Goblin Town -- Logs

Inside the storage room/cell, Sparrow tears the guy's shirt open -- and Shane hisses a quiet, "Mother... fucker." There's nothing that would show above the collar or below the sleeves of an ordinary short-sleeved t-shirt. But once Sparrow pulls Russel to his feet and shreds the rest of the shirt off, everyone can see the man's entire chest and back are completely covered in both Nazi and KKK-themed tattoos -- a solid wall of ink. Only the fact his captors were humane enough to leave him his clothes hid it all.

In the sudden silence, Thorn sighs loudly, "Just another racist." He feels his anger rising, "Just another inadequate white guy who blames others for his shortcomings. Just another piece of crap on the bottom of the shoe of society, trying his best to deny reality. But this one is special, apparently -- because he knows dragons and vampires and a million other kinds of people are real!" He stalks towards the man, "You don't know how lucky you are, do you? You caught a glimpse of a hidden world full of wonder, and what did you do when you saw that Creation was a million times more awe-inspiring? You spat on it! You spat on God -- you declared it evil and in need of extermination! You took something beautiful and decided, solely on your own, that it was ugly. All because your petty little mind couldn't grasp it. All because you hate, you spiteful little bigot. All because you thought your neighbors were somehow 'inferior' to you!"

Shane's brows go up -- but then his eyes gleam: Thorn is saying a whole lot of the things Shane himself has been thinking! Sparrow's actually grinning, though it's rather unreassuring -- he knows something Russel doesn't know: never piss off the healer! Russel sneers at Thorn, nearly spitting out his words, "Lucky? Fuckin' lucky? All these god-damned -- and I mean that sincerely! -- abominations are straight from hell! Just like ni-" -- and Shane's hand slaps over the man's mouth again, hard enough to echo in the room.

Thorn's anger goes up even more; he's almost shouting, "Shut up! People -- real people! -- are talking to you, and you have one chance to learn something from this! Right, straight from hell -- because you're a God-fearing patriot, aren't you?! America, Mom, and apple pie! You think you're the height, the pinnacle, of humanity! -but it's not enough for you to know about the secret world, is it? You have to kill, imagining yourself some apex predator. No, you really are a step below the average, petty, shitty little bigot. You kill because you want to. You hate so goddamn much that you have to just kill living beings. What, cats and squirrels weren't enough for you? You had to torture and kill thinking people? You piece of shit, how many people have you murdered just because you're scared of the world?!"

Russel shakes his head and Shane moves his hand, because he wants to hear this. Russel sneers, "Hundreds. I've put hundreds of you pieces of trash in the ground!"

Shane winces hard, "Damn... and a liar to boot!"

Sparrow pushes Russel down by the shoulder and growls, "I want to hear this too -- quit fuckin' bragging and answer the man! Asshole, you're lucky you're in here with a man that made an oath to do no harm, a fuckin' paladin, and a guy that promised not to kill your bigoted cracker ass."

Russel sneers again -- and Shane whispers close to his ear, "My acushla has a tender heart. She wants to make sure you live, so you'll live... but you'll also answer the question. I'll bring her back in and have her ask you... if you like."

Something about that makes Russel's eyes go wide and frightened; he hastily gabbles, "Twelve -- I've done twelve!"

Thorn shouts, "That's fucking twelve too many, you goddammned scum! He's right, I did swear the Hippocratic Oath, but seeing someone like you taking so much pride in killing people makes me want to recant! That may not seem like much of a threat, but understand this, you sociopathic ass: you think you're safe just because the supernatural world is secret? You think you can kill people just because the cops won't slap your wrist? Process this, you 'superior human': you're going after people who exist off the grid -- you're in our territory! You aren't the apex predator you think you are -- you're just a nasty little boy torturing his first dog, and not realizing the entire goddamn wolf pack is right on the other side of the fucking fence!"

Thorn pauses only for a quick breath -- and then he continues, almost snarling, "How did you think this was going to go down -- huh, 'smart' man? Pissing all over God's creation and spilling blood... did you think the stones themselves wouldn't cry out? Did you think we wouldn't know? Asshole, someday you'll consider yourself lucky that we caught you when and how we did. But right now you are the unluckiest person on this planet, and you should keep that in mind -- because your brothers aren't here, they don't know where you are, and now that we know you exist, there's nothing keeping us from hunting all of you down the instant you stick your dick up above the grass! So think about how this is all going to play out with you and yours before you mouth off again!"

Russel's eyes are starting to bug out -- almost as if some of the things Thorn is saying hadn't actually occurred to him. Perhaps he didn't actually expect to get caught... or if he did, he didn't actually expect to 'break' under questioning. Sparrow's smile is sickeningly sweet, "Bet you didn't even think to wear a tracker, did you?"

Russel's eyes seem to bug out even further, "Of course I did!"

Shane actually smiles as he puts a hand to his head, "Fuck."

Sparrow laughs, "Oh, boy... paranoid the government would track it!" He shakes his head, patting Russel on the shoulder as he clucks his tongue, "My dear cockmunch, you done fucked all the way up. As the kids are saying, you have fucked around and you are going to find out."

Russel starts struggling, eyes wide; Shane snorts, "Relax. You aren't going to die. We made promises... and unlike you and your bigoted kind, we stand by our oaths." He looks at Sparrow, "You aren't fitted out for jail. Be right back." He moves to the door and steps out.

Thorn is spent, but he's not going to leave this scum alone with Sparrow -- not that he thinks Sparrow would do anything, but it's never a good idea to keep a prisoner alone with someone. Prisoner. If this guy is right, there's an international conspiracy to kill supernaturals put there. 'Prisoner of war'? Thorn doesn't want it to come to that. He spent enough time in the National Guard preparing for that sort of thing -- he knows he absolutely doesn't want to see it. Sparrow steps around Russel, putting his back to the man so he can lean his head close to Thorn's ear and murmur far too quietly for the prisoner to hear -- and in possibly the gentlest voice the healer has ever heard from Sparrow, "You good?"

Thorn's hands are shaking a bit from the adrenaline crash, but he nods, "Yeah... yeah, I'm good, I promise. Just... yeah."

Outside the building, Cinnamon looks up, blinking... then smiles uncertainly at Shane's grim expression, "Hi! Umm... is... everything okay?"

Shane crouches in front of Cinnamon, face serious, "Well, what we found made Thorn go nuclear, but no one's hurt. Well, no one's physically hurt, though Thorn did tear the guy a metaphorical new one. Remind me never, ever to get on Thorn's bad side." He gives a lopsided smile, "The guy needs to be kept somewhere secure... and that's not here. I know he's a piece of human garbage, but would you be willing to fly the prisoner to Coblyn, so we can put him in Caradog's dungeon? We'll blindfold and earplug him so he has no idea how to get there."

Cinnamon blinks in slow astonishment at Shane, "...Thorny went nuclear?! Oh, no! Is he okay? Poor guy!" It doesn't even occur to her to worry for the prisoner -- she just hopes her dear friend isn't traumatized by that asshole!

Shane smiles lopsidedly, "I think he's going to need some hot chocolate, and to rest a bit... but he said everything I was thinking and some things I never would have thought of. Sparrow looked downright proud of him. We'll need to get a new shirt for Douchebag McNazipants in there, but he's physically unharmed. Scared half to death, but no one laid a hurtful finger on him."

Cinnamon blinks, "D-dou- oh!" She giggles nervously, her cheeks flushed, "Oh, umm... sure! Y-yes, that, ahh... that's fine!" She hesitates, then asks a bit nervously, "Did, umm... d-does he have a tracker?"

Shane shakes his head, "Nope!" He pops the P in the word, looking amused, "His neo-Nazi, KKK-leaning, ultra-rightist paranoia served our purposes there." Then he takes a deep breath, leaning in to gently kiss Cinnamon, "Thank you, love." He stands back up, opening the heavy door to tell Sparrow, in the holding room, "We're taking him to the street -- they've got facilities there to keep him secure. We'll make sure he's got no way of knowing how to get people there in turn."

