Frederick Rolls
"Thanks Specter, I'd appreciate it. And don't worry about identities, I don't plan on making anyone give out their secret identities anytime soon. Anyone who wants to share identities can do it among themselves, but it's not mandatory. Right now, all I really want to do is contact Black Goo and Slender Girl. They're two pretty active heroes and I feel like they're trustworthy. But I can't assume I'll just run into them and I'd really have a more discrete communication system up an running."
"Well, of course," Frederick replied. "But I assume we'd have to interact a bit more than usual, correct?" He sighed. "That means that I'd have to go through the creation of a different persona, and alter my voice, and so on."
While he didn't mind playing roles in the theatre, that was different. Doing it as the Specter would mean that he would have to remove some of the freedom he had enjoyed before, not being held down by what was appropriate for his role in society and such.
"I'll think about it, though, that's all I can promise." With a smirk, he added; "Of course, I could just go ahead and go all dramatic on people, give them an actual reason to call me the Phantom of the Opera."
That does sound kind of fun.
"Wouldn't happen to have any ideas would you?"
"I have a question, if that helps. Why would it need to be those small devices? It's certainly impressive, but wouldn't a phone or modified clock or anything that would be able to receive a signal work? If the signals from Lovelace," -he didn't notice himself using the man's actual last name- "Can't be traced, there's no reason to not rely on technology that already exists. Heck, he could just send a message on people's phones or something, though, probably not the one they use daily."
Perhaps there was something Frederick didn't see. However, to him, there was no need to complicate matters further. He wasn't bad with technology -as a matter of fact, he considered himself quite decent with it- but sometimes it was better to do it in the easiest way possible.
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Collab between Vuvu and I
Ash smiled knowingly, as Sirius's eyes darted back and forth between the painting and her.
Ah, so he actually can be shy!
Ash laughed lightly. "Hey, no need to be nervous. This is all going according to your plan, right?"
Sirius looked at her, a bit puzzled. "Plan? I don't really have a plan, I just thought that I should ask." With a strange hesitation -as if it was forced-, he kept his eyes on her. "Was it way too direct?"
Sure you didn't, Sirius.
Ash was about to call him on it, but his question threw her off.
I mean, for some people, sure, but... What's with the weird look, though?
"Well, with your 'not-a-plan', it came off as too indirect to me, really. Not that I'm exactly normal, but..."
"Oh." He was a bit unsure of what the intended message was. It was too indirect? She had understood it, hadn't she? Why did she think he had planned something?
Perhaps it seems like that because I asked her as I was painting her.
He stopped painting, and put the brush away.
"I didn't intend to ask if you wanted to go to the festival with me before I started painting you. I just asked you because it seemed like a good time to ask." His voice was a little too monotone for the words, and he added; "Give me a moment to think this through, then. I don't really know how to ask the appropriate way."
"Uh-huh..." So much for the shyness.
This is weird now. Probably would be worse if Sirius wasn't like that all the time.
"I mean, what you said wasn't bad. The backtracking wasn't helpful, though."
"I... don't really understand." He frowned, though the frown didn't reach his eyes. "Am I just messing up everything? Are you confused? Or angry?"
"It's really awkward now..." Ash commented, kind of annoyed this turned into some awkward thing somehow.
At the very least, you think he'd be more confused, or more... something, at least.
He nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry, I... I can't feel emotions, so I'm not good with situations like this." It wasn't something that embarassed him or anything like that, but he always hesitating with telling people. Ash would probably not want to talk to him anymore. "I've never harmed anyone," he added as assurance. "I just don't feel emotions. I know that's weird, and I'm sorry that you don't like the situation."
"You can't feel emotions?" Ash asked; now, being some sort of... whatever it was that Ash was, she didn't have a normal outlook herself, but 'no emotions' could mean a lot of different things. "Not to pry, but I'm not sure I get what you mean by that."
And where does asking me out fit into that?
"The emotions that everyone else feels. I don't experience them. Happiness, anger, sadness, that sort of thing. Fear, surprise, amusement, none of those either. It's sort of... all the same." He hadn't really been asked about it like that before.
"Oh..." Ash didn't know how to feel about that, since she couldn't help but detect some dissatisfaction with the situation. She paused for long enough to be awkward, not sure what to say. "Was it always like that?"
"I've been like this since I was born. However, these last years it's been different, I've... sort of shared my father's emotions." Sirius closed his hand and opened, as he studied it. "It's an ability I've had for a while. But he's back home now, and I'm here."
"And how did that work out?" Sirius's case definitely seemed interesting before, but there definitely was something interesting about his 'sharing emotions' thing.
"I created a bond between him and me, and then I experienced emotions. It's usually preferable to nothing." There was some feelings he didn't like, and he often disconnected himself from the worst of those. "My eyes changed color too," Sirius continued, speaking as if it was nothing.
"Changed color, huh?" Hey, Ash was allowed to find that amusing -- that was her thing, dammit! (That, and the whole vaguely-an-abomination fighting thing, but whatever).
