Searching [Chapter 3]

[esp_dragon]

Fandom: Original
Summary: The world of Torpin is open, dragging in xeni from other worlds. The majority of them are monsters, prone to violence. There are some, however, that are not, and are able to live amongst the human population, if allowed to. Marland should know; he's one of them. His job is to hunt and stop the xeni that seek only to destroy what's around them. On one job, a human xeno drops through a portal, an event which Marland has never heard of happening before. And that's not the only thing different about the human...
Rating: R
Notes: Contains swearing.
Omgggg. *cries at all the italics* I hope I don't have this much telepathy in the new NaNo!
Akljds Next time, I think I'll just do what I did with Bonded and not do fancy signs for telepathy, or go for Animorphs and do unless that gets knocked off, because DW/LJ thinks it's code. XD; …Yep, DW/LJ doesn't like triangular brackets. :P
Genre: Urban fantasy
Word count: 7,726
Total word count: 20,109
Status: Work in Progress (reposting, but is complete)



There was someone else in the house. And he was injured, the taste of the painkillers still in Marland's mouth. His ears flicked to and fro, checking for the source; Marland eventually pinpointed it outside his room.

His shoulder twinged, but it wasn’t as sore as it had been before, and he could move his fingers better now.

Marland carefully got off his bed, wary of it creaking, just in case he alerted the intruder. When he stood up, the world barely spun and Marland made his way over to his door, easing it slightly open. Light spilled into his room and Marland stared at it. Who switched on the light when they snuck into a house?

The same kind of person who hummed as they moved around.

He couldn’t hear more than one person in the room and, when he peered through the crack, Marland recognised Shodin puttering around the kitchen area.

Resigned to not being able to sleep for the next little while –that had probably been what had woken him up in the first place- he tugged the door fully open and walked out of his room.

Shodin noticed him once he had crossed half of the room, and Marland saw that he had a sandwich in his hand. "How are you feeling?" Shodin asked him, a smile in his eyes.

"Fine." Much better than before anyway.

Shodin raised an eyebrow at him, and then offered him the sandwich.

Marland regarded it warily (a few slices of ham, not buttered) before he accepted it. There wasn’t anything in the flat that could kill him in that dose, and he’d easily see if his medicine had been added to it – but Shodin couldn’t have known he was going to wake up now.

"I couldn’t get back to sleep, and I was hungry," Shodin explained as he dragged a hand through his hair.

Wait… Marland hadn’t put the shopping away, so where had-? He glanced at where he should have dropped them, but there wasn’t anything there. In fact, the blood stain on the floor wasn’t as dark as it should have been either.

Marland looked at Shodin, who shrugged, a small smile on his lips. "I didn’t want to leave the things as they were. And, as I said, I couldn’t sleep."

Did he know where things went though? Marland opened the fridge. Most of them, yeah. He removed the cans and put them in the proper cupboard. But hadn’t he…?

He shut the fridge door and turned to Shodin, who was leaning back on the kitchen table, his head slightly tilted to one side. "Marland, did you, ah…"

"The shirts are yours."

Shodin nodded slowly before he smiled. "You didn’t have to."

Yeah, he did; he was not dealing with a sick Shodin.

While Shodin was pulling on one of the shirts, Marland looked away, towards his front door, and then suddenly realised what Shodin moving around in his flat meant.

"You hadn’t-" Marland cut himself off, growling. Why was he asking? He cared about the answer, but if he brought attention to it, maybe that would make Shodin do it anyway.

Shodin brushed his hair away from the collar and looked at him. "I hadn’t...?" he prompted.

Marland stared at him uncertainly. "You hadn’t...tried to escape." Which he didn’t understand. Unless Shodin didn’t know how to unlock the door?

"Well..." Shodin looked away and straightened the bottom of his shirt. "I was worried about you."

What? "You worried about me?" he repeated incredulously. That was a fucking lie; no-one cared about xeni, except when they were dead and stinking up the streets.

"Of course I was." Shodin said it like that was natural. Like it was expected. Which is wasn’t. What would have been normal was if Shodin had ran as soon as Marland had closed his bedroom door – unless he had tried to kill him in his sleep first.

The buzzer suddenly rang, saving Marland from having to attempt and respond to that. And he had no idea how. Shodin froze, eyes wide as he scanned the room.

"'S the bell," he explained, not sure if that would help. It didn't, Shodin looking at him in confusion. "Someone's at the front door," Marland tried again. At three in the morning. So, it was probably a drunk, or someone pressing all the buttons at once then continuing down the street.

"Yeah?" he said to the intercom, listening for a reply. Shodin finished tidying his shirt and had started to make his way over, looking at the intercom with curiosity. Great. Marland watched him as he came closer, but the man didn’t look like he was getting ready to run as soon as the door was opened.

