j-has-a-nephilim-problem

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

naoya-sasagani‌:

“Drem qo lok, Malgeinne,” Naoya said, as a few wyrmlings came to investigate him, bumping into him with little scaley bodies and not quite developed horn stubs, “It’s nice to meet you.”

One wyrmling bump their head up into his hand and tilted their head to look at him questioningly, “Zeymah?”

He nodded, “I’m Nauyah. Vonunqo is my father,” He wasn’t sure how he should describe being their cousin. 

“Nauyah,” The wyrmling parroted experimentally, then excitedly, looking at their siblings, “Nauyah!”

“NAUYAH!” They chorused back.

This may have been a mistake.

It was like being swarmed by large, scaly cats in a way... except that every time one wyrmling would vocalize, the identifying word would then echo amongst most or all of the others. This culminated in an excited chorus of Naoya’s name, a new word, interspersed with “Zeymah!”, understanding him as another blood relation.

This process was repeated with “Ul’laan!” and kaaz, but before J could begin to break down her cumbersome Draconic name for them, fourteen different variations of it arose from fourteen little sets of lungs. This was followed by a new set of variations as they attempted to puzzle it out. Finally, one of them blurted out, “Mal’vahdin!” Being related to their own mother’s name, this came much more easily, and was immediately taken up by the chorus.

J dragged one tattooed hand over her face, while her familiar snickered. “Please... just call me J.”

The Scratching Of Tiny Claws [closed rp with j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

, naoya-sasagani‌:

Vahdinqo tossed a piece of flesh into a eager mouth, then licked the red juice from one claw, “Well, if it’s like this then four times a day, at least. Once every couple of weeks we give them a whole carcass to feed off of, they don’t usually need to have as many meals then,” She laughed, “It’s really messy, but magic helps with that.”

“That’s a lot of food,” Naoya said, as he looked at the platter. They’d gone through most of it, but it’d been a huge mound of meat, four of those a day was a ridiculous amount, “I wonder if my appetite would have been like that if I hadn’t been sealed as a child.”

“Maybe not quite as much,” Tatsuya said, as a couple wyrmlings climbed up him trying to get to the meat he’d just been holding, “You were only going to get so big, Naoya. Full-blooded dragons never stop growing, but we grow the most in our first few decades, so that means we have to eat a lot.”

J knew from her time at the Academy that Tatsuya was not exaggerating. These wyrmlings would grow exponentially during their first century. Right now, they were perhaps the size of a medium dog. By adulthood, they would be the size of a helicopter. A dragon who hit the millennium mark could be the size of a small passenger jet, with a far larger wingspan; one who had come to speak at Ruvaak Strunmah had darkened the sky of the courtyard as she arrived.

It was well that the youngsters were agile enough to snap their food out of mid-air, otherwise fingers might have been in danger. Even with Tatsuya’s dawdling, the task went quickly with four sets of hands... and one cat, doing her best. J allowed her familiar to briefly lick the meat juices from her fingers before summoning a bit of mana to clean up.

With their bellies full, the wyrmlings were now taking the time to actually investigate the newcomers, chattering all the while in piping draconic voices. A small blue-scaled head snaked up to investigate Oolong, still perching on a chair. “Kaaz!” This brought two more wyrmlings, all of them receiving cautious greetings from the cat in turn. Meanwhile, more wyrmlings were alternately shoving their heads into J’s bag and under her hands.

The Scratching Of Tiny Claws [closed rp with j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

naoya-sasagani‌:

Tatsuya chuckled, “It sounds like they’ve heard us,” He stood up and went to the door, “I’ll see about the-” As soon as he’d cracked the door, the hatchlings barged in and  were on him.

“Zeymah!” They chorused, dog-piling their uncle in a mass of blue scales.

Vahdinqo sat back down, sighing, before setting a platter on the table. It was essentially a pile of meat cubes, “I knew they’d be up soon, It’s time to feed them again.” Naoya picked up a cube between two long claws, “So…Do you just toss them the bits of meat?” He imagined the hatchlings all clustered up like birds with their mouths open, waiting.

“It sounds like feeding zoo animals doesn’t it?” She laughed.

