[centre][img]https://i.imgur.com/xh8a8v7.png[/img][/centre] A girl wrought of living iron padded over the leaf-choked jungle floor. Her bejeweled eyes bored a defiant path ahead, navigating around the broad roots and stepping over obstacles. None of the wonders of nature calling out, green and animalistic, wavered her stare. She had to keep moving, step by step. She had been walking all day. Behind was a past rather left alone. Nothing she left destroyed mattered so long as she did not look back at the rubble. The memories caught up to her at times, much to her frustration. The repetitive walking allowed room for faces to flash into her mind. More often than not, she had to stop the bronze and silver that would creep onto her skin by scrunching her eyes shut and shaking her head free of it. None of it mattered. Not home. Not dead Rovaick. She was a demigoddess. She had to find out about herself, that was the whole point. There was no point to any of it if she looked back. Rust yellowed in spreading patches on her shoulders and arms. Choukkud and Wutni didn't matter. The rust scraped against the inside of her clothing and made her cheeks itch. She scrunched her eyes and growled it away. Gio, Ruvac, and Polia didn't matter. She walked faster to get them out of her head. The experiments with her old goblin friends didn't matter either. Her foot pulled a jutting root. The detritus-covered ground came up to meet her arms as she flung them up to protect her face. The thud against the ground was soft, yet shocking. It hurt. It made it all just a bit harder. The very prospect of getting up was just that last fraction harder. She had suffered worse things, she thought, but getting up was now like climbing a mountain. Her entire dermis flaked with whorls of yellow and ocre rust. She squeaked words at the dead leaves. [colour=orange]"Why is [i]this[/i] part meant to be hard?"[/colour] She bent her arms and slammed her hands onto the ground, pushing up. One knee forward. She stopped still. The ocre rust swallowed her. She sobbed. Her head hung and her wiry hair drooped around her neck towards the ground where her headband did not keep it held back. She hated this. She was stronger than this. [colour=orange]"Why is it hard [i]now?[/i]"[/colour] she groaned through a strained throat. She sobbed again. A cool, clear droplet beaded on her brow as it hung down. No matter how Conata tried to turn her mind around, she couldn't find the energy to stand up. She couldn't even breathe without diving deeper into crying. She had to breathe eventually. Only more sobbing came. Frustration built with sadness. The forest didn't wait for her. Even as Conata corroded, the world around seemed to forget her, trees rustling without sparing a thought. Leaves falling. Branches cracking. She perked up straight, kneeling into a flash of selenium. Cracking? Conata scanned around with a newfound focus, mouth slightly agape to keep her breathing quiet. Her tears felt sticky on her eyes. A fluster sounded in the canopy, then loneliness again. The rust crept back to Conata in a sigh. A moment passed before the next rush of foliage- It was closer. Somewhere, a muted [i]'ummf.'[/i] Selenium lit up Conata's face again. The banyans bent and there was a flick of pink before the figure crashed into view in a cascade of fluttering leaves. It smiled broadly and swayed above Conata's head. [i]"Iyaaaa,"[/i] said Tira, hanging from a branch by her knees. Conata yelped and shuffled back on her hands and feet. By reflex, her arms threw up a lump of silvery metal from her bag, tapering it to a spike. It wasn't until she aimed through her raised fingers at the brush of hair before her that Conata realised what it was. Tira prodded the spearhead out of her face with a knuckle, startled but otherwise unperturbed. She waved her hand. That smile made Conata tingle. She lifted her head just enough to peer over her quivering fingers. Around the edges of her ears and panicked face, magnesium and copper whirled in conflict. It looked like her. Different colours and a different face, but it wasn't rovaick, hain, or even djinn. [i]It looked like her.[/i] [i]A human.[/i] Conata's hands carefully lowered, the metal spike lowered with it. Her skin settled to a uniform copper, though she remained tense. She tilted her tear-streaked head to one side, curious and wild-eyed. For the strange girl's part, it was safe to say that she was fascinated by Conata's skin. Her eyes kept rolling over her from shoulder to shoulder, flicking up to the glittery light caught in her hair and tracing the lines of gunmetal grey until they vanished with her settling heartbeat. She began to swing a little as she watched. Soon enough her hands got involved, and as Conata watched, she swung herself [i]just[/i] close enough to stretch out- [i]"Booo-"[/i] -And touch her nose. Conata blinked back. [i]"-oop!"[/i] She lost her balance and tumbled from the tree in a bundle of legs. [i]"Boop,"[/i] repeated Tira breathlessly, still upside down, just in a different angle. The girl- the [i]human-[/i] was really very much like Conata, except in all the ways that she so clearly wasn't. Her skin was the shade of deep river water, with a slight gleam, and marked with dark scars and folds along her face and arms. A tunic that had once been beige and was now vivid with dye and dirt hung loosely off her. She was hard to age, especially for one such as Conata. She looked at least a few winters younger- or much older, but underdeveloped. [colour=orange]"Um..."[/colour] Conata had a few more questions than she could keep count of. [colour=orange]"Are you alright?"[/colour] Asking whether the girl could speak the southern rovaick language was probably a better first choice. Judging by her accent, it wasn't too likely. Regardless, she seemed to pick up the question immediately, though the girl clearly wasn't so sure of that herself. She brushed her hands firmly along her torso and legs, then sat up and checked her back, then grinned. [i]"Ow'm,"[/i] she said, shaking her head, then stood up. Her eyes flashed wide for a second and she gripped her hip. [i]"Umm. Eipap?"[/i] All smiles again. Conata stared up blankly. She turned up her palms and shook her head a tiny amount. It was a language she hadn't heard before. Taking a sniff, Conata realised how she looked and swiftly wiped her face dry with her sleeve. She tried some words she picked up from the coastal White Ocean hain. [colour=orange]"[i]Celecreco, hain su?[/i]"[/colour] Do you understand hain language? Heavily accented to the point of hardly being understandable, but Tira nodded immediately- [i]"enl!"[/i] It didn't even look like she was listening too closely. She returned the hain-smile and soon took the opportunity to grab Conata's hand and pull it towards her, ran her thumbs along the cuprous 'skin' as she peered into the older- [colour=orange][i]older?[/i][/colour] -girl's face, bemused. "...Are you? Alright?" she asked, with a hesitant tilt of the head. Conata's face lit up bronze. [colour=orange]"You speak like djinnis, too!?"