A toddler in need? AKA one slight deaging

[project_kuron]

There's a young man, about twenty five by the looks of him, in the middle of the square. Plaza. Whatever.

He's looking either cofused out of his mind, or slightly upset as if he's spilled his soup or something, or was late for school, who even knows, just by looking at him one might think so, or mighty bored, it might be hard to tell.

He might look very familiar to some.

If he sees you, whoever 'you' might be, he might gesture vaguely at you. Maybe asking for some clarification. Or. Well. Whatever it is, it's definitely a question, one can judge that by his face expression and a vague spoken (sounded?),

"...a-ah?? Uhm, uhm, o-...ee??"

Comments

[project_kuron]

"Druids. Haggar's Druids. With Haggar. Macidus. Others."

Just confirming.

"Druids are Druids. Galran but no Galra."

Now then... he is confused about..

"What is human? Soldiers and druids not talk about human. What is that thing?"

He's curious. If the Galra apparently is not human, then what is that human thing or whatever?

But, more importantly, that man here, the Subject still remembers for now, his reaction, his behaviour...

He says,

"You have a pain response. Earlier. Do you?"

There's concern. He's trying to ask whether Tommy's suffering.

Meanwhile, he has a massive headache.

[iamjustvisiting]

"They aren't humans?" Tommy asks curiously.

"You're a human. You feel like a human." Tommy looks at the man seriously. "That other thing, definitely wasn't a human."

Tommy is trying to clear his head from the pain and focus on the very strange questions. "I felt your pain."

[project_kuron]

"No?"

"The Subject Y0XT39 are human?"

He asks, pointing at himself.

"Or... Subject Yani. Earlier, Mantis, not Galra, soldier, Druid, call the Voice of High Priestess, whispers, away, he calls me Yani. Yani are human? Hm. Is Mantis a human? And are you?"

Alright...? Whatever human is.

"You feel Y0XT39's pain?"

Oh. He leans closer, and will touch Tommy's head and rub it a little if Tommy lets him.

[iamjustvisiting]

"Not like any human I've met." Tommy confirms, though he hasn't been around very many humans.

"Yes, you're a human." Tommy raises a brow at the stream of questions. "I don't know Mantis."

Then he hesitates at the last question. "No, I'm not human."

Tommy doesn't pull away, and if Yani compares the feel of Tommy's skull to his own he might find differences in the shape. "I can feel emotions and hear thoughts."

[project_kuron]

"Mantis tells things to the Subject when Subject arrives, earlier. Gives clothes and says the Subject is person. Mantis tell the Voice of Her to leave. Good."

"And you tell the Voice, same thing, too. Yes, no?"

"You hear inside the Subject? Like Her?"

"But You are not watching the Subject."

"Yani," he says, pointing at himself. "Yani. Yani."

"Subject Y0XT39. Mantis says, no, Mantis says the Subject, Yani."

He smiles.

"Yani. Vrepit sa. You?"

Yani's curious.

The skull does feel different, and he's curious about that, too. Yani also feels very grateful, although he's not aware of that.

[iamjustvisiting]

Tommy struggles to follow along with the disjointed speech patterns but thinks he's got a good grasp on them.

"You're a person." Tommy confirms but wonders why any human would think they were not a person. His mind drifts back to his own torture and how they tried to break his mind.suddenly, Tommy feels a bit of sympathy for the human the way someone might for a dog that's been beaten.

"I didn't like the intentions of that presence. It didn't belong here."

He's still trying to keep up. The down side of isolation is that language skills were fading as he became lost in his own mind.

"Thomas." He nods pointing at himself. Then he looks away thinking how much he wants to hear Tommy in a voice that doesn't exist any more.

[project_kuron]

"A person," the Subject repeats, with an utter lack of understanding of what that might mean.

Tentatively, he asks, pointing at him,

"Same as you?"

Was that one a person? Would it explain what a person was? Maybe.

"Thomas," Yani repeats, pointing at Tommy. "Thomas. Thomas. Understood."

He's learning. He takes a deep breath, looking like he's really, really enjoying it and has just realised the possibility of breathing in, deeply, like this. Looking and feeling.

[iamjustvisiting]

How does he answer this? Tommy mills it over before speaking. "We're different types of persons, but yes we're bother persons."

The eagerness to learn gets a faint smile from Tommy. "You ask a lot of questions It reminds me of Farnsworth, another human I knew."

[project_kuron]

Subject Y0XT39 frowns. Should he stop speaking?

He's silent for a moment, mulling everything over.

