private PSL

[srsbznss]

[Part of the problem with being a financial advisor, Ali realized, was that it meant he had to work. And it wasn't even the fun kinds of 'work' like stacking coins and sorting them by the quality of their gold or silver, oh no. The king had made it quite clear that any coin-counting was to be done only when requested, or outside of working hours. No, Ali had to do things like read and fill out paperwork, or run analytics on tax revenue and what kind of surplus or expenditures there were in the quarter. Or, at the very least, he had to assign all of that work to one of his several secretaries. After all, he at to at least keep up the appearances of being a financial advisor, and over the last few decades he had gotten pretty good at that. It wasn't impossible, but it also wasn't nearly as fun as counting coins.

Of course, he would get odd looks if he just sat around counting coins all day. To anyone else looking in, they did not see the fearsome dragon Aligrezoph, guardian of the kingdom's treasury. They saw Ali, a normal- albeit quirky- man who kept a very small social circle in the finance department and spent most of his days trying to keep expenditures to a minimum while saving up as much as he could. All for the kingdom's benefit, of course. It totally wasn't so there would be an even bigger pile of coins for Ali to count on his breaks.

Indeed, most who looked at Ali would just see an average-looking man. shoulder-length black hair tied back with a black ribbon, piercing blue eyes, a perpetual frown stuck on his face in most situations. A lean body that was more built for flexibility and speed than strength, and a very simple style of dress in neutral colors. He looked every bit like a stuffy accountant, though Ali would argue that he wasn't really THAT stuffy. He was just comfortable with the form!

He also would not talk about his other form under any circumstances.

On that day, Ali had an armful of expense reports with him. There was to be a meeting, and he had stayed up all night with two of his secretaries preparing these reports. With the midsummer festival coming up, the festivities had to be decided upon and paid for. And, as usual, Ali wanted to keep the expenses as low as possible. For the good of the kingdom, of course. Ultimately his team had prepared a few possible expense reports, with varying amounts spent on decorations, hiring out staff, and paying guards for keeping the peace. Any one of his plans would be acceptable, but Ali was sure that someone would complain. There was always someone who complained and called him a 'coin-pinching cheapskate', but those complaints had picked up more in recent years. Already Ali was annoyed just from the thought of the argument that would happen that day when he butted heads with a certain other advisor. Sparks would fly as usual, and these weren't the good kind of sparks.

But Ali was willing to give it a chance. As people arrived at the meeting- a meeting between the king and his dozen or so advisors in the various ways of running the kingdom- Ali worked to lay out one set of expense reports at each desk. It was only two pages of paper per table spot, so hopefully everyone liked to read!

Of course, when Ali passed a certain advisor, he had to fight the urge to make a snide comment. Instead, he just held out the two-page document to him, trying not to show too much contempt when he spoke.]

Do take care of those papers, will you? My staff stayed up all night finishing them.

[He was a dragon in hiding, not a snake in hiding, but his words still had bite to them.]

Comments

[virtuesignal]

[Concord, as was his duty, followed behind the King like his shadow. A gleaming shadow, if there ever was one. The man was tall, broad, and had a mane of bright, silver hair curling out in all directions. It collected into a long braid that swung behind him, ending just above his hips. A center part left bangs to frame his features, a gaunt face with five beauty marks, in the precise pattern of the brightest constellation in the night sky. His forehead had a golden tattoo, or so it appeared to most people, a rune of some sort. He had a stern look about him and wore pristinely his military garb at nearly all times. Rare was it to see him look disheveled.

He only sat once the King was seated, taking the last one available. Besides Ali.

His piercing green eyes met the dragon, who spoke to him with utmost condescension. The Knight Commander's face did not react, not beyond a single, long blink. The table fell entirely silent.

Concord reached to take the pages indicated to him. Maintaining a wordless gaze with Ali, he crumpled and shoved them all into his mouth, before slowly and defiantly chewing them up.]

[srsbznss]

[They had been 'a thing' for some time- caught somewhere between 'lovers' and 'sex friends' and just trying to figure it all out- when it finally happened.

Ali didn't tell Concord a thing, because of course he didn't. He's never been one to share personal, intimate details. But for a week or so he got particularly needy, demanding Concord's presence every night and kicking him out by the first bells after sunrise. Something was going on, Ali has never been that demanding about sex, but the persnickety dragon never offered an explanation.

The week passed, and Ali got far less demanding. Extremely less demanding, actually, so much so that he'd refuse all physical attention for a few days. While Ali was normally pretty hot and cold, this was a huge jump even for him.

Which brings us to today. It's morning, just after breakfast, and Ali is out and about gathering information from the various job groups within the castle for the monthly distribution of funds. In the past this had been a task that he delegated to his assistants, but in recent months he had started going out and doing it himself. It's a change, but one for the better. Ali doesn't need to be cooped up in the treasury for years on end.

But today he isn't doing his work as diligently as he normally does. In fact, he's down by the castle's small bit of inner farmland that's used to feed the royal family. He's standing outside the chicken fence, watching the recently-hatched chicks explore the world while staying relatively close to their mothers. He's been there a good ten minutes by now, long enough for the farm staff to notice him and whisper to each other about it but not quite long enough for any of them to go over and ask what he needs.

While watching over the chicks and hens, There's a look of distant longing on Ali's face. He's also not paying attention to his surroundings at all and doesn't notice the farm staff fussing over how to address him.]