[/colour] she spilled out. This time in the language she had known without learning. [i]"Enl!"[/i] yelled Tira in response, flinging her hands out wide and beaming. [i]"Keu wa Skulpem keu wa Ale'pirya!"[/i] That language again. Conata's smile half-faded back to confusion as her previously grabbed arm curled back and went copper again. The girl put a hand on her heart. [i]"As-ne Tira! Nu?"[/i] Well, that much was understandable. [colour=orange]"Your name is [i]As-Ne Tira[/i]?"[/colour] She burst out laughing. "Nuh-uh. Just Tira!" This was too strange. Conata stood up with one hand, taking her iron spike in the other. She pat the tip of the spike against her chest, forcing a grin. [colour=orange]"Conata."[/colour] It clearly wasn't a name Tira had heard before. [i]"Conata! Iya,"[/i] she greeted again, glancing around into the quiet undergrowth. "Just Conata?" [colour=orange]"That's right,"[/colour] Conata said with a single nod. For a fraction of a second, the misinterpreted possibility that this Tira girl was asking after Conata's companions brought a lump to her throat. She swallowed it down before any rust became obvious. [colour=orange]"You're a...human, aren't you?"[/colour] "Uh-huh!" she nodded, stretching her arms over her head as if to demonstrate. Conata lifted a finger from around her metal spike to wave it over Tira's shape. Conata's once-again-copper skin swam with slivers of grey that were too narrow identify. [colour=orange]"I've not seen a human before. Everyone says I look like one but you...well...your skin isn't changing."[/colour] Tira's head cocked curiously. She lifted a forearm and pointed to her scars -- [colour=orange][i]Are they stretch marks? but she's so small[/i][/colour] -- then at Conata's alloyed surface. Before she could move, Tira tapped her forehead with her knuckles, making a satisfying [i]dink dink[/i] noise. Once again, Conata blinked back, recoiling a tiny amount and smiling at Tira's curiosity. Tira laughed. [i]"Occji na owt-he uygup,[/i] silly! [i]Ghighi[/i] Djinni [i]he osh."[/i] Her head tilted. "You a Djinni?" [colour=orange]"Nuh-uh,"[/colour] Conata said without realising her mimicry. At least Tira was using enough words that she could understand this time. [colour=orange]"I met an earth djinn before. I can't control all kinds of earth like he could, just metal. The only other clue I got was from Majus. He said I was a demigoddess."[/colour] The corner of Conata's mouth twitched. Was this too much information? [colour=orange]"That's why I'm here, actually. I've been trying to find my parents."[/colour] Tira tapped her chin again, looking up high into the canopy. "Nup. Never heard," she said, without breaking wherever her chain of thought was scurrying off to. When she finally looked back, it was into Conata's eyes, and with a surprising sharpness. "How'd ya get here? Long way from any place." Conata huffed with enough amusement to spread a film of bismuth over her skin. [colour=orange]"I walked. What, did you think I...?"[/colour] She could technically fly. Conata shook her head, only slightly tinned. [colour=orange]"Never mind. I came from the south, in Rulanah. We don't see humans there."[/colour] "Oh!" This surprised Tira, maybe more than encountering a girl made of metal. "Rovaick [i]liiusi! Runosh toh osh eug?"[/i] She was practically bouncing with curiosity; Her meaning was easy enough to catch. [colour=orange]"There are rovaick there, yeah,"[/colour] Conata answered unsurely. With Tira still hopping, she angled her head partly away and rubbed her pitting shoulder. [colour=orange]"Um...its a bunch of caves, hewn into the mountains. There is farmland and lots of people...It's nice? With more people moving in, though, the Toun worship can get a bit intense."[/colour] Conata peered down and up. She had no idea whether it was what Tira wanted to hear. She didn't seem at all unhappy with the information, though it seemed that she'd heard that much before, and was signalling for more. After a pause, Conata pushed out her lower lip and shrugged. [colour=orange]"My mother and father are rovaick- well, not my real mother and father. They raised me. They're Tedar."[/colour] With the topic becoming more personal, Conata's eyes darted. [colour=orange]"But what about you? I want to hear more about humans!"[/colour] She changed her tone and held her head forward to Tira, who noticed the slip and went quiet again, despite her attempt to change the subject. Conata spread her forearms and smiled. [colour=orange]"Are there any more of you? Where do you live? Can you shape metals? What do you do for fun?"[/colour] The rapid fire questions turned Conata bronze once more. The wiped tear streaks over cheeks were now barely visible dry marks. [i]"Enl, wa ati, ow'm, wa elk,"[/i] answered Tira, helpfully, in short succession: Yes, everywhere, no, everything. [i]"Jorku yiil!"[/i] With somewhat more insistence than she'd been holding on to so far, if that were possible, Tira latched onto Conata's wrist and yanked, only to find that she had a lot more inertia than her human shape would suggest. [colour=orange]"Woah!"[/colour] Conata laughed and stepped forward to keep her balance. Tira yanked harder. [i]"Jorku!"[/i] [colour=orange]"Okay, I'll go with you! I get it!"[/colour] [centre][h3]* * *[/h3][/centre] Despite the terrain, Tira had an excellent sense of where she was. With an obsidian knife she pushed through the undergrowth with the ease of long years -- [colour=orange][i]she can't have lived that long, surely[/i][/colour] -- keeping Conata on her toes and yelling from time to time to hurry up. For Conata's part, navigating the jungle at speed was a new and stimulating experience. Her touch was less graceful than Tira's; bursting through the foliage by swiping spinning blades of bronze through air and branch in an effort to keep up. The way grew rough and somewhat steep; they crossed a rise and then a stream that flowed between it and the next hill. Tira waited long enough to drink and splash water on her face before moving in. It wasn't yet time to rest. [colour=orange]"Tired already?"[/colour] Conata quipped, whipping the bronze back into her hand. Something about Conata's grin made Tira forget the strain in her legs, if it was there at all. Maybe it was because the metal girl was barely even out of breath. They moved on just as quickly as they stopped. After that second crest, though, the jungle changed- Trees still stood here and there, but the ground had been scraped some time ago, leaving only leaves and scarred rock. At last Tira slowed. A bright something glinted just ahead. She picked it up by the haft, flicked its blade and stuck her tongue out at Conata. The blade on Tira's polearm made Conata double-take. [colour=orange]"Hold on, is that…?"[/colour] She lowered her brow and pointed half-heartedly. It was nothing of consequence to Tira. She tapped its cue end against a rock, signing energetically. A sleepy arm uncurled and pointed northwards. [i]"Yiil!"