Swordplay

[Raven]

Descant would follow along, he was getting used to following lately. It was a rather disturbing trend but sometimes you just had to roll with the punches. The way, as much of it as he might remember, would hopefully never see any need to be used by the bard. At least not without her presence. Dragoness or not, he couldn't think of many who'd be happy to have uninvited guests snooping around their homes.

Eventually they'd reach their destination and Drache would be welcoming him to her home. To which he'd be most gracious. Ohh food. The bard would grab a nice selection of the food on offer and then he'd move over to the indicated chair. First he'd remove that pack of his and then he'd sit down. He had meant to bring housewarming gifts but they'd not be with him this day. He was still in the process of hammering out the last few kinks. She'd have to settle with his presence alone this time.

"It's not at all what I expected. Though I can't say I've visited many dragon's lairs to offer a decent comparison."

If he had any queries on how his performance had been with his first day of learning the sword, he certainly didn't bring it up. Instead he'd be quite content to nibble somewhat sparingly at the food that he'd set upon his place. Eyes roaming about to look over all the things that had caught his eye when he'd initially walked in. Not that he'd ignore the dragoness, definitely not, his attention would frequently go back to her.

[Drache]

The half-dragon seemed largely satisfied with Des's presence. Since their agreement the other night in front of the tavern her desire had apparently reduced to a simmer in favour of more platonic interests between them such as the ball and these sparring lessons. The lack of a gift wasn't mentioned, though she would have likely been impressed if he had brought something. The draconic tradition for exchanging gifts when visiting each other was extremely complex, and fortunately Drache didn't hold anyone, not even herself, to such standards.

She was so complacent at home in her own lair. She crunched quickly through her own food, eating only meat, and then set the plate aside. Leaving the wine alone for now, she reclined languidly on the lounge, shifting like a big scaly cat.

"Oh?" she asked, rubbing her horns along the raised headrest. "And what -were- you expecting?"

She didn't offer any comment about the lessons either.

[Raven]

Comfortable or not, the bard would pick through his food a lot slower than the dragoness. He'd likely still be munching away by the time she evicted him from her lair. His comfort would be pretty evident as he'd sprawl out as he usually does within the confine of chairs. Her question would go unanswered until he finished chewing happily on a strip of venison.

"Less orderly. Gold everywhere. Some skeletons. The sort of thing one hears about in tales, really." Shrug. "At least that was the way the last one I visited look." Now he'd grin, either he was teasing her or he was dangling a bit of his past to tempt her into biting.

[Drache]

Time seemed to pass more slowly down here than it did on the surface and while Drache was done eating for the moment, she didn't seem to be in any particular hurry. Ah, the luxury of the disgustingly long-lived.

His answer seemed to amuse her greatly. She almost cackled, the odd blending of a human and reptilian voice echoing across the natural roof of the little cavern. She rolled onto her back, wings draping lazily down either side of her long seat, and gazed upwards.

"Sssketelons? I like to think I am more prideful in my abilities, not to mention my sssense of ssstyle, than to leave corpssses lying about. I do love walking on my gold though. Perhapsss sssoon you will sssee it all."

She turned back to face him at that final comment, clearly interested. Of course she was going to bite, for multiple reasons, not least of which being simple curiosity about someone who was becoming a good friend. "Indeed? Was it the lair of whoever taught you the Draconic tongue?"

[Raven]

Descant didn't have much of an excuse for being so slow at things. He tended to be rather casual about everything he does though. "Mmhmm. So I figured. Not sure that I'd want to walk around on gold though. It's for spending. If I ever had enough that I could hoard it, I'd likely be on my deathbed."

He'd figured that would get her attention. There'd be a lazy smile at that. "Oh no. He wasn't in a very chatty mood. I get the impression that he very much would've liked to have killed us all. Didn't work out that way though." Not that he had much to do with it, he was more of an observer than anything else. It'd been a rather interesting experience.

[Drache]

"An interesssting thought," she rumbled, "consssidering mossst dragons die for their beds of gold. When you live ssso long..." she didn't finish her comment, closing her eyes and shaking her head a little. "I'm young to have gathered ssso much, but sssometimes I feel like I've lossst too much of other more important things in the procccesss. I often wonder if this is a sssecret other dragons hide in their heartsss." Perhaps they weren't human enough to admit it, or even realize it.

She pushed gloomier thoughts aside. "I would imagine not! What was the occasion? Dungeon-crawling? Did thisss happen near Myrken? What kind of dragon was he? Tell me more!" It wasn't really an order, and she hope he knew that. Her tail swiped back and forth across the floor, eager for details.

[Raven]

Descant grinned ever so much at her eagerness. "Dungeon crawling? Hmph. A huge white had moved into the area. I think it might have been pushed from wherever it's lair had been originally by another dragon." An assumption from the bard due to some of the wounds the dragon still had by the time they had hunted it down to it's new lair.

"I think that made it over-zealous in it's land-grabbing. One way or another, it had bad timing. He attacked a village the day before the mercenaries I was travelling with came through. Villagers who were more than happy to offer up everything they could to see the dragon removed before it impacted too much upon their peaceful lives."

He'd pause there for a moment. Picking at his food.

"I remember when we came across it's lair. It'd have been a wonder to behold with all it's glittering ice if it wasn't for all the corpses of various beings packed into walls of ice." There'd be a shiver at that. Oh how much more he could've elaborated on that. Of people captured in their final moment, realisation and horror etched into every line of their being before they were sealed in place by the dragon's breath.

"Mm. Anyway, you can imagine how it goes. The six mercenaries made rather quick work of it. I got the impression they'd done that sort of thing before. They spent more time harvesting it's remains for scales and bones..." There'd be a shrug then. It wasn't the most heroic of experiences for the bard. He also doesn't claim any part in the whole affair. Apparently he was nothing more than a witness.

