065th metal

[godsays]

[ spam ]

[ He stares out at the stars half-panicked, wide-eyed. They're so clear: more of them than he's ever seen before.

He burns steel/iron/tin/pewter, shields with copper, stretches out with bronze. He can't hear anything.

He's darted around the ship, lurked in the shadows, moved quick and quiet and unobtrusive as possible, but what is on deck stuns him. ]

[ video ]

[ The feed is trained on the stars. ]

Why are the stars like this.

Why is it all metal.

[ His voice is flat and cold.

And much too young. ]


[ replies from venturemistborn. ]




Cassel: lump of atium. It seems inadequate, but it’s not just because of the metal, or because Zane hopes someday Cassel might be able to duplicate it. It’s that Zane used to depend entirely on this metal and stockpile and hoard it. It was his closest ally in a world where friends didn’t exist. He was never addicted to it, not like his father thought, but it had such value. Now there are other things that have that value.
Touko:
Babs: A handmade wrap, a shawl from Zane’s own world.
Iris:
Jerry:
Bush
Chris
Jean: A necklace with a fire opal pendant.
Anya: A bracelet that looks somewhat nice and plain, but is actually a very flexible multitool. Compass, firestarter, knife, etc.
Morgana: A pin that’s a twisted silver-and-red rose, beautiful. A long, fancy red coat.
Marsh: Different threads woven with different sorts of metal. Some living plant that does well in the dark with heavy mineral concentrations in it so that Marsh can see it more clearly.
Mickey:
Emperor
Allison: A set of glass and obsidian knives.
Arthas
Sylvanas
Arkin: An elaborate clock that needs to be put together, with instructions.
Steve:

Comments

[spam]

[youwillgotohell]

Yours, of course.

[spam]

[venturemistborn]

I don't have friends.

[spam]

[youwillgotohell]

[She purses her lips.]

Would you like one?

[spam]

[venturemistborn]

No.

[ Absolutely not. She'd want something from him, approaching him like that. He is wary and tense. ]

[spam]

[youwillgotohell]

I'd have liked one, when I was your age. All I had was my prat of a brother.

[She tells him like a confidant, but leaves off the part about how she didn't know he was her brother, then.]

[spam]

[venturemistborn]

[ And he had his sister. A look of anger crosses his face, and disappears. ] What's a prat?

[spam]

[youwillgotohell]

[She sees the anger come and go, and her eyebrows furrow together at it.]

A fool.

[A pause while she thinks, then amends,] But mayhaps a bit more affectionate than that. He was arrogant, but he was still mine.

[spam]

[venturemistborn]

He probably had to be arrogant, so the others wouldn't kill him.

[spam]

[youwillgotohell]

He had no assassins to fear, then. What others do you think there were?

[spam]

[venturemistborn]

Brothers and sisters. Others. Anyone who wanted what he had.

[spam]

[youwillgotohell]

He was an only child, but for me. And I certainly didn't want him dead.

[spam]

[venturemistborn]

You're just nobles, then.

[spam]

[youwillgotohell]

He's the crown prince.

[spam]

[venturemistborn]

Even worse.

He should be raised to be strong.

[spam]

[youwillgotohell]

[She cocks her head.]

What makes you think he isn't strong?

[spam]

[venturemistborn]

No one ever tried to kill him, or take what he had. He didn't have to survive.

[spam]

[youwillgotohell]

No. But there were expectations he had to live up to.

[She shrugs, swallowing a smile.]

And occasionally we had the time to push one another in the mud. He got to live.

[spam]

[venturemistborn]

He wouldn't last long against someone like me.

[spam]

[youwillgotohell]

No. He doesn't have magic. But why would you want to fight him?

[spam]

[venturemistborn]

I don't need a reason. It's what I'm made for.

[spam]

[youwillgotohell]

Of course you need a reason. You'll be making your own decisions in time.

[spam]

[venturemistborn]

If I'm doing what I want to, then I don't need a reason.

[spam]

[youwillgotohell]

How would you know what you want to do, without a reason?

[spam]

[venturemistborn]

I want to. That's all.

[spam]

[youwillgotohell]

[She smiles, and lets it drop.]

All right. What do you want to do now?