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𝘏𝘪 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 — 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘢ï𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 — 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴!

[A combination of deep exasperation and resignation doesn't show in Altaïr's 'handwriting', but if it could, it absolutely would.]

We discovered a pair of mated lizards in the woods of Solvunn some time ago. One appears entirely normal, the other is half-mechanical, with gears in its midsection. It should clearly be dead regardless of where those gears came from, and yet it both lives and has fathered eggs.

[Unspoken: 'That's fucked up, right?'

Hilda's handwriting interjects, clearly addressing Altaïr. ]

𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 “𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥” - 𝘝𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘪 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦!

[He feels as though he should be too dignified and composed for internal bickering in front of others but he absolutely is not.]

Miracle implies the presence of divinity. This is clearly something else. I would like to know what, and to know whether any other Summoned have encountered anything similar.

[ Somewhere Hilda is rolling her eyes and mimicking him but thankfully everyone else is spared the theatrics. ]

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘪 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘝𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘪 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘈𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘹𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 – 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘶𝘴.

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘰𝘤𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦!

( ooc: visit the lizards here! and you may get replies from either one of the new parents or both! don't worry about posting order, thread jacking is encouraged )

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[This is more enthusiasm than he's prepared for, but he lets Hilda lead him over to the table without protest and gives Altaïr a small nod of greeting.]

Yeah, we've met before.

[A brief pause, and then--]

He didn't tell me he'd adopted lizard-children with you, though.

[His tone is not nearly deadpan enough to hide his amusement.]

It was a surprise to me as well but I've been forced to adjust.

[Hilda has forced him to adjust.]

Still, I can't deny the creature's existence is fascinating.

[ To hear that they've met - the two most loneliest of loners that she knows - means it's incredibly difficult for her to hide her surprise. They've started to move on from the subject, but Hilda certainly hasn't.

The drama queen in her won't let her. ]

When did you two meet? You never come out of your room [ She points to Jayden before quickly pointing to Altaïr. The corner of her mouth twitches, a sure sign that there's some teasing folded into this. ] And you don't like meeting people.

I come out of my room. I'm out of my room right now.

[Against his will, sure, but still. But as much as he would indeed rather not have left, he isn't actually as grumpy about being here as he's pretending to be, and that Altaïr is also apparently just as unlikely to have been social as Jayden is oddly reassuring.]

I never said I don't like meeting people.

[...because it's self-evident.]

Perhaps we both have more secrets than you know.

[ How did she end up becoming friends with two of the most annoying Summoned in the Free Cities? Kidding. Mostly. That title tends to be a rotating one depending on her mood and who she's seeing that day.

She'd love to go on about how they both just delivered her the most ridiculous answers, but she doesn't need to because her arched eyebrow and silence clearly says that she believes otherwise. ]

Right. Anyway, I'd love to hear a story about how you both met another time but right now isn't about either of you. [ Gingerly she pulls both Mali and Veliki out of their basket, holding them out to Jayden. ] The stars of the hour! Meet Mali and Veliki.

[He can read Hilda's expression loud and clear, but thankfully they move onto the lizards just in time for Jayden to realize he's never actually held a lizard before. He'd held a former classmate's snake before, but that had been a ball python and so he'd had very little concern about accidentally hurting or dropping it or anything like that. The lizards are a lot smaller and look a lot more delicate.

But he cautiously takes them anyway, holding them both up so he can look into their little eyes, and they're... Strangely cute? Even if one of them is half mechanical, which is certainly not the strangest thing he's seen here, but it's weird when he thinks about it in terms of his own world.]

Huh.

[He has no idea what to make of this, except to be glad this is interesting-weird, not horrifying-weird.]

Veliki's this one with the metal, right? Does he eat anythin'?

[Altaïr is blissfully anywhere that he is yet again being outvoted re: lizard cuteness. Why do so many people he knows have such odd opinions.]

Bugs, I think. I haven't done much feding but I saw it eat an unwary fly. I don't know if it was nutritionally necessary or habitual behavior, though.

