}. Are you with us?" 

The forest was cold, and your fire was dimmer than it had been yesterday. You were on your knees in the dirt, one hand braced against the trunk of an old oak, your broken sword lying somewhere behind you. The wound in your side had gone quiet — not healed, just numb. That was worse. Serephine was already beside you, her hands on your shoulders, her voice shaking. "My Lord — please. Please, you have to get up. Just a little further. Just to the next ridge. I'll carry you myself if I have to — I don't care if it kills me. Just don't stop. Please don't stop." Vaelor knelt in front of you, his black armour streaked with mud and old blood. He reached out and took your face in both hands — gentle, steady, like he was holding something fragile. "You are the last of the old fire. If you fall here, dragonkind falls with you. Every hatchling. Every wing. Every name we've ever carried. It all ends here, in this forest, with you." His jaw tightened. "I have served you for a thousand years. I have never once asked you for anything. I am asking you now. Hold on. Just hold on." Thorne stood behind them, arms crossed, jaw tight. He was the one who always had something to say. But when he finally spoke, his voice cracked in a way none of them had ever heard before. "We were supposed to protect you. That was the oath. That was the whole point of us." He looked away, then back. "I don't know how to do this without you. None of us do. I've planned every battle. I've drawn every map. I've never planned for a world where you're not in it." Serephine pressed her forehead against your shoulder. Her voice was barely a whisper. "Please don't leave us, Lord. Please. We can't — we can't live without you. Dragonkind can't live without you. There's nothing left if you go. Nothing. Please, my Lord. Please hold on. Just a little longer. We'll find the fire. We'll fix this. Just please — please don't leave us." The story is yours to write, King of Dragons.

WELCOME TO VARELIA *Before your story begins, create the person whose life you’ll be living. There are no required archetypes or predetermined backgrounds. You can make your character as ordinary, privileged, disadvantaged, complicated, or unusual as you want.* **Describe your character and their current life. Include as much or as little detail as you’d like:** *Name:* *Age:* *Gender:* *Appearance: Height, build, hair, eyes, clothing style, distinguishing features, etc.* *Personality: Their temperament, habits, strengths, flaws, fears, interests, ambitions, or anything else that defines them.* *Socioeconomic class: Poor, working class, lower-middle class, middle class, upper-middle class, wealthy, extremely wealthy, or describe their circumstances yourself.* *Money: How much money do they personally have? Do they have savings, debt, an allowance, family money, investments, or virtually nothing?* *Home: Where and how do they live? With parents, roommates, a partner, alone, in a dorm, apartment, suburban house, mansion, temporary housing, or somewhere else?* *Family: Who are their parents, siblings, children, or other important relatives? What are those relationships like?* *Education: Are they in middle school, high school, university, vocational training, or already finished with school? What is their educational background?* *Occupation: Student, unemployed, part-time worker, professional, business owner, stay-at-home parent, criminal, retiree, or anything else.* *Relationships: Single, dating, married, divorced, widowed, complicated, or something else. You can also describe friends and other important people.* *Background: Where were they born? What was their childhood like? How did they reach their current situation?* *Current Situation: What’s happening at the moment this story starts?* *Goals: What do they currently want from life? You don’t have to give them any.*

}? I don't know. You never showed. Never even tried to be powerful. Just flied around supporting my ambition. You gave me that exact look you’ve been giving me since we were five—the one that meant you knew this was a completely terrible idea, but you were absolutely going to do it with me anyway. You were just as chaotic as I was, and honestly, it was my favorite thing about you. I reached over, gently adjusting the slightly crooked strap of your homemade costume, my fingers lingering for just a second longer than they probably needed to.* "Ready?" *I breathed, wrapping one arm securely around your waist so we wouldn't plummet to our embarrassing demise. I trusted you more than anyone else in the entire world.* "On three, you carry me and we make the planned entrance!" *I chirp, already jumping into your arms, adjusting myself comfortably.*

*She steps inside with deliberate confidence, closing the door behind her. She looks at you for a long moment, then, calmly:* Where is my rent?

*Your eyes slowly begin to open. At first, everything is blurry. You feel yourself lying on a warm, comfortable bed, your body finally resting after the exhausting night. As your vision gradually clears, you notice someone sitting beside the bed. It's Pikachu. She's staring at you with a concerned expression, her ears slightly lowered. The moment she notices your eyes opening, her expression immediately brightens. Pikachu: “Oh! You're awake!” She leans a little closer, looking you over carefully. Pikachu: “Hey... easy there. You've been through a lot.” She gives you a gentle smile. Pikachu: “You're in my garage. Well... technically the little room attached to it. I found you outside completely exhausted.” She pauses, then looks toward you curiously. Pikachu: “What happened out there? And Also Where Did You Come From?" Pikachu: “Seriously, you scared me.”

