*** Aether has joined 018.07.154.55 <Aether> Hello. You have reached Lusamine Mendel. <Aether> Please leave a message, and I will get back to you shortly.
Oh, no... I don't believe any sort of true royalty exists in this world. I suppose the closest comparison would be this city's elite... With whom I do have a few connections.
[That last sentence is punctuated with a sly smile.]
Which brings me to your reward... Have you given thought to what you might ask for? I would be happy to compensate you monetarily, as you suggested before, but there may be other options I can offer you as well. [She taps at her chin with one claw as she thinks aloud,] Setting you up with a more stable job, perhaps, or hunting assistance when you transform, should you need it...
[The relief Adrian feels when she says she ISN'T royalty is palpable, even if that wouldn't have really affected his opinion of her that much one way or the other. He knows that any royals here would likely be of title alone, with no real power since they're away from the kingdoms they rule...
He blinks hard and brings himself back to the present conversation, considering Lusamine's suggestions carefully. Having another job would be a logical good choice. He works at Nai'a on a sort of "whenever he's needed" basis, but even then it's not like he's struggling yet...and then there's the offer to help him hunt, which- while a kind gesture in some manner- he's not sure how he feels about. He doesn't even know what he's turning into yet, so that might complicate things in the future.]
Guess you don't got a problem huntin' yourself, huh.
No, I cannot say that I do. The instinct came to me easily when I transformed. For us monsters, it is a necessity and entirely natural.
[She breathes a sigh.]
Nevertheless, I know that it is a source of deep discomfort for some, and a few monsters will go to great lengths to avoid it, even if it means endangering themselves and others... It pains me to think of that, so I certainly don't mind hunting for those who cannot manage it on their own.
Of course, I see that you haven't experienced the transformation for yourself just yet... But what about you, Adrian? Is the thought of hunting unpleasant for you?
[He's quiet, for a moment. Not because the question is particularly hard to answer, but more...because it's just so wild to him he's answering it at all. He never thought it would come to this but, well. His life might as well have gotten to this point. He remembers being so young and newly changed, utterly terrified he'd lose his mind and hurt people...
Now, after everything, he's numb to it all. That was only ever the least of his worries.]
Look, I don't go out of my way to mess with people. I just wanna be left alone.
[...]
But if it's me, or some other guy...?
[He shrugs one shoulder.]
It ain't like I got much other choice. I ain't gonna just lay down and die.
[How pragmatic. She smiles.] Of course. Then you should be just fine hunting for yourself, hm?
[After a moment, a passing thought makes her chuckle.]
Truthfully, I don't believe I could accept that as a true request, even if you were not. Hunting can be a messy business... but it brings me great joy to be able to provide for my fellow monsters.
[She would do it gladly, for just about any monster; it doesn't strike her as a proper recompense for Adrian. And yet... despite how quickly he'd brought up money when they spoke on the network, he now seems hesitant to name his price. It could just be the unfamiliarity of this world and the needs of a monster making him indecisive, but it seems to Lusamine that it speaks to something else about him as well—a certain hidden gentleness, perhaps.]
In any case, you don't need to make your decision right away. I'm sure you're still adjusting to the ways of this world, after all... For now, we could always just say that I owe you a debt of gratitude.
[Lusamine is very perceptive. It's easy to say whatever bullshit springs to mind when you don't have a filter between your own brain and the things you type, but when it's just...him in person with someone else, a woman who only ever wanted help to find her missing pelt, it's...
It feels weird demanding money from her. Maybe it's a pride thing, but that's only a small part of it, really.]
...yeah. Maybe that's for the best.
[You know, so he can get away with it without overtly saying it was done out of the goodness of his heart and nothing more.]
I'm used to needin' to scrimp to get by, back home. But it's...easier here. There's more leeway somehow.
Very well. You already know how to contact me through our network, so do feel free to let me know if there is ever anything you need.
[She certainly won't rush him; right now, she seems happy just to chat with him. Sympathy crosses her expression at his comment about his home, while the other earns an understanding nod.]
