Boreal didn't really understand Koa's question, but she tilted her head to the side inqiuisitively and her serpentine tail snaked behind her in an approximation of a hopeful wag. The pets might not have been immediately forthcoming, but she appreciated the human getting down on her level, and she even waited until her companion's friend was settled before she scooted closer and did, indeed, half-crawl into his lap (proving that for all of Tal's threats to the contrary, she had most definitely not been missing any meals) to encourage horn-scritches and offer support for whatever had the Dragoon so obviously feeling down.
It was a well-known fact that petting a dragon could relieve stress and sadness, though she had no way to communicate that particular scientific finding aside from her stubborn affection in the face of human doldrums.
Her own particular human was less perceptive, but he sure as hail recognized someone who was down in the dumps and drinking to get through it. He'd been there himself often enough, in spite of the alcoholism that had killed his mother.
It took more than a glance to figure it out, but Koa's distraction and general malaise weren't hard to spot, even if it took a little longer and a lot more proximity to catch the smell of the gin in the air. Tal's smile faltered and his nose wrinkled as he caught a full whiff, but he only hesitated for a moment while the gears in his brain whirred and smoked before finally shifting tracks. He plopped down beside his friend and leaned a companionable shoulder against Koa's before reaching up to rub the back of his neck and look up at the budding leaves above them for inspiration. "Sooo... uh. Can definitely do that. But what're y'doin' way out here, anyways?" Aside from apparently waging a one-man war on the trees of King's End.
Or maybe just that one tree in particular. That leafy bastard.
It was a well-known fact that petting a dragon could relieve stress and sadness, though she had no way to communicate that particular scientific finding aside from her stubborn affection in the face of human doldrums.
Her own particular human was less perceptive, but he sure as hail recognized someone who was down in the dumps and drinking to get through it. He'd been there himself often enough, in spite of the alcoholism that had killed his mother.
It took more than a glance to figure it out, but Koa's distraction and general malaise weren't hard to spot, even if it took a little longer and a lot more proximity to catch the smell of the gin in the air. Tal's smile faltered and his nose wrinkled as he caught a full whiff, but he only hesitated for a moment while the gears in his brain whirred and smoked before finally shifting tracks. He plopped down beside his friend and leaned a companionable shoulder against Koa's before reaching up to rub the back of his neck and look up at the budding leaves above them for inspiration. "Sooo... uh. Can definitely do that. But what're y'doin' way out here, anyways?" Aside from apparently waging a one-man war on the trees of King's End.
Or maybe just that one tree in particular. That leafy bastard.
