maskormenace | (no subject)

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[On the network is what appears to be a young boy, about 12 or 13 years old. For a moment, he stares quite soulfully at the video output impossibly deep, black eyes, and then pokes at the screen with one fingernail.]

Not even a proper imp in there, how's that for you...?

[He pulls back and mimes clearing his throat. A voice far, far more booming than is fit for the child's face resounds across the feed.]

Right, broadcast. AHEM. This is just a friendly, non-suspicious question, inquiring on when the next coup or violent overthrow of this government is going to be. Not that I'm actually advocating it, I just know you humans really can't resist.

I'm pretty handy with a popcorn machine if anyone can provide good seats.

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[ She hesitates, then asks - ]

Is it...better if I'm here?

[ Slowly, she starts drawing herself into a vague shape, as she did before. A blocky stumpy body, a misshapen lump of a head. ]

It is. [ There's an honest appreciation there. Now that he focused on it, that vibration of noise, the blend of thoughts and emotions, the sensation of other life nearby ... that was the hardest change. There's a reason demons are all chatty in the human world. ] It's odd to have a place like this be only me.

[ The bubble of honest, straightforward relief that surges up at that is, well...Well, it's essentially what her face would be displaying, if they were speaking face-to-face. Kitty is sometimes a liar, but only with certain people. To Bartimaeus, she very rarely lies indeed. ]

Good. If I can help you in any way - Not that I can be in here indefinitely, of course, obviously, but I should like to help. - Are our bodies left behind, by the way, or are we truly here? Because if our bodies are left behind, I bet you anything those kids are going through my purse.

Er... I have no idea. [ Confusion causes milkier swirls in the drifting lights. ] Bodies aren't really my thing.

I suppose we should check on that.

Yeah, we ought to. Really quickly. Just 'cause I've got two knives and a gun in my purse, you know. Then we can pop right back.

[ The agreement is more felt than anything that was vocalized or solidly thought. The dimensions part again, and Kitty is pulled along after Bartimaeus back out of the swirling aether, through the elements and back to the beach...

The sensation of water and earth as elements may be a bit more stark right now, noticeable, even in the grains and droplets in the air.

More than that, there is the surge of revitalization through Kitty's physical body, even from such a short period away.

Also, the kids are totally there. One is poking at her shoulder with mild concern, startling when she wakes suddenly ... the other is out of immediate sight...

Bartimaeus simply forms next to her, taking shape much like a spirit being summoned.]

Oh!

[ She sits up at once, her eyes opening - and then she jumps to her feet, becoming a hummingbird mid-leap. She lets loose an ecstatic laugh, buzzing about, even as that kid gives a little shout of surprise. ]

Oh, I feel marvelous! I feel like I've slept for hours. Bartimaeus, I feel better than I have in months.

[ She lands on his head, then, buzzing her wings in joy. ]

[ Bartimaeus can't quite but help a grin at that. ]

Yeah? Not surprised, if you're close enough to being a spirit to shapeshift. Imagine what a proper rest would do you.

God, don't even tempt me.

[ Cheerily, she starts grooming his head - or, well, more accurately, she starts tugging at his hair with her beak. ]

I don't ache. This is the first time in forever I don't ache.

Got that New Spirit feeling. [ He reaches up blindly to brush the tiny bird with a forefinger. ] ... I'm glad. So ... uh. Anytime you feel like it...

[ She bumps her itty-bitty head against his fingertip. ]

Can we right now? I'd like to.

[ She didn't have to ask him twice. Before her tiny wingbeats could take her out of contact, they're gone again. She barely has time to hear the gasps from the children at the strange show, before the comforting swirl of the Other Other Place envelops them. ]

It IS much nicer here.

[ Wistfully: ]

It's not bad at all, no.

[ She gathers up her essence into a small ball which, after a moment, sprouts a pair of little pearlescent wings, a tiny jewel-toned head. She's a small, slightly lumpen dragonfly now - not beautiful, but it's clear that all her earthly shapeshifting practice has taught her a thing or two. ]

[ It was worlds better than her last attempt, back in their own world. It helps that nothing here is trying to break that solidity back apart. Fondness ripples between them. ]

Not bad. You'll want to tighten up the thorax a bit.

[ The little creature's wings buzz - ]

The what?

[ And then she understands - the free flow of information between them is enough that she understands from his mind exactly what that word means. And so, carefully, she does reshape it a bit. ]

Right. How's that?

[ The presence that is Bartimaeus doesn't so much as solidify, but a push of a pure air element under the delicate gossamer wings. There's no up, no forward, but there's certainly the sensation of buoyancy that follows. ]

Better.

Try something more you now.

[ The dragonfly enjoys the flight a moment before it dissolves again. Carefully, awkwardly, Kitty forms again, turning into a rough approximation of a human shape, gradually remaking herself to get closer and closer to her actual appearance - her actual appearance being, of course, her older, wrinkled self. ]

How am I looking?

[ Bartimaeus doesn't so much as form a mirror, but take some of the essence floating around and create a shape matching hers, facing her object. It's faintly discomforting, like something being slightly off, rather than the painful it is on the other side of the gates. ]

... I like that one on you, you know.

What - the gray hair?

[ There's a weary sort of warmth in her voice as she asks that. ]

It's not exactly considered beautiful by most people.

Most people are terrible and seeing what's actually there. You should know that better than most.

Maybe. But you also don't really have much regard for human beauty standards, do you?

Not even the slightest. Personally, I chalk it up to a lack of creativity.

Or options.

Oh, yes, because we'd all be so much more charming with tentacles and stalk-eyes.

Let's pass on the tentacles. Never was fond of them. They always seemed like a spirit was trying too hard when he used them. Overcompinsating, dare I say.

Okay.

[ She has enough control over her form that she's able to manipulate her face into a smile. ]

So tell me about what the most beautiful forms to take are.