[Day 209] it's morphin' time!;

[notachickenhawk]

Who: Tobias and anyone who wants to play with a dolphin.
Open: Open!
When: 209
Where: At the lake in Dragonfield.
What: It's been stressful lately. It's time to be silly.
Format: Whichever.
Warnings: Possible ridiculous amounts of cute.


[Maybe it was due to the stress of dealing with the whole cure thing and the having to go find Ura and get back to the Bastion. Maybe he was just tired of thinking of how much he missed Rachel and the others. Or maybe he was just done with the weird animals here.]

[Whatever the reason, Tobias did something he didn't normally do - he morphed dolphin, splashing around in the lake in Dragonfield and nosing at rocks and basically making a bunch of noise. It is entirely possible for him to be seen flailing around, or occasionally in hawk morph resting. Is he going to use all of his morphs today on dolphin time? Yes. Yes he is.]

Comments

[coolerthansora]

[Roxas doesn't realize that it's Tobias yet, but that sure is a dolphin in their lake. He's been pretty down lately, but the sight of it enjoying itself actually makes him smile a bit. Although..]

Are you okay in there?

[Fresh water and all...]

[notachickenhawk]

[Tobias leaps out of the water, chattering and laughing as he dives back in.]

<Yeah, I'm fine. I wouldn't want to do this long-term but it's fine for now.>

[coolerthansora]

Woah!

[He's as much surprised by the jump as by the voice.]

Tobias? I didn't know you could turn into a dolphin. [...no reason to think he couldn't, though.]

[notachickenhawk]

[He swims over to the shallower area near Roxas, flopping down and grinning up at him.]

<I can turn into a lot of things. I don't usually like being in the water, but as a dolphin it just... doesn't seem to matter at much. It's like being a little kid again.>

[coolerthansora]

I kind of.. grew up on an island. [It's a weird and complicated "kind of."] Hard to imagine not liking the water.

[notachickenhawk]

<I grew up next to one ocean or another. It's kind of hard to not like the water, but... look, you watch horror movies with sharks and learn about how the ocean can crush you like a grape and suddenly the ocean's not so much fun.>

[... Well.]

<Except when I'm like this.>

[coolerthansora]

Sharks are pretty scary.

[He says this from semi-personal experience.]

But, I don't think there's anything scary in the lake, unless you turn into it.

[daughterofursa]

[Well, the weird animals are definitely done with Tobias. It doesn't take long for the turtle ducks living in the lake to decide that they really don't like this large fish thing and make for the shore, quacking loudly all the way. Their complaints bring Zuko over, though she can't identify the animal any more than they can.

The turtle ducks crowd around her feet as though expecting her to do something, but she just crouches down to be closer to them while she watches the fish thing splash around. Where did it come from? Is there any danger it might eat them?]

[notachickenhawk]

[Well they do look like snacks, but Tobias has been being careful not to eat anything in the Bastion. With all the weird animals around he's not sure what's a pet and what's not. But he rolls over as he surfaces, slapping his side with a flipper.]

<Hi! Hi hi!>

[daughterofursa]

[Zuko took the talking hawk thing in stride before because everyone else seemed to think it was normal, but she's not making the leap to talking fish-thing even if he's sort of pointing at himself. She glances around in search of the inexplicably excited bird (judging by his voice), but she doesn't see him anywhere.]

Uh...

[notachickenhawk]

<Over here. The dolphin. The uh... fish thing. It's me!>

[Tobias that is not helpful.]

<I thought I'd relax today.>

[daughterofursa]

What?

[She's heard of dolphin piranhas at least, but still...]

I thought you were a hawk. Are you trying to see how gullible I am?

[It's true he wouldn't be the only shapeshifter in the Bastion, but shifting between a hawk and a 'dolphin'? Pretty weird. Maybe he's just hiding nearby and pretending to talk for the dolphin.]

