Chapter 5. A new normal. ~DNA.

“[I know this isn’t the right time to say this.]”

A reflexive frustration swells within me, but he gives me the moment needed to shove it aside. Considering all he’s done for me, and all the trouble I’ve made for him… Having an unpleasant conversation is the least that I owe him, “Is it about the Mana quakes I keep setting off?”

There is a flash of surprise through the Alliance interface, “[No… Though we should definitely discuss that as well. I had a more personal request.]”

I feel the twist as Smith directs his next question to Life, “[May I perch upon your boughs while I speak with your Father?]” The affirmative answer synchs up with a ripple in the sky above Gnat’s still devastated nest. A branch of blues and whites suddenly slips into focus and solidity where there was none before. Smith takes a moment to marvel, thank and praise Life for the perch.

Now standing rather than soaring overhead or expending magic or muscle to hover, Smith fidgets nervously, checking over his feathers for short flittering moments before finally settling himself. He glances down below before shifting his gaze to the other me I’ve coalesced on another nearby sky branch, sitting down with my legs flopping around in the wind, “What’s up?”

Shifting his position slightly, he holds himself more regally and speaks smoothly, “[DNA. I would seek your permission to court your daughter, Gnat.]”

There is the barest pause in the wind as the shock of that statement leaves me reeling. My presence before him rocking back and catching myself with my hands, while the rest of the me’s out among the Realm Woods turn wispy at the edges before regaining their equilibrium and going about other tasks.

I let out a long, deep breath, glance down and meet the eyes of myself sitting with Gnat’s still sleeping self, ever since she was returned a few hours ago. Each journey beyond wipes her out for a long time. “Oh boy. Okay, so, that was not something I was expecting. Uh, could you give me some of your thought process here? Super ignorant about customs and culture and stuff like that.”

He relaxes a bit though keeps a more formal tone than our more recent interactions, “[Despite my solitary presence out here, far away from civilization, a healthy phoenix does require a bit of social involvement. It’s why I sought out a Lair that already had an established trade presence with the Gestalt Kingdoms, however much removed we are at the outskirts.]”

As he speaks, he settles his posture a bit more, “[It’s also why I petitioned to serve as a bastion for a dungeon core. Having grown comfortable in my nest, I sought to-]” he glances around at the various unique trees now breaking up what once was a more even canopy, “[slowly increase the attractiveness of my territory. More people, more word of mouth, would expand my presence that might call more of my people to the area.]”

I hold out a hand to ask him to pause, “Sorry for interrupting, but that’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you about,” I gesture back to one of the entrances that Life has managed to stabilize. We’ve been getting pretty regular traffic from the local adventurers ever since that first group made their report, “Are phoenixes like, ‘people-people’? Or is there some sort of divide between the Kingdoms of man and us less conforming types?”

I make some wobbly sort of hand motions, “I only ask, because I don’t really see much difference in talking with you versus what I’ve seen from the people that meet my Challenges. Uh, I mean, you know?”

He belts out a laughing sort of call, “[I understand your question, I take no offense being compared with the citizens of the Gestalt. If you mean, could a phoenix or liger or evolved organ spider make their way into a town without causing a panic, or a spontaneous bounty hunt? No but also Yes. There is a Grand Contract for all the users of the {System} of sufficient cognition. Technically, I would have the right to stride into the local town to browse their wares, but in practice the interactions between the Gestalt and the rest of life are more complicated.]”

He opens his wing and points off into the distance, “[On my travels seeking out a place like this to roost, there was this grand city. Full of peoples and beasts of myriad kind, living in some approximation of harmony. It was a Dungeon city that had grown around the inclusion of those of us with the capacity for congenial interactions, regardless of origin. The caveat? It had no real place for the young, nor much space for the Sleeping. So, despite its openness and welcoming nature, it didn’t take too long to begin to recognize most of those that stayed there.]”

“The Sleeping are just regular people, right? Those that don’t channel Mana, don’t use spells? What’s the ratio of them compared to the adventurous sort, like those guys.”

“[If not for the undeniably power achievable at our tier and above from the system? The Sleeping, if properly ‘united’ in purpose, would be able to drown the Awoken and the Epic in a relentless tide of bodies, such is the disparity in population. Something you’re unlikely to ever truly encounter, as especially now that the Leyline has grown, this patch of land will become less and less hospitable for those not yet awake to power. And considering how you keep growing and scaling at unprecedented rates, there may come a time where even the Awoken or Epics falter at the thickness of magic in your air.]”

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I tilt my head in confusion, “I feel like you made that distinction on purpose. Are you saying there isn’t a concentration of magic that would overwhelm a Legendary? Because, let me tell you, I’ve been overwhelmed plenty, and supposedly I’m legendary and a Dungeon core.”

