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 Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 5:04 pm
 He was probably the least suited person to do this... But nonetheless, Akakios was walking around the pantheon gardens, even heading a little deeper out that he usually did. He kept an eye out, but still, there was no sign of the green terror that was his older brother.
Of course there wouldn't be. If Sotiris did not want to be found, well, he knew better than to think it was that easy. He knew that Echo had said not to go after him, in a move that had surprised even her youngest child. Music had said she would keep an eye on her wayward eldest, but...
The guilt would not stop eating away at him. The guilt, the restlessness and the frustration, really. It felt like he was not getting anything done, was not finding anything he needed to find...
Finally, after a few hours of walking, Lament sighed and gave up his search. Really, he was not sure why he had even started it - even if he had found Guardian, well, that would just have meant two angry deities in his face.
Right now a part of him only wanted to go back into that tiny room at the back of the library that he had made his own, and not come out for... awhile. But he knew that would solve nothing, and that he would only get more frustrated with those four walls closing in on him.
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 1:19 pm
 Exalla was about the gardens, undoing and redoing a simple wooden puzzle box over and over as she thought. Technology was disappointingly sparse on this world... it made her worry she would not be able to repair her vessel. There seemed to be very little need, however, which surprised her. They made use of some their most advanced technologies in childrens' toys on her homeworld... but hand-tooled devices like the puzzle she'd won seemed to be the main stay.
The sound of footsteps drew her attention and she looked up to find Akakios looking very upset. Lament truly looked drowned in grief and she could not help but find the appearance suited the 'God' - he wore it with a certain kind of grace. <> She picked a flower from a bush she passed on her way to him - part of her observations had been the presentation of items to the lonely or sick, thought it seemed more of a placebo effect then having any actual medicinal value.
Coming out of the bushes, she held the flower out to him, <> As much as she thought the weight of those troubles suited Kios, she also had not seen him in such a state - he normally smiled (a gesture she'd come to understand reflected happiness or, at the very least, positive emotions). <>
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 3:42 pm
The 'voice' made him pause, and it was not long before the source of it became visible as well. He accepted the flower and gently ran one finger over the petals, lightly enough to not leave an ashly trail on the pure white flower. The alien's admission that he was handed a flower just so she could keep her puzzle box did amuse him, through he certainly was nowhere as lively as he usually was. "Did you get that in the market ?" He was sure he had seen similar boxes, at least. "And it is not so much the gift that matters the most as the thought behind it. It means you care."
Lament sighed again. "There are many things." He admitted, frowning a bit. Would Exalla think he was being silly ? Still, it was not like him to keep his own feelings inside. "My brother ran away... Echo is keeping track of him and I know he will be okay, but... He was upset. And it was my fault." What else could it be, really ?
"And I cannot figure out how to shapeshift, like my mother does. I just do not... get it." He muttered. "And I am trying to find information for a friend of mine... And yet no matter how hard I look, I cannot seem to find anything useful." The flower was carefully set to rest behind a pointed ear, the white a stark contrast with the light purple of his hair. "It just seems that nothing wants to go right no matter how hard I try..."
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 4:02 pm
<> She echoed, intrigued by the idea, <> That was an interesting concept...
Her internal dialogue, however, was interrupted by Lament's sigh - one of the few sounds they could both make - and she listened, her ears flicking forward to focus on the 'God'. His troubles sounded very... normal. <> Her relatives tended to work out social stress and tension via tail blade duels for honour... but she did not know if that worked here.
<> There was a fond smile in her mental voice, <too hard? I can see all around me and sometimes I miss things despite that. I imagine with only two eyes, you miss more.>> She fell silent for a few minutes, contemplating Akakios... should she offer to help? She hadn't given then the technology to morph, she was not breaking the law of Seerow's Kindness, and it had already been demonstrated that the 'Gods' should shapeshift....
