The waifish, pixie-like, copper-toned Prinrin is the first to arrive, easily a full quarter hour earlier than scheduled, and I’m a bit surprised at the fact that The Paradox Vivant aren’t all arriving as a single group. Though, perhaps I shouldn’t be. Maybe not all the fighting force groups are tightly-knit friend groups. They’re certainly comprised of individuals with different personalities, as seen in the Dormir. They’re also definitely comprised of individuals of wildly varying shapes and sizes. For example, Prinrin is petite, at around maybe at most four feet in height, and Teuila was right, attractive in a fashion that mostly lands in the realm of cuteness.
Lil says hi to Prinrin as she approaches, but trots off down a separate hallway to go see Luni during our break between groups, while I start setting up for The Paradox Vivant’s psychic subnetwork. I flash a smile and wave at my best buddy as he heads out, and I send him love as he leaves the edge of our current telepathic bond’s range.
Prinrin, about as chipper as Pawn usually is, calls out in a voice that lands right in the middle of the pitch scale, around mezzo-soprano, “Alrighty, backrubs before or after my sweets? My sweet Lady, ravishing as always. Heyas cutie, doing okay Pawn my dear? Keep being awesome. Hello Schism dearie, put ‘er there my dear. I can see the question, she or they is fine, I like she more most days, thanks for caring enough to ask. I heard they for you, right? Good good, I’ll make sure to stick with that. I’m excited to get a little back for a change, even if it’s feeling funny runes you utter dear!”
I blink at the whirlwind that is Prinrin, and I can see why Illy told Teuila they’re fun. I was definitely going to ask her pronouns, and the fact that she’s offering us backrubs is awesome. I forget how much tension I carry around that builds up as my muscles slowly lock up. Mostly my jaw, but maybe she’ll notice that if she really is offering a backrub. Their hand was delicate and smooth, but had a firm grip, and their shiny copper flesh along their exposed limbs is athletically toned. She’s actually anticipating my hands upon her back happily, which makes me feel better about the foreknowledge and consent. I hope we can trade backrubs for real at some point.
As I’m about to have a worry cross my mind, Prinrin beats me to the punch, stating, “Yes dearie, sadly, I have to make up for the rest of my Vivvies in friendliness. What I bring, they don’t, in spades my dear Schism sweetie. You’re pretty quick on your feet in your head, across your face. Nice expressions. Ah, cute shade too when you get complimented, nice color Schism love! Maybe before the battle tomorrow, we can get to know each other a bit better, instead of in this limited timeslot. Every extra reason to make it home in one piece, right dearie?”
My expressions do morph along with the whirlwind that is Prinrin’s chatter, and she’s incredibly sweet. Even the compliments that make me blush, she ends up being polite about, and positively supportive. When she offers a chance to forge our friendship, getting to know each other before the battle, I choke up at her reasoning. My eyes wet with tears. The sentiment is beautiful. Yeah, a new friend is an extra reason to come home in one piece. My smile quivers, though it is one of utmost joy as I flash it at Prinrin. I do have to look down to meet her gaze, but somehow the joy, and her astounding ability to read people give her almost as much presence as Lady Kinzul’s majestic, regal height.
Prinrin comments, pretty astutely near my train of thought, “I’m one of the oldest in the Order, and almost definitely the oldest in my Vivvies, though maybe not by much. Us oldies start to forget who was clutched when, since a lot of our whelp years are hard to recall. If you’re thinking I’m anywhere near as impressive as our sweet Lady, I’m flattered, utterly flattered, and I’ll chalk it up to my age and experience rubbing ya the right way Schism sweetie, like I’ll do with my hands in a bit! Hey Miraina sweetie, want your back rubbed first? You do so much for us Pawn my dear, I’m so proud of you, you’re the best daughter I could ever ask for.”
Pawn, chipper, yet joking, complains, “Momma, you say that about all of us.”
Prinrin quips, “And I mean it about all of you. We got so lucky that we were able to keep your clutch a secret, mostly because I’m small, and old. I slip through the cracks, and don’t get scried on much. I love you my little bumpkin. You sweet little monster, Momma’s coming to getcha!”
My heart catches in my throat for seemingly a dozen reasons at once. That exchange was so incredibly heartwarming. Prinrin is a mother, a loving, doting, proud mother, who shares affection in a practical manner, and—. She’s a dragon mother, with a Draconiac child. I’d wonder if it was a formal adoption, but this is just so much love that I can’t help but wonder about the clutch, and how a dragon could have had a Draconiac. I don’t want to make assumptions, but it definitely sounded like Prinrin secreted away her own clutch.
I thought I was told though that Draconiacs all come from Terrorzin’s secret egg-stealing queen wombs or whatever he uses, with some kind of pan-dimensionality to make them come out as adults. Adults that he would generally have brainwashed. I understand that many like Nala are rescued, and some choose to leave of their own free will, escaping or simply walking out from whatever territory they’d been in, and mostly finding their way to the Mountain of Solace.
