apocalypsehowcomm | my eyes like butterflies [OPEN + closed prompts]

Entry tags:

my eyes like butterflies [OPEN + closed prompts]

Who: Ade Bennett + various + maybe you?
When: Throughout July
Where: Near ADI headquarters, at Dogtown, and possibly other locations
Summary: Ade deals with an unexpected change to his eyes + various catch-all prompts
Warnings: Freaky alien eyes

[ When Ade first feels it, he thinks it’s allergies.

He is at a pet supply shop after all—there must be all kinds of dander and dust in there—so when he notices the faintly stinging heat in his eyes, he ignores it for the first few minutes... At least, until he remembers that it shouldn’t even be possible for him to have allergies. At that point, he hastily finds a restroom with a mirror to take a look at what exactly is going on—

—and promptly has to suppress a shout of surprise. His eyes are no longer those of a human—they’re those of a wess’har, dominated by a golden iris and alien, four-lobed pupil. When he stares, those pupils abruptly snap shut, forming the cross shape he saw so often in the eyes of particularly inquisitive wess’har back on Bezer’ej. ]

Shit, [ he whispers. Of course this happens when he’s outside of ADI headquarters, with no psychic disguise because he hadn’t thought he’d need one.

He needs to get back. Fast—and without any civilians seeing his eyes.

What follows is a painfully extended trip back to ADI headquarters. Ade keeps his head tucked down, moving as quickly and purposefully as he can while barely being able to see in front of him. Still, he fares surprisingly well for most of the trip, letting his feet retrace his steps. At some point, he even realizes he can make his bowed head look more natural by holding his phone as he walks, pretending to be engrossed in something on the screen. He begins to feel almost hopeful that he might be able to make it back to ADI without incident—

—until he walks headlong into someone in the home stretch.

He jerks back, heart pounding, remembering to close his eyes at the last second. Unfortunately, that leaves him not knowing who is standing in front of him—or how to step around them. ]

Sorry, [ he says. ] I’ll just—

[ Cue him very awkwardly trying to side-step someone he can’t see. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ When Ade had ended his deal with Luka, he knew it would only be a matter of time before he started feeling the effects. He just hadn't been sure what it would feel like at the time—only that, slowly, he'd lose his access to c'nataat's powers of healing and mutation. 'That's fine,' he had thought. 'I've spent most of his life as an ordinary, non-mutating human. I can deal with being one again.'

What he hadn't been prepared for was the hunger. He doesn't know how to explain it. It doesn't feel like a desire for food and yet, it is unmistakably a craving for something. It leaves him feeling weak and irritable—and knowing the probable cause of it doesn't help.

The Entities want more fear. After the fallout with Luka, he'd done his own research and had narrowed down their likely "benefactor" to the Stranger, the Corruption, or the Flesh—or maybe they're working in tandem. Ade settles on feeling personally aggrieved by all three of them for the time being as the ADI van drops him and Hunter off outside Dogtown. At least he's working with someone familiar. Maybe ADI had decided to pair them up after their mutual competence in fighting Deepthi.

Ade squints in the afternoon sunlight, feeling vaguely hungover. ]

Better not let your friend fly off, [ he grumbles, nodding to Hunter's cardinal. ] Pretty sure their orders about not crossing the perimeter extend to him.

[Hunter is more than ready to get back to work. He isn't used to any kind of downtime, not eve after stopping massive threats like several avatars, so he's eager to get started.

He's in his full uniform including the mask today, despite being well aware that it isn't necessary. In fact, he's pretty sure the mask is doing a fine job of unnerving people, and that it may be allowing for a trickle of fear towards one of the entities, but if it means making sure Flapjack stays healthy and he has access to magic if needed, then it's worthwhile.

He's looking at their surroundings, not having gotten to see much of Gloucester before they were all carted off to Wolf Pen.]

He'll stay close.

[Flapjack gives a reassuring cheep from his spot on Hunter's shoulder, though a small group of the crows nearby immediately draw his attention and he puffs out his feathers.

Hunter, meanwhile, stares a little longer at Ade.]

Are you alright?

