#bfsmp 4c

4C wakes up slowly, to the unobtrusive but distinct understanding that something warm is nearby.

He’s still lying on the stone, he can feel its rough, unyielding surface below him and the cold that comes with it, but the warmth encompassing the rest of him more than makes up for it.

Old, fear-laced nights turned into instinct start to tell him that he should be taking note of his surroundings, that he needs to be more alert and aware. The cloud of silty, muddy water that was his fatigue hasn’t withdrawn from his body, but at least his mind is in working order. Better than yesterday, at least.

At great length, 4C opens his eyes, letting them focus on the ground before acknowledging anything in his peripheral.

There is an arm stretched out around him, a wall of dark metal over hidden flesh and bone that while would probably be short enough for the slime to jump over, still remains far too big to be normal.

Said arm is attached to the body of Nominal, asleep on his side and almost appearing serene. Even in the moments when he is happy, 4C can’t remember a time he could have described the knight as looking so peaceful.

There is no slight furrows to his brow, no subtle wrinkles creasing the scaly plating along his nose, and while his mouth is in a relatively straight line, it is relaxed, and there is no clear tension in his jaw or neck. His other arm has come up to cushion his head, keeping his neck more level with the rest of his back and providing something marginally softer than the unforgiving solidity of rock. Still, it probably isn’t comfortable, sleeping in all that armour. 4C knows it’s actually light–deceptively so, but nonetheless, it can’t be the best thing ever. He trusts Nom to be fine, though. It’s not like he could simply set a bed down, and travelling in this manner does not often go hand in hand with comfort.

Actually sitting up, 4C stretches, still able to see the deeper bits of debris he’d been unable to remove in the exposed parts of his body. In theory, anything organic will dissolve, while whatever is left over gets rejected as his body realizes it has no purpose within his skin. The only issue is this process takes a while.

4C admittedly envies how other people have normal skin sometimes. They don’t have to pick rocks out of their palms every time they try to grab onto a crumbling wall, or spend several hours trying to get every crunchy leaf out of their arms as they continue to break into smaller and smaller pieces.

However, he also gets nutrients a lot easier–one of the benefits of his species being cousins of legitimate gelatinous cubes is that organic materials introduced to his body are broken down by default and converted into energy, and can easily get to and through spaces that a person with bones would never be able to access. And, he can bounce and climb walls. Try as he might, even Nominal can’t beat that. The rogue looks down at his hands, beginning to frown.

Can he even truly call himself a rogue anymore? He’s escaped Hell, but lost both his ability to backstab and to pickpocket, the main things that he could offer to help the Blue Kingdom and his friends. Bouncing around can’t exactly save the people he cares about if someone’s attacking them. It hasn’t been effective before. He can’t prevent a secret attack or cause much mischief if he can’t slip his hand into pouches.

Especially not at this height. He’s more likely to wholly fit in the pouch he’d be trying to pilfer from. He can’t really change the amount of mass he has at will–well, theoretically he can, but none of those practices are really appealing. It’s safer to let himself regenerate naturally either way. His cloak, while enchanted to endure most weather conditions and remain scaled to his size specifically, is still made of fabric, and threads are not meant to be so rapidly affected by changes like that.

Regardless, as long as he remains this way, he will be more a burden than a help. He can encourage faster growth by spending some time in some sort of humid environment, but worst case scenario, soaking in the water will still help as well.

Carefully, the slime transitions from sitting to kneeling and then finally standing up to see above Nominal’s arm.

He can see Katie near the opposite wall, the two appearing to have swapped positions sometime after 4C had fallen asleep. She has her back against the cave, head bowed and hair obscuring her face. It hadn’t been all too noticeable when she first showed up, but her armour has taken a couple hits, no longer so well maintained as 4C remembers it being. Even the Not-Katie’s armour was glossy and perfect-looking, though it felt more like the attention given to a sculpture about to be put on display. Her hair is tangled and messy, as is to be expected from spending multiple days in the wild trying to track down and keep up with a Dragon.

But it is her, just as Nom is indeed Nom. There was something lacking about the Not-His-Friends. They felt colder, unfamiliar, and if he had to guess, their malicious smiles and sneering grins paired with their indifferent and dark eyes reflected what the God of Rogues thought of him. Structurally, from physical features alone, they were identical. But they were not the same, and 4C immediately knew without knowing. It never left his mind.

