Little Secrets, Aprillis 24 | Drystan Hurst

[Andrika Duskwither]

Aprillis 24, Midday
An inn at the center of the city.
Attire: Here.
Drystan Hurst


There had been murmurings in Ravencrest City where it concerned the Queen's illness and the king had summoned the citizens to the square in front of the castle in order to make an announcement towards it. However, this announcement seemed to end up being the opposite of what rumor held towards the Queen's demise and she had walked out onto the balcony, waving to the citizens of the downtrodden city. The King's face had been described as shocked, though many misinterpreted this as something more positive. The Queen of Duskwither gave much hope to the people of Ravencrest that eventually, the iron fist rule of Erikson would relax and to some extent, it had. There were fears that if she died, the Kingdom would return to its harsh rule. Apparently, that just wasn't going to be happening now and the Kingdom was joyful to see that the rumors had not been true.

Andrika Duskwither walked through the crowded streets, her hood over her head of curly hair. The large cape dragged against the ground, getting muddy at the ends as it usually did because of its size compared to her height. Her eyes kept peering out from the darkness of the cowl, following the trail of light that of which would lead her to the Assassin she had marked. It wasn't that she didn't trust Lirit's information, it was just easier for her to follow a mark of her own in a place she wasn't used to. The woman entered the inn, crossing past the bar and up the stairs to where the rooms of the inn were located. The trail ended at a door and she stood in front of it, shifting the crate onto her hip. She liked the Assassin. He never looked down on her and he never judged. At least not to her face. She felt comfortable around him and despite recent events, there was still an underlying trust that existed. Her gloved fingers knocked on the door. Speaking of trust, she didn't exactly trust that didn't have this door trapped in some way and therefore it wouldn't have been prudent to just barge in though she felt like doing so when her impatience was high. When he opened the door she lifted the crate up that had the old bottles of Goblin Piss clanking.

"Can I come in?" She grinned just lightly.

[Drystan Hurst]

Word had spread throughout the city of the Queen’s appearance, descriptions of her well-being and the relief that had washed over Ravencrest’s citizens at her presence. They had gone through Erikson’s ruthless rule for many years but the Duskwither queen softened even by a little the former manner in which the kingdom was lead. Few wished anyone else but her on the throne to bring a bit more kindness with the way they were treated. Murmurs of the news were still heard here and there, though for the Assassin it had stopped when he had went back to his room at the inn in the centre of the capital an hour or so ago. A book was now sprawled open on the bed, Drystan’s eyes glancing toward its content now and then before his attention would turn on the dragon egg resting next to it. He had bought a book on dragons from the market, though there was only so much it said about what happened before they hatched. The tip of his finger ran very lightly across the black tendrils spread across the egg’s grayish surface, following the pattern idly. It seemed it had to be kept safe and in a warm place until the dragon was ready to crack its way through the shell.

That part was easy, all that was left was patience. A knock on the door made his eyes snap momentarily toward it, quickly but gently moving the dragon egg back in its metal box and that tucked away safely in a cupboard before he went over to answer, not willing to let just anyone know of its existence. Once the door was open, his eyebrows rose a bit before a small grin stretched his lips at the sight of the Ranger holding a crate up that seemed to be filled with bottles by the sound of it. “You’ve guessed the password.” he said as he nodded toward the crate, for a second crouching on the threshold, fingers seemingly following a very thin and invisible line to guide it next to the side, shifting down and a quiet click sounding as the trap was deactivated. Of course he would have one considering they were in Ravencrest. He smirked a bit and grabbed the wooden crate from the Ranger, motioning for her to come in, closing the door with his foot once she was inside the room. “It sounds like there are bottles in here so you know it would’ve been impossible for me to refuse.” His arms seemed to weight the crate for a moment before another smirk showed itself. “There has to be a least a dozen. Where did you ‘seize’ this from?” he asked with a smirk as he moved to settle the crate down on the only table in the room.

