TIMESTAMP: 25 Calid March, 122
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NOTES: -
► Show Spoiler
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Both parties were oblivious to the sound of approaching footsteps in the hallway outside and neither seemed to hear the click of the lock as a key turned within it. They only noticed when the door opened, Vergil stepping through the threshold only to see a woman he barely knew talking to a pigeon of all things in his living room. Her eyes snapped to his, and Hector turned his little bird head to face his dear friend.
Closing the door, Vergil stared for a second in confusion before he spoke. "Wo-...would you mind explaining what you're doing? Why you're here with, ah, talking…with a pigeon?"
Carmina had frozen solid when she saw him, but now, his exasperation in combination with how ridiculous this situation was broke her. All she could do was laugh.
Trying desperately to speak, "...it-...I-...the, uh, the bird is-..." She really was struggling to say anything coherent through her laughter. "I, um…I gave Hector Animus, and he…he chose to use a random feather for it! He's the pigeon, I promise!"
As stupid as this sounded, it was entirely believable given this was Hector she was talking about. Of course he'd do something like that. Of course he'd do it with zero planning and no warning, too. Vergil looked rather…unamused.
"Hector…if that's actually you, please turn back into yourself just to at least prove she isn't lying." He sounded exhausted simply because of the circumstances. There was also a chance this was all an elaborate joke he didn't want to fall for.
Hector tilted his head to one side, and then the other, and then back and forth again. Hobbling forward near to the edge of the table, he spread his clumsy wings again and attempted to fly towards Vergil. His goal was to land on the other man's shoulder, but given how poor a flier he was, he did not succeed. Instead, he crashed into his companion's chest, causing him to stumble back and attempt to catch Hector in his hands. He did succeed, but only after the little bird boy stopped flailing his wings.
Looking the pigeon dead in its little beady eyes, "I hate you."
If a pigeon could gasp, that would be the best descriptor of Hector’s response. He knew Vergil didn't mean it, but how dare he!? Then, the bird cooed several times as if offended, saddened, and perhaps a bit distressed. To this, Vergil huffed.
"If I take it back will you regain your shape?"
The pigeon chirped, still angry sounding.
Carmina giggled then offered her own advice, "Perhaps you should do that, but also maybe say please?"
For a moment, eyes of gold panned across the room to look at her, then narrowed. "The sad part is you're right." He sighed, looking completely nonplussed.
Looking once more at the bird sitting in his hands, he addressed it once more. "Hector, I'm sorry– I don't hate you. Now, would you please shed this shape?"
The bird cooed happily, ruffling its own feathers. He appeared quite chuffed, very pleased with himself. With this response, Vergil gently set his transformed companion onto the floor and moved to sit on the edge of the sectional, staring at the bird. Hector tilted his head to the side, not really wanting to leave this form yet, but he supposed that he really should. It's not as if he'd never be able to take this shape again.
And thus began the reversal of what Carmina had just sat through. Hector managed this much easier than he did going into this form, though that would be because he had full control of his mind and his aether this time around. First, his entire skeleton began to expand. A very large pigeon was extremely odd to look at, but in truth, the twisting of limbs and molding of flesh was even stranger. As he grew, the flesh grew along with him, but as it expanded, the shape also changed. What were once the spindly legs of a bird became the lithe ones of a man, the ones Hector had been used to. The wiry frame of a bird's wings bent and changed back into a man's arms, and the nubs at the ends slowly began to morph into the wrist joint, then the shape of his palms appeared, and finally, the flesh split into individual fingers, coming apart like the webbing of a frog.
His torso shrunk in length back to what it was proportionally meant to be, then his spine straightened, ribs reformed, and organs shifted back into their proper place. This particular process made him more nauseous than it hurt. Finally, his neck returned to its former length and the plates of his skull briefly disconnected, shifting his features back to their proper place as his beak appeared to be absorbed back into his visage. He looked like himself again! Kind of. He'd done nothing about the feathers…yet.
Carmina looked very pleased, clasping her hands together in awe at the speed with which he accomplished this much. "You are so very fast! I get the feeling you weren't entirely honest about Summoning being your only rune– else how would you have such a powerful command over your form? Don't worry, though; your skill is inspiring. As curious as I am, I'd rather earn your trust so that you'll admit your secrets on your own rather than hound you about it." She sounds unbothered, though she was, admittedly, disappointed he didn't tell the whole truth the first time around.
It isn't as if she didn't understand, though. He lived in a place where people were terrified of magic his whole life, so if he had something particularly special or dangerous, he must feel a lot of trepidation about admitting to it. In due time, she hoped, she'd be able to pry that information free.