And he was hosting her. She did not like sleeping in the narrow, confined box called a bed room but she had no where else to stay. Exalla inhaled deeply then exhaled loudly, her hindquarters dancing to the side as she turned, one hand held out to Kios, <> She gestured with her hand before she galloped away, her strides long and playful, clearly enjoying the feel of the air in her fur. It was obvious her people were a race belonging outdoors, despite all their arrogance and technological wonders.
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 6:47 pm
"...Something like that ? The gift is just a gesture to show someone that you care about them, that you think about them ?" Did her people not offer each other objects as tangible show of their care and support ? Really, it made him more and more curious about how the mourning ritual she mentioned was held...
"That is what Echo said. That he was sick of everyone, mostly the servants, babying him. That he needed space, but not exactly in the physical sense ?" Really, it was hard to explain. And fight ?! Certainly not ! "He is my older brother... But I grew into my power first. It really upset him, even if I had not meant to. I was not sure how to deal with it... And it is useless to try to talk to him when he is angry. Anything you try to do make it even worse !" His voice turned annoyed, exasperated, but lowered back in tone soon enough. "I am just worried, I guess. And I feel guilty... Echo said it was not my fault, that if anything... I just made him to run away more quickly than he would otherwise have."
Allergic ? "You can be allergic to shapeshifting ?" That certainly was new to him. "Like... Your body react strangely to the DNA ?" After all, her shapeshifting, morphing as Exalla called it, had to do with DNA, did it not ? "I have never heard of anything like that... Just of gods being better or worse at it than others."
"You can ?" He asked, but Lament's eyes grew wide as Exalla suddenly took off. "Exalla ! Wait up !" Akakios started running after her, and well... the andalite was clearly much, much faster than he was.
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 3:32 pm
When he called for her to wait, she circled around and slowed to a trot as she came up alongside him, <> She slowed to a walk long enough to point in the direction then were going, <>
She took off again, but this time she morphed into a 6-winged Kafit bird in mid run, the speed of her dash translating into swift flight as she arced up and around. The shift was seamless, even graceful, <>
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 3:22 pm
Too much negative thought ? But would those not be in him no matter his actual location ? Or maybe she meant the location might help him calm down a bit. Which was possible, but he did not quite get to ask, because Exalla was gone just as quickly... And the andalite was showing off, at that.
Akakios was quite visibly being outdone here. Would he allow himself to be outdone so easily by a mortal without at least trying to make her eat those words ?
Oh, certainly not. He broke into a run again, and while not quite catching up, he certainly seemed to be gaining ground now that he was actually trying to do so.
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Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 5:13 pm
She was pleased to him spurred in greater effort and swept low, letting out a cry as she spoke into his mind, <> With Akakios following, Exalla looped and arced through the air until they drew up to the woods.
They were lively and foreign to the Andalite but beautiful and exotic. The trees were many-limbed and all shades of green, healthy even to her eye. Landing on the ground, she shifted back and pressed her hooves into the ground, absorbing some of the nutrients as she waited for Akakios.
Just beyond, a field opened up with a stream running down one side to fill a reed-choked pond. A pair of deer currently ate there and when she trotted out, she spooked the animals. It was the first time she'd seen such creatures... they almost looked like prehistoric ancestors.... <> She asked, pointing with one hand, her attention split between the woods, Kios and the fleeing deer.
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Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2012 6:09 pm
Oh, what he could have given for wings right now ! Surely flight to flight would have been a more even race, at least he thought it would have been.
It was not long before Akakios finally caught up, and perhaps oddly enough to Exalla, his breathing had not quickened, through it was obvious that he was spent in other ways. Really, he could not think up on one time in his whole life where he had pushed himself like this.
Perhaps he should make an habit of it. It felt... oddly satisfying.
"These ?" He looked up at the fleeting pair, blinking, as he moved to take off his veil. "These are deers. White-tailed deer, I believe... But I would have to look it up to be sure."
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 12:20 pm
<> She replied, wandering out into the meadow, <> There was curiosity in her mental tone, as if she found the strange herbivores fascinating. They lacked any deeper resembled beyond basic body shape but it still intrigued her that such similar biological arrangements would arise and far separate worlds.
