The Drow Queen of Glaley [Very NSFW]

[Shiori]

Shiori whispers, "our father was a Kitsune. Red, like Seiya."

[Jassinth]

Thank you Uryll... Though, if it pleases You, perhaps a trifle less help next time? "I see," he says out loud, moving to the pile of organs he'd set aside. The choicest bits of the various animals, he'd pulled them back so they could be offered by hand, to help impress the idea that the best of things come from him. Or Tsuki, as the case might be. "Be on the look out for a third, just in case," he adds to Shiori as he offers a quarter slice of a tiger's heart to the dire eagle.

[GamesMaster]

After a bit, both animals seem to be listening, if not exactly tamed. One of the beast handlers suggests, "You might do one beside the water?"

[Jassinth]

Jass gives them a startled look before reminding himself that it's actually strange he knows how this works, not the other way around. "We need to seal a pact with them first. I'm honestly shocked they haven't tried to kill each other yet," he explains as he feeds A-- the dire eagle another sliver of tiger brain. He takes a deep breath, then kneels before the eagle, and begins to whisper in flowing auran.

He speaks of plentiful food, of a nest protected from weather and predators. He speaks of healing wounds and treating illnesses. He speaks of seeking prey together, of fighting danger together. He promises to value their life and health as his own. He promises to care for their mate and hatchlings in the future. He promises a life of increased danger at times, but sheltered and eased than what could be found in the wild. He offers a chance for growth beyond what even a stunning predator such as they could gain without this bond. 

And then he goes silent, wanting for the eagle's reply. Not in words of course; dire animals are cunning, even clever, but they're still beasts at their core. Words are too abstract, too complicated. But the ritual-- which, despite what the servants seem to think, has very much not finished-- will allow the magical bird to... impress their own demands, requests and offers into Jass's mental model of the pact.

[GamesMaster]

The bird tilts his head again, then begins to caw, images flooding into Jass's mind. Warm fires, good meat. An image of the bird wrecking a cage and flying away; the broad open skies, no chains, no tresses. That seems to be a big deal to him: no cages. 

[Jassinth]

Jass stares a moment before blurting out, "I have no idea where I'd even get a cage big enough."

[GamesMaster]

The eagle flares his wings, screeching angrily before jutting his beak towards the house nearby. 

[Jassinth]

What? What does he-- "Houses?" Brow furrowing, he tries to picture Shiori's house, skimming through it to show the whole of it but lingering on his own room, all while sending a feeling of questioning and uncertainty. 

[GamesMaster]

He sends back an altered image of Jass's room: windows wide open so he can see the sky. 

[Jassinth]

Jass's nose wrinkles as he sends back impressions of rain splashing through the window, light spearing into sleepy eyes and shivering during winter. Then he sends an image of the window again, this time with a sheet of fabric covering it. The image moves then, Jass coming into view and grabbing the bottom of the sheet, which is secured by a light weight bar instead of a fastening of any kind. With what's obviously a weak tug, he swings the sheet out of the way, showing that it's got another bar at the top and hinges on the side. No locks, no traps. Protection for our nest. Comfort. There's a pause, then Jass sends two more images; the window with screen, then the window with a screen but nearly triple the size to make it easy for the dire eagle to get in and out.

[GamesMaster]

A tentative image of a talon tearing through the screen to get out, with a hesitant, questioning feel. 

[Jassinth]

Jass can't stop a smile from forming even as he sends two feelings at once: 'yes/possible' but also 'please don't.'

[GamesMaster]

The eagle thinks for a moment, then sends another, fainter and more heavily questioning image: headbutting the screen so it falls out of the window?

[Jassinth]

Jass coughs softly, absolutely not to make a laugh. The window once more, the sheet still covering it. But this time, there are three sturdy hopes of leather along the one side. Then the eagle is shown grasping a hoop with his beak and pulling, causing the screen to move out of the way. Finally, the eagle is shown soaring outside, then swooping down to land on the sturdy perch just outside the window. A simple nudge causes the screen to permit entry, wherein the eagle tucks himself away in a comfy nest of sturdy whicker and swaths of loose spun cotton.

[GamesMaster]

An image of shredded wicker. An image of an eagle nesting on Jass's pillows.