#004 ╰ ––––––– ✧ dracokeep : in. ❨ come &&. save us / catch us before we fall. ❩

[dracokeep]

ah - choo ! zinnia wipes her nose with the back of her sleeve. it feels like someone's talking about her.

[dracokeep]

❝ i know you're not here for me, i'm just saying what i thought. ❞

despite the irritation in zinnia's voice, there's also a brief laugh that escapes her ; this is so stupid. so, so stupid. here she is in a place she thought she'd leave behind, talking to someone she thought she'd never even bother with again after everything that's happened to her ⸻ but zinnia stands there anyway, much taller than she had the last time they'd properly met. huff resounds from her lips as she pulls her cape over herself again with her hands, gaze flickering back up to the sky ever so briefly.

❝ ... i didn't expect you to have a conversation such as this with me, ❞ zinnia answers after a moment of thought, honestly ⸻ she has sinned, &&. she knows it well. it's nothing she could hope to atone for in this lifetime. her selfishness, her inability to see past her mother's lies ⸻ in the end, it was no one else's fault but her own. rayquaza would have been in the right if she'd died during their first encounter. as if remembering, one of her hands moves to place itself on her abdomen, right where her scar would be. ❝ i could never hope to understand you, is all. there's so much to you i don't think i'll ever know, or see, so maybe that's why i'm a little surprised. i think if our roles were reversed, you'd probably feel the same way ... but you're also probably going to be like, ❞ another pause as zinnia clears her throat, attempting to lower her voice to mimic theirs, ❝ 'don't assume how i feel,' so. you know. hypothetical stuff. ❞

The disguised dragon crossed their arms then, leaning back where they stood. It was almost--almost--humorous in their mind how much of an influence the lorekeepers had on them. Each one different, each one equally difficult and irritating. Some understood, some didn't. Oh, how they were reminded of that annoying brat from so many generations ago.

They wanted to rip her in two sometimes, and yet still they let that woman boss them around. A grimace so brief and quick to fade as they shrugged.

" aster reminds me of someone from quite a long time ago, i will not get into it...though i can assure you, she was far from the most talkative lorekeeper. "

A subtle wave to their hand as they shook their head before sighing. They kept eyelids closed for a moment before shooting open as they drew their glare to bore into the little draconid.

" miss zinnia, what had i said? i was not here for you. "

How briefly their gaze seemed to shoot into Zinnia, a glare that burned right through her at the final comment. Angry old grandma? What were they? Senile? As old as they were, they were hardly lacking in their mind nor their intelligence. A serpent of the skies had a routine, one only broken by little visitations unplanned and hardly influenced by the actions of humanity.

...Most of the time. Sometimes interruptions to their life was seemingly required. How often had people wished to meddle? Oh how they seemed to grit their teeth at the sudden memory of such recent events. People and their stubbornness awakening their siblings, awakening brats to attempt an undoing, leaving them to clean up the mess.

" am i confusing? did you expect your god to even have a discussion as this? or perhaps your expectation does not match reality. humanity is stubborn, they see what they want to and ignore the reality of things. attempt to mold the world into their image. it never ends well. "

[dracokeep]

❝ you there ! you look local enough to me. ❞ hands are placed upon zinnia's hips as she hops down from a small ledge in front of ree, a small ' hup ! ' escaping her as she hits the ground ; it's less than graceful, with the way she slightly staggers a bit ( it's been a long time since she's done an entrance like this, ) but she regains her composure quickly as she flashes a grin.

❝ what is this region called again ? aloha, or something ? whatever. do you have any dragon types ? are there any region specific ones around here ? ❞ / @skullkxd ( starter call. )

[dracokeep]

zinnia doesn't know exactly what she's looking at ⸻ but she can't deny that, whatever it is, it's beautiful. she remains completely still in the in the bush she hides herself in, crimson gaze narrowing into a squint as she silently watches the creature that roams this area ; zinnia's seen many peculiar pokemon in paldea as a whole so far, though none catch her eye as much as the red, feathered one that seems to be near the top of the food chain in this area, if not at the top of it entirely. it's incredibly strong, chasing after &&. even tearing into its prey with ease ; at this point, she's lost track of how long she's been following it from the safest distance she could without being noticed ( at least, she hopes she hadn't been noticed. it was almost impossible to tell if it was toying with her, or ... what. ) is it a dragon type ? from here, zinnia can't tell ... it certainly has some features of one, sure, but to know exactly what it is ... well, she'd have to get closer. deep breath is taken in as she finds an opening to carefully leave her hiding spot, hand placed on the pokeballs at her hip as a precautionary measure ⸻ before she completely blows it by stepping on a loose branch, a loud snap resounding within the confined space.

