middaeg | (closed)

[It is absolutely, incredibly awkward. But it isn't hostile, nobody is naked, and as far as Hakuno is aware he doesn't plan on shutting her away in dark, endless tunnels to monopolize her, so it's very much something she's willing and able to work with. She gives him a small, encouraging smile, at least.]

I figure I got pretty lucky, in a way; white goes with just about everything.

[She's not sure if that redness is more magical or a straight up blush, but it's... surprisingly endearing.]

Just since this past full moon. I came in a few days before that. I, uh...

[She flutters them, quick and pointed, oblivious to the way it stirs her scent through the air between them.]

I figure they're just going to get bigger from here on out. I'm... still processing that, but hey, if I'm really lucky I might get to fly at least, right?

[ nobody is naked yet, those standards should be raised. from bright red to an orangey hue, no, the color change to his scales are far less magical and more a visual mood ring. on his body. sick stuff.

he completely forgets now, possibly by choice, that he’s supposed to be looking at the poncho sizes down the aisle they’re leading. there might be some nearby them even, off to the side and of larger fits, but the racks go ignored. ]

Maybe you will? [ it’s— a lighthearted thing to focus on. ] I can glide this way, at most.

[ but maybe it had to do with the weight of his body— or not? understanding how dragons could fly was another mystery. anywho, ]

Not that many are as optimistic. [ with reason, of course, but on the other hand, she isn’t exactly wrong and there’s some comfort in that. ]

[She's dealt with sudden unexpected nudity several times before; even that, she can take in stride by this point. Unless he's got particularly draconic features factoring into that too, at least; then she might gawk a tiny bit.]

Marie, a fae I've spoken to, says she can. At least for a few minutes, so far.

[She tucks some hair behind her ear and shrugs, smiling faintly.]

I can't say it wasn't alarming, being... changed, like this. But, I've always been good at rolling with the punches, and it's not as if anything I do will stop or reverse this. I guess I could... I don't know... rip the wings off, if I really hated them, but... well, why add more stress? If there's a bright side in troubled times, it's better to find and focus on it, I've found.

Edited 2020-02-23 02:07 (UTC)

[ his dick is a little changed, yes. ]

There’s a bigger chance of going feral if you reject yourself. [ honestly, not something that’s worth pursuing, he feels. perhaps he’d think differently and more entitled if he were younger— but things change, and the way he views this world, many worlds, has changed too. ]

It’s wise to know when to roll with the tide. [ “mr. jaeger?” an arachne woman calls, embarrassed to be interrupting them, but— she hands him a folded poncho with one arm, and a box with the other. ”these should be in your sizes now,” she finishes, with a bow of her head and returning to her other duties.

he should sit, to try these on, and looks for a stool or bench anywhere around them. he doesn’t mind the floor of course, and . . . might as well go for the floor. ]

As long as you know which one you need to stand up to.

I've always had to face who and what I was head on, once I knew, and I've got a bond, so I think my risk of that is pretty low, right now.

[Hakuno follows the cast of his eyes, sees his items, and tries to be helpful. The fitting rooms she was shown into earlier definitely weren't big enough for him, but she knows there's a solid wood bench a few racks over.

She points it out, helpfully.]

Well, I've never been one to back down easily over something important. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there's a place to sit over there if that's what you need.

[ —oh, so. no sitting on the floor. eren was right about to with the way he crouched, follows her line of vision and then picks all his things back up to move with a slight nod. the color is still to his scales some, but nothing extravagant as the first blunder. ]

That’s something vital to know about yourself. I’m the same way. [ in an extreme and destructive way, but adamant all the same. after a pause, he gestures at her shawl. ] You can try your things on too, if you want.

Then, excuse me.

[She flattens her wings against her back and does her best to keep them still, then carefully wraps the soft, white fabric around her arms and shoulders. After shaking her hair out over the back, she gives a slow, showy spin.]

So, what do you think? It feels pretty cozy to me, but how does it look to you?

[ it’s moe af. the little twist even keeps eren from strapping into his “shoes” or whatever they looked like for lizard feet. ]

It . . . Looks comfy. [ —that’s probably not what she meant to ask, but eren is a dunce to this sort of thing. at least his cheeks and face scales were beginning to fade back to black, not quite taking his eyes off her as he kept his sole in place and worked some tiny little buckles to keep the flat bottom in place. ] If something’s practical, and it’s good for you— what anyone else thinks doesn’t matter.

[ and just one more little point, with a talon sticking out from where he’s tying something over his ankles: ]

Even if for girl’s, it’s [ ??? gesture ] different. [ he doesn’t know how else to say it. sure, men can absolutely be fashionable! but he’s seen the majority into their outer appearances being larger in girls, especially when he spent his time in the barracks as a teen. like what the hell is blush if you already do it as a bodily function. ] It fits you, too.