[ The cardinal's little cheep manages to pry a slight smile out of Ade, despite his mood. It's a cute little thing.

At Hunter's question, Ade waves a hand. ]

I'm fine. Just a little under the weather.

[ He'd prefer not to talk about why. Admitting that he's fear-hungry would feel like admitting that he's dangerous, a liability. And while the sensation is certainly annoying, Ade wouldn't say it's that bad—at least, not yet.

Whatever the future holds, it isn't enough to deter him from their current mission. He turns towards the perimeter fence, scanning the overgrown landscape beyond. There's nothing immediately alarming as far as he can see—just vegetation and the occasional patch of crumbling concrete—but he can't deny that something feels off.

Or maybe the general malaise he's feeling is throwing off false positives. He sighs and motions for Hunter to follow him. ]

Come on. We'll walk the perimeter, see what we're dealing with here.

[Hunter's tone is a little skeptical, and even Flapjack tilts his head curiously.]

If you're sure that's all it is.

[He doesn't want to pry, though he likes Ade and is a little concerned about what 'under the weather' might mean. But it's fine. He can keep an eye on him while they complete this assignment. He can do that, no problem.

He'll follow after Ade, scanning their surroundings for anything unusual. Flapjack does, too.]

Okay. [He pauses, then adds.] This is the first time I've been out here.

[ Ade feels a twinge of guilt about not coming clean to the kid, but if Hunter is concerned about him now, he'd only be more so if Ade told him the entire truth. Better for Ade to keep it to himself and keep them both focused on their assignment. ]

I got sent on a patrol here once after I first arrived in Gloucester. This used to be ADI's favorite spot for field training new recruits. [ He frowns, looking out over the serene landscape as they walk. ] Something must've changed their minds.

[ Whatever it is, it isn't readily apparent. Beyond the perimeter, Dogtown looks like any other unkempt grassy expanse, quiet and still. Yet, there's something unnatural about the stillness—as if the entire landscape is holding its breath. Had it been this way when Ade had first come here? He can't say for certain. Those first few days in Gloucester had been a blur and there'd been so much else to take in and process at the time... ]

I don't know, [ Ade murmurs. ] I feel like something's changed about this place. But I'm not sure what.

Edited 2022-07-21 03:34 (UTC)

They actually tried to train people?

[Colour Hunter surprised. Given his own lack of initial evaluation he had settled into the assumption that the ADI would just take anyone, regardless of skillset, and put them to work immediately.

He frowns, glancing around. The human realm is still new to him, and he's so used to the comparative nonsense from the Boiling Isles that he isn't sure what he should even be looking for, let alone how Ade could tell something has changed.]

Are you sure? Maybe it only seems different because you haven't been here recently.

[As he's looking around he takes notice of a few birds - crows, he assumes - and squints back at them. Flapjack notices too, and cheeps.]

Yeah. There didn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to it, but there was some attempt.

[ Really it was more of a haphazard supervised deployment, but the point still stands: in the beginning, the ADI had felt that Dogtown was benign enough to train new recruits. Now, they don't.

Looking at Dogtown now, it looks even more unexciting than it had then. Ade supposes that's a natural consequence of not having pairs of new arrivals trudging around poking at things. ]

Maybe, [ he concedes. ] It was a while ago...

[ He looks up at the sound of Hunter's cardinal cheeping. It doesn't take him long to see what's gotten the little bird's attention—a cluster of crows sitting in a tree a few meters beyond the perimeter. Each sleek black head is turned to stare at them. ]

Huh, [ Ade says, looking between the crows and Hunter's companion. ] I don't know much about birds—but that seems odd.

[ Maybe it's as simple as the crows sizing up the cardinal on Hunter's shoulder as a snack. Even so, Ade has never seen birds look quite so intent before. ]

[Well! Colour Hunter surprised. ADI has been thoroughly confusing to him - it's an authority, as far as he knows the only authority who can deal with the supernatural goings on, but they've seemed less than... competent, at times. That they had actually tried to train people surprises him.

He shakes that off though, trying to focus on the task in front of them. Eyeing the crows warily, he frowns.]

Birds aren't normally this... attentive, in the human realm?

