DATE: August 10th, nighttime
CURRENT LOCATION: Door Vault/Warehouse

He knew for a fact that he was not supposed to be here.

While normally a rule-abiding child in an effort to not be a burden on those around him, curiosity and the inability to sleep resulted in him creeping out of his containment room. Bare feet had carried him across the linoleum flooring, steps quiet as he pressed against the wall, peering out from a bend in the hall. He managed to avoid the night shift janitorial monster before also managing to get himself completely lost within the expansive factory.

A few wrong turns and a narrow passage later brought him to a room filled with doors. Well, room was likely the wrong term for massive multi-story enclosed space. Just how big was this building? Was he even in the same place?

Haruka glanced around in search for any monsters, and he relaxed upon finding the warehouse void of life. With a small sigh, he carried forward until he reached the edge of the platform. Metal railing meant to keep someone from falling lost its true purpose as he grabbed hold of the top bar and pulled himself up. He sat down on the middle bar, legs dangling in the air, and rested his chin against the cool metal.

His mind drifted, a slow process of still trying to make sense of his current surroundings. More importantly, however: were his old doors somewhere out there?

Norman Spencer was stationed in the Door Vault, the massive interior being larger than the Empire State Building if it were lying on its side. He was wearing a hard hat, directing a late shift as it were, as no one could accuse him of being a slouch when it came to the company he owned shares in. He was down here to learn the ins out and outs of the warehouse, to see the operations firsthand. It was truly awe-inspiring, being a place in the factory that was one if its pride and joys, the largest certainly of any area of the "campus." 

He wasn't sure why he'd looked down below him to another platform; perhaps it was just to get a sense of the sheer scale of everything in here, but when he did, his eyes settled on the form of a child... a human child. They weren't supposed to be in here, of that he was certain. Leaping off his own platform, he sailed downwards, apparently able to fly despite lacking wings, or at least glide. Landing as softly as a father on the boy's platform, he approached him from behind. "Ahem... are you lost?" He asked, figuring this had to be one of the ten. 

Something cleared its throat from behind, and Hakura's entire being grew rigid. The tension had him still as a rock, arms locked with a death grip on the upper metal bar, turning his knuckles white. Someone else was here. An adult, if he could trust the octave of the void. The only adults he had seen here were monsters, and that alone was enough to keep his eyes fixed ahead. He did not want to turn around, even if he had been caught red-handed in a restricted area.

"... No," came the eventual response, his voice catching in his throat. A single word was all he could manage, and he doubted he could trust himself to say more. Not that he wanted to. His eyes tore away from the doors, head still facing forward as he glanced around in search of an escape route.

"I thought so." He responded, noting the tense body language of this human. "Don't worry... you can face me if you wish. You're one of the 10 being looked after in my factory, are you not?" he inquired, approaching slowly, so as not to alarm him. "You must've wandered off or gotten out... seems to be happening more frequently; I understand you must feel shocked and... uncertain at being here; it's a massive adjustment, for sure." he stated sympathetically, his voice soothing and even. 

Stopping behind him, he smiled a little. "Did you at least find what you were seeking? This is an impressive room, is it not?" he asked, looking about him to the sheer enormity of the room that surrounded them. He was trying to put Haruka at ease, as he knew it must be truly overwhelming for him. He could only imagine a child of his own, if he had any, being stuck in the human world. "I can assure you, you are safe here, even if circumstances are not ideal." 

His tongue dried, and his throat constricted. If he tried to speak, he felt his voice would betray him now, whether it would raise in pitch, break between words, or refuse to come out completely. To compromise while still responding, not wanting to find out what would happen if he flat out ignored the unknown monster, Haruka slowly gave a small shake of his head. No, he would not turn around. There was a brief pause before the slight nod, a movement so small it might have been missed had his hair not bobbed with the motion. Yes, he was one of the ten.

This one had a nice voice, but even strangers with nice voices shouldn't be given his trust. Especially in a world of monsters.

The voice drew closer. Behind him? His heart rate quickened, the blood roaring in his ears. He needed to get out of there. But where? If the monster was behind him, his only option was down. He could double back and try to run around them, but his dangling legs were numb. Untangling himself from the fence would take too much time, too.

