So if Luca sets up shop in the room with the telescope and never goes to his actual room...well, Varian's been warned.
"Yeah, that's fine. You can lean on me."
It definitely will work better than Luca trying to pull a leg off a piano. Luca gladly lends support, and once they get out of the water, as his skin starts to dry, the scales recede leaving skin in their place.
"Well, we have the space. I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem."
The Disaster House has always been good at picking up strays, after all. What's one more kid to add to the mix? He smiles, nodding in thanks, leaning on Luca as they make their way up the beach. Varian turns his head to watch the change, his eyebrows raising.
"Wow, that's... actually really impressive. It really is a full-body transformation."
"Thanks, and yeah, it is." The only sign left that Luca isn't human is his slightly fish like smell. "It's a good thing, too. It makes it way easier to sneak into human towns."
They'd never have been able to get into and out of a human town alive if they couldn't turn human, and convincingly so, after all.
Looking around at the beach, Luca says, "Well, at least there's a ton of debris washed up here. I'm sure there's something around you could use as a crutch."
It's pretty impressive, honestly!! Nary a scale in sight!!
"Oh yeah, this is an excellent way to go about undetected. I wouldn't have guessed for a second if I hadn't seen you transform myself."
He hums softly, nodding, before pointing further down.
"Lots of stuff over there- maybe something there might be useful. It looks like a lot of...Sleeper stuff actually," he chuckles. "I'll laugh if we actually find my leg here."
No offense, Varian, he kind of hopes they don't find your original leg. Assuming there was one, because he knows sometimes people can just be born short a limb. Like Massimo. Looking around, he points.
"There's some debris that looks like it's made of wood over there."
"Oh, don't worry, it's been ages since I lost it, and the guy who ate it left. Our chances of finding the flesh and blood one are minimal, and it would be pretty decomposed by now."
That's...not a comforting statement, Varian. That's not a comforting statement at all.
"That's great! Just what we need, let's head there."
"Yup!" he pops the P- trying to make it a lighter subject than it actually is. "In the old place, every October some people got turned into monsters. Uh- big rage-filled ones? Someone I knew turned into a dragon and ate it."
The lost leg is much more complicated than that, but he doesn't delve into the extra layer of weirdness to it just yet. That is not a first meeting conversation.
He starts scanning the beach, before making a happy noise, leading them over to a good, solid hunk of driftwood. He leans down to pick it up, testing his weight on it a little before letting go of Luca completely.
"Right. I really hope that's not going to be a thing here."
He doesn't want to deal with people he knows turning into giant monsters and trying to eat him. When they find the driftwood, though, that brightens things up a bit.
"Great! I'm glad we found something. And hey, maybe your real artificial leg will show up at some point!"
Which he's sure would work better, but for now, he's glad that Varian has something.
"Believe me, I'd be very okay with that. It made October... a real bad month."
His own leg would be ideal, and he can see less...normal things washing up a little further up the beach- books and personal knickknacks. That seems as good a place as any to really start focusing.
"Well, we can still keep looking, but at least this'll save your back and my dignity a little."
Varian was fortunate that he never turned into a monster himself. Not... a literal one, anyway. He'd seen the process happen to a lot of his friends and family here though, and it looked awful. He never wanted to experience it for himself. He's already got enough of a guilt complex without adding that mess to it all.
"Of course! If nothing else, I can grab some metal to make a new one. But that's the last resort and-oh."
One of the robed figures is coming their way, carrying robes and backpacks. They smile, seemingly friendly, but Varian carefully places himself a little in front of Luca anyway- mistrusting. The Waker hands over the stuff, welcoming them to Trench, telling them the backpacks are theirs. This is a far cry from the Townies Varian remmebers.
The humans seem nice, but Luca doesn't object when Varian puts himself between them. He's used to his friends and family being protective of him. While that can sometimes feel a bit smothering, in place like this, where he has no idea where he is or how anything works? It's welcome. He does take the bag when offered and start rooting through it, though.
"Oh, I have some clothes in here!"
Among the first things he sees in the bag is an item from home. His seaweed shorts. Luca quickly pulls them on, then pulls the fresh robes he's been offered on over that.
Varian keeps himself between Luca and the Wakers until they step away, gesturing towards the boardwalk, promising food and warmth up there. Once they head off in that direction, he moves to look in his own bag, brightening up.
"Clothes and my leg!"
He pulls out a pile of clothing and his steampunk-y prosthetic. He sits on the sand, getting himself dressed and his leg back on- exhaling happily once he's done so- raising to his feet and throwing a grin in Luca's direction.
Luca, honestly, was just picturing some kind of basic carved prosthetic. Which, of course, is still way better than a random piece of driftwood because it would be just the right length and fit, but this...this is way nicer.
