followyourstar | Karteria Inbox

I've never seen a prosthesis quite like that before. It's quite fascinating! The ticking was the most surprising part, some sort of telepathic translation, maybe? Ah, but you didn't come here to talk about that, pardon my distraction.

[Ordinarily, he would have a lot more questions about Dante's prosthesis and the magic undoubtedly involved, but since his arrival in Karteria, the unexpected has become quite expected. Even the chronically curious grow weary of asking questions eventually.] Would you like to walk a little further into the woods to shift? Whatever you're more comfortable with, of course. I don't like mine to be seen.

< Oh, no, it's fine. I wouldn't be able to give you much of an answer anyway. I don't know too much about how it all works, much less how people here are suddenly able to understand me. >

[As for his question...]

< Please. >

[The answer comes before they can even form as a solid thought, and though it's not something that they necessarily disagree with (just as Gale said, there's something to be said for privacy), the fact that that answer may not have been entirely their own leaves them... uneasy, to say the least.]

< But seriously, thanks for this. >

[The exact nature of Dante and how people are able to understand them is a fascinating question that Gale will just have to set aside for now, leaving his curiosity unsatisfied. He sets an easy pace as they head into the woods, assuming Dante will let him know when they've gone far enough. He certainly won't be able to tell based on facial expressions.] Truly, it's no problem. Someone did the same for me early on and it helped me a lot, so it's only right for me to offer the same to other people.

< Still... >

[It's not something they're used to, so they feel the thanks are warranted nonetheless.

The walk doesn't take the two of them too far into the woods, just far enough to keep some tree cover between the two of them and the outside world without it being so thick the two of them can't maneuver if something should go wrong.]

< Here should be good. Just, uhm, let me know when you're ready and I'll try and remember how this works. >

I'm ready whenever you're comfortable to change. I know it's not the easiest thing to do, particularly in front of a near stranger. And I can turn around if you like.

< It's definitely something to get used to, yeah. > [They rub the back of their neck.] < I... think I should be fine. >

[They think. (It's more that they're not sure if having him turn around would only serve to make things even more awkward.)

Though they're still not entirely sure how to go about this or even if they're doing this the right way, Dante's grown used to going off of gut-feeling when it comes to powers beyond their comprehension over the past year, and so it's easy enough to let that feeling take the wheel and do what seems right. They block out their sight, and focus deeper, beyond the Star and the door that only they can see, to something new and unsettling and... surprisingly comfortable ever since they've gotten to this part of the woods.

And they let it in.

It begins with pain in their chest, heat and cold radiating from their heart to the rest of the body as it becomes less. Too-thin, indistinct, made of flame without heat, the same black and gold that surrounds their unchanged clock. By the time the transformation is complete, they're half-curled in the air, long, thin fingers grasping the sides of their head and tail swishing behind them.

A series of ticking and winding noises form something like a groan as lights attempt to bloom to life around them only to be extinguished soon after]

[Gale's eyes widen as the shift settles, not out of fear, but out of fascination. Patho-Gen can call it what they like, but so far as Gale is concerned, this is all magic, and he lives and breathes magic.] Would you look at that! Well, you're not one of the soul types that's a creature or a plant, that's for certain. Fire elemental? But I don't know if that's even an option... [He lifts his hand closer -- not close enough to touch, not without Dante's permission, just close enough to test whether there's heat coming from Dante's flames.] Not a fire elemental, then. Have you noticed any particular traits? What do you eat, if you hunger for anything at all in this form?

[It takes a moment for Dante to respond. The thing inside them seems so eager to run off and do... something or another. Cause more problems, hurt more people, they aren't sure, and it's harder to fight the instincts it instills within them while they're shifted like this.

But they focus, doing their best to direct all their thoughts to the task at hand.]

< I don't know how to put it. >

[They straighten themselves out, floating in the air as if standing. Their hands search for pockets no longer there before they elect to fold their arms instead.

Dante's "voice," such as it is, remains the same as always, much to their own relief.]

