[Truthfully, Akihiko had been pondering how to deal with the egg. He hadn't ever raised an egg before, and this was...a tad outside of his comfort zone! So when he sees the nest his newfound roommate made, Akihiko wonders how he didn't think of this before. Of course! A nest...]
I do. I have it.
[He takes out the ostrich-sized egg. It has a knit hat stretched over the upper part of his circumference]
I may not know what this is for but I won't let anything happen to it.
Would heating up some of the nest in boiling water or something and then wrapping the eggs with that help for a while...?
[Unlike Ali, Akihiko really is pretty lost. His thought of heating something of fabric like that to wrap the egg with is definitely not 'easily regulated'. He should be glad Ali is here, definitely]
That should work temporarily. It's harder to control the temperature, but it will work for the time being. The most important part is keeping the eggs warm.
[It's fine, Ali knows what to do. These eggs will hatch into beautiful...whatever they are.]
There'll be a lot of questions once I return home with a new and unexpected friend.
[Yeah, he's willing to take care of whatever comes out of this. He has no idea how he'll explain its origins, but it's not like everyone in S.E.E.S hasn't seen many weird things the last year. THey'll get over it]
I see. I'll call it a poor little orphan, and say I couldn't leave it defenseless against the cruel, cruel world. That'll tug at anyone's heartstrings.
Chicken eggs...? [Well that makes sense. There aren't that many birds to hatch eggs from, he thinks. Yeah, this is fine] For fun, or was it something you had to do?
[Do people hatch eggs for fun? Who knows -- people can have all sorts of hobbies]
[This is before profiles were up, so he's not going to talk about how they had to raise chickens hundreds of years ago. Instead:]
We kept a few in our yard, for eggs mostly but occasionally we hatched eggs to add to the flock. I always had a knack for taking care of the eggs until they hatched.
[For the first time, Akihiko just...takes off the holster with the Evoker, and places it on the bed. Ali probably is here, and would see that. Until now Akihiko had been pretty careful not to leave it anywhere in sight, but what's the point now, now that everyone knows he has this object?
Having done that, he sits on his bed, tired. This was a draining day, in more ways than one]
[He is in the room with his chao, sitting on his bed and trying to convince the chao to go to sleep, so he definitely sees the Evoker get set down. Hmm.]
It's a secret I hadn't planned to let ever come out...
[He's got to come to terms with that, with how he'll have to explain Evokers, things like Personas and the such also will have to be discussed. It's not easy, to have to admit that stuff]
You don't have to share then if you would prefer not to.
[Lord knows he's hiding a lot. But maybe if he shares something it will help Akihiko feel more comfortable with opening up.]
...you once said that I was pretty good at taking care of eggs, and I said it was because I raised chickens. That was only partially true. I also hatched a dragon egg once.
[The next time Akihiko returns to his room, he will find a dragon sleeping on Ali's bed. This one is significantly larger than this morning, appearing to be about the size of a large dog even before considering the long tail. Said tail is draped over the dragon's snout as it snores softly. It might be difficult to see him right away though, as his inky black scales mix in well with the blanket on his bed.]
[Sorry for taking a while to reply -- university has me by the neck.
The sight of a dragon was...it wasn't at all what he expected to find. Akihiko, returning from exploring with his chao in a kid leash, doesn't notice at first. The chao is the one who finds Ali first, climbing on top of the bed to climb onto this newfound dragon like he's a cuddly big dog, indeed. Akihiko, having left some random things aside, turns to take off the kid leash from his droplet creature when he sees what it's doing.
Akihiko hurriedly looks at the nameplate when he enters and sees a dragon. This is Ali and his' room! Akihiko had just come back from meeting a dragon, and here is another!]
Hey, get off there...!
[Akihiko whispers, hoping not to give the dragon a...a ruder awakening than it already might have!]
[Welp, Akihiko's chao didn't listen. Akihiko sees no other option. He approaches and, as carefully as possible, he grabs his little watery soul creature, putting him on the other bunk]
...now what am I going to do with you.
