>>5227515"To tell you the truth, I don't know.” You admit with a simple shrug. “I'm very much in the same spot as you are, Leviathan.”
“OH? HOW SO?” The Amalgam asks, amused.
“I was born mere weeks...months? Ago?” You sigh, leaning back on your elbows as you gaze downriver. “Knowing nothing of myself with only what I have on my person and the ever-present call of the Crucible. It's been one thing to another lately and so much has happened…so, ideally? I’d welcome you and your siblings into my own family. I see no difference between us—we are all looking for a place we can call home.”
“I… SUPPOSE WE ARE.” Levy admits with no small measure of reluctance.
“Y’know, you're a fascinating individual, Leviathan.” You say, suddenly, catching the titan off-guard as they issue a surprised laugh. “I want someone that fascinating as part of my world. Not as a dependent, but a peer, a friend, someone I can have conversations like this with. The same with your siblings, even if you're probably right that Behemoth is going to imprint on me. We'll work on helping him grow into maturity."
“I SEE…THAT’S ALL WELL AND GOOD, BUT FROM WHAT I’M HEARING YOU’D SIMPLY HAVE MY SIBLINGS AND I…EXIST?” Leviathan scoffs. “SURELY ONE WHO’S LOOKING TO RESHAPE THE WORLD WOULD HAVE SOME DEMANDS OF BEINGS OF OUR CALIBER? SOMETHING YOU’D ASK OF US? YOU’D EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT YOU WOULD SIMPLY LEAVE US TO OUR OWN DEVICES AFTER ALL IS SAID AND DONE?”
"I don't think I can choose your future for you. Ultimately, it's your own decision what you do with your life. It's what your father wanted, and I agree. You and your siblings should have the right to decide your own futures." You softly counter, hoping to round out the edges of Leviathan’s own suspicion. "And I want the rest of the world to see you as peers. Not some terrifying monster that they can't comprehend, but someone that could be part of their world, too.”
“Now, I'm not saying that you have to integrate into human society, like I said you should be free to decide your place as you choose.” You add just as Leviathan’s begins to speak in a huff. “But there should be room for you, if you want it. Humans have spent a long time as the only sophont life we knew of. That's no longer the case, we have mutants and aliens aplenty now, and the world is going to have to adapt. It's probably going to be hard, we had trouble accepting our own differences a lot of the time. But if we're talking ideal situations, that's mine. A future where you and your siblings’ origins might make you exceptional, but not excluded."
“AND YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN FORGE THIS FUTURE?” Levy prompts, and you shrug yet again.
(Continued)
