august catch-all

[freeing]

Who: daenerys targaryen
When: august catch-all
Where: farmlands, aefenglom
What: multi-open prompts
Warnings: slight gore



one: the farmlands

[ Last month, there were the fires in the farmlands. They raged for a half day, ripping through the earth unforgiving between fences and borders. Mhysandei was fortunate to have minimal damage. Instead, their neighbors to the south suffered loss of crops and their barn. It brought sorrow to the Queen's heart... to see something thrive so much be burnt away.

The earth heals, however, and begins to show life once more.

In Aguril, a chill wind begins coming from the Wilde and for most of the beginning of the month, Daenerys remains in Mhysandei. ]

A.
[ A new barn's framework was visible from the road of any passerby, the workers Dany pays handsomely struggle not in the chill, but embrace it. Dany, however, is bundled up tightly as if she's freezing. The change in temperature affects the dragon queen more than she'd have liked.

Dany, while not hands-on, is seen lounging on a picnic blanket with a sleepy Drogon laying upon her. It seemed he too was affected by the change in temperature, but braving it fairly well. Maybe he just had a case of the sleepies, who knew. Dany knew nothing of how sturdy he would be in the North, thanks canon point. Feel free to visit! ]

Perhaps you will stop scaring the horses when you have your own home. I use to wish for you to grow so quickly before and now you're growing too fast.

B.
[ Sometime after the frame is set, Daenerys ventures out into the winding paths that lead out towards the Wilde. Drogon soars above her, screeching every so often. The trot of her horse's hooves keep a steady pace, but only when she sees Drogon dive into the forestry does she snap the reins and take a harsh gallop. The smell of fire is immediately, nearly intoxicating. Off the path, she's careful guiding her horse but abandons a mounted approach when she calls out - Drogon!

The last thing she wants to think of is a child burnt alive, of tiny charred bones laid before her... It haunts her and maybe you catch her running off course into the woods.

Or you catch her still in shock watching Drogon eat a burnt deer. ]

C.
[ However, after the full moon sweeps across the land, there are still beasts that wreak havoc.

Someone slaughters the sheep on Mhysandei's grounds. Lady Edre, the elderly owner of the lands, finds the scene at first morning. It rips through her core, sends her into a shock that leads her bed-ridden for days. But... Daenerys knows the woman is strong. She has faith in her.

She doesn't leave Lady Edre's side, instead putting out a few requests via a courier on the Aefenglom job boards.

- 3 barrels of live fish from the docks.
- 2 parcels of HomeBrew medicinal cream.
- a large Shepard's pie from the Pie Guy's eatery
- 15 protection runes

Daenerys tips well, so get here fast! ]

two: aefenglom

[ Once Lady Edre's health ticks up, it's time for Daenerys to get back into the swing of things. Aefenglom had become less of a sign of suspicion and more of a project for her to invest into. To make a difference. It is vast and bustling, but goodness – she almost scares herself from how much of a relief she feels returning here. Maybe she's grown fonder of the people in it...

A trip to Aefenglom was filled with her usual routine for the week. ]

A. - council.
She feels empty returning to the councilroom without Asura. She's quiet, withdrawn at first – actively staring at the space he once would claim as his own.

However, she becomes opinionated when discussions begin. She actively brings up topics of the poverty the Outer City and slums are subjected to, discusses the clinics as a Mirrorbound initiative and will mention the community gardens event as one major improvement for the joy of the city.

One of the representatives for the Parliament meets with the council briefly, hoping to smooth over their relationship after past months of being at odds. However, it only sparks more frustrations. After offering to return the crops she withheld from the city guard starting next month, the representative was surely more loose-lipped about returning distribution this month.

That leaves Daenerys to show her frustrations easily, but soon – once the council is dismissed, she's able to hide it with her exit. Last thing the meetings needed was fighting. Catch her outside! ]

B. - the outer city.
[ For those who know where Dany's mind was, it was the betterment of the Outer City. The first clinic is slated to open by the end of the month, with a second and third in subsequent weeks. She's eager, pacing around the construction site. She is visibly anxious, which is still unfitting of a confident Queen such as herself, but... she wants to get this done right.

Once the workers turn in for the evening, she ventures to the sickly with a cart-full of fresh vegetables from her farmlands. Maybe it's inspiring enough to get involved too? ]

Comments

[fulgency]

You did well.