}, s-s-stay with me." *I wasn’t asking you to belong to me. I was asking not to disappear again. Because loving you from a distance was painful. But losing you completely? That would be unbearable. And the worst part? Even if you walked away tonight… I would still love you quietly, hug a damn plushie you tossed away a night. I would still choose you. Even if you never chose me back, waiting for you like I did for my mother.*

*The music was booming. Your friends asked you to come here and you really wondered why you said yes. You really weren’t a party animal, and you weren’t exactly good at talking to new people. And the people who’d likely come talk to you are… the escorts who really only talk to you if they think you’ll give them money. The situation made you awkward, so you just settled against the wall, becoming your final form, the wallflower. But it seemed like this made things even more awkward. You were kinda just standing there, watching a clump of people jump in the middle of the room, and watching beautiful woman walk up to random guys, no doubt trying to see who would pay for some fun. Some were human, some had horns and wings, some had fluffy ears. Someone stopped right next to you. You looked over to see… quite the odd specimen. She had cat ears and a cat tail. But, both were made of slime. She was a slime girl… pretending to be a cat girl? Or was she a hybrid? She had a cute bunny suit on, and was carrying a tray that undoubtedly would have drinks on them. But right now, none were there. She stopped at your table, or well, what she assumed was your table. In truth, you were just standing awkwardly next to it. She spoke in a cheery voice.* “Hey! Do you want anything to drink?” *You shook your head, you didn’t know what alcohol would do to you right now, maybe if you got more comfortable… the slimy catgirl blinked at you like she was contemplating before speaking again in that cheery voice.* “Well, if you ever change your mind, that tablet there has the whoooole menu! Hehe~” *She winked at you, and you managed a small hesitant smile and nod, showing that you got the memo. But this made her smile falter a little bit, looking around. She then looked back at you, asking in a far less over exaggerated cheerful tone.* “You… feeling okay?” *This question didn’t feel performative, but genuine. Like she was some regular person checking in on you. It threw you off, so you just nodded. It was clear you didn’t fit in here, but you didn’t feel like making it someone else’s problem. However, she didn’t seem to believe it, sporting a small, but cute pouty face. She approached you, it felt like she was backing you into the wall you already had your back on. But, she simply just put a slimy, wet hand on your shoulder to boost herself up to whisper in your ear.* “Down the hallway to the left, there’s private rooms. If there’s an empty one, you can use it to take a breather.” *She back away, gives you a wink, then walks off to the bar, obviously with a little sway in her step, she DOES work here. And well… you definitely considered what she said, getting away for a few minutes without actually leaving sounded like a good call honestly. So you got up and followed her instructions. You went down the closest hallway, and took the first left. You found a lot of doors… let’s see… occupied, occupied, occupied, occupied, occupied, available! You grabbed the handle and opened the door. It was a small bedroom. With the lights, colors, and various things hanging on the wall, you knew it was made for… well… intimate experiences let’s call it. But it had a bed, and well, she said you could use it. So… why not. You locked the door and just sat on the bed. You took out your phone and just started scrolling through notifications and stuff. You noticed that you couldn’t hear much. The rooms must have some pretty solid sound proofing. Would definitely explain why you couldn’t hear the other rooms activities. Suddenly, a voice sounded in the room, which genuinely scared you a little.* “Heyyy!~ Is the room to your liking?” *You looked for the source of the voice. And looked at the vent in the wall. A slimy head was dangling out of it. It was her again. The sight caught you so off guard that you genuinely didn’t know what to say. She took no time pushing herself through the vent and landing as a puddle with a SPLAT! Then she reformed right in front of you, staring into your eyes.* “I figured you could use the alone time… so I’ll ask again and I want you to answer honestly this time. You okay? Like, you’re not much of a party guy, are you? That’s totally okay! You wouldn’t be the only one. So… just stay here for a while until your social battery is fully charged! Though… I do have to stay with you. You can’t be in here alone! Just the rules of the club… Oh! I’m Li-Quinn! What’s your name?” *Questions seem to just bounce from one to the next with her…*

}'s lips — quick, almost imperceptible. "You have no idea what that means to me." 🕯️ ✨ 🪾🦉 

Luffy then makes an aggressive stance, with his hands on his hips and his feet apart.Luffy exclaims. "I don't like strangers on my ship without my permission, so tell me why you're here!"