❝ oops. ❞ / @koraichalcum ( starter call. )

[dracokeep]

TAG DUMP.

001 ╰   ––––––– ✧   dracokeep      :      v1.      ❨ fourfold knowing / no end in sight. ❩ 002 ╰   ––––––– ✧   dracokeep      :      v2.      ❨ slowly drifting down into twilight. ❩ 003 ╰   ––––––– ✧   dracokeep      :      out.      ❨ emmy speaks. ❩

004 ╰   ––––––– ✧   dracokeep      :      in.      ❨ come &&. save us / catch us before we fall. ❩ 005 ╰   ––––––– ✧   dracokeep      :      visage.      ❨ finding hope / don’t lose hope. ❩ 006 ╰   ––––––– ✧   dracokeep      :      answered.      ❨ our tears are painted red. ❩ 007 ╰   ––––––– ✧   dracokeep      :      dash commentary.      ❨ the final hour upon us / no more time to breathe. ❩ 008 ╰   ––––––– ✧   dracokeep      :      dash games.  ��   ❨ to rise from the ashes… ❩ 009 ╰   ––––––– ✧   dracokeep      :      saved.      ❨ faith slowly wasting away. ❩ 010 ╰   ––––––– ✧   dracokeep      :      inbox.      ❨ scions &&. sinners. ❩ 011 ╰   ––––––– ✧   dracokeep      :      headcanons.      ❨ our hearts beat aloud / unafraid. ❩ 012 ╰   ––––––– ✧   dracokeep      :      musings.      ❨ without a compass / wandering lost in lies of faith. ❩

[dracokeep]

❝ sorry, sorry ⸻ okay, sure. starting over. ❞ there's an overdramatic pause as zinnia flips her cape around her, obviously trying to show off. once her display is over, she straightens up again &&. clears her throat.

❝ my name is zinnia. i'm a dragon tamer from hoenn, and i've come to aloha today to take a look around. you're ... the first person that hasn't completely ignored me, actually. ❞

“- huh?????”

They feel like they should be offended by the looks local enough comment, being that they are local, or … as local as living on the islands for two thirds of your life can get you. And what’s with? The sudden? question? Ree feels a bit off center. They scowl, before adjusting their wheelchair.

“okay, like. Maybe you should start over. Give me your name before making demands.”

[dracokeep]

zinnia listens to them with crimson eyes filled with curiosity, hands clinging to the ends of her cape to wrap it around her body ; she can't recall any other time she's heard them talk so much, much less so ... deeply. it's a lot to think about, for sure ⸻ gaze follows where they press their nails before wandering to the rest of the eroding history painted &&. carved into these walls, lips tightening into a straight line as she thinks a bit about what they've said. people erode ... sure, no one stays the same. time is a formidable foe, even against the strongest of souls. zinnia's sure that rayquaza has felt it in other ways than just the changing history before them, too. it's a lot to take in, &&. some of it is lost on her, sure, but ... she understands what they mean, she thinks.

❝ ... you're telling me. aster used to never stop talking, if you remember any of that. ❞ a pause as zinnia lets out an almost pained laugh ⸻ maybe that was the issue the entire time. aster this, aster that. what about zinnia ? what does zinnia want ? is the history she wants to write forever doomed to be intertwined with the woman who ruined her life ? aster is just like one of the paintings on the walls around them, except no matter how much time passes, she simply just won't erode. it's infuriating ... &&. even moreso that her brain was starting to make sense of what rayquaza was attempting to convey to her. gross. ❝ ughhh. you're really confusing, you know that ? now you've got me being all philosophical and stuff. i thought you came down here to be an angry old grandma or something because i was on your property. ❞

They waited, simply resolved to listen to the silence of thought and further words of this misled draconid. Curious, they wondered what would have happened if they told her soon, if she perhaps learned before it was far beyond repair. Would it have done something different? Would time had shifted gears? It was all the same for them, of course, another rider, another mistake, another age, another death...Some were closer, some never even knew this false face they put on.

Only few had faces imbedded into their own memory. The serpent allowed their hand run along stone for a moment longer before dropping at their side. Gaze set upon eroded corners rather than the art itself.

" it's strange. you look upon these walls and see history carved into every corner, every polished one, at least. yet what history is it, but a story within another person's mind, spread across ages and ages. People, their goals, their wishes, their dreams, their regrets. all influencing the art they create. "

A rumble of something resembling a chuckle reverberated from their throat as they shook their head, nails pressing now against the eroded bits of stone.

