deercountry | The Heart is a Bloom (Open)

Entry tags:

The Heart is a Bloom (Open)

Who: Luca and open
What: Catch all for the month
When: Throughout the month
Where: Behind the Disaster House, anywhere in the streets, the Archives

Content Warnings: Injured fish/fish gets killed for food

[Growing Pains: OTA]

It takes him a minute to decide what he wants to plant. Everything he came here with is a reminder of his past. The herding staff from when he used to live on the farm herding fish, though Luca realizes if he buries that, it's going to take a very long time to dig a hole large enough. Then there were the pictures Alberto drew, but he doesn't want to get rid of those. Alberto's not a part of his past he's ready to let go of yet, and there's always the chance he'll show up in this place. The sea monster village, however, is clearly and distinctly in his past. It's not a place he can go back to, and it's a place he was moving on from even in his own world. It's a place he's willing to let go of. He picks up his seagrass shorts, an article of clothing that's unmistakably 'sea monster', and takes them outside. He grabs a shovel and starts digging a hole behind the house.

It's not long before a flower emerges. Posidonia, a sea grass flower. Of course, that makes sense. He's fairly sure the shorts were sea grass in the first place, so what else would grow out of them?. But, of course, he knows that means he'll have to keep the plant in salt water.

"I'll have to find a tank or a vase to keep you in."

[Around Town: OTA]

Naturally, being new to this place, Luca wants to check it out. Sure, there are lamp locations and he can just teleport wherever he needs to go, but while Luca is more than happy to use them, he doesn't want to become dependent on them, which means he'll have to learn the lay of the land without them. Luckily for him, he arrived with his bike. It's incredibly rusted, but he's never had it in any other state, having gotten it the only way most sea monsters could get such a thing. By finding it in the Ligurean sea, not far from a steep cliff that dropped off into the water.

But, miraculously, despite all the rust his bike worked just fine, and he'd even been able to ride it well enough to win the biking portion of a triathlon once. Now he's riding through town, wearing the clothes he found in his bag on arrival, as well as his robes. The latter was mostly due to the weather. With all the rain, he wanted something water resistant so he wouldn't change in the middle of town. Sure, everyone who had seen him in his sea monster form so far had been fine with it, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to take some precautions with how many people see him.

That's why, as the first few drops begin to fall, Luca stops his bike, putting one bare foot down so he can focus on pulling his robe over his head...only to put his foot right into a puddle.

"Gah!"

He pulled his foot (which was now green) out of the puddle, causing him to fall off his bike to the ground. Frantically, Luca pulls the robe over his head to keep his face human at least, before desperately trying to wipe the water off his foot...and now his leg as well after that fall, to try and force himself to change back.

Then, finally noticing that someone else is there, Luca looks up with a nervous laugh. "Oh, uh...hi."

[The Archaic Archives: OTA]

By the time Luca reaches the Gaze, he's given up all hope of holding onto his human form. The rain's just coming down too hard, and it's too difficult trying to keep all his skin covered and ride a bike at the same time. Eventually, he just accepts that he's going to have to be in his sea monster form for now, and that's just going to have to be okay. Still, he's on high alert the entire time, just in case someone might take issue with a sea monster biking through town.

And then he reaches his destination. The archives. Between this and the School of Mutter, it truly made the Gaze the most wonderful and happy place in the entire town in Luca's eyes.

He walks inside. Normally he'd shake himself dry, but he doesn't want to take any chances of getting even a drop of water on one of the books, so instead he waits to air dry naturally. Once that happens, his scales and fins begin slowly receding into his now human-looking skin. Now that he's dry, Luca begins to walk through the Archives, looking at the books as he passes.

"Wow, there's so much here! I wonder where I should even start."

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

"Oh hey, that's a beautiful flower." Minako couldn't help but come over just to view it. She didn't actually know what kind of flower it was because he was no expert. That was Makoto, but Minako was always a huge fan of beautiful flowers.

"I guess you buried something to, huh? Different flower to what I got though."

