stepsideways | (no subject)

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Anyone who bothers looking up at the sky today might notice a large black dragon flying overhead. Anyone who doesn't immediately run for cover might notice the fact that said dragon appears to be rather frantic and occasionally yells "Laurence! Laurence, are you here?" in a British accent. If you happen to be standing somewhere next to a large enough spot for him to land in he might attempt to come talk to you.

[ooc: Because descriptions are key with non-human book characters: He is glossy black, with bluish markings on his wingtips, and blue eyes with slitted pupils like a cat's. He has four legs with five talons each and a pair of wings with six spines each. He has a ruff around his face and tendrils that hang from his lower jaw. He is probably around 100ft long, though he is far longer than wide and tends to coil his tail around himself when sitting.]

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A dragon searching for someone named Laurence--that's something that one doesn't see every day.

Jareth, having determined that any dragon searching for someone with a name like Laurence can't possibly be a threat to life and limb (or, more importantly, hair and wardrobe), watches the creature from one of Burby's open squares. Perhaps the dragon will do a slightly more impressive trick if he waits long enough.

Temeraire spots a man in some rather splendid clothing, circles closely for a moment to observe his behavior and scout out the landing possibilities, and then comes to a very careful rest, doing his best not to crush any statues and only the minimum possible number of shrubberies and decorative plantings.

"Excuse me, I am looking for a gentleman named Ca--Mr. William Laurence, who has yellow hair. Have you seen him anywhere?"

Unfortunately, observing Jareth when he's observing someone himself doesn't lead to a great deal of information; the Goblin King, however, has an unmistakeably haughty air about him and an almost permanent look of mild disinterest.

This doesn't change when the massive creature lands, even if the dragon is a curiosity.

In response to the dragon's question, Jareth makes a show of looking to his right, his left, and then back to the dragon. "I certainly don't see him now."

"I rather think I would spot him first, if he were right here."

Temeraire raises himself up a bit higher.

"If you have nothing useful to add I suppose I shall be going. Are there any other dragons nearby?"

They might be a bit more helpful and sensible than the local humans, with added advantages of range and sight for searching.

He shrugs magnificently. "I haven't seen them if there are, and there are remarkably few things that I don't see."

"Really, why is that?" After all, it is not as though he could see over buildings.

The Goblin King summons a crystal to his fingertips with a flick of his wrist. He moves it idly from hand to hand, barely touching it, seemingly defying gravity. "I don't need extra eyes to see whatever I wish."

Oooooh, he can summon shiny things. This must be magic. Suddenly there is a very inquisitive and gigantic dragon face up in Jareth's business.

"How did you do that? Can you see things in there? It must be very handy."

Gosh, dragon, personal space. Jareth can't be too disdainful, however; he does so love a captive audience.

"A bit of magic, nothing more." He, always one to show off when given an opening, deftly pulls two more crystals from the air and juggles the set of three. Sunlight hits the various facets and imperfections within the round crystals, sending spots of light dancing. "I can see what I care to, and they're certainly more reliable informants than goblins."

A fourth crystal appears. Jareth adds, archly, "I don't suppose you would like one?"

The Goblin King may love a captive audience, but Temeraire loves shinies. He can't really help it, it's a weakness of the the species.

"Ooh, yes, I would, rather. I am not exactly sure where I would put it"--trusted crew such as Emily Roland being unfortunately not around for the holding of shiny things--"but that does not matter."

"I imagine it's rather problematic, not having hands," he says without much in the way of sympathy. Curiosity, perhaps. Jareth continues juggling the crystals, quite... charmed, really, by the dragon's fascination. "Where shall I leave it?"

Temeraire holds out one of his foreclaws. He can manage to be fairly delicate when grasping things, though turning the pages of books is unfortunately quite beyond him. "I suppose I could take it right now and bury it somewhere for later if you do not mind. My name is Temeraire, by the way."

Jareth places a crystal in the dragon's claws. Temeraire will find that it's very sturdy and resistant to scratches (and, one day, he might also find his desires reflected in it, but for now it's simply a pretty trinket).

"It's a gift. What you do with it is no concern of mine." He steps back to study the dragon. "Charmed, I'm sure. I'm Jareth, King of the Goblins."

"Well, thank you." Temeraire takes the crystal and tries not to stand too awkwardly. "Goblins?"

"Oh, yes. Dreadful creatures." With a slightly wistful look, he adds, "And yet they had their uses."

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