|
Post by Marnark on Oct 1, 2011 23:52:49 GMT -5
Whizz-THUD[/b]
The arrow quivered where it stood in the solid wood of the tree it had been sent into. Slowly, Jarshan pulled another arrow from the quiver slung to her hip, placing it rather deliberately upon the string of her bow. The only thing that was noticeably out of place was when she drew the bow. It was a smooth motion, going from down and lax, to up and drawn. She pulled the string back at the same time the bow was lifted for aiming. But while smooth, there was a touch of strain visible in the quivering of the musculature across her shoulders and arms. Which was unusual.
But then, so was her dress. Instead of being clad in snug, form-fitting leather from neck to wrists to ankles, Jarshan had on only what was practically a vest. Her arms, parts of her shoulders and parts of her chest were bare. Otherwise, all she wore was a pair of black trousers that were actually cloth.
Standing there in the litter barefooted, Jarshan aimed the arrow before letting it fly. It shot across the distance very quickly, more quickly than a typical arrow did. For she had tightened up the draw on her bow, which was why she was practicing so carefully with it. With it tightened up like that, she had to adjust to it not only strength wise, but in how the arrow reacted to the added speed.
In dead silence, she was not only practicing her aiming with the new setting, but also working out, increasing the strength of her arms and shoulders.
But that didn't mean she was unaware of what was going on around her. She was half way through drawing yet another arrow when her attention shifted suddenly. Hearing approaching steps despite their quiet nature, she spun about on the balls of her feet, leveling the arrow at whomever was approaching.
Just as fast, the bow was lowered again and the arrow removed from the string. "It's you." was all she said at first.
|
|
|
Post by Ise on Oct 3, 2011 17:10:01 GMT -5
Since the attack, D’ero had been keeping mostly to himself. Only a handful of Northerners had come South, and now their numbers were even smaller. K’dyn and Q’tre, F’nly and Phaerie, and so many others had been killed during the attack. He had hermited himself away for a while, just keeping to himself and quietly coming to terms with everything that had happened during the attack. Of course when you were a dragon rider, you were never really alone. Hourth was always there with him, mourning the loss of his clutch mates. Both of them just wanted to be left alone as they came to terms.
But after a few days of solitude, D’ero was tired of it. He wanted life. He wanted to be around someone he cared about, a chance to remember that he had gotten off lucky. Not only had he managed to survive the attack but those he cared about had lived as well. His brown was less eager to make an attempt at being social so D’ero left Hourth in their weyr while he went out looking for Jarshan.
It was times like this that D’ero wished he had a fire lizard, at least then he could be searching in two places at once for the Shield woman. Of course, there were only so many places she would be. He went to her room first, only because it was closest. Then it was to the Weyrhall in case Jarshan was taking in a meal. Then he finally walked out of the Weyr, heading to where the members of the Shield could often be found training. D’ero was fairly sure that Jarshan spent more time out here then she did in her own room.
He spotted her from a distance and couldn’t help but smile a little as she worked on her archery. D’ero walked softly, or as softly as someone his size could. Maybe he could have snuck up on the average person but he knew Jarshan would hear him coming long before that. He was unfazed as she whipped around, the arrow pointed at his chest before she lowered it. Such greetings were some what normal when dating one of the Dragon Shield.
“It’s me. Do you mind if I watch you practice? Or would you rather be left alone?” He stayed where he was, waiting for her to decide if she wanted him around or not. He waited patiently, just watching Jarshan and letting a faint smile linger on his face. Even if she wasn’t in the mood to deal with him, just seeing her made him feel better.
|
|
|
Post by Marnark on Oct 3, 2011 22:38:07 GMT -5
Jarshan tilted her head ever so slightly to one side as she considered that. "No, I don't mind." Tucking the arrow back into the quiver, she stepped over toward him and reached up to his collar. Taking a hold of his shirt there, she hauled him down to her level to steal a quick kiss off of him. "Though if you stick around too long I might get it in my head to put you through training instead." She mock-threatened. Or did she? One never knew when Jarshan was dead serious or not, especially when her tone was dead-pan.
Offering him a smile, she turned and walked back to where she had been, re-drawing the arrow and fitting it carefully to the string. Bringing the bow up as she drew it, she let the arrow fly. Flipping the bow around and over, she popped the string out and across her chest as the wood settled crosswise of her back. Stepping sideways, she slid down to a seat on a nearby log with a very small, almost imperceptible sigh.