Watching Tatsuya get swarmed by roughly 500 total pounds of excitable baby dragon, J reflected that it was probably for the best that he had been the one to open the door.

But the platter of meat quickly stole the attention of the fourteen hungry wyrmlings, with several sets of amber eyes actively tracking the piece that Naoya was holding. J sensed her familiar’s attention fixing on the meat, as well. You literally just ate before we left, she admonished. Anyway, those pieces are too big for you.

Seemingly encouraged by Vahdinqo’s answer, Naoya tossed the chunk at the closest wyrmling. It was nabbed mid-flight with an audible snap of closing jaws, then swallowed without much effort made at chewing.

This set the rest of the brood to noisily jockeying for position, and soon everyone except the cat was tossing meat at the younglings, trying to ensure a more or less even distribution.

“How many times a day do you have to do this?” J asked Vahdinqo, over all the chomping and flying chunks of meat.

The Scratching Of Tiny Claws [closed rp with j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

naoya-sasagani‌:

“Thank you, J. Drem qo lok.” Vahdinqo said, “They never sleep for long, you’ll be able to meet them all very soon, I’m sure.” She looked, with one amber eye, at Oolong, “They especially love playing with animals. They’re very good about it too, so do not worry.”

Naoya thought about how fourteen dog-sized dragons might try to play with a small cat. It was probably best to be cautious about leaving Oolong alone around the wyrmlings for now…Rather than risk any accidents with fangs or claws involved.

“Just a moment and I’ll join you all there at the table,” She glanced around for something, then slipped her snout into what looked like a long colorful dress, before she began to shrink. By the end, she’d shrunk into the dress as a tall humanoid woman with long wavy blue hair and brown skin, two shiny black horns sweeping back on her head. She smiled with sharp pearly teeth, “Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee? Water?”

She walked over to a table off to the side, and brought back a tray balanced in one hand, and a water jug in the other, a few more things floating behind her. Vahdinqo sat down and held a hand up to a tall metal tea pot and stream began streaming from the spout shortly after.

Conflicted thoughts arose in the back of J’s mind from her familiar as she jumped from J’s arms to an empty seat. She’d love to play-fight with one wyrmling, but fourteen? Like any other younglings, where one was doing something interesting, the rest were sure to follow.

Don’t worry, you’ll be supervised if you want to play with the wyrmlings, J assured her. Vahdinqo can probably just make them float away or something if they get out of hand. The dragon seemed quite accomplished in the use of casual magic.

Aloud, she said, “I would love some tea, thank you.” It also seemed that the trait of expert shapeshifting was common among the clan of Klo’Alok; to be able to polymorph right into one’s clothing was impressive. The majority of the dragons J had met performed this operation in multiple steps.

No sooner did J give her thanks for the cup of steaming tea that floated into her hands, then a light scratching came at the closed door. It was rapidly followed by a great deal more scratching, and muffled overlapping voices.

“Monah! Monah!”

The Scratching Of Tiny Claws [closed rp with j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

naoya-sasagani:

Naoya took another picture, and paused, as one sky blue wyrmling stretched out, like a sleeping cat. It quickly settled back into sleep and Naoya followed everyone into the other room. He decided he’d better not push his luck and be the one to wake up the whole clutch.

Catching up with everyone before they had settled in the next room, he passed J the camera, then looked at Vahdinqo, “Drem qo lok, Zeymah. Thank you for having us.” He glance back at the door, “Your children are adorable.” 

Though tired, Vahdinqo looked pleased with the compliment, she chuckled, probably habit to keep quiet while they slept, “Drem qo lok to you all. Welcome home,” She looked back at the door herself with a grin, “They are adorable, though I think it’s enhanced while they sleep.”

“Drem lah lok,” J greeted, taking a quick glance at the pictures that Naoya had taken before tucking the small camera into a convenient pocket. “Congratulations on your fine clutch! They’re beautiful.”

Her understanding was that draconic clutches were more typically a handful of eggs - or even just a pair, like Liridele and Lorandin had been. Producing a clutch this size was much like a human giving birth to triplets - definitely a Big Deal.

Million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten, she thought to herself.

