dragon-king:

bird-king-quetzalcoatl:

“As long as his boredom with one place doesn’t lead to him destroying another, I suppose it isn’t rerally something to worry me.” Quetz shrugged again. He might have added that as long as the land mass he was resididing in wasn’t destroyed it didn’t really concern him, but he left it alone. He didn’t really think thise like Levi or Eurynome to be the sort you could trust to take his serious involvement with mortals sinscerely. Proserpine was far closer to his intellectual level and understood his convictions much better.

“Boring, yes, but maybe they will all die of the cold. Sleeping by a fire like that female mortal does will only do good for so long. Men are sea are a favourable source of food for my Harpies now, and they will be undergoing a change of…morals, shall we say. Perhaps a few of them will swoop by and grab an unsuspecting mortal, although that is the only invovlement they will be allowed.” his smug grin faded to a grimace of annoyance as he remembered his other business with Mitera.

Rising to his feet and brushing down the front of his shirt, he quickly ran a hand through his short hair.
“I’m afraid I must be going, I have quite a bit of business to attend to. I might even envy your lack of purpose here whilst I am so busy elsewhere.” he kept a straight face now, fixing his collar and running his tongue over his teeth as was his usual vain habit.

Levi shrugs as the bird king goes to get up “The master does as he pleases my friend of that I am sure, he will tire of this realm soon enough, leaving us to pick up the pieces no doubt and one more thing before you leave If your harpies do decide to feast upon this crew They will take care to leave the Lady Mia unharmed, if she is even scratched by a talon, I will be very unhappy and no doubt as will be the master, I would hate to be the one to tell him that his daughter was a harpies breakfast” He grins showing off his fangs  “Tell your harpies I know how easily feathers burn and Kovacs will not be their dinner either. I hope we have an understanding”

He stands up and straightens his suit and gives Quetz a bow “I wish you success in your endeavors Quetz and will see you again in Chaos soon enough, maybe you will bring your mortal boy to Chaos, I should like to meet him”

Giving a pompous laugh, Quetz shook his head.
“Harpies are idiots, so much so that they’ve made pacts with humans, but I doubt they’d be foolish enough to even meet eyes with another creature of chaos such as Lady Mia or a dragon. You’ve nothing to worry about, my friend.”

Returning the bow, he kept that sly smile on hisface now but there was a hint of serious intentions in his voice as he spoke.
“Now, that could be foolish on my part, for many reasons. Chaos would not be something he could shrug off or understand, and I dread to think what might happen if he was ever left alone with you long enough.” baring a fang as he widened his smile, he stood up straight once more and then disappeared in a flash, leaving behind only the slightest hint of pale smoke.

dragon-king:

bird-king-quetzalcoatl:

 ”A lover’s quarrel?” Quetz chuckled. “I’ve known that all too well. Although, for my benefit, I can stop them quite easily. Avis’s brief time of rebellion seems long gone. Azrial’s moods aren’t something you’ll ever have control over. I would advise never to become so infatuated with her that you must grovel at her feet but I must admit I’d been forced to do so myself. You must have a lust for suffering to endure her.” Quetzalcoatl shrugged, wondering in the back of his mind if it was wise to express his dislike of Azrial to Levi.

He raised his eyebrows at the mention of the mortal city’s destruction. For a brief second he wondered if a place that was literally Chaos within this realm, as some odd ‘happy medium’ would suit himself and his student. Of course, he swept the idea from his mind quickly and sat forward to speak.
“I suppose that could go either way for us. Perhaps it will amuse the master, or perhaps it will remind him of just how quiet Chaos itself has become. I, unfortunately, have particular investments in some mortal lands. Suffice to say, I rather hope a war breaks out in Chaos until I am done here, if it will allow the realm to remain a little longer.”

“I somehow think extra mortals in such a place might spoil the atmosphere.” he said dryly. “I can’t help but notice these ships appear to be on a set course to cooler waters too. I might return if if gets very cool, as I’ve never actually seen a mortal freeze to death. You’d imagine it to be far more pleasing that any other form of destruction, because the body remains. But I’m rambling now. How long to do you expect Lady Mia and, by extension, yourself, to be stuck here? If you second in command is also on this ship who is running your affairs back within Chaos?”

