[ to some we seem like colder creatures ]oshutupJanuary 19 2009, 01:52:47 UTC
They agreed on the beach, so it's to the beach that Peter goes, and he does think more than a few times on his way there, that he will miss this ability, even if in the end it is worth more to him to simply be himself. He can no more deny his love of the wind at his fingertips and the earth far below him than he can deny his love of other things more well ingrained in his history, and in more than just words. This night is an exceptionally cold one but this perk of not feeling the cold certainly does come in handy for such an environment
( ... )
[ to some we seem like colder creatures ]windmemoryJanuary 19 2009, 02:06:18 UTC
They had agreed on the beach, and Lan was keeping his word, even if he was a little slow to arrive. Every step was closer, he said to himself as he watched the sun go down, every step was one mark closer to where he didn't need or want to be
( ... )
[ to some we seem like colder creatures ]oshutupJanuary 19 2009, 02:50:04 UTC
Digesting that offer, the High King folds his arms across his chest before replying, peering at Lan with strange eyes. It is still like looking at a most unsettling mirror, because he knows the face but simultaneously does not recognize himself in it.
"What did you do today?" he asks, because he is curious what one person of many does with limited 'life' remaining.
[ to some we seem like colder creatures ]windmemoryJanuary 19 2009, 02:53:42 UTC
For Lan, it was completely natural, something he did every day; look into a face that was not his own but looked completely like him. Even though Peter didn't have Ri's face movements down, and his eyes weren't green, it was almost familiar to have him wear that face.
"I took my friend Zach windwalking," he began with a laugh. "And then I learned to play baseball. I'd never played before." He cheated, of course, but it was such instinct that it didn't feel like cheating. "I took a bath in the river, even in the freezing weather. I napped on a rock and listened to the sound of your heart."
That had described his day. Then he showed up here. "And I finished a gift for you."
[ to some we seem like colder creatures ]oshutupJanuary 19 2009, 03:22:01 UTC
Listened to his heartbeat? How odd to think of that as his heartbeat, but Peter knows it belongs to him, even if he cannot feel it at this particular moment. He supposes he would have done that, at least, and it feels a little less silly to be curious about one's own mortality.
I finished a gift for you.
At that, Peter tilts his head. He doesn't ask what it is or why. Lan did tell him he would bring him something, and it's safe to assume he plans on at least showing Peter what it is shortly. So the would-be-blond just stands there, eying the wind walker with an arched brow.
[ to some we seem like colder creatures ]windmemoryJanuary 19 2009, 03:31:33 UTC
Lan didn't like his mortality, and even though he had been dead for two years, he hadn't quite come to terms with it. It had been a comfort to be able to listen to the pulsing beating of a heart, even if that heart hadn't been his.
He had woven that sound into his song, and the wind blew it at him with warm, soothing airs.
He offered his hand. "This time, you have to take my hand, or you'll fall," he explained. They could have done it on the ground, but Peter deserved to feel as much air as he possibly could before he was bound back on the ground.
[ to some we seem like colder creatures ]oshutupJanuary 19 2009, 03:45:51 UTC
Peter takes the proffered hand, and it is even stranger than just looking at himself, but he fixes his eyes on some impossible point in the distance instead.
"This isn't how you switched us last time," he comments. Hands through the chest are not quickly forgotten after all, but his tone is wry more than inquisitive. There is no pressing need to know why it's this way once and that way the other. It is enough that he will be himself soon, entirely. Missing the wind and the sky is inevitable but the earthbound can sometimes appreciate it more because the unattainable is a little more perfect than just about anything else.
That seems to be the case with most of the things Peter loves, but he has his family and they have the first and last place in his heart. Everything else can be afforded a second and lower notch.
[ to some we seem like colder creatures ]windmemoryJanuary 19 2009, 03:52:52 UTC
"I know." Peter looks a little nervous but Lan isn't worried, and he takes his free hand and presses it against his own chest.
The feeling isn't like coming home - the wind resists it at first, resists the cold body, but it's as though it has to remember - this is our body.
It only takes a moment, painless, and they are still suspended in air. Lan feels that cold chill in his blood, the missing weight of a heart making him light. He holds back the pain, and then he turns to look at Peter.
"Do you want to go down now, or do you need a minute?"
Lan needed a minute. He needed a minute to remember himself, and that minute might last a lifetime
[ to some we seem like colder creatures ]oshutupJanuary 19 2009, 04:18:56 UTC
"A minute would be..." he trails off because it feels very different to be back in his body, not in the same place he was, and so many other things he can't articulate upon, even in his own mind. So Peter just figures that Lan only asked because he would actually allow for that, takes that minute to adjust, wind rustling around in a way that doesn't really speak to him anymore but it's not entirely foreign either.
