The Dragon and the Hawke 7
It took Jorah three days to find who the Yunkai's friends. He had not even told Daenerys their name before she was demanding to be shown them. The old knight took her, Barristan, Grey Worm, and a contingent of Unsullied to go look at the forces brought against her.
As they observed an approaching team of horses, Barristan makes his distaste for mercenaries known, "Those who fight for gold have neither honor nor loyalty, they cannot be trusted."
Dany nods, an idea forming in her head. Turning to Jorah, she asks, "Do you know who they are?"
"Only by the broken swords on their banners," Jorah tells her, "They call themselves the Second Sons, and are led by a Bravosi named Mero. They call him the Titan's Bastard."
Dany snorts, "He is neither titan nor bastard."
"He's a dangerous man, Khaleesi. They all are."
"How many?"
"2,000, your grace, armored and mounted."
"Enough to make a difference?"
Looking at Barristan, it is clear that he wants to say yes, but a contemplative gleam in his eye tells Dany he isn't so sure that is the case. After a moment he tells her, "Enough to make a dent."
Dany raises an eyebrow, but nods. She knows as well as he that Marian and the Dragons are probably worth more than the entire army at her back, and she was glad to have them. Turning to Jorah, she tells him, "Call a meeting with this Mero. It is hard to collect wages from a corpse."
"He may not agree to meet," Barristan points out
"He will," Dany tells him, stepping back and turning, pointing out as she does, "We've got dragons, Marian, and a sellsword can't afford to be beaten by a girl."
On the subject of Marian, while the warriors and Daenerys were discussing the Second Sons, the mage was talking with Missandei. Sitting upside down in a plushy chair she had looted from a town that they'd liberated a few miles back, Marian looks at Missandei as the former slave calmly raises an eyebrow at her, sipping a bit of wine, "I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?"
Missandei sets her goblet down and peers at the oddly positioned mage in front of her, "By what would I be made uncomfortable?"
"Well I've spent the last six weeks trying to get you out of your dress," Marian shrugs, which ends up toppling the her and he lands flat on the ground, now looking strait up at Missandei from the ground, "It just hit me that trying to seduce you may be, I don't know, wrong? So I wanna check and see if you want me to stop."
Missandei simply gives her a small smile before leaving the tent.
Marian blinks, staring up at the canvas roof of the tent. She lays there for several minutes before a new figure is made itself known. Turning her head, Marian sees Dany. The Mother of Dragons is looking at her friend lying on the dirt and asks, "Are you alright?"
"I think Missy is okay with me trying to get her naked," Marian tells her with a wide grin.
Dany rolls her eyes, "You have been trying to seduce her for more than a month, and you just now asked if she was fine with you making the attempt?"
"Yeah, only figured it out like an hour ago," Marian nods.
Dany extends a hand to help her friend up. Marian takes it and once she is on her feet she starts brushing the stray dirt from her leathers, "So, what's up?"
"Yunkai has hired a mercenary company, the Second Sons," Dany explains, "I plan on meeting with the companies captains, and buying their service."
"Ooh! Mercenaries?" Marian smiles wide, "I speak fluent mercenary!"
Dany raises an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Marian nods, "I worked as a merc for a few years."
"You were a mercenary?"
"I've been a lot of things," Marian shugs
"Then you will be very useful in my talks with Mero, the Titan's Bastard."
"Oh, fuck, he's got a title," Marian sighs
"Is that bad?"
"It means he's gonna have a very strong personality."
"This is bad?"
"Could be," Marian nods, "Depends on how he got the Bastard added to his title."
"You think he was just the Titan at some point?"
Marian nods, then shrugs, "Well, we'll figure out how he got his title once we meet him."
Dany nods, "On that subject, come."
The former champion of Kirkwall follows Dany to the meeting tent and grabs an apple from the table. She starts in on it a three men are brought into the tent by Barristan, "Your grace, allow me to introduce the Captains of the Second Sons; Mero of Braavos, Prendahl na Ghezn, and… uh…"
"Daario Naharis," The final man introduces himself as Barristan flounders.
Barristan nods, and steps back as the Titan's Bastard steps forward, "You're the Mother of Dragons?"
Dany tilts her head in a nod, a smug smile tugging at her lips. There is a brief moment of hope that things will go a she wants before Mero notes, "Swear I fucked you once in a pleasure house in Lys."
"Mind your tongue," Jorah growls
"Why? I didn't mind hers," Mero chuckles as he sits down next to Dany, she gives a wave for Jorah to calm as the big man sits, "She licked my ass like she was born to do it!"
