#terranight

And with authority over all, these little chimeras too, were included. True to the nature of a good leader, Dan Heng tended to the troubles and concerns of his people, or in this case, four legged friends.

Beside him, Gummy Roll started rubbing her head against his leg. He placed his palm upon her head and squeezed her fur ever so gently. True to her name, she really did feel as squishy as a gummy roll. Toasty Dragon, who was merely one position over in the ring of chimeras, was gazing upon the two of them with a visible amount of jealousy. He, however, simply chose to curl in his tail and not protest as this was Dan Heng himself he was competing with. That did not, however, stop him from looking over his tail and opening one eye to sneak in a glare.

Gray-mera, well, she could care less. Probably was thinking about "hunting for valuables" with Master Cat-Thief more than anything.

This was his domain now. The Garden of Life. The land itself. Dromases. Chimeras. The council before him, his own little...ball chasers? Yarn chasers? He hadn’t quite put that much effort into thinking of a name for them yet.

"Now," Dan Heng said, "are there any urgent matters that my attention should be directed towards?"

[I could use more yarn, awoo.] Oatmeal said.

[I could do with not listening to Oatmeal ask for more yarn.] Nanus said.

[A bowl of milk would suffice.] Fig Stew said.

Right. They were chimeras. They didn’t exactly harbor too many major concerns. Made for a fairly easy little community to lead, at least.

Though the extent of his mastery over the creatures of Amphoreus extended wide, some individuals remained outside of his control. The free-willed March 7th, or Evernight as she was cosplaying as, had no interest in bowing down to such orders so easily. Though the merciless wrath of time had worn away at the two of them, Evernight never lost her free spirit, and Dan Heng remained a vigilant protector. Despite the most obvious differences on their surfaces, at their very core, Dan Heng was still Dan Heng and Evernight was still March.

Though, the latter was hard to believe sometimes.

Evernight had wandered into the Garden of Life and was greeted with the sight of Dan Heng and his chimera companions. Of the two, one was at peace conversing with his newly established council of creatures, while the other bear witness to the scene with a great disbelief. Their gazes locked, and through their eyes, they subconsciously saw those same companions that each other was familiar with. But, for the time being upon Amphoreus with coreflames in hand, they donned the titles of Permansor Terrae and Evernight.

"Why, look at the little Chimera King," Evernight teased.  

"March. I lead all of the earth’s creatures, not just the garden’s chimeras," Dan Heng clarified.

"March isn’t here right now."

Dan Heng rolled his eyes. "...Right."

"And don’t be asking my precious memosprites for any favors," she said, putting her hand on top of one of her jellyfishes.

"Relax, Evernight. Nobody wants to take your memosprites from you."

She pulled the memosprite closer to her.

[What’s her problem?] Nanus inquired.

"She’s a little..."

Dan Heng looked up at Evernight. Somehow, the pink hair coupled with the Hot Topic disaster fit and blood red eyes still felt like March. Unmistakable, even when she was looking at him as if she was planning on devouring him with a single bite.

"...different," Dan Heng continued.

[Different? You’re speaking to her as if this is every day for you.]

"Different? And here I was thinking that I would always be that same Marchie you’ve always known.~"

"Because you are."

Evernight leaned forward and rested her head and arms atop the jellyfish memosprite. "What are you, scared of a little change, Dannie?"

After a while, her performance did get rather corny.

[She’s weird.]

"She’s always been a little strange."

"Strange? You’re the one talking to the chimeras as if you can understand them."

[Does she not know?] Oatmeal asked, looking at Dan Heng.

[I don’t think she knows.] Gummy Roll said, nudging her head into Dan Heng’s hand.

"...Having Earth’s authority means I can understand the tongue of all of its creatures.”

"Oh really?" she said, running her fingers through her memosprite’s tentacles.

[This guy thinks having a coreflame makes him saint of the earth or something.] the jellyfish sneered.

"I claim not to be a saint."

Evernight's expression went blank as she glanced back and forth between him and her memosprite. Dan Heng remained tranquil, still petting the little gray and pink chimera. Evernight’s baffled expression was admittedly amusing, and he tried his best to hold back a smile. She could act like March’s possessive, dominant bodyguard all she wanted; that did not make her any less “March.” At times, Dan Heng wondered if "Evernight" truly was just March 7th putting on a grand show.

"A-anyways," Evernight said, diverting the topic, "still doesn’t warrant you acting all high and mighty."

Now she was just doing this on purpose to get on his nerves.

