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 Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2022 8:14 pm
He couldn’t help but snort softly in amusement as he lifted his coffee mug to take a sip. “I assure you, I do not know everything,” Michael said quietly, even as his lips pulled into a small smile, hidden mostly behind the mug.
“Week days I’ll be at work from the morning until afternoon. Sometimes there are after school clubs that I supervise for, so that ends up taking longer. We should get you an actual phone to use in case of emergencies,” he said, the last part mostly to himself. He didn’t want Devyn to be stuck in the house all day, but he didn’t want him to get lost or into trouble that he needed help getting out of.
“I don’t work today or tomorrow. You came back at a good time. If we can’t get in touch with Soleiyu, there’s another Mauvian I know that should be able to help. You can explore the city, just… be careful. Sometimes the Negaverse will be out doing things even with the sun up.” From his understanding, there was a situation during the day that led to his mother awakening.
“Peter doesn’t work. Not in the traditional sense. He’s still taking college classes. Advanced schooling. He keeps saying he wants to be a treasure hunter since his dreams of being an astronaut and going to the moon have already been fulfilled. Normal people don’t usually know about Senshi and Knights. For our own safety, and theirs, in case the Negaverse associates them with us. So we have other methods of going to space, which… as far as any normal person on Earth is aware, has only been as far away as the moon. Ah, except for the conspiracy theorists who don’t believe that, but… we can discuss that some other time,” Michael quietly explained, hoping not to confuse Devyn too much, but also wanting to fill him in as much as possible.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 1:09 am
Michael had a nice speaking voice. His students were probably lucky. He was reminded of his days of schooling and wondered if a teacher like Michael would have been something he enjoyed, or if he wouldn’t have been able to appreciate him and just resented him for keeping him inside.
“Well, those classes sound interesting.” Like they would have fit right in on Sessrumnir. Maybe he shouldn’t be making such observations. If they’d been on Sessrumnir he might have been able to just sit in and observe. “Being a treasure hunter sounds fun, too. I wanted to explore when I was young. But I’m not very good at following a map.”
Maybe not something he should be admitting while trying to convince Michael to trust him to be let loose in the city. “It’s strange that Earth has forgotten so much. There used to be plenty of ways to travel. Though, I suppose I didn’t really study that, I just went with it. I’m impressed at what I’ve seen, though. All of your technology.”
It was a little confusing, but not so much that he felt overwhelmed right now. And, if Michael wanted to make sure he had more technology, he was fine with that too. Even though he barely knew how to work the Senshi phone, he didn’t know what he’d do with another one. Make Michael have to worry less, maybe. He seemed like he had enough to worry about already, Devyn didn’t want to add to that anyway.
“I’ll be careful, whenever I do go out. Maybe you can tell me what places are safest and where I should avoid while we’re out? I’ll have to be careful to be discreet. I’ll get the hang of it, I know it’s just a learning curve. But you’re a good teacher, right? And I’m a good student.”
Sometimes. When he wanted to be. “So I’ll do my best. I don’t want to let you down.”
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 9:15 am
Michael couldn’t help but snort again, still amused. “Treasure hunting for Peter will likely be going through disorganized museum basements. He did that a little over the summer and seemed to enjoy himself. Maybe it’ll be useful for exploring other worlds.”
He was at least relieved that Devyn seemed adamant about promising to be careful. It didn’t stop him from worrying about Devyn running into the wrong people, or getting into situations he wouldn’t be able to get out of easily, but it was something.
“You’ll be fine,” Michael promised, because Devyn had already proven he was at least willing to learn and adjust to how he did things to keep himself and others safe. “I’ll make sure you know some landmarks around the city, and how to get back here. I’ll show you how to use the code to get in the house, but I should be able to unlock the door from my phone if I’m away. Our technology is nothing like the Velencians that showed up last year, but it helps with making things easier than they used to be. It’s okay if you’re not good with following a map. Once we get you a phone, I’ll show you how to work the GPS -- global positioning system. It tracks where your phone is, and can help you find where to go. Kind of like the lights in Sessrumnir,” he mused. At least it should give Devyn something to compare it to.
“I know you can obviously understand what we’re saying, but can you read any of the language?” he wondered, not looking particularly concerned if Devyn said he couldn’t. They would just have to work on him learning a little at a time if he didn’t.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 9:50 am
Devyn had immediately perked up when Michael mentioned the guidance system like the lights. Something better than a map sounded more up his alley. He could follow directions, if they had technology that could generate instructions and tell him when he was getting lost—yeah, absolutely. He wanted to try that.
He couldn’t compare it to the Velencians, he didn't know much about them except that they weren’t from around here. And made trouble.