Though the transition can be truly jarring for some, I've also found that there are certain ways that this world is especially kind to new arrivals. For example... I trust you were able to find accommodations here fairly easily. Am I correct?
[Again she nods, her face lighting up with a new smile.]
Yes—I was surprised as well, when I first arrived... But it seems that many monsters who live here make it a point to look out for others. They have treated me with much kindness during my time here, and offered me support when I most needed it... I think you'll also find the sense of community to be refreshing.
[So she infers, based on his comment about scrimping by and his willingness to help her despite having not transformed.]
And while it is true that all of the residents here are monsters, the superintendent is human.
No shit? So they just...keep the place runnin' outta the goodness of their hearts?
[Adrian is...suspicious of that- there are benefits to keeping monsters in one place away from where the human population largely is, after all- but he also doubts Lusamine would lie to him after what he's done for her.]
I suppose so. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to call what motivates that man pity... But pity is borne of compassion, isn't it?
While I certainly don't see our situation as pitiable myself... None of us explicitly asked to be this way, after all. I believe he sees us first not as predators, but as people—as living beings who are simply trying to make our way in the world. You might be surprised to find that he is not a wholly unique case.
Yeah...the last thing I want outta the people here is pity.
[He hated being pitied back home, and he hates it now. Sure, he can't help the circumstances of what brought him here, but that doesn't mean he's pathetic and can't handle himself. If anything, the struggle just makes him want to try harder. Whether it's because he feels like he needs to prove something, or wants to do it for his own sake, is anyone's guess.]
Mm. I guess you were just a normal human before you came here, huh.
[Moments before Ryslig had taken her in, Lusamine had been taken first by the Nihilego, and with their venom they had fashioned into something more powerful and more glorious than any human. Alas, her time spent as that beast had been cut tragically short; for the purposes of Adrian's question, she supposes it is irrelevant (and too complex, too personal, for her to explain).]
Yes, that's right. [She sits up a bit straighter, her yellow eyes gleaming with curiosity.] I take it you were something different?
My, is that right? Being made human must have been quite the adjustment for you, then...
[Truthfully, it dismays her just a bit to think that a monster from another world would be familiar with such trivial and (to her) inherently human concerns as money and housing... But then again, he did say that he was a monster for most of his life, not all of it.]
[It would have been nice if being a monster meant that he didn't have to worry about basic living expenses, but unfortunately where he's from...that just made things ten times harder. It's not exactly as simple as the way things work in Ryslig, where being a monster is just the way of life for the newcomers. For Adrian, he was the exception. The outcast.
When she asks what he was...he's silent for a moment before answering. He'd kept it to himself for his first few weeks in Ryslig, but eventually it got to the point where it didn't seem to matter anymore.]
Ah, what an interesting coincidence... [She lifts a hand and flexes her claws, idly considering the silky black fur that covers her arms like opera gloves.] I may be a Werebear at the moment, but truthfully this form is unusual for me... When I first arrived here, I was transformed into a Faerie myself.
[The cheerful way she says it makes it sound like a fond memory, even a fact of which she is proud, but she senses from Adrian's reticence that something about his own history as a Faerie is more sensitive.]
We all experience the transition into this world differently, of course... But I have met many who wish that they could return to what they were before it happened for them. [There is a brief pause before she gently asks,] Do you miss it, Adrian? Your Faerie form.
[That is probably the most loaded question he's ever been asked, just as much as it is near impossible for him to immediately answer. Because if she'd asked him that while he was still in Perovskia, still suffering the day-to-day ordeal of existing, he would have told her hell fucking no. He would give anything, anything, to be "normal" again.
But now he's here, where being a monster is more normal than not being one. It's celebrated even, in some circles. Monsters are the undeniable top of the food chain, and next to the Fog God herself there's not much that can match them. They struggle, sure, but not in the same way he did before.
So he's quiet as he chews on the question, looking not at Lusamine but instead elsewhere.]
I dunno. It...kinda really sucked, pretty much the entire time of my life I dealt with it. But I got...used to it, after a while. Yaknow like...I just forgot what it was like to not be that. So I guess...I miss the feeling of like "hey, I'm this thing, it's shitty but at least it's consistent".