It was likely that Tatsuya had spoken of her, no doubt using her cumbersome Draconic title. It was probably best to nip that in the bud as soon as she could... “I am known as Jun’sesillestin here on Un’Lein, but please, just call me J. And this is my familiar, Oolong.” The cat jumped into her arms, the better to be seen. 

The Scratching Of Tiny Claws [closed rp with j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

naoya-sasagani:

Naoya glanced around as they closed the door. The place smelled of ozone and the sudden sound of an electric arc drew his attention to one side of the large room. On a pile of cushions was a pile of small dragons, curled up on one another. Several little blue bodies breathing deeply, a spark arcing between them once in a while. It was a good thing that blue dragons had an immunity to the adverse effects of being electrocuted.

He nudged J and nodded at the little ‘dog pile’, taking out his camera. Naoya felt like this was going to be the only time they were not absolutely everywhere all at once. May as well get a cute peaceful picture while he could.

J suppressed a laugh at the pile of wyrmlings, sleeping in such a tangle that it was hard to distinguish individuals, even with their slightly differing shades of blue. They really were adorable, and probably absolute hellions when awake. Liridele had said that hatchlings emerged with all the intelligence and racial memories of any dragon, but untempered by life experience. What a combination!

Vahdinqo seemed to be leading them to another area, where they might be able to talk without disturbing the snoozing, zapping brood. J followed, Oolong padding silently at her side. If Naoya wanted an extra moment to collect himself - and snap photos of the wyrmlings - she was more than capable of being the greeting committee. While the little ones were surely a highlight for him, he would be less sanguine about meeting his other draconic relatives.

The Scratching Of Tiny Claws [closed rp with j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

naoya-sasagani:

Naoya looked around the main tunnel entrance. It was huge. Clearly it was made to support the visit of some very large dragons. That, or they were just that big to make room to stretch. In contrast to the claw scored floor the walls and ceiling were smooth, almost improbably so, probably smoothed by magic. It also had a strange motif, looking like the inside of a very long rib cage.

As they walked down they passed a side tunnel that was just as large as the main one they were on that sloped upwards slightly, and the sound of a crowd echoed from that direction, “The markets and businesses are up that way. The travelling merchants set up in there too. That’s probably who’s making all the noise.”

They passed the echoing tunnel and continued downward for some time, the tunnel winding in what seemed like a lazy spiral. The whole place seemed like a giant anthill, in Naoya’s opinion, but it worked. Things were cool and comfortable, magic lights lined the walls for those who didn’t have the darkvision of the dragon inhabitants.

Eventually they turned off the main tunnel and passed a few large doors, before Tatsuya stopped them and a door that looked a little rough. At about knee to chest level there were a bunch of claw marks, like what happens in houses where dogs scratch at doors wanting in or out.

“Here we are!” Tatsuya announced, “We should be quiet, the wyrmlings are probably sleeping.” 

As he went to open the door, it opened and the head of a blue dragon, with tired eyes, emerged, “Yes, they are.” She said, quietly, “Come in and we’ll talk away from them. Please don’t mind the door, eager little claws.”

As they walked, J noticed that the claw marks in the main tunnel, while greatly numerous, did not seem to present any actual menace to footing. It was probably some kind of carefully-maintained aesthetic statement, speaking to the age and traffic it had seen.

Even as they passed the tunnel that Tatsuya said went to the merchant district, some other travelers came out, a large bundle of goods floating behind them on a familiar disc of magical force. Really, it was the only way to shop. Why load your arms down with bags when you could just use your mana?

She was going to have to remember not to do that when she got home. Or to open doors with a word. Or any of the other myriad tricks that had become second nature to her by now. It was going to feel like having one arm tied behind her back.

Eventually, Gaian society was going to have to accept the return of magic, as it had accepted the existence of demons. The Order was already keeping tabs on some budding sorcerers who, like Hatsumi, had hit the manifestation threshold of puberty after Mundus’s fall. A few they had had to rescue outright, when their families had attempted to rigorously exorcise or even kill them out of fear.

J came out of her thoughts as Tatsuya announced their arrival, standing before a massive door scored with the marks of many, many claws. Collateral damage?