There was some relief on Vergil's face when he realized he'd lied about having more than one rune, at least. He was concerned initially since that was really the one thing they weren't supposed to just tell people. Sure, maybe down the line they'd both grow to trust this person, but as of now, she was still a stranger, an acquaintance at very best.
Though he'd yet to retract his feathers, Hector was utterly exhausted. Lifting an arm adorned in grey, he simply gave his new friend a thumbs up.
"You're supposed to be exhausted, by the way. Don't feel bad– just whisk those feathers away and then rest. You've definitely earned it!" She beamed at him, words spoken in a tone filled with praise.
Hector wasn't a modest man, and Carmina was used to being among those capable of transforming, so his nudity bothered neither of them when he did manage to absorb the feathers that adorned him. However, that last flex of his aether really did tip the scales of physical exhaustion. Looking at the two sitting near him, he opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak, but no words came out. Instead, the elf fell to the side, crumpling into a tired heap on the floor.
Vergil sighed, concern written on his face despite the fact that Carmina had just said that such exhaustion was very normal, expected, even. Scooping up the his limp companion, he then looked over to the woman.
"He'll be alright, yes? He's…important to me." Much as he tried, he failed to conceal all of the anxiety he felt from his voice.
"Oh, of course! He'll need to rest for a day, maybe two at most. Here–..." she reached into the purse that rest at her side and pulled out a card, "...if he doesn't wake up in that time frame, please contact me. I'll move mountains to fix him, since if he doesn't it'll have been my fault, anyhow."
Though it was only present for a second, the haunted look that flashed across the other man's features when he thought about Hector dying pulled strongly at Carmina's empathy. He really valued the one in his arms, and frankly, she'd feel terrible if he died because, well, she'd have killed somebody for no reason, and for another, she'd break this man's heart.
"...I appreciate that, thank you. I'm going to put him to bed, make sure he's comfortable. If you've somewhere to be, don't feel obligated to stay," he started to walk in the direction of Hector’s room, but then paused to say one more thing. "Oh, and honestly? Thank you– he wouldn't stop talking about getting another rune over the past few weeks; this'll make him really happy."
Much as Vergil would have wished that this wasn't done so recklessly, he really did mean that.
Carmina smiled at him, the worry nearly cleared from her face. "Of course! Happy to help him improve with it, too!" As she spoke, she gathered her things and made her way to the door, waving cheerfully to them both as she left.
Now that the two were alone, Vergil looked down at Hector, sighed, and mumbled something about how big of a fool he truly was. Lovable and cherished, but reckless and an utter fool, indeed.
Closing the door, Vergil stared for a second in confusion before he spoke. "Wo-...would you mind explaining what you're doing? Why you're here with, ah, talking…with a pigeon?"
Carmina had frozen solid when she saw him, but now, his exasperation in combination with how ridiculous this situation was broke her. All she could do was laugh.
Trying desperately to speak, "...it-...I-...the, uh, the bird is-..." She really was struggling to say anything coherent through her laughter. "I, um…I gave Hector Animus, and he…he chose to use a random feather for it! He's the pigeon, I promise!"
As stupid as this sounded, it was entirely believable given this was Hector she was talking about. Of course he'd do something like that. Of course he'd do it with zero planning and no warning, too. Vergil looked rather…unamused.
"Hector…if that's actually you, please turn back into yourself just to at least prove she isn't lying." He sounded exhausted simply because of the circumstances. There was also a chance this was all an elaborate joke he didn't want to fall for.
Hector tilted his head to one side, and then the other, and then back and forth again. Hobbling forward near to the edge of the table, he spread his clumsy wings again and attempted to fly towards Vergil. His goal was to land on the other man's shoulder, but given how poor a flier he was, he did not succeed. Instead, he crashed into his companion's chest, causing him to stumble back and attempt to catch Hector in his hands. He did succeed, but only after the little bird boy stopped flailing his wings.
Looking the pigeon dead in its little beady eyes, "I hate you."
If a pigeon could gasp, that would be the best descriptor of Hector’s response. He knew Vergil didn't mean it, but how dare he!? Then, the bird cooed several times as if offended, saddened, and perhaps a bit distressed. To this, Vergil huffed.
"If I take it back will you regain your shape?"
The pigeon chirped, still angry sounding.
Carmina giggled then offered her own advice, "Perhaps you should do that, but also maybe say please?"
For a moment, eyes of gold panned across the room to look at her, then narrowed. "The sad part is you're right." He sighed, looking completely nonplussed.
Looking once more at the bird sitting in his hands, he addressed it once more. "Hector, I'm sorry– I don't hate you. Now, would you please shed this shape?"
