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 Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 12:38 pm
Yin cast an almost baleful glare toward the book. "No. I will finish it later though." Just half a page...half a page and he was free from it. But at least this was a book he had read by himself, the first book really if one did not count the picture book Alexander had given him. "It has been...informative. Perhaps after I finish it we could go to the library to take it back?" Going to the library with Alexander. Probably not his best idea. But the zomboil would probably like it and it would give them something to do.
Thankfully for Alexander Yin was not even thinking about what he had been spoken to about the night before. He was intent on food, and slightly amazed that even cold the cockatrice leg could be rather delicious. He was happily ripping the flesh from the bone when the question was addressed to him. He swallowed before speaking as well, swallowing was only polite after all. "It is impossible to tell really. I have been through..." he paused for a moment, thinking. "I have been through seven molts I believe. Which is probably average. But it can take up to ten molts, and I believe the record is twelve." That mantodae had been rumored to be a giant, though he was (naturally) a border guard so Yin had never seen him.
"But it has not been so long since my last molt. Normally they are 39 Moondays apart, and it has been about...16 moondays?" It was just about the only numerical thing that Yin kept track of. but with his last molt being so far off it was hard to tell anymore. He seemed relatively unconcerned about it.
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 1:50 pm
Yin had said the magic word. Library. Alex's face lit up like a scarelings in a candy store. Books, books, books. All the glorious books! Though, he supposed, it would probably be rather boring for Yin to sit and watch Alexander reading all afternoon, so it would just have to be a trip to take his book back..
...and possibly take out new ones! He wondered if Yin was even going to bother with trying to find something else to read. It would be good for him if he did, but he just didn't seem all that terribly interested.
Grabbing for a cockatrice leg of his own to gnaw on, Alex listened carefully to Yin's explanation. 39 moondays? That was a..a really long time. And he had molted 7 times, but it could take up to 10..or even 12? That was just.
Oh.
Well, Alex supposed it wasn't like he was in a hurry to do anything besides hand holding and hugging, and besides that, he wasn't even really thinking about it. Not completely. Only maybe just a tiny bit. But not a lot! Nope! But still..that could be a long, loooong time.
Oh well, whatever, this bonded thing was supposed to last forever, right? That put things into better perspective. "So then what happens? You grow a little taller? And...do you get wings?" This was one of the things he had wondered about. Was Yin going to be able to fly someday? That would be just...freaking amazingly cool! Alex was already grinning just thinking about it.
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Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 12:24 am
Alexander seemed to be focusing on this quite a bit, but Yin knew he was curious. He had listened to him blabber on about the Clan before he had really even known him that well, so he had to be.
"Yes, molting is brought on to allow for physical growth. The final growth may or may not include much height. Wings come with the final molt, as a sign of adulthood. There is no real way to tell what mine may look like." He spoke matter-of-factly and shrugged as if it was not that big of a deal, but inwardly...he was excited about the prospect. As a scareling that was one of the biggest things to look forward to. Not knowing who either of his parents were meant that there was a wide variety of wing colorations he could have, only limited by narrowing out a few mantis species they could not be due to the rest of his natural form.
He was finished with this cockatrice leg, having stripped it of its flesh so he put the bone aside and reached for a leftover meatball. No, there was only one left and Alexander seemed to like them. He moved and took lightly seared hunk of meat instead, almost daintily popping it into his mouth.
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Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 8:23 pm
Alex was glad that Yin was answering his questions without looking at him like he was absolutely crazy. He liked learning more about him and where he had come from and for some reason either never found the time to ask more about it or felt too awkward to do so. The way the weremantis was calmly answering his questions, without seeming to think it was a big deal, eased his mind a lot when it came to asking what he wanted to learn.
Plucking up the meatball that Yin had so kindly left for him and shoving it into his mouth greedily, he thought about what the weremantis had just told him. So he he might grow a little bit taller, and he would gain wings at the final molt, which could be sometime later this year or another couple of molts down the line.
Interesting...
Swallowing the meatball, he began his questions anew. "What they will look like? You mean..shapes and colors?" And then, finally, the one thing that his curiosity was burning to know. "Will you be able to actually fly?" Jack damn but that would be really cool!
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Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 8:57 pm
If Yin had thought there was any ulterior motive it might have been a big deal. As it was? Well, it seemed rather amusing really. He snagged a bit of piggle bacon and was about to pop it in when Alexander began peppering him with more questions, not even giving him a chance to answer them all.
"Precisely. The coloration can vary a great deal and some of the structure, though the base is typically still the same. And yes, flight is something that I should be able to achieve. Not for very long, not like a bird or bat or anything, but short flights and gliding." More than anything though...he was curious to see how he could fit some of those wing techniques into his fighting that he had seen while they had been with the War Clan. Balance and just...accent his fighting...that would be the best part of wings. Though flying would be useful for times like...when he had to climb a rocky cliff for example.
Suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Are you finished growing?" There may have been a hint of suspicion in his voice. Alexander was really as tall as he needed to be.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 2:25 pm
Alex nodded along at the appropriate times, seemingly fascinated with everything Yin had to tell him about what his next molting and growth might bring. The thought of Yin having brightly colored wings was a little amusing, considering the other boils affiliation for natural browns and greens, but whatever he ended up with, Alexander was sure it was going to be awesome.
And he was going to be able to fly. Alex's grin somehow managed to broaden. "That's great! You're very lucky." He wanted to say how he wished he'd be able to fly someday too, but that was just silly. Zombies, or at least, regular ones like Alex, belonged on the ground. He didn't have any issues with heights or anything, but that was just the way it was. Maybe if he was a hunter zombie he could jump to great heights and lengths, but alas, he was not.
Yin's return question took him aback, as he had been absorbed in his own thoughts about how ridiculous a winged zombie would be. "Well, I uh...honestly I don't know..I mean..." This was a weird question, and a somewhat difficult one to answer, but he gave it a shot anyways.
"Say I want to look older then I do now, I mean, if I didn't want to look like this forever. I've always just let myself grow at the rate I was meant to, unlike my sister who is still small and quite young looking for her age. So I'm sixteen, I...allow myself to age, so that I appear sixteen. My dad is tall, so I guess that's where I got it from, but if I let myself continue to age, I just..I don't know if that means I'll get taller as well. I might be as tall as I am ever meant to get, or I might get..taller..." But surely he wouldn't get any taller then his dad, who was 6'4", and was only a mere three inches off of where Alex was currently sitting.
"Do you...think I'm too tall?" He looked suddenly worried. If Yin didn't want him to grow anymore, he'd stop, but that meant he was just going to look like a teenager forever.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 12:19 pm
Yin did not know what ridiculous notion that Alexander was thinking of (if he had he probably would have been amused) but he could see that Alexander was at the very least startled by it. He then proceeded to explain zombie growing processes.
It was slightly confusing.
"How does one...allow aging? It seems to be impossible to stop it?" At least, it was impossible for him. The one time he had tried to put off molting had been nigh on disastrous. But Alexander could just chose his age?
Was Alexander too tall? He looked at him, having never really thought about it because well...one did not simply choose how tall they were. Or so he had thought. After a moment of contemplation he shook his head. "Your height is fine. It is just peculiar to me that you have any control over it. So you desired to be as tall as you are?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 12:45 pm
Alexander thought maybe he wasn't explaining it right. It was actually quite confusing even to him, and he was the one it was happening to. "I choose to look my age, the height just came with it." He explained, not knowing if that was helpful or not.
"If I keep letting myself age, I might keep growing, and I might not. I might just stay the same height but just, start to look older? I don't know how else to explain it. My fear keeps me from any further rotting, though, so I shouldn't end up with any more skeletal parts or anything." That was a little out of left field, and way off the topic of growing, but he thought maybe Yin would be interested in knowing that as well.
And then again, how does one allow aging? It was just...such a natural thing to Alex he hadn't thought about it too much. "I suppose it's all just related to fear." He shrugged. "I mean, I'm a dead thing, and dead things aren't supposed to grow, but I couldn't exactly stay a scareling forever, could I? That'd just be weird."
"But if..I got taller then I am now...would that bother you? I mean, if I did I'm sure it would only be a couple of more inches at the most." He had never really thought of his height as being an issue before. Sure, he had to look down at pretty much all of his friends, excluding Jack, but he was pretty much used to that at this point. It had just never occurred to him that it might bother anybody else.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 1:03 pm
"So I will not have to worry about learning how to put a hand back together?" Relief may or may not have been evident in his tone. Not that putting together a foot was the worst thing to do, but it was easy to be focused on all of the tiny bones and make a simple mistake that your bonded would never let you live down, such as putting the toes on backwards.
He was rather glad that Alexander had not remained a scareling though. Scarelings were underdeveloped and had a much harder time defending themselves. In general they did not have the power that an adult had, though his undead strength may have changed that. Yin? Making everything about fighting and self-defense? Highly unlikely.
"I do not believe it would bother me?" The puzzlement in his voice was matched by his expression. "If that is the height you are meant to be why should that not be how tall you are? I cannot tell you how tall I will be, does that bother you?" Please to care about things that make sense Alexander.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 1:23 pm
"Probably not. I mean, if my fear shield was down and somebody stripped the flesh off of my hand, or if my rot somehow got accelerated because there was no fear to sustain me, then I guess it's possible." He shrugged. Being a zombie was complicated, apparently, but this was all fairly common knowledge to Alex. "You've done a really good job learning about putting my foot back together, don't sell yourself short, Yin." He gave the boy a hard stare, because he was fairly certain the other boil was a lot smarter then he gave himself credit for.
Either that or Alexander was completely deluded.
