For Argilla (and/or Gale)

[scarsolderthanyou]

Option I. Syn AU

Another liminal change, another influx of new people, and Stone was tired today. The last Jaunt had been... well, strange. And uncomfortable. And Stone wasn't feeling like going out and meeting everyone else just yet.

So he and Azure were on the platform in his created space, with the door behind him to the rest of liminal open, while she preened his hair and he considered the fake canopy of leaves overhead and possibly a nap.


Option II. Three Worlds

Stone was napping when the scent hit him, and he sat up sharply, startled. An Arbora who had been tending to one of the plants on the same platform jumped and dropped her basket. "Line-grandfather?"

He waved a hand at her rather than answer, climbed to his feet, and shifted, taking off immediately almost before his winged shape had finished settling in. That was the smell of an asura, and he did not want anyone else to be the one to find him first.


Option III. ELSEWHERE take your pick, her world or another random one

Traveling had broken something, as far as Stone could tell. He hadn't seen the colony tree for more than a couple days at a time, before bouncing off to some other world again. He didn't have anything he needed to fix or change, like actual Traveling, it just... lasted as long as it lasted before he found himself able to open a portal again to get back home.

This time it seemed like one of the modern Earth-ish worlds, as far as Stone could tell. He got a few funny looks for the height, the gray skin, and the bare feet, but no one had stopped him yet. Since he hadn't tried to smile yet, no one could question the teeth. Right now, he was just looking for wherever he could sit down for a while, take in the scents, and listen to people so he could get his bearings.


Option IV. WILD CARD

Got something else you feel like playing out, an AU of some sort or a private walkabout or something? Go ahead and make a starter and I will tag!

Comments

[scarsolderthanyou]

It's the mountain-tree nearest the Indigo Cloud colony tree, to be precise. That doesn't mean it's actually close to the colony tree... the branches of each tree, and the small forests on their platforms, reach quite a ways out, and his line of sight is blocked by so many smaller trees that he couldn't see Indigo Cloud even if he were looking the right direction.

Stone is arrowing straight for him, though, or at least straight for the multi-branch platform forest he's on. He doesn't think the psychic network works anymore, or he'd be calling ahead. As it is, Gale will shortly be able to hear heavy wing-beats somewhere overhead, and a growling rumble from that might possibly be familiar, if it hasn't been too long since he's heard it.

[vorenado]

He does discover that he's not on the ground as he initially thought, having pushed through some trees to find the edge of the branch the forest is growing on. In all his time traveling, he's never seen anything like this. And even now, years after he'd last seen his tribe mates, his first thought is still of them and how they might have reacted to something like this.

As he continues, he tucks himself back under the canopy of heaves and branches, feeling safer under the security of cover for the time being. Most things tend to avoid him, but he knows better than to count on his aura entirely.

Gale would know that scent anywhere, sensing the line-grandfather on the wind before he even hears anything. He can't see him yet, but he can feel him, and he darts off towards a larger clearing in the trees in hopes to catch his attention. "Stone!"

[scarsolderthanyou]

There's not quite enough room there for Stone to just land as he is, so he dives, shifts halfway down, grabs a tree branch to slow his fall the rest of the way, and drops to the grass. "Gale, you idiot, where have you been all this time!"

He's not smiling-- he looks like he might growl some more, in fact-- but he does all but pounce Gale with a hug once he's on the ground and close enough. How dare you make him think he wasn't ever going to see you again, Gale. How dare.

[vorenado]

Gale doesn't bother to respond at first. He just rushes blurringly fast in Stone's direction, stopping in time to catch the other man in a fierce hold. Taking in Stone's scent directly helps him relax, letting out a shaky breath.

"I was lost." He admits, not knowing how else to describe it. "But I found my way here."

[scarsolderthanyou]

Stone does grumble a little growl, at that-- quite likely more at Gale being lost than at him finding his way, at least-- but he's holding tight, right back. After a beat, he turns his head to give Gale a bite on the side of his neck-- not hard enough to break skin, but harder than necessary for a greeting or reassuring nip. "I've been back ten days. Figured our try to get you to come with me just didn't work at all."

