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...I think I'll end up spiraling regardless.
[He says it with a bit of a laugh, but it's more of a laugh meant to break tension. After a few moments though, he drops back into something more serious.]
I mean, it's obvious from my profile that I'm not human. Being what I am comes with a lot of baggage.
[He says it with a bit of a laugh, but it's more of a laugh meant to break tension. After a few moments though, he drops back into something more serious.]
I mean, it's obvious from my profile that I'm not human. Being what I am comes with a lot of baggage.
You know, I've been hesitant to say it! You see, even in modern day there's people who hunt down my kind. It's far safer to be seen as a human if it's at all possible.
[He's just delaying the inevitable with that tangent.]
...it's not without reason though. Where I'm from, most dragons can be pretty unreasonable.
[He's just delaying the inevitable with that tangent.]
...it's not without reason though. Where I'm from, most dragons can be pretty unreasonable.
[Ali's reply comes quietly, though no less meaningful.]
...thank you.
[It means more to him than he could ever hope to explain.]
...thank you.
[It means more to him than he could ever hope to explain.]
I really do hope so. Especially since I'm stuck like this right now, so I couldn't really defend myself well.
[His talk with Hawke had scared him, though he won't admit that.]
But going back to my original point, dragons are greedy creatures by nature. I know this because I've had to spend decades teaching myself not to listen to those impulses. I've got it under control now, but if I were to get hit with some kind of effect that amplified that impulse? There's no telling what could happen. Other dragons have burned down villages for less.
[His talk with Hawke had scared him, though he won't admit that.]
But going back to my original point, dragons are greedy creatures by nature. I know this because I've had to spend decades teaching myself not to listen to those impulses. I've got it under control now, but if I were to get hit with some kind of effect that amplified that impulse? There's no telling what could happen. Other dragons have burned down villages for less.
...
It is not that I do not understand. I... get angry.
[ He gets antsy, irritated, tense in trial. Everything is too much pressure. He finds ways to blow off steam so he doesn't. ]
Seeing what happened to Waner, hit too close to home. But I think thinking too much about this, convincing yourself from a it might happen to a will, will only make you more in stress.
It is not that I do not understand. I... get angry.
[ He gets antsy, irritated, tense in trial. Everything is too much pressure. He finds ways to blow off steam so he doesn't. ]
Seeing what happened to Waner, hit too close to home. But I think thinking too much about this, convincing yourself from a it might happen to a will, will only make you more in stress.
[...Waner...]
She didn't deserve what happened to her.
[He does seem more somber now though, rather than frantic like he was before.]
Unfortunately I've spent centuries carefully thinking before I act so that I wouldn't betray my true nature, and now I just overthink all the time.
She didn't deserve what happened to her.
[He does seem more somber now though, rather than frantic like he was before.]
Unfortunately I've spent centuries carefully thinking before I act so that I wouldn't betray my true nature, and now I just overthink all the time.
Maybe, since you get angry and I overthink things, we could help each other out on that? Like, remind each other to breathe and so on.
Mmm, you're right. We still have five weeks to go.
[Five weeks to solve all of this and also figure out what their purpose in the afterlife even is.]
[Five weeks to solve all of this and also figure out what their purpose in the afterlife even is.]
[Should Marcoh find himself in the maze of mirrors, he will eventually come across Ali staring into one of the mirrors, watching a memory play out.]
Partway up a mountain trail and into a cave, dragged along by his dear older sister. Though they have never had the best relationship, when Ali had gotten that call he knew he had to answer. Family is still family, and Ria had sounded like she was in trouble.
One look at the mess in the cave is all Ali needs to see, and it makes him instantly turn to his sister. She looks like a carbon copy of him, though female instead of male, with her inky black hair extending past her shoulders. Unlike her usual elegant style, she's wearing clothes that are easier to travel in and would help her go unnoticed in a mountainside town.
"Eggs," Ali says, gesturing to the six dragon eggs sitting in a hastily-constructed nest, "You laid eggs? This close to a town?!"
"Hush," Ria says in a dismissive tone, "I did what I could with the time I had. I still need to eat, and being able to sneak away in another form is easier."
"Well if you have a whole plan, then why did you call me up here?"
"...I need help."
This actually startles Ali into silence. Sure, Ria and his other sisters had been demanding his help for all of their lives, but it was rare for any of them to directly admit to needing help. The situation must be serious.
Ria continued on, saying, "Their father is dead. Hunted in the lowlands last week. And I know Mother did all of this on her own, but I can't. I need help keeping them safe until they hatch." She looks down at the eggs with a gaze that can only be called motherly. "Someone has to be here with them at all times. So if there's two of us, that makes it easier. And if we take turns going out for food and such, it will look less suspicious."
"It's going to look really suspicious when six hatchlings spring loose," Ali says. He says it out of worry, though he can tell that Ria already knows. Baby dragons are much harder to move than eggs, and if they're going to get caught at all that's going to be the time.
He thinks back to Concord, still back in the capitol city and completely unaware. If he could send word to Concord for help...but no, any letter he sends would risk being read by someone else and drawing too much attention. Ria risked a lot already trying to get him out here. They really will have to do this on their own.
"...alright. I'll help."
[The memory does not end here, but Ali moves on to the next mirror, watching the first part play out without acknowledging what comes next.]
