Coming to this place, I’ve had greater first hand exposure to the culture of my Father than I ever did before. Specifically, in the range in which it can manifest the aura of danger. Hazard. A common thread humming beneath dark skin and crafted smiles. If my friend Cianan was the underestimated, the one that dissembled to lower guards, that made Spider the obvious threat.
I doubt they’d get along. This one isn’t so big on socializing.
He is careful to utilize courtly pleasantries with all he meets. If he harbors any distaste for races other than his own he doesn’t project it. I said he’s an obvious threat, but let me be clear: he doesn’t blatantly intimidate. It’s just that he doesn’t make a complete effort to disguise his own lethality. It’s in his bearing. The counterweight of his wings and the composure of his attire. Undeniable in a recent climb for power and unrestrained ambition. Since our first match, he’s maintained an awareness of me.
I’ve told you from the first, he associates with you because he wants something.
It’s true that our association doesn’t quite broach ‘warm’, but it is civil. Careful, polite. For a Drow.
He’s demanding. You’re a resource. Now or in the future.
I am not beholden to Spider. Whatever he desires from me will not be given without an exchange. Thus far it’s been knowledge, or access to it. I can’t be certain how genuine the faces he lets me see are, but I do believe that he has a sincere attachment to the creatures in his care. The spiders he raises, and Cinder.
I’m not as convinced about the motives behind his precise care, but I will grant you that he doesn’t seem to neglect them.
Which says something about his character, at least. He has a story which I may or may not be able to hear in the coming months. I suppose my biggest question is whether or not it will be the truth.
Weaving Tangled Shadows
Re: Weaving Tangled Shadows
Nature, Nurture, and Catalysts - Part 1
Academy Library, July 26th, 2015
Few places were as quiet as an academy library on a sunny weekend afternoon, but the day was not one of sunshine. Grey skies and warm rain ushered bodies inside the nearest building, even if it was such a bastion of scholarly pursuit. Professors working on lesson plans were forced to retreat deeper within in order to avoid the influx of quiet chatter and damp bodies. Although as yet not a proper teacher, Shae was also working on the same. One would think she was just another patron of the library were it not for the fact that she was sitting behind the circulation desk while she worked. She would miss this job, the perks of getting paid while doing her personal reading once she had streamlined her daily tasks to a minimal requirement of time, but her notice had already been offered and the challenge before her had personal significance.
Today the woman moved a little stiffly, favored one arm over the other, but only to those who had observed her long enough. Loose fitting blouse, for a change, over a layered skirt. Her familiar was a sullen addition to the piles of books spread across the desk, tolerated by those who hired her because of his tendency to hunt any mice that dared encroach upon the feast of paper and glue throughout the building.
Perfect weather for a Drow, at least one who'd been traveling the surface lands a few years. Training against the ravages of sunlight had extended back much of his life, but a dark elf never got used to that burning orb in the open sky, not in truth.
Rain was merely water, annoying but not hurtful, yet he kept his hat's brim low, and half cape and wings were cloaked tightly around him as he stepped through the library's front entrance. Something about him forced a bubble around him that none would enter, some subtle, lurking menace of power kept at bay, but reflected in the red glow of his eyes, as a nimbus of stars around his pupils. Though something of a charlatan at sorcery, he was an Archmage, and it would be hard to say what secrets he might have accessed, if the Key had in fact granted him entry to the Citadel somewhere in the lost Isle's maelstrom.
Giving a moment to let lingering rainwater drip free of his clothes, he approached the circulation desk, silent despite the heaviness of his riding boots. "Bwael tangi, Shae. I trust you have some time to speak?" he said without much preamble, coming to rest near her desk with his thumbs hooked to his belt, fingers extended to be in plain sight.
Fox's head lifted from where he had lain it across his paws and the neglected reference volume left open to a page concerning minor illusions. The prospect of a conversation was something that perked up the otherwise bored creature.