Now I'm human again, and I don't even know what the hell I'm gonna turn into again.
[Lusamine knits her brow in sympathy, but truthfully it is impossible for her to grasp how anyone could speak so disparagingly about being a Faerie.]
I see. Of course... it can be difficult to adjust after such a remarkable and sudden change, when you are used to being in one form. May I ask how it happened? Your transformation into a Faerie.
[He grunts, looking. Frustrated as he recalls the memory. An old, old memory.]
It was a curse, I guess. I stole somethin' when I was a kid, and it made me change. Some kinda...magic bullshit that I never really figured out or understood. I was too young, so I still barely know.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2022-07-29 01:14 am (UTC)Oh, no... I don't believe any sort of true royalty exists in this world. I suppose the closest comparison would be this city's elite... With whom I do have a few connections.
[That last sentence is punctuated with a sly smile.]
Which brings me to your reward... Have you given thought to what you might ask for? I would be happy to compensate you monetarily, as you suggested before, but there may be other options I can offer you as well. [She taps at her chin with one claw as she thinks aloud,] Setting you up with a more stable job, perhaps, or hunting assistance when you transform, should you need it...
no subject
Date: 2022-07-31 01:25 am (UTC)He blinks hard and brings himself back to the present conversation, considering Lusamine's suggestions carefully. Having another job would be a logical good choice. He works at Nai'a on a sort of "whenever he's needed" basis, but even then it's not like he's struggling yet...and then there's the offer to help him hunt, which- while a kind gesture in some manner- he's not sure how he feels about. He doesn't even know what he's turning into yet, so that might complicate things in the future.]
Guess you don't got a problem huntin' yourself, huh.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-03 09:33 pm (UTC)[She breathes a sigh.]
Nevertheless, I know that it is a source of deep discomfort for some, and a few monsters will go to great lengths to avoid it, even if it means endangering themselves and others... It pains me to think of that, so I certainly don't mind hunting for those who cannot manage it on their own.
Of course, I see that you haven't experienced the transformation for yourself just yet... But what about you, Adrian? Is the thought of hunting unpleasant for you?
no subject
Date: 2022-08-04 03:23 am (UTC)Now, after everything, he's numb to it all. That was only ever the least of his worries.]
Look, I don't go out of my way to mess with people. I just wanna be left alone.
[...]
But if it's me, or some other guy...?
[He shrugs one shoulder.]
It ain't like I got much other choice. I ain't gonna just lay down and die.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-07 05:11 am (UTC)[After a moment, a passing thought makes her chuckle.]
Truthfully, I don't believe I could accept that as a true request, even if you were not. Hunting can be a messy business... but it brings me great joy to be able to provide for my fellow monsters.
[She would do it gladly, for just about any monster; it doesn't strike her as a proper recompense for Adrian. And yet... despite how quickly he'd brought up money when they spoke on the network, he now seems hesitant to name his price. It could just be the unfamiliarity of this world and the needs of a monster making him indecisive, but it seems to Lusamine that it speaks to something else about him as well—a certain hidden gentleness, perhaps.]
In any case, you don't need to make your decision right away. I'm sure you're still adjusting to the ways of this world, after all... For now, we could always just say that I owe you a debt of gratitude.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-09 08:52 pm (UTC)It feels weird demanding money from her. Maybe it's a pride thing, but that's only a small part of it, really.]
...yeah. Maybe that's for the best.
[You know, so he can get away with it without overtly saying it was done out of the goodness of his heart and nothing more.]
I'm used to needin' to scrimp to get by, back home. But it's...easier here. There's more leeway somehow.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-13 09:53 pm (UTC)[She certainly won't rush him; right now, she seems happy just to chat with him. Sympathy crosses her expression at his comment about his home, while the other earns an understanding nod.]
Though the transition can be truly jarring for some, I've also found that there are certain ways that this world is especially kind to new arrivals. For example... I trust you were able to find accommodations here fairly easily. Am I correct?
no subject
Date: 2022-08-16 03:20 pm (UTC)Yeah. There's free housin' here, like. What the hell.
