Important Dates

[a_minute_younger]

Who| Gary and Iskierka, Gary and Megan
What| Gary made a couple of bargains a while ago and they resulted in taking a miniature dragon and a fairy out to dinner. He is pretty okay with this!
Where| The Swift Cut and Shore to Shore restaurants, respectively
When| After Arena 13, but before the Crowning
Warnings/Notes| None so far, will update as needed

The past months since the space Arena have been kind of a blur for Gary. Before then it was a period of adjustment, getting his bearings and coping with his first unpleasant experiences in the children's Mini-Arena. After that, everything seemed to run together. Arena 12 ended fast, and the Crowning became the Reaping for the next, with a scant few weeks between to regain his footing and cope with the loss of some friends. Only now, some time after his death in Arena 13, after the Victor was announced and things finally began to feel like normal again, has Gary remembered some important bets he made months ago.

He lost those bets. But in losing, he's gained two dates.

Gary isn't much of a planner. Almost as soon as he remembers what needs to be done, he writes out two notes and hands them off to a passing Avox to deliver them. From there, it's just a matter of waiting at the places specified and hoping that the recipients show.

Iskierka,

Meet me outside the Tribute Center just before sunset on Wednesday. Bring an empty stomach--we're having steak! ;)

<3 Gary

The other one requires slightly more thought.

Megan,

You know the huge amusement park on the docks? The one with the crazy floating coasters? There's a pier next to it with a cruise boat. Meet me there at 10pm on Thursday. Don't be late, or you'll miss it! ;)

<3 Gary

Comments

[letthemburn]

Truth be told, Iskierka had mostly forgotten about the date. But she's not about to turn down the offer of food, even so. Admittedly, she also hasn't gotten any idea what the symbols at the end of the message are meant to be - emoticons are nothing that she's had any experience with - but the rest of the message is more than enough to pique her curiosity.

She's even on time, for once - although she may have had to ask when the sun was due to set, so as to make sure that she managed to be so. But one way or the other, she's there, and looking more than a little curious about where they might be going.

[a_minute_younger]

Gary makes no effort to decide precise timetables for sunset, or even make the effort to be there on-time. He arrives much earlier than anticipated, but he doesn't mind--this gives him time to explore around the main procession area in front of the Center. Of course this means that he's not immediately visible when Iskierka appears, but he doesn't stay hidden for long.

"There you are!" Gary cries, popping up from the bleachers lining the central street. He sprints and hops over the side with energy to spare. "I was starting to wonder--come on! Don't wanna miss it."

[letthemburn]

"I would hardly have wished to miss anything," Iskierka comments, and it's a less a complaint than it might sound. She isn't really certain what she might have missed - or nearly missed, as the case might be - but she follows along without so much as a second thought. Wherever they might be going is fine by her, and she's been promised dinner besides; that's enough for her.

She even manages to not ask any questions about where they happen to be headed, for once.

[a_minute_younger]

Gary isn't planning on leading Iskierka anywhere--at least, not in the obvious way. No hopping on a bus or taking a scenic walk around the parks for them, no sir. Gary goes straight to clambering onto Iskierka's back. He's kind of hoping that the urgency of dinner will keep her from asking too many questions about this as well.

[letthemburn]

Gary's assumptions are partially right. Iskierka doesn't ask any questions. But instead of it being due to the urgency of dinner, it's down to something much more instinctive - as soon as he starts clambering onto her back she startles, wings flaring and posture going incredibly tense. She hasn't, really, been ridden since she arrived in Panem. And while she's not unused to people riding her, there's still the fact that she's usually much larger.

(Which might not seem to make too much a difference, until one realizes this means that where she's used to people being at the time tends to vary.)

Still, if there's one consolation, it's in that she's not trying to shake him off. On the other hand, if once he's gotten settled, she isn't a comfortable ride by any stretch of the imagination. Not only is her skin somewhat damp, but the assortment of spines running down her back and over her sides makes it not unlike sitting on a bed of nails - and not only that but warm nails, that occasionally vent small jets of steam.

