abraxaslogs | [Closed]

[A few months ago, Michael might very well have been among those to regard Nanaue with open horror. He certainly looks the part of a monster. Since his arrival, however, he's met werewolves that don't hunt people, vampires that don't attack humans, and leviathans that beach themselves only to rely on the mercy of the locals to be dragged back to the sea. By now he's learned to 'roll with it', as Adam might have put it.

Michael stops and turns when called. Maybe it's the fact that he doesn't flinch as the man-shark thunders down the path at him that Nanaue appreciates in return.

He could make it easy on him and fly the rest of the way over, but far be it for Michael to deprive him of a run. Suddenly appearing within arm's reach tends to startle people, anyway, and he doesn't see any benefit in surprising someone with the jaw strength of a great white. He waits until he's closer to speak.]

Nowhere in particular. [He was on his way to visit one of the locals, in fact, but old woman Josie either doesn't notice or doesn't care that his visits are irregular.] Are you looking for something to do?

[Though he's come to conclude there's not enough going on upstairs for Nanaue to develop nefarious plots, he's still of the opinion that he's the type of creature best kept occupied.]

[ Nanaue has never had so many people be kind to him. It's truly been an experience. In the part of his brain that processes these things with a few more cylinders firing at once, he thinks fairly often about a woman Cleo in these moments. His first friend.

There's surprisingly little sound to what should be thundering footsteps, and he stops in front of Michael, jaw open wide in preparation for words to spill out. Whether Michael actually had plans would've probably been irrelevant at this point. ]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhorizon. [ He seems very excited about this. His massive fists ball up, his nose holes opening and closing in tandem with his gills. ]

Friend Summoned go. You go?

[ Everyone keeps telling him about it, but no one will show him how! ]

[It's kind of Nanaue in turn to think of Michael's stiff exterior as kindness. He's never had someone warm up to calling him 'friend' so quickly before. Exactly what he means when he says it Michael can't be certain, but he gathers he must not be using the title quite the same way everyone else does.

He takes in the very excited fishman in front of him with his customary impassive expression and a slight tilt of his head.]

You've never been. [The reason for the excitement, he assumes, and why he doesn't just go there himself. Michael's not used to being the one called on for this duty—either one of Solvunn's more outgoing Summoned or Wanda handles it first—but he has no issue leading the way.] I can take you, but not here. Somewhere quiet.

[Michael turns and makes for a small side path up ahead. He motions for Nanaue to follow, head turning just enough to keep an eye on him.]

What have the others told you about the Horizon?

[ Somewhere quiet? He blinks a few times with his gills fluttering, but he inevitably follows after Michael along said path.

What did Julie say again... ]

Special place. Learn magic, me! [ He wants to make things appear in the air too. Impress new friends.

His gaze follows a pair of sparrows that flit by. His trajectory begins to stray ever so slightly until they disappear into the underbrush, so that he jogs a few steps to catch back up. ]

[Michael's stride is leisurely, allowing time for him to catch up when his attention wanders. He glances back to make sure Nanaue keeps following.]

Yes, magic, and your own domain to shape. [Count on whoever told him about the Horizon to mention only the highlights—or on Nanaue to remember only what excites him.] But you'll need to concentrate to get there.

[He's thinking it might not be easy to get this creature settled down and into a meditative state. One thing at a time, though. First, he needs a space where they won't be disturbed. There's a sheltered structure not far up ahead. It's sometimes used as a gathering point for outdoor events, but there's nothing scheduled for today.]

The first visit is different. You'll forget who you are and where you came from, but you'll remember again when you leave.

Concentrate. [ He nods. He can do that. He will be the best at concentrating, then he will go to the secret special place whenever he wants!

As they get closer to the structure his pace picks up, excitedly jogging toward it ahead of Michael. When he gets to the edge of it he turns around, watching him curiously. ]

Forget? [ Huh? His shoulders hunch. ]

I no forget... [ Half-dismissively, half-warily. Is he saying he thinks Nanaue will forget because he doesn't think he's smart? Nanaue will prove him wrong! He will remember everything the entire time! ] Friend. Nanaue. Soooooolvunn.