I've never had this many options to choose from, before.

[She tugs the shawl around her a little tighter and smiles up at him, faint but a tinge awkwardly.]

Back where I came from, it was uniforms or nothing, so... in a lot of ways, I'm literally spoiled for choice. I want to try so many new things, now that I can, but I don't want to get too carried away, either.

[ there’s only one thing eren knows about uniforms— he finishes the dragon boot, only protective soles while the rest of his legs maintain exposed to the weather, toes and talons included. a little wriggle of the time test the flexibility shows that it’s a good fit. ]

Military?

No. It was... hm.

[She can't just call it a school, when he puts it like that.]

I guess you could call it a death match that made itself look like a school.

[

]

They train you in a school to fight each other?

[ like he can see that happening because the world can be a sick fuck but he just. wants to make sure. eren’s comprehension was never always spot on. ]

No, it just looked like a school campus, and we had to wear school uniforms.

[The Moon Cell... always a chore to explain.]

We were made to think it was a normal school during the first week, but those were just the preliminaries. If you survived past them, the pretense was dropped.

[ worded like that— in other words, they were fooled. he doesn’t need to hide the distaste in his eyes or the quantity the drops from his words. ]

Sounds more like a torture chamber. [ and sick bastards who get off on people fighting each other to the death. when is any of that “necessary”, beyond twisted perversion? ] Are you still there?

[ he knows how the mirrors work. if he left aefenglom now, he’d end up in the last point he remembers leaving behind. ]

No, I'm not. I never will be again. It tried to kill me, at the very end after I made it all the way through, but my partner got me out and we were finally able to leave it all behind. We were far, far away by the time we ended up here.

[Light years away, even. She smiles, faintly.]

This place is as fresh a start as we'd be facing if we weren't here. The only fly in the ointment is having our normal abilities stripped away and replaced. And... my body changing.

[ while she explains, eren gets to work on the second boot— an equal fit for both dragon feet as he chooses to stand and test out how it feels on him. just a few steps in place is what’s needed initially, some flexing included. ]

It’s doable. [ not the lizard shoes, rather the monster changes and lack of abilities. if you weren’t a monster, you were a witch. it seemed win-win. ] Might not be what we’re used to, but none of us are powerless.

[ he’ll have to take a few forward steps now, then back. it looks mildly like he’s walking away, but backtracks with a backwards walk that has him glancing down. approved! ]

Only if you want to be.

Well, I've never been one to shy away from hard work.

[The understatement of the century.]

It's just... a lot to handle, all at once. I'll be more focused when I settle in.

Good to know.

[ —for her sake, at the very least, but he can say he does get along better with those kinds of people.

it occurs to eren that he's just standing there. clasping and unclasping his talons at his sides, staring down at the constant flutter of her moth wings and how his tongue— follows after each beat. ]

. . . Do you, [ maybe he should just leave, but it's an urge ] need to be somewhere?

[She thinks about it for a moment, gathering the money for the shawl as she does.]

No, not particularly. I'm pretty sure this was the last errand on my list. Is there something you need help with?

[He's staring at her like he has something to say or ask, so she tries to look as open and genial as she can, smiling up at him faintly.]

[ uh, no. actually. it’s dumb. it’s something he can’t quite control when it comes and his lizard brain kind of just. shuts down any sort of rationale to it. it’s fine. ]

I can walk with you to your next stop.

[ he was going to ask if she wanted to get a drink, like tea or juice but he backs out. maybe some other day when his heart doesn’t feel like an ak47. he protec, instead. ]

Really? Wow, what a gentleman.

[No teasing, she seems genuinely impressed and a little flattered. Completely oblivious to the idea that she almost got picked up for a cute, casual date, but flattered none the less.]

Sure, if you don’t mind the detour. I was going to sit in the park nearby for a while.

[ hold that thought for two months and maybe. detours don’t deter him in the slightest, at least, shaking his head and replying, lightly: ]

I did say next stop. [ so, no worries. he has to pay for this, and one of his ponchos that seem fixed by now. standing at full height, though, that’s where he just gets. huge, again. ] Hakuno, right?

[ just testing his memory—! ]

[Don’t worry, buddy. Hakuno is intimately familiar with what it’s like to have an unreliable memory.]

That’s right. And you’re Eren?

[ it looks like he was about to say yeah but it just ends up like a throaty grunt. grunt!!! and with that out of the way, it might be best for them to get going! eren prepares the fixed poncho under his arm in a packed bundle, and new soles already on his feet. even when they walk he looks a little imposing— the height is impressive and he’s easily one of the largest people on the street.

it keeps her safe, at least. ]

Nice to meet you.

The pleasure is mine.

[She doesn't actually realize how reversed that simple sentence is, frankly, but she follows him without hesitation, here and now.She keeps her pace quick and light, to match his much longer legs.]

(closed)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject