"Oh, yeah. Mateo. Isn't that what I--?" He wrinkled his nose and then shrugged, determined that this time he'd remember the kid(??)'s name properly. He was almost cute in a 'holy fuck your dads are scary' kind of way, like Flora, and Tal made sure to keep a respectful distance between them because there was a misunderstanding he wouldn't survive.
Continuing to poke at the sweetgrass patch while Mateo revealed the secret of his success, the courier just snorted and flashed him a wry grin. "Work that angle while y'can, I guess." It wouldn't work on Tal, but-
"Well, fuck." The courier sat back on his heels, flummoxed. "The fuckin' Draig?" Exhaling sharply, he reached up to rub the back of his neck (leaving a streak of dirt) and scowled down at the grass. "Yeah, thought he might know her, since I kept runnin' into him out in th'woods." The first place he'd met him, at the edge of the Greatwood, he'd been scared half out of his wits by the demigod appearing out of the shadows like a ghost.
...
Oh. Oh! Tal straightened, eyes bright with new energy as he looked at Mateo again. "So you need a ride back t'Stormbreak, yeah? An' I need to talk t'your dad about some magic stuff. Don't suppose y'can put in a good word with 'im an' ask 'im to meet me somewhere less dragon-y? I dunno if he'll remember me but..." Tal shrugged, his grin going lopsided. "Whaddya say? Can we deal?"
Continuing to poke at the sweetgrass patch while Mateo revealed the secret of his success, the courier just snorted and flashed him a wry grin. "Work that angle while y'can, I guess." It wouldn't work on Tal, but-
"Well, fuck." The courier sat back on his heels, flummoxed. "The fuckin' Draig?" Exhaling sharply, he reached up to rub the back of his neck (leaving a streak of dirt) and scowled down at the grass. "Yeah, thought he might know her, since I kept runnin' into him out in th'woods." The first place he'd met him, at the edge of the Greatwood, he'd been scared half out of his wits by the demigod appearing out of the shadows like a ghost.
...
Oh. Oh! Tal straightened, eyes bright with new energy as he looked at Mateo again. "So you need a ride back t'Stormbreak, yeah? An' I need to talk t'your dad about some magic stuff. Don't suppose y'can put in a good word with 'im an' ask 'im to meet me somewhere less dragon-y? I dunno if he'll remember me but..." Tal shrugged, his grin going lopsided. "Whaddya say? Can we deal?"
