Coventina hadn't had a drink in ages. It was a little joke to her, playing at her lips while she seemed to materialize a wine glass out of somewhere - pilfered, mayhaps - and swirl its empty contents in the night air. The stars had just begun, one after another, to greet her and her companion. She'd return their lights with the apathetic dissonance of her own, cut topaz to reflect only what they saw and glean nothing from her thoughts. She slanted the glass from one side to the next, a few steps left before they crossed under the wooden awning that signaled their way up the mountain of Hosenka. She'd peer at it, briefly, and continue on, breathing her first tremulous sigh once the air was fully their own.

Not that they were alone. They had something of ... tagalongs with them on this vacation, no argument allowed. So little time until their trip to Iceberg, so much to do during the space ... she could keep it filled, but she lacked full control over the details. The Hot Springs sounded lovely. They had been. The company wasn't a pain, either, as gentlemanly as the hound remained; alas, some responsibilities were harder to discard. A shoulderbag hung darkly across her shoulder, matching her chosen nightly gown but doing little for her particular aesthetic, and in it an egg sat. Snug. Warm. Safe. An annoyance on levels, and a source of fretting on another.

It'd be worse once it hatched; for now, at least, she could find it distasteful. As an egg, it was easier to deride it, kept pacified only by the warmth it exhibited on touch. If a creature was to be born from it, a childe in her charge ...

Maybe she should have grabbed an actual drink. Lady knows Skald had liquor somewhere on him. It wouldn't agree with her peculiar palette, in any case. She couldn't stomach mortal nutrients anymore, left to the device of her tongue clicking against the roof of her mouth and a consideration of how much more time she could throw away before she had to face the hardest part of this thrust-upon challenge. She'd glide up the dirt path, somehow unstained by nature, and speak low - soft, knowing he'd strain to hear her wherever she was - to her fidus Achates. "Skald Ragnulf," she'd hum, "what are we to do, mm?"

The night sky stretched above and the gentle woods before them, this hike through the elements presenting itself without worries. They'd bring enough, surely. "How long ... do you think it takes, for a dragon egg to hatch? Does it intend to be born before we leave for Iceberg ... during ... after? Truly, a marvel ... to plan around."

Skald had a habit of drinking fairly often, not as often as some of his cousins or a particular white wolf counterpart he knew was gone from the world. He certainly drank more than Coventina did and while he didn’t particular belt them down like some he enjoyed the finer tasting things. It was something that he enjoyed with others thoroughly; just like looking at the stars.

His blue eyes scanned the space above; his outfit had been hand tailored for it’s freshness and ease. Looking like he was in some kind of punk rock band; more for social affairs and keeping it light. The outfit on purpose looked flashy and over the top; but it held a number of pockets and was distracting for a reason. His own egg was nestled among his tails, playfully keeping it hidden and warm. He wasn’t sure how long it’d be before it hatched; some theorized that dragons took decades to hatch; sometimes longer because of their long lives. He’d exhale a bit, his hands in his pockets as he trudged along. He’d perk a little bit when he heard his name.

”Mmmm? What? About where we’re going or…?”

He’d pause; adjusting a little bit and his backpack sliding from one shoulder so he could maybe pull something from within. He kept on him quite a great deal of things and he felt like she wanted some form of refreshment. The kitsune eventually paused and looked down at his feet, eventually glancing to the egg in his tails.

”The book that I was reading said that it could be a few months, few years, few decades. I believe in ryuko. I think it’ll be sooner than all of that. But how soon? It’s hard to say.”

He’d bite his tongue and step forward, his hand coming over to rest on the woman’s arm; a smile on his lips and a gentle flicking of either ear. The two of them were in this together; he had already agreed to it before she even had said anything to him.

”Besides if it hatches before I’ve got a plan on to where to let them romp around, if it’s during? I’ll be bringing some things that the dragons would eat or drink just in case. After? Same as before. It’s… odd to plan around I’ll admit. A lot different from raising a kit.”

He’d look back to the egg, he remembered his child a little bit too keenly and he’d purse his lips. Brow coming together and ears sagging slightly before perking up; he felt the change in pressure as they walked. They had to be getting close.