Although his approach was silent, he stepped into her air in the process. The early warning meant that she wasn't startled when his voice came in close proximity, but there was a slight delay to her response. Uss klew'ar. Begged the gesture in handsign as she finished jotting down her current line of thought in the notebook that was a ubiquitous asset for all of her research.Quill set aside, Shae lifted her head and sat back with a smile. "Vendui', Spider. I hadn't expected to see you again so soon after our match. Of course, what can I do for you?"
Spider took the moment she bid of him to greet Fox also, tipping his hat to the creature as he would any he considered equal. And not all creatures were, in his mind, but Fox was certainly of a different order of 'familiar' than most.
"So soon after our match? I felt no malice toward you after the battle. I had wished to speak with you last night, but we both had our duties to fulfill to our teams." He paused, freeing his fingers from his belt and removing his gauntlets, then tucking them where fingers had been. An array of rings glittered on his fingers, as often, and at least a few exuded far more power than they had during a conversation between these two, here, some months prior. The Drow was certainly changing, somehow, and quickly.
"What do you know of the tagnik'zun, specifically those of the red, fire breathing variety? Will they develop true to nature or with training, can their evil be mitigated or controlled?" He wasn't wasting time with pleasantries today! A faint quasi-smile did touch his lips after the question, and his posture became more relaxed, but he was clearly here on business.
There was a dip of a russet head in return to the winged Drow, and a flash of pointed teeth in a feral grin. The fox was unpredictable, at times, in his displays of intelligence, but generally once the proverbial cat was out of the bag he didn't bother hiding they way his ears tracked conversations as more than just noise or the way certain words and gestures elicited a response from him.
"I didn't mean to suggest that there were any bad feelings, merely that you have been rather busy, of late, and our history of interaction has not been one I would classify as 'frequent'. My congratulations, by the way, for your recent string of victories. Archmage, even. You'll forgive me if my demeanor doesn't change, I'm rather jealous in the imagining of what you might have access to inside that tower." All this said with a faintly teasing tone. The woman was genuine in her celebration of his accomplishments. "You were smart to leave when you did. I still have a headache from the amount I drank to kill the memory of some particularly noxious personalities I encountered after your departure."
Gold eyes were drawn, with magpie attention, to the glittering sight that adorned his hands. Absently, the difference in the feel of the Drow and his possessions was noted, something filed away for later. His question shifted her gaze to his face again, one brow arching in surprise. "You may have come to the wrong person. In this city I'm probably one of the few people who isn't some sort of expert on tagnik'zun and their nature. I can only speak from the perspective of wild things. Evil isn't, in my experience, an inherent trait in born creatures. Created creatures, certainly. Those born? They may have tendencies towards violence, towards flaws in temperament that might make such paths more appealing, but nothing is certain. I would wager that, with respect for natural leanings towards savagery, any raised thing can be steered away from what is considered to be 'evil'."
He listened to her reply impassively, the faint smile fading back into his usual, cool demeanor. When she spoke, he listened very intently, perhaps an ingrained trait to pay heed to women of power, some vestige of his upbringing's conditioning. But he also knew Shae knew what she was talking about, knew her own abilities and talents very well. Her answer was not unexpected. Before responding, he unhooked a bag from his belt, a small cloth pouch, and laid it on the floor - where a hole suddenly appeared. The extradimensional nature of the 'pouch' was clear, when he reached both arms in, and withdrew a large (perhaps basketball sized) red egg, leathery of texture and appearance, its warmth palpable once it left the space of the portable hole.
"I understand, Shae. But also, you mentioned in passing last night you might not be working here longer. I come to beseech your skills as a librarian, not simply to pluck your own brain." With that, he allowed a full smile, teeth startlingly white against the black of thin lips. A rare, rare expression for this Drow. "I cannot imagine what would take you away from your love of books, but it must be something quite compelling." A gentle, almost motherly caress by his right wing brushed the egg.
"This, Shae, is Cinder. A red, as you can see. I wish to train her, as I do my orben killian, to fight. But not to grow large and consume me, for instance." A flick of eyes to Fox to make sure the appearance of the dragon's egg had not upset the familiar. Spider paid no noticeable heed to any others who might be nearby, and in fact if any had looked in his or the egg's direction, they'd have seen little more than a murky haze. He was not here to alarm the literate public.