[This dragon seems much larger and older than the other one Akihiko met today. Doesn't seem aggressive, though. How to explain this to Ali once he arrives? Hmmmm...
Well, for now, may as well get it comfortable, because a comfortable dragon probably is less likely to wreak havoc on his roommate's bed. Akihiko tosses his blanket on the dragon, like he's trying to get it comfortable against the cold]
[While Akihiko tosses his blanket over the dragon, he might notice a second, red chao laying against the dragon napping. It was partially hidden before because it was between the dragon and the wall.
The dragon also sleepily raises a clawed limb and signs "thank you" before curling back up under the blanket.]
[That sure was a series of movements Akihiko isn't sure how to interpret. The sight of the red chao, against the dragon...it makes Akihiko have a sudden thought]
...no way...
[This...can't be Ali, right? Ali did mention raising a dragon, and Akihiko hadn't questioned where someone might get a dragon egg, but if Ali is a dragon too, then maybe it's not so much of a mystery. Was Ali talking about his own offspring, then...?
Well, maybe he's jumping to conclusions! So Akihiko decides to stick around until the dragon wakes up, or until Ali arrives. Whichever happens first, he thinks. Time to sit down and browse the Chipper until this dragon wakes up]
[Well, Ali will be arriving soon, but in an unusual fashion. The dragon curls up under the blanket, covering itself entirely. Then, not long after, a very confused and very human Ali crawls out from under the blanket.]
How did a dragon end up working a human job in the first place...?
[Why? IT's not like Akihiko knows much about dragons, but somehow the thought one went to a city to get a job feels like it'd have a whole story behind it]
[Time to explore the fun mirrors! Who would have thought that trying to leave their rooms would lead them here.]
I have to say, I'm not a fan of this.
[He looks put off, but the mirrors reflecting Ali don't have him standing there looking annoyed. Rather, he's running, looking panicked, and clutching a backpack to his chest like it's the most precious thing in the world.
I wonder what's the trick of this place. There's no way these are just normal mirr--
[Akihiko is suddenly interrupted when he sees the odd reflection near Ali. Oh. Is this it? Akihiko looks at the reflection, wondering what this symbolizes. Perhaps someone's feelings? Their mental state...?]
[Well he's about to find out because here comes the memory!]
Ali is hurrying towards the nearby town, down a path and towards some of the sportatic houses on the dirt road. Surprisingly, or perhaps luckily, everyone is too focused on the commotion up ahead on the road to even notice what he is doing. Pale as a ghost, trembling hands clutching the backpack that is now the most precious thing in the world to him, only putting on the thinnest veneer of a normal human act.
Those who run past him mostly assume that he saw the slaughter of the dragon up the mountainside and doesn't have the stomach for such a messy encounter. None could ever expect that he just watched his sister get killed for the crime of trying to protect her nest.
His feet automatically take him to the small house he had been renting temporarily. He hadn't been staying there much, but he kept it as a way to keep up the appearance of humanity. Nobody needed to know that he had been spending most of his nights for the last two months in a cave, helping a dragon keep eggs safe. A task that, in the end, proved to be futile. His sister was dead, and her nest was smashed, leaving no trace behind of the vibrant woman who Ali had looked up to for his entire life.
It's only when he closes the door behind him and turns the lock that the tears start rolling down his cheeks. He doesn't even move away from the door, he just slides down to his knees and starts sobbing uncontrollably. But as quickly as the cries start he muffles them with his hand, trying to keep the sound from traveling too far. Even now there were eyes and ears everywhere, and someone grieving the death of a dragon would stand out like a sore thumb.
It feels like hours- though in reality it is only a few minutes- before he finally moves. With a shaky hand he reaches for the backpack's zipper and tugs it open, revealing the treasured object inside: a single dragon egg, still warm from its time in the nest.