”Do you have a name for them?”

She'd tut her tongue, shifting the weight of the pack to press closer to her hips and threaten the pull on her lips in their downward trend; it was only Skald's eyes on her that kept her expression from delineating, relying instead of the cast of her eyes to the sky to conceal her thoughts. She was told they were windows to the soul. Nobody needed to see hers bared. Her steps were slow, measured, and it wasn't difficult for either figure to keep up with the other. They had gotten used to walking in pace ... she felt a tightness in her jaw she flexed out, instead returning his first reply with a wry glance.

"You 'believe' in Ryuko, Skald? Sweet boy, that's how Pergrande got to where it is." Her tone indicated no scathe to the remark - while she seemed to consider it fact, she equally purported a playful interest in the woman and her actions. "Yet, I find myself agreeing. She takes her ... dragon ...," she'd wave a wrist, circling it while she thought of a word, "... appurtenances seriously. Mm? I don't expect we'd be brought into this 'Dragonborne' circle if she didn't have a real plan in mind, nor do I presume they'd allow these ... things ... into our care if not with trust."

She sighed, coming to her own conclusion with the descent of her hand from its twirling. She let it lay against her chest, tapping down the first few of her fingers on it. "Fine. You're right. That belief goes both ways. I'm sure this will occur ... soon."

She'd tongue behind one of her vampiric canines in slow thought, allowing him to take the reins of their concern up until his hand brushed her arm; and something cold shivered beneath her skin and to the pit of her stomach, which she promptly swallowed. Her lips quirked at him. "You really do ... have a plan for everything, do you ... 'diplomat?' Or is it 'herald'? Ryuko was right to carouse you for the position." The first light of something akin to praise that didn't come entirely from treating him like a lapdog, displacing the gravel of their walk with her light steps. The sky had begun to open before them, just the tease of starlight, and they had a bit more to go on their trek. Anything was better than being around other people right now.

She supposed Skald did well for company. "Do you have experience in this area, far beyond those random skills of yours you seem to have for ... everything?" Her eyes would briefly narrow, burning ever-curiously, and she wouldn't let him escape from the deep topaz. It reflected his every look back. "A childe of your ... own, perhaps?"

There was sacrilegous ground she struggled not to dredge; and yet, the cat's curiosity ... Her whims would always win. "A ... a-a name?" Her tenor briefly faltered, wrestling control with the pop of her lips in a breath that could have been somewhere between a sigh and what was once laughter. "Heavens, no. Am I ... are we meant to?" Her voice had become a little tighter.

Skald’s breath had been taken away by many a sight, the first time that he arrived to some of the larger cities where their lights shined like stars, the first time he laid eyes on his child, the waves of the water between iceberg and fiore… and coventina when they first met. He’d flick his ears a few times as she spoke; a smirk spreading across his face and he’d glance back to her.

”Ah yes, but belief without commitment or action is just that. People letting others do what they will for them is why my dear they are the way they are. People that are weak that don’t stand up for themselves never find their footing if they let others lead them like that.”

Skald knew the sentiment, he had been wandering on his own and been behind several powerful figures before this. Ryuko was the only one to thrust him into the limelight and let his passions show in a different way than the others. He’d click his tongue against his fangs and found himself looking to coventina as she talked.

”I presume that she figures we’ll do our best one way or another and that the dragons will grow because of that. They’ll live a long time even after we’re dust if we do this correctly. Unless being a dragonborn changes that. Hard to say. We may have to ask her her ultimate machinations; which I imagine there being a bit of straightforwardness to it while she is careful not to say too much. I also feel like her trust given to us is an effort to endear us to her; which has worked famously for different reasons.”

He’d nod his head at the eventual admittance that yes the belief goes both ways. They believed in ryuko who in turn believed in them. He’d smile warmly at the fact that he had a plan for everything. He just had experienced a lot and breathed out softly. The confusion of titles was obvious but he was sure he fell into diplomat instead of herald.

