OPEN

[oceanschild]

Who: Paris, and whoever!
When: The month of May
Where: At the harbor, at the tavern, and in the shopping district in general
What: Beginning of transformation, trying to settle in
Warnings: Someone being waaay too happy about having gills. Otherwise nothing for now.



a - An ocean away

Even though he's lost his powers and therefore the more tangible connection to the ocean, Paris still spends much of this time by the water. Part of this is for Aeto's benefit- she can walk on land and survive there for sometime, but she is a ray and needs to be in the water often enough that she doesn't dry out. The Harbor district is not as nice as the Haven or the area around there, but that almost makes it feel more like home. The smell of the water mixed with the various sounds (and scents) of sailors is familiar, and in a way, comforting.

He's been feeling kind of off since shortly after he got here, and after going to talk with some people at the Haven he's a little hopeful about why that might be. He slips into the water as Aeto swims around, hopefully far enough away from the boats and general other business that they won't be a bother. He takes a deep breath, feeling over his neck and the subtle change in sensation he's noticed there before vanishing under the waves.

He's down there for a little while, enough that bystanders might begin to get worried, before he breaks the surface again with a bright, joyous smile on his face. "I can breathe again!" he says, sounding estatic and relieved.

b - Hard day's night

Even though this new revelation makes him much happier, he can't just stay in the water all day like he would like; he did sign up to work at the tavern, and he doesn't want to disappoint anyone by not showing up. Having used the gills now, they are slightly more obvious, flared out slightly on his neck.

There are people who don't want anything to do with him as a result, some of the patrons more likely to be harsh with him, but he doesn't seem to let it bother him and just continues on with his work.

c - Making my way

Paris doesn't mind the tavern, but he doesn't think he wants to stay there forever- and besides, he was only hired on for the month and he doesn't know if they would want to or have the funds to keep him around afterwards. So he's wandering through the shopping district with Aeto, not looking for things to buy so much as what skills might be needed. He is well aware that many of the things he's used to are either obsolete here or have never existed at all, so his hopes aren't high.

That is, until he catches the scent of freshly baked bread. He follows it until he finds a bakery, and he lingers outside, looking in wistfully. "Do you... think they'd need more people?" he asks, if someone stops by him as he just takes in the smells.

Comments

An ocean away

[plasticasshole]

[Despite there being perfectly good rose baths, Connor has found himself drawn to the ocean when he's not in the baths. He isn't sure why, but the water seems to call to him. He's been experiencing some itching on the sides of his torso, which is strange enough when you've never experienced itching before, but he soon found that he had what appeared to be gills there.

He's contemplating doing the same thing as Paris, wanting to be in the water, when he sees the man break the surface and declare that he can breathe.]

Under the water?

[It's pretty obvious that Paris could breathe above it, so he's just going to take a guess that it's not what he meant.]

[oceanschild]

[Paris turns towards the voice when he hears it, smiling as he seems a familiar face and he nods.]

Mmhm. I-- I could do it back home, but when I first arrived here I couldn't anymore. [He can feel the gills now, flared slightly down his neck now that they've been used, so he knows it's not the same as before. But he doesn't care; he would rather have this than nothing, and given what he's learned of this place, it indicates that there's more to come.]

[plasticasshole]

[Connor eyes the gills, and idly touches his side.]

I have gills now, too. They're on my sides. I've never had to breathe before, though.

[So he's not sure what the point is. He simulates breathing to make humans more comfortable around him, but he's never actually had to do it to stay alive.]

[oceanschild]

[Paris perks up, curious.]

You have them too? ...You've never had to breathe at all?

[He... supposes that must be part of being a machine, but it still surprises him. After a cautious moment, he reaches his hand out to Connor.] I can... try and show you?

[It's probably fairly natural, but...]

[plasticasshole]

I do, yes. And... no, never.

[He looks down at the hand, then up at Paris again.]

How do you plan on showing me?

[He sounds curious more than sceptical, at least.]

[oceanschild]

I, um. Don't know.

[At least he's honest.]