Perhaps now that he’s with both of them now, it finally will.

With a quiet groan, Nominal shifts, claws curling in and scratching at the rock below them as he blearily opens his eyes. In real time, 4C watches his pupils go from wide and almost round to their typical narrow slits as his gaze comes into focus and responds to the light levels.

They fixate upon the slime, and Nominal draws himself up with a small nod before lifting his head to look at his sister. His ear twitches, then he turns back to 4C. “Well, well, well… good morning.” He murmurs, keeping his voice low presumably for Katie’s sake.

“Morning.” The slime replies. Nominal moves so his legs are actually under him, accompanied by the soft but distinct sound of metal on stone. “Do you feel any better with a little more rest in you?” The knight inquires. 4C nods, though the definition of ‘feeling better’ is a fickle thing right now. He’s still incredibly tired, he’s still getting over his losses and the experience overall, but he’s here, he’s alive, and he’s with his friends–the real ones, so it’s a little better. He’s not getting worse, and that’s a positive. He’ll take any positive he can get right now.

“Katie’s gonna want to know what happened to you–everyone will. I’m not gonna lie, I’d like a little more clarification about what you told me as well, but I… whatever you went through clearly left a big impact on you. I just wanted to say that… you don’t have to tell anyone anything that you don’t want to.” The Scaleshifter informs him, looking through his bag before retrieving his glasses and putting them on.

4C considers, then glances back at the woman. “I’ll tell her–both of you–what I can. Uh. It… feels like a lot to me, but when I think about it, it’s… it isn’t really too much. Just mentally overwhelming.” He states. “Thank you.”

The Draconic knight smiles, letting his tail curl in a lazy crescent arc beside him. “Of course! The last thing you need is more stress. I… when I told Graecie about my oath, she was… it wasn’t easy to talk about. She didn’t rush me, though, and I still appreciate that, even now. And you deserve the same.”

The slime looks up at him, momentarily at a loss for words. Does he say thank you again?

Before he has a chance to, Nominal stands, stretching his arms with a mild groan. He never made any actual inhuman noises, never growled or hissed, despite the fact that Froguey can croak and Kitty still purrs and hisses herself. Was it simply never a thing he could do? Or was it something he taught himself to suppress?

“Katie’s gonna sleep all day if we don’t wake her up soon. We still need to figure out exactly where the Blue Kingdom is. I’ve been flying all over for several days, so I’m not too sure anymore.” Nom observes, already walking over to his sister, careful to make sure his sweeping tail is of no threat to 4C. “Either way, we should get going.”

Crouching, Nominal reaches out and pokes Katie’s shoulder with his knuckles rather than brush it with his actual hand, another one of the many practices he has for avoiding any possibility that he may cut someone. His claws are incredibly durable and sharp, though Nom has expressed some frustrations with that as any and all attempts at dulling or cutting them have been met with little to no success. Even so, he has persevered in finding ways to live around and with these obstacles. “Katie. Katie, wake up.” He says, met with sleepy objections and a drowsy attempt at pushing his hand away. Withdrawing, the Blue knight lets her wake up in full, using his tail to pull his bag closer and sling it over his shoulder.

“So that’s it? We’re already on the move again?” Katie asks. “There isn’t any point to staying here. Unless you have a reason?” Nom replies, keeping one ear tilted in her direction as he takes out some bread and breaks it to offer to her and 4C. “Yeah, actually, I do–4C, where have you been? Why are you so small? Are you okay?” Katie inquires, only looking at her brother long enough to accept the bread before fixing her attention onto the little slime. 4C pauses, caught off guard by the abrupt slew of questions, “We could just as easily have this conversation while we make progress back to the Kingdoms.” Nominal mutters, crossing his arms as Katie rolls her eyes. “Well maybe some of us just woke up less than five minutes ago. And want to make sure their friend is okay.” She says, but 4C indicates to the Scaleshifter. “He isn’t wrong; we might as well start walking. I can answer your questions as we go.” He points out.

The Red knight frowns, but nods. “Yeah, that’s–that’s fair, I guess…” She says. Nominal crouches down, then seems to think better of it as he tilts his head. “4C, I think we may have to carry you again, if you’re still alright with that. But if we do, and you still want to explain what happened to Katie, I think it’d be better if she was the one carrying you.” He suggests, already stepping away to head for the forest outside. “Y–yeah, that makes sense.” 4C agrees, watching Katie kneel down and delicately scoop him up, just as cautious as her Draconic brother had been. Once they’ve rejoined Nom at his side, the slime begins his explanation.