”It’d be diplomat; a strong and barbed tongue that’s willing to do what they need to to secure what we want. They have a herald of their own else I’d already be in iceberg. She was right to pick each of us for the role she wanted us for.”

He’d grin and look back to her; he was clearly basking in the praise he was given but in a sense he’d reach out to gently squeeze one of her shoulders. He was glad to have taken this walk with her. He’d stop at the question regarding prodigy and he’d stand quietly for a moment before eventually speaking.

”...I had a son. A mate. I had to consider everything for us. Five? Six years of both. It threw a lot at us and we were prepared for most of it. Until the draugr proved a bit too much for the both of us. Undead of that caliber don’t care if you’re young or old. They kill you all the same.”

He looked sad, there was an infinite semblance of “I could have done something” that echoed around him. It seemed rife with his body and eventually he seemed to shake that off; a crackle of lightning dancing along one of his arms and he’d stare at her.

”If they show up again, which I’m sure they will I will crack the heavens for this dragon and you.”

There was an edge to his voice that even though he was her hound, the semblance of protection and the semblance of fury was there. A deep thirst seemed emanate from his sword as well. He’d pause sweetly at hearing her uncertainty and he’d turn a little more; taking her hands in his and squeezing both.

”Some names come naturally, some don’t. If you find yourself uncertain you know where you can look. I already have one picked out for mine, though it was only after minutes of having the egg. It just clicked.”

He’d give a small shrug at the thought; he had a lot of plans and a lot of ideas. Eventually looking down to the egg, it was warm in his tails and he’d bite the inside of his cheek. There was a long pause and he’d look back up to coventina.

”It’ll be okay.”

"Some people are meant to be led," she spoke, matter-of-factly. She rarely watched her tongue around most people - establishing either a partnership or an element of superiority over those around her - and she burdened herself less so with Skald, sparing no thought that he might take umbrage with her someday. She busied herself pointedly staring at her nails, lifted under the starlight, and turned them over until specks of gold within the red caught it and shimmered. They had an open honesty policy ... more or less. Didn't they? He hadn't balked at her yet. She cast a side eye back over to him, the camouflage of her manicure tending ineffective. "I'm not one of those, of course. I can't say I spare much pity for Pergrande. I like the castle. Whatever Ryuko does elsewhere rarely concerns me."

She twirled a finger before dropping both, looking forward over the dirt path and the trees that crept in from the cliffside at either side of them. She walked in a comfortable quiet to spare a knife-pointed ear for his words, mulling them over. He wasn't incorrect. She didn't know much about dragons - no one really seemed to, just harness or exploit their powers in whatever ways they could get their hands around - compared to Ryuko, at least. They were undoubtedly an ancient species. She had felt the power in that throne room, in the thrum of their language, and in the ... the heat radiating from the egg at her side. A vampiric fang nicked her tongue to keep it from nerves. "I thought ... her goal was obvious, no? What do you think we're doing today, Pinky? Why ... aren't we taking over the world?"

She shrugged. Being a ruler wasn't an abject interest nor disinterest. She wanted the power and the money and the adoration that came with it, but bureaucracy's work always seemed far more trouble than worth. She'll be at Ryuko's side as she ascends to whatever megalomaniacal being she's chasing ... and Karstaag's ... and Skald's. A quiet laugh, just a breeze through the willows. "I suppose we don't know for sure."

"And you are quite diplomatic, aren't you, my darling?" A hand would stray dangerously and play up his arm, running the back of her fingers over the side of his neck. Restraint was facetious in her vocabulary. She didn't make a habit of holding back her interest of him, around him, in the way that they ... reaffirmed it. Continually. Still, she was enjoying the night. She'd let her hand drop away with a tap, a derisive sound built playfully in her throat without finding an escape as her gaze roamed again. Steady amber trailed over the blanket of stars that had rolled over them in their discussion. Goodness. Civilization really did ruin all of this. People.

