action and text; @bacura

[mellowyellow]

[It's late on the seventh when Masaomi wakes up on a church pew. At first, he can't bring himself to do anything other than stare at his hands. Slowly he raises them above his head, takes in the palms, flips them over, hesitantly touches the backs, slides his fingers down his own arms.

He's whole.

Suddenly, he digs his nails in. It hurts, and he pulls back, leaving harsh red marks. Masaomi sits up then, still staring like he can't believe his own senses.

He's not crying. You're crying.]


[It's not until the eighth that he sends out another text. No ominous snapshots this time.]

Didn't cut it as a carny.

Comments

..........fine; audio

[mellowyellow]

[No, he did not know either of those things. Whoops. Knowing doesn't really change how he feels though. With text, all he has to do is throw an exclamation point at the end of his sentences, and he reads as full of energy. He's not ready to be that lively in person yet.

When Masaomi caves and sends a quick soundbite, his voice is steady but also detached.]

I stay at the Invincible. The yellow tie door.

==> action, you really shouldn't be surprised

[scarsolderthanyou]

[That was helpful, Masaomi, thanks. Don't be surprised to find a weirdly tall old man showing up at your door. He has at least picked up the groundling custom of knocking to announce himself, though if the door's unlocked and Masaomi takes too long to open it, he might just walk right in. Masaomi practically invited him, right?

His expression is calm, maybe a bit sympathetic.]

Hey, kid.

[mellowyellow]

[Now that Masaomi's expecting him, he thinks he's prepared. He opens the door armed with a large grin.]

What was that? I couldn't hear what you said over the sound of you not using my name!

[scarsolderthanyou]

[Stone rolls his eyes, looking exasperated but amused, and he says, pointedly slowly,]

Masaomi.

[He steps in and, guess what Masaomi, wraps an arm around his shoulders in another hug. He's gonna desensitize you through exposure, kiddo, if it's the last thing he does.]

[mellowyellow]

Hey, it's almost like you knew my name all along!

[He chuckles as he purposefully navigates his way under and out of Stone's arm hug. One day Stone will certainly succeed! But that day is not today. Not when the memory of being crowded by so many unseeing, uncaring spirits is still agonizingly fresh.]

Imagine that.

[scarsolderthanyou]

[Stone settles for hair-ruffling instead, then, and an eye roll, but it's amiable.]

You are impossible, you know that? How long have you been hiding out in here?

[mellowyellow]

[Hair ruffles are even worse, oh my gosh, it's so hard to style his hair without any of his favorite products! He blows his mussed up bangs out of his eyes before trying to reshape his hair with his hands, but at least he's not pulling away.]

How should I know? [He puffs, lying through his teeth.] I was asleep for most of it. Turns out all this dying and not dying can really take it out of you.

[scarsolderthanyou]

That's not how I remember it when this place killed me.

[Stone puts his brows up pointedly.]

But I didn't die in that parade thing, either. I'm guessing you don't want to talk about it.

[mellowyellow]

[His frantic smoothing motions slow to a crawl, and finally his hand slides down the back of his neck. Suddenly, he can't look the guy in the eye anymore. Stone too? Really? That... That sucks. Way too much. And yet, once again, the guy is offering that information as freely and matter-of-factly as anything else.

Well, that's why he can't meet Stone eye to eye, isn't it? Because Masaomi can't match that boldness, and he hates it.]

I woke up about a day ago. In the church. Jason walked me back here.

[scarsolderthanyou]

[Stone is also like 600 years old or something, and acts like nothing phases him, ever. He'd been more angry than afraid, at the time, though it's possible the two emotions were connected. Stone never examined that very closely, and never did let it stop him from flying again.]

Good, glad someone was there for you. I wound up growling a lot at the metal boy, Daylight. Have you been in this room all that time?

[At least tell him you ate something, Masaomi.]

[mellowyellow]

[It's certainly true Stone's 600 years of age and experience put him at an advantage in this case. Maybe Masaomi will remember to factor that in when beating himself up later.]

...Mostly. [He chuckles, albeit sheepishly.] I really was tired. We pigged out on some jello first though. It's kinda become a tradition.

[scarsolderthanyou]

[Stone gives him a mock-suspicious eyeballing.]

I don't know what jello is, but it doesn't sound very filling. Come on. You're coming out of that room for long enough to grab something downstairs, then I'll leave you alone again. For a while.

[Ominous. Half-serious.]

[mellowyellow]

Do we ha-

[Wait, hold up.]

...You don't know what jello is? What about gelatin?

[scarsolderthanyou]

Nope. Must not exist on my world.

[He steps back, holding the door himself now, for Masaomi to follow him out. It's time for real food.]

Why don't you show me. There should be some down in the kitchen, if it's a normal Earth-type food, right?

[mellowyellow]

Uh- yeah. I guess.

[Thrown by this particularly unexpected development, Masaomi can't even bring himself to argue. He drags his feet through the door frame and out into the hall.

Do alien grandpa dragons even like sweets? He's never thought about anything like this before. He's never thought he'd be herded down into the dining area by a very paternal monster either.

Just before he reaches the stairwell, he stops, turns back to Stone.]

What do you eat?

[scarsolderthanyou]

[Alien grandpa dragons love sweets, don't worry, Masaomi. He looks vaguely amused at the question.]

Anything you eat. I need more meat than a human would, from what I can tell, being primarily a hunting species, but I can eat anything I want to.

[mellowyellow]

Woah. Uh, good to know.

[Okay, he'll obediently descend the staircase now and even slide into the kitchen. He's just nabbed the perfect distraction: teaching alien grandpa dragon the wonders of jello.]