Video - Seelie/Unseelie

[teenyoda]

[The image that comes onto the lockets is an almost peaceful one. The blue sky and white fluffy clouds that bob a little from the POV of the locket. A little movement shows that that's because the transmission is clearly coming from a boat. The locket, with a little more jostling, is shown to be resting in fabric on what appears to be the deck of the boat. One might be curious as to why a transmission was coming suddenly from seemingly nowhere on a boat, but the answer shows itself soon enough in the form of one suckered tentacle flipping the locket around. If it was ever possible for an octopus to look both pissed off and surprised out of its mind, this one was doing a very good job. One of its many arms clutched at a small feather, the other limbs flopping around and smacking at the deck as the thing clearly tried to actually go somewhere. It couldn't walk to save its life and wound up rolling out of the pile of clothes, taking the locket with it.

Heavy stomps could be heard as boots came closer across the deck to the cephalopod, a shadow coming between the sun and the locket as a large man loomed over it. "Well then. What's this? How's you get aboard, ye slippery little thing. Back to the sea with you."

A hand bent down to try to pick up the octopus and there was a flurry of lashing arms as it latched onto the man and refused to let go. Curses were spat and the man called out for a fellow sailor, but before the other man could come closer with the knife it held to free his shipmate, a third voice joined. One others might find a bit familiar. A naked seventeen year old was clutching the man's arm and looking up at him with fear and horror. It took Stiles about five second to remember about the locket and he dropped to the deck, scrambling for both his clothes and to turn the locket off.]

~*~

[It was about twenty minutes later when a red-faced Stiles showed himself on the network.]

Um, about that...

Sorry? I... have no idea what happened. One minute I was standing looking over the rails and the next... um... aha. Let's just pretend that didn't happen, okay? Okay. But, if anyone can tell me what just happened, that would be really, really helpful. Especially in making sure it doesn't happen again.

Comments

[truesight]

[ she grins, like she's won something by getting him to dare her to do it, and then she's gone from the view of the locket's camera, only to return a second later with the feather. which is being gripped through her sleeve, at first ]

Alrighty. Does yours look like this one? I didn't really- catch it. On the video. But okay, anyway. Let's see.

[ she angles the locket down a bit, because she knows she's going to shrink, and from that view you can only see her pick up the feather with her bare fingers, and then-

nothing ]

-- What. Oh, c'mon. You're not going to do it now? [ she twirls the feather between her fingers, staring at it. not that he can see that. he's basically just got a shot of her thighs, since the camera is angled towards the floor ] What, do I have to be completely unprepared for this thing to kick in? That seems- impossibly stupid. C'mon. C'mon, c'mon, c'm-

[ aha! there we go. she's standing on top of the feather at first ( and her clothes ), sniffing around, and then she promptly curls up.

great. ]

[teenyoda]

Yeah... looks like that.

[He was watching her, almost wincing as she picked it up and waiting for something to happen. Okay. Waiting. Any time now. Come on, fe-- oh. Ah. Aha. Ahahahaha.

He burst out laughing, bringing the locket closer to his face to look at the tiny little spiked one on the ground.]

Oh my god. You're a hedgehog?!

[truesight]

[ so. yeah. that's a thing. it takes her a little while to get her bearings. why is it Frank can turn into any animal, but it's like- a superpower. this? this is confusing and overwhelming and everything is HUGE and she can here a voice coming from up, but it sounds like it's in some language that isn't English or Greek, so. that's confusing. she sort of waddles around on the feather, a few steps left- then right- but she doesn't seem to want to wander far off that pile of clothes.

it's confusing, but eventually she thinks to abandon the feather and then burrow, getting under the giant shirt she shrunk out of just before she ends up growing back to normal size. luckily there's only a brief shot of red curls and a freckled back before she's crawling under the desk her locket is sitting on, a hand reaching out for her jeans. no, she's not all that embarrassed that she was on camera like that for a quick second, in fact she's laughing when as she pulls her clothes back on ]

That is so weird!