It was a good moment to get lost in, for what Skald dropped on her next needed her wistful to appropriately address. The truth be told: she struggled with empathy. It was a fight to feel for other people - and not one she often desired to fight at all. She'd sooner no longer care again. She was doing a fine job of it so far, every little poppet in her life tied to different strings and dancing a different tune for whatever boon she was playing them for ... and, yet, there was a vestige of something left in her onyx-encrusted heart. A glimmer of red in the depths of deepest darkness. A weakness; for the young and their struggling caretakers, something better left unexamined. And ... Skald, he wasn't bad company.

She shifted imperceptibly the bag closer to her side, bringing the egg where she could watch it from her peripherals. "My ...,"

She spoke soft, carefully, her first word of surprise coming with clear condolence. "That must ... have been hard." How did she do this? How did anyone? It felt gross, whatever feeling it was rising from her chest and rounding in her throat until she had the smallest biting - no, choking - sensation. She'd tut it away at a less fragile time, words failing. Words fail. She's not that kind of woman - that kind of monster - and she can't think of what to offer him. So she reaches out an arm again, and lays it this time without the salacious edge of her previous contact, and she rubs his shoulder. It only lasts briefly. Just a passing olive branch to his feelings and a closing of the curtain - the eyes - that laid open on his past, and she retracts it like a cat that dipped their paw in something strange and confusing.

"A-hem." He declared himself for her and this ... their ... the dragons, as well, and she averted her face and her eyes. They were lucky her stride couldn't overtake him; not with his legs just beating out the slender length of her own. "... What do you plan to name yours, Skald Ragnulf?" Did her voice sound tight? It evaporated, too, her body finding its comfortable frame again. Must have been the wind.

”True enough, they’re easy to spot especially for people like us.”

Skald hummed a little bit as they walked along; he agreed with coventina on a great many things and the both of them held differing yet similar world views. He was grateful that she could be honest with him and straightforward. He wouldn’t balk on her, he wouldn’t judge her for the things that she said. He had already accepted so much for her and kept going. He’d flick an ear and glance to her as he had been watching his feet for a moment; wondering what sort paths they’d live through all of this.

”I understand the plight of the people; but there’s a certain detachment you have to have with them. The castle is nice, nicer than the ruined ones that I kept finding up in iceberg I’ll tell you that much. I only have to pay attention to what ryuko does because that’s… well my job. Hard to be a diplomat if you aren’t sure what your monarch wants or is doing.”

Skald pondered over his egg some more, he liked fussing over the thing that much was sure. He had very little knowledge about the dragons but like coventina he had felt that power when they were in front of their dragons and in front of Ryuko. He’d bite the inside of his cheek.

”Rule Pergrande, I don’t think ryuko’s aspirations for ruling for the moment extends any further than that. What we’re doing? Taking a lovely stroll of course.”

Skald let out a bemused chuckle; they were definitely playing with words here. He was glad to take the role of the diplomat; the role that coventina had was a good one too and karstags role was evident at the strength of the dwarf. They all worked in the shadows in different ways. That quiet laugh had skald mesmerized; letting out a soft rumble at her quiet teasing.

”Thoroughly; I’d compare it to your wonderful-”

Skald felt that hand play across his arm, up his back and the side of his neck. He’d shiver a little bit, leaning into it slightly. There wasn’t warmth in the touch but he enjoyed it all the same. He had his thoughts about the reason to it; from his days as a hunter but that didn’t matter to him. If she were to partake of him in that way she wouldn’t lose him but he’d certainly be more than lethargic for a time. When the hand dropped away he’d rumble again and slowly breathe out; she had him and he had her. In vastly different ways.

”Way of controlling the situation~ Even in that throne room.”

He’d rub at his muzzle as she spoke about how it must have been hard; it was difficult beyond belief and every time that he thought about it it was hard to continue on for a little bit. But he had to keep living for them; had to keep living for the ones that he had. The kitsune pondered for a few moments, his eyes closing and his breath coming out in a soft motion over his teeth. Hardly more than a ferried breath of wind.

”The first time you say goodbye is the hardest for anyone. We lived our lives and I live my life for them. To have the things that they couldn’t. Because that’s what matters; not to be absorbed so badly by the past you can’t live out in the present or future.”