[/i] she repeated, gesturing to where the urtelem was pointing, and faint blue smoke was rising above the leaves. [i]Keep running, Conata![/i] Conata's red eyes lit up. They flicked from the blade, to the smoke, to the blade again, and to Tira. To the ash to seeing one thing at a time. Conata's open-mouthed smile preceded some jungle moisture steaming from her heated bronze head and shoulders. Her hair even stood like an angry cat. More humans and more metals. [colour=orange]"Don't just stand there, lead the way!"[/colour] Tira didn't need telling twice. Papaya Village was situated on an Alefprian road, one that its people had made a living from. Empty now, wheel ruts were still visible between the well-cleared undergrowth, and at its side were stalls, troughs, and huts. But the life of the village was in the trees. Humans waved at Tira as she yelled up from below. Humans called out their own greetings as they let down wooden platforms on ropes. Humans scurried between trees that had been trained into bridges and ladders for many years. And humans waved bright yellow fruit that had to be shared before they went bad. Conata blankly waved to each she saw. She could barely take in how many there were -- and all their different shapes and sizes. Conata recognised the small ones as children, though not all of the adults were shaped like her and Tira. Some were wider or narrower, hairier or smoother. The bigger ones even looked like Aeramen, but less muscular and with skin closer to Tira's than any djinn. Perhaps the oddest were the squat, grey-haired ones that held themselves up with sticks. They were the fewest. Conata speculated that humans must have different subspecies, like rovaick. While the platform was hoisted up, Conata stared agape at the structures in the trees. Bismuth splashed over her skin in waves as laughter bubbled up her throat. [colour=orange]"Humans live in trees!? That is amazing! You're all so different. All...smiling!"[/colour] "We do that!" bubbled Tira, catching a thrown guava and biting into it. She said other things, but they were lost between the barriers of language and food. Conata's face was sign enough that she was a newcomer, and the more clear-minded villagers who weren't fawning over her appearance quickly debated helping her up even as Tira clambered away on her own. But the trees were huge enough, and the jungle folk had strong arms. Conata's weight wasn't a problem for long. If she'd been expecting answers, she would maybe be disappointed, but of questions there were plenty- some in loose pidgin of the languages she knew. "[i]Daso[/i] where from? [i]Sudi? Arefpi?[/i]" Conata blinked. [colour=orange]"Uh, down south, I-"[/colour] "[i]Timurib ka tosou?[/i]" Another one asked. [colour=orange]"Sorry,"[/colour] Conata shook her head. [colour=orange]"I'm not sure I-"[/colour] "What is your [i]reityo?[/i]" [colour=orange]"Uhm, Conata! My name is Conata-"[/colour] Grinning tensely, Conata was an oddly confident mix of bronze and mirror-polished iron. She was no stranger to this kind of attention from hain and rovaick, so she was not overwhelmed. Rather, she didn't know where to direct herself. The endless words came and went in scraps of gibberish and understandable queries. She tried to snap her attention to those that she vaguely understood, only for another to start elsewhere. [colour=orange]"I...thank you for the welcome but I..."[/colour] Conata raised her palms to keep the humans at arms reach and out of hysterics. Rather than being deterred, some of the younger ones ran their fingers over her arms. They were just as curious as Tira, it seemed. They were thankfully not as fixated on poking her nose. The questions didn't stop and the crowd kept growing. An ingot of bronze poked partway out of Conata's bag, just in case. [i]"Ey!"[/i] Tira's face popped up from somewhere in a way that suggested either stepping on something or lifting herself up on the shoulders of villagers. Though she was somewhat familiar to the townsfolk, she still had to press to get through to Conata. She fortunately proved pretty good at that. A hand was extended and grabbed. Tira pulled again, although this time it was merciful. [colour=orange]"Hey, don't-!"[/colour] Conata shut up when she realised Tira was rescuing her. She awkwardly waved back at the gathered humans as she was pulled away by the wrist. Tira let go once they were away from the throng. Tira's mood had changed now that they were out of the canopy dim, now that the sun was visible. Time was running short. [i]"Jorku! Ati,"[/i] she beckoned, pointing to the highest tree, a slender thing that had been made into a lookout. Conata peered up and showed her teeth. The view would be great from up there. They proceeded, their escape complete. At last, Tira caught her breath. "Humans, eh? Eh?" she grinned, nudging Conata in the ribs and glancing again into the bright. Conata giggled and recoiled at the jabs. She had always been surprisingly ticklish for one made from metal. [colour=orange]"You humans know how to give a warm welcome. That's for sure,"[/colour] she said. Tira nodded excitedly. "Nhn!" Conata's eyes drew to the closer view of the lumpy green carpet that was the jungle top. It was easier to see the scale of the place from here. All of the trees were huge. If she didn't know better, Conata would be fooled into thinking that the jungle stretched on without end. Tira's foot tapped, or jittered. "So… [i]Runati in-ati?[/i] Where now?" Her eyes followed Conata's over the jungle, but didn't dip too far down. Then they settled back on her. "And… Just Conata?" This time the meaning was unmistakable. Conata's wiry hair flattened back as she hued to copper. She remained looking out at the trees. [colour=orange]"Well, Majus told me to go to Alefpria. See this emperor guy named Lifprasil. Apparently he can help me find my parents."[/colour] Tira smiled for some reason. Not grinned, just smiled. The copper lost its colour until Conata's smile disappeared with a sigh. Iron, rough and shielding herself, reflected a blurry grey of the orange-green before them. Conata breathed in and held it, considering whether to answer at all. She did. [colour=orange]"And, yeah...Just Conata now."[/colour] The monotone spoke more. [colour=orange]"I...My friends went home."[/colour] For a while it didn't look like Tira had much to say. She chewed on her tongue, thinking. Maybe she was just trying to remember the language. "Li'piryasil is… Not there." Conata flicked her face to Tira. "He'll come back. [i]Owt-kiki.[/i] Don't follow us." She sighed. "Hey. I went out wandering too, long ago. And I-" Giggle. "I found my moms. You know?" Tira went back to chewing. "I had to… [i]Diesh dne,[/i] leave someone. A friend. I still wish..." She grinned, as broadly as she could make herself. "Friends aren't [i]ojanan,[/i] they don't stay for ever. Not even nurts. Try 'n not lose them, okay?" Eyes cast down, Conata broke out in tiny blotches of brown rust. She swallowed hard. Learning that Alefpria might have been a waste of time already put a lump in her throat. Piecing together a response to Tira made her monotone shiver. [colour=orange]"I didn't want them to go,"[/colour] she murmured. [colour=orange]"They came with me all the way to the jungle edge. I...Look, it's not a simple thing. I just have to not let it bother me."