Her shoulders hurt from all the heavier drawing she'd been doing. But she wouldn't admit to it to anyone, either. "Are you feeling better?" Jarshan asked simply. She'd been more than aware that he'd more or less gone into hiding after the holdless had swept in and broken on the Weyr's bow. Figuring it was a male thing, she left him to sort himself out without bothering him. She'd been pretty sure he'd turn up again when he was good and ready.
As cold as she could be toward most people, she did have a soft spot in her soul. Somehow, D'ero had managed to not only find it, but nestle himself rather securely into it. Most people, she would have kicked them into shape and told them to get over it. D'ero on the other hand, actually got some understanding and compassion from her. She understood that he had few acquaintance-friends (she'd never really call all the Northerners friends, they sometimes fought nastier amongst themselves than with the Southerners!), and had just lost quite a few of them. A lot of native Southern people had died too, for sure. But they hadn't been last relics of a home that might not even exist anymore.
Speaking of ... "Any word on when you're getting your venture North?" Maybe it would be good for him, to get him started talking about his pet project. She patted the log next to her gently, but only once. He'd either sit, or he wouldn't.
|
|
|
Post by Ise on Oct 5, 2011 21:01:34 GMT -5
D’ero was more then happy to be pulled down to Jarshan’s level and return the kiss. This was a far better greeting then he had even hoped for. He was never totally sure what to expect from the Shield woman and had half expected her to be annoyed with him. “I think I’ll pass on training tonight. Any other time and I’ll take you up on it though. So long as you promise not to beat me up too much.”
He could only answer her question with a shrug at first. He didn’t really feel better but he felt... well good enough at least. Sitting around wasn’t going to do anything to bring the dead back to them. He had mourned them and that was all he could do for them. “I feel like I need to do something. Sitting around just makes me wonder what I could have done differently. What if I had been there with A’lez and the rest of the Illume wing, was there something I could have done that would have changed things or would I have ended up as one of the dead. And thinking like that doesn’t help anything. I need to be doing something.”
Taking the spot next to Jarshan on the log, the brown rider put his arm around her and stayed close to her. It just felt nice to have someone to be close to and to know that she did care about how he was doing and how he was handling all of this. “No, I haven’t heard anything about the trip North yet. Not surprising. I doubt the Weyrleader can just take off right after an attack while the Weyrwoman is still gone. Once things settle down a bit I think I’ll try to talk to A’lez unless he finds me first. Some of those deaths will probably change how we do things.”
Letting out a little sigh he leaned over and rested his cheek against the top of Jarshan’s head, giving her a soft little kiss. “What about you though? I know one of the Dragon Shield died. How are you holding up after that and everything else that’s gone on?” He felt a little guilty that he hadn’t spent any time with her recently. If the attack had affected her, he doubted she would let anyone know and would keep it all bottled up inside.
|
|
|
Post by Marnark on Oct 5, 2011 21:49:51 GMT -5
Jarshan snorted and jabbed a stiff finger into his soft middle region. "You're getting soft." She observed at his refusal to training. But it was more affectionate teasing than it looked like. To anyone else the gesture would have been a rather derisive, opinionated insult. To D'ero however, it was merely a bit of rough teasing. After which a smile did grace her features. Very few people got to see her smile, much less a true smile and not a you're-about-to-die-horribly smile. But when she did smile, it made her look like a whole other person.
Being pulled over as she was, Jarshan submitted to the prompt and nestled into his side under his arm as she freed one of her own hands to drape over his thigh comfortingly. "All things considered, regardless where you were, if I hadn't found you like I had, you'd have been counted among the dead too." She answered. It was a simple statement, for once not meant to be a backhanded insult. Just a fact ... and one that she wasn't terribly happy about either. She'd certainly never before given her blades to anyone; D'ero was special and different though. Even if he was too stupid young and a Rider at that. "They weren't fooling around, they knew what they were doing. We were just marginally better prepared than the others were." Mostly because the Shield had been there. The Shield were professional killers, no two ways about it. They trained for it, they did their job. All others, Riders and foot folk alike, they were more mere brawlers. Not that that wasn't just as deadly and brutal. But having the Shield prowling around had probably made a rather big impact on the situation. Especially given that a single Shield could take on a whole pack of Holdless and win, weeding them out of the tunnels quickly. "You really do need to let me train you. At least a little." She said finally, the comment more obviously heartfelt than was usual from her.
