Author's Notes:
Although chronological order doesn't matter much to me anymore and there are certain scenes/snips that I really want to go into (like one of Spyro and Cynder's arguments, Joshua figuring out his power some more, or any of the other offscreen events I haven't shown yet), fact remains that there's still plenty of setup required before I can start getting into the "good stuff".
This snip you're about to read is one of them. The title alone should be sufficient to explain why.
4 Oct 2019 edit: adjusted some details to address continuity errors in an upcoming story arc.
Timestamp key: "D" for days, "W" for weeks, "M" for months, "Y" for years, "EM" for early morning, "LM" for late morning, "EA" for early afternoon, "LA" for late afternoon, "EE" for early evening, "LN" for late night, and "AD" for all day. Note that the Realms follows the sexagesimal system for keeping time, just like Earth. (In other words, 60 seconds per minute and 60 minutes per hour.)
Snip category key: There are four categories of snips. "Settling In", "City Life", "Beyond the Wall", and "The Journey Home". All four represent parallel storylines that take place within Aimless, and other than "Settling In", each snip category has at least two subtypes. Those subtypes aren't listed due to potential spoilers.
Enjoy!
Settling In
Chapter 28: Keeping Time
"A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life."
- Charles Darwin
[68D/LM]
Loud thumps on the door jolted Joshua awake. Encased in a warm comforter, on top of a most wonderful king-sized bed, he reluctantly called out, "M-mom...?" The gamer groaned. "God, I don't wanna go to school yet..."
He was in the middle of enjoying a dream. Something about the Classic Spyro trilogy being remade on the PlayStation 4. Flashes of videos on Youtube, gameplay teasers on Twitter, and the unmistakable urge to pick up a controller, play it the second it's released, and revel in Insomniac Games' precious creation with the voice actors from before reenacting their roles. Damn it all, he'd rather go back to it than go to high school and learn whatever useless shit they've got for him today. Shit, he was going to forget anyway the day he'd go to University.
So Joshua Renalia grabbed the nearest pillow and buried his face in it, hoping to fall asleep again.
It was warm.
It was smooth.
And it squirmed as if it was alive.
What the f*ck...?
"J-joshua," a little girl giggled. "Stop it, that tickles!"
His mind had barely begun processing when Kilat's wing smacked him in the face. If that didn't wake him up, the hind paws that followed certainly did. The soft paw pads did nothing to cushion the blow that sent Joshua rolling out from under the covers of a thick blanket. His head struck the floor when he fell on his back.
"Owww," he groaned, rubbing his head. As his eyes panned the crystal-lit chamber he found himself in memories of all the days that had passed came rushing back. He wasn't playing a Spyro remake; he was living in a Spyro world. A world that seamlessly blended Classic, Legend, and Skylanders together into one baffling package. A world where Joshua had a dragon for an adopted sister while the video game hero he loved and fanboyed over refused to accept him, even when the very society they lived in slowly—but surely—did.
The loud knocking came again. He recognized the voice that followed as well as the life signature that owned it. "Hey Hairless, wake up! Are you hibernating in there? You've already wasted half the morning and—
Joshua twisted the etched plate, pushed it in with a loud click, and slid the wooden door aside, revealing an adolescent dragoness mid-speech. "Clear skies, Vara."
"Don't 'clear skies' me!" Vara shoved him with her toe. It hurt a little. "You're wasting everyone's time just standing there looking dumb. Today's Virith! Why aren't you ready?" She brought her muzzle close and sniffed his body. "By the Ancestors, you haven't had your bath yet!"
"Vara, why are you here? It's the middle of my rest day." He turned to his left arm and raised it. It went up about a third of the way it used to, before the Incident. "Look, I need to go back to sleep. The reconditioning Getsuga's putting me through is f*cking torture. I—
"That's not my problem! Vulcan's flames, Joshua, did you forget what we're doing today?"
"Uhhhhh, uhhmmm..." The halls outside had several dragons lounging about, minding their own business. The majority of them didn't care at all about him, though a few were nosy enough to listen in on their conversation, judging by the way they appeared to be sniggering to themselves (and the telltale flashes of amusement in their spinning spheres of life). The only ones who feigned emotionlessness to the extent of stilling their spheres were the two guards standing by his door: Coloumbrin and a rhynoc he didn't recognize, both clad in intimidating armor. "Well, I can see I'm missing two guards."
Vara butted her head on his shoulder. "Because Seriphos and Balagog are waiting for you at the gardens with Korahnir!" Her mustard eyes drilled into his. "I can't believe this. You really did forget."
"What?" he asked. "Are we supposed to do something today? I don't remember making any plans with you or Corey."
Vara huffed. She shoved her way past him, her turquoise wing slapping him in the face. A second for the morning. "Hey!" Joshua protested, but did nothing in the end. After all, there wasn't any stopping the dragoness when she had the size of a Great Dane.
The orchid dragoness bit down on the thick blanket covering the mattress and, throwing it off to the side, unveiled a snoozing Kilat underneath. She frowned and thrust her forepaw at her. "Kilat."
No response.
"Kilat, get up."
The child prodigy rolled to the right. She batted at the air. "A few more minutes, Joshua..."
Joshua would have awwed at how cute and peaceful Kilat looked if he hadn't been aware of the bigger, irritated dragoness about to wake her up. He noticed Vara had formed a layer of ice around her paw before she prodded the child awake. "Get up."
One touch caused Kilat to snap her eyes open and leap up with a spark of electricity. "YOW! That's COLD!" She landed in an aggressive posture and snarled, her wing flaring open. "That was mean, Joshua! Why did you"—she paused halfway when she realized exactly who woke her up. "Huh, Vara?" she uttered, confused.
"Clear skies," Vara greeted her. Joshua was impressed. Considering how pissed off she was at him, it was remarkable how Vara switched from bitchy to something more... pleasant.
"Oh, uhh, steady winds," Kilat replied. Her tail relaxed a little. "What are you doing here? Is Joshua okay?"
Joshua nonchalantly waved at her, a bit mad at how she didn't see him by the door. "Good morning to you too, kid."
Vara spoke before the little girl could answer back, "Kilat," she verbalized her name in a sweet voice, "remember how last Meredy we made some plans to go out today? We even had to ask Master Volteer for permission. Do you remember that?"
The younger dragoness was puzzled. "'Plans to go out today'?" She yawned. "'Last Meredy'...? I, I don't, uhhhh"—she yawned again.
"Everyone's down at the gardens. We've been waiting since the sun was eight claws up. I flew up here to check up on you two and it turned out you were both sleeping in." Vara glared at Joshua. "Obviously your brother forgot all about it."
Kilat frowned. "What day was Meredy again? I don't remember anything much from last week. All I know is Joshua started getting coins from his new job, we moved to our new room, and I was so excited thinking of all the things we were going to put in, it... huh? Wait." Clarity shone on her muzzle the moment it all sunk in. Her jaw went slack. "Y-you mean, that's today? We're doing that TODAY?"
