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[As the video starts, Gundham is sitting down at a desk in his shelter, his hamsters sleeping in a cage behind him with a fox curled up nearby as well. The rain that's been plaguing the area can be heard loud and clear as he decides how he wants to word his question.]

One of the primary reasons I established this shelter was to provide a sort of hub for research into the nearby fauna, with an emphasis on the more fantastical. Needless to say, this research has been... slow, as other various responsibilities have kept me busy with the upkeep of the shelter. And so I pose a question to any who wish to answer.

Have you encountered anything of the sort, be it in your own world or here? This includes familiars as well as I'd like to know more about them. I've figured out what makes my own tick of course, but any insight others can offer would be appreciated as well.

[There's an awkward beat before Gundham leans forward and taps at the device, ending the video.]

[Private to Allura]

I apologize for this taking so long to get this message to you, but I wanted to properly thank you for your assistance during the trial. I would also like to know just... what exactly you saw, and I am prepared to answer any questions about what you saw if you wish to know anything.

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This was from back home so I dunno how helpful it'll be but I've met a talking crow and a talking mole before. Animals don't usually talk so it was just these two.

A crow and mole? Hmm... I wonder why just those two could talk... Was the crow somehow related to Yata-Garasu perchance?

Probably not since they told me the were normal animals before.

[Shinra rubs the back of his head as he considers his next point. It was only something he and Arthur discussed briefly so he's not 100% on it. Besides, he's not sure he fully comprehends exactly what happened either.]

It's just a theory, but I think those two can talk because they were affected by the Cataclysm, which is an end of the world event that happened where I'm from. At first we thought it was just a catastrophic event but there's clues that it actually changed the structure of the world itself...

Hmm. Cataclysms altering the very foundation of worlds seems to be an unfortunate but prevalent commonality between people in this place from what I've seen...

[That in itself seems to be a point of concern for Gundham.]

What exactly changed in this cataclysm? ...If you don't mind speaking of it that is. I do not mean to pry.

I don't mind talking about it since I haven't really been able to fully wrap my head around it so discussing it might help.

[He's frowning as he remembers what he saw from his trip back in time, where the world look different but the same all at once and how unsettling it had been.]

A lot of things changed. Spontaneous human combustion was already happening around the time the Cataclysm happened but in the 250 years since, it's become a normal part of our society. There are people with powers. There are talking animals. Even how everything looks is different. A scientist friend I have thinks the Cataclysm was fueled by thoughts and so when the world was reborn, the previous people's imagination was what shaped our world.

Thoughts shaping reality?

[The color just sort of drains from Gundham's face for a moment as he considers the implications of such a thing should people he know be involved in the shaping.]

That sounds.... worrisome. You mentioned the talking animals were "normal before"... does that mean they survived this cataclysm two centuries ago?

Yeah. Along with learning to talk, I think they also got given longer lifespans since the change that happened to them happened around the time of the Cataclysm.

[Shinra pauses as he wonders how much he should reveal about Adolla and the Cataclysm. On one hand it's something that happened in his own world but what if all worlds are somehow connected considering Avalon was able to bring in people from all sorts of different places.]

I don't know exactly how thoughts can shape reality though since I kinda got transported here before that was figured out.

Right, you haven't met Kovalyov yet, huh?

[Kadoc's familiar. They don't always have much to do with one another, and Kadoc never has him with him around the shelter or much of anywhere else . . . but they did go through a bonding experience recently and all. Maybe now's a good time.]

Phantasmals and Demonic Beasts were a specialty of mine back in my world. My familiar's from one version of it.

[Of his world, that is. It's complicated.]

I have not, no. I would welcome the opportunity, however.

[The mention of demonic beasts gets Gundham's attention however, given his own propensity for calling the animals he works with 'demon beasts.']

I would also be very interested to learn more about these demon beasts you mentioned.

I'll stop by with him if now's a good time. I'm not doing anything anyway, so I could stand to get some work done too. I don't mind telling you some of what I know while I do.

Yes, that would work. The weather has limited what I can do, so I find myself couped up inside at the moment.

This isn't gonna be a fun trip over.

[But he can manage it. He got plenty of experience when the inn flooded a while ago, much to his chagrin. When he shows up not too long after ending the feed, he's got a Light magic umbrella of sorts over his head, keeping the rain off both him and his familiar, which is slung around his neck.

Said familiar is a serpent about the size of a large ball python (right now), with gleaming black scales on its back and a vibrant blue underbelly. It has white eyes and large fangs laid out differently from that of any normal snake—a lot of those, in seven mouths. Say hello to his hydra! It has one main head, the size of what would be expected from a snake this size, and six smaller auxiliary heads, three on each side.

That said, it sure looks pretty lazy despite its fearsome appearance; it just hangs there comfortably around Kadoc's neck, lifting a couple of heads to look around the room when he enters.]

