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[lilacwood]

(A slender, white figure is sitting on the shore of a peaceful river. She is dripping wet, her knees drawn up to her chest. Warily, she glances at her communicator, pushing back her thick mane of white hair absently.)

You mustn't move too much or too fast in this heat. When you feel overwhelmed, find the shade of a tree or cool water.

(Amalthea closes her eyes and stretches out in the grass, resting on her side.)

This forest is like mine. I could rest...

(If her skin wasn't so sensitive to sunlight...bugs... How do humans stand it?)

Does anyone remember me?

Comments

[lilacwood]

(Uai will be surveyed, closely, critically. She isn't naive enough to accept his seemingly kind words. He is the one that told her of manipulation, after all. What does he want? Company? Well, they both want that and he is interesting to talk to - even if she feels a little uncomfortable in his presence.)

I do not find it disagreeable that we met. (Her posture shifts upon seeing where he lives; she dips her head back and stares at the canopies above.)

If you do not wish to leave me, might I move to this place?

[ubiquitously]

[He pauses at that. It does seem like a simple solution. The only concern he has is the awful rent here. Trees and elves are apparently very cruel landlords.]

I don’t see why not. I’m sure we can work something out to get you in here. [Uai hums thoughtfully again, his bird-like habits slipping in with a soft chirp.] The truth is... I have a dragon staying with me right now. A cute, fluffy dragon named Hana. Like you, she has a human form she doesn’t like staying in. But hers is a choice.

[And he understands the stereotype that Unicorns and dragons don’t get along.]

Otherwise, I’d say you two could just take over my room. My body doesn’t require sleep, so I just use it to store my musical instruments.

[lilacwood]

(She is above money, Uai. What is any world coming to when it makes a Unicorn pay for rent? They should be glad they have her! ...or so she thinks.)

Yes? (The answer is belated and it seems almost like she is responding to his chirp rather than his words.) I have slain Dragons. It is natural for my kind to do so. But if she is no threat, I would not harm her. She is a magical creature - like me - and I respect her.

(It's the unspoken, unwritten word between immortal beings.)

I would not mind.

[ubiquitously]

Then we should talk to her about it. It would be more convienent... and I can’t imagine a Unicorn working a nine to five.

[And it might be good for Hana to have another friend who understands her situation.]

Let me show you around first? I can show you the apartment and the hot spring.

[lilacwood]

Nine to...five? (Since he said "working", she presumes he means her getting a job. Since she is doing spectacularly by simply walking on two feet, that seems like a far cry.)

I will follow you. (And maybe some day soon, she will be herself again. Then he will see why this body is such a prison to her.) ...Uai.

[ubiquitously]

Ah, right. You wouldn't know that term. Most jobs are worked from nine in the morning to five at... hm. Actually, you probably don't have clocks in the forest, do you?

[He gladly leads the way, using his keys to let them into the complex. Having a guest is a strange sort of fun, as Uai usually goes out of his way to stay alone. He only lets himself be around her because he knows she won't touch him and get hurt.

When she says his name, he pauses to look back at her.]

Yes? Did you need something?

[lilacwood]

(She shakes her head and glances at the sky. That is her clock; she follows the rising and falling of the sun and moon.)

Humans feel the need to measure and calculate everything. It takes the mystery out of existing.

(No, she avoids touch, afraid to let even the lightest brush occur. He is not the reason for her fear. Being a woman, rather, is to blame. As a Unicorn, she felt she had some power to protect herself. As a human, she is woefully weak and vulnerable.)

Your nature puzzles me, but I do not think meeting you was a mistake.

[ubiquitously]

Humans are also at the mercy of time, right? So of course they would want to at least pretend they control it.

[Is his reasoning, anyway. Uai isn't bound by time anymore, but that's because he ruined the mystery for himself.]

I get that a lot. I'm happy you think that way. I don't get you either, but I like you. [It's easier to help her if she thinks decently of him. Unlike with Azura, who has other people looking out for her, he hasn't heard Amalthea talk of other friends. He's too worried to cut off ties... But if he can get her and Hana to become friends, he'll be able to back of from them both.]

[lilacwood]

...it seems maddening to count down the barest of moments.

(She doesn't need a clock to feel her mortality. Death is never far and when she sleeps, she dreams of her previous life.)

I accept that you are mysterious to me; that does not make me like you less. (He will find it hard to shake her. She may not trail after him or walk by his side as she does now in the future, but she will be watching him. Watching over him.)

[ubiquitously]

To some, I’m sure it is. When you think your time is limited and you can only watch it get away from you, you’re bound to lose some sanity.

Very few humans reach a point where they can control time. When that happens, it only gets more frustrating.

[The way he cannot change the past without causing a mess is it’s own kind of maddening.]

You’re mysterious yourself. I can’t imagine how you live... But I guess I don’t need to either. [He pauses to open a doorway for her: Towards the hot spring first.] After you~.

[lilacwood]

There is something to be said for not being in control, I suppose. (She shakes her hair from her eyes and tucks the rebellious strands behind her ears.)

What about it is complicated? My nature is simply different from yours.

(She watches him before slipping through the doorway delicately. Once they are indoors, she seems to give off her own light, glowing like the moon.)

[ubiquitously]

[He observes her faint glow, amused by it. Hana always talks about 'The Shadow' that she worships back home, while Amalthea seems to be light itself. This Unicorn and Dragon could not be more opposite.

Following after her, he motions to the stairs that lead down to the hot springs.]

Different is interesting. If I could understand more, then maybe I could change myself. Something like that. [Uai brushes off his confessed mission in favor of pointing at some rising steam.] The hot spring is down this way. Be careful.