[Andrika Duskwither]

The crate was taken from her hands and when it was she wiped them together to rid them of the dust. The young woman pulled her hood back and looked around the room. It was clear that he was not the only one occupying this space, which made her curious but she didn't say anything towards it just yet. She leaned over to pull a bottle from the crate and she twisted the cap, standing next to the table as she took a sip. The brew should have tasted aweful because of what was marked on the label but it did not. Depending on the age, there was a small window in between when the Goblins Piss didn't taste so much like vomit. Ten years after it was brewed, the contents of the bottles became somewhat sweet and very much palatable, but after the eleventh year, those bottles would begin to rot after reaching their 'peak' and then the contents would be even more fowl than first brewed. Most people didn't know this. "I stole it from Erikson's liquor cavern. Filled with so much untouched and expensive liquor you would cry if I even dared utter how much." The woman brought it to her lips and drank some, eyes searching the area again.

"It's for celebrating." She clinked her bottle against the one he would no doubt lift from the crate. "My mother has been cured of her illness." The Ranger pushed herself away from the table, walking around the room. She noted some of Aunt Lirit's things, and her brow lifted at the more questionable leather apparel in the room belonging to Thea. Andrika lifted up one of the leather bras with her finger and perked a brow. "Looks about your size..." She teased, tossing it back onto the messy pile. The Princess smirked, walking back over towards the table and leaned against it. "So, finding trouble is what you've been doing since you left us?" Her shoulder shrugged. "I would claim to be jealous but I always seem to find trouble just fine on my own."

[Drystan Hurst]

Another bottle was taken from the crate by the Assassin, an eyebrow perked as he read the label, taking off the cap and sniffing it a little before he took a drink, having expected to spit it out instantly but instead found it was not as unpleasant as he thought. There was an edge of surprise on his features, but he didn’t question it and simply took another sip. “That’s good though. Don’t want to think what he would do if he did drink them. Tricking Kael into drinking some however doesn’t seem like a bad idea.” he said with a bit of a smirk, though shifting into a smile once she mentioned the reason for the drinks and clinked their bottles together. “I’m glad. The entire city seems to be rejoicing.” The Assassin leaned his body against the table as the Ranger walked around the room and her eyes took in the space, though it hit him just how disordered the place was. He was used to it by now, but not all were. A light breath in amusement was let out between drinks as a leather bra belonging to Thea was picked up. He was sure that somewhere out there in the city Thea’s ears would no doubt be itching at having her often flaunted chest compared to Drystan’s even if it was a joke.

“I’m sure, you do have a talent for it.” His eyes turned sideways, his voice amused at that and as far from scolding as it could possibly get. “I find it better when you’re not alone though.” Another drink out of the bottle brought the surprisingly pleasant taste back in his mouth, for the first few sips truly having had the reflex to spit it out. “I guess you could say that’s what I’ve been doing. Mostly travelling, chased, almost eaten, bitten, scratched, dressing up as a woman, the usual.” he added with a smirk. “This pretty much sums it up.” The Assassin motioned at the disheveled room as he said that, finding no reluctance to admit these things. He trusted her, he had no reason not to. “I assume you’ve been pretty much doing the same though in a more orderly fashion. The Hunter’s Festival was held a few weeks ago, did you go?” he asked with a bit of a grin as he turned his eyes back on her. “Caught an ogre?”

[Andrika Duskwither]

Somewhere in Ravencrest City, Thea is standing up suddenly from her table in a rage, not quite knowing why and Lirit is putting a hand to her shoulder to caution the blind woman to sit down. It turns out, Thea does occasionally listen to someone, and that is the blond Bard.

Andrika nodded to his words towards the city rejoicing but other than a smile and some words she didn't seem overly jubilant towards it as she might usually be. There were reasons to this but no real indication was there to bring it up. The sweet liquor was brought to her lips again and her eyes shifted to watch him as he spoke, a grin sliding past the neck of the bottle as she continued to sip, feigning innocence to his accusation. "Hm, so it does belong to you. Unfortunately, no. We were in Ravencrest." Her shoulder shrugged. "I should have opted for the Hunter's Festival as opposed to Crystalwick as it was the only deviation in the route we could manage to take before being sent here. I hate it here..." Her brow furrowed just slightly. "My mother has decided to stay for the next month and work with the clerics here to provide better medical aid to the people." Her eyes remained focused on the bottle. "She is very much the most selfless person I've ever known."

