2023.07.04: Finding Refuge with Golden Scales

Finding Refuge with Golden Scales
Seeking a quiet sanctuary
IC Date	July 04, 2023
IC Time	Daytime
Players	Sark, Evelyn_Carter
Location	Sark's Home
Spheres

Date of Scene: 07/04/2023 Participants: Evelyn and Sark Location: Sark's Home

<Phone> (Text to Sark) Mr Goldstein?

<Phone> (Text from Sark) (Takes a moment to respond) Yeeeeees?

<Phone> (Text to Sark) I need a huge favor please. I know I have no right to ask. It is rather urgent.

<Phone> (Text from Sark) ? I cannot promise something I do not know I can provide, but I can try. What is wrong?

<Phone> (Text to Sark) I need a place a quiet place please. I know you offered last time we met. I just don't think I can take much more here.

<Phone> (Text from Sark) That should not be a problem, but how long do you need said space for? Go to the harbor ferry docks, pier 5. Find Puff The Magic Dragon and tell the Captain who you are. He'll take you out here.

<Phone> (Text to Sark) I am honestly not sure. I hope not to long. I will try to be there as soon as i can, get released from the hospital.

<Phone> (Text from Sark) When you get to the island, follow the path up to the ranch house and walk around to the back. If you see Martin or Stella just tell them who you are. I will be on the back fence bribing the ponies."

<Phone> (Text to Sark) Thank you so much my friend. I owe you for this.

Whenever Evelyn does arrive, it does lay itself out just like Sark explained. A bit of a hike up the side of the island from the dock, around a very pretty, spacious ranch house, revealing a few livestock paddocks in the back pastures. At the moment, Sark is perched on one of the fences with 3-4 HUGE horses clustered around him (Friesians, to be specific), while he slowly feeds them carrots from a bag and mutters, "YOU are going to have gas all night if you eat many more of these. Glutton..."

That normal presence of the librarian, slowly ascends the trail leading up from the docks to the main house. Her features full of doubts, her thoughts inward as one foot steps in front of the other. Her hair that she tried to tidy, is all windblown and down, she looks more pale than normal, her eyes a bit sunken, lips cracked and dry. She stops when she sees him, watching him with the huge horses. She has even forgotten to take the hospital bracelet off of her wrist. She just wanted to leave, get a pair of clothes and find someplace safe. Home didn't feel safe. She closes her blue eyes a moment and approaches slowly. One step in front of the other.

One of the horses nudges Sark in his chest, causing the young man to push back at little and chastize the animal, "Thor! You behave or you dont get anymore!" That doesnt stop the huge animal from lipping at his hand constantly, as if that will conjure up another carrot to munch on.

Its only then that Sark notes someone's arrival and he cranes his head around to look, offering Evelyn a wave of his hand, "THere you are. Come over here and let the spoiled babies get a whiff of you."

Evelyn doesn't say much, she just steps closer as he invites her. A myriad of emotions flooding over her features, until she takes a slow steady breath and moves closer to the gorgeous creatures, holding out her hand for them to sniff at her. She has never had contact with an animal before to know if her psychometry would be triggered. He hand held out was shaky, but as steady as she could make it, to allow the horses a chance to figure out if she was friend or foe.

Of course, the new arrival has all four animals leaning their heads over the fence to snuffle at her, all four sets of ears swiveling forward in curiosity. Another mare whickers from across the paddock and trots up, apparently equating new person to 'treats' (Sark MIGHT have spoiled them all so they arent afraid of dragon anymore). Sark leans over and offers Evelyn a couple of carrots to give them, smiling a little more, "So the hospital again. Did you have another incident trying to read someone, or did something else happen?"

Evelyn carefully leans her head into their snuffles and nuzzles, wishing she had more than two hands to be able to gently stroke each one with her small hands. When she is offered a couple of carrots to feed each of them, she can't help but giggle a little because it tickles when she feeds them the arrots. Her voice is still very hoarse, only offering a soft whisper and coughs a little her voice still trying to recover. "I did not mean too." She leans her head against the mare now, after feeding her the last carrot. "I just needed to get away for a little bit." She hopes the horses have determined she is not hear to hurt any of them.

Sark murmurs, "They will lose interest as soon as they figure out you have no more carrots, so don't be disappointed." He winks at that and smiles a little, "They only come over when I call because they know I'll have something. They're shameless." When, indeed, they do tend to finally step away and go back to hunting for one of the grassy spots to munch on, Sark leans on his seating spot on the fence, "Well, you can crash on the couch for now...we dont have any extra bedrooms...just mine, Stella's, and Martin's, and Im a little sensitive about who I allow close to my nest. I need to be sure noone is going to try to hunt you down onto the island...Im not going to send you away if that's the case, I just need to know if I need to be prepared to defend things."