Cinnamon sighs in relief, "Oh, fantabulous! That's a relief." Shane closes the door and crouches next to the little dragon again as she thinks for a bit, then adds, "So... while I'm happy to, er... well, no -- not happy, but... I can fly him to Coblyn, sure. But... when is Sparrow going to be done with him? I mean, I'm sure he wants to get all kinds of information from the guy first, right?"

Shane shakes his head, "Nope. I think we've got what we need between what you got and the couple of things we got out of him just now. We're in no huge hurry, though; we can stay and relax a bit. It's not like he's going to be escaping... and Thorn needs to rest."

Cinnamon grins wryly at Shane, "Yeah, we both know that's not gonna happen! Thorn specifically mentioned he wanted to check Dovie and... I think he said her name was Martha? -- to see how they're doing!" She curiously adds, "So Sparrow got more information to help catch the brothers? Huh! That was fast!"

Shane shakes his head on that, "No, but we're going to have the prisoner in a secure place." He takes a deep breath and rests his forehead against Cinnamon's, speaking softly, "There's so much hate in him, acushla..." The little dragon reaches up with both arms to gently hug Shane. She doesn't understand hate that well... but she does get needing reassurance -- and it makes her deeply happy to be able to give that to Shane. He hugs Cinnamon back tightly for a moment, before leaving.

Cinnamon sighs gustily after the door closes after Shane. She feels bad for him... and, honestly, for Sparrow and Thorn too. Apparently Sparrow's not stable enough around the guy to have the prisoner stay here so more information can be uncovered... which worries Cinnamon, since how does Sparrow expect to stop the assassinations if he can't even handle catching the brothers? Plus, poor Thorn's heart must be breaking at whatever it was that he discovered, that so enraged him. Cinnamon frowns unhappily; she really does not like what this assassin is doing to people she cares about!

Robin too sighs, shaking his head, "Wish we had a place that was more secure. There's no jail... this room really isn't more than a storage shed that can hold someone a day or three. There's no windows or bathroom in there."

Cinnamon's immediate reply is as sturdily reassuring as she can make it, "Hey, that's a good thing, in my book! It says that you understand that incarceration isn't really the answer, right?"

Robin nods, "I know. But there are times you have to keep someone secure for a lengthy period. Sometimes when someone has their first change and they weren't prepared, they can be a little difficult to handle. It can take a week or more for them to be calm enough to be around other people."

"Oh, how interesting! I didn't know that." Cinnamon considers for a moment... then curiously adds, "If that's the case, though... why don't you have a good, lockable room available?"

Forrest sings softly, "Because it's rare that we have that. We try to find the ones with spirit beasts and make sure they know what's happening and prepare them. But if someone wasn't raised knowing..."

Cinnamon nods thoughtfully to Forrest, then glances inquiringly at Robin, "Like you?"

Robin smiles a bit, "It was four days for me. Luckily I didn't hurt anybody."

Cinnamon lightly pats Robin's hand, her voice gravely sincere, "I'm glad it went well for you, then." She leans back against the wall and sighs softly a moment later, "Hope the guys will be done soon with that jerkface guy..." She also hopes Shane hasn't forgotten his promise to snuggle some for the afternoon! That, she thinks, would be heaven.

Inside the little storage room, Thorn nods to Sparrow and takes a few more calming breaths. [Who knows?] he thinks. [Maybe being around supernaturals so much will change his mind. Who can tell?]

Sparrow smiles a bit, "Makes sense." He motions around the room, "This is a storage room. We don't normally store jackasses in it." He takes and releases a deep breath, patting Thorn on the shoulder, "Let's get you some sugar and water, and get this waste of space some new clothes." He lowers his voice again to add, "You're a good man, Thorn."

Thorn lets out a breath. "Sometimes I don't feel it," he murmurs back. "But... yeah, rest sounds good. Then I can check on Dovie and Martha...."

Sparrow ushers out everyone but the prisoner, closing and locking the door behind him, then takes a deep, cleansing breath, "Okay... back to food. Something sweet for Thorn. Maybe a nap for ev'ryfuckin'body." He smiles softly at Robin, "Can you get some sweatpants and a t-shirt for him? The one I shredded was a large." He lays a hand on the boy's shoulder gently, "Don't go in there. He's not a danger to you, but no one needs to be subjected to that hate."

Cinnamon sighs in relief and scrambles to her feet once everyone finally exits the room. She glances thoughtfully at the three men, wondering if they're all okay or not. Thorn looks okay, just shaken; he's still coming out of the adrenaline crash... so Cinnamon politely replies to Sparrow, "Well, since we just came from lunch, I've actually had enough food for now... but if you guys need more, that's fine?"

Shane looks solemn as he slides his arm around Cinnamon's shoulders, "I think just some quiet time for me and my a ghr�. Thorn's going to need sugar and to hydrate after that. That kind of emotion is going to cause an adrenaline crash."

Thorn chuckles quietly, "Already has, I think. But yes, a rest -- then I'll check on Dovie and Martha."

Cinnamon smiles, snuggling up a bit against Shane... but then she frowns at Thorn's condition, "Thorny? Will you be okay, guy, or do you need someone to walk you to... wherever you need to go?"

Thorn smiles to Cinnamon, looking a little tired, "I'll be fine, I think. Like Sparrow said, some hot chocolate, a nap, and I'll be fine."

Cinnamon nods at that, reassured, "Okay. Also, once you're feeling better? This is Robin, who has an old injury kinda like Rafe's -- can you check him too, please?" Then she smiles uncertainly up at Shane, "So... still want to, um, rest a bit in the yurt?"

Shane nuzzles against Cinnamon's hair, murmuring, "Come snuggle with me."

Cinnamon sighs in relief, relaxing a bit against Shane, "Love to."

Cinnamon and Shane return to the yurt to cuddle together -- the little dragon wants to be sure Shane feels better too, after all. Once that slightly tight look fades from his eyes, she's quite content to just rest with him in the very warm tent-building... at least until she realizes her thoughts are running in worried circles: what's wrong with Sparrow, that he doesn't want to get all the answers necessary from this guy? She finally sighs and decides to read for a bit -- Sparrow mentioned how nifty reptiles are to her, once... so why not do some fun, relaxing research on them right now, on her cell phone?

However, once she realizes Shane isn't asleep either, Cinnamon is unwittingly a rather vocal reader, in that when she stumbles across interesting information, she wants to share with her sweetheart! "Oh, wow! Did you know, asthore, that the gila monster isn't just the largest lizard native to the US -- but it's also the only venomous lizard native here too?" A short while later she excitedly exclaims about horned lizards being able to defensively spray blood from their eyes, and what the largest reptiles are in the various parts of the world, "Did you know they're still trying to figure out if Komodo dragons are venomous or not?" and how remarkable many of them are, "Huh! I didn't know turtles can stop breathing when they hibernate! They draw in oxygen from water passing across their bottoms, because those are really highly vascularized... no, really! See, here?"

Of course, when Shane turns his undivided attention just to her, the little dragon ends up happily setting her cell phone aside -- research isn't half as much fun as snuggling with her asthore! The two of them won't emerge from the yurt until much later, just a little bit before sunset, for the flight back home to Boston.

Kestrel and Sparrow come out to say goodbye, since Sparrow's staying on the rez for a bit instead of flying back. He seems much calmer now. Cinnamon, however, is almost burbling with excitement, "Sparrow! Ohmygosh, dude, you were so right about reptiles -- they are so nifty!" She's delighted enough that it doesn't even occur to her that most folks might have thought she and Shane were going to do much more than just snuggle together! "I read about Komodo dragons and saltwater crocodiles and Tokay geckoes and giant alligator turtles and -- and, just wow they're all so cool!" A bit wistfully she adds, "I wish I knew where to find some, so I could see them all in real life... I wonder if Boston has a good zoo? I mean, like... wouldn't it be cool to see a gila monster?!"

