Asimona sighed, her faintly warm breath stirring up a large cloud of moisture in front of her. It was so cold here, so wonderfully cold, but it was so lonely. The ice and snow that surrounded her, feeling so familiar, so peaceful, it comforted her but it scared away everyone else. Who else would be so comfortable in such a freezing place.

It was a corner of Pisces that she had, in a way, created. It hadn't been hard to drop the temperature below freezing and drop it even more to keep it that way when she wasn't there to maintain it. Even being there, with the coldness that always followed, made the area colder and colder. So cold that the wet stone had turned to rocks. The occasional spray of water turn to snow. The droplets from the rocks freezing into icicles. It was beautiful, pristine, glistening winter and it was really cold.

But, of course, that's what Asimona prefered. It helped her keep in herself. It helped to keep away the others. Pisces had always been a place that reminded her of all of her bad experiences but she had turned it around into this. A winter wonderland, in a way. Just this corner, though.

But now...now she was lonely and she would feel the pricking at the edges of her consciousness that meant her peace would not last much longer. She needed to do something else then sit around in the cold. She sighed again, breaking her thoughts, and heaved herself out of her nest of snow. With a glance back, she stepped out of her frozen beauty and into the main cave. The roaring of the waterfall was in the distance, the cold, damp air soothing her skin. She hadn't realized how much she loved this cave until she had decided to settle in it.

An idea formed in her head. She remembered Dread, the other dragon she had met so long ago. He had hoarded many things, shiny rocks, metal bits, anything that he thought had worth. Perhaps she could start doing that too. Make a project out of it. Find nice things and keep them, hoard them. She smiled happily and began scanning the area carefully.

Eventually, as she walked through Pisces, she came across a little pool. She peered inside and was delighted to find a shell, a lovely little thing, pink and white, that she carefully pulled from the water. Her first treasure! She carefully opened her mouth and tucked it under her tongue to keep it safe as she continued on her walk.

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

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As Asimona walked, searching for treasures to start her hoard, she started to think. Think about everything. Her life until now. All the people she had met. She had never really sat down to think about it. Thinking made her stressed and stress made them come and bother her. But she knew that she needed it. A good thinking session.

She tried to think of her earliest memory. Playing in the snow. The beautiful purity of snow, the bliss of freedom and new life. She had been so innocent then, free of terrible things. A sadness overcame her, a grief for that life she could have had. There hadn't been any voices or dragons stalking her every move back then, no. It had just been her. Her and the snow and the lion. And as much as she tried to recall, she couldn't remember his name.

He had been so kind, so gentle. And now that she thought about it, there had been a sadness about it. Something that weighed him down. She understood him a little better now, although she wished she could understand more. She had not understood sadness back then. She had been too new, too full of wonder and life. But now she had known sadness. And she understood that he had been mourning.

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

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notes:

That happiness hadn't lasted though, had it? It hadn't been long after that that the fateful day had come. Her first visit to Pisces, when she had tried to climb the frozen wall with Envy. And he had come to her, Father, then unnamed and simply the red dragon that made her fear. Why had it all come crashing down then? Why had it happened? The darkness had come so suddenly, filling her head with fear and it hadn't left her side. No, from that day on it was with her. Forever. Eternally. She was trapped, it seemed, in her own head.

And even as she thought of this she felt the presence of Father tickling her spine and the familiar fear filling her chest. He appeared in front of her, a little unusually, but with the same burning eyes and the confident smirk. You're right about me, Asimona. I won't leave your side. There is nothing you can do to be rid of me.

A feeling suddenly pushed at Asimona's stomach, something hot and uncomfortable but, at the same time, it filled her with energy and with drive. Her eyes narrowed and she stood taller, letting the feeling fill her up. "Okay," she began, without really knowing what she was going to say, "but that doesn't mean I have to be afraid of you. In all these cycles of chasing me and following me, what have you even done to me? You've tricked me, you've made me think you've done things but you haven't! You're a phony and nothing more than an illusion. Isn't that right?" Her words became more and more confident as she spoke and she had never even thought about how relieving it would be to say it all out loud. To voice what was in her all the time. She never knew how good it would feel to finally admit to herself and to face the truth.

But Father was not so pleased. His face contorted with anger and it was like fire burned from his eyes. He opened his jaws and let out a terrifying roar, but Asimona forced herself not to flinch. "How...how dare you!! I'll cut you open! I'll rip you to pieces! I'll burn your body to ashes and burn the ashes into nothing! I am more real then anything else, Asimona!"

The dragon narrowed her eyes and took a step forward. "Prove it," she hissed.

Something tapped against her claw and she was momentarily distracted. But she didn't dare look away. She simply closed her claws around the stone she had bumped into and held it out to him. "If you're real, why don't you break this? Take it out of my claws and smash it on the ground. Do it. Now."

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

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Rolling for magical presence!

Asimona has found a Fledgling (+1) Moonstone in a small, smooth chunk, which belonged to a hybrid of Bactrian Camel, River Otter, and Striped Skunk.

