wildmage_daine | (no subject)

This all could be a good deal worse, as Daine often reminds herself.

Kitten's not as big as she could be, first off. Not as big as her ma had been, just big enough that there's no question of her being grown up. Which means the farmhouse wasn't completely wrecked when the change happened, and that what damage there is shouldn't be too much trouble to fix.

(Though there's nothing to be done for the potting shed. That's a complete loss.)

And though Kitten's mind and magic seem the same as they've always been, Daine knows enough other folk with powerful magic to help at least keep her hid. They've found a place out in the forest well away from any hiking trails, and Magnus has done a wonder with glamours and other magics to keep folk from noticing Kitten's there. The dragonet (well, dragon) doesn't seem overly fond of it -- she keeps sneezing when she gets too close to the invisible line where the magic sits, and Daine can't quite tell if it's involuntary or if Kit's trying to make a point -- but she's been staying within the bounds of it. So far.

The two real difficulties are keeping her both fed and entertained. Kitten can eat most anything, which is a small mercy, but it's still hard to buy (and haul) thrice Daine's own body weight in food every day without getting odd looks from folk at the grocery store. Worse, there's just nothing for Kit to do out in the woods. Daine's been keeping her company and reading to her, but she can tell the dragon's getting restless. And a bored, large dragon is the last thing the city needs.

Daine's on her way to Kit's hiding place after yet another food run, a stuffed backpack slung over her shoulders and a bag dangling from each hand. It's a trip she's made often enough for her formerly brisk march to have faded into something closer to a trudge (can she really blame Kit for being bored with all this when she's bored with it, too?), but she's fair determined to just get to her charge without incident.

Tired and preoccupied as she is, when a body appears in front of her, she moves to sidestep them with an absent, "Pardon," not even giving them a glance.

[ooc: who wants to meet a big dragon?? Hopefully someone Daine already knows, because tbh she's not gonna trust a stranger with this. But friends and acquaintances are welcomed and encouraged -- especially those who have met tiny!Kitten before.]

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Daine snorts, but doesn't otherwise argue the point. Bull's sharper than folk might take him for, and it's not secret that she's a rubbish liar to begin with. Of course he'd notice how tired she was.

He'd also notice if she tried to hedge now, so she doesn't bother. "Darrow's done something to Kitten -- made her grow up overnight. This is all for her." She hikes her backpack and cants her head at the bags. "Her stomach's grown, too."

"She's grown?" Bull immediately looked impressed, and curious. "Can I come see her?"

He was carrying her food, and he was willing to hold it hostage if Daine tried to talk him out of it. More than that, he was fairly certain he could track an adult dragon if he needed to - Darrow simply wasn't big enough for her to really disappear.

She should've expected as much from Bull, but she lights up, anyway, pleasantly surprised. Kitten's so large that Daine jus assumes any visitors will need to be coaxed and convinced, not that they'd immediately volunteer.

"Of course. She likes getting visitors. Especially ones who aren't likely to start screaming."

"No, she's too intelligent to start screaming at," he said fondly. "Is she alright? This must be as much a shock for her as it is for you."

Bull remembered his own sudden shift in age, but instead of being older, he'd been vastly younger. His adult memories all felt far away, in a fog. He wondered what it was like for Kitten, if she was fully an adult or if she was still a little kit, now lost in an adult's body.

"Bored, I think," she replies with a faint frown. "And lonely. We're not just leaving her out there, I camp out there with her every night, but... it's not the same as being at the farmhouse, or being able to go and visit folk. Everything has to come to her." Meals and company included.

"I'll come out and play games with her," Bull promised. Now that he knew Kitten was out there, she wouldn't be hard to find. "Maybe we can go on a little adventure to Geralt's cabin and back."

He had no idea how the witcher would feel about a full-grown dragon at his door, but Geralt was easy-going and even-tempered. If anything, he might be quietly delighted to see Kitten in all her adult glory. Especially knowing she needed help and a little bit of entertainment.

Daine's eyes widen at the suggestion, and she gawps up at him. "She'd be spotted for certain," she objects. Bull must not understand how big she is, and it's summer -- there are more folk hiding through the woods than there would be in other seasons. "At least Magnus's magic keeps her hid where she is. So long as she doesn't wander too far, she might as well be invisible."

"Dorian might be able to work a charm to keep her invisible." Though perhaps it would be better not to inflict too much magic on Kitten. Then again, she might be delighted to try and puzzle out whatever spell the mage worked for her that allowed her to travel unseen.

"Regardless, we won't let her get too bored. And if Darrow has taught me anything, these things are temporary."

"It's just surviving long enough for the temporariness to kick in," Daine replies, dry but not unkind. The thought of this being temporary is all well and good, but there's still an enormous dragon to deal with now.

Scraping a hand through her hair, she adds, "Kit's never been fond of invisibility spells, anyhow. She used to poke holes in them whenever mages tried to use them around her. We're fair lucky she puts up with the spells Magnus has set up already." And she suspects Kitten's only patient with those because they're around her, not on her.

Of course, the fact that the dragon has no desire to panic folk helps, too.