[vorenado]

Having someone's open mouth that close to him, let alone actually biting him, isn't something he'd ever imagined could possibly be considered a good thing. Yet here he is, a pleased rumble thrumming in his chest as well. "It felt.. like much longer, though I have no way of knowing for sure."

[scarsolderthanyou]

Stone finally lets him go, stepping back enough to look him over. "You're here now. And you look all right. We can work out what happened once you're settled. We'll have to figure out what to tell the court." Because obviously he's not letting Gale just wander off, even if Gale wanted to. He's staying with them. Once Stone convinces Pearl to let him keep him.

[vorenado]

He looks just as he had. Long green hair, data ports, and all. Unfortunately that includes the Twister atma still branded into his leg.

Gale doesn't seem to have any intention of wandering off, remaining close to the older man. The question about what to tell the court is obvious, at least to him. "We should tell them the truth."

[scarsolderthanyou]

"Yeah. About that." Stone looks a little annoyed, distracted by thinking. How the shit are they even going to make this work. "I didn't actually tell them I went anywhere, to them it seemed like I didn't. So suddenly saying I have a friend I've known for a couple of turns from another world is going to make them think I've finally gone crazy in my old age, and might just make them want to kill you."

[vorenado]

He's quiet for a moment, eyes narrowing in thought before he tilts his head slightly. "Did you not say your mentors could read the truth from our minds? I would be willing to let them see."

[scarsolderthanyou]

"They can see if you're being influenced by any outside powers, and what you're feeling," Stone corrects with an irritable twitch of his head. "They can't see 'the truth'. I could make them try to auger for any potential danger that comes from you, I suppose, and looking inside your head could at least be a starting point." The only one likely to really try to stand up to him if he's determined in this (which he is) would be Pearl, and he usually thinks he can handle her. He's not so sure this time. Pearl doesn't like groundlings. The slim likelihood of Pearl believing him about being gone for over two turns when nobody noticed him being gone just made it worse.

Maybe he should have just told them all ten days ago and dealt with the fallout then. But since Gale hadn't been here, there hadn't seem to be any point to stirring it up. He growls under his breath. What a mess.

[vorenado]

Gale is quiet as he watches Stone deliberate. Between the raksura and the pack, stepping in closer to offer comfort and support almost an instinctual reaction now. Being told about something is far different than actually experiencing it himself. Now that he's finally here, he feels... nervous.

"If they wouldn't have noticed then, they likely wouldn't notice now. So theoretically the time you say you were taken will not matter."

[scarsolderthanyou]

Stone pauses to consider that. "It would probably be easier to say it happened now than ten days ago, at least," he finally agrees, reluctantly. "Then I wouldn't have to explain why I didn't tell them from the start."

He shakes his head, frustrated and impatient with thinking too hard. "Come on. Let's just go introduce you to the Arbora first, and maybe by the time you get to Pearl they'll love you and she'll have to give in. If you want to stay with the colony, that is."

Belatedly, he realizes he ought to at least make sure of that.

[vorenado]

"I came here to be with you." He says, watching Stone. "It doesn't matter where that is." Gale has never had a place that was a home. Things had changed too much too often for him to connect a location with a sense of belonging. He understands the concept of 'home', but has never experienced it the same way others had.

For him it's people more than a place. Wherever Stone goes, so will he. As long as he's still wanted.

Green eyes meet Stone's again, hesitating before following. "There is one problem with this plan."

[scarsolderthanyou]

Though Stone's expression doesn't really change, a tension does go out of him. There had been a little part of him that figured Gale hadn't shown up because he hadn't actually wanted to be here, would have rather gone back to the spectres of his friends. Hearing differently is... good. He hasn't had to worry about things like that in a long time; it's annoying, but it's still there.

So it's a relief when he can snort at the second comment. "There's a lot of things wrong with this plan, starting with it being less like a plan and more like a futile hope that this won't end in a fight with my great-granddaughter." He takes Gale's wrist to lead him along the branch, towards a more open place where he can shift and take off again. "What's the problem you mean?"

[vorenado]

They never really defined the nature of their relationship like most other Travelers tended to, but there is a very distinct sense of mine in how Gale feels for Stone. It's never been jealous or possessive, Gale just isn't that way, but it's still there. He lost his tribe years ago, the pack too now since all this happened. He doesn't want to lose Stone too.

