Taka: I'll welcome him.

Dionysus: He walks in with a broad smile on his face. "It feels good to be in clean clothes again. I'm not entirely used to all this travel."

Taka chuckles. "I'm no stranger to it, myself, but I have to agree on the merits of clean clothes."

Dionysus: "I was wondering, if you had nothing else planned, since the Comntessa indicated when I asked that dinner would not be for some time, if you might enjoy a stroll down by thelake?"

Taka blinks, then blushes slightly Tren-fashion. "...Certainly."

Dionysus: He smiles & offers his arm.

Taka takes it, returning the smile. "Oh...before I forget..." she takes the sketch out and offers it to him. "I...er, I made this. for you."

Dionysus: He looks at it. Roll drawing skill for me

Taka: not as good as it could be. 19

Dionysus: "It's wonderful." He goes on to note a particularly skillful artistic quality it has

Taka blushes more. "Glad you like it..."

Dionysus: "May I keep it?"

Taka: "Of course."

Taka: "It was meant as a gift."

Dionysus: "Of Gift quality as well."

Taka would be scarlet from blushing were she human.

Dionysus: He takes you down to the lake, which i amazingly beautifu;l. Think highland Scottish loch.

Taka: ooooh

Taka comments on the beauty.

Dionysus: He says, "I grew up in forests that create awe in the most cynical of soldiers, seen mountains so high they seemed to dwarf the world, traversed jungles so rich & teeming with life I thought I'd died & gone to the Summer Country. Nature never fails to astonish me."

Taka smiles. "Aye...it's just a shame most people don't notice its wonders."

Dionysus: "Or do damage to them."

Taka: "That's the worse of the two, I think."

Dionysus: "My father was a staunch protector of nature. He influenced the old Duke Hyrase, the grandfather of the ones who rule now, to make many laws preserving the forests of their duchy."

Taka: "A good thing to hear." she looks at him. "Do his grandsons hold to them?"

Dionysus: "The Dukes? I don't think they care one way or the other about it, actually. They don't hurt the forests, but I don't think they'd mind if something did. They're not good men."

Taka: "That much I knew already."

Dionysus: "And I fear they will only get wor--what is /that/?" He points at the lake.

Taka looks. "what?"

Dionysus: A serpentine creature rises up from it & rolls back beneath the surfae. It's a lake beast

Taka stares.

Taka: "It's a lake beast."

Dionysus: "A what? Is it... dangerous?"

Taka: "A lake beast. They usually live in coldwater lakes. I doubt it's dangerous...most of those I've heard of prefer to keep to the bottom and eat fish. When they surface, they're usually in more of a playful mood than an aggressive one."

Dionysus: He nods. "Astonishing. Again, nature puts on a show for us." He smiles.

Taka chuckles. "Aye. I've seen more amazing creatures on this journey than the rest of my life combined."

Dionysus: "The world is full of them, if you keep your eyes peeled. They know, I think, that Nature itself is in danger. They are coming out because of it, taking risks."

Taka: "I just hope we can make those risks worthwhile and stop all this..."

Dionysus: He nods, "The Dukes... they are dangerous men, Taka. They employ me to fence for them not because I am a better fencer than they, but because they are too busy to do it themselves. They could easily best me in a swordfight. I worry about what will happen when we face them."

Taka: "We have the Reverend, and Caspian, and the Alpha Wolf with us, not to mention Paul and Viollca and Caradonna." a pause. "From what I hear, Paul got his Staff from one of the Dukes in a fight."[I may be remembering wrong...]

Dionysus: [No, that's correct. Oneof the best fights I ever ran, too.]

Dionysus: He smiles, "I bet that made whichever it was quite angry."

Taka chuckles. "No doubt. You'd have to ask him about the finer details, though...I wasn't there. It was back in Maraddon City, the night the palace burned."

Dionysus: He nods, "I am sorry to hear that the palace was lost. Nature has its wonders, but mortality has built some of its own. The Palace of Maraddon was one of them."

Taka nods in agreement. "Aye...we tried to stop it, but things just...went crazy."

Dionysus: "We will pay them back for all they've done, all the beauty we've lost. I swear it."

Taka looks at him for a moment, then nods. "That we will."

Dionysus: Jean Luc leans toward you & puts his arm around your shoulders & kisses you.

Taka freezes in shock and surprise, not having expected this.

Taka does return it after a second or two, though.

Dionysus: After a moment, he pulls back, "I was almost certain... I had to find out." Then kisses you again.

Taka is still rather dazed from the first one, but minds not a bit.

Dionysus: He suggests finding a private little spot in the trees by the lake & continuing this manner of "discussion" there.

Taka hesitates for a moment, then agrees.