Etoile

Did you have a life before joining the Omegon? If so, what was that life like?
I hatched here! Or, I don't remember a time before it. Same difference!

What are your opinions on our Esteemed Matriarch and her honorable crusade against the tyranny of the gods?
Oh, praise be! I fully believe in her crusade! Hurrah! Get those gods!

The twinkle in Etoile's eyes seem to dim, and his mouth turns in an uncharacteristic frown. "Well, that's not a very fun question." He's silent for a moment, shifting from foot to foot. "Well, uh... sometimes I miss meal times with Tsze and have to eat alone. That's pretty disappointing! Um, I once pursued research on a creature that my clanmates told me was real, for, uh, several moons, and it turned out they were playing a prank on me. It sounded so cool, too!"

He's silent for another few beats. "I made friends with another hatchling my age when I was small. I liked him, uh, a lot. I gave him flowers and we played hide and seek and he was my first friend. And then he disappeared. I still miss him, sometimes. It was, uh, disappointing, to never talk to him again?"

He tutters nervously and giggles, slightly shrill. "Oh, golly, you-- you probably didn't want to hear that, though. I'm fine! I promise! I have a bunch of friends now, and my work is fulfilling, and I love it here!"

"Oh, hello!" Etoile looks incredibly excited at the question. "Oh, yes, yes! Allow me to just--" He rushes away to grab some papers from the lair he shares with his mentor. When he gets back, he delicately lays them out.

"During the last full moon we were permitted to take Flare outside of the Omegon, with Valkyrie supervising us," he began. "While Tsze was comparing and revising our star charts, I watched and took notes as Flare brewed one of his poisons. She's told us before about how she's had to modify her recipes inside of the Omegon to fit the stars there, but this was the first time I was seeing it first hand. He uses much less moonstone dust, which I had found odd! It was a key ingredient inside of the Omegon. She said--" He rifles through his papers and points triumphantly at a scribbly line. "She said that its because the connection to the moon outside the Omegon is much more potent than her connection inside, so he has to compensate for that by adding more moonstone dust! And even besides that, the moon of the Omegon has a different effect on the poison than the moon of Sornieth; while the Omegon poison induces organ failure, the Sornieth one eats away at the stomach lining."

He grins. "Fascinating stuff! I'm thinking of asking Kani if we can take Flare out on more trips outside. I would love to study his poisons more! Tsze didn't seem as excited as I was, but they're always grumpy like that." He rolls his eyes. "I know they love this as much as I do!"