The door opened and the most tired-looking dragon that J had ever seen peered out at them, her voice hushed. This was no doubt the new mother, Naoya’s aunt. They all went inside, closing the door as silently as possible behind them.

The Scratching Of Tiny Claws [closed rp with j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

naoya-sasagani:

A clawed hand grasped Naoya’s shoulder, as Tatsuya joined them, “It’s beautiful isn’t it?” He tapped at the barrier, it didn’t make a sound, but it seemed to ripple where he touched it, “You can’t feel the heat through that though.”

“Don’t tamper with the barrier, Vonunqo,” The dragon chided as she swung her head towards them with a rattling of golden chains. She turned her head to look at Naoya with a large yellow eye, “Drem qo lok, Zeymahi. Welcome home. I am Spaanmiiraad, I maintain the portal platforms here.” 

“Drem qo lok, Spaanmiiraad,” Naoya returned the greeting. He’d not heard the name before, but she addressed him as kin, and he knew Koraav’suum had had quite a few children and them their own down the line. It would take a very long time to figure out everyone, if he tried.

She looked at J and Oolong, “Drem qo lok,” The dragon paused and looked off into the distance and sighed, “Krosis, I am needed elsewhere. Don’t let Vonunqo wear you all out. He will, given the chance. Perhaps we’ll see each other again another time.” 

Spaanmiiraad hauled herself to her feet and began to make her way past them out of the tent. As she approached the barrier split, to allow her out and hot dry air in, then closed as she cleared it

“One of my elder sisters,” Tatsuya explained, “Always busy, helping to maintain the portals and barriers.” He waved in another direction, “Let’s head on down.”

“Drem lah lok,” J responded, and it struck her that the greeting would say more about her here than it did in a bastion of mages like Ruvaak Strunmah. Humans without magical talent simply greeted with Drem, or ‘peace’, but those with it generally declared it, as dragons declared their breath weapon.

But before she could gauge any reaction, Spaanmiiraad seemed to get a brainwave. The dragon’s parting admonition made J chuckle. “We’ll try not to let him drag us around too much.”

Here, of course, the situation was reversed from their arrival at Ruvaak Strunmah - it was now J who was the unknown Gaian ‘consort’ to a grandchild of mighty Thur Koraavsu’um. Hopefully her status as a sorceress - not to mention as the first ‘official’ Gaian envoy to Un’Lein in centuries - would reflect well upon Naoya.

They descended into the enormous tunnel that led into Klo’Alok proper, the floor of it scored with the passage of centuries - perhaps even millennia - of claws. J knew it was her imagination, but still it seemed cooler out of the brightness of the desert sun. 

The Scratching Of Tiny Claws [closed rp with j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

naoya-sasagani:

After Naoya followed them through he took a look around. Tatsuya chatted with the dragon curled around the platform, a large indigo scaled dragon adorned with golden rings and chains studded with sapphires. The area was in a large, colorful tent with the sides drawn open.

He stepped over to the side of the tent and looked out. The wind was strong, blowing sand directly towards them, but it was blocked by a shimmering barrier, grains of sand hitting it and skirting around the curved surface. They were on the edge of the very top of Klo’Alok, and could see on and on for miles over dunes and around the ever-present massive sand twisters.

Naoya reached out and touched the barrier, it felt like trying to press two magnets together. He looked over at J, then back out at the horizon, not entirely sure how he should feel about being here.

J moved to join Naoya in looking out over the landscape. It was harsh, bleak and nearly alien - even compared to the hard-baked dirt and hot stillness that she considered a desert. It was no wonder that the dragons of Klo’Alok built underground. Even dragon scales could only take so much sandblasting, she was sure.

While Naoya’s face was as habitually impassive as ever, she could tell that he was at something of a loss, and with good reason. It might be his ancestral home, but it was just as new to him as it was to her. How the hell were you supposed to feel about a bunch of strangers who were also the only family you had left?

“Take your time,” she murmured. “There’s no rush to go down there.” Oolong rubbed against his leg in feline support.