[ See? ]

[Michael joins him at what's effectively a bare bones gazebo: just supports, a roof, and flat, packed ground below. It's quiet and out of the way so it'll do for their purposes. A closed room might be better, but he's not sure even Josie would forgive him for bringing a sharkman into her home—or if her upstairs floor would support his weight.]

Yes, you're friend to all of the Summoned of Solvunn. [No reason to assume otherwise. The alternative is messy, from what he's seen of Nanaue's eating habits.] The memory loss is inevitable, but you're welcome to try and resist.

[Who knows? Maybe Nanaue will be the first among them to enter the Horizon for the first time with his full self intact. He seems to have little to lose.

Michael takes a seat on the ground, legs crossed, and motions for Nanaue to join him.]

Sit. You need to relax, calm down and clear your mind.

[ All the Summoned in Solvunn, and a few in the Free Cities already too! Nanaue has been busy in his short, short time here.

Or it's that he attracts a lot of attention for obvious reasons.

He gives a deep nod and grunt in agreement when Michael tells him he can try, then begins to sit down on the packed earth, mirroring him in his cross-legged position. If Michael closes his eyes, he will do the same.

Relax. Calm Down. Be quiet. He's had both phrases hurled at him many times before. Sometimes followed by horrified screaming and more insistent demands - he forgets, some things in his memory are a blur of red. He thought he liked working as hired muscle. But why? Smashing things and people was fun. No one was nice to him, like here, though.

It might surprise Michael how easily he goes quiet right now, and how he only opens his eyes once to peek at a bee that buzzes by. It lands on his snout and he goes cross-eyed watching it for a second, then closes his eyes again. ]

[It does indeed impress Michael how swiftly Nanaue settles into calm and quiet, resisting the temptation of songbirds chirping on low-hanging branches not far off. What he imagines awaits him in the Horizon must hold an even greater allure. Whatever the reason, he's not going to argue with success.

It's easy for him, too, to drop into a state of absolute relaxation. The body he inhabits is more a tool to him than something that has any hold on him in return.]

Good. [Small praise for a job well done.] Now give me your hand.

[But it's Michael who reaches out and takes Nanaue's unusually-shaped, overly-large hand into his, and draws them both into the Horizon—directly into his own domain, by force of habit.

The clearing they find themselves in is sunny. There's grass beneath their feet and trees bordering the small field, but a sudden absence of bird and insect sounds. There's a soft rustle from the treeline as a gentle wind moves the distant leaves, but nothing more to be heard.

Though he's clad in more modern attire, Michael wears the same face in the Horizon as he does outside of it—not that that's likely to mean anything right now.]

[ Like everyone else here, Michael's hand looks small in comparison the Nanaue's large mitts. The touch briefly startles him - but then he's floating-tumbling-swimming- standing, finally.

Nanaue opens his eyes, having not remembered closing them. There is a man in front of him, standing calmly in the grass.

Nanaue doesn't know this man. But he does know two things: his own name, and that he is painfully hungry.

There's no thought process behind his eyes, flattened and dark. Only instinct pushed by the sharp pangs in his belly as he lunges forward with surprisingly speed for a creature his size, jaws widened to reveal rows of vicious, serrated teeth. ]

[As the saying goes: no good deed goes unpunished. This is just what he deserves for relaxing his guard, Michael muses.

Angels are quick too, but he's not expecting the attack. Nanaue's attitude until now has been as mild as his appearance is fierce. Fish are never this fast outside of water, anyway. Michael dodges but it's not enough. His jacket catches on dozens of sharp points, his shoulder snagged between Nanaue's jaws.]

This is not what you're here for.

[His voice is firm, commanding, but he is not speaking to one of his subordinates.

What happened to the urge to create? Secondary to instinct when it comes to Nanaue, he can only assume—or perhaps it's just Michael he wants to carve into a new shape.]