[Flapjack puffs up his feathers, cheeping noisily at them. A few of the crows squawk back in response, which causes Hunter to look over at his cardinal in surprise.]

What is it?

[Flapjack just keeps on cheeping loudly, and the crows squawk back.]

[ Ade watches the exchange between the birds, fascinated. Are they... talking to each other? It definitely looks like some kind of heated conversation, but then, maybe he's just projecting human behavior onto them. Still, he knows there's more to Hunter's cardinal than meets the eye—he's seen it turn into a magical staff, for one thing—so maybe there's something deeper going on after all.

He looks to Hunter. ]

You can't, uh... understand any of that, can you?

[ Look, he doesn't know how witches work. Why wouldn't they be able to talk to their familiars? ]

[At that question Hunter clears his throat awkwardly. He doesn't really want to lie to Ade, he trusts the guy and it feels like it would be pretty obvious if he tried being dishonest.

On the other hand, he knows that being able to understand Flapjack is potentially very dangerous for both of them.]

... I can. We have a bond, and it's somehow persisting even in this realm. [Through a steady diet of fear, Hunter suspects, but he isn't about to say that aloud when he knows they aren't supposed to be feeding any entities.]

[ Fortunately for Hunter, Ade is, at least initially, too charmed by the notion of him sharing a psychic bond with his cardinal to realize that this may be a fear-based power like his own. Certainly, the little bird doesn't strike him as sinister in the same way c'nataat does. ]

Really? [ His expression breaks into a surprised smile. ] What's he saying?

[A small wave of relief washes through Hunter at the question. He doesn't feel like he's in the clear quite yet, but Ade isn't admonishing him for using magic and that's something.

He pauses before answering, listening to Flapjack's cheeping.]

He says they aren't saying anything coherent. He can understand them, but it's like they're just stringing words together instead of making complete sentences. But it all sounds... dangerous, to him.

[ Ade's smile falters when Hunter relays his cardinal's observations. Crows speaking cryptic, ominous nonsense—that can't be good. He casts another uneasy glance at the birds. They stare back. ]

What does that mean? Does he think they're plotting something?

[ It feels ridiculous to even suggest—what could a few birds even do that's so dangerous?—but Ade's not sure how else to take the information. Who knows? Ade had seen firsthand how much damage Hunter can deal with his little cardinal. Maybe these birds have similar destructive potential. ]

I don't know. [It's certainly a thought that's crossed Hunter's mind, and he reaches up to pet Flapjack's head gently as the bird keeps on chirping.]

He can't tell. He doesn't like any of this, though.

[He doesn't know how benign birds in the human realm are supposed to be, but this doesn't sound good to him.]

What should we do? Go report this to the ADI?

[The woman he hauls into looks like she was also not paying a lot of attention to where she was going, hood on a sleeveless hoodie pulled up over her head as she goes. But the impact shakes them both, leaving her not quite on her ass but taking a moment to regain her balance. Unlike Ade though, her eyes look normal, if he takes the moment to see her.]

Dude, you're-- you're just in the middle of the sidewalk, what the fuck--

[And now she's trying to steady him so she can step around, so cue hands on you, my guy.]

Yeah, sorry—!

[ He jerks back in surprise at the feeling of hands on his shoulders, eyes fluttering open for a moment. If she's paying attention, she might catch the glimpse of gold irises and clover-shaped pupils before his eyelids shut tight again. ]

I just, uh—migraines. Light sensitivity. You know.

[ He can cover his eyes all he wants, but there's no hiding the telltale flush of red spreading across his face. He really could not feel like more of a pillock if he tried. ]

[The pupils go by in a blur, but gold is a clear odd signal- she hasn't seen eyes that color since she got dropped into this perma-human zone. Sorry that you ran into an Eye person without any tact, buddy. Bad luck.]

O...kay? You can't just walk down a street with your eyes closed though or this is gonna keep happening. Did you like, hurt yourself, your eye looked bloody or something, lemme see--

[She's attempting to grab his head now to hold it steady and get a better look. You know, the thing he doesn't want.]

