shatterverse | (no subject)

"...Men made out of snow? You live in snow! How 'come you don't make 'em?"

Pause.

"Or do you make snow-dragons?"

Nhim blinks, looking confused. "...No, though we do eat the snow to get water. Rivers are difficult to find in the mountains, and even then, breaking the ice to get at the water isn't the best idea. Hatchlings will play with snow at times, but other than that..."

"Well, we make snow-men. You should try it sometime. One big ball of snow, then a smaller one, then a smaller one for the head. Two buttons for eyes, and a carrot for a nose."

Bridge smiles. "But maybe carrots could be horns. On a snow-dragon."

Nhim gapes her jaws in a draconic smile. "I could try, but it might be harder for me. Humans have a far easier time building things than dragons-we don't have proper hands."

Bridgette's smile fades. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"Oh, it isn't a problem for us. We just use our forefeet for different things, like hunting." That would certainly explain the large, upturned meathook-like claw on either foot.

"Guess so," Bridgette replies, wrinkling her nose a little bit at the idea of hunting.

"I don't like it when things are dead."

"It wouldn't be very pleasant for anyone if I tried to eat my prey while it was still alive, though. And I have to eat meat."

"Maybe you could try dog food - dogs are supposed to eat meat but they eat dog food!"

Oliver takes a long inhale, counts to ten, then exhales.

"...Given the size of most dogs, I think it would take a great deal of that. I prefer cattle, deer, horses, that sort of thing."

She lifts her head up briefly, swinging it around to look at Oliver as she pricks her ears. "Are you all right?"

"Dog food tastes really good. You can find it in Petco. We went there to get food for Mr. Snuffles. He really liked it." Sell that Purina, Bridge!

Smooth and pleasant is Oliver's, "I'm quite well, thank you. Just...resettling." Oliver feels hellishly awkward telling a child that isn't his to be quiet.

"Does the bite from the pretty fish-lady still hurt?" Bridge asks Oliver.

"A bit...." His eyes snap open, his gaze mildly alarmed. "Ah, did I tell you about that?" That doesn't sound like a story he'd tell a child.

Mommy told her not to talk about the dreams. "Guess so. Maybe someone else did."

Well, that makes sense. Oliver closes his eyes again and resolves to have a word or two with Thrust.

Nhim nods, then puts her head on her forefeet again. "I still think I prefer meat, though it being fresh or not doesn't matter much to me." Hooray for tough digestive systems!

One ear flicks slightly. "Fish-lady?" she repeats. "You mean mermaids?"

Bridgette nods slowly, seriously. "Gotta make sure the meat's not sick, though," she cautions Nhim. Bridgette knows sickness.

"No, they weren't mermaids," Bridgette continues. "The lady walked on land - and didn't sing - and didn't have a fish tail. Until she grew one when she kissed him. But the robot guy fought them off and another fish-lady bit him and," is that a bit of a malicious smile on Bridgette's face as she nods towards Oliver? "he didn't have a shirt even though it was winter." She shakes her head at the silliness of Oliver Wycliffe.

When Oliver first realized that Nhim wouldn't harm him, he didn't blush as much as he does now. Nor did he sputter softly and look quite so shocked.

DEFINITELY. HAVING. WORDS. WITH THRUST.

"You know, generally they lose their tails, if there's any kissing of landdwellers involved," Nhim notes idly, then adds. "And I would recommend keeping your clothing on during the winter. It isn't as if humans have fur."

She swings her head in Oliver's direction again. "What's wrong?"

"That makes sense," Bridgette seconds, regarding shirts in winter.

"Good Lord, it was hardly as if I chose to--" Oliver begins heatedly, then bites back his words. "There was dark sorcery involved," he finishes curtly. (Dark sorcery and a man's urges, but he'll die before he admits that to anyone other than himself.)

"Oh. 'Kay." Watch Bridge not entirely believe Oliver - but move on to more important things. "They lose their tails? Really? Have you met any mermaids?"

Nhim nods, apparently satisfied by this answer. "That does happen. Generally there's not much that you can do, except hope that someone breaks the spell for you."

Her attention goes back to Brigette as she nos. "Only a few, but I have met them. And sometimes they do lose their tails and gain legs instead, if they wish to live on land. But it takes magic-it isn't a natural thing."

Oliver nods absentmindedly to Nhim, very much done talking about this. He tries once more to center himself.

"There are a lotta people with magic, here. Like Inty and Gabe. Inty knows things, and Gabe knows how things are. And they're really special. Did you ever meet a unicorn?"

"Oliver can perform magic as well," Nhim points out-look, Oliver-talk that won't cause him to turn funny colors! "But yes, I've met many unicorns. ...I very nearly ate one once, but that was a mistake. I couldn't see her horn until I dove."

"Oh, yeah," Bridgette replies, a world of dismissiveness in her tone.

Bridgette's expression soon becomes horrified. "I'm...real glad you didn't eat it," she mumbles, subdued.

Dead bodies don't bother Bridgette much anymore after Captain Trips, but the idea of dead unicorns really does.

"I broke my dive, at least, before I hit her. I ended up apologizing quite profusely." She shakes her head. "I don't eat anything capable of speaking."

Notice how she said 'I', rather than 'dragons'.

"That's good," Bridgette tells her approvingly.

"You'd have to fly a real long way to get to someplace cold all the time," she mentions.

Nhim nods, dropping her head back to her forefeet. "That seems to be the case, unfortunately. I think I might have to settle for somewhere's that cold most of the time...or at least for a good portion of the year. I'm afraid traveling isn't quite as easy for me as it once was."

"You could try Vermont? It's like that."

Bridgette suddenly looks at the door, smiling a little. "Marie, c’mon out – it's a dragon!"

Bridgette becomes anxious, looking back at Nhim long enough to say, "Uh, 'scuse me..." before hurrying over to the door and going inside.

"I'm afraid I don't know where that is." She starts to look to Oliver for help, but pauses as she watches Bridgette, tilting her head to the side, then going, "Hm." to Oliver.

Oliver cracks his eye open to determine that Bridge is out of earshot.

"She's quite lonely, I expect," he says pityingly.