six_word_stories | (no subject)

Well...

[Well it wasn't as if anything was going to happen.

What, he'd go back and someone would find out he shuffled the top half of his robe off?

Humans didn't care about chests, right? No big deal. They swam and bathed completely naked all the time, right?]

Well, I don't see why not.

[Fussing with the sash around him before managing to loosen the brilliantly colored robes. It slipped down around honey colored shoulders, Levanael moving to shift that pitch black hair out of the way to better show where the wings met skin.]

Is something wrong?

[The angel is beautiful, and James is not above enjoying the beauty of males. Or females. Or creatures with the traits of both. Or individuals without discernible genders. But his interest here is clearly not prurient. He's a scientist with a new puzzle, and it shows in his expression, like a little boy on Christmas.]

No, I don't think anything is wrong, but I may go mad if I don't learn how these work...

I think you'd have to take it up with Azrael. For as much as I know about it, I'm afraid our anatomy is a bit hard for me to describe, exactly...

[The wings stretch fully, or at least as wide as the room can allow. They're massive in scale, and shed a light of their own, warm and cozy like the twilight of a summer day.

All inorganic, carefully detailed and meticulously put together to mimic so very, very closely the appearance of a flesh and bone bird wing. Ball socketed joints move smoothly and easily, the balls set in them appearing to be of some odd, silver metal, polished to a mirror shine.]

It really is all like that, more or less.

[James makes a soft, perplexed noise as he examines them, shaking his head.]

I don't understand their nature. Are they biological, mechanical, or something else?

I suppose mechanical would be the right word. We are all technically automatons.

Some just more complicated than others.

[In direct contrast to the obvious warmth and softness of the angel who possessed the wings, calling himself an automaton might seem to be a hilarious joke.]

I can't say they're anything like what you'll encounter on earth.

But are they... analogous in nature to you yourself? Made of the same material? Came about at the same time? Or are they of different materials? Were they added later? Or did they grow at some point?

[Helen would, he thinks, laugh at him. Presented with what seems to be a genuine angel, he's asking about anatomy instead of theology.]

Oh yes, they're made of the same thing I am, of course, all at the same time. I was created with them, all angels are.

It's just not really considered... correct to show everything to humans. Most find it ah...

Disconcerting.

[At least, from what he'd learned of Camael and Azrael.]

Yes, yes, I can see where a person would be highly off-put by all this...

[He says it absently while still studying the wings, and clearly doesn't find any of this at all bothersome or troublesome.]

But you say you were created. Not born or hatched or grown, but... fabricated?

Well it's not just the wings, sir-

[Oh the topic moved]

Yes, we're all created the same way. Only Azrael is different.

So you're a construct rather than an organic being? That's amazing. My godson would be so excited if he could meet you.

[He chuckles at that, shaking his head and continuing to examine those amazing wings.]

Do you have a fully former personality and intellect from the time you're created, or do these things develop with time?

Honestly, though, if you're not organic, you shouldn't be shedding quite so aggressively...

(ooc: shall we give him a small injury to explain the shedding and give James something to patch? otherwise, he may just be here randomly fawning for awhile, lol)

Do you think he would be that interested? ... I didn't know humans enjoyed automatons so much.

[He actually sounds genuinely thoughtful, if not actually excited to hear that. He'd been so certain humans would have just found it terrifying.]

We are created with our personalities as is, yes. Most... most of us don't change.

[Most of them. There was one exception.]

But the feathers aren't so hard to replace, the system repairs itself and replicates what has been lost in most cases. There must be something cracked...

[Indeed, some digging would find a higher part of the limb damaged, a fissure running along the length of it for about four inches. It'd certainly look painful, but Levanael hadn't even appeared to have been aware of it. An odd, clear liquid oozed from the crack itself, the fluid seeming to crystallize slowly as it met air.]

Well, Henry isn't strictly human, but I'm sure he'd be fascinated by you. You're a fascinating being.

[He keeps studying the wings and, between his endless curiosity and a degree of attention to detail that once inspired Arthur to create the character of Sherlock Holmes, James finds the damaged 'tissue'.]

Well, now, this would be the issue, I think. Whatever did you do to yourself?

[Snapping on a pair of gloves, he quickly collects a sample of the 'blood' before turning his attention fully to the injury itself.]

I can't really call it a cut or an abrasion if you're not an organic being, yet... Well, that's certainly what it looks like. What are you made out of, precisely? We must find a way to bind the wound and staunch the flow.

He isn't? ... If you don't mind my asking, what would Henry happen to be? I mean... well unless he's sensitive about it, ah, I know many terrestrial creatures prefer privacy in many areas of their life, I don't want to pry or anything-

[Okay that one feather shed was probably anxiety. Everything else though seemed to be centered around the wound itself.]

Do what? Did you find something?

