driftfleet | +1 tiny invisible child

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+1 tiny invisible child

Who: Mikleo, OTA
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Huntress, Iskaulit
When: Now-ish!

( video; )

[The communicator comes on with a shaking motion, revealing a captain-sized bedroom decorated with various nerdery; those who've been there will recognize it as Mikleo's. That fact is fully cemented when the camera zeros in on Sorey, asleep on the bed with the sheets half-kicked. The communicator is juggled around, then back again, zooming in and out as if being played with by someone who doesn't know what they're doing. It's quiet for a long moment until at last a voice speaks up- young, maybe six or seven, sounding incredulous and very confused.]

How long... did I sleep...

[Sorey stirs then, and the voice yelps quietly and rolls off the bed, communicator turning off in the process.]

( action; huntress )

[There's a little boy wandering cautiously through the halls, poking into rooms if the door is unlocked, gawking at just about everything he sees. He'll be initially shy around strangers, especially any non-seraph and extra especially around humans, but he's a curious sort, so expect to be grilled for information once you prove to be harmless.]

( action; iskaulit )

[At some point he'll make his way over to the other ship, courtesy of one of his shipmates, and that's when the exploring really begins. He'll get into everything he possibly can in this place- every open and available room, every nook and cranny, even the accessible vents, here and there. He's in the library (oh, the library), the garden, the interfaith center, his water room. He's clearly not afraid to poke around unknown places, either.

Just like on the Huntress, the presence of others will make him wary, and humans (or those who carry some malevolence) will get double-caution out of him, but curiosity won't kill this cat. That's the idea, anyway.

Sorey's probably nearby, being the hovery-protective sort that he is, but that's mostly so any malevolence doesn't cause a problem. Mikleo's no longer protected through the sub lord pact, after all.

He may also be accompanied by a baby pengyon, toddling along behind him. Just because.]

((ooc: so yeah mikleo's de-aged for a while, thanks to an augment glitch! he's invisible on camera and his permissions for seeing him in person are here! by now he should be visible to his whole crew. ))

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Yeah... they're everywhere. We never saw this many even in Elysia.

[There were still loads of them in such a clear open sky at night, not clouded by malevolence or that smoke that Gramps says some humans billow into the air, but here they're surrounded by them.]

Do you remember what stars look like?

[He tucks his hat down further and glances away.]

Yeah, I remember. [The gift/curse of seraphic memory.] ... I got my sight back for a little while, a few months ago. I got to see space and learn the faces of the people I journeyed with.

I can sort of imagine what it looks like.

[Mikleo looks over at him, drawn by his tone, then shuffles closer, as far as the seatbelt will allow, and pats Dezel's arm.]

It's okay. Gramps says that water makes really strong healing artes. When I'm bigger we'll find out how to fix your eyes, and you can see whatever you want again.

[It's something a kid would say-- one day I can fix you-- and he means it so innocently, his voice full of that confidence that dreaming kids have. Dezel is still surprised by it, by the gentleness (instead of shying away, like some people do).]

That's-- [Wheels spinning for a moment.] -- it's fine, don't worry about it.

I wouldn't have learned to read the wind if not for this wound, so in a way, I'm grateful. I'm stronger and more useful the way I am now.

...Well, I guess that's okay...

[If he feels better for it, maybe. It's kind of up to him after all. Sort of like Gramps and Taccio using canes to get around when they don't really need to.]

But what's it matter if you're useful?

[He snorts at that.]

You're a kid, so you can mooch all you want. That's what kids do until they grow up.

[He shakes his head.]

I didn't have anyone to take care of me after I lost my sight-- if anything, I had to take care of someone else. I couldn't afford to be a burden.

Whaaat? You had to learn all of that by yourself? No way!

[No wonder he's so serious and capable! He'd be like that too if he'd grown up on his own, surely. Looking after Sorey had made him plenty serious as it is.]

[You'll get there, Mikleo. And be better off than Dezel was.]

Is it that hard to believe?

[They seem to be descending now. The auto pilot gently brings them to the dock, where there's a lurch and a kathunk to lock the shuttle in place.]

I'm sure you could figure it out if you had to. You're bright.

You're awfully confident about somebody you just met.

[So he says, but he's preening a little, too. Why yes, he is bright, and this fact is observable. Take that Sorey!]

You remind me of someone I know, [he counters. It's not... a complete lie...] Anyway, we're here.

[He unbuckles his seatbelt and goes to unbuckle Mikleo's, too, since it might be hard for him to reach the button.]

Fair warning-- it's gonna feel sort of fake. But for our purposes, it's better than cold metal.

[Ever seen a terrarium inside a spinning top? That's basically what this is, and there are orange-skinned people (just a few) walking around the grassy park area that takes up most of the dome. Dezel feels the limits rather than sees them, but just by holding out his hand a bit, he can kick up a nice fresh breeze.]

