forgingfires | Labythrinum Inbox

"Well that sounds terrifying." She said with a shudder. "How did they manage to do that? You let them drive your cars?"

"Oh no, they drove into my car," Red Son said flatly. "Using a magic enhanced vehicle so they came in fast and shattered it, used magic to rebuild their car, stealing some of my parts, and then kicked me out of it!"

If she hadn't seem some wild shit in her life, she might have thought he was bullshitting her. "That's - uh. Does that happen a lot?"

"It is starting to happen a stupid amount the more time I spend with them. I have an incredibly high rate of crashes around them," Red Son said with a put upon look.

"It sounds like they're doing it on purpose- at least that one time." She said. "Good thing you're resilient, I guess. Though maybe they shouldn't be around such dangerous machines regardless."

Red Son barked a laugh. "They were going by the seat of their pants that time, but there are only so many places to go on a track. They don't really mean to wreck stuff, they're just very good at it," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Honestly, I'm not sure which of us have actually caused more property damage. Its a very close thing."

"They're resilient for mortals. The Dragon Girl has a dragon heritage, and she'll be getting stronger with her awakening her power more, on top of the Samadhi Fire burning away anything that threatens her life now. The Noodle Boy has the Monkey King's power." There is a pause. "Somehow. I'm not sure how that works because Wukong still has his power, but he has shown the potential to be invincible. There is actually a lot suspect with his whole situation, but I don't think he's even realized it. He does take a hit very well though."

Night Sky exhaled a laugh of her own. "Wow. Should I be worried you're going to start causing property damage?" Not that it was any of her business. So long as it wasn't something she cared about and no one got hurt.

She tilted her head quizzically. "Is she actually a dragon? I thought that was just a nickname because she was... fiery, or something." A beat. "Why do you call him noodle boy if he has crazy monkey king powers?"

"Only if I decide to go on a conquering spree. Otherwise I don't wreck very much if I'm not around them," Red Son said with a shrug. That moment when the villain seems to be more mindful of the fallout.

"Dragon human hybrid. Her ancestor Ao Lie took a human mate and since there were...family troubles, his descendants kept marrying with other humans for the most part," Red Son said. "Ao Lie also liked turning into a white horse, he was well known for it. So she's Dragon Girl, Pony Girl, White Horse Girl, and whatever combination of those words I feel like that day. She has a white motorcycle with horse and dragon stylings as well, so I decided to keep it even though I'm less convinced she's a reincarnation like the rest of the crew," Red Son said, voice taking on the edge of someone who has been trying to figure out what the fuck is going on with a particular problem and has no idea what it all MEANS.

"Because the first time I met him, it was because he had shown up with a noodle delivery to where mother and I were releasing father from his prison. Which was underground, deep in a construction zone that no one was supposed to be in because I got all the zoning permits for it! We owned that land! But for some reason, his delivery app brought him right to us and he never thought twice about going down a construction elevator!" The things MK does are vast and confusing. "And I still don't know why! Like he was legitimately there to deliver noodles for his...guardian's restaurant. I don't know who placed the order because it wasn't us, I don't know if Wukong was already playing games then, and Noodle Boy was surprised from start to finish from my releasing father, from my about to kill him, he was very adequately terrified to all the demons and robots there, to him picking up Wukong's staff and it reacting to him! The moment we became aware of his existence that day, literally nothing made any sense." Red Son ranted, fire flickering in his hair because NONE of it made sense, there was some controlling factor in the mix and he didn't know WHAT it was.

"Then I chased him across the city until I ended up crashing into a building when Dragon Girl interfered. He still delivers noodles between fighting demons and saving the world, so he will remain Noodle Boy."

Night Sky blinked owlishly.

"Wow." That was... a lot of backstory for Noodle Boy. "That... almost sounds made up. I know it's not because you don't seem like the type to just make up some wild story. That, and your hair is going crazy again so I assume you're... annoyed?" She cocked her head. "I feel like I should have made a grander entrance now."

"Because his whole deal makes no sense! He's a human!" As far as Red Son knows, he's gonna need a canon update to find out about the whole Monkey Form thing.

"He is surrounded by the descendants or reincarnations of the pilgrims, none of whom really seem to show any knowledge of their past lives, and he's taken the spot of Wukong, but he hasn't shown any connection TO Wukong except for some reason having a...a copy of his powers, because Wukong still has his! All these things are circling around the Noodle Boy, and I do not know why. I've tried to do a few probing questions, but I am utterly convinced that if he has given it an ounce of thought, he immediately ran from them." Red Son ranted, throwing his hands up in the air. He groans, face in hands. "I didn't used to CARE. He was just someone to destroy, but now I'm concerned and when that many coincidences happen, they're no longer coincidences."

He huffs, lowering his hands. "Its infuriating. And your entrance was FINE. I can do with subdued."

"The pilgrims?" She almost immediately regretted asking, suddenly feeling like it might just send him on another tangent. "Sorry, I'm not... familiar with the story here, if there is one. You don't have to explain it all to me now though, especially if it's going to make you more annoyed."

"I'm annoyed, but its not at you. Its more...anxiety," he said with a huff. "The pilgrims of the Journey to the West. Its a story most know in my world. The Great Monk Tang Sanzang had to deliver scriptures after completing a great journey. Made difficult between those who wanted the scriptures and those who wanted to eat the monk because to do so grants immortality. So he had protectors, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, Ao Lie, and most famously, the Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. Who was the...reluctant participant. His bodyguard stint was to be his rehabilitation after some centuries of imprisonment and he was leashed with heaven's gift until he learned 'to be a better person.' Basically. Though it took time to find out he wasn't a willing pilgrim, I think my family are one of the few to realize what heaven's gift was before the journey was immortalized in writing."

