kollo_rpg | Summer 6 - Newcomer mingle

[ Zelgadis was getting a little itchy for more personal space, after sharing a boat ride with everyone and then having to slowly meander down the narrow jetty trying not to get knocked into the water by someone's luggage. (some people had...more luggage than he did. which was, actually, no luggage.) It's a relief to get onto solid ground, and he starts towards the cabins where the crowd thins out.

So, he makes a grunt of surprise when the young woman steps directly into him before he can get off the beach; the collision, for her, probably feels like walking right into a rock wall. Maybe a rock wall wearing a cape. ]

It-it's nothing. [ He inches back a step, giving her room in case there's more flailing, embarrassed at the sudden contact. ] Are you alright?

[Luckily it will take a lot more than a rock in a cape to injure Allura, but there is a little bit of embarrassment, mostly at her own carelessness, and she waves a hand dismissively,]

Oh, yes. I am alright. I'm afraid I was just busy looking at the scenery, is all.

[And it's not so much gawking at his appearance as just taking it in. She's met enough strange alien races to be well past the gawking-at-strangers phase. And it's nice to have other non-humans here.]

And you, are you uninjured?

[It's... pretty obvious that she'd barely nudged him, but it was polite to check. Plus, she's much stronger than she looks.]

[ So distracted by the scenery that she walked right into another person? She's lucky there wasn't a hole in the ground. Then again, Zel's hung out with clumsier girls. ]

I'm fine. [ He looks away in a moment of self-consciousness while she gives him the once-over, though he finds her concern charming. ] I suppose blue skies are rare where you're from?

[ He expected to encounter people from all sorts of lands here, but she has an otherworldly sense about her. Maybe it was the jumpsuit and the starry-eyed fascination with what looked like a run-of-the-mill beach to him. ]

[~~Listen, sometimes you just need a hook~~

And otherworldly is right. She’s definitely at least human-adjacent, if her face markings and the purple points of color at the center of her intense teal eyes are anything to go by.]

In a way. My planet’s skies were blue, but it has been a long time since I’ve spent much time outside of a spacecraft.

[Even when they did visit other planets, it usually was under the pretense of acting as a member of the Voltron coalition. Not so much time for enjoying the scenery.]

Edited (Oops) 2018-10-17 14:17 (UTC)

[ In a sense, pretty much everyone here was otherworldly, really, but just how far those differences can go is beginning to dawn on Zel as she describes her experiences. He has to extrapolate a little, but then-- ]

Spacecraft? Where you're from, you...typically leave your planet?

[ Mind blown at this travel possibility!! Who's ever actually flown high enough to leave the planet? ]

[She nods. Technically it has been over ten-thousand years since she has been to her planet, but that's a sensitive topic.]

Yes, and visit other planets, for that matter.

[It occurs to her that he's likely from a less advanced civilization, if space travel seems like a novel concept to him,]

Kind of like what we are doing now, but we travel by ship. [Ah,] The kind that go through the stars, not on the sea.

This...has been an idle curiosity of some people from my world, but never a serious one. Daydreamers, wondering what's on the other side of the ocean.

[ Zel's gaze scans the deep blue summer sky, trying to imagine what sort of craft would be able to cross the space between stars. His main motivation for coming to Norrhamn was to travel to a fresh land and mine it for information, but this expanding horizon far exceeds his expectations. ]

Is it magic, or science?

[The universe is full of societies at different stages of development. From the Arusians, who thought Allura was a goddess because of her technology, to the Alteans, who could jump through wormholes, and everything in between. So it’s not entirely a surprise that someone here is from a world less advanced than the one she was born on.]

For Alteans, it’s a little bit of both.

[Their technology is pretty unique, not in its reliance on quintessence, but the way it directly connected with its users’ life energies. It’s more due to the unique properties of the Alteans than anything else.]

But I have visited many planets that have reached the stars through science alone

I see. You...Alteans, then, are far ahead of both our best sorcerers and scientists. [ He's looking at her with awe; not the worshipping look of someone who thinks she's a goddess, but the recognition of the result of a society that's made progress unimaginable to him. ] I came to Norrhamn seeking fresh knowledge from a world beyond my own. I didn't think I'd find it in other visitors.

[ He puts a hand on his chest and nods to her. ] Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. I'm Zelgadis.

And I am Princess Allura.

[There's a nod of greeting, but the smile she offers him seems amused. Studying and science seems antithetical to Norrhamn's purpose, but it is much more easy for her to relate to that over, say, lounging by a pool.]

I'm afraid that I'm not much of a scientist, but I would be happy to talk about what I know, if you are interested.

[Fellow busybodies have to stick together.]

[ He doesn't falter at hearing her title; after countless misadventures over the years with a princess of his own world, he's learned not to have particular expectations for royalty. If anything, it makes more sense to him that a princess would have access to advanced technology.

