[SE]Little drops of hope

let your threads come undone. i like you better bare

"I don't know what a 'seal' is, but sure, maybe." An animal from Oliver's world, he assumed. In some senses, there was still a bit of a language gap that being stuck on Caido wouldn't fix. Of course, he could go into more detail and see if a 'selkie' changed using a cloak of fur like he once did feathers, but that secret was so ingrained that he didn't even think of offering the it for comparison.

"It's kind of a broad topic. My kind was one of many. There's the Sidhe courts -- elves, if that means anythin' to you -- elemental spirits, actual beast folk, dryads..." He shrugged one shoulder, the final creature listed sending a memory flickering over his mind's eye. Someone to think about later. "Humans didn't know about us, which was the point. But plenty of us traded with them. Well, traded with, worked with, fucked and fucked with."

He tilted his head is curiosity. "Did you have magic folk on your world? Shapeshifters or... anything like the attuned here?"

RANCE

and yes i've been changing. for me, not for you

Well shit. Just like how nobody really knew what his fox was, Rance didn't know what a seal was. "Think of... a dog mixed with a whale." Sailors often called them water dogs or water pups, so that seemed to be the easiest thing to compare them to.

Some of the things listed were familiar while others? Nothing. "I know of elemental spirits." There is a small nod and a slight smile, allowing Rance to maybe feel a bit better about listing things off.

There is a flicker of something in Oliver's eyes and he cant help but bite his lips once more. Well, that certainly answered one of the many inconsequential questions scurrying throughout his mind. Many of the things he wanted to know had little impact on how he viewed Rance and he could easily live without knowing- they would most likely further other things and ideas.

Before he had much of a chance to react, Rance was responding back with his own question. "I'm in... a unique situation myself. I'm missing a lot of my memories. When I arrived, all I really had was my first name. Overtime, things have come back... but right now? I don't know. I remember Selkies because sailors told tales of them, but otherwise I couldn't tell you." His voice became soft once more. It wasn't fun to explain and often, people apologized or felt bad. Really, Oliver just felt bad that he couldn't properly answer most questions. "What... how do you feel now? Now that you've become attuned?" Oliver made sure to maintain eye contact, though, if Rance chose to look away he wouldn't be offended. "You've talked to me and told me all of this... thank you, Rance."

smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark

let your threads come undone. i like you better bare

Well, Rance had never seen a 'whale' either, but he'd heard tales of them from traders. A dog crossed with that massive beast? And selkies deigned to appear as humans when they could become something so powerful? Then again, if they were trapped in the water otherwise, Rance couldn't blame them for a bit of versatility. Wasn't that what he liked about being in human form, after all?

So he nodded and his expression probably wasn't unlike that Oliver gave him a moment later after he listed off the types of Hidden. Grasping the idea in at least some small way, even if it was only skirting the edges of the entire truth. "Well, I guess our worlds have a little in common, at least."

The revelation of Oliver's amnesia had a red brow rising. It stymied so many of Rance's questions, but, at the same time, brought up an entirely new train of thought, After all, if he couldn't remember anything, he also couldn't regret losing it. Rance was still puzzling over a way to approach that line of questioning when Oliver thanked him again for sharing. This time, Rance snorted, shook his head, and waved the gratitude off with a gesture, only verbally responding to the question. "Bein' attuned is... different. Both easier to shift and more out of place. Fuck, if I hadn't been told the fuckin' portal changed what I am, I'm not sure I would ever have been able to tell." That said, he began pushing to his feet, grunting as he did and cracking his neck.

RANCE

and yes i've been changing. for me, not for you

There was a quirk of Oliver's lips once he realized that he and Rance's worlds were somewhat similar. Who knows, maybe they even came from the same world. That would be... honestly fantastic. So far, he's heard of so many things that sounded just familiar enough to be part of his history, but there was always something that felt... off. It could've been that they came from different points in time, but nothing ever felt right. At this point, maybe Oliver was just grasping for anything he could get, but he really did hope he'd someday find someone from his world.