[teenyoda]

[Stiles is a gentleman and a scholar. Okay, well, he's none of those, but he does look away from the locket when she starts to change back. It's not until she talks again that he looks back and grins.]

Try having eight arms and not knowing how to control any of them. No bones, man. Nothing.

[truesight]

I know, I saw. It was hard to miss the flailing.

[ veryvery amusing, but at least it's the goodnatured kind and not the... genuinely trying to tease him for turning into an octopus. that's not really her style. eventually she stands back up, adjusting the locket so it's on her face again ]

So, what was I? I still couldn't really tell. Some kind of rodent, but that's about all I could wrap my head around like that.

[teenyoda]

You were a hedgehog. A tiny little spiky hedgehog. Kind of cute, for a rodent.

[truesight]

Oh. Oh, that makes sense. I couldn't think of an animal that could hide, like, in itself, besides armadillos, but I knew I wasn't an armadillo. Aw. Wow, I was really little, then.

That's kind of scary.

But kind of great?

I wouldn't mind being able to change into an animal anytime I want.

[ which is why she's looking at that feather all yes, I am going to keep you ]

[teenyoda]

What if you turn into like... a pill bug? And someone steps on you?

[Worst Case Scenario Man here to save the day.]

[truesight]

[ and she's totally just making a "why would you ever say that" face. yep. ]

[teenyoda]

What? It's possible. Don't give me that look.

[truesight]

I will give you that look, that was pretty morbid of you to say. Gods.

I was worried about being crushed the first time I changed, into a- hedgehog, I guess, if it was the same as this time. But I can't even imagine how disorienting it would be to be a bug-

And I can't believe you would squish me if I did turn into a bug.

[ she knows that's not what he really said but well now she's feeling silly. better than feeling freaked out? ]

[teenyoda]

I live in a very morbid world. But hey, I never said I'd squish you. I just said you could be squished. I can't squish you because I'm on a boat. Far away. On the water.

[truesight]

You didn't have to say it, I could tell you were thinking it. "What if you change into a bug? I would definitely not think twice about stepping on you."

[ a beat, and she grins ]

Good thing you clarified, I had this mental image of you riding around on one of those land boats that are so popular here.

[teenyoda]

Oho... I see turning into a hedgehog has suddenly made you think you're a funny person.

[truesight]

I've always been a funny person. It's part of my undeniable charm.

[teenyoda]

Is that something you've deluded yourself into thinking, or is that something you found in a fortune cookie?

[truesight]

It's the truth.

Fortune cookies only ever speak the truth.

[teenyoda]

They'd be a lot better if there were flavor to them. And maybe if they were mini. And came in a cereal box...

[truesight]

Fortune cookie cereal? But then they couldn't have any fortunes in them. What would be the point?

[teenyoda]

They could have fortune marshmallows. What? It could work. The fortune's show up when you pour milk on them.

[truesight]

It could work, but it probably wouldn't work well. It would be like- you know those cartoon ice cream pops the ice cream man sells? They're supposed to look like Tweety Bird, and Mario, and Mickey Mouse? Only they never do, because they get all warped and misshapen.

This would be like that, only it would melt and warp and look like your cereal is trying to speak in tongues.

[ she shakes her head, very serious ]

I wouldn't eat a cereal that's trying to speak in tongues.

[teenyoda]

Why do you have to ruin everything? Maybe they could actually do it precisely? It could be a rare commodity cereal and they paint it on by hand. I don't know. It could happen.

[truesight]

Me ruin everything? You're the one who literally squashed my animal shapeshifter dreams like a bug. You're just as guilty.

[teenyoda]

I was just pointing out the obvious flaws in your nebulous plan. Like a good friend. And this is the thanks I get?

[truesight]

I won't thank you for crushing my dreams, Stiles.