The Scratching Of Tiny Claws [closed rp with j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

naoya-sasagani:

“Klo’Alok is a massive plateau with a magically maintained oasis in the canyon that cuts into it,” Tatsuya was all to happy to describe his home, “From there there are paths upwards to the top, where the teleportation platforms are, and downward into the city proper…”

Naoya watched the mage put down the intricate set of sigils, while Tatsuya went on. Every place that had these platforms had their own set. The mage that tended them probably spent a lot of time memorizing different combinations. It must have been a lot of work.

The home of his clan was interesting as well, but his father had already described Klo’Alok in detail to him. Down below were a series of tunnels and chambers dug out, and improved upon, over the years by several generations of Blue Dragons and their non-dragon family and allies. The further down you went the more residential chambers there were. The businesses were left closer to the surface so that visitors wouldn’t have far to go upon arrival. It probably also helped to keep outsiders from getting lost in the maze of tunnels in the depths.

With a clack, the mage put the chalk back on the stand next to her, “The circle is ready.” She raised a hand towards the air above the circle and, like a bright tear in space, a portal opened, “Please step through the portal.” She instructed with a smile.

“I will go through first,” Tatsuya cheerfully volunteered, stepping up onto the platform and through the portal.

“I’ll be right behind you two,” Naoya said to J, nodding at the portal and waiting for her and Oolong to go through.

J nodded at appropriate intervals in Tatsuya’s explanation, while her familiar watched the portal process. She was well used to dividing her attention, and it was even easier when you had two sets of eyes and a shared brainspace.

Many of the runes and sigils were at least vaguely familiar to J, a half-understood language. Some were standard for drawing up mana, others shaped it into the particular form of Transmutation magic responsible for opening up the small dimensional gate of a portal. Others still were probably linked to the public portal area in Klo’Alok, like an address of sorts - or, more accurately, a set of spacetime coordinates.

To the Gaian eye, Un’Lein society had a sort of picturesque Renaissance-like pre-industrial appearance. It made it easy to underestimate their level of technological development. Without their world’s mana being diverted by a malevolent force, they simply hadn’t had the need to develop the sort of mechanical technology that was fairly unique to Gaia - powerful and convenient, but limited in ways that magic was not.

That did not mean that Un’Lein’s population didn’t have a full understanding of complex theoretical physics and other sciences - in many areas, they surpassed the Gaian understanding of such things. It was just seen and applied through a different lens.

J felt the mana surge that announced the opening of the portal, even before the light it produced as waste energy became visible. She followed Tatsuya through the bright rip in spacetime, Oolong trotting at her heels.

The Scratching Of Tiny Claws [closed rp with j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

naoya-sasagani:

“I’ve already arranged for a portal to Klo’Alok!” Tatsuya was as exuberant as ever, carrying the bag of trinkets from Liridele and Lorandin, and explaining the plans to J and Naoya, “Vahdinqo is expecting us, we can go there first and settle in. Spend the day there, maybe?”

“I don’t see why not,” Naoya said, shifting bags in his hands, “You said the city is mostly closed during the day anyway, didn’t you?” Dragons who lived in the scorching heat of the desert still avoided the heat of the day. Businesses reflected this desert living, even if they were primarily underground.

He continued on, as he lead them to the portal hub. Where there were mages ready to supply portals, to various locations, for a fee. They were headed towards a half-elf mage with long black hair.

The mage smiled, recognizing Tatsuya, “Is everyone ready to go?” She stepped over to a circle set into the stone platform, and grabbed apiece of chalk from a stand, “Klo’Alok, correct?” She began adding a sequence of sigils to the circle, “It will just be a moment.”

“How is Klo’Alok laid out, anyway?” J asked. “I mean, I come from desert country myself... but not quite the same sort. We tend to build on top of it, not so much under it.”

Since Naoya had the bags, there wasn’t need for her floating mana-disc at the moment - this also being known as Oolong’s second-favorite form of conveyance, next to Naoya himself. Being carried by J ranked a distant third on this list, apparently. 

Today, however, J was making her all-too-spoiled familiar walk on her own four legs. For once.

The portal process itself was interesting; it was a technology she’d looked into at the academy, but any chance to see it in action for herself was educational. Now that they had access to their own libraries, Liridele and Lorandin planned to help R&D implement these sorts of portal technologies back at HQ. Then they could keep Big Bertha aside for the biggest jobs... and maybe figure out why the tesseract hated Dante so much.