[While water doesn't burn Zib to the same degree as most Irkens do, he still tends to try to keep his head covered when out in rainy weather just in case the PAK attached to the back of his head suddenly decides to react negatively to it. Which, hasn't been a real issue yet, given... how he even arrived on this planet(dimension?) but it's better to be safe than sorry.

He's on his way back to where he keeps his ship hidden to go rest at when he passes Luca biking past, and at first, he doesn't think twice about them until he hears them fall on the ground somewhere behind him. As such, Zib turns back around and jogs over, initially prepared to ask if they are alright... until he sees the green. Exposed now, reacting to water, just like--

He's acting before he even thinks the action through, as a spidery metal PAK leg extends from the back of his head from under the makeshift hoodie he's wearing to point in a threatening manner at Luca here, ready to try to stab him if he makes any sudden movements.]

Don't move, alien scum. Keep your hands where I can see them.

Naturally, Varian found this place first. He's drawn to knowledge like a moth to a flame. He desperately missed the Deerington library after it was destroyed- so having a new means to get at all the books ever is a real treat. So much about the city is awful, but this, this is okay.

He's trying to stave off some of his anxiety as he peruses the shelves- and when he catches the sound of Luca's voice, smiles and leans out to look at him.

"I know right? It's going to take me a looooong time to read all of these."

Suggesting he does plant to read them all, one day. Every last one.

"I did, yeah. Maybe what kind of flower you get depends on who does the ritual...or maybe it depends on what you bury. The thing I buried was made of seagrass, and this flower is a type of flowering seagrass...I'm thinking I should probably get something that can hold ocean water to put it in. Although I think these flowers are probably magic or something, so it might be fine like this, too."

Still, it might be nice to have a little tank with his flower in his room. Maybe he could toss a few oysters in the water with it for easy snacking.

[Luca's eyes go wide, putting his hands up, not wanting to do anything to set off the boy with a terrifying pointy leg thing coming out of the back of his head. At least, not more than he already had by just being himself.]

Alien scum? I don't--

[What? He doesn't know what he means? Luca might have never heard of 'alien scum' before and might not know exactly what the term means, but it doesn't take much to figure out what the other kid is reacting to. Staring up in terror, Luca doesn't even bother to try and keep the water off him anymore. There's not much of a point anymore. What the water reveals might initially seem like a confirmation of what Zib expects. One of his fingers disappears on each hand, leaving three fingers and a thumb. His nose fades into only nostrils. The green spreads.

And then...his changes deviate from what Zib might expect. Luca's feet become longer and webbing spreads between his toes. Webbing grows between his fingers as well and his ears become fins. Small blue fins emerge from his lower legs and forearms, and his hair transforms into an array of blue fins. Finally, a long tail erupts from his body with a pair of large dorsal fins running down the length of it. His eyes, the pupils now slit and the sclera now yellow, now are solely focused on the tip of the weird robotic leg thing.]

I haven't done anything! Why are you threatening me with your weird robotic crab leg? Why is it coming out of your head?

Luca doesn't question it. Of course Varian fully intends to read every last one of these books. Who wouldn't? After all, if you only read some of the books then you might miss out about some really interesting information about the world!

"Oh, I know. I could probably read here every day and never get through them all. I wonder if I should look for books on space...or maybe I should look for books on this world and how everything works here if we're going to be living here. Or maybe I should look for books on engineering so I can help you out in the lab!"

There are so many good choices here.

"I never even dreamed that there were this many books in the world!"

[At first, Zib doesn't relent, still glaring at the other boy and ignoring his frantic questions... until Luca changes further, and his expression changes from anger to confusion as he watches. The PAK leg droops ever so slightly, but he doesn't retract it just yet, just in case.]

Wait... that's not a normal Irken appearance. Unless... there's a dimension where they exist as fish aliens? But even then...

[His PAK leg straightens again, still threatening but at least it doesn't look like Luca is going to get stabbed as Zib's tone sounds a little less hateful when he speaks, but still wary.]

Who are you? Why do you look like that?

Luca's got the right idea. No one should leave knowledge half-gained. That's just silly. Not when they have everything right there at their fingertips. It'd just be a waste!! He laughs softly, definitely not cruelly, but because Luca has a vibe going he can relate to only too well.