[ Ade keeps his eyes shut tight this time, even as he attempts to shove away her arms. ]

I'm fine! [ he snaps, heart pounding. Of course the stranger he's run into happens to be someone without any concept of personal space. He takes a step back from her, arms half-raised to fend off any other attempts to grab him. ]

Look, my work is just down the street. So get out of my way and I'll be off the street soon enough.

[Wow, he's wiggly. Her first instinct is to put him in a headlock, but he backs up, so she doesn't try to tackle him to the ground or anything. Just takes a few steps back and puts her hands up a bit defensively.]

You're gonna wander into fuckin' traffic if you keep your eyes closed, and not that I give a shit about you, but I don't want to get hit by somebody else, so either open them or-- follow me to your job or whatever, okay?

[ It takes a significant amount of willpower for Ade to keep his eyes closed while the other person speaks, tempted as he is to see exactly who is going through such effort to be a pain in his arse. Still, he keeps them shut and when she offers to guide him towards his "work," he relents with a sigh. ]

Fine. You know ADI? Apex Detectives Incorporated? Big shiny office building about— [ Vague, hopefully correct gesturing ] —that way? That's where I'm headed. You get me to the front door, I'll sort myself out from there.

[It's probably better he's got his eyes closed, because now Beau's actually looking at him a little suspiciously. Then again, it's not like he can see her, so recognizing her might be trouble...]

Dude. I work there, of course I know where it is. That's all you had to say. Do you need to see a doctor or something?

Whoa!

[Deep in thought as well, Carter can't quite tell who bumped into who really. He stumbles, takes a step back and puts his hands up, muttering something half-annoyed, half apology. At least that is until he recognizes the man.]

Mr. Bennett.

[It's considerably cooler than before and he pauses and frowns, taking him in with newfound interest.]

What are you doing?

[ Shit. Out of all the people Ade could have run into, it's the one person who probably has the worst view of c'nataat here. On some level, Ade is relieved he's dealing with someone from ADI rather than a civilian but that doesn't change the trepidation he feels picturing the other man's reaction. ]

Dr. Carter, [ Ade responds stiffly. ] I, uh... might need an escort back to ADI headquarters.

[ It occurs to him that he could lie. It wouldn't be too hard to blame his strange behavior all on the Entities—maybe he could pin it on the eyeball one. Except, of course, that Ade is terrible at lying. Not to mention that the last thing he needs is to give Carter even more reason to be suspicious of him. After a moment more of hesitation, Ade sighs, shoulders slumping. ]

Bloody c'nataat's acting up, [ he mutters under his breath. ] It gave me wess— [ He stops himself. ] Alien eyes. It shouldn't do that, not without a reason.

[ An unhappy laugh and then just as quietly. ] Not that that seems to have stopped it before...

It's been doing that a lot lately, huh.

[His tone is flat but somehow also very pointed. He really isn't a fan of that... thing, whatever it is.

But Ade being honest with him does count for something and even Carter realizes that it would be more than hypocritical to stick out his neck for Luka and leave this guy here. Plus, if he gets found out that means Luka gets found out. And Carter might need him still, for blood samples, data, information.]

... Come on. Keep your head down and hold on to my arm. I'll get you there.

Yeah.

[ Ade won't even argue. There's something wrong with c'nataat here, that much is already clear. After Luka, though, he'd really thought its abnormalities were limited to infecting other people. He hadn't expected his own little colony to go haywire.

At Carter's instruction, Ade pauses—and then, for the barest moment, his eyes open. He needs to get a sense of where Carter's arm even is in relation to him after all. It's only a fraction of a second, but Carter might still be able to catch a glimpse of broad yellow irises and odd, clover-shaped pupils before Ade's eyes close once more.

He reaches out and gingerly takes hold of Carter's arm. ]

Thanks. [ His grip is loose and he holds himself away from Carter. ] Don't even know how it's doing this, to be honest. I haven't been... feeding it.

[ If they don't cause fear, their powers are supposed to fade, aren't they? C'nataat seems determined to disprove those rules—or perhaps this is simply its last rally before falling dormant. Ade certainly hopes it's the latter case. ]

Maybe it's pissed off? That you haven't.

