trans_9 | [open] ☥ the world is just illusion trying to change you

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[open] ☥ the world is just illusion trying to change you

Mulder was pretty certain that no matter how long he stayed here, there was going to be no getting acclimated to the fact that he was living out his wildest fantasies, even when those fantasies were sobered by the conditions that had led to his being on this ship in the first place. If there was one thing that defined him, it was his will to believe in the impossible, and so he'd hardened his resolve already towards accepting that Scully, along with others from his world, were encased in one of those pods below. Still alive. Once he'd accepted that, it'd been easier to functionally react to his situation.

And his first reaction had been to explore every inch of the ship open to him. Of course, that ended up being more than he could have imagined. The ship was huge and trying to wrap his head around the dimensions of the thing carrying them proved mind-boggling. It hit him most fully when he made his way down to Level 4 to explore the rumored 'City', and found himself blinking up into the 'sun' set there in a sky that looked distinctly like the one back on Earth. His jaw dropped for a moment, but he reasoned, it couldn't be real.

And if the Daligig were able to manufacture technological illusions on that scale, he had no doubt that there were other things on this ship that weren't what they appeared to be.

[ooc; So very open, for any kind of interaction. Mulder can be wherever in the City you want, as he's exploring, so just specify in the subject line or tag, please! Open to multiple threads, or even threads with multiple muses - jack away. AIM > thegreatmuldini if you want to chat about it.]

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"Freshly released, I take it?" The dragon mantled his wings, then simply stepped off the edge of the building. Rather than falling, he descended gently down to the street level, landing lightly. Hey, it was easier than trying to hop.

Mulder really couldn't help the involuntary step backwards that he took. It would take a lot of balls to not be a little bit afraid of a giant dragon bearing down on you in the middle of some kind of alien city.

He had the stupid sort of optimism that would allow him those kind of cajones sometimes, but even his awe of the unknown quailed a bit next to those base fight or flight instincts.

And he sure as hell wasn't about to fight the thing.

"Good guess. Just last week."

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

He took a few large steps back, then lifted a hand and spoke two words of command. Immediately the draconic body melted and blurred down into an elven one, which was smiling apologetically. "Is that better? I hadn't thought what sort of reaction the dragon-form would inspire in someone not used to it."

Whether Elf or... Vulcan, that was definitely much less intimidating. And the friendly, apologetic demeanor definitely did a lot to make him able to remember to breathe.

"Are there a lot of people around here used to dragons, then? Guess I didn't figure I'd be in the minority."

Edited 2011-07-23 21:40 (UTC)

"We have a couple of dragons amongst the crew, yes." His smile turned amused and fond by turn as he added, "They are legendary creatures on my world, so I was every bit as shocked as anyone else when I first discovered this. But the ones I've met are quite decent and nice."

"You mean you'd never met another one?" Mulder asked, obviously surprised by the implications.

The elf shook his head. "Everyone hears tales and rumors, of course. But as for an actual dragon? If any still existed on my world, they had hidden themselves so well that none could find them... and most likely died when magic was stripped from in quantity. More likely, they were hunted to extinction long ago."

"Don't shoot the guy with the dumb question, but you sound like that means you aren't a dragon yourself." He gestured to the guy. "Does that mean this is your... 'natural' form?"

"That is correct." He raised one hand, indicating the plain, serviceable ring on one finger. "Although I do possess the necessary spells to transform one creature or object into another without aid, most of them have flaws that make the process inconvenient. The weaker one lasts only twenty minutes or so, while the stronger one cannot be dismissed at will. This was a much better substitute."

So maybe that was just the guy's best approximation of a huge-ass dragon, if no one had ever seen one before.

He would have to give him props for imagination power.

"I'll bet the wings keep the mileage down."

Not quite. He'd never seen one on his world, but he'd adopted this form for quite specific purposes.

"Not so much, to be honest," he said. He rose up a few inches off the ground demonstratively. "Flying as a dragon is actually somewhat more difficult than flying through magic alone. But, to my surprise, more pleasant as well."

Mulder's jaw cocked to the side a bit.

"So is that what this is all about?" he asked, waving a hand in the general direction where the elf had been perched. "A little pleasure cruise in the, for lack of a better word, skies?"

"I was heading from the Tower of High Sorcery to Celena's home, actually. This happened to be on the way. Flying is much faster than walking, if you'll forgive me for saying so." It was, after all, not an option for everyone.

"Celena?" he asked, unaware of the name. "Is she one of... your kind then?"

"She is a member of Engineering, specifically Infrastructure if I recall correctly, as well as a member of the Magical Department. She and I have an... extensive relationship that initially began as a collaboration in the latter," he explained. "In addition, she is one of the aforementioned dragons on board this ship."

"In other words, you really take 'when in Rome' literally, don't you?" Morphing into a dragon to go visit a dragon...

"Could I trouble you for a clarification of the phrase?" he asked, curiously. The translator had completely failed him here.

"'When in Rome, do as the Romans do,'" Mulder recited. "Pretty self-explanatory, really."

"Ah, adapting the cultural mores and habits of the environment which you happen to be inhabiting!" he deduced. "This is not quite that. It is more a matter of physical compatibility."

He's going to hope you meant in terms of... conversation. Ahem.

"Makes sense, I suppose. So I take it this uh, Tower of High Sorcery isn't open for visitors?"

Ask him no questions, he'll tell you no lies.

"It is, to all evident determinations, safe. The hostile spells have been dispelled from anywhere possible, the resident intelligence has been placated, and trouble seems behind us. There are certain areas it is impossible to enter without having magic, but many there are not so protected."

"Resident intelligence... do you mean other than Stacy?" It sounded as if they were dealing with something else entirely.

"Just so. As I understand it, long ago a powerful mage bound his very essence to the Tower." And did not approve of Aibghalien's efforts to sanitize it, when it had been discovered here...

"Exactly how long ago? I don't imagine the Daligig had mages like what you're discussing. Which means it had to be a member of this crew, didn't it?"

"Every building you see here in the City was removed from a world and stored here, just as we living creatures were taken and stored in the pod caverns," the wizard explained. "So the wizard in question performed the deed ages ago on the world to which the Tower properly belongs."

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