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 Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 8:54 am
Imani Changes
The Misty Maiden was once again out on an ocean voyage, the ship venturing around Kahi to collect various goods for trade back home in Belrea. The crew had taken yesterday evening to stop in a port town in Kahi, the members celebrating another good haul while relaxing before getting stuck on the ocean for weeks until they returned home but many had returned early after complaining about the pollen being too thick in the air for easy breathing. Even Imani who normally didn’t struggle with seasonal changes found himself sniffling more than usual yesterday while overnight he had simply felt far too itchy for comfort, tossing and turning in his swaying hammock all night before giving up and venturing onto the upper decks at dawn. Normally he would have just enjoyed a quiet book up in the crow’s nest or checked in with Fran to see what he could help with in the healer’s cabin, but the few moments of peace were quickly interrupted with a flurry of activity as others started to panic about changing appearances. “What?” Imani blinked with confusion, raising his own hand towards the sun before gasping himself. His skin! What was this? The faintest outline of cracks seemingly disappeared as he stared at his arm, the skin color completely taking over where he had been darker than before. Sailors obtained tans while sailing the seas, not the reverse of it! Trying his best to not panic, Imani turned and headed right back below deck to the cabin he shared with his sibling. “Endellion! Are you awake yet?” He called out, closing the door quickly behind him for their privacy while also moving to remove the curtains from the window to let in as much morning sunlight as possible. If he was affected then had his sibling been touched as well? Imani frowned, digging through his belongings to hopefully find a small bronze mirror he had picked up the last time they went to market.
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 9:23 am
Endellion Changes Skin: █ (with underbelly changing accordingly) ----------- Endellion had stayed out later than usual yesterday evening to inspect the pollen. They'd taken a little notebook out with them, as well as a little vial to collect some of it, but it seemed that any sort of contact with the pollen just ended in it fading away. So, instead of gathering a sample like they wanted, Endellion had settled on taking notes and doing their own sort of investigation. Symptoms seemed normal enough with sniffles and coughs passing around the crew with the sun itself seemed to cloud up because of it. They'd asked around, gotten as much information as they could, but when the pollen started to leave their own skin flaky and itchy Endellion had decided to finally go to sleep. Of course, that meant they hadn't gotten much sleep before Imani burst in, leaving Del a grumbling mess. They tugged a blanket over their head, muttering around it being too early, but when Imani let in the light they sat up with a disgruntled curse. "What are you banging on ab...o...ut..." Endellion's golden eyes widened and they slowly picked themselves up off the bed. "Imani?" It was their brother and also...not. Was he sick? Why was he paler and his eyes....
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 1:30 pm
"It's me." Imani tossed a final shirt to the side before retrieving the hand mirror in question. "Sorry to wake you, but I figured this was important." Though even if he let Endellion sleep longer would that have changed anything? Not with his level of carefully contained panic. Imani was at the point where he was trying to remain calm even though his heart was racing a mile a minute. Why had they changed? Did this mean they would all be sick or was it purely just appearances? Had someone cursed them? Was there some weird Kahi fruit that others had passed around last night? What was even happening?! Imani took a breath, his breathing ragged as he held the mirror up shakily to inspect himself.
"Oh heavens." He gasped, his finger going towards the corner of his eyes as if he could just tug at the edges of his eyes to swap them back to normal. "I had green eyes before, right? Something is really strange today, Del. The whole crew is in a frenzy because some of us have changed while others are perfectly normal." Spirits! Even his hair and crystals looked different! Leaving the mirror on the bed, Imani rubbed at his hands in order to test the skin there. It felt the same to the touch now, the rough feeling from earlier that night having disappeared in place of his new, paler skin. He enjoyed his scholarly books, but never before had he read about something like this! "Did someone slip us potions last night?" Maybe that was an option as well. Imani was completely baffled as he sank into the bed, his fingers still rubbing across the back of each hand as he studied them.
[Imani 2]
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 1:45 pm
Instead of going through their usual morning routines, Endellion moved away from the bed toward Imani and his mirror. "Why are you even asking me? Of course you had green eyes; you've always had green eyes." Why would they change now? Had he eaten something he shouldn't have? They reached up to place the back of their hand against Imani's forehead, but when it didn't produce any heat Endellion furrowed their brow.
