"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
As the spotted male scouts the main island, he does it once again in the form of a parrot. Not per say because he doesn’t want to be recognized; no, actually, he does. Just like in the Pampas he is frequently a lizard or an almost-snow owl, spotted gold instead of black, in Ischia he is a gold and emerald parrot - a color just about unusual enough to be noticed.
The form he spots ahead today however, is much different than most Ischians. Wholly black and antlered, and slightly eerie looking if not for the flowers and birds he seems to attract. A kind soul, probably, he thinks. But definitely not a nereid.
Aodhán-the-parrot squeaks towards the male in warning of his coming closer, then aims to land on the male hybrid-horse’s antlered head. Only then, he reveals he knows horse speech, and ruffles his wings. ”Good morning.”
I’m still decorated in the flowers Millie gave me this morning and, though I wish to move, I am doing so very carefully so that I don’t disturb them. It’s the nature of things that they will fall eventually, but I’m hoping to prolong their presence in my life as long as possible. Perhaps my glacial speed is why a bird mistakes my antlers for a tree branch.
I freeze out of instinct as soon as it lands. My black eyes try to peer upwards and I’m able to catch the sight of some rather fetching gold and green plumage.
I would have talked to it any way - I talk to just about anything, you know - but it beats me to it! Considering everything in my life, a talking bird is not all that surprising, but it is different enough. It makes me wonder whether it is actually a horse in bird shape (a type of magic that I am almost painfully jealous of - to change your shape so you do not look as you were born).
But, even if it is only just a bird, I don’t want to be rude.
“Good morning to you as well.” And then I falter a little bit because what do you talk about with birds? I’ve eaten one before and didn’t care for it - all the tiny bones and feathers - but I’m not about to say that out loud. “Is the uh… flying good today?”
The male below him seems a little startled, perhaps he is afraid to scare away the colourful bird, or perhaps he is unsure whether it is horse or bird talking. In fact, Aodhán can’t truly say he is either - he is a shapeshifter, that’s what he is, and not one form defines him any more than another.
The bird flaps his wings in response to the question about flying, giving a small nod before responding. ”The weather here is steadily warm as always, so it’s not hard to find a lifting current.” he tells the black. Technical wing and wind talk might not really explain much to the walking bush however, and he changes tactics. ”I wouldn’t have picked this shape on a stormy day. Yours seems much more suitable.” Hopping off the horse, he changes into a white elk with the metallic golden markings now transferred to his antlers; perhaps the mirror reverse-image of Velkan, lacking the flowers. ”There, now we’re eye to eye.” A lazy, handsome smile spreads across his features, the laugh still in his emerald eyes. ”My name’s Aodhán.”
I listen with no shortage of curiosity, and not an ounce of understanding, as the bird replies to my question. Are there currents in the air as there are in the ocean? It’s an intriguing thought but I don’t have much time to contemplate it because the bird CHANGES SHAPE and I feel my jaw drop open as a rather impressive looking stag stands before me instead.
Well that’s cool.
I’m distracted from commented on just how cool it is by the introduction. “Aodhan!” The name rings a bell, though I’m fairly certain it doesn’t usually belong to a bird or a stag. “You’re Loire and Aeolus’ dad, right?” There’s a little bit of doubt in my voice - that was more or less the extent of my knowledge (I am not a nosy friend) and I could very well be mistaken. I haven’t met many shapeshifters in my time, oddly enough - monsters, sure, but few who could do such wonderful things like change their shape.
But my doubt fades away with a brilliant smile again and the next words out of my mouth are genuine and utterly pleasant. “It’s nice to meet you - I’m Velkan.” I don’t know whether he’ll recognize my name, or the fact that we’re tied together in the same family by the same mare, but my easy smile hopefully conveys that this is not a fact I have an issue with.
Besides, what I really want to know is - “Can you shift into anything?”
There’s a moment of nice exchanges between newly meeting people, and then he’s stunned for a moment. This man already knows him? The elk blinks at him for a moment, tilting his head. Finally though, it registers - he knows him only through the children, so that means… ”So you’re Eva’s other boyfriend?” he tilts his head, musing over it a little. Then, a grin splits his face. ”So that makes you my… brother-husband?” he chuckles a bit at the term.
He realizes he’s never met Eva’s other kids though. This puts him at some sort of disadvantage, maybe?
Velkan however - he’s a charming, and dare he think it, cute stallion. Perhaps Aodhan himself might be called cute too, he doesn’t really think about it that much. The dark male’s next question is far too curious to really think about something else; and Aodhan can’t help but out a short laugh. ”I haven’t found anything that I can’t be, yet. I even turned into kelp once. Oh, and I got stuck as a stone when I just got it.” he frowns a little, then shakes his head. ”Got any ideas?” he wonders.
Hey, maybe Velkan has some inspiration. Things for him to copy. You can never know until you try, after all.
from the ashes a fire shall be woken
@[Velkan] I love this thread too much. And Ischia is alway summer-y anyway so the season doesn’t matter either (;
I tilt my head a little bit - accidentally mimicking the other stallion - and my grin bright. “I guess we are!” It’s a little weird to think of the term ‘boyfriend’ and my head has a hard time wrapping itself around this funny little situation that we’re in. It doesn’t feel weird to think about - but it does feel weird to hear the words out loud. For myself I've only ever used the words 'friends' or 'family' to describe my ties to Eva but I suppose boyfriend and brother-husbands are as good as anything else!
Thankfully, my tongue and my brain have a bit of a disconnect so I don’t go and say all of this out loud - that’d be a little too much I think! I like Aodhan so far, and it doesn't even cross my mind to think of our family situation as awkward. It seems to be working out pretty well, right?
Anyways. I am all about the challenge to try to think of something for Aodhan to turn into, and I’m completely relaxed as I think about it. I try to think of the most outlandish thing I’ve ever seen - but that pretty much summarizes my family and I’m not about to ask him to turn into a nightmare because no lets not go through that right now.
Any animal is a little too boring and I want to give a creative response - so I name the first ridiculous thing to come to mind. “What about a moose with butterfly wings?”
Honestly, if he can turn into a stone I believe he can manage this but man do I ever want to see what it looks like.
It has been a while, Aodhán realizes, that he met someone wholly new. And Velkan certainly doesn’t disappoint. Besides, their children are related, so they might as well be, too - which opens a whole new world to be explored. He waits though, for the dust to settle - he knows he can be a bit much for some, as he well learned with Noah. Perhaps he was never meant to live in the Pampas as long as he did; they seem to be polar opposites. But Velkan... well, let’s say Eva has a type for sure.
They resonate on a level he doesn’t quite think he can explain, and a goofy grin follows while the dark-skinned male scrunches his face into all kinds of silly images - the white elk wonders if this is how he looks sometimes for just a heartbeat - trying to think of something unreal. When he comes up with one, he doesn’t disappoint, and the white deer chuckles as he lets color into his body. ”I like the way you think,” he adds in. Aodhan-the-elk collects rainbowy colors on his back, rippling through as he makes the shift - to a deer with wings indeed.
Trying very hard not to laugh out loud, he chuckles through is teeth. ”How bad is it?”
