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[...Is paranoid what he's feeling? Gladion isn't sure. If it was, that would...not be good.

He doesn't answer on the way up to the roof. Got stuff to think about.]

[And Akira is content to keep quiet, making his way to the roof. Once he's out in the sun and chilly air he sighs happily, his tail flicking]

There we go.

[And

yeah no, same feeling. Gladion doesn't smile, but he lifts his head to look at the sky and sighs through his nose, and there is a clear air of relief around him.

It is ridiculous how much of a difference this makes.]

...It's ridiculous how much of a difference it makes, [he says out loud, and walks past Akira, lifting a hand to his collar like he's considering shucking the jacket. He doesn't, though. Looking around a little. Where is the sunniest spot right now...]

[Akira, in the meanwhile, makes his way to the lip of the roof, hopping up on the edge and balancing easily]

Right? The fog... it just sinks into you. The sun cuts it right out.

[His fronds flair a bit, both for balance and to soak up the rays]

[Gladion follows easily and does the same, tail vine slipping from its loop and tangling into the railing automatically.

That's not what he meant either. There's that little stinging urge to just withdraw and feel misunderstood.]

More than that.

[Maybe he's just more affected, as a nymph? He does slip the jacket off - his shirt is long-sleeved, but he's done something to the back so there's a gap for the stem-thing and leaves, buttoned at the top. He shivers a little, though. Still chilly. The discomfort of being more exposed vs the total mood recalibration basking seems to confer.]

Oh?

[He gestures with a hand, one of his frond tendrils mimicking the movement]

[...This is such a weird topic to try to talk about. It preoccupies him, but when he tries to pull it up into words, suddenly it feels like he has to be making a big deal out of nothing. And, if it is nothing, he casts doubt on his reliability for nothing, and that doesn't go away. All this feels very compelling. But it's exactly this kind of thing that he's resolved over and over, in better moments, to do less.]

I think these changes mess with my head in general. Shade or fog or otherwise. No clue what came from being part shade and what came from not being in the sun for a week. [And-] Ingo's had some weird new instincts too. It's always been in the cards.

[Maybe a bit defensive but - that's what he always tags onto it when he thinks about it. To be a little more mature and level-headed about it. He's not whining. He's not denying reality.]

Ahhh, yeah I get that. I've had some weird impulses too. I... spook... really easily.

[he blushes a bit, trying to play it off as not a big deal and not quite making it]

[Well, shit, Gladion's the last person who can or will give him a hard time if it is! And he assumes it is, because that's how Akira is about things, and this shit is kind of horrifying. To himself, at least. Maybe with his own unique baggage about it, but this could scare anyone.

And, he doesn't know what "spooking easily" means exactly - though he can guess. But, alright.]

Now that we're out here, I can barely remember why I was so bothered about...this or that, whatever was on my mind earlier. Let alone over the week. Was I overthinking it before, or am I underthinking it now?

[God that sounds stupid.

(Or, maybe, he's mixing up his variables? Who can say.)]

...Even this whole...thing seems so much simpler all of a sudden.

[As does the other "whole thing". You Need To Let Him Know (a minimum thing) About Lusamine, Dipshit!]

Plants I assume are pretty easy to please. Good light, good earth, water. I kinda wish that was the way with everything.

[He waves his hand out over Bavan- 'instead of all this' is implied. Not just being monsters, though that's the big one. But being people at all. Having to worry about shit like... money. And other people. Being self aware]

Though it sounds like this 'whole thing' is something specific?

...You might be surprised. [the amount of Plant Thoughts that is just freaking out about soil quality is. so much. it's a lot, akira.]

[NOT THAT HE DOESN'T GET THE ACTUAL POINT and kind of agree with it, maybe. Whatever. Anyways uhhhhhh. He leans back a little on his perch...one fidget. He can have one fidget,]

There were a few things...think they were mostly in my head, though. [True but also lying. Stalling. He's already thought it in words, I need to let on enough that I'm not actively lying, but what specifically to say...

The more he has to explain it to people, the more he's nagged by the feeling that he's just running scared from her. Which is just - no. That's not what he's doing, and he doesn't want people to think that's what he's doing, or worse, try to help him do that. The twins are - enough. He doesn't distrust Akira, but he doesn't...want the way Akira sees him to change? Maybe? Ugh.

UGH.]