Levi runs his fingers through his hair and huffed “Azrial is displeased with me and this is my punishment to remain in this stinking realm, although having Kovacs and the Lady Mia as company makes it bearable. I have been toying with the idea of leaving even though it means facing her wrath” his eyes glittered and he licked his lips “I do so enjoy facing her anger at times, it is most…stimulating”

He coughs and then clears his throat, trying to gain some composure and to avoid getting too excited “ah…what were we talking about? The city of Alexandria was it?…The master will soon grow bored with that place, he usually does, no doubt he will give it to one of us to rebuild…I do hope it isn’t me, that would be most tiresome” Levi chuckles again “I know Azrial wants it but the master refuses to let her have it, having Azrial in charge of part of this realm could be most entertaining”

He nods at the bird king when he speaks of their destination, Kovacs has been reporting back to him each day in regards to the crews movements, Levi would never lower himself to mix with them himself. His time is spent reading, drinking bathing and taking strolls with Mia on the deck “We are apparently off to a place called Russia, the humans are in search of some treasure of sorts, it all sounds dreadfully boring”

Levi does wonder how is realm is faring but has little to worry about, all his flight commanders are perfectly capable of running the place in his absence but he would rather be there, he is sick of this human form, it is so restrictive and quite unpleasant to live in.

“My realm is well looked after Quetz, so I need not worry. Alas I have no idea how long Azrial expects me to remain here but I have decided to leave once certain events have taken place, then I can hand over Lady Mia’s total care to another”

“As long as his boredom with one place doesn’t lead to him destroying another, I suppose it isn’t rerally something to worry me.” Quetz shrugged again. He might have added that as long as the land mass he was resididing in wasn’t destroyed it didn’t really concern him, but he left it alone. He didn’t really think thise like Levi or Eurynome to be the sort you could trust to take his serious involvement with mortals sinscerely. Proserpine was far closer to his intellectual level and understood his convictions much better.

“Boring, yes, but maybe they will all die of the cold. Sleeping by a fire like that female mortal does will only do good for so long. Men are sea are a favourable source of food for my Harpies now, and they will be undergoing a change of…morals, shall we say. Perhaps a few of them will swoop by and grab an unsuspecting mortal, although that is the only invovlement they will be allowed.” his smug grin faded to a grimace of annoyance as he remembered his other business with Mitera.

Rising to his feet and brushing down the front of his shirt, he quickly ran a hand through his short hair.
“I’m afraid I must be going, I have quite a bit of business to attend to. I might even envy your lack of purpose here whilst I am so busy elsewhere.” he kept a straight face now, fixing his collar and running his tongue over his teeth as was his usual vain habit.

dragon-king:

 Levi adjusts the cuffs on his new suit, bought in Alexandria, it cost him a ridiculous amount of gold but was worth every penny, appearances meant everything and would get you far in this realm

 ” Of course we had a plan, from the very beginning, Azrial knew that Master would eventually marry the Lady Mia to some power thirsty dick on legs So we just had to plant a few seeds and let the fruits of our labours flourish” He stretched and grinned at the Bird king “and so far it is all going to plan and I will pass your message onto Eurynome when I return to Chaos” he huffed slightly “that is if  I ever return to Chaos as Azrial seems keen to keep me here, it is only her occasional visits that keep me sane, this really is a dreadful place, this ship, how the humans stand it I do not know”

Levi gives his friend a respectful nod “I know you aren’t a slave my friend, it was a joke and nothing more” he sits back placing his empty wineglass on the table “well, Master has already made a move in this realm. He has taking a mortal city and how shall I describe it? And fashioned it to his liking. The city is gone and Chaos has taken its place, the humans that remain are crazed cannibals and demons roam free” he laughs “Azrial tells me it is a magnificent place and spends most of her time there, maybe I should persuade our dear captain to take us there, it would add some excitement to this dull journey”

And I would get to see Azrial…

 ”A lover’s quarrel?” Quetz chuckled. “I’ve known that all too well. Although, for my benefit, I can stop them quite easily. Avis’s brief time of rebellion seems long gone. Azrial’s moods aren’t something you’ll ever have control over. I would advise never to become so infatuated with her that you must grovel at her feet but I must admit I’d been forced to do so myself. You must have a lust for suffering to endure her.” Quetzalcoatl shrugged, wondering in the back of his mind if it was wise to express his dislike of Azrial to Levi.

