Author's Notes:
Didn't really mean to write anything other than my original story, but I just had to continue this because it wouldn't leave my head.
As mentioned before, "Home but Not Home" is basically my effort to set some plot bunnies loose. The events happening here are NOT considered Aimless canon. That doesn't mean minor spoilers to my main fanfic—or small hints to big events—won't be present, though. XD
Also, Adine, ECK's Naomi, and Lorem will be showing up here. It's been a long time since I've played the game, so my portrayals of the canon characters are gonna be rusty. Hopefully it won't be that bad.
Happy reading!
Small Town
"The nice thing about living in a small town is that when you don't know what you're doing, someone else does."
~ Imanuel Kant
Ever since Joshua had absconded from the Dragon Realms, he could always feel the universe he left behind calling to him. It was akin to knowing a set location in the vast reaches of spacetime, knowing all he had to do to reappear somewhere in the continent of Markazia (hopefully) was to literally visualize a one-way wormhole into existence. Worse, he would be continuously reminded of this every single time he was alone with his thoughts.
Guilt would always flood Joshua's mind. He couldn't stop remembering what the Portal Masters had done to Spyro and Cynder, couldn't stop feeling guilty over the role he had unwittingly played in their scheme, feeling shame at what he'd turned Geosus into.
Everyone was on the run now, pursued by forces driven not by some grand ambition to destroy or take over the Dragon Realms, but by an unquenchable thirst for omniscient knowledge. Their side needed all the help they could get, but after all the death and destruction that had been inflicted on what was once the Allied Territories of Warfang…
By Azeroth, should he be standing here on the sidewalk, hovering by the door to the only decent cafe in town? Shouldn't he rush back to the park—to the forest—to anywhere that's not here—and open up that wormhole? Fling himself away from this alternative Earth and help his friends instead of wasting time trying to relive a life he could barely remember after spending more than the equivalent of 20 Earth years—
Jingle!
The door in front of him swung open, its chimes snapping him out of his trance. The yellow dragon—the wyvern from the other night greeting him with a smile. "Good morning! Everything okay? You've been standing out there for a while. Are you gonna come in or…?"
Joshua chuckled. She wouldn't be smiling if she was seeing him for what he truly was. Luckily there weren't too many people around or else he'd be suffering a headache masking his identity from their senses. "Sorry, I was lost in thought." He nodded and stepped inside the establishment. "Thanks for opening the door for me."
"No worries," she said. Grabbing a menu with her winged forepaws, she waddled over on two feet to one of the booths. The server dropped them on the table, red eyes shifting from him to the booth. "You can sit right over here, sir. I'll give you some time to think about your order."
Joshua's viridian eyes searched for a name tag, to no avail. "Thanks, uhhh…"
She laughed, bringing up a wing to her snout. "You must be from the city! We don't wear name tags around here. It's a small town. We all know each other." She waited for him to take a seat. "You can call me Adine. And you?"
"I'm Corey," Joshua replied instinctively, going with a friend's name. He inwardly cringed at his choice. He had yet to process what his adopted sister had told him, about the years he'd been absent…
Adine did not catch the twitch on his face. "Pleased to meet you, Corey! So what brings a runner like you here? There's nothing much to see, other than the human artifact."
Ah, yes, that massive, futuristic goliath overlooking the town. Nobody could miss that. "Sure, humans are fascinating, but I'm not that interested in them," Joshua responded as he took his seat. Why would he, when he was one himself? Not that he expected the waitress to know that when she was seeing a red-gold runner that looked like Guilmon and Classic Spyro put together. "I just want to go enjoy life in a small town like yours."
Adine beamed. Joshua couldn't quite tell if it was a genuine smile; though his power enabled him to see souls as stars in a mental constellation only he could "see", he still had to read them. The wyvern's sphere of life seemed to indicate cheer—a calm but moving surface, a blue-yellow color, and a size that fluctuated from medium to medium-large. The only way that would be a false negative would be if Adine believed herself to be happy.
As for whether that was the case? Joshua wouldn't know, and he wasn't too interested in finding out.
"If you're sticking it out here, then I'll hear more about you sooner or later. Definitely looking forward to some good news later!" She blinked, practically jumping in place. Her tail swept across the floor, nearly slapping into another dragon's feet. "Oh, I almost forgot. FYI"—Alona's wings, hearing that acronym made him feel nostalgic—"There's been sightings of some strange, two-legged creature creeping around town lately. My friends and I have been speculating it's a human, but—
"You're obsessed with humans, aren't you?" Joshua interjected out of necessity. He needed to change the subject immediately. The last thing he wanted was for someone to associate Corey's arrival with his true identity.