"Your clothing." Gale follows obediently, sensing out as far as he can, but there's so much going on in a forest it's hard to pinpoint anything that is or isn't a direct threat. "If you've been gone for the time we are claiming, it's unlikely that you would still be wearing what you wore the day you left."

[scarsolderthanyou]

Defining relationships isn't really something Raksura do, anyway. If he wants to bite someone or have sex with them, or just cuddle while he naps, he just asks. It does, however, tend to leave things a little uncertain when things like this happen. Thankfully, things like this don't happen all that often.

Stone makes an incredulous sort of sound. "I thought you knew me. I wear the same clothes all the time. All my clothes look exactly the same. Besides, I came back in the same clothes when it actually happened, only difference was I had this on." He holds up his free wrist, the sleeve sliding down to show his consort bracelet from Azure. The original Azure; the spirit Azure didn't make it to the Three Worlds with him, which was another uncomfortable feeling. "And I've been wearing it since then, making the Arbora whisper about it once they noticed. I got used to it, and it still works as a Dreamcatcher, anyway."

[vorenado]

"You hadn't explained that you'd been gone, so they had no reason to think you had left. Trying to explain what happened to us is going to be difficult even without trying to describe the illogical properties of liminal space. Clothing becomes warn and tattered over time." He knows and trusts that Stone knows his court well enough to navigate the situation, but Gale can't help how his mind works, trying to seek out any flaw that may exist in a plan.

[scarsolderthanyou]

Stone gives him an annoyed look. He's pretty sure it won't matter, but if it's bothering Gale, he'll at least make a comment. "And what do you suggest I do about it, then? If I go get different clothes, everyone will see us anyway. All my things are in the colony tree."

[vorenado]

Gale has a tendency to overthink all situations. It's what kept himself and his tribe alive, but it tends to overcomplicate situations he doesn't truly comprehend. If not for the lack of gossipiness, he really would make a good arbora. "I am merely pointing out a weak point that may be exploited. You know your court better than I."

[scarsolderthanyou]

For a moment, Stone considers it again, but he winds up with, "Even if it winds up being a problem, there's not anything we can do about it. Besides, it's mostly Pearl we have to worry about, and she won't think about my clothes." He tugs them out into a more open patch. "I should carry you in, instead of giving away the shapeshifting thing right off. They'll probably be more ready to accept me coming in with a strange groundling than a feral warrior Raksura, anyway."

[vorenado]

Gale follows along without any more interruption. He's not sure if this manhandling way of leading someone around is a raksura thing or a Stone thing. He'd always assumed a Stone thing, but now that he's about to meet others he has a feeling that he's going to be discovering a great deal of new things.

The first being exactly how big of a wave he's going to cause. "What should I do when we arrive?"

[scarsolderthanyou]

It's definitely a Raksura thing, and Stone is really not that bad about it-- except with Gale, or Moon. Have fun learning about the way everyone hauls each other around in Indigo Cloud, Gale. "Just be polite. Don't move too quickly, and don't stare too hard. Try not to look too much like a predator. I know that's hard."

Stone lets him go, turning back to look him over, then offers some more specific advice: "Keep your shoulders loose and your hands still, either clasp them or put them on me, that'll show you aren't likely to lash out. You can make eye contact with anyone who isn't a queen, you can tell them because they only wear jewelry and don't have a real groundling form. Also, they're taller than everybody else." Gale will probably feel a queen's presence immediately, knowing his empathic abilities, but Stone still has to make sure.

[vorenado]

"Do I usually look like a predator?" He asks genuinely. He knows all too well that he is on. In more that one way at this point. But he also looks human most of the time, and he's never considered them to be particularly predatory given his experience. He may unfortunately smell like a predator to them, though there's little he can do about that.

He listens carefully and nods at the suggestions, committing them to memory. Despite his usually calmness, he's got an air of unease about him. This may be the first time he's actually be nervous about anything.

[scarsolderthanyou]

Stone looks briefly amused. "Yes, you do. A very calm predator, but the focused way you look at things is very predator-looking. Raksura in groundling form do the same thing. When you live on a world with shapeshifters, you learn to notice things like that." He cuffs Gale affectionately on the side of the head, then says, "Come on, let's get this mess started."

Then he shifts, and offers Gale a hand to be carried in.