#bf!katiegobrrr

Picking his way down the steep drop from ground to sand, 4C looks up at the sky.

It’s just starting to become sunset, so however long he’d been asleep, it can’t have been too long. Not unless he slept for almost 24 hours, which wouldn’t be all that surprising either. Considering he’d spent God knows–and he knows They must–how long trying to climb his way out of Hell, without rest, without sleep, he’s undoubtedly crashed, crashing, or about to crash. At the time he needed it most, he couldn’t afford to.

If he had let himself stop, he’d just have been making it harder for himself in the future. Every second he wasn’t ascending or moving forward, he was shrinking, losing his volume, solidity, and overall just melting. The fear of waking up a puddle–if he’d even have woken up at all by then–was too real to allow him any good rest.

He can rest when he’s home. Right now, he has to get there, and that starts with approaching Nom.

His back is turned to him, looking out at the waves. His body is still, but his tail still moves slowly from side to side, an action the slime now recognizes as anxiety. Nominal’s tail hadn’t stopped lashing for days after he’d saved 4C.

Hesitating for a few moments, the rogue calls out. “N–Nom?”

The knight looks around, shoulders stiffening as his tail finally stops moving, but he doesn’t look down until 4C starts waving to get his attention. His eyes widen and his ears tilt back slightly, then he carefully kneels down.

The rogue forces himself to stay still, reminding himself that this is Nom. The real one. It feels a little silly to be scared of something that never actually hurt him, but it isn’t as simple as telling himself to stop being afraid. To try and reassure himself, 4C checks for proof that it really is him. He’s very certain it is, but it may alleviate his stubborn, persistent concerns.

His eyes are warm and full, his skin is not dull and almost grey, and there is no ill will in his expression. Instead there is relief, confusion, and alarm.

“4C, you… are you okay?” Nominal inquires. His voice has lowered drastically from the decibel level it had been at as he called for his friend, which is a small kindness the slime appreciates. He doesn’t seem to know what to do with himself either, lifting his hand up before hesitating and lowering it again.

“N… no, not really.” 4C admits quietly. A cold wind sweeps past them, doing nothing but lightly ruffling Nom’s hair, but strong enough that the tiny rogue has to plant his feet more firmly to avoid losing his balance.

He’s gotten Nom’s attention, but as the silence grows, 4C finds that he doesn’t know what to say next. He’s too tired to think clearly, or much at all, truth be told. He’s been running on empty since well before he escaped, and it continues to take its toll on him now. It isn’t as easy as going ‘hey, I just escaped Hell and have no idea where I am, I also lost both of my main uses to the Kingdom as a rogue and have no clue what to do with myself anymore’. Also, when and how is he going to work ‘also, I watched you transform from Dragon to human’ into the conversation? Maybe that one can wait.

“Where did–where were you? Shan said you disappeared right in front of her, and something about angering a God?” Nom asks, faltering as he mentions the Mage. The rogue would look away, down at his cloak and the dirty hand clutching the fabric over his chest, but if he’s to reply, he doesn’t want to repeat himself because the knight couldn’t hear him. “I… I made God angry, so They, um… put me in Hell.”

Nom pauses, tilting his head slightly and fixing his glasses as they threaten to slide down the bridge of his nose. “So like, metaphorical hell, or the Red Kingdom, or…?” 4C shakes his head. “No, it was–it was legitimate hell. They dropped me in this… pyramid, and told me to climb. So I did.” There is an ease to telling him this, the tightness in the slime’s chest relaxing like the slow release of a bowstring, but the more he says, the more questions the knight will have. 4C just wants to sleep.

“And that’s what made you…?” Nom gestures to him carefully, and 4C nods. “It was dry. And hot. Incredibly hot. I was… I told you that I’m not meant for extreme temperatures, right? Too cold, I’ll freeze, too dry, I’ll dry out, and if it’s too hot, I… I start to melt.” The knight leans forward a little, something of protective fury and horrified concern reflecting the final rays of sunlit sky in his eyes. “Did They hurt you? Other than like this.” 4C shakes his head. “No. Not physically.” He answers. Arguably, the Rogue God never put a hand on him, but one doesn’t need to deal physical damage to cause pain. He’s looking at an example of one right now.

“Good.” Nominal looks up, scanning the area before looking down at his friend again. “This is… we can go into detail about that later, when you’re rested and preferably normal–sized. For right now, though, we should find somewhere to take shelter for the night.” He advises. The rogue dips his head, turning back to the tree line with a frown. “That’s probably a good idea…” He agrees.

“Would it be alright if I carried you?” Nominal offers, pulling 4C’s attention back and offering a clawed hand for the slime to step into, should he choose to accept. “I mean, with nighttime coming and all the monsters, you wouldn’t get very far if they saw you.” The knight isn’t wrong; it’s why he’d tried to retreat to the trees in the first place. His chances of survival are stronger with Nom close by, and it wouldn’t be fair to make him inch along as 4C takes several steps for each one he takes.