[/colour] Conata blinked and tried a smile. Some irrational part of her mind skimmed over the fact that Tira's could clearly see her rusting complexion. [i]Din wus wan,[/i] muttered Tira in her head. "Well, it's gonna," she said. Her foot kept tapping. "Worst thing of all is to be alone." Conata's lips tightened. "Conata, I'm…Going. With Li'piryasil. And Tira might not… [i]Elk uygup wiu ghorg.[/i]" She smiled, but it was clear that she was trying, too. "I can say to him, 'someone's looking,' but 'til then… [i]Runpudne sin py-nu?[/i] Who'll be your friend?" The tarnished metal girl ran into the answer to Tira's question hard enough to break her nose. It certainly covered her nose -- as well as her cheeks and neck -- in a flush of brown rust. The errant detail of Tira knowing Lifprasil personally was lost in Conata's silent despondency. She turned her eyes ahead, blinking away welling pressure as her face tensed against her will. What was meant to come out as level as all the other times she had spoken instead wheezed out in high breaks. [colour=orange]"Tira, I'm not sure if I [i]can[/i] have friends anymore."[/colour] Conata sniffed deeply. [colour=orange]"...I pushed away Gio, Ruvac, and Polia. I'll just push away others."[/colour] Tira's eyes widened. The rust crept over the rest of Conata's face so virulently that Tira could just about hear it. The implications fell into place in Conata's head. Her weaknesses -- her experiences -- would make her lonely. She remembered to breathe. A limit broke. Conata breathed in too quickly. She pressed the back of her hand to her lips. [colour=orange]"Oh gods..."[/colour] Two thin, strong arms wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her close to Tira's warmth. Conata's head lowered and her eyes pressed shut, pushing tears down her cheeks. The merest flecks of grey iron were left against the encroaching rust. She squeaked. [colour=orange]"I don't want to be alone..."[/colour] She had to hold her breath. Tears pat quietly on the wooden platform. "Shhh," came the now familiar wanderer's voice. "You're not alone." Tira's hand strayed into Conata's hair, moved the wrong way and gave herself a shallow cut on the wire, but didn't hesitate to go back and stroke her head. One tiny, suppressed sob was emitted near Tira's ear. "And you're not [i]gonna[/i] be alone, kay?" she reassured. And there she stayed, holding a metal girl as tightly as she needed to be held, and then a little more. Conata kept her arms held against herself like a cradled child. [colour=orange]"Yes I am,"[/colour] she whined. Where she paused to continue, she stopped. Words on the tip of her tongue shied back into her mind, over and over. "[i]No[/i] you're [i]not,[/i]" repeated Tira firmly, taking her pitiful face in both hands and lifting Conata to look her in the eye. "Conata. Look. Hear. Every one and every person, every [i]occji[/i] and [i]nurtal[/i] and [i]skullpem[/i], every [i]gobbilin[/i] and everyone, has a friend. I met some sista in the wild with three whole faces, and Tira was their friend. A really really tall mom met a sad girl in [i]hak ghorg[/i] and she was Tira's friend. And then Tira met a metal girl in the trees and she was Conata's friend. And if you push me I'm gonna push back and I'm gonna find you. I promise I'm gonna come back and find you! And other friends will too! Okay? Promise!" Tira swept up Conata into another tight squeeze. For having only met earlier in the day, Conata cried in Tira's arms as fully as a lifelong friend. Perhaps it was the gesture of acceptance. Perhaps, Conata realised for the first time, it was the relief of company. A brighter metal scarred into the rust on her skin, split open by the sobs that shook her torso. Polished silver. It lasted for another half a minute. Enough time for Conata to shudder out the worst of her sadness from her lungs. She trusted Tira with a vulnerability previously hidden to the solitude Tira first found her in. After a breath in and a sniff, Conata croaked out what she had been avoiding. [colour=orange]"There's something wrong with me, Tira."[/colour] She half-opened her ruby eyes. [colour=orange]"Something that gives me waking nightmares. I...made a mistake with my friends while having one. I was panicked. Are you sure they would..."[/colour] She adopted Tira's way of putting it. [colour=orange]"...push back and find me after that?"[/colour] Tira pulled away a little and nodded vigorously. "Good friends don't just [i]go.[/i] If Conata's… If Gio 'n Ruvac 'n Polia are still out there, then you can find 'em, and they can find you." She looked down at the wooden planks below her, away at the sun, back to the metal girl. Tira tapped her head, then Conata's. "Tira knows about the… I say [i]'pyibi garn',[/i] uh, fear dream, bad thought. I've had one for ever." Conata's eyes turned from one blank space in the air to another. Though still frowning, her silver-scarred rust smoothed, in blotches at her temples and around her body, to copper once more. "It's a like a bruise on a part of your head, and when a thing taps that part… Then it hurts! And what do you do when it hurts? You yell and hit. You're not broken, Conata! You got hurt. And you can get better. Dabbels's friend taught me so. She's a fizz- fizzy-" Tira stumbled on a word. "Physician! She helps people. And people like her help girls like you and me. You'll get better!" More copper spread. Conata's eyes turned up to Tira as two curious windows on her corroded facade. Tira described it with a close enough simile without Conata elaborating that she had to know what it was like. [colour=orange]"So it's just like a wound?"[/colour] It was making more sense to Conata than her tone suggested, though she didn't know who 'Dabbels' was. [colour=orange]"I never thought of it like that before."[/colour] Conata's arms slid free from her chest. [colour=orange]"You're sure it'll heal? It just feels like it's gotten worse over time."[/colour] Tira was quiet for a moment and then smiled sheepishly. "It, uh… [i]Osh nu-as iul,[/i]" she said, without making it any clearer. "But… Hey!" She let Conata go abruptly and pulled down her sleeves, spreading her marred arms wide, and stuck out her tongue through the long gash in her cheek. "Things get better! Just look at me! It was bad, but I'm okay now." Conata's eyes and mouth widened in brief shock. Magnesium pits prickled and disappeared in a wave down her cheeks and neck as if she had caught a splinter in her hand. Something about the absurdity made the last bits of rust rebel in a short bismuth wave, and Conata chuckled thoughtlessly. [colour=orange]"I guess you're cheerful for someone with all those scars. Point taken."[/colour] After another sigh, the copper and rust assumed their still whorls on Conata's face once more. [colour=orange]"All this time, I had it in my head that my friends were doubting that I was capable of coming this far. They kept bugging me about it."