“I, uh, I got sent to Hell. Like I kept telling you about, it was–it was real. The God of Rogues sent me there because I didn’t get all my Farkle wins, made me climb for… I don’t even know how long I spent in there. I thought it was maybe a day or two, but apparently I’ve been gone for like, two weeks? It was… I mean, they call it hell for a reason.” He starts, snorting humourlessly at himself at the end of the last sentence. Katie slows, looking up in question at her older sibling, who offers the barest of shrugs and a slight flick of his tail.

“I didn’t think it was gonna actually be real, I’m so sorry, 4C…” She says, fidgeting with her hands for a moment. “And that’s why you’re so small? Is there any way to fix it?”

The slime makes a face, lifting his shoulders. “I’ll grow back to normal eventually… I think I’ll be fine in a couple weeks. I just lost a lot of mass from the heat.” He tells her. Katie exhales heavily, shaking her head in concerned shock. “I can’t imagine what that must have been like. And you said God, he–he made you… climb?” She asks.

“Yeah. I had to do all these special parkour jumps meant specifically for rogues, but as I did it… things kept getting worse. Jumps got harder, the drop got higher… I could still bounce, but falling… every time I messed up, I was sent right back to the very bottom to start again. And every time, it almost killed me. I ate through every bit of food I had, and I–“ 4C hesitates, glancing away. Swallowing past the lump that had choked his words, he keeps going. “I gave up part of my soul for food. I… I lost multiple pieces of my soul, actually, trying to get out.”

Both Katie and Nominal react at the same time, with Katie stiffening while Nom’s gait falters, causing him to stumble momentarily. They don’t know exactly what that entails, but mentioning the loss of one’s soul is not a statement to be taken lightly all the same.

“What does that mean? You’re… you’re still you, aren’t you?” Katie asks. 4C looks at his hands. “God said that my soul was comprised of my experiences, the skills I’d acquired and things I had learned. I can’t pickpocket anymore. I can’t backstab. They took it from me.” He tells them. “And I don’t know if I’ll get it back.”

4C had ended up saying more than he meant to, but perhaps that was for the best. The more they understand, the more they can help him move forward… probably.

Nominal scowls thoughtfully, fingers drumming on the leather strap of his bag. “Surely there must be some way of getting them back? You appeared all the way out here, incredibly far from home, and while I’m confident in your ability to fend for yourself, you wouldn’t have made it home on your own, at least not for a long time. But, I was in the area. I was here to take you home. I’d bet this God knew that, and gave you a chance. I–don’t get me wrong, what happened to you sounds absolutely horrible and not okay and I’m not too happy about it’s having happened, but I think that the God of Rogues wouldn’t be that cruel to you. And if it turns out you can’t get them back, then maybe you can find something else to be instead. I’m sure Scott and Shandrea would love to teach you magic. Or maybe you could become a knight, like me and Owain!” He suggests.

4C tilts his head, just as Katie hurriedly adds, “I’m sure Cam or Apo would love to help you as well, and I’ll do my best to help you, too.” Nominal rolls his eyes, the following comment leading to another bout of bickering that the slime tunes out to think.

He could be something else.

Does he want to be something else?

Being a Rogue is all he’s ever known, and he had dedicated himself fully to following that path. But could he try to change? Would that make God angry–or, angrier, rejecting his roguehood to take up the mantle of another? How is he meant to regain those lost bits of his soul, though? For what is not the first time in his life, nor will it probably be the last, 4C doesn’t know how to move forward with this.

Be that as it may, the point still stands: he doesn’t need to lose all hope yet. They will figure this out.

Because if they don’t, 4C has no idea what he’ll do.

A/N

—More random notes :D

—Dragonfire burns hot enough to melt steel. Usually it isn’t immediately, more like putting it in a forge and letting the metal heat up over time. The older/more skilled a Dragon/Scaleshifter is, the quicker and more precisely they can increase the heat of their flames. 