Adine giggled. "Guilty as charged." Then she gushed. "They're just fascinating to talk about, y'know. After all, they created us! Don't you wonder what humans actually look like? How similar we might be to them? Why they made us? Why some dragons have wings and others don't?" She chuckled, putting a wing to her chin. "I don't know what I'd do if I met an actual human."
Her stream of words had Joshua feeling uncomfortable. He couldn't help but scan the cafe for security cameras as his power couldn't do anything about their soulless eyes. Luckily there weren't any. "I'm sure they'll be as ordinary as you and me."
"Pffft. Yeah, right! Gods, being ordinary‽" She started laughing. "If my friend Amelia heard you say that, she'll—
A voice from elsewhere in the cafe cleared their throat. "Ehem! Adine! Can you come over here? I'm ready to order!"
She winced. "Coming, Billy!" the wyvern hollered to the other dragon before turning back to Joshua. "Sorry, Corey, but I gotta get back to work." She plopped a menu on the table. "Here, check this out. When you're ready, give me a holler and I'll swoop in and take your order."
Joshua glanced down, feeling instant relief at seeing American English on the text rather than the Realms' dragonscript. "Adine! Best selling item here?"
"Fish is a local favorite!" The waitress spoke over her shoulder while waddling over to the impatient customer.
Joshua reviewed the menu in earnest after Adine left him alone. Seeing what passed for standard fare in his Earth nearly brought the man to tears. How long had it been since he had scrambled eggs with bacon? Waffles and sausages? Oh by the Ancestors, they even had French toast in this place! (Why was the word "French" even here? Well… he didn't need to care about insignificant multiverse peculiarities like that.)
The choices filled Joshua with indecision. The money he'd robbed from Naomi—the police officer he assaulted last night, according to her ID card—was a surprisingly substantial amount relative to the prices he was seeing here in Uncle Megun's. Who ever thought this random dragon cop was actually a rich, well-to-do individual? He had never expected her to even live in those posh-looking apartments close to the beach.
Unfortunately, nearly all his bills were of denominations too large for the cafe. If he used any of them at this point in time, the timing might flag "Corey" under suspicion, and very quickly too, considering how this was a small town. His options were few, but it wasn't something a few minutes of perusal couldn't solve.
Joshua Renalia raised his hand, eyeing the waitress while she deftly slid dishes from her forearm to the table with her snout. She noticed the movement. They locked eyes. The wyvern was right about to walk over when the door swung—no, slammed open.
Jingle!
"Oh, hello, Naomi! Good morning to"—Adine gasped.—"Whoa! What happened to you‽"
In walked the very police officer he robbed last night, looking quite dejected. Joshua scolded himself for missing the marine dragon's sphere of life. He had automatically masked her perception of him as he'd practiced for years and failed to pay her life signature any attention as a result. Seldoot's cloaca… I'm slipping.
"Something attacked me last night," Naomi grumbled.
Adine breathed sharply. "Was it…"
"And stole my money. I doubt your so-called 'human' would want that."
The two dragons continued to talk, with Adine demanding details of the attack. She was the type of person who wore her emotions on her proverbial sleeve; it showed during Naomi's recount of her encounter with the "two-legged monster".
Especially when the aquatic dragoness still vividly remembered its glowing arms.
Joshua Renalia could hear them even as they spoke in hushed tones. His first transmigration had mutated him into something more than human, and among the perks were enhanced physical attributes to match the dragons of the Spyro world. Too bad it also put a massive target on his ass.
He sank further into his seat out of shame as Adine pressed Naomi for details and they began speculating the two-legs' motives and abilities. The waitress actually kept engaging the cop in conversation despite serving the other patrons. A small blue dragon having his breakfast happened to be another human geek, focusing more on the two-legs' physical features while tinkering with the spherical computer Joshua had seen in numerous advertisements around town.
Before he knew it, the cop from before had accosted him. "Who are you?" Naomi asked, if a little wary, spiral horns slightly twitching. "I don't think I've seen you before." She looked Joshua up and down, no doubt studying the fake features he was inserting into every life signature inside the cafe. "Not with a unique scale pattern like yours." She sniffed him, eyes narrowing. "Or that smell either. Hmm…"
Joshua nearly flinched. The smell! He forgot about his smell! It was too late to mask it, but it was a good thing she didn't associate it with her attacker. The man turned to Naomi and offered his hand—his paw, from the dragons' perspective. "Name's Corey," he introduced his persona. "Just came to this town, looking to move."
