geonomy | Drift Fleet Inbox, pt. 2

Yeah. Some girl named Aria has it. And I have her magic.

[There's a pause as he imagines that. Clay sleeping on some mats in a dirty gym alone, worried about controlling his powers...]

Bollocks. I'm coming to get you.

Wait - You sure? What if I... you know?

Yes. I love you more than I fear lions. And it's not safe to stay on the Iskaulit with so many people's powers changing.

[Sooner or later someone's going to make something explode okay]

Besides, Sokka modified a couple shuttles to handle a Noah. I think it can handle a lion.

Well... okay. I'll wait for you then!

I, uh, I might not... look like me, just so you know. Sorry in advance?

[In other words Allen might walk in on a lion sorry babe]

It's okay.

I'll be there soon. Just hang tight in the gym, okay?

Okay. Love you!

[And so he'll wait. While hiding behind one of the gym equipments, like he had been since his talk with Allen.

When Allen walks in, he'll find that at least one of said equipment is hovering some, and several others have been turned upside down. Clay himself is still hiding out, so he's not immediately visible yet.]

[And Allen will head there, taking a bit longer than usual to fly over there since hey man, one arm. But when he steps into the gym, sure enough his left arm is missing past the humerus, not that it's readily visible as he's got a long shirt on with the sleeve pinned up on the left. He doesn't have any weapons on him besides a shield, juuuust in case.]

Clay?

[Is there some fear in him that there's a lion here? Sure is, but right now he's letting his stubbornness override that. If Clay, Kanda and Sokka could put up with him being a Noah, he can do this]

[CLANG

At least, that's the noise that happens when the gym equipment that's hovering ends up clattering to the floor at that voice calling out to him.

That noise was probably shocking enough, but when Allen looks a bit to the side, he'll indeed sees a lion's head peeking out from behind one of the equipment pieces. He's got his paw up on the metal lining, as if it were a human just leaning out from behind a wall, and is still wearing Clay's workout clothes, though torn in some places and hanging awkwardly in others.

Also?

Somehow, someway, the visor is still staying on his head.

Yep.]

[The noise from the gym equipment dropping is enough to startle him, that's for sure. It makes him jump a little, with his heart rate already up. Out of habit, he glances around- only to spy that lion head peaking out.

Shit.

For a second, his eyes grow wide and he stops breathing. For a second, he's right back in that shadowy cage with no hope of escape. He wants to run, he wants to scream- to get far far away. Coming here, especially without his Innocence, was a mistake.]

[No. Stop that.

He forces himself to breath. The slow deep breath that Clay taught him, the first time he had a panic attack near him. Just like he'd remind him when Allen would wake up in the night, fear-stricken from nightmares and ghosts of his past.

Clay was always there for him when he needed him. Allen knew he was a broken person, but Clay always had a way of piecing him back together, of making him feel more whole. He made Allen see the beauty in the void of space, lifted him up before he got too low.

He had to do the same for Clay. Clay needed him right now. Childhood fears be damned.

He swallows as he forces himself to calm down. Notice the odd human behavior from the lion, the gym clothes, the visor. And notice the eyes. Even if they looked a bit different, Allen knew those were the eyes he's spent so much time looking into, loving.

I'm Allen Walker and I'm fine.

He holds out his hand, and offers a smile.]

Hey you.

[He'd seen that fear on Allen's face, and it makes Clay wince and lower himself as best as he can to the floor, almost ducking out of sight again. That right there was the reason he didn't want Allen to come here, to see him and be stricken by old memories that just his presence would trigger.

But after a moment, Allen seems to calm himself down. It's visible even for Clay, who has a weird sense of sight right now. The way he breathes, how he relaxes bit by bit. How he holds his hand out and smiles, something Clay really didn't expect to see during this encounter.

He can't show it very well, but damn is he proud of him. So he tries to come out of his hiding place, but...

The problem is, this is still very, very new, and trying to walk with these legs is still very much a problem. He's very slow about it, moving one leg at a time while looking down at his front paws. And though he's careful, it only takes a few steps for him to get the way his back leg moves mixed up, the way it's facing and the way it's supposed to bend confusing him with how different it feels.

And so, after just three steps, he wobbles and goes teetering to the side, not even managing to catch himself properly. Whoops. That whole thing sure makes him let out a heavy sigh while lifting a paw to cover his muzzle, almost like a facepalm.]

Ah-!