"Do the parts really move?"
Because they look like they move, and he knows Varian said he knew a lot of engineering stuff, but if the leg moves, that would be incredible!
He stretches his leg out and then bends it- showing the piston that acts as his knee bending with it, allowing the leg to move almost naturally. He's pretty dang proud of it - he worked hard on it and though it doesn't quite replace an actual flesh-and-blood leg, it does a damn good job.
He will absolutely teach Luca everything he knows- it's so nice to have someone genuinely excited to learn from him.
"Sure, I can show you. I probably need to take it apart for a clean later anyway- who knows what gross sea-gunk is floating around in here. Uh...no offence."
"Well, that's the beauty of it. You can find ways to make things water-tight," he looks around them. "Whiiiich given where we live now might not be a bad idea. Just to be safe."
And then Luca can enjoy some things in the water too. Varian can absolutely make him a little underwater Vespa, you just wait little fishguy.
"You can?" He supposes that makes sense. "Like those diver suits?"
After all, if humans could make water-tight suits to go in the water without drowning, why couldn't they make them for their electronics, too?
"That would be great! I could even test stuff at different depths to see how it holds up! I mean, not so deep that light can reach it, because I don't go down that far, but there's no reason anyone should have to go down that deep anyway!"
Sure, he can survive that deep, but he refuses to go there.
"Yeah!" he brightens. "A little like that! It'll take some trial and error, and it really matters what sort of materials I have to work with first, of course."
He grins wider- this is actually really useful. Better than just attaching things to ropes and dumping it in, hoping for the best. Or asking Fern to dump himself in there and get utterly waterlogged.
"Really? I mean, we wouldn't want to go that deep anyway, not while testing water-tight ability anyway, but that would be great if you could. You'd be a fantastic lab assistant."
"Great! I can't wait to be your lab assistant! This'll be so much fun!"
Luca's so glad he ran into Varian! Well...of course he is, he's pretty sure Varian would have drowned if he kept treading water like that, but not even counting the obvious life saving reason. Luca had been worried about being in a strange place without anyone he knew, and to be honest he's still hoping people he knows will show up at some point, but with Varian here and the chance to learn things and do science, Luca's certain he'll be having enough fun to distract himself from all the other stuff he has to worry about in this place.
"You better believe it will be. If my lab, by some miracle, managed to make it here, you're in for a treat!"
And honestly, Varian is glad for this meeting - even beyond the life-saving stuff- because he definitely would have drowned if left to his own devices- having someone genuinely willing to listen and learn what he has to teach is a genuine delight. Helping to distract someone new away from the fact they were trapped in a whole new world was a bonus to all of that.
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countryclub2021-08-09 05:25 pm
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"I figured that might sway you. It's a pretty cool room."
He's glad for the help off, leaning on Luca as he frowns at the piano. That was a good idea in theory, but in practice? Probably not so much.
"Maybe if I had my tools with me. Buuuuut I don't," dang. "...Are you gonna be okay with me leaning on you until we get further up the beach?"
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So if Luca sets up shop in the room with the telescope and never goes to his actual room...well, Varian's been warned.
"Yeah, that's fine. You can lean on me."
It definitely will work better than Luca trying to pull a leg off a piano. Luca gladly lends support, and once they get out of the water, as his skin starts to dry, the scales recede leaving skin in their place.
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The Disaster House has always been good at picking up strays, after all. What's one more kid to add to the mix? He smiles, nodding in thanks, leaning on Luca as they make their way up the beach. Varian turns his head to watch the change, his eyebrows raising.
"Wow, that's... actually really impressive. It really is a full-body transformation."
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They'd never have been able to get into and out of a human town alive if they couldn't turn human, and convincingly so, after all.
Looking around at the beach, Luca says, "Well, at least there's a ton of debris washed up here. I'm sure there's something around you could use as a crutch."
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"Oh yeah, this is an excellent way to go about undetected. I wouldn't have guessed for a second if I hadn't seen you transform myself."
He hums softly, nodding, before pointing further down.
"Lots of stuff over there- maybe something there might be useful. It looks like a lot of...Sleeper stuff actually," he chuckles. "I'll laugh if we actually find my leg here."
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No offense, Varian, he kind of hopes they don't find your original leg. Assuming there was one, because he knows sometimes people can just be born short a limb. Like Massimo. Looking around, he points.
"There's some debris that looks like it's made of wood over there."
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That's...not a comforting statement, Varian. That's not a comforting statement at all.
"That's great! Just what we need, let's head there."
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Well, that's horrifying. Luca decides to focus on just getting them over there for now.
