Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Look it's a shitty title because Puchiko isn't really creative! 8D.))

"I don't think anyone will remember you, you know. I mean it's not as if you're not memorable but when was the last time you poked your head in here? Honestly, Alun - I don't know what you're expecting, since it's just as likely no one else has been around in all this time. They've probably forgotten this place existed! Oh - oh no - DUST! I smell DUST. Oh, oh my lungs - "

Atop Alun's head, a certain purple bird dramatically flopped on to her back, wheezing heavily. Beneath Alun rolled his eyes, a gesture that thankfully Ouisa was no longer able to see given her prone position. However the bird couldn't go ignored for long, so she scrambled clumsily to her tiny little feet, peering over the edge of Alun's forehead to stare the Legend dead in the eye.

"We don't have to do this." she stated simply. Alun's response was a slight shrug as he turned the handle to Legend's HQ, sticking his head into the threshold and peering around slowly with his vacant eyes.

Ouisa huffed, her feathers ruffling with irritation. "Empty as your head, Alun. I told you as much!"

Heaving a great sigh (despite the fact that he didn't seem to be breathing) Alun reached up, gingerly pulling Ouisa off his head and cupping her gently between his palms, one finger absently stroking her soft little head. A coo escaped the bird, who seemed momentarily contented with the turn of events. There was no harm in looking around, right? Seeing what had changed?

Planets tilted at a slight angle to denote curiosity, Alun stepped into the headquarters he hadn't been into in what felt like ages and closed the door quietly with his foot. Where was everyone?

((Boy I sure hope HQ still exists, otherwise I'm going to feel like a tard.))

Alun had wandered further into the room, settling Ouisa lightly on his shoulder as his eyes skimmed over furniture, artwork, fixtures - but no people. The place really was empty. This was odd. He had remembered this room as once having been filled with people and children with rather mysterious origins, and all of them had been so interesting and a few even had feathers! Where had they all gone? Had someone taken them? Perhaps he ought to just go ho -

A shrill squawk in his ear made Alun jump slightly, a planet momentarily careening out of orbit as he briefly lost his balance. After a second of pinwheeling it seemed as if Alun had regained his center, and he peered back over his shoulder at the voice which had startled Ouisa in the first place. His eyebrows raised slightly. A person!

Warm smile smeared across his face, Alun turned around and waved furiously in Alex's direction - it was pretty much the only interaction he knew off hand. He hardly seemed intimidated by the other's battered and befanged appearance, but Ouisa was wary. Puffing out her feathers to make her presence seem larger (and succeeding only in looking fluffier), Ouisa eyed Alex suspiciously.

"Hello." she said coldly. Alun, on the other hand, kept waving furiously. The huge smile never even faded once as his hand bobbed back and forth, looking as if it might come flying off at any second.

((Sorry, parents just came home from Paris so I was saying hello XD))

"A what?" Ouisa asked, seeming put off by the question. Did this sickly little human with odd teeth dare to ask Ouisa if she were anything beyond the magnificent bird-like creature that she was? How dare he! Ouisa opened her mouth to complain but found herself unable to do so - Alun had wisely chosen to hold her beak shut with two fingers. The Legend continued smiled broadly, staring at the other's hand with a sort of benevolent curiosity but made no attempt to shake it. Instead he stuck out his arm as well, beaming as if he had somehow done something truly special.

Ouisa managed to free her beak, gasping in her usual overdramatic manner. "I'm Ouisa. This is Alun." she grumbled, making introductions as Alun had instructed her to. Sometimes being the Voice wasn't any fun. A quiet moment passed before Ouisa turned her head to peer at Alun, glancing at him expectantly. His face seemed to go blank for a moment before he started slightly, gripping the other's hand and shaking it up and down with an obvious joy. His skin felt as unusual as it looked: warm in a soothing sort of way, gelatinous but not sticky. The weight of his hand felt light as a cloud. Still the grip was firm, and it seemed as if Alun were intent on taking poor Alex's arm off.

"Stop, stop - " Ouisa sighed, and Alun turned to face her, planets tilted at what Ouisa understood to be a confused angle. "Drop - dro - oh, really!" For a moment the two went silent again but after a second Alun obediently dropped Alex's hand, instead returning to smiling vacantly at the other boy. Ouisa turned back to Alex. "I'm sorry. Alun's new to shaking hands."

"He can." Ouisa replied, sounding a bit annoyed - for once however it at Alun. "And he does. Plenty. In fact he never seems to shut up. The problem is he chooses to speak telepathically and only to me, so I'm the one who has to suffer."

Alun ignored the bird's complaints, instead choosing to smile all the more brightly in Alex's direction, his blank eyes set upon the other with an almost eerie intensity. He was a bit creepy, in a well-meaning sort of way; nothing that was intentional, he just seemed a little... off. However he seemed friendly enough, even if he was a bit weird. His planets bobbed slowly around his head, still tilted at a slight angle.