It was nice that Rance was becoming more comfortable with being open about his past and history. Not all of Oliver's questions had been answered, far from it, but he had also heard just enough to paint plenty of pictures in his mind. Then, things seemed to go awry. Rance stood up and Oliver looked visibly concerned. His eyebrows lowered and he bit down on his lip. Standing along with Rance, Oliver tried to find the right words. "I guess you're going to get going?" Well... shit. Oliver had really wanted to continue their conversations. It had been so nice talking to Rance and it wasn't just because Oliver thought Rance was hot. The man was genuinely interesting and Oliver could honestly talk for hours with him at this point.... except it seemed the feelings weren't mutual.

smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark

let your threads come undone. i like you better bare

Had Oliver not stood on his own, Rance might have offered him a hand up. Instead, he stretched his arms over his head and cocked an eyebrow at the question. "Hadn't planned on it. Unless you want me to?" That wasn't the vibe he'd been getting from the shorter man, not in the slightest, but that wouldn't stop him from making sure. "I have no place I need to be. Just tired of sittin' on wet moss near a puddle of dubious insight." That came with a grin. Standing, he got a whole new look at the fox ears, large and pale from where they stood amongst blonde hair. Without thinking about it, he let his arms drop, one to his side, and the other bent so that his fingers drifted over the soft edge of one furred ear.

"These are... different. I'm not used to thinking 'shifter' and 'human' at the same time." He looked down from ears to eyes, expression intense curiosity. The shocks of his vision and of finding out that all attuned could have more than one shift were wearing off in favor of exploring the openings Oliver had given him. "You weren't attuned when you came through the portal?"

RANCE

and yes i've been changing. for me, not for you

When it turned out that Rance wasn't about to leave, the blonde's eyes visibly widened. "No! I just misunderstood." He offered the man an awkward smile, clearly quite a bit embarrassed judging by the oh so familiar blush reappearing on his cheeks. "I'm down with staying as long as you'd like." Rance's explanation made a whole lot of sense and now Oliver didn't feel as bad. It certainly helped that the man once more reached forward to grasp at his ears. Leaning into the touch, Oliver's closed ever so slightly, his ears moving a bit farther back. "Guess they're pretty interesting, huh?" Part of him wanted to shift into a fox so that he could beg for ear scratches... but eh. That was probably pushing it.

It never really occurred to Oliver that Rance wouldn't know what a hybrid was. Right. That was something that wasn't normal. "Alright so... I came through as an Abandoned, which means you know, I was a magic user... but then I eventually found out that hybrids existed... and it was something I wanted so bad. It felt so right to me..." His voice trailed off ever so slightly, not quite able to find the words to describe the emotions and thought process he had been dealing with in those moments. "So I went out and prayed to Safrin and she came to me. It wasn't an easy process, far from it... but eventually she turned me into this shift.... and to this day she says its her favorite shift." That last comment earns a very visible grin on Oliver's face as he recounts those moments, especially the part about Safrin loving his fox shift.

His eyes finally found Rance's once more now that his tales were done. "And that's how I'm a hybrid... I can now turn into a leopard and a woodpecker. Though, the leopard's ears aren't quite as impressive as these." He flashed the other man a wink and had to hold back some laughter. "Other than that... I'm kinda boring, honestly."

smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark

let your threads come undone. i like you better bare

Probably a good thing Oliver hadn't shifted, Rance wouldn't have known what to do with an actual fox at his feet. The ears and longer canines that peeked out when he spoke were enough of a curiosity for now. He hummed at the mention of them being interesting and stroked the ear one last time before letting his hand drop. "It's an idea that's goin' to take gettin' used to." His grin took on a bit of a playful tilt as he noticed the blush, a color that it seemed didn't take much to bring to Oliver's cheeks. What other ways might Rance bring a flush to his skin?

Being a shifter with access to magic didn't seem at that strange to Rance, though he was starting to get the idea that it was unusual on Caido. That 'attuned' and 'abandoned' were two very separate groups. He listened to Oliver's explanation, head cocked to the side in interest, wishing he'd thought to bring his pack and journal. Red brows rose as Oliver listed off all of the animal forms he'd learned to become thanks to the blessing of his goddess. The wink had him chuckling, amused by the playfulness, though he was teetering on shock again -- an emotion he was becoming annoyingly familiar with. The idea that one could pray to a god to change the very make-up of who they were and have that prayer be answered -- how close were the gods to their devotees? -- sent a brief chill down Rance's spine.

All that and Oliver claimed to be boring?

That final claim shocked a bark of laughter out of him, his grin wide with amazement and disbelief. "Are you fuckin' serious?" His voice shook with the remnants of the laugh. "You can do magic, change into multiple animals I've never seen, and've had a god speak to you? 'Boring' doesn't fuckin' fit into that list, Oliver." Rance shook his head, baffled by what could either very bold false modesty or an incredible lack of self-awareness.

He gestured with one hand toward Oliver as if to encompass all of him in the movement. "I might still be learnin' what's 'normal' around here, but nothin' about what you just said is at all fuckin' borin'."