Academy Library, July 26th, 2015
Few places were as quiet as an academy library on a sunny weekend afternoon, but the day was not one of sunshine. Grey skies and warm rain ushered bodies inside the nearest building, even if it was such a bastion of scholarly pursuit. Professors working on lesson plans were forced to retreat deeper within in order to avoid the influx of quiet chatter and damp bodies. Although as yet not a proper teacher, Shae was also working on the same. One would think she was just another patron of the library were it not for the fact that she was sitting behind the circulation desk while she worked. She would miss this job, the perks of getting paid while doing her personal reading once she had streamlined her daily tasks to a minimal requirement of time, but her notice had already been offered and the challenge before her had personal significance.
Today the woman moved a little stiffly, favored one arm over the other, but only to those who had observed her long enough. Loose fitting blouse, for a change, over a layered skirt. Her familiar was a sullen addition to the piles of books spread across the desk, tolerated by those who hired her because of his tendency to hunt any mice that dared encroach upon the feast of paper and glue throughout the building.
Perfect weather for a Drow, at least one who'd been traveling the surface lands a few years. Training against the ravages of sunlight had extended back much of his life, but a dark elf never got used to that burning orb in the open sky, not in truth.
Rain was merely water, annoying but not hurtful, yet he kept his hat's brim low, and half cape and wings were cloaked tightly around him as he stepped through the library's front entrance. Something about him forced a bubble around him that none would enter, some subtle, lurking menace of power kept at bay, but reflected in the red glow of his eyes, as a nimbus of stars around his pupils. Though something of a charlatan at sorcery, he was an Archmage, and it would be hard to say what secrets he might have accessed, if the Key had in fact granted him entry to the Citadel somewhere in the lost Isle's maelstrom.
Giving a moment to let lingering rainwater drip free of his clothes, he approached the circulation desk, silent despite the heaviness of his riding boots. "Bwael tangi, Shae. I trust you have some time to speak?" he said without much preamble, coming to rest near her desk with his thumbs hooked to his belt, fingers extended to be in plain sight.
Fox's head lifted from where he had lain it across his paws and the neglected reference volume left open to a page concerning minor illusions. The prospect of a conversation was something that perked up the otherwise bored creature.
Although his approach was silent, he stepped into her air in the process. The early warning meant that she wasn't startled when his voice came in close proximity, but there was a slight delay to her response. Uss klew'ar. Begged the gesture in handsign as she finished jotting down her current line of thought in the notebook that was a ubiquitous asset for all of her research.Quill set aside, Shae lifted her head and sat back with a smile. "Vendui', Spider. I hadn't expected to see you again so soon after our match. Of course, what can I do for you?"
Spider took the moment she bid of him to greet Fox also, tipping his hat to the creature as he would any he considered equal. And not all creatures were, in his mind, but Fox was certainly of a different order of 'familiar' than most.
"So soon after our match? I felt no malice toward you after the battle. I had wished to speak with you last night, but we both had our duties to fulfill to our teams." He paused, freeing his fingers from his belt and removing his gauntlets, then tucking them where fingers had been. An array of rings glittered on his fingers, as often, and at least a few exuded far more power than they had during a conversation between these two, here, some months prior. The Drow was certainly changing, somehow, and quickly.
"What do you know of the tagnik'zun, specifically those of the red, fire breathing variety? Will they develop true to nature or with training, can their evil be mitigated or controlled?" He wasn't wasting time with pleasantries today! A faint quasi-smile did touch his lips after the question, and his posture became more relaxed, but he was clearly here on business.
There was a dip of a russet head in return to the winged Drow, and a flash of pointed teeth in a feral grin. The fox was unpredictable, at times, in his displays of intelligence, but generally once the proverbial cat was out of the bag he didn't bother hiding they way his ears tracked conversations as more than just noise or the way certain words and gestures elicited a response from him.