He raised his eyebrows at the mention of the mortal city’s destruction. For a brief second he wondered if a place that was literally Chaos within this realm, as some odd ‘happy medium’ would suit himself and his student. Of course, he swept the idea from his mind quickly and sat forward to speak.
“I suppose that could go either way for us. Perhaps it will amuse the master, or perhaps it will remind him of just how quiet Chaos itself has become. I, unfortunately, have particular investments in some mortal lands. Suffice to say, I rather hope a war breaks out in Chaos until I am done here, if it will allow the realm to remain a little longer.”

“I somehow think extra mortals in such a place might spoil the atmosphere.” he said dryly. “I can’t help but notice these ships appear to be on a set course to cooler waters too. I might return if if gets very cool, as I’ve never actually seen a mortal freeze to death. You’d imagine it to be far more pleasing that any other form of destruction, because the body remains. But I’m rambling now. How long to do you expect Lady Mia and, by extension, yourself, to be stuck here? If you second in command is also on this ship who is running your affairs back within Chaos?”

dragon-king:

bird-king-quetzalcoatl:

“I’m sorry to insist, but it will not end well. You try the master’s patience, Levi. And I suppose if his daughter is hiding here in the mortal relam, he is of poor moods. She will have to return eventually, if he does not drag her back himself. What will you do then? I don’t mean to imply she must marry someone she does not want to, but I genuinely wonder what you have planned. I haven’t heard a lot from Chaos myself but it is my understanding that Astoroth has been victorious thus far.” he took a long sip from the wine, which he could tell was from Chaos. It was better than the drinks he’d been introducing Emmet (and himself) to.

His upper lip twitched in annoyance as Levi mentioned Emmet.
“I’ll have you know that my intentions are not of that persuasion. I am done with mortals, and have plenty of lovers within Chaos who are worth the energy. No, my intentions with the mortal are intellectual and I should not have to defend them. Just because you are so desperately addicted to sex does not mean we all are. I have self control.” he snarled in offence. Most of it was because his intentions were indeed pure and he did not intend or want to make Emmet anything other than a student. And still, he felt an uncomfortable heat in his chest that indicated perhaps he was getting too angry for that to be the sole reason. “Who told you this anyway? I thought you had been on this ship - no one here knows me or my plans.” he added, sitting back in his seat and taking another gulp of wine to calm himself.

“My business here is personal, to do with the Harpies. War still looms in Chaos but Nina and Enki are either too cowardly or too busy fucking to actually do anything.”

I am willing to take that risk Quetz, Azrial is worth it, the master cares naught about her. Where as I do, she has my heart and I am willing to prove it by being loyal to her” He smiles at the mention of Astoroth and the wedding again and pours them both another drink. He would not go into this without a plan that would be foolish

 “Imagine if you will Quetz, that the Lady Mia finds herself falling for someone from Chaos, this other person feels the same for her and let us say they fall in love He is of noble birth and worthy of the Lady Mia’s affections by right he can proclaim his ownership of her and challenge Astoroth for her hand in marriage” Levi gives his friend a sly grin “we have a plan in place my friend, do not worry”

Levi hold his hands up as the Bird king spits feathers in annoyance “my, my, a touchy subject is it Quetz? I did not make any assumptions, what you do with your friend is no one’s business but your own. And if you must know it was that idle gossip Eurynome who told me, how he found out I have no idea” he rolls his eyes at the addicted to sex comment “I happened to like sex very much and I do have some control or” he chuckles unable to resist teasing the bird king again “I would get you drunk and seduce you, keeping you trapped here as my slave, what do you think Quetz? I jest of course, before you slice off my head in a rage” Levi starts to laugh “no hard feelings eh?”

