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Post by MP on Oct 2, 2023 20:35:12 GMT -6
[ Then, ] Sarkany interrupted lightly. [ I look forward to meeting the new Atol. ]
He gave Atol a playful knock with the back of his hand, barely a tap of the fingers.
[ Yes, I'm alright with that. Are you? ]
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Post by Sharei on Oct 4, 2023 19:03:03 GMT -6
It wasn't so much the tap as the words that made Atol's head turn. His gaze rose again, searching, questioning, looking for something in Sarkany's face. After a moment of pondering a small smile began to spread itself unbidden and he sighed and shook his head, amused despite himself.
"It's always the simple answers with you," he grouched, elbowing Sarkany good-naturedly in the side. "I never could say no to you. Gotta be the face."
He tucked his hands into his pockets and, for the first time, the reservation in his frame had vanished.
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Post by MP on Oct 4, 2023 19:40:14 GMT -6
[ I am adorable. ]
Sarkany tipped his head and smiled, pupils swelling in what, in a less predatory face, might have passed for puppy dog eyes. As it was, the flash of pointed teeth looked more like the leer of a shark than any kind of cuteness.
Predatory or not, the genuine note remained. Sarkany pointed out the trail to Atol as the it faded into proper wilderness.
[ There. That boulder is our landmark - see the lump on it? We want to turn just here. ] He angled his hand, demonstrating the proper direction. [ That'll take us up the easier side of the mountain. ]
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Post by Sharei on Oct 5, 2023 19:02:25 GMT -6
Atol nodded, picking carefully over the twisting roots and uneven ground as they left the relative safety of the trail. Despite his caution, he still managed to find every other dry twig to step on, or rodent hole to fall into, as if drawn magnetically to the hazards. Still, the hiccups did little to sour his newfound mood, and Atol continued eagerly along, his gaze flitting about the wood.
[ I've never seen so many trees in one place, ] he said, raising his gaze to the canopy above. [ Are they always this color around here? ]
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Post by MP on Oct 7, 2023 19:31:42 GMT -6
[ No. ] Sarkany smiled, remembering his own adjustment period. [ They’re green in the warm times. They change color like this when the weather cools. Then they’ll fall and die. Most of these trees will be bare as bones soon, until the warm times come again. ]
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Post by Sharei on Oct 11, 2023 22:27:40 GMT -6
Atol's eyebrows climbed toward his hairline, but then they drew down again as he realized his own misunderstanding. The leaves would fall and die, not the entire tree.
[ How often does the weather cool? ] he asked, and as if on cue a shiver ran through his frame. [ It's been like this for days. ]
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Post by MP on Oct 14, 2023 21:00:05 GMT -6
[ Maybe...half? Less than a half cycle. ] Sarkany tipped his head in thought. [ Once we visit the human hives, we'll have to get you warmer clothing. The climate is much colder, for much longer than you're used to. ]
He turned and grinned at Atol.
[ We may even see snow this year. ]
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Post by Sharei on Oct 15, 2023 11:45:03 GMT -6
Half a year of this weather? The mornings here were like the deep chill of the desert nights back home, and it was a chill that persisted throughout the day. Atol huddled deeper into his sweater and privately wished Kanagi had picked a warmer place to live, but he didn't dare voice that thought aloud. He should, by all rights, be happy to have made it at all.
[ Snowfall? ] he asked, a faint, fuzzy memory of something wet trying to surface. More strange maybe-memories?
[ Truly? Is it as hazardous as the texts suggested? ]
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Post by MP on Oct 15, 2023 23:18:54 GMT -6
[ No more than the desert sun. ]
Glancing sideways at the movement, Sarkany shrugged off his jacket and held it out. The sweater might not squeeze easily through the jacket sleeves, but warmth was warmth. And the seraph seemed comfortable enough with the fall air, even bare armed.
[ As long as you dress for the cold and don't get stranded without shelter, there's no danger. These snows are mild compared to other regions, and the humans have ways of sensing the coming weather. They always give warning. ]
The trail was beginning to slope upward in earnest, hitting the true roots of the mountain. The path Sarkany chose was thin as a deer trail, but it wove between the rockier paths, where tree roots turned from a hindrance to a vital part of the trail. Sarkany used them as natural stairs - or a level seat on which to rest when he noticed Atol starting to tire.