[And yeah, he does actually pull the wing away from poor James to get a look at it himself, carelessly combing through the feathers.

It really does appear as if he simply doesn't feel that level of pain.]

Oh dear... I was wondering what was pinching... I don't know what I could have done to it, I'm sorry.

It's a silicon based frame... more or less. That's the element on earth closest to it.

Oh, Henry's what the uninformed would call a werewolf. Not that most of the myths surrounding the species are true, but he has a wolf-form and a human one that he can choose between.

[He considers the injury, and the nature of the 'flesh' he has to work with, making soft 'hmm' and 'tsk' sounds as he does. Henry swears that doctors take a class on making those noises while they work.]

Well, there are a couple of ways I might deal with a laceration like this. I can attempt stitches, or I can apply a substance that might (might, mind you) bind the wound and staunch the flow of blood...

So more of a very species specific shapeshifter than a cursed human?

I don't think stitches would work. If the needle doesn't break, the materal would only crack.

Ah, you could try that substance though!

All right. It's a simple silicone caulk, so I would imagine it should serve this purpose quite well, given your makeup...

[He goes to get it, explaining about Henry.]

No, not cursed. His ability is genetic and, while many of his kind consider it a curse, he's come to see his other half as a friend and, indeed, a blessing.

I can't believe you even found it at all, I had no idea it was there...

[He's still poking at it, in fact, just wondering how he could have let it go that long]

Now some claim the transformation to be a painful one. I myself have no basis of comparison... does he complain of pain when he shifts? How much control does he maintain of himself when he shifts shape?

Well, I was studying them much more closely than I imagine you're prone to examine them yourself.

[He shrugs and finds a tube of caulk, double-checking to make sure it's pure silicone before opening.]

He says it's quite painful to change. It certainly looks that way. And the wolf is a unique entity in many ways. He generally bears in mind what Henry might wish or not wish to have done, but he has his own ideas and functions quite independently of Henry. I'm sure that's why it frightened Henry so much when he first reached an age to change. It doesn't help that he doesn't have particularly coherent memories of what happens when he's changed.

He calls the wolf "Roofie", actually. Rather tasteless, I know, but he says the side-effects are the virtually identical.

I.... well yes, that's true, actually...

[He groomed his wings of course, but nothing quite so in depth.]

So the wolf is a separate entity altogether? Is this a psychological matter or a spiritual one? From what you said, it really isn't anything at all like possession, if it's genetic...

Henry thinks of the wolf as a completely separate entity, and tends to see their connection as spiritual rather than physically, but I'm not sure I agree with that assessment. It seems natural that, having very different brain-chemistry, he would be very different from human-Henry. But I could be wrong. Having never been in Henry's unique situation, I can only speculate and study...

[Donning a fresh pair of gloves, he gently cleanses away the discharge from the wound and begins applying a thing layer of silicone.]

I wonder what takes place inside the brain during the transformation... It would be fascinating to learn, wouldn't it? To see if new structures appear or if human ones vanish during the transformation... One would imagine it would happen, all things considered, but the brain is so sensitive in humans-

Ah!

[There we go, that stung a little. The wing jerked, faintly, the angel glancing back in surprise]

I felt that!

[More wonder than anger in that tone.]

We've done imaging scans and the brain structure seems to change as much as the body structure. Blood work suggests that the neurotransmitters are different, too, but we can hardly investigate much more closely than that without potentially causing harm.

[He jumps a little at the jerking wing and startled voice, taking a step back and staring at the angel apologetically.]

I'll try to be more gentle, but I'm not surprised you felt it. The injury is not minor...

That's so interesting... No, no of course, you can't go much further than that without causing damage. Shapeshifters have always been so amazing to me, it's such a complicated and difficult process. How long does his transformation usually take?

[Levanael, in turn, actually appears apologetic back]

Oh no... no it's-

I'm not upset, I've never felt pain before. It's just... very new.

Oh, between thirty seconds, if he's in a hurry and can stand it, to a minute and a half if he takes it slow. A good deal depends on the urgency of the situation and, indeed, whether he's awake. Often, the wolf will fall asleep, and Henry will wake as a human again a few hours later. I imagine that's probably the most painless way to go about it.

[James smiles reassuringly, patting one of his uninjured wings.]

No fear. I'll be more gentle. Pain isn't something you should have to get used to.

[And that sounds a bit like the voice of experience.]

And it doesn't leave any permanent marks? I've read that werewolves, at least the ones that I know of, can regenerate and heal from almost any wound. If the wolf gets injured, does Henry wake up with wounds?

[The injured wing relaxes again, Levanael letting out a soft, breathless laugh]

Thank you. It's new but... I don't think it's anything I'd like to become familiar with.

Edited 2017-09-30 23:23 (UTC)

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<3 No prob

:D

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