Oh- oh, wait. More questions were being asked. He had not been listening. He paled, struggling to grasp what might have been asked based on the context of the monster's next words. Nothing. He got nothing. Hesitantly, he nodded again.

This child had lost his voice, apparently. Norman would support him, but he wanted him to at least be comfortable. "Hm... you seem scared... but I assure you... I won't hurt you." He said softly, moving to his side now and placing his forelimbs on the railing to look about him, and then down to the child. "You're fine; I won't tell anyone you snuck off. Why did you choose here of all places?" he asked, emitting a friendly chuckle. 

"It's certainly the biggest place to get lost in, that's for sure. Do you want to stay here, for now?" he asked, leaning down a little and giving him a smile to try and reassure him and get him to open up. 

I won't hurt you.

How many variations of that had he heard? How many people? How many monsters? How many liars?

He could not trust those words.

The voice behind him moved to his side, and Haruka struggled to keep his gaze focused ahead. A small part of him wanted to look. Another wanted to look away so not even his peripheral vision could catch a glimpse. So, he sat with every muscle tensed instead.

The questions that followed were not seeking yes-or-no answers. He was going to have to respond eventually; he knew this much. He had already claimed he was not lost. Would he be able to get away with saying this was merely a place he happened upon while evading the janitorial staff? That would imply he was lost, that he could not figure out how to get back. Which, he couldn't.

Without knowing how to answer, he merely shrugged his shoulders in a universal, I don't know.

While he had originally wanted to stay there, the appearance of the monster, no matter how friendly they tried to pass as, was an immediate reversal of that desire. Haruka's dry lips finally parted, the tip of his tongue pressing against the roof of his mouth, ready to give a small no, but the syllable never left him. His peripheral vision betrayed him, and he had to turn his head to confirm the silhouette he had seen.

His eyes grew wide, the fear that had gripped him momentarily releasing its hold as awe took over. "<Dragon,>" came the single word as an exhale.

Note: anything <like this> is in Japanese. Leaving it as that for ease of reading.

"Hm?" Norman asked, looking over to him and smiling. "Yes?" he inquired, not quite understanding the word. The concept of human dragons was only semi-familiar to him; he knew he was similar, but considered himself unique and his own monster after all. The rush of the air from the doors moving about everywhere caused his golden fur to ruffle, causing him to look perhaps even more awe inspiring. "You seem to... recognize me." He said, keeping his forelimbs on the railing. "I wasn't a scarer, so I know I didn't scare you." He chuckled. 

Of course he didn't fully know that this boy would've seen plenty of eastern dragons in his time, and that his appearance was a near perfect facsimile of one. 

The creatures that lurked in the closet, the beasts that roamed the factory halls--the vast majority he had seen were meant to evoke some sense of fright. Granted, he had not bothered to broaden his monster horizons, even with the seemingly less intimidating monsters sprinkled throughout or the ones trying to crack jokes instead of roars.

A dragon, though! The paintings he had seen might have been more stylized than the creature beside him, but he would take something more familiar to him over the obscurities that made up the majority of the Monsters Inc. employees.

Maybe he could find a kappa. Oh, or maybe bakeneko!

Haruka blinked himself out of his daze. "Ah... Not scare-- um," he leaned back, secured by his feet hooking the lower bar, as he tried to find the words. "We have, ehh... stories! Stories of you-- erm, of long dragons with great power." He was talking with his hands now, as if any motion could better convey what he was trying to say. "Controls the weather, wise-- ah, the dragon kings!"

Too many thoughts tried to rush forth, jumbling together with incomplete sentences and phrasing. He probably made little sense, but at least he was no longer trembling despite the close proximity to this monster.

Because no longer was this a monster in his mind.

It was clear this child did not speak the common tongue, but he could understand Norman when he spoke. "A... dragon?" he asked, suddenly realizing what Haruka was saying. "Ah yes, something in your culture... I must resemble them." He replied, smiling warmly as he pushed off from the railing and landed with hardly a sound to face the boy. 

