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Who: Tobias and you!
What: Arrival tiiiime
When: 11/19 (During Alternately You event. Because the boy knows how to make an entrance, I guess.)
Where: Info Booth, around town.
Warnings: None yet, but given that Tobias is from the early 2000's so you can expect some, uh. Language that is no longer acceptable in polite conversation.

Arrival

Tobias was in a meadow, perched on a tree one minute, and the next he'd found himself outside an information booth. After a (very short) conversation, he'd tucked himself into some bushes and made the change from hawk to boy, accepting the information and money from Jerry. But once he'd been dismissed, he wasn't exactly sure what to do with himself.

He was alone. No animorphs. No Hork-Bajir. No obvious threat. No clear objectives. The alone part wasn't so bad, but the rest was just confusing. No one plucked him out of his world without a purpose. He looked over the pamphlet with a sigh, and turned towards the park exit. He looked more like he was leaving an exercise class than a fresh arrival, in tight shorts, shirt, and bare feet.

Around Town

Tobias is wandering around town in some new flip flops and a jacket, if only so he would have pockets to stick his money, pamphlets, and phone in. Under it, he was still wearing tight shorts and a shirt at least a size too small, but he didn't seem bothered by the fact that he was a fashion disaster, sticking out like a stone-faced sore thumb.

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Ronan gave the kid a look that said he clearly wanted to tell him to watch his fucking language, but then decided against it. This boy wasn't Matthew. Matthew was sunshine. This kid knew a little something about the darker side of things. He grabbed the gear shift, hit the gas, the tires protested on the pavement.

"Where are you from? Gotham?" He smirked at his joke. "Fucked as in try to leave the city and see what happens to you and your shit. Fucked as in sand turns into streets overnight. Fucked as in this place is bending over backwards to make us happy so we don't keep trying to find out what's really on the other side of that fucking barrier surrounding us and keeping trapped here."

He headed out of the city towards The Barns and the location on the kids map.

He let out a little laugh at the question, shaking his head. "California," he replied, watching the city pass by in the window. "And that doesn't sound so bad, compared to what I've had to deal with so far. Maybe this is his way of making it up to me."

At least the kid knew how to do more than stare creepily.

"West coast kid. Should have known. Who is He?"

Ronan peeked into the rear view mirror just to be sure there were no lights and took the corners a bit too fast because it was fun. He slowed down a bit once they left the city, but only because he had a kid in the car.

"The Ellimist. Compared to us puny humans, he's a god," he replied with a shrug. "He's not really, but he might as well be, as far as we can perceive things." If he minded the reckless driving, he didn't say anything and was able to keep a straight face. "You've got shitty traffic laws here," he said when Ronan finally started to slow down.

"Not my God." Ronan grumbled. He hadn't been to church since arriving here and he was having doubts he'd be heard this far away from home. Wherever this was. And wherever home might be now.

"Says the kid wearing flip flops and booty shorts. Why does this guy owe you?"

"They're bike shorts," he replied quickly, but when he spoke again, his voice was quiet. "He owes me everything. He took my parents, my humanity, my safety. I went to war when I was thirteen. I saw things, did things, that no one should ever have to. Now I live in the mountains, with the Hork-Bajir and as little contact with humans as I can manage," he sighed.

Ronan snorted out a laugh at that and didn't argue the difference with the kid. He was more focused on what was being said after. About age and war and things no kid should have any experience with in this world or any world.

That would explain the creepy behavior. Kids never been a fucking kid.

"What the fuck are Hork-Bajir?"

"Sentient salad shooters," Tobias replied without meeting a beat. "Aliens, they look really dangerous, with sharp blades growing out near their major joints, but they're peaceful. I like them a lot better than humans." They were kind, much kinder than humans had ever been to him. "They don't look at me and see a nothlit or an animorph or a victim. They just see their friend Tobias."

Ronan took a good look around where they were, slowing the car a little so he wouldn't miss their stop. But there was no street to turn off or house in the trees. And then he slammed on the brakes.

"I'm not even going to fucking ask about sentient salad shooters that look like a swiss army knife on steroids'. If they're not trying to kill you they're good with me. But I will ask: where the fuck are you suppose to be living?"

He snatched up the map and started aggressively trying to figure out if they were even in the right place.

The question earned an actual laugh, though he didn't exactly smile with it, as he pointed. "That tree," it had a perfect branch, a good view of a meadow. "I spend most of my time as a bird," he unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed open the door to hop out of the car and padded over to the tree. He walked around it and found, nestled between the roots, a chest.

So he knelt in front of it, pulling the thing open and blinking down at its contents. From inside he produced what looked like it could've been a hockey puck, but when activated, produced a blue light that quickly formed into a hologram of an Andalite with a gentle expression. Despite his face remaining blank, tears were gathering in Tobias' eyes.

That was definitely not what he was expecting and all Ronan could do was stare at Tobias as he climbed out of the BMW, following him as he walked around to stand at the base of the tree. He turned off the engine, quietly got out of the car, and let the kid have a moment. Even he could see this meant something important, something he shouldn't intrude upon.

He waited.

And then moved closer, looking up at the tree.

"When you say you spend most of your time as a bird...." It was an open ended question.

Edited 2020-12-05 05:16 (UTC)

He turned off the hologram and stuck it back into the chest, wiping away his tears quickly. He cleared his throat to make sure his voice would be steady when he replied. "My... natural form is a red tailed hawk. I'd offer to show you, but the transformation process is literally nightmare-inducing." He still had nightmares about it. That and being a bug.

Edited 2020-12-05 05:36 (UTC)

Ronan looked down at the kid. He didn't talk about his nightmares. There were things in his head, when he closed his eyes, no one should ever know about. They killed him in his dreams. Again and again. The one time Gansey found him covered in blood he'd spent the night in the hospital and had to promise to get help for his suicide attempt.

He doubted this kid could give him nightmares worse than the ones he already had, but he also didn't want to see this kid do something freaky like transform into a bird.

"Natural form. So you're a bird dressed up as a kid?"

"Kind of," Tobias replied. "I was born human, grew up as a human, until I got stuck as a bird. Five years ago," he sighed, looking down at his body. "This body only ages when I'm in it, so at this rate I'm never going to finish puberty." It was an attempt at a joke. Hopefully the deadpan delivery worked.

The delivery worked well enough and Ronan did appreciate a good sarcastic joke when he heard one. Usually he was the one making the joke.

"Puberty sucks." He agreed, tipping his head back to look up at the tree again and then around at the meadow. "I can understand why you prefer being a bird, less messy and simplistic." He looked back down at Tobias. "Less emotional."

Unless the bird was Chainsaw. She could be very emotional when she wanted to be.

"Being human is a fucked up disaster of shit most of us would do anything to avoid. So, what, you're going to turn back into a bird and sit in this tree and hunt in this meadow? Alone?"

He laughed softly. "It might be less emotional if I didn't have a human brain still," he replied with a shake of his head. "Yeah, that's my plan. And fly around, see if there's anything weird going on," he was sure there had to be something weird happening. He'd been brought here, after all. "If you come back while I'm in bird form, I'll sound the same but my voice will be projected straight into your head." He switches to thoughtspeak then, because he can. <Like this.>

"It's a shit plan." Ronan said honestly. He was always honest. Sometimes brutally and reservedly honest. He continued watching Tobias, considering options.

When he heard the kids voice IN HIS FUCKING HEAD his eyes narrowed, but he didn't flinch at the sudden unexpected strangeness.

"Can you hear my thoughts?" He asked.

"Well the plan's worked for the last couple of years," he replied dryly, and huffed out a chuckle at the question. "No, it's strictly a one-way thing. If it weren't, the war would've been over before we were even involved or never started in the first place," he shrugged.

"Still a shit plan." Ronan grumbled, secretly relived his brain wasn't an open box. Fuck. This kid and talking about war and it made him irrationally angry. All of it. He'd beat the shit out of whoever did this to him.

"I live nearby. It's called The Barns because my dad thought it was funny since our land is covered in barns. All shapes and sizes. Lots of fields and trees. Nice house at the center. It's different here because it's empty, but we're working on that." How is a completely different conversation, but he gets the feeling a kid who can be a bird and fight in wars won't be bothered by someone who can Dream things into the world. "So...if you get tired of this tree or meadow or whatever the fuck...You can come stay at the house or hang out in the trees. No hunting live prey. But if you want to find some clothes other than booty shorts you can eat with us. At the table."

It was a lot to say all at once, but he wasn't leaving this kid here alone.

"If you need anything don't fucking be shy about it. Just ask."

He lifted both brows at the offer. "What, you're protective of your field mice and squirrels over there?" he asked, teasingly. "But I'll have to pass on the table food. The bird is the body I live in, so the bird is the body I have to eat in. If you ever have a rodent problem, I'm your bird."

It's hard not to find all the bluster amusing, maybe even a little cute. If he liked humans. "I'll make sure to fly over, check out all your barns. I used to stay in a friend's barn whenever it was stormy out," so having one to perch in here would be both welcome and familiar.

"I am protective of them. No hunting on my property."

It wasn't a warning so much as a fact and it was said with a far gentler tone than most people would have gotten out of him. Not everything that lived in The Barns were dreamed, but that didn't change the fact that he took care of them. Mice and all.

"It feels wrong to just leave you here like this." He looked up at the tree again and then eyed Tobias the way he would his own younger brother. Judging the safety of the situation and what he should or shouldn't do about it. "You have room in that chest for a change of clothes?"

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