Sighing, Ouisa continued, "He can speak like you or I can as well, but he generally chooses not to. Don't ask me why. I think he's lazy. He makes me do the talking for him." Isa explained, settling more comfortably into her feathers. This Alex guy didn't seem like much of a threat, and she was actually somewhat happy to be having a conversation with someone who wasn't Alun for a change. A pause, as if she were listening. "Alun wants to know where you went." she said, yawning and closing her beak with a slight click, as if she were bored. However Alun nodded eagerly in agreement, gesturing at the sofa nearby in case Alex wanted to sit.

((HOORAY FOR FIXING THE INTRO POSTS LATER let us continue 83))

Alun sat down next to Alex, fingers steepled together as he watched the other boy peel off clothes layer by layer. For a moment he seemed confused; his smile never even flickered but his planets spun a little more slowly, as if he were somehow processing what the other was doing. After a moment he seemed to have finally caught on, and with a shrug Alun started to unbutton his pants as well.

"What are you - Alun! No!" Ouisa snapped, thankfully catching the Legend while he was still struggling with his zipper. He blinked rapidly in the bird's direction, the smile finally fading away. Had he done something wrong? He was just trying to fit in here!

Heaving as great a sigh as a tiny, fat little bird could, Ouisa hopped off the Legend's shoulder and settled in his lap, just in case he tried again. "I apologize for him. Unfortunately our telepathy is limited only to one another - but consider yourself lucky. He asks all sorts of stupid questions..."

The huge, white smile was back. Alun just shrugged again, grinning widely in Alex's direction. At least his pants were on. As the other told his story his expression fell a bit, his brow creasing just slightly. It was an interesting story. Alun wasn't sure if the other boy was sad, but Alun thought that perhaps he was. Still he said nothing, just nodding as the other finished.

"Kidnappers. Worse! Baby snatchers!" Ouisa commented, practically oozing disapproval. "How fortunate for you that you managed to escape, Alex! If someone ever tried to take Alun I'd show them a what for." She sniffed proudly, her feathers ruffling outward. "You must be very brave!"

Ouisa cackled out a laugh at being lumped in with one of Alun's so-called "powers." Glancing up at her ward - who was still, as always, smiling vacantly at the pair of them - Ouisa said, "Hardly. I mean, he's virtually indestructible I suppose - just don't get him wet. And he can heal pretty nicely. But unfortunately, Alun can't really do anything quite so fancy as flying."

At the mention of his planets Alun looked up, grabbing one carefully inbetween his fingers. After a moment he held it out towards Alex, as if offering it to him. It was a tiny little bluish-purple thing, with a surface that seemed to be in constant motion, as if it were made of clouds. He smiled encouragingly, letting the orb drift slightly off his fingers.

"The planets don't do much either." Ouisa grumbled. "They just sort of... drift."

((No worries!))

Surprisingly, the tiny planet hovered just above Alejandro's palm, rotating slowly and bobbing slightly as his fingers grazed it. It wasn't difficult for Alun to maintain the planet outside of his orbital halo - in fact, he wanted to show off a bit. Smiling brightly, he pressed two fingers lightly to the surface of the planet, which seemed to disintegrate in particles of dust and slightly hot magma at his touch. Then, grinning all the more broadly, he captured the particles between his palms and then reopened them, to reveal a fully-formed, if not somewhat different looking planet. This traveled absently back into orbit, circling round Alun's head as if nothing had ever really happened.

Ouisa watched the performance with disinterest - she'd seen it all before, knew how the boy did it and the philosophy behind it. It was hardly impressive. "Well to be honest, Alun wanted to meet some people. Of course we didn't expect to see the building wrecked, so we decided to explore nearby to see if there were any clues. I don't think he likes to admit it but sometimes he gets lonely. Although one would think my company would be enough!"

Comfortingly, Alun pat the bird's head, gathering her gently into his palms. She cooed slightly, unable to help herself; an odd pair, if not somewhat endearing in their own way. He then raised his white eyes back to Alejandro, blinking slowly. Ouisa translated: "He wants to know why you're here."

Alun listened, as he always did, with the sort of intent that made it seem like the speaker was the only person in the world. He absently pulled a piece of hair over his shoulder, running his fingers through it as he considered what the other said. One particular word stuck in his mind more than others: "gone." Alun didn't like that word. And honestly, it all seemed so sad. Still Alun could offer one small comfort - he possessed knowledge that apparently Alex did not, and thus it fell on to him to enlighten the other Legend. So he shook his head slowly from side to side, clearing his throat as he set Ouisa lightly back on to his lap.

"Things don't disappear," he explained, his voice mild and soft. Ouisa snapped up slightly - she hadn't heard Alun speak in months. "Nothing is ever truly 'gone' or over. So it's okay." He smiled, a bit more subdued than before. His hand moved to rest atop Alex's, patting it absently. "Maybe your brother's energy changed, maybe something else changed, but he can't be gone. Things work."

Then he fell silent again, pulling his hand away and fiddling with his hair once more. Talking had made him a bit twitchy, almost nervous. Being quiet again made him serene once more.

"I - uh. Hmm." Ouisa managed, blinking her beady eyes. "I - oh. I probably ought to explain that." It was her job, after all. She "hmm"ed as she thought, ruffling her feathers.