[/colour] She lowered her eyes. [colour=orange]"I guess that made me frustrated. If I told them more about the nightmares, I thought they would make me go home 'cause I wasn't ready. But if it's just a wound...maybe I am still capable. I don't have to be scared that they would be right."[/colour] Tira broke eye contact for a moment and bit her tongue. "Yeah, uh… You still gotta rest some time. Getting better hurts too. You know?" She looked back up. "Home's a good place to be. If it's a bad place, then it isn't home. Don't hurt yourself, Conata." Conata pressed her eyes shut for just enough to tame the dull iron that broke out on her forehead. [colour=orange]"I'm not going home,"[/colour] she declared firmly. [colour=orange]"Not yet. It's not a bad place. I'm just uncomfortable there. Like, jittery. Trapped. Like I want to just want to jump and run but I can't."[/colour] She lifted her hands towards her navel. [colour=orange]"But it's not for running and jumping. It's for finding out who my parents are. I'm not rovaick. Or human. I need to find out what I am, Tira. I need to know."[/colour] Her red eyes met hers, pleading. Rust flung under her eyelids and her arms dropped. [colour=orange]"When I was with my friends, I thought I could take on anything. I haven't even spent much time in this jungle without them and it's been...Well, you saw how I was when you found me. But it's still something I have to do."[/colour] Tira opened her mouth and then closed it again, wary of finding the wrong words. Conata was such a mix of different complexions flowing in waves and crashes that her conflict was as external as internal. Magnesium broke out from copper, whirled with iron and rust. Circles of lead even bulged out, only to be washed away by aluminium. "...You're [i]you,[/i]" Tira said at last, touching her nose again with a shrug, though not a dismissive one. [i]"Tii-ne, tii-nu."[/i] She could feel Conata's turmoil, literally feel its heat from where she was standing, but she struggled to put herself in the other girl's shoes and she knew it. For once, Tira didn't trust her own actions. "If you have to do it, it's gotta get done," she said finally. "And if Conata needs her friends to go and do it, then you need to go get them. If you think you can take on anything, then you can." Tira lifted Conata's hand and ran a finger over the twisting metals. "You're made of some really strong stuff. All girls are." While Conata was still and looking down, her palm changed before Tira's eyes. The whirling and shifting metals slowed and folded until the surface was an odd gradient between iron and magnesium, changing as peaks and troughs on water. They, too, slowed until there was less and less iron. The iron stilled, containing residual patches of magnesium, and then faded to rich, shining copper. [colour=orange]"Tira,"[/colour] Conata's small voice asked. [colour=orange]"Do you think I can do it?"[/colour] "Yes I do," said Tira, nodding without a moment's hesitation. Conata wiped her nose with the back of her hand and sniffed back the last of her tears, letting out the breath from her mouth. Whatever was left unsaid to Tira clearly culminated in a positive conclusion, as her copper polished and yellowed to bronze. This time, Conata was the one who opened her arms and wrapped Tira in her pleasantly warm embrace. [colour=orange]"Thanks. I'm sorry that I got all rusted and sad."[/colour] She made a supportive noise and slapped Conata's back. [colour=orange]"I'd better find my friends,"[/colour] Conata said. She slid away from Tira to look her in the eyes with a brighter aura. [colour=orange]"I think I can catch up to them if I move fast. I want to apologise and tell them what's going on with the..."[/colour] She waved her fingers around her temple. [colour=orange]"[i]Fear dreams.[/i] I wasn't fair to them. First, though...can I ask you one more thing?"[/colour] [i]"Enl?"[/i] Conata's cheekbones lined with tin. She lifted her finger to point up behind Tira. [colour=orange]"Can I take a closer look at that blade of yours?"[/colour] The request took Tira by surprise, but not very much so. With a nod and an 'mhm!' Tira took the simple wooden haft of the naginata and let it fall smoothly into her palms. The ease was practiced. "[i]Janup.[/i] It is sharp." With that she let it balance on her fingers and let Conata take the weapon. [centre][h3]* * *[/h3][/centre] The upset and sympathetic girl Tira had met turned into something else over the following half hour. Gone were the emotional issues and internal conflict. The metal girl almost hypnotised herself into focus on the silvery metal blade. Wide-eyed and shining bronze, Conata talked as much to herself as to Tira as to how strange the naginata was. One after the other, every test met her with failure. The metal, she patiently surmised as she ran her hands over it, was new. It was not iron, it was not bronze, not adamantine, silicon, nor [i]alumnayam.[/i] The inspection halted briefly -- Conata took some time to correct Tira as she called it [i]alu[/i]min[i]ayam.[/i] Though she admitted it rolled off the tongue better. The thought brought her mind to exactly what to call the new metal. [colour=orange]"I'll name the metal [i]Mi Tira'l[/i]. It's southern rovaick for 'Tira's Blade'- Well, more like 'Tira's Knife,' but we don't really have these things in Rulanah."[/colour] Conata said with a smirk. [colour=orange]"...Call me uncreative, but it's easy to pronounce. Admit it."[/colour] Tira blinked. "Is me, is good," she said, as if it were the clearest thing in the world. Conata looked down at the naginata and only held it out halfway. The bronze on her temples roughened into an ambivalent green patina. [colour=orange]"I could improve it if you want. I'm pretty good with shaping metals. I've got to repay you for helping me somehow."[/colour] Tira tapped the floor with the back of her foot for a moment, hesitant. Then she shrugged, her conscience clear. "Okay! You're the metal girl," she said simply. "What are you gonna do?" [colour=orange]"Hmm..."[/colour] Conata's voice belied the burning heat radiating from her as her skin polished to a mirror-smooth bronze. She let go of the weapon, yet it hovered in the air. [colour=orange]"I think I'll just anneal it a little better,"[/colour] she said, looking across to the sharp of the blade with a widening grin. The soft crackling that followed might have been a breeze through the branches around them. Tira and Conata felt nothing of the kind on their skin. The true source was all too apparent when the two rivets holding the tang of the polearm in jolted up from the wood in the shape of two silvery pins. Conata grasped the haft to allow the blade to shunt itself free. The violent disassembly was like to make the most passing of warriors cringe, though Conata was nothing if not an expert. Her movements following were a mix of elegant sweeps of her hands and concentrated stares, broken by roughly rubbing the blade with black or white stones and continuing. Conata did more than line up the metal's grain. The blade's curve was drawn out and further back at such a careful pace as to be almost imperceptible. Whatever the stones were that Conata applied to it, they may have had something to do with the strength and spring of the blade remaining the same as it was -- or better. Lastly, she cast her heating hands over the blade at different intensities to harden the edge to a wicked sharpness. The whole show was over in the span of several minutes. A few sliding snaps later, the naginata was reassembled. Conata extended it with both hands, back straightened and smiling with pride. [colour=orange]"That stuff this is made from, it's really easy to shape."