Petal 03 -- Open to Action

[shylyintrepid]

[When the feed starts, Jehan is clearly not in his cabin. He's down by the shore.

And he's been crying. His voice is hoarse and when he speaks, his accent is a bit thicker than usual]

If...if anyone else knew Zane, son of Venus, he...

[He wants to say "died". Died would be so much easier than the truth]

He was a...he was an agent of the Red Room. This entire time. He...he was here to spy on us.

[And he cuts the IM. As he does, you can see him break down yet again. It's going to be a long time before he recovers from this heartbreak]

Comments

[shylyintrepid]

[He stares, stunned by that particular revelation. What?]

Have you said anything? If he said something to hurt you, you know he didn't mean it. He's...an ass, when it comes to this sort of thing.

[wokethedragon]

I have. My brother even gave me a sort of...what would you call it? A pep talk.

[But she shakes her head.]

He does not reciprocate, even though...

[She trails off. Aphrodite's festival may have reawakened feelings she had long stuffed down, but for Enjolras, it was only another day where the gods tampered with their lives.

She rubs his shoulder, frowning.]

Forgive me. It's not my place...I am here to comfort you, Jehan.

[shylyintrepid]

No, it's fine.

[He smiles and bumps her shoulder a little]

Distracting talk helps a lot. I need to not think--Mama says if I'm left alone I'll brood and brood and get so lost in my own head that you'll never find me.

[wokethedragon]

[She has to smile a little, leaning back against her friend.]

You've been known to get lost in that notebook of yours much the same way.

[shylyintrepid]

[He blushes]

See? Distractions are good for me. Healthy.

[wokethedragon]

I suppose you are right. But you must not distract yourself so much that you lose touch with reality.

[It's then when Rhaegal wanders over to Jehan, climbing in the boy's lap. He's definitely much heavier than when Jehan last held him.]

[shylyintrepid]

Which is why I like going--oof!

[He looks at Rhaegel, laughing a little and scratching behind his ears]

You're heavy, petit! Has Dany been feeding you donuts?

[wokethedragon]

[She doesn't mean to take it literally, but she does.]

No. I feed him leftover meats from meal times. They have not learned to cook their own food yet.

[Though she has been seeing little sparks coming from their breath...]

[shylyintrepid]

It was rhetorical, Dany. He's getting bigger, that's all. You'll have to tell Chiron soon.

[wokethedragon]

I have.

[It was shortly after they returned from the Red Room. Dany had traveled there with her dragons...it was only right that she finally followed through on her promise to Natalie and Leo and tell him.]

I'm no longer allowed near the Big House. I do not know how it works..but there is a sort of barrier I cannot cross.

[shylyintrepid]

I'm sorry, Dany.

[He squeezes her hand]

It's probably only for regular day things. I'm sure if there's an emergency, he'll let you through.

[wokethedragon]

[She squeezes his hand back, trying to assure him she will be okay.]

If worst comes to worst, I can always ask Leo or Ferb to go to the Big House and speak to Chiron for me when I need it.

[shylyintrepid]

I forget you have brothers here again.

[Mostly because he avoids Leo because crazy and didn't even know about Ferb]

What did they say about the dragons?

[wokethedragon]

I'm very glad for them.

[She nods a little. They're much better to her than Viserys ever was, even if she's not as close to Ferb as she is to Leo.]

I am allowed to keep them, but we will have to move them out of the Hephaestus cabin soon. They are getting to be quite big...and they have learned to breathe fire - though only for seconds.

[shylyintrepid]

...right. That's bad. Where will you keep them?

[wokethedragon]

I believe the Arena, like Hannibal and Mrs. O'Leary, may be better. But a new structure may have to be built...

[She speaks in a hushed tone, almost conspiratorially.]

I've read that some dragons were kept in special chambers called dragonpits.

[shylyintrepid]

[He lowers his voice as well]

That sounds like a prison, not a home.

[wokethedragon]

From my readings, they were designed to keep the dragons from growing so large so quickly. They were huge, with lots of natural light.

[She nods a little, continuing.]

If we were to have one, I would want a dragonpit to be more accomodating, more comfortable for my dragons than just a simple building. But I would rather them be able to roam the arena freely, if they would behave.

[shylyintrepid]

I'm sure they would, if you asked them nicely. They were wonderful when I babysat them for a while.

[wokethedragon]

When you...babysat?

[She knows the event he was referring to, but she would not have thought to call it that.]

[shylyintrepid]

Well, I did.

[wokethedragon]

No, you fathered them for a time.

[Dany is very insistent about this.]

[shylyintrepid]

[The look on his face is one of sheer horror]

Um, no, no. I won't be fathering anyone or anything. I babysat them. Raised them for a few days, but I didn't father them.

[wokethedragon]

[Dany looks at him as if she's a little hurt - she feels she was bestowing a big compliment to him.]

They thought you their father during that time, just as they think me their mother, Jehan.

[shylyintrepid]

I raised them, then. Fathering...euh, it usually means that the guy's the biological parent of the baby and...I'm not going to be anyone's biological parent.