This was the only one he had managed to sneak out before the townspeople had arrived. He had barely gotten away with this one before some men entered the cave and started smashing eggs. Normally dragons are born with several clutchmates, but this little one was all on their own now.
Ali looks down at the egg, feeling it with his hand to check the egg's warmth. He bites his lip as he pulls the egg in towards his chest, hugging it gently to keep it from breaking.
"It's okay," he says in a whisper with a voice that is already cracking, "It's going to be okay. I'll take care of you. I'll be your family from now on."
Three months later, Ava'grezoph hatched from that egg and started a life with her doting uncle-turned-father.
[Oooooh yes, that certainly answers that. Akihiko watches, full of sympathy at the sights. As an orphan, seeing what was very obviously Ali taking a little one -- well, soon-to-be little on -- under his wing, even literally speaking, reminds him of his own background]
...I see. Guess this explains why you hadn't shared you're a dragon until I found you as one.
[That was hard to watch, really. The sense of tragedy is palpable in that memory]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
Weekend 0, Saturday
Date: 2025-02-09 12:17 am (UTC)1: the best on the East side of the room has been claimed already.
2: said bed has what appears to be a nest made on it, primarily made out of the blanket on the bed, a scarf, and a grey suit coat.
3: Ali is standing nearby, dressed far more professionally than before, though minus the suit coat since it's on the makeshift nest.]
This might still not be enough...I should go look for a heating pad or something.
[He'll glance up to Akihiko when he sees him though.]
-oh hey. You have your egg, right?
no subject
Date: 2025-02-10 04:44 am (UTC)I do. I have it.
[He takes out the ostrich-sized egg. It has a knit hat stretched over the upper part of his circumference]
I may not know what this is for but I won't let anything happen to it.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-10 05:28 am (UTC)[Ali works to make the nest a little wider, so that both eggs can fit in.Then they're both wrapped up nicely and safe.]
A heating pad would help too, it would keep the heat at a more easily regulated temperature. But I haven't seen somewhere to get one yet.
[This man sure knows about eggs.]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-10 06:07 am (UTC)[Unlike Ali, Akihiko really is pretty lost. His thought of heating something of fabric like that to wrap the egg with is definitely not 'easily regulated'. He should be glad Ali is here, definitely]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-10 11:35 pm (UTC)[It's fine, Ali knows what to do. These eggs will hatch into beautiful...whatever they are.]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-10 11:57 pm (UTC)No normal bird could have laid these, but I can't guess what else could do this...
[For all we know maybe these are axolotl eggs]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-11 02:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-02-11 05:49 pm (UTC)[Yeah, he's willing to take care of whatever comes out of this. He has no idea how he'll explain its origins, but it's not like everyone in S.E.E.S hasn't seen many weird things the last year. THey'll get over it]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-15 04:19 am (UTC)[He might be planning to do the same thing when he finds a way home too.]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-16 02:53 pm (UTC)[Properly sad story, there we go!]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-17 01:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-02-17 01:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-02-17 02:18 am (UTC)[Luckily his job offers paternal leave.]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-17 01:43 pm (UTC)So, how many times have you done this before?
[Taking care of eggs that probably contain unusual creatures]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-18 02:31 am (UTC)...a couple of times.
[A pause.]
It was chicken eggs.
[Most of the times were chicken eggs, but not all of them.]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-18 03:56 am (UTC)[Do people hatch eggs for fun? Who knows -- people can have all sorts of hobbies]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-18 05:40 am (UTC)We kept a few in our yard, for eggs mostly but occasionally we hatched eggs to add to the flock. I always had a knack for taking care of the eggs until they hatched.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-19 04:30 am (UTC)[And this is only because Persona 3 got rererererererereleased, he wouldn't have even this if that hadn't happened]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-21 05:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-02-22 01:56 am (UTC)<small[It's great for bonding, too]
Week 1, Friday
Date: 2025-02-22 02:02 am (UTC)Ali will come across Akihiko not long after getting that announcement, which is the perfect conversation starter.]