Levi muses about the threatening war in the realm, there was always some sort of conflict in Chaos. One clan trying to seize power off another “I doubt Nina and Enki will do anything, they would be foolish to do so”

Quetzalcoatl did nothing but roll his eyes at Levi’s admiration and dedication to Azrial. Thus far the bird king had never experienced such feelings and he very much looked down upon it.
“Just don’t say I haven’t warned you, Levi. He might not care for her but I don’t doubt he’d care if you were stealing her from him.

Quetz relinquished a slight chuckle at Levi’s plan.
“I should have known you’d orchestrated something.” he grinned, taking a more gentle and reserved sip of wine. He’d almost forgotten about the pressing matter of Mitera, as he seemed to have a one-track mind these days.

“If you see Eurynome remind him he has not yet acted upon a favour I call from him, and he’d do well to watch that ugly tongue of his. And please, I am no one’s slave. Quite the opposite.” he smirked, refusing to take offense to that particular joke. Avis’s rants from before he’s rehabilitated her often included accusations that he struggled with some obscure inferiority complex and made up for it by dominating anyone he took. As far as Quetz was concerned it was just the ramblings of a madwoman and held no worth, of course.

“There was been a surprising lack of wars and fights these days, actually. Everyone seems to have found something else to distract them. When I am quite ready I’ll set about dropping everything I have on that filthy snake and the mer-king, but only when I am ready. I rather hope they do attack me in a way. It would be quite satisfying to crush them quite quickly. You might call me impatient but the spoils of war would be my main focus at the moment of victory. Enki is an infuriating and pompous man but then I’m sure some of my servants have dislikable personalities. That doesn’t stop me.” he laughed cooly, sitting forward and casually brushing his hand over his pocket to feel that plait of human hair that still needed to be ‘delivered’, so to speak. Mitera could wait, though. He’d find her quite easily.
“I feel that the calm that has spread over Chaos displeases the master anyway. He’ll start to take his craving for such violence out on the mortal realm very quickly…”

dragon-king:

bird-king-quetzalcoatl:

Quetzalcotal’s face screwed up in disgust, baring his teeth.
“Oh hell, absolutely not.” he said, looking over at the female. “I am not interested in mortals at this point.” he snapped.

“How long is Lady Mia to remain here? I have heard snippets of rumour that she has several vying for her hand in marriage back in Chaos. This realm is not a pleasure to be in so I assume she is hiding. Does she realise that it can’t last forever?” he asked, ignoring Levi’s crude joke (although really only because he was in a rather poor mood). The point about not being able to stay in the mortal realm was unintentionally relevant to himself and the grimace on his face only half faded.

“You’d do well to disinvolve yourself with Azrial. I sound like a parrot but I will keep repeating this - you only put yourself in danger. A lot of danger. The risks will catch up with you. Perhaps you should pursue Lady Mia yourself as a sole mate if it would mean you are no longer involved with the Master’s own mistress. He can’t be one to tolerate this forever you know.” Quetz glanced back over to the female, whose head had moved from one side to the other without him noticing. Quietly and gracefully, he stepped along the wall and out of the doorway, eyes on the Dragon king now. “I’d rather that mortal not hear us talking, you know.”

Levi nods and leads the bird king up to his cabin, leaving pep asleep, she would never know they were there. Once there he pours his friend a glass of wine and gestures for him to sit

“I cannot…will not give up Azrial, I need her Quetz and would do anything she asks of me” he sighs “I have even given up my chasing of other females just to be with her”

He frowns at the mention of Mia’s marriage “yes we are keeping her here for the time being, even though she would rather be in Chaos, where she belongs. I have heard rumours that Lord Astoroth has defeated all the other suitors and is the one who might take her hand, is this true?” he grimaces “Astoroth a brutal maniac and is only interested in an alliance of his clan with the masters and a seat at the war council, neither I or Azrial want this for Lady Mia and we are doing our best to prevent the marriage”