[iamjustvisiting]

Tommy is grateful for a moment silence. It's not that he doesn't want to talk but it gives him a chance to get his mind back in order after whatever happened. Once he feels stable again, he gives the man another mental go over and notices something else.

"Yani, have you eaten lately?" He can see it in his body or maybe he just isn't getting the right food. Tommy knew that struggle when he came to Earth. The nutrients a human needed didn't fit his people, not completely.

[project_kuron]

Food? Oh. He thinks he understands.

"Is sometimes given Quintessence as sustenance. All Subjects are given Quintessence sometimes. Life energy."

[iamjustvisiting]

That was an odd way of describing food. All Tommy can associate it with is some of the strange cults he'd studied on Earth. Eventually he nods.

"Yes, humans need it to survive." Antheans did too. Most things needed to take in energy from somewhere.

[project_kuron]

Nod.

"Given to Subjects when Subjects are very weak. To those Subjects that are functional, only."

"To you, too?"

[iamjustvisiting]

His language is so wierd but it starts setting off Tommy's fight or flighr feelings. These were the kind of things they said about him when he was imprisoned.

"Yes, I eat."

[project_kuron]

"Understood."

"Are you here to give Quintessence?"

[iamjustvisiting]

He was just assuming that Quintessence meant food.

"I can take you to get some." He didn't carry food on him, but he could cook. He just didn't want to. Buying it was easier.

[project_kuron]

"Understood."

'Yani' smiles a little. He's not sure why. It just feels right, to do so. Very right.

And he's feeling a little... hmmm... not hurt?

[iamjustvisiting]

Tommy's people don't really smile and he's certainly not used to this military like attitude. It makes him nervous, and he turns slowly to ealk toward where he saw food places. The human would probably follow, and he would check after a few steps to see.

just using that account for icon. for face expression. XD

[somekindofspaceuncle]

Subject Y0XT39 follows Thomas. What else is he to do, after all?

He doesn't know what nervousness is, or he'd know he's nervous, himself, too.

He's a bit apprehensive about being fed, but, so far, this one, Thomas, hasn't hurt him... well. Has, once. His head. But that was, all in all, quite earlier than now, now... wasn't it? So... Yes.

He follows quietly. Sometimes just taking a deeper breath, since he's discovered how enjoyable that is.

And also, Thomas might notice, 'Yani' isn't very good at walking. As if he's just learnt. A bit wobbly and unsteady. But, manages, slowly, also now learning to use his arms for balance, slowly, too.

[iamjustvisiting]

He doesn't walk too quickly either.. The gravity hurt his joints and back,, slowing him down.

Tommy takes them to a diner that Tommy knew had food safe for Antheans. down. Goes way to the back and sits in the corner. He's been here so often that a pitcher of water comes with glasses. Oatmeal, watermelon chunks, French fries, and a piece of broiled fish show up not long after they sit.

[project_kuron]

There are probably people in a diner. If there are more people, the young man tenses and looks wary, and, as if he'd like to pretend he's not even here. Feels that way, too.

Though the food distracts him a bit. And confuses him. He has no idea what the intended purpose of these things laid now before him is. At all.

Tommy loves watermelon so much I even have an icon of him eating it. XD

[iamjustvisiting]

Tommy watches the young man. There are people here, but not too many. The Anthean didn't like large groups either. They unnerved him. He's unsure why the person sitting with him is so confused by food. Surely he wouldn't have grown this far without it. Perhaps, this person was used to food that looks different.

Tommy doesn't hesitate. Picking up the fork he sticks it into one of the watermelon cubes and pops it into his mouth.

Heh. :)

[project_kuron]

So that's what this was for. For some reason.

He uses the fork and does the same thing. Once there's a piece of watermelon in his mouth, he's not really sure what to do, just keeping it there for a moment. But then, he chews it slowly. This is... interesting.

[iamjustvisiting]

Once he starts eating Tommy leaves Yani to himself to eat at his own pace. Tommy slowly picks at a little bit of everything that has been brought. He also drinks an unusually large amount of water, or well it would be unusual to a human that knew what was normal.

[project_kuron]

Nothing strange to Yani here. Well, no stranger than anything.

Suddenly, Yani screams, almost falls down from his chair, and...

Then just goes still, for a moment. It all happens really too quickly, almost. The other, alien presence, if Tommy's even looking, he might notice - the other alien presence takes over 'Yani''s mind. Or over his body. Well, what difference does that make, anyway?

And smirks.

"This has gone on far enough, Thomas. Now tell me: what do you want with me, exactly. What are you doing? This is getting tiresome."