[Ozymandias offers this compliment to Daenerys as he passes her on the way out of the Council's office. He means it sincerely. While others may have likely missed the beginnings of her frustration, Ozymandias didn't. He hardly even needs the Bond to understand her tells, to know when her demeanor is about to shift if not entirely break. That conversation may not have gone the best it could have, but it also certainly was not the worst either. There isn't likely to be any immediate retaliation and that is perhaps the most they could have asked for.]

[But when he turns to look at her, now walking backward as they continue down the hall until she is able to match his pace, it is also clear that he is somewhat teasing her, too.]

[In some ways, Ozymandias cannot help himself. When little moments like these present themselves, he must give her as much as she often gives him. But, more importantly than that, he would rather she not stew in those feelings. Both for her own personal sake and for the sake of her ability to maintain a semi-functional working relationship with members of Parliament. As...challenging as the latter might be. He can certainly relate to those feelings if nothing else. All throughout the negotiations and attempts to make peace, Ozymandias felt similar frustrations.]

[Because, quite frankly, it does nothing to undo her decision. It allows the Outer City to continue carrying on in its way of misery and lacking all for the sake of bruised egos. But he knows that he if he allows himself to think in those ways, then Ozymandias shall soon find himself on the same level as that wretched woman, and what purpose does that serve anyone?]

I suspect the cleaning staff shall be grateful not to have to sweep away ashes today from our floors.

[freeing]

[ It had been a test of patience, of understanding where her actions had lead. The guilt of denying the guards their crops was something brought with critique, but they survived – even without a bountiful harvest in the summer. The tensions never went away, no matter how justified she felt.

It was something that weighed on her just as much as her own arrogance of believing herself to be in the right. Her Bonds knew this well, that dragons did not debate often.

Ozymandias approaches her in the way he does best – with a sly leeway into a conversation. Dany huffs in response, part out of amusement and part challenged. It was their own little language, it seems. ]

Many people should be grateful in that room. [ For the work being done, for the change transpiring – and yes, for no firebreathing frustrations to seep past her lips. ] With each challenge presented to us, I suppose it gets easier to face them head on. A year understanding this world would do that to anyone – man or woman, witch or monster.

[ Her gaze flicks to him. ]

Perhaps you can be thanked for that.

[fulgency]

You are only just now realizing that? [Ozymandias teases with a short, quiet laugh.] I suppose late credit is better than no credit at all, but I thought you possessed a keener mind than that.

[Not that he's realistically willing to take all that much credit. Make no mistake. When there is credit to be claimed and he is justified to claim it, Ozymandias always will. But even with the nudges he's provided her over the past year, the conscious work he's put into trying to keep her on the right path, her accomplishments are her own. He would not take them from her like that.]

But all humor aside, [he says, reaching for her hand.] I am proud of how you conducted yourself.

[He gives her hand a light squeeze before letting it go.]

I believe no small part of her was looking to provoke you and prove whatever little point she was attempting to make. You did not give her that satisfaction.

[freeing]

You know precisely what kind of mind I possess. If you can not, I wonder if you are worthy of being my Bonded.

[ She returns the gesture with a sly curl of her tongue to her teeth, keeping things light and challenging. It felt too easy to do so.

It felt almost guilty of her to accept such things so soon after serious challenges presented themselves. Serious issues that remained up in the air. Ozymandias had guided her to ease up. Just a little, at the very least.

The touch of his hand makes her tense up, not out of fear or disgust but a warmth that makes the embers of her chest flare up. ]

Only fools prod and poke dragons, but fortunately I am still a woman intending to do my duties well. A burnt representative would do no one any favors.

[ Curiously, her eyes linger on him a bit more: ]

Have you seen the work in the Outer City?

[fulgency]

[He very nearly teases her for seeking further praise and compliments from him, but Ozymandias abstains from it. Daenerys' work in the Outer City is important in both a general and more personalized sense, and he would not risk belittling that matter by taking the opportunity to tease her. Especially when more opportunities for their banter are certainly to arise.]

I have, [he says with a nod.] I think you have managed to cause quite a stir there. Even the children are beginning to speak of the clinics.

[Which managing to get children to talk about that rather than the toys they are receiving as gifts is no small feat.]

Have you had any further issues with suppliers?

