The Baron's apology was waved off with a smile. His reaction had been perfectly natural, and was admittedly even close to what Jasper had been hoping for (which was to provide a pleasant surprise for the Baron); he was just glad the man hadn't made any other sudden movements that might have triggered the raptor's inborn desire to chase prey. Jasper was fully capable of preventing the dinosaur from doing harm, but did hope he wouldn't have to tonight.
"I've only seen the black dragon from a distance, but I've encountered Smaug—he's the red-golden one—a few times," he replied. "Given his foul temper, avoiding him probably is wise." And if Vladimir did run into the dragon, Jasper dimly hoped he'd be in the area. As he'd found out during said previous encounters, the dragon wasn't immune to his empathic influence, though he was understandably very nervous about tampering with the creature's emotions in the first place. The only sure way to kill a vampire of his kind was to tear them apart and burn the still-living pieces before any pulled back together—who better for that than a huge dragon? It was highly unlikely any of the lesser deities, demons, or even the kitsune at Hogwarts possessed the same physical strength or speed required for that feat. Vampires hadn't evolved to be the perfect predators by having easily exploitable weaknesses. (It was also a Very Good Thing Jasper was unaware of how Vladimir felt about predators.)
"I'm glad you like him," he said, amused by the raptor's attempt at communicating with the Baron. He smoothed his hand down the beast's snout. "Seems he likes you, too. He's very curious about you." That he knew through sensing the raptor's emotions, rather than having any understanding of what his sounds meant.
Jasper subtly took in the layout of the room at a glance as he moved to take a seat on the gold sofa, sitting on the end nearest to where Vladimir would be on the other. He didn't want to seem unfriendly, though he was grateful for the distance between them. Less likely to be any physical contact this way. He left the raptor to choose for himself where he'd like to be; he really wasn't a pet to be commanded, after all.
"Better?" he asked with a quiet chuckle, now deliberately looking around the overly large room for the Baron's benefit. He affected a very convincing impressed expression to ensure his next comment wouldn't be misconstrued as criticism. "The décor is very Gryffindor... Surprising, to see that in Slytherin. Your room's also several times the size of my own, and I share mine." He shared both of 'his' rooms, technically. His attention returned to Vladimir as he settled back comfortably against the cushions, looking more at ease than he truly felt. In truth the anxiety caused by recent events wasn't ever very far from the surface. "It was kind of you to invite me, Vladimir. How have you been liking Hogwarts so far? Have you started studying magic yet, or have you been too busy meeting all the unusual inhabitants here?" Both of which were simply educated guesses; he had no way of knowing for certain what the Baron had occupied himself with since their last meeting.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-05-13 06:51 am (UTC)"I've only seen the black dragon from a distance, but I've encountered Smaug—he's the red-golden one—a few times," he replied. "Given his foul temper, avoiding him probably is wise." And if Vladimir did run into the dragon, Jasper dimly hoped he'd be in the area. As he'd found out during said previous encounters, the dragon wasn't immune to his empathic influence, though he was understandably very nervous about tampering with the creature's emotions in the first place. The only sure way to kill a vampire of his kind was to tear them apart and burn the still-living pieces before any pulled back together—who better for that than a huge dragon? It was highly unlikely any of the lesser deities, demons, or even the kitsune at Hogwarts possessed the same physical strength or speed required for that feat. Vampires hadn't evolved to be the perfect predators by having easily exploitable weaknesses. (It was also a Very Good Thing Jasper was unaware of how Vladimir felt about predators.)
"I'm glad you like him," he said, amused by the raptor's attempt at communicating with the Baron. He smoothed his hand down the beast's snout. "Seems he likes you, too. He's very curious about you." That he knew through sensing the raptor's emotions, rather than having any understanding of what his sounds meant.
Jasper subtly took in the layout of the room at a glance as he moved to take a seat on the gold sofa, sitting on the end nearest to where Vladimir would be on the other. He didn't want to seem unfriendly, though he was grateful for the distance between them. Less likely to be any physical contact this way. He left the raptor to choose for himself where he'd like to be; he really wasn't a pet to be commanded, after all.
"Better?" he asked with a quiet chuckle, now deliberately looking around the overly large room for the Baron's benefit. He affected a very convincing impressed expression to ensure his next comment wouldn't be misconstrued as criticism. "The décor is very Gryffindor... Surprising, to see that in Slytherin. Your room's also several times the size of my own, and I share mine." He shared both of 'his' rooms, technically. His attention returned to Vladimir as he settled back comfortably against the cushions, looking more at ease than he truly felt. In truth the anxiety caused by recent events wasn't ever very far from the surface. "It was kind of you to invite me, Vladimir. How have you been liking Hogwarts so far? Have you started studying magic yet, or have you been too busy meeting all the unusual inhabitants here?" Both of which were simply educated guesses; he had no way of knowing for certain what the Baron had occupied himself with since their last meeting.