The Scratching Of Tiny Claws [closed rp with j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

naoya-sasagani:

“There is a place for both of you at Klo’Alok, should you ever need it,” Tatsuya assured, frowning briefly.

“Though, I expect your time in Gaia will be…A much more comfortable environment. It does get very hot unless you’re deep in the tunnels of Klo’Alok,” He laughed, the cold, mountainous environment of a place like Odam Lumnaar, was a stark contrast to the deserts surrounding his own home.

“Regardless, you can consider it your home here, if you wish.”

That was too much for poor Liridele; the waterworks began in earnest. Lorandin put an arm around his sister, resting his head against hers in sympathy.

“Humanoid bodies, am I right?” He chuckled, then sniffled slightly himself, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand. “Trust us, though... we’re happy. So much happier than we could have imagined being when we first got here. Our deepest gratitude to you and your clan, Vonunqo."

~//~

There was much yet to be done. The siblings were to report to the Council, then return to finish their packing. Meanwhile, the rest of them would be off to visit Klo’Alok. Since they were unlikely to be able to fit in a visit themselves, the siblings sent along a minor flood of gifts for the wyrmlings - the kind of fun and pretty magical trinkets that younglings loved, and might provide the parents with a few precious moments of peace. 

J and Naoya packed their belongings, which seemed to have grown over their time here. Even Oolong had acquired a little satchel of her own. They left a crate behind in the siblings’ quarters, to be sent back to Gaia along with the rest. Another visit to Vyrienne yielded clothing suitable to the daily temperature extremes of a desert climate. “Just like visiting Abuelita,” J joked.

And then it was time to bid Liridele and Lorandin farewell for the time being, to follow Tatsuya to the new horizon of Klo’Alok, and to meet Naoya’s unknown draconic family.

~Fin~

The Council of Ten (closed RP with naoya-sasagani)

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

nephilim-vergil:

A good half an hour passed before Vergil was texted by one of the workers inside in need of assistance. He was notorious for helping other employees set up programs or hack into accounts that are perhaps beyond the expertise of hard working employees. But Vergil knew the tricks and always been aid to others.

Very uncharacteristic of him however, where in the past he would not look at a being without mistrusting them. Perhaps the Order did change something in him after all.

Sighing in defeat, he shifted from the car he leaned on and walked back inside to do his job. He needed to apologize for his behavior soon anyway.

Coming to the help of the confused employee, Vergil finished the task and walked past the office cubicals into the server room where J was sitting at her desk and tapped away on her laptop while the news cast was being aired on the multiple TV screens. One of the screens had the photage they took last night.

The nephilim walked to J’s right side and leaned down to check over the video clips she was editting and trimming digitally here and there. “I apologize for my out burst. My mind is preoccupied with personal matters” he spoke almost in a whisper as if someone was in the room evesdropping on them. His voice was gentle and sencere

“Allow me to trim the clips.” Vergil stood tall towering beside her. “Meanwhile, I believe I have an idea that will interest you.” he gave a small smirk tugging the side of his lips.

With J’s permission, he now took care of the clips arranging them in a particular way that almost seemed like a montage or a movie. “Having the skills that we do I believe that it is time to address the public directly.” He paced slowly feeling J’s gaze on him. “Many of our hacks are being unnoticed and even government web pages are closed as soon as being taken over. I propose we take the networks and the place of beloved Bob Barbas and speak to the people.”

A series of questions and remarks came from his boss as he stopped to listen to them. He finally spoke, “I’ll take down Bob and secure the news station for you. Meanwhile, we need to get you a mask and the outfit. A little practice being in front of the camera won’t hurt either.” Vergil waited patiently for her answer.

J had set up a little alert to tell her when the biometrics registered Vergil returning to the bunker; it was only about half an hour before he returned, but he did not come back to the server room just yet. She put it out of her mind for the moment; he would return when he returned, and that was it.