"I didn't mean to suggest that there were any bad feelings, merely that you have been rather busy, of late, and our history of interaction has not been one I would classify as 'frequent'. My congratulations, by the way, for your recent string of victories. Archmage, even. You'll forgive me if my demeanor doesn't change, I'm rather jealous in the imagining of what you might have access to inside that tower." All this said with a faintly teasing tone. The woman was genuine in her celebration of his accomplishments. "You were smart to leave when you did. I still have a headache from the amount I drank to kill the memory of some particularly noxious personalities I encountered after your departure."
Gold eyes were drawn, with magpie attention, to the glittering sight that adorned his hands. Absently, the difference in the feel of the Drow and his possessions was noted, something filed away for later. His question shifted her gaze to his face again, one brow arching in surprise. "You may have come to the wrong person. In this city I'm probably one of the few people who isn't some sort of expert on tagnik'zun and their nature. I can only speak from the perspective of wild things. Evil isn't, in my experience, an inherent trait in born creatures. Created creatures, certainly. Those born? They may have tendencies towards violence, towards flaws in temperament that might make such paths more appealing, but nothing is certain. I would wager that, with respect for natural leanings towards savagery, any raised thing can be steered away from what is considered to be 'evil'."
He listened to her reply impassively, the faint smile fading back into his usual, cool demeanor. When she spoke, he listened very intently, perhaps an ingrained trait to pay heed to women of power, some vestige of his upbringing's conditioning. But he also knew Shae knew what she was talking about, knew her own abilities and talents very well. Her answer was not unexpected. Before responding, he unhooked a bag from his belt, a small cloth pouch, and laid it on the floor - where a hole suddenly appeared. The extradimensional nature of the 'pouch' was clear, when he reached both arms in, and withdrew a large (perhaps basketball sized) red egg, leathery of texture and appearance, its warmth palpable once it left the space of the portable hole.
"I understand, Shae. But also, you mentioned in passing last night you might not be working here longer. I come to beseech your skills as a librarian, not simply to pluck your own brain." With that, he allowed a full smile, teeth startlingly white against the black of thin lips. A rare, rare expression for this Drow. "I cannot imagine what would take you away from your love of books, but it must be something quite compelling." A gentle, almost motherly caress by his right wing brushed the egg.
"This, Shae, is Cinder. A red, as you can see. I wish to train her, as I do my orben killian, to fight. But not to grow large and consume me, for instance." A flick of eyes to Fox to make sure the appearance of the dragon's egg had not upset the familiar. Spider paid no noticeable heed to any others who might be nearby, and in fact if any had looked in his or the egg's direction, they'd have seen little more than a murky haze. He was not here to alarm the literate public.
Re: Weaving Tangled Shadows
Nature, Nurture, and Catalysts - Part 2
His actions prompted curiosity that transformed into mild surprise. Tip of her chair backwards and then a pointed lean forwards. It was the first egg of its kind that Shae had ever seen in close proximity. She'd been in tournaments before, but never took the time to study some of the prizes. "With all of the intelligent dragons floating about, you'd think they'd take some sort of offense to members of their species being pawned off as rewards for sport." Murmured quietly while committing details about the shell to memory.
"No I will not be." There a half-smile. "Your inquiry sounded rather pointedly directed, so forgive my misunderstanding. I may be working in a library, but that doesn't mean I yet consider the sum of its knowledge to fall under the category of what 'I know'. I can certainly try to direct you to some resources on the matter. Today is actually my last day here in an official capacity, so I suppose I should actually do some work, hmm?" Shifting aside a pile of books, Shae uncovered the input terminal for the library's database. It was more advanced than a computer, which she professed to be incapable of using. A holographically based technology that she found rather intuitive.
As she began inputting search terms, she inquired: "How are you certain that the creature is a female?" Fox had risen from his position and was drawing closer to the egg with the intent of sniffing it. He paused at Spider's glance, wary of intruding upon personal space.
The Drow studied Fox, then stepped to the side to allow the familiar's inspection. Faint, very faint brimstone would be smelled, and that overriding sense of warmth, as though a burning coal were kept banked within the shell. But it was not harmful to the touch, and Spider had placed no barring spell on it - the obfuscation to the sight of others was merely an extension of his magic's natural tendency to obscure, magnified by the Key he carried.