He rubs at his neck. They had recognized it after Red Son's own 'gift.'

"Sun Wukong is the...not quite the strongest being back home, but that includes the Jade Emperor and Buddha and other beings who are literally part of the fabric of our universe." Sun Wukong is a beast. "He and my family have a complicated history, but I met the pilgrims on their journey when I was a child. I remember...quite clearly."

The trauma does that.

"And the only original pilgrim alive. He's immortal several times over due to things he did before his imprisonment. The rest of them have passed on. Even Ao Lie, supposedly, even though he was supposed to be immortal to. I don't know what exactly happened to him, though I have suspicions on what may have taken him."

Night Sky, unfortunately, was not a well read or truly worldly woman in the slightest, so she had no idea it there was a story then vaguely similar to the Journey to the West. The names sounded vaguely Maltanaian though- so maybe. Either way, she had no idea, and thus listened as intently as she could to piece together everything.

"You... met the pilgrims of legend when you were a kid?" Night Sky was old, but she had experienced something like that before, mostly because she had kept herself so isolated to the two forests she knew, she never really met many that would offer such an experience. "You don't sound pleased about it." Hence the 'complicated history' she supposed.

"So... Ao Lie is Dragon Girl's ancestor. Who are the others?"

"I wanted to use the monk to make a dinner for my father," Red Son said. "That is also when the Samadhi Fire's real danger became apparent to those outside my family. I was one of the few demons to actually hurt Wukong. It gained attention."

Which led to a lot more complications.

"Correct. The Dragon Girl is Noodle Boy's best friend and has been for years. Zhu Bajie is related to the Pig Man and Sha Wujing is related to the Blue Thing. I don't know if its blood or reincarnation, but they look remarkably alike. The Pig Man is the Noodle Boy's guardian. I think. Some kind of father figure. Pig Man and Blue Thing have known each other for years, but Blue Thing didn't meet the rest of the crew until apparently the same day as when I met the Noodle Boy. He's like...a therapy uncle, I guess." He shrugged. "And then there's the Scholar. The Scholar is a reincarnation for sure. One, the Great Monk doesn't have descendants, he was a monk. Two, They look alike, they sound alike, and the one time I saw the Scholar's magic, it was...familiar. The Scholar is the Noodle Boy's...other parent figure? I am eighty percent sure him and the Pig Man have some kind of romantic entanglement."

"Guess that makes sense..." demon and all. He did mention people wanting to eat the monk previously so that might have made it even less surprising.

If he looked close enough he could probably see her brain overloading, the gears clogging while she tried to keep up. "Uhh." She said uselessly after a few seconds, a finger tracing idle, absent patterns in the air and her head tilting like a curious dog. "I feel like I'm going to need a diagram to fully understand that. Also, these... aren't people's real names. Do you hate learning people's names? You do the same thing here, too. Hey wait!" She snapped to attention. "Do you have a weird nickname for me?!"

"Most of the people I interacted with for my life were either uncaring or looking to take advantage of my family. And mother and I were strong enough that we could get away with some level of disrespect. Names weren't worth getting to know in most cases," he said with a shrug, grabbing another piece to install.

"Dryad Girl, Forest Woman, Plant Lady," Red listed off automatically. "Though Night Sky is at least a straight forward name."

Night Sky nodded. Again, fair enough. No point in respecting people that most assuredly didn't respect them.

"Plant lady is the worst one." She said with a huff. "You know... I have another name, too. Maybe you'll get to learn it one day."

"Fae true name business?" Red Son asked.

"Mmm. Sort of." She said. "It's a Sylvan Elf thing. We live so close to the fae and they're notorious for stealing names that we have two. The public ones like Night Sky, Ghost, Ash Blossom..." etc. "And private ones that we only tell our loved ones. I - ha." A mirthless laugh. "I almost forgot mine not long ago. Weird forest magic does that. I might need to tell someone just in case at this point."

"Not a terrible idea," Red Son said. There is a pause.

A huff.

"Dragon Girl is Mei. Scholar is Tang, Pig Man is Pigsy, Blue Thing...might be Sadie or Sandy or Sassy, I really haven't picked up his name. And Noodle Boy is MK, I've never heard his full name."

Night Sky pursed her lips to try and hold back a laugh.

"Aww. You do know their names. Sort of." Clearly this meant something! "Maybe I will tell you mine, once you earn it."

"To be fair, I'm only friends with Dragon Girl and Noodle Boy is just always there when I go see her," Red Son said. "The other three just kind of tolerate my presence as they insist." A pause. "Okay, the Blue Thing is actually friendly, but he's always like that."

"Ahuh. Sure." Totally not friends with everyone else she so believes you, Red Son. "Sounds like a real party back home. Do you miss the chaos? I mean... I guess this place is pretty wild sometimes, so I heard."

He's working through some issues.

He does pause at that question. "This place is more...mellow. Not many projects that I don't make myself. No chaotic mortals always bothering me. Its...different."

"Is that good or bad different?" She asked, arms idly crossing over her chest. "Is 'mellow' your style?" It sure didn't seem like it.

Edited 2023-10-04 13:11 (UTC)

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