[Apparently Carter's coming to a similar conclusion. If Bennett's been trying to starve it out like Luka had - or like Carter thought Luka had, but, different story - that might cause a desperate reaction.

Even though he knows a little bit about c'nataat at this point the yellow eyes are freaky and he can't help the small whoa that escapes him when he catches a glance at them. No wonder Ade is stumbling around blind, if anyone sees that...]

We should do a check-up.

[It might help him with Luka, too, getting more data and understanding of how exactly that freaking parasite works. Who knows, maybe they can even trace something of this world that influences it. Something that can be quantified, analyzed.

Neutralized.]

I can take some readings, draw some blood, run a couple of tests and you can tell me if there's anything out of the ordinary.

[And then, albeit reluctantly,]

Off the book.

Maybe...

[ Does c'nataat even have the cognitive ability to understand the concept of punishing its host? Ade himself goes back and forth on the issue of the symbiote's intelligence. Sometimes, it seems almost purposeful in its actions, like how it had given Aras human facial features to fit in with the colonists or Ade pheromones to fit in with the wess'har. Were those conscious decisions on c'nataat's part? Or simply unthinking, automatic reactions to changes in its hosts' environments?

Ade hopes it's the latter. He doesn't like the thought of being blackmailed by a microbe.

At Carter's suggestion of a check-up, Ade hesitates. Carter is clearly overestimating how much Ade knows about the symbiote. ]

You can run tests if you'd like, but I won't be able to tell you much. I'm not a doctor like you and Luka, just... [ He shrugs. ] I'm just some bloke who got infected. Everything I know about c'nataat is just what I've lived through and what I've heard from others.

[ He doesn't even think he's ever seen the damn thing through a microscope. ]

What?

[Carter's voice hitches up an octave before he quickly lowers it again.]

You're telling me you have no data on this thing? No real understanding of how it operates, how it... how it affects your body? Are you kidding me?!

[It rekindles his ire over Ade's and Luka's little operation and lifts it to a new level when he realizes just how much they didn't know what they were doing. What, did this guy just tell Luka this thing heals and he decided to roll with it? Unbelievable.]

Then we have to do it even more. Get a baseline of what's happening. How it's behaving.

[Which might be difficult, given that apparently its behavior has changed. But still. Better late than never.]

[ Ade's shoulders hunch at Carter's tone, jaw clenched tight. It's bad enough having to cling to the other man like a lost kid without the extra humiliation of being berated the whole time.]

I wasn't in a position to ask about it, [ Ade responds tersely. ] I handed myself over the wess'har after I was infected. Didn't think anyone would be keen to share classified information with a POW.

[ Maybe that will shut Carter up. Ade doesn't care if it's too much information he's tired of the man's assumptions. Better that Carter knows the truth rather than whatever lurid story he's been spinning about Ade in his own head. ]

[That does shut him up for a moment, if only to process all this new information. Maybe he should have done that from the beginning. Take a history. That's where he starts with any new patient, right?]

What are the wess'har? More... aliens?

[Sorry, he's just really bad at this sci-fi stuff. He'll do the Vulcan salute and say I am your father, that's how bad it is. Maybe he needs his own baseline.]

How did you get infected?

Yeah. Aliens. [ He laughs under his breath, a small, cynical sound. It wasn't so long ago he was living among the wess'har. They had treated him kindly, more kindly than any POW on Earth ever was. And now they're just aliens again. Ade gestures to his face. ] They're the ones c'nataat got the eyes from—and a few other bells and whistles.

[ Ade wonders if Carter has caught on to the way he smells yet, especially with how closely they're standing. Probably not—everyone always just assumes Ade is wearing cologne.

The question brings a grimace to his face. That's not a pleasant story. Certainly, it's not one he's proud of. ]

I was ordered to detain a c'nataat host, [ he says, voice suddenly distant. ] She headbutted me in the face. Bloodied me up pretty good. And then a few minutes later, I felt the wound... close up.

[ He still remembers that moment—the confusion followed by slowly dawning horror. He shakes his head. ]

That's when I handed myself over.

So they made it? Collaborated with it? Or... how did it get the eyes?

