Welcome to Gaia! ::

Xander had finally been granted permission to travel alone back to the dreamery realm. He was young in body still but more mature in mind by the day and Cass felt enough time had passed that the place was safe for him to wander. It still wasn't easy, Xander had found that despite his best efforts he was still unable to change his body. Despite the fact that Cass was entirely positive that he had innate magic that would allow him to shift forms Xander had had no luck this far summoning it.

Determination and a slowly strengthening body allowed Xander to haul himself around on land despite even over great distances now. Still he tried to stay on grass, dirt and sand whenever possible. Pavement was just asking to have a raw belly and tail later.

As he made his way along the grass beside the sidewalk of the the Imaginarium Complex Xander would occasionally glance through the large glass windows to his right. Surely something in one of the few open establishments would catch his interest for a whi- oh!

"Auden?" Someone who looked sort of like Auden was on the other side of the glass. The other boy was in the midst of getting a haircut and it was hard for Xander to be sure of his identity. Curious but reigning in his excitement for the moment the seal boy moved forward and opened the door to the barbershop.

"Auden?" Xander's voice was hopeful but uncertain as he called out to the semi familiar looking boy.

" You look different." Xander noted as he hauled himself up onto an nearby couch. Cold tile floors weren't very comfy even if they were easy to slide on. "How come you keep changing?"

It was easier to ask these questions than the more relevant one. The seal spirit still felt incredibly guilty for their last meeting. He realized now he could have crippled the other boy for life in their fall and he himself had come away from it with mainly bruises and scrapes. Auden no longer held that other form and part of Xander wondered if he'd broken it and it hurt to much to change back. He didn't know if such a thing were possible but with his luck it could be.

"I'm sorry." The words were quite but still audible. They wouldn't have needed help from weird sickness causing strangers if Xander had been as strong then as he was now. "Will you get better?" Xander was normally cocky and more concerned about himself than others. Auden was one of his first friend's though and he had never meant to get the other boy injured. If he was broken forever, because he didn't look entirely well right now, Xander wasn't quite sure what he would do.

"Laying around all day in the sun with the sea air in your lungs is not tiring" Xander pointed out. Perhaps what Auden needed to truly get better was a trip to the seaside. " Food would be good, I don't have a lot of money though. Cass says I'm bad at being thrifty." Xander had chores aboard the ship that he was paid for like any crew member but the seal boy often found this small some gone just as soon as he'd earned it. He was too small yet for a proper role on the ship and thus his small allowance was all the spending money he ever really had. Xander was positive he deserved more than he was getting but Cass seemed to disagree despite him never seeming to have enough money.

Xander still wasn't quite sure what to make of all the changes going on surrounding Auden but if the other boy didn't want to dwell on it then Xan wasn't about to make him.

Xander was completely oblivious to his friend's disinterest in his own looks. Outside of his inability to walk on two legs Xander had always felt comfortable and pleased with how he looked. On occasion he would complain about caring for his long hair but any threats Cass made to cut it quickly silenced him.

"You don't have to pay for everything, it just can't be really expensive food." Xander could afford something small, well he was pretty sure he could, he didn't usually buy things when he was here since that tended to be Cass' job.

Xander nodded, " there should be some vendors nearby now." It seemed like every day there were more manifests, some of which needed or desired a place like the beach. That in turn had caused people to open up places for them to find food close to the water.

" Slow is fine I'm not speedy on land either," he pointed out with a small smile. They could be slow and finned together. "No one could catch us in the water though." Xander of course kept it to himself that he would always be faster despite his bulk.

"Hmm, anything not spicy is good." Xander was a bit fussy about the degree and flavour of spices he liked on and in his food. "We can probably find one of those people that sell the fries and gravy in the cardboard cups." Those, while not as tasty as fish, were still quite enjoyable.

"How is the rest of your family?" Last Xander had seen of any of them the whole lot had been some form of injured, in pieces or distressed.

Xander wasn't sure if his friend had been distracted by all the talking or if the other's vision had gotten poorer due to his sickness. Either way he'd been mildly concerned to see him walk into the sign. When Auden didn't voice any complaints of pain though Xan was quick to refocus on the new question at hand.

"I don't think you can really take breakfest food out to the beach," at least it didn't seem like the type of food that Xander associated with beach time. "We can just sit and eat though and go to the beach later or another time." It was a long haul for the both of them and this might be easier for Auden.