[partnerinheels]

[Sheva has in general been doing her best to assist those less fortunate in the City as much as possible. Her efforts have been more focused over the last handful of months specifically since she finally bonded with a witch. It’s allowed her to balance herself so that she may better assist others and honestly feel as though she has more of a purpose in this world.

As much as witnessing the state of things brings her sorrow, it also fires her anger and that she applies as fuel to her efforts, which today have landed her at the construction site of one of Dany’s clinics. While she’s helping with physical labor, a joy for her in its own right, the turnskin finds time to take a break to have a snack of venison jerky and perhaps speak with the dragon queen.]

Hello Daenerys. [There are only the shadow of minor apologies for being a bit sweaty and dirty, and they linger only in her smile as she offers the partially unwrapped package of jerky so that Dany might pull a fresh piece herself, should she be inclined.]

What’s worrying you? Everything seems to be going well with construction thus far.

[freeing]

[ There's a warmth that washes over her face like a wave when she hears Sheva speak to her. There had been quite some activity going on outside of the city walls that prevented her from crossing paths with the woman, but it seems fate had allowed them this luxury. This kindness.

There's an awkwardness in how she smiles, forced and foreign, as if brushing her worry under layers of bricks. ]

Ah. It's nothing – I swear it. [ She lies, mainly out of her own worries. It had been going slowly for her taste. The majority doctors not willing to start until multiple clinics were built – so they would not be overwhelmed – well, it frustrates her too. Selfishly, she knows little of medicine but she knows of need. ] Things are going well, for that I am thankful... We've had quite a few people work sun up to sundown for weeks but...

[ There's a scrunch of her nose a bit. The offer of jerky could definitely be tempting but she feels guarded, even now. Tension weighs on her shoulders. ]

There is still much to do. Overseeing it directly like this is different than anything I've encountered. I see the bumps, the delays, the faults so clearly.

[partnerinheels]

[Sheva understands enough about bureaucracy to know the cost and politics that tend to go hand in hand with constructing a single building, let alone multiple medical facilities in the undesirable area of the city. The latter of which she’s far too familiar with as someone who grew up in relative squalor.]

This amount of progress is nothing short of a miracle. [It’s meant as both support and perspective. She knows that Dany is hard on herself, laying all the weight on her shoulders even if it risks crushing or toppling her.] You are moving more mountains than you think.

[When she doesn’t take a piece of jerky, Sheva partakes in a piece herself, though doesn’t quite start chewing yet. Not when she has more to say.]

I grew up in poverty, as a similarly cast aside burden on society. [She’s not explaining this for pity, more to add credibility to her words.] So, believe me when I say that just seeing genuine investment into a community as opposed to empty, political promises is enough to inspire hope. Access to clean drinking water, stable food supplies, and medical care are resources many likely believed outside of their reach until now.

[It’s easy to understand the impatience though, particularly when there’s such an obvious desire for the ability to help these people on a larger scale. The delays merely add to that.]

Construction involves so many moving parts and entities with their own priorities and goals. Even in modern times there are always delays. It’s rare that everything stays on schedule. Just remember that progress, no matter how small, is still progress.

[freeing]

[ There's wisdom in the way Sheva speaks, not from learning and training, but experience. It makes her heart tighten a bit and her eyes downcast, accepting that some things seem universal. Poverty, burdens, tragedies – she would pray to end them if she was a younger girl, one with less experience. ]

Even helping just one person is worth all of this. [ She doesn't guard her feelings, her gentle heart, not when it comes to this. ] If those within the walls fall ignorant to the strife outside of it, I wish to shed light and stop it best I can. It's... rather intriguing that people so readily felt this was possible, I must admit.

[ Progress is still progress. It haunts her and makes her smile a bit. Sheva sees the pride in her eyes. ]

Not many see the harder choices and run to them like the Mirrorbound have.

a - farmlands

[callmeven]

Miss Daenerys!

[ven calls out as he comes over one of the small hills not too far from where she was sitting on her picnic blanket. he has a parcel bag slung across his back filled with some gifts for dany and anyone else she felt like sharing with.]

Hello!

[freeing]

[ Her name catches the wind and brings her attention from a sleepy dragon to a familiar face – one she wished she had more time to see on her trips to Aefenglom. ]

Ah, hello!