[notachickenhawk]

<Nope. I wasn't always a hawk. I was a human for most of my life but I got stuck. And then I got given the power back. My life is really weird, okay? I can change into whatever I can touch. That's... got the same kind of genetic structure.>

[Let's not go into genetics, he only was in like seventh grade when this stuff started.]

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

[That sure is a dolphin in the lake. Rob comes over and crouches down next to the water.]

Hey there. Don't remember seeing you here before. You look like you're doing well even without an ocean. Course, you could be a river dolphin. Guess you'd be used to it then.

[notachickenhawk]

[This also sure is telepathy of some sort.]

<Bottlenose dolphin, actually. They're not really supposed to be in lakes but we don't exactly have ocean here.>

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

[This sure is someone who wasn't expecting an answer. I mean, dolphins are supposed to be smart and all, but...

His face locks up and doesn't update its expression other than to blink several times.]

...If you start singing "So Long and Thanks for all the Fish" I'm leaving.

[notachickenhawk]

<I don't get the reference, but you're probably better off not getting me to sing.>

[He splashes up on the shore and chitters in amusement.]

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

Prolly a good thing. The irony could be fatal.

[He wouldn't be nearly so weirded out if it wasn't an animal he recognized from his own world.]

So, uh, have psychic dolphins always been a thing that exists? Or were you like, uplifted or something?

[notachickenhawk]

<... Sounds like someone I know at home.>

[Marco... he kind of misses your sarcasm.]

<And no, talking dolphins isn't usually a thing. I aws born human, got stuck as a hawk, and got given back my morphing ability.>

[amphibian]

[Some days are pool days, and some days are lake days—and sometimes it varies by hours or moments. It comes down to whether or not the ache of accumulated energy demands fresh air or training drills.

Today, she needs open sky and the bustle of the Bastion outside, not-quite-clear waters and fish swimming about and alongside and away from her.

The dolphin she sees flailing about the lake as she approaches, sweatshirt on over her swimsuit and towel slung over her shoulder, isn't what she expected as far as fish go.

She spends a few moments watching the dolphin, unaware of who it is, considering whether or not today should be a pool day instead. She considers the fact that she spent her pool's opening day making friends with a turtle, ferrying around a Pokémon, and racing a bird, and makes a decision.

Flinging her sweatshirt and towel aside, she hollers, loud and cheerful, as she sprints to the lake and cannonballs right in.]

[notachickenhawk]

[Tobias dives out of the way as she cannonballs, and then noses her to make sure that she surfaces properly. Hope you don't mind sort of rubbery skin, Aoi. But it's pretty clear to him that she's a swimmer, and so he turns and offers her his back. Want a ride?]

[amphibian]

[Of course she surfaces properly; who do you think she is? Rubbery-ish skin isn't an issue, but she jumps a bit at the nudge; for all she's seen on TV, she never thought dolphins were actually that friendly. Not wanting the start to be interpreted as fright, though, she pats the dolphin's head.] Hi there!

[When he turns around, her first though is that she's gone and upset him—but nope, he doesn't actually go anywhere. Hell yeah she wants a ride, even though it takes her a moment to connect the dots. Is that really okay, though..?

Just in case, she's very careful as she approaches and, gently, ready to back off if the dolphin starts to balk, grabs onto his fin.]

[notachickenhawk]

[He flicks his tail and they're off, taking a lazy glide around the lake. He could go faster, but he doesn't want to make her lose her grip and he doesn't want her to grip too hard. So slow it is.]

<Having fun?>

[Sorry about the sudden telepathy. Except kind of not.]

[amphibian]

[The sudden telepathy catches her off-guard enough to jump, but she doesn't fall off, at least. That's definitely Tobias's telepathy-voice, and she rapidly glances around in search of a hawk, but...nope, no dice.]

...Tobias? Hey, where are you? [Liiiitle slow on the uptake here, oops.]

[notachickenhawk]

<Right here.>

[He tilts his head back and chitters in laughter.]