Ghis (closed)

[heartofcourage]

Rissa’s rooms in the castle were an exotic mix of things. Thick and colorful rugs were on the floor, silk tapestries in all of the walls and windows, Egyptian art mixed with Scottish items as well. It was nearly as mysterious as she was, which is why she liked it so much.

Rissa was seated in the middle of the room, seen through the open door, as she talked to a baby drake that was the size of a larger dog. The little hatchling was missing an eye and had deformities to its maw, but it was as energetic as any other baby drake his age.

“You’ll make time noise, Hassan. We’ll be kicked out.” Rissa said as she carefully tumbled the drake onto his back, his soft rumbling telling of his contentment at being rough housed with.

 

[KieranSoares]

Qira, remembering drakes from his childhood and having rarely seen them since, was lured by his curiosity into the doorway, though he didn't pass the threshold. "He is welcome while small," he murmured in broken English. "But Warwick might have problem when he is big."

 

[heartofcourage]

“Oh, I beg to differ. They are much easier to control when big. It’s in this size that they cause problems.” Rissa said as the little drake grabbed her hands and chewed on them idly. “And Hassan will never grow to his true height. His mother abnandoned him and he missed so many critical things. I think she knew he would have issues.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"In my village, odd drakes were pets for old and lonely people," Qira murmured, hesitating before stepping in and kneeling to take a look at Hassan. "I have not seen drakes in years. I think the phrase is... 'a sight for sore eyes."

 

[heartofcourage]

“If I have my way, they’ll become much more common.” Rissa said with a grin towards Qira. “A stubborn woman like me is a force to be reckoned with.”

Hassan rolled around on the ground, batting at Qira with his shirt and stubby hands, everything about the drake almost miniature in size. He was an unusual combination of ruddy brown and dark green. He wasn’t a pretty drake, but would be a good worker on a farm at some point in his life.

 

[KieranSoares]

"It would be good to ride again," Qira muttered with a nod, not minding as Hassan batted at him like a cat. "Did you bring them from Africa?"

 

[heartofcourage]

“Some. I have a beautiful Northern drake missing most of his fingers on one hand. I have an Asian drake that is completely blind. Whenever they need a home, I’m there to provide one. I’m about to add another stable to my land to take in even more.” Rissa said as Hassan seemed completely at ease with Qira.

 

[KieranSoares]

"May I come to see them some day?" He asked quietly, a side of Qira coming our that most never saw- nostalgia for his youth with drakes.

 

[heartofcourage]

“Well, when their highnesses go on their retreat, I was planning on going home for a while. You’re welcome to come.” Rissa said with a grin. “Be warned, though gh, I’ll put you to work.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"I am no stranger to it." Qira's gaze drifted back to Hassan as the little drake began to gnaw idly on his fingers as many young drakes were wont to do while teething.

 

[heartofcourage]

"If you work hard enough, I might give you a drake of your own." Rissa tempted. "I have plenty to choose from. Just to remind you of home if nothing else."

 

[KieranSoares]

Qira chuckled lightly at that. "We will see what happens." He had already come to respect Rissa for her hard work beside Warwick and how she didn't allow anyone to trample her while remaining perfectly polite. Now, he was becoming interested in her other work, intrigued as to how a woman set up and kept a refuge for injured and disfigured drakes in a place where almost no one knew the first thing about them.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm not a caged creature for your enjoyment." Rissa commented as she caught Qira stared just a little too long. "I'm just a woman who has lived long enough to know that I won't let any man dictate what I can and cannot do."

 

[KieranSoares]

Qira paused at her sudden declaration, giving him an insight to how she had to fight to be more than a pretty face or some potential conquest to most men.

"I do not see anyone as animals. I am.sorry to stare," he tried to explain in his limited vocabulary. "I am not... Confused by you. I am..." He paused, trying to find the right word, knowing that 'interested' would potentially imply more than he intended to say. He sighed, shaking his head. "I do not have words... Still learning."

 

[heartofcourage]

"مفتون." Rissa said in Arabic, looking to him as he struggled to find the word in English to describe what he was feeling. "Infatuated."

 

[KieranSoares]

Qira's feline ears laid back slightly in a hint of embarrassment, muttering incoherently in Erygonian til he finally answered, "That is deeper than I meant...."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I don't think it is." Rissa said bluntly as she watched his feline ears tip back in embarrassment. "You came into this room, my private room in fact, and you are sitting on the ground playing with a baby drake. Is that what most assassins or guards do?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"It reminded me of home," he insisted quietly, trying even to convince himself he was only there for reasons of nostalgia. But despite his limited vocabulary and embarrassment, Rissa could see something different in Qira- genuineness. He wasn't a man chasing a pretty face for the thrills. He was curious about her, interested in her work, and more genuinely taken by her looks rather than just turned on.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Well, I suppose I'll have to accept that answer for now." Rissa said as she stood and scooped up Hassan, carting the fat little drake over to a portion of the room that had a sturdy wall built into the shape of a pin. "Until you grow braver, at least."

 

[KieranSoares]

Qira rose and watched her so easily handle Hassan, feeling terribly out of place. He hated that he felt out of his element when he was supposed to be the always-in-control assassin and guardian. But between Rissa's commanding presence and ability to see through him, he felt strangely vulnerable. Silently, he turned back.toward her door, feeling he was being.dismissed.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Why are you leaving?" Rissa asked the panther as she placed Hassan in the pen, encouraging the little drake to play with the toys she had specially made for him before he settled into the temporary nest that was waiting. "Hiding like a scolded child instead of staying like a proud warrior."

 

[KieranSoares]

Qira paused and half-turned to look back and meet her gaze, confused. "I... Thought, from your tone... I had annoyed you."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You will learn that it takes quite a bit to annoy me." Rissa said as she moved to take a seat in one of her over stuffed chairs by the fire. "I am used to dealing with petulant lords or spy masters that believe they are better than a pretty girl."

 

[KieranSoares]

"We have those here, but not Kell," Qira assured her, turning to face her fully but remaining where he was. "And looks do not change ability." He said this from a place of experience, knowing well that he wasn't expected to be the professional guardian that he was, much less liked or trusted thanks to his race and previous time as a contract killer.

 

[heartofcourage]

"And not you, obviously." Rissa said as he seemed rooted to his spot by the door.