[ to some we seem like colder creatures ]windmemoryJanuary 19 2009, 04:23:56 UTC
They stay there, quiet, for more than a minute. Lan doesn't feel short, even holding Peter's hand, because it's hard to feel short when you feel like you're on top of the world. But even so, the wind bring around a music and caresses them both, and after they have been there long enough to see the sun set Lan begins their descent, step by step like going down a long staircase.
Once they are back on the sand he points to Peter's coat pocket and says, "There's an orb in that pocket. If you hold it up to your ear, it'll play your song."
It was as much of the wind as Lan could give Peter. One cannot be something like a windwalker for a week without feeling like he had lost something when he got his body back.
[ to some we seem like colder creatures ]oshutupJanuary 19 2009, 05:20:39 UTC
"Thanks," he says because it's what he should say, and he is, once again, grateful to have had or been the wind, even if he would not choose this to repeat. It has been altogether too taxing for them as a family but at the same time, he will take what he can from the experience. Running a hand through familiar blond hair, he tilts his head, eying the shorter wind walker from his normal height.
"If you do this again, you should be clearer about doing it," he suggests with a sigh, rubbing his chin absently. "Or you could make a deal, I suppose, with a deity, though I'm not sure that's the best option, considering how little I trust them."
But it's a thought to consider, is what he is getting at, throwing it out there for Lan to consider for himself. Turning away, he pauses.
"...I hope it was worthwhile."
And he honestly does, no malice or grudge in that statement. The state of being alive should be enjoyed and more than that, appreciated. He knows this better than some.
Reply
Reply
"What did you do today?" he asks, because he is curious what one person of many does with limited 'life' remaining.
Reply
"I took my friend Zach windwalking," he began with a laugh. "And then I learned to play baseball. I'd never played before." He cheated, of course, but it was such instinct that it didn't feel like cheating. "I took a bath in the river, even in the freezing weather. I napped on a rock and listened to the sound of your heart."
That had described his day. Then he showed up here. "And I finished a gift for you."
Reply
I finished a gift for you.
At that, Peter tilts his head. He doesn't ask what it is or why. Lan did tell him he would bring him something, and it's safe to assume he plans on at least showing Peter what it is shortly. So the would-be-blond just stands there, eying the wind walker with an arched brow.
Reply
He had woven that sound into his song, and the wind blew it at him with warm, soothing airs.
He offered his hand. "This time, you have to take my hand, or you'll fall," he explained. They could have done it on the ground, but Peter deserved to feel as much air as he possibly could before he was bound back on the ground.
Reply
"This isn't how you switched us last time," he comments. Hands through the chest are not quickly forgotten after all, but his tone is wry more than inquisitive. There is no pressing need to know why it's this way once and that way the other. It is enough that he will be himself soon, entirely. Missing the wind and the sky is inevitable but the earthbound can sometimes appreciate it more because the unattainable is a little more perfect than just about anything else.
That seems to be the case with most of the things Peter loves, but he has his family and they have the first and last place in his heart. Everything else can be afforded a second and lower notch.
Reply
The feeling isn't like coming home - the wind resists it at first, resists the cold body, but it's as though it has to remember - this is our body.
It only takes a moment, painless, and they are still suspended in air. Lan feels that cold chill in his blood, the missing weight of a heart making him light. He holds back the pain, and then he turns to look at Peter.
"Do you want to go down now, or do you need a minute?"
Lan needed a minute. He needed a minute to remember himself, and that minute might last a lifetime
Reply
He finds that oddly comforting.
Reply
Once they are back on the sand he points to Peter's coat pocket and says, "There's an orb in that pocket. If you hold it up to your ear, it'll play your song."
It was as much of the wind as Lan could give Peter. One cannot be something like a windwalker for a week without feeling like he had lost something when he got his body back.
Reply
"If you do this again, you should be clearer about doing it," he suggests with a sigh, rubbing his chin absently. "Or you could make a deal, I suppose, with a deity, though I'm not sure that's the best option, considering how little I trust them."
But it's a thought to consider, is what he is getting at, throwing it out there for Lan to consider for himself. Turning away, he pauses.
"...I hope it was worthwhile."
And he honestly does, no malice or grudge in that statement. The state of being alive should be enjoyed and more than that, appreciated. He knows this better than some.
Reply
It's an honest smile, and he knows it.
"It was worthwhile."
Reply
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