Where Myth & Magic Meet

When we first encounter her, I couldn't understand her. Lady speaks fully and only Korean, and while in some strange way Akumu can speak to her whilst speaking only in Japanese, Lady somehow can converse back. Yajuu, meanwhile, having similar trouble but actually nonexistent in language ability, downright dislikes her. Their first conflict is forever etched in my memory.

Because I'm the main and often sole person in charge of my side of outer world business, I'm often not around. Added on to the fact me and Lady can only communicate one way since she understands English, I don't really get to connect with her.

I relied on my fellow dream dragons a lot in terms of dealing with the inner world happenings. I guess I sort of let the matter of taking care of and hosting Lady to the two. This was a problem when the two aren't here (for the time being). I was grieving, and I still couldn't understand Lady, we were never close to begin with as well, I suppose this is when Lady learned to entertain herself.

By the time there was a new void creature, when I have Crowley and Aziraphale showing up, and met the Doctor and TARDIS, Lady is already fully self sufficient. She still comes back to her nest to rest or take care of whatever private business she have in there. After the celestial duo did some miraculous auto-translation, I started greeting Lady daily, and interact with her semi-regularly.

One day, she got herself a tiny dinosaur. Lady went Beyond the Floating Island often, exploration and excursion. During the time when Doctor was around, him and Lady was a explorer team. I also figured out that Lady got fruits from the Beyond. Through the others, I know there are expanding jungles and wild dinosaurs out there, and I suspect a lot of what's out there would be Ark: Survive like, what with how much me and friends played it for a long time, I suppose it all trickle down to my subconscious and created a whole world out there.

The dinosaur Lady adopted was featherless, and very screechy. The most likely species is probably the compy. Lady proudly showed it to me. She said it's a friend. I told her to make sure it doesn't bother us, especially me and Crowley, as I can't promise that the tiny dinosaur won't get eaten. Lady doesn't really seem to show much emotion beyond cheerful and joy these days.

Although I remembered, when asked for heart's desire, "I want to go home".

She could not, her home is gone.

She affirmed me that she will take responsibility for the little critter. Really, that should have been a sign, or omen. Although not necessary a bad one. But definitely not a good one either, no matter the presence of Crowley and Aziraphale.

Later on, when I asked her about its name, my mind perceived something along the lines of "gaga" and "gazi" or some such. Either way, life goes on.


One night, she did not come back to her nest. I panicked as I wont to do, worriedly telling friends and communities of Lady being gone, and also asking the supernatural duo to help me look for Lady, and call for my help should they run into trouble.

Later on, I would think on my overbearingness. These two are powerful in their own right, all of my realm denizens are. The giga was a unprepared jump-scare and not indicative that they couldn't handle themselves.

Couple hours later, Aziraphale grabbed my attention.

"Um, Ryuu, we have found Lady. Though perhaps you should be here."

You can hear the trepidation clearly. I quickly rush into the inner world, honing in on where they are. When I got there, the scene in front of me reminded me that maybe, just maybe, I really should pay more attention to the foreshadowing of universes. In front of us is Lady, all fine and healthy and safe, and surrounded by a massive pack of compsognathus. The thought that "Lady is their queen" crossed my mind at that moment.

Lady noticed us and visibly brightened. She greeted us and told us about her new friends, then started introducing them one by one. Crowley checked out very early on, I only managed to catch a few, with only "Sparkles" left in my head after the whole ordeal. I just know Aziraphale memorized them all very carefully. He's kind like that. Lady's first compy also happen to just be Gaga-gazi.

With Lady seeming fine and happy, we leave her be. I can't remember if I offered her explicitly about connecting the compy nest to the Den, but I had the active thought in my mind.

Really, really, Ryuu, why do you do this to yourself. Sometimes I am oblivious in the most awkward way. Because really, what possible next step can there be? It isn't paranoia if thought-leak to the world do happen and things following suit do happen, monkey's paw without even the wishing part. Mostly. Since I avoid actively wishing for anything, the outcome are usually manageable. And also, just general sign pointing to things.

A day or two later, I just had this sudden sense of intensity, white noise, pressure, something hard to describe. But this time I was able to decipher it correctly, it was a "uh-oh." I was right. The moment I drop down into the inner world, there is a massive amount of compy inside the Den. I don't see Crowley or Aziraphale anywhere, so either they aren't around, or they decide to avoid this whole mess. I would too, but no, I gotta take care of this. I miss Akumu.

I found Lady, who seems to be showing the little nightmares around, I even recognized Sparkles and Gaga-gazi. Catching up to her, I asked what she's doing with all these compy. See, Lady and I, while she is auto-translated, I don't know if she really do just speak that much, or if it's the translator's capability, she always do short sentences that are rather simple. So imagine a complex situation like this and I'm trying to figure out while she gave me basically spark notes. It is to no fault of her own, just something for me to work around. Either way, near the end I put my foot down for this, she cannot have the whole pack here in the main Den. She can have her colony inside her own subden, I vaguely know there's likely a growing tunnel system within Lady's subden (just like there is a whole Garden worthy of Eden's name in Crowley's and spiraling bookshop that is really a library in Aziraphale's). She'd cleared them all out since I no longer sense anything while I'm in my outer world, I just know the pack is there in Lady's subden and it's likely connected back to the compy pack's original nest. Oh well.

I was reading a fic about Crowley and Aziraphale showing off a little of their True Form to Adam. I got curious and asked how big Crowley can get since there is no limit within the Dream Realm.

He filled up the mouth of the Den, head and neck poking out. It was pretty cool. Think his head reached the top of the mountain.

Lady fly up to the mouth of the cave from elsewhere, all awed and intrigued, the Doctor follow behind, greeted us and ask what we are doing.

“I asked them how big they can get.”

I had momentary uncertainty with the pronoun. It kind of just slipped out. Crowley doesn’t seem to mind, I had to check via sending a mental question.

“Oh, that’s brilliant!” Doctor then proceeds to take out his sonic screwdriver to scan Crowley.

“Oi, watch it with your fancy stick, face-stealer” Crowley is not amused. He’s always a bit weird with the Doctor. Understandably so. He’s talking about how the sonic screwdriver can break, not calibrated for supernatural and pure magical beings like us. 

“Oh don’t worry, the TARDIS has been working on adapting to here. Should be able to—“

“It’sss not like you can find anything you couldn’t just ask about.” Crowley is all for asking questions, even if accepting question from the Doctor.

There was a sudden flash pressure that is nearly a headache for me. Localized. There is a sense that is tied to the inner world, so I went and checked.

I found the void creature outside its cave. It is extending tendrils up into the sky, making me think of Mononoke Hime’s scene with the forest god when his head got cut off. It’s slowly spreading across the sky too, the tendrils.

I try to get it to stop, talking to it, and it continues to ignore me. I still can’t sense any malice. In panic, I grew bigger.

The Doctor appeared with his sonic already scanning, I couldn’t parse or perceive if he is trying to say something, or if he couldn’t get a result. 

My mind flashed to the Doctor talking about my lack of internal organs. Put that thought on hold for another day.

Slowly, Crowley and Aziraphale showed up in sleepwear on my right, and Lady flew up next to my left. I can’t let them be hurt, they are under my care and protection now.

I grew big. And I shift. More wings popping out—one, two, three, six, eight pairs—I lost track. My neck grew longer, horns elaborate and ornate, bigger. There are two more head sprouting from my shoulders, I know they are echos of Akumu and Yajuu, I miss them, but the heads feel like husks at the moment. It feels like I’m attempting to grow more eyes, but it’s not in my being’s essence for many eyes, so instead my eyes, just the two of them, turned slit like. I don’t need my eyes to see, my nose, and my senses for the ethereal, they are strong. No legs though. Arms, I think I have one pair, but I also grew many. There are a lot of tails swishing around.

“Oi.” I called out towards the void creature. Urging it to best not hurt anyone. I don’t want to hurt it either. 

It slowly opens it’s wing-like structure, and, it floats up. I have momentary scene in my mind where it went towards my chaos cloud to be absorbed by it. 

It went up instead. 

Not wanting to wreck my barriers, I open a hole to let it pass through. It’s just gone. 

I feel exhausted. 

Shrunken back down to smaller amphithere form, I bid everyone a good night. Turning to fae to alight on the Doctor’s shoulder, I almost asked him to bring me with him, but I just blink myself back to the hidden alcove in the Den. Going to sleep this off.