Seeing the panic setting in, they moved their hand away from his forehead to his arm instead and gave it a comforting squeeze. "It's okay, they're still nice. It's just, uhm...your hair? And your- It's not important. How do you feel? Does it hurt?" The whole crew changed? If it wasn't happening to their brother they would have rushed out to see for themselves, but Del didn't want to leave him like this. So, they settled down beside him on the bed.
With thinly veiled worry, Endellion reached for his mirror and lifted it up to their own face. Same crystals, same eyes, same hair....but...Del leaned forward, tugging at their cheeks with a furrowed brow. "Am I...paler?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 2:10 pm
Imani flushed. "O-of course I knew that! I just...wanted to make certain." He managed, the usually quiet and reserved teen obviously flustered. When he woke up this morning to take a nice stroll along the upper decks, he had been hoping to enjoy the tranquility of the ocean and not get involved in something chaotic like this. His breathing started to become ragged, a panic setting over him, but the comforting squeeze helped him to sit back and try to collect himself. It was admittedly hard, the change was not something that Imani could easily accept and he had to worry about what this meant for them. Would there be more consequences? Health risks? What did it take for one to suddenly wake up looking so different than before? He forced his hands to stop rubbing together, the hybrid clinging to the blankets instead of making his skin raw from worry. "I'll murder Ronan if he slipped us some funny drinks as a prank." Did he look away from his glass last night? Spirits! It was so hard to tell with that annoying kid. He was always getting conned into trying new things, why not a potion for him and the rest of the crew?
Imani closed his eyes and tried to focus on his sibling's questions instead of jumping to conclusions, as tempting as it was to go and rush Ronan being impatient and reckless like the other teen wouldn't solve anything. "I feel the same." He admitted after a moment. "Last night was miserable, but I thought it was just allergies to that weird pollen." Even as the words came from his mouth the teen hesitated. "You don't think that caused this, do you?" He knew of magic in the world and strange events happening, but nothing ever like this had happened before to his knowledge. "I think so. Definitely not as different lookin' as me, but your skin does look slightly paler. You aren't feeling sick, are you?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 12:58 pm
[3/7]
"...You're going to need a hat." Endellion mused, their eyes never once leaving Imani. Their voice was just above a mumur, passively taking in his appearance with a nod, "Uhm...sorry, because of your eyes? The lighter they are the harder it is to see in the sun so a little shade helps." Not that his eyes had been much darker before, but a little help in the beginning might aid in his transition.
"I wouldn't put it past Ronan to try, but Imani...I don't think he can do this." If it were just a hair dye or some kind of temporary illusion, maybe, but this went so much deeper. They reached out to touch the crystals on Imani's shoulders, giving one of the pointier ones a hard scrub but when nothing change Del hummed.
When they brought their hand back to their lap, Endellion spent a moment just looking at it. The skin was lighter, with less of a reddish undertone and the undercolor was off too. "If it was the pollen how come you changed so much more than me? And the crew...What about Ronan? Is he even still blue anymore? And Mako? Mom? Dad?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2023 5:16 pm
"Dammit, do I look that awful?" Replied Imani, his hand reaching up to tap at his head as he imagined the idea of a hat. If that was the case and Ronan was the one behind this then he would definitely be having a word with him! Usually Imani was calmer, more logically inclined but he was truly disturbed to see both himself and Endellion looking so different without warning so he felt a bit more passionate in this particular moment. For once it was easy enough to imagine giving the other teen a good thrashing, but then Del's words brought Imani back to his senses and his shoulders relaxed...if only slightly. "My eyes....that's fair." Imani let out yet another sigh, his fingers twisting together tightly as he resisted the urge to rip off his clothing and try to see if he could scrub his body with a soapy brush back to its normal hue.
"You sure? Then again he's no mastermind. Just a reckless fool that may have bought a couple of potions for pranks, but surely not enough to affect the whole crew. We did visit a potion shop before though..." Imani frowned thoughtfully and shook his head as he tried to dissuade himself from using Ronan as a scape roati, the teen freezing as his sibling scrubbed at a crystal. It was probably best if Del looked over him, his sibling wouldn't let their emotions get the best of them like Imani was in the moment. "It doesn't even feel like dye, right? I want to go take a bath but I have the feeling we'll be severely disappointed."