"I am certain because she has spoken to me, at night. Sent images, anyway, it is not language such as you and I use. She is female as sure as I am black-skinned." He spoke the words with quiet conviction. The next he used carried less. "Unfortunately, I do not know the basics of the care of a maeltha, such as what to feed them. I do not come seeking ancient draconic histories."
As he spoke and watched her work, he studied the holographic device with wary fascination. To him it was sorcery, but of a sort he could not even sense as such. Dangerous, the unknown, but fascinating to a Drow as surely as any naturally curious elf. "Where will you make your living now, then?"
Respectfully, Fox inspected the egg. Head tilting, ears and eyes forward. Nostrils flared and then closed at the scent. Finally, very gently, the canid reached out with a paw to touch it. "He's never seen an egg so large." Shae explained with a suppressed smile. "Neither have I, for that matter."
Spider's explanation didn't slow the movement of her hands, but it did warrant a glance of her own towards the egg. "I'm not unfamiliar with communication based on imagery and empathy." Offered with a flicker of a glance towards Fox and then a return to the search at hand. "I wouldn't be surprised if she grew into a more complex form of communication after prolonged contact with your mind."
At last Shae had drawn up a list of tomes. Now she began jotting them down on a slip of paper. The disparity between the projected screen and the quill she wrote with was almost comical. "This was never my only form of employment, but I will be replacing this position with one of instruction at the Dragon's Gate Orphanage at the request of the fellow who has been guiding me in magic dueling. You've probably encountered him, or will, he's the Keeper of the Water Tower."
He nodded, slightly, studying her from under the brim of his hat, black face shadowed, though his obscurement magic was not directed at her. "I am most familiar with the other Keepers, though I have heard of that one," he acknowledged. "Instruction. You would be well suited to it, I think. An...orphanage is a place of lost children, yes?" Where he was from there was certainly no such thing, 'useless' children (and even adults) slain out of hand in Drow society.
He waited patiently while she scribbled with a quill, being about as chatty as he ever was. Shae put him at ease for some strange reason. "I believe I will attempt to bond Cinder as my familiar. The spiders see too much risk in battle for me to wish such a bond with them," he explained. "And here is something you might be suited to answer, from your own experience. Has bonding with Fox altered your personality to suit his, do you think? Do you then suspect that if I bond with a tagnik'zur, my personality might be...subsumed?"
"Thank you. I'd never given it much consideration, but recent requests have warmed me to the idea of becoming an instructor." Privately, the witch was still unsure of her capabilities in that direction but she was willing to always make an attempt. "Where I come from, various temples usually take in those children without parents or relatives to raise them. Here, it seems, there is one institution dedicated to the stewardship of the 'lost children', as you put it. There are intentions to provide them with instruction on a variety of subjects, and perhaps designs for expanding efforts towards a school that would serve the wider community."
A few quick motions to secure her workspace -- that notebook vanished as if it had never been there at all -- and Shae was rising from the desk. Presumably with the intent to guide him to the books on that list. "There are various types of familiar bonds. The deeper the bond, the more their opinions and desires can influence your actions. Intelligent familiars are at once more rewarding and more challenging. And your Cinder has already displayed the signs of intelligence. Make no mistake, you will be changed and sometimes you won't even notice it happening until long after. The degree of, I'd prefer to say, evolution depends a lot on the minds entering the partnership. Subsumed, though, that is rare. Especially when it is a bond formed with a young thing. You'd frankly run more of a risk of losing control to the whims of an intelligent item, for example, because they must manipulate to achieve their goals and are formed primarily from established minds."
Fox drew back from the egg and sat in place on the counter. Shae paused on the customer side near the canid, arms tucked in a fold against her chest. "Do I believe that my personality has been altered to suit Fox? No. Would I believe that we both have influenced the development of the other's nature? Yes. The dynamic and the compromise. The slightly removed perspective. You will be changed."
