Fey-ke Dragon in the Gardens

Log Info

• Title: Fey-ke Dragon in the Gardens

• Emitter: Telamon

• Characters: Mikilos, Ravenstongue, Telamon Verna

• Place: Memorial Gardens District

• Summary: Telamon and Ravenstongue are teaching their new faerie dragon houseguest, Jyndei, a thing or two about life in Alexandria and how to behave among mortals... When Mikilos and Verna arrive. Once they learn the faerie dragon is stuck on the mortal plane, offers are made to return the little faerie dragon before conversation turns to the matter of noble lines.

Memorial Gardens, early evening.

As the sun descends, the mage-lights spark to life, though the streets are still well lit for the moment. Passers-by are common; tradesmen and merchants heading home, laborers heading to the tavern, guardsmen coming off shift and spouses returning from market trips. Even the Gardens have a few people, walking around or relaxing on the grasses, enjoying the last days of summer before the weather becomes less kind. Even with the Gardens being magically protected, it's less common to visit in winter.

Seated on a blanket on the grassy sward are a pair of half-elves and the remains of an early picnic supper. Telamon and Cor'lana are common visitors here, enough that other regulars wave to them. What isn't common is the cat-sized, orange little lizard perched on Telamon's knee, its butterfly wings neatly folded as the large eyes watch Tel's face.

"It's always important to remember that many people here are willing to share, but it's very rude to simply take, Jyndei. Ask first. Some people here work very hard for what they have, and it's unkind to steal from them." The tiny dragon pipes up, "That is very wise, my lord Telamon. I do not wish to hurt people."

Mikilos wanders, reading, exercising his mind, his legs, and his luck of not walking into anything or any one important. A distant rumble of thunder from the far side of the mountain brings up the wizard's attention, who then peers around absently to learn where he's ended up today. Spying a few familiar faces and one not, Mikilos raises a hand in greeting and heads that direction. "Salutations and well met. How are all of you today?"

"Better that you learn now rather than later," Cor'lana says with a smile to the little faerie dragon as she finishes off the last of a berry cheesecake slice, although she holds out a small forkful to Jyndei. "It took Pothy a rather long time for him to learn some manners when he became my familiar. He was a little food thief on occasion."

Pothy is too occupied to respond to this accusation. He is, after all, head-deep in a bowl of pitted cherries that lies out on the picnic blanket. When he pops out of the bowl, his feathers are stained a pale pink from the cherry liquids.

Cor'lana waves hello to Mikilos with a smile. "You've joined us just in time to see a very rare sighting," she says as she gestures to Pothy. "The incredibly elusive pink-headed raven. Good evening, Mikilos."

Verna enters the gardens from the plaza to the east (and possibly from the mountain ridge further so). Her Mourner's robes are once again worn, though the fact that her hood is doffed may signal that her duties are complete for the day. That, or as a means to mitigate the heat somewhat.

While the magic lamps illuminate the gardens well enough, there appears to be one additional light. One that may well follow Verna, if at several paces distance, and in darting flight from one bit of foliage, stone, or lamppost to the next.

"A pleasant eve," she offers as she nears the ... picnic? "I trust that all are well?"

Telamon glances up, though the faerie dragon is much more interested in nibbling the cheesecake delicately off Lana's fork. He smiles broadly, and waves a hand. "Archmage Mikilos, Mourner Verna. It's good to see you again -- it's been a while." Tel runs his hand through his hair, "Lana and I are fine. I hope the evening finds you well in turn." At this point, the faerie dragon has finished the cheesecake and has turned, still perched on Tel's knee, and peers up at the newcomers with large, luminous eyes.

"May I present Jyndei of Quelynos?" Telamon says before anyone can ask. He lightly scritches Jyndei's back, causing the dragon to purr and unfold his butterfly wings. "He wound up here through some misadventures, and I'm taking care of him till we can secure passage back home."

Mikilos smiles mildly to Cor'lana. "I think you'll find the raven head has always been pink, it was the feathers on top that were white. But that would be pedantic of me to mention. Good evening." Nodding to the Mourner, his attention focuses on the mini-dragon. "Well, if you're in need of planar transport, we'd really just need leave the city."

Cor'lana rolls her eyes, but smiles. "Yet you said it anyway," she teases. "He looks fetching. Or at the very least, looks like he was enjoying himself. And hello, Verna!"