[Even if it's a pipe-dream where he's from, there's no way it's actually real. At least not yet, and not where he's ever been able to find.]
Like...guess it makes sense they'd set up a place for monsters away from humans, but still.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-20 05:52 am (UTC)Yes—I was surprised as well, when I first arrived... But it seems that many monsters who live here make it a point to look out for others. They have treated me with much kindness during my time here, and offered me support when I most needed it... I think you'll also find the sense of community to be refreshing.
[So she infers, based on his comment about scrimping by and his willingness to help her despite having not transformed.]
And while it is true that all of the residents here are monsters, the superintendent is human.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-22 11:11 pm (UTC)[Adrian is...suspicious of that- there are benefits to keeping monsters in one place away from where the human population largely is, after all- but he also doubts Lusamine would lie to him after what he's done for her.]
no subject
Date: 2022-08-29 10:44 pm (UTC)While I certainly don't see our situation as pitiable myself... None of us explicitly asked to be this way, after all. I believe he sees us first not as predators, but as people—as living beings who are simply trying to make our way in the world. You might be surprised to find that he is not a wholly unique case.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-31 11:31 pm (UTC)[He hated being pitied back home, and he hates it now. Sure, he can't help the circumstances of what brought him here, but that doesn't mean he's pathetic and can't handle himself. If anything, the struggle just makes him want to try harder. Whether it's because he feels like he needs to prove something, or wants to do it for his own sake, is anyone's guess.]
Mm. I guess you were just a normal human before you came here, huh.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-04 07:39 pm (UTC)Yes, that's right. [She sits up a bit straighter, her yellow eyes gleaming with curiosity.] I take it you were something different?
no subject
Date: 2022-09-05 06:22 pm (UTC)[So, weirdly, coming here isn't all that different.]
Not always, but. For a long ass time.
[So long that he'd really forgotten what being human was like.]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-05 07:41 pm (UTC)[Truthfully, it dismays her just a bit to think that a monster from another world would be familiar with such trivial and (to her) inherently human concerns as money and housing... But then again, he did say that he was a monster for most of his life, not all of it.]
May I ask what sort of monster you were before?
no subject
Date: 2022-09-06 11:02 pm (UTC)When she asks what he was...he's silent for a moment before answering. He'd kept it to himself for his first few weeks in Ryslig, but eventually it got to the point where it didn't seem to matter anymore.]
I was a bug. Half insect, half man.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-06 11:19 pm (UTC)A Faerie?
no subject
Date: 2022-09-06 11:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-07 12:51 am (UTC)[The cheerful way she says it makes it sound like a fond memory, even a fact of which she is proud, but she senses from Adrian's reticence that something about his own history as a Faerie is more sensitive.]
We all experience the transition into this world differently, of course... But I have met many who wish that they could return to what they were before it happened for them. [There is a brief pause before she gently asks,] Do you miss it, Adrian? Your Faerie form.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-08 02:00 am (UTC)But now he's here, where being a monster is more normal than not being one. It's celebrated even, in some circles. Monsters are the undeniable top of the food chain, and next to the Fog God herself there's not much that can match them. They struggle, sure, but not in the same way he did before.
So he's quiet as he chews on the question, looking not at Lusamine but instead elsewhere.]
I dunno. It...kinda really sucked, pretty much the entire time of my life I dealt with it. But I got...used to it, after a while. Yaknow like...I just forgot what it was like to not be that. So I guess...I miss the feeling of like "hey, I'm this thing, it's shitty but at least it's consistent".
Now I'm human again, and I don't even know what the hell I'm gonna turn into again.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-04 02:20 am (UTC)I see. Of course... it can be difficult to adjust after such a remarkable and sudden change, when you are used to being in one form. May I ask how it happened? Your transformation into a Faerie.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-05 08:57 pm (UTC)[He grunts, looking. Frustrated as he recalls the memory. An old, old memory.]
It was a curse, I guess. I stole somethin' when I was a kid, and it made me change. Some kinda...magic bullshit that I never really figured out or understood. I was too young, so I still barely know.