[It's convincing enough that Mikleo accepts it, dropping the subject in favour of following Dezel outside. It's weird and kind of pretty, and Dezel was right in that it's much better than the ship, but it still feels awfully fake. He can't imagine feeling entirely comfortable here, but... yeah, it's a step up. He'll take it.

The people wandering about are even more strange, and even if they don't notice the presence of the seraphim, it's still more humans (are they humans? he can't even tell) than he's ever seen before, so he walks a bit behind Dezel, peering around his legs. And when he holds a hand out to move the air, Mikleo reaches out as well to grab it, small fingers curling around two of Dezel's.]

[Dezel hesitates for just a moment, just a brief moment, when he feels tiny fingers clasping his own. He thought-- for a second, he felt...

He smiles even though it hurts a little. It's a good kind of hurt.

He leads Mikleo further into the grassy area. There's no hills or anything, but that doesn't mean they can't have fun. He's a wind seraph after all, and they're both invisible... They can have as much fun as they want.]

How do you feel about shoulder rides?

[Mikleo had been looking around in a slow circle when Dezel's question distracts him, and he looks up at the wind seraph, eyes wide and wondrous.]

Shoulder rides? Um... they're okay, I guess...

[He's fooling no one, they're great. Though he's never gotten one from someone this tall before- Gramps was always too short for proper carrying and anyway, they're too big now, and Mason's a bit shorter than this guy.]

[Dezel lifts his hat a bit and grins toothily. It's okay to indulge for a little while... The whole point of living after you're done living is to make more memories, not shy away from them. Little Mikleo will have the time of his life learning what a wind seraph does, and the older him might appreciate it too.

Sorey and the others are his family now. In the absence of the Windriders, he'd neglected to see that he'd found his own-- even though Rose had done the same thing.

He drops to a knee.]

Come on. I won't let you fall.

[His eyes widen, hesitating for only a second before clamouring forward and up onto Dezel's shoulders, accepting his help when he needs it. Once perched, he sets his hands on Dezel's hat, gripping the brim.]

Okay, you can stand up!

[It's funny that he holds onto that, as if the hat is as solid and connected to Dezel as a limb. He's a wind seraph, though, so the likelihood of it being blown off is quite small.]

Here goes.

[He gets up but only halfway, assuming a sort of crouch-- and then they're off, stepping through thin air and only leaving dust devils in their wake. It's fast and loud and unbelievably free. They slice through the air as gracefully as a bird, a fish through water, effortless and untouchable.

Until they hit a wall.

But that doesn't deter Dezel any. His feet barely touch the dome. He uses it to launch them even higher toward the infinite expanse of stars. Here, they can see the attempt at a nature reserve below them. Trees cultivated and made to grow from nearby systems, a filtered pond. It's a little bit fake, but... at least it's a spot of life.

Gravity certainly doesn't seem to affect them up here. Dezel turns weightless, and they go from a high velocity object to simply drifting.]

[Mikleo can't help gawking in every direction his neck will allow, eyes wide and wondrous, drinking it all in. It's not as if the area changed, it's still unnatural and not that impressive, but the perspective makes everything different and new. Once they're drifting he loosens his hold, letting his legs and Dezel's hands do the gripping, and reaches up into the air, feeling the drift, the loss of gravity around them. He's never felt anything like this before.]

It's amazing... you're amazing, Dezel! I never knew people could fly like this!

[Dezel keeps Mikleo glued to him but as far as gravity goes, he's on his own. They're weightless in an entirely different way than the aimlessness of space. This is like a bird at the top of a thermal, riding on the hot air. There's a promise of speed and rushing-- just not right now. Not yet.]

Bet the wind seraphim you know never did this.

[He holds onto Mikleo's ankles and suddenly they're moving again, buoyed by a whirlwind like a cushion. It bounces them upward and into a loop, where they pause for a fraction of a second upside down. And then something like invisible wings catch them, and they cruise through the rest of the loop and finally float back toward the ground.]

They didn't!

[he's giggling by the time they land, leaning over Dezel's head as much as the hat allows, hugging more than holding now. He's a little breathless, gleeful, his hair sticking up at weird angles. so cool. so very cool.]

Nobody ever flew in Elysia... Shiron used wind to get on top of the huge rocks sometimes, but it wasn't like this! Thank you!

[Mikleo is a tiny breathless thrill-seeker, the likes of which Dezel only saw in calibration flashbacks. He's a little pleased with himself for bringing this out.]

I've had some practice. [That's not an explanation.] I don't know if you could replicate it exactly, but you're still a seraph. If you keep training, you'll eventually be able to use water like an extension of yourself.

... That's what I think, anyway.

[Mikleo mulls this over thoughtfully for a moment, then lifts his hands, focusing on them until a little ball of water appears. It's a weak, primitive arte, nothing compared to the complicated spells he'd mastered as his older self, but there's potential.]

So... if I just practice enough, maybe I could do something like that...

[A breeze combs through Mikleo's hair for a moment, soft and encouraging. Dezel has nothing to do with it of course.]

The sky's the limit.

[... is that a joke]

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+1 tiny invisible child

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