[That's just what he assumes. Or maybe it had bonded with their species before? He tries to come from it from a medical perspective, understand the connections, even if it's difficult.

In his defense, he's taking it in stride, listening without commentary or sounds of disbelief. He's heard pretty crazy stories in his life. In some way, this is just another. It's not unlike being in the ER and hearing the most outlandish story - except maybe this one is a bit more outlandish. Or, out... Earth... ish?

There's a longer pause after he finished his story. When he continues his voice is surprisingly soft.]

That must have been scary.

Collaborated, you could say, [ Ade says with a sigh. ] The wess'har fought a war centuries ago against a species called the isenj. The isenj became infected with c'nataat, so the only way the wess'har could stand a chance was to infect their soldiers as well.

[ This one isn't a particularly edifying story either. Ade grimaces as he tells it and yet, it's almost a relief. He hasn't told anyone this much since he arrived here, not even ADI. Keeping the memories to himself makes him feel mad, sometimes, like they never even happened. Saying them aloud makes them feel real again.

He nods at Carter's assessment. Scary is right. ]

Worst part was not being able to let anyone know, [ he says quietly. ] If my detachment had found out I was a host, I'd have gone from being their sergeant to being a strategic asset. I don't know if they would've been able to handle that.

[ Either they would've devastated themselves following orders or there would've been a mutiny right there in the shuttle. Ade has done very, very little right in his life, but managing to extract himself into the hands of the wess'har so soon after his infection may be one of the few exceptions to the rule. He'd done what a sergeant should have done—protected his detachment.

His tone sours. ]

Shan—the other c'nataat host—she spaced herself rather than let us take her alive. Don't think I would've been brave enough for that.

So you handed yourself over to protect them.

[He tries to imagine it. Any part of that story, really. Being in space, fighting a war among the stars, getting infected by a space parasite - handing himself over to the enemy, to aliens. It's impossible. It's like thinking about the plot of a movie, its narrative moving but completely detached from any experience he's ever had.]

And the wess'har - they never explained anything to you? About what's happening in your body, how the symbiosis works?

[He rubs his head, his headache increasing. And Luka had that thing in him. Maybe still has. Unless it was replaced with something worse now.]

... Did they treat you well?

Not just them. If they'd managed to get c'naaat to Earth, the whole world would've gone to hell.

[ The irony of saying that to Carter, someone whose friend had been infected by him, isn't lost on Ade. He'd just really thought things would be different here—that, unable to survive long-term in a host, c'nataat was now something that could be controlled and used for the greater good.

Evidently, he was wrong. ]

One of them did: Aras. [ There's a softness in Ade's voice when he says the name. ] He was one of the first of their soldiers to be infected—and the last one still alive by the time we humans arrived on the scene a few centuries later. He's the one who told me what I was in for after I was infected.

[ Christ, Ade misses him. Aras and Shan—it's better for everyone that they aren't here with Ade, but there are times Ade catches himself wishing one of them were, despite everything. He's never been good at operating alone.

The next question gets a soft huff of laughter. ]

Yeah. Treated me a hell of a lot better than we treat POWs on Earth. The wess'har aren't usually the type to take prisoners, so I guess they never got the memo about keeping us good and demoralized. Felt less like being a POW and more like being a permanent guest.

[ He wasn't allowed to leave, sure, but the wess'har did what they could to accommodate his needs. Certainly none of them had ever treated him with cruelty. ]

Ade?

[Misty says, raising an eyebrow (though she knows he can't see it). They're just a few feet from the door to their apartment, her on the way out and him on the way in, and she automatically reaches out a hand to touch his arm.]

You should watch where you're going! Do you have a headache?

[ When Ade hears Misty's voice, it's with a mixture of relief and trepidation. Relief, because it means he's finally made it to his apartment. Trepidation, because he knows he's in for a whole barrage of questions the second he opens his eyes—and, likely, before then as well.

He manages not to startle at the touch on his arm, determined as he is to get out of the hall and away from prying eyes and cameras. He tries to shoulder past Misty as gently as he can without being able to see her. ]

Yeah, sorry, I know, just—let's go inside first, yeah?