[Okay, that was...pretty not graceful. He's never even seen an animal stumble like that- like they can't figure out it's own feet. It sure does a lot to detract from the fear and awe of the lion in front of him, enough that he rushes over to Clay's side, kneeling down to check on him]

Are you okay? Er- can you talk?

[While Clay can't talk, there is one way he knows of to let him communicate with Allen. He nods - Yes, he's fine, then shakes his head - No, he can't talk. He's tried, and all that came out were... lion-y sounds. It doesn't help that the tongue and teeth and lips feel all weird.

He still keeps his face covered up a bit, though. This is awkward and embarrassing.]

No, huh...?

[Well that sure makes things more difficult. But at least from the head movements and Clay's very apparent embarrassment- he still had his own mind and could understand Allen. That was something. Honestly, he just feels bad for him, enough that he reaches out without thinking and pets his mane - like he would run his hair in Clay's hair or well, pet one of the foxes]

It's okay....we'll figure this out.

[The touch surprises him, honestly; he wasn't really expecting a smile, sure, but what he was expecting even less was to be touched. He ends up lifting his head a bit in response, then lowers it again with a sigh. He doesn't know how to purr, and it would be weird if he started, but he can sure see why Hermione liked it so much when he'd pet her. It feels nice.

Slowly, gotta keep his movements slow here, Clay moves his head over to rest on Allen's knee, then looks up at him with his eyes. He trusts him with this, that they'll figure it out, and it's about the only way he knows how to convey it without being able to speak.]

[ Yeah this...is definitely strange. He keeps reminding himself that this is Clay, or even kidding himself that maybe it's not a lion, but some kind of big dog. Yeah...that could be a thing, right? Right.

He pets the mane a little while more, as he thinks, before he speaks up. ]

How about...try visualising yourself as a human. Maybe that might do something.

[Allen his legs aren't human-like at all, how does that help anything -

Still, Clay will try. He scoots away from Allen some, raises himself up to a standing position, then tries to push himself up to his hind legs... only to tip forward back to all four of them.

Yeah, this probably won't work. He stares hard at his front paws, almost squinting, trying to concentrate... but that just makes one of the equipment start to hover again.]

[Welp- he grabs one of the floating dumbbells and tries to pulls it down]

Your mind is wandering, focus just on being human.

[One of his main problems with this is - well, Allen's right, his attention wanders easy. He concentrates on something, then shifts it, then focuses on the wrong thing.

But with Allen urging him to, he tries again. Not just mimicking being human, but just focusing on being. He shuts his eyes so that he doesn't see his paws, tries to imagine himself as a human -

And it takes a moment, but it happens. The transformation is quick, taking less than a second to shift from lion to human. When it happens, Clay takes in a gasping breath, like he was holding it to concentrate, and just flops over onto his back.]

Of all the powers I could've gotten, I got this?

[As he changes back, Allen lets go of a breath he barely realized he was holding. ]

You did it!

[He lets go of the dumbbell and reaches over for Clay's hand]

Are you okay?

[He groans, lifting his free hand to run through his hair above the visor]

I guess? This keeps happening, I don't know what I'm doing to turn it on or off...

[But hey, that's right, Allen had to face down his fear just to help him. He looks up at him, squeezing Allen's hand.]

Are you?

My guess is you're setting it off when you let your thoughts wander to it. Powers can work like that, especially new ones.

[Which is a pain really, but that's how it goes. At the question, he tilts his head like he was going to scratch the back of his neck- but oh right, missing arm.]

Well, it's ... it's been a day, I'd say. [He chuckle humorlessly at the remark before looking back at Clay]

But at least I'm with you now. That alone makes it better.

Edited 2016-11-27 08:58 (UTC)

Mm... That might be it.

[Which is so annoying, ugh. He keeps thinking about it because it's so new.

But with that last part, Clay gives a half smile, then lets go of Allen's hand, sitting up and wrapping his arms around his middle, chin resting on his shoulder]

Same here. I just wish I had a power that was easier on us both.

[And you know, something that'll make Clay actually be able to walk around and not scare Allen to death.]

[When Clay wraps his arms around him, Allen can't help but relax against him for a moment with a sigh.]

Yeah...

[He's not going to address his fear right now. All it will do is bring it back. So-]

If you get stuck in that form again, you're going to have to learn to walk. I doubt I could carry you back to the shuttle way I am right now.

[That's right, Allen doesn't have super strength anymore... Rather than address it, he gives a snort at that, tipping his head over to bump it against Allen's gently]

Yeah, or maybe I'll just drag myself there. I can't figure out how those legs work, man.

Drift Fleet Inbox, pt. 2

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