pair of swinging cats.

[zealouspeter]

Who: Shiroe and Jomy.
When: Wednesday afternoon.
Where: An odd little wooded park place with a quiet enough trail.
Summary: Jomy's gawking at the trees, Shiroe's pestering for ability lessons and they're both being them.
Warnings: Shouldn't be!

Comments

[soldiershin]

[ And through that mind link, there's a bit of everything: a faint relief that Shiroe had kept that open (for directions and a strange sense of comfort; it was a familiar-type presence amongst the noise and bustle of Siren's Port), a constant curiosity of his surroundings, some exhaustion - and a lot of barely contained awe of his own. He's seen these trees already of course (seen much of the city), but even still. Even still. The greens and the blues of this Terra were still incredible to him to see. Hear. Feel.

He's not flying this time, so it's taken some time, but when he arrives at whereabouts of their designated meeting spot, some things to note: his eyes are a touch wider than usual. Head tilted upward, eyes locked on nature. More child-like that he wants to appear, but really. Really, he feels excused (for now). It's only when he can physically see Shiroe that his expression drops back to normal by a lifetime of habit, even when his mind remains abuzz with pleased little nothings. ]

Hello, Shiroe.

[zealouspeter]

[Jomy's awe brings back some of his old wonderment at it -- he'd been around long enough that the novelty had worn, though he'd still occasionally have to think about how he was on Terra. Terra, the first clear picture he could remember (thinking on that too much would make him a bit angry, though, so he didn't). it would have been perfect, if only they weren't confined to Siren's Port.]

[a strike of amusement - they were both dead Mu, walking on Terra only because some machine managed to defy death. luckily, that amusement lasted.]

Hi! [wide smile, as always, meeting Jomy half-way. exhaustion and subdued happiness - traits to share. he almost laughs, fights it down at the last moment.] Did you come here yet?

[soldiershin]

[ He stills his trek forward when he's about an arm's length away, eyes locked on the boy before him. Does a quick scan, barest of touches against the mind, picking up everything and focusing on nothing. Draws back just as quickly as he's made that contact upon confirming that Shiroe was as well as he appears. Shifting focus to the question: ]

I have. [ Several times, in fact. Head tilts up, attention once again wandering over the trees. ] But it's still amazing, no matter how many times I've seen them.

[zealouspeter]

[there may still be a trace of anger, but it's vague and low and nearly dissipated, all from Shiroe's ability at holding grudges - much more amusement over the attention the trees got.]

And this forest is apparently sick. Or so Poison Ivy says. [bit of a ramble, and alright, he's glancing around the park, too.] Have you ever met her?

[soldiershin]

[ Stops to glance back, his surprise evident on both his face and through the link. ]

No, I've never spoken to her. [ A bit of a pause as he looks at the trees again with renewed interest and vague worry. ] Sick. . . did she specify why?

[zealouspeter]

The Darkness, probably. The entire island's sick from it.

[taking Jomy's surprise as a moment to walk on forward, hands behind his back.]

[soldiershin]

[ Matches the boy's pace with ease, head still turned upward, eyes never leaving the branches and the canopy. The worry dissipates at the words; he'd been weary, half-waiting to hear that it'd been due to the human-induced pollution. The city wasn't free of it, of course, but if it wasn't to the point of choking the planet, then things could be fixed. Compromised. Just as the Darkness would be fixed, with some time. (Hopefully. With any luck, and no small amount of effort, most likely.)

Strange how he'd never given things such as tress a second glance on Artemisia. Yet on Nazca, and now on Terra, they seemed so precious. ]

But that can be fixed. [ Eventually. ]

[zealouspeter]

It might not be. [a pause - light kick toward the ground, to dislodge one stray stone or another. Siren's Port took remarkable care of its farmlands, if Shiroe let himself think about it-- most likely because it was the island's major source of food, and even if the care for human lives was low, everyone still wanted to live.] Someone who studied into it said that the Darkness brings out how the Port looked one hundred years ago, when the Core first malfunctioned. All of the rust and decay that shows up at night is from then.

[he's not being pessimistic, either: it's all fact. a look to the side, over the bushes under the trees, and then an abrupt turn toward Jomy, with his chin up and a smile on his face. childish, sudden, an underlying pulse of old bitterness.]

Maybe the Darkness is actually from the land itself. Like how it causes people here to gain powers-- the ability to call up monsters is its power.

