Welcome to Gaia! ::

Photinus frowned and closed his eyes, taking a moment more to put his thoughts in order. Without meaning to, probably, she had made a point. He had been here too long. He opened his eyes and found her standing. She looked like she might pounce him if he tried to leave, though that was probably just his imagination. It was the brand of predatory people get when trying to capture a loose bird. Or a firefly... Yes, probably his imagination.

She couldn't possibly understand how torn he was right now, nor by which notions. Nothing she could assume would be correct, not completely. "We've had a busy night, Dimas. I think I should just head home. Alone. We have a lot to think about..."

Photinus frowned as he watched Dimas drop her head. She really was determined and she seemed very upset to have him leave. If it was an act of melodrama on her part he couldn't tell and it probably wouldn't have mattered either way. Her reluctant attempt at a smile really was a horrific sight, probably because her heart was not in it, and he blanched, eyes slipping to their feet for a moment. But his thoughts didn't stray from the tangent they had been on. His face darkened again considering that she wanted him here for even longer. "Dimas. If it upsets you that much that I should leave now... I suppose I could stay until the morning. It would be safer to wait, right?" He glanced up at her and smiled shyly.

(...he can't say no to the ladies. especially Dimas. ;3 )

"Yeah, even my fireflies won't do much if I run into trouble." Photinus grinned and nodded, though his burning cheeks didn't cool right away. Her words were often a little plainer and made him feel a little more awkward than he was used to. He was beginning to see this was just her nature and she meant nothing by it. But also, all the time he had spent reading over the years had poorly substituted actual experience in awkward situations. If he could just keep this in mind he could recover a little more quickly, at least.

"Well..." he began rubbed the back of his head. He looked up at her and took her hand gently in his and pulled her back toward the bed to sit. "I have to admit that I am better at listening than at talking about myself. I've been told I'm a good listener. I'm curious about you too... but we don't have to talk about anything that upsets us too much. I mean, if we're going to be up all night, we should try to have a good time, right?"

“True,” he said thoughtfully as he sat down and looked first at their hands then at the empty jar at his hip, “they could be rather distracting to people who aren’t used to seeing them.” He looked up at the rafters to locate each one and could count most, those whom were not hiding outright. He glanced back at Dimas with a faint grin. “You think they could be trained like Lassie to do something like that?” He wondered if it was really possible.

“Well, we could go back and forth like that if you want. I’d rather not if it’s uncomfortable for you to talk about the past. We could talk about our lives now, maybe things we hope to happen in the future.” Did he have any plans? His prospects in life had been so bleak before his transformation. Now he had no future outside the walls of this asylum. Or did he? What if they miraculously made it out one day? Besides their obvious hang-ups, what could they hope for in their new bodies and states of mind? How different would it be to grow into their new bodies from how it would have been with normal bodies? Would they go through similar changes, or vastly different ones? He somehow had found himself staring deeply into the far facing wall. He turned back to Dimas, wondering what she thought about it. Or did she think about it? Maybe she was too afraid, or in despair; maybe she didn’t care?

"Sometimes I lay awake at night and watch them glowing like little stars up there." That's usually how I fall asleep, he realized suddenly. They're the only thing that distracts me enough to relax. Well... his eyes shifted slightly back to Dimas, maybe not the only thing. Not anymore.

He sighed and tried to wrack his brain for a question to ask her. So far he had waxed philosophical and blurted out half of what he was thinking to her. The other half was either too confusing, upsetting, or embarrassing, and had ended in a dip of his blond head and darker (and more frequent!) blushing than he remembered since he had been here. Every effect she had on him in just this short time, only a couple of hours, was so alien to him!

"Well..." he ventured, "if the past is too painful, and the future seems too bleak -- and I do think that we can work through your fears, we just have to trust we can -- then that only leaves the present. You don't know many people yet, but what do you think of your stay so far? Can you even remember a time or a place like this? Do you miss your family, or the kids you used to play with in the sand?" A hesitation, and he bit his lower lip, "How do you fall asleep at night?"

Photinus blinked in mild surprise. "Wise?" After a moment of thought he shook his head in a slow, negative fashion. "No, I don't think I am..." He glanced back at her and sighed softly. "If I was, I'd follow my own advice... It's easy enough to say this when I'm with a friend but when I'm alone, it's a different story."

As Dimas described what it was like here to him, he nodded slowly in understanding. "You're right, it is a little like that." I guess if I played them, I would be one of those guys who jumps at every little noise and shadow... Perhaps he was not being very kind to himself, but he felt so afraid most of the time.

"You don't miss your friends?" Yes, it seemed a little strange, unless they had been cruel to her. Then it was completely understandable, wasn't it? "I suppose if they weren't very good friends, then it makes sense. Did they make fun of your fear of the water?"

He followed her glance up at his little winged friends then glanced back at the wall and the photo pinned there. Waves... He had an idea suddenly and looked at her with wider eyes. "Have you ever tried to make the sound of the waves with your hand? Like this?" He cupped his hands next to his ear to show her. "If you do it right, it kind of sounds like water in the distance. A boy I used to live with showed me once but I'm not very good at it."

Perhaps the reason she did not miss them was they didn't really know her. In just one night, she had told him things that she had not told people she had once considered 'friend,' people she might have known for many years. This place was a unique place and theirs was a unique situation, but already she trusted him that much. Perhaps she would expect him to share his own past. There were things he didn't want to tell anybody and he certainly didn't want to burden this sweet girl with it. Let everyone think he was so timid for no special reason. The people who didn't matter would hate him for his weakness, and the people who did would sympathize with whatever he was going through and it would be enough. He glanced up at Dimas and realized they had a similar sentiment there. They didn't want to upset people with their problems. He found himself smiling at her gently; he understood enough.

"Yes, like a seashell!" Well, he had heard it was like that. But he was one of those people that had never seen a conch except on TV. Judging by her reaction, it was close enough. He was smiling happily when she caught him in a surprise embrace. Girls did not kiss him. She was so forward and affectionate that his face couldn't help but match her lights in hue when she started to pull away. He returned the hug, tentatively, only barely touching her back with his glowing fingertips. They were glowing quite brightly, and though he was flustered, he was also pleased to help. He could get used to this, surely. "You're welcome, Dimas."