"Yeah. Oh," he added, having just remembered a somewhat important part. "Also, my other powers. They change too."
"Other powers? I didn't know you had any."
"I do. Right now I can create bonds and cancel people's powers if they get too close. I'd show you, but it'd be a little hard."
"Yeah, I probably can't do anything that it'd cancel out." It wasn't like she had a 'natural' and 'changed' form -- she turned into whatever she'd be until she changed again. "But you could change it?"
"It changes on its own. But I'd need to experience emotions." He looked at her. "If you want to see, I could share yours for a moment. You have to agree, of course, and I won't keep the bond up for longer than you feel is necessary." Sirius would be lying if he said he didn't hope she would say yes, experiencing emotions was... well, different from the regular dull nothingness.
"What would we need to do?"
"I need to have physical contact with you when I establish the bond, and you need to agree. You don't have to say anything, you just have to be willing to share emotions." He offered his hand. "Does that sound okay?"
"Heh, alright, go for it." She took his hand, waiting to see what would happen.
Closing his eyes, he held her hand for a moment. At first, she felt nothing, however, suddenly there was a presense there. It was almost impossible to notice. "There," Sirius said, voice warmer. "Done." When he opened his eyes again, they were a brilliant green. His facial expression softened as he smiled.
Ash almost missed the change within herself, but she'd felt something like it before somehow; a minor point, though, when she saw Sirius look happier because of what she'd done. The shade of green was awfully nice as well -- been a while since she'd tried green eyes for herself.
"How's it feel?"
"Warm," he said, and smiled even more. "Warm and light and energetic." Sirius was rather different from before, and stretched. He'd seem calmer before. "Do you want to see my ability now?"
Ash smiled -- he definitely looked a lot better this way, rather than the shallower facsimile that might have resulted. "Yeah, let's see it!" She stood and stretched too.
Is it rude for me to loosen myself if he's showing off his powers?
Sirius nodded. "Okay. Also, it'd be a good idea not to be surprised, since my powers change then." He levitated, flying a little above the ground. "See!" he grinned, then added; "I can do it higher, but not inside. I can also make several people fly at once."
"Of course you can fly." Ash momentarily slumped in mostly-mock jealousy. "Oh, the things I'd do if I could fly..." Momentary commentary over, she looked back over to him. "So how long do you get?"
"Long do I get?"
"Yeah, how long does the bond last?"
"It lasts until I remove it as far as I know, but it doesn't really go over a huge distance," he remarked, and landed in front of her. "I'm still connected to my father too, but he's too far away for it to work. Oh well. Did you want to try?" he said, cheerfully.
"Very much so." Ash took off her jacket, so her phone wouldn't get damaged.
While he didn't need to take her hand, he did. Then she started levitating, and he let go of her, lifting her closer to the ceiling. "How's that?" he asked. "Nice, right?"
Ash laughed. "This is fantastic!" She reoriented herself to speak more naturally to Sirius, and her smile turned into a grin. This would be so amazing to be able to do all the time. "I am so very tempted to divebomb you right now."
Sirius laughed as well. "Well, you could try, but I have a feeling it wouldn't work too well." Carefully, he got her back down. "So, how was that? You've never done something like that before, have you?" The amount of happiness he was portraying was clearly related to Ash's own good mood.
"You can feel emotions, though, that's quite amazing too."
"Yeah, I guess there's that too... But no, never been able to make myself fly before." Ash looked away momentarily, smiling mischieviously -- this wouldn't do any harm, right?
Ash looked back, her eyes now the same shade of green as Sirius's. "Never could pull off the green eyes that well either."
Sirius kept smiling, after all, he was experiencing Ash' emotions. However, he examined her eyes. "What happened to the colour?" he asked. "Can you alter your eye-colour that easily?"
Ash's grin remained. "Yeah, I've got a few things I can do as well." Any further elaboration was interrupted by Ash's phone vibrating. "Oh, hold on a second."
Why now?
Ash went over to her jacket and looked at her text -- it was Anne, saying she forgot something at home and needed Ash to get it from Anne's room-mate. "Oh, sorry, a co-worker needs me to go do something for her." Her eyes flicked back to the 'mundane' coloration.
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Sirius Hamilton
Sirius nodded, though, there was a couple of things he still wondered about, seeing as he still hadn't gotten an answer to if she did want to join him. There was also the matter of the bond, did she want him to remove it? Or could he stay like this?
I hope I can.
However, it wasn't until she went for the door Sirius finally spoke, still smiling, though the emotions sent weren't purely happy any more. Still, there certainly was enough for him to experience.
"So, about the thing I asked you about earlier... would you like to go out with me?" Sirius asked in that pleasant tone his voice had gotten. He was about to add the second thing, then, in a moment of selfishness, decided not to. If she minded, she'd probably let him know. Besides, reminding her would only ensure that she'd want to remove the bond.