His actions prompted curiosity that transformed into mild surprise. Tip of her chair backwards and then a pointed lean forwards. It was the first egg of its kind that Shae had ever seen in close proximity. She'd been in tournaments before, but never took the time to study some of the prizes. "With all of the intelligent dragons floating about, you'd think they'd take some sort of offense to members of their species being pawned off as rewards for sport." Murmured quietly while committing details about the shell to memory.
"No I will not be." There a half-smile. "Your inquiry sounded rather pointedly directed, so forgive my misunderstanding. I may be working in a library, but that doesn't mean I yet consider the sum of its knowledge to fall under the category of what 'I know'. I can certainly try to direct you to some resources on the matter. Today is actually my last day here in an official capacity, so I suppose I should actually do some work, hmm?" Shifting aside a pile of books, Shae uncovered the input terminal for the library's database. It was more advanced than a computer, which she professed to be incapable of using. A holographically based technology that she found rather intuitive.
As she began inputting search terms, she inquired: "How are you certain that the creature is a female?" Fox had risen from his position and was drawing closer to the egg with the intent of sniffing it. He paused at Spider's glance, wary of intruding upon personal space.
The Drow studied Fox, then stepped to the side to allow the familiar's inspection. Faint, very faint brimstone would be smelled, and that overriding sense of warmth, as though a burning coal were kept banked within the shell. But it was not harmful to the touch, and Spider had placed no barring spell on it - the obfuscation to the sight of others was merely an extension of his magic's natural tendency to obscure, magnified by the Key he carried.
"I am certain because she has spoken to me, at night. Sent images, anyway, it is not language such as you and I use. She is female as sure as I am black-skinned." He spoke the words with quiet conviction. The next he used carried less. "Unfortunately, I do not know the basics of the care of a maeltha, such as what to feed them. I do not come seeking ancient draconic histories."
As he spoke and watched her work, he studied the holographic device with wary fascination. To him it was sorcery, but of a sort he could not even sense as such. Dangerous, the unknown, but fascinating to a Drow as surely as any naturally curious elf. "Where will you make your living now, then?"
Respectfully, Fox inspected the egg. Head tilting, ears and eyes forward. Nostrils flared and then closed at the scent. Finally, very gently, the canid reached out with a paw to touch it. "He's never seen an egg so large." Shae explained with a suppressed smile. "Neither have I, for that matter."
Spider's explanation didn't slow the movement of her hands, but it did warrant a glance of her own towards the egg. "I'm not unfamiliar with communication based on imagery and empathy." Offered with a flicker of a glance towards Fox and then a return to the search at hand. "I wouldn't be surprised if she grew into a more complex form of communication after prolonged contact with your mind."
At last Shae had drawn up a list of tomes. Now she began jotting them down on a slip of paper. The disparity between the projected screen and the quill she wrote with was almost comical. "This was never my only form of employment, but I will be replacing this position with one of instruction at the Dragon's Gate Orphanage at the request of the fellow who has been guiding me in magic dueling. You've probably encountered him, or will, he's the Keeper of the Water Tower."
He nodded, slightly, studying her from under the brim of his hat, black face shadowed, though his obscurement magic was not directed at her. "I am most familiar with the other Keepers, though I have heard of that one," he acknowledged. "Instruction. You would be well suited to it, I think. An...orphanage is a place of lost children, yes?" Where he was from there was certainly no such thing, 'useless' children (and even adults) slain out of hand in Drow society.
He waited patiently while she scribbled with a quill, being about as chatty as he ever was. Shae put him at ease for some strange reason. "I believe I will attempt to bond Cinder as my familiar. The spiders see too much risk in battle for me to wish such a bond with them," he explained. "And here is something you might be suited to answer, from your own experience. Has bonding with Fox altered your personality to suit his, do you think? Do you then suspect that if I bond with a tagnik'zur, my personality might be...subsumed?"
"Thank you. I'd never given it much consideration, but recent requests have warmed me to the idea of becoming an instructor." Privately, the witch was still unsure of her capabilities in that direction but she was willing to always make an attempt. "Where I come from, various temples usually take in those children without parents or relatives to raise them. Here, it seems, there is one institution dedicated to the stewardship of the 'lost children', as you put it. There are intentions to provide them with instruction on a variety of subjects, and perhaps designs for expanding efforts towards a school that would serve the wider community."