@Asimona

The little chunk of moonstone glimmered in her claws and she stared intently at Father, waiting for his reaction. There was doubt in her, doubt that she would be able to see this through but she forced herself to focus...if she doubted her resolve then Father would take advantage. He would make her fear again, he would make her uncertain.

But she already seemed to be too late in destroying her doubt. Father's eyes burned and his grin returned, dark and cruel. You're very bold today, my darling. You know that there's life in that stone...if I destroy it I'll be killing life. Any chance of its return will be wiped from existence. He raised a claw and let it hover over the moonstone. Asimona could feel the heat of his palm clashing with her own coldness and she shivered, the doubt growing greater and greater...

No! She couldn't doubt. She forced down the shivers and swallowed, trying to ignore the buzz of fear threatening to blind her. Her gaze hardened and she locked eyes with Father. "What are you waiting for, then? Kill it!" She was surprised by the amount of venom in her voice, but she knew it was well deserved. He was terrible. He was everything she hated. She needed this to be proved right now, that she was right all along and he could do nothing.

Father's face changed, the grin fading to a snarl. His claw seemed to tighten, as if preparing to grab the stone, but, a moment later, he was gone.

Asimona sucked in a great breath and immediately tucked the moonstone into her mouth next to the seashell. She closed her eyes for a moment, waiting for her heart to calm down and staggered forward, walking right through the place where Father had been moments before. Did that mean she was right? Had he left because he knew he couldn't do it? Or was he refusing to, making her hang in this limbo?

It took a while for her to calm but when she did she felt a peace she hadn't known in a long time. She had been right and she knew it. He had been nothing but a fake all along.

There was another pool nearby that she settled next to for a moment. She set down the seashell and the moonstone and took a long draught from the water. Something was glistening in the water...something pretty. She carefully picked it out and set it down next to her other treasures. There was something special about this one, whether it had life or not. This was the first gem she would find with a clear mind. She drilled that into her head. Because of this gemstone, she was walking on a new path. And she would continue to do so. There were two others to talk to, after all.

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

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notes:

Emotionally exhausted, Asimona couldn't bring herself to move from the side of the pool for now. She rested her head on her claws and stared into the clear, still water. It was so beautiful here...how could she not love this cave with all her heart? How could she think this was a place of evil and darkness? They had twisted her perception and she hated them for it. She hated all of them...Father, Mother. Even Sister.

At the thought, she felt a presence of sadness appear beside her. You don't really mean that, do you?

Asimona ignored her and instead dipped her claws into the pool, absentmindedly stirring up the water, creating ripples and waves, and felt her claws brush against something. She leaned over and carefully picked up a piece of coral. It was a pale shade of green and she smiled with delight. Another little treasure for her. She placed it next to her other pieces.

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

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notes:

Asimona tried not to think about Sister, who was definitely next to her now, and put all of her treasures back into her jaws. It was getting a little crowded in there now. Perhaps she should turn back and deliver them to her nest.

But then that would be like saying it was over. Her walk was over, her search was over. While there was absolutely nothing stopping her from going back out, it was just a piece of her mind that said If you go back now this moment is over. And she didn't want this to be over. She was being so strong now. And she needed strength for this next bit.

Sister was the only one she didn't want to admit was just an illusion of her own mind. She had helped her through a lot of things, she had been with her for so much. She had sometimes been the only voice of reason. But if she wanted to be a different person and get past the darkness, she had to shed everything, leave everything behind, even her.

Asimona, please...you don't mean that! The voice wailed beside her and Asimona forced herself to look. Sister was staring at her with wide, disbelieving eyes. Her mouth was agape with horror. I'm your sister!

Asimona didn't hesitate, although she felt her heart breaking as she uttered her next words. "You're not. You're just an illusion. You're just in my head. You're just a voice. I can't...I can't listen to you anymore. I can't rely on you. I need to be strong for myself now." She turned and tried to distract herself by looking for more gemstones. She found one eventually and rolled it around on the ground as she waited for Sister to respond.

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

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notes:

Rolling for magical presence (for the second stone)...

Asimona has found a beautifully stunning chunk of Cuprite! It is roughly diamond-shaped with smaller clusters attached to it, and has faceted edges, making it glimmer in all kinds of different ways. Its color is brightest at the pointed edge, and darken to a deep crimson at its base.

Rolling for magical presence (for the third gem)...

Asimona has found a Fledgling (+1) Blue Jeremejevite in the shape of jagged spines, which once belonged to a Crested Penguin.

...I know.

Surprised, Asimona turned to stare at Sister. The young dragon looked sad, her eyes wet with tears that were beginning to roll down her face, but there was a small smile on her face. I can still help you, though. I'm still a part of you. Even if I'm just a vision or a hallucination, I'm still in your head. I want you to succeed. Unlike them, I want you to be strong. I love you, Asimona, even if you don't love me. She smiled wider before her fragile form disappeared leaving Asimona with a feeling of deep confusion and grief.

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

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notes: