Courtesy Call (Merik)

[titania]

Titania had no explanation as to why she was going through the desert to visit the Gerudo King. For all she knew, he was out at sea, gallivanting much like herself. But it was worth the risk, Merik was a commander of beautiful women, not too much unlike herself, although his women were violent and hated men, in a way.

Arriving at the fortress, she was greeted by a bunch of women in balloon pants pointing spears at her. She immediately put her hands up in surrender, however a sly grin was upon her face. "Whoa, what is this? Usually people are excited to see me?"

[Merik Dragmire]

It had been a rough thirty-six hours to say the very least. After docking in the hidden cove Merik had set out for the Fortress only to be waylaid by the rampaging Steel Fist, followed by a long trip to Nightmare's territory. After that fun discussion he had had the start of a fun trip back to the Fortress only to stop for sleep somewhere around midnight. The only problem was that while ten years before he could sleep easily out amongst the sand dunes, he had grown very much accustomed to sleeping aboard the Defiant: the smell of the sea, the lapping water against the hull, the constant rocking of the ship. So he spent the night stargazing before setting out again a little after sunrise.

And now that he was back at the Fortress he could go to his chambers and drink himself into a nice cozy coma, right? Wrong because he had a visitor, and unfortunately not one he could just throw in the cells without a big situation arising from it. As Desertfury slowed to a stop some distance from the entrance as its master dismounted and walked towards the Fairy Queen and his guards.

"Our visitors don't usually have the most noble intentions for their visit, and quite often said visitor winds up dead. You can't blame them for wanting to cut out the middle ground and kill you here so you can't make a mess in the throne room." he replied to Titania as he walked up from behind her and the guards snapped back to attention. "Have someone bring me a goblet of Black Powder in the throne room, and a chair for our guest."

He waved for her to follow as he made his way into the throne room, removing his coat, vest and shirt and handing them to one of the guards before moving to his throne. The actual throne itself was made to resemble a large, coiled Cobra with hood and fangs bared above the King's head as he lounged across it. Within seconds of his sitting a guard came with a padded, though fairly plain, chair for the Fairy.

"Have a seat Titania, what brings you out of your nice calm forests and relaxing fountains to my dreary, boiling desert?"

[titania]

Titania breathed a quick sigh of relief as the guards lowered their weapons and allowed her free passage. "And hear I thought the mighty Gerudo only attacked men like that" she quipped sarcastically and they walked into Merik's throne room, his coiled cobra much more intimidating than her...chair. At least it was solid, she'd sat on some flimsy chairs in her time.

Making herself comfortable in her chair, she readjusted her form-fitting pants and smiled. Merik was an intimidating man in his own right, she felt kind of overmatched, his brutal machismo easily overwhelming her more dainty, dextrous physique. Regardless, she had come for a reason and that was enough, or so she thought.

What? I can't just pop in and say hello? Maybe share a drink, recount some stories of old? And here I was thinking our races were making excellent progress toward becoming allies." She was just trying to keep the mood light. If there was one thing she disliked about Merik, it was his constant seriousness. Granted, if her race suffered nearly as much as his did, she'd probably be grumpy too.

"In all seriousness, I've picked up some stories while gallivanting around. An increase in monster sightings. And I'm not talking about a moblin attack or the wolfos I find in Faron every so often. I'm talking about big black monstrous things that take a certain dragon and his noble fairy friend to fight off." It was possible, and probably likely, that Merik was in communication with Nightmare. After all, the desert was kind of boring, and they were the local rulers. She crossed her legs in the chair and leaned back, grinning. Despite him being physically twice her size, she was not afraid.

[Merik Dragmire]

"I've yet to hear of a race that wanted to become allies with the Gerudo that didn't want something in return, usually help stealing something so that we can get stabbed in the back and blamed for it later. It takes a very long time to become allies with the Gerudo." Merik replied, serious and dire as ever in response to her light-hearted approach. Once she got to the heart of the matter though he paid a bit more attention, even if it was things he mostly knew about.