[Maybe it wanted to eat the fly for the sheer enjoyment of it.]

[ Say that they're cute out loud, Jayden. Join "Team Lizards Are Cute" and put Altaïr in his place. ]

That's what the biologist we're working with is hoping to figure out. Mali definitely eats normally, so I wonder if it's just to keep her company so she doesn't have to eat dinner alone.

[ Yes, she said that with a straight face. ]

Veliki still acts like a normal lizard. Or at least, that's what Dr. Rutherford said. He likes the sun and the warmth and slows down when he's in the dark too long.

[Give him reason and he will totally say it.

But as it is, he just frowns a little in thought, carefully considering both little lizards for another few seconds before holding them back out for Hilda to take.]

D'you think maybe his mechanical parts are solar powered?

[Maybe a totally stupid idea, but it just came to mind at the mention of Veliki slowing down in the dark. Sure, maybe that's just a normal lizard thing since they're cold blooded and dark places are often cooler, but--]

If it's just that he's cold blooded like a normal lizard, then it's only heat that matters, not light. Might be worth testin' out.

[Since it's a relatively safe and simple thing to test.]

We could keep him in a warm but dark place for a longer period, and observe how his behavior changes — but not to the point that it would endanger his life.

[He doesn't want to see the creature dead and, even more importantly, he doesn't want to see Hilda's outrage at the very idea.]

[ Good thing Altaïr added that last bit. She had a glare locked, loaded, and ready to fire his way if he suggested something else. It's eerie how they seem to suspect that too, the way both of their eyes swivel towards him. ]

Maybe we could suggest it to the doctor the next time we see him. But even if we do find that out about Veliki, I'm still not sure what that will reveal why he's like this. This can't have just been some kind of project someone felt like waking up and doing one day, right?

[ No matter how long she thought about it, there wasn't any reason she could come up with that involved creating a hybrid lizard short of saving its life. ]

Might be better to try bright and cooler, just in case he is solar powered.

[As long as it's not too cold it shouldn't hurt the little creature, but if he is solar powered and in the dark for too long, who knows what might happen.

But as far as Hilda's question goes--]

Could've been. If I had to guess I'd think this was an experiment for some sorta' purpose instead of just boredom, but you can't rule that out.

[People do some weird shit out of boredom, after all. But he also has the same thought Hilda did.]

He could've also been a pet or somethin' and this was done for a medical reason, but you'd think he'd still be with that person if that's the case.

[If someone loved this lizard enough to go to such lengths to save its life, where are they now?]

I suppose it depends whether we want to see whether he perks up or slows down.

[So maybe they need to test dark, light, cold and warm places. Just to be sure. So many factors to consider.]

If he's a pet, he has a very poor owner.

[Given that he'd been hanging out in the wild.]

[ A frown immediately crosses her features at the thought of someone doing this for the sake of killing boredom. ]

If we ever find his owner I'm going to give them a piece of my mind! Unless they lost Veliki accidentally in which case I guess it's fine.

[ That possibility seems unlikely to her though considering how well behaved both of the lizards were. A thought then crosses her mind. ]

Did anyone ever do anything like this to animals in your world, Jayden?

I guess somethin' could've happened whoever it was.

[This hypothetical owner. But it's just guesswork, and so he moves on to Hilda's question.]

Not exactly. There's prosthetics for animals, so if they lose a leg or somethin' and really need a new one, there's options; most animals do just fine without them, though. There's nothin' that could replace half their body, though.

[That's the really strange part of this, aside from the mystery of a possible power source, but then again this world has magic. Maybe those are actually very simple problems here.]

It sounds as though you come from a world of plenty, if even animals can be fit with such things. In my homeland, people who lose a limb generally have to live with it.

[Which he knows from uncomfortable, guilty secondhand experience. So to speak.]

I think it's safe to say that this is an unusual case, regardless.

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@ everyone

yeah but it sucks >:c

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