Lady Kinzul offers clarification, “Nala tends to— round percentages when it would be beneficial to be all or none shall we say. If she says all, it would be upwards of seventy five percent at the lowest, but still, she is prone to, well, pass on information that is intentionally somewhat incorrect. She is not lying so much as trying to protect those at the most risk. This information naturally disseminates amongst us, especially the younger and newer members, and we let it be believed, so that the few edge cases we can protect, are less suspect.”
Oh, a disinformation campaign. I feel lied to a little bit, but honestly, whomever told me the information, and it was probably Nala, or maybe Illy, was probably doing it to protect people like Prinrin so that people like Miraina could exist. The less Terrorzin thinks that there are Draconiacs being born outside his control, the less stolen clutches there are. I guess that would also explain why Miraina seems to be a youthful, possibly actual child Draconiac, since it had been explained a bit that they basically are born adults in Terrorzin’s lands. I don’t know if that bit is also propaganda, but Nala seemed exceedingly disturbed at something she described similar to the collapse of the one test in the Temple of Time.
I don’t think Nala would fake the disturbing description of falling through cracks in reality, or the seeming panic attack that happened after. I do believe there is some sort of temporal effect—. Temporal zones. There are. There are temporal zones on Rayileklia. How do I know this? Kinzul seems incredibly concerned at my revelation, and is cautioning secrecy.
I guess it makes sense that dragons can birth Draconiacs, because how else would they originally have come about? Even if there’s something about newer dragons that prevents them from having Draconiac hatchlings, Prinrin admitted that she’s old, small, forgotten. All I want to do right now is protect Prinrin and Miraina, so if that requires secrecy, then I’ll bury this information. They are precious, utterly beautiful in spirit. I may have only known them for a few minutes, but I would already kill a draconic horde for them, even if I died in the process. Though, to be fair, I do say that about most people that I like. And, like Prinrin, I mean it about most people that I like.
Prinrin rubs her daughter's shoulders lovingly, and Pawn purrs at the attention, until her mother begins tickling her and she squeals in delight after giggling crazily. This whole event occurs in Lady Kinzul’s lap, as she smiles down upon them with tender affection. It brings tears to my eyes. This is what we’re fighting for. This is what we have to protect. But Prinrin is among the main fighting force, and she’s setting out with us on the first offensive tomorrow. I hope to all that is good in the world, that my inner circle finds any little bits of magic that lend us advantages, that help us protect those that are dear to us. If Prinrin should fall—. I—. I’d fly straight to Terrorzin’s domain and take him on myself, damn the hordes and damn the consequences.
I suppose I’m treating her as more vulnerable because of her tiny size in her human form, she may very well be one of the stronger dragons among us. She is untitled, and un-Aliased, in a titled fighting force, one of our best. I need to not forget that. It doesn’t really matter though. She’s got a daughter to get home to, one that is hugging her with utter joy at the moment. Or maybe I’m not so much treating her as more vulnerable, as much as I’m all the more worried to lose such a hopeful, loving individual.
After finishing playing with her daughter, Prinrin’s about to hop around to Lady Kinzul’s back, but Kinzul holds up a hand, politely dismissing the attempt for now. Prinrin instead frolics over to a couch and pats it while looking at me. I remove my upper garments, going topless, feeling safe in the den as I lay face down across the couch.
Prinrin mounts my back, straddling my non-existent bum, and begins to sink her warm hands into my muscles and I accidentally loose a moan of pleasure. I blush heatedly, but she pays it no mind, continuing her ministrations with tenderness, applying just the right pressure and firmness to loosen the tensions I bear.
Prinrin, leaning close, almost whispering, still chipper as ever, rambles in a single breath, “I saw your brain going a mile a minute there Schism sweetie, when you put two and two together. Maybe even figured out some secrets you probably shouldn’t know about, or maybe even been able to figure out, based on our dear Lady’s reactions. You’re a good one, a quick one Schism my sweet. I’m sure I can trust you. Only you and our Lady right now know I’m my dear Miraina’s mother. Some might guess based on our personalities, but I’m a metallic dragon, and she’s a chromatic Draconiac, so she’s pretty safe from that assumption. It’s one of the ways that we, well, I won’t bore you with the details of mating, clutching, the eggs and the hes and whatnot. I also saw you fill with love and affection, fast as anything I’d ever seen. You’re special, big heart, lotsa love, if it ever comes down to it, I’m pretty sure I know who our dear Lady would pick to--. Oh don’t mind me, I’m sure that day is long off. Gosh you really are tense aren’t you? This body is only a few months old? I suppose you’ve been traipsing about, nary a week to rest, camping across all the lands of Rayileklia or something. Then you go and do something foolish like fight a Felgre horde on your own, just like he would have done.”
When she pauses to take a breath, Prinrin seems to sober a bit, losing some of her happiness as she further reminisces, “The Platinum. Oh how I miss him, and our sweet Lady does too. So much love, so much courage. Even after he was reborn as a Draconiac. Everyone knew, he even kept more or less the same name, but still, The Platinum was the best of us, and the world is robbed of him and his descendants. Oh look at me talking your ear off, your cute pointy red little ears. But yes, you remind me of him in a lot of ways, perhaps your whole little Shellcracker family combined makes up most of his best traits. You most of all, with that big, brave heart, resemble our sweet Lady Kinzul’s first love, almost reborn again.”