“I used to be good at it. I think. I suppose it depends on what it looks like. I haven't had to correspond with anyone in a while," he said like he was investing a lot of thought into it, though. "I hadn't thought about how lucky I was that we speak the same language. I never really had a communication issue back when I was doing diplomatic missions. And I always understood Percy, he was from Earth. In person or letters, there was never a communication issue."
Well, unless you counted themselves, but the language really wasn't the issue there. He wasn't sure if Percy was a strange or taboo topic anymore, but it wasn't like he could just stop talking about him. He tried not to dwell on it, at least, and jumped back to answering the question. "So I should be able to read it, I think? I'm sure things can't have changed that much."
Although, he looked at the box of cereal next to him and was very keenly aware that he recognized it by appearance, not by words. He couldn't really make out much of anything. Some of the letters looked right--most of the letters looked familiar--but they didn't quite seem to line up in a way that made much sense to him.
He turned the box a bit so he could examine it, and then turned it again to give Michael a better look. "What language is this in?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 10:27 am
Michael watched Devyn as he looked at the cereal box, obviously trying to decipher what it said. His lips twitched into a smile, and then he couldn’t help but laugh softly when Devyn asked what language it was in.
“I guess that answers my question,” he laughed. It was good natured. He wasn’t laughing at Devyn, but maybe he was endeared by the way he was trying to read something he couldn’t understand.
“Everything is in English. I’ll have to check around to see if there’s any good study material to help you learn at least the basics. If you can read just a little, you should be able to get by,” Michael hummed thoughtfully. He didn’t want to throw Devyn a bunch of things to have to learn if he didn’t want to, but if he planned on staying on Earth, it was probably important. For his own safety and enrichment. He wouldn’t have the full experience of what it was like on Earth without being able to understand at least most things.
“It’s good that we can communicate. My Latin is pretty rusty, so I’m glad you didn’t show up speaking a dead language. I’m going to guess that Percy was pretty big on reading and learning? I had a memory once of him teaching… astronomy, maybe? It looked like he had to stack up several books behind the podium so he could be at a comfortable height. Must have been rough being shorter than average on Jupiter.”
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 10:35 am
Michael’s laugh eased Devyn’s nerves, but the peace was only brief because then he was talking about Percy and Devyn’s face lit up. Of course he was grateful for the offer to get help acclimating, and he couldn’t just go around being illiterate. Percy would have been so disappointed in him if he’d had all these resources and not taken advantage of them.
“Oh, they were all giants. Taller than me, so Perce didn’t really have a chance. He did a good job, though. Very innovative. Lots of books, all over the place. Pretty sure he’d read all of them, too. I don’t know if there was a subject he didn’t know something about. His astronomy class was the most interesting one on Sessrumnir. Only one I could stay awake for, too. Nothing against the other teachers. I tried to sit through some of their lectures, too, but I think they got complacent doing it. Didn’t seem like their hearts were in it. Percy’s heart was always in it, though.”
Maybe that was too much about Percy? Michael might have brought it up, but Devyn didn’t want to discourage the topic. He could have gone on about Percy’s passions and lesson for hours, he wasn’t even sure if he could pick out his favorite things to say in any brief period of time. He wasn’t frustrated at himself, but he knew this was something he was going to have to work on. Ordinarily he’d have talked about Percy nonstop just because he was his favorite topic, but–
With Michael being Sessrumnir–
Did that change anything?
He exhaled and sank into the chair just a bit to try and relax.
“Of all the memories you could have had, I wonder why you got that one. But then, I’ve never really understood how they work.”
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 11:17 am
Michael thought it was a good thing that Devyn could talk so openly about Percy. After being in denial for so long, the fact that he was able to speak about him meant that he was able to remember the good things. The things that made Percy important to Devyn. Michael could feel the excitement in the orb against his chest, flickering with golden light.
“I bet they were interesting. All the classes they had there. I feel like there’s still so much I don’t know about Sessrumnir. It’s difficult to try and figure things out when I can only go so often. And not even because I don’t want to. When I first awoke, it was as though I didn’t have enough energy for traveling there. But I also was afraid of disturbing it more than I had to. It had already been disturbed enough,” he said, and while his smile remained, it fell a little.
Sessrumnir was in a very sad state these days. Centuries of neglect would do that.
“If there’s ever anything you don’t want to talk about, just let me know,” he said after a moment, because he definitely didn’t want to make things awkward for Devyn. “I like talking to you,” he admitted, but quickly hid his expression behind another sip of his coffee. “But if you’re uncomfortable, then we can talk about something else. Or not talk at all.
“I don’t know why I have the memories I’ve seen. I’ve seen one of -- Princess. Saw where I guess Percy had been attacked but Princess kept him from being killed. Is that really her name? I wouldn’t have guessed… Other memories are often just flashes. I usually looked away. I didn’t know if it was my own doing, which seemed pretty rude, or if… if Percy wanted me to see them.”