Pothy's tail wags up and down. "Tasty!" he says in Cor'lana's voice. It appears Cor'lana was correct.

The violet-eyed half-elf peers at Jyndei. "Hmm. That's right. Our friend Mikilos is more than capable of plane shifting. As is the Mourner Verna, for that matter."

"Indeed," Verna confirms; gesturing to Mikilos as if to clarify what she confirms. "In fact, he may be a better option. My outings to Quelynos tend to transpire for the worse more often than not." She then takes a long moment to view the dragonette. "Not that the unexpected is to, in fact, be unexpected in such a realm."

As if in reaction to unexpected events and/or Quelynos, the mote of light in Verna's wake stops as Verna halted. It just happens to have halted behind a nearby rock to shed half a dim, lavender glow as it peeks around said rock.

Telamon looks from Mikilos to Verna, evidently pondering the prospect. "Well, it'll be convenient, though I'd hate to put you to the trouble. Would you prefer monetary compensation? Or could I interest you in a couple bottles of the libations I've been experimenting with? So far, the results have been intriguing -- and tasty."

Meanwhile, though, Jyndei is looking carefully at Verna, his snout twitching a bit. Then the faerie dragon folds his wings again, before hopping off Tel's knee and scampering over to where Verna stands. He looks up at her with interest, laying a forepaw on her calf. "You are like them," the dragon says in his high pitched voice. "You are touched by Quelynos too."

Mikilos smiles and corrects. "Capable outside the city. The security of the city is now something I care to circumvent." He blinks at Telamon. "...you brew? What sort of things have you made?" The lavendar glow is carefully ignored.

"Well, the last visit to Grandfather's house was really quite pleasant," Cor'lana says with a smile. "Verna got lost in all of the books Grandfather had, and I finally got to see that nursery Grandfather prepared for me as a baby."

She looks to Jyndei and nods. "Verna's like me, although she is not descended from fey nobility," she explains. "She became feytouched through a different manner. But it is not my story to tell."

To her credit, Verna does not flinch away from the petite draconian. He would not be the first with whom she is familiar... though the wings mark this one as perhaps far more fae than dragon (not that she would be so crass as to mention such). "I am, indeed," she confirms to Jyndei, "if far more ... unintentionally and directly than others, as Cor'lana alluded."

Her attention shifts to said half-sil. "His collection would require a dozen lifetimes to peruse it all, much less to consume all. It was rather irresistible, I must admit. As well..." her head pans back behind her, where a certain minute mote darts back behind the rock. Mostly. "I did not return from Quelynos wholly alone..."

Jyndei blinks big eyes up at Verna, cutely, before scarpering back over and piling into Telamon's lap. "I like stories," the tiny dragonet announces, "but only if they are willingly told. Lord Telamon--"

Tel carefully snuffs out a sigh, and simply says, "I'm not a lord, Jyndei. 'Telamon' will suffice. 'Tel' to my friends and family."

Jyndei continues to talk, undaunted. "--has been telling me how he met his fair lady, and won her hand through both bravery and charm. He has also given me good advice on to how to conduct myself if I find myself here again." The dragon flicks his tail. "I am very embarrassed that I had to be rescued from that house."

Mikilos shrugs. "All noble lines have to start somewhere. Can do it the old fashion way, call yourself a lord and kill anyone who argues."

Cor'lana just laughs as she looks at Mikilos. "I... don't think that's necessarily applicable for becoming fey nobility," she says. "One would have to become fully fey before you do that. And that is a perilous journey. Who knows if you could even do that. I mean, you'd have to be willing to do some awful things that shouldn't be done, I imagine."

Pothy mutters something. Cor'lana blinks as she looks in Pothy's direction. "What'd you say, Pothy?" she asks. "It sounded like a... Oh, nevermind."

She looks back to Jyndei and grins. "Well, it wasn't merely through bravery and charm. Telamon was my friend first. I think that's the most important thing."

Verna eyes Mikilos askew. "I would not suggest such a course of action, and will presume your mention was in jest." She offers Cor'lana a slim smile and a nod. "I do not know the entirety, but your " with this she gestures between Cor'lana and Telamon "interactions seem worthy of bardic tales," a pause, "or perhaps the Crimson Pen."

Finally, her focus returns to the wee winged reptile. "Alas, my own tale in regards to the fae is far from heroic, nor do I fully understand it, myself. Predominantly, there was a great deal of anger and gnashing of teeth."

