"I mean--" he started to reply, brows furrowing towards a frown when she retracted her question. It caught him mid-sentence and he closed his mouth abruptly, caught between annoyance and being mollified. Boreal chuffed her amusement at his confusion and padded ahead, her talons clicking on the wet stone as Tal trailed behind the Ancient, frown deepening as she revealed a little bit about herself.
"... Huh. Really? Most o' th'Ancients I've met have been from--" he waved his hand, first south and then east. "Well, not here. Torchline an' th'Hollowed Grounds, mostly." Though maybe Danta was from here. He'd never really sat down and chatted with the weird guy before, not the way he'd gotten to know Edmund and Maea and even Fox, a little. He didn't have much chance to think about Danta before his attention was drawn to what his dragon was doing and he swore under his breath. "Boreal! Stop that! What'd we just talk about??" he scolded her. For her part the dragon looked unimpressed, though she backed up and began to lick at her talons, the very picture of innocence as if she hadn't just been caught red-tongued.
Once he was sure his companion was going to behave, Tal set about seeing through his delivery instructions, but he jerked and glared at the woman when she called him a 'liar.' "Like hail I am! I ain't usin' any kind o' magic. It's all in th'item. D--... A fr--... someone I used to... anyways, someone else made it," he huffed, stumbling over his words as his face screwed up into a complicated expression. One that darkened as she called him a janitor. "No. I'm just deliverin' 'em. Guess they're s'posed t'make bath time more comfortable. In th' blood." The last part was added with a grimace, but he kept a wary side-eye on her as she lurked about, and his hand was never far from his knife.
He stood as soon as he was finished, and realized only when she answered what he'd forgotten. "... Tal," he muttered, clearly trying to decide how offended he should be about the 'janitor' comment. "Talyson Seawright, courier an' captain o' th'Peregrine," he added, puffing his chest out proudly. It was a more impressive chest than it used to be, but he was still a lean man, with more whipcord than bulk on his slender frame.
"... Huh. Really? Most o' th'Ancients I've met have been from--" he waved his hand, first south and then east. "Well, not here. Torchline an' th'Hollowed Grounds, mostly." Though maybe Danta was from here. He'd never really sat down and chatted with the weird guy before, not the way he'd gotten to know Edmund and Maea and even Fox, a little. He didn't have much chance to think about Danta before his attention was drawn to what his dragon was doing and he swore under his breath. "Boreal! Stop that! What'd we just talk about??" he scolded her. For her part the dragon looked unimpressed, though she backed up and began to lick at her talons, the very picture of innocence as if she hadn't just been caught red-tongued.
Once he was sure his companion was going to behave, Tal set about seeing through his delivery instructions, but he jerked and glared at the woman when she called him a 'liar.' "Like hail I am! I ain't usin' any kind o' magic. It's all in th'item. D--... A fr--... someone I used to... anyways, someone else made it," he huffed, stumbling over his words as his face screwed up into a complicated expression. One that darkened as she called him a janitor. "No. I'm just deliverin' 'em. Guess they're s'posed t'make bath time more comfortable. In th' blood." The last part was added with a grimace, but he kept a wary side-eye on her as she lurked about, and his hand was never far from his knife.
He stood as soon as he was finished, and realized only when she answered what he'd forgotten. "... Tal," he muttered, clearly trying to decide how offended he should be about the 'janitor' comment. "Talyson Seawright, courier an' captain o' th'Peregrine," he added, puffing his chest out proudly. It was a more impressive chest than it used to be, but he was still a lean man, with more whipcord than bulk on his slender frame.