[Given the weather, Gundham had already put out towels and brewed a hot pot of coffee in anticipation for this. However any decorum he had prepared for his visitor went out the window as Gundham's curiosity got the better of him. Hope you don't mind your personal space being encroached upon, Kadoc, because Gundham is inspecting the hydra with insatiable curiosity.]

Fascinating... I have seen snakes with a rare genetic mutation in my world that resulted in an extra head, a phenomena on par with conjoined twins in humans, but nothing quite like this....

[He is actually touchy about his personal space, and automatically shrinks a little at first—but he's able to fight it off quickly and make himself relax after a moment. He did invite this, after all! And it's not so bad if there's a reason for it that isn't hassling him or something. His familiar, Kovalyov, uncurls a little from his shoulders to make itself more available for inspection too. He seems to be easygoing, if inscrutable in the way of reptiles. His scales, if touched, are noticeably much more cold than to be expected of a normal reptile, like sticking your hand onto a surface in a fridge.]

He's a hydra, from an alternative history of Russia. The locals call it D'yavol Tron. . . . They'd laugh to see this one, 'cuz they're normally around fifty times this size. I found out around a week ago that Kovalyov can do that too, but I guess only under duress. That's for the better, considering. How the hell would he get around in the city?

The craziest creature I've ever seen was the two headed dragon in the mines back home. No, not like you'd see in the stories. It had one head where you'd expect a head to be and one head where the ass would be.

[And really, he could go on for a long time about weird creatures he's seen back home because there were plenty of them and that doesn't even get into lemures and their special brand of weird. The dragon was just the weirdest of plenty of weird.]

[Gundham's reaction to that descirption is... well. Abject terror mixed with concern for the dragon.]

Such an abomination existed!? I... How did... such things defy the laws of nature and should not be possible...

[Don't mind him he's just trying to work out the biology of such a creature and coming up... well, places nobody would want to be.]

Existed would be the key word. It was also very aggressive so me and some others had to kill it before it tried to kill us. All I know is that it was a fire type dragon living in a deeper part of the mines and it definitely had lived long enough to grow to adulthood. It probably fed off the monsters in that area.

But really, not too surprising to find shit like that. Balduq had all sorts of crazy monsters ranging from exploding fungi, to various types of goblins and ogres, to dragon abominations and more. Made things quite fun when exploring old ruins.

[Gundham just sits and listens in stunned silence, trying - and failing - to contain the abject horror this all seems to be conjuring.]

Do you hail from one of the Astral Hells or something? Such things being a part of a natural world defies any sense of biology. Well, the exploding fungi isn't that far fetched at least...

[What the hell is this guy talking about as far as an Astral Hell goes? Closest thing Hawk can think of is the realm the Grimwald Nox takes place in but he sure doesn't hail from it.]

Nope, can visit some creepy place full of monsters though. Didn't even get into those because those are seriously fucked up being made from negative emotions and all and typically can't show up in the human realm. The goblins and ogres aren't that weird. Just dumb humanoid creatures with enough intelligence to arm themselves, but not enough to be anything but violent and aggressive towards everything they meet. Can be a decent fight if they gather enough numbers to be a threat. The giant ogres definitely are more fun.

[Nope, that settles it. Gundham is convinced he's talking with someone who escaped a Dragon Quest game. This revelation is both exciting and unnerving all at once.]

I am guessing from your descriptions then that you are a warrior of some renown in your world. It is almost a pity we meet here in such circumstances that encourage our cooperation. It would have been entertaining to see how you'd fare against the armies of the Tanaka Empire.

[Just going to go hard on the ham in response.]

If by renown you mean infamous with a price on my head, then sure. I mean, how can anyone not know my face with all those wanted posters in every district of the city? I'd not run if your army came to face me, not like it would be the first time I've dealt with superior numbers and won.

[ maybe jongdae half-qualifies himself these days what with his large set of cat ears and eyes to match. ]

Heh, I've been a few. But also yeah... depends on what you wanna know? Weird, eldritch sea monster things, giant bugs, living foxes made out of stone. Uh. Yeah, like a lot of things.

[Gundham blinks for a moment at that remark, but quickly regains his composure.]

Insects are not my area of expertise, nor sea creatures I'm afraid. This fox made of stone, however I would be very interested in hearing about.

Fine with me. I hate bugs, so imagine my surprise when I saw one the size of a car.

Anyway~! To spare you a very long story I'm gonna skim some details here but if it gets confusing like... I'll elaborate as needed or whatever.

Basically, there was a terrorist attack in Tokyo that unleashed a whole lot of extremely terrible — like existentially terrible — chaos and just a very bad time on the whole city. Which... if you don't know what city that is it's a very big city where a lot of people live and it's very important.

Anyway, there's Inari shrines in Kaidan-cho, which was the ward where all the shit went down. And since everything is true, so's the goddess, right? And the thing about Inari shrines are they're usually decorated with these stone foxes.

