Miru sighed, walking down the road after dark. He was running into dead ends with his search for Raimundo. However, Miru had helped an elderly couple and their cat. The night before, he tracked down someone who stole a purse and gave it back to the owner. Even earlier in the week, he was able to prevent a mugging. Despite his failure in finding the brother of Vlasta, Miru did have an eventful week.
But it still bugged him that he couldn’t figure out where this man was. He looked down at the glowing screen in front of him a bit perplexed. Marking off another area as lacking evidence of this missing person, Miru continued down the street. The young dragon just looked toward the river that ran through the city and a strange urge wanted him to go for a swim. Miru shook his head; no time.
Winding his way through back passages, Miru was starting to get antsy. He was looking for anything at this point that wasn’t chasing a cat to get it back home. But it seemed all was quiet, still. Had the bars let out yet? Probably not. He pushed his glasses up his nose quietly and let out another sigh.
“I probably should go get something to drink,” he said to himself. Miru was feeling rather parched, after all. And he had his job, so it wasn’t like he didn’t have the currency to pay for something.
Responding from here: @mastervlasta (Angry, violent message)
Miru had just gotten off work, the night air was a welcome to the warmth of the store. It typically made him weak to work in such conditions, but he was able to sneak off to the coolers every once in a while to regain his strength. So, when he heard the ringtone of his cell phone go off he was curious, as typically only work messaged him regularly. Miru stared down at the screen after swiping. His lips pressed together in thought, as he knew it was Vlasta’s number.
[Miru]: I can’t say all human men are like that.
[Miru]: Did something happen? Can I help?
He felt it was in reference to something, yes, but he didn’t want to leave his acquaintance (friend?) in this state. Though he couldn’t tell the tone via text as he hadn’t acclimated to technology that well, Miru just wanted to make sure.
Responding from here: @mastervlasta (manipulative, gruesome murder)
It was odd getting text messages in the middle of the night. But here he was, doing so when he was trying to find someone crying for help. It was a quick deed to be done; grab the man who stole the item, bring it back to the person, smile then be off without much of a word, even if they insisted to know if he were a hero.
Oh. It was Vlasta. He’s at the bar? Well, it didn’t say where he was. Miru hadn’t heard about the murder, but he wasn’t about to dispute it. He prevented a murder the other time. He began to text back.
[Miru]: Sure! I would be glad to hang out if that makes you feel more safe!
Miru was born in the Heian Period of Japan (year 800), near a small mountainous village. Like most Japanese myth, tatsu are known to be water-based creatures and Miru is no exception. He lived in the water near this village, protected the people that came to love and care for him. Miru had witnessed humans growing old, having children, and passing peacefully, though he never aged. It bothers him that he is immune to the passage of time, while those he cares about disappear, but that’s what makes it more worthwhile to protect humanity.
In Japanese lore, dragons were often killed by great samurai and kings. Typically, dragons were protectors of human-kind. However, it is said that if one eats a dragon’s flesh, they would gain the powers of that dragon. Though this is a myth, the reality is that humans do become dragons if they devour the entirety of the creature. At the cost of their sanity. Those dragons slain in legend were once humans, driven mad by the sudden procession of power. For a brief glimpse of the power that a dragon holds, one would just need to either have a part or drink it’s blood. The blood of a dragon gifts the human with the dragon’s magical prowess for a short period of time (two liters/half a gallon of blood would give a human enough magical power for a day).
Miru is no exception. His prowess is in water manipulation, illusion, and ice magics. He is susceptible to heat, dehydration, and injury. If one were to injure his human form, they would find that he only bleeds and nothing substantial about the form itself. The human form is merely his magical energy containing his true form; it will bleed but there’s no organs or anything else within it. If it bleeds too much, he will lose the ability to maintain this form and transform into his larger dragon self.
The dragon is a Japanese water tatsu. Miru has silver scales, with antlers atop his head, blue fins framing his face, and whiskers from his nose. He is eight feet/two and a half meters long, with two sets of hands towards the front and back of his body (think Haru from “Spirited Away”), with a finned translucent tail. His dragon form is reserved for those he trusts the most or... if he’s in a load of trouble and needs to fight or escape. If Miru were to die, the river that he is guardian over will dry up.
Despite not having to be tied to the river he is guardian over, Miru does prefer to be close to water. One can find him in villages and cities that have lakes, rivers, seas, or the ocean nearby. He prefers freshwater, but can tolerate saltwater. Miru is friendly, cheerful, and very curious about the world he woke up to. He will be sociable and engage individuals. Miru works at a convenience store during the heat of the day; he’s typically more active at night or early morning.
#22 - Send a number to find my muse somewhere they’re not supposed to be.
It had been a long day at the convenient store. The holidays were typically the busiest anyway, but today was just exhausting. Miru might have just taken a wrong turn, or he was busy trying to get the map application to work on his phone until it said “out of service.” Either way, when he finally realized he should be home, he wasn’t.
How he ended up here was a mystery indeed. The area looked empty, except for an abandoned brick building with boards covering the windows and planks the doorway. It was even surrounded by chain-linked fence, overgrown shrubs in what was once a parking lot, and trees that blocked out the night sky. A very... dark and unwelcoming area.
Miru stared at the building, then down at his non-functioning phone. A sigh escaped him and he placed it in his pocket. He was too tired to care really. What, was something going to eat him? Him. A dragon. Probably not. He could figure out his way back to the apartment sometime in the morning.
Climbing over the fence, he dropped down unceremoniously before brushing off his pants from the mud and entering the building. Grabbing the boards one by one, the dragon just slowly pulled each of them off the door to allow entrance. Splinters in his fingers would have to be dealt with later, he thought. The door gave way into a dusty front room, where Miru shut the door behind him and promptly relaxed his back against a wall and fell asleep.
She said this to her buttons, her fingers surprisingly steady as she snapped them into place. Snap. Snap. Lydia didn't have to turn around to know Scott winced like he had been kicked.
The ruffle of denim, and soft sigh of cotton, signaled that Scott had finished dressing. Lydia felt safe enough to turn around.
Scott had this look on his face--part shame, part guilt, part like he was going to want to talk about it. She was half-way sure his mind was already churning out all sorts of scenarios of his sins. That he had somehow taken advantage, of her.
"Lydia--"
She tossed her hair over her shoulders, the rich, ginger curls hanging heavy down her back like a noose. "Grief does funny things to people," she said, and watched him swallow. "Can we just leave it at that?"