Sparrow's smile spreads at Cinnamon's infectious excitement, while Kestrel laughs warmly, "Gila monsters are pretty interesting! They're pretty common around here too, but I wouldn't want to go find... one to, um..." She watches a grinning Sparrow trot off behind the closest bit of cover, then puzzledly calls out, "What are you doing, hon?" A moment later, it becomes very obvious -- as a rather oversized gila monster comes scuttering out from where Sparrow just disappeared! First it rears up to carefully rest its clawed front paw-hands on Kestrel's legs, to rub its head against her... and then it goes trotting over to Cinnamon.

Cinnamon gasps -- then almost squeals with excitement, "Ohmygosh, Sparrow! How coool is this?!" She kneels down and, if there's no objection, gently gathers up the gila monster in her arms. Sparrow-gila-monster is obviously just fine with being picked up and petted! He sprawls quite decadently, such that Kestrel grins at both him, and Cinnamon's excitement. The little dragon is almost crowing with happiness as she delicately trails her fingertips along the critter's sides, "Wowsers, they're even more beautiful than on screen, too -- what gorgeous bright markings! Oooh, and the skin really is kinda pebbled-feeling -- eeee! Oooh, Sparrow, can you do a horned lizard too?!"

Instead of a horned lizard, Cinnamon finds herself holding something larger than the gila: an Argentine tegu! This big critter is also dramatically colored and has a tail nearly as long as its body. Cinnamon blinks a bit startledly, "This isn't... wait..." She studies the lizard form closely, even holding him up in front of her face as she does so -- then giggles as the long, forked tongue flickers out and across her face! "I think... you're a tegu, right, Sparrow?" A heartbeat later her voice is intrigued, "Huh, I didn't know you could do South American critters too!"

An instant later the horned lizard Cinnamon asked about is in her hands. Kestrel laughs softly, "He probably had to stretch himself a bit for the tegu."

Cinnamon grins up at Kestrel, "Really? Well... it's still a really pretty species! Though why'd he have to stretch?"

Kestrel smiles, "Well, anywhere there are coyotes, he can force himself into something... but coyotes aren't native to South America -- they migrated there."

"Huh, that's cool -- I did not know that!" Cinnamon strokes the little horns, crooning, "What cute little horns you have!" -- then very gently uses a fingernail to scritch around them, "Does that feel nice, mmm?" She giggles at a sudden thought, grinning up at Kestrel, "So no leatherback sea turtles then, right? Since, far as I know, there aren't any oceanic coyotes?" Shane chuckles, and Kestrel giggles with great amusement at Sparrow-lizard quite shamelessly being adorable to get more petting -- and just as shamelessly soaking it all up! They and Sparrow both know Cinnamon would never do the equivalent (e.g.: play with Sparrow's hair) to the human-shaped avatar, after all.

After some consideration, Kestrel replies, "Well... I believe they have nesting sites along the panhandle of Florida now? So technically there are leatherback sea turtles in North America."

Cinnamon blinks up at Kestrel, "Really? Oh, good... I'm glad to hear that." She sighs and smiles ruefully, "I read they were incredibly endangered, so I'm glad to hear they have at least some protected nesting sites now." She giggles as the little lizard in her hands flops over for a belly rub, then rubs with gentle fingertips as she croons, "Aren't you just the cutest little lizardy guy? Aren't you though?" A moment later she muses, "I wonder... if some of the Nusantarans would be interested in helping incubate and hatch sea turtle eggs? I bet that'd be an awesome tourist draw... and maybe help keep their fisheries and coral beds functioning better?" Then, with one of her usual mental superleaps, Cinnamon grins up at Kestrel, "I know the biggest reptile for North America is the alligator, and there was a 17-plus footer that's considered the biggest. But if I understand correctly, if he wants, Sparrow can be one that's bigger than that, right? Also..." She studies the little horned lizard, then grins excitedly at Kestrel, "What's the... the most unusual reptile -- or anything, really? -- that you've seen Sparrow become?"

Hearing Cinnamon mention gators, the little horned lizard wriggles out of her grasp -- even managing to elude her worried squeak and scramble to catch him so he doesn't fall! A heartbeat later, instead of the adorable little horned lizard, a simply enormous bull alligator sprawls in magnificent relaxation between Cinnamon and Kestrel. It only takes a look to tell he's obviously far longer than 17'! Kestrel giggles at Sparrow showing off, "Indeed -- much larger! -as you can see. Mmm... depends on what you mean by unusual. He's Coyote -- so, like his namesake, he adapts to what's needed at the moment. So... I think maybe an axolotl? He needed to get into a crevice deep in some cold water. He was an awfully big one, but it was definitely an axolotl."

Cinnamon blinks at the enormous alligator -- then laughs! "Ohmygosh, this is so cool!" She grins excitedly up at Kestrel, "Oh! Axolotls are cool too -- did you know they can grow back a missing limb?!" Then she beams delightedly down at the huge gator, running her hands fearlessly over the heavily ridged, armored skin around the head and shoulders, "Ohmygosh, Sparrow! You must annoy Killa so much when you do this sort of thing -- 'cause I bet you're as big as him like this! I wish I could measure you... though I'm just glad you're not one of those humungous alligator snapping turtles -- they're kinda scary looking, and supposed to be really bad tempered!"

Shane mutters amusedly, "Don't tempt him...."

Kestrel smiles, "They are scary looking, but they're not always aggressive."

A moment later the little dragon brightens, "Oh, wait -- maybe I can measure! I know I'm 5'1", after all. Sparrow, I wouldn't be too heavy if I lay on your back, would I?" She giggles at the disdainful grunt she gets in reply, then happily stretches out on his back, starting at the head and working down to the tail, "Okay then! Let's see... that's one body length... two, and three... four... and five! So you're likely about 25' even -- wow!" Shane smiles indulgently as Sparrow sprawls on his low-slung belly, eyes half-closed while Cinnamon uses her body as a measuring cord. The half-beansidhe can tell Sparrow's enjoying it, but it seems sensual rather than lecherous... so Shane won't say anything that might make his acushla uncomfortable.

Once Cinnamon is done, the gator gets up and slithers away. A few minutes later Sparrow reappears. His jeans are on and mostly zipped but not buttoned, and he's shrugging into his shirt. His grin isn't quite lascivious as he says, "That was fun!"

Cinnamon giggles when Sparrow returns, giving him an exuberant hug after his shirt is back on, "Thank you so much, Sparrow -- it's so much easier and more fun to recognize the more unusual reptiles I'm reading about when I have a real-life example!" Then she blinks at a sudden thought, pushing her glasses up and looking intrigued, "Ooh, are there coyotes in the Amazon jungles? Could you do a -- one of those really colorful little poison frogs, you know? I mean, I know they're amphibians and not reptiles, but... well, I figure if you can do venomous reptiles like rattlesnakes and cottonmouths and gila monsters, then... then surely a poison frog might be doable too?" A moment later she muses, "Ooh, here's another thought! If there's a breeding colony of some introduced species in the US -- like, say, reticulated pythons in Florida? -- then can Sparrow take their form too? Even though they're invasives?"

Sparrow hugs Cinnamon back, then steps back to completely zip up and button his jeans. He grins at the little dragon's enthusiasm, letting Kestrel answer since Cinnamon's talking to them and they've been answering correctly so far. Their eyes twinkle as they reply, "Hm... I think it's more like if coyotes have breached their range -- then he could do it. So that's no on most of the invasives, since there aren't coyotes in, say, Asia. But he could probably do most of the boas simply because they're South American."

Sparrow murmurs against Kestrel's ear, so that Cinnamon can hear, "Did you know anacondas are a species of boa?" His lips are set in a bit of a smirk.

