Shenanigans!

[phaselocknroll]

Comments

[nostalgiabomb]

We would be in a place where we'd have a goddamn pet dragon.

Screw that pale guy. We can figure something else out. And we'll have a dragon.

[phaselocknroll]

Are you going to feed it and take care of it yourself?

[nostalgiabomb]

Of course.

[ a beat, then, ] How much do dragons eat, anyway?

[phaselocknroll]

I guess it would depend on how big it is, but probably at least a cow or two at a time.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ The pause is longer this time, disappointed. ]

... Oh. That's-- a lot.

Back to plan A, then.

[phaselocknroll]

Maybe once this is all over, we can get you a dog.

[nostalgiabomb]

Just so you're aware? I'm holding you to that.

[phaselocknroll]

I don't see why we couldn't get one, if you really want one.

[nostalgiabomb]

-- Wait, really? [ And it's asked with cautious optimism and a small smile. ] That'd be awesome.

[ omg doggiessssss ]

[phaselocknroll]

Sure. I've never minded dogs. They don't seem to care about what I am as much as cats do.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He waves a hand dismissively. ]

Cats are the worst, anyway. They always look like they know more than they're letting on, and they're always two seconds away from mauling the hell out of your arm.

[phaselocknroll]

Well, I guess I know where you stand, anyway.

Now all we have to do is make it through dragon slaying and some unknown ritual and then we can get a dog.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ His voice drips with irony: ] Right. Exactly. Should be a pretty easy next few days.

[phaselocknroll]

Consider it incentive.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ As if to himself, ] Just think of the puppy, Quill.

[phaselocknroll]

[ She laughs ]

Just keep telling yourself that.

[ But whatever levity they managed to scrounge up is quickly shattered by the sound of a dragon's roar, and Maya grabs Peter's arm and pulls him behind a nearby rock outcropping for cover, extinguishing her wings as she does. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ The roar definitely freezes him in his tracks, so it's a damn good thing when Maya yanks him into cover, seeing as how his instinct was to "pretend to be a statue."

(Ah, yes, statues. A dragon's greatest weakness.)

He hears the flapping of giant wings overhead, accompanied by another cry, and Peter ventures a quick peek out.

... He gulps and goes back into cover. ]

So, ah. I think we can maybe abandon the "runt" theory.

[phaselocknroll]

Oh, yay.

[ Maya chances a look of her own- the dragon's landed nearby, but didn't seem to notice them.

That could be, perhaps, because it's missing an eye. One side of its face is torn and scarred, and the wounds look to be newer. One point for Peter on the "bigger dragon" theory. ]

It's got one hell of a blind spot, though.

[nostalgiabomb]

Oh, good, so its depth perception is shot.

[ Apparently his natural reaction to danger is snark it into submission. ]

What do you wanna do?

[phaselocknroll]

I might be able to use my mind control abilities on it- though I doubt the effect will last.

It might buy you enough time to blind his other eye. Then we should be able to pick it off from a distance, so long as we keep moving.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ he takes a moment to center himself -- just think of this as another job, right? Think of this as a really big bounty, right? -- and he nods a few times. ]

Right. Sounds simple enough. [ he takes a quick second to chafe his hands together to warm them, then readies his bow, arrow notched but not drawn. ]

Should be fun, huh?

[phaselocknroll]

It will most certainly be an adventure. Are you ready?

[nostalgiabomb]

Ready as I'll ever be. On your mark?

[phaselocknroll]

[ She nods, moving out from behind their cover, taking advantage of being on the dragon's blind side for the moment. She brings her arm up, tattoos flaring to life, and all at once the dragon wheels around to stare at her with its good eye, fangs bared in as a low growl escapes it.

For a moment it doesn't look like it's working- it seems all she managed to do was piss it off- but Maya persists, her tattoos going from bright cyan to nearly white as she expends more of her power, causing them to glow brighter. The dragon's posture eases, and the growl stops, its face going slack. ]

Now, Peter! I can't hold it for long!

[nostalgiabomb]

[ At her signal, he darts out of cover, drawing his arrow as he moves. He takes aim, centering himself on the rough feeling of the fletching against his cheek, tries to ignore the fact that he's firing at a motherfucking dragon--

He exhales.

He fires.

The instant the arrow clears his bow, he quickly nocks another, taking aim even as he's watching his first shot sail through the air. Close, but it bounces uselessly off the scales of the creature's eye ridge. He makes the necessary adjustments and lets the second arrow fly -- this time it hits its mark, embedding itself squarely in the dragon's pupil, and Peter just barely bites back his whoop of victory. ]

Got it. Move!