tushanshu | 007

Entry tags:

007 | video

I appear to have--damaged my harness, and also a dear possession of mine, while I was in the bottle.

[His ruff droops guiltily. Is that a note of embarrassment in his voice? Of course it is. He is nothing if not transparent.]

If there is anyone here with a talent for leatherworking, or perhaps metalworking, I should be very glad to hear it.

[private to anyone who encountered his mirrorverse self in Kithika]

I--I must beg your pardon, if I said anything to you that was very rude, or stupid, or both; you may rest assured I am in my right mind again, and the incident is unlikely to repeat itself, and I should like it very much if you forgot everything I--that is to say he--told you, and pay it no mind at all, because it is not true.

[Beat.]

And I should think it obvious that goes doubly for you, M. Pontmercy.

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[DRAGON APPROPRIATION]

Oh, you can fly! [It ought to be less interesting, after a year in Keeliai, but Temeraire looks intrigued, all the same.] Are you a superhero, or a demigod, then?

It is only what I call our group: dragons, and fliers, and so on. I have been thinking of speaking to Evandau, and making it official, only I have not had the time, as of yet.

[HDU Frank]

I'm a demigod. [He says, with a little sheepish grin- but it's easy to see he's actually proud of being one. He was a little afraid, at first- he can admit that much. He bets everyone would be scared to suddenly find out his father had been a god, right? But meeting everyone at camp- meeting Hazel had helped him get over that.] Son of Mars... if that's even relevant.

If you ever get around to making these Corps, I'd really like to see you guys. Is there- is this like a police corps? Do you need to pass physical tests or whatnot?

Oh, I have heard of Mars, in legends: he was a Roman god, was he not? [An intrigued stare.] But you are Chinese; you do not look Roman, at all.

Why, we have seen no particular need for it, as of yet: everyone who has volunteered has had at least a little experience fighting, before. I should be very glad to have you with us.

Indeed I am. [Even if he has never been to China before.] Ever heard of the Battle of Carrhae? A lot of Romans were made prisoners to a Chinese general... and they ended in the city of Li-Jian. It's a bit muddled since there's a lot of pride lost from both sides, but the point is I have both Chinese and Roman ancestors. ...But I am Canadian, just so we're clear.

[A bit of a sheepish grin] If you know who my father is then you might be able to guess I have a bit more than 'a little experience' fighting. If that helps any.

No, I have not: I do not know if the battle even exists, in my world.

[Privately he thinks the outcome must have been very different, if it did: the Chinese had been breeding dragons for centuries before it occurred to the Romans that they might be capable of higher thought.]

Oh, but of course you are Canadian, the same way I am British, as much as I am Chinese. Though I confess I know only vaguely of your father: I have heard his name before, and a few of the legends, of course, but the details of them are unfamiliar to me.

Oh. [A little blink.] You know, I never thought of that. Maybe the battle is simply something that exists in my world and not on others, but since I had never heard of it before Grandma told me about it I can't really be sure.

Well, he's the god of war. There's not much more to it than that- oh, but he's not [He makes a face] this will sound like I'm defending him? But he really isn't a god for mindless battles and 'crushing your enemies' and all that.

Romans went to battle when needed, but it was actually about keeping peace everywhere.

Well, there is certainly nothing wrong with being a god of war: the Chinese have Guan Gong, of course, and he is as much a god of honor as of war. There is certainly nothing wrong with protecting what is yours, after all.

[Pause.] Besides which, there is nothing so good as a proper battle, except perhaps a nice cow or two.

Or simply a burger. [He decides to focus on that rather than the 'proper battle' part because while Romans thought war was the better way to keep peace sometimes, Frank disagreed. His mother had died in war, so nothing good could come out of them.]

Is that what you eat? Cows?

A burger? [He pauses, distracted.] What is that?

Oh, yes: cows and sheep, mostly, although there is nothing so nice as a lovely elephant, and of course one cannot find anything of the sort on the turtle, at all. I have had to make do with fish, which is perfectly respectable, only one gets so tired of it, these days.

[A shrug] Well, humans can't really eat an entire cow so we have to eat pieces of it- and a burger is like a patty of meat? [He tries to show how flat the piece of meat is by pressing his hands together.] And it's cooked. I like it with bacon myself, but not cheese since I'm lactose intolerant.

Also if... you ever see an Elephant around don't eat it? Because it could be me.

Oh, I quite like my meat cooked, as well, and seasoned, though of course I will eat it raw if need be. And I have never had bacon myself, but the aviators quite like it, and one cannot deny it smells very good, when it is cooking.

[A pause. Temeraire pushes his nose closer to the screen, clearly baffled as to how or why anyone might mistake someone like Frank for an elephant.]

Well, d'uh. If your kind has fire you must use to cook the meat, right? [Forgive him for being a bit stereotypical, Temerarie. It's not like he's had the chance to talk about it with actual dragons.]

I'm a shapeshifter. I can shift into a lot of animals? If I know them, anyway. And I've been told I make a handsome elephant. [By his girlfriend, no less.]

[As it is, he likes Frank well enough boy now to let the comment slide with only a brief ruffle of his wings.] Well, it is not so in my world: most dragons do not breathe fire, at all, and it is only some breeds which have the ability.

A shapeshifter! [He sits up, properly interested now.] Why, you might have said so; if I had seen a particularly tasty-looking cow, or an elephant, wandering about Keeliai, I might not have stopped to inquire whether or not it could speak.

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007 | video

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