"I'm gonna tell them, they'll figure something out."

We are aliens. I would save five dogs over one random Amentan... Maybe it would have to be ten. I eat wild animals whole when I'm at home and make deadly traps for a hobby. Getting a new shiny thing feels like what I imagine a baby smiling at you does. I can feel compassion but helping strangers is just not a core drive.

"Do you have, like, friends?"

I have people I know and like to talk to. I wouldn't go more than a few minutes out of my way much less risk being seriously hurt or dying for any of them.

"Wow. Okay."

It's admirable to help others in some circumstances, if their situation is unfair or would create imbalance, or if you expect to benefit from them or you invested in them, but you wouldn't do it just because you like them. And your Way is as weird to me as mine is to you!

"What makes it - unfair in the right way, or unbalanced -" She fidgets with her hair, still composing her note to the writing staff.

He recognizes the hair fidget from mental context by now.

I can repeat this and talk to them directly if that works better. Hmm, unfairness... If someone uses cheap tricks to gain the advantage while not in their own territory that is kind of unfair. I would fight a known Liar on behalf of just about anyone, because Draak who Lie are awful and I like picking fights that nobody can justifiably be mad at me for. Hmm, balance... If someone's death would leave the world poorer, I suppose? If they're good to their territory and whoever's threatening them is probably going to be a bad neighbor, you want to prevent that. Or if they're... Special? Most people are not special. Bloom or the Tidepool or the Seeker, I would defend. Not that the Seeker needs it. He probably has cool guns. Bloom might need it. I'm not explaining myself very well.

"The greens'll probably have follow-up questions. I dunno, plenty of Amentans won't go out of their way to help strangers either, but you don't make somebody like that the protagonist, they'll seem -" Shrug, hair-twirl.

Movies are about cool, admirable people, not boring average or hateable people?

"Yeah. People you'd want on your side."

I can act like someone else. I just don't want to act like someone who obviously isn't Draak! Hmm... Keeping your commitments is generally an admirable thing to Draak and Amentans both, I think? If I had sworn to protect someone, I'd do my very best to keep my promise even at dire risk, unless I was facing undeniably certain and extremely thorough death.

"Would you promise that though?"

Maybe. Depends on a lot of stuff. But I can certainly act like a Draak who promised it and who is the kind of Draak who would promise it.

"I mean like, what would get a Draak to promise that."

That one takes him a while. He goes still and seems distant.

...Fate. The Onesong. The transformation of fear into hope. The future. The greatest Treasures are not golden art, but things rarer and more precious still.

Emotion leaks into the telepathy. Something like awe.

Now that I actually think about it... Terraforming a planet will be nothing less than the gestation of a truly grand Treasure, and being a guardian of such a precious egg? That would be something I would happily swear myself to if I felt it necessary. I'm not good enough to make something like that. But I could guard it. And with that, perhaps the Amentan is also precious - a young genius, or one who is crucial to preserving the terraforming by being smaller and nimble-handed and understanding computers, or just a settler of the new planet and therefore worthy of shielding simply because they belong. Something like that would work beautifully.

...Or the prospect of lots and lots of gold, or a huge territory on the new planet. But that's less admirable, isn't it?

"Oh - I like that - I'll try to write it up but you might have to explain it again for the greens -"

I will, gladly!

She sends an email and then tells him the next script meeting will be the following morning and he should go.

I will!

Do you think it will it be a problem if I go back to my tunnel at the other studio for the night if I'm here in time? I like it better than the room here. It feels safer.

"I think that's fine if you make the meeting."

His tail moves indecisively.

...I'll stay here just in case. And I'll dream on the element of Air for it. Do you know if the studios are sharing all the information they learn about me? Like the makeup stuff?

"Uh, probably, but I'm not sure, do you want me to check?"

Sure. It just seems like it would be good to do that. I might forget something that could have been important and the movies would be worse, but if both directors and whoever else know most things that's no problem.

Taptaptaptap. "I asked the makeup people and if they're sharing because the director told them to probably everyone is but if they're not, or they are but it was their own idea, then other people might not be and I'll kick the question up."