Cinnamon nods happily at Kestrel and Sparrow, as she dusts off the knees of her jeans, "I did!" She straightens, still beaming -- then abruptly squeaks with excitement, "Oh! Oh, I just had a thought -- maybe we could measure me here too, again -- maybe? Would that be okay? Kestrel, do you have maybe some ropes that you know the length of?" Cinnamon grins as she explains, "Bairdy has some mission he wants me to help with, and he asked for my measurements!" She glances around, adding, "Though maybe not right here in the middle of the square -- umm..." she points, "is over the ridge there okay, maybe?" She's (probably fortunately) entirely missed all of the innuendo!

Sparrow grins, eyes twinkling, "Yeah, we got some ropes we know the exact length of." He pats Kestrel on the hip and saunters off to get them.

Kestrel watches him and chuckles, then looks back at Cinnamon, lowering their voice, "He can turn into an anaconda that's quite a bit longer than Killa's serpentine form. You ought to ask him about that some time." They motion Cinnamon and Shane to follow to a spot that will be clear.

Cinnamon giggles as she patters happily after Kestrel, "Oh, wowsers! I bet Killa was pretty much fit to be tied at that, right?"

Kestrel giggles, keeping their voice low -- as if someone might overhear, "I swear smoke would have come out of his ears if snakes had ears! Killa was in serpent form at the time."

Cinnamon giggles softly, covering her mouth, "Poor Killa! I've noticed he tends to not be in serpent shape much around me too, actually. I think I'm about ten feet longer than him, if I remember correctly!" She thinks a moment, then happily adds, "Though I've had to let out my backpack harness a few times in the past months... so maybe I've grown a little bit by now?" She glances around happily once Kestrel pauses, checking to be sure, "Here's okay? Yay! Shaney, asthore, can you measure me this time too, please?"

When Sparrow arrives, he's carrying a couple of neatly coiled bundles of screaming purple rope, and grinning widely, "They're 50' each." Kestrel actually blushes and scowls at him, but doesn't say. A. Word.

Cinnamon squeaks excitedly, "Oh, what pretty rope -- I love the color!" She beams at Shane, "Maybe we can get some for lashing things onto my harness -- what do you think? Do you like the color too?" She hasn't a clue that she's looking at shibari rope... which is probably just as well for her peace of mind!

Shane keeps a very straight face as he replies, "It's a very pretty color."

Cinnamon beams excitedly, almost bouncing on her toes, "Yay! Okay, shift time!" A moment later she's a very large, excited scarlet dragon, shimmering ruby and golden in the sunlight, "Okay! Okay, here we go!" She flops out on the ground -- there's a distinct thud! and the ground shivers a little at the impact -- then beams toothily at Shane, "Okay, which do you want to start with -- wings or length?!"

Sparrow keeps his face absolutely straight as he replies, "Well, they say it's really girth that's important over length, so maybe wingspan first?" That gets him an elbow in the ribs and A Look from Kestrel, but the look is follow by a giggle.

Shane just rolls his eyes and grins, "Yeah. Let's do wingspan first."

Cinnamon beams at Shane as she flops her wings out at full length on each side of her, "Okay!" To Sparrow, she adds, "That's what Baird said too, actually -- that the guy designing the new harness-thingie wanted to know my, er... my barrel measurement? I think that's what it's called, at least?" She arches her long, graceful neck to look down at her chest, adding, "Apparently the keel makes a huge difference, depending on species, which is neat -- did you know that? I didn't!"

Kestrel smiles, "On a horse, the barrel is the chest, so they're wanting to know how big around you are... and the girth on a saddle is the strap that goes under the belly. So yes, girth is important." Sparrow snickers and gets another elbow to the ribs.

Cinnamon brightens, her head coming up to beam at Kestrel, "That's it! That's the right terminology -- thanks!" She blinks her large eyes in a bit of confusion at Sparrow, wondering what he's snickering at... but then gets distracted when Shane asks her to stretch out her tail, please -- and a little less wagging too, please? She giggles and does her best to oblige. Sparrow is the one who ultimately ends up helping Shane use the lengths of rope to measure her wingspan, her length from nose to tail tip, and a few other different measurements around her body. Only once Shane says he's done does Cinnamon hop back up onto her clawed paws, excitedly chirping, "So? Am I right? Did I grow a few more feet?!"

Shane grins, "If by 'a few,' you mean you pretty much doubled in length, and that your wings are half again as wide... then yeah -- you grew a few more feet."

Cinnamon gasps with excitement, "Really?! Ohmygosh, that is so awesome -- I'm an adult now, instead of a little fledgling, yay!" She gleefully prances in an earth-shaking circle around her friends, tossing her head and twirling her tail with delight as she trills a singsong, "I did it, I did it -- I grew up big and strong -- and yay! I think Liam would be proud of me -- eeee!"

Sparrow can't help but laugh at the joyous dragon, "I think he'd've been proud a long time before this, darlin'."

Shane mutters amusedly, "And she's definitely been an adult for a long time..." -- but then he laughs, and moves out to dance with her.

Cinnamon chirps in gleeful excitement when Shane comes to dance with her, bounding and pouncing back and forth in time with him! That causes both Kestrel and Sparrow to take their animal forms as well, so they too can dance around. Cinnamon is inordinately delighted at that, and gleefully plays pounce and trampoline-toss with them all! She laughs and slows down after a few minutes of that, though, adding amusedly, "I think I might be heavier too, actually -- I don't remember the cactus wobbling quite so much when I was dancing, before?"

Shane laughs quietly, "Yes, love; you've definitely gained some." That makes Cinnamon feel a bit... nervously self-conscious, so she hastily goes back to play-dancing with the two spirit animals! It's a few minutes later, as Shane is neatly looping the bright purple ropes up again, that he looks up and nods towards the buildings, "There's Thorn!"

Cinnamon brightens, half bounding and half prancing over to Thorn, "Thorny, Thorny! Guess guess guess what happened?! Shaney measured me again -- and I grew some!" She's beaming toothily, almost dancing around him -- which is quite something, for a creature that now stands 9' at the withers (a good two feet more than before!), now has a wingspread of 60' (half again from her fledgling size!), and stretches 49' from nose to tail tip -- which nearly doubles her fledgling length! The ground tends to quiver a bit beneath her excitedly tapping/stomping, clawed paw-hands and -feet, although she's exquisitely careful to never stomp in the wrong place, or whip her long tail into anyone's face. Her rumbling voice is exuberant, "I grew some! I'm a big dragon -- I might even be adult-sized by now -- wouldn't Liam be proud? Maybe?"

Thorn laughs as Cinnamon bounds around him. He's definitely noticed Cinnamon has grown as a dragon -- she's almost positively threatening, if one didn't know her! "I can see that! You're already an adult, though. But as for being an adult-sized dragon, hard to tell! Do you know how big Liam was?"

Cinnamon nodnods happily, her crest flaring with excitement, "I do! I was told he was 35' long," she trills her giggle, adding, "-about 10' longer than Killa is, they told me!" Beaming toothily, she adds, "D'you think Liam would be proud too that I grew up big and strong?" A moment later she adds, "I think I've gotten some heavier too, which would make sense, but..." her grin gets a bit shy, "not... entirely sure I want to measure that?"

"I'm certain Liam would be proud," Thorn says confidently. "He was always proud of you, from what you've said... and any additional mass you have is almost assuredly muscle."

Kestrel and Sparrow are also dancing around with Cinnamon, having both transformed into their spirit beast forms. When Cinnamon asks her question, Sparrow-coyote trots away and comes back human again, wearing those half-zipped jeans; were Cinnamon anyone else, he'd just transform back bare-assed to talk to her about this! He puts both hands on Cinnamon's nose to speak to her (since he can't look her in both eyes at once while she's this size), saying very solemnly, "He was already proud of you, darlin'! He would be ec-fuckin'-static for you now." His grin is broad and friendly, "Besides, in a fuckton o' reptiles, the females are larger, stronger, and more deadly than the males." His eyes twinkle, "Can't wait for Killa to see you in this form, gorgeous." Cinnamon giggles self-consciously, and Kestrel-puma snorts, nipping gently at Sparrow's calf for teasing Cinnamon that way. It makes Sparrow laugh again! He transforms back to his Coyote form, leaving his jeans to lay where they drop.