Did you see the announcement?
no subject
Date: 2025-02-22 03:04 am (UTC)[About one of the bodies, because wow that sounds brutal]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-22 03:16 am (UTC)[Arm...Ali might have to go on invest tomorrow, he's got a better stomach for that kind of thing.]
Do you think you'll be able to handle it, if you come across it?
no subject
Date: 2025-02-24 12:26 am (UTC)[He probably has a stronger stomach than he's giving himself credit for, but...he hopes to not have to find out, really]
Week 1 --- Saturday
Date: 2025-02-24 02:16 am (UTC)Having done that, he sits on his bed, tired. This was a draining day, in more ways than one]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-24 02:20 am (UTC)You've had a gun this whole time?
no subject
Date: 2025-02-24 02:40 am (UTC)[Akihiko's own chao looks at the Evoker, and Akihiko immediately puts a hand on it, to dissuade the little watery thing from reaching for it]
Should I say sorry for not bringing it up before?
[...truthfully, he doesn't want to apologize. He did nothing wrong]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-24 03:05 am (UTC)[Even if it's not a gun it's gun-shaped which can cause confusion.]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-24 03:28 pm (UTC)[He's got to come to terms with that, with how he'll have to explain Evokers, things like Personas and the such also will have to be discussed. It's not easy, to have to admit that stuff]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-25 02:32 am (UTC)[Lord knows he's hiding a lot. But maybe if he shares something it will help Akihiko feel more comfortable with opening up.]
...you once said that I was pretty good at taking care of eggs, and I said it was because I raised chickens. That was only partially true. I also hatched a dragon egg once.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-25 03:38 am (UTC)[That really surprises him!]
Is it common to find those...?
[There's no way they're as common as chicken eggs! Probably. His immediate thought is that there must be some unusual circumstances behind this]
no subject
Date: 2025-02-25 03:49 am (UTC)[There is a Story there but he's not telling it yet. It's not a good story anyway.]
...she's very smart. She figured out how to take a human form by the time she was three.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-26 10:43 am (UTC)Dragons can take human forms?
Week 2, Monday
Date: 2025-02-25 02:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-02-28 06:47 pm (UTC)The sight of a dragon was...it wasn't at all what he expected to find. Akihiko, returning from exploring with his chao in a kid leash, doesn't notice at first. The chao is the one who finds Ali first, climbing on top of the bed to climb onto this newfound dragon like he's a cuddly big dog, indeed. Akihiko, having left some random things aside, turns to take off the kid leash from his droplet creature when he sees what it's doing.
Akihiko hurriedly looks at the nameplate when he enters and sees a dragon. This is Ali and his' room! Akihiko had just come back from meeting a dragon, and here is another!]
Hey, get off there...!
[Akihiko whispers, hoping not to give the dragon a...a ruder awakening than it already might have!]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-03 03:03 am (UTC)It doesn't seem to be aggressive though. No sudden waking and attacking, it's just being lazy.]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-03 03:44 am (UTC)...now what am I going to do with you.
[This dragon seems much larger and older than the other one Akihiko met today. Doesn't seem aggressive, though. How to explain this to Ali once he arrives? Hmmmm...
Well, for now, may as well get it comfortable, because a comfortable dragon probably is less likely to wreak havoc on his roommate's bed. Akihiko tosses his blanket on the dragon, like he's trying to get it comfortable against the cold]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-03 05:29 am (UTC)The dragon also sleepily raises a clawed limb and signs "thank you" before curling back up under the blanket.]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-03 10:41 pm (UTC)...no way...
[This...can't be Ali, right? Ali did mention raising a dragon, and Akihiko hadn't questioned where someone might get a dragon egg, but if Ali is a dragon too, then maybe it's not so much of a mystery. Was Ali talking about his own offspring, then...?