They needed to get this stuff out to their contacts in time for the evening news reports - contacts at the smaller news stations and websites, to whom they regularly leaked prime tidbits of information. Even if these publications didn’t have the artificially-augmented reach that Raptor News Network did, these latest photos were juicy enough to spread quickly.

Presently, she heard the server room door open, but did not look up from the clip she was putting together. Vergil’s measured tread came up behind her, and as was his habit, he stood very close to her, peering over her shoulder with his usual mild disregard for her personal space. It wasn’t deliberate or particularly intrusive, so she had not complained. It was just how he operated.

HIs quiet apology did surprise her, but she merely nodded. She realized that she had no idea what kind of personal matters might plague the Nephilim, but she did not want to pry. And, after all, last night had been pretty rough for both of them. “I understand.”

She moved aside in her rolling chair, allowing him to take her place at the media workstation. “That would be great, if you could finish this up. Frees me up to write up a little something for our contact at the Washington Post.” RNN would of course decry this is ‘fake news’, but the images they had garnered were hard to deny.

“Oh? And what idea is this?” J reached out for her tea mug, found it empty. Oh well. She glanced over it at Vergil as he began uploading clips to the secure offsite server they used to deliver information to the outside world. He paced a little as the upload progressed, outlining his proposal.

“We already wage a disinfo campaign on the Internet,” she put in, but Vergil seemed to think that it was time to put a face on The Order. He was right, really; a human figure, even behind a mask, would humanize the faceless organization. It was just that a 5-foot-tall woman did not make for an authoritative figure, even on video. The intense force of personality that helped her in her position as the leader of The Order just wasn’t going to come across in a brief recorded message.

“We could absolutely pull off a major signal intrusion at RNN,” she said. “But I don’t know that I’m the person to be in front of the camera. I mean, look at me.” She gestured to herself, with a skeptical expression. “There are children bigger than I am.” She laughed. “Maybe we should use a body double... a male one, at that. The sad reality is that the world is still very sexist. Putting a woman up there could actually hurt us - there’s nothing misogynists hate more than an uppity woman.”

The Hacker. - Closed RP [@J-has-a-nephilim-problem]

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

naoya-sasagani:

“I can’t either,” He smiled ruefully, “I missed it, like so many other things this past quarter century,” It wasn’t that long, for a dragon, in the grand scheme of things. The situation seemed to just be a mark of failure for Tatsuya. He was found and captured, leaving his lover and their son to their own devices…Just not strong enough.

He appeared to shake off the malaise and stepped over to Liridele, “I told my father what you did for us, and your success here. I’m informed that he’d have come, if The Council had failed you just as badly as the faculty. Since they haven’t yet, he sent this,” Tatsuya held out the ornate box to Liridele, “And an open invitation to you and your kin.”

“You are always welcome in Klo’Alok.”

A melancholy look drifted over Tatsuya’s face, and little wonder. But he collected himself quickly, presenting the carved and gilded box to Liridele, who accepted it with a little bow of her head. She was blinking rapidly, clearly trying to hold back the waterworks.

“Thank you, Vonunqo,” Lorandin said, with a wistful smile. “That means a lot to us. You see, we are... not so welcome in Odam Lumnaar, where we were hatched.”

Liridele nodded her head, blotting a tiny, rebellious tear with a bit of her sleeve. She managed a small smile. “But Kat once told me that ‘family is where you find it’. It’s good to remember that."

J grinned. “At the very least, you’ve got a Nephilim who thinks he’s your big brother.” That got Liridele to giggle, lightening the mood, and she returned her attention to the box. She set it down on the desk, delicately raising the lid. Her eyes glowed more brightly blue as she peered inside.

“Oh, my goodness!” The dragon-girl made a familiar gesture, and her Mage Hand lifted something out of the box - a flawless crystal sphere, a good six inches in diameter. With a little concentration on J’s part, she could see that it gave off a distinct aura of Divination magic.

Lorandin lifted his eyebrows. “Wow, what a beauty, huh?” Liridele could only nod mutely, obviously struggling with her emotions again.