"Dragon kings... wise and controls the weather." He repeated, grinning. "Well, I'm not sure I can control the weather, but they sound like fantastic creatures." Too bad they were fictional, though they'd have a lot of power if they could do such things. "I would very much like to see a picture." He told him. "I must look a lot like one." He studied his bird like forelimbs, holding each one up and smiling to Haruka again as he did so. 

Upturned lips resembled something of a smile, but Haruka tried not to look for too long. Even if a smile was friendly or with good intentions, the sharp teeth kind of ruined that image. Though, now that he was finally looking at the stranger, he finally realized just how much he smiled. Had he been smiling this whole time? Even though Haruka had been stiff as a board and refused to so much as glance his way?

Haruka shifted, one leg pulling up so he could partially turn. "Have you tried?" A dragon without its magic might as well be nothing more than a lizard. He should not expect so much, not when it was already apparent that the monsters had industrialized. Things like magic likely faded with disuse.

"Ah..." Picture, picture... He had none. His head turned, eyes searching the rows upon rows of doors. If they could go through one of those, he could just Google it. One hand pulled from the top metal bar, index finger and thumb pressed together as he made a scribbling motion and returned his gaze. "Paper? Pen? I can draw."

"Well..." He paused, hesitating. "I do have an ability I can use it's just... I usually only use it to protect others... in difficult circumstances." He stated, hoping the boy understood. Focusing, his golden fur began to glow, starting to send off some rays of light. "It's to protect those in danger... but I find it hard to use unless someone really needs my protection." He said, the glow beginning to fade now. 

"Oh!" He blinked, nodding. "Yes... of course. One moment." He launched himself into the air, effortlessly gliding upwards to the previous platform he'd been on, flying apparently no problem for him. It was only a minute before he returned, having gotten pen and paper from one of his workers up there. Landing gently back in front of Haruka, he held them out for him. "Here... it's safe to use." he assured him softly. 

His eyes squinted as the dragon's mane began to glow. The light was brief, yet the dim warehouse made it seem blindingly bright. And then it was gone. He hesitantly nodded in understanding. A power used to protect was amazing in and of itself, even if he would not be able to witness its true potential.

Despite not being given that chance, awe still lifted to his features, his chin tilting upward to track the creature as he flew. At least there was one ability that matched with lore!

Haruka carefully pulled himself out of the railing, bare feet pressing against the middle bar until he could drop to solid ground. He wiped his hands on his clothes before reaching out to take the offered paper and pen. He crouched down on his knees and laid the paper on the floor, the tip of the pen hovering over the sheet as he tried to picture the paintings he had seen. A moment passed before he began sketching out the rough outline of a long serpentine beast with long whiskers, antlers, and curling tufts of possibly fur. He could never tell, and he could only ever remember half of the animals a dragon was supposed to be made up of.

After a few minutes, he pulled back, admiring his hastily drawn work before he pulled the paper off the ground and held it up. With the other end of the pen, he tapped the feet. "Three toes- Japanese dragon. Four is Korean. Five is Chinese." He held out the pen so he could return it.

Blinking, Norman viewed the rather uncanny resemblance after the drawing was complete. "Remarkable." He said, seeing his own likeness in the details, even if it ultimately wasn't him. "So the amount of toes indicates where this particular uh... dragon, comes from, does it not?" he inquired, smiling as he took the pen. "I'm familiar with the countries the humans call Japan, China, and Korea, yes." He nodded. "Haven't been, but then again, I was never a scarer." He explained. 

"So... you must come from... Japan, if you're familiar with me, yes?" he asked softly. "I can see why you'd say I resemble these creatures; they do seem rather majestic." He nodded again in agreement. 

Haruka quickly shook his head. "All dragons come from Japan. Travel west, they lose toes." At least, that was what he had been told. Now that he had to explain it to someone else, he was realizing that he should have asked more questions. Maybe he would research the lore more when he returned home.

If. If he returned home.

He lowered the drawing and carefully rolled the paper up, careful to prevent wrinkles. "Mhm. Tsumago." Though, he had been in Nagiso on the night he 'arrived'. Once he was satisfied with the neatness of the paper roll, he held it out to the dragon. "For you." He had nowhere to put it, so he might as well give it to the only nearby creature who might.