"Right, okay!"
Once they reach the spot, a lot of it looks like junk to him.
"See anything that looks useful?"
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The lost leg is much more complicated than that, but he doesn't delve into the extra layer of weirdness to it just yet. That is not a first meeting conversation.
He starts scanning the beach, before making a happy noise, leading them over to a good, solid hunk of driftwood. He leans down to pick it up, testing his weight on it a little before letting go of Luca completely.
"Hey! This'll do nicely!"
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He doesn't want to deal with people he knows turning into giant monsters and trying to eat him. When they find the driftwood, though, that brightens things up a bit.
"Great! I'm glad we found something. And hey, maybe your real artificial leg will show up at some point!"
Which he's sure would work better, but for now, he's glad that Varian has something.
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His own leg would be ideal, and he can see less...normal things washing up a little further up the beach- books and personal knickknacks. That seems as good a place as any to really start focusing.
"Well, we can still keep looking, but at least this'll save your back and my dignity a little."
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Especially for Varian, losing a leg, but he doubts anyone would enjoy people turning into actually monsterous monsters and attacking everyone.
"Yeah, looking's much easier like this. And even if it doesn't end up being here, I'm sure we'll find some stuff that might be useful."
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"Of course! If nothing else, I can grab some metal to make a new one. But that's the last resort and-oh."
One of the robed figures is coming their way, carrying robes and backpacks. They smile, seemingly friendly, but Varian carefully places himself a little in front of Luca anyway- mistrusting. The Waker hands over the stuff, welcoming them to Trench, telling them the backpacks are theirs. This is a far cry from the Townies Varian remmebers.
"...Uh...thanks?"
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"Oh, I have some clothes in here!"
Among the first things he sees in the bag is an item from home. His seaweed shorts. Luca quickly pulls them on, then pulls the fresh robes he's been offered on over that.
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"Clothes and my leg!"
He pulls out a pile of clothing and his steampunk-y prosthetic. He sits on the sand, getting himself dressed and his leg back on- exhaling happily once he's done so- raising to his feet and throwing a grin in Luca's direction.
"Pretty cool, right?"
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Luca, honestly, was just picturing some kind of basic carved prosthetic. Which, of course, is still way better than a random piece of driftwood because it would be just the right length and fit, but this...this is way nicer.
"Do the parts really move?"
Because they look like they move, and he knows Varian said he knew a lot of engineering stuff, but if the leg moves, that would be incredible!
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He stretches his leg out and then bends it- showing the piston that acts as his knee bending with it, allowing the leg to move almost naturally. He's pretty dang proud of it - he worked hard on it and though it doesn't quite replace an actual flesh-and-blood leg, it does a damn good job.
"It took me, like, a month to make."
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One of the many, many things Luca will insist on Varian teaching him. It's a long list that will ultimately include literally everything Varian knows.
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He will absolutely teach Luca everything he knows- it's so nice to have someone genuinely excited to learn from him.
"Sure, I can show you. I probably need to take it apart for a clean later anyway- who knows what gross sea-gunk is floating around in here. Uh...no offence."
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Phones, vespas, mechanical limbs...all things that just couldn't exist in the sea, because they'd just break.
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And then Luca can enjoy some things in the water too. Varian can absolutely make him a little underwater Vespa, you just wait little fishguy.
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After all, if humans could make water-tight suits to go in the water without drowning, why couldn't they make them for their electronics, too?
"That would be great! I could even test stuff at different depths to see how it holds up! I mean, not so deep that light can reach it, because I don't go down that far, but there's no reason anyone should have to go down that deep anyway!"
Sure, he can survive that deep, but he refuses to go there.
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He grins wider- this is actually really useful. Better than just attaching things to ropes and dumping it in, hoping for the best. Or asking Fern to dump himself in there and get utterly waterlogged.
"Really? I mean, we wouldn't want to go that deep anyway, not while testing water-tight ability anyway, but that would be great if you could. You'd be a fantastic lab assistant."
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Luca's so glad he ran into Varian! Well...of course he is, he's pretty sure Varian would have drowned if he kept treading water like that, but not even counting the obvious life saving reason. Luca had been worried about being in a strange place without anyone he knew, and to be honest he's still hoping people he knows will show up at some point, but with Varian here and the chance to learn things and do science, Luca's certain he'll be having enough fun to distract himself from all the other stuff he has to worry about in this place.
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And honestly, Varian is glad for this meeting - even beyond the life-saving stuff- because he definitely would have drowned if left to his own devices- having someone genuinely willing to listen and learn what he has to teach is a genuine delight. Helping to distract someone new away from the fact they were trapped in a whole new world was a bonus to all of that.
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