[ Her nose wrinkles a bit, eyes squint from how pleased she is to see him, genuine smiles are a rarity for her but Ven is allowed this sight. ]

I didn't expect to see you out here - [ Even if they may have talked about it in the past, she understands the comfort of the city walls was certainly there for most. ] - I trust your travel was safe? The Shades have been acting up in recent weeks...

[callmeven]

[it was less that the city was a comfort, but certain people who made it comfortable for him to stand it at all. even on his best days the crawling down his neck paired with a permanent paranoia that he was being watched was only made bearable by staying close to his friends.

a small part of him did admire dany for leaving the city. a very smaller part of him wished he could leave too.

he jogs over to where dany was seated, slowing down hesitantly as he glances over drogon. he pulls the messenger bag off his shoulder and sets it down next to him on the blanket.]

It was totally fine! I'm pretty good at keeping out of danger usually, y'know. [he grins, digging around in his bag for something.] I brought you a gift!

1-B

[sisterless]

[ perhaps it is foolish to see a creature so large in the sky and have the urge to immediately follow it, but merrin has seen larger. she is easily fascinated and was going down this path anyway, so what's the harm of it? it dives down through the trees on the side of the road, a name is called out, and merrin spots someone going off the path the same as she was thinking of doing.

combing through the trees takes some time, but it is the smell of smoke and fire that she follows. she pulls up the thick veil of her hood to cover her mouth and nose and proceeds, finding what she was seeking just a few moments after.

the creature from above is eating an animal and standing just some feet away is a woman whose appearance is all too distinct to forget. merrin approaches, careful to come up by the side, and watches along with her in silence. ]

[freeing]

[ The smell barely does anything to her now. Once, Dany would flinch and have to steel her stomach from the stench, but one gets use to it. Perhaps almost feels calm by it now that her features and internal workings have become more draconic. The flames were gone once Drogon goes to work, embers peppered in soil and dry leaves.

She plays through her past week: crates of butchered meat, barrels of fish from the piers, and now Dany realizes now that he is growing faster than she remembers. Was it the world they find themselves in now?

By the time Merrin joins her, she tenses up – not too caught off guard by an additional person in her company. It was a sight that caught the sky easily, she blames no one for running or investigating. ]

... He won't harm you. [ She says silently, as if trying to make herself believe it. Push the image of children's bones out of her head. ] This is Drogon, he is no beast from this world.

[ Her gaze leaves Drogon as he eats, turning to Merrin. ]

My lady, we meet again under the oddest circumstances it seems.

[sisterless]

Hello again.

[ she nods her head, voice cool yet tense. not for the woman, but for the beast that continues to rip at the meat of his prey. she takes a moment to lower her hood and bring the cloth down from her mouth, the heat in the area overbearing for such wear. the smoke still flares up her nostrils but she ignores it out of respect, to the woman and her beast. ]

He is your companion? [ it's less a question and more an affirmation, as no one would name a beast they were unfamiliar with. ] I have never quite seen anything like it. What manner of beast is he?

[freeing]

He is, you could say. I raised him from the very egg he was dormant in. [ It feels a bit hollow each time she explains it. A questioned glare, a glance of disbelief - he is her child, but it is hard to hold such esteem as she once did when he causes problems. Dany's love and faith in Drogon never falters, but here – she thinks of how it looks to a stranger. ] A dragon. A rare beast from my world, but it was some strange twist of fate he was brought as well.

[ Drogon himself does not tear away from his focus, eager to eat something fresh. Something challenging and large, not mere butchered meat. ]

Come, the stench is a bit much.

[ Even she can hardly stand it, for she was the Unburnt, not the immune to gross charred flesh. Dany turns a bit – intending to keep Drogon in vision, as well. ]

What brings you to this part of the land?

[sisterless]

[ it comes from an egg? hm... it does look like a giant lizard that sprouted wings. it may be offensive to voice such thoughts to the caretaker. merrin turns as dany does, though her sight lingers on drogon for a few short seconds even as she begins to move away. the sight of it feeding does not scare her -- there are creatures just as fearsome on dathomir. ]

Exploration. I have not ventured outside of the city since I arrived. These parts are... less crowded. It's nice. [ she doesn't mind people, but it's overwhelming after spending a lifetime around so few comparably. ] I saw your Drogon flying overhead. It reminded me of a beast from my home, the chirodactyl. They are bats, even larger than this dragon.