[ this question he was expecting, which might explain why there's no hesitation in his response. there is a weight to it, heavy but warm, heartfelt in a way that should be foreign on him. ]
( That Ish can speak so earnestly about someone earns a real smile from him, and a bit of a laugh. Ish did say he knows love, and knows it well. )
She sounds lovely. ( hehe ) Nothing like my Gwawlyn.
( And yet, he says this fondly. Gwawyln, the opposite of all these things in every respect; all bad qualities, and almost nothing good - and so it made what few beautiful conveces of his self all that more dear to Hwylryn. )
[ his smile is exceedingly soft, goopey. somehow it doesn't look entirely alien on his face, but rare, like a black pearl hidden in the sand and waves. ]
She married one, that's how I was born. [ me, making gestures at the even if tempest writers. ]
He watches Ish's expression, as intrigued by it as he is the slow unraveling of these things about himself that has been so hidden. A shame Ish isn't really a pearl. He thinks he'd love to pluck him up from the sand and hold Ish as he is, like this, careful within his hands. )
A dragon who's like a fish and a snake who's like a bird... We make for a funny pair.
( If only he were a bard... He'd be able to spin something nice out of it. )
You already have a picture of him, right? He's terrible. We're twins, so picture me, but nothing like me.
( Fondly, fondly... With eyes that water so slightly, but the warmth persists. )
... All arguments, rude, violent, bad-tempered, prideful... Stuck in his ways, might makes right! ( He says this almost with a laugh. ) He thought everyone was beneath him, and he was strong enough that no one could tell him no. If a mortal was improper in their worship or respect, he'd sink that whole mass of land. And people would get so scared of him, and he'd feel so good about it. He just loved to stalk about and be scary.
( His eyes soften in fond recollection - perhaps not a mirror to Ish's own, but its neighbor; something close, and just as fond. Missing something so much it feels like it's returned - for only a moment. )
But, oh, we would swim, and we would fly, and we'd do it as one. He tried to kill me all the time, you know? And he got so close so many times! But, you know, he loved me, and he hated that he did, so it became a game. We'd change the landscape of the sea and skies as we ran and chased.
I became clever and I learned how to charm him, I learned how to speak well and appeal to his affections... Not that I'm weak either, you know? I'm pretty tough! He'd be mad, but he'd praise me when I tricked him into some kind of trap, and we'd lick each other's wounds and we'd swim back to sleep all coiled up together in our den...
( ... and then, as the warmth of the memory fades, you're left with the cool, sobering chill of reality. His expression dims, very slightly.
Someone who did what they wanted no matter what, huh? I can admire that. [ yes he hears all the terrible things, but as always, that's not really what he's interested in. ]
I'm sure the expressions he drew out of others was a sight to behold. [ he tilts his head, earring jingling. ]
So if you're his opposite, and he liked to go around scaring others, then that's why you like to go around endearing yourself to others, hmm? [ a half-question, because he continues. ]
Ahh, but time's like that. It's always moving in some direction.
( Hwylryn seems happy Ish got the gist of it. He's so fond of his brother it's hard for him to extract a theme from him, to narrow him down into just a handful of words - but once Ish says it, he can't help but agree.
Gwawlyn was - is - wonderful. (Perhaps even more wonderful now that he's only memory.) )
If I didn't become the way I was, he really would've killed me. And I ended up liking the way I became. I loved meeting other creatures, and getting to know them... And Gwawlyn could handle all the domineering.
( It's that final remark that earns Hwylryn's quiet, and he closes his eyes, contemplative. He'd at some point drifted off toward the edge of the pond, and, gently, he pushes off from it, slowly drifting back.
There had been the briefest ember of malaise as he'd met the pond's edge - a broad ocean fish, trapped in such a small bowl. )
Is it?
( Slowly, he opens his eyes again. )
Some people have been saying we've been repeating all this... ( And it sure seemed the case - Junior's wound reopened; Hwylryn's grief refreshed... ) ... Is the time in here trapped? Moving, but only in a circle?
( Though, it seems, they're no longer as firmly anchored to this circle as they're meant to be. )
That must feel nice. ( Being in control. ) Did you break out? Or are did you just take control for yourself?