A few quick motions to secure her workspace -- that notebook vanished as if it had never been there at all -- and Shae was rising from the desk. Presumably with the intent to guide him to the books on that list. "There are various types of familiar bonds. The deeper the bond, the more their opinions and desires can influence your actions. Intelligent familiars are at once more rewarding and more challenging. And your Cinder has already displayed the signs of intelligence. Make no mistake, you will be changed and sometimes you won't even notice it happening until long after. The degree of, I'd prefer to say, evolution depends a lot on the minds entering the partnership. Subsumed, though, that is rare. Especially when it is a bond formed with a young thing. You'd frankly run more of a risk of losing control to the whims of an intelligent item, for example, because they must manipulate to achieve their goals and are formed primarily from established minds."
Fox drew back from the egg and sat in place on the counter. Shae paused on the customer side near the canid, arms tucked in a fold against her chest. "Do I believe that my personality has been altered to suit Fox? No. Would I believe that we both have influenced the development of the other's nature? Yes. The dynamic and the compromise. The slightly removed perspective. You will be changed."
Re: Weaving Tangled Shadows
Nature, Nurture, and Catalysts - Part 3
One fine white brow rose when she discussed intelligent items - he had thus far never drawn Deepchill in her presence - but he knew what she said to be simple truth. His broadsword was not evil, but it certainly had a strong personality, and in the course of his adventuring career he had encountered more powerful, and more sinister items with agendas of their own.
"It has been many years since my will was in the hands of another. Your words are encouraging." Lead him? He'd not expected that, but then she did seem to be taking her last day of service at the library more seriously than some might. He followed her, though not before lifting the egg up and cradling it not unlike a newborn, in the crook of one arm.
"I already bear at least two traits of a tagnik'zur," he said without outward trace of the rue his wings brought about. "I do not particularly wish to breathe fire." The delivery of the comment was so deadpan, it may or may not have been dark humor. "The reds are savage and powerful in old age, but I have never encountered a young one." She'd given him enough already to set the wheels of his machinating mind turning.
The raise of his brow prompted a light shrug of just the one shoulder. "If you're set on this course, there is very little I could say to dissuade you, and I wouldn't bother. You strike me as one strong enough for such a pairing." She was leading him onward to the stacks a few heartbeats later. Theirs was a meandering journey that touched upon three sections of the library's collection. Firstly, Draconic biology, with attention towards growth and development. Next came cross-species medical care, with a focus on young reptilian creatures. Finally, Shae added into the mix a few scholarly articles on familiar bonds and an examination of their benefits and hazards.
"Not all dragons breathe fire, but I take your meaning and the jest of your reluctance." Chuckling quietly in the distracted manner one might expect from the task of searching for and confirming the usefulness of written materials. "I suspect you will end up knowing what it feels like, at least an echo of it from the mind of that one." Nod towards the egg protectively slung in his arms. "Best prepare some iced treats for yourself when she gets to that stage."
By then, Shae had accumulated a modest stack. "Where would you like these?"
"The reds all do. What remains to be seen is if this is a true red breed, I think. I am unsure of the source of this egg, but I must.. trust that the val'sharess of the sport of magic would not be dishonest." The word trust had twisted his mouth strangely, of course, when it passed his lips. "Iced treats? I carry a weapon enchanted with the power of Cold itself. This has protected me from dragonfire before, and will again." Of course her return 'jest' had completely passed over his hatted head.
He listened to her describe the tomes, nodding at each detail, rather sure he'd come to the exact right person for his queries. When she was finished, he looked at her, then the egg, and nodded. The 'hole' that was at the moment a piece of black cloth was replaced on the ground, opened, and the egg deposited with one hand down inside it. He motioned her to the same hole. "They will be safe within this device," he reassured her, in case librarian instincts resisted the notion of putting a stack of books into a magical gap in existence. "What is your fee for these services?" Business never fully left the Drow's mind, and debt was not a condition in which he remained by choice. And he had no library card.