Evelyn looks a touch sad as the horses go about grazing after the carrots are done and makes a note to herself to always come with plenty of apples and carrots. She looks up at him and nods understandingly. "I woke up and she was there. She knew something happened. She had called the ambulance for me, but she left a note too." She swallows trying to make it easier to talk. "Like she wants to meet again. To talk." She looks out at the horses and nods at the accomodations. "I would settle for a sleeping bag on the floor. I could even sleep beneath the stars." She offers. "I just can't go back right now."

Sark nods slowly at that, "The couch should be fine. I will warn Stella and Martin that we will have an extra guest for a while. I should warn you that another Other named Trishna lives in the caves on the north end of the island. Do not go out there without her permission, as I've promised her a safe home with no intrusions. Fair enough?"

Evelyn nods understandingly, "I promise I will not go there without her permission, it really is not my intent to impose on anyone or invade their haven. If there is anything I can do to earn my keep while here. I will be happy to, and I will try not to be in the way either. There is just to much beauty here. I can see why you like it so much. Thank you Sark for letting me take refuge here for awhile."

Sark rumbles and looks around, then slowly rolls a shoulder before smiling, "Its not so much how pretty it looks. Its that the locaion is isolated enough that I can be myself and I dont have to worry about normals getting a look at me and my scales. I can sprawl out in the grass and even sleep and be relaxed, without having to hide inside. You know?"

Evelyn offers a reassuringly smile at his infectious smile. "You should be able to feel at home and be yourself. Golden Scales." She bites her lip, "And I made a promise to show you, and I can't think of a safe place to do so." She thinks about it a moment. "Sprawling out in the grass does seem very comfortable."

Sark finally hops off of the fence at that, landing on the ground, and chuckles. He winks, "Indeed. Especially with a nice breeze blowing around..." He judges the distance between them a bit and takes a step back, shaking himself out as his form seems to melt into more of a blob of a cloud, that gains a large amount of mass and reshapes itself into something a little bigger than the horses, sunlight catching brightly off of the scales.

The dragon lands on all fours and shakes himself out violently like a dog throwing off water, then sits up, settling his wings in against his sides and coiling his tail around his feet, "MUCH better. Always feels like Im stretching something that way."

Evelyn can't help but step back into the fence he was sitting on a moment ago as his size drastically changes and increases. Dragons are not supposed to exist, they are supposed to be fairy tale and yet she knows he is real. She just had not prepared herself for his reality. She holds her hands against her. though it looks like she is really wanting to reach out and touch him, if only to convince herself she is not hallucinating. She just has to reach out to him though, he is a dragon. And unless he stops her, knowing her history. Her tiny fingers may try to reach out to feels those scales, she can't help but be incredibly curious but still hesitant but she can't help herself. She is completely amazed and at a loss for words.

Sark tilts his head a little when she reaches for him, rumbling in that MUCH deeper voice, "You're not going to get bad flashbacks if you touch me, are you? I dont want you to end up sick again where I might not be able to do anything about it..." As he trails off, that big snout leans forward and gives her cheek a messy lick with that forked tongue, letting her decide if she wants to touch his scales or not.

If there is anything that can snap her out of the desire, its a big messy lick and that deep booming voice of a dragon talking to her, filling her ears and senses. "I am dreaming. I have to be dreaming. Some crazy dream. I am going to wake up from and laugh hysterically at the fact I honestly think I am talking to a dragon." Atleast she does not get the vision from him and there is no feedback, so she settles her head there against his scales, so long as he doesn't mind. Her fingers gently curling against him as if he is the safest place to be.

Sark chuckles at her comment, a low, rolling rumble that vibrates against her cheek, "You are very much NOT dreaming, I promise. I just cannot let my scales out anywhere BUT here, because I cannot risk even the slightest chance of a normal seeing. It is just too dangerous."

Evelyn closes her eyes at the comforting rolling rumble like a far off thunderstorm growing near to her. "I will never ask you to. I am in awe and deeply humbled you trust me to show me." She looks up at him, her tiny form compared to his, with her blue eyes, "I promised you I would tell you. I would show you too. It is nothing quite so impressive, as yourself but it is who I am." She looks away a bit to make sure the horses are not nearby because she does not want to scare them.

Sark rumbles softly again and takes in a deep breath, "YOu dont have to show me everything. Just relax here and take the time to sort out what you need to sort out. I and Stella are on and off the island constantly during the day as I have a large estate and holdings I manage, and I am trying to coordinate things in the city with the Mages and the Fae, both of whom can be rather...secretive."

Evelyn seems relieved at the moment and is actually glad not to push herself so soon. She returns her head against that gentle rumbling as he is so reassuring. "I am grateful you are so understanding my friend. I will not be any trouble I promise. You will barely know I am even here."