Cinnamon sighs happily, arching her graceful neck down to give Thorn an affectionate tongue-flicker, "Thanks so much, Thorny!" A moment later she blinks, "Oh! Wow, I almost forgot -- sorry! I don't mean to be selfish... but did you get a chance to see poor Robin, Thorny? Wasn't his throat kinda like Rafe's? Were you able to help any, or did he want to leave it as is?"

"Not yet," Thorn says, "but I'm looking for him now before we leave."

Thorn is more than happy to examine Robin. He winces when he sees the scar and the damage it's done; there's clear esophageal damage as well as damage to the vocal cords. He thinks but does not say that he wishes hunters would just fall off a cliff... though he reminds himself that some actual hunters don't just go after any animal they see, but are subsistence hunters. That makes him wonder how long the supernatural hunters have been on the rez -- did one of them try to get Robin? He hopes not; that would mean the hunters have been around for years! He gives Robin a thorough examination, also using his magic to see just what was injured underneath the scar. "Hmm," he says at last, "I think I can help you. It shouldn't take too long, and I don't think it'll hurt. But I do have to ask: do you want to be healed?"

Robin shakes his head, "Not the scar itself, no. But if you can fix my voice without taking away the scar, I would appreciate that, I think." He's quite solemn, "Scars are nothing to be ashamed of. They tell the story of hard times you survived."

Once that's taken care of, Cinnamon pads over to settle into sphynx pose so Shane and Thorn can buckle the now-heavily restrained prisoner, themselves, and their gear -- and hers as well -- into place on her harness. As they do so, Cinnamon cheerfully relates that she called Spice earlier, asking her and Josie if they'd go to the palace and alert Diarmaid and Caradog of the incoming hunter -- and if he could please be stored in Caradog's tiny dungeon, "I figure better they're waiting for the guy, right? I mean, we don't want him to know anything at all about Coblyn or how to get there or anything, right?"

"I think I can put him to sleep for the trip," Thorn says. Then he blinks, "Uh, figuratively -- no, I mean literally, actually; sorry -- I can put him to sleep so he doesn't know where he's going." He doesn't add, 'and also so he can't open his mouth to jaw at people.'

Cinnamon thinks about that, then curiously checks, "Is it okay to do that for about two and a half hours to him? That's how long the flight is...?"

Thorn nods, "Normal anesthetic is basically a kind of poison, but this will be a magic sleep. He'll be able to survive that long easily."

Cinnamon looks relieved, "Then... that'd be awesome, Thorny -- and thank you!" A bit sheepishly she adds, "Wasn't really looking forward to listening to him gripe the whole way home, from what you guys said about him."

Thorn grimaces, "Neither would I. He's going to be scared witless as it is, though. Probably best not to exacerbate that." Cinnamon giggles!

In the small bustle of all the prepping to leave, Sparrow glances around, then curiously asks, "Where's all that food you brought, darlin'? I know you couldn't 've eaten it all, already?"

Cinnamon-dragon grins shyly as she arches her head around towards Sparrow, "Oh, I, umm... w-well, I asked Kestrel if it'd be all right if I left it, and they said it was fine?" It's almost weird how Cinnamon can look simultaneously almost shark-like with her toothy grin... yet also shy! The scarlet dragon almost sheepishly adds, "I, um... I kinda worry about how much I eat, when I go places, so... so I thought maybe -- just in case there's some kind of emergency or something, you know? -and I have to land abruptly... well, I wouldn't feel as bad if I'd made a point of, um, sorta t-trying to kinda pay it forward some? Er... if that makes sense?"

Sparrow's smile is gentle, "And you wonder if you're a good councilor. You take care of people that aren't even yours. This, darlin', things like this right here, are why you're a perfect fit to be what the Thirteenth Chair was originally supposed to be." Cinnamon's draconic ears tilt back in pleased embarrassment, and she ducks her head... though she's beaming in shy happiness to herself as she mumbles sheepish thanks! Praise from Sparrow is nothing to sneeze at, in her book of respected individuals who don't praise often but really mean it when they do.

That evening, Cinnamon finds she actually rather enjoys the flight back to Boston, considering the prisoner is asleep and silent; it's a lovely cool night with a tiny sliver of waning sickle moon, and the stars sparkling brightly overhead. As she flies, Cinnamon, Thorn, and Shane chat about the marvelous recovery of the folks Thorn healed, sing several cheerful traveling songs together, ponder possible solutions to some of the Nusantara issues, talk about how helpful Jaeger may be in getting information from the hunter, speculate on whether another two seats would fit comfortably on Cinnamon's harness now she's much longer... and generally have a rather nice time.

Once she lands on Currier's Hall, Cinnamon hops down to the cobblestoned street for the waiting Diarmaid and Lorcan to retrieve the prisoner, and for Thorn to disembark. Cinnamon also rather hopes Shane will maybe stroll down with her (post-shapechange) to her place to spend the night! Diarmaid always looks forbidding unless you know him well -- but Lorcan looks like he could chew (brass) nails and spit tacks as the prisoner is handed over to them. The two guards are told how long it will be before the former hunter wakes up, and then they take off with him to deposit him in the cells beneath Caradog's palace. Diarmaid also promises Cinnamon to have Brynn visit the man. His red eyes are gleaming in the dark, as he speaks. They always do that, but tonight they're so bright they're almost like flashlight beams folks can follow, as he and Lorcan leave.

As the scarlet dragon glances around, while Thorn and Shane unbuckle and hand off the prisoner to the guards, she spots Navin nearby. He's perched on a ladder set up next to one of the gaslights, and it's clear he's in the process of changing out the glass panes -- there's two orange panes already in place, and he has another in his slightly claw-tipped hand. He's not currently moving though -- just staring at her in amazement with his jaw dropped! When he sees her look right at him, he mutters an awed, "Al'ama!"

Cinnamon giggles at the half-ghul's Arabic version of 'daaamn!' and calls a cheerful, "Hi, Navin! It's me, Cinnamon! How're you doing?"

Navin blinks, straightening up as he stares -- but before he can say anything, Tre comes at a ringing trot around the corner, with the rickshaw whirring briskly behind him. The half-ipotane grins and waves cheerfully at his housemate, "Last job for the day!" -- then turns his head to curiously glance at whatever Navin stares at so intently. A fraction of a second later, Tre snorts in alarm, coming to a screeching halt so fast that his horseshoes scrape across the cobblestones, "What the fuuu-?!"

Cinnamon tilts her head and smiles a bit uncertainly at the ipotane, "Hi, Tre. It's just me -- Cinnamon? I thought... have I not told you guys yet that I'm a dragon?" She turns her head as Thorn bids her and Shane a goodnight, warmly replying, "Thanks so much again, Thorny, for coming along! I'm glad there wasn't much healing needed, but it was really nice of you to be there for just in case. Sleep well, and I'll probably see you tomorrow!" Thorn returns to the infirmary after saying his goodbyes, feeling suddenly tired and worn out. He knows bigotry and xenophobia is still rampant in the world, but it's only been rarely that he's run into someone who was so virulently so. In his quarters he sighs, and meditates on the Hippocratic Oath and why Hippocrates insisted on it, before going to sleep.

Outside in the square, when Cinnamon looks back at the two housemates, Tre almost splutters, "A d-drag-! -but I, I -- b-but... I thought you were being metaphorical!"

Navin nods in silent agreement, still staring... then suddenly grins wryly at Tre, "That's who should carry your cash box keys, Tre -- nobody with brains wants to mess with a giant dragon!" He goes back to staring at Cinnamon, though it's more... sort of a dourly pleased look this time? His quiet mutter is audible mostly because the little town square is pretty much empty at this time of night, "Yeah, I think joining the house of a dragon should be plenty good enough protection -- for anyone!" Tre just nods mutely, his ears pricked so sharply forward (as he stares and snorts softly) that the tips are quivering!