Imani squeezed his hands as he pondered Del's questions. "From what I saw earlier it looks like it varies per person, just like with any seasonal allergies. Though I never had the sniffles so I'm surprised that this pollen affected me so badly." His now pink gaze narrowed thoughtfully. "Can pollen be magical? What if it's a magical inclination or like a reaction to how much a person can channel energy or something?" Like their bodies had a completely magical reaction to some strange pollen which made them all change in various ways? He shook his head. "I don't want to get in our parents way, Da probably has a lot of the crew to deal with in the moment. We should wait a bit then check in once the commotion has calmed down. I feel queasy, but I think that's just nerves. I'm afraid to bother Fran right now too..." She would probably be giving a thrashing to those who refused to remain calm, Imani flinched as he swore he heard some crashing above deck. Yeah, that seems about right. They had a good crew, but even he couldn't blame some for panicking over whatever this was.
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2023 7:29 am
"I didn't say that!" They reached up for Imani's hand and pulled it away from his hair. "You don't look bad just different." Still similar enough to the brother they'd grown up with, the same soul who had kept their secret for longer than they'd been able to walk, but different enough that Endellion grew protective. "If anyone says any different I'll put laxative powders in their food for a week." It wouldn't be hard; Del knew enough herbology to slip a few in that looked eerily similar to regular cooking spices. No one would have to know until it was too late.
Just ask Ronan.
"If it were a dye there would be a residue or a different hue where it meets your skin. Some kind of indicator." Endellion murmured, eyes focusing hard on Imani's crystals, but coming away with nothing.
"Stay here then? I'll go out, grab some breakfast and keep my head down." Their changes weren't as noticeable so hopefully in the upset they could sneak around the ship, careful to avoid notice, and pick up some intel as they went. "I won't take long. While I'm gone maybe you could scrub up? Just incase? Maybe it's a brief magical thing; it might come off in the right water?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2023 10:56 am
"Mmm. I believe you." Imani acknowledged with a nod towards his sibling, the boy obviously still upset by the changes even though he was trying to calm down and accept things for what they were. How could he be the son of the captain and add to the panic? Even if he was not one who wanted to be a leader like Ronan or others, Imani knew to keep his composure since he hated adding to chaos. But still...it was hard not to scrub at his skin as if things would change back within a few moments to how it should be. A chuckle left his lips as he reached out to ruffle his sibling's hair in appreciation. "Thanks, Del. It may be best to not add to the chaos by doing that to the food, but I appreciate the thought."
His gaze narrowed thoughtfully, Imani twisting his hands up for further inspection just in case there was some sort of indicator. "You're right. I just wasn't thinking straight...hard to when I don't recognize myself." He managed quietly, forcing a smile even as he rubbed at a crystal as if trying to acknowledge it as part of him still. He did still feel the same, right? Nothing felt like it hurt despite the changes and his mind was sharp as ever before...unless his mind had already changed and he didn't realize it since he had forgotten how he was? Oh no. Surely Del would have said something as well! It was best to keep his panic under control, he had to!
Imani forced a nod, another smile on his lips as he listened to Del's suggestion. "Alright, I'll do that. Just be safe, okay? I'll scrub up and wait for your return." He definitely was not going to leave the cabin for a while, not yet anyway. And so Imani started to busy himself by getting the washing basin, a jug of purified water that he kept in the room for such things, and a bar of soap so that he could scrub at his skin. By the time Del would return though Imani would be clean, smelling freshly of pine, but still different with nothing going back to the way he looked before this morning. If anything his eyes would just be a bit puffy, the boy having washed tears off of his face while also scrubbing hard at his body to try and solve this madness.
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Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2023 2:32 pm
Endellion reached a hand out to give their brother's hand a squeeze before slipping off the bed. Instead of going for their usual binding garb, they reached for a thick coat and a long cloak. Hopefully the added layers, especially now that it was getting cooler on the seas, would help keep attention away from them. Just another face in the crowd and if they hadn't changed that much then it wasn't as if they were going to draw attention, right?
Slipping into their boots, Del edged out into the hall and then made their way through the ship. It didn't take long to wrangle up a meager breakfast - some bread, cheese, salted meat, and fresh water - before coming back to their shared room. A few stopped them, asked a few questions, but thankfully Del's own changes weren't as shocking as their own so they would move on.
Before entering they knocked at the door a few times with the heel of their boot, waited a tick, and waited for Imani to open to open the door. "So, good news; your changes look good compared to some of those poor sods. Remember....oh, what was his name, the new deckhand? ....Fritz? It's baaaaaddddd."