[ Nanaue's mind creates: the taste of hot blood as he bites down, the sound of bone crunching as he tries to rip through flesh and bone to sever the limb so that he can swallow it whole. It's not greed or gluttony. It's more simple than that, and Michael's voice can't pierce through the frenzy of this prey drive sequence, once it's begun only equal or greater violence will stop it. Pain will stop it. ]

[Well, no one can say he didn't try. Having an arm severed by an otherwise very personable shark is as far as Michael's patience will carry him. His temper spikes. This behaviour demands correction.

Here in the Horizon, there's nothing that restricts him to human form except common courtesy—and since he's being shown none, he has no reason to be polite. Michael's eyes flash bright blue. The shape of Adam Milligan is consumed by light and Michael expands outwards and upwards, swiftly dwarfing Nanaue. The boundaries of his pseudo-true form are blurry, indistinct; the more Nanaue tries to focus on them, the more complex and headache-inducing they'll become. It's difficult to tell even what colour he is. Either all white, or all black, or both at once. There are several sets of feathered wings, rows of teeth on jaws that don't appear to be connected to anything, and a hundred glaring eyes between his feathers. A halo like an accretion disk circles far above.

Whatever part of him is still between Nanaue's teeth will taste of nothing but feathers and searing holy flame, never meant to grace mortal tongue.

One of the wings twists, rises—then slams down on Nanaue like a hand swatting a mosquito.]

[ All the beast sees is light, the kind that burns shapes like flaming shadows on the retinas - except there are no shapes, it's everywhere. By the time the feeding frenzy is overwhelmed by ancient fear response, it's too late. He can't see, he can't taste, he can't even feel the white hot flame of a nuclear core consuming him or, more strangely, the feathers in his teeth - he doesn't even completely register when he's swatted into the air, shooting across the sky of Horizon like a shooting star -

- back in the Primary Settlement, Nanaue startles awake. He's somehow ended up lying down on his back, and he throws his hands over his eyes in distress. ]

Uuuuuhhwaaagghh!

[ Flailing arms and legs, then he's sitting up, breathing heavy and his gills expanding open. His dark eyes dart around until he registers he can see, and there's a figure there. ]

...uoooghhh... ?

[Michael spends a moment tracking the arc of a suddenly very small creature across the Horizon, but when Nanaue blips out of existence, so too does he make his exit. He does not want to leave his body unattended with a creature that now reminds him of the years spent herding leviathans into Purgatory.

Back in the real world, he sighs, still seated on the ground. Somehow, this has gone worse than his own introduction to the Horizon. He hadn't been certain what to expect of Nanaue, but he hadn't expected that.

He looks over at Nanaue with a frown. The memory of teeth on his vessel will be with him forever.]

You're alive. Good.

[There are reasons he doesn't parade around the Horizon in his true form. Not being certain it won't sear the eyes out of onlookers and leave them a smouldering corpse is just one of them.]

[ Nanaue blinks his dark eyes, the whites of them showing at the edges, then he tucks his head down and covers his head. Good? ]

Bad! [ He bit a friend. He's just as stupid and bad as the tiny dumb friends! Now he's going to get in trouble. Nanaue grunts as he uses one meaty fist to hit himself in the side of his head and says forlornly: ]

Me forget... [ Even though he said he wouldn't. Is Michael mad at him now? He lifts his head to try to read his body language. ]

[As ever, Michael's expression isn't giving much away. He's sat upon the ground with the same rigid, perfect posture as when they started this exercise. While he was angry a moment ago, his rage is quick-burning like a flash fire. He got to smack the thing that was bothering him, so what more is there to be angry about? Nanaue's even beating himself up about it, which is more than he can expect from a subordinate angel these days.

The stiffness and flat look might read as irritation, but Michael at least doesn't sound angry when he speaks.]

As I said, everyone forgets.

[Better to be bitten in the Horizon than out here. Michael files away the thought that Nanaue will be a serious problem if ever his recollection is ever genuinely affected. He'd still like to make sure there'll be no repeats.]

Let's try that again. Do you think you can bring yourself into the Horizon this time?

[ Again? Maybe he is not mad. Nanaue still looks uncertain at first, though. He also wants to ask how Michael got so big and bright. But he can really only hold one thought at a time, and since Michael doesn't seem mad, he does want to go back to the magic special place...