( The whole bit about the truth is something he needs to think on. While lack of knowledge is itself powerlessness, having knowledge you can't act on is a sort of helplessness on its own. )
... If I were going to trade for something, I'd trade for something that'd help my friends. If knowing the true nature of this thing would let me do something for them... ( Well, then he would. ) ... but I'm not voracious like you. I don't know if just knowing is reward enough.
Oh? Congratulations. That's a victory well-earned. I hope you at least took a vacation to relax, first, though. Right?
( u did it 🎉 otsuuuu (please rest)
Unfortunately, this knowledge doesn't help Hwylryn because, despite everything, he's completely paralysed when it comes to people he likes. That's the whole thing. He likes Ish, so even if he could push Ish until he broke, too, he wouldn't really want to... )
For knowledge, right? You have so many specialties.
Hmmm...that makes me sound like a nerd or something. I didn't study them, I took them all except for the magic to grant wishes. That one Norna gave to me.
Ahh, roughly... [ :thinking: ] 1700 years ago? That sounds right.
[ hwy's profile is true because at some point, numbers are fake. ]
That's right. She thought I could make better use of it than she could, since I understood humans better. And at the time, I wanted humans to be as happy as they could be.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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It's coming along nicely. But are you sure you want to use your question on that?
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( He hums, even if his heart isn't super into it. Music is a natural part of him. )
... I saw your plaque in the hall. Do you mind if I ask about those things, too?
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[ which is a thing with him. ]
Go ahead.
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He has a lot of questions for Ish, as ever. But he'll see where each bend of the river takes him, as always.
He considers this for a time, eyes closing as he thinks. Eventually, they do come open again, a little lidded, but alert - like a wild animal. )
... Who's Norna?
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The one I love, who created me.
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... What's she like?
( "Is" or "was" doesn't matter. He often refers to Gwawlyn in the present tense even when he shouldn't. )
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[ please save me, he will keep going. ]
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She sounds lovely. ( hehe ) Nothing like my Gwawlyn.
( And yet, he says this fondly. Gwawyln, the opposite of all these things in every respect; all bad qualities, and almost nothing good - and so it made what few beautiful conveces of his self all that more dear to Hwylryn. )
Was she fond of snakes, too?
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She married one, that's how I was born. [ me, making gestures at the even if tempest writers. ]
Tell me about him. We're trading stories, right?
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He watches Ish's expression, as intrigued by it as he is the slow unraveling of these things about himself that has been so hidden. A shame Ish isn't really a pearl. He thinks he'd love to pluck him up from the sand and hold Ish as he is, like this, careful within his hands. )
A dragon who's like a fish and a snake who's like a bird... We make for a funny pair.
( If only he were a bard... He'd be able to spin something nice out of it. )
You already have a picture of him, right? He's terrible. We're twins, so picture me, but nothing like me.
( Fondly, fondly... With eyes that water so slightly, but the warmth persists. )
... All arguments, rude, violent, bad-tempered, prideful... Stuck in his ways, might makes right! ( He says this almost with a laugh. ) He thought everyone was beneath him, and he was strong enough that no one could tell him no. If a mortal was improper in their worship or respect, he'd sink that whole mass of land. And people would get so scared of him, and he'd feel so good about it. He just loved to stalk about and be scary.
( His eyes soften in fond recollection - perhaps not a mirror to Ish's own, but its neighbor; something close, and just as fond. Missing something so much it feels like it's returned - for only a moment. )
But, oh, we would swim, and we would fly, and we'd do it as one. He tried to kill me all the time, you know? And he got so close so many times! But, you know, he loved me, and he hated that he did, so it became a game. We'd change the landscape of the sea and skies as we ran and chased.
I became clever and I learned how to charm him, I learned how to speak well and appeal to his affections... Not that I'm weak either, you know? I'm pretty tough! He'd be mad, but he'd praise me when I tricked him into some kind of trap, and we'd lick each other's wounds and we'd swim back to sleep all coiled up together in our den...
( ... and then, as the warmth of the memory fades, you're left with the cool, sobering chill of reality. His expression dims, very slightly.
Ah... )
... I wish I could have lived like that forever.
