Saša Dragic's Questionnaire

I live among my people in the Balkans. We call ourselves "The Moon Eaters" though this name is not known to outsiders. It is more a mark of our heritage, then anything else. To ensure we do not forget where we came from, and what our sacred duty is. I live there because I was lucky enough to be born as one of my people. I accepted my role in my community and take great care in watching over my people.

We live according to the Way. That is, humbly, and among our creations. We have little in way of technology, but only because we do not need it. Our creations are able to fulfill most roles that the larger world relies on metal and lightning for.

...I get my money doing odd-jobs in Belgrade. Usually working around warehouses, or helping older folks with chores that their families should be helping them with. Money is strange. We don't have it where I grew up, we mostly just barter amongst ourselves. But as long as I'm stuck in Belgrade, I'll need it to do just about anything. I am no expert on what the wider world looks like, but I was surprised to see that even basic goods that everyone needs have a price tag attached. I don't know how people can stand it.

The money I do have is saved for my investigating, paying rent, and making sure I have food.

My niece disappeared a few months ago. She was 18, living in the city to keep an eye on it for us. She missed her last report, and we have no clue where she could have gone. I was not extraordinarily close with her, but she was family. She was just a kid in over her head, and now who knows where she is.

I have the feeling she is dead. So does her mother, my sister. My sister is important to me, and seeing her trying so hard to hide her grief has been tearing me apart.

Her daughter is gone, likely dead, and she must accept that she is in all likely-hood, never going to have an answer as to what happened to her.

I aim to change that reality. Mirka will return home to her mother. Hopefully alive, or to be given a proper burial.

My first full moon. Or, more accurately the first full moon I was old enough to participate in. Among my people, there is a chance our flesh will resonate with the parasitic moon. We transform when it has fully turned it's eye to the earth.

The name we are given is not easily translated out of our mother tongue, but it can be roughly said in English as: "Moon-Hunter".

I was 18 when I first had to participate. At the time it was an obligation, now it is an honor.

Every full moon, someone will wander into our mountains, seeking our home.

The only way they can reach us is as inert flesh to be fed to our Kiraak.

Failure is not an option.

Jagoda Dragic, my sister. We are twins, actually. But for most of my childhood she was my older sister, being as she always watched out for me. Even back to when we were toddlers, she always made sure I was kept safe and comfortable during the full moon (It is a harrowing experience to shed your skin when you are barely even able to talk). Now we are on more equal footing, but I now it's my turn to look out for her.

Radinka, one of Mirka's coworkers. Apparently, she is just as worried as I am about her. From what she says, they were quite close friends. She has proven to be almost entirely useless from the stand point of my investigation, but she reminds me of Mirka in a few ways, and is good company. I don't often spend time with children, usually they have issues interacting with me due to my status as a Moon-Hunter.

Danica (AN: Pronounced DA-nee-tsa), one of the Võlutaar to our Karcist. She helps young Moon-Hunters with their preparations, and has personally given approval for my mission to find Mirka. I cannot tell if she did this as a kindness for me and my sister, or because she believes it is actually possible.

My childhood was quite nice! I was born with some peculiarities about me, and I don't just mean the shapeshifting under moonlight. Luckily, our concept of gender is much looser than the wider world's. I was given space to figure out how I viewed myself, and eventually came to the conclusion that gender was made up and I did not care anymore. Never liked wearing dresses, though.

Outside of that, I was treated kindly by my parents, though I was raised communally. Easier that way. There were a few ways that I stuck out, all the young Moon-Hunters do. But my teachers knew how to handle me, and made sure I was not treated unkindly for having a different shape. That is one of the things we are taught at quite a young age, actually. The human body can come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. Some you can immediately recognize, others not so much. But this does not make them any less human. Our Kiraak is proof of that, as is our Karcist.

Yes, I was in love in my earlier years. Her name was Milanka. We had grown up together, raised in the same age group. It wasn't until we were teenagers that I started to have deeper feelings for her. Luckily, it was mutual. She was sweet, and we were together for about two years. Those years were nice, when we were still just a couple of stupid kids. Things changed when I turned 18, though.

We are raised believing that death is a just as big a part of life as anything else. That to kill something or someone is to just take part in the circle of life. That being said, that doesn't mean murder is just done whilly-nilly.

When I was 18, I killed a person for the first time. I do not regret it, and I have done it several times since. But it is not something that can be done in a way that doesn't change you as a person, at least a little bit.

Milanka did not like the person I became.

Yes, it's still awkward when we see each other. No, we do not talk about it.