Hello again, readers!

I'm leaving you with another one-shot while I work on the next chapters and my NaNoWriMo novel. It was just a random little thought while lacking inspiration for either project.

Said thought was, how would Ryoko and Levi's habit of going off world at random times come into play with their discussions? Then I re-read chapter 16 and found the line that sparked this. It's short, mostly dialogue, and born of boredom and author insanity. Beware.

Also: I mention and reference other works here. I DO NOT own them. I only own Ryoko, Levi, their horses, and my Author Avatar. And yes, the horses are named after Fates' MC and his/her kid.

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Dragon's Claw

~ Family Life ~

Names, Horses and the Multiverse

(Timeline: post-Chapter 15 - Mounting Rescue, one night in the Shepherds' garrison)

(Warnings: slightly crazy conversation, multiple pokes at the Fourth Wall, the Outrealms, the Multiverse and alternate timelines. References to works which I do not own.)

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Ryoko was bored.

So was Levi for the matter.

Knowing this, most of the Shepherds avoided the table the two had claimed for the night and hoped like hell they would not end up targeted by their bored pranking sprees, or end up cleaning after the explosions that would inevitably follow their experimenting with magic.

The female Dragon was nibbling on some leftover bread, while her stalker was half-laying on the table.

"Why'd you name your horse 'Kamui'?" he asked suddenly.

Ryoko shrugged, "Because."

Levi raised an eyebrow at the non-response. "Really?"

"Meh." Was her (very articulate) reply.

Levi nodded sagely, as if there was some hidden meaning to it.

Daraen, who was one of the very few brave or stupid enough to sit close enough to them to hear their conversation, paused, "What?"

"Excuse me." Miriel said, standing beside the neat next to Ryoko with a plate of meat and a salad, "Do you mind if I seat in this location.?"

Ryoko shrugged, "Go nuts."

Levi grunted and acknowledgment, turning back to stare at the blue-haired Dragon.

"So?" he demanded.

"So what?" Ryoko snapped back, ignoring the red-haired mage.

"Why did you name your horse Kamui?" he repeated the question.

"Why is your horse named Kana?" she shot back.

"Evading the question, are you?" he questioned.

"You're not much better, you know?"

"Yeah, but I asked first."

Ryoko was stumped for a second.

Then, in an impressive display of maturity, she stuck her tongue out at him.

Levi cheerfully flipped her off.

"May I inquire as to the purpose of your immature behavior?" Miriel asked suddenly.

Ryoko shrugged, "Relieving boredom, mostly."

She turned back to Levi, "And, for your information, it was the name of the protagonist of some game or other in the Hub World, and it was the first thing that came to mind."

"Curious." Levi commented, "If you're thinking of the same game I am, Kana is that character's kid."

Ryoko shrugged carelessly, "Blame the Author, not me."

"What does She have to do with this?" Levi questioned irritably.

"As if seeing Her Avatar wasn't creepy enough…." He grouched under his breath.

Ryoko shuddered.

Seriously, the Author's Avatar looked a lot like her, just with longer hair with a slightly lighter shade, marginally darker eyes, actual armor (even if it was just chainmail) and feathers in her hair.

The resemblance was unsettling.

"Meeting alternates is so weird." She complained.

"Could you elaborate on that?" Miriel interrupted, an eager look in her face.

Thankful for the distraction from that horrifying memory, Ryoko took out her notebook and opened it at some random page.

"Okay." She started, "First, how much do you know of the Outrealm Gate?"

"The bare essentials." The studious mage replied, "I know of the Einherjar and their functions, but nothing consistent."

"Then you probably know that the Gate, as the name implies, leads to other realms within this universe." Ryoko guessed.

"Fascinating." Miriel commented, "You are implying that there is more than one universe. Even the theories of multiple realms are shaky at best. Do you have any evidence to prove it?"

"Do you want to come the next time we get a month-long vacation time?" Levi offered sarcastically.

"Damn, isn't that about a week?" Ryoko groaned, "What with the paperwork demons and all that rot? My passport's validity ended."

"Damn it all, I had forgotten about those." Levi muttered with a shudder. "And I think by then I'll have to re-apply as well."

"I was not aware passports for inter-universal travel existed." Miriel stated.

"They do." The female Dragon said, "It's just insanely hard to get one."

"Mostly because you gotta be able to handle the trip." The purple-haired man elaborated, "Those levels of insane power are hard to come by. Of course, it's possible to hitch a ride with someone of sufficient power, but very few want to deal with that much paperwork to bring people with them."

Ryoko nodded mournfully, "Artifacts and stuff are fine, but people? Whole other story, I tell you. I actually think they do it on purpose."

"Wouldn't surprise me." Levi muttered darkly, "The main branches of the damn tree are broken, aren't they?"

"Yup." She replied, "That angel, Pit— have you met him?"

He nodded, "Once or twice, yes."

"Well, he said the whole supercomputer got bugged." She told him, "The outer branches are somewhat fine, mostly because they're a bit more stable, but eventually something'll happen to get the Loops over here too. The Admins try to delay it, of course, hence the annoying paperwork."

"If you can get through it all by hand, you hardly have the time to find ways to mess around, no matter how bored you get." Levi summarized.

"They actually hold conventions!" Ryoko cheerfully told him, "I got into a prank wars with one of their members, some world-hopping vampire troll."

"Wait, you actually met him?" the male Dragon gaped incredulously. "And you weren't driven to the brink of insanity?"

Ryoko shrugged carelessly, "He got Grima to shut up without wrecking the Seal, and he's actually nice when he isn't screwing with you. He's the one that introduced me to two of Loki's alternates. You know, those I started the prank war that nearly blew the planet."

"Do you think the Readers are getting really confused by now?" Levi questioned idly.

He did not want to know what she did.

That thing had made news all over the multiverse, and that a relative newbie had given as good as she got and contributed to nearly destroying a planet was just the most prominent thing.

Heck, the only reason the planet hadn't blown was probably because Grima had said something to piss off Ryoko and she had begun screaming and cursing at him.

She did that sometimes, when they were alone.

Her skill at cursing was impressive, to say the least. She rarely even had an accent.