Artur follows Simon and the others as his cousin shows off his laboratory, looking...I guess "over their shoulders" isn't going to work, but peering around and between them, nodding as sagely as a six-year-old can, with the equivalents of "Mm hmm" and "Quite so" and "Indeed" liberally strewn about the place. He's practically beaming at the owlbear eggs.
Artur looks concerned at this news. "Maybe they're not warm enough? I know chickens have to sit on their eggs to hatch. What if I warmed them up?" he says as he starts to rub his throat. (Those familiar with Vibria and her dragon breath may recognize the gesture as what she does to ready the flames.)
"They may also be too cold, so warming them more might kill them. I have to insist now," says Marcellus sternly, turning to Artur, "to see the lab notes now, before we risk doing them harm."
Hey! You should be more respectful! Artur is the grandson of Smok Wawelski! And my father, Artur's great grandfather, is a direct descendant of Sugaar!! We are royalty, and Artyr is twice as royal as me! So you better...
Simon catches himself. He doesn't want to get all draco in front of a child.
You better ask nice! Say please and thank you. And if he doesn't wanna, you gotta lump it.
Without the Woad being present, I can't really participate right now. But I am following the thread, and find the situation with the owlbear eggs intriguing.
Thumbs up
Marcellus takes a deep breath, trying to remain in control of his emotions. This is a delicate situation, but he feels that this may be the turning point. He doesn't want to antagonize Simon nor Artur, but on the other hand he has an important role to play here.
First he speaks to Artur, more gently, "I am sure that you are being as careful as you know how to be. But trying things out without having all the facts, like you just did a moment ago, could be harmful. That is why I insisted that I see the lab notes. If you want, we can look at them together and figure out a good and safe way to continue this experiment."
Then he turns to Simon. Without being confrontational, his tone is more firm and he looks at him straight in the eyes. "As for showing respect, Simon, I believe I have been nothing but courteous since arriving. You asked for my help and I am trying to give it to you. To both of you. But as my master used to say, if courtesy is owed, respect must be earned. Raising your voice like that and saying you are royalty does not inspire respect. It is behaviour unbecoming someone with your lineage."
Nodding towards the eggs, he adds, smiling, "Now, I do want to help you. And I would also like to be your friend. So let us discover a way for those eggs to hatch, shall we?"
As dopy and friendly as he may be, Simon's dominant personality trait, his very essence, is Dragon. And he can be oversensitive. He got triggered when you growled at Artur. Right now he has astern face and a bit of smoke coming out his nostrils.
Marcellus knows animals well enough to understand. Simon may seem human, but he is a monster. Beasts are driven by passion more than logic.
Understood. Though Marcellus didn't exactly growl at Artur, he did use a sterner tone so it may have been interpreted that way by Simon.
With his latest reply to Simon, Marcellus is trying to strike a balance between appealing to Simon's attempts at being more human, and not showing fear. Fear is for preys, so Marcellus is trying to avoid that association. By being firm but non-threatening, he hopes to establish himself as an equal.
That is also why I added the last paragraph, trying to turn this into a positive experience. Presenting an offer of friendship (Simon probably doesn't have a lot of friends, and I doubt Artur does either) and returning the subject to the eggs would appeal to Simon's other traits and somewhat defuse his more primal nature.
Why don't you wait until my brother can talk to you. He is visiting tomorrow. You can spend the night. You should bring your associates inside if you do. Owlbears hunt at night. And they are territorial.
Marcellus considers for a moment, then nods. "Thank you for the offer of shelter, we accept. I will go and get the others."
Which he does. Roger is probably on the way back from telling the group that everything is fine, so Marcellus should meet him on the way back. Once they rejoin the group, Marcellus will tell them everything that happened after Roger left (or everything, if Roger hasn't had time to tell them much).
Your information is interesting friend Marcellus. I do have one question. Which brother is showing up? It sounds like one would be fine but the other might be a big fight.