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I'm sure the expressions he drew out of others was a sight to behold. [ he tilts his head, earring jingling. ]
So if you're his opposite, and he liked to go around scaring others, then that's why you like to go around endearing yourself to others, hmm? [ a half-question, because he continues. ]
Ahh, but time's like that. It's always moving in some direction.
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( Hwylryn seems happy Ish got the gist of it. He's so fond of his brother it's hard for him to extract a theme from him, to narrow him down into just a handful of words - but once Ish says it, he can't help but agree.
Gwawlyn was - is - wonderful. (Perhaps even more wonderful now that he's only memory.) )
If I didn't become the way I was, he really would've killed me. And I ended up liking the way I became. I loved meeting other creatures, and getting to know them... And Gwawlyn could handle all the domineering.
( It's that final remark that earns Hwylryn's quiet, and he closes his eyes, contemplative. He'd at some point drifted off toward the edge of the pond, and, gently, he pushes off from it, slowly drifting back.
There had been the briefest ember of malaise as he'd met the pond's edge - a broad ocean fish, trapped in such a small bowl. )
Is it?
( Slowly, he opens his eyes again. )
Some people have been saying we've been repeating all this... ( And it sure seemed the case - Junior's wound reopened; Hwylryn's grief refreshed... ) ... Is the time in here trapped? Moving, but only in a circle?
( Though, it seems, they're no longer as firmly anchored to this circle as they're meant to be. )
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I wouldn't say the word trapped, but it's not completely wrong either. But I definitely wouldn't call it a circle.
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( The question is honest - this is way out of his scope. What will he do with what he knows? Nothing useful, he figures.
But if it's a story worth knowing, he's intrigued. )
... Isn't it tiring, doing this over and over?
( If anything, Ish seemed a little bit... hmm... he sure had a reaction to them remembering. )
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[ he's been speaking more freely yes, but he's always aware of the position he's in. ]
I slept for three hundred years at one point. I have a lot of sleep stored up! [ playfully, but then his tone smooths out once more. ]
I'm used to it. It's not like I hadn't been looping before this, but this time, I'm the one in control.
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( The whole bit about the truth is something he needs to think on. While lack of knowledge is itself powerlessness, having knowledge you can't act on is a sort of helplessness on its own. )
... If I were going to trade for something, I'd trade for something that'd help my friends. If knowing the true nature of this thing would let me do something for them... ( Well, then he would. ) ... but I'm not voracious like you. I don't know if just knowing is reward enough.
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[ he'll never be a might makes right person, but he is a if you win, you get the prize type of guy.
he laughs. ]
Is that what you consider me to be? Voracious?
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( u did it 🎉 otsuuuu (please rest)
Unfortunately, this knowledge doesn't help Hwylryn because, despite everything, he's completely paralysed when it comes to people he likes. That's the whole thing. He likes Ish, so even if he could push Ish until he broke, too, he wouldn't really want to... )
For knowledge, right? You have so many specialties.
( magical and otherwise! ur very smart )
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[ to the tune of "I'll sleep when I'm dead" 🎶 ]
Hmmm...that makes me sound like a nerd or something. I didn't study them, I took them all except for the magic to grant wishes. That one Norna gave to me.
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I thought you said you slept for 300 years. When was that?
( Lightly scolding. go to BED )
Did she give you that to make people happy?
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Ahh, roughly... [ :thinking: ] 1700 years ago? That sounds right.
[ hwy's profile is true because at some point, numbers are fake. ]
That's right. She thought I could make better use of it than she could, since I understood humans better. And at the time, I wanted humans to be as happy as they could be.
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I'm not human and I have a wish. Can you guess what it is?
( go to b )
If not, I'll just take matters into my own hands.
( somehow, )
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Considering you said you'd take matters into your own hands, I'm guessing it doesn't involve your brother. [ not at this exact moment anyway. ]
Ohhh, did you want another body of water? I can't imagine you want more torta de coco so soon.
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He won't deny those are desires he has, but: )
Should I give you a hint?
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[ he is in a Good Mood, trial went terribly!
also as mentioned, hwy is a dragon, so this is not a failure on his part. ]
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/3 i think
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