[Alright, at least they've gotten to the bench in one piece. That's a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. Fern raises an eyebrow at Peter's response but decides not to push, because if the guy's brain really is scrambled eggs then he could probably use a few minutes to just chill out.
... The staring is weird though, and it's making him self-conscious. He only tolerates a few moments of this before reaching up to shove his hand in Peter's face and push him back.]
( If this was fully Peter in the driver's seat, he'd no doubt be flinching back in alarm, scared by the shove. If this was fully Paimon, he'd probably be letting out some kind of guttural... demon sounds of displeasure, getting all mad about it.
But this is some weird mixture of everything, layered in the strangeness of that rebirth, and the boy is neither scared nor mad about it. He just lets himself be shoved back, blinking. What... is this? It's very different from the embrace earlier, but like then, he isn't quite sure how to react to it.
So after a long moment........ he reaches up to shove Fern back. It's in the shoulder, and it's not hard, certainly not mean-spirited. He's just... imitating what the other boy had done.
Does this kind of... somewhat count as their first brotherly scuffle?? Apart from, you know, the time there was an actual murder attempt. Ah, memories... )
[Fern isn't thinking very much about what he's doing. All he knows is Peter is getting up in his space, and making him severely uncomfortable, and so he's going to do something about it as opposed to shying away. He isn't the shying away type, after all.
He really isn't expecting to get shoved back, however gentle it is, and his reaction is an immediate, instinctive hissing as his teeth sharpen.]
Dude!
[Clearly the mature thing to do here is shove back again, and that's exactly what he's doing.]
( While there was no fear or anger up until now, something shifts when Fern suddenly hisses at him β when he sees how those teeth sharpen. This... unlocks some memory that's buried deep within Peter, touches upon the emotion of fear, finally. A fear of Fern snarling those sharp teeth at him, at how sharp the rest of his body can become, the memory of that fear.
Suddenly it revs up in Peter now, fueled into aggression by the demon's nature within him. When he's shoved again, he immediately hisses back, a loud, reedy sound that cuts through the air, his pupils dilating, making his eyes look black. And suddenly he's scrambled up fully onto the bench, moving far too quickly for something that could barely stand up mere moments ago; it's an inhuman quickness. He's crouched on top of the bench, long legs and arms bent, like he's going to pounce right on Fern's head.
....And after a moment, that's exactly what he does, just straight-up springing at him. This is fine. )
[At this point Fern isn't really thinking about what he should or shouldn't expect, he's just mad, so he doesn't look particularly surprise at the hiss that's returned. It's fine, sometimes you just need to hiss at someone, you know?
Strangely enough, even less surprising is when Peter moves to straight up tackle him, but that might just be because Fern has grown up with a lot of siblings, and brothers, and being very fighty in general means that a fight getting picked is another thing that happens sometimes. He still yelps when he's tackled, tumbling down to the ground, but he's quick to start fighting back. Thankfully, in a less serious not-going-to-immediately-stab kind of way, more the kind of scuffling that siblings get into when they're fed up with each other.]
( Fortunately, whatever feral demon state Peter is in doesn't really have the intention to kill at the moment, either. There's certainly an aggression, but he doesn't even remember how to be too volatile, right now. He's more like a puppy than anything. A demon... puppy.
Down they go onto the ground, and he's just kind of batting at the other boy and rolling around with him, a tangle of limbs and (harmless) snarling, Peter still baring his teeth at him but not actually biting. After a few moments of scuffling around, he attempts to use his larger stature to.... roll on top of Fern. Squash him, just a littleβ! )
[Thankfully, the scuffle doesn't escalate. They do cause some of the other people wandering the boardwalk to have to walk around them, but that's about it. Fern hisses back, still looking very demonic, and with his years of experience wrasslin' with Jake he is very intent on winning. So he starts grappling with a little more skill than normal, and despite being smaller than Peter he's still very strong, and he uses that to his advantage as well.]
( Fern's definitely better at this than he is. Fortunately, Peter.. Paimon.. whomever hasn't yet touched upon what supernatural things he's capable of in terms of defending himself β so he's just rolling around harmlessly; it'll be easy for Fern to get a one-up on him. There'll be some more displeased hissing and growling, maybe a snarl or two, as he struggles against the other boy.
It happens abruptly. Something clicks in him, snaps against some very specific memory associated with something like this. Once, Fern and Paimon had scrabbled against each other with Luna between them. Peter was the target β and ironically, that flicker of a very intense memory helps draw the Peter part of him out.