So, despite knowing just how sharp those claws are, 4C steps forward and climbs into Nominal’s palm. His body is still rather soft, but it’s staying together for the most part, and if Nom doesn’t like the feeling of sticky, goopy things in his hand, he doesn’t say anything. Slowly, he curls his fingers in a little more to create a more cupped surface, carefully drawing his friend closer to his chest and making sure he’s settled before standing up and using his other hand to support the first one.

4C has to crane his head up to see Nom looking down at him, but the knight gives him a small, reassuring smile and starts walking.

“We’re kind of far from the Blue Kingdom right now. I think it’ll take a couple days to get back, but it’s not worth trekking through the night for.” Nom observes, taking another look around as they cross the barrier between beach and forest.

Are they really that far? There is no way he would’ve been able to make it back without Nominal, then. Did the God of Rogues know that? They must have, given the sheer convenience of it all. But why not just drop 4C back in the Blue Kingdom?

Also, why are Nominal’s hands so warm?

It isn’t uncomfortable, it isn’t harsh and oppressive like Hell was, but it’s still more than a normal person’s body temperature should be. Maybe it’s a Nom thing.

“Won’t the others be worried that you’re gone? Or did you tell them you might be gone for a while?” 4C inquires. They’re moving faster than a normal walk pace, though that may be Nominal searching for shelter. “Not… no, not really. It’s been a while since anybody’s actually seen me… at least a week. I’ve been out here the entire time, looking for you.” The slime pauses. “A week?” He echoes.

He may not know how long he spent in Hell, but if it had been a week, he would’ve had to sleep at some point, surely. He would have expected a day at most.

Nominal’s grave nod confirms it. “According to Shan, you’ve been missing for almost two weeks. I was… taking some time to myself when you disappeared, and only found out you were gone after I came back. I thought maybe the Red Kingdom had done something, maybe kidnapped you for some reason, but when I went to see, you weren’t there. Katie hadn’t seen you, either, nor had anyone else I asked.” The knight slows, head cocked to the right with his ear lifted slightly as though checking for something before continuing on.

“Is something following us?” 4C asks. Nom glances down at him, having stumbled slightly over a root. “I don’t know. I’m probably just hearing monsters. There should be a mountain up ahead. Maybe we’ll be able to take shelter in a cave there.” He replies, regaining his stride.

* * *

It is officially well and truly night by the time they reach what Nominal apparently deems safe enough.

It’s a cave in the mountainside as he’d said, but he must have misjudged the distance because he hadn’t expected it to take them so long to reach it.

By then, 4C has calmed down a little more, and begun working up the courage to try asking Nominal about his Draconic entrance upon the beach.

The knight has set him down so he can set up a fire, a familiar routine that clearly hasn’t left him, even though they hadn’t been out in the woods and travelling like this for a while, now. They’ve also confirmed that he’s able to hear 4C despite his stature, mostly due to the knight’s inhuman hearing. That means he won’t have to repeat himself, at least.

“Hey, Nom?” He asks. “Yeah?” The knight answers, turning to him briefly to make sure it isn’t a physical problem before returning to trying to make a fire. He’s crouched over the wooden block he’d gotten, trying to rub a stick to generate enough friction to catch flame on some moss, and it has almost smoked a couple times.

“I… you don’t have to explain yourself, but I think I need to at least tell you this. Um… I–I saw something, just before I came to see you on the beach.” Nominal slows, nodding once to let him continue. “I was hiding in this hollow I found under a tree, and something landed on the sand. Not–not like a bird–well, kinda like a bird, I guess, but–it was a Dragon. I saw a Dragon, and it… turned into you?” 4C explains, watching his friend’s reaction closely.

He’s frozen, still looking at the wood in his hands. Even his tail isn’t moving. Finally, he sighs sharply, and dips his head. “Yeah. Uh, that–I do that sometimes.” He says. Despite the nonchalance of his words themselves, there was nothing casual about his tone.

“Do you… does anyone else know?” The rogue wonders. How would he have kept this a secret from Katie growing up? Surely she must know, right?

“Yeah… um, Katie, obviously, I couldn’t exactly hide it growing up, but Graecie knows as well. And now you, I suppose.” Nom replies. He still hasn’t looked at the slime. 4C resettles himself, drawing his knees away from his chest to cross his legs. “And I would like you to be the only addition to that list. I don’t need everyone coming after me because I can turn into a Dragon. However, now that you know, if you have questions, I’ll answer them. Might as well.” The knight adds. 4C nods in understanding. Again, if everyone knew, he might get hunted down, or whoever is Monarch–and there should be a new Monarch now, if it really has been two weeks–may try to use him to actually win against the Red Kingdom. Devoted as he is to protecting the Kingdom, Nom likely wouldn’t want the fight to be that unfair.