[a_minute_younger]

Gary's plan is not a very good one. He realizes this about midway over Iskierka's back, soon after she flinches like she's about to throw him off. Thankfully for Gary (perhaps not for Iskierka), he has an excellent sense of balance--when it's not on a living, writhing creature who happens to be covered in little prickly spines that he can't grab very well. Gary hisses, quietly curses and fumbles his way over, but ultimately he's still able to make it on.

This is where he runs into the second problem: sprawling over a bunch of pointy scales. Gary often lacks foresight when it comes to throwing himself at new and exciting situations, but he's not so oblivious that he can't see the imminent danger to his delicate hardware between his legs. That simply won't do.

"Alright, calm down," Gary chides, wincing to himself as he takes off his light spring jacket and stuffs it underneath him. This is like giving his jacket to a date, right? He's being a gentleman! "I told you we were flying to dinner if I took you out! You totally agreed to it and everything. You're not allowed to be surprised."

[letthemburn]

Fortunately for Gary (and somewhat unfortunately for Iskierka) she's wearing the belly rigging that she asked on of the Stylists to make for a long time ago, when she realized that having the ability to carry things without having to hold them in her foreclaws was going to be very easy. As such, there are a handful of straps crossing her back to keep the rigging on - if Gary needs or wants something to hold that jacket in place he might just be able to tuck a few bits under those straps.

"I am hardly surprised," Iskierka counters, ignoring that fact that she totally had been. "It is simply that it is polite to ask first, if you are not of someone's crew."

[a_minute_younger]

The straps are indeed utilized, belatedly, after Gary does some adjusting and realizes how useful they would be. He does a bit more awkward shuffling around to get the jacket firmly secured.

"Gotcha. Dragon etiquette isn't something they teach in the schools back home, you get me?" Then, with the jacket in place, Gary mocks a half-bow where he's sitting and puts on his most offensively formal accent. "Lady Iskierka, if I may please have the pleasure of riding you, a sweet-ass motherfucking dragon, to dinner tonight?"

[letthemburn]

It's perhaps just as well that Gary isn't really in a position where Iskierka can reach him. Otherwise she might have had to lightly buffet him for the tone of his voice. As it is, she simply accepts the request, albeit a little grudgingly. He's very much not her crew but she has - apparently - promised, and she supposes she ought to be as good as her word, even if she can't remember having given it.

"You may," she agrees, with a bob of her head. There's a moment of silence and then she figures she should probably give Gary something of a warning, if he's not flown before. "Oh, and you may wish hold on."

No sooner has she spoken than she stretches her wings, and after a few test flaps to make certain that all sits well, even with the added weight on her back, she launches herself into the air - and it's probably just as well that Gary's thought to put some padding between her and his softer parts given that it's not as similar to horseback riding as one might first expect.

[a_minute_younger]

Gary thinks he should say something snappy. "No shit" is the obvious comeback, and it has a nice ring to it, it's quick, Gary likes it and is halfway to opening his mouth to deliver it when suddenly Iskierka is doing that really alarming thing with her wings and he kind of runs out of steam. The words still come a few moments later, but as more of a squeak, muffled as he lurches forward and desperately grabs onto the larger spines on the dragon's neck. They feel just sharp enough to impale him through the chest if he's knocked too far forward. However, as they are the most immediate grabbing implements around, Gary won't consider the possible drawbacks until much later.

With a lurch that jams his stomach in his throat, Iskierka throws them both into the air. Gary has never ridden a horse, so the comparison escapes him. This is basically an organic roller coaster ride for him right now. Gary enjoys roller coasters maybe a little too much. He can get behind this.

At some point in their ascent, Gary's excitement bubbles over into a whoop of laughter. "Iskierka!" he cries. "This is the coolest fucking thing I've ever done! I thought you should know!"

[letthemburn]

They make for good enough things to hold on, under the circumstances. Where Iskierka the size she usually is, there'd have been more rigging and more handholds in general, but as things stand there's not much call for that sort of thing. That and it had been hard enough to convince one of the Stylists to make her even what she has now - Iskierka can hardly imagined what it would take to make something that's closer to what she's used to. Not to mention she's more courier-sized now that she's ever been before and she has very little idea of what proper rigging for a courier looks like.

And besides, as long as Gary's careful, they shouldn't do him any significant damage.

"Why, of course it is," she answers, quite happily. "After all, there is nothing else like it."