[complete and utter hogwash, that was what he just said, his imagination and drive to argue taking hold.]

[soldiershin]

[ He glances at Shiroe with a short blink at the end of the boy's words. Turns away in thought of his own, even if he's not gripped by his imagination as was the other Mu. That had been long since abandoned, a fond relic of his childhood. But it's that bitterness that he senses that he wants to focus on (but can't bring himself to latch onto); the negatives always draws him first, due to a mixture of worry, duty, and an ingrained habit to reassure and comfort.

- Right. The Darkness. It was an interesting take, for certain, one that he didn't really want to look into too deeply were it the truth. ]

Maybe. [ Or not. ] However, it takes people some time before their power fully develops, doesn't it? Was the Darkness not instant?

[zealouspeter]

I don't know. Maybe not. It could be some kind of power from a machine, too.

[reassurance and comfort -- two feelings, when genuinely directed at him, he would always skirt away from. fortunately, Jomy wasn't latching, and so the interest went unnoticed. he really did need to learn to hone those abilities.]

Then there's the Pull... [eyes up to the reddening sky, looking on the side of bored. but, no: he was hyper aware of the other, as much as he had been when the Mu had first arrived.] It's like the island wants to make as many problems for us to look into as possible. A bit annoying, don't you think?

[really, he wanted to see the rest of Terra. not just this tiny city, no matter how overwhelming it had been when he'd first arrived.]

[soldiershin]

[ On that latter thought, there's a ringing agreement from Jomy. If a single city could feel this amazing, what would the rest feel like? How blue was Terra from space? (Unlike the polluted red he's got to see; he wanted to see it in blue, while life was still thriving on it). ]

A bit. However, most of these problems seem to be tied to a single source. It makes the search for a solution a little easier. [ More focused. They could deal with a goal like that.

He stops walking when he feels they're far enough into the trail and woods to provide them the necessary privacy. Glancing at Shiroe, he asks his own question, one that prevails in priority (to him) even in comparison to the topic of their jailed status: ]

How have you been handling your abilities? [ There's a touch of worry in that question rather an actual curiosity, especially in regards to the empathy. Siren's Port was painfully noisy, no matter the time of day. ]

[zealouspeter]

Probably... Completely true. Even if it's no Mother. [there was something about Jomy that made it difficult to want to spark up debates with him (it was kind of like arguing with the Unicorn), though that fact only served to make Shiroe want to argue with him more.]

[as such, when the further worry and question hit him, he reacts -- predictably.]

They're fine. [after a stretch of silence (remembering they're both Mu) - retracting instinctively, then dropping right back in (again, remembering they're both Mu) with forceful dismissiveness and vague unease. and reluctant, grudging, strong, strong agreement with the 'noisy' sentiment.]

[a glance around the solitary forest; looking for a way to redirect the topic.] It's best in places like this, I think.

[soldiershin]

I consider us fortunate that it's not. [ Not Mother, he means. Destroying one master computer had cost a countless number of lives on both sides (nothing he wants to repeat). At the same time, were it like Mother, it would have been something familiar, and he'd know how to deal with that. But it wasn't that easy, of course, especially not here; the rules were different here. He's still in the process of figuring those out.

A beat, listening in-between the lines of Shiroe's second-slash-third answer(s). The agreement makes him smile a little, mostly tired in nature. ]

Mm. I prefer the places by the ocean when the noise gets to be too much.

[zealouspeter]

... Probably. [it wouldn't have worked here. not on Terra itself. he'd believe that for as long as he could.]

[but that confusion over the city that Jomy had-- it was familiar enough that Shiroe had to stamp on any attempt his first feeling of agreement made toward sympathy, which prompted up a spur-of-the-moment question (never a good thing):]

That happens to you?

[soldiershin]

Sometimes. [ It'd be weirder if it didn't. He didn't shield as a general rule, keeping himself open to the happenings of the city; it came at the cost of a near-constant headache in a place like this, but it also ensured that he would not miss anything.

(Especially anything regarding the younger Mu in specific.)

A slight shift in stance. ]

But not always. [ Thankfully. ] What about you?

[zealouspeter]

[a quick shifting through that very emotional link - he's checking, over and over, making sure it isn't a lie. (if it's common, it's safe to admit to). he didn't know the first thing about shielding-- he was just getting better at ignoring it.]

[rocking back on his heels, too, before continuing with the pace.]

Kind of. It used to be worse. There's not much to be done for it, though, is there?