The bird cooed happily, ruffling its own feathers. He appeared quite chuffed, very pleased with himself. With this response, Vergil gently set his transformed companion onto the floor and moved to sit on the edge of the sectional, staring at the bird. Hector tilted his head to the side, not really wanting to leave this form yet, but he supposed that he really should. It's not as if he'd never be able to take this shape again.
And thus began the reversal of what Carmina had just sat through. Hector managed this much easier than he did going into this form, though that would be because he had full control of his mind and his aether this time around. First, his entire skeleton began to expand. A very large pigeon was extremely odd to look at, but in truth, the twisting of limbs and molding of flesh was even stranger. As he grew, the flesh grew along with him, but as it expanded, the shape also changed. What were once the spindly legs of a bird became the lithe ones of a man, the ones Hector had been used to. The wiry frame of a bird's wings bent and changed back into a man's arms, and the nubs at the ends slowly began to morph into the wrist joint, then the shape of his palms appeared, and finally, the flesh split into individual fingers, coming apart like the webbing of a frog.
His torso shrunk in length back to what it was proportionally meant to be, then his spine straightened, ribs reformed, and organs shifted back into their proper place. This particular process made him more nauseous than it hurt. Finally, his neck returned to its former length and the plates of his skull briefly disconnected, shifting his features back to their proper place as his beak appeared to be absorbed back into his visage. He looked like himself again! Kind of. He'd done nothing about the feathers…yet.
Carmina looked very pleased, clasping her hands together in awe at the speed with which he accomplished this much. "You are so very fast! I get the feeling you weren't entirely honest about Summoning being your only rune– else how would you have such a powerful command over your form? Don't worry, though; your skill is inspiring. As curious as I am, I'd rather earn your trust so that you'll admit your secrets on your own rather than hound you about it." She sounds unbothered, though she was, admittedly, disappointed he didn't tell the whole truth the first time around.
It isn't as if she didn't understand, though. He lived in a place where people were terrified of magic his whole life, so if he had something particularly special or dangerous, he must feel a lot of trepidation about admitting to it. In due time, she hoped, she'd be able to pry that information free.
There was some relief on Vergil's face when he realized he'd lied about having more than one rune, at least. He was concerned initially since that was really the one thing they weren't supposed to just tell people. Sure, maybe down the line they'd both grow to trust this person, but as of now, she was still a stranger, an acquaintance at very best.
Though he'd yet to retract his feathers, Hector was utterly exhausted. Lifting an arm adorned in grey, he simply gave his new friend a thumbs up.
"You're supposed to be exhausted, by the way. Don't feel bad– just whisk those feathers away and then rest. You've definitely earned it!" She beamed at him, words spoken in a tone filled with praise.
Hector wasn't a modest man, and Carmina was used to being among those capable of transforming, so his nudity bothered neither of them when he did manage to absorb the feathers that adorned him. However, that last flex of his aether really did tip the scales of physical exhaustion. Looking at the two sitting near him, he opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak, but no words came out. Instead, the elf fell to the side, crumpling into a tired heap on the floor.
Vergil sighed, concern written on his face despite the fact that Carmina had just said that such exhaustion was very normal, expected, even. Scooping up the his limp companion, he then looked over to the woman.
"He'll be alright, yes? He's…important to me." Much as he tried, he failed to conceal all of the anxiety he felt from his voice.
"Oh, of course! He'll need to rest for a day, maybe two at most. Here–..." she reached into the purse that rest at her side and pulled out a card, "...if he doesn't wake up in that time frame, please contact me. I'll move mountains to fix him, since if he doesn't it'll have been my fault, anyhow."
Though it was only present for a second, the haunted look that flashed across the other man's features when he thought about Hector dying pulled strongly at Carmina's empathy. He really valued the one in his arms, and frankly, she'd feel terrible if he died because, well, she'd have killed somebody for no reason, and for another, she'd break this man's heart.
"...I appreciate that, thank you. I'm going to put him to bed, make sure he's comfortable. If you've somewhere to be, don't feel obligated to stay," he started to walk in the direction of Hector’s room, but then paused to say one more thing. "Oh, and honestly? Thank you– he wouldn't stop talking about getting another rune over the past few weeks; this'll make him really happy."
Much as Vergil would have wished that this wasn't done so recklessly, he really did mean that.
Carmina smiled at him, the worry nearly cleared from her face. "Of course! Happy to help him improve with it, too!" As she spoke, she gathered her things and made her way to the door, waving cheerfully to them both as she left.
Now that the two were alone, Vergil looked down at Hector, sighed, and mumbled something about how big of a fool he truly was. Lovable and cherished, but reckless and an utter fool, indeed.
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Aidolon Speech
'Thoughts'
"Kathalan Tongue/Speech"
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Mythrasi Tongue/Speech"