"From his tone, that would be the brother who is friendly and can take human form. Maurice is the name, I think? I doubt that the one who keeps eating his owlbears... Venkath?... would be welcome to examine the lab notes."
Once he is alone with Artur, Simon opens up with his concerns.
I dunno Artur, I am worried he is gonna trick me. I don't like the way he tries to boss you around. I almost god mad! I calmed down quick and told him to say please and thank you, and he never said it.
Oh wait, he did say thank you once or twice.
And now there are gonna be a bunch of humans in here, and they are going to find out how easy it is to trick me! I am not making any decisions without your consent.
Maurice will sort this whole thing out when he gets here tomorrow. I hope I hope he gets here in the morning instead of the evening. I am getting nervous! I wish they woulld go away and I could just change into my owlbear shape and go hunting.
I think it is easierto hunt the small things in that shape. That's how I nabbed that ram.!
"Let us just make sure we cast them discreetely. Simon might get offended that we do not trust his word that we will be safe under his roof," Marcellus says with a quick shrug. "Same with keeping watch during the night."
"We should also keep our discussion with him and Artur to a minimum. And be polite. I got the feeling that he was sensitive to that. Overall, Simon is not the most sophisticated of creatures. Of the two, the boy is the more devious. He seems to have a great influence on Simon."
Moving right along...
Simon is overcome with excitement about having house guests, and is overwhelmed about what to do. The tense moments of earlier are entirely forgotten.
But what to do about a supper for his guests? And sleeping arrangements!
I could maybe hunt something up again? In my owlbear shape! I am not as strong that way as my natural form, but I can move faster. And these goats are easy. Then I can start a fire pit out back. And we can trick them into cooking it! Yeah. I am sure one of them knows how to do that thing with the stick over the fire. I will just pretend that I am tired and worn out from wrestling the goat, because I am a weak fat man.
It is worth a shot. I don't think I did such a good job on that last one.
Artur has a decision to make. If he fails to show up for supper at the covenant and/or stays the night, his absence will be noticed.
Simon's plan seams reasonable. An adult may note that it may seem implausible that anyone would catch a wild goat using wrestling. But it is totally something Artur's father would do, and indeed has done.
The scene when the party arrives is that Simon is out back with a roaring fire pit and a clawed up ibex he claims to have wrestled to death. He gives his story about being worn out by the task, and asks for help with the stick-thingy. Presumably the grogs set up a spit roast or some such?
As for Artur, his presence or absence is up to Peregrine.
(I've actually been pondering this for a few days, when my brain was braining brainily...which hasn't been as much as it should.)
"I think they'll be fine sleeping in here. They're grown-ups, and they probably brought their stuff with them. If it's too crowded, they can probably set up a camp in the back. In fact, with the fire pit going, that'll probably be pretty nice.
"But I have to get back to the covenant. If I'm out past supper, Maria and my parents will worry about me. I'll be back first thing in the morning, though. Love you, Simon." Artur will give his cousin a big hug before he takes the Rod of Transportation and bamfs back home, where he'll tuck the artifact somewhere safe where he can find it again and use it on the morrow.
(been waiting for others to respond. I will bump it along).
Artur goes home and attends supper as usual. Probably unkempt and unwashed, as young boys tend to be. It is a pleasant meal, light conversation by the adults. His younger siblings act up as usual.
After supper, Artur's parents take him aside to talk with Solomon.
(I will let you write the conversation if you want, as you are also playing Vibria. The situation is this. Solomon has his "Gift Detecting" spell he casts on occasion. It had located two apprentices a few years ago, but nothing since then. Last night, for the first time in years, he got a "blip". Artur has the Gift, and it is starting to emerge.)
Back at the cabin the next morning, those who rise early will notice a sweeping shadow pass overhead. It looks like a dragon! But fades away quick. Awhile later, a dapper dressed man approaches the cabin, and notices all the guests.
What's all this then? Is my brother throwing a house party? Who are you people?