RANCE

and yes i've been changing. for me, not for you

The blonde ear flickers when the hand moves back down and Oliver finds his ears pinning back against his head. How sad, no more attention on his ears. Oliver clearly enjoyed it and all he could do was hope that he’d get some more much needed attention from Rance soon. There is a light hum and a grin. ”Took me some getting used to...but it sure is handy.” He flashes the other man his fangs, hoping his point was clear.

Then Rance seemed to change. Laughing in response to what Oliver had said earned some wide eyes. It was obvious he wasn’t making fun of him, not at all, but it was still a surprise. Looking at him, Oliver tilted his head. Struggling to find the words, Oliver nibbled on his lip before finally speaking. ”Thank you Rance... I guess I just didn’t think there was anything special about me... means a lot to hear you say that.” He says with a small bit of nervous laughter at the end. Clearly, Oliver was just very oblivious.

Shifting his eyes away momentarily, Oliver looked at Rance once more. ”Honestly? I guess I just thought that other than, you know my hybrid status, I wasn’t super interesting? But... there’s also so much I haven’t told you... if you’d be willing to listen I’d love to hear more about you in exchange. We could switch back and forth with telling each other facts about ourselves.” Time to see if Rance would take the bait.

smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark

let your threads come undone. i like you better bare

Rance might have regretted giving up the petting, had he been in the state of mind where he could enjoy the newness of it. As it was, he kept getting ambushed with new information every time he started to relax. Even though those shocks were thoroughly distracting, by the time Oliver was blushing very prettily and flashing a predator's fangs, Rance had calmed down enough that there was no missing the hint in that smile. The whisper of a promise of something interesting. "Hm, I bet it is," a hint of his own in his deep voice.

Which was, of course, when the blond through another new pile of information his way. Pieces that would be fascinating even alone, put together into a slightly impossible whole, all blanketed by Oliver's ignorance to just how amazing it was. And it seemed Oliver was just as surprised by Rance's response as Rance had been by the telling. The head tilt, the obvious shock and confusion, the shy gratitude -- Rance nearly shook his head in disbelief. "Well... you're welcome. I don't know what kind of crazy world this is if havin' even half of that isn't considered 'special'." He ran a hand through his hair again, seemingly a gesture of exasperation this time, but he kept his eyes on the tilt Oliver's face, on the way he caught his lip in his teeth, in the body language which fluctuated between easy confidence to shy humility.

Even had there not been implications of maybe something more than talking, Rance would have wanted to continue the conversation. Each person had a story and the raven attuned was learning more with each exchange. But that glance, like several others had since they'd met, said that Rance might have an interesting twist to look forward to if he agreed.

His smile returned, a crooked grin, eyes hooded, brow arched. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind that at all. Fair exchange, a bit from me, a bit from you." He leaned forward ever so slightly, body language purposely casual, though the look in his eyes and the slight tilt of his head said otherwise.

RANCE

and yes i've been changing. for me, not for you

Just the way that Rance spoke caused Oliver's spine to shudder and a grin to appear on his face. Fuck was that hot. "Cant wait to see what you can do."

There is a flicker of something in Oliver's eyes, something potentially saddened. "It isn't necessarily that I'm not special, fuck, I'm so gifted to have been granted this... I guess it's just compared to others who have the same abilities as me, I'm the weakest. It's something I'm working on and it'll take a lot of time." Over the course of his comment, the blonde clearly grows in confidence, slowly realizing that while he may not be equal to his fellow hybrids, he certainly isn't lacking. "You should've seen me before... I was lost, confused, and so weak." Once more those words have underlying images to them, certain connotations that may be made. Oliver knew how strong he was now and he didn't doubt his abilities.

It seemed just by that change in how Rance held himself that things were finally going their way. Both of them seemed to be on an equal field and all it took now was a bit of action- one of them to be daring enough to cross the middle line. Leaning in slightly, Oliver place his foot closer, closing in the gap ever so slightly. Looking from Rance's eyes, to his lips, and back up to his eyes, Oliver offered him a smile. "I've found myself within the Artists Sanctuary... and personally, I'm a major fan of painting and especially sketching. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to draw humans too much, seeing as it's hard to find someone to model. If you'd be willing to help me out, I wouldn't mind... seeing as you're more than qualified to model." Wow that was fucking cheesy. So so cheesy.

smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark

let your threads come undone. i like you better bare

Oliver might have been the weakest of the hybrids, at least in his opinion, but that was still more power than most people Rance had known before coming to Caido. Hearing him downplay what he'd earned, even if he admitted appreciating his blessings, had Rance shaking his head in disbelief. He wasn't sure how to react to that mix of diffidence that what he was striving toward and the admission of his skills. He wasn't the sort to lecture someone, especially for the lack of bragging, and he wasn't going to start with a good-looking stranger in the woods.

