oo1 ✦ let’s begin.

[richesse]

[ There’s a whisper through the murmur, more a breath of feeling than a fully formed thought. It’s sweet, and warm, and laughing—though it is not gentle, nor kind.

A voice follows the whisper, chased by darkness and shadows, the very suggestion of a nightmare. ]

Do you think we’re still dreaming? Or is this a living nightmare?

[ a hum, and another brush of teasing laughter, there and gone like a brief burst of memory, the last moment of summer that you can taste on your tongue before it’s irretrievably gone. ]

You’ve changed, haven’t you? We all have. What are you thinking, right now…? Who are you?

What are you?

Comments

[offseers]

Why don't you start us off?

[richesse]

Noah!

[ she chirps his name, sweet and glad to see him. well, “see,” after a fashion. ]

Always so guarded. What’s wrong with an innocent question?

[offseers]

[ noah's expression doesn't so much as twitch. ]

Then you shouldn't have a problem answering it, right?

[richesse]

Will I hear your answer, if you hear mine?

[ her voice is like a sultry purr, playful and impossible to grasp. artfully dodging all attempts to be pinned down. ]

[offseers]

That would be fair.

Though you said if. Not planning on sharing?

[richesse]

I won’t strike a deal until the terms are fair, Noah. I was just making sure.

I have a fox tail now. [ she laughs prettily. that’s her answer. ]

[offseers]

[ a fairly long pause. ]

I . . . don't know what that is.

1/2

[richesse]

You don’t know what a fox is?

[richesse]

[ a sharp laugh, quickly hidden behind the screen of one hand. ]

I see. How interesting. It must be true, then, that we’ve all been taken here from different worlds. Perhaps different universes, even.

Do you know what a dog is? Or a cat?

[offseers]

[ obviously? but maybe it's not so obvious to others. ]

No. Can't say I've ever heard of those either.

[richesse]

[ she presses splayed fingertips to her lips, a low-slung smile wobbling onto her face.

interesting. how very interesting. ]

We’ll need to think more abstract. What is your home like, Noah? Do you have animals there at all?

[offseers]

We have animals. Volfs, otils, garaffas, armus . . . there are all kinds of creatures on Aionios.

They can be dangerous though. Many are docile, but if you wander into the wrong territory or get too close, they get violent.

[richesse]

[ she nods along to his words, curling her hand to her chin as she slightly ducks her head. (she does not stop walking. she will find him. the murmur whispers of his well-kept secrets, guiding her steady feet like a beacon in the fog.) ]

It’s fairly possible that your animals and my animals are the same, just having different names. Or maybe there’s no likeness at all, except for the one we wish to see.

Let’s try going off descriptors. Dogs are quadruped mammals covered in fur, with tails and sharpened canines and a snout. Does any of this sound familiar to you?

[offseers]

[ noah frowns, taking a moment to parse that. finally, he nods. millions of encounters rush through his head. him and his friends fighting volfs. colony 9. ]

Volffs. That's the closest comparison I can think of.

[richesse]

Volffs? … Wolves?

[ she blinks exactly twice. then she plasters the murmur with a mental image of a wolf, a hip-high beast with powerful jaws and soft gray coats. ]

Like that?

[offseers]

Bigger. With red manes.

[richesse]

[ she quirks a brow and paints their manes red, drawing them up until they are shoulder height. ]

Better?

[ a smile. ]

I was right the first time. They’re fairly similar animals, with a few tweaks. We just use different names for them.

[ tapping on her chin with a finger, Lortel rolls her eyes skyward and thinks.

the mental canvas is replaced. upon it she paints a fox, soft and small and orange with sharp teeth and a barking laugh. ]

Familiar? That’s a fox. [ she glances over her shoulder at her absurd, fluffy tail. ]

I have a tail just like that fox, now. Ears, too. [ … sigh. it’s so bizarre to say aloud that it feels unreal. ]

[offseers]

[ huh. clever way of utilizing this space. taion could have done that, he thinks. this method of communication is different from the iris . . . but not so much that he can't grasp it. ]

So that's not normal for you.

[ hm. ]

Does it bother you?

[richesse]

Of course not, [ she sighs, vaguely aggrieved.

At his question, she pauses—

—and crinkles her face into a soft smile. ]

Noah.

It’s your turn to answer my question. Don’t you remember our deal?

[offseers]

[ changes. noah had thought his eyes looked distorted at times. it's hard to make out the ring of snakes lighting up his right eye. the ouroboros mark. it was still there, but sometimes it flickered. sometimes he sees the rings of red and a nameless fear awakes.

was he still . . . noah? or was he — ]

You've asked a lot of questions. So I'll pick one.

I have changed. But I don't know what that change means.

[richesse]

Well, how does it feel?

[ might as well start somewhere. ]

[offseers]

It . . . doesn't feel all that different honestly.

[ a new fluctuating power to deal with? well, that's just ouroboros. ]

[richesse]

Truly? I’m surprised.

[offseers]

Maybe it's about the right time.

Not all powers kick in immediately.

[richesse]

[ … ]

Then your appearance hasn’t changed, I suppose.