"How will the dead change the trip north?" Jarshan asked, honestly wanting to know. She really had no idea who all of the expedition were, much less their significance back on their home continent. Sure, she was aware that some of them were some umpteenth Lord's kids. But that hardly really meant much to her. It also really didn't matter to her which ones they were. D'ero wasn't one of them, that was all she knew. "I am sure he'll contact you when he's ready. If he ever does at all. For all you know he's already gone without you." She pointed out, as always rather blunt, practical and realistic.
But at his question toward the Shield, Jarshan only offered a snort. "It's not the first time a Shield has died, D'ero. It's rather given that eventually we all will die in the line of duty." It was part of the job description. "That doesn't bother any of us. If it did, we wouldn't be who we are. What bothers me ..." she said, actually expressing something she was simmering on - again, D'ero was just special. Somehow. " ... is the change in command. I know why Eriol left, but ... I am not sure the new Captian is up to snuff if you know what I mean. Being Shield is one thing, being Captain is a whole other. I am not quite convinced he's got what it takes." She admitted. But then, she was a hard cookie to please. Probably always would be.
But, all that said, she really had missed him. Left him to his devices or not, she was happy to see him. To have him out and about again. Jarshan patted his leg and then reached up to guide his chin toward her again. Smiling again, she gave him another kiss. "It's good to see you."
|
|
|
Post by Ise on Oct 10, 2011 21:18:55 GMT -5
“Well next to you everyone is soft.” D’ero was pretty sure there wasn’t anyone on Pern tougher then Jarshan. He was only a little biased about the matter. He had had a great respect for Jarshan before he had been interested in her. Her blunt statement about his fate during the attack didn’t bother him. She was being perfectly honest with him, and while he didn’t fully agree, D’ero was the first to admit that his combat skills were lacking. Oh he could hit things hard with his fist but that was it. He had no finesse, just brut strength. And that didn’t do much good when he was fighting people who had actual weapons. “I know they weren’t fooling around. And that things could have been a lot worse for us if people hadn’t been so quick and the Shield hadn’t been there.” He gave Jarshan a little squeeze, knowing perfectly well that if she hadn’t come along he would have been one of the causalities. He had known that during the attack and had been fully prepared to die so long as he could take a couple of the Holdless with him. “Tomorrow. You can start training me tomorrow if you’re still up for it. Between you whipping my butt into shape and the work outs A’lez puts us through, I might become an almost decent fighter.”
The brown rider took a moment to think before answering Jarshan’s question. Currently he was the only Northern A’lez was willing to take on his first trip North. And he was just some meaningless kid that had been sent out of sheer luck. Others had been chosen because they were from important Holds. Like K’dyn and Q’tre. “The two holds in the North that were pushing for the expedition were Keroon and Igen. One of the deceased brown riders, K’dyn, was the son of the Igen Lord Holder. Hearing that his son was killed in an attack and that the Weyr couldn’t save him might upset him. And upset parents don’t always make the best decisions. I was always pushing for Keroon though, I know what that looks like unlike Igen Hold.” He chose to leave out that he had also wanted to go to Keroon for his own selfish reasons. A’lez knew that was where he was from anyways and that he wanted to find out what had happened to his family. “Yeah, when things settle down a bit I’m sure I’ll hear what’s going on. And I doubt he’s already left. N’var and I are the only two who have been to Keroon Hold as far as I know. And he needs someone who’s actually been there to help guide the rest. Otherwise his plan won’t work so well.” He gave Jarshan a coy little smile. Yes there was a chance that A’lez had already left and come back without anyone being the wiser but D’ero doubted it. Unless the Weyrleader had totally changed up his plan, D’ero was needed to get everyone to Keroon.