Flicking her tail, Exalla loped across the field and reared up, hooves flashing in the light as she waved Kios over. <> Turning, she settled down as well, tucking her feet in and curling her tail up behind her much like a scorpion.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 1:28 pm
...Well. Did they ? The god looked to the fleeing deer, then back to Exalla as she settled herself. His first impression of the andalite when he had first seen her had been a centaur, but really... Her lower half was much less bulky than an horse's. "I do see some similarities, yes." The hooves, the overall built of her lower half.
"There is a lot of species that look similar, even if they grew interdependently and worlds apart... And what might be common in one world might only be legends in another." Centaurs were a perfect example, actually, but before he could go into details, Exalla made her request.
He took place beside her, bringing his knees up to rest his chin on top of them, and the veil was temporarily set aside as he looked into the water. What was he supposed to see ? "I see myself... And you."
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 1:47 pm
Exalla's eyes closed briefly as her ears toggled, picking up sounds around them, <>
His answer had been exactly what she'd been expecting and she shook her head. <> She trailed off, giving him a moment to medidate,
<> She added then touched the water, set it to waves that distorted the reflection, <>
Exalla turned her gaze to the water and touched the center of her reflection, and as the water settled, her features had become more human - the eyes were smaller, the colour of David's and dark hair grew from her head. She let the morph fade away and nodded to Kios, "Try it."
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 3:11 pm
"I have not been to another world yet, but there is a lot of information about many places in the books of the library... And I will go to another world with a friend, soon." As soon as they knew where they actually had to go, which seemed like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
What Exalla was saying made sense, when he thought about it. The only thing that was changing was the outside... not so much the inside. Of course, he had closed his eyes on reflex before being reminded not to do so, and so he opened them again, watching the ripples of the water match the ripples in Exalla's form. She made it look so easy...
Maybe it was that easy - there was such a thing as looking too hard and missing the obvious in the process. Still, no matter how much he focused, nothing seemed to happen. Everything about him seemed to stay stubbornly set as it was.
But he would not give up that easily, like he had almost done earlier. If he always did give up when things did not work on the first try, then he would never do anything at all.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 3:19 pm
They sat there for some time and Akakios stared hard but he didn't show any signs of change. Exalla sighed. <Listen as you would listen in the other form, see as you would see, hear as you would hear. Imagine your world different and make it so.>>
She puffed out a breath, an odd sound coming from the otherwise silent Andalite as Exalla spoke next, <> That seemed to be the problem in her opinion and she patted her chest, <> As she understood it, the Gods did not need the morphing technology to change their form and so Kios did not need to touch anything to become it. It made her wonder if there was likewise a time limit.
<> She touched Kios' shoulder, <>
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 4:18 pm
Template ? Did he really need a template ? Could he not just become whatever he wished to be ?
But then again, that made sense, too. One had to know what they were trying to be, right ? Perhaps such... free-form shape shifting was possible to the gods more tuned toward it... And he was certainly not one of those gods.
Of course, he had no idea what looking through four eyes actually felt like. But he could make a guess as to how Exalla did hear, and he definitively did know how she talked.
The water kept rippling under his touch. Ever shifting, ever moving...
It was slow, at first. The ripples just seemed to spread, from the water and up his hand, his arm, and nothing seemed to change, at first. The black ashes remained that - black ashes.
But then the ripples continued to shift, to travel upward - pale skin became purple, covered in soft fur. The eyes remained the same, that patina on light gold, but there were two new ones. The marking stayed, through they were hard to make up against purple fur - just standing a few shades darker than the fur tone he had taken.
And then... The way he was sitting did not quite work anymore, and the god lost balance, and more or less fell forward right into the water. There was a small mental outcry of surprise, through his face looked like it was still trying to work with the mouth he no longer had.
Also having four eyes was really dizzying. The front pair was looking forward and the antennae were looking back and he really was not certain which way was which.
He looked, quite suitably, like a deer in the headlights.
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