" i have memorized every corner of it, yet i always am so surprised by a new crack, or missing shard. the draconid have laid out a gift in their mind, stories to be spread, to be kept. while i still somehow enjoy the stories the winds, the rain, the heat...nature's version of it. the storms that have come across this tower while i was away, the anger of battles to debate territories or new leaders. the damage over time creating a new tale. one that is preserved only by memory, for soon it might erode away. "

Silence rested upon the air, steady and easy to breathe upon despite the high altitude.

" people erode, like these stones. go through unimaginable pains, are broken, and attempt to rebuild themselves, never quite fully reaching what they were, instead becoming something new...or allowing those damages to keep them from growing. though perhaps i am simply speaking to the walls, or perhaps i have spent far too much time with lorekeepers who speak on and on and on. "

[dracokeep]

❝ fly free ? i ... ❞ finally zinnia takes the opportunity to glance over at them, crimson gaze holding so many emotions that conflict the calm that the other radiates ; it washes over her for a brief moment, though it catches her more by surprise than anything. for some reason, in this moment, their presence was just ... comforting, to her. why ? there shouldn't be anything here for her to find it in. yet there's a piece of her that, even after the death of the life she'd built for so long, clings to it. it's ... horrible. head shakes, choppy black locks falling into her face.

❝ ... i wish i could. i'm so tired of this draconid stuff. i've only ever been a copy of her, never myself. there's someone else in my family that had the strength to leave, yeah, but me ? i'm stuck here, even though there's nothing left ... there was nothing ever here for me. if my m ... if aster hadn't held me here chained to a fake life, maybe i could've flown free so much sooner. ❞ a pause as zinnia looks up towards the sky. ❝ sorry for talking so much. i've just got a lot to think about, and this is the calmest place for me to do it before i make any more stupid decisions. ❞

" hm. "

A simple hum as they turned away from the castaway, wandering over towards a part of the wall still in tact. A depiction of their 'mega' form, strange, really, how they could perform such a thing alone...Something that, at least according to these people--all people--was an action performed for trainer and their pokemon. They would hardly allow to call them theirs...Never, never again.

Still, as this child spoke, they seemed only to look bored, their mind a simple breeze as they let their fingertips pass over the eroded stone. Gentle, careful. The feeling barely even registered across illusionary skin.

" do not be foolish. i would never wish you to abandon something that has meaning. "

They could hardly do anything about it, even if they wanted to. Aside for perhaps end one's life, though they felt that unnecessary. Too much action for their purposes, it wasn't as if the sky serpent had any personal need to kill much of any human being. Let alone this girl. Events transpiring in the past aside, of course.

Sometimes their instincts get the better of them.

" i might be a dragon, but i am not against sharing my hoard. to an extent. but you did come here for a reason. the last time a lone draconid came here...hm. it was not to remain in its walls, but to fly free. i wonder if you hope to do the same. "

[dracokeep]

❝ i - i know you're not. i never ... ugh. ❞ there her nerves go again, getting the better of her ⸻ arms come upwards to fold across her chest in an almost protective manner as foot taps against the stone beneath them. were any of the village elders to hear how she speaks to their oh - so - benevolent god right now, they'd drag her by her ear down to the waterfall to cleanse her mouth, but they aren't ( &&. they could be in the ground now, for all she cares. ) she doesn't dare glance in their direction, feeling those eyes pierce into her relentlessly. it's almost cruel, in a way ⸻ zinnia knows she's hated. she knows she's made mistakes. is it so wrong to want to reflect ? if she could go back in time ... ❝ this place means something to me, too, even if things didn't ... turn out like how i thought they would. this'll probably be one of my last times here, anyway, so you can have your spire all to yourself. ❞

When she spoke, piercing topazes burrowed into the girl, a child in their eyes, immature and unfortunate enough to have lived a misled path. They hardly regretted their own actions, it was not meant to be her, it was meant to be the other. How foolish, how sad, that this child had the misfortune of being guided with a false expectation.

How further foolish to believe that they might care at all. Even so, the pressure seemed to let up--at least somewhat--as they looked up towards the sky. Clouds clear, day shining brightly--a result of their presence, no storm clouds would form here. Not while they stood, not while their influence continued.

No long as their calm remained, of course. For 'god' of skies held it within their palm, a storm to their call, an anger unequalled--yet silent at the time.

" i expect nothing. this is my spire, should i not have the luxury to wander it? do you believe i am here because of you, little draconid? "