Vara nodded.
Kilat shrieked. "Oh no! Joshua didn't tell me it was today! I didn't know! Wahhhhh!" She scampered around the floor and thrashed about in a panic. She began running in circles, screaming. "Late! Late! Late! Ancestors' tails, I'm not ready yet. I haven't decided what to put in here! No, no, no, no, no, no, f*ck!" Joshua grimaced; if he had known how badly she was expecting this, he might have put a tad bit more effort into remembering.
Kilat stopped. Joshua's presence must have registered in her head, for she swiveled her neck towards the human and made a beeline for him a split second after. "Joshuuaaaaaaa!"
Oh shit.
She pounced on him before he could react. For the second time that day, he fell on his back and hit his head. Kilat thrust her muzzle at Joshua's face. "Why didn't you tell me we were picking out our furniture today? I have so many things planned in my notebook! Many ideas, many concepts, many ways—
Joshua weakly tried to push her away with his good hand, "Kilat, cut me some slack here—
She butted his arm away and once again shoved her snout on his nose. He could feel the hot, moist air blowing out her mouth and nostrils; morning breath never smelled so repulsive. "Many, many, many things I haven't decided on yet! I wanted to go over them with you and, and, a-and -
"Goddammit, I forgot!" picturing Kilat in a daze, he knocked her head with his. Although the pushback alone shut her up, white light flashed at the point of contact and temporarily enfeebled the child. With the dragoness in a daze, Joshua had the perfect opening to sit up and cup her cheeks. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm really sorry, but I was so busy this week." He wiped a few tears from her cobalt eyes. "Don't cry, Kilat. It's not like we missed it." Joshua turned to Vara, who'd been observing the whole thing with a "you deserve what you got" smirk on her muzzle. "Right, Vara?"
"Even if we'll have less time than planned, we can still make this flight if we leave now," she said, before adding with a growl, "But you'll have to compensate your friends for making them wait two hours."
Joshua restrained himself from giving her the middle finger. By now, Vara knew what it meant and the last time he pulled it out on her, she threatened to bite. Not something he wanted to test. The gamer settled for a cold glare instead and returned to Kilat. "You heard all that? I know we've got many things to decide on and we don't have that much time anymore, but hey, let's make the decisions we can today and leave those we can't for later." He chuckled. "I mean, we're not going anywhere. I, I can't really see us leaving Warfang anytime soon."
Which was true. As much as he wanted to get out there and look for a way home, that just wasn't feasible right now. Life had improved immensely since that day in Alona Hall. Once certain people (looking at you, Cynder and Volteer!) realized exactly what he was capable of, an abnormal scrutiny was brought down on him and it resulted in a new job that produced social dividends beyond his imagination.
And he had Spyro and his paranoia to thank for that. From what it looked like, the Purple Dragon was undeniably agitated, if not pissed, but he could go f*ck himself. He'd turn around one day. Joshua was sure of it. Now if only there was some logical explanation why he refused to trust him until now...
"Okay, Joshua," Kilat said, appeased. "Let's get ready! My notebook's in my satchel, so all that's left is"—she gave his face a nice, long, slobbery lick.—"your bath!" And this was why he hated mornings. Baths were evil no matter where he was. Whether it was soap and water back home or viscous dragon spit here, they sucked.
Fortunately, Vara was here to save the day. "Hey," she interjected. "I don't mean to interrupt, but Korahnir and I have waited long enough. Neither of you can fly so skip the bath, get your things, and let's go already."
Kilat looked horrified. Joshua knew her well enough to know skipping this daily ritual was anathema. This was a family thing for her, and people weren't supposed to skip family things. "But, b-but, b-b-but Joshua and I can't leave without bathing!"
Vara glowered at her. "Kilat, I haven't had my parents give me a bath in years." She bared her teeth. "Missing one morning isn't the end of the world. Let's go. Now, else I'm telling everyone you two cancelled this trip."
"But, but Vara, I can't. I-it doesn't feel right to just—
Joshua gently pushed the little girl off his lap. "She's right." He eyed the pile of clothes stacked neatly at the corner. "Let me just change into my casuals and we'll be on our way. We can get by without a bath in the morning. I've done that back home sometimes, you know?" The gamer put in a tremendous effort on his poker face. He didn't want the child figuring out he was that eager to start the day slobber-free for once.
The older dragoness suggested, "How about this: why not make up for it later tonight?"
"Wait, you mean, I, I can...?"
"Yes. Just double the time you usually take. There's no replacing the morning for sure, but there won't be any time lost this way."
Kilat's tail wagged as she instantly processed the decision. "Okay! Makes sense to me!"
Joshua fumed at the other dragon. He wanted to scream. F*CK YOU, VARA! F*ck you to hell! You f*cking bitch!
Oblivious to her human brother's stress, Kilat hummed happily as she plodded over to the satchel on the other corner, opposite of Joshua's things. It was a crude, if not uncivilized, arrangement that would be rectified today. He felt Vara nuzzle his head, just as blind to the rage directed at her. She probably thought he was just irritated from being woken up. "Well? Aren't you going to change? I don't know how hoo-man culture works, but if you're fine heading out into Warfang in your sleeping tunics then -
"Okay, okay, okay! I'm changing, I'm changing! Now GET OUT!"
Vara rolled her eyes, unable to comprehend why she had to get out. Nonetheless, she obeyed him and walked out the door, muttering to herself. "What is it with you and clothes? There's nothing special underneath. The gnorcs and rhynocs don't care..."
Joshua slammed the door behind her and frowned. You don't know sh*t, Vara, he thought. Gnorcs and rhynocs, badass as they were in real life, looked no less brutish or primitive than WoW's orcs and tauren. Uncivilized savages who wouldn't give two shits about being naked. If Hunter, Corvold, Copeland, and god, even Moneybags indicated anything, then the bears and cheetahs were clearly the more civilized of the bipeds. Hell, Joshua might have added the moles to that list without hesitation if it weren't for the way they fetishized dragons. No sane species would ever build a city as grandiose, as majestic, as Warfang and give it away for no reason!
The human needed only a minute to switch to his casuals. It consisted of an olive tunic, brown trousers, and a dark, gray sash. Completely unremarkable in design and made of this world's equivalent of cotton. Bulak fibers, if he recalled correctly. This was a commoner's outfit, one of many provided by Corvold so long ago. He picked up the leather pouch lying next to the pile of clothing. Cynder had gifted it to him a day after he started his new line of work.
Although Joshua knew nothing had been stolen or misplaced, force of habit still compelled him to look inside. Once the small bag of coins, three string-wrapped pencils, a large piece of stale, dirty bread, and the wire-bound notebook were all accounted for, he closed the flap, stuck a horn through the loop to secure it, and wore it with both arms through the straps. "I'm ready," he said, finger-combing his hair.
Man, he thought, everything just screams Medieval. Joshua craved the conveniences of modern life more than ever. He missed air-conditioning even more than the Internet.
