[ Unfortunately, when Gray pats at the ground into which Gen has vanished, she'll find it's just ... solid ground. Hard earth with some dirt and grit laid over, with barely any give beneath her palms, no matter where she scrabbles at. It's like he was never there in the first place???
Though a moment afterward, she might hear Gen's voice piping from just past the cliff's edge and a few feet down: ]
Hey.
[ A quick glance over the edge reveals Gen standing on a little ledge some five feet down, looking back up towards her. A pointy ear flicks as he cants his head at her, like he's not sure what she's waiting for? Did something happen to delay her??? What's the problem? ]
[ Well then, Gray has half her arm punched into the hard ground when Gens' voice pops up nearby. She quickly digs her fist out and scurries over to the edge of the cliff, where lo and behold, there he is. She stares at him, clearly confused, her poor little neurons sputtering. ]
H... How did you get there?
[ Did she black out for five seconds, is that what happened!! ]
Haa? [ His head tilts the other way, and the other ear flicks before Gen realizes ] -- oh, I didn't tell you.
[ Then he casually holds his hand up, letting her see him flexing his fingers, before plunging it into the sheer surface of the cliff before him, straight up to the elbow. There's no digging noise, no displacement of dirt, nothing. His hand slides in smoothly, like through water, then pops out just as easily when he withdraws his hand to show her again. ]
Some weird new ability I got when I came to this side. I can move through the ground.
[ And then a brief pause before he frowns. ]
I can't take you with me, though. Living things are hard.
[ As Gray watches his demonstration, she slowly relaxes. If it was something of his volition and not some man-eating magic island thing, then she supposes all is well. Though as the adrenaline fades, it leaves a little speck of rare disgruntlement in its wake. Gray frowns a little, her brow sighing downard. ]
[ More than that little speck of disgruntlement in her voice (sorry not sorry), it's her words that elicit a small frown and a pause. 'You worried me.' Even if he knows on a rational level that some individuals here are like that, it still catches him off-guard every time he remembers that some people actually worry about him.
So after a moment of grudging silence, Gen huffs out a hard breath and looks away. ]
Fine, fine. ... my bad.
[ Congrats, Gray! That might be the closest he's come to actually apologizing to anyone here???
Too bad it's followed by Gen giving a petulant shrug. ]
Just figured it'd be obvious. Did you think I could climb down a wall like this? [ He waves his left arm along with those words; the empty lower half of his sleeve flops limply from the movement. ]
[ Even if it's a sorry apology, it goes a long way toward unruffling Gray's feathers. It's the thought that counts, probably, and she can see how he has to drag it out of himself.
Thus appeased, she finally slips over the edge of the cliff to land lightly beside him. In a milder tone of voice, she says, ]
I don't think anyone could call melting through the earth common sense. I thought the island ate you.
[ Which isn't really common sense either, but it's some kind of Fate/ sense. Anyway. ]
If you'd like to keep moving down that way, I'll follow.
[ How does getting eaten by an island feel more sensible to her than people having weird abilities. Gen just gives her a Look for a moment before snorting. ]
I ain't dying in such a lame way. [ Then he starts melting back into the dirt below them, pausing while he's halfway phased into it (it looks very weird and lame) to add: ] Meet me down there. Shout if you need a foothold or anything, I can do stuff like that again too, now.
[ Aaaaand off he goes. There's not a trace of him left in the ground when he melts into it, and a few moments later, he pops his head out of another flat surface a few feet down to look around. Presumably gauging his progress, though he does also look around to make sure of Gray's position before melting out of sight once more.
He makes steady progress all the way down, finally emerging out of the ground and shaking his head (his ears flop) to dislodge a few specks of dirt and rock from his hair. Then, looking over to Gray, he gives a cant of the head: ]
-- did you get any weird new abilities when you went Meridian? Or do you already have enough stuff that you don't need anything else.
[ She supposes it's normal for people to think they'll die a meaningful death... especially when they're still young like Gen is. She watches him phase back into the ground curiously, thinking about how much he's changed since she first met him. But it's a good thing that he has something to protect himself with now other than brute force.
She turns to her own task of descending the cliff. She peeks over the edge before beginning to hop her way down, landing lightly from precarious ledge to precarious ledge like a hooded mountain goat, and when there are none, she simply skips and skids her way down until more appear. Traversing a cliff is easier than moving up and down the bare sides of buildings, and it's her natural habitat besides. As she descends, she wonders idly if Gen's power extends to upward movement as well, or if she'll need to carry him back up.
When she touches down to level ground, she perks up as Gen suddenly emerges from the cliffside. She finds the way he shakes the dirt off cutely doglike.