Collected materials were transferred into that extradimensional space with no hint of hesitancy. Well she knew that such pocket spaces were often beneficial towards preservation, if one could remember where they'd put them. Shae refrained from commenting on Spider's reassurance. Instead, she gave answer to his direct question. "Have the decency to see them returned once you've gleaned what you need to know from them."
Of course, the Drow could easily neglect this suggestion, but it was made all the same. Half a beat later, she added her true payment before he took his leave. "I'd be interested in seeing her develop." And him, as a result. "I'd appreciate the occasional update." With that, Shae turned to retreat to her final hours of duty.
One fine white brow rose when she discussed intelligent items - he had thus far never drawn Deepchill in her presence - but he knew what she said to be simple truth. His broadsword was not evil, but it certainly had a strong personality, and in the course of his adventuring career he had encountered more powerful, and more sinister items with agendas of their own.
"It has been many years since my will was in the hands of another. Your words are encouraging." Lead him? He'd not expected that, but then she did seem to be taking her last day of service at the library more seriously than some might. He followed her, though not before lifting the egg up and cradling it not unlike a newborn, in the crook of one arm.
"I already bear at least two traits of a tagnik'zur," he said without outward trace of the rue his wings brought about. "I do not particularly wish to breathe fire." The delivery of the comment was so deadpan, it may or may not have been dark humor. "The reds are savage and powerful in old age, but I have never encountered a young one." She'd given him enough already to set the wheels of his machinating mind turning.
The raise of his brow prompted a light shrug of just the one shoulder. "If you're set on this course, there is very little I could say to dissuade you, and I wouldn't bother. You strike me as one strong enough for such a pairing." She was leading him onward to the stacks a few heartbeats later. Theirs was a meandering journey that touched upon three sections of the library's collection. Firstly, Draconic biology, with attention towards growth and development. Next came cross-species medical care, with a focus on young reptilian creatures. Finally, Shae added into the mix a few scholarly articles on familiar bonds and an examination of their benefits and hazards.
"Not all dragons breathe fire, but I take your meaning and the jest of your reluctance." Chuckling quietly in the distracted manner one might expect from the task of searching for and confirming the usefulness of written materials. "I suspect you will end up knowing what it feels like, at least an echo of it from the mind of that one." Nod towards the egg protectively slung in his arms. "Best prepare some iced treats for yourself when she gets to that stage."
By then, Shae had accumulated a modest stack. "Where would you like these?"
"The reds all do. What remains to be seen is if this is a true red breed, I think. I am unsure of the source of this egg, but I must.. trust that the val'sharess of the sport of magic would not be dishonest." The word trust had twisted his mouth strangely, of course, when it passed his lips. "Iced treats? I carry a weapon enchanted with the power of Cold itself. This has protected me from dragonfire before, and will again." Of course her return 'jest' had completely passed over his hatted head.
He listened to her describe the tomes, nodding at each detail, rather sure he'd come to the exact right person for his queries. When she was finished, he looked at her, then the egg, and nodded. The 'hole' that was at the moment a piece of black cloth was replaced on the ground, opened, and the egg deposited with one hand down inside it. He motioned her to the same hole. "They will be safe within this device," he reassured her, in case librarian instincts resisted the notion of putting a stack of books into a magical gap in existence. "What is your fee for these services?" Business never fully left the Drow's mind, and debt was not a condition in which he remained by choice. And he had no library card.
Collected materials were transferred into that extradimensional space with no hint of hesitancy. Well she knew that such pocket spaces were often beneficial towards preservation, if one could remember where they'd put them. Shae refrained from commenting on Spider's reassurance. Instead, she gave answer to his direct question. "Have the decency to see them returned once you've gleaned what you need to know from them."
Of course, the Drow could easily neglect this suggestion, but it was made all the same. Half a beat later, she added her true payment before he took his leave. "I'd be interested in seeing her develop." And him, as a result. "I'd appreciate the occasional update." With that, Shae turned to retreat to her final hours of duty.
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