He sits back in his chair and takes a long gulp of the wine “Not interested in mortals? That’s not what I’ve heard, I hear you have a young man now, a mortal, don’t give me that rubbish Quetz, you cannot resist them either”

He sits forwards “And you still haven’t told me why you are here, on this ship”

“I’m sorry to insist, but it will not end well. You try the master’s patience, Levi. And I suppose if his daughter is hiding here in the mortal relam, he is of poor moods. She will have to return eventually, if he does not drag her back himself. What will you do then? I don’t mean to imply she must marry someone she does not want to, but I genuinely wonder what you have planned. I haven’t heard a lot from Chaos myself but it is my understanding that Astoroth has been victorious thus far.” he took a long sip from the wine, which he could tell was from Chaos. It was better than the drinks he’d been introducing Emmet (and himself) to.

His upper lip twitched in annoyance as Levi mentioned Emmet.
“I’ll have you know that my intentions are not of that persuasion. I am done with mortals, and have plenty of lovers within Chaos who are worth the energy. No, my intentions with the mortal are intellectual and I should not have to defend them. Just because you are so desperately addicted to sex does not mean we all are. I have self control.” he snarled in offence. Most of it was because his intentions were indeed pure and he did not intend or want to make Emmet anything other than a student. And still, he felt an uncomfortable heat in his chest that indicated perhaps he was getting too angry for that to be the sole reason. “Who told you this anyway? I thought you had been on this ship - no one here knows me or my plans.” he added, sitting back in his seat and taking another gulp of wine to calm himself.

“My business here is personal, to do with the Harpies. War still looms in Chaos but Nina and Enki are either too cowardly or too busy fucking to actually do anything.”

dragon-king:

bird-king-quetzalcoatl:

With a frustrated sigh (born partly out offence at the inuslt), Quetzalcoatl’s eyes flickered over the still sleeping female and then back to the Dragon king.

“Really, you might argue that I am just doing well to fit in. Mortals are so very stupid that instead of not noticing differences, they cling to them. I’d rather them not notice my presence here. Why, pray tell, are you here on such a filthy vessel?” he scowled. Quetz still returned to Chaos to bathe as it saved time (and was much nicer), although he was occasionaly forced to overstay his comfort zone when just dissapearing could not happen. Some sacrifices needed to be made in order to live such drastically different lives.

He glanced back to the mortal female once more as she wriggled in her seat, but she showed no hint of waking (yet).
“There seems to be a surprisingly strong Chaos presense upon this ship. I can’t quite see the appeal, especially when things are so tense within Chaos these days. Land is surely the lesser of the two evils if you must be absent.” he added, lifting his head up and stepping away from the wall in an effort to recover some dignity.

“Oh don’t be so stuffy Quetz” Levi chuckled and slapped him on the back “Indeed it is a pleasure to see you, unexpected but a pleasure nonetheless. I merely jest at your or should I say our situation” this time it was his turn to sigh “I am unfortunately required to remain on this disgusting vessel at Azrial’s request, my duty to watch over the lovely Lady Mia” The dragon grinned at Quetz” of course I would never turn down such a request and Lady Mia is particularly lovely. Although would prefer to watch over her in Chaos, preferably in my bed” Levi laughs at his own joke.

”At Quetz’s mention of the presence of their kind, Levi nodded “well Kovacs, my second in command is here also, he also is here to care for the Lady Mia…” Levi tails off there, he cannot help but notice how well the princess and Kovacs are getting on. An unexpected result of him being here and one that might not go down so well in Chaos. He gives the sleeping Pep a sideways glance

“So my friend what brings you here? Are you trying your luck with this female?” He grins showing off his fangs “but you might be out of luck, she has a mate, a fearsome pirate so I have heard and as you can see, she is carrying his child and she has a temper worse that Eury with a hangover!”

Quetzalcotal’s face screwed up in disgust, baring his teeth.
“Oh hell, absolutely not.” he said, looking over at the female. “I am not interested in mortals at this point.” he snapped.

