Banana

There’s a snail, and it’s glowing. You look to your right. There’s another snail. You look to your left, just to discover another. You look up at the ceiling, and are greeted by hundreds of tiny eyes. They’re everywhere. They’re slow, but every time you think you left them behind there’s more. You cannot escape them.



"Hello there, stranger! I am Banana, a paranormal investigator! ... hm? What do you say? My name doesn't suit a dragon? Hey now, that's just mean! We're not here to bash anyone's name. I didn't chose it! Besides, I think it is a mighty fine name! What would you say if I made fun of your name? I bet you wouldn't like that!

Anyway, I've come to you for help. I know my clan isn't the ... uh ... nicest around, with all the plundering and killing and conquering and all that stuff ... but you know, that's part of the problem I want to talk to you about! Because, you see, I heard that this clan wasn't always like this! Ol' Thunderstorm told me that it used to be a safe haven for those who had been exiled, old dragons, crippled dragons, or just dragons who were looking for a new home! They accepted pretty much anyone, and they were like a big family! But then at some point, things went south ... something made them become greedy and malicious, and things got even worse when Barachiel showed up!

Now, I wasn't around for all that, so I can only tell you what that old ridgeback told me. But! I noticed something very strange in this clan, and I think it might have to do with these changes!

You see those goggles I'm wearing? Yeah, those. Those are actually specs that allow me to see ghosts and other supernatural beings! They pick up on strange "auras", so to say, and allow me to track down those things even when they're not directly in my vicinity. Aren't they neat? I think they look super swell on me! Don't you agree? I have my moms to thank for these little babies - they're fantastic inventors and engineers!

I've found quite a lot of ghosts spooking around here, but most of 'em are harmless. There's some other strange things going on, too, like all those weird glowing snails - where do they come from?? - but I wasn't able to find any source for it yet, I only could pick up some strange signals with my specs ... I asked Scarecrow to help me several times now, because she had her fair share with monsters and ghosts in her life, and she's amazingly calm when faced with something supernatural. But ... I don't think she likes me. She always says no and tells me to get lost! She's so mean! We'd be the perfect team of paranormal investigators ...

Uhum. Sorry, let's get back to the case at hand: as I said, I noticed something very strange in this clan. And I don't mean the strange supernatural phenomenons I mentioned earlier, but somethign else. Something bigger. So, here's the thing: you see that weird wildclaw over there? The one that's been staring at us with this happy-go-lucky grin all this time? Yeah, right there. That's Betelgeuse. She's pretty known for causing mischief and "borrowing" things from others, and annoying everyone by narrating their lives and starting rumors. Most just view her as a little nuisance that can easily be avoided.

But here's the thing! I think something is up with her. I don't know what exactly, just ... SOMETHING. A few weeks ago, I was trying to solve the mystery of the glowing snails, and I had my specs on when Betelgeuse happened to approach me and started commenting on my every move, quite annoying me and hindering my work. But that's not what's important. What is important is that when I turned to look at her, there was a strange aura about her! Her face was contorted, she had more limbs than she should have, and everything about her was kinda blurry. At first I thought I was going crazy, so I put off my specs - Betelgeuse looked perfectly fine then -, cleaned them and put them back on, but alas! There was that strange aura again. And whenever she spoke, something seemed to escape her body.

I don't even remember what she was saying, I just grabbed some of the snails and excused myself with something like, "Oh, I have to go now, I have these rad snails to look at, you know!" and left as fast as I could. When I told some of the others, they just gave me a funny look, and shook their heads. Everyone's telling me that I'm being silly! I mean ... they're never taking me very seriously, anyway. All that paranormal investigator stuff? They think it's cute! That it's a weird quirk! When I make them look through my specs to prove my point, they just think it's a cute trick. But you know, I'm doing serious business here. If only Scarecrow would help me ... they'd believe me then, I'm sure!

But I digress. Okay, so, where was I ...? Oh yeah, I ran away, told the others, and no one believed me! So at first I thought, Banana, my sweet girl, you probably just didn't get enough sleep and are imagining things, so I took a break and tried to study the glowing snails a bit more. But Betelgeuse simply wouldn't go out of my head! So I started watching her the past few weeks and the strange aura is still there. I definitely didn't imagine it!

And I noticed that ... how should I put it ... she seems to have some kind of effect on the clan. I looked a bit closer and I noticed that that weird aura she's giving off? It's actually everywhere in the lair! It's very faint, but it is there! There's not a single wall that isn't covered in that faint, weird aura. It's as if she put the lair under a magic spell.

So, here's my theory: I think that Betelgeuse is not, in fact, just narrating our lives and thus trying to annoy us. I don't think she "borrows" things just because. What I think is that she's actually putting us under a spell and changing reality with every word she speaks! I don't think she's even a dragon. She's something else entirely! She might look young, about my age, but her aura looks ... old. Ancient.

Please, I don't know what to do. No one believes me! I need someone to convince the others that something is terribly, terribly wrong with her and that we should get rid of her as soon as possible! So that's why I've come to you, dear stranger. Help me to convince the others and get our clan back to normal!

... you believe me, right?"

Spencer

Sunchaser

Honeysuckle

Phoenix

Sunflower

Betelgeuse

Thunderstorm

Lobelia

Nemesis

Scarecrow

Barachiel

Nightingale