‎

liang ziu took a moment to think , alliances were like being friends right ? a sudden flash of a smile flickers onto his expression , but he made sure to .. keep it under wraps , he didn't want the king to think of dragons as immature creatures now would he ?
            
            in terms of human age , liang ziu was definitely younger , but in dragon years , he was far older than the man before him , around 100+ years old he was ?
            
            " so ... you want to be friends ? "
            
            he asked , rummaging in his pocket for that spare dragon's orb his father gave him in case his dear son ever found anyone worthy of a blessing
            
            " okay so um .... i need to do this whole speech thingy if you wanna be friends okay ? papa tells me that making friends is really important for dragons ! "
            
            and with the audacity only a child would have , he made his way up the steps of what seems to be the throne , chubby hands making grabbing motions at the man above as if to ask him to lower his head .
            
            liang ziu was a bit shy , shifting into a draconic form for this blessing -- but something about the king told him he deserves the effort despite his embarrassment . the air stilled for a moment , a golden ring surrounding the expanse of the floor as a melodic tune fills the air
            
            " don't judge me okay ...? i don't always do this .."

@xiaoliangs   /     it's great...okay?

@xiaoliangs 
            
            this one was  ..  little.  this was only a child.  who sent a child off to a foreign planet?  irritation flashed on his face  —  not at the child  ,  but towards whoever was taking care of him. 
            
            he schooled his expression  ,  recognizing that it could unsettle the young one.  "welcome."  he greeted with a slight bow of his head  —  a formal greeting without disregarding his own status.
            
            "you need not feel nervous.  this is mostly a matter of formality.  it showcases that there is no bad blood between us."  he explained calmly.  while he was all for intimidating people  ,  children were a different situation all together.  they were innocent in this world of conflict.
            
            "you have no obligation to do anything.  the choice is purely yours  —  whether you do something or not will not impact our alliance."

@xiaoliangs   /     I'm gonna reply to your drop  .....  okay?

/   im gonna drop something  .... okay ?

@xiaoliangs   /     gently holds yours in return  ..

@OMNI1M4N 
            
            "I am well aware  ,  but your reminder is appreciated."  his impassive face displayed the exact opposite of thankfulness.  he hated when people treated him as if he was unaware about how to maintain   /  his  /   kingdom.  he has been doing this for a few centuries now  —  he was well aware of how to handle his people. 
            
            "why do you think you have yet to see a single conflict during your stay here?  as a matter of fact  ,  I don't think there's been a single issue outside of some wilted crops."  something that was easily fixable with his ability.  
            
            " I am allowing you refuge here  ,  nolan."  he spoke the others name as if it were vile.  "I gain nothing from having you here  ,  and yet I have gone to extreme lengths to ensure my people keep your presence a secret.  I can just as easily command them to spread it."

*  he  listens  without  interrupting,  gaze  drifting  briefly  over  the  surroundings  before  settling  back  on  him,  expression  calm  but  edged  with  quiet  scrutiny.  *  everything,  *  he  repeats.  a  faint  tilt  of  his  head  follows,  eyes  narrowing  just  slightly.  *  that’s  a  wide  claim.  *  a  brief  pause,  then,  more  deliberate,  *  control  over  land  is  one  thing.  control  over  people  is  another.  *  his  gaze  holds  steady  on  him,  assessing.  *  i  hope  you  understand  the  difference.

@OMNI1M4N 
            
            "everything."  he motioned a hand around.  "I am not exaggerating when I say this is my planet.  I control many aspects of the planet itself  ,  but it is my people I rule over."  every single occupant of the planet is under his ruling.  

connected to :
            
            @untildeath-   (  ilya  ,  son  )
            @lookwindward  (  dimitri  ,  main ship  )
            @starstruck-   (  andromeda  ,  child  /  daughter  )
            @parallax-   (  endel  ,  youngest son  )

¹·  athanasius is constantly filled with negative emotions.  his heart decaying puts him in this state.  this makes him act cruel.  
            
            ²·  a tulnukas heart   CAN   regrow  ,  but only in the case that they reconnect with their mate.  in athanasius' case  ,  he has to find a true one.
            
            ³·  athanasius has numerous children.  the men of the tulnuka race are the ones who give birth.  childbirth is a fragile thing for them  —  it's dangerous.  nothing sets off a tulnuka more than endangering one who is pregnant.  since he had multiple children with someone he isn't bonded to  ,  his body is in an even worse state.
            
            ⁴·  ilya  ,  the heir to the throne  ,  was a victim to a broken heart.  he went off to track down his mate  ,  leaving athanasius to deal with the aftermath.
            
            ⁵·  athanasius is the longest king to have been on the throne.  his immortality has kept him alive longer than others.  tulnukas don't have short lifespans  ,  but the royals tend to die off faster.  
            
            ⁶·  athan is a really bad example of how tulnukas act.  his anger isn't normal.  most of the past kings and queens have been full of anger  —  their followers see it as a rite of passage.

athanasius was trained and conditioned to rule over his home planet.  his parents were actually mates.  the cliche lovey couple.  they were perfect to each other  ,  even to athanasius for a while ,  but the first born will always have it differently.  if you make a mistake as the second or third born  ,  you're fine.  the first born?  the heir?  it's fit for punishment.
            
            it was both better and worse for athanasius.  his parents love each other  ,   but he was the only child.  they tried for more  ,  but athanasius was the only child they could conceive. 
            
            since he was the only one  ,  he   HAD   to be perfect.  he couldn't make even the slightest mistake.  there was no one else to take over if he messed up.   ANY   mistake  ,  the smallest misstep  ,  was fit for punishment.  their   TRAINING   is absolute hell  —  the punishments? even worse.
            
            he absolutely hates imperfections.  one wrong thing  ,  one wrong move  ,  and he's bound to get mad.  his anger isn't loud though.  it's silent and painful.  he can't punish someone unless they break a rule  ,  that would be   IMPROPER   of him  ,  and he can't have imperfections.  but he isn't afraid to work around that.  if the king won't recognize you  ,  then the people won't either.  he isolates then from society.

“  i have !  just ..  not much ..  „  she didn't touch her textbooks whatsoever and refused to .  everything was just too damn boring  ,  she finished everything quickly too .  nothing challenged her very much at all .  because of this ,  she refused to do real schoolwork whatsoever .  “  they're stupid and boring .  „

@starstruck- 
            
            he narrowed her eyes at the obvious lie.  "I know your father would never buy you literature relating to your studies.  I'm referring to your school books.  I haven't seen you touch them all week."

she knew damn well it was nothing to do with studying .  dimitrius never got her anything to do with her studies ..  it was all just about space because she begged for it .  “ uhm ..  yeah !  it's definitely studying !  „  biggest lie ever told from this girl .  

andromeda didn't think she could smile any bigger ,  this may be even more than when she was told she would have a little brother !   “  really  ??  we can do that ??  i mean imagine all the discoveries we could make !  „  she thought more about it ,  all the ways they could figure out what really happens inside one of those things .  "  we could have trackers or something made to have some communication or or or ...  or we could send multiple people in at once and document everything if they haven't died !  „

@starstruck- 
            
            "because it's true.  I quite enjoy it when we have these talks.  I have even learned some things from you."  it was something he found extraordinary.  he had been alive for so long that he didn't even know he was unaware of things.  "we are capable of locating them.  we can't get too close  ,  but to satisfy your curiosity  ,  we could use your experiment in our next execution."  for how gruesome his words were  ,  his smile was still fond.

“  you tell me that all the time ,  papa  ..  „  she frowned ,  more because he really did say it often ..  sometimes she wondered if he was even listening .  “ but anyways .  we don't quite know if people would die in a black hole or not !  i find that really cool ,  i wanna find one and test it out .  „

@starstruck- 
            
            the man sighed at the words.  at this point  ,  it wasn't all that surprising.  endel had a tendency to bother andromeda whenever he could.  "he doesn't enjoy books as you do  ,  but he's fond of the sound of your voice.  while he might not retain the information you're telling him  ,  your voice soothes him."  athanasius tried to explain.  
            
            "he's less responsive to the cold than you are  —  I'm still testing to discover if he can feel it at all.  the boy isn't trying to torment you  ,  I assure you."  his youngest was full of things he didn't quite understand.  "if you truly wish for him to leave you be  ,  I'll go and tell him."

“  he keeps bothering me about reading to or playing with him  !  i don't see a point in reading to him because he doesn't pay attention half the time ,  and playing with him will just mean we're outside in the cold all day .  „  they sighed ,  utterly annoyed with everything .  she'd punch a wall if allowed ,  but obviously she wasn't .  

@starstruck- 
            
            athanasius sighed and looked up from the paperwork he was working on.  "what exactly is he doing this time?"

@lookwindward 
            
            athanasius looked up from the outfit to give dimitri a small smile in thanks.  it was barely there  ,  but noticeable nonetheless.  "that is reassuring to know.  I have a meeting with a council on another planet later this week  ..  these are the clothes of their customs.  I was afraid I'd appear badly in them."

“  you look fine  ,         you look *amazing* actually  .         „          he mostly wondering why he of all people was the one asked  ...         he didn't particularly know anything about fashion and thought athan looked good in absolutely everything  ,         same with nothing at all  .           “  it fits you  .        „

"this is a new outfit  —  I just want to ensure that it looks presentable."  he smoothed down the fabric with a huff.  "this is not my normal attire.  I am unsure if it is my style  ..  "