[ he starts making the shape out with his hands as if there wasn't a real fox right there in the video where he could see it. ]

So then all the foxes come to life! But they don't like turn into real foxes, they're still just stone foxes but now there's like this army of stone foxes running around but because they're just stone they're probably immune to being corrupted, so they were pretty cool and helpful and they'd follow you around because that's what they were there for. Because the walls came down around Kaidan-cho real quick and so there were still people living there in the hellscape basically. So they'd protect people as best they could.

[ as he describes what the foxes' purpose was he looks irritated for just a moment and then it passes and he shakes his head. he certainly didn't expect to randomly feel something when he's talking about something years in the past at this point. he is nothing if not determined to get to the end quickly now and unbothered. ]

It was weird though... you'd think they'd be cold or you know, at least match the weather. But they'd always be a little bit warm, like if it was kind of a cool day outside but it's real sunny and you lay out on the sidewalk. Like a nice warm? If.. uh.. that makes sense.

[ because once he gets going he can obviously ramble on at length for a while. did he even breathe that whole time? it's difficult to tell. he's also somewhat embarrassed about looking sentimental in front of a total stranger. ]

Like they were truly alive?

[Gundham had been listening to the story with a... morbid look of familiarity on his face. Though the details were very different, it conjured a disturbingly familiar vision of the last time he saw his home in Tokyo. One of ruin and chaos. Somehow the idea of the various shrines throughout the city being a source of comfort for people is a pleasant one, even if the shrines he was familiar with only being symbolic and incapable of staunching the destruction around them.]

If all you say is true for your world, it would not surprise me if these stone foxes were truly alive, or at least designed to mimic that life. But, for the sake of brevity I am familiar with Tokyo and the various shrines therein. ...Or at least a version of it.

[ she barely understood and took in like half of what he said, momentarily zoned in on the hamsters and the fox in the shot. but her attention snaps back when he mentions familiars. ]

Uh, hey, so I have a question about familiars - are they supposed to be... weird?

[Gundham just arches an eyebrow, noticing the girl's gaze lingering on the various animals around him. She's got a good eye for sure.]

I suppose that depends on your definition of weird. My Four Devas and the foxes I have taken in here are very familiar to me, having worked with such animals in my own world extensively. The creatures of the forest beyond, however, are very much... not.

My own familiar is a bear the size of a small building, a gash over his left eye that also glows a blood red. Such things do not happen in my world.

A small building? Ugh, everything I hear about this place is so messed up. For me it's... I have a bunny, or at least I think it's meant to be one, but it's... let me just show you.

[ the camera shifts, pointing off to the side of her room. after a stretch of several seconds she jostles it back to point down at a fuzzy puff with bunny ears. ]

So like, is this not the most messed up rabbit you've ever seen?

[Gundham blinks a couple times slowly, just barely restraining his desire to gush about how cute that looked. He clears his throat and glances to the side until he's more confident that the flush in his cheeks is gone.]

It certainly is not like any breed I have seen, yet as with all other kinds of rabbits, it is not safe to simply underestimate them as such. They did not earn the legends of being emissaries of the moon kingdoms for nothing after all.

Why not simply ask your familiar? They are our familiars, after all, they chose us for their own various reasons. But mystical and mythical beings were really very common in my world. I was raised by fairies, myself.

Edited 2021-06-17 16:58 (UTC)

Perhaps, but Grinzeld is... less than talkative. From what I have gathered, however, that is not something that is truly uncommon. Whether he lacks the ability to talk or simply does not is unclear at this point.

...raised by fairies? I have to ask, as I have heard many tales of fairies and the fae in general over my life, as well as my experiences here. Just what sort of fairies were they?

It still would not hurt to ask, would it? Grinzeld is your familiar, you were chosen for a reason.

My aunts simply... are. Just as magic is. I cannot say what your tales are of fae, I have heard many too. I would not know what would seem out of sorts for another as they were my world for 16 years.

Any attempts to coerce any information out of him either results in blank confused looks, or what I can only describe as a 'chuckle'... or as close to laughter as bears can produce.

I see. The fairies I heard of in my youth were elemental sprites. Capable of wielding magical powers for the sake of their mischief but lacking the intelligence or desire to be anything more than mere nuisances. Your aunts, as it were, do not seem to fall into the same category if they were capable of raising you for 16 years.

I shall not push further, then.

Quite different, then. My aunts are quite intelligent, to be sure. They are... not elemental, in nature, I suppose, but they each have an area of expertise. My Aunt Flora is without equal regarding plants, my Aunt Flora knows all there is to know about animals, and Aunt Merryweather has the seasons and weather as her skilled domain.

That is not to say there aren't sprites like you speak of in my world, there are. But they are most certainly not my aunts.

Yes, they definitely sound far more... for lack of a better word, advanced than the fairies I heard about in my youth. I meant no disrespect. This place making such concepts into reality is still... somewhat surreal to me.

None taken, curiosity does not disrespect make. And you can't exactly look up what sort of fae they are in a library when so many exist.

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