Getting work done might be a strange reason for visiting a vacation island, but laying around to work on his tan can come later; Zel holds up one hand, rolling down his sleeve with the other to show his rocky arm. It can be assumed that it connects to a rocky torso, which stands on two rocky legs. ]

My body was the casualty of an experiment, which fused me with one third stone golem and one third brau demon. I've been traveling ever since, searching for a way to undo this curse. Is this...something your science is aware of? Or something you've seen in the many planets you've visited?

[ His expression is cautiously hopeful for the chance of getting some sort of lead from her; surely a civilization that could travel the stars would know some technique for restoring bodies. ]

[His lack of reaction doesn’t cause her any pause, nor would it if he chooses to use her name instead of her title when addressing her. Whether someone felt the need to defer to her, or considered first-name-basis to be more appropriate was up to them and she had no preference either way.

Her eyes widen when he rolls up his sleeves, but she doesn’t gawk. Years of traveling space makes it fairly common to meet others with strange physical characteristics. ~~It’s still not as bad as weird human ears.~~]

I am sorry that happened to you… [Softly, and she frowns,] Unfortunately I am not familiar with either stone golems or brau demons, but I cannot imagine there isn’t an answer somewhere.

[It’s not the most certain and uplifting answer, but his needs are incredibly specific,] I do have some ability to heal, but I have no idea if it would do anything to reverse your curse.

[Her quintessent powers are vast and mysterious, so anything could be possible.]

[ He rolls his sleeve back up, appreciating her kind response but not feeling too optimistic about their chances here. ]

Some of the best healers of my world had no luck restoring my body, but I would be grateful if you tried. What's the basis of your healing powers?

[Unfortunately, things could never be that easy, could they?]

I can manipulate quintessence, [Said like 'quintessence' should be something that needs no explanation,] By transferring my life energy into others, it can help boost their natural healing properties, or jumpstart the healing process.

[It's all a little nebulous, even to her.] I am not sure what effect it would have on a curse, but it cannot hurt to try.

I see, you draw on some intrinsic part of your own being. [ Not that he has any idea what "quintessence" is, but Zel can extrapolate a little. ] Healing magic in my world draws on the power of the gods instead. Humans have no innate essence for healing, but are capable of channeling energy.

[ Of course, she's not human, so for all he knows, she could just be a walking pool of magic healing juice. ]

I should clarify, though, that I mean curse in a more metaphorical sense. It was powerful magic that turned me into a chimera, but the curse just comes from the burden it's placed on me.

[ He raises his arm, offering a stony hand towards Allura with a strangely reserved expression. ] Please try.

[She nods, he seems to get it, and she's pretty used to humans that are unfamiliar with the concept of quintessence. They all seem to pick up the idea pretty quickly though, humans are nothing if not adaptable.

At the offer of his arm, she gently takes it in both of her hands, fingers pressing against the strange, stony surface of his mutated skin without an ounce of reservation on her part. She looks up at him with serious, shining eyes,And even she isn't sure the extent of her powers at this point. It seems to be something new she's discovering ever since her trip to Oriande and her commune with the Ancients. Closing her eyes, she pulls forth on the power within, feeling the familiar buzz of quintessence flowing under her skin, power radiating in waves that threaten on being overwhelming, even for her. With that energy, she focuses it into the stranger before him, willing her life energy, like she did with Lance or the Balmera. Or even with the Sincline. Even if Zelgadis feels no physical changes, the power coming from the small Altean girl is palpable, capable of giving life, or mending wounds, and perhaps he may feel the same buzz of energy under his skin once this is over, lingering for a time.

But despite her powers, and all of her strength, when she opens her eyes, the skin under hers is unchanged. There's a familiar twist in her gut as an insidious voice inside her reminds that she is not nearly powerful enough to solve even one person's personal demons.]

...I am sorry.

[ He's tried countless attempts at a cure, chased demons and dressed up in humiliating outfits and performed foolish rituals and performed experimental spells. There have been times when his desperation drove him to hurt others, reject all friendship, risk his life; coming to Norrhamn was supposed to be a salve for his increasing despondency over the existence of a cure.

The magic Allura calls on is utterly alien to him, but it's undoutably real, and as it washes over him, it carries a hope that maybe this time, this time, he's found the solution. The energy electrifies him, crashing into the magical bonds that hold his body together, a rush of a reaction that he's never felt before. This, he understood, was quintessence.

When it all fades away, he's energized, stripped of the weariness from riding on a small boat for hours. But that's where the changes end, once his body reaches its capacity for recovery. ]

Damn it! [ Zel drops to his knees, punching the ground; the sand absorbs the impact from his stony fist with a dull thud. ] That felt real! That felt different! Why isn't anything ever enough?!

Summer 6 - Newcomer mingle

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a week late with starbucks

it's never too late to torment zelgadis