He wags his tongue at her suggestively, and she can't help but snort slightly at the ridiculousness of it. The man acted like Marian, with all of the swagger and self assurance that her best friend managed to embody. Used to the behavior, Dany rolls her eyes and then spots her friend with her feet up on the table, chewing on her apple. The mage nods and smiles at her in encouragement.
Mero, relaxing back, looks over at Missandei, and tells her, "You, slave girl, some wi-"
Marian's apple smacks him in the face. He blinks in shock, and he along with everyone else in the room turn to the mage, who smiles and levitates a new apple into her hand and takes a bite. The loud crunch is the only sound anyone makes before Dany tells Mero, "We have no slaves here."
Mero chuckles and his head lolls as he laughs out, "You'll all be slaves after the battle. Unless I save you!"
Dany quirks an eyebrow at him.
The big man smiles at her and offers, "take your clothes off and sit in Mero's lap, and i may give you my Second Sons."
"Give me your Second Sons," Dany tells him, "And I may not have you gelded."
"Dibs!"
Again, eyes move to Marian, who waves cheerfully as she cooks a slice of apple and pops it into her mouth. Mero snorts, "And who's this then? Another whore from Lys?"
Marian raises an eyebrow, "Call me a whore again, and we'll see who gets some pleasure."
Dany leans forward, "I would like to introduce Marian Hawke, the Mad Mage."
"Mage?" Daario Naharis quiries
"Yep, magic and shit!" Marian nods, snapping a finger and conjuring a small ball of flame.
Prendahl's eyes widen, and he starts to subtly pray under his breath. Mero laughs, "A right challenge then!"
Marian snorts, "I could fry you in the blink of an eye."
"And if I got close enough to get your arms in my grasp?"
"Well… assuming by that point I haven't already cut your nuts off," Marian waves a hand at Dany, "I'd kick ya there."
Mero laughs, "This one I like!"
Dany smiles indulgently, then asks, "So, will you fight for me?"
"We taken the slaver's gold," Mero shakes his head, accepting a goblet of wine that Missandei passes him, "We fight for Yunkai."
"I can pay you as much and more," Dany points out, narrowing her eyes as Mero leans it to sniff at Missandei.
She sighs as another apple smacks into his face before he can get to close. The mercenary turns an angry eye towards Marian, who smiles at him and tells him, "Mine."
Mero blinks, then laughs, as Prendahl tells Daenerys, "Our Contract is our Bond, If we break our bond, no one will hire the Second Sons again."
Marian snorts, "You work for us, you won't need to get hired again!"
"Marian, enough," Dany shakes her head, looking to each of the mercenaries in turn, she notes, "She is correct, though. Should you chose to fight for me, you need never lift a sword for another. You will have gold, land, and women aplenty by the time I am done."
Mero shrugs, Daario gives a small, smug little smile, and Prendahl merely shakes his head. Seeing that she has not won them over, she sighs, "You have two days to decide."
Mero leans forward, and tells her, "Show me your cunt, I want to see if it's worth fighting for."
Marian smacks her face, Jorah and Barristan's hands inch towards their swords, every Unsullied present turns to glare at the Titan's Bastard, Grey Worm in particular is angered. The Commander asks for the privaledge of ending Mero' life, and Dany just smiles, telling him to calm himself before turning to Mero, "You seem to be enjoying my wine, perhaps you'd like a flagon to help you ponder?"
"And what are my brothers to drink?" Mero asks
"A barrel then."
"Perfect," Mero stands and starts to walk out of the tent. As Daario passes him, he turns back to the dragon queen, "In the Second Sons we share everything, mayhaps, after the battle, we'll all share you."
He gives her a big grin and is hit in the face with another apple. He turns to look at Marian, who is already holding another apple. She smiles at him benignly, as though she had not thrown three apples into his face. The Titan's Bastard takes a menacing step towards her, but stops as a fourth apple is tossed to him.
This one he catches, and has to drop. Looking down at the apple, he sees it steaming, and burnt. Looking back up at Marian, he eyes her more warily than before, and backs out of the tent. Marian smiles to herself, and chews on her fifth apple.
After the mercenaries are out of earshot, Dany narrows her eyes, and turns to Marian, "He reminded me far too much of you."
Marian shrugs, "He was a bit more of a dick than I am, but we've got the same personality type."
Dany nods, then turns to Barristan, "Ser Barristan, if it does come to Battle, kill that one first."
"Gladly, your grace," the old knight nods.
"Hey!" Marian interject, "i'm the one who called dibs!"
"Dibs?" Barristan asks
"Yeah, it means I get first shot," Marian explains
The Queensguard smiles, "Well, then, I suppose the game is on."
Marian hops out of her chair, and raises a hand, "High five!"
Dany rubs her eyes at her friend's cavalier attitude.