"Me too!" cried Kilat. He watched the child gracefully swing a single-sided saddlebag across her back. It not only matched her diminutive size; when he gave it a closer look, he noticed the strap had a weighted knot at the end. It was a design made specifically for dragonkind, as his sister unwittingly demonstrated by biting down on it and tugging it here and there until it slipped off her wing. She then scurried to the door and sent an expectant look in his direction, babbling, "I'm bringing a list of aaaaaallll the things I want, aaaaaallll the things we can do with them, aaaaaallll the stuff we can put in there, complete with drawings and measurements and colors and—
"I get it, you're ready," Joshua laughed. He walked over to the child, knelt down, and kissed her nose. "My cute, little siiiister is such a prepper," he gushed, rubbing her cheeks. Kilat ate up the affection like a five-year old, wagging her tail with a content smile on her muzzle. She probably didn't know what "prepper" meant, but Joshua expected her to ask about it sooner or later. "Alright, let's git."
The human stood up and slid the door wide open. Kilat scampered out as though being chased away by a hideous monster. "Hello!" she greeted the two guards in a singsong voice.
"Good, day."
"Steady winds, Little Wing."
"Coulombrin! Guess where Joshua and I are going today. I'm so excited. We're finally gonna—ooh!" Kilat bounced to the rhynoc. Taking into account the intimidating armor distributed by Talonpoint Keep, they looked menacing. Their skin was pockmarked from age and their muscles were bulging, almost as though they were a gray Hulk ready to smash anything that dared to anger them. Yet they had been staring down at the little girl with a warm smile that Joshua felt completely looked out of place on their muzzle. "What's your name? I've never seen you before."
Joshua tuned out their prattling and turned to shut the door. Like every other door in the Residential Area, it didn't have a lock. Pretty pointless to even consider one, when almost everybody in the Temple could bash doors down in seconds. He could imagine it being an expensive affair, too, if it had to be forged by a mole's dexterous paws.
Vara sauntered over to him. "That was fast," she said. "I expected you to be slower."
Joshua gave a playful slap on her orchid scales. "That hurt, Vara. Y'know, you've never seen me in a hurry."
She chuckled to herself. "That's true, huh? When you were stuck between that room, Proudtail Hall, and that old job you hated so much, routine was probably all you got."
"Pretty much," Joshua concurred. "Daily life wasn't that exciting until you came along."
Vara rubbed her flank on his side. He felt a tail run along his arms. "Awww," she cooed. "Who knew the furless ape could be so sweet!" The contact was brief. "But let's be honest with ourselves, Hairless. All I did was sneak in and get your guards breathing hellfire. You had to learn an all-new Element nobody's never seen or even heard of before—
"Still have," Joshua corrected. "There are a lot of things I don't know about"—he noticed she was still talking—"aaaaand you're not listening."
—of flying through all the stormclouds that are blowing your way simply 'cause everyone from Warfang to Skylands wants to use you."
"My life sounds more exciting when you put it that way, huh?"
"Told you!" Vara nodded with a smile, happy to have proven her point. "It's still far off from now, but you'll be a high-flyer someday, believe me." She turned away and muttered softly to herself, "Unlike me. I'll be worthless in the end."
Vara probably didn't mean for Joshua to hear it, but she didn't know how good his hearing was, how clearly her sphere of life shrunk in size, or how she visibly wilted for a brief moment. He felt bad for her. He didn't know much about the dragoness. Nothing beyond her depressing ineptness with Ice, just as she knew nothing beyond the life he lived in this cruel world. They've been friends for like, what, thirty days, give or take? That was just a month. People just do not become good friends in an instant. The philosopher Aristotle likened friendship to a slow-ripening fruit. It took a long time to grow an old friend, after all. That fact—that reality applied here in the Dragon Realms no differently than it did on Earth.
"If you think so," he said, not sure what to tell her. "If that day ever comes along, Vara, I promise I won't forget about you."
She sent a soft smile his way, an imperceptible flame beneath the dim gem-lit halls of the Residential Area. Joshua took no notice of the warm expression on her muzzle and turned towards Kilat. "Anyway, let's get out of here." He waved at the child prodigy. She was caught in a sort of deep conversation with the rhynoc about the many kinds of wood available in the market and their varying qualities. They were on the cusp of discussing crafters' workshops near the Temple. If he wasn't running late right now, he might have joined in. "Kilat!" Joshua called. "We're going!"
Kilat's ears twitched at his words. She faced him and nodded in understanding. The little girl stepped away from the rhynoc to follow Joshua and Vara, her cute, tiny paw waving at the guard in farewell. "Bye Springhorn! Nice meeting you. See you later!"
"If fates, will it," the rhynoc hollered his reply, with an uncharacteristically honeyed voice that would make any countertenor red with envy. Joshua never expected such a thing from the savage-looking beast. "Good, day."
"You too!" Kilat bounced to Joshua and Vara. The spring in her step was unmistakable. She's really looking forward to this, the human mused. So am I. This is the first time we're heading out into the city. After being stuck in the Temple for what felt like months, Joshua looked forward to seeing the great city of Warfang in all its glory. How would Warfang in real life compare to its counterpart in TLoS? How would the center of civilization in the Dragon Realms compare to the capital cities back on Earth? Would the people give him any trouble? Did they still hate him for what happened at the Gates? Were they willing to look past his primate appearance—to discard the rumors and hearsay—and accept his determination to make a life for himself in the place they called home? Or would the many species living here respond differently?
"Clear skies!" someone greeted.
Joshua waved at a dragon lounging outside their door. "Steady winds," he answered.
A passing dragoness bowed her head at him when they crossed paths. "Clear skies, Novitiate."
"Steady winds, Nushikeer."
Four dragons entering a room of their own stopped when they noticed his presence in the corridors. Before he could pass them by, they flared their wings or waved their paws in greeting. "Hello, Novitiate Joshua! Clear skies to you," one of them said.
"Steady winds, y'all."
Another asked, "Where are you going?"
"Yeah!" The third chirped. "I don't think you're in any of the lectures we're having today. Don't you usually stay in your room?"
The last dragon slapped the floor with their tail. "Wrong! Joshua's not a prisoner here. He's like an apprentice, too. Remember? He trains with Master Volteer or Imperia at Proudtail Hall."
"But today's Virith. That black grayscale's got the room around this time every Virith!"
"Ohh yeah... that crazy dragoness and all those golems..."
If only they knew he was meeting Getsuga more frequently now that he wanted to rehabilitate his disabled left arm. The gamer laughed, hoping he managed to hide the frown that appeared on his face when Imperia's name was mentioned. The circumstances behind her were an unsettling, if not contentious, matter. Spyro wasn't around to respond to Imperia's arrival since he still hadn't returned from his trip to December Cliffs, but Joshua was certain that dragon would react with suspicion and paranoia too. "Guys, I'm just going out to the city with Kilat and my friends."
Kilat was brimming with joy. "Yes, yes, yes!" she jumped. "We're getting our room furnished today! Yeheeeeyyy!"
