I Was a Dragon, Once

Not knowing how to react to the flirt, she chose to ignore it for now, instead moving on to the rest of his words.

He let out a cheerful laugh.

     “YES!! Yes, yes, YES! I do!” Wings expand and her feet tap to the pavement in some strange little dance, like a dog awaiting its dinner.

“So I think I know better’n a chit like you whether it’s a good idea to stay in that form too long. Much of a shame as ‘tis, we ain’t the dragons of yore. If you stick like that too long ye’ll just hurt yourself - or somethin’ a sight worse.”

Xane clicked his tongue and wagged his index finger - the one on the same hand holding the bag.

“Goodness, no! Don’t be ridiculous. How can something as impressive as shapeshifting ever be disappointing? That’s like saying that chocolate is disappointing. Or puppies.”

The fact that he was for once being appreciated for the wondrous marvel he felt he was had him beaming, though.

The next question caused the smile to briefly fade, only to be replaced by an even more impish grin.

“Call it a habit of mine. i’m a bit of a faulkner, see, Playing tricks on people is my idea of a good time. And, bein’ a shapeshifer an’ all, I’ve got what you might call a natural advantage when it comes to foolin’ gulls, so I take ev’ry chance I get!. Er, not to imply you’re a dupe or anythin’!” He hastily added.

“Pleased to meet’cha! Name’s Xane.” He was going to keep his species under wraps, just for the moment, Xane decided. Mistrust for humans was ever his first instinct.

At least the other hadn’t been harmed. Though she was rather surprised that his clothes had remained completely un-singed… It must’ve been some sort of magic spell. Ordinary cloth could not escape from a magic fire.

“Well,” he chuckled, “it does seem like it, don’t it? An’ I don’t know, it might be magic, but I wouldn’t know. Dunno how it works, dunno how I got it. I was born with it, and I’ve always known how to do it. Just how it is!”

It was good to be reminded that there were a few good hearts among mankind. Of course, the rather immediate trust Xane had for this girl had something to do with her little non-human companion...

“You’re a good kid. Well, if y’all really wanna help... I was just on my way to work, anyway. Bar called Beasties. We’re offering shelter an’ food an’ all to non-humans until this all blows over. If you wanna help, that’d be a good place to start.”

In light of recent events, Beasties will discontinue normal business hours and will now operate as a 24-hour shelter for non-humans and other individuals who feel as though they require safety and other housing options until further notice.

What This Means: If you feel unsafe in your home or while traveling in the city, you are more than welcome to utilize our facilities to rest, get food, and acquire other services as needed.

What We Will Offer: Basic necessities (e.g. food, water, beds) will be open to anyone who comes through our doors. We are planning to offer companion services so that those who feel the need to travel in the company of others to and from other locations for safety purposes can find a central hub of dependable individuals to choose from.

What We Need: We do not expect anything from the community. This is a service we will provide to you. However, if you should so choose, we will happily accept any and all donations of food, water, and bedding supplies to help those who need it. We are also now accepting volunteer cooks, companions, and security personnel who wish to help our cause. If you are interested, please contact us with your name, housing, and position you wish to apply for. We thank you in advance for your assistance and kindness.

We at Beasties are proud to continue to serve the non-human community.

Please remember: You are not alone.

All this happened so fast, She had just arrived in the city yet so much was happening already. It did remind her of home..with people and digimon.. She wanted to help people, so when she noticed the others eye she couldn’t turn a blind eye. “ Oh my, that looks really bad. You should put some ice on it. Let’s go get some.” 

“Nah. No thanks. It’s fine. I’ll be fine on my ow-’

He blinked, and gave a confused glance at the little creature offering its ears as a salve - and interrupting him in the process. Then he shrugged, because, well, by his standards, that was pretty much normal.

     You’ll find a dog sniffing at your hands, your pockets – alas, looking down would reveal there’s no dog, but a dragon snuffling around.

     "I smell a snack… it smells good… what is it!?“

Bemusedly, he lifted a brown paper bag out of his back pocket - leftovers from a prank he’d never quite gotten around to: Oreos with the cream filling replaced with toothpaste.

Alright, next step in Merrill’s acclimatization to Hive City- figure out exactly what she can and can’t do. Starting with magic, of course.

Her connection to the fade was painfully weak, so she had decided that experimenting with how much she could still accomplish was an important step forwards. She’d tried casting with the wooden staff she’d been given at first, but the strange feeling of a new weapon could only make things worse. Next, the classics- a Dalish spell meant to summon vines to protect the user. Still no dice.

But- aha! A spark! As the flames spread from the tips of her fingers, Merrill broke out into a wide grin. She could still do something! Even if it was the simplest of spells! She felt almost like jumping for joy, but settled instead for flinging her arms into the air and giving a loud whoop, causing the summoned fireballs to scatter around her.

That summarily ruined Xane’s plans. So much for element of surprise, now he was laid out on his back on the burnt ground. At least the fireballs hadn’t also ruined his clothes, for one particular reason...

“Yeah, yeah, I’m dandy.” The cheery, lilting voice did not quite match the visage. For one thing, the voice was clearly male, while the body was... not.

The false facade of the same mage he’d been approaching vanished in glowing purple light, and the real Xane became visible - irrepressible and ever-present mischevious grin and all.

“So, uh, mage, are ya?” He ventured as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, “never really had th’ patience t’ learn magic, myself. Coulda if I wanted, had a lotta potential, but I figured it don’t suit a guy like me.”

He snapped a finger, and small cloud of frost formed above his hand, quickly disappearing in the warmth of the spring air.

“You assume my views come from being a noble? I would argue that doesn’t apply, but it’s become clear I irritated you somehow. I will let the subject lie, but leave this. Is it really so strange to expect other worlds to be like yours, and to be unable to imagine a situation that you have never lived through and could never exist in your home world before it is brought up as a possibility?”

She wouldn’t bother to explain the things he couldn’t know, what it meant to be born a Kyorl or the fact she wasn’t born into the clan. These were things she would keep to herself. Assumptions of her being spoiled and never having to earn anything were to be expected.

He waved the issue off.