“How long is Lady Mia to remain here? I have heard snippets of rumour that she has several vying for her hand in marriage back in Chaos. This realm is not a pleasure to be in so I assume she is hiding. Does she realise that it can’t last forever?” he asked, ignoring Levi’s crude joke (although really only because he was in a rather poor mood). The point about not being able to stay in the mortal realm was unintentionally relevant to himself and the grimace on his face only half faded.

“You’d do well to disinvolve yourself with Azrial. I sound like a parrot but I will keep repeating this - you only put yourself in danger. A lot of danger. The risks will catch up with you. Perhaps you should pursue Lady Mia yourself as a sole mate if it would mean you are no longer involved with the Master’s own mistress. He can’t be one to tolerate this forever you know.” Quetz glanced back over to the female, whose head had moved from one side to the other without him noticing. Quietly and gracefully, he stepped along the wall and out of the doorway, eyes on the Dragon king now. “I’d rather that mortal not hear us talking, you know.”

dragon-king:

bird-king-quetzalcoatl:

And yet, it was the exact spot he’d have to go. Avis was constantly in a panic whenever he visitied Chaos at night, bleating about the threat of war and how Mitera, for all of her obedience, still not only had links to humans, but was also attacking and hunting merfolk…

With his shoulders slumped, Levi stomped down the stairs towards where the human kept their food, he was in a foul mood, having been without sex for well over a week now.

He had left the two egyptian females in the last port, both girls had wept and begged him to let them stay and the dragon had become so annoyed with them that he had become very close to ending their lives himself as they tried his temper.He had neglected to tell them that their home, the city of Alexandria had ceased to exist and instead had told them to maybe start their lives a new in a new place

“See it as a challenge my pretty birds, you can easy make a living here

”Then he handed them a bag of gold and then left them, clinging to each other and calling out his name.

Levi stopped on the steps and sniffed, narrowing his eyes, there was a presence on the ship that hadn’t been there before, a very familiar odour. He carried on down the steps and grinned as he found the bird king skulking in the galley, dressed in what Levi could only describe as casual clothing. Levi had kept up appearances during his stay onboard, despite what the crew thought of him, one had to keep their dignity after all

“Why Quetz” he drawled and raised a quizzical eyebrow “your standards are slipping, you look and smell just like the crew”

With a frustrated sigh (born partly out offence at the inuslt), Quetzalcoatl’s eyes flickered over the still sleeping female and then back to the Dragon king.

“Really, you might argue that I am just doing well to fit in. Mortals are so very stupid that instead of not noticing differences, they cling to them. I’d rather them not notice my presence here. Why, pray tell, are you here on such a filthy vessel?” he scowled. Quetz still returned to Chaos to bathe as it saved time (and was much nicer), although he was occasionaly forced to overstay his comfort zone when just dissapearing could not happen. Some sacrifices needed to be made in order to live such drastically different lives.

He glanced back to the mortal female once more as she wriggled in her seat, but she showed no hint of waking (yet).
“There seems to be a surprisingly strong Chaos presense upon this ship. I can’t quite see the appeal, especially when things are so tense within Chaos these days. Land is surely the lesser of the two evils if you must be absent.” he added, lifting his head up and stepping away from the wall in an effort to recover some dignity.

And yet, it was the exact spot he’d have to go. Avis was constantly in a panic whenever he visitied Chaos at night, bleating about the threat of war and how Mitera, for all of her obedience, still not only had links to humans, but was also attacking and hunting merfolk

This did not usually anger Quetz. Merfolk were best dead, as far as he was concerned, and Harpies had always been free to hunt and consume humans - so much so that they were a main part of their diet. However, every bit of involvement in the mortal realm was a threat now. Quetzalcoatl could not bear to cancel his work here now, but he could not handle a war whilst staying in the mortal realm. If he even gave Emmet a hint of what Chaos was, he’d probably die of the shock. So Quetz really had no options now but to control the Harpy Queen, but he needed something before he did that.