The four dragons replied in varying words of encouragement and cheer before bidding him farewell. However, one of them expressed caution. "Be careful out there, Novitiate Joshua. Don't forget, we're just your neighbors."
"I've got two guards accompanying me," he said. "I'll be fine."
Vara's tail poked his stomach. "Joshua, before I left the Gardens, I overheard Seriphos telling Korahnir that Master Terrador's coming to see us off."
What, what, whaaaaaat? Terrador was coming? One of the holdouts directly opposing him? And he had—he was letting them go through with this? Seriously? Joshua couldn't grasp what the Earth Guardian was thinking. Like Cyril, Terrador had been on his ass since Day 1. Joshua may not have seen either Guardian very often since his arrival in Warfang, but he definitely felt their work in the life he's lived so far. So why would he do this now? It didn't make sense.
Granted, Cynder had told him he wouldn't be living on the second floor working as a Novitiate—teacher's assistant, really—if Terrador hadn't voted in favor of it, but he had a feeling the Earth Guardian didn't do it because his opinion about Joshua changed. The teenager in Joshua wanted to believe that someone in his position had seen the writing on the wall—evaluated the evidence presented before him and made a decision to help him fraternize with the Temple apprentices and meld further in their medieval society. Conversely, the cynic inside Joshua—forged by his experiences in this shitty world—thought otherwise. That it was a politically-calculated move. That he was still under their control and his privileges could be snatched away at any time.
He paled. He did not want to go back to isolation and cleaning lavatoria ever again. "Damn it! You should've told me earlier. We need to move it."
They quickened their pace. When they arrived at the landing for their floor, they jogged down the steps to the lower floors with haste. Knowing the hallways by heart, the three of them required no delay, no assistance, to find the corridor that led outside through the cliffside opening from which they would take the stone steps down to the Botanic Gardens. Going the other way would bring one to the section of the Temple meant for Warfang's top brass, including the courtroom where the Guardians interrogated him during his first week. Still, the corridors that ran underground were deep. It would take another five or ten minutes to reach the exit.
The dragons they passed by on the lower floors had mixed reactions towards him. Many of them were promising associates and fellows who lived on Temple grounds, with significantly more age, experience, and skill compared to the apprentices. Quite a few were novitiates themselves. Most of the spheres of life he observed were neutral while many rippled with impotent hostility. Only a few sported the same happy smiles his neighbors did, nodding at him rather than greeting him out loud. None dared to even make an attempt at bullying him or Kilat, not after what happened the last time, especially when the Guardians responded by having Dragon Knights conduct regular patrols even in the Residential Area. Still, this was a wonderful thing compared to how everybody acted towards him in his first week or two.
The thought of the Temple slowly coming to accept him truly warmed his heart. A sign of better things to come.
"The apprentices on this floor really like you," Vara broke the silence.
"...They do, don't they?" He said, slowing his pace to think about it. It was something that eventually came with the new job. From how he interpreted the work given to him, novitiate was technically a transitional position that bridged the gap between the final level of Temple apprenticeship—the Senior Fellow—and the two career paths that branched out from there—Knighthood and Guardianship. It wasn't something that officially existed, since novitiates couldn't represent the people they directly reported to in any capacity whatsoever, yet it was so commonplace that the Temple both had a name for it and certain expectations for those who have achieved this status.
Joshua's work touched upon one of these. It certainly didn't encompass its entirety, although the fact his responsibilities were undeniably visible and immersive among the younger, more "malleable" (Volteer's words, not his) apprentices had led people to tag him with this position. And the name stuck. "I'm not surprised. I've been a really great help to them. The stragglers get their mojo back while the rest end up breaking common sense."
Vara agreed without hesitation, "Makes sense. It's something only your Element can do."
"Now that I think about it," he added, a smug flashing on his face, "you were exactly the same way when we first met. And look at you now. You're still months behind, but you're catching up pretty quick."
Vara straightened her back as she walked. She crooned, "Only because of the lessons I received from a certain novitiate."
The gamer joked, "Ohhhhh, so that's why we're friends, huh? Using me juuuust like everyone else."
Vara suddenly nipped at his hand. He pulled it away, but she was quicker than him. In a moment she had clutched his hand firmly in her mouth. Her teeth prickled his soft skin. They were needles. Spikes that could clamp down at any moment. Joshua started to regret saying that, even if it had been verbalized in a playful way.
The waves of an ocean battered by strong winds covered her sphere of life. It rippled as though Joshua had taken a big stone and hurled it straight at its surface. Vara let out another growl. He felt the dragoness squeeze her jaws. A little more and her fangs would draw blood.
Joshua looked down to Kilat for help. To his disappointment, his overprotective (and overpossessive) sister had settled for just watching them. "Don't look at me," her gaze seemed to say, when they made eye contact. "You're the one who got her mad." Some help you turned out to be.
"...Oh for the love of—Vara! I didn't mean that. I was just joking." He stopped walking—the entire group did - so he could pull his hand out. She refused to let it go. If anything, her jaws tightened. It was becoming painful. "I said let go! I'm sorry, okay? What I said was distasteful. Now let me go, or I'll make you."
Vara didn't release his hand immediately at the threat. Her eyes narrowed; she tested him for a bit longer. As Joshua had obviously forgotten he had dangerous beasts for friends, life seized the moment to kindly remind him of that reality, bombarding his senses with her heavy breaths, intimidating snarling, and a bite-numbing cold coalescing near the back of her throat.
The human was growing more nervous the longer Vara held on. He half-contemplated tapping into the his power. He might have even done so if the suddenness of her actions hadn't shattered his focus. Fortunately, the Ice Dragoness chose to spit out his hand. He hadn't had enough time to get more than one sigh of relief out before she chastised him, "That wasn't funny, Joshua! It's not just 'distasteful'. It hurt." She curled in on herself a little, her muzzle sporting a look of revulsion. "Ancestors, I would never fly that low. Don't say or even joke about dung like that again."
"Okay, okay, okay!" Joshua shut his eyes for a second or two. "I won't. It's just, I found the irony amusing. I didn't mean any of it. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." He wiped the soaked hand on his trousers and offered it back to the orchid dragoness, palm up. "Are we all right now?"
Joshua retracted his hand when Vara snapped at it. "See that you don't," she grumbled, before resuming her walk.
He started to follow her, only to be stopped by Kilat, who clutched at his trousers and looked up at him with her sweet, adorable eyes. The sympathetic expression on her snout indicated exactly what she wanted. Joshua Renalia wasn't someone who brooded over shitty mistakes like this at the expense of the people in his life. Without hesitation, he picked her up by her underarms and lifted her up the same way an adult carried a toddler. Kilat jostled a bit to get comfortable. She licked his cheek a few times. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," he said. "I'll manage. Not the first time this happened to me." Joshua had unknowingly offended his own friends before, back home. Sure, it often happened in the context of gaming, girls, or taboo (meaning: sexual) knowledge—things the grown-ups didn't put too much stock in—but the feelings they felt were surely no less intense, no less true than Vara's ire at his rude joke.