Well, maybe he's jumping to conclusions! So Akihiko decides to stick around until the dragon wakes up, or until Ali arrives. Whichever happens first, he thinks. Time to sit down and browse the Chipper until this dragon wakes up]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-04 03:37 am (UTC)...did I fall asleep?
no subject
Date: 2025-03-05 11:49 am (UTC)[Akihiko had said all that without looking up from his phone, trying not to act like this is a huge deal. Then he glances up at Ali]
Today heaven is full of dragons.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-08 06:20 am (UTC)[WELP. It was bound to get out eventually.]
Yes, that is my other form. Though I can't change willingly right now, so I guess the change was because of the effect.
[Going back a few centuries to when he was a dragon all the time!]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-12 02:49 am (UTC)[Akihiko trails off. True, he did just think maybe Ali was a dragon, but hearing the confirmation makes it so real now]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-12 02:51 am (UTC)[Just. Clarifying that now.]
I live in a big city and work a human job, so it's beneficial for me to take a human form. It also helps me go unnoticed.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-12 03:30 am (UTC)[Why? IT's not like Akihiko knows much about dragons, but somehow the thought one went to a city to get a job feels like it'd have a whole story behind it]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-04 01:29 am (UTC)I have to say, I'm not a fan of this.
[He looks put off, but the mirrors reflecting Ali don't have him standing there looking annoyed. Rather, he's running, looking panicked, and clutching a backpack to his chest like it's the most precious thing in the world.
Ali himself hasn't notice this quite yet though.]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-12 02:51 am (UTC)[Akihiko is suddenly interrupted when he sees the odd reflection near Ali. Oh. Is this it? Akihiko looks at the reflection, wondering what this symbolizes. Perhaps someone's feelings? Their mental state...?]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-14 05:03 am (UTC)Ali is hurrying towards the nearby town, down a path and towards some of the sportatic houses on the dirt road. Surprisingly, or perhaps luckily, everyone is too focused on the commotion up ahead on the road to even notice what he is doing. Pale as a ghost, trembling hands clutching the backpack that is now the most precious thing in the world to him, only putting on the thinnest veneer of a normal human act.
Those who run past him mostly assume that he saw the slaughter of the dragon up the mountainside and doesn't have the stomach for such a messy encounter. None could ever expect that he just watched his sister get killed for the crime of trying to protect her nest.
His feet automatically take him to the small house he had been renting temporarily. He hadn't been staying there much, but he kept it as a way to keep up the appearance of humanity. Nobody needed to know that he had been spending most of his nights for the last two months in a cave, helping a dragon keep eggs safe. A task that, in the end, proved to be futile. His sister was dead, and her nest was smashed, leaving no trace behind of the vibrant woman who Ali had looked up to for his entire life.
It's only when he closes the door behind him and turns the lock that the tears start rolling down his cheeks. He doesn't even move away from the door, he just slides down to his knees and starts sobbing uncontrollably. But as quickly as the cries start he muffles them with his hand, trying to keep the sound from traveling too far. Even now there were eyes and ears everywhere, and someone grieving the death of a dragon would stand out like a sore thumb.
It feels like hours- though in reality it is only a few minutes- before he finally moves. With a shaky hand he reaches for the backpack's zipper and tugs it open, revealing the treasured object inside: a single dragon egg, still warm from its time in the nest.
This was the only one he had managed to sneak out before the townspeople had arrived. He had barely gotten away with this one before some men entered the cave and started smashing eggs. Normally dragons are born with several clutchmates, but this little one was all on their own now.
Ali looks down at the egg, feeling it with his hand to check the egg's warmth. He bites his lip as he pulls the egg in towards his chest, hugging it gently to keep it from breaking.
"It's okay," he says in a whisper with a voice that is already cracking, "It's going to be okay. I'll take care of you. I'll be your family from now on."
Three months later, Ava'grezoph hatched from that egg and started a life with her doting uncle-turned-father.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-15 04:17 am (UTC)...I see. Guess this explains why you hadn't shared you're a dragon until I found you as one.
[That was hard to watch, really. The sense of tragedy is palpable in that memory]