Her response to his teasing question started out playful and coy but it soon grew into something beyond the joke - a critical analysis of their world and what they needed to survive in it. Why Hototo had not survived in it. Perhaps he had been too good - and the fact that this world was too cruel for someone like Hototo to thrive made Mesec crestfallen. There should not be such a thing as too kind, too pure.

As she trailed off, her words might have been despairing if they had been spoken in a different manner but perhaps Little Earth was just stating the facts. It would be strange if she were to be nothing more than a clone of her brother but Mesec did not think there was any danger of that outcome coming around. Already she was so very different. “I don’t think you’ll end up like him. You look at the world differently than most... and certainly clearer than I do. We need that.” Maybe Little Earth was just what they needed right now. He could absolutely say that he enjoyed having her around - she seemed to have a talent for stating things in simple terms that should be obvious, if his mind wasn’t so bogged down by worries and concerns about far too many things.

It was nice to think that they might have a purpose and he clung to the hope that his was not to bear the darkness in the balance - to be the monster that tried to snuff out the light so it would always have a reason to shine. They needed both, he knew, he just had preferences on which side of the balance he could belong on - and it was not the side he was born into.

His dark tail swished lazily against his legs and a smile grew when the earth rumbled around him - preparing himself for what felt like it was going to be a large size of earth to collect and get tossed his way. Would he be able to teleport to safety fast enough? But, before another dragon could form, the pieces fell back down harmlessly and his own smile grew when he saw hers had as well. He liked making Little Earth smile, enjoyed that she seemed to have fun teasing him as he had with her. “Well I won’t be having any rock grow around me to weigh me down but all the same, I’m not going anywhere.” He didn’t add the words ‘I promise’ in there, though it felt like he was making a promise. One that he would surely have to break, eventually, because he could not spend every moment of the rest of their lives with his new cousin though maybe it wasn’t quite so literal.

Suddenly, he realized that though they had shared information on their family tree but not their names. “I’m Mesec, by the way.”

sorry it took forever!