Now having gained some confidence as Nominal did not freak out, 4C begins to let his curiosity take charge.

“How does that work? The turning into a Dragon. Is it some kind of spell?” He inquires. Nom shakes his head, sitting back and shaking out his hands before making himself continue to work on starting a fire.

“I’m not actually a Dragon, but I’m close enough. I’m something called a Scaleshifter, because I shapeshift into a Dragon. It’s not some spell or curse I got inflicted upon me, or some weird birth defect from some ancestral family member, it’s just part of who I am. My mother was a Scaleshifter, too, and I look a lot like her.” The knight explains, taking a few seconds as smoke begins to rise from the wood and moss so that he can try to encourage the fire to actually catch. When it doesn’t work, he frowns and starts over.

“As for the actual action of shifting, it’s kind of like how you can either absorb a long fall or use it to bounce up. It takes a little more thought than something you do without realizing it–like breathing, but it’s not like I need to maintain concentration like a Mage’s spell, either.” Finally, Nominal manages to get a flame, carefully transferring it to the stack of logs he’d set up. Couldn’t he just set it on fire? Or is that just an actual Dragon thing?

“Is Katie one, too? A... Scaleshifter?” 4C wonders. The Draconic knight shakes his head. “No, it’s… it’s just me. She’s human.” He answers. “My mother explained it to me, but I don’t make a habit out of telling people what I am, so I don’t really know how to explain it well. It’s just… that’s not how it works.”

“So you’re trusting her to stay silent about this?” 4C inquires. Nominal shrugs, glancing out at the mouth of the cavern. “I kind of have to, especially now that she’s gone and joined Red Kingdom. Above all else, she promised me that she’d stay quiet, and she has so far.”

How hard must it have been for Katie to keep this secret? Especially now considering she’s in an opposing Kingdom? It makes the fact that she has all the more admirable. 4C himself had asked her if she had any clarification on what Nominal was, and she had offered nothing that Nom hadn’t already said himself.

Before the slime can think of another relevant or good question, Nom sharpens, already reaching for his sword as something catches his attention.

4C tries to see if there’s anything outside that caught his eye, but the light of the fire makes it impossible to actually see anything beyond the entrance of the cave. “Hey! Who’s there?” The Draconic knight calls, voice commanding and sharp. The spines along his tail clatter softly as he shifts positions, pointing it out at something in the dark forest. 4C wishes he could help, but if he could help, he wouldn’t even be in this situation. All he can do is watch whatever unfolds next as the sound of footsteps reluctantly approaching grows louder.

Nominal’s offensive posture drops instantly, the tip of his sword now pointing at the stony ground as he looks at the woman before him.

“Katie?! What are you doing here?” He demands. She crosses her arms. “Saving your life!” She replies, to which Nom snorts. “I think I can save my own life just fine, thanks.”

4C is unmoving, once again going through another bout of fighting the distrust that his friend before him is actually his friend.

This is Katie.

The energy in her posture and the way her shoulders are set in a subtle display of bravery and determination to be taken seriously instead of hunched slightly and looking over a table of dice. Her gloved hands are moving around, emphasizing her words as she and Nominal continue a short back-and-forth of typical sibling bickering, not snatching his dice to claim as her own.

Katie scuffs her boot along the ground, and despite his skeptical remarks, Nominal sweeps an arm to offer that she sit by the fire, and she does. Her gaze catches upon 4C, eyes lighting up as she turns back to her brother in wordless excitement. “I’ve been out here this whole time looking for him.” Nom explains. Katie nods, then sits down a few feet away from the tiny slime.

Her urgency hasn’t waned, but it has been softened by the discovery of 4C. It’s clear she wants to say more, but instead of commenting on any of the numerous questions she must have, Katie once again fixes her attention on the Scaleshifter.

“Cherri and Kitty saw you.” She informs him. “As a Dragon.” There is a pause.

“What?!” Both men cry at the same time.

Katie nods, poking the fire with a stick before adding the stick to its fuel source to encourage it to continue burning. “They don’t know it’s you, they only saw you as a Dragon, but they told the rest of Red Kingdom, and Apo and Bek wanted to kill you. So I… I might’ve said I would do it.” She explains carefully.

His shocked expression does not last long as he processes quickly and turns to something akin to watered-down upset. “You thought the best way to keep me safe was to act like you’re coming to kill me?” He exclaims. Katie hunches her shoulders defensively. “Well, it’s not like I’m actually going to! I thought maybe I could take a scale back or something! You shed them all the time!” Nominal’s tail is lashing again, but it is not out of anger. He’s afraid.