Of course, what he thought and what slipped out of his mouth were frequently two very different things. "Well, if you're workin' on not bein' that person anymore, I think you've earned the right not to call yourself 'the weakest'."

Maybe hearing a few more stories from the other man would settle Rance's confused image of the other man. Especially when it was implied that 'stories' weren't the only goal of a continued conversation. Rance felt a familiar anticipation beginning to curl up his spine, a welcome relief from the confusing muddle of emotions he'd been swimming through since looking into the puddle. This, at least, he was comfortable with. A language and a proposal that had nothing to do with strange mixtures of magic.

With the glance to his mouth, one corner of Rance's lips kicked higher. For a moment, the talk of painting and art threw him. Was he reading Oliver's body language all wrong? But no, he presented the offer like the words should mean something very different. Rance hummed and took his own half-step closer, reaching up with one hand again. He teased it along the bottom of Oliver's ear, fingers light, pausing on his jaw. "I'm afraid I don't know much about art, or what bein' a model entails. You might have to instruct me." Through the purred reply, he didn't take his eyes off Oliver's face, lips still curved into a confident smirk.

RANCE

and yes i've been changing. for me, not for you

A light hum escapes his lips and he nods. Yes... that is doable. It seems hard, but if Rance wants him to, then certainly, Oliver can try his best. "Fair enough... though, I do know I am far stronger than I was before, so at least that's something?" There is a light laugh to his words. "The attuned status has.... brought out a new side of me, I'd say... I've become confident, happier... and honestly? It feel more attractive than ever before." Was he fishing for compliments? Yeah.... yeah.

There is clear confusion evident on Rance's face, but there is still confidence brewing within the blonde. The stroke on his ear causes a shudder down his spine and his ears flicker in response, his head moving ever so slightly closer towards Rance, this time searching for something other than some scratches. Licking his lips, Oliver pauses for a moment. "Well.... you'd be modeling for me. You would sit or pose for me... showing off your body and doing what you do perfectly. I'd be sketching, maybe painting you... and it'd be just the two of us." Taking another half step forward Oliver offered him a smile. "I know I'd never be able to do the true thing justice, but it'd be a fun and.... intimate experience." His voice slowly quieted down to almost a whisper, one with a sharp edge to it on the last part.

smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark

let your threads come undone. i like you better bare

Rance didn't quite know what to think of Oliver's wording. Attuned 'status'? He got the point, however, and might have had a few things to say about the 'attractiveness' of feeling right in one's own skin, but those would be delayed by Oliver's invitations for further conversation and... activities.

Whatever confusion the proposal of modeling for Oliver had brought on, it was easily brushed aside by the knowledge of what he was really asking. He was paying more attention to the body language by that point than words. To parted lips and the tilt of Oliver's head. To the way the distance between them was closing. Rance let the description of what he would do as a 'model' wash over him. Let the compliments stroke his pride. Through it all, he traced Oliver's jaw, dragged fingertips down his neck. As the word 'intimate' passed Oliver's lips, the fingers curled around the back of his neck, teasing the ends of short, blond hair.

"Or, you know... we could save all that 'sketching' for later and I can show you other uses for my body." And without waiting for a reply, Rance leaned down and captured Oliver's lips, silencing any further compliments or proposals with a wordless and enthusiastic agreement.

RANCE

and yes i've been changing. for me, not for you

It hadn't occurred to Oliver just how confusing he could be and maybe he's lucky that Rance didn't let it change what was going through both of their heads. It could've easily turned into a block, preventing the two of them from going far. Thankfully, Rance wasn't too bothered and was quickly able to respond, despite his prior confusion.

There was an inclination to respond, to request to see what Rance had to offer before it was handed straight to him. Soft lips connected with his and Oliver found himself humming a sound of pleasure. Gods... how long had it been since he kissed someone who wasn't Ascended? Both Ascended men he got to kiss were honestly amazing kissers, but fuck had he missed this. To be able to bring pleasure to another person just through a simple kiss- to hopefully hear the sounds that Rance would hopefully make.

Tilting his head, Oliver found himself moving in closer, closing in the gap between the two and allowing his body to ever so slightly brush up against Rance's. It was still a small bit hard to figure out what to do with his arms, but Oliver tried what he could. A hand gently started to trace up his chest. Realizing that it wouldn't exactly work, Oliver started to move his hand back down his chest before grasping at the waist of his pants before finally pushing his hand under the shirt, allowing his hand to make contact with his flesh.

Fuck was this amazing.

smile for the camera, it's just a shot in the dark