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

[vorenado]

Gale lets Stone take the lead for the most part, though he heaves an internal sigh at that explanation. It's not incorrect, but if the arbora are anything like Stone had described them as, it's not going to be an acceptable answer.

"It is a long story." While he may process things faster than most people, he still needs to translate before speaking. Since this is his first time actually trying to speak the language out loud, his pronunciation isn't flawless, but decent enough for a first go at it.

"Their magic works outside of time. They had taken me years before they took Stone. It is possible that little to no time has passed at all here while he was gone."

[scarsolderthanyou]

The accent, and the language, isn't missed. It isn't commented on, but it isn't missed. The spokesperson Arbora looks between Stone and Gale, and says, "Jade experienced something like that once. But backwards...."

"It's not quite like that," Stone relents. "More like I got dumped back here at the same moment I left. Like Gale said, it's a long story. Do you want us to tell it out here, or inside?"

"We should tell the queens," another Arbora says.

"That is the plan," Stone shrugs. "Once we get inside and introduce him around."

"So we already know him before Pearl gets a chance to make a decision," the spokesArbora said dryly.

"That's Grain," Stone tells Gale, voice dry. "He likes to think he's being clever."

[vorenado]

"Or perhaps you were being obvious." He says in softer, amused tones, though he's not necessarily trying to hide it from anyone. Shifting closer to stone, he offers the old raksura a sideways glance and one of his small yet meaningful smiles. The more they can prove that they've known each other for an extensive period of time, the better.

Then he looks back over the crowd thats gathered, trying to get a senses of the overall mood of the situation.

[scarsolderthanyou]

"Well, I suppose my court knows me pretty well," Stone has to agree. "Come on. Let us in, Grain, before I knock you off the platform. I'll take him straight to the mentors to test him out, if that'll make you all feel better."

Grain doesn't honestly have the rank, or the age, to stand up to Stone, so after a moment of looking hesitant, he steps aside. One of the other Arbora behind him darts inside, ahead of Stone and Gale, presumably to warn someone, or maybe get Bone, who is older and wiser and knows better what to do when a line-grandfather gets pushy.

Because Stone is getting pushy. He's got Gale's wrist again, and if Gale doesn't follow, he'll get pulled in his wake. "That's Plum, that's Gold, that's Fall. There's a couple hundred of us, you'll get scents in your brain before names, probably," he tells Gale, pointing to the Arbora as they pass.

[vorenado]

Gale does his best to keep a neutral air about him as Stone and Grain face off, and he stands close enough to the older raksura that their shoulders touch. He purposely keep his eyes from Grain, looking across the crowd of Arbora and to other platforms where others have gathered.

The grab to his wrist is enough warning that they're going to be moving, so he follows rather than be pulled around this time. Sharp green eyes dart to those being pointed out, and he does his best to catch as much detail as possible as they move.

"It is very likely, though I do still have a very good memory." Scent is an oddly powerful thing when it comes to the mind, he'll give it that.

[scarsolderthanyou]

"Just be glad you're at Indigo Cloud and not one of the bigger courts," Stone comments. "Then there'd be a couple thousand to meet and sort out. That might tax even your brain."

There's a lot of scents to pick up, as they move through naturally-formed corridors in the living tree. The Arbora follow them, because this is the most interesting thing that's happened in a season, and they want to see it through. Even if it results in something dangerous (maybe especially if). They're moving steadily downward, until they reach the wide, open central well, lined with balconies and short staircases, and with a waterfall running down the far wall.

Stone gives Gale's wrist a light squeeze, whether in reassurance or warning, then shifts and spreads his wings, holding out a hand for Gale. This is politeness. He could just scoop him up, like he does with Grain in his other hand.

"I guess we're all going," Grain comments dryly, patting Stone's arm. The other Arbora just start climbing down, themselves.

[vorenado]

He doesn't mind, having learned that learning things in the traditional way is far more satisfying, even if it's a roster of faces and names. He no longer has or wants the hood that would giving more storage space and power. It would effectively dull him out emotionally.

Gale keeps close to Stone, able to keep up with the Raksura without any sort of struggle on his part. He could easily outpace any of them, but he's never in his existence ever felt the need to show off.

Okay, maybe a bit if it was to make someone else happy. Never for his own pride.

He instinctively tries to take in as much as possible all at once before he remembers what Stone said and turns his eyes forward, or to the old man himself. Once they reach the well, he climbs up into Stone's hand without question. The ease of which he does so and settles himself is proof that he's done this many times before.

"Was that ever in doubt?"

[scarsolderthanyou]

"Well, no, not really," Grain admits. "We'd have come anyway. This is probably the most interesting thing that's happened since the Fell flight moved in at Opal Night. I just wasn't expecting to be scooped up. I suppose I should have been. It's Stone."

Stone snorts, an amused sort of sound, then jumps off the balcony with both Arbora and Asura held against his chest, spreading his wings to catch him and circling down the central well towards the landing on the mentors' level.

"You really have known him for turns?" Grain asks Gale, with a kind of skeptical curiosity, while Stone is incapable of butting in.

[vorenado]

Gale is calm and comfortable for the most part on the flight down, trusting Stone, and through him the other scrambling Raksura as they make their way down the well.

His eyes keep darting around at all the moving forms. Stone had told him to be careful about looking like a predator, but it's as much curiosity about the people here and this place. Being disconnected from liminal space, he no longer gets the sudden influx of world pertinent knowledge. For as much as Stone has told him, it's still all brand new.

"I have, yes. We met on one of the missions our captors had sent us on."

[scarsolderthanyou]

"You'll have to tell us about it," Grain says, looking somewhere between curious and wary. "These missions, and your captors, and how you met. Since I'm sure Stone won't tell us much."

Stone rumbles, a sound that might be threatening if not for the amused angle of his mouth. Grain gives that expression a wary look, too.

The flight is over quickly, though, as Stone swings his feet down to grab a balcony and cups his wings to slow and land. Gale and Grain he sets down before shifting, the Arbora coming down behind them along the wall. A pair of Arbora inside the room beyond look up, startled, and stare unabashedly at Gale.

"That's Heart and Merit," Stone says, once he can talk properly again. "The Chief mentor and her second."

almost a month late whooo

[vorenado]

"I will tell you whatever you wish to know." He has no reason to hide, and has been the one advocating full transparency from the first inception of this crazy plan. Though, he may leave out a specific detail or two at first, just to see if he can goad Stone into adding to the stories without him realizing it.

Gale doesn't have much of a response to Stone's rumblings. He comprehends facial expressions, posturing and outbursts as well as the next person, but he tends to rely on his ability to read emotion more than outward displays of emotion. I has a habit of making him seem insensitive or fearless. Occasionally stupid.

He remains near Stone after he's set down, attention turning to the confused Arbora. He bows his head in greeting to the two mentors. Normally he would approach himself, but for now he lets Stone do all the major introductions.

a tag is a tag no matter how late :D

[scarsolderthanyou]

"Heart, Merit, this is Gale. If I can bully Pearl into it, he's staying with us," Stone explains, a hand possessively on Gale's shoulder. "Having you and Merit give us both a clean diagnosis, that will help make the Arbora feel better." He doesn't expect it will help Pearl feel better-- nothing will make Pearl feel better-- so Arbora is what he's going with here.

"He has a crazy story about being gone for years without us knowing it," Grain adds, determined to be involved, here.

"It's true," Stone grumps at him. "I don't lie."

"But you leave things out when you feel like it, line-grandfather," Heart is bold enough to say, and Stone glares at her. She doesn't take it seriously, thankfully, but sets down the book she'd been holding to come over to the two of them.