[There had definitely been something weird about his eyes. Misty hadn't been able to catch what, because he'd closed them so fast, but there had been a flash of something. Were they a different color, maybe? Or was something stuck in one of them?]

Are you injured?

[She asks, keeping her hand on him even as he moves into the apartment, giving his arm a little squeeze as she follows along.]

I do have medical experience.

No, no, nothing like that—

[ Ade navigates the apartment as best he can with his eyes closed, counting his steps until he knows he's well away from the door before coming to a stop. ]

Listen, Misty, [ he starts, trying to think of where to even begin with explaining what's happening to him. When he'd first arrived, keeping his alien biology hush-hush had seemed a prudent decision. Now, his initial secrecy seems determined to bite him in the arse.

He decides to start with what's immediately relevant. ]

When I open my eyes, they're going to look... strange. Really strange. But it's nothing dangerous or painful, so... Try not to be afraid, okay? I'm still me.

[ He waits for his words to sink in and, hopefully, for Misty to ready herself. Then, holding himself as calmly and nonthreateningly as he can, he opens his eyes. ]

Okay.

[She says it easily and casually, like it's nothing - like she's not bracing herself at all, because she doesn't see any reason why she would need to. And true to her word, she doesn't recoil or reel back in fear - instead, she leans in a little, studying them.]

-- So! How did this happen? You're not turning into an Avatar, are you?

[ ...Well. She took that a lot better than Ade thought she would. He blinks at her, pupils snapping fluidly between clover and cross-shaped in that classic wess'har expression of surprise. ]

Uh... no, [ he says slowly. ] This is something from my own universe.

[ ..Fuck it, if she can take the actual sight of his eyes in stride, he may as well stop beating around the bush. Not like he can deny anything anyway now that she's seen the evidence for herself. ]

It's a parasite, [ he blurts out, ] called c'nataat. Mixes my DNA with DNA it's picked up from its past hosts. That's what the eyes are from—someone it's infected in the past.

[ 'Someone who's not human' goes without saying. He watches her reaction, waiting to see how she absorbs this first part before continuing. ]

So, not an Avatar, but something not that different from an Avatar...

[She muses, gaze still locked on his eyes - watching for more interesting shape changes. Maybe there's a clue in them.]

Is ADI going to come after you for this?

[ Ade's brow furrows at that. He doesn't think he's much like an Avatar—but the question is a concerning one all the same. What he thinks doesn't matter nearly as much as what ADI does. ]

I don't know. I mean, why would they? They've already got non-humans working for them. What's one more?

[ If they find out his involvement with what happened to Luka, though... that might be a different story. He sighs, dragging a hand through his hair. ] I'm going to have to tell them, anyway. I can't hide this— [ a gesture at his face, ] forever.

You just seem so invested in hiding it, and so scared of people finding out; I wondered it you were worried about that.

[She shrugs nonchalantly, as if it's the same to her either way - worried or not worried, big secret or small secret, she doesn't plan on tattling.]

Okay, well, can it take over your body, or influence your judgement? That might be something they'd have some concern about!

[She says this last bit with a smile, and an out of place chuckle.]

[ Misty's nonchalance about the situation is beginning to unsettle Ade. She seems so unbothered. It's almost as if she knew already—or is trying to act like it, for some reason. Is this a prelude to blackmail? ]

I'll tell them, [ Ade says again, this time more firmly. ] Just didn't want to scare anyone on my way over.

[ Didn't want to scare them, didn't want to answer their questions—didn't want to deal with more people knowing that he's not completely human. Maybe he'd gotten a little too cozy just being a normal bloke again—or as normal as anyone can be in a world like this.

He shakes his head at her question. ]

No, nothing like that. It's a microbe, it's not that smart.

[ It can give him other people's memories, though—their thoughts and emotional reactions, too. Doesn't that influence his judgment? Ade bites the inside of his cheek. Exactly how much ADI will want to know? ]

But you're still scared.

[She says, taking in his expression; that inwardly-sucked cheek.]

You're not just worried about scaring other people, you're scared.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

my eyes like butterflies [OPEN + closed prompts]

for hunter;

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