Cinnamon had been about to step away with Shane -- but at that comment her big triangular head rears up again! Her voice is a little sharp with sudden concern, "Has anyone been bothering you guys?!"

Tre silently shakes his head, while Navin chuckles wheezily, "Nah, nah! Tre here's just a bit wary -- yesterday somebody asked him real casual-like about his cash box."

Cinnamon frowns, "That's... well, could be fine, could be not. Okay, give me just a moment to shift shape, please?" She and Shane step back towards the darker side of the square, and Shane holds up a sheet in front of the big red dragon. The dragon vanishes, there's a muttered, "Botheration!" -- and the dragon appears again in front of Shane. She takes a deep breath, vanishes again... and then a relieved Cinnamon in human form steps out from behind the sheet, "There we go! Thanks for your patience, asthore!" She hugs Shane, then trots over towards Tre and the rickshaw, "Oh, wow, Tre -- it looks really nice, dude!" Indeed, the little vehicle is quite attractively decorated now, with a pretty fringed cloth shade or cover to keep off rain, sun, and other weather, and a string of cheerfully musical little bells looped between the back two wheels. Cinnamon can also see a locked metal box with a slot in the top, mounted in the center of the pole or crossbar at the front of the two long shafts -- right next to the bicycle bell she gave Tre!

Tre himself has a small messenger bag slung across his chest. As she grins at him, he almost shyly adds, "We, umm... I took out an ad in the broadsheets too, and -- and billed it to you... like you recommended? Is that... still okay?"

Cinnamon laughs, turning to give Tre a warm hug, "It's awesome, dude! This all looks so fantastic -- I'm so happy for you both!" She's beaming as she steps back and looks up at Navin as well, "I see you're doing the gaslights too -- yay, Navin! -- and it sounds like you both would like to join Elgan? Fantastic! Spice will be so pleased -- and so will Veles, when he calls in a few days! Um, let me think... would you two like to come over to my place to officially meet Spice and her mate, Josie, for a celebratory lunch tomor- no, wait, sunshine, right -- okay, how about breakfast? We can eat, then come up here to have Llewellyn make it official for you both -- sound good?" She grins at Tre as she adds, "We can talk more about the rickshaw business then too, okay? I want it to be the way you want it, so if you want to buy me out, or have me stay on as partner, or silent partner, or whatever -- you let me know tomorrow, okay?"

Tre nods eagerly, pulling a notepad and pencil out of his bag, "How's, umm... is... we could meet for breakfast at 9:00 am, then come up here to see Llewellyn. Is that okay?" Apologetically he adds, "Got a bunch of reservations already for tomorrow morning early, guys -- sorry!"

Cinnamon laughs delightedly again, "That's fantastic, Tre! Yeah, nine's actually better for me, if it's okay with Navin -- I've been dragoning a bunch the last two days, so sleeping in a bit sounds wonderful." She hesitates, then shyly adds, "Could I... would it be okay if I hired you to, um, carry me and Shane and our luggage back to my place tonight? I wouldn't bother you, but..." she yawns in spite of herself, then grins sheepishly, "it's been a busy couple of days!"

Tre's ears tilt back with embarrassment, "Oh, I, uhmm... well, ordinarily I'd be happy to, but, um..." He rubs the back of his head, his tone sheepish, "I... already have a customer I'm s'pposta be picking up here?"

Cinnamon blinks interestedly, "At this hour? Huh, cool! If it's not rude to ask, who...?"

From behind them all, a voice calls from the shadows of the Currier's Hall double doorway, "Ah, that would be me." Stepping carefully down the stairs is Marcus. He smiles, bidding them all a good evening, and invites Cinnamon and Shane -- if Tre is willing -- to accompany him on his ride homewards for as long as they need? Of course, he's not about to admit he'd at least partially been working late at Currier's Hall in the hopes of seeing Cinnamon arriving on one of her usual late-night flights. He has no intentions whatsoever of letting her know how much he'd worried about her!

Shortly thereafter, Navin is peacefully continuing in his job of replacing the streetlights' glass panes, and checking the gaslight itself can be safely lit. He jerks his chin up in relaxed acknowledgement when both Tre and Cinnamon wave cheerfully at him, as the ipotane trots swiftly off with Marcus, Shane, Cinnamon, and their luggage. The laden rickshaw whirrs briskly behind Tre, and the lanky young man smiles to himself. Things are looking really marvelous... magical, even! -- for the two former Lost Boys. He'll give the extra walkie-talkie to Cinnamon, Tre decides, as well as the lockbox keys. His grin broadens a bit mischievously as he realizes: he's almost looking forward to that shady-looking dude asking about the cashbox again... so he can see the guy's face when he explains that the key is with his business partner, Cinnamon -- the big ol' dragon!

Tre is feeling quite proud right now -- of his job and beautiful little rickshaw, of pulling his weight in life, of how well Navin is doing with his two part-time jobs, of how proud his mom would be, of the nice little apartment he and Navin now have... yeah, maybe someday they'll add in a charming lady, gentleman, or other friend, but for now it's still just the two of them -- and they're both really good with that. Living on Coblyn as respected citizens and members of House Elgan is So Much Better than living as homeless beggars in Boston!

As the rickshaw zips along behind Tre, Cinnamon laughs and starts happily singing to the rapid two-beat trot:

"... We can go where we want to
A place where they will never find
And we can act like we come from out of this world
Leave the real one far behind

And we can dance
and sing!

We can go when we want to
The night is young and so am I
And we can dress real neat from our hats to our feet
And surprise 'em with the victory cry

...
We can dance, we can dance
Everything's out of control
We can dance, we can dance
They're doing it from pole to pole
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody look at your hands
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody's taking the chance-
Safety dance! Safety dance!"

She giggles when Shane grins and joins in -- and laughs delightedly when even Tre breathlessly but cheerfully sings the chorus with them!

Once the song is complete, Cinnamon cheers and applauds her friends, then beams at Marcus -- she still doesn't realize what that smile does to him, he suspects! The little dragon asks, "Two things! First, would you and Jaeger like to hear what happened at the rez? -and second, if it's not rude to ask... what were you doing at Currier's so late, on a day when you got a little bit ironsick, according to Spice?"

Marcus rolls his eyes amusedly, admitting there are currently some visitors at the Elm mansion who are- he catches himself, politely editing, "A bit... tedious. So working at the Currier's office meant I didn't have to deal with them while recovering from a touch of ironsickness... and Father was kind enough to help by distracting them today." He's not about to admit to Cinnamon that Frieda and Albrecht are trying to flutter assiduously around him due to his earlier loss of memory from the beating by street thugs. If he can swing it, he intends for Cinnamon to have absolutely no exposure to the two elves at all!

So instead he and Cinnamon make plans for meeting tomorrow with the others who are helping with the allergy testing, after Cinnamon has welcomed her two new house members, and run her errands for the day... and his father will perhaps turn up for lunch with them all, to hear the story of hunting the hunter. The little dragon doesn't yet know where the testing is being held, after all... so she makes quick notes in her own notebook to make sure she's there and on time. She also makes a note to herself to bring some fresh-baked bread and honey too, of course!

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch -- a.k.a. Caradog's palace:

Diarmaid and Lorcan are actually fairly gentle with Russel. There are folk in the supernatural community who wouldn't blame the Fomorian and the gealsidhe for being rough with the human, but they are actually more humane than the bigoted man. He's put in a cell with a relatively comfortable bed, a working latrine, and a stone basin that has a continuous flow of water. What isn't in the cell is any kind of fixture he might be able to wrest loose and use as a weapon. Once that's done, both guards stand quietly outside the bars and watch the unconscious human for a moment. It's Lorcan who breaks the silence, "I don't think I can be on this first shift."

