synopsychic | Mistakes were made

... I can, I think. As long as this shape doesn't screw something up with it.

Only one way to find out.

...I have no idea how this is supposed to work, though. Do you just, like- want to make a portal near me and it happens?

I... think so? Like you said, only one way to find out.

[And hopefully get lucky.]

Righto. Lay it on me.

[A ten second window to find a portal that might not actually work. But no pressure.]

Okay.

[He heads towards a more secluded area in the market, behind the bathrooms - or what he assumes are the bathrooms? He's not totally sure. In any case, he concentrates, focusing on the space in front of him, and there's a rip in the air that lengthens before opening.]

[Through it, Gil will see a young Hecatite with dark grey, almost black and blueish crystals. He looks very grumpy.]

Holy shit.

[Portals are gonna keep catching him off-guard for a bit. But there's one now, and he sprints towards it, faster than his human Mask would suggest is actually possible, and makes it through just in time - and ends up crashing into the Hecatite in his haste.] Shit--!!

[Hope you don't mind being floored, Jun. Or a little bit covered in blood from where Gil's wounded shoulder smacks into you.]

[Unfortunately, as a Hecatite he's now even more vulnerable to bludgeoning than he was before, and hisses in pain as his crystals slam into the ground. The blood is ignored for now, but he's definitely dazed, and the portal folds into itself and disappears behind Gil.]

He's a bit too distracted by his arm throbbing and oozing again to really notice how much he's hurt Jun, because he's trying to push himself off the smaller guy and onto his knees so he can grip his shoulder and growl, deep and low in his throat. "Bloody fucking hell...!"

After a good squeeze there to help keep that pain at bay, he manages to finally look down at Jun. That voice was already familiar but... "O-oh, hey. You were that crystal kid on the network earlier."

Jun attempts to pull himself out of it, though pain is making his head fuzzy. It's hard to focus on what Gil is saying, but after a moment of letting his brain process it, he gets it. "I'm not usually like this."

He pulls himself to his feet, looking at Gil and shifting a bit, making a noise vaguely like rocks rubbing against each other. "I've been avoiding most people here where I can." Sure, the science fascinates him, but it's all wrong. At least Aquapup is having fun when he's allowed out of his pog. ... Thankfully that still works in Liminal.

"Neither are a bunch of other people, by the sounds of it." His teeth are gritted as he stumbles back to his feet, and tries to set his shoulders straight as his hands drop to his pockets.

...nope, still hurts like shit.

"You okay, dude?" Even with the pain, there's a look of sympathy on his face. "You look... I dunno, fragile. I hit you pretty hard."

Even on top of being this new, more fragile being Jun isn't great with pain and physical force. Kana was always smaller and weaker than him, so it didn't come into play much. He huffs a bit at the question. "Things hurt a lot more like this. I'd guess that it's due to the crystals being bonded to the skin."

"Well- from what I've been seeing, sounds more like you're just fucking made of rock than like, bonded to it. And if you're made of crystals, your structural integrity's gonna be kind of shit."

But he still lifts his good arm to put on Jun's shoulder to spin him around and check for anything major out of place. "Jesus, how old are you even?"

He flinches at the touch, but it doesn't look like anything's out of place. The question has him draw up to his... well, his still somewhat short height, and he stares at Gil. "Thirteen."

"Fucking hell, more kids..." How many did the Arcana need? Did they plan on starting a breeding regime or some shit?

He gives a short nod when he's satisfied that the kid at least seems alright, and claps a hand on his shoulder again, briefly this time, before he goes to walk past him, gun wound on full display. "Right, well. Thanks, kid."

He pulls away again, scowling. "My name is Jun. It's not kid. And I'm not even a kid." For one, he's a teenager. For another, given everything, he can't exactly call himself some kind of innocent child. "What's your name?"

"You are fucking thirteen and I am a teacher, you're a bloody Year Seven child, Jun, and I am really not in the mood for this right now." He turns pointedly and gestures at his wounded shoulder; the blood's making impressive headway down his sleeve. "I've kind of got my own issues to work with right now."

"What the hell do you teach, the world's worst soccer techniques?" Still... the guy's injured, and he grits his teeth with another grinding noise. "Tch. ... The clinic is down the hall. Make a left at the blue neon sign, then a right at the thing that looks like an octopus from a nightmare, and another left at the stuff that looks like neon green brains floating in a tub of jelly."

"English, actually. And drama." Says the absurdly ripped young adult, as he gives Jun a dry look. "Do you know where the fountain is from here?"

"... Ugh, drama... that always seemed like a useless subject. English is useful, I guess." He thinks for a moment, and nods, a scraping noise . "Right at the blue neon sign, right at the rock - uh. Hecatite selling something that looks like a squirrel with neon pink stripes, and then it's just past the place selling about ten million types of screws."

"Hey, don't talk shit on drama. That's gotten me through a lot of shit."

But he nods at the directions, and his annoyed look softens slightly. "You gonna be okay?" Because even if he's an annoying little brat, he's still a kid and another Traveller; you had to keep tabs on your own. "Do... Hecatites recover okay from being bum-rushed?"

"Whatever."

He bristles a little at the question. "I don't know. I haven't been one long enough to know, and I'm not sure if I'd look suspicious asking questions about my own species."

"I had to, for a bit. To be human." Coming out of the Hedge and struggling to remember that he was more than just a storybook monster took a while. "Depends on how you phrase it, I guess." He puts on a bit of a voice: "'So, how long do you take to heal', you know? Shit like that."

"... You're not human?" He just... sighs. He can't even be weirded out by that anymore. "Guess that'd be weird. I know more about animals than humans in terms of biology."

That gets a mild scoff, as he starts walking. He half expects Jun to follow him, but he's not fussed either way. "I'm not an animal. Even with how I look. If you'd gotten turned into a Diabolin you'd be able to see it properly. Not really a way I can show you, though."

"I figured. I wasn't saying you were." He was just saying that he wouldn't be helpful here. "Diabolin's those things that look like demons, right? ... No thanks."

"Yeah. They're like, constantly hallucinating and I don't think they sleep? So I'm pretty glad I got to stay human."

"... I think I'll stick to sleeping, even if it's hard to find a comfortable position with all of these crystals and rocks."

"Try and find a really soft mattress." Oh hey, there's the neon blue sign. Nice. Time for that right turn. "I think I saw a hotel, uh..."

He looks up at the sign, trying to gauge location. "..about... like, six blocks straight ahead."

"... I'll take a look. Maybe I can find some way to earn some money, I have no idea." If anyone will hire someone his age. ... If it even works the same for this species.

"You can grow crystals and shit, right? Try selling those. Or trading them for a bed or something." But he shrugs. It ain't his problem. "You seem smart, you'll figure something out."

Heh. "I might as well try. Like you said, I'm pretty smart." Though how much of that applies to weird space mall, he's not totally sure.

Mistakes were made

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Prose bc easier yaaaay

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