[/colour] She glanced down at it. [colour=orange]"Almost like it wants to be shaped. Anyway, try it out! Tell me what you think."[/colour] [i]"Sat-ra jin,"[/i] said Tira at a murmur, her eyes still wide on Conata's fingertips. Wherever and whenever she came from, she had surely not seen something like this before. Wordlessly Tira took the haft in her hands and let it fall into her palms. Tira took it out from the lookout, beckoning Conata to follow as she balanced it on the side of her hand, under her thumb. One way or another, the day had grown a little older, but standing on a bridge of rope and plank, there was no longer any haste in Tira's step. Conata stood on the edge of the bridge. Her hand anxiously found the side of her magnesium-pocked neck to rub. The naginata rose on thin arms. Tira let it span across her back, then swung it slowly out, passing from one hand to the other without pause as it completed the arc. It swept again, higher this time, orbiting until the weapon spun above her head. Her eyes were closed. [i]"Kiai!"[/i] Tira slashed at a mark unseen, tumbled sideways down the planks, staff flowing with her asking no space at all. Tira stood, parried, lunged and double-lunged five steps down the bridge, then butted back, turned, let the naginata spin in her hands as the planks disappeared beneath her, without pause and without hesitation. She advanced back four steps, then- [i]"Ale'pirya!"[/i] -With nothing beneath her but wood and rope, Tira leapt, kicking out at the air as the blade spun across her arm with barely a touch. She landed in a fighting stance, her eyes far away from the ground. [i]"Occip eik kia,"[/i] she laughed, relaxing again, waving at Conata. Her glance clipped the forest floor and she looked up high, exhaling with a 'wew'. "Beautiful!" Conata laughed into a grin, shining bismuth bronze and clasping her hands together. [colour=orange]"You're amazing, Tira!"[/colour] She bowed in humorously flavoured modesty. Tira promptly bowed back, martial style, as if she'd been expecting it. Conata added in the same tone. [colour=orange]"Thank you and you're welcome. I'm glad you like it."[/colour] Tira smiled again, though she'd never really stopped. But her foot was tapping. She'd stolen a moment to spend in the sun, but the sun was still dipping. [i]"Ne owt-ho kint,"[/i] she reminded. "You…We have things to do." Conata coppered. [colour=orange]"Yeah."[/colour] [centre][h3]* * *[/h3][/centre] Conata peered at the yellow horizon through the trees. It was easier to regain her sense of direction with the village around her. She and Tira stood on a straight Alefprian road that cut through the forest. One that only made travel easier. To save time, Conata politely refused anything but a small amount of food and water. She needed to move fast. But, there was still time for goodbyes. [colour=orange]"I think I can catch up to them before midnight if I sprint."[/colour] Conata's copper complexion scarred with some yellow rust as she gave Tira a smile. [colour=orange]"I'll see you again some time, yeah? Like you promised?"[/colour] There was no reason to hold back. Conata stepped up and squeezed Tira in a warm embrace. Her skin glowed to a happy polish once more. [colour=orange]"Thanks again for your help, Tira. I won't forget it."[/colour] [i]"Nu hals occa!"[/i] she replied, grinning. There wasn't much she could do to squeeze Conata's metal frame, but she tried her damnedest. The moment passed quickly. Tira wasn't one for a long farewell. Within a heartbeat, she was halfway down the road, diving into the sun. [i]"Bai!"[/i] she yelled, waving widely as she ran. "Find your friends, Conata! [i]Bai![/i]" Conata laughed and waved back. [colour=orange]"Goodbye, Tira!"[/colour] The mirth faded into a smile on Conata's lips. She almost wished she was human after all; they were fun. And Tira had such a warm heart. As she turned her head to the opposite direction on the road, Conata hardened into a determined polished iron. She had no plans to go against Tira's word. One long stride accelerated into a trot, a run, and then a sprint. Her hide sandals clapping on the road quickened to the pace of a drum roll. Within a few seconds, her arms were throwing back and forth and her upper body leaned into the air rushing past her. The mountains wouldn't be so distant for long. Not so far behind her, a smaller set of feet broke into a mirror-twin run. Tira felt urgency rising, her calves burning as she ran into the sun. With thoughts of Conata now buzzing away into memories, there was an odd drain in her. As her boots slammed earth, she realised that the same weight was there yesterday and the day before, but -- like a tiny malaise mouse -- it had been hiding from Conata's company. What a strange girl. Somewhere in the distance, a pair of silky black wings flashed moonlight behind Conata's head, and flicked into the horizon. [centre][h3]* * *[/h3][/centre] [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMLVAUldN1g]Sleeping grey giants slouched below the clear blue night that had fallen upon the Ironhearts.[/url] Little black shrubs hissed in the wind, singing a peaceful song to the moons above as they did in such nights. Then a new rhythm faded into the area, similar to the shrubs in sound, but with a metallic ring. Conata did not have the time to readjust the strands of wiry hair that had escaped from her headband. She had to keep sprinting with them singing against the rest of her hair like sticks on the strings of a metal harp. She was breathing heavily. Pushing herself further than she ever had over a long distance. Her only pauses were brief as she regained her bearings and searched for her path up the mountains in the dim moonlight. Now that she had retraced her steps this far, all there was to do was run. Her footfalls were bare enough to suggest that she was flying more than sprinting. Perhaps she was. Some wisps of smoke from a relatively flat pan of grey rock was her first hint that she had found them. [colour=orange]"Hey!"[/colour] She shouted between rapid strides. She held up a hand. [colour=orange]"Polia! Gio!"[/colour] Three amorphous shapes sprung to life, clambering out of their bedrolls and turning their heads to look around. [colour=orange]"Ruvac!"