She’d always been over involved with mortals. Sometimes it helped to feed her kind and sometimes it did nothing but embarass the bird king. In this case, he was out to retrieve something that would continue to cause him such shame and put an end to this. The previous Greek Queen had been no problem, and was never troublesome. Mitera’s power had now made her laughably foolish.

There were three of the stinking wooden tubs in the group that Quetz knew about, but it was not difficult to smell out the one that Mitera had ben visiting. None probably knew, but she was always sending out Harpies to find the ship and see if it was undammaged. All he had to do was follow the trail.

Grimacing as he appeared in a dark corner on the larger of the three ships, Quetzalcoatl was deliberately dressed in the most casual clothes he wore. He did not intend to be seen but he was not foolish enough to forget that possibility. The mortal and the item he was after was not far off, and as night had fallen most of the putrid creatures were asleep. His target was near a source of heat and food, and to his pleasure she was alone.

With a blanket wrapped over her shoulders, the pale, dark haired mortal woman that Mitera had always taken such a liking to was slumped back in a seat, fully clothed and clearly struggling with the growing cold of the night.

The plan was quite simple. He knew Mitera had given a body part of another mortal as a gift to this female, and he intended to take that. The mortal female would no longer have a reminder of the Harpy, and he could make a show to Mitera of destroying it, just as she was to destroy her ties to humans and the merfolk. A calm needed to rest over his kind if Quetz’s personal plan was to continue. He could not stay in the mortal realm forever, but the longer he could gain the better.

Although not being able to simply retrieve it from a box or something seperate from her was infuriating, it was easy enough to slip his hand into the pockets of the female and eventually find what he was looking for. A rather ragged and dry looking bundle of yellowish hair, plaited and tied off at each end. Strands had come loose and it looked rather disgusting. If the mortal had any sense she’d be glad to be rid of it.

Pocketing the hair, he stared at the female for a brief moment, making sure she hadn’t woken up as he’d rifled through her pockets. Her visible pregnancy told him she was probably too tired to be woken that easily, and it seemed luck was on his side. Of course, in case she was awake and simply doing well to fool him, he’d take himself off the ship in a more secluded area. If she saw him dissapear into nothing, alarms could be raised. It would perhaps bode poorly for him if she then attempted to contact Mitera.

His muscles tensed as he heard clear footsteps outside. That was the only exit into the dark corner he’d arrived in, and so he side stepped to the wall by the doorway to this warmer room, his back pressed against it in an attempt to avoid the approaching person. With any luck, the passing mortal would not come in and Quetz could leave. However, as the footsteps drew closer he was able to determine their source clearly. He could of course tell there were creatures of Chaos on this ship - you could find them in many places. But, this was a far more familiar presence, and as he waited by the doorway he furrowed his brow in what might have been frustration. Emmet had not get gone to bed and when Quetz had left he was up reading. What if the boy was now looking for him, finding him nowhere in the house? How would Quetzalcoatl explain his sudden reappearance? Emmet usually went straight to bed after reading, but it would be typical of fate to make him search out the older man tonight of all nights, with a question or something pressing. Luck did not seem to be in his favour right now. He could tolerate a conversation with a person of Chaos who he did not despise, but what if it woke the mortal and she questioned who he was, or why he was never on the ship again?

He insisted he would visit his father often (likely to calm his own unneedingly guilty conscience) but agreed he would live in the house. It made sense and even he knew leaving his comfort zone would help him grow emotionally.

So, after having rested last night, Emmet was in better spirits both mentally and physically, and had eaten much better. Quetzalcoatl had decided to subject Emmet to some light exercise without him knowing it - by teaching him to dance. Of course, he couldn’t dance with him, and instead called in Sarah, who rather rudely left a handprint of flour on the door as she came up from the kitchen, before wiping her hands on her apron and sending up a light cloud of the stuff.

“Sarah, can you dance?”
“Nothing of your sorts, sir. Not a classy dance.
“Excellent! You won’t butt into my teaching then. Emmet, stand up, you and Sarah are going to dance.”