It's probably pretty natural. But... if you've never breathed at all before, maybe it would help to have someone looking out for you?

[He likes you, he doesn't want you to drown.]

[plasticasshole]

[Connor looks at the water, and after a moment he decides it wouldn't hurt.]

Well, I wanted to go into the water anyway.

[So he follows Paris in after kicking off his shoes. He finds the idea of having damp clothes isn't actually that terrible. Swimming beside Paris, he slowly lets himself sink underneath the water. Okay... breathing. He can do it, he's sure. He can do anything he puts his mind to.

After a full minute beneath the surface, a stream of bubbles comes out of his mouth and his eyes widen in mild alarm. It's hard to describe the sensation of breathing for the first time, especially since it was underwater, but when he comes up again with his hair plastered to his face he looks equal parts confused and excited.]

I did it!

[He thinks, anyway.]

An ocean away

[ishisstrength]

"It's nice to see you in such a good mood." Justine stood at the edge of the dock with a light smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. She looked more confident than the last time they'd spoken in the baths however she wasn't nearly so relaxed.

Her legs were clad in tight dark brown leather with a pair of dark heeled boots at her feet. Around her waist was a tight subtle leather corset with a pale pink skirt covering the swell of her chest and perfectly concealing the fact that this world had an odd definition of bras. Her shoulders and neck were bare except for a single dark green ribbon that was tied around her throat.

"You and Aeto too." Justine lowered herself so she was sitting on the edge of the docks with her feet hanging over the side.

"I didn't expect to see you here. How are you?" She made a mental note of the gulls but Justine wasn't sure if that was normal for him or not. He seems rather enamored with water when they'd first met as well.

[oceanschild]

Paris, in a move that may or may not surprise her, did not take off his clothes to enter the water. Which means that the very simple peasant-y blouse shirt and loose brown pants are currently soaking wet. It does not seem to bother him in the slightest.

He smiles when he sees her, unable to help blushing slightly just by the memory of their first meeting. But he'll swimmer a little closer to her so it's easier to talk- he was a strong swimmer back home, but here there's something different happening. He could probably keep treading water to talk for a long time.

"We're alright, thank you," he says, Aeto raising her head from the water to chirp at Justine before going back to her swimming, "How are you?" This is... how polite conversation goes, right? He so rarely has it...

[ishisstrength]

Justine leaned forward, watching the ripples as they pulled away from Paris's treading form. He looked healthy and happy. It was strange to think that this was the same young man she'd met in the baths.

"Doing as best I can." She didn't handle this world well but she had her ways of coping, as unhealthy as they could be. "I found clothes. Though I suppose you didn't know about that." They hadn't met with any clothes on but Justine had arrived in nothing but a bathrobe.

"Why are you in the water now?"

[oceanschild]

"...Found clothes?" Yeah, Paris did not know that she was lacking them when she first arrived. That would make the start of her time here so much more uncomfortable... or at least it would have for him.

As for her question, he looks back at Aeto. "She needs to be in the water as much as she can or she'll dry out and that's very bad for her." She can usually summon some water for herself, but that doesn't seem to be working here for her either. "And... I like to swim."

[ishisstrength]

Justine's lips parted as she exhaled a soft huff of laughter. "I arrived in a robe but nothing else." She still didn't technically have comfortable underwear but she was clothed and not likely to complain. "It was one of the reasons I spent so long in the baths." Also because they were very relaxing.

"Do you?" Her smile fell as she watched him swim. "I don't know how to swim." She's never learned though she supposed she could flail enough to not drown.

[oceanschild]

Oh. Oh geez. "I-I'm sorry. That sounds.... uncomfortable." Sure. That's the word he'll use.

Her next comment actually distracts him more, though. "You don't?" How... she must not have grown up near the water, but that still feels so strange to him. He's spent most of his life in the water, he's pretty sure.

hard day's night

[scaling]

[ It's hard to miss the boost in Paris's mood tonight—and even more impossible to overlook the flared gills on the sides of his neck. Akira can only assume the two are probably related, given some of the details he dropped in their conversation last time.