[/colour] They all turned to Conata. One of them pulled out a stone and flicked it to produce a bright light. Ruvac's face was illuminated first, showing astonishment as he held the shining stone up. Gio and Polia both hung their jaws open in surprise. Conata slowed to a stop in front of them, breathing so heavily she could hardly speak or stand. She even fell to one knee and leaned on her other knee to stay upright. "Connie?" Polia said faintly. [colour=orange]"I...have to tell you all something."[/colour] Conata paused to swallow hard. [colour=orange]"I should have said this before."[/colour] More heavy breaths. She had plenty of time to think on what to say, so she wanted to start as soon as possible. [colour=orange]"Back...when the realta attacked. I was up on a rock with Polia when we saw it fly in. We saw the hain village get scorched away in a second. When we ran..."[/colour] Conata paused and closed her eyes. A rush of rust wrapped around her upper face. [colour=orange]"When. We. Ran...People...screamed. They screamed, they were afraid. They were burnt. They were looking for people..."[/colour] The smell of ash rushed into Conata's nostrils. She noticed and fought to speak the words in her head. [colour=orange]"We barely got into the caves."[/colour] Conata put her shivering down to suddenly stopping her run. [colour=orange]"I tried to seal the entrance but...I saw it up close. It looked at me. I thought it was going to melt me to liquid and then kill everyone. Then Majus killed it. Shattered it to pieces. Then I went inside..."[/colour] Conata pressed her face into her palm. Her voice choked up as more tendrils of rust tried to wrap around her. [colour=orange]"Everyone was...burnt...c-cooked..."[/colour] She could hardly get the words out. [colour=orange]"I saw one of my only friends at the time. Half his face was gone. It was just red and bone. They screamed."[/colour] Polia was clenching her jaw so hard that veins were bulging on her temples. She blinked and two tears silently crept down her face. [colour=orange]"I can't...think when my mind recalls it."[/colour] Conata continued with a high voice. [colour=orange]"I panic. In truth, I thought the same thing was going to happen with that djinni lord, Aeramen. I thought I was going to melt away and he would kill you. I was going off instinct. But...I didn't want to give up and go home. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to admit that I was scared. Being scared was admitting that I should go home."[/colour] The three azibos stood silent, unsure of what to say. Polia balled her fists to the point of pain. Conata drew in a deep, shivering breath and drew up her tear-streaked face. There was still some iron left, fighting between the pauses in her speech. [colour=orange]"But I'm not invincible. It wasn't fair for me to put on a face like that. I was just as scared as all of you. And I was an idiot because...well...you guys are all I have, really. Being alone, that's scarier than Vitrum, the realta, and anything else on the road. Without you, I'm stuck. I can't handle it."[/colour] Conata breathed in a second-guessed herself, letting the breath out through her nose. She looked at the ground as one more set of tears dripped off her nose. [colour=orange]"What I mean to say is...I need you guys. And I'm sorry."[/colour] The quiet night paused to end Conata's conclusion. She stayed knelt, at the mercy of her friends. Naturally, it was Polia who made a proactive response. She stepped up to Conata and with great effort pulled up by her armpits until she was standing again. Conata turned her gleaming red eyes up to see Polia's stern, tensed-up face still weeping. "You're gonna promise me you're not going to run in headlong anymore, alright Connie?" Conata's eyes widened. [colour=orange]"Uh...I'll try to be more careful."[/colour] Polia's face twisted into teary smile and threw Conata against her in a tight hug. Conata glowed silver and wrapped her arms around Polia's broad body in turn. She couldn't hold in a sob, neither of them could. Gio and Ruvac smiled and joined in the hug. Conata's pains had not ended, but neither had her journey. [centre][h3]* * *[/h3][/centre] It was impossible to tell if it was dawn or dusk. Beneath the clouds, everything was dark. But Tira could see the gleam of her own scale armour, and the wet footprints she had left behind, and even the ruins that lay across the glistening river. [i]"Shhh,"[/i] she whispered to the head in her kneeling lap. [i]"Shh."[/i] Lonar convulsed, throwing her shoulders up and back down into Tira's thighs again; Tira gripped her as the muscles finally slackened, sweat running from Lonar's arms in rivers, her groan tailing away into heavy gasps. Tira smoothed pale hair from a grey brow, talking soft happy words that meant nothing. Slowly her eyes began to wrench open. "You..." The old warrior trailed off, lifting her arm as far as she was able. Her voice was like sand rasping. "You found me," she finished, cheeks twitching in attempt of smile. [i]"Ne sin ojanan, ojanan ny,"[/i] said Tira, smiling back, showing teeth through her scar. She drummed her fingers over Lonar's head, feeling every welt, every bruise she had taken. She was too big for Tira's hands. Tira was like a child beside her, but only Lonar could feel it. To Tira, she was still the feisty Lifprasilian tomboy she'd found on the street one hundred years ago. "I'll see you again...? In the summer?" Tira nodded. [i]"Keu Tyufik, keu Kunonok, keu nu'ne sin al,"[/i] she said. "Just like we used to." Lonar smiled- Really smiled. The effort made her wheeze and moan. Tira held her and promised everything they'd ever known together. Then she kissed her best friend's forehead and left her body where it lay. With one hand on her weapon and another balled away in her pocket, Tira walked down and away, heading to the river. There she sat on her heels, pulled out her cup, and began to wash her hands. She washed all the way to her shoulders, shedding bronze scale to do so, then started on the naginata. She took two strokes of slick blood off its blade and froze up, gripping the cup. She'd never felt so old. She'd never felt so young. She'd never felt so empty. Tira balanced the cup on one finger and let it dangle over the water. Its skull eyes grinned at her from the dark. She could drop it, she knew. She could just let it go. It wouldn't care. That was her choice to make, and there was no penalty to saying no. The Godkiller would find another. But now was not that time. Tira picked up the cup and scooped some water over her hair. [b]"Tira?"