With wide eyes, Emmet put down the china cup in his hand and looked around him.
“You want me to dance with her?”
“Don’t be nervous! This is entirely clinical. You must learn to dance with a woman.” Quetzalcoatl clapped his hands and motioned for Emmet to stand. “You’ll only be touching hands, anyway. Stand opposite eachother, keep about four feet apart.”

The two did as they were told, with Sarah trying to brush any more flour and dirt off her apron.
“Now, I will teach you the basics of the contredanse.” Quetz stood before them and held his hands up. “Bow, sweeping your left hand out and onto your stomach, and putting the left foor forward too. Good! Now step forward - sweeping! Go anti-clockwise around eachother, no touching.” he eixitedly instructed them, not bothering to use any real terms about the dance since they were both far below a class that might know about it.

“Take both hands - no! Just the fingers, Emmet. Allow her fingers to lay over yours. Now turn together, again anti-clockwise.”
Sarah’s feet were possibly the most graceless limbs he had ever seen, but she seemed to be trying and Emmet was too. “Alright, now to the same clockwise; step around eachother, then take your hands and turn around eachother.”

The dance couldn’t really continue much without at least one other couple, and so Quetz decided the two would repeat the same five motions until their footwork and posture was perfect. He didn’t really care much for Sarah’s improvement but wanted Emmet to make an effort. After an hour, the dance seemed to have become too repetitive, and so Quetz dismissed Sarah, who went away blushing for whatever reasons.

“You’ll have to learn the whole dance, but we can take it slow. I have a few things to take care of - letters to write - upstairs. Stay down here and read - I’ll be introducing you to essay writing very soon.”
“I can’t write very well.”
“In that case, I’ll be introducing you to essay writing eventually.” Quetz smirked, striding from the room and leaving Emmet to fish through a pile of books he was allowed to keep in the parlour for reading.

The Doctor was led into the drawing room after having seen to Emmet, and had a rather pretentious air about him that Quetzalcoatl did not like.

“It’s still an inconvenience. What does he have?”
“General poor health and kinetosis. He ought not to travel long on an empty stomach, unless you want him-“
“I think I understand. You would advise his health might only be improved if he lessened his travel?”
“I suppose, yes.”

Quetz rose to meet the man and show him out, pulling coins from his hand and slipping them to the doctor.
“I should give my opinion, that you might have wanted to choose a better apprentice than him. He’s a weak young man.”
“You should give it, but I should not care for it. Good day.” Quetzalcoatl opened the door with a smirk and the doctor left without the decency to return the polite phrase, despite the handsome pay he’d just recieved.

“Go to the adress of master Emmet, and request his belongings. Just enough to last him the night - fresh clothes and whatnot.” he then instructed the coachdriver, who’d been waiting in the hallway as instructed.

After the driver had left, Quetz made his way up to the room to find Emmet with his shoes off and fet up on the chair, allowing him to curl up with his legs against his torso.
“I have sent for some of your things - just enough for you to stay the night. If you wish to go home tomorrow it is your choice, but the doctor said travel would not suit you if you are to increase your health.”
“I know. I suppose I am just unused to this situation.”
“Of course!” Quetz sat down on a chair opposite “I don’t expect you to make any decisions right away. Part of what I will teach you will include standing up for yourself - but think. Use logic. Decide what will be best for you logically. I suggest you lie down, I will have Sarah bring up some books for you to continue your study, and she will also bring your items up when they arrive.”
“Can I study downstairs?”
“I would rather you be near a bed, if you feel ill.”
“I don’t feel that bad.” Emmet forced a smile, bringing his feet down onto the floor.
“Alright. Read until dinner, I want you to eat something then you will have to get some rest and lay down.”
“Thankyou.” Emmet stood now and waited for Quetz to rise too. “I don’t like the idea of sitting up here alone.”
“You don’t like being alone?”
“No. The silence leaves me uncomfortable.”
“Then perhaps you should read with Sarah around. The damn woman never shuts up.” he chuckled, rising and walking out of the room with Emmet.