Her eyes suddenly narrowed as she looked back towards him. "Wait a moment...you ask me if I've caught an ogre like you've caught an ogre. Have you caught an ogre? If so, I'm jealous once again. I think that's your intent with me." She smirked, placing her empty bottle in the crate. "The other woman in your trio...would she be jealous to know you're drinking in a room, alone with another woman?" The grin grew a little larger, opening herself another bottle. "This one tastes more acidic..." She made a face but drank it regardless.

[Drystan Hurst]

A subtle nod in agreement came as his response toward her dislike of Ravencrest, the city not exactly being his favorite place in the world either. It wasn’t its dark alleys and cut-throat markets, but the people themselves. Most had grown harsher as well under Erikson’s reign. The Assassin took another sip out of his drink, shifting his eyes toward her at the mentioning of her mother, a quick smile stretching across his lips. He had never met the queen personally, why would he, but word spread enough about her to gain a good opinion of her kindness and generosity. A smirk appeared, however, at the question on the ogre. “Yes and no. It was definitely unconscious on the ground, but I couldn’t take the stench to drag it away, so I just left it there.” he said before he took another drink. “I’m sure some orc who could bare it eventually came by to claim it as his own.” Pity. His eyes looked up for a moment in thought as she posed her question, lips pursing together but then shifted into a smirk.

“Probably.” he answered, not quite sure if he was wrong or making a very big understatement as he couldn’t quite predict Thea’s actions. “Though I have to say she was very possessive of me when big bulky men were hitting on me while dressed as a woman and her along with Lirit were supposed to be men.” A grin spread his lips before he continued and took another bottle from the crate. “Mm, don’t know if I should’ve told you that. Your aunt is going to kill me if she knows I did.” He took a sip of the new bottle, pausing for a moment to ascertain its taste before he shrugged and swallowed the drink. “You wouldn’t be scared of a jealous woman though, right?” he teased, an amused grin overtaking his lips once more. “You did save the dragon egg from a giant alligator though so let’s see… hmm, what could be worse…” An amused breath escaped as his finger rubbed the edge of his jaw in mock of thought as he knew better than to challenge the Ranger’s courage against anything. Taking another sip out of the bottle he allowed his hand to fall on the table next to him, fingers curling idly around the edge. “You plan on staying here with your mother?” he asked once his eyes turned back toward her features. “It would give you a good chance to loot all of the king’s liquor cavern I suppose.”

[Andrika Duskwither]

"I'm not jealous nor would I be scared." That was a bit of a lie where it concerned the jealousy only but she sounded confident enough in her statement. Her eyes suddenly rolled up as her more sensible thoughts recollected. "I'm sorry did you say that my Aunt dressed as a man?!" Andrika laughed, her brows raising in a mild shock. The girl had only ever known Lirit to be a fierce warrior, serious and reserved. "I have to say...she does look much more happier now than I've ever seen her to be. More confident. It's very heartwarming to me to know she was taken care of so well as opposed to the fate we all thought she might have succumbed to. Although from your description of events earlier...it seems she wasn't bored either." Her lips twisted into a small frown when he mentioned her staying. "I can't." She answered simply, as there was no real reason to elaborate just yet as to why. Perhaps he would assume that it was some type of Fellowship business. Andrika smiled just lightly and took a seat on one of the edges of the beds. "I only dared to steal this as I'm sure if I looted anything further he would use it as an excuse to lock up his poor example of a step-daughter."

Andrika had been willing to take a chance towards being nice to the man at the prompting of her late father who knew that eventually, that sort of alliance would have to be made between the two kingdoms. However, Erikson was not an easy person to love and she concluded that she never would where it pertained to his behavior towards her and her rash ways. "Not that the excuse would be enough to stop me. I would just run away to Violet Bay and become one of the women of the Smarmy Beast." The woman's grin grew and she laughed, finishing off what was left in her bottle and lifted herself to reach for another.