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2023 11:34 am
Imani paced the small cabin, freshly cleaned but not feeling refreshed at all, and he just kept going in small circles until hearing Endellion's knocking. Rushing over to the door, Imani opened it so that his sibling could quickly slip inside. "Even Fritz?" He blinked in surprise, shaking his head with a thoughtful frown, "I suppose....that's something." He did feel terrible for the others, but it was somewhat a comfort understanding that they were not alone in being affected by whatever this was. It just made him wish that he had kept some of that pollen in a jar or something to study. How strange that such a thing could change one's appearance! Was it going to be temporary or permanent? He supposed only time would tell, wouldn't it?
"Well, as you can see..." Imani twirled around for inspection, even though his movements were half-hearted and definitely far from anything near happy or excited. "It doesn't look like washing will solve any of this. All we can do is eat breakfast and wait for the crew to stop rampaging about....it'll probably take a bit especially if it's that bad for some." He winced at the very idea, not wanting to be in his father's shoes at the very moment. If he could even recognize their father when they did finally see him today. Talk about a mess.
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 3:50 pm
"Yeah he's...well, you'll see eventually." They didn't want to say what they were thinking, but it was a good thing Fritz wasn't dating anyone. After a change like that he would have been adding heartbreak onto the trauma for sure.
They moved into the room to set everything onto a flat surface, but moved slowly so they could take a look. Much like they'd suspected, Imani hadn't changed after a wash, and now Del was back to the beginning. "We should definitely make ourselves scarce then. Well...after we check on Ronan and Mako." It wouldn't be a horrible idea to check on their parents, but Del knew it would easier to just wait for them to come here instead. They didn't want to add to the chaos.
Ronan and Mako, however, were free game. "Do you think it would be poor taste if I used some warm jam to make it look like my eyes were bleeding and cover them with a white cloth? Just to scare Ronan a bit?" After thinking on it, Endellion cocked one hip to the side with a huff, "No...this is serious. I need to wait, but I want you to know I'm only doing it becuase I don't want to mock what you're going through. Or maybe even Mako." They took a piece of bread and bit into it, "but not Ronan."
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 4:06 pm
Imani pursed his lips with concern, but opted not to press further. If it was bad enough for Del to comment on then he truly felt bad for Fritz. If he looked truly different then it would be an awkward homecoming for when they did dock in Belrea after being out to sea for months on the trading route between Kahi and home. First stop the potion shop, it wouldn't surprise me. How many of the crew would rush such a place to try to fix or at least cover up any unwanted changes? Imani thought about his own, still conflicted about how he felt with his own appearance. Was it bad? It was still strange though to know that he wasn't himself....at least not physically as he had been just a day before. Imani supposed only time would tell though how he truly ended up adapting to such changes, the same for the others as well.
Despite everything a chuckle did escape his lips at his sibling's antics. "As amusing the idea is...it probably is best to wait until a less chaotic time. We have no idea what happened to Mako and Ronan. They could be in a worse situation than us even..." He shook his head, focusing on the food that Del had set up for them. "Plus, it's easy enough to mess with Ronan so we can save that for the future. Thanks for breakfast by the way." He paused, looked at Del, and then placed a gentle hand on his sibling's shoulder. "It's alright. As long as this isn't going to make anyone ill....then I'll adapt to the changes, they aren't so bad....I suppose." He would just need time to accept the changes and to try to put some logic into the whole situation.
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 4:20 pm
"There you go...making me feel bad for them..." They rolled their eyes with a little smile. What if Mako and Ronan's morning was looking like their own? Would they even recognize each other once everyone made it out of their cabins? What if Del had already seen them, but just hadn't known? Oh now here I go, thinking about it. Gross.
"You're welcome." They looked up to Imani and motioned for him to sit down. "We'll feel better with a full belly and some time to wake up." Today was going to be stressful, maybe even tomorrow, but with time the changes wouldn't be as dramatic. Honestly that worried Endellion more than anything. Would they forget what Imani originally looked like? Would they forget what they looked like? If it happens it happens.... What a pain.
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Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2023 10:52 am
A Change Has Occurred!
A change has occurred resulting in surprising results.
Please see below for Imani's new swatch!
Skin || ██
Speckles || ██
Crystals || ██
Hair || ██
Eyes || ██
Please see below for Endellion's new swatch!
Skin || ██
Underbelly || ██
Markings || ██
Crystals || ██
Hair || ██
Eyes || ██
This will be reflected in their next growth's art, but may be considered as an immediate change in-character.
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