“I know it’s not the first time someone in the Shield has died, but I wasn’t sure if you knew him or not. Even if you know that sooner or later someone is going to die in the line of duty it’s still hard losing a friend. Or good sparring partner.” He listened to Jarshan’s concerns about the new Captain of the Shield. He knew perfectly well that she wasn’t an easy person to please and felt a little bad for the new guy. He was going to have some big shoes to fill. “Well try to give him a little bit of a chance. You’ll figure it out pretty quickly if he’s qualified for the job or not. And if he’s not, I doubt he’ll last long as the Captain. You’re not jealous that you didn’t get picked to take over are you?” D’ero gave Jarshan a teasing grin, knowing full well that she’d never last long as the Captain of the Shield. Oh she had the physical skills for it but the Captain also had to put up with the political stuff as well. And he knew that Jarshan wasn’t fit for that sort of work.
More then happy to return the kiss, D’ero let it linger for a moment before nodding. “I missed you. Solitude is how I normally deal with things but after a few hours of it I just wanted to go out and find you. I didn’t think you’d want to deal with me while I was in that kind of state of mind. Plus I probably would have tried to drag you off and make you stay in my room with me. And that probably would have had painful consequences for me.”
|
|
|
Post by Marnark on Oct 10, 2011 22:29:51 GMT -5
Jarshan actually giggled. "Not everyone. I was trained once, too, you know." She pointed out, shifting where her bow was resting to keep it from stabbing D'ero in the side. "But yes ... lucky for us, lucky for everyone, the Shield was not out and about that day." Which in and of itself was odd, given that that was normally where they were ... out and about. But there had been warnings that the attack was coming. That was part of it. Twitchy Shield were not nice to deal with, and they had indeed been twitchy as all get out. Their guess had been off though ... the attack had come much later than expected.
"Tomorrow." She agreed. "I'll hold you to that." Jarshan promised. If he had any skill at learning at all, she knew she had a job on her hands. Jarshan was pretty lethal herself ... but add strength, weight, and such to that equation ... ouch. Which were all qualities D'ero already possessed. Soon she might have more than a match in sparring if he learned it well. Especially if he picked up any kind of speed.
"So you're actually going." Jarshan said flatly, not at all sure what she thought of that idea. On one hand she was glad that the Weyrleader found some value in D'ero. But on the other ... she had to consider the chance that he'd never come back once he got home. Who wouldn't want to go home and stay there to defend it with the newfound ability that even a single dragon would offer a distraught hold? Indeed ... not if, but when D'ero went back to the North, Jarshan was pretty sure she'd never see hide nor hair of him again. As sad as that thought made her, she had to also admit that maybe it would be for the best in the long run ... D'ero did weaken her in her standing as Shield. She cared too much, that was entirely why. Distraction. But no matter how she clung to that ideology, it still made her sad that he would be going. Thankfully, she was good at keeping all of that stress out of her voice as she spoke. "Do a good job, you don't need to be taking dragons into a wall or anything." She teased in an effort to break her own thoughts free.
"I knew him alright. The Shield is a lot like family. There's not a lot of us, and few if any understand us and what we've been through. We do lean on each other a bit." Jarshan admitted. "Though we do still consider the youngsters as still wet behind the ears." She smiled slightly. "But then so it is in any circle." She trailed off for a moment before snorting derisively. "I don't want to be Captain. I'd never be able to pull it off either. I am all about action, snap thought. I can't deal with everything that a Captain has to deal with. I'm ... too mean." It was a strange thing to hear herself say about herself, but it was the closest approximation in brief that she could come up with. "I haven't got much say about who is Captain, though. I can't do anything but 'give him a chance' as you say. I can't stop him short of knifing him in his sleep, you know ... and if he's half decent at all that shouldn't be possible."
Jarshan smiled slightly and shook her head just a bit. "I have no problems with following you to your chambers." She suggested. "I can think of loooooots of ways I could have distracted you, too.... but yeah. About half of them you wouldn't have liked much." Jarshan admitted with a nod. "In any event, I am glad you are feeling better. Ish." As cold as she could sometimes be, she did understand that dealing with a death could sometimes take time. Especially if a body hadn't already figured out how to deal with death in general.
|
|
|
Post by Ise on Oct 17, 2011 18:39:46 GMT -5
“In the Weyr right now, name someone who isn’t softer then you. And you can’t name fellow Shield members, that doesn’t count. It’d be too hard to judge, especially for me since I would be biased.” He gave her a little smile. As far as he was concerned there wasn’t anyone better then her, in the Shield or outside of it. He didn’t have nearly as much experience with the rest of the Dragon Shield though as he did with Jarshan.