[Drystan Hurst]

The answer brought no further questions from the Assassin, having assumed as he would have guessed it that it was something related to the fellowship. He knew by now that they were often given a course to follow throughout the two kingdoms and if the queen was now apparently well, there was nothing to make them deviate. A slight smirk curved the edges of his lips toward the interaction between the Ranger and her step-father, again judging by what he had heard of the man but it was enough to find some truth to her words despite the light manner in which she said it. Taking another sip out of his bottle, he swallowed quickly before he laughed at her solution of going to Violet Bay. “I see you have similar aspirations such as myself when it comes to a last resort.” he said with a grin, taking out a bottle and handing it over as she reached for one. “At least if I hear news of the king locking up his step-daughter, I’ll know where to find her after she escapes.” he added with the same amused expression before his eyebrows rose.

“Although I believed we agreed that the women in the fellowship are perhaps far prettier than the ones found in such places, so it might not be fair for you to do that.” The smirk still lingered a bit, letting the now empty bottle down, taking another one and moving away from the table. “Plus, if anything I’ll hire you as my dragonspeak tutor. Apparently I’ll need it. And since fishing didn’t really work, maybe that one will.” The Assassin took a seat before another sip out of his drink was taken, lips pursing a bit as this one also had a bit different taste. Hopefully it hadn’t been brewed a year earlier. “Actually I might need that anyway. Because this is of little help with that part.” he added picking up the book on dragons he had bought to emphasize what he meant and then half tossed it on a nearby lower table. “Are you available for hiring?” he asked, a wide grin stretching across his lips.

[Andrika Duskwither]

"It would all be depending towards what I might get in return..." She smirked into the bottle as she lifted the contents to consume it. Her brown eyes shifted from him to the book he had placed on a shorter table, reading the cover quickly before her hand reached out for it to draw it onto her lap. "Let's see if any of this is true.." She muttered, flipping the pages with her free hand as the other held the bottle, bringing it to her lips occasionally as she skimmed through the information. "Hm, well this must be based on assumption but black dragons aren't all about the darkness...they work just as well during the day...discrimination." The woman laughed, flipping to another page, head shifting to where he was seated. "Are you sure you're prepared for the size that precious little thing could reach? His mother was small, but we have yet to identify the father..."

Her free hand closed the book shut and replaced it on the table in which she found it. The Ranger's gaze looked towards the cupboard. "I can hear it now. It can hear us too. So if you talk to it, it will not understand but it will slowly begin to understand some common tongue. Not everything. Like for instance...Spitfire knows the word dinner." She smiled with a laugh. "He is aware of the word 'no!' spoken very loudly and when he is about to rape some poor animal..." Her drink finished she stood up, walking over to the crate to play a sort of russian roulette towards which drink might be sweet or bitter. "They speak...on a different wavelength. You bond with them and they'll allow you on that level. In raising dragons, it's all about letting them know that you aren't their captor. My dragonhawk lets me know every day that he LETS me keep him." Andy cracked open the cap of the bottle in her hand and took an even larger gulp, increasingly intoxicated with each drink and increasingly attempting to push her greater worry out of her mind.

[Drystan Hurst]

The Assassin watched as she examined the book he had bought, a laugh escaping as it did not seem the literature was off to a promising start. “Doesn’t really matter what size it reaches for me. Only one to whom that would matter it would be itself as it would need to find its own variety of livestock to hunt at some point.” he answered with a smile, honestly not intimidated by whatever size the dragon could reach. His eyebrows rose a bit as she mentioned that the soon-to-be hatchling could hear them, nodding toward what she said though the thoughtful edge was wiped off quickly to be repressed by a chuckle at Spitfire’s knowledge on common tongue. Dragons were independent beings, it made sense for them to need more of a companion and not a captor. “Perhaps but I think that’s just his species talking. He likes it.” A light amused breath escaped before he took another sip out of his bottle, before he settled it down and shifted from his place to the cupboard, taking out the small iron box and set it down carefully on the bed, opening the lid to reveal the egg safely inside it.

His eyes studied it for a moment before he turned to gaze back at the Ranger with a mock of a worried look. “Really, how big can that possibly get?” A smirk broke through the act before he continued. “To think one day it will eat in a day as much as I do in a week. Cows, deers, boars. Unless I can raise it to be a vegetarian and live on grass and trees. Mm, I wonder what the book has to say about that.” he said with a small grin as he knew well of the impossibilities to that. “It says that the egg needs to be kept in warm spaces for the dragon to be ready and find enough security around it to hatch so I usually opt for keeping it wrapped in blankets mostly.” The Assassin retrieved the bottle to finishing off again, walking to the table and picking out another with nothing but hoping for luck to not have taken a bad one. Though to be honest, all seemed likely to be drank anyway so why bother picking? “Why do I always find myself indebted to you? It’s happened far too often for you to deny that you take pleasure in it.” he said toward the Ranger with a smirk as he took off the cap, at the moment still unaware of any underlying worries as he had seen no indication to it.

[Andrika Duskwither]

Her knee shifted as she folded one leg on the bed, right hand pushing against the bed to lean in look at the little egg with the coiling black veins embedded around it. She watched him as he shifted his gaze to her and a smirk crossed her lips at his words."Oh no. It won't grow as big as this entire establishment. No.." The Princess spoke with sarcasm, the grin giving her away though either knew the small creature wasn't going to stay tiny forever. The young woman placed herself on her stomach, elbows holding her up as her fingertip of her free hand lightly traced along the veins. Her eyes were focused on the patterns it made while he continued, a small breath of laughter exiting her lips as she turned her head towards him. "Do you have a name for him yet? Or her..." She laughed, finding at this point of inebriation laughter coming far too easily. "Then you might have a more difficult job of extracting Spitfire from her vicinity..."

Andrika tipped the bottle upward to consume the remainder of what was left as in little time from having opened her drink, it was now empty again. The more drinks she had the faster the consecutive bottles went down. The Ranger pulled herself up, walking over towards where he was standing to replace the empty bottle in the crate. A small scoff of a laugh left her throat and her eyes shifted slowly to look towards him, taking a few steps closer to be in line with him as she leaned over to speak in a more hushed tone. "I don't consider those things so much debt, though if you prefer I collect I can think of a few things I would want." A not-so-innocent smile crossed the delicate features of her face as she reached past him to grab herself another bottle. "Though I'm not entirely sure these would be things that you would necessarily like, therefore I'd honestly suggest that you just be grateful." The woman teased, looking up to the ceiling with her eyes only, then towards him with a little smirk. She held up her index finger after taking another large gulp of her liquor. "One kiss. I'll never ask for anything more."

[Drystan Hurst]

A slight thoughtful look overtook his features at the mentioning of a name before he shook his head lightly to indicate that he hadn’t chosen one. All he had were a few options but he didn’t know if it was going to be a male or female. “I promised not to interfere.” he said with a small chuckle toward Spitfire’s behavior toward a potential female dragon, taking another drink out of the bottle he had in his hand. His lower half was leaned against the table while his eyes followed her move in line with him, instinctively leaning in a little as she spoke in a quieter tone, a smirk crossing his lips in response to the Ranger’s smile. He searched her features for a moment toward her remark, the smirk returning quickly when she lifted her index finger. “Just one?” he asked with the smirk growing for a second while his free hand wrapped its fingers around the hand she was holding up to pull her close enough to him that he had to tilt his head downward in order to look at her features.

“You said you could think of a few things.” he said with the same expression as he emphasized on the plural though this would hardly fall in the category of ‘favors’ as he didn’t exactly see it like that. The smirk on the Assassin’s lips stretched into a slight grin. The intoxication from the drinks was not hitting him yet, though it was sure to soon considering the crate was half-way empty by now from a number of perhaps a dozen bottles. “Is it because what you said earlier or because you know you won’t need to ask anymore after?” His head tilted a bit with the grin spreading a bit wider across the Assassin’s features, fingers releasing the momentary clutch they had on her hand. They were brought up against the side of her neck just as the grin slowly faded from his expression. His head leaned forward and caught her lips with his own, the closer he got the more the lilac scent enveloped his senses. He pressed a bit further into the kiss as his fingers slid up into the dark brown curls of her hair, tangling slightly to draw her in.

