==> Jesse: Teach a class (open rp)

"Oh man our dragons probably seem really weird! They are omnivores with a preference for these really hard to crack nuts that grow on the big trees in the swamplands. That's why they can spit acid, so its easier to get at the nuts. I already mentioned they are kinda translucent, they kinda spend their days holed up in the caves beneath the trees and mostly come out at night unless they get disturbed during the day. But their wings and tails are more colorful and there are a few different colorations you can find, often it kinda depends on regions. They usually live in groups ranging in size between about 5 to 12 specimen, usually with an alpha female and her daughters leading the swarm. They aren't very agressive so we usually tolerate swarms settling down near groves because they also eat stuff that can be actually dangerous to our little ones and the parenting groves, but during mating season and in regions where territorial conflicts are frequent they can get real nasty." You pause, try hard to remember all of the stuff you learned when you were still a youngling. Well, you could always talk about your firsthand experience with them.
"Uh. A full grown dragon is like three times my size. I used to get in fights with them a lot, because I wanted one as a pet when I was a stupid kid and somehow thought beating it in a fight would make it like me. Maybe I just read to many adventure novels where that was a pretty common plotline. I really wanted the pretty peacock alpha that lived behind our grove and in hindsight she probably kinda liked me because she tolerated my laughable assaults on her and never seriously tried to melt my face off, but yeah, no can do. I mean it's really, really rare to domesticate dragons anyway because alphas are hard to befriend and unless you get a swarm dynamic going they don't survive very long either because of infighting or because of loneliness. I think biologists are trying really hard to raise alphas in captivity in the hopes that they'll produce pheromones in order to lure in wild loners so that they can have a swarm in captivity to observe. For such a common animal we really don't know that much about their social dynamics."
You shrug. "I mean I guess y'all probably have cool animals on your homeworlds, too. I'm kinda a nerd about the dragon thing, but they are really not that exciting to most of us."

 

That is so, so cool!!! If your life ran on cartoon logic (well, more than it already does) your eyes would be sparkling.
"That is so cool!" You think for a sec about the animals you grew up with, and shrug.
"All I really grew up with was the mice and sometimes I saw the occasional dog or guinea pig."

 

"Do you have pictures?"

Cal can't seem to stop hand-flapping. Maybe if he gets a picture he can turn into a real dragon! Someday, when he leaves Kintsugi, maybe he'll live with them.

(But he's not leaving Kintsugi any time soon.)

 

"Uhh... not with me no. Tell you what I'll research it all proper and then I'll hold a presentation and show pictures and stuff on the newest discoveries and all that fancy stuff! Gotta check in with homeworld social networks anyway, it's been a while!" You grin your toothiest grin and maybe you even bounce up and down a little. Only a little though.
People like hearing about dragons! That's SUPER cool!

 

"Oooh, I would like to see this presentation. Learning about different creatures is so very cool. Since they're translucent can you see the musculature underneath? Are they like some breeds of aquarium fish so you can see through them and see their bones and stuff?"

 

"Yes exactly! It can look kinda gross when they eat, but you can totally see the acid being pumped up so you know when to dodge and and stuff!"

 

"Dude. That is epic."

 

"I can't wait!"

You're not sure why people say that about things they can't have and aren't going to get any time soon, since obviously people only say it when they're planning to wait whether they want to or not, but you're pretty sure that's what you're supposed to say when you're excited about something.

 

"As I said they aren't very agressive usually but when they get pissed off they spit acid like a hose and they aim for vital parts which... uh I can't actually tell which parts of you are the most vital to survivable so maybe they'd be thrown for a loop too. Also they usually attack in groups, so there could be a lot of possible fatalities between the acid and around twelve angry flying predators attacking everythign vaguely threatening looking by mobbing it."
You shrug. it's dangerous, alright, but not exactly unusual on the homeworld. And maybe the few planets with genetic variation where a swarm or two accidentally got taken along on some freighter because they fell asleep in the dark between two crates. Your people are kind of bad about preserving ecosystems.

 

"Just don't start a fight in town? Have it videotaped?"
You don't particularly wanna get caught in that crossfire.

 

No rampages sounds good to you. Actually, what sounds good to you is more tea right now.
"Uhm, can I have another mug of tea?"

 

"Can I vote we don't bring any dragons here?" Fighting them sounds like a really bad idea.

 

"Aw, they are just lazy noodles if you don't pick a fight! usually. Unless its mating season which would be hard to predict what with the different astro-environment and all that. hm."

 

"Uh, maybe figuring out the mating seasons should come first? So we don't accidentally wreck All The Things?"

 

"Space adventure for dragons, anyone?"

 

"Hell yes!"
Space adventures are already pretty much the most exciting thing you can think of (and I mean living off your homeplanet in a colony in a vastly unexplored solar system makes every day a small kind of space adventure! But this would be the big kind!) but bring the possibility of dragons and other weird animals that could possibly be pet friends in and you are so absolutely going to be part of any expedition that you can hardly contain your excitement. You are bouncing enough to almost lift off.

 

On the one hand, dragons and terrifying new things and danger and maybe fighting!

On the other hand, dragons and fascinating new things and knowing what danger's out there before it attacks Kintsugi and everybody else is going! Better go with them and try to make friends.