Jyndei seems a little puzzled at the back and forth, and glances up at Telamon, who gently pats the little dragon. "In honesty, if I was going to be ennobled I'd prefer it to be a reward for doing something more constructive than killing people. Like, I don't know, authoring a peace treaty, or just making someone happy."

He offers a smile to Cor'lana at that last bit, before continuing. "But to return to your question, Mikilos: yes, we came across a curious tome on concocting magical liquors and have been experimenting with it. The work isn't quite as involved as potion-brewing, but it requires more alchemical skill than just mere winemaking. Something in the middle, I suppose."

Tel grins at Verna genially. "And yet, as much unpleasantness as there was... we are all here again. So it worked out, in the end."

Mikilos nods thoughtfully to Cor'lana. "True, becoming a fey lord is a bit more complex. I suppose could wed a fey noble, that sort of counts, but isn't the same as becoming fey yourself. As you said, most of those methods are distasteful at best, and few leave much you behind. Some fey Being made from you, but without your mind or personality. At that point, easier to have a changeling child and get a similar result. And when having a fey child is the easy way out, things have gotten out of hand."

He shrugs to Verna. "Most of building a civilization is very uncivil. Many noble lines started with bloody conquest. Even merchant lines typically have their victims. But once a civilization is established, far less bloodshed to work within the system, frustrating as the system may be."

Listening, he nods to Telamon. "I've heard of arcane wines, is someone in the ara selling mead based healing potions, and have made a few brews with planar materials, but this sounds a step beyond that. I'd be most interested in seeing your results."

"The magical brews are quite pleasant," Cor'lana says with a smile. "The ones I've had the pleasure of trying, anyway. There's one that makes you see stars when you drink it. Which, I can look at the stars whenever I want to by looking into Telamon's eyes, but I'm sure some people will be happy for an opportunity to do so in a manner more socially-acceptable. Not everyone gets to stare at him."

Pothy makes a coughing sound. There are other people around, Lana.

"I get to flirt with my fiance, Pothy, and I don't care how many people are around to witness it. It's not like I'm making out with him in front of everyone," Cor'lana protests.

Verna considers Cor'lana's comment, though her expression is, at worst, mildly surprised. It is Pothy's 'comment' that adds further context before clarified explicitly by the source. She then gives more thought. "If his affect upon you, Cor'lana, is so similar to quality inebriating beverages, I would either question your relationship or invest in a vast wine cellar and product to fill it.

Verna adds, after a moment, to Telamon, "Yes, all returned, though I would have greatly preferred without the excess of troubling circumstance."

Telamon actually blushes a bit at Lana's effusive compliments, and smiles at her. Wordlessly, he reaches over to take her hand, squeezing it, before returning his attention to the others. Jyndei slithers up onto his shoulders, coiling over them and resting his head against Tel's.

"It's complex -- for example, most brews require a specific 'base' to start with. 'Night's Kiss' calls for plum wine, and some other alchemical reagents, and has to be compounded during the nighttime hours. It's also... slow. I've found it's just too complicated to make more than a couple bottles at a time."

He grins. "So while we may never have an extensive wine cellar, the wine rack at home will carry both good vintages as well as homemade ones." He taps his chin. "Though it might be worth exploring the prospect of putting in a basement, or a second floor, on the house. Something to think about."

Mikilos smiles at Pothy's antics, and nods to Telamon. "Doesn't sound too bad for alchemy, and expansive lands is something every lord should have."

Cor'lana snickers at Verna. "Well, love does strange things to all of us, doesn't it?" she asks playfully. "Although if our love was truly a beverage, it may be too sweet for most people to consume."

"I want to try," Pothy says in Cor'lana's voice. Apparently he's interested in this impossible vintage.

"Of course you do, Pothy," Cor'lana replies with a smirk. "And yes, I think we may have to invest in that wine cellar after all."

"Indeed, it does," Verna confirms to Cor'lana with a reserved smile. She then glances to Pothy, entirely unsurprised by his interest in drink. It is near enough to food, after all. "If I may make an observation, Apotheosis, you already partake of such, in a fashion, and have for some time."

Jyndei pipes up, "Lo... Telamon is a noble and talented friend, and I am glad to have met him. He is most skilled, but even when he errs he recognizes it and addresses it."

Telamon reaches up to pet the dragon. "You're going to swell my head with all this talk," he complains in a joking tone. "But I've had my first... mmm... misfire, I guess. 'Botch' might be a better word for it. At least it didn't result in my alchemy lab catching fire, but the batch I was brewing solidified in the bottle. It's like tree sap."

He snorts. "Ah well, live and learn. I think I know what went wrong, so the next bottle should be ready soon." Tel glances at Jyndei. "Which reminds me, you mentioned you wanted to teach me something? A way to contact you when you return to Quelynos?"

Mikilos snorts but smiles. "I don't know about love wine, but I've brewed Love Potions... I don't think they compare to the real thing."

Cor'lana makes a face. "Love potions are... Aren't they kind of unethical?" she asks. "I mean, I really can't think of a situation where a love potion might be okay. I guess *ethics* aren't exactly the point of brewing a love potion, though."

Pothy... burps? Yes, he burps. "All done," he says.

Oh. The bowl of cherries is empty. Licked clean, in fact.

"I presume that," Verna tilts her head sidelong at Mikilos, "was also a jest," she opines for the others. She then offers some optimism to Telamon. "If the batch would not leave the vessel nor bottles, there was no need to worry of taste or effects upon imbibers, yes?"

Telamon shrugs lightly to Verna, and offers a wry grin. "Well, it makes a fetching paperweight if nothing else. I might try and heat it, see if I can soften it enough to pour it out, but if not, well... as I said, live and learn."

He furrows his brow at Mikilos, nodding in agreement with Lana. "'Love potion' really is kind of a misnomer anyways. More accurate to call it 'lust'. And yes, there's a question of ethics there." He gestures, and the unseen servant that's been hovering silently in the background begins putting the picnic materials back in the basket.

Jyndei perks up at Tel's question. "Oh yes! But we should do it at your home, Telamon. It is a little complicated and this isn't the easiest place to keep focus." The dragonet rubs his head against Tel's cheek happily.

Mikilos shrugs and nods. "Questionably ethical at best, is a Charm Spell in a bottle. Can think of a few ethical situations, but they aren't likely." He shrugs to Verna. "I've brewed Love Potions. The ethics of their use is up to the buyer. And me, when I used them. In chaperoned trials on the effects of being charmed while knowing you're charmed."

Cor'lana raises a brow. "Wait, when did you use--"

Pothy, however, has decided he's had enough of this conversation. "Hoooooooooooome time~" he chirps happily, before he flies off into the sky.

Violet eyes blink. Cor'lana looks at Telamon. "Seems like he chose for us," she says, quickly gathering up all the picnic materials. "It was nice to see you both, Mikilos and Verna, but I think we should make sure Pothy doesn't take a detour to the marketplace..."

"While enchantment is not my specialty," Verna prefaces before noting, "I consider the spell, potion or otherwise, to be neither love nor lust. Interest and desire for approval, yes, but not, in my opinion, anywhere near the scope nor narrow focus, respectively, of-" Pothy's interruption is ... interestingly-timed, and leaves Verna reconsidering her 'brief' comment as she watches him fly off. "In that case, perhaps not a discussion for the present."

"Probably not. Though I've been the target of it once, and for me the experience was... less than enjoyable." Telamon helps Lana pack, as Pothy goes flying off, and he looks to Jyndei. "Keep an eye on him, but don't chase him down yet. He may just be heading home, after all."

Jyndei nods, and cranes his head, those large eyes locking onto Pothy's distant form but not taking flight from Tel's shoulder -- yet. With that, Telamon sketches a bow to Mikilos and Verna. "Until again, friends! I'm sure you'll see us around." With that, the half-elven couple head off.

Mikilos grins, and nods to Verna. "Agreed, the moniker 'Love Potion' is a misnomer. My paper on the topic is on file at the Society. Anyway, had best be headed back to the shop. Fare well all."

OOC

Making out with werewolves?:

<OOC> Mikilos says, "First the werewolf, then the fiance, it's a slippery slope..."

<OOC> Verna perks a brow. "What did I do, now?"

<OOC> Ravenstongue says, "Hey hey hey hey. The werewolf saw CLEAVAGE. No making out happened."

<OOC> Verna confirms that there was cleavage and no making out.

<OOC> Mikilos says, "Fair enough, not so slippery as I'd suggested"

<OOC> Verna admits that she is not certain we refer to the same incident.