[first dream] voice

[smoke_koan]

[there is a click as the recording begins]

--mmm? [static. A few beeps as the Forge is inspected] These gadgets are far different from what I last remember. [the tapping of a nail on glass] Complex. I wonder...

[the creaking of bed springs. Footsteps, followed by the screech of unoiled hinges and a gust of air. There is a long pause as Haruka

Comments

[voice] [1/?]

[epicureanshield]

[there is a slight sound that comes over the Forge as Doumeki finds something...very familiar about this]

[voice] [2/3]

[epicureanshield]

[a long pause while he thinks about the speech pattern, the timbre of the voice, and contemplates for a few long moments before he finally speaks]

[voice] [3/3]

[epicureanshield]

[a low, quiet voice with a distinct twist of confusion]

...cigarettes.

[another pause]

I think I know.

[voice]

[smoke_koan]

[a long pause, followed by an almost indiscernible release of breath]

Hisoka?

[ooc note: "Hisoka" = temporary name for Shizuka's father because CLAMP hasn't given an official name.]

[voice]

[epicureanshield]

[makes a low noise in his throat, almost startled, almost concerned]

Grandfather.

...it's Shizuka.

[voice]

[smoke_koan]

--- Shizuka.

[he laughs, a quiet sound that grew into a rich chuckle]

Shizuka. [his tone is warm when he repeats his grandson's name for a third time] Shizuka. How time passes.

I am glad to be able to meet you again.

[voice to video]

[epicureanshield]

[a long pause while he tries to gather himself, listening carefully to the sound of his voice, the smile in it, the chuckle. after a moment, he flicks video on, looking at the screen with an almost childlike mystified expression on his face]

You're really here?

[video]

[smoke_koan]

[he tips his head when the screen flickers and shows a rather familiar face. His smile widens, and his fingers brush the glass, as if to touch Shizuka's forehead]

I am. And... [he closes his eyes for a moment and tries to sense his surroundings. When he opens them again, his expression is one of concern. He should have noticed the difference earlier, but it took him a while to get past his disorientation]

We should meet soon.

[he studies Shizuka's face once more, one is so similar to his own. He could see how troubled and confused the other looked -- the former went deeper than the latter. And that Shizuka spoke that softly...]

I do not know why the three of us are here, nor why I am breathing as I used to be. My arrival, however, seems timely. [his lips quirk up at that last part, as if relating an inside joke]

[video]

[epicureanshield]

[when Haruka touches the Forge, his eyes close for half a moment before opening again, studying the image of his grandfather looking only marginally older than he is now. young and not at all as he remembers him.

continues watching respectfully until his grandfather is finished speaking, in a mild state of shock from seeing him here. it shouldn't be such a shock to see someone who's died, but in this case it's his grandfather, and he looks young. looks like he could be Doumeki's own brother.

releases a small exhalation]

Timely as always, grandfather. When would you like to meet?

[video]

[smoke_koan]

Later on today, if the two of you are available. We have much to talk about.

[he sees in his mind's eye a toddler Shizuka sitting beside him outside of the temple, his brow furrowed as he thought out his answer. The image changes to the two of them conversing in another area of the temple grounds. Shizuka is much older, and more observant.

How many years has it been? He would miss that child holding his hakama and following him to watch the ceremonies that had to be conducted at the temple, but he also looked forward to seeing how that child had grown]

I wonder which of us is taller now. [he says this in a teasing tone]

[video]

[epicureanshield]

Mm. We should be able to.

[his brows furrow and he leans out of the screen for a moment, speaking softly to Watanuki, who he's sitting in the same room with. after a moment he's back in screen, and he gives a nod]

Later on this afternoon. We can find your room.

[there's a short pause and he takes a small breath, his eyes softening a bit as he considers the thought - similar images from his childhood playing through his head. he hasn't seen his grandfather since he was eleven, and he's occasionally wished he were the one who was visited in dreams by his grandfather. now that he has a chance to see him again, he almost doesn't know what to say]

We'll see. [has a hint of teasing in his own voice, then an exhalation] I missed you.

[video]

[smoke_koan]

[his concern from sensing the dissonance between himself and his surroundings eased when he saw how far along these two were getting along. Something had changed. He wondered if that time had passed without him noticing.

He nodded when Shizuka gave his response. If the butterfly had already spread her wings to reveal her wish, he would find out soon enough.

I will see you then. Speaking of my room - where is this place?

[his fingers traced the edge of the Forge at Shizuka's last line. The flow of time was a strange thing in the dream world - neither here nor there, something that connected the present with the past and the future. And yet he could feel a responding ache in his chest. For all he knew, the time he was gone from the 'living world' was the equivalent of anywhere between one second to one thousand years.]

I have missed you, too. Waiting is not the same as an actual encounter.

[video]

[epicureanshield]

[is still a bit dazed, a bit confused - this is the one thing that's managed to throw him off, more than waking up in another world, more than finding he has new applications of his already familiar talents, more than anything he's run into here, yet. usually, he finds himself good at adapting and accepting new things, but this is doing his head in a bit.

he licks his lips and tries to consider how to answer that question when he doesn't really quite understand yet himself]

I look forward to it. [a pause] This place is called Anatole. There is a city and an underground area, ruins and other things - I haven't been able to explore. We who come from other worlds are seen as outsiders. There is a strange mist, I think it brings bad dreams and creatures, but I'm not sure of that. It also seems that we've been...changed a bit. New additions to the abilities we had at home, for both Watanuki and me.

[pauses, and takes a breath, unused to rambling like that - but this place takes a bit of explanation. shifts the Forge slightly in his hand

[video]

[smoke_koan]

Anatole.

[he tests the word on his tongue, weighing each syllable. He's silent as he listens to Shizuka give a summary of their situation, and glances outside the open window for a brief moment when the mist and its effects are mentioned. Very few events in the supernatural world could compare to this - but it was far too early for such comparisons, wasn't it?

a small noise from the back of his throat when he hears about those 'additional abilities'.]

What has changed?

[nods in acknowledgement of that statement. Has the feeling that Shizuka is talking not only of this situation, but of another personal matter - Shizuka's own time spent waiting. The tone of his voice and the direction of his gaze also spoke of it]

How has waiting gone for you?

[video]

[epicureanshield]

[there is a slight uncomfortable shifting and a slightly awkward expression on his face, his eyes skimming to the side to glance at Watanuki, communicating with a quick look, and then glancing back at the Forge as he gets a response from the other boy. then he takes a slight sigh of a breath and nods]

My exorcism ability seems to affect more than just spirits, and can be used through my hands. He can manipulate smoke he's breathed in.

[there is a bit of a pause as he considers that final statement, his eyes skimming to the side as if thinking, or remembering, or some combination of the two. his eyebrows pull together in the center, furrowing, signifying some of the mixed and painful feelings he's going through as he tries to adjust to the idea of an ageless Watanuki stuck in the shop]

I've grown. [another little pause] I expect it will continue to go on.

[video]

[smoke_koan]

[Haruka closes his eyes for a moment and exhales softly, troubled once more by the disconnection he sensed. Instinct told him that something crucial had changed, the force of a desire or wish derailing old paths and twisting to form something new. How this would affect the consequences of those precious choices made in the past was yet to be known.]

Tell me more when we meet later. I suspect I may get a surprise of my own, too.

[there was that troubled expression again. It was too early to ask some things, it seemed.]

There is time. [the briefest of pauses. words tumble out from his lips] Not all waiting must be done from a distance.