“I don’t have any scales to give you right now, Katie. And what if they find me as a Dragon again? They’ll know you lied about killing it–me. I don’t think they’ll be so nice to you then.” He points out. The Red knight throws up her hands in mild exasperation. “Then I don’t know, be better at not being seen, I guess.” Nom growls, looking at the cave entrance for a moment before continuing his march back and forth.

Should 4C say something? He doesn’t have much to say, truth be told. He’s still trying to wrap his head around what the knight had told him about his actual species and how they are. It’s fascinating stuff, but now that he knows, it also feels super obvious. No lizards have horns, not like that, anyway. No lizards have tails with spikes down them, and while not many people have seen reptilian humans, the ears feel incorrect. Lizards don’t have physical ears, they just have holes in the side of their heads.

“If they only saw you in Dragon form, they can’t trace it back to you, right? For all they know, it could have left the land entirely, gone across the sea.” The slime offers finally. Katie nods, making a face in agreement. The Scaleshifter isn’t convinced, however.

“If Cherri and Kitty–or anyone else–tell the Blue Kingdom, they’ll be out looking for me, too. As smart as Graecie is, she can’t discourage several people from the prospect of a Dragon to slay. What do I do when I need to go stretch my wings again? If someone follows me, or happens to be in the area, I’m going to be caught eventually. Besides, nobody here is a complete idiot. Somebody could easily put two and two together if they tried hard enough.” Nom sighs.

“What was I supposed to do?! This was the best plan I could think of before somebody beat me to looking for you.” Katie points out. The Blue knight dips his head, twitching his ear as he fixes his glasses. Is it difficult to keep them on due to the scales along his nose? “I know, it’s–look, I’m not mad. Well–I am, but not at you. Coming to find me to at least warn me was a good choice, and I’m glad you did, but it’s not exactly the best news to be getting.” Nominal says, sitting down heavily on the opposite side of the fire.

“I think we all need some rest. 4C, you… definitely need some. I’ve been flying all day, and Katie, how you managed to keep up with me is… I don’t even know, but I certainly didn’t make it easy for you. I think if we all come back at this tomorrow, we’d get more done.” He suggests wearily. On edge as he still is about Katie being Katie and now the news that Nominal’s being seen, the little rogue cannot deny that he is fighting to stay awake. Whatever had kept him going is draining, and he is in desperate need of rest.

Sure enough, it only takes a matter of minutes after getting settled for the rogue’s eyelids to grow too heavy to force open, and the darkness of sleep claims his senses.

A/N

—So when 4C and Shan were vibing before 4C was sent to hell, I distinctly remember 4C crying out, saying that it was dark, and I went “ok but that would be so scary if it was actually happening instead of in block game” so Shan was Not Very Ok about witnessing 4C’s getting raptured. Poor girlie

—Time in Hell was not the same time as it was for everyone else. 4C has been missing for roughly two weeks since Shandrea watched him disappear right in front of her, but for 4C, it was only a day or two. There’s probably some math there to track the difference in time between the two places but as big of a need and lore/worldbuilding person as I am I ain’t gonna do that lol

—I couldn’t work this naturally into the conversation in a way that I liked so I will say it here: Dragons and by extension Scaleshifters are farsighted, because they usually have to see really far away when they’re in the sky. I thought that would be a cool way to give some detail to Nom having glasses. 

—Have some additional Lore notes:

—Scaleshifters do not have wings in human form because it is anatomically impractical and awkward for them, but they will have horns and a tail at the very least

—Scaleshifters are more common than actual Dragons, but both are incredibly rare

—Scaleshifters make armor from their shed scales, which allows them to avoid losing clothing/the armour as it grows with them and sorta like becomes the scales when they shift. If anyone knows Animorphs and how they had to wear skin-tight clothing so they weren’t losing clothes every time they turned into animals, that’s kinda the idea here. 

—Nominal has scales along his arms and back when he’s human, but denies having them/keeps then covered bcs they dont look like reptile scales. His tail is already cutting it close in that regard.

—Nom cannot breathe fire as a human, but can as a Dragon.

—As i mentioned, Nom’s mother was also a Scaleshifter; but only Nominal got the Scaleshifter genes (often the case; Scaleshifter siblings between human-Scaleshifter pairs is almost genetically impossible. The reverse is true of pure Scaleshifter pairs. There can be offspring without Scaleshifting genes/abilities, but it’s not really meant to happen). 

—Scaleshifters are naturally warm

—Nominal’s Dragon form may be considerably big, but Scaleshifters live longer than normal humans and so he is technically still young for a Scaleshifter at 22. He is still growing. 

—There is a tear in Nom’s ear from a childhood injury he sustained. 

—Also have some art I did for Scaleshifter Nom bcs ye

^I suck at hair and never learned how to draw armour but I Tried My Best

(this is old art; I have a better image that was actually done with a reference to the POW art so here:)