[Drache]

Drache nodded, agreeing with the Bard's assumption. "It is very common. Dragons are hunted by each other more than anyone elssse, essspecially when they are young."

The half-breed snorted a little.

"Where I came from, there were only two main types of dragons, fire and ice. There used to be only one, the Astral Wyrms who breathed Frostfire. But there in only one left, the White Wanderer. I've told you about her before. I have never met a white."

She didn't seem particularly disturbed by Descant's description of the white dragon being systematically dismembered.

"Dragon parts remain magical long after w... they die. There was a time when I faccced an iccce dragon by the name of Thanaxissscar. He was a dragon Emperor, nearly five-hundred feet long. The firssst time I sssaw the White Wanderer was when she appeared to fight him herssself. She tore at him and his ssscales drifted to the ground. I took ssseveral and later, when Thanaxissscar rose as a Dracolich, the ssscales from his living body were crucial in defeating him."

She didn't mention that it was she who created the aforementioned charm.

"Only sssix?" she smirked slightly.

Her snout twisted in distaste at the mention of corpses as home decorations, and she wasn't convinced by his casual attitude about his experience with the white. She might interject her own memories, but she wanted to hear more about him for once.

"I ssstill want to know where you learned Draconic. Even in my home where dragons live among groundwalkers often I rarely heard it excccept from dragonkin."

[Raven]

Descant would be quite content to settle back and listen as she spoke of her own experiences and with the knowledge of dragon kind that would far surpass his own. It gave him more of a chance to put a dent into his plate of food as well. The bard didn't appear to have gotten anything out of the harvesting of the dragon, but then he wasn't likely to need anything out of it and the way he told it, he didn't do anything to receive any sort of reward.

"Only six. I'm only ever an observer. You've seen me with a sword. What help could I have possibly been?" There'd be a smile to accompany that. "I happened to...catch the interest of one. I traded drawings and songs for the learning of the tongue. I didn't even know she was one till it came time for us to part ways..." That had certainly been an interesting experience for Des. "Plus the mercenary captain I travelled with had befriended a dragon in his youth." It'd been a rather trying point in his life, travelling with the mercenaries as he had for a year.

"You'd be surprised at the kinds of things you can learn by travelling and meeting various people."

[Drache]

The dragoness hadn't been implying that the Bard had more of a role in the tale than he said. It was more of a jeer towards the white dragon who had been defeated by a mere six fleshlings, experienced or not.

"It ssseems you have a talent for catching the interessst of dragonkin," she quipped, obviously referring to herself.

"Mercccenaries are always a curiousss bunch. I alssso traveled with sssome for a time, protecting a gypsssy caravan as it traveled through a place called the Burned Lands. They found me rather...ussseful. Essspecially when the performers dissscovered they earned quite a bit more on nightsss they chose to put -me- on ssstage." She winked at him then. She'd never mentioned that before.

At his last comment she gazed at him for a long moment. "You think I would be sssurprised?"

[Raven]

"Seems I have a talent for catching the interest of all sorts that could just as easily eat me as take interest in me. It's a rather mixed blessing really." At least he was still around to retell these stories of beings who's attention he had attracted. That had to count for something.

"Mercenaries are such a varied bunch. I collected so many stories from them. Some colourful language as well. I can just imagine that you would. I've never performed any plays, actually." There'd be a shrug to that. Too much reliance on other people. He was typically a sole player when it came to his arts. There'd be a quick grin though. It was always good to learn something more about people you converse with.

"Well, no. But it was surprising for -me-. I figured people would be the same no matter where you go. I had a rather narrow view of the world for a long time."

[Drache]

The dragoness fell quiet for a while, the tip of her tail swinging back and forth off the edge of the seat. She was obviously still hoping to learn more about him.

"Humans are not very tasssty to eat no matter what anyone sssays," she quipped. "Though sssometimes it'sss fun to threaten and lisssten to your heartsss raccce."

She nodded her horns slowly, listening to him talk. And then she remembered something. "Oh, I almossst forgot. I have sssomething for you."

She rose from her seat and moved over to the table piled with things. "Take out your sssword again and look carefully at the blade." Like any sword, its edge should be nicked and scored from their lesson.

[Raven]

Oh to learn of the bard. Many had pried at the secrets and stories that surrounded his existence. It would never be a simple, quick process. One might even begin to wonder how much was reality and how much was assumed from various tales.

"Can't say I've ever eaten any human flesh. Nor dragon. I'm happy with killing and eating stuff that doesn't fight back. Safer for me that way."

Something else for him? Well. He couldn't very well refuse. Even if he had neglected to have housewarming gifts presentable for this occasion. Instead he'd do as he's directed. Pulling the scabbard up and unsheathed the sabre so that he might look upon.

[Drache]

She returned with a leather pouch containing implements for sword-maintenance. A glass bottle of oil with a stiff cork, a polishing cloth, a whetstone, a file. She held it out to him.

"The rabbitfur lining the inssside of that ssscabbard will help protect the blade, but it will still need care. Learn to sssmooth it out before you come back again and next lessson I will protect the blade with magic as I did mine."

[Raven]

"You really shouldn't lavish so many gifts on me you know, I haven't yet been able to give you anything of worth in return thus far. Well, past the pleasure of my company but that doesn't exactly have a monetary value attached to it and it is rather hard to quantify..." He'd pause then, realising he'd been rambling a bit.

There'd be a raised brow at what she brings back but he'd take it all from her and pop it into his satchel along with all the other things he'd stuffed in there so far. Though, he does pause as he considers that maybe she had meant for him to give it a go now. Oops. "No problem. Speaking of. When did you want to have the next lesson?"

He was certainly used to maintaining and making sure his gear remained in top condition.