While the owner of the tavern seems to judge them solely on the criteria of being hard workers, the patrons are less forgiving of the obvious non-human traits. After the encounter that happened previously, Akira finds himself keeping an eye peeled while he works. There are murmured remarks here and there, even some less subtle insults, but the night concludes without any serious incident.

It's only once the last customers are stumbling out the door and they're wrapping up cleaning duties that he tries to strike up a real conversation, stopping alongside where Paris is working. ]

Looks like you found out what you are.

[oceanschild]

[Paris hears the comments of the patrons, but they don't bother him; if anything, being talked about behind his back (or told these things to his face) almost makes him feel more at home. ...Maybe that's bad, but it doesn't occur to him to be bothered by that.

No one trying to beat him up is what he would consider a success, though. He looks up at Akira when he stops to talk, and Paris gives him a genuine smile.]

Mmhm. I think so. I'm sort of relieved. [Which maybe Akira already guessed.]

[scaling]

[ Just maybe. He may not know Paris very well, but the relief is obvious when contrasted with his worry from before. ]

Glad to hear it.

It's fitting. [ Akira gestures to the gills as he comments. It's definitely too suited to Paris's background to just be a coincidence. He wonders if that's true of everyone experiencing changes, but it's probably too early to tell. ] So you can really breathe underwater?

[oceanschild]

It is. [Which is part of why he's so relieved- he's seen some more of the monsters around since their conversation before, and he doesn't think he would have liked being some of them as much. This is, honestly, kind of ideal.]

Yes. I went to the harbor this morning with Aeto and tried it. [Which might be way he was still slightly damp when he came into work. It happens.] ...Have you figured out about you yet?

[scaling]

[ There's that name again. Akira makes another note to ask about Aeto—after he deals with the question Paris has just thrown at him. ]

… Not yet. [ While everyone else is experiencing surges of magic and growth of fur and gills, Akira's just been… normal. The worst thing he's experienced since arriving is a persistent pain in the front of his mouth. Kind of an inconvenient time to get a toothache, given the lack of modern dental medicine, but it's honestly probably better than some of the alternatives. ] Maybe I'm just normal.

[ There's a hint of amusement as he says that, leaning against the mop he's holding. He's not sure he knows how to be normal anymore. ]

[oceanschild]

[Paris nods; he's seen a few of them with very obvious changes so far, and he doesn't know if that's what's happening to everyone who's going to change. But he doesn't see a reason Akira couldn't be normal. Except, of course, for the way he says it.]

Is that good? [Really, Paris has never known how to be normal.]

for Julian

[oceanschild]

[from here.]

A... familiar?

[The word means nothing to Paris, and it's clear from the confused look and the shake of his head.] No, um... I just know her well enough that I can guess.

Really? [oh no that's kind of terrifying, Paris does like that.] But... he was a person? Humans can't become spirits... I'm pretty sure, anyway.

[rowdyraven]

Yes, I um...

[He runs a hand back through his hair, frowns. More than a little, his head spins. Realises, distantly, that he's likely too drunk for a conversation like this.]

I'm probably not the best placed to try and explain it. My ex is around here somewhere, you're likely better off talking to him. He's a magician, he knows far more about all this stuff than I.

Same goes for the ah, the ghost...spirit...thing, I imagine. The one I'm talking about was a man, but after a magical ritual went awry he was trapped in a kind of...spirit...ghost...form. A goat, to be precise.

[This is only getting more confusing, isn't it....]

[oceanschild]

Al....right...

[this is all a bit much for Paris to be honest. he needs to start picking his battles.]

I... that still doesn't... [Paris just sighs.] I don't understand.

[rowdyraven]

[Julian flashes a grin, big and bright and sloppy-drunk.]

Me, neither. And you know what that means, don't you?

[oceanschild]

[...Something about that look worries him.]

No...?

[rowdyraven]

[He'll swoop in to sling an arm around the unsuspecting man's shoulders, quite abruptly.]

It means we need more rum!