Dragon on Deck! [action OR prose]

[unionjackoff]

[if you are awake at this hour of the night, you are going to see something really awesome... or really scary, depending on how you look at things. there's a huge red dragon flying close to the ship. It swoops around, darts up high into the sky, then back near the water. it goes forward and comes back... no matter where it goes, the dragon always returns to the ship's side.

most of you are probably wondering what this beast is doing. it can't be here to kill you, right? most of you are already dead. BUT WHO KNOWS. it could be hungry! it could just want to make trouble. or maybe it just wants to tak along.

actually, this dragon is a very restless inmate, one who's tried to keep his secret under wraps so he wouldn't scare the humans. but even his magic cannot last for a week. even he needs to stretch his wings. he won't harm you. in fact, he'll probably ignore you unless you try to hurt him.

if you're his warden, poor you. you get to explain to everyone what the hell is going on]

Comments

[adamantly]

[When Arthur had spoken of wanting people to know of and accept his dragon form, this is, perhaps, the very last way Mordred would had hoped he'd go about it.

Drawn out onto the deck by shouting and the few people left awake dashing around the hull, at first Mordred instinctively puts a hand to the sword hilt at his hip. But he then just as quickly releases it, as the full scope of the situation hits him. For a moment the only thing he can feel is a sense of surprise and confusion. He may have known that Arthur was a dragon, but this sight is completely divorced from the beast his imagination had conjured. It's beautiful and overwhelming all at once.

Clinging to one of the railings lining the side of the ship, Mordred leans out towards the sea and watches Arthur pass overhead with an abrupt feeling of uselessness. Nothing bad was happening, but the easily-avoidable sense of shock that all of this generated is troubling, and it makes Mordred question what he's gotten himself into. How useful could he be as a warden if he didn't even have the power to keep his charge from frightening people on board the ship?]

Arthur! [Mordred calls, not knowing what else to do. He waves, trying to attract Arthur's attention.]

[unionjackoff]

[it wasn't like Arthur WANTED to frighten anyone! though, certainly, he knew that he would. that was just the way people were. he huffed quietly, flicking his eyes back to Mordred when he hears him. for a moment, Arthur feels guilty. he liked Mordred, didn't want to make him uncomfortable...

he hovers closer to the ship so that they can talk]

Hullo, sir.

[adamantly]

[Busted.

Mordred is annoyed, but it's a smothered kind of feeling, more the result of the stress of not knowing how to handle this than anything else. In Camelot he had begun leading the guards and giving them orders sometimes, but that was completely different from this. He can, however, see that no real harm has been done. The only thing he truly doesn't accept is Arthur causing a disturbance that could be avoided by telling people on the ship about his form. That he hadn't, strikes Mordred as thoughtless.

As Arthur comes closer, the giant presence registers to Mordred as an uptick in his awareness of his physical surroundings. He isn't afraid of Arthur after having met him in his in human form, but he couldn't say that being close to something so large and powerful didn't feel a little oppressive.]

People on the ship fear you in this form, Arthur. Can you not see? [Part of him twinges painfully at the irony of him telling someone to mind their powers. He doesn't like it, but knows that part of his responsibilities as a warden lie in acting as a guide, and not just a friend.]

[unionjackoff]

[thoughtless, perhaps. but Arthur was frustrated. he was used to putting up shields while he went flying so that he could be unseen. hell, he was used to getting out and flying whenever he wanted. he'd at least waited until nightfall, hadn't he? he was trying to be considerate!

he huffs out smoke through his nostrils, holding back an eye-roll. he wants to be good]

Aye, I know.

[adamantly]

Did you explain your intentions to anyone on the ship?

[unionjackoff]

Not yet, no.