[/b] She turned her head, just enough to let him know she was here. But her eyes were still over the river. [b]"Your mother is worried about you,"[/b] said the voice, without approaching. They never did. As long as she held the cup, the Knights never touched her. Tira turned back out towards the river, and stood. The warrior shuffled and waited. "I'm not going back." There was a pause. [b]"Tira, there's-"[/b] "No. I'm not going back." She could see his shadow in the glinting waters, shifting its weight, twice her height and waiting for her to move on. An arksynth mouth opened and closed several times, yet only left an uncomfortable silence. Tira turned, faced the Cosmic Knight for true. He met her eyes and fell still. "Tell Lakshmi that I love her," said Tira, and he nodded. "Tell Lifprasil I said, 'thank you.'" Then she faced the river again. He left. Alone in the twilight, Tira shed her armour and leapt into the waters, never again to pretend that she was young. A floating brown waterbird bobbed along, not chirping or fishing like the others. Its bright blue eye faded to jet. [hider=ends, beginnings] A short time after her falling out with her friends, Conata is wandering the jungles of the Shalanoir pass in an emotional mess. She breaks down and cries for a bit. But what's that noise? It's not just company, it's not just the first human Conata's ever encountered, it's mutherflippin' Tira. Tira boops Conata's snoot. Conata cautiously sizes Tira up. They have a few language issues, but Conata doesn't realise at first that Tira is just doing what she does. Conata explains where she came from and where she's headed. Tira doesn't appear to have any clue what Conata is beyond guessing that she was a djinn, which Conata refutes. In her nervousness at this stranger, Conata doesn't think to ask Tira's background, but she is interested in humans. Tira tugs Conata's hand and they rush through the jungle. They're going to meet more humans at a village. Before they reach their destination, Tira stops at a lounging urtelem and picks up her mithral naginata, which she inherited from Allure. Conata is curious about the mithral as she has not encountered it before, but she is distracted as they continue to the village. They reach the place. It's truly a village in the trees. Apart from livestock and some other stuff, everyone lives in treehouses. The main food is the village's namesake: Pawpaws. It's called papaya village. The small local populace crowd Conata and give her a barrage of questions. They don't tend to see girls made from metal in these parts. Tira yanks her out of the throng before she gets too cloyed. The pair stop up in a canopy lookout to see the setting sun. They resume their conversation. Conata tells Tira that she's trying to find out who her parents are from Lifprasil in Alefpria. Tira says Lif's out of town and asks if there's anyone else Conata would hang with in the meantime. Conata also admits that she had not been travelling alone for long. She bursts into tears as she convinces herself inside that she can't hold friends. Tira comforts her and recounts some of her own background with her weird sculptor friends, and Lakshmi, who all adopted her over the years when she didn’t expect it. Conata is mollified enough to speak, but she explains that she has been pushing her friends away because of her Blinding Purge trauma. Thankfully, Tira knows a thing or two about Trauma. She recontextualises the matter to Conata in terms of a wound, like any other, and tells her that what she's going through is normal. This helps Conata start to organise the anxious tumult that had been building in her for quite a while. As much to think about it herself as to explain it to Tira, Conata surmises that she didn't want her trauma to force her to turn back home. In spite of Tira telling Conata to pace herself, Conata says that she cannot turn back regardless. Finding her parents is something she has to do. Tira shrugs and gives Conata some encouragement. She recommends that Conata try and make it up to her friends, because she's been having so much trouble without them. While she had been previously convinced that she could never make it up to her friends, Conata is persuaded otherwise. She is happy and very grateful for Tira's counsel. Before they move, Conata asks to inspect Tira's weapon. She tries to identify the metal and concludes that it a new thing. Conata dubs it [i]Mi'Tiral,[/i] which translates roughly to "Tira's Blade" in the southern (Rulanah area) rovaick language. [hider=Mild spoiler to justify a contrived metal name, if it so bothers the reader]Unbeknownst to either of them, the 'feel' of the name Mi'Tiral is informed by Conata's locked memories, which is a measure to why it sounds so close to Mithral. The same occured for Alum Nayam and every other metal that Conata has encountered. The exception that proves the rule is Adamantine, which Aeramen named to her in the First Tongue when she was first given it.[/hider] As repayment, Conata asks to touch up Tira's weapon. Tira agrees and Conata shows off all the precision and skill she has at metalworking. The naginata comes out the other end better suited to Tira's body and much stronger, more resilient, and sharper than before. Tira does a martial arts routine to test it, proves herself to look deadly. She likes the improved weapon. But time's a wastin'. The pair share a goodbye at an Alefprian road. Though it was a short and strangely intimate acquaintance, the two leave as friends and rush off to their respective goals. Oevadia, Lifprasil’s mount, has been waiting to carry Tira off to the marching Alefprian army. Much later that night, Conata finds her friends after a solid sprint that lasted several hours through jungle and mountain paths. She is exhausted, but wastes no time. Fighting clear emotional pain, she immediately opens up about what she saw at the blinding purge and why she didn't open up beforehand. She admits that she was and has been afraid, she is not invincible, and she needs her friends to keep going. She apologises for all the trouble she caused. After a pause, Polia walks up to Conata, makes her promise not to be so bullish, and then hugs her. The friends group hug and cry with happiness. [i][b]In contrast, we skip forward and witness a scene of Tira's experience after Xerxes.[/b][/i] Tira is nearly alone in the city. She cradles her friend Lonar, one of the first people she met in Alefpria way back when, and comforts her as she dies. The stark reality of her ex-Sculptor immortality hits her again- Everyone she’s met will age and eventually pass away, while her body stays young forever. She contemplates throwing away her cup, which she knows is the GodKiller, and decides against it. A Cosmic Knight comes to fetch her. She stares him down, tells him to say farewell to Lakshmi and Lifprasil, and swims across the city’s river, leaving behind Alefpria and the century-long childhood she fell into. From now on, she intends to be honest with herself about her life as a warrior and a survivor, rather than waste time and ignore responsibility. [b]Toun notices the godkiller's wielder peeling from the demigods and deploys a droningbird to keep an eye on Tira.[/b] [i]Might Summary:[/i] [i]Before:[/i] Conata - L1 - 21 MP - 365 W (105 goblins) -2 MP: Bettering Tira's weapon with the power of [s]friendship[/s] well placed doping and annealing. +21 worshippers: +20% Goblins propagating in turn 11 ([url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/rolls/3180]arbitrary growth model roll[/url]) +4 worshippers: Some humans thought Conata was cool and Mutton wants a round number of worshippers. [i]After:[/i] Conata - L1 - 19 MP - 400 W (126 goblins) [hider=Because we are jerkwads on the internet...] Termite: