RP with Aemond Targaryen

[dawn_is_breaking]

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It's early afternoon when Dawn arrives in the meadow, a blue shawl draped across her shoulders and a basket hung on her one arm which is filled with sweet treats for the picnic. She looks around for a moment for Aemond, the sun catching her hair and illuminating it like white fire just as it does with Aemond's and she has to smile to herself as she lifts a hand up in greeting. They both stick out against all this greenery like two white flowers although she suspects he would not appreciate such a comparison.

"Good afternoon." She says once she is close enough and looks around the peaceful area. "Your dragon must be either quite a ways off or very good at hiding since I don't notice them at all."

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[darotisentys]

It’s a beautiful day, sunny and not too cool. Usual weather for the Crownlands and enjoyed by Aemond, summer child that he is. A light wind breezes through the long grass as he steps toward her, raising a hand in greeting.

“Greetings, my lady. Vhagar is, at the moment, snoozing in the sunlight. If you look just over that hill you may see her laid out like a spoiled cat.”

[dawn_is_breaking]

Dawn turns towards the hill that Aemond points towards, squinting a little through the sunshine and at first she can't really see anything until what she thought was another section of hill moves and she gasps.

"That....!" She starts to say and looks harder, noticing the texture difference from the grass and she turns back to Aemond, her eyes wide with absolute wonder.

"I thought that was a hill!" She exclaims and then laughs at herself a little, "Goodness she's ginormous! How on earth do you ride her when she's so big??"

[darotisentys]

It doesn’t help that the dragon herself is all dark greens and browns, with moss and leaves covering her. Dawn has a keen eye to spot her at all.

“She is the largest and eldest dragon alive,” he offers proudly. “A saddle is on her back for me to ride on. I use a rope ladder to climb up to it. She is quite patient with me.”

[dawn_is_breaking]

Dawn sneaks another look over her shoulder at Vhagar, still listening to Aemond but clearly curious and amazed by the sheer size of the snoozing dragon. She's never seen anything so large and to think that it can fly! What a sight that must be and she can't help but feel a small tingle of excitement run down her back at the idea of riding her with Aemond.

"She's incredible." She says with a sigh and then lifts up the basket she is carrying, offering him a little smile. "Hopefully you find our lunch just as impressive. I wasn't sure what you liked so I made a bit of everything."

She sets the basket down and takes a rough spun blanket off the top and lays it out for them to sit upon, she doesn't mind dirt on her dress but Aemond is a Prince and might not like his fine clothes getting dirty.

"Please, sit."

[darotisentys]

“You prepared all this for me?” He sits as asked, dressed rather simply. He rarely wears his finery and can often be found in riding leathers.

“You did not have to go through all the fuss.” But he appreciates it. No one ever does things like this for him alone.

[dawn_is_breaking]

"Of course."

Because not only is Dawn the type to keep her word and offers but she also loves to cook, food is one of the ways she shows people she appreciates them and as she pulls the food out from the basket she lists which each is.

"I brought cheese, dried meat, bread, lemon sugar biscuits, minced date tarts, berry scones, strawberry shortcake...oh and a bottle of wine."

[darotisentys]

“Strawberry? Where did you find them?” Lemons are enough of a treat, but berries? He can’t remember the last time he had one.

“You will spoil me as I do Vhagar.” He doesn’t sound upset about that.

[dawn_is_breaking]

She laughs and wrinkles her nose playfully at him.

"On the road. I crossed paths with a sailor who had a whole sack of them, I traded him a large portion of my latest hunt for them."

Because Dawn also has a sweet tooth and nothing is so sweet as berries.

"What do you spoil her with?"

[darotisentys]

"You hunt? What did you catch?" He is well aware she's not the average Westerosi woman, but hunting is something else altogether.

"She prefers lamb of all livestock, so I have two farms running just for that purpose alone."

[dawn_is_breaking]

"I do, I can also fish but I'm not as good at it." She's far better with a bow and arrow and sword than a fishing rod. "I caught two rabbits."

She picks up the wine and pulls the cork out, pouring them each a generous portion in a pair of ceramic cups she's brought.

"I suppose it must take a lot to feed such a large dragon." Honestly the logistics of keeping such a huge beast is something she's never really thought about.

"Does she sleep near your castle?"

[darotisentys]

"Rabbit is a good catch. I have not been hunting since I was quite young."

He takes a cup from her and merely holds it in hand. He'll drink, just slowly and measured.

"We have livestock imported from all over the Realm. An expensive but necessary endeavor."

He nods toward the dragon again.

"She roosts here."

[dawn_is_breaking]

"I had the chance at a deer but it would have been too much for me to carry." She says as she sips her wine, "I don't like wasting an animal's life if I can't use all of it."

Dawn looks back at Vhagar, still in awe at her size, but then turns back. Her eyes looking into Aemond's curiously.

"How did you come to bond with her?"

[darotisentys]

"Good strategy. Nothing of an animal giving its life to us should be betrayed."

He shrugs and steals a bit of meat.

"She lost her rider to death when I was but ten. I saw her mourning alone and I had no dragon of my own, so I approached and claimed her as mine. I lost my eye later that morning over it."

[dawn_is_breaking]

Dawn's eyes widen a little when he mentions just how old he was when he claimed his dragon and again when he explains that's also when he lost his eye.

"Do all Targaryen royals claim dragons at such an early age?" Or is he just rather brave? "And did you lose it because someone was angry at you for claiming her?"

[darotisentys]

"Traditionally we have dragon eggs in our cradles and they hatch and grow with us. They take wing at about ten and five years. My egg did not hatch."

He chews on some of the meat she brought for a moment.

"The eldest daughter of her previous rider, my cousin, thought she should have claimed Vhagar. They accused me of stealing her. I told them if she wanted Vhagar, she should have simply gone out and claimed her as I did. It turned violent, a knife came out and I lost my eye."

[dawn_is_breaking]

The idea of every royal Targaryen child having a dragon egg in their cradle is rather sweet to her, a bond since birth and it saddens her to know that his egg did not hatch. Although he seems to have taken fate into his own hands and she breaks off a piece of fresh bread to munch on.

"In a way I can understand her anger, children rarely understand sharing and I imagine when it comes to dragons everyone is very eager to have one." She muses and then tilts her head slightly, her expression thoughtful.

"But I don't believe you stole her, it's always been my understanding that you can't force a dragon to do anything it doesn't want to do. Vhagar must have seen something in you she liked to allow you to claim her."

A brief pause as she studies his face.

"Does it cause you any pain?" His eye she means.

[darotisentys]

He was devastated when his egg produced nothing and was bullied by his brother and nephews for it. Another motivating factor to claiming the biggest dragon in the world.

“Dragons choose us as much as we choose them when a hatchling is not involved. She could easily have killed me than let me ride her.”

Another pause then he tilts his head.

“I would not say pain, exactly, but I do feel it.”

[dawn_is_breaking]

Perhaps it had been his quiet kind of confidence that spoke to the dragon, he certainly holds himself well but with very little of the bluster and bragging that a lot of other royals and knights do.

"Is it sensitive to touch?" She asks, her eyes tracing down the length of it and then over the rest of his face.

"I've heard that deep scars can either feel less sensation or more."

[darotisentys]

"Aye, I would say it is more sensitive. The patch does help balance it out."

He goes for some wine now, a small sip.

"Would you like to see it?"

[dawn_is_breaking]

"If you are comfortable showing me, yes."

[darotisentys]

He’s certain she won’t laugh and he doesn’t think she’ll be disgusted, either. He decides to take the chance.

Removing the eyepatch is easy enough. Underneath the scar is rawer and redder, and it clear his eye is completely gone. In its place, however, is a sizeable, blue sapphire, sparkling in the sun.

[dawn_is_breaking]

Her eyes widen again but not with fear nor disgust, it's with concern and empathy and she unconsciously leans in for a closer look. Looking at the deep scar pattern as well as the way the sun glints off the deep blue sapphire in his socket, it's both a little unnerving and yet somewhat beautiful.

She opens her mouth to speak, perhaps to express her sympathy, but what comes out is just a soft sigh and she lifts a hand up to trace the bottom of his scar should he allow it.

[darotisentys]

He draws back slightly, the same reaction he had to the hug. If her touch bothers him, brief as it is, he won’t show it.

“Careful, my lady.”

[dawn_is_breaking]

"I won't hurt you." She says but does draw her hand away, watching his expression carefully. "Nor do I mean to offend you."

[darotisentys]

"You have not offended me." He's just not used to being touched at all.

"I understand it is a peculiarity."