When he makes his comment, she pauses. Does she "already have enough stuff"...??? She is desensitized to people who can do 10000 magicky things. ]
Ah... I did learn how to talk to animals. And I can produce a little light... and mend broken things. But I'm not that good at it.
[ That earns a raised eyebrow and a flick of the ears. (Guess who hasn't learned anything about the spells he's learned from Harmonization just yet.) ]
Kind of a random collection of stuff. [ Still, he gives a thoughtful hum as he turns away, nodding to indicate that Gray should follow. ] Well, that last one sounds handy, though. Just being able to fix things. Might be good if you practice that one.
[ At least, it sounds more generally useful than being able to talk to animals or act as a flashlight?
Anyway.
It's a short distance away that Gen jerks his head to direct Gray's attention towards what appears to be the remains of a rockslide; boulders and rocks of various sizes litter the ground, piled up before a deeper crack that furrows into the cliff wall behind it. One of the larger rocks lying on the ground has been split in two, revealing chunks of gleaming, green minerals within. ]
That's the stuff we're looking for. [ Gen crouches down to pick up one of the fragments, then hands it over for Gray to inspect. ] Think I should be able to get the amount I was requested in a day or two ... probably. Though for you, even if you don't grab that much, if you sell it, you should be able to get some good money for it.
[ Gray has been getting the most use out of talking to animals, but that's probably more of an enjoyment thing than a practical thing. She might say that it's practical in regards to owning a little chicken, but her little chicken probably wouldn't be too hard to decipher either way.
Anyway.
Gray looks curiously at the gleaming green bit that Gen passes her way. She's no minerologist, so her best guess is that it's something like an emerald... because it's the only green gem she can think of. ]
With his explanation done, Gen gets to work. Crouched down before the pile of rocks, he unhooks the pickaxe from his belt to starts whacking at them one at a time. Any that split open to reveal glimmers of that green are tossed into an empty sack; those that don't are chucked aside.
For all his usual griping and bitching, Gen seems comfortable enough once he settles into the rhythm of manual labor. ]
The guy just told me to bring him a sackful, so I'm doing it. [ There's the crack of his next rock splitting open to reveal veins of green inside, followed by the click of it getting thrown into his sack. Gen picks up another rock before adding a little more seriously: ] ... the guy makes prosthetics. It's to help pay for one.
[ Gray watches Gen at work carefully so that she can learn by example. As he explains, her mouth forms a little 'o' of sudden understanding. ]
I didn't know there were people capable of that here...
[ Though it shouldn't be surprising. There were people who made automatons in her home world, but she always thought of it as a very specialized magic. Either way, the motive behind the job makes it that much more important. Gen's been without an arm for so long; he must be aching for a replacement. Now pumped up, she quickly crouches to help with the work.
Lacking a pickaxe, she picks up a rock and works her little brain for a few seconds before simply picking up a second rock and Hulk Smashing the two of them together. They crumble in her hands, and she sifts through the bits before studiously drizzling the green bits into the sack. Veering into speedrun mode, she begins to rapidly crack rocks together with the intent to kill every rock this side of the island if that's what it takes to GoFundGen. ]
I didn't know either. [ Gen squints at the rock in his hand, turning it one way then another as he tries to tell if that little glimmer there is green or not. In the end, he breaks it in half once more to make sure -- it is -- before chucking it in the sack. ] But it's a thing. He told me I can choose whether I want it mechanical or magical, too, so I have to think about it.
[ Then the sudden sound of Gray smashing two rocks together has him jumping and glancing over his shoulder, clearly startled. Geez, every time he starts forgetting that Gray is a superhuman freak, she provides him with a convenient little reminder.
... then Gen realizes her sudden ramp-up in enthusiasm made itself clear only once he spoke about the prosthetic.
Gen huffs quietly to himself before saying, loudly, so she'll hear it over the din of crumbling rocks: ] Well, that's just my problem though. [ And, as he tosses the other empty sack her way, ] -- here. You carry what you're gonna sell.
[ Gray's hulking pauses as she glances over at the sack thrown her way. She isn't really interested in making money... so she'll find a way to sneak the good bits from her sack into Gen's sack later. ]
Isn't it better if it's magical?