[Andrika Duskwither]

Only her eyes moved to see his hand wrap around her fingers, the touch forcing her lungs to hold in a small breath as he brought her close. Her head upturned to look towards him as he looked down towards her, a difference in height evident. A grin crossed her lips at his mention of her words, her own voice responding quietly. "One demand at a time, less I overwhelm you." The grin grew as Andrika searched the features of his face towards his reaction. She was a forward and flirtatious woman, but not many men had courage to react as she wished them to considering her position in the court. As she felt his fingers slide up against the side of her neck, small shivers traveled across her skin from where he touched, drawing her attention upward as she found herself caught up in his kiss. She honestly had not expected him to follow through on her demand of him, finding herself increasingly enamored as he pressed further into the kiss. The woman's lips parted just lightly in response, soon prompted by the feel of his fingers sliding into the curl of her hair to deepen it. When her lungs demanded she exhale, Andrika pulled herself away an inch, dark brown eyes staring up at him with a rather pleased expression. Her eyes shifted to the side, then looked up as she contemplated the question. "I won't need to ask? I could just take?"

Her fingers pulled against his shirt so she could lift herself a little higher and press another soft kiss, finding herself instantly addicted to doing so where it concerned the Assassin. Now she felt both pleased and a little saddened, though there was little clue to this as he had no idea of what she had done previous to arriving at his door. At the very least, she would have little regret where it concerned if she came back or not from the task she would have to complete in just a few hours time. She pulled back again, narrowing her eyes somewhat. "Mm, that makes me wonder what else I could take without protest..." The woman put a finger to her lips to pretend to think further towards it. Her finger ran down her chin and she hooked it against the neck of her tunic and pulled down just slightly, only to realize that she had revealed, in some part the dark mark that both she and Lirit now had on their chest. Her eyes shifted just slightly, pulling it back up suddenly. Assassins knew that mark. It was for temporary passage in Limbo for those who made deals with the Ferryman. When they passed through limbo it was stained on the walls of the maze every other length. Of course, she didn't know this of assassins and instead carried on, smile still prevalent as she kissed the side of his face.

[Drystan Hurst]

Only the need for breath pried him away from the texture of her lips though tempted to quickly close the distance once more. His eyes kept themselves directed toward her, a small smirk showing itself for just a moment to confirm her question. It had not been so much of a demand in his eyes, at least not one he obliged unwillingly. The pull of her fingers leaned him just slightly forward to meet her lips, letting his hand again settle on the side of her neck and near to keeping her there, unaware of her inner turmoil. As she pulled back, he smirked slightly, following her finger make a trail down her chin to the upper hem of her tunic. “I’ll make a list, without the dragon egg though…” he said as his eyes kept on the path, though not failing to notice the part of a familiar dark mark he appeared. Every Assassin knew it. It was impossible not to. A small grin was unable to be kept from taking over his features while she kissed down the side of his face, subtly letting his bottle on the table behind him.

It was far too tempting to trail his lips along her jawline so he didn’t suppress it, tracing across the skin while his free hand settled on her hip. “However, before you go through your demands, let me have just one.” he said in a quieter tone, pressing a kiss in the hollow space just below the line of her jaw. There was hesitation in pulling away, but managed to do so after a few moments. His fingers slid from her neck down to the hem of her tunic, eyes following them as he pulled slightly on it before he spoke. “Tell me why do you have this?” The question was not ‘how?’ as it was obvious to him how, but ‘why’.

[Andrika Duskwither]

Her lips pushed together and her eyes rolled up, either look holding some amusement at his wording, head tilting aside as she felt his fingers travel down the length between her collar and the middle of her chest. How he had posed the question made it clear he was at least aware of what it was. "I made a deal. Her disease is incurable. I really only bought her some time. I'm quite sure if she found out she's murder me herself, though that would pervade the point of trying to preserve life of which she is dedicated to defending." A smirk crossed her lips, fingers of both hands cupping under his chin to direct his gaze into hers. "And the Ferryman told me that I had twenty four hours to prepare...so in my infinite wisdom, I decide to make myself beautiful, steal some ale and attempt to not hold some regret by not having asked these demands against you in the first place if by chance I didn't return."

Her shoulders shrugged. While she didn't look worried, she was actually quite terrified but that was a bonus of being raised a royal by the way you had to portray yourself in court despite inner feelings. "I find my time better spent like this." Her head nodded to push forward the point, leaning forward to press a kiss. She pulled back and kissed along his face to his neck with slow, short presses, speaking in between each one. "Now..." She lingered, nose tracing lightly against his skin as she pulled away to speak. "...you won't run off then, will you?"