Prinrin sighs wistfully before adding, “Bahativimut would sorely be welcomed as we prepare to finally end Terrorzin’s reign once and for all. Even if you’re as close as we’ll get, that’s pretty darn close in my book, please don’t take offense, he had centuries on you. Oh you didn’t know did you? Oh yes, our sweet Lady Kinzul and The Platinum were basically king and queen, until some *thing* empowered and emboldened Terrorzin, stealing him from us. Then miracle upon miracles, he’s reborn, if a bit less impressive, but reborn as a Draconiac, one of the first. He’s why Lady Kinzul created or figured out the Honoris Causa after all. To bring some semblance of his previous life back.”
Lady Kinzul quietly, tearfully pleads, “Prinrin, beloved old friend. Would you be so kind as to not share any more of the tale with our dear Schism? You’ve left out some very important bits, thankfully, and I’d prefer they remain left out.”
Prinrin gasps and apologizes, “Of course, yes of course my Lady. I’m deeply sorry. I don’t know what it is, but I felt like I could tell sweet Schism here anything and everything, like they’d soak it up and claim it, and keep it safe.”
My heart catches in my throat at the seeming compliment. I wonder if it has anything to do with my Latent, or my Honoris Causa. Lady Kinzul offers an explanation similar to my thoughts, “Be that as it may, and it very well may be entirely true, due to the ceaseless void that ever yearns to be filled within our dear Schism, I’m grateful for your further prudence.”
Prinrin nods emphatically, bowing apologetically, which presses her wonderfully athletic petite body down against my back, prompting further blush from me. While straddling my rear, and laying flat atop my back, Prinrin whispers, “So sorry about that Schism sweetie, maybe our Lady will tell you one day. I’m glad you’re among us as this all finally starts though. Poor Aims. One last portent, and we know the day. Amazing how you showed up just in time. I guess it’s fate that reunites you with your family, and welcomes you to ours just in the nick of time for things to kick off. Oh look at that, doesn’t that feel better now? You feel nice and soft now. I could lay like this for hours, you’re as warm as a basking rock, I love it Schism sweetie.”
Prinrin stops straddling me to simply lay flat up my back, her knees bent so that her bare feet kick playfully in the air. My smile hurts, and I’m pretty certain my entire upper body is flush, but Prinrin is right, it definitely feels wonderful. The um, massage’s results. Not the—. Well, I can’t lie. Her petite, mostly-firm form with her scalesilk tunic that barely disguises some supple softnesses, pressed down tightly atop my bare back feels pretty incredible as well. Of course, I’m quite thankful that she can’t hear my entire internal monologue right now, because we won’t start the telepathic bond spell until the rest of her party arrives.
There’s an innocent pleasure shared between us, and I simply sigh contentedly. Yeah, I could see why Illy would find Prinrin fun. I wonder how Prinrin responds to Illy’s teasing, or if Iylynila acts differently around her. Gosh, thinking about Illy got me thinking about the vault, and—. Phew, I think my blush is sizzling the copper cutie above me, not that she seems to mind. Her elbows are resting on my biceps, while her face rests in her hands, barely lifted up off of the back of my neck. Her thighs rest on my gluts and quadriceps, due to her small size. Her dainty feet pedal in the air, simply swinging towards her tush and back away.
Lady Kinzul’s telepathic wavelength is awash with a myriad of emotions, and I certainly can’t blame her. After having almost literally ancient memories dragged up, while sharing joy at peace with beloved residents of her Mount Solace—. Yeah, yeah I can entirely understand Kinzul being set deeply within mixed emotions right now.
In altogether too short a time, Prinrin hops off, somehow sensing the Vivant approaching about the same time they enter my thermal sensory range, which is a fair distance. Or, well, there’s a block of heat, approximately three bodies across, moving this way. I assume It’s the rest of the members of The Paradox Vivant. Lil returns in time, so that we thankfully don’t have to keep them waiting.
As I’d been warned by Illy, the “Vivvies” seem to almost make a game of avoiding my gaze to look down at me, snubbing me. Prinrin flashes me an apologetic frown with a halfhearted helpless shrug about the unfriendliness of the rest of The Paradox Vivant. I smile her way though, happily reassuring her that she definitely makes up for their lack of approachability and charm, with her own. Prinrin lets me know that she’s happy to accept the more intimate version of the connection, even if that intimacy is only to me, Lil, and Kinzul, and I’m glad to prepare the appropriate gem-dust paste for her.
Prinrin, almost a bit too cheerfully, as I’m applying the runes to her cranium, neck, and finally her torso and back, offers a running commentary, “Yes, yes, that’s the stuff, oo right there, fantastic! Mmm yeah, that’s the spot. Since you’re only using the one finger for the rune paste stuff, those other free fingers are magic. Using your other hand’s full palm to stretch taut my back’s dermis feels so good! You’re the best Schism my sweet. Thanks!”
I loose a half-sigh, half-chuckle while shaking my head and smiling. Talk like that could get me in trouble if she had a romantic partner in the room. Let’s just hope she’s not involved with any of the Vivvies, eh?