[ When we get back, ] he said, [ I can show you how to check for yourself. ]
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Post by Sharei on Oct 16, 2023 15:31:20 GMT -6
Somehow Atol couldn't picture this future society with its television and indoor plumbing as having weather shamans to tell them when the next rainfall would come. He frowned down at the path as he struggled up the next step, his thoughts less on the burn in his legs and more on how they might go about it. Could they predict the rains - or snow - using other methods? Precognitive ability? Or more of this modern science? The more he learned of the modern world the less it seemed they relied on magic to get by, as they had in Atol's time. The wonders of academics had advanced far enough that man could seemingly manipulate what he wanted when he wanted, but surely there were limits. Weren't there?
[ How do - huff - How do they do it? ]
Bent over with his hands on his thighs, the boy paused next to Sarkany to catch his breath.
[ More technology? Modern science? ]
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Post by MP on Oct 16, 2023 19:48:41 GMT -6
[ Skies, ] Sarkany threw back his head and laughed. [ You're asking the wrong tiercel, my friend. I understand how to read their little messages, and that's all. How humans ever manage without prongs and proper hide - ] He leaned in and tapped his forehead conspiratorially. [ I'll never know. ]
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Post by Sharei on Oct 18, 2023 18:23:00 GMT -6
Atol pressed his hand to Sarkany's face and pushed him backward with a smirk. [ Not all of us get to be born with built-in weather detectors. ]
It wasn't something he would have dared do with anyone else, and not just because it was incredibly undignified. Rather, until very recently his touch had been dangerous, if not deadly to other people. Only Sarkany and his existence as a Walker had been able to tolerate the pain of coming into contact with Atol's skin. Only Sarkany, who Atol had become so accustomed to that touching him was second nature. Sarkany, who might not have the same fortifications ready and waiting to go to protect him. Atol pulled his hand back sharply.
He hadn't tried touching anyone since S'khet had removed the mark and frankly he'd been too afraid of the answer to try. What if he still couldn't? He wished he'd found out.
[ Did that - hurt? ]
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Post by MP on Oct 18, 2023 19:28:59 GMT -6
[ No, no. ]
Sarkany waved the question off. Then he paused. Thought about it.
[ You know - ] He shot Atol a sideways grin. [ I braced myself without thinking. I don't know what it would have felt like. Nothing I suspect. But we should probably be sure. Here - ]
Without further hesitation, he put a hand on the side of Atol's face, exerting just enough strength to slowly push the youth sideways - all under pretense of a proper test, of course.
[ Hm. I don't think so, ] he said innocently, still pushing imperceptibly. [ Mmmno? I don't think - no. Just normal human skin. ]
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Post by Sharei on Oct 18, 2023 19:58:06 GMT -6
[ Wait! ]
The palm made contact and Atol winced, preparing for the twist of agony that always bloomed in anyone who did manage to touch him. But no pain came, no indication that anything was out of the ordinary, and Atol continued to tip under the slowly increasing pressure. The boy's shoulders relaxed.
And still continued to tip.
[ Hey! ] he laughed, batting Sarkany's hand away. Relief added a jovial quality to his voice. [ Get off! ]
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Post by MP on Oct 19, 2023 18:46:30 GMT -6
[ What? ] Sarkany's scleras darkened theatrically, his smile widening to a smirk. [ I have to be in tiercel's shape to lean on you now? Am I not loveable enough as I am? ]
In a blur of aether, the man was gone, replaced by the crouching foretalons of the tiercel. Sarkany lowered his head to Atol's shoulder height.
[ Such standards. Such favoritism. ] A frill flapped in time with his puffed sigh, dragging a ticklish line across Atol's face. [ There, the awful man-thing is gone now. Surely that's better. ]
He butted his brow into Atol's side, a much heavier lean than before, though he kept any real weight out of the push. The tiercel aimed a nip at the air next to the boy. The clack of teeth and expressionless predator's features could not look anything but ferocious. But the parted jaws seemed somehow to grin all the same.
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