"Well, you could always make a list of the subjects you're most interested in, and pick a couple of books of each subject to cycle through. Then once those are done, you move a little further down the list."

That's a perfectly reasonable and logical way to read all the books, right?

"I know! Deerington had a pretty impressive library but this is so much better. There's books from multiple worlds here!"

['Normal Irken'? What's an Irken? Is this guy an Irken? He does look a little weird for a human. But then, he said 'they'. Luca's so confused. He's glad, at least, that the other boy doesn't seem quite as ready to stab him with the weird leg thing, but he's still definitely nervous.]

Uh...my name's Luca, and I'm a sea monster. We turn human when we dry out but we change back when we get wet. I don't even know what an Irken is! Or aliens, for that matter.

"That sounds like a great idea! That'll give me a chance to study a little bit of each, and after I've read everything in the subjects I start with, it might give me an idea of a subject I want to read next!"

Eventually he'll get through every book that way, right? He'll start with a couple books from each of the subjects he already mentioned and go from there.

Then he adds, in a hushed whisper like it's a secret, "I've never actually been to a library before. This is my first one."

The books he'd seen in the past were just books on a bookshelf. And...well, all the books in the house he moved into with Varian and everyone else. He'd been pretty impressed with that, but this is even better.

Luca had made a habit to regularly come to the ocean here. Sure, there was something weird about these waters, and sometimes he'd swim out and get a strange disoriented feeling in this unfamiliar ocean, but just as often it felt natural, and it was fun to race against the tide. Besides, it's a great place for Luca to get food, and the ease that he could catch fish and gather seaweed meant he had a consistent source of something to barter.

After one such gathering session, Luca swims back to shore, poking a green and blue head up above the water to peer around. So far he'd had pretty good luck with people spotting his natural form, but he still likes to be cautious, just in case. When he doesn't immediately see anyone too terrible close, he begins to emerge from the water, his arms full of fresh seaweed.

Although she'd traveled across the realm many times, Ariadne had never actually been to sea. And, she supposed, if Trench was anything like Deerington, she wouldn't be able to take off in a skiff any time soon. But it was still nice to stand beside the water. It reminded her of occasional visits to Zor Harbor, when there was a lull in the war and Aunt Lysia thought she deserved a special treat.

She was walking along the line where the surf met the shore, walking one foot in front of the other like a tightrope walker. Both arms out to the side, like wings rising up behind her back.

Ariadne missed her wings. She didn't regret giving them up. But she missed flying sometimes. Especially when she was on her own and allowed herself to think about days gone by.

A scent pulled her attention away from memories. She raised her eyes and stopped in her tracks, when she noticed something coming out of the water.

Something green.

Someone green.

Her eyes widened, until the whites could be seen all the way around. "Hello?"

Luca, not noticing her initially, jumps back. He quickly recovers, though, and recognizes her as the nice lady that offered to help Fern with his dirt problem. Figuring she was probably fine, then, he takes a few steps toward her.

"Oh, um...hello. Sorry, I didn't notice you."

Then he notices the way she's staring, which would make sense normally, but since he's already directed Fern her way...

"Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, sort of like the flower represents the person or the thing that they gave up. That actually would make a lot of sense, but then it wouldn't since you might have to tend to it...." She paused as she pondered over a few things, did things need to make sense, no. Not at all.

"Yeah considering the type of flower I guess looking after it the way one normally would even if it was a magic flower...I mean it grew by burying something so it is magical in some way." Still better to be safe than sorry.

"Though would the water here work?"

He wasn't an Alastrian. That much was obvious, both from his scent and the fact that he didn't have long hair--or hair at all. But she recognized his voice. Luca, the polite young man who'd sent Fern her way. The polite young man who'd looked awfully Human, initially.

Well, she was hardly one to judge.

She smiled, intrigued and delighted to encounter someone else in a small way very much like her. Well, maybe she was jumping ahead of herself a bit. But she'd never met another species that looked so much like her, and yet wasn't.

In point of fact, she hadn't encountered another Alastrian in quite some time.

"Master Luca," she said fondly, giving him a small curtsy. "We meet in person."