“Tomorrow. Any time you want. Though it’d be so sweet if you’d give me a little time after wing practice before bringing me out here to try and whip me into shape.” Fighting had never been a priority for D’ero, he had tried to avoid it as much as he could just because he knew his size and strength made it easy for him to hurt someone. His size and just looking intimidating had been good enough when he had been in the North. And since coming south he had learned some stuff, enough to help defend himself. But the attack on the Weyr had shown him just how much he still had to learn. Extra training would be good, and if it came from Jarshan it would only be better.
While D’ero noticed the tone that Jarshan used when speaking about his mission North, he didn’t say anything about it. She was probably bothered that she couldn’t go with them. Maybe she was just worried that they’d end up in the middle of the civil war. He chuckled a little at her joke and gave her a quick squeeze. “I promise I won’t run anyone into walls. I just hope they haven’t done too much building since I last saw the place.”
Listening to Jarshan talk about the Shield, D’ero could easily compare it to the Northerners. They weren’t all close to each other but he was sure they could all count on each other. They had been a small group to start with and now they were even smaller. “You’re not mean. At least I don’t think so. You just have a very low tolerance for stupid. And maybe you should try to knife him in his sleep just once. If he fails well, then you know you needed a new captain anyways. And if you don’t kill him, then maybe you’ll have a little more respect for him. So telling Jarshan she should go try and kill the new captain of the Shield was probably a bad idea but he was fairly sure that she wouldn’t do that.
He grinned as he thought of some of the ways Jarshan could have distracted him over the past week. Even the ones she claimed he wouldn’t like probably wouldn’t have been that bad. It would have given him something to focus on, something to actually do instead of just wallowing in his own moodiness. “Next time I’ll be sure to just find you from the start. Even your unpleasant distracts would be better then nothing. Plus, just having you around would help. But I’ll be fine. It might take a few more days but keeping myself locked up wasn’t helping me as much as I thought it would.”
|
|
|
Post by Marnark on Oct 17, 2011 23:39:09 GMT -5
Jarshan was silent for a moment, rattling her fingertips across the tip of her bow in thoughtful repose. "In the Weyr." She repeated slowly. "Such a narrow pool." But she also saw his point. Shield were Shield for a reason. If everyone were as tough as the Shield, there would be no need for the Shield to exist. That or what would exist would be a whole lot more badass than the Shield currently was. Somehow, that was very hard to imagine. Even for her, who was. "I hate how this sounds like I am blowing my own horn, but since I can't list any Shield ... I would have to say no one." Jarshan answered finally. Her uncle was a tough man, he had taught her a lot when she had been younger ... about D'ero's age. But he was not in the Weyr. He was a Hold Guardsman.
"Alright. Tomorrow you come find me then. Whenever you get done prettying yourself up after wing practice." Jarshan teased, patting him on the knee affectionately. "Then I will undo all your hard work by introducing you to the nitty gritties." No, she wouldn't deliberately hurt him. She knew the difference between training and just giving someone a very bad day... and besides. If she hurt him too bad he wouldn't be any good for anything else for a long time. He would probably think she was beating the snot out of him, but she would be gentle... for Jarshan.
" ... do they tend to build a lot?" Jarshan asked, now somewhat more worried about the odds of them coming out of between somewhere rather lethally awkward. The Weyr was already shy on dragons. Losing more to a dumb mistake due to someone's ill-placed new watch tower ... it would be sickening. And that was a thought from someone who didn't even particularly like dragons or their riders much at all.
Jarshan considered what he said. He was right she supposed ... she did have a rather low tolerance for stupid. Most stupid people learned this at the behest of her blade and didn't live to reproduce for it. But some escaped out of pure dumb blind luck. Very few. But his ideas on the new Captain were intriguing indeed. "I'll have to try that." She answered finally. First she had to learn where the fellow bunked, because she wasn't entirely on the up and up of where some of the younger members housed themselves. Even herself was getting harder to find sometimes, but that was entirely D'ero's fault. She didn't always bunk in her own quarters anymore, depending on a few factors.
She grinned. It wasn't a pretty thing to behold. Instead it was a visage that often struck fear into those who saw it. But there was just enough undertone to it to let D'ero - who knew her better than most folk - know that it was entirely in jest this time. "Better than nothing? Depends on your definition of better, my boy." She answered, before laughing and reaching over to straighten a few wrinkles out of his shirt. "But I am glad you're feeling better, all that aside. Being locked away never cures anything. Not even wanderlust."
|
|
|
Post by Ise on Nov 19, 2011 19:09:12 GMT -5
D’ero rolled his eyes a bit at the idea of ‘prettying up’ after wing drills. He would change out of his riding leathers into something more comfortable for combat practice. And something with more padding in it. He would need something to help protect him from all the bruises Jarshan was bound to give him. “I’m not going to waste a bunch of time cleaning up, not if I’m just going to get hot and sweaty again. Plus I think you like me better when I’m all hot and sweaty.” He gave her a coy little grin and took her hand that rested on his leg, lacing their fingers together.
Seeing the look that crossed Jarshan’s face as she thought about random watch towers suddenly popping up around the Hold, D’ero quickly shook his head. “No. They wouldn’t have built any watch towers since I’ve been gone. Especially not once Thread started falling. I doubt anyone would want to venture outside if they didn’t know when Thread might come. We’ll be fine, getting there. I’m just nervous that the first trip relies on me this much. I’m not use to being noticed by most people, much less being anything important.”
D’ero chuckled a little at the thought of Jarshan actually trying to kill the new Shield Captain. Ok so there was a chance she might actually do it and if that happened he might feel kind of bad about putting the idea in her head. But he was pretty sure she wouldn’t do it. Fairly sure. If she did kill her new captain they might try to put her in charge just as punishment.
Learning how to decipher Jarshan’s look had come quickly to D’ero. Otherwise looks like that grin would have made him run in fear. While he had never seen some of her Shield work, he wasn’t deaf to what others said about it. Aside from when the Shield had first found the Expedition, D’ero had never been worried that Jarshan was actually going to harm him. “I don’t think you could do anything that bad to me Jarshan. I hope I’m not stupid enough to warrant you trying to stab me. And despite my sometimes slow moments, you still haven’t tried to torture me or do anything worse then tease me. I’m sure even our training together will be enjoyable.” Even if he spent the whole time being knocked on his rear, D’ero was sure he’d find some way to enjoy it. He just liked being able to spend time with Jarshan. And he liked it even more knowing that few people got to see the… nicer side of the Shield woman. “I don’t mind keeping to myself for a day or two, it helps me gather my thoughts and at least try to be less moody and whiney. But ten minutes with you has been better for me then a week of solitude. Plus, you’re a lot prettier to look at that Horuth…”
|
|
|
Post by Marnark on Nov 21, 2011 23:23:45 GMT -5
Allowing her hand to be captured, Jarshan took the opportunity to lean her shoulder on his. "Hmm. Well ... that depends on the circumstances." She answered thoughtfully, fully aware of the implications he was trying to lay down. But Jarshan wasn't one given to play into that easily. Eventually she could be cornered into it, but it took doing. Sometimes it was as easy as catching her in the right mood, though. "Clean, hot and sweaty is a lot nicer than say ... gummy hot and sweaty. As a for instance."
"Aw. You need to get over that. You are a Rider now. All by itself, regardless of rank, that makes you someone important. To the whole world as a matter of fact, especially to the North." Jarshan pointed out. "Get used to it. You are going to be seen, you are going to be worshiped. You are going to be important, and if you keep your track record, you're only going to work your way farther into the inner circles. Being useful is always something the higher ups look for." She pointed out. "You've been noticed, you can't undo it now." Of course that was entirely his fault, too. He'd been the one to go to the Weyrleader with his spiffy ill-thought-out plan. But she had to give him points for it. He not only had the initiative to come up with a plan, he'd had the cajones to take it to someone who might do something about it. Not every lad had that kind of gumption.
"Don't tempt me." She warned, only half jesting. She really really did not want to reach the point where she felt like stabbing D'ero. She liked him, rather well actually. She'd had plenty of relationships before, if not continuous. It took a special sort to get along with her after all. But needless to say, they had all ended. Some of them had not ended prettily. It was something she was aware of in the back of her mind, that eventually even this had an ending. But it was not something she looked forward to, nor was it something she wanted to end badly. "I should hope I look better than a gnarly old dragon, too. Sheesh, way to be nice." She commented morosely. While she wasn't used to getting compliments nearly as often as D'ero laid them on her ... she'd never been compared to a dragon's ugly mug before either.
|
|