Kilat wrapped her forepaws around his head and leaned into the crook of his neck, nuzzling her smooth, yellow scales on his skin. Joshua didn't have to worry about carrying her like this the rest of the way. She wasn't too heavy, even if he had just one arm nestled under her rump. Besides, carrying the little girl had a therapeutic effect on him. All his problems in this world seemed to be less important with her around. Joshua prayed to God he still had several years to enjoy the child's company before her growth spurts kicked in.
Vara was mad at him. If the slightly shrunken sphere in front of him didn't make that painfully obvious, her silence did. Her pulse of life quivered whenever she glanced back in his direction. Hell, she released a frustrated growl when she slowed down to match Joshua's pace. It was something that couldn't be hastened now that he carried a whelp in his arms, especially with said whelp glaring at Vara as though daring her to even try dislodging her off her perch.
Having been friends with Vara for a couple of weeks, in his mind the gamer pegged her to be somewhat of a tsundere. While that was his first impression of her back at Alona Hall, it persisted through all the succeeding times they crossed paths. In every interaction they've had since then, she seemed to carry a pride befitting a spoiled brat, or worse, the child of a corrupt politician. Respect was entitled to her by default, even if she hadn't accomplished anything worthwhile. Honestly, it was annoying. Natasha—his girlfriend back home—had a close friend just like that back home, and the fat bitch constantly took advantage of bae. God, I was starting to get tired of Valerie's bullshit.
So why was he friends with this dragoness again? The temple apprentice walking ahead reminded him a lot of that girl... except he could definitely discern all the twitchy, nervous throbbing her sphere of life made every time she jabbed at herself.
Mmmm that's right. Valerie didn't have that any issues with her parents or her boyfriend back home. Natasha, because of how close she was to that f*cking c*nt, would have told him about it. Vara on the other hand...
Was it because she was one of the handfuls of dragons who accepted him and his "apeness"? Was it because he yearned for something that could feel like his old life back on Earth? Or was it because she sometimes looked like the weight of the world bore down on her shoulders?
"...There's something that's been bothering me for a while now." And speak of the devil. Just as he expected. Joshua felt Kilat flex and curl her paws in response, making her presence known. What, was that supposed to comfort him?
"What is it?" he asked.
"Why—How did you forget about our plans today? It's only been a week. Cynder had you write it down in your notebook. We even asked Kilat to remind you when Virith came close. Of all people, she would've reminded you." She turned her gazed to little girl for a few seconds. "I don't understand. You couldn't have forgotten about it. Korahnir said—hey." She stepped towards Joshua. "You're really going to carry her like that? Isn't she heavy?"
"Awww, leave me alone!" Kilat whined, "I just wanna be with my brother!"
Joshua chuckled. If only his real sister was like that. She'd have been much less annoying that way. He pulled on Kilat's ears, ran his fingers along her curved horns, and rubbed her paws. The satisfied growls coming out of the little girl were unmistakable. Ahhh, she's so cute! "It's nothing. I'll be fine. As for your question... well, I never had a reason to keep track of stuff. Until last week, I had no choice but to do things one day at a time. Besides, I'm not from here to begin with. You know where I'm from; you dragged it out of me that day!"
Dragged out the same lie he fed the Council, rather, but she didn't know that.
"I didn't know when Virith is!" the child injected, her voice bubbly and proud. "Ancestors, I don't even know what day it is tomorrow!" Joshua would have facepalmed if he could. That's not something you should be proud of, Kilat...
Vara's jaw fell from shock. Her sphere of life froze, and for a moment she couldn't talk, let alone breathe. "Joshua I understand. But you?" she said. "You?"
The child happily nodded. "Yes," she chirped. "Now that I think about it, I don't think I was ever taught any of that stuff."
That attracted Joshua's interest. It's been a while since he adopted her as his little sister; by now, after what would surely be several weeks on Earth, he was quite keen on her habits, mannerisms, and beliefs. Still, the fact remained he barely knew much about Kilat's life before they met. He had to ask. Curiosity demanded it. "Why?"
"Cynder killed my family when I was really young."
Vara's life signature stilled. Joshua didn't notice this. Even if he did, he wouldn't have figured out whether it was because of the implications, because of the way she nonchalantly blurted it, or because of something else entirely. Instead, he pressed, "But you had Lani—
"Oh, he was the same as me."
"Then what about that village you grew up in?"
"Mmm, that never mattered. Not to them. The foxes observed the trees, tracked wild game; the mongeese watched the clouds, felt the winds. They only worried about whatever tomorrow brought."
It was a primitive life, Joshua understood. A life closely attuned to nature. It reminded him of the indigenous tribes on Earth who, left undisturbed by science and innovation, shunned all contact with the rest of the world and lived in the Stone Age while 9 billion enjoyed a civilization powered by supercomputers, artificial intelligence, and the Internet.
Real-life Warfang couldn't hold a candle to human modernity, but what Kilat described was pretty out there, even for him. Vara looked like she thought the same thing, judging by the nonplussed reaction written all over her gaping muzzle. Padding over to them, she stammered, tried to say the proper words. "So you, you mean, all this time—you didn't—
"Yeah, all that stuff flew over my head," Kilat chirped. "Sorry!"
Vara let out a frustrated groan. "Aww Kilat, you should've told me!" She brought her snout to Joshua's face and made an irritated snort. "And you should've said something. Anything!"
"What?" He replied. "You think I could just go up to you and say 'Hey Vara! Did you know? I can't tell time and don't know what day it is, and Kilat can't either. Please, Your Highness, help your poor, pitiful friends!'"
Kilat laughed. "You're so funny, Joshua!" she said, batting her paw at his chest.
"Jesus-Mary-Joseph," he went on, "I was just released from room arrest! I couldn't have sought help from you back then even if I wanted to!"
Vara frowned. Her wing slapped him in the face. "It doesn't have to be me. You could have asked Volteer! Cynder! Even your guards!" She sighed. "Ancestors, you don't have to be such a cloaca about this."
Truth be told, he hadn't realized that until the moment she said it. Vara was right; he could've asked for help with something this minor anytime. When the thought dawned on him, Joshua's face blushed from embarrassment. "Well, uhhh... I, I guess you have a point there."
The dragoness stared at him, her expression as unreadable as her sphere of life. Her mustard eyes fluttered down to the little girl perched on his right arm. Vara's life signature rippled a bit before she went and nuzzled his shoulder. "Oh, Hairless, you poor, poor thing."
She suddenly turned away. "You know what?" she said. "We're wasting time. Let's continue walking, and I'll just disabuse you two of your ignorance along the way."
Vara's tail brushed against his leg, the fins running along it were stiff yet flexible to the touch. Watching her do the same with Kilat, Joshua half-wondered how it would feel, rubbing it with his bare hands. If it would feel the same as Kilat's wing membrane. "C'mon," said the orchid dragon. "Let's go."