"Looking to move? Here?" Naomi hesitantly accepted his hand, going as far as wiping her forepaw on her dark blue scutes.
Adine chimed in, "It surprised me too. Cityfolk usually come to gawk at the human stuff, not to move in!" Then, with a smirk, she added, "There's only been a handful of exceptions…"
Naomi rolled her eyes in a clearly human gesture. "I'm Naomi," she said, if only to add a sense of formality to this conversation. "Police officer."
"Pleased to meet you."
"Likewise."
Joshua eyed her up and down. No uniforms or badges of any sort. "Police officer, huh? I wouldn't know that just by looking at you."
"Most people wouldn't." Naomi gave him a slight smile. "I'm actually the station analyst, so I'm rarely out doing field work. I'm usually stuck in a room organizing data, compiling notes, that sort of thing."
"I guess you normally go home late?" Joshua asked.
"I do."
"Is that safe?"
"You think it wouldn't be, but I've never experienced any criminal incidents on my walks home during all the years I've been living in this town."
"Except last night," Adine slipped in.
She frowned. "Yes, other than last night."
Joshua wanted to skip this topic. The less he spoke to Ms. Officer here, the better. Unluckily the flow of the conversation compelled him to pry into it. "...May I ask what happened?"
"I was robbed. Some asshole knocked me out and stole my wallet." Naomi's eyes shifted towards Adine, who was preparing something near the kitchen. "Just get the details from Adine. I don't feel like recounting that story again. Honestly though, I don't think a human attacked me."
Adine's ears twitched. She replied, "Naomi! But it'll all make sense if you just—
"I was really tired last night," She interrupted the waitress, deadpan. "I'm sure I was just seeing things. Humans aren't gods. I know that's not a popular belief here, but myths and legends aren't things that should be taken literally."
With the waitress silenced, she stretched her legs. "Anyway, good luck finding work, Corey. I know what it's like to be in your paws. If you need any help, come find me at the police station." Joshua thanked Naomi for the offer, even though he had no intention of ever taking her up on it. Go to the police station? Nah. That place had lots of cameras—lots of ways for his identity to go public real fast.
The aquatic dragon let out a heavy sigh. "Adine, do you have my usual?"
The waitress shuffled to her, a disposable cup already in her talons. It didn't look like something made from plastic. "One large coffee, ready to go. And don't worry about the cash. After what happened last night, it's on me."
Naomi smiled as she took the drink. "Thank you." She sipped the dark, full-bodied liquid. The quadruped turned and started walking out the door. "I've got a lot of work ahead of me today."
Joshua overheard her mumbling to herself as she leapt to the air. "Tch. Just why did that damn two-legs have to steal my IDs and cards too…"
Adine wasn't exactly ready to take his order by the time he returned his attention to her. She was shaking her head. "If you ask me, I really think it was a human that attacked Naomi last night. She even said the creature had glowing arms!"
One of the other patrons—the blue dragon from earlier—called out, "Adine, there's nothing in our folklore that even suggests—
"Don't ruin it for me, Lorem! It's a weird-looking, scaleless runner with supernatural abilities. What else could it be?" Adine huffed. "Besides, you saw it too! You even said it vanished right before your eyes!"
Joshua Renalia nervously clutched Naomi's stolen wallet inside his makeshift cloak. He didn't even remember any of the dragons who saw him right after the wormhole closed. To think one of them was right here in the cafe! He forced himself to stay calm; a sufficient enough distraction would undo the image he was willing on their souls—on their perception of him.
Adine rounded on him after a brief exchange with the other dragon. "Corey, what about you? I know you're new here but what do you think?"
"Can't you just take my order first?" Joshua asked.
"It's just a quick question!" insisted the wyvern, chuckling. "Besides, I'm curious what the newcomer thinks!"
Joshua grumbled. "Well, if you really insist… if you take Naomi's story at face value and pair it up with your friend's here, then you can say there really is some supernatural thing hanging about the town—
"Yes! I knew it!" The waitress twirled in place, her banana-shaped tail nearly slapping Joshua in the face.