He chuckles, “[And yet, here you- sit. Only stronger and with a more diverse set of powers at your command despite that. Yes, you can knock out and even kill a Mythic if the Mana Toxicity gets too intense, but at the Legendary tier and above, the body, and the very soul itself is ready and eager to adapt to Challenge, to become More. It’s what makes legendary creatures so prolific and yet so niche at the same time.]”

He sweeps both of his wings out, letting the wind tickle between his feathers, “[Without enough Challenge to rise to the appropriate heights of their bloodline, they falter and fade. The Gestalt have gotten around this limitation by insulating their weaker members and cultivating those whose souls or circumstances call to Challenge to rise up to greatness. Which brings the topic back to my people’s culture.]”

He snaps his wings shut and looks to me more solemnly, “[We don’t have large clutches, and feeling the call of togetherness, it is common for parents to travel and nest near their unattached children. In such a scenario, it is customary for an interested foreign male to introduce themselves to the parents and seek approval. This can go many different ways, depending on all parties involved, the female included.]”

He looks away and squirms a bit, “[Considering our racial disparity compared to other creatures, it is not unheard of for the prospective suitor to be repeatedly killed by the parents, to prove his devotion and commitment.]”

I let those words hang in the air for a bit, while keeping my expressions and tone neutral, “Hmm. I suppose my next question is: Why now?”

His eyes dart to mine, down at Gnat resting in the tree that has been steadily recovering and changing with Thing, Life, Dreams, and my efforts, “[She isn’t a child any longer. Even if she is yet to fully adopt that…]”

The both of us look at each other and just take in a deep breath, before casting it out, “[She has matured. Now, I’m not going to deny the convenience of proximity, nor the allure of that level of potential. Potential that I didn’t even know existed before meeting…]”

We breathe in synch once more, “Yeah. I don’t really want to say the Name either. Not until after she’s woken up at least.”

He nods, “[Right. Well, as I said, I knew of the step beyond Legend. The Mythic tier, most reportedly being said to have conquered age. For those who aspire, it is the ultimate achievement, for without time as a barrier, so much more can be learned.]”

He unsheathes his wing and shakes his head, clearing his thoughts with the noise, “[Those are not what a good Father cares about though-]” instead of meeting my eyes to looks up into the sky, “[She has a boundless curiosity. An endless drive to better herself. And a tenacity to match both when she strives towards a chosen goal. She spent hour after hour struggling to even comprehend how Thing was Anchored to their nebulouse, all to be able to bring forth her own gnat’s along in flight.]”

He turns back to me, his eyes shining with his awe, “[Never satisfied by her capacity to conjure a storm of them at a moment’s notice. No, she wanted them to join her in the skies. And she succeeded! Truly remarkable.]

A warm smile swells from within me at his praise of my daughter. I break my gaze from his, even as he sits in anticipation of my response, I hop off of the sky branch I was resting on as it returns to the background. I tsk and embrace a nonchalant air as I descend the air like a staircase, “Welp. Those are some might fine arguments there. But…”

As I see his posture both tense and fall under threat of my disapproval, I finally let my grin peak through, “I think I’ll let her decide how she feels about it, rather than choosing for her.” As I disperse my closer presence and my figure directly below with Gnat takes a step back from her as I turn to her, breaking my gaze with Smith, “So, what do you think, Gnat? You going to let him court yah?”

The explosion of insects shoves my presence away, “{Da~a~ad!!}” as she leaps out of her nest and starts flying desperately through the forest below. My hearty laughter at both of their reactions with Smith just sat there frozen in place. I reform myself next to him and give him some playful slaps on the back to reboot him.

“[How long was she awake?]”

I grin back at him, “She startled awake shortly before I apologized for interrupting you. Figured I’d let her play possum if she wanted to. You ain’t half bad, Aurora Hephaestus. But we’re going to need you to get a shorter Name than that. Assuming this whole courtship thing works out of course.”

Smith lets out a large sigh, “[You’re a menace. Though I suppose I should thank you for your scheme. Considering the myriad ways I’ve conducted traumatic events around her, having at least one of them tied to an honest appreciation of her is better than the rest of my track record.]”

“That’s the spirit. Just consider it as me ‘helping’ you out,” I say with some air quotes and stupid grin.

His gaze sharpens and fixes on me again, “[That’s a marvelous segue into the discussion you brought up earlier.]” He beckons me join him as he takes to the skies, “[You need to learn some restraint. I understand that not all things are within one’s control, but if you keep unleashing these colossal eruptions of Mana you’re going to cause my volcanic fissure to explode.]”

He meets my eyes again as we fly past Life’s boundary wall, “[Or worse. You’ll catch the attention of something that might consider you a snack. If the wrong sort of Myth happens to be too nearby and feels the edges of a discharge of that magnitude? We aren’t yet strong enough to serve as more than an inconvenience to one of those sorts.]”