They had a few minutes before they reached the Gardens. Plenty of time for Vara to share her knowledge. "I'll start from the basics," she said. "Everyone you meet should already know that a single day is 27 hours long. Even the lesser species know this."
"...wait, there's 27 hours in a day? It's not 24?"
Vara balked. "24? Egeria, what idiot came up with that?"
"Err, the greatest astronomers in human history?" Joshua offered.
.
.
.
"...Pffft, hahahahaha!" She laughed. A loud, sonorous, and derisive chuckle. As much as Joshua strove to stop his displeasure from showing, the frown appeared on his face eventually. Vara's condescension reminded him a lot of the elitist snobs back in high school, with their rich parents, their huge homes, their web of government connections, and their pompous attitudes toward the less fortunate. Were dragons typically like this? Is that how they saw the other species? Lesser than them?
Joshua shuddered. He didn't know which was worse: the thought of brilliant scientists like Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton being looked down upon or the realization that the dragons of Warfang held the reins of power and they knew it.
Vara suddenly stopped and stared at him, her eyes wide with shock. "By Gintomyr, I'm sorry! I'm really sorry." She wore a sheepish—embarrassed? —expression on her orchid muzzle. Her tail rubbed his arm. "I didn't mean to make you feel that way, Joshua. I know I shouldn't make fun of those hoo-mans especially after you told me all about your people back home but, it sounds so strange and weird!"
Kilat quipped, "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."
"Kilat!" Joshua scolded.
"Huh?" She tilted her head. The dragoness squirmed, bobbing her head around as she innocently smiled. "But it's true! You say strange things all the time!"
Joshua clenched his fist. Goddammit! He really shouldn't think of smacking her. She was just a child. A cute kid... who could be f*cking annoying sometimes. "Oh, come on!"
"Hairless," Vara interrupted him. "You live at the Temple. You live with Dragons. You really mustn't forget that."
"I know, I know. You don't have to remind me, Princess."
Vara whipped her body towards him. Joshua braced for the moment her tail lashed out at his leg. It was a painful, blunt strike. One that would've keeled him over if she hadn't telegraphed it so obviously. She huffed. "And here I thought I'd have you down on your knees."
"Dude! Is a plain 'I'm sorry' too simple for you?"
"No, but if you're going to keep calling me Princess, you should start treating me like one."
"That's not happening if you keep calling him Hairless," Kilat retorted before Joshua could reply. "My brother has hair. Just a little bit though."
"Yeeeeesss, just a little bit. He practically is hairless."
The two broke into laughter. Joshua grimaced. "Are you two done? I'd like it if we could continue with the timekeeping thing."
"Oh! Right, right. I forgot about that. Okay, so you have eight days in a week. It starts with Virith. Then it goes by Meredy, Seldoot, Corsha, Torsha, Rhetorsha, and Mazarach, before it ends with Valorem."
Joshua recited the names out loud, to make sure he got both the pronunciation and the order right. It took a few tries before he managed to commit it to memory. Hopefully, it would stick around... he hated memorization work. He really hated it. That bullsh*t was the bane of his high school existence. "Is there any particular reason why those are their names?"
"The days are named after notable Ancestors," said Vara. "For example, you have the Great Trickster Seldoot, Serene Lady Meredy, and Valorem the Principled. Those dragons are mentioned constantly in folk tales passed down dragonkind for generations. Lessons for young whelps to try and follow, they say." She giggled. "Not like we cared though. As whelps, they were just fun stories that became boring after it was told countless times."
Joshua agreed. "I can relate. We've got something similar back in my wo—at home. Back at home." Whew. That was close!
"I see."
Her disinterest was a relief to his ears. He could skip right over to the one thing he'd been curious about the most. "Anyway how long is—
He stopped, feeling the little girl nestled on his arm tugging his tunic. Kilat had an expectant look in her eyes. "Joshua, about those stories..."
"Awww, interested in those, aren't you?"
The child nodded furiously.
A chuckle escaped Joshua as he bent his neck and rubbed her horns with his chin. "Okay, I'll tell you one of them tonight, before we sleep." One of Aesop's fables would work. Those were short and straight to the point.
"Yey!" The young dragoness gave him a cheerful lick on the face. Oh, I'll never get used to that...
Vara remarked, "Impressive. You really are her brother, and a good one too."
"Thank you," he said. "It's nothing special, honestly. It's just the way I treated my little sis back home." And that little brat was just as annoying as Kilat was. Joshua found it amusing that he missed even that irritating behavior of hers, now that she's out of reach... he prayed to God every day it wouldn't be forever. "Okay, Vara, how long is a month? Is it related to the 'red cycle' I keep hearing around here?"
"I don't know what a 'month' is. But the red cycle refers to the time it takes for the red moon to appear in full and go dark again."
That sounded exactly like the way the Chinese traditionally kept track of the months. "Yeah, yeah, yeah! That's definitely the same thing! How many days does it go for?"
"About 41 days."
"What about the year?" he pushed. Joshua needed to know. He needed to know now. "How many months in a year?"
Vara hesitated a little. Her sphere of life shuddered. Did he say something weird? Again? If the snobby, orchid "princess" thought so, it never appeared on her face. "Nineteen," she said. "Starting from the time both moons go dark. Six cycles of summer, six cycles of winter, three cycles of autumn, three cycles of spring, and nearly a full cycle with the weather in flux. Also, you probably won't believe me on this but there are places where it's dark for half a year!"
Joshua Renalia didn't hear anything coming out of Vara's mouth other than the number nineteen. His brain started processing the information. It was a lot to take in. For once he was glad he got the data from someone other than Volteer. The Guardian would've babbled him to death.
"Hairless?"
What's important now was that he was finally given the tools to make plans. He had a room he could call his own. He had a job. He could comfortably move around the Temple, at least in places where he wouldn't be harassed by the people who still hated him. He even had physical therapy for his left arm.
"Hey Hairless!"
"Uhhh, Vara, I think Joshua's distracted."
"Hmph! Give me a second..."
Joshua was muttering to himself, "27-hour days, 8-day weeks, 41-day months, and... 19-month years... that means—
A gust of frigid air slammed his face. He blinked, noticing the specks of snow falling off his nose. "What the hell—
"Joshua!" Oh. Ice Breath. That made sense. Vara was an Ice Dragon. "You still with me? You looked lost in the ozone there."
"Errr..."
"Did you get anything I just said?"
"Yeah, I did."
She pouted. "I don't believe you. Oh, I've got an idea! You should—
Joshua raised his voice. "Wait. Wait! I, I need to run some numbers in my head. I gotta confirm something."
She looked at him as if he suddenly sprouted another heard. "Numbers? ...what are you, a bear?"
Ooookkkaaay. He decided to pretend he didn't hear that. The two of them kept walking, their footsteps resounding off the Temple walls. They weren't that far off from the exit anyway. Another minute and they would all be outside.
