Come on wuss it's just a door

[poll_the_stars]

Avetlarinyarenesaar... Is currently trying to force herself to walk another few steps. She hasn't managed it, yet. Her reason for stopping was perfectly ordinary - check the address, make sure it was correct, be sure she was in the right place. She'd been quite sure, but there wasn't any downside to double checking, so she double checked. And triple checked. She stopped herself from quadruple checking, but she wanted to anyway. To - be sure that she was right. Yes. Not because she was procrastinating, or nervous, or thinking what am I going to say? She wanted to be sure that she was right.

Well. She's right. She checked three times, there's no doubt to it.

"Look," she mutters to herself, "I get it, it's scary, but deal. You are not allowed to - to -" To what? Go home? Maybe try to work up the courage later? Maybe try and avoid the shren house like so many other dragons?

It was a door. It's idiotic to be afraid of a door. Sure, there were shrens on the other side of it, but there could conceivably be shrens on the other side of lots of doors, some of them were in hiding, hair dye existed. Subtle colors existed. She could have been near shrens any number of times.

That - did not actually make her fear go away. Instead it makes her want to curl up in her little apartment and not go outside again.

Great. Okay. Stop that train of thought, it's not useful. If she stands here any longer, people are going to stare. (Is that person over there staring? Probably. Damn.) Just - door. Go. Walk.

She forces herself to walk to the door, somewhat stiffly. And then she is at the door. ... Does she knock? Does she just open it and go in? She has no idea. It's customary to knock, so... She takes a deep breath and does so. Resisting the urge to flee and teleport away (or scamper into the bushes) isn't easy, but she manages it.

Comments

[poll_the_stars]

"Your -" she points, "son, there, has all of his dragon magic present and accounted for. Your. Your daughter..."

She trails off, and looks pained. She looks at her lap. She takes a deep breath and meets him in the eyes. "I'm sorry, but she doesn't have any."

[alicornucopia]

"So you think she's going to die. But he'll be okay?"

[poll_the_stars]

Nod.

"Yes. I might be wrong, this is very experimental. It might fluctuate while they're babies." (She doesn't think so.) "I'll work on it regardless."

[alicornucopia]

"They're three weeks old," he murmurs.

[poll_the_stars]

"I will work on it very quickly."

[alicornucopia]

Nod.

[poll_the_stars]

She can't manage to smile. Sympathy. Determination. A little bit of triumph, it's progress, she's closer, she will do this.

"May I analyze your spouse while I'm here? I haven't analyzed many dragons yet, I wanted to get to this as soon as possible."

[alicornucopia]

"He's at work."

[poll_the_stars]

She nods.

"All right. Thank you, anyway. I will let you know if there's anything I can do."

[alicornucopia]

Nod, nod.

[poll_the_stars]

"Goodbye," she murmurs. "I will be working on it."

[alicornucopia]

"Thank you," he says, perfunctory, soft, looking at his daughter.

[poll_the_stars]

She nods, and then she teleports back home.

She doesn't let herself break down crying.

She writes a letter to Ehail explaining everything and what she found out from her analysis, and sends it. She then gets to trying to figure out how to fix this problem. She - has no idea, honestly. How is dragon magic assigned? Why do some get dragon magic and other don't? What happened to cause shrens? How do unusuals and uniques fit into this?

She needs more information, frankly. She calls up her line representative again. She explains the situation, explains her prediction based on dragon magic for the malachite's children, and asks to analyze an unusual and (if possible) a unique.

[alicornucopia]

Her line representative refers her to a telepath who lives in Gibryel and gives her Keo's address.

[poll_the_stars]

Okay then. Keo's closer, but slightly scarier. She tells herself to suck it up, because there are little babies that are dying.

She finds Keo's address, and she knocks on the door.

[alicornucopia]

Keo lives in a school. She can go right in the front door and then take the lift to the headmaster's office.

[poll_the_stars]

Oh. Well. That. That works too.

She does that, and then she knocks on that door.

[alicornucopia]

"Come in," says a man's voice.

[poll_the_stars]

She does!

"Hello," she says, "I'm Avetlarin, I'm a wizard looking for a cure for dragon babies, I have a high reason to suspect it has something to do with dragon magic. Does Keo live here?"

[alicornucopia]

"Yes," he says. "I'm in a mindlink with her. Can I help you?"

[poll_the_stars]

A mindlink? Okay. Creepy, but okay.

"I know a spell that lets me see dragon magic," she explains. "I've seen dragons and baby dragons, and I suspect that a lack of dragon magic is what kills babies. I'm trying to understand where dragon magic comes from and what factors are involved with how dragon magic is assigned. Since Keo has a lot of dragon magic, I'd like to use the analysis on her."

[alicornucopia]

"Would your analysis disrupt the class she's substitute-teaching?"

[poll_the_stars]

"No. But I would need to be in the same room. Would you like to hear the results of it after?"

[alicornucopia]

"Yes. She's in room 112, on Tharaad Hall, if you'd like to take the lift there."

[poll_the_stars]

She nods.

"I'll be back in a little while."

And then she goes to room 112 on Tharaad Hall. Is it a good time to slip inside and cast the spell?