[SPELLBIND - IC CONTACT]

[oneandmikleonly]

action 💧 telepathy 💧 other?

Comments

[imsorey]

[true friends heal each other even when they make fun of each other's butts]

Heal some of your own bruises first. It might be hard to believe, but I've taken worse beatings than that before. I'll be fine.

[oneandmikleonly]

Said like I wasn't there for most of those. All right, I'll heal us both when I can raise my arms again. Strange. I'd expect the stress on the wings to transfer to my shoulders or my back instead of right to the arms, when I have forelegs as well.

[imsorey]

Maybe any strain on your forelegs gets transferred to...

[pausing to look Mikleo up and down, trying to decide where it would go]

Well, your legs or your arms? You have more, uh, appendages when you transform, so the stress could be doubling up in certain parts of your body.

[oneandmikleonly]

Well, that's disturbing to think about. Guess I'll have to train harder and see if that improves things, too.

[imsorey]

Has it been a little easier with practice? Mine doesn't have a physical or mental drawback as far as I've been able to tell, but it also isn't physical like yours is.

[oneandmikleonly]

...it has been easier to adjust to the transformation, yeah. The more I turn into something else without...without any associated malevolence, or loss of control, the easier it is.

Yours is more a matter of, well, responsibility and consent, isn't it?

[imsorey]

[nodding]

Pretty much. The last thing I want to do is wander around inside of someone's soul without asking first. It has certain limitations, like how long it can stay active, but it seems like the more I practice the longer I can maintain it for.

[oneandmikleonly]

Have you been able to use it on yourself...?

[the question's a little delicate, but if Sorey can maybe make use of this to, to sweep some malevolence out with a metaphorical (literal?) broom at some point, Mikleo is all ears.]

[imsorey]

You bet! That's how I've been practicing.

[he doesn't mind saying as much; using someone else's soul for what ultimately amounts to practice feels too personal, especially when he's still getting to know people.]

It's interesting. I actually meant to ask you if it's anything like what you see inside of me, just to compare.

[oneandmikleonly]

I'll bite. What do you see...?

[he's absolutely fascinated by Sorey's power, as necessarily little use as it gets in day to day life...]

[imsorey]

It looks like a grassy field overlooking the ocean. Pretty different from yours, right?

[the description is vague and it's obvious he's leaving some things out, but he doesn't offer any further details]

[oneandmikleonly]

Well, maybe, and maybe not. To me it's sort of like being in an ocean...or a river, maybe.

[looks up at ceiling towards the unseen ocean sky, mouth quirking]

Probably a river. It feels safer than an ocean.

[imsorey]

A river, huh? I don't remember seeing one of those around. They've got to be different then.

[a smile slips onto his face]

It feels safe?

[oneandmikleonly]

It makes sense. You protect us by being our vessel, after all.

[imsorey]

I'll remember that the next time you try to tell me I'm hopeless at something.

[behind his sass, though, he's obviously pleased]

[oneandmikleonly]

As if one has that much to do with the other.

[imsorey]

[ATTEMPTS TO ELBOW]

They've got plenty to do with each other! If I'm at least capable enough to act as a vessel then I'm doing something right. Even if I'm still learning.

[oneandmikleonly]

[doesn't stop him -- he'd have to get up for that, probably -- and winces a little; he's pretty sore]

...you didn't--stop, or anything. You were strong enough to be one even when you slept.

[imsorey]

[the elbowing doesn't do wonders for Sorey's bruises either and he slumps back into his seat, gingerly massaging at some stiff spots with his fingers]

...I wasn't completely sure what would happen while I was asleep. But if it's been holding then the purification should still be working. Although I don't know what'll happen while I'm here.

[oneandmikleonly]

We can't do anything but hope some measure was put in place to account for that.

[imsorey]

[nodding slow as he pulls himself away from that train of thought--what would have happened after he vanished, where Heldalf ended up, how they would have put something in place to prevent things from getting worse. they're things that ultimately he can't do anything about until they make it back home.]

It'll work out. I don't know how, exactly, but I'm sure it will. Maybe it's strange to say, but even after everything I don't think Heldalf would have just given up after that.

[oneandmikleonly]

[ah, there it is.]

...you really believe he's still willing to be purified somewhere, huh? Even him.

[imsorey]

[nodding]

Even him. He's still human, just like me or anyone else. The capacity for kindness is in there just as much as the capacity for cruelty. It's just up to him what he decides to do about it. And I think—

[pausing, shaking his head and correcting himself]

I know that the purification was having an effect. That's proof enough.

[oneandmikleonly]

...I trust you.

[it seems inadequate. he'd barely started coming to terms with Sorey being gone before they found themselves here, together. in the heat of the moment he had trusted Sorey to do what he had to do, but what's it going to be like having to do that all over a second time, when their borrowed time from Qri runs out?

they're selfish thoughts, but it's not like he's perfect.]

[imsorey]

That's high praise coming from you. I'll make sure not to disappoint you. Who knows, maybe everything will already be settled when we get back and we'll have nothing to do.

[his smile softens, touched even though it's something he already knows. it's still nice to hear it. there are plenty of unknowns to deal with whenever they manage to make their way back home, but trust doesn't have to be one of them.]

...Say, did Lailah mention anything to you? After everything.