< I think... "Life" feels like the right term for it. > [Or at least it appears to be a term their Soul agrees with] < When I first got here, there was this moment I almost felt like I was dreaming? It took control then, and it was so hungry that it just kept taking from people. I was sort of aware. Just enough to keep it from taking everything. >

Hmm. I keep thinking you must be a fire elemental of some kind, but you don't seem to be hot enough. A flame sprite? No... [He taps his chin and furrows his eyebrows, walking a circle around Dante as he ponders his form.] And you say you were hungry for life? Oh, oh, wait! Are you a will-o'-wisp? [He's entirely too excited by this, like he's the first to get the correct answer in a particularly difficult class. He sort of forgets they're talking about natural souls and being hungry for life.] Do you have will-o'-wisps where you come from, so far as you know?

[The tip of their tail twitches as their hand drifts to where their chin would be (and they end up having to block out their sight to try and ignore just how long they are like this).]

< Uhm, it's possible they exist? I'm not the best person to ask, truth be told. >

[While they're not eager to admit it, it's probably best to get this out now.]

< I lost my memory about a year ago. >

I'm sorry. Losing your memory must be a truly disorienting experience, particularly when you follow that with the experience of being brought here. [Gale tips his head to the side, still examining Dante's form.] Do you find you have any new abilities while shifted? Any other instincts?

< Is it strange to say I've gotten used to it? Not the part where I show up in a completely different world, but the memories >

[Not that it doesn't get to them sometimes, but those moments are fewer and further between than they used to be. Turns out a lot can change in a year.

As for his other questions, they need a moment to think.]

< ...Paths and roads. The times I've been like this, I've wanted to be near them. But... not on them. And I think I put my hand through something once? >

[There's something that tells them that shouldn't be it, but Dante hasn't been too eager to test things out, just in case the risks outweigh any reward.]

I think it's probably possible to become accustomed to anything, given time. Maybe not comfortable with it, but like learning to ignore an irritating noise, we can learn to deal with even the strangest circumstances.

Roads would make sense, as a will-o-wisp. They lure people off of established paths, typically out into swamps or other wilds. Are you incorporeal? [He holds his hand out for Dante to touch if they like, an offer but not an expectation.]

[There's something somewhat comforting to that, they suppose. That even this mess can be gotten used to in time.

Seeing his offered hand, they hesitate a moment before reaching out--just with a finger, just to test if it goes through. It doesn't, for better or worse, but it leaves an uncomfortable sensation for Gale in its wake: something too hot and far, far too cold.]

< Maybe it's something I need to concentrate on to do. Or... not concentrate on. Something in-between? >

Ohh, fascinating! The sensation isn't pleasant, but I don't think you're feeding on me, though I'm also not afraid, so perhaps that's the reason? [He tips his head, thinking.] Perhaps, yes, it could be something you could do with concentration. It's hard to say.

< I'm trying very, very hard not to. >

[Because boy does that other soul want to, with the ability to do so so tantalizingly close. It was hard enough to keep those lights from popping up and making everything more difficult earlier.]

< I'm still surprised you're so calm about all this. Especially with that possibility out there. >

You might not have a choice in the long term, if that becomes a dietary necessity. I suspect you'll need to learn to feed without taking too much. These souls aren't going anywhere, so we need to learn to control them. [Which, he knows it's ironic coming from him, given his own difficulties in doing just that.

He laughs at that last statement.] You could say I'm sort of accustomed to... well, not situations quite like this, but a certain degree of unpredictability, shall we say.

[It seems like a lot of people are. Not enough to find it easy to deal with--somehow they have their doubts that anyone would--but enough to be willing to try and go with the flow while they're here.]

< Is that a way of saying you've been through worse? Because I definitely understand if that's the case. >

[The fire that forms their being seems to blow away in the wind, leaving Dante's previous form behind to settle back on the earth.

An uncomfortable burning sensation remains in their chest as the glow dies down and disappears, and they have to fight the urge to rub at the spot in an attempt to massage it away.]

I suppose 'worse' remains to be seen as things continue to unfold, but I've been through... upheaval and change before.

[He watches Dante's shifted form vanish like a blown out candle, and wonders at how different it is from his own.]

I'm not sure whether I was able to offer much help other than a few educated guesses, but I hopeful that the second perspective on your form was at least beneficial.

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