"Hold on, I wasn't finished!" Joshua remarked. He noticed that Lorem and the few other patrons of Uncle Megun's were staring at him, listening in. Word of the new arrival would surely spread after this morning.
"If that was the case," Joshua continued, "then why would it rob a dragon of their money and their cards?" He tried to sprinkle seeds of doubt, to challenge their common sense. "Adine, let's say you're correct, that it is a human. I get the disappearing act it pulled on Dorian—
"It's Lorem," the other dragon piped up.
"—pulled on Lorem over there," Joshua corrected himself. "But theft and robbery? That doesn't make any sense. Why would a human do that?"
Adine gave him this cute, disarming smile. "To live among us dragons?"
It didn't work. "And why would it want that?"
"Well… uhm…"
"As a matter of fact," Joshua went on, "how could it even accomplish that? If it's so weird-looking, then it can't possibly disguise itself as one of us. We don't even know how it vanished on Lorem or knocked out Naomi."
"You make some good points, Corey." Adine laughed. "I guess the only way we'll find out is if someone actually talks to it!"
Joshua rolled his eyes. If only they knew they were speaking with that said human right now. He didn't know about Lorem and the others, but Adine would most probably freak out and start spamming one question after another.
Adine misinterpreted his gesture and frowned. "Oh, don't be a killjoy! It's true!"
Joshua scoffed. "Okay, and? You're gonna try talking to it?"
"Why not?" Adine ruffled her dorsal fins. "It's not like I'll be alone. I'll get my friend to join me! I'm sure Amelia wouldn't mind doing some human-hunting around town after work."
"You are crazy." Joshua's head swam. The Great Trickster was playing tricks on him. Now he had to keep an eye out for "human hunters", too? Damn it! So much for getting his much needed rest in the surrounding forests…
Even Lorem agreed with him. "Corey's right. It's better to just play it safe."
"Hey, aren't you working on a video game about humans off-hours?" The waitress countered. "Why don't you come with us?"
"It's only at the conceptual stage right now," Lorem replied with a slight frown. "Not really the best time to put any real work into it." He sighed. "Besides, I really don't want to go flying around the middle of nowhere to try meeting with this creature when we don't even know if it'll try killing us from the moment of contact."
"Don't forget, it took down a cop," Joshua added, hoping it would dissuade the wyvern.
And it did. Adine's features wilted in disappointment. "Oh all right," she acquiesced, to Joshua's relief. "Better safe than sorry. Thanks, guys." The waitress finally refocused on him. "Anyway, Corey, what're you getting?"
"The local special."
"Great! I'll have that whipped up for you very quick! Any drinks to go with that?"
"Just orange juice, Adine. Thank you."
"Awesome. And, sorry, I got caught up in all that human talk."
"That's fine. I guess a lot of people are crazy about them here."
"Best get used to it, then!" Adine chuckled and left him alone to focus on her work.
Joshua settled down in the booth with nothing but his thoughts. He stared out the window, his vision shifting to the mental constellation in which he saw darkness filled with a myriad stars—each a person, each a living thing, each a soul he could observe and reach out to. Each sphere that came into close contact with him was automatically processed such that they would see—and smell—another dragon rather than a human being.
He marveled at the way it was happening without any conscious input from him, channeled by the mere desire to walk amongst this alien species hidden. That had never been the case prior to his incarceration in Skylands. How was that possible? Just what had been done to him? To his brain?
Did he even want to find out? Or maybe he should think about this later?
…
…
…
Yes, Joshua concluded. He should just think about this when he's ready to go back and brave the currents, whenever that would be. The Ancestors knew he deserved that much.
Adine brought out the fish and orange juice at roughly the same time. "Hope you enjoy your meal," she said customarily, glancing down at him. "Ah, I forgot to warn you. The local favorite might not be to your tastes. Outsiders often—
Joshua melted at the sourness of the fish. It was a familiar taste to him. It was the cuisine of a whole other world—of an alternate Earth, and yet it tasted no differently from the foods he used to eat in his youth, back on his Earth. "It's amazing," he mumbled between bites, almost crying. How many years had it been since he last tasted these flavors? No matter how spoiled he'd become on the finest dishes the City of Warfang had to offer, nothing could compare to even the humble meals from home.
The surprised expression on Adine's snout softened at his reaction. If she had anything to say, she kept her words to herself and walked away. Later, in his peripheral vision, Joshua glimpsed the wyvern donning a pair of aviator goggles and taking to the skies outside, a couple of to-go boxes in her sling bag.
Adine had not yet returned by the time he finished his meal. Another waitress covered for her; she looked like one of those Eastern dragons from the myths and legends of his Earth, complete with horns and whiskers.
He didn't need anything else though, aside from a small cup of coffee to sip on while watching the various species of dragons walking about their business outside.
The tranquility of the moment was broken, however, when the blue dragon from earlier left his table and approached him. walking on his hinds rather than on all fours. "Hey there. Corey, right?" His sphere of life had shrunken a little, quivering slightly. A faint yellow stained its blue surface. Signs of nervousness, from his experience.
Must be a shy one, Joshua thought. "What is it, Lorem?"
"Well," Lorem started, fidgeting his forepaws. "I, I like how you pointed out the flaws in Adine's plan earlier. I also heard what you told her about humans…"
"Which one?"
"About them being ordinary people like us. That's not something I hear a lot."
Joshua nodded. "Okay… what about it?"
"Before that, if you don't mind me asking, what did you do for a living? Before you moved here?"
"I used to be a playwright," Joshua answered. He broke eye contact and leaned back, mind filling up with pleasant memories. All those months, those years he spent with the Stone Hill Artisans as well as the six friends he had back in Warfang. "And a pretty decent one at that. Darius, the guildmaster"—he cleared his throat.—"the boss, I mean, pretty much gave me full creative freedom after my first two plays ended up being big hits."
His ears perked in interest. "Oh! A playwright! That's interesting. Does that mean you used to do storyboarding and all that?"
"Among other things," Joshua said. He started counting with his fingers. "I was in charge of world building, handled the script, worked closely with the director, the actors, the set designers, and all that stuff." Then his face suddenly brightened. "Wait a minute… does this mean you're giving me a job? Adine did mention you're working on a video game."
Lorem suddenly backed away. "No-no-no! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give you that impression." He scratched the base of his horns, looking sheepish. "Don't get me wrong, Corey, I'd love to have your creative inputs on my project, but I'm afraid I won't be able to hire you.
"I'm actually just a postman. I don't make enough money to even think of hiring a professional of your caliber." Lorem's cheeks went flush with embarrassment. It stoked Joshua's curiosity; this didn't happen with dragons back in the Spyro world.
Nonetheless, he cocked an eyebrow at the small dragon's response, doubtful. "You're a post office guy? I thought you know how to make video games?"
"I have a computing degree," Lorem declared with full confidence. Joshua didn't even have to look at his life signature to know how proud he was of that fact. Most likely, the dragon had graduated with high grades.
"I see." Joshua took a long sip of his coffee. "Lorem, I'll be honest with you: I don't really care about the pay. I'm actually living on the streets right now."
He gasped. "You're homeless‽"
"Not by choice, but that's a long story. Anyway, I have no problems subsisting on what I can forage, but I really miss all the modern amenities I used to have back in the city. Video games, included. Used to be an avid gamer." Joshua took another sip, feigning composure. Lorem might back out if he knew just how excited he was about the prospect of sleeping in an apartment tonight. "To tell you the truth, I'm at the point where I'd be happy with just having a bed and shower."
Lorem scratched his chin. "Hmm…"
There was a long pause in their conversation. Joshua took another sip of his coffee and had the other waitress close his tab, as Adine had only come back a few times during their talk and she seemed terribly busy, fluttering in and out to take deliveries.
Joshua switched to his sixth sense and assessed Lorem's sphere of life. He had relaxed considerably from earlier, with the swirling surface having turned blue and progressing to a normal speed. He couldn't tell how he was going to reply—
"I can't decide on this now. I need to consult my roommate on it, too." The answer didn't give Joshua much hope. While it didn't sound like an outright rejection, there wasn't anything positive he could glean from his words.
"Oh…"
"P-please understand, Corey! You seem nice and you got some good ideas, but I've only just met you today! I don't actually know you. Even if you don't mean me and Ipsum any harm—n-not implying that at all—we aren't even sure if we want a third dragon in our apartment." The postman wiggled his forepaws in apparent self-defense, as though he had sensed his disappointment and was trying not to make him feel worse.
"If you're worried I'm going to leech off of you—
"I doubt you'll stop looking for work even if we do take you in." Lorem grinned. "You'll need a day job if you want to keep up with us. Anyway, this isn't a decision I can make lightly."