"See? You do it in bite-sized chunks and you have a better idea of what you want a big meal in. Theoretically speaking. I knew you'd get it, you're smart."

Which is about the greatest compliment Varian can give a person. And oh, that gets a little smile on his face, Luca, you are just his favourite forever. He keeps his own tone low, all conspiratorial-like.

"Well, that's okay, there's a first time for everyone. I'd say I'd teach you the cool way to find books you want, buuuuut this place doesn't seem to have an actual system in place."

Which is so very maddening. How are they supposed to find anything, Trench? How?

"Oh, I'm sure the water here would work! It's an ocean plant, and there's plenty of ocean water nearby. I've swam in the water here already, and there doesn't seem to be anything unusual about it so I'm sure it'll work. I just need something to put the water in."

Luca beams when Varian calls him smart.

"Oh, a system would make things a lot easier."

Now that he knows that libraries usually have a system, Luca kind of wishes this one did. He's excited about reading all the books, but it would be easier to find the subjects he's interested in if he knew where to look. Well, he's sure if he keeps looking he'll find what he's looking for eventually.

"I guess for now I'll just wander around and see if anything looks like the kind of thing I'm looking for..." Which might be easier if they team up. "Hey, Varian? Are there any subjects you were looking for in particular? I could let you know if I find anything."

"Yeah," he says, walking the rest of the way onto the beach, arms full of the seaweed he gathered. It's a little odd that she calls him Master Luca, but he also called Alberto 'sir' when he first met him so he doesn't have much room to talk. "I'm surprised you recognized me, since...I look a little different right now."

What with the scales and all. Once he's out of the water, Luca shakes himself off like a dog and the scales and fins begin to retreat into his skin. Any skin that's in contact with the wet seaweed, however, or his water laden clothes (since he just went into the water fully dressed) stays scaly.

"Your voice is the same," she explained. And now that she was close enough to get a good look at him, she realized that his eyes were as well. It was hard to get a good sense of someone's eyes on the screen. But there was just...something there.

She didn't try to understand it much.

It was fascinating to watch the way his skin...scales?...retreated. It wasn't at all like an Alastrian switching forms.

Well, it would have been a bit much to convince herself that he was some kind of cousin to her kind.

"You do look different, though," she admitted. "Not in a bad way. But in an unexpected one, I think."

"Yeah, I...figured it was probably better to avoid sharing my sea monster form with everyone that used the communication stuff. I mean, the people here seem pretty okay with it so far but...I don't want to take any chances."

He doesn't mind sharing it with her, but anyone could look at their conversation on the network.

"Sea monster?" She walked a bit closer, leaning over with her hands on her knees so that she could be at his eye level. Ariadne was petite, so it wasn't too much of a bend. "You don't seem like much of a monster to me."

Of course, 'monster' meant something entirely different in Valeria. It meant something mindless and violent. Without sympathy or kindness. Something that lived only to cause death and destruction.

...and some people used that word for her people.

Maybe it meant something different where he was from.

"I mean, it's what we're usually called."

But no, Luca's species wasn't really anything that would typically be called a monster. They were just people.

"It would! There was one called a Dewey-decimal system which was all numbers and it was really clever. Shame it's not here."

It would make their nerdy lives so much easier. Why can't they have an easy nerd life, Trench? Why do you have to make everything weird?

"I think that's the idea here. Wandering and it just...leads you to where you want to be. Which is deeply unreliable but whatever," he's so salty over how magical this world is, it's worse than home. "At the moment, I'm trying to work out how the soil works here- how it got so polluted if there's a way to reverse that. So if you see anything like that, I'd be grateful if you can toss it my way."

She raised her chin slightly. "I see."

And did she ever. If anyone knew what it was like to be mislabeled and misunderstood--at least in Valeria--it was decidedly Ariadne. And what little was left of her people.

"Well," she said, "for what it's worth, most people would usually call me and mine 'demons.' But we're not. So I understand."

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 1 of 7

The Heart is a Bloom (Open)

Growing Pains

around town

Archives

Re: Growing Pains

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

For Adriadne

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

The challenges of his canon not actually saying what sea monsters call themselves

no subject

no subject