it's just good to see you

[alphinerd]

Who: Alphinaud, Anduin, and Wrathion
When: Jan. 28th
Where: Asclepius' Temple
What: It's been a while, and it's time for a visit.

[With all the settling in he'd been trying to do, Alphinaud had admittedly been neglecting checking up on his acquaintances. The assumption that all was fine and well was there, of course, but he'd simply not had the time - and while he could contact them via the devices, it felt horribly impersonal. Face-to-face visits were always the best, whether it was in the case of diplomacy or not.

Thus, Alphinaud shows up on Anduin's doorstep, one of the temple's dogs at his side and a small box carefully balanced in his arms as he reaches to knock on the door.]

Comments

[thewhitepawn]

[It has been some time since he's seen Alphinaud, and while he had been busy as well with attending to many things in day to day life-- it was nice to see a friendly face that day when he opens the door.]

Alphinaud? What a pleasant surprise! Please, come in!

[He ushers the other in, allowing for the dogs to follow as they will, door closing quietly behind the small entourage. His grin is warm and welcoming as he gently guides him towards the main sitting room, gesturing towards the comfortable, soft couch and stuffed chairs.]

What brings you this way? Is everything alright?

[indragonyears]

[ There was a Pekingnese happily snuffling along the outskirts of Anduin's temple. She snorfed at Alphinaud as she passed him by, amicable and full of cheer, and then she continued, little black eyes fixed on the air as she snuffled on by.

Wrathion was not amused by his tail. How the beast had spotted him when even Anduin Wrynn had not sensed his presence remained a mystery--but to reveal himself now would be to spoil the game. He eyed the visitor at Anduin's door, a curious twinge as to why someone would be here, of all places, wondering if they were soliciting or...

If Anduin was up to something nefarious. How juicy! Wrathion crept along the upper parts of the ceiling, Pekingnese snuffling away beneath him as he took the long way towards Anduin's sitting room. ]

[alphinerd]

[The Pekingese gets a warm smile, which is then very quickly turned up to Anduin as he follows the man inside, completely unbeknownst that a small dragon is stalking them like some kind of gossip-dispensing prey.]

Everything is perfectly alright. It has just been some time since I'd checked in on you, and I don't feel like sending a message over the devices is very... personal.

[The sitting room is warm and comfortable, and he happily settles his box on a table, working on shedding his coat from his shoulders.]

I've brought a gift, in return for the drink that you gave me when we first arrived. Hopefully it will be suitable.

[thewhitepawn]

[Something feels... different, but not necessarily in a bad way. It isn't Alphinaud, so he wonders if perhaps Sanada is somewhere, preparing something for them to do later.

Alphinaud's answer catches his attention back to the present, brow wrinkling for a moment as he struggles to recall the drink-- then light up in recognition.]

You didn't have to do that! I... certainly won't say it's unwelcome though. Thank you!

[Nana padded in quietly, taking her place on the floor beside Anduin's chair. The massive dog peered up at Wrathion for a moment, tail wagging slowly.]

[indragonyears]

[ The dogs really needed to stop wrecking Wrathion's subtle and most devious approach. He glares at the Pekingnese as drops down, creeping low to the ground as he slips into the sitting room and edges around so that Alphinaud and Anduin have their backs to him as he begins his ascent on the barest whisper of wings... as the Pekingnese continues to stare at him, watching until he lands in the eaves once more, peering down at the mortals to see what juicy tidbits he can wring out of the situation. ]

[alphinerd]

It's food in exchange for drink. I was hoping that we might be able to have some tea with it...? I don't at all mind helping you make it, of course.

[Something was nagging at his senses, some kind of presence, but Alphinaud thought little of it. Anduin wasn't at all concerned, so he wouldn't be, either. Likely, it was just something in the temple. Anduin's shinki, maybe?]

They're Alisaie's favorite, but I bought a few extra. Have you had ginger cookies?

[thewhitepawn]

Tea would be lovely, and I would welcome the help! [He offered, displacing the dog that had half-wiggled onto his lap in the short time to rise up, offering assistance to Alphinaud if he required it.]

And I have! I had the fortune of having some with ser Aymeric one evening and they were one of my favorites back home as well. They were very hard to find outside of Winter Veil though, but you could buy them by the dozens then...

[There was a warm fondness to his voice that suggested that he had definitely done just that on more than one occasion.]

The kitchen is this way. Nana, do you want to come along?

[The ovcharka rose and stretched at Anduin's voice, yawning-- and displaying the full range of her teeth. On the floor the pekingese plunked down and stared up at Wrathion, tail wagging. Anduin peeked upwards slightly through the fringe of his bangs but remained quiet.]

