude mouth. disputing that name-calling only invites him to further utilize it, wielded like a blade, and so: ]

Only for supper, and preferably with small children.

he shouldnt be allowed to talk to girls tbh

[sapphyre]

[ he definitely considered writing I happen to have a nephew I'm not particularly fond of... before starting over. ]

In any case, there's nothing banal about a death by dragon. Not many of those going around these days.

Though I can't imagine you'd provide much in terms of a meal.

CRYING aemond is That Kid who pulled every girl's hair as a child

[peasant]

Not many Sun Summoners going around these days, either.

[ just saying. ]

Though I imagine your dragon is a more well-mannered conversationalist than you are. And a better dinner partner.

[sapphyre]

You're welcome to try, being so resilient as you claim to be.

[peasant]

[ bitch try her. ]

I would, if I thought she wouldn't mind me wearing her distant kin as bracelets. Doesn't exactly make for a good first impression.

[sapphyre]

Dragons are intelligent creatures. While it is possible, it is more likely your nature towards her that would determine your fate.

Unfortunately, she's not very accommodating towards anyone but myself and sometimes her keepers. I can assure you it is more to do with her age than what you wield.

[peasant]

So she's grouchy, is what you're saying. Just like you.

[ walked right into that one. truthfully, it calls baghra's ways into mind — aged and harsh, equipped with a bite that had been far more lethal than her bite — and even that had carried teeth and the possibility to wound.

alina had been fond, regardless. what that says of her, she won't examine. ]

You might be shocked. I've become somewhat of an expert where cantankerous old women are involved.

[sapphyre]

[ yeah because she's handling this grouchy prince so well. ]

So bold to think you could win her over? Perhaps if you come with tribute in tow. A herd of goats, a few cows, mayhaps a warhorse.

[ she's not picky. ]

[peasant]

[ yeah well maybe if he was an old lady she could project her mommy issues onto she'd like him better!! ]

Well, alright. I'll just be on my way to raid the nearest stable.

[ life is hard when a mythical stag just accepts your existence, but a dragon requires blood sacrifices. gruesome and, frankly, horrific. ]

Do you bring her tributes?

[sapphyre]

[ alina clearly has never had a pet — not that in any way aemond agrees that vhagar is a pet (she is his onlybest friend) — but it is akin to feeding a cat treats until it decides they are a tolerable treat dispenser and not an enemy. ]

No, I don't need to impress her. We share a bond deeper than most things through the magic in our blood.

She feels as I feel. So I suppose to impress her, you would need to impress me as well.

[ he doesn't want her dead, so she should be fine. ]

[peasant]

[ that's either slightly positive news, or somewhat ominous. alina, predictably, has yet to decide which. ]

In that case, I fear I'm doomed.

[ the sweet sound of optimism. for all that he hasn't torn apart her written words and scattered them like chicken feed, she isn't so bold as to assume he's fond of her, by any definition of the word. ]

I don't suppose you take offerings in the form of goats or warhorses?

[sapphyre]

[ fond is definitely not the word. perhaps more amusing than she should probably be allowed to get away with. she hasn't permanently maimed him yet, so there is hope.]

I believe that passes as some form of dowry in some regions of this world.

I thought you already knew everything about me to know what I like.

[peasant]

Just what every betrothed longs for. A herd of goats.

[ what a shithead. she has no one to fault for herself for walking into that particular trap — which, of course, only worsens it. however, she's never known a challenge she's retreated from, and aemond's goading is far less imposing than the fold. more on par with a schoolyard bully, perhaps. ]

If I were to guess, I would say a fine blade would be more appreciated.

But it wouldn't matter, either way; you aren't the type of man so easily influenced by material things. Moreso because there's nothing I could offer that your family couldn't provide you.

So it would take something more substantial, and more immaterial, than that to impress you.

[sapphyre]

[ she's not wrong, annoyingly enough. he himself is a man of duty and plays the role within his family where gifts come in the form of acts. not things. doing something in another's honor is far more valuable than any sword, trinket, or gold. ]

You wanting to appease my dragon properly is gesture enough. Your boldness to do so could be considered impressive.

Most men just piss themselves at the sight of her.

[peasant]

[ that's an unexpectedly flattering view. no, flattering isn't the correct word — aemond doesn't strike has the type to mince words, to sweeten them with honey to make them easier to digest. complimentary, then, to the point it takes her an extra moment to draft a reply. ]

Most men have something to fear from her. I'm sure she knows most of them would harm her if they thought they had a chance of surviving it. As people always want to do, when they decide a creature is too powerful to live.

[ projection? maybe. still, she can't help but feel a kinship, the way she had with the stag — something legendary hunted down, simply to obtain its strength. ]

Perhaps I just like misunderstood things.

[sapphyre]

[ once she actually sees the dragon in person, aemond believes she would change her opinion on that matter. but that is for another time. ]

How very saintly of you.

[peasant]

[ complimentary hours over, she noes. back to thinly veiled sarcasm that always sounds like dismissive insults. ]

You certainly enjoy throwing around that title.