^Dragons and Scaleshifters in Dragon form are fire-resistant to a certain extent, but again, if a Dragon/Scaleshifter is able to raise the temperature of their Dragonfire enough, then their victim/opponent is still susceptible to burns. Scaleshifters in human form are not fire-resistant. Technically it’s the Dragon scales that are fire-resistant, so Nom’s armour, being made of scales both his own and his mother’s, is able to help protect him from the damage fire would do. I think Netherite items don’t melt in lava, so it’s sorta like that, if that makes sense. It does nothing against temperature/the literal heat itself (so passing out from overheating is still a possibility), just the potential for physical injury. 

—Nom cannot perform tasks that require immense dexterity or use certain handheld things (a sword is ok bcs he wears gauntlets/gloves and that prevents him from cutting himself or fumbling his grip on the weapon during attacks). One of the most common problems is attempting to use a quill/writing. His claws get in the way and make it awkward/make him sorta clumsy with it in his hands, so eventually Nominal basically went “you know what f this” and now actually uses his claws themselves to write. It was allowed/accepted because he couldn’t cut his claws (they tried so many times, but they had to be very careful not to hurt Nom’s hands and fingers, it often left him in discomfort, and eventually it was agreed that it wasn’t worth it), and he’s actually rather good at writing, though it does mean his claws are stained with ink. 

—I wanna yap about slime physiology (I think it’s physiology? Maybe it’s just anatomy/biology tho) science stuff for a minute so bear with me here–

^Just as gelatinous cubes are indeed a cube and not just a blob of squish on the ground, slime people maintain human shape as well, which is why 4C can wear stuff and use weapons. He’s just kinda soft and if too much pressure is applied, his skin, or like, the outer casing of him, will break, letting whatever was applying said pressure actually sink in to his body. It will heal over and repair the tear pretty quickly so he doesn’t like, leak slime indefinitely, unless there’s a persistent obstruction. This has happened before, when someone tries to grab 4C’s hand or hugged him a little too tightly, but there isn’t any concern about the digestive enzymes (same as a gelatinous cube he just sorta dissolves organic matter by introducing it to his body, though for social reasons he chooses to eat like a person) in his body so long as they don’t keep prolonged contact with the slime itself. The outer layer, the casing of his body, is completely safe to touch; it’s more congealed and very diluted in its concentration of enzymes, but internally, he’s a lot more more liquid, which also allows this internal slime to function as some form of blood or clotting agent when 4C is injured. This also means that 4C doesn’t have a digestive system as a human person would, because if his very body breaks down organic material for him, he wouldn’t necessarily need one. He does still have lungs and a brain and vocal cords and things like that, but his heart is different as well. I think the best way to describe it would be that 4C has an open circulatory system, and so that allows the slime to move freely as needed through his body, and also because he’s transparent and I don’t want to imagine him with visible veins atm. 4C can survive being cut up, but only so long as he maintains enough mass to re-grow. In Hell, if he had completely melted as he’d feared, he could have theoretically survived if he had enough of himself in that puddle that could be slimeified again, but he wasn’t just melting but also evaporating, so he would have died if he hadn’t made it out. 

—A travelling Mage cast a spell on 4C’s cloak to make it last much longer than it should, and ensure it would be able to survive them doing slime stuff (like idk going through a crack in two boulders or something) as a thank-you to a slime that had helped them out a long time ago. It’s been around for years, and it had been given to 4C. Idk the actual history of the cloak bcs I haven’t gotten to it in the lore yet but that’s the spin i’m putting on it. Hope that’s ok! (Aka it’s me trying to find a logical explanation as to why 4C still has clothes despite being smol)

—Most people have bags or satchels of some kind and those are my way of making inventory make sense. These bags are often enchanted by wizards and Mages to work like Mary Poppins’, so they can hold all sorts of stuff. This also helps with making the rogues’ pickpocketing ability feel a bit more grounded in reality in my opinion. Nom has some shed scales sewn into the underside of the flap (or like the lid? Idk what it’s actually called) that, like his armour, allow him to have it shift with him instead of destroying the bag. 

—Nominal has in fact killed someone with (well, mostly with) a blow from his tail. 4C wasn’t around at the time; Nom was maybe just turning 20, or thereabouts, and fighting some common grey-skinned Raiders. He’d not used his tail much in a fight before aside from to stay balanced or help with a tricky move. But this time, he almost kills a raider with one powerful strike. This leads to him specifically learning to fight better with his tail so that he doesn’t risk unnecessary harm to someone else. 

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:)