There's another reason we're moving. [Just fucking do it. Just start saying it. Sitting around grimacing isn't resolute or mature behavior.] Has to do with matters from our world. I'm...going to -

[Pauses, on that thought, and swivels around as if checking that they're alone on the rooftop. Also leans forward for a moment to see who's below. Then lowers his voice.]

- Going to pass on a warning about someone who lives in this building. She shouldn't be a problem in passing, but you should be careful about getting involved with her.

[And Akira's relaxed air vanishes in a blink, face still placid but eyes sharp]

Yeah?

[How can one word still imply 'do you need me to kill someone for you?']

[Oh boy.

The shift does not at all go unnoticed. Gladion returns it with a moment of visible thought - evaluation - taking that in and turning something over in his head.

It doesn't quite resolve into a look of confidence, but he goes ahead anyways.]

A Faerie woman with a white carapace. Her name is Lusamine, and she goes by "Aether" on the network. She'll be perfectly polite and decent to you unless she thinks one of you owes the other something. [Another, much briefer pause, barely a hiccup.] ...I can't imagine she'd humor you or Goro for long enough to cause problems, but maybe let Chie know, if you see them cross paths.

[It's...just a hunch.]

Ah, I think I've seen her around..

[He pauses, thinking, his mouth moving slightly like he's... chewing gum? A gesture that likely is similar to any horse-like pokemon thinking]

That type... right. I'll warn her. She's really friendly and earnest so-

[He doesn't want to say outright 'so she can be manipulated' but it's implied]

["That type" is a phrase that makes Gladion slightly uneasy, but it's hard to say why - does he think it means Akira is misreading or underestimating what she is? Is he idea that she might not be unique disheartening because there shouldn't be more people like her, or is it because he's defensive against the idea that his circumstances might not be unique, either?

These are questions he does not ask himself, because he's filling in the rest of Akira's sentence. Perhaps not completely accurately. He thinks less of Chie's capacity to be manipulated and more of what draws Lusamine to a person. He draws lines in his head between the kind of manipulation she carried out on Guzma and perhaps Beat, and the piecewise erosion of a person's defenses that can happen simply because they were too polite to turn down individually reasonable requests.]

Right. I'll probably tell her myself when I get the chance, but no harm passing it along earlier.

[That went well, he guesses. A little more explanation, to smooth over some unanswered questions:]

Being from the same world makes her a bit...paranoid of us, I think. The less we run into each other, the better.

[And here's another thing: Akira knows what Gladion looked like before he turned into a plant. He looks strikingly like his mother, and she still looks quite a lot like herself. Face to face, in conversational range, and with the idea planted that they know each other somehow - he fully expects Akira to draw conclusions, if he does run into her directly.

Whatever the consequences of that are, he's a coward enough to put them off for now.]

[It's true, Akira is leaping to some conclusions- not all of them correct. But that comes with being a vigilante of the abused and downtrodden. He sees villains everywhere.]

Got it. I won't... mess with her, in general.

Good. [...] Thanks.

[That went...well? Let's change the subject right now. Gladion sets his shoulders back, squints gravely across the gap between buildings-]

So, horse form?

Oh, you wanna see?

Obviously. [IMPRESS ME.]

[He steps back from the railing a bit and, poof! Horse! He's long legged and jet black, excluding the dark red of his mane and tail kelp]

Well?

[Now THAT'S the size a creature should be. Gladion leans back a little and gives him an appraising look. (intrusive thought: jump on his back) (no that's weird.)]

I like the color scheme.

[He prances around the roof a little, legs raised high with every step. He's clearly quite pleased with himself]

I know, right? Just black alone would be too dull.

And you're moving around pretty easily. [Normally he's not...he finds monster transformations unsettling, but: these painless form-changes seem the most natural of them all, Akira's obvious delight is infectious, and he's not struggling with it the way they all struggle with clumsily-altered feet and claws and whatever else.] ...How is it?

Four legs are easier to balance on than two, that's for sure. Of course, nothing my cat like reflexes can't handle.

[as if Gladion didn't see him stumbling around like a colt not that long ago]

It feels... alright. The senses are a lot to get used to, but not overwhelming.

[If Akira is willing to let him change the subject away from shade-induced bad vibes, he won't bring down his horse vibes in turn.]

Vision? Hearing?

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le_mat - 2023-02-08 19:24 (UTC) - Expand