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"Sorry, you don't happen to be meeting someone to help them with Dothraki?" Dany asks the towering man who entered the Pentos coffee shop the same time as her. She saw his tattoos and long braided hair, he must be Dothraki, it can't be just coincidence.
"No," he says, looking down at her curiously, then she sees him taking in her hair. His eyes then look to the cashier.
"Oh, sorry," she says, stepping up to order her coffee.
Getting her order and finding a table, she pulls a bite off her scone and looks curiously at the man. His side is to her as he sits at a high bar, pulling out a stack of papers. Gods, that's a man if she's ever seen one.
Waiting, she watches the door, hoping to meet her language partner. Half an hour goes by without a soul. Resigning herself, she drinks from her empty coffee cup unsuccessfully and settles with reading on her phone. She tries to push away the discouragement. Two semesters, and she still feels lost in the language. How will she survive her internship?
The sun from the window is blocked, making her look up to see the man from earlier. He's got a mug in one hand and motions to her empty dishes. "Umm," she starts, but he goes ahead and balances them with his own and returns them. She stands up, saying, "Thank you," in Valyrian as she knows there is no word in Dothraki for it.
He turns with a small smile, coming back. "No need," he says, motioning to her table.
"Oh, please," she says, and both of them sit down across from each other. She looks at him wide-eyed, her heart strangely starting to beat like a drum with him so near.
"My Valyrian not good," he says.
"Dothraki worse," she says. He looks confused, so she tries to clarify. "My," pointing to herself, "Dothraki worse."
He nods then. "Why you learn Dothraki?"
"I want to train horses, and I'm planning to go to Vaes Dothrak this summer."
He smiles to her, "How would you break a horse?" He motions to her petite frame.
It irks her slightly as this is often the impression people have. "I don't," she says with all her will. Even she doesn't completely understand the connection she has to them. Force is not necessary, never. He looks at her curiously then, doubting she can tell but intrigued.
"My name is Daenerys, but most people call me Dany," she says.
He raises his eyebrow at her, confusing her. "Dothraki," he says to her.
Oh, she repeats the introduction in her halting Dothraki accent. His big smile at her attempt makes her want to play punch his arm.
He responds, "I am Drogo," in perfect Dothraki of course. "Repeat yours," he tells her.
"I am Dany," she tries to better inflect.
"You are..."
"Student," she smiles, knowing the word. He repeats in true pronunciation, and she tries again. His smile encourages her, and she laughs a little.
"What do you do?" She asks.
"I sell horses."
Her eyes brighten. "Really!" She lets out in Valyrian. He tilts his head in teasing reproof. He gives her the Dothraki translation, which she repeats enthusiastically. He laughs heartily now, confusing her again.
"What did I say?" She asks, scrunching her brow.
He hesitates. "Liar, get the fuck out," he says in Valyrian.
She gasps, "Why?"
He shrugs, saying something in Dothraki. She shakes her head, not understanding. "My sister says that," he tries, slower. She smiles then.
"You learning true Dothraki now," he says in Valyrian, stretching back with his arms behind his head. She feels her knees wobble slightly at the sight.
"You have boyfriend?" He asks her. She shakes her head no, kicking herself for not being able to form words. He smiles then, and the look in his eyes is a drug in itself the way it excites her.
He sits back up, asking her, "You know horse words?"
"Um, some, horse, mare, stallion, foal," He repeats them back in better Dothraki, and she attempts the same.
"Saddle, saddle," he says the words in Valyrian and Dothraki for her, and she repeats after him. "Bridle, bridle, tack, tack, whip, whip," she doesn't repeat after him at the last word, and they share an intense look. "Spirit, spirit," he says next, making her heart lift a little. She repeats the Dothraki word this time. "Beautiful, beautiful," he says next, and she can barely breathe. She tilts her head and looks down, trying to settle herself. She literally just met this man.
"Thank you for helping me," she says in Valyrian, looking up to find a small smile as he watches her.
"Have you been to Vaes Dothrak?" He asks in Dothraki.
"No," she answers sadly. " I hear it is beautiful."
"It is a long journey. Journey," he explains in Valyrian at her confused look. "Grasslands as far as the eye can see," he points to his own eyes and out. She nods following. "In the days of the khals, only men who prove themselves great would be followed. And they would have their khaleessi." She knew some of this, but she's still rapt to hear him tell her. "They would ride all over, taking cities, all their treasure," and enslaving their people she wants to add. "Fiercest warriors of that time. I learned how to use an arakh as a boy."
She tries to think of what she can say but no Dothraki comes to her except, "Good," and she looks at him hopeful, resting her hands on the table.
"You are good," he says taking one of her hands for a moment. "Tell me about Dany." She could melt at hearing his Dothraki accent sound out her name.
"Uhh," she says, "I'm from an old family, the Targaryens. We go back to Old Valyria. They were," she defers to Valyrian, "Dragonlords."
"Dragonlords?" he questions.
"Yes, lords who mastered dragons and rode them. They have the bones and scales of one in the museum here." He smiles at her. People can believe in the bones but not the stories anymore, stories of how her family rode dragons and conquered all of Westeros.
"Dragon?" He says to her in Dothraki, and she repeats after him several times to get it right.
"You ride a dragon?" He smiles, playing with her.
"I could," she says, knowing she's one of the few left of her family, and she does have a special bond with animals. She wonders what he must think of her, saying she could ride dragons and all.
"I'll stay with riding horses," he tells her.
She cracks a smile, looking down. "Me too."
His phone buzzes, and he frowns, pulling it out. He answers, and he speaks in lightning fast Dothraki over the line. Her eyes go wide realizing how patient he is being with her, but more, how will she ever be able to understand it and talk as fast?
Ending the call, he turns to her with a frown. "I must go," he tells her, and she's surprised how disappointed she feels.
"Thank you truly," she says again in Valyrian.
"If you wish to speak Dothraki, you must not also say thank you in Valyrian.” She nods in response. Drogo steps to the side, his hand skimming her back as he guides her ahead of him and out onto the streets of Pentos.
"Do you think..." she starts as he says, "May I see you again?" They both laugh, and her smile she can barely contain. "Yes, of course."