All of a sudden, he stops scrabbling against Fern, and the black in his eyes clears a little, though his pupils are still weird, strained. He's gaping at the other boy, eyes wide, for the first time with some sort of recognition. )
[Fern doesn't snap out of it quite as quickly. This is par for the course for him, it's honestly pretty normal, so when Peter suddenly stops he takes the opportunity to pin him. His features are still looking very demonic, sorry about that bro.]
Dude! What the flip??
[What's with the invasion into his personal space??]
( Though it was a memory of fear that helped shake him out of the weirdness of himself a bit, Peter isn't afraid of the slit eyes staring down at him, somehow. Or at least, not enough to send him into the usual panic. There are still so many weird emotions inside him; his mind's still hazy and strange, but through it all, there's....
...relief? Relief to see Fern. Because he knows Fern, doesn't he? And he'd been scared to come here because he was afraid he'd end up all alone, butβ he's not alone. Fern's here.
His body's still pinned down by the other boy, but Peter has long arms and he quickly reaches them up to Fern's body, hugging onto him like that. He doesn't remember any of what happened just a minute ago; he's just happy to see him. )
[Fern isn't fully shaken out of his mood until Peter's arms wrap around him in what is obviously a hug. The act calms him down, and his body settles down, causing him to blink in confusion. It takes another moment for him to process what Peter has said, and when he does he moves off the other boy so he's sitting next to him, and hugs him back.]
( It's a weird sensation, this flood of relief β still strange and out of place in its ways, Peter's memory still such a strange and hazy thing. It's all fueled by emotion deep down in him, released in a way Peter's not usually capable of. Hugs out of nowhere aren't exactly his comfort zone.
But here and now, he's just... glad to not be alone. Glad to be near someone his spirit remembers, knows. He sits up when Fern moves off of him, clothes and hair all a mess, Peter completely oblivious to any of that. He's getting hugged back, and he holds on tight, not yet letting go. )
I'm justβ glad you're here. ( As he puts some of that emotion into word form, even if he still sounds kind of confused. What's even happening...? Peter finally slowly lets go, looking at the other boy. One of his eyes is still weird, the pupil all big and black and restless; there's still a lot of Paimon swirling around with him. )
[Fern doesn't mind the hug. Despite the whole hissing demonic plant creature thing he's still definitely a hugger, just like Finn is, and physical contact has always had the bonus of calming him down. He doesn't let go of Peter right away either, feeling his grass twitch and relax.
When Peter lets go, a few roses and ghost plants bloom on his hat. He rests his hands on Peter's shoulders, just in case he still needs the contact.]
Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. How're you doing? Did the whole squid thing mess your brain up?
( There's a relief when Fern keeps the contact, a physical reminder that he's not alone, and Peter reaches his hands up to gently rest against the other boy's shirt front, fingers just barely holding on like that. He sees the things blooming on Fern's hat, recognising the roses β but has he seen the other things, before? He can't remember, but they're strange and interesting and he's looking at them for a moment until Fern's question has him looking back down. )
Squid thing? ...Oh yeah. Oh yeah...
( That's... right. He'd changed. Or... something. It's still very strange to think about, overwhelming. Peter dips his head for a moment, staring widely down at the wood of the Boardwalk. )
Yeah, I don't really.... know what's going on? I feel... weird. Where are we...?
[Fern is at least glad Peter isn't shrinking away from the contact. It seems like he could really use it, and honestly, he could use it too. It's reassuring, having another person he knows here. It makes the task of figuring out this new world a little less daunting.]
No idea. Some new world, I'm guessing. We went through that ocean, and I think that was how we traveled here. [He shrugs a little.] We could be anywhere in the multiverse, as far as I know.
( A new world... Peter blinks slowly, letting that sink in as much as he's able, with his mind still all weird and hazy. He's missing lots of pieces, doesn't really remember anything or anyone else β in the moment, it's only Fern. And he definitely doesn't want to lose him, fingers curling a little tighter against his shirt. )
I'll justβ stay with you. ( Whether Fern wants to wander around and explore or try and find other people, Peter's just going to continue to latch onto and follow the other boy around for a bit, apparently. )
no subject
... The staring is weird though, and it's making him self-conscious. He only tolerates a few moments of this before reaching up to shove his hand in Peter's face and push him back.]
