blazing heart

how she would have loved the attractions here too...

"You and Paimon have already done so much to me, it feels burdensome to ask you for that help here, too..." Between his trial and everything else they had all endured together.

still, she feels al little comforted in knowing that he would see her as herself and not the entity in question. many could not distinguish so, such as the regulators that kept her and her siblings in check...

❝ Many moons ago, more than three thousand years or so... Sui once ruled amongst Yan with Its kin. Until the 'Great Hunt' began... it was a time when those same deities were targeted by a young emperor. Of course, Sui was a target, too... ❞ the tale leaves her lips just as easily, even with her prior words of warning. ❝ Mm. But in the midst of battle, that had seemingly changed. Where It once wove mockery against this emperor, It soon betrayed Its own kin and took the side of Yan. But It did not do this in belief in the emperor, only due to its own selfish greed to become the sole god of Yan by having the rest eradicated from the lands. ❞

Then, it need not be by the intention of others.

He fiddles with his fingers as he listens. She is almost unemotional about it...

Durin wonders if she has simply shut herself off from the tale. Closing his eyes, he inhales,

"I-"

"-Am so sorry. That all of that happened. That you are punished because of this, that there was a 'Great Hunt' at all." He bows his head, and then looks back up at her,

“...Lyney would probably scold me for being too hard on myself... And Lynette would just call me an idiot...”

“But... I’m glad that if just one of us was sent here, it was me because... because at least they get to stay together...” Freminet misses them desperately, but he knew it would be a lot harder for the twins to be separated. Everyone did.

"I wish they were here for you. And I wish my siblings were here too. But we do have each other," he grabs one of Freminet's hands, with both of his own, "So we can have a cake each for them, oh!"

人形 - Somehow he'd gotten away without hearing that name for a while after arriving in the city. He didn't need to go by that name that Nahida had so graciously bestowed upon him back when he had enrolled in the Akademiya, but in retrospect he had to acknowledge it was partially his fault. He couldn't go by Scaramouche anymore, and his new name was only between the Traveler and himself. But why did it have to be...

"Hat Guy!"

"...Durin. You're here too?" Even though he'd sighed moments before greeting the dragon, his expression still softened a little at the sight of the boy he'd been helping watch over in a sense. "Scratch that. Just call me Wanderer or something here. I don't need to go by that name."

He felt rude, but Hat Guy- Wanderer was someone he felt almost childish around.

"It doesn't really matter what I have to call you, I'm...just very happy you're here. I've made some friends, and I'd be happy if they met you Ha- Wanderer." And it really didn't matter. He'd correct himself all the time, every day, if he had to. He's just glad his friend is here.

“You startled me,” he says, though his face barely changes and he continues speaking in the same monotone voice.

“...Durin? The dragon who stole the stars from the sky because they were all that he had left of his mother?” Freminet pauses, deep in thought. “...When I would read that book, I would imagine that my own maman turned into a star and was looking down on me from the night sky, too. I would reach up and think about what it would be like to feel just a fraction of her warmth again... If I had the power to touch the stars, I’m sure I would have done the same thing.”

Usually, talking about his maman with strangers, more specifically about how she wasn’t here anymore, made Freminet feel as if there was a wrench thrown into his gears, or like he wanted to run away and hide under the sea... But for some reason, this subject, along with the presence beside him, felt strangely... familiar. Freminet clutches the bloodstained pendant around his neck tightly.

“Yes... If even someone like me can sympathize with Durin, I’m sure one as kind as the Hydro Dragon must cry quite often for his poor, unfairly judged dragon brother.”

Freminet gives the newcomer more than a fleeting glance for the first time and realizes that they are a teen around his age. He's dressed like a fairytale prince, but even beyond that... The color of his eyes and hair... The shape of his horns... Freminet realizes that the other teen—

"First I want to say - I'm sure your maman would be happy to hear that. My mother, she felt so sorry for Durin, and she wanted to make a better ending for him. So, she made me."

He fiddles with his gloves before continuing, "I'm...well, I was Mini-Durin, and now I am both of us. Durin and...me." Pressing a glove onto the crystal on his chest, he looks back at the other teen shyly.

❝ You know not of Sui. If you did not before now, then it is better that way, ❞ she replies, offering him a little of her own story in turn. perhaps it was easier to do so because they were almost like kith and kin due to their origins. ❝ I am a fragmented piece of that old thing's personality after it was defeated and fell into slumber. Unlike your Durin, it is not so tragic as it is evil. ❞

"I would like to know about Sui. Everyone thought Durin was evil, and I took his heart so he didn't hurt anyone else..." He exhales, as though saying that was something difficult, he puts his hand over the heart-shaped gem on his chest.

"But..."

SILVER-WHITE WINTERS ( KNITTING )

It seemed as though the young fellow that was sitting next to Promosis was just as lost as she was. Ah well, perhaps not exactly. She had been trying to follow the instructions that they were given to knit a nice warm scarf. Yet, it was difficult for her to handle the needles with her large fingers. But at the very least, she understood where to begin.

Looking down at the knitting needles and barely started scarf in her hands, she let out a breath.

He's careful not to let himself get too worked up, but he's tense enough that he jumps when the tall lady next to him talks to him.

She seems like a spirit, or a goddess, maybe, so he nods shyly.

she turns to face the figure, a paw landing on her hip as her ears slick back against her skull. her tail gives an irritated flick to seal the deal.

❝ Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer. ❞

"Do you have a Kamera? I mean, I could just take a picture later..."

it isn't as if he wasn't wrong, though her situation was a little more complicated. though she is a little curious on the matter...

"I took the heart of the dragon Durin, the first Durin. He was...a dragon of tragedy. I wanted him to be able to be something more." He nods firmly, "I wanted to help him. And he helped me, too. I was able to get this body, with his help." And he was able to keep Durin from releasing the power of the Abyss into the world, hurting people in his own tragedy...