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 11:41 am
Again, Devyn found himself relaxing. Maybe he’d been a bit too obvious about his concern, but Michael had caught on quickly and dissolved it. There was very little he didn’t want to talk about, but there was so much more that he did so he wasn’t going to worry about it right now.
He wasn’t uncomfortable around Michael.
He didn’t think he’d ever been. Maybe uncomfortable with facing some harsh realities, but none of that was because of Michael. On the contrary, he was probably only doing so well because of Michael.
“I don’t think that anything the Knight of Sessrumnir does at his wonder counts as disturbing it. You don’t strike me as the sort who would be disrespectful.” He was looking away from memories that were supposed to be his because he thought it was rude?
Maybe Devyn wouldn’t have been looking for similarities if he hadn’t known that Michael was Sessrumnir. That he was Percy, a lifetime ago. It was a strange, foreign thought that still wasn’t taking root. Maybe the Wonder just had a type.
“I don’t know how much use I’d be, or how much you want to know, but. If you don’t have other resources to learn and still want to, I’d like to help. I’ve been to a lot of places in my life, but Sessrumnir was always special.” Probably because of Percy, but. Well, definitely because of Percy. “I spent a lot of time there. Percy had–he was an inventor. And he was clever. And we were impatient young men who didn’t like to waste our free time traveling. There’s a, I don’t know what you’d call it now, a door? On my world. You stand on it and it takes you to Sessrumnir, and vice versa. It’s been broken for a while. I don’t remember when it happened. But, I used to go all the time. And Percy used to tell me any time he found something interesting. He wanted to make everyone proud, his Wonder included. But.”
He tapped his fingers on the table for just a few seconds, collecting his thoughts and trying to remember not to just go on a tangent because he was passionate about the subject. “What I mean is, I don’t think you’d be intruding. It’s your Wonder, now. It chose you to protect it. Sessrumnir’s always been finicky about that. Any memories you get,” he hesitated, only briefly. If they were Percy’s--not just Sessrumnir’s...
Did he feel a little protective of Percy’s memories? Of course. Did he trust Michael? Yes, but.
It was complicated.
He didn’t know how he felt about it right now. He’d never liked the memories he got from his previous life, but Percy was different. He was good. Michael was missing out if he didn’t take the opportunity to get to know him, even if only through memories.
But, it was always strange to see something through someone else’s eyes, and feel something that wasn’t yours. He knew that.
“I don’t know if Percy kept secrets about anything from me, he wasn’t really good at it. But if you’d like, I can share everything I know about Sessrumnir. I don’t really have any right or reason to keep it a secret from you.”
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 4:56 pm
Michael was quiet as he listened to Devyn. The rest of his cereal had been finished, as was his coffee. There was a lot to think about, and bringing someone into his life like he was allowing Devyn was… different. Not because his starseed knew Devyn in another life, but because Michael felt comfortable around him.
He didn’t feel as though any part of their conversation or interactions were forced, and it was rare that he could trust someone so easily. He’d been thinking about it a lot, and still was trying to wrap his mind around it.
Was it because of his starseed? He didn’t know. He didn’t think so. Devyn seemed to know how much space he needed, and was honest with how he felt about things. For the most part at least. Michael couldn’t expect him to be okay with everything, especially after a thousand years.
“I do want to know,” he decided as he pushed himself back from the table so he could collect their dishes and bring them to the sink.
“So, whatever you have you’d like to share, I am willing to learn. But let’s do it there -- at Sessrumnir. I can take a look at that door if you’d like. I’m not an inventor but I’m pretty good with my hands. For now, let’s try to get in contact with Soleiyu so you can defend yourself better. Just in case.”
Now that he was invested in helping Devyn, and knowing that Devyn was going to help him, the last thing he wanted was for the Negaverse to get their hands on him.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 5:19 pm
As if Devyn would have ever protested taking a trip to Sessrumnir, and the necklace around Michael’s neck was a dead giveaway to how eager he was.
“Sounds like a good plan.”
He was looking forward to it. All of it. Seeing Soleiyu to find out if there was a way to get any of his real strength back. Talking about Percy, Sessrumnir. Seeing it.
Of course there was the dread that came with it, the concern that it wouldn’t be the same. That his memory would deceive him again.
But, it was different now. He wasn’t alone. Michael had been there to keep him grounded before, and things could have been much worse if he hadn’t been. More than just being there, or offering support, Michael was engaging. He wanted to know about things that Devyn wanted to talk about.
It felt easy. There was a part of him that was cautious about saying too much, but it hadn’t overwhelmed Michael yet. Hadn’t overwhelmed himself, either.
He didn’t know what the future held, but he was glad he didn’t have to give up the past to find out.
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