Joshua could only respond cordially. "I get it, I get it." He sighed. "Well, you go ahead and discuss things with your roommate. I'll be in Tatsu Park when I'm not looking for work elsewhere."
"Thank you. Sorry I can't give you an answer right away." Lorem looked apologetic enough; it showed in both his body language and his life signature. He glanced at the clock near the counter. "I have to go. My break's almost over."
"All right. Bye, Lorem. Nice meeting you."
"Likewise, Corey. Bye and good luck!"
.
.
.
.
.
.
Joshua left Uncle Megun's shortly after Lorem. He didn't have that much luck getting any job interviews later that day, or the next day for that matter. People simply lost interest when they heard he was the new runner who'd been found sticking it out in Tatsu Park lately.
Surprisingly, however, a few people had already heard about the talks he'd had with Adine, Naomi, and Lorem that morning. He had given observers a good impression of his "Corey" identity—that of an intelligent, resourceful, and creative dragon who's simply down on his luck and wishing for a return to a modern, civilized lifestyle.
Those few dragons had actually offered him some work. But, as luck would have it, their offices were located close to the center of town, where there were security cameras just waiting to uncover the lone transmigrant hiding among them. He'd had to create some fantastic excuses to reject the job offers, so it was a shock to him that they did not part ways with any residual resentment of any sort. Was it just him, or were people in this alternate Earth nicer than he expected?
The rest of the week didn't exactly elapse peacefully.
Adine had never quite relinquished her idea of going "human hunting" despite the warnings that Joshua and Lorem had given her back at the cafe. About three days after she came up with the idea, Joshua would spot her and another dragoness soaring the skies at night, circling above the forests surrounding town. Their search even brought them into Tatsu Park a few times.
Joshua couldn't sleep while they were up there looking for any sign of the extraordinary. While perception masking was no longer a fully conscious decision on his part thanks to whatever Skylands had done to him in the Spyro universe, this aspect of his power still needed him awake and alert.
In other words, Adine and her friend were being a massive pain in the ass, interrupting his rest and keeping him from sleeping. Worse, they would fly about for a solid three or four hours before returning the next night. Several times, Joshua was tempted to take action and scare them off with one of the offensive aspects of his ability, but each time, he stayed firm and maintained his focus on not doing anything to engender more interest in the rumored human living in the woods.
Once a week had passed, Adine changed her strategy and started wandering the forest with flashlights, dragging not one, but two dragons behind her tail. The white and scarlet dragoness from before, and what appeared to be an albino office worker. "Azeroth's cloaca, it's been a week already! When are they going to fucking stop‽"
Eluding them became more tedious when the three reptiles easily covered more ground and could actually inspect the physical trails Joshua left behind. There were times when the three dragons came close to him and, to his frustration, he could tell they were even enjoying their little trips out into the forest. They treated each so-called "expedition" the same way humans back on his Earth treated "ghost hunting": traipsing noisily through the wilderness while bringing around bags filled with alcohol and snacks, trading stories, and discussing life, if not speculating what the "legendary human" would look like and what abilities it could do.
It took only a few days of tolerating this madness before Joshua was on the cusp of confronting Adine at the cafe—using his Corey persona no less—and attempting to dissuade her from making any further expeditions.
Only for his luck to suddenly turn for the better, when Lorem and his purple friend Ipsum showed up at the park one afternoon. Since then, he no longer needed to sleep outside every night.
And it all started with Joshua taking pity on that poor, senile dragon selling ice cream in the middle of nowhere and finally acting on it…
Author's notes:
Adine dragging Amelia and Remy into "human hunting" sounds totally in character when I came up with the idea. Who knows? Maybe they've done it before, too.
Most OCs end up with the fan favorites (Adine, Anna, Mod Naomi), so why not Lorem for a change? It's a bit of a challenge for me, though. I don't have that good a grasp of his character compared to the other three dragons.
If you're wondering why Joshua doesn't speak or think similarly to people from our Earth, muttering "Azeroth" this, "Alona" that, etcetera... to give you some context, in The Legend of Spyro, the dragons revere their ancestors as gods. I gave these mythological figures some identities in "Aimless" as part of the world-building, where the dragons worship Azeroth the Infinite as the creator of their world and Alona the Lifebringer as the one responsible for life on the planet. And, as it is with any society, mythological figures tend to be used as part of expletives or exclamations. :D
Will I update this again? Who knows. I'll update it when I get the itch. For now… I can finally return my focus to my OG fic.
Until next time, y'all!