He lowers his hands and grunts again, closing his eyes. It takes him a little bit of time again, he tries thinking of the quiet clearing and, then, he's there. Sitting on the grass, cross-legged. He blinks a few times, lifting his head to stare into the sky as his toes wiggle. It's really not that much different from where he just was - ]

Special place? [ You sure? ]

[It's just as well that he doesn't ask. Michael probably wouldn't have an answer that makes any sense to Nanaue, leading to only more questions and eventual frustration. Or maybe Nanaue would just get bored and hungry, and wander off into the woods for a snack.

Michael keeps a surreptitious eye on the shark, watching without letting on that he is until it seems he's dropped off into proper meditation again. He joins him quickly, posture a little stiffer on arrival this time, but this time Nanaue is the wondering puppy dog eyed creature he's familiar with. Michael relaxes.]

This is my special place. [Thank—well, not God, but Michael feels a general sense of relief that no one more analytical is around to laugh at that choice of words.] You need to make your own. Follow.

[He motions for Nanaue to stand and then begins to walk past him, towards the tree line. It'll be a short walk through the forest but beyond that is the blank canvas of unoccupied Horizon. Despite himself, Michael's a bit curious what he'll make.]

[ Hmmm. He won't judge (though he thinks there should be more butterflies and birds and things that move or glow).

At follow he does just that, happy and curious to see where he might be led - and, honestly, a little disappointed at first when that place is nothing. Like, a literal nothing. Just space they're standing in. He looks around, mouth open. Fixes on the Singularity in all of its glory for a moment, but can't even be bothered to ask what it is - clearly it is a rock.

Instead, he is overcome with a sudden, strange urge that has nothing to do with hunger. He glances down at his feet, wiggling his toes: beneath them all at once is warm, white sand, and a gentle surf that washes up to his ankles. He guffaws happily, picking up one foot at a time and placing them down again.

Ahead of them, a tropical ocean of clear, blue-green water expands outward - but he's still staring at his feet. ]

[The Horizon is what you make of it, which is more creative control than anyone ever got in Heaven. Nanaue should be thankful for the empty slate.

Michael stands still and patient as a tropical beach expands outwards, though he spares a frown at his feet as the surf soaks his shoes. Still, it's a nice property for his domain to border. Maybe he should've guessed a shark would yearn for the ocean.

He looks to Nanaue, who seems entranced by the sight of his own toes.]

Not bad. Is this somewhere from home, or just something that came to mind?

[ He's busy splashing in the water, first with his big feet and then with his hands, carefully swirling his arm around in the foamy surf when Michael asks that. He turns, thinking for a second. ]

Home. [ he finally says in agreement. This feels like home. Then he looks out toward the horizon in the distance. ]

Friend place no ocean. Far away. [ He's used to being away from the ocean for long periods of time. There was no ocean in the jail place either. He doesn't think about what he misses all too often, but now that he can create whatever he wants - yes. This is what comes to mind. ]

[Michael nods. His domain is an approximation of home, too, albeit with a few additions.]

Yes, this will certainly be quicker than a trip to the Tertiary Settlement whenever you want to see the ocean. [For someone who can't fly, anyway. It's a quick flick of the wings between Settlements for Michael.] I'll leave you to finish it as you like. If you need anything, you know how to reach me—right?

[There's doubt in the last word as Michael realizes that Nanaue may very well not have a grasp of the usual means of communication between Summoned. He's still very new. Also, he's very—Nanaue. Could he teach a shark to pray, instead? Maybe the real question is whether he should.]

[ When Michael asks if he knows how to do that, there's a pause. ]

Brain pictures...

[ And Michael will receive:

]

[Now there's a surprise. Despite Nanaue being quite literally all smiles—it's just the way his mouth is built—it's enough to give Michael pause. He's not sure what he expected, but it wasn't that.]

Yes. Those. If you have need of me, send me... that.

[Even without words, there's no risk he'll mix him up with anyone else.]

[Closed]

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cw for.... trying to eat an angel

mmm, spicy

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they are neighbors now.... CUTE....

♥ unwelcome visitors will be sent next door in t-shirts printed with the word SNACK

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