[indragonyears]

[ ... they were just. Going to go make tea?

That was it?

There was all this fanfare over tea?

The Pekingnese continued to be the world's loudest dust mop, happily panting its pleasure as it gazed up at its' most favorite lizard in the world, tail swooshing the tile expectantly. Wrathion rustled his wings, crouching low in the high shadows as he glared down at the two mortals-turned-gods, eyes glittering.

Fine. If they were going to be fools, Wrathion was going to show them what fools got in life... all he had to do was be patient a little while longer. ]

[alphinerd]

[Alphinaud gave the rather large dog a smile, albeit one that was respectfully nervous. Nana looked nearly like a horse in comparison to him, but she seemed kind enough, and she was sure that any dog of Anduin's would be of an even temperament regardless. As she stood, he lifted a hand for her to sniff if she so wished.]

Oh, you've met Ser Aymeric, then? He's a good man, and a very apt politician. I'm glad that you've been able to make friends here.

[As they move toward the kitchen, Alphinaud was close to follow - he didn't want to get lost in someone else's temple.]

[thewhitepawn]

Nana's a good girl. She's got a mothering sense to her. Always insists on being helpful in her own ways.

[Despite her size, Nana was a very gentle dog, daintily snuffling at Alphinaud's hand before offering a delicate little lick paired with an affectionate wag of her tail. She ranged alongside the pair of them, glancing back now and then-- but pekingese was sitting there, watching her friend even in the face of potential treats. Oh well.

At the mention of Aymeric, Anduin smiled, nodding.]

Just through here-- and yes, he's quite a wonderful man. We had a wonderful talk about differing politics between our worlds. It was incredibly enlightening!

[The kitchen was modern, but set in stone so as to keep with the very castle-laden look that Anduin seemed to love so dearly. Anduin peered through the tea he had before selecting some, gesturing to the kettle on the counter.]

Could you grab the water for me, please? Also-- milk, sugar? I like both myself.

[indragonyears]

[ They had a shadow, following them in the shadows of the eaves. The Pekingnese gave a cheery waddle, trotting in Wrathion's wake as the whelpling concealed himself once more, glowing eyes peering out from on high as those impeccable nerds took to make tea, of all the things you could be doing when there were technically no prying eyes on you.

How boring could you be?

And that besides, how careless could you be, considering that they were both... completely at ease, and utterly unaware of his presence. Shut up, Anduin.

He waited for the lamb to wander away from the lion, claws digging into his perch--and when Alphinaud turned to busy himself playing fetch, Wrathion leapt from his perch, divebombing just over Alphinaud's head with a most impressive swoop. ]

If I were an assassin, you'd both be dead!

[alphinerd]

Milk, and a little bit of sugar, yes.

[Alphinaud turned to fetch the aforementioned water, grasping the kettle by the handle and lifting it with ease. It was only metal, of course, and not unlike the tea kettles he was used to from back at home, which was a blessing in itself.

The metal kettle also made for a rather magnificent crash as something abruptly swooped down towards him, causing his hands to swiftly rid themselves of anything in lieu of protecting his head. The crash also accompanied a very noticeable shriek, but he wasn't about to admit to that one.]

Gods--

[thewhitepawn]

Wrathion?!

[Anduin turned at the crash, hands up in defense, a prayer to the Light on his lips-- but the Light wasn't here in the sense of back home and a smite didn't come to his fingertips. But that didn't mean he couldn't defend himself-- not that he had to, because as soon as Wrathion swooped low enough from veering over Alphinaud, Nana took over.

With a deep-voiced bark she lunged, attempting to capture the whelp as harmlessly as possible-- potentially scruffing him for his mischief. Panting softly, Anduin moved to Alphinaud's side, helping him first before turning a thoroughly unimpressed look on Wrathion.]

You know. If you wanted to join us, you could ask like a normal person. You should apologize to our friend here.

[And for nearly-denting his tea kettle! That was a Winter Veil gift from Aymeric you jerk]

[indragonyears]

[ Wrathion was fearsome grace in flight; someday, his would be the wings that darkened the sky with each beat, his would be the form that covered the sun--

But today, he was roughly the size of an overly large cat. He'd twisted his wings to try and backwing, to slow his descent and land primly--and for his efforts, he found himself in the maw of an overly large beast, squawking with indignation and surprise. His paws flailed in the air as he tried to wriggle himself free.

The Pekingese began to shuffle closer. ]

I--why would I join this inane--prattling--put me down, you idiot beast!

[ AYMERIC IS DUMB AND SO'S HIS TEA KETTLE ]