Diarmaid nods, the expressions on his bestial face hard to read, "I understand. I'll take first watch. In fact, I may call on the less human-ish guards to be down here. I don't want him thinking he can try to get in good with people just because they might look like," he waves vaguely at the man, "that."

Lorcan snorts, "The people that look most like him are largely the ones that caught him. I mean, there are a few other humans or human-seeming folk, but even us sidhe are going to look decidedly inhuman to him." He taps one of his ears, "Unless we hide these."

Diarmaid snorts, "You gealsidhe, the Germanic elves, and the lj�s�lfar are the closest to human-seeming of all the elves -- except you're way prettier than most humans." He grins, looking terrifying to anyone that doesn't know him, "The beansidhe, on the other hand... heh. Maybe we should get Aisling down to chat with him... but you're right: Sparrow, Thorn, Cinnamon, and Shane all look very human."

Lorcan laughs quietly, "No. We've been requested to bring Brynn down to speak with him... though I think his ears and eyes are going to make him rather obviously not human."

Diarmaid shrugs, "As someone once said, 'not my circus, not my monkeys.' My job is to keep him safe, alive, and healthy. After all, we do not torture here."

Lorcan nods and turns, then pauses, "Who should I send down to relieve you at the end of your watch?"

Diarmaid chuckles, "Send Pippin." Both men grin at that. They may not torture in Caradog's palace... but Pippin is, if anything, less human-looking than Diarmaid -- since his head is that of the only reptile native to Ireland: the viviparous or common lizard. "If I didn't think it would be more uncomfortable for him than for this piece of shit, I'd try to get Jaeger to let Butler take a shift. But I wouldn't subject any sort of empath to him."

There's a slight hiss and a wince from Lorcan, "Oof. No. None of Butler's people should be here unless they're being used as some sort of interrogation tool. Even then, young Shane is better for it. If it wouldn't be a huge inconvenience for everyone, I'd say ask Quinn to visit."

Cinnamon is very happy when Shane once again is willing to spend the night with her! She's been very much enjoying the slow and (on her part) cautious exploration of each other that they've been doing. Admittedly, in the cloth-walled yurt on the rez, she'd been too shy to do anything that might cause her to squeak or otherwise make noise -- she still keenly remembers how dreadfully embarrassed she was when Shane overheard her in her tent, while they were in the Basque Cantabrians! But now they're home again ('home' -- what a lovely place that is when it has her asthore in it!) from the rez, and... well, she's hoping maybe he'd like to -- t-to maybe do, um... a little... a bit of kissing again? M-maybe? She sighs happily when Shane cheerfully agrees.

The first few kisses Shane and Cinnamon share are sweet and warm, and the young half-beansidhe is careful not to move too fast or too far, but (as happens a great deal of the time for the poor young man) he does end up rather deliciously frustrated. Eventually, things trend hungrier and more heated, but Shane still manages to keep something of an air gap between his lower body and his acushla's. He even manages to keep his hands from wandering too much... but you can only do so much making out like giddy teenagers before the inevitable happens.

The two are warmly snuggled up on Cinnamon's futon, kissing and nuzzling one another and it is -- thankfully -- Cinnamon who nestles in close enough to feel something very warm, very firm, and -- ohmygoshisthathisth-th-th...? -- pressing in against her hip. Shane is a little too lost in the moment to realize immediately what's up, except to groan into her mouth at the pressure and rock slightly into it -- and then Cinnamon squeaks and nearly teleports across the futon, face scarlet and shocked eyes wide!

Her initial horrified (and fortunately short-lived) thought is that somehow a rat had gotten into her little cottage! Seconds later, though, her mind races as it goes back over her wonderings about Sparrow's meaning when he called Shane: "Old Long, Tall, and Noble." It -- the, the, uhh... th-the thing! -- that touched her certainly felt... substantial. Her hands are over her mouth, trying -- and failing -- to hold in her startled and embarrassed squeak. There's also a slightly panicky thought: how on earth does something that big and -- and hard! -- fit, um... well... inside you?! Er, without hurting, that is?!

Shane pushes up onto his elbow, on his side, voice a little husky, "Acushla... are you... is everything okay?" He is managing, with great self-control, not to reach down and adjust things too visibly. He's letting the fall of his kilt disguise it for now. His brows furrow as she starts to babble, and he starts to get alarmed at how flushed she is, and how anxious -- because what happened in the breath before she scrambled away is coming back to him. He'd simply reacted to the stimulus because he'd been too caught up to hold back.

He listens closely, having become pretty proficient at deciphering 'Cinnamon is Freaked Out' -- and then he has to bite his tongue to keep from laughing, as she stumbles and stutters through the tale of Sparrow using a nickname he's teased Shane with before. It's not easy for her to tell -- it takes her pausing more than once, and going back to adding things back in so it makes sense, and then correcting herself due to being flustered -- and she's getting more and more anxious about it. When she gets to the part about what she thought the avatar of Coyote meant with the 'long' part, Shane heroically doesn't say, 'Well, you're not entirely wrong, but that's not what he meant...' Instead, he smiles and reaches over carefully to brush a lock of Cinnamon's hair behind her ear, eyes still heavy-lidded from the kissing as he murmurs with a warm smile, "I see. That's... not really what he meant. But..." He leans in and kisses her cheek, asking quietly and gently, "Would you like to see?" His eyes flick downward toward his own hips and then up to her eyes. Only his biofeedback training is keeping his pulse in anything like check.

Cinnamon's eyes feel like they might bulge out of her head, and her hands go over her mouth as she squeaks a horrified, "N-n-n-NO!" Shane wryly thinks it's lucky he's both quite confident in himself and very familiar with the fact that his beloved is just shy. He also manages not to wince because, whether she knows it or not, what she just said... is a lie. In fact, it's only a heartbeat or three later that she swallows hard... then manages to whisper in a tiny voice, "Uhm... I m-mean..." She takes a very deep breath... then timidly adds, "M-m... maybe? I mean... wh-what, ahhh... it... like, you wouldn't... mind?"

Shane thinks amusedly, [Wouldn't mind? Wouldn't MIND? Stars and stones... this woman...] What he does is carefully shift so he's sitting back against Cinnamon's headboard, stretching his arms out along it, "No, acushla. I wouldn't mind." He licks his lips and takes a deep breath, "You can look if you want." Then the mischief does come out a little, "You can even touch, but if you do that, I'm likely to get a little noisy." That causes yet another mortified squeak, and she hastily averts her slightly-fascinated gaze. Shane smiles and keeps his voice gentle, if husky, "Would you rather I do the showing, or do you want to explore for yourself, a ghr�?" He's quite willing to let her check things out for herself, so she's not exposed to more than she's ready for... but he's also quite willing to let her sit back at a little distance and just look.

Cinnamon sits on the side of the futon, not quite wringing her hands in anxiety -- what's she supposed to say?! Will he be mad if she doesn't say yes? She knows she does... kinda? -- want to see what a man's, er... his... stuff? -wait, isn't it called... junk, or something like that? Horrible name... is that because it's horrible stuff? Eeew! She doesn't want to see it if so -- she... she... what she'd really like is some tea and a moment to catch her breath and not feel quite so... so spooked! -- because isn't this, um... like the first step to actually having sex for babies?! ... or... something like that? She's sure she doesn't want babies, though, abso- oh, crabcakes, she's babbling in her stupid head now Shane is going to think she's such a goober oh dear heavens can she just -- just crawl under the cover- wait! Waitwaitwait must say something to him oh gosh oh gosh what to say what wha-... "W-what... ever... you want?!" Whew! Okay. Okay. That wasn't... too horrible a reply... maybe? In a hasty, frantic attempt to restore normalcy before she has a real panic attack and ohmygosh she can tell it's close too hang on hang on deep breaths deeeep breaths, right... right... okay... "Umm... w-would you like some... s-some tea w-while you... decide...?"

