Somewhat Special Event: The Extras Talk Back!

[AmbushCat]

If you want to look at it that way. The cave system I call home is below freezing regardless of the season. I escort out any idiots who think that trawling it would be fun, and I patrol the caverns to keep the local monsters from getting too rowdy. Occasionally I might root around and see if I can find something to sell for a bit of gold, but that doesn't happen often.

[Ookalf]

Ooh, that sounds exciting! What kinds of monsters are down there? Anything interesting?

[AmbushCat]

We have the typical array of bats and spiders of varying sizes, who've all adapted in their own ways to the cold. Some of them can grow to about half our size. We have the odd dragonspawn that hasn't gotten the hint about me being off limits. There's a tribe of dark elves at the other side of the cave system who aren't especially fond of me, and they attack anyone who tries to visit. We have medusas... they're basically bluish white-skinned monster ladies that are half snake and can cause short-term petrification. Those are just a few.

There's also a clan of dragons that call the place home, but they're much nicer. They're the ones that raised me, in fact.

[Ookalf]

You were... raised by dragons? That's cool! But you're... human, right? How'd you end up with them? ...If I'm allowed to ask.

[AmbushCat]

*takes a deep breath* Give me a moment... I haven't told anyone this except Aldonza, and it's not an easy thing for me to think about.

[Ookalf]

Oh, I mean, you don't have talk about it if you don't want! *Sassafras quickly tries to reassure Lisa.* I understand if it's a sensitive subject...

[AmbushCat]

I... may as well. The fox has been telling me that I need to open up more to others...

*Lisa removes her helmet and sets it aside. While she does sport some nice blonde-brown hair, the long scar on one cheekbone that her helmet was concealing is a bit more eye-catching.*

I'm from a family of explorers and travelers. My parents were never good at staying in one place for long, and since they weren't keen on leaving me in the care of anyone else, I always went with them wherever they sailed. When I was about 30 seasons old---seven-and-half years, simply put---they found out about a certain island... several towns with a combined population of no more than 1,500, a handful of snow-covered mountains, and some icy caverns that no one had enough guts to map out. Naturally, they couldn't resist the chance to look around.

[Ookalf]

I see... *Sassafras nods slowly. That was an impressive scar, to be sure...* I guess that does sound exciting, but... I'm guessing it didn't go well, did it?

[AmbushCat]

No, it didn't. *sighs* We found this ancient artifact in a side tunnel. A large mirror about twice my current height and just as long, incredibly clean and polished enough that it looked like you could see clear to the heart. I got up close to look into it, put my hand on the mirror for just a moment...

*shakes her head* ...and I accidentally triggered an avalanche on contact through some bizarre sort of magic. A torrent of snow, ice and rock swept through the catacombs. My parents managed to throw me clear---that's how I got my scar, by the way---but they got separated from me in the process. *rests a hand on her forehead* ...It took more than a decade before I was able to locate what was left of them.

[Ookalf]

Oh. That's... That's terrible. *Sassafras's ears droop, and she stares down at the ground.* You must have... Well, I mean, I can't even imagine what you must have felt when that happened...

[AmbushCat]

Yeah... for the sake of not dwelling on that, I'll keep going.

I wasn't on my own for very long, though. The dragon clan I mentioned heard about the avalanche, and they found me before I froze to death. They gave me a place to live alongside them, and over time I was able to learn how to control snow, ice, and the cold thanks to them. *shakes her head* That's a debt I can never really repay.

[Ookalf]

*Sassafras nods quietly.* That must have been hard... But, it's good that you found someone to help you. ...Say, are these, like, big dragons? Did they ever... have trouble, accommodating a human?

[AmbushCat]

Not as much trouble as one might expect.

Most of the dragons tended to be between 8 to 25 feet tall on average. The most mature and powerful of them could get "battle forms" that quadrupled their size and defenses, but there have never really been more than a handful of those. During the rare times when they needed to visit the villages outside the mountains---which became more frequent after they adopted me---they typically sent the smaller dragons out to do business.

Because of their relationship with the villagers, they were able to deal with my physical needs well enough. Food, water, warmth, a place to sleep. *shakes her head* They were never good at dealing with my emotional needs, though.

[Ookalf]

Mm, I see... But you said they had contact with people from outside, right? Non-dragons? Could you... talk to them, at all?

[AmbushCat]

I could, yes, but... *sighs* My parents' passing was still fresh in my memory, and as a result I became rather withdrawn. As time passed, the dragons became confident enough in my abilities to allow me to handle things on my own. I still rarely interacted with anyone, though. I was on decent enough terms with the shopkeeper who supplied me, but that was it.

People in general... I just couldn't deal with them. I could tell things weren't necessarily easy in the town I frequented, but they seemed happy on the whole. *shakes her head* I didn't understand how they seemed to move on from tragedy so easily. Part of me was still grieving over my loss, so I just couldn't get behind that.