Partway up a mountain trail and into a cave, dragged along by his dear older sister. Though they have never had the best relationship, when Ali had gotten that call he knew he had to answer. Family is still family, and Ria had sounded like she was in trouble.
One look at the mess in the cave is all Ali needs to see, and it makes him instantly turn to his sister. She looks like a carbon copy of him, though female instead of male, with her inky black hair extending past her shoulders. Unlike her usual elegant style, she's wearing clothes that are easier to travel in and would help her go unnoticed in a mountainside town.
"Eggs," Ali says, gesturing to the six dragon eggs sitting in a hastily-constructed nest, "You laid eggs? This close to a town?!"
"Hush," Ria says in a dismissive tone, "I did what I could with the time I had. I still need to eat, and being able to sneak away in another form is easier."
"Well if you have a whole plan, then why did you call me up here?"
"...I need help."
This actually startles Ali into silence. Sure, Ria and his other sisters had been demanding his help for all of their lives, but it was rare for any of them to directly admit to needing help. The situation must be serious.
Ria continued on, saying, "Their father is dead. Hunted in the lowlands last week. And I know Mother did all of this on her own, but I can't. I need help keeping them safe until they hatch." She looks down at the eggs with a gaze that can only be called motherly. "Someone has to be here with them at all times. So if there's two of us, that makes it easier. And if we take turns going out for food and such, it will look less suspicious."
"It's going to look really suspicious when six hatchlings spring loose," Ali says. He says it out of worry, though he can tell that Ria already knows. Baby dragons are much harder to move than eggs, and if they're going to get caught at all that's going to be the time.
He thinks back to Concord, still back in the capitol city and completely unaware. If he could send word to Concord for help...but no, any letter he sends would risk being read by someone else and drawing too much attention. Ria risked a lot already trying to get him out here. They really will have to do this on their own.
"...alright. I'll help."
[The memory does not end here, but Ali moves on to the next mirror, watching the first part play out without acknowledging what comes next.]
[Normally Ali is very perceptive about his surroundings, but it's only when Marcoh clears his throat that he finally looks over.]
...sorry, I'll go soon, I just...
[He looks back at the mirror, which has gotten to the point where Ria admits she needs help.]
...want to see her a little more. She's been dead for a while, so...
...sorry, I'll go soon, I just...
[He looks back at the mirror, which has gotten to the point where Ria admits she needs help.]
...want to see her a little more. She's been dead for a while, so...
It's alright. We do have to keep moving every so often though. If this memory is going where I think it goes, it will be very bloody and horrific.
[He does not explain that further. He wants to give Marcoh the choice that Ali himself was never given.]
I know I called them my older sister before, but it is only in a technical sense. All six of us came from the same clutch of eggs and hatched over a three-day period, with me being the last one to hatch. Ria was the first, and she took it upon herself to be the responsible one. That mostly meant keeping the rest of us in line, especially after our mother died.
[The memory on that mirror reaches about the same point as before, though it start progressing to when Ria is instead a large inky-black dragon, showing a bit further in the memory. Then Ali steps to the next mirror and it resets.]
Two of our sisters died before they even turned 100, due to fights with other dragons. Two more still live high in the mountains, embracing dragon life and avoiding humans at all cost. Ria and I are the third group, who tried adapting to human life. Though admittedly, Ria only tried it after she saw the succes I had at it.
[Why is he saying all of this? Maybe talking about what happened will help him process it, or maybe he feels like sharing things he usually keeps locked away. Regardless he does trust Marcoh with this, and he trusts Marcoh not to hunt him or spread it to people who will hunt him for it.]
[He does not explain that further. He wants to give Marcoh the choice that Ali himself was never given.]
I know I called them my older sister before, but it is only in a technical sense. All six of us came from the same clutch of eggs and hatched over a three-day period, with me being the last one to hatch. Ria was the first, and she took it upon herself to be the responsible one. That mostly meant keeping the rest of us in line, especially after our mother died.
[The memory on that mirror reaches about the same point as before, though it start progressing to when Ria is instead a large inky-black dragon, showing a bit further in the memory. Then Ali steps to the next mirror and it resets.]
Two of our sisters died before they even turned 100, due to fights with other dragons. Two more still live high in the mountains, embracing dragon life and avoiding humans at all cost. Ria and I are the third group, who tried adapting to human life. Though admittedly, Ria only tried it after she saw the succes I had at it.
[Why is he saying all of this? Maybe talking about what happened will help him process it, or maybe he feels like sharing things he usually keeps locked away. Regardless he does trust Marcoh with this, and he trusts Marcoh not to hunt him or spread it to people who will hunt him for it.]
I think so. We didn't always agree on things, but we did agree that human cooking is far better than anything we ate as dragons. And she made her nest so close to humans that I can only think she wanted her kids to grow up living like humans too.
...yes. She did.
[He could say that the humans of that town didn't understand what was going on. He could say they were just scared of the dragon that started attacking after some teenagers messed with the nest. But in the end it wouldn't make a different, she was killed regardless.]
[He could say that the humans of that town didn't understand what was going on. He could say they were just scared of the dragon that started attacking after some teenagers messed with the nest. But in the end it wouldn't make a different, she was killed regardless.]
After everything that happened I suddenly had a daughter to think about, and keeping her safe seemed more important than addressing my wariness.
[Or grief.]
[Or grief.]
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