The Council of Ten (closed RP with naoya-sasagani)

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

naoya-sasagani:

Naoya distracted Oolong by scratching her chin, “My father’s sister, Lovaastukeyn, hatched a very large clutch about two years ago apparently. After our visit he’ll be staying with her to help. Since her mate is a camel breeder?” He looked at J for confirmation, “And he’s upped his workload since the hatching to provide for all the extra mouths.”

Naoya hadn’t noticed Tatsuya return, letting himself in with an ornately carved box in his hands. He’d heard the topic of conversation though, “So many extra mouths! Fourteen little wyrmlings in need of food!”

J nodded. “Good thing they grow their own, because they’ve got a whoooole lotta little hungries to deal with.” She glanced over as Tatsuya appeared, greeting him with a lift of her head.

The blue dragon’s pronouncement caused Liridele to do a doubletake. “Four... teen?” She looked blankly at him for a moment. “Architectrix, I didn’t even know that was possible! Oh, your poor sister... I can’t imagine how egg-heavy she must have been!” Her hands stole unconsciously to her own abdomen.

The Council of Ten (closed RP with naoya-sasagani)

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

naoya-sasagani:

“I’m certainly not from Klo’Alok though,” Naoya snorted, “If I wanted to be completely honest I’d have said Yokohama instead of Gaia.” He paused thoughtfully, “It probably would have taken from you if I had been able to drop my grandfather’s name.”

J being in the forefront was the plan, the leader of The Order was a better representative. He was just a smuggler. That probably wouldn’t have been the best impression. On the other hand, The Chancellor and some choice members of the faculty were clearly not so moral as they might wish to appear.

He smirked, “If she finds out later though. No lies were told.”

“True, true.” J snickered. “She seemed miffed enough to find out your oyaji works for the Council, though, I can only imagine how she’ll react to this. Not really our problem, I guess.”

“Nope. Not even our problem.” Lorandin was still grinning. He'd been much more cheeky than usual, ever since the meeting this morning. J supposed that freedom did that to a person, or a dragon. “Not anymore, anyway.”

“Yes, yes, and that’s nice and all... but what about the wyrmlings?” Liridele demanded, and J and Lorandin both laughed.

Oolong looked at the dragon-girl upside down, while still in her ridiculous posture on Naoya’s lap. “Somebody wants to hear about the babies.”

The Council of Ten (closed RP with naoya-sasagani)

[j-has-a-nephilim-problem]

naoya-sasagani:

Tatsuya had disappeared back to the room given to him by the faculty. Apparently he needed to retrieve something. What? Naoya couldn’t say, but it did leave them free of the dragon going off on a tangent, and not letting anyone else speak for a hour.

“Yes,” Naoya said, stroking Oolong, who was currently stretched across his lap, “We’re apparently going to be staying with Oyaji’s sister for a little while. He’s excited for us all to meet her ‘wyrmlings’.”

Oolong rolled over on his lap and he steadied her, “After we settle in there, we’re supposed to meet his father, Thur Koraavsu’um se Klo’Alok.” His grandfather was apparently very old, blue dragons only getting to his position by being the oldest of the area. Naoya wasn’t entirely sure what that entailed in practice.

“Oh my goodness, there’s been a hatching?” Liridele clapped her hands together. “How exciting!”

“Very exciting - but one moment.” Lorandin cocked his head slightly, looking at Naoya. “You’re that closely related to Thur Koraavsu’um?” A slowly-widening grin began to form on his face. “Oh, the Chancellor is going to hate that when she finds out.”

“What do you mean?” J asked, frowning slightly, and Oolong’s head lifted in attention, though she continued to purr. “You know of him?”

“Thur Koraavsu’um se Klo’Alok - he has many, many more names besides - is one of a small number of dragons who are ancient even by our standards,” Lorandin explained. “They are well-known for the power and knowledge they have accumulated. He may even personally remember the time before travel to Gaia was forbidden.”

Dragons only increased their power with age... so this ancient blue dragon must be mighty, indeed. J lifted her eyebrows, looking at Naoya. “Is this something that Tatsuya just kind of forgot to mention, or what?” She laughed. “Probably for the best, though... Lokniraak might have just imploded on the spot. Nauyah se Gaia, indeed.” She shook her head, still chuckling.

The Council of Ten (closed RP with naoya-sasagani)