thebastion | Third Word // Day 126

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Third Word // Day 126

Who: Paarthurnax, some very nervous mammoths, and whoever comes close enough
When: Day 126, morning
Status: Open
Where: The monument, eventually
What: MAMMOTHS
Format: any
Warning: animal death

So, come Day 126, and some might notice that enormous furry looking elephants have appeared not too far from the Bastion. It's a small herd, just four, and they all seem a bit bewildered. Also noticeable would be the large enormous dragon perched on the edge of the Bastion like some enormous gargoyle. He's fixated purely on the mammoths, and it's only when the clouds have fully cleared that he takes to the air to circle the perimeter of the Open Plains.

Predictably, this makes the mammoth herd somewhat nervous.

Predictably, for anyone who knows anything about the circle of life, predator-prey issues arise. Hopefully those in the Bastion will be able to ignore the frightened and loud sounds of mammoth trumpeting, along with the loud roars that occasionally burst forth from the resident dragon. It turns out that when you try to attack one mammoth, the rest of the herd gets angry and thus must be threatened away. Eventually, however... all goes quiet until there's the sound of slow heavy wingbeats.

A dead mammoth with its throat quite dug into is dropped near the Monument.

Paarthurnax lands soon after, right on the large creature's corpse with his claws digging into it. His jaws are a bit bloody, and there appear to be some scales scraped off one side, but he seems rather content.

Anyone want to approach the giant motherfucking dragon and his kill?

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[Rin wasn't going to be able to ignore sounds like that, even if she wanted to. She was tired from the day before, her trip to the scrap yard with Colin being both emotionally and physically exhausting for a number of reasons.

But upon the sounds she drags herself out of bed in spite of how she felt, stumbling out of the apartments in nothing but a baggy night gown with her tail dragging on the ground.

There was going to be a "what the hell?!" moment here, until she actually saw what was going on and...

Well. Truthfully, Rin was not one to give in to her demonic nature outside of a battle situation (and sometimes when she was really angry) because she just didn't like feeling that way at all. Everyone has that moment, though.

It's not like she jumped on top of the dead mammoth and started tearing in to it with Paar or anything, but she'd be lying if she tried to deny that her stomach gave a very loud growl at the sight of it.

Wow that's embarrassing.]

[Rude, he is not tearing into it... yet. He is just perching on it, like a very proud bird of prey. An overgrown giant eagle without feathers. And with horns. And the ability to kill you with his voice. Uh.]

[He bows his head to Rin politely in acknowledgement and very much does not make mention of her growling stomach.]

Drem yol lok. I apologize if I disturbed you this morn.

[CLOSE ENOUGH.

Okay no he's not really but you can't blame her for thinking that he was briefly.]

N-no... you didn't.

[Totally did.]

What... what is that?

[And why in God's name does it actually smell good to her?!]

It is a mammoth.

[Duh.]

They are common beasts in Skyrim. The Giants there tended to them.

[scuse you it's not like these things exist in her world anymore]

It's huge...

[And meaty.

No she's not licking her lips why would you think that?]

Yes. The perfect beasts for Giants.

[...]

Would you care for the trunk? The Nords of Skyrim considered them a delicacy cooked.

Cooked... ?

[Oh no her mouth is watering. THIS IS NOT OKAY. Or... is it?]

Is that really okay?

There is a herd, now, on the Open Plains. I see no issue with sharing my hunt. Even without the limbs, the rest should be enough for me.

[And boy is he happy to eat the rest.]

That... that does sound really good...

[This isn't even a demon thing anymore. This is a "my body has been needing red meat for months and now that it's right in front of me I don't want to act like a complete animal" thing.]

[...rin r u ok]

Do you wish for me to bite it off for you?

[YOU HAVE NO IDEA PAAR

NONE]

Y-yes! ... yes. Please.

Very well.

[He cranes his long neck down and carefully places his teeth at the base of the trunk. It's a bit difficult- dragon teeth aren't meant for fine cutting. So it takes a little bit of gnawing and pulling before he finally rips the trunk from its place and places it on the ground before her. Coincidentally, someone is going to have to clean the blood up on the ground.]

There. I hope it is satisfactory.

[You've made her very happy, Paar.

If the rough way in which he rips it off bothers her at all, it doesn't show, and the blood is hardly something she'll bat an eye at normally.

She nods, going over to heft the thing up without much trouble, the weight easily lifted by her.]

Thank you!

You are welcome. I believe the Nords used salt to help it cook, but that was a very long time ago, and it is yours to do with as you wish.

[Seriously, he's a dragon, he knows nothing about cooking.]

[But Rin knows damn near everything, so she's got this covered.]

I'll see what I can do with it when I get it back to the kitchen! Seriously, thank you!

It is no trouble.

[She's going to run off with her present now.

Later there will most certainly be the scents of delicious meat wafting from the kitchen thanks to him.]

Rosethorn could be much more cautious in approaching. She would, if not for two things. Firstly, that mammoth looks like a much better meal than she would make, and secondly, Tris said good things about the dragon here. Admittedly, the second of those weighs much more heavily than the first. However much noise his morning hunt made, her foster daughter's opinion keeps it from inspiring any fear.

There is a sense of the surreal, in a good way rather than bad this morning, as she catches sight of Paarthurnax for the first time. Chime is the closest Rosethorn's ever come to a dragon, since they aren't real in her own world. She can't even name the creature he's dropped.

"Hello!" she calls out. "Would it be a bother to ask you what... presumably your breakfast... is?" She's curious.

As he hears the sound of someone approaching, Paarthurnax pauses. He's already given most of the trunk to Rin by now, and he's simply... cleaning up. Considering his nature and lack of thumbs, this means he's ended up looking a bit bloody. Still, he straightens himself up as much as he can and nods his large head to the human approaching.

"Drem yol lok. It is no bother at all. This is a mamutah, although I believe mer such as yourself call it a mammoth. It is a common beast in Skyrim, where I hail. The giants tend to their herds."

The blood isn't a pleasant sight, but Rosethorn isn't squeamish. As a healer of sorts, she's had enough exposure to blood that it only bothers her when it's coming from an injury her medicines are powerless to heal.

Rosethorn pays attention to the snippets of unfamiliar language, noting the pronunciation and fixing it in her mind. Her own words are slow and careful, ease of speech never quite recovered after the blue pox several years ago. "I've never heard of them under either name, but then, dragons are only stories where I come from. Chime was the closest I'd come to meeting one, and she's made of glass."

Introductions are probably in order now that she's interrupted his breakfast. "I'm Rosethorn. I just arrived a little over a day ago, but my foster daughter, Tris, has mentioned you."

The fact that she knows of the little glass Chime is enough to clue Paarthurnax in to who she is, and the confirmation is simply a pleasant civility in his eyes. It is good, then, that one of those close to someone already here has come to this place. For one thing, it will ease any worry, and it will be good to have more skilled people in this place.

"I know of her. She is skilled, and we are fortunate to have her." Another respectful bow of his head. "Humans take much from those who raise them. I am Paarthurnax. I would offer some of my kill to you, but I understand humans prefer their meat cooked."

The smile that twitches at the edges of her mouth is entirely involuntary. There's no possible other response to such praise for one of her charges. It's good to see Tris appreciated. Her power doesn't lend itself to material items that can be sold. People tend like their weather mages unscrupulous when looking to hire. Tris is an incredibly powerful mage, but there isn't much market at home for her skills as long as she's intent on harming no one.

"I hadn't seen her in a couple years. We were traveling to different places, and Tris went along with her primary teacher. She's grown up well." As for the meat, Rosethorn eyes it with only mild wariness stemming from the idea of eating it raw. "I would rather have my meat cooked, but at some point I'd like to try mammoth." New experiences were the reason she went traveling, after all, even if she is homesick by now.

It's a response he quite expected, and Paarthurnax gives a simple nod of understanding. Fortunately, he knows of a young cook who is already working on something more suitable for the humans in this place. "I believe the young one, Rin, is cooking the trunk in your dining hall. I doubt she would be adverse to sharing." With that said, he makes himself a bit more comfortable where he is with a bit of shifting.

"I know this place shocks many. Are you adjusting well yourself?"

[In any ecosystem, a large predator bringing down prey will almost inevitably attract the attention of other carnivores that are willing to scavenge whatever happens to be left of the kill. In this case, the role of scavenger goes to the resident dhampire.

To say that he's pleased to see that his shard contribution has paid off is an understatement. In fact, he's pleased to the point that he's actually sporting a small grin about the fact that he's standing in front of the carcass of a very large and very dead animal. Congrats Paar, you're the first to witness actual excitement from this guy.]

[He feels so special.]

[As Alucard arrives, Paarthurnax nods his head to him and finally steps off of the mammoth. It's missing its trunk, now.]

I gave the young tailed cook a portion for the kitchens, but that still leaves more than enough for ourselves, dii fahdon.

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Third Word // Day 126

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Sorry about the wait! This week was an exhausting one.

It's fine, no worries! c:

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