He didn’t seem to harbor much pain regarding the topic; he didn’t seem to mind talking about it with her. He noted the way that she seemed to interact with it; maybe he was oversharing a bit but after a little he’d let a breath escape him again. The way she sounded, maybe he had hit a nerve or struck a chord she didn’t know what to do with. He’d turn slightly; staring at her for a long lovely sense of moments. His pace slowed and he’d look down at the egg.

”Hontu. Among my clan it meant Hunter. They’ll earn their last name as the first is a gift from a parent. I don’t share the same name as either of my parents mind you. Their… Earnings were far different than mine.”

His father a warrior, his mother a mage. The both of them were paragons among his clan up until their deaths. Such a pity honestly. They could have done so much for the world if they had lived. But some things weren’t meant to be. He’d turn his attention back to coventina; there was a lot in those piercing blue eyes.

”Sometimes the names just come to you, other times you just have to think about it for a time. When it does for you? You’ll just know.”

Skald, turned about offering a hand to coventina. He would slow his pace for her, let her take the lead in all of this. She likely felt listless; likely wanted to talk more than perhaps drink. Though the both of them could share a wine bottle or two.

"Just a stroll?" She muses the words over her lips and across his ears, her head having tilted to the side and brazenly notched like a deathwhistle at the height of one of his listeners. They're both tall individuals - towering over most other people in the room, her height of just over six a sight unnatural for women of fair breeding: and he looming even higher, somehow less questionably for some manner of man-beast. Crossing any distance was never much trouble. Taking any stride, leaning ever conspiratorially ... they had their own place, up here in the clouds. So far above this world below. A smirk played at the edges of her mouth, rumbling out her words in a deftly unbroken tenor. "And here I thought we were crafting our own evil plans ... alas, alack." 

The tease drifted away with the straightening of her body back in her own space, the memory of a sigh ghosting the way her hand curls gently over the egg at her pouch. She listens to him with the odd twitch in a knife-like ear - elven habits not lost even these centuries later - and she chuckles, just a single wry outtake. Hah. "You know better than most, my darling, how well I work ... in control." She tuts her tongue, casting a sidelong glance that places him the center of this universe with every golden-bright star shining its spotlight down on him. It'd burn him away if she didn't draw it back, finding place among the sky above them again. "I'm good at this." Her words came quieter - softer, as if sharing something delicate and solemn, for any other noise would break her out of it and end the moment for good. "I don't need a reason, like Ryuko has. I can make a guess as to Karstaag's ... and yours, sweet Skald, I'm still piecing together. But I ...?"

"I never need a motive to be as I am. I simply am. I simply do. And I'm good at it." Her hand turned under the coming moonlight, splitting between its strands with a fade down the length of such clean, glittering pale. The fingers don't waver but her wrist doesn't finish the rotation. She simply stalls and watches it. "And I'll do that - and be me - forever, wherever that leads me ... with whoever, to any ends. All that matters is ...,"

The end of her sentence doesn't come. Her eyes are on the vast unknown that seeks to swallow them whole in the skylight, a gust blowing by to stir out her hair and tempt a lock to flow in it off her ear. Her movements seem to slow for that moment and that moment alone; and then she resumes, back on their measured pace for the end in sight. What were they even going to do when they got to the top? Did that matter? Oh, it rarely did. "Hontu," she murmurs, tracing it under her teeth. "Hunter. That's lovely. Is it a wish? A promise?" 

The trees can't seem to stand as tall as her shadow, stretching out heavy behind them. "A burden? A guide? What did your parents want for you, Skald Ragnulf?" Her hand would crest his in acceptance of his offer, streaming like rivulets of water in the way each digit overtook his paw and wrapped full around its breadth. She pulls him along, one long step for both. In that glint of the moon's glow - in that passing second - she almost appeared to glide, as if she might just take off and take to the myriad of constellations above. What better place for Coventina Carmen, and her oh so faithful hound? "Have you met your expectations?"

You're fine by me.

”...Maybe a bit more than that.”