[ It seems pretty cut-and-dry to her, but she is a little biased as superhuman freak. ]
[ He hates that that was his exact thought at first, too. ]
S'not that simple. [ Though he does heave a brief sigh, Gen's following explanation is (perhaps surprisingly) even-handed. Turns out he can actually just talk neutrally like a normal person from time to time. ] If it's magic, it gets attached quicker and they can upgrade it more easily, yeah. But -- you know the types of bullshit we'll probably have to deal with, fighting for those Oracles. If we end up anywhere where magic doesn't work, I'd have a big load of deadweight stuck to my arm. That's worse than not having one at all. [ He pauses only to split open another rock; this one's a dud. ] Mechanical will hurt to attach, but it's more failsafe. Apparently.
[ He's leaning towards the latter, as a result, but it's not an easy decision. Gen frowns to himself, quiet for a moment before drawling, ]
[ Gray makes a quiet noise of understanding as she thoughtfully kills some more rocks. It sounds like a tough decision. For herself, it would boil down to the practical matter of which type of limb would be able to channel magical energy... which in all likelihood would be the magical arm. That isn't applicable to Gen, though. ]
A mechanical one would probably suit you better.
[ That's just her impression, lightly voiced as she focuses on their work. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2023-02-14 05:39 am (UTC)Though a moment afterward, she might hear Gen's voice piping from just past the cliff's edge and a few feet down: ]
Hey.
[ A quick glance over the edge reveals Gen standing on a little ledge some five feet down, looking back up towards her. A pointy ear flicks as he cants his head at her, like he's not sure what she's waiting for? Did something happen to delay her??? What's the problem? ]
You coming or not?
no subject
Date: 2023-02-14 05:54 am (UTC)H... How did you get there?
[ Did she black out for five seconds, is that what happened!! ]
no subject
Date: 2023-02-14 06:13 am (UTC)[ Then he casually holds his hand up, letting her see him flexing his fingers, before plunging it into the sheer surface of the cliff before him, straight up to the elbow. There's no digging noise, no displacement of dirt, nothing. His hand slides in smoothly, like through water, then pops out just as easily when he withdraws his hand to show her again. ]
Some weird new ability I got when I came to this side. I can move through the ground.
[ And then a brief pause before he frowns. ]
I can't take you with me, though. Living things are hard.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-14 08:41 am (UTC)[ As Gray watches his demonstration, she slowly relaxes. If it was something of his volition and not some man-eating magic island thing, then she supposes all is well. Though as the adrenaline fades, it leaves a little speck of rare disgruntlement in its wake. Gray frowns a little, her brow sighing downard. ]
You worried me.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-15 12:06 am (UTC)So after a moment of grudging silence, Gen huffs out a hard breath and looks away. ]
Fine, fine. ... my bad.
[ Congrats, Gray! That might be the closest he's come to actually apologizing to anyone here???
Too bad it's followed by Gen giving a petulant shrug. ]
Just figured it'd be obvious. Did you think I could climb down a wall like this? [ He waves his left arm along with those words; the empty lower half of his sleeve flops limply from the movement. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-02-15 03:04 am (UTC)Thus appeased, she finally slips over the edge of the cliff to land lightly beside him. In a milder tone of voice, she says, ]
I don't think anyone could call melting through the earth common sense. I thought the island ate you.
[ Which isn't really common sense either, but it's some kind of Fate/ sense. Anyway. ]
If you'd like to keep moving down that way, I'll follow.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-15 04:04 am (UTC)I ain't dying in such a lame way. [ Then he starts melting back into the dirt below them, pausing while he's halfway phased into it (it looks very weird and lame) to add: ] Meet me down there. Shout if you need a foothold or anything, I can do stuff like that again too, now.
[ Aaaaand off he goes. There's not a trace of him left in the ground when he melts into it, and a few moments later, he pops his head out of another flat surface a few feet down to look around. Presumably gauging his progress, though he does also look around to make sure of Gray's position before melting out of sight once more.
He makes steady progress all the way down, finally emerging out of the ground and shaking his head (his ears flop) to dislodge a few specks of dirt and rock from his hair. Then, looking over to Gray, he gives a cant of the head: ]
-- did you get any weird new abilities when you went Meridian? Or do you already have enough stuff that you don't need anything else.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-15 05:03 am (UTC)She turns to her own task of descending the cliff. She peeks over the edge before beginning to hop her way down, landing lightly from precarious ledge to precarious ledge like a hooded mountain goat, and when there are none, she simply skips and skids her way down until more appear. Traversing a cliff is easier than moving up and down the bare sides of buildings, and it's her natural habitat besides. As she descends, she wonders idly if Gen's power extends to upward movement as well, or if she'll need to carry him back up.
When she touches down to level ground, she perks up as Gen suddenly emerges from the cliffside. She finds the way he shakes the dirt off cutely doglike.