Shane laughs softly and makes a little 'come here' motion, patting the futon by his hip, "Come snuggle up with me, acushla." He kisses her temple, distracting her attention as he slides a hand down and shifts around the folds of his kilt, "What I want, my sweet dragon, is for you not to be scared of how good it makes me feel to kiss you, and that's all this means, okay? We start kissing and I react because I find you beautiful and desirable..." As he's nuzzling and speaking in that low, soft, gentle tone he's using, he gets the fabric out of the way. His own heartbeat is racing a little. "And if you want, you can look down and see. And if you don't... I'll cover back up and we save this for a time when you're more ready, because I will not force you to do anything you don't want."

Cinnamon is incredibly tense -- not quite shaking from it! Somehow she ended up holding Shane's free hand, so she clings tightly to it with both her hands as she keeps her face turned away from... from... 'it'? Good golly, what do people call them when they... when they want to just talk normally about them can you even do that?! She winces a bit, squinching both eyes closed as she turns her head back, but with her face tilted up so she can just cautiously... just a teeny peek with one eye -- that should be okay? -and if it's too much then she can hastily look away again...

The little dragon's memory flashes back to the moment when she accidentally interrupted Sparrow and Kestrel. She hadn't actually seen much more than Sparrow's bare bottom and Kestrel's surprised glance and an impression of... something in Kestrel's hand that, in Cinnamon's then-shocked and horrified state of mind, had seemed incongruously out of place, like a -- a braunschweiger, maybe? But with the yellow plastic wrap taken off first, of course... okay, so... oh, right -- also, Cinnamon remembers: guys get really mad if you don't admire their, er... braunschweigers? The little dragon has to hastily stifle an urge to giggle, as her nearly panic-stricken mind immediately and unhelpfully presents her with Little Red Riding Hood, "Wow, Mr. Wolf, what a big braunschweiger you have!" ...oh golly, brain, just stopstopstoooop! Okay, just a teensy real quick peek, that should be okay -- and... and if it's too scary she can m-maybe pretend she didn't see it and that way Shane won't hate her for not being impressed and good gosh maybe she should take valium or something before she has these kissing times oh crabcakes here I go again stupid brain STOOOOOP!

Cinnamon takes a deep breath, counting slowly to five... then carefully squints one eye open to take a quick peek -- and hastily closes it again! Another moment to consider... and then she blinks, a slightly confused look on her face. That... was not a braunschweiger! It was actually... kind of... well... interesting? Odd, to her? Weirdly... almost normal looking? She turns her head to take another look, more thoroughly and carefully this time. How odd! The very end looks... kind of like a slightly shiny mushroom top... while the sides of the... long part? -- look... kind of like a tree root? That sort of... brownish veiny kind of look?

Shane has been sitting quietly, stroking Cinnamon's hair as she takes her time. In the interim, he's softened slightly, but not completely. The length rests against his thigh, warm and heavy and uncut. He's... proportional. But then, Shane is -- as Sparrow has pointed out -- tall. Cinnamon has relaxed considerably, even leaning forward a little to cautiously study Shane's entire, er... length... and at the bottom, where ordinarily there'd be roots for a tree, there's two... fuzzy things? -are they... saggy bags? Two sort of ball-like thingies? Cinnamon's eyes widen a heartbeat later: oh! Those must be balls -- so that's what people mean in the books when they talk about balls! The little dragon starts to reach out with a finger, to maybe try touching the mushroom cap -- but then catches herself and hastily tucks her hand back. This is... still interesting, kind of cool -- but she doesn't want to risk blowing it (nor has she any idea what a fabulous pun that was) and annoying Shane when she's still not... entirely sure nor comfortable with... with all this. So she takes another deep breath, sitting back again, and only slightly nervously asks Shane, "So it... I, er, I, uh, d-d-didn't... hurt you or anything, before, w-when... er, e-earlier?"

Shane's eyes are getting heavy-lidded again and there was a very slight twitch when it looked like she was going to reach to touch him. He strokes her hair and kisses her temple again, voice a little rough but not upset, "You didn't hurt me at all, acushla. It felt really good. I'm sorry if I startled you when I groaned and pushed against you." His other hand is resting lightly on his thigh and his fingers shift as if he was going to touch himself, but he stops the motion. "You can touch if you want, or look some more, or I can cover back up. All up to you, gorgeous."

Cinnamon has been hit abruptly and unexpectedly with rather a lot of new information, and it's on subjects she's really unfamiliar with, and which have caused her a fair amount of anxiety through her life. What she'd really like is a moment to take a breath, maybe have a cup of tea with Shane, maybe just cuddle a little... and let her brain sort through all this new stuff until it makes sense to her! But... she also doesn't want to piss Shane off. She dithers internally for a few stressful moments... then finally, very hesitantly, asks if he'd be willing, maybe, to take a pause with her while they had a cuppa... and maybe, if he didn't mind... let her ask him a few questions? Admittedly, between tension and nervous stuttering, it takes her a bit to get that out... and for it to translate into sensical words for Shane... but eventually she's worriedly clinging to his hand and not quite meeting his gaze as she waits for his answer.

Shane smiles and nuzzles, carefully covering himself back up with his free hand. The other he holds tight with Cinnamon. He doesn't seem angry or upset or anything like that. He's... Shane. He's working very hard to keep his breathing even, but he'd never be the kind of guy to be upset about someone not fawning over body parts. "I'd love a cuppa, acushla. And I'll always answer honestly anything you ask me, if I'm able to answer at all."

Cinnamon sighs softly in relief -- no explosions yet, thank goodness! She thinks a moment... then slides off the futon and patters over to start making tea. She's initially silent... but after a moment she starts asking careful, slow questions -- questions which may, in fact, help Shane realize just how dreadful and barely existent her sex education was. She asks whether she'd be at risk for pregnancy, had she touched him... and if he would be willing to run get Thorn if he's so big that she gets damaged, since she doesn't want to die from sex... and how should they check themselves to make sure they're not sick from sex -- and does that happen with just kissing too? She also hopes he doesn't mind, but she's heard the first time is painful for women, so... is it okay with him if she, like... takes a valium or something? -and does he have a way to, er, sop up the... the blood? She pauses and blinks -- then has to take a deep breath to cover the slight hint of dizziness from sheer nerves that she gets from thinking of possibly bleeding to death that way... wait, oh, wow, she can actually ask Shane about that, right? She nervously checks: he's never, um... had a woman bleed to death that first time, with him... has he?

Shane listens, and the more questions Cinnamon asks, the more he wants to take a plane to visit her parents and be more violent than he really ought to. Did they just completely refuse to give her any sex education at all? She's a brilliant, wonderful woman! How did she...

He takes a deep breath and starts with the simplest first, "No, acushla, just touching me isn't going to get you pregnant." He leaves out all the convoluted ways that manual stimulation could lead to semen transfer, though, since right now he just wants to reassure her. "I wouldn't have suggested it if I thought it would." He strokes her cheek gently, voice soft, "Someone has been either misinforming or not informing you at all, a ghr�."

He takes a deep breath, "I promise you that I'm definitely not big enough to damage you." He's not going to make all the jokes that could be made there. "And, no, I've never had someone die from having sex with them." For fuck's sake... his heart is breaking a little here. "I would hope you'd not have to sedate yourself for me to make love to you. And I would like to, someday, but only when you're ready and eager for it. I'm not going to push you into something that scares you. As for checking for sickness... I've never gone without a condom and you've never been with anyone at all, so that's not an issue. But if it were, we'd have a healer or a human doctor do tests." He's gently stroking her hair and snuggling if she'll let him. "The pain you're so worried about? Isn't agony. Some women don't have pain at all, but just some discomfort. And some don't even have the discomfort, depending on how they've explored on their own." His lips flicker slightly, "Which is an entirely different conversation, but we can have that one when you're ready as well."

[Previous Log] [Index] [Next Log]

Last modified: 2019-Jun-12 19:53:32

All material on this site is
Copyright © 2019-2024 Reality Fault
unless specifically indicated on each document.
All Rights Reserved.
Administrated by Reality Fault Webmaster