A minute was enough for Joshua to work the rusty calculator that was his head. One day on the Realms was just three hours longer than a day on Earth, but a month here had about ten more days. With nineteen months a year, that meant there were 779 days.
"Wow, Hairless really has his head in the clouds."
Joshua scrunched his face. In his head, he began converting that number to Earth time. He had difficulty visualizing the numbers, let alone performing longhand algebra in his head. Goddammit, who knew there'd be a day he'd miss having a F*CKING CALCULATOR? Carry over the five. That makes it 54. Then… then bring down the eight…
"I know! I've never seen him think this hard before."
Joshua devoted all his teenage brain power to doing the math, on keeping the numbers solid in his mind. He was so focused he never noticed the sunlight that struck his eyes. Nor did he realize their surroundings had changed from dimly-lit corridors of stone to a tall hill of forest and grass along with an impressive view of the famous City of Dragons.
...divide 24 into the product, and you get...
"By Egeria, what is so important he's—
"2.4!" he said. Almost shouted it. Vara and Kilat both jumped. "2.4." He repeated it to himself.
His adopted sister looked up at him in consternation, unable to react or say anything. His first friend in this world had a similar expression on her muzzle. "Clear skies, Joshua?" she said. Nobody could mistake the concern in her voice.
The gamer did not hear Vara. Neither did he feel Kilat flexing her paws. "2.4..."
2.4 years.
One year here was 2.4 years on Earth.
One month here was one month and a half on Earth.
If he counted the days correctly—counted right from the morning he woke up in Sunburst Woods in his pajamas—that meant he'd been stuck in the Dragon Realms for three months.
Three.
Whole.
F*cking.
Months.
The equivalent of three months on Earth, and the only accomplishments he got under his belt were two jobs, pitiful control over his Element and a decent understanding of it, the respect of a minority group in the Temple, a few friends, the possibility that Spyro would treat him better when he returned from his trip, and awareness of the many hazards he had to watch out for in the future. Hazards that could land him in big trouble—the lethal kind of trouble—if he was careless.
Joshua was pretty sure, if he narrated his story to someone on Earth, all these would be marked as "good progress", taking into account the sh*tty circumstances God has given him and the fact he was nothing more but a 15-year old, snarky teenager with zero to his name.
Joshua would tell that person to f*ck off and see reality. This wasn't "good progress". This was terrible! He was too slow. EVERYTHING was too slow. He had only just grasped the basics of his Element—the fact that it appeared to work only on living things, that he could use it in nearly any way he desired, that it operated on specific rules in spite of its versatility. Fine, he knew enough about the Unknown Element that he'd finally christened a name for it, but who cared about that? He had gotten nowhere on finding a way home! How could he, when he was too busy trying to survive Warfang and its elitist citizens? Hell, until now he still didn't have any clues to why Spyro hated him so much!
How much longer would it be before he started making real progress here? When will he make real gains? The longer he stayed in this world, the more he would miss out on his family, his girlfriend, his buddies, his chances of salvaging his life back on Earth! Everything! Goddammit, they all believed he was dead. He was sure of it!
Joshua couldn't afford to dilly-dally on like this. He knew that for a fact, but...
F*ck. Jesus Christ, he was just a teen. A TEENAGER! F*CK! F*CK HIS LIFE! What the hell did he do to get this shit on his plate? Why couldn't it have been someone else? A soldier, an engineer, or some survivalist prepper could've done better in his place!
The gamer wept. He didn't feel Kilat rubbing herself on his chin, asking what was wrong. He didn't notice Vara leaning her forehead on his shoulder, who remained silent to respect his privacy. He didn't even realize he had fallen down and clung to the orchid dragoness for support.
For in all his thoughts and feelings swirled curses and laments nobody on this planet would even come close to understanding.
Author's Notes:
The citizens of Warfang may understand it's only been a month and a half since Joshua arrived in the city, but you guys finally know how long he's really been living here in the Dragon Realms. Do the math.
2.4 Earth years for every 1 year in the Dragon Realms. Man, that's even longer than a year on Mars!
Poor kid. At least life is slowly improving for him, so I guess that'll do for consolation.
Sooo… what'll be inside the next update? I'm dead set on a few options already on the table. No final decision has been made yet, but I'm definitely going to cover one of the offscreen events mentioned previously in Teacher's Pet #1, Glorified Peon #1, or in this very snip. It's about damn time I throw out something more relevant to the plot.
Replies to reviews:
Somas35. Well, a lot of what we see in TLoS screams the Middle Ages… though they're a bit more technologically advanced (remember the train in ANB?)…
Had to bring Joshua back. Needed to show some progress for his own story, seeing as Teacher's Pet was over 30 days in the timestamp. Oh, and thanks for your feedback re: Vara. :D
Kilat has her own schedule around that point in the story. Hint's back in Glorified Peon #1, if you're curious.
Bizzleb. Good to see you again! Yeah, definitely need simpler—shorter chapters. Well, this one proved to be simple enough.
Joshua helping someone the way he did is a BIG positive, and I'm sure he reminisced about it during the all those hours he ended up spending in his room. Making a normal, everyday person as a friend, and a first real friend at that, is a pretty big leap for him. He really "did good", all things considered. Hell, in this chapter we can see the fruits of that. The juicy little tidbits that led up to this though… I think I've put out enough details to go into some of those offscreen events.
Re: the other dragoness…. It's a secret!
Re: Spyro. I figured he wouldn't be exactly the best teacher. He's like the Avatar in Nickelodeon's Legend series. Everything comes naturally for him. He's got natural talent set to 11, so I'd totally expect him to do the whole "feel your instincts" and "you'll know it when you do it" kind of crap. Oh Spyro… you got a long, looong way to go before you're Guardian-level.
Iceman (guest). Thank you so much for your review. I'm glad you're loving the story.
Actually there is a chronology I'm following. Aimless has a dedicated spreadsheet (the first I've ever done for a story!) to help me keep track of both the snip content and the timeline. The timestamp of every snip you guys read is encoded in one of the worksheets, following the conventions I put out in the beginning of every chapter. The other worksheet gives me a summary of each snip, although at some point I'll probably have to create a diagram or flowchart to make sure that I don't end up writing a snip fraught with continuity errors or something jarring. Certain snips (or snip "series"), especially those that are related to the two main storylines in Aimless, have their prerequisites. Those prerequisites also carry several conditions too, so if I don't progressively move towards them the reader experience would be even more jarring than it already is, especially when you consider I am no longer bound by chronological order and can jump back and forth along the timeline whenever I see fit.
Well. Vara's in this chapter! I decided to bring her in again since it fits the chapter so well. Based on my notes, it was originally supposed to be Volteer and this was supposed to take place very early in the timeline (like, a timestamp of 2W). Switching him in with Vara and pushing it farther back along the timeline gives it a more subtle impact.
Hope to see you in the next chapter!