"Is that the stance you choose to take?" Dan Heng said.

He spoke with such confidence despite her jabs that Evernight couldn’t help but find herself intrigued. Rather than further provoke him, she remained quiet, watching intently for his next move. Dan Heng raised his tail up in the air.

"Chimeras of the Garden heed my call and present yourselves before the round table."

He slammed his tail onto the ground. The chimeras, regardless of if they were alert or preoccupied with leisure, piqued their ears and turned their heads to listen to the bellowing of his voice. Almost in sync, they sat down arranged in a near perfect circle, eyes wide and all focus on him.

"Anyone can teach a dog to sit," Evernight said.

"Stand tall and proud, and let your cry of victory echo throughout the land!”

The council of fourteen chimeras rose to all fours and stood in perfect formation, crying out a synchronized Awoo! Dan Heng crossed his arms and looked at Evernight calmly, yet with an aura of pride. She still wasn’t impressed, or at least willing to show it so easily.

While the others puffed out their little chests proudly, Toasty Dragon kept glancing back and forth between Dan Heng and Evernight. He spoke not a peep, but Dan Heng could tell he was quietly asking for something.

"Go on," he said, "her words bite more than she will."

Evernight stared at Dan Heng as if she were bracing to sink a fang into him with her words. Toasty Dragon was not intimidated in the slightest, however, as he hopped for joy before walking over to Evernight. She glanced down at the little chimera that was weaving between her legs and nearly tripping her foot with his long tail.

Evernight bent down on her knees and held out the back of her hand for him to sniff. His nose touched and he briefly recoiled, but one more sniff and he immediately headbutted her hand. Toasty Dragon’s rounded horns very lightly knocked against her knuckles.

"Such… curiously gentle creatures," Evernight observed.

[She doesn’t seem all that bad, awoo. In fact, she smells a lot like Gummy Roll.] Toasty Dragon chirped.

"All of the Earths creatures are rather gentle, should you take the time to learn their ways," Dan Heng said, rubbing his hand along the proudly standing Gummy Roll.

Evernight, though accepting of the chimera that had instantaneously warmed up to her, was still skeptical. Dan Heng, however, still had one more trick up his sleeve to get through to her, one that worked every time without fail.

"You know, if March was here, she would have long since started talking with the chimeras.”

꒰ঌ₍^. .^₎ ໒꒱⟆

One half of the council stood to her right, one half stood to her left, and Dan Heng was sitting directly across from her. Toasty Dragon took it upon himself to rearrange the current formation so that he was now resting against Evernight’s knee. Gummy Roll was still against Dan Heng, staring up at him eyes wide and tail flickering.

"Now, companions, all of you sit tall," Dan Heng instructed.

All of the chimeras sat up, the leisurely Gummy Roll and Toasty Dragon included.

"You too, Evernight."

Evernight straightened out her back with an unsure look on her face.

"So how exactly does one converse with these creatures?" she asked.

"With the same respect you would for creatures who share our tongue," Dan Heng said. "It is more the understanding of their speech that takes time to learn.”

[Are you trying to teach this girl how to understand us?] Nanus asked.

[I don’t see there being a reason not to.] Candied Apple said. [Lord Dan Heng does speak quite highly of her!]

[It is a poor use of time, awoo. We have other, more important matters to direct our attention to.]

"…I can’t understand a single word they’re saying," Evernight said.

Nanus looked up at her. [You are favored by the Titans, yet Time’s authority is but a scam like the rest.]

[Give the dear a break, Nanus.] Oatmeal said. [The girl is trying to learn.]

[She is full of skewed intentions. Anyone with more than a yarn brain can see that.]

Dan Heng clapped his claws together. "You can save the bantering for later. We're here to discuss, as a group."

[Right.] Oatmeal said. [So, in regards to my concern about the lack of yarn-]

[Is that all you ever think about?] Nanus interjected.

[I work alongside a seamstress. It should be easy for you to understand why.]

[HKS, a toy shortage hardly matters when food is running low.] Fig Stew said.

"...Do mind your language," Dan Heng said.

[Do mind our milk stocks.]

"Aaa....awoo???" Evernight said, attempting to join in on the conversation.

[And you say I am the one who needs to watch their tongue.] Fig Stew said, turning his head to gaze upon Evernight with such contempt in those large, wide eyes of his.

"I really do not like the way he is looking at me."

"You’re going to need to uh, work on your pronunciation," Dan Heng said.