When he makes his comment, she pauses. Does she "already have enough stuff"...??? She is desensitized to people who can do 10000 magicky things. ]
Ah... I did learn how to talk to animals. And I can produce a little light... and mend broken things. But I'm not that good at it.
[ Mental things are hard... ]
no subject
Date: 2023-02-17 03:21 am (UTC)Kind of a random collection of stuff. [ Still, he gives a thoughtful hum as he turns away, nodding to indicate that Gray should follow. ] Well, that last one sounds handy, though. Just being able to fix things. Might be good if you practice that one.
[ At least, it sounds more generally useful than being able to talk to animals or act as a flashlight?
Anyway.
It's a short distance away that Gen jerks his head to direct Gray's attention towards what appears to be the remains of a rockslide; boulders and rocks of various sizes litter the ground, piled up before a deeper crack that furrows into the cliff wall behind it. One of the larger rocks lying on the ground has been split in two, revealing chunks of gleaming, green minerals within. ]
That's the stuff we're looking for. [ Gen crouches down to pick up one of the fragments, then hands it over for Gray to inspect. ] Think I should be able to get the amount I was requested in a day or two ... probably. Though for you, even if you don't grab that much, if you sell it, you should be able to get some good money for it.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-19 05:11 am (UTC)Anyway.
Gray looks curiously at the gleaming green bit that Gen passes her way. She's no minerologist, so her best guess is that it's something like an emerald... because it's the only green gem she can think of. ]
This is for a blacksmith? What is it used for?
no subject
Date: 2023-02-20 01:23 am (UTC)[ Wow. Incredible. So helpful.
With his explanation done, Gen gets to work. Crouched down before the pile of rocks, he unhooks the pickaxe from his belt to starts whacking at them one at a time. Any that split open to reveal glimmers of that green are tossed into an empty sack; those that don't are chucked aside.
For all his usual griping and bitching, Gen seems comfortable enough once he settles into the rhythm of manual labor. ]
The guy just told me to bring him a sackful, so I'm doing it. [ There's the crack of his next rock splitting open to reveal veins of green inside, followed by the click of it getting thrown into his sack. Gen picks up another rock before adding a little more seriously: ] ... the guy makes prosthetics. It's to help pay for one.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-21 05:16 am (UTC)I didn't know there were people capable of that here...
[ Though it shouldn't be surprising. There were people who made automatons in her home world, but she always thought of it as a very specialized magic. Either way, the motive behind the job makes it that much more important. Gen's been without an arm for so long; he must be aching for a replacement. Now pumped up, she quickly crouches to help with the work.
Lacking a pickaxe, she picks up a rock and works her little brain for a few seconds before simply picking up a second rock and Hulk Smashing the two of them together. They crumble in her hands, and she sifts through the bits before studiously drizzling the green bits into the sack. Veering into speedrun mode, she begins to rapidly crack rocks together with the intent to kill every rock this side of the island if that's what it takes to GoFundGen. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-02-25 04:34 am (UTC)[ Then the sudden sound of Gray smashing two rocks together has him jumping and glancing over his shoulder, clearly startled. Geez, every time he starts forgetting that Gray is a superhuman freak, she provides him with a convenient little reminder.
... then Gen realizes her sudden ramp-up in enthusiasm made itself clear only once he spoke about the prosthetic.
Gen huffs quietly to himself before saying, loudly, so she'll hear it over the din of crumbling rocks: ] Well, that's just my problem though. [ And, as he tosses the other empty sack her way, ] -- here. You carry what you're gonna sell.
no subject
Date: 2023-02-26 02:03 pm (UTC)Isn't it better if it's magical?
[ It seems pretty cut-and-dry to her, but she is a little biased as superhuman freak. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-03-03 05:18 am (UTC)S'not that simple. [ Though he does heave a brief sigh, Gen's following explanation is (perhaps surprisingly) even-handed. Turns out he can actually just talk neutrally like a normal person from time to time. ] If it's magic, it gets attached quicker and they can upgrade it more easily, yeah. But -- you know the types of bullshit we'll probably have to deal with, fighting for those Oracles. If we end up anywhere where magic doesn't work, I'd have a big load of deadweight stuck to my arm. That's worse than not having one at all. [ He pauses only to split open another rock; this one's a dud. ] Mechanical will hurt to attach, but it's more failsafe. Apparently.
[ He's leaning towards the latter, as a result, but it's not an easy decision. Gen frowns to himself, quiet for a moment before drawling, ]
I'll figure it out.
no subject
Date: 2023-03-07 08:59 am (UTC)A mechanical one would probably suit you better.
[ That's just her impression, lightly voiced as she focuses on their work. ]