Guest #1. We'll eventually have a scene where he fights back, and as you can see here, he's already able to control his powers to a limited extent. Not to the point it'll be overpowered though. I didn't design the Unknown Element to work that way, even if it is fully capable of such feats. I'm not sure what you meant by "done with the dragons and everyone else". This story is mainly about adapting to the society you find yourself in, whether it is a product of your own decisions and/or circumstances beyond your control.
Also, be more patient. I'm doing both setup for plot-relevant snips and world-building at the same time. Joshua hasn't been in Warfang that long to warrant sudden, genius-level progression with any Element, let alone one nobody knows about. Consider that Bruce Lee spent a full year training Wing Chun before his seniors had started seeing him as a threat, and that's with him doing nothing but maniacal training day in and day out. Joshua? If he's supposed to represent your average gamer, then sorry, he's not capable of that sort of thing.
LoNeWoLf (guest). Thanks for your review! Really glad you pointed that out (about his nonfunctioning left arm). That was edited the instant you wrote about it. See you again in the next chapter!
Fredrik the astral dragon. Actually this story will have romance in it. It just… won't go the way all the other human fics did. But thanks so much for your review; really glad you're enjoying my characters. I do my best.
Aguywhogames. It's a pretty medieval society. Tolerance isn't a priority. You aren't the only one to ship Joshua and Vara together though. My girlfriend—who proofreads my stuff as I am writing them—even thinks so, especially when I was writing this chapter.
Teacher's Pet was a good opportunity for me to explore the system behind the innate Element manipulation unique only to dragonkind (and Joshua), just as this chapter gave me a good opportunity to explore Warfang's approach to timekeeping and provide a sneak peek at Joshua's life two months after his arrival. XD
And yes, Azeroth the Infinite is a reference to Warcraft. If you're a fan of DragonMaster000's works, you may recognize Alona's name from One Day. It's nice to give the Ancestors some names, right?
Guest #2. Thanks! Haha, I should look for another video game quote somewhere…
Imaginationjok92 (guest). Life isn't all about action :P Neither are stories. We're in slice-of-life mode right now, with some plot-relevant stuff sprinkled in every now and then. It's a reality I have to deal with when setting things up.
Joshua has no plans of "escaping". Frankly, it'll be pretty stupid to even think about it at this point in time. There's a reason why he sought Warfang even after Kilat urged him to give up on it, and it's not just because of him fanboying over SpyCy.
Hitler's Moustache. Didn't the "Direct Continuation from 1-A" at the very beginning of CH28 clue you in? XD
Icarus420. Thanks for reviewing again, and I'm glad you're still sticking around.
Joshua can't have extreme Power Incontinence forever! It's natural he'll gain more control over it… although it will take him a while to figure it all out. If you noticed, Teacher's Pet #1 occurs 37 days after the day he arrived in Warfang. He certainly didn't spend all that time doing nothing, so there's bound to be some progress, even if he only got as far as extremely basic channeling and semi-active concealment.
Looking forward to your next review! Glad you're liking my side/recurring characters. ^_^
SKdaGamer. Thanks for the review! Glad to see your comments. Well, this chapter doesn't really delve at all into Spyro's beef with Joshua or any further development regarding the Unknown Element (although it does touch on what Joshua's doing with it now). Hope you're not too disappointed about that.
As far as Spyro's own character development is concerned… no, his dark side isn't involved with his (excessive) paranoia over Joshua, unlike the way it was in Broken Perceptions. If you go back and reread the previous chapter, you'll notice that Spyro showed up a few seconds after Joshua channeled the Unknown Element. Can't really blame him for his overreactions, though. Joshua's been causing him stress since Day 1, and it's not just the differences in opinion between him and Cynder, but also the foreign eyes Joshua is attracting.
I'll go into a chapter where Spyro's featured prominently at some point, just so we can see how the other characters cope/clash with his feelings on the matter. It certainly won't be the next (because now I'm dead set on what I'll be writing), but it may be the one after that.
I feel guilty writing this reply to you knowing that I haven't written a review for Broken Perceptions yet. I actually liked it, y'know? Going through the whole story with Aaron remaining an ordinary, powerless human is something rarely done and, unlike Bald (which was supposed to precede your story with the same premise towards the human OC), you finished it, with every step of the way a good ride.
KeyBlader Zen. Thanks for the review, dude! But…. Oh boy, those anime references. D:
…Dude, I don't know how to respond to that. I'd imagine Spyro telling you to go fly in a volcano before going all defensive about his paranoia.
Glad you liked Vara. I liked her too—wouldn't have brought her out again just for a more lighthearted chapter than the previous one.
Djax80. Congratulations to Joshua, you mean. He made a new friend, discovered something new with his power, and has clearly landed a better job as per this chapter.
I honestly do not know how far LotR's world-building goes. I've never read the books. Still, I'm flattered you went as far as comparing my efforts to it. The detail does explain the long update times, though. Next chapter will definitely be a flash back to a previously mentioned offscreen event. Better look forward to that. XD
If you've been paying attention, Vara sneaking her way to Joshua's quarters (and pissing off all four of the guards on duty) is now an offscreen event as well.
Until next time! Thanks again for the review.
Space Communism (guest). Thanks for the review! I'd appreciate it if you had something more to say, though. :3
BronzeHeart92. Thanks a lot for the feedback. Always good to read reviews. I'm not sure what you meant by "excise"… maybe you meant something else?
I've come across Asgard Chronicles once. Sorry to say, I haven't read Wrath of Netherlord yet. Real life's been keeping me busy. I'm planning on moving up a notch with my girlfriend so… lots of things going on. 8D
Toadn2011. Glad you still enjoy the story, and thanks for sticking with me for so long. I hope to keep you onboard the story as I churn out the occasional update.
You bring up a good question, and I'm sure many readers are probably asking themselves the same question, seeing as every chapter after Joshua's arrival (and the introduction of the timestamp) is less "action/adventure" and more "slice of life". I don't want to repeat my written reply to Iceman (guest), the contents of which I've pretty much told you already in our PM exchange.
Granted, I've spoiled you with one of the more action/adventure snip series that will start popping up once certain milestones (meaning, snips) have been met. There are several more where that came from, but a lot of those have timestamps well past three months, so we'll see how this goes.
Guest #3. Like I told the Guest #2, be patient please. ^^
Guest #4. Thanks for your review! And sorry, there are no plans for Joshua to turn into a dragon and I don't intend for that to happen at all. The second I do that, Aimless will cease to have a purpose and I'm better off just shutting it down.
Wretched Abyss. Thanks for the review, and glad to see you again! I'm really happy that it all turned out the way you hoped it would. Did I catch you by surprise then, bringing out Joshua in the previous chapter?
And yessir, I can see a good friendship forming between Vara and Joshua. ^_^ Oh, and thanks for your assistance in helping me pick out snips that would be used for this chapter (and the next three after it).
Re: Vara's friend… nope, nope, not telling! XD
Abysmal Taint. Thanks so much for the review, Abysmal! I'm looking forward to writing that chapter myself, but you'll have to wait though. There's already so much in the backlog that I just want to throw out there. XP