Skald would tease, gently reaching out to squeeze at her hand. It was no secret how he felt about her and it was no secret that he was happy with the time they spent together. The two stood out in every crowd due to their height and make up but that wasn’t the reason he even pursued this relationship. His beastial like body was definitely something that pushed people away and he knew that… well her instance would also do the same for some. They were literally perfect for one another. Skald let out a small chuckle at the jest.

”No plan is quite complete without someone to share it with. So if you have anything you’d like to talk about in that venue I’m all ears. And tails.”

Skald let out a soft laugh at his bad pun; squeezing again at her hand. Hearing her speak again he’d nod his head; he knew very well. He honestly gave her the control; he liked the way that she had it and liked the way that he felt right working with that control. Then came upon the motives and he’d click his tongue thoughtfully.

”My reason and ambition. Hmm. A good way to put it is that I for the longest time didn’t live for myself, I lived for others. But in this… case of the order. Getting my magic back? It changes things.”

Skald felt his grip adjust and he’d look back to his egg; he was going to be a parent again. He was going to fight for someone more than him with coventina. He was going to have a family of sorts. They could be a proper family; if he extended that but he wasn’t sure if they were ready to… take that step. He eventually breathed out.

”Once a long time ago, my family had a hold. They had a place to call their own before the draugr cursed us. I am established to be a good diplomat coventina, I am just like you in another regard. We’re both predators, it needs not be said but I will say it anyways.”

Skald paused a bit; staring up at the stars for a few long moments. Breathing out again; he felt his stress always melted away when around her.

”The end of my family happened when my clan was slaughtered. But with you coming forth and ryuko leading her plans to us. An option presents itself. I want to become a lord like my clan of old. Have a hold for the little one I am carrying now.”

He felt her eyes on him, he felt that tug and he’d turn to stare back. They would keep one another in their orbs. He felt his breath halt for a few moments; he saw her beauty in every facet of every instance that he could ever feel. His breath tugged out again and he’d sigh.

”And… if you want to be there with me. With your dragon too. That’s up to you.”

She didn’t have a motive, she was who she was and did what she wanted. It was plain and simple; but skald could feel that they both had different pursuits. His dream of setting up trade routes for his business had come to an end with the grandiose nature of what ryuko wanted. But she had stirred a fire into his heart.

”...If you want someone to be with you for that forever, you needn’t even ask coventina.”

Skald wasn’t going to beat around the bush; he knew that she was just like him. The both of them were lonely souls and they had found one another, grasping, tugging, pulling, going every which way. She may have had him in her web; but he had his claws in her too. Their walking continued and their pace seemed to remain unchanged. What were they going to do once they got to the top? Skald had a thought. He had several; his eyes flicked to their destination and he’d exhale again.

”Whatever they want it to be. It’s a name of ambition, of strength, of desire and motivation. As long as they live I will be happy to share it with them.”

Skald felt her hand in his, with the way that she ran her hand along his. The way that she took each digit, each motion, it was like she was breathing life into him. She glided, she was pulling him along. His feet practically barely touched the ground. His breath was spirited away as he found himself looking at her; squeezing that hand.

”They gave me the name of one who gives advice, a decision. But I know them well enough that they gave it to me out of the desire to have me strong like a wolf.”

Skald looked to her again, their feet so close. Their hands interlapped; his eyes stared into hers for as long as she allowed. As long as they moved they’d flow together and his teeth were mere inches from her ear.

”They wanted me to live, to grow, to love and laugh. They wanted me to get strong and old.”

He’d lean in, his arms curled around her and his hands met hers in gentle motions. He didn’t want to let her go into those constellations. He wanted to be with her; he wanted to keep them together in this moment. He’d breathe against her and then mumble softly.

”I lived. They did not. I have survived ever since; my expectations were once in the dirt until I grew past it. I have met my expectations many times over. But there’s one thing, one expectation I can’t even…”

His hands dipped a bit, his eyes looked to hers. There was a soft fire in there, a deep understatement from one predator to the next. His breath eased out and he’d shake his head as though warding something off for a moment. There were dozens of things he could say; hundreds if not thousands.

”There’s all but one. Maybe two questions I could ask of you Coventina.”