"Simultaneous attacks on the Faron Woods, Minish Forest, Lake Hylia and the Outlying Islands off the coast by a giant Black Knight, a Wind Mage, an undead Black Knight and an Elemental Witch, Death Mountain erupts, the City in the Sky comes crashing down, a mysterious beam of light from somewhere near Faron, a monster made of scrap metal that can create miniaturized suns over Ordon Village, a giant...thing in Faron Swamp and lastly a giant Iron Knuckle rampaging across the Gerudo Desert." he said, keeping a mental count of each one as he named them off to her. "And the metal creature in Ordona left being a glowing magical Shard that was claimed by Nightmare, am I correct so far?"

[titania]

Titania didn't expect Merik to understand the light humor. He was always serious about his people. She would talk no more on the subject. It would not help them accomplish anything.

"You keep well-informed." She leaned forward and held up two fingers at him, still grinning. She uncrossed her legs and continued, her elbows close to her knees as she remained oriented forward. "Two improvements for you. One, the light in Faron came from the old Temple that's been ruined for a long time. Second, our friendly Dragon Emperor never acquired any shard. He acquired a kind of pet that emerged from the monster after it was defeated. I'm not sure what it was, but he seemed to take a liking to it. He took it home, it's probably with him as we speak. I thought it was kinda cute personally."

She raised an eyebrow and her grin melted away slowly. "What do you mean by so far? Are you going to tell me another series of catastrophes has occurred?"

[Merik Dragmire]

"The light came from the Temple of Time? You're certain of this?" Merik asked, suddenly much more interested as it meant that he may have been right about the Shard's origin.

And Nightmare's Shard is actually alive, he neglected to mention that...though I did have my own secrets in that as well... he thought idly as one of the guards came in with his goblet and a match.

Holding the goblet at arm's length he ignited the match and touched it to the drink, pulling his hand back as the small fireball leaped from within before leaving a trail of smoke. Without a seconds hesitation he downed the rum completely and handed back the goblet, snapping much fully awake from the burning beverage.

"Not a new set of catastrophes to match the eruption, or collapse of the city, or even the Temple's light show. But I would consider this new string of monster attacks a catastrophe in their own right." he said as he stared at his glowing ring and thought about it's existence. "I'd expect that we'll all be hearing from Zelda any day now to discuss these events."

[titania]

"It's the only place that makes sense, given the location of the Temple relative to the palace." She watched as the guard arrived with his goblet and he lit the beverage on fire. She looked confused as the fireball erupted and he drank. Must be a Gerudo thing.

She readjusted herself again as she leaned back on the chair again and took a deep breath. So there was going to be a summit meeting. That might certainly be an entertaining proposition. Between the hoity-toities in government and the more unconventional rulers like herself.

"A summit? Oh that'll be fun. I'm surprised Zelda still talks to you openly, given the history of your ancestors. I thought that would irk some of the hylians. Or maybe I'm imagining things again." She wasn't sure of the relationship between Merik and Zelda. It was a tough call to make.

[Merik Dragmire]

"I'm in disguise most the time I'm around people that aren't loyal to me; in fact with the exception of a few of the rulers and my people, most of Hyrule is content to believe that Ganondorf remains the most recent Gerudo King. In fact travelling to this summit will probably be the first time I've traveled openly around Hyrule..." Merik replied as he turned his attention back to the Queen fully.

"We've met and spoken once, though I cannot say if she has informed any of her people of the encounter. After a century of war she's eager to make up for what the Hylians did and I'm eager to see the Gerudo survive." he let the matter of his relationship, whatever it may be as he wasn't completely sure himself, drop there. "It may irk the Hylians but I've killed enough in my time to not be worried about a few people who have a problem with my continued existence. If any of them make an attempt they had better hope that the Knight's get a hold of them before I do."

[titania]

Titania nodded in agreement as he spoke. "Probably best that way, especially now. A Gerudo King now would cause a widespread panic. Definitely not worth the headache. I have enough problems to deal with." She really didn't have that many problems, but the court made enough fake ones for her that she didn't care enough about to count.

"At least she knows you exist. Can you imagine what would happen if the Gerudo King showed up at a summit with no knowledge that he existed outside your own walls? Three leaders would have heart attacks." She laughed at her own joke, under the assumption that Merik was incapable of humor. She also wished to keep any senseless killing to a minimum, so perhaps it was better that she met him here rather than asking him to come to her. "I also wish to see the continued survival of the Gerudo." She flashed a devious smile, but quickly dismissed it. She wasn't sure if Merik wanted her making passes at his people.

[Merik Dragmire]

"The thought had crossed my mind to just show up at a summit but then I have enough problems from the Knights without spontaneously appearing in the castle disguised as one of them." Merik replied before a pained expression spread across his face.

Though he was silent he held up a finger clearly asking her to hold on for a second before standing up and taking a few steps from the throne and looking up at the ceiling. He coughed once, twice, and then belched as a burst of smoke escaped his mouth. He shook his head quickly and sat back down.

"Sorry about that, happens occasionally." he said quickly before clearing his throat and acting like nothing had happened. "And I know why it's in your interest to see the Gerudo survive and I'll give you some friendly advice on the matter: look but don't touch. I know that the things you crave change daily and I would really hate to have to hunt you down for leaving a path of broken hearts and very pissed off women all across the desert."

[titania]

Titania was going to respond to his point but then he pulled an inner dragon and belched smoke. Must have been the fireball he drank earlier. She widened her eyes and chuckled softly before straightened herself back up as Merik returned to the topic at hand.

She couldn't help but start laughing when he mentioned the reasoning behind her desire to see the Gerudo women thrive. It was so true, he knew her too well. But she knew better than to try and get with any of the women. Too dangerous, both during and afterward. "Aww, Merik you know me too well. I won't make any moves on your women, don't worry. Wouldn't want you to have any competition after all." She got up out of the chair and moved behind, leaning on the back of it. "I wouldn't say what I crave changes daily, there's just a lot in this world that I happen to like." She looked him up and down, smiling. She would if given the opportunity, but given Merik, he'd probably get angry just because she was thinking about it. Besides, he had enough options.

[Merik Dragmire]

"You make it sound as though all the Gerudo are my own personal harem." Merik said, actually laughing there at the notion. Once his laughter had subsided he spoke again. "Unfortunately the fact that I'm trying to keep my bloodline and my people alive means I have to be very careful about who I bring into my bed, lest word get out that Ganondorf's heir is repopulating en masse and the combined strength of Hyrule come crashing down upon my boring little desert."

He watched Titania for a few seconds as she walked around her own chair and looked him over again, her smile never fading in the slightest as she did so.

"And clearly that which you crave is currently a night with a Gerudo, any Gerudo apparently."

[titania]

Titania stood up straight, putting one hand on her hip and leaning to the side, looking at him skeptically. "Are you trying to tell me you don't have your own personal harem? While I'm sure you have some exceptions, I'm also sure that many of the women here would be willing to spend the night with you." The fact that he was the only male in a desert teeming with sexy women made it clear that he had plenty of opportunity, whether or not he actually capitalized on those opportunities was a different scenario. Although he was right about the swooping down of Hyrule upon his humble desert.

"What can I say? It's the tans" she said, quite sarcastically, as she leaned back over the chair. Granted, Merik's skin wasn't exactly tan, but green was close to tan. Maybe. He wasn't pale like most of the fairies were. Or most of the rest of Hyrule. "That and the balloon pants."

[Merik Dragmire]

"No, I don't in fact have a harem especially among the Gerudo. Unlike those born into the other races any of the Gerudo could become my Queen, and they know that just like they know that the one I choose isn't going to be the one who can spread her legs the fastest. I have been turned down by quite a few of my people because they simply don't wish to appear weak before me or their sisters." Merik said with a slight shrug as he stared back at her. "And I can't blame any of them; as far as most are concerned we're barely above Nightmare's people, any chance to rise up can't be ignored."

He listened as she described what it was that she liked about them, though the sarcasm in her words was plain to see even to the blindest of the blind.

"What? Not our golden eyes and fiery hair? Those are the common answers, but YOU like our tans and our pants..." the King said with a smirk as he stood up and walked towards Titania, looking down at her as he got closer.

[titania]

Titania nodded at this serious tone. Despite her joking around with the harem, she hid that one, and his serious answers actually made sense, and in fact could be argued as very wise. Although the comment about them being barely above Nightmare's was something Titania wasn't particularly fond of, though it wasn't her decision and she would not protest it.