Dude, cut it out.
no subject
But this is some weird mixture of everything, layered in the strangeness of that rebirth, and the boy is neither scared nor mad about it. He just lets himself be shoved back, blinking. What... is this? It's very different from the embrace earlier, but like then, he isn't quite sure how to react to it.
So after a long moment........ he reaches up to shove Fern back. It's in the shoulder, and it's not hard, certainly not mean-spirited. He's just... imitating what the other boy had done.
Does this kind of... somewhat count as their first brotherly scuffle?? Apart from, you know, the time there was an actual murder attempt. Ah, memories... )
no subject
He really isn't expecting to get shoved back, however gentle it is, and his reaction is an immediate, instinctive hissing as his teeth sharpen.]
Dude!
[Clearly the mature thing to do here is shove back again, and that's exactly what he's doing.]
no subject
Suddenly it revs up in Peter now, fueled into aggression by the demon's nature within him. When he's shoved again, he immediately hisses back, a loud, reedy sound that cuts through the air, his pupils dilating, making his eyes look black. And suddenly he's scrambled up fully onto the bench, moving far too quickly for something that could barely stand up mere moments ago; it's an inhuman quickness. He's crouched on top of the bench, long legs and arms bent, like he's going to pounce right on Fern's head.
....And after a moment, that's exactly what he does, just straight-up springing at him. This is fine. )
no subject
Strangely enough, even less surprising is when Peter moves to straight up tackle him, but that might just be because Fern has grown up with a lot of siblings, and brothers, and being very fighty in general means that a fight getting picked is another thing that happens sometimes. He still yelps when he's tackled, tumbling down to the ground, but he's quick to start fighting back. Thankfully, in a less serious not-going-to-immediately-stab kind of way, more the kind of scuffling that siblings get into when they're fed up with each other.]
no subject
Down they go onto the ground, and he's just kind of batting at the other boy and rolling around with him, a tangle of limbs and (harmless) snarling, Peter still baring his teeth at him but not actually biting. After a few moments of scuffling around, he attempts to use his larger stature to.... roll on top of Fern. Squash him, just a littleβ! )
no subject
no subject
It happens abruptly. Something clicks in him, snaps against some very specific memory associated with something like this. Once, Fern and Paimon had scrabbled against each other with Luna between them. Peter was the target β and ironically, that flicker of a very intense memory helps draw the Peter part of him out.
All of a sudden, he stops scrabbling against Fern, and the black in his eyes clears a little, though his pupils are still weird, strained. He's gaping at the other boy, eyes wide, for the first time with some sort of recognition. )
Fern?
no subject
Dude! What the flip??
[What's with the invasion into his personal space??]
no subject
...relief? Relief to see Fern. Because he knows Fern, doesn't he? And he'd been scared to come here because he was afraid he'd end up all alone, butβ he's not alone. Fern's here.
His body's still pinned down by the other boy, but Peter has long arms and he quickly reaches them up to Fern's body, hugging onto him like that. He doesn't remember any of what happened just a minute ago; he's just happy to see him. )
You're here.
no subject
Uh, yeah. Sorry about that. Old habits.
no subject
But here and now, he's just... glad to not be alone. Glad to be near someone his spirit remembers, knows. He sits up when Fern moves off of him, clothes and hair all a mess, Peter completely oblivious to any of that. He's getting hugged back, and he holds on tight, not yet letting go. )
I'm justβ glad you're here. ( As he puts some of that emotion into word form, even if he still sounds kind of confused. What's even happening...? Peter finally slowly lets go, looking at the other boy. One of his eyes is still weird, the pupil all big and black and restless; there's still a lot of Paimon swirling around with him. )
Are you okayβ?
no subject
When Peter lets go, a few roses and ghost plants bloom on his hat. He rests his hands on Peter's shoulders, just in case he still needs the contact.]
Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. How're you doing? Did the whole squid thing mess your brain up?
no subject
Squid thing? ...Oh yeah. Oh yeah...
( That's... right. He'd changed. Or... something. It's still very strange to think about, overwhelming. Peter dips his head for a moment, staring widely down at the wood of the Boardwalk. )
Yeah, I don't really.... know what's going on? I feel... weird. Where are we...?
no subject
No idea. Some new world, I'm guessing. We went through that ocean, and I think that was how we traveled here. [He shrugs a little.] We could be anywhere in the multiverse, as far as I know.
no subject
I'll justβ stay with you. ( Whether Fern wants to wander around and explore or try and find other people, Peter's just going to continue to latch onto and follow the other boy around for a bit, apparently. )