Well, Yin had seemed like he thought Alex was quite tall enough, but it was possible Alex had just misinterpreted the look he had been given when Yin had first asked him if he was going to grow anymore. In any case, some small tension inside of him relaxed. Yin didn't think he was some kind of freak for being this tall, and wouldn't care if he got taller. That was good, because really, he would sort of like to look like an adult someday, and not aging due to fear of growth was pretty ridiculous.
"Of course it doesn't bother me. Besides, when you're in your natural form, you're nearly a foot taller then me anyways." Which was fairly intimidating, but not at all bothersome.
Thinking of Yin's natural form brought Alex back on track, and there was something else he felt he should ask the other boil. "Is it more comfortable for you when you're in your natural form? It's just...I don't see you in it very often, and then when I do it always surprises me. Why don't you take that form more often around me?" Ignoring the fact that Yin's natural form freaked him out a bit, because really, how was he ever going to get used to it if Yin just stuck to looking humanoid all of the time?
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 10:20 pm
Alexander was completely deluded.
And Yin would be quite content if he did not grow another inch...but he would not hold it against him. Well, his neck might, though thankfully his neck was fairly flexible as it was. And it was true that he could still best the zomboil in his natural form.
To be quite frank it had not occurred to him that Alexander might not mind his natural form. But how to say that without just blurting it out? "I thought that you would prefer this form, and I am comfortable enough in it." He shrugged. "The majority of the time it is just about as comfortable to be in this form, though occasionally I need to take it." And of course, that was not the main reason. "It would be rude of me to transform in front of you Shifting in front of others is not something that is done unless absolutely necessary." And in a single room managing that was a bit hard unless he left, which was really too much of a hassle most of the time.
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 11:31 am
Alex listened to the explanation Yin gave about his natural form carefully. He hadn't really realized that shifting in front of others was considered rude among mantodae. If only Chuppi had felt the same way that day down by the lake. Then maybe he wouldn't have seen...quite so much of her.
"Well, yes, your current form is pretty nice." He teased, though he doubted Yin would catch the hidden meaning. Glancing down at the few empty containers, he reached forward to stack them up, a small effort of trying to be tidy, hopefully to be appreciated by Yin.
"Would it really be considered rude, even in front of me? I don't mind, and well, I'm your bonded. Doesn't that make it a little different?" Of course, he wouldn't have any idea if it made it different or not. It was just his idle curiosity speaking again.
And then, completely off topic, Alex had another question. He really was probably too curious about things for his own good. "Are all mantodae opposed to public displays of affection or is that just specific to your tastes?" He frowned a little. He wasn't trying to put Yin on the spot or anything, he again was just trying to fill in the many, many gaps in the little information that he did have.
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Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 1:58 am
His current form was nice? Well yes, obviously the zomboil preferred it. Of course he would point out that it was nicer than the alternative. Or at least that was what he thought as he noted Alexander doing something that anyone should do, not giving it too much of a thought. So he looked up in surprise when Alexander pressed him about changing, telling him that he would not mind even in front of him. Pointing out that he was his bonded...well...it was almost like he wanted him to And his bonded would be the one person best suited to see this change.
He was just about to ask him if he would like to see the change, fully prepared to shift, when Alexander just plowed in with another question. The question took him aback, not because of the content but simply because it seemed so out of the blue. "No it is not just me," he said with a small frown. "It is not done. A few will hug in public, but nothing too...romantic is done?" After he had answered the question he gave Alexander a suspicious glance. "Why did you need to inquire about that?"
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2012 2:00 pm
First Alex had taken Yin aback with the question, and then Alex was taken a little aback by the suspicious look he was being given for it. He hadn't meant to pry, really, he was just generally very curious about anything he could possibly learn about. Mind you, anything he could learn about Yin was probably worth a suspicious glance. At least the weremantis didn't look angry with him. That would have been much worse.
As it was he was able to just give the mantodae a large, cheeky grin. "No reason, really. I just like to know things about you, and about other mantodae in general. But...uh..so nothing too romantic." That was not new information to Alex, really. He knew all too well what Yin's feelings were about physical contact or public displays of affection.
Buuut, while they were on the topic anyways, there was at least one more question that had wandered through his head at some point. "Do mantodae have different ways of showing affection then what you have seen of...well, people in the rest of Halloween?" He didn't know how much affection Yin commonly saw displayed, really, though he was sure his mother had probably shown him more then enough pictures of all sorts of embarrassing and horrible things the night before that he could get the general idea.
Come to think of it, maybe he should have just avoided this subject altogether....
Well, too late now!
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Posted: Sun May 06, 2012 10:32 am
Well, it was good that Alexander understood. Nothing too romantic, nothing in public. Really all he needed to do was ask himself was "would Yin want this?" and if there was any doubt...it was definitely a no.
But Alexander was just being confusing now. "Anything different? I...I do not think so?" he really had no idea. Seeing a hug or a couple holding hands was rare enough. Then something he had seen as a scareling perhaps a couple of times stood out to him. "Wait...I think there may be something that is done with antennae?" he sounded confused as he tried to remember. "I had not given it much thought though..."
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