However, she was glad he picked up on the incredibly blatant sarcasm she had portrayed as she talked about the Gerudo's wonderful tans and pants.

"If I wanted fiery hair, there's fairies I can find for that. You can't find balloon pants anywhere but here." As he approached her, she was rudely reminded of how much taller he was than her. Even when she was standing up he was almost a foot and a half taller than her. When he got close, she stood up tall, putting one hand on her hip and meeting him face-to-chest.

"Well, this just won't do" she declared as her wings extended and she hovered up to his height so they were now at eye level. "Much better." Even doing so, he was probably twice her weight and considerably stronger. But now that his height advantage was taken away, nothing could stop her. Except his strength and machismo.

[Merik Dragmire]

Merik was actually quite pleased when Titania made the effort to rise up to his level. Usually the Gerudo would try to bring him down to their level to prove themselves, never really seeing that he was looking for one to match and possibly surpass him. In a literal sense the Fairy Queen had done just that...

"A shame you aren't Gerudo, you'd certainly be far beyond the rest..." he said as he brushed back a strand of hair her wings had disturbed.

He moved slowly closer to kiss her but stopped himself at the last second as he became acutely aware of the dozen eyes on them from his guards around the room.

"Perhaps we should continue this conversation somewhere a little more private."

[ooc: crappy post is crappy, but I'm drop-dead tired from work and wanted to get a post up for ya before I collapsed ]

[titania]

(OOC: Don't worry about it. Long days are long)

"A shame you aren't a fairy. I could use more like you on my court." She arched an eyebrow, pleased that her advances hadn't been in vain. She'd credit him for picking up on her subtleties, but she was about as subtle as a brick in the face.

She closed her eyes, preparing for the fateful kiss, not really caring about the guard presence in the room. It seemed, understandably, that he did.

"I'm sure you have some private quarters where we could continue our...diplomacy." She giggled, tempted at the idea of taking a guard or two with them. But he, and probably they, would not approve. This was a summit meeting, diplomatic relations between two royalty.

[Merik Dragmire]

"Too many like me and it wouldn't be your court anymore." Merik replied, remembering the words on his ring, as he took her hand and led her from the throne room out of a side door.

The few hallways they passed through were blank stone, empty save for the occasional guards present to defend their King if necessary. It wasn't long before they entered his chambers and like his other quarters in different places around the world they did tell you things about him:

His quarters aboard the Defiant clearly marked him as a rich captain who was a skilled warrior.

His wing in the keep out at Pirate's Bay marked him as a pirate and a King.

His chambers in the Gerudo Fortress marked him as a Gerudo, pure and simple.

The chamber was spartan; little more than a bed, dresser, and desk with a rug on the floor and a single tapestry along the wall behind the bed. He could have filled the room with his treasures and riches but it kept his past firmly in mind, as well as the fact that even the few items he kept here were beyond what many of his people had around the desert.

"And here is where I do some of my best negotiating..." he said with smirk as he turned and closed the door behind them.

[titania]

Titania accepted the hand, although with Merik she was always unsure of whether or not she actually had a choice. His chambers, and indeed his quarters seemed like they could belong to anyone. For a moment she wondered whether or not they were really his quarters. The fairies made everything so fancy, it was a big turnaround when she entered his room. But she knew he had his treasures, and multiple places to place them.

Normally, her actions around the bedroom had to mark her as a dominant figure, playing the aggressive card with some of the more timid men she enjoyed. Merik was none of that, and so she was allowed to play with him a little.

"Your room says a lot about you. It really could belong to anyone of your tribe. I expected something more intimidating, to take people off balance. But I guess your negotiation skills are good enough without the need of any...enhancements." She made no motions toward him. It wasn't necessary. This was his room, she knew he would be a good host.

[Merik Dragmire]

"Most are intimidated enough simply being in the Fortress, knowing that a wrong word or action could result in death, and I feel no need to extend that to my chambers." Merik replied as he took a step and disappeared in a blur of speed, all the lights extinguishing in the space of a few seconds leaving a single torch flickering on the wall.

"And I need no aid to intimidate someone..." he growled playfully in her ear as an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back against him. His lips quickly found their way to her neck, teeth nipping lightly at her skin as he played with her.