There wasn't an answer, but Marland heard rasping, like someone was dragging something down the microphone. It happened three times before it stopped. "Door's open." He listened out for the door opening, and when he heard the muffled echo, he let go.

Shodin hadn't asked a question, but it was obvious he had about twenty. In the very least.

Marland ignored him in favour of opening the door first. Paizinel wasn't there yet, but it'd only be a couple more seconds before she reached them; he could hear her feet going up the stairs, quiet as a cat.

Marland wondered how Shodin would react to her.

He saw her purple head first, round, with a hint of a snout, and then the rest of her body followed quickly after her, her six legs propelling her up easily. She squeezed in through the gap in the door, and then halted when she saw the lamplight.

-'Huh. Since when do you-'-

"Ah!" Marland whirled around in time to see as Shodin clutched his forehead in both hands, hunched over.

-'Get out get out GET OUT!'-

Oh, you had to be fucking kidding. That wasn’t Shodin’s voice – it was Puzz’s.

Paizinel took a few wary steps back, mostly focused on Shodin.

-'Marland?'- she asked quietly.

Shodin's breath was coming in short gasps, and he was shaking his head sharply from side to side as he took an unsteady step back. "I – don’t – dammit, stop it."

-'Stay away!'-

Marland growled at him - them - mostly Puzz, and Shodin stared at him with unfocused eyes as he approached.

"You - Puzz - I thought you said you wouldn't come out again," he growled, trying to keep track of what he was trying to say.

-'Attack!'- Puzz screeched, and there was a flicker of an image in Marland's mind but it was gone before he could make any sense of it. -'Attack on our minds!'- Shodin was swaying on his feet, mouthing the words at the same time Marland’s heard them in his mind.

"Shut up, or quit fucking shouting - we can hear you." Clearly enough to be able to get a headache from the sheer volume ringing in his head. You didn’t need to shout when you could talk directly mind to mind.

-'But - but – attack!'- Now Puzz sounded less certain, definitely less loud.

-'I wasn't attacking.'-

There was another screech, this time more animalistic, and then it was Puzz who was in full control of Shodin’s body. He dropped to all fours and backed away from Paizinel until he smacked into the kitchen table. Shodin was probably going to feel that when he got back in control.

Marland's ears flattened, despite there not being any sound. "Paizinel, just - don't talk to him right now."

She nodded, her long tail waving back and forth. And that meant he was the one to try and talk Puzz down. Just fucking great. Why the hell was he the one who had to do the talking?

Puzz was staring at her with wild eyes, throwing his head in wide circles, his breathing heavy.

…What the hell was he supposed to do?

Marland ran a hand down his face, knowing that Paizinel could get away if Puzz went after her - not that he'd be able to get far very quickly, Shodin's body not really meant for moving on four legs anymore and his body was still hurt.

-'Ask him what's wrong,'- Paizinel told him helpfully.

Marland glared at her through his fingers. Fine, they could do it that way; it'd be a lot easier for him anyway, so he wouldn’t have to wonder what to say. He turned back to Puzz, his hand falling away. "What's wrong?"

"Attack! On our minds!" Even shrieking the way he was, his voice was still lower than Shodin's.

"You've already said that." He’d already had a circular conversation with Puzz before – were they all going to be like that?

Puzz growled, the sound high, and flexed his fingers. "Not hurting him." He glowered at Paizinel.

-'I won't.'-

Unsurprisingly, Puzz threw himself back further (and nearly knocked a chair over) like he'd been physically attacked, his teeth bared.

"Pai..." Not that that would do anything, Marland knew, seeing as she could be as stubborn about things as he was - more, sometimes.

-'If he doesn't get used to me talking to him, then I won't be able to talk to him.'-

And Marland hadn't thought about that - if Shodin and Paizinel started talking together... Oh fucking hell. Paizinel would keep Shodin's curiosity going, and Paizinel would have another excuse to come over and socialise.

If they were able to calm Puzz down.

... Maybe he should just let Puzz stay in control.

"Will! Attacked just now!"

"Is there two of you in there?" Marland snapped, his head ringing. The last two times he'd talked with Puzz, Puzz had spoken differently, this time more like the first. Marland definitely preferred the second one – except when he thought about it, they both kept repeating the same information over and over again. The second one was just a little calmer and talked in longer sentences.

Puzz blinked at him, his mouth slightly open. "Two: me and...Shodin."

One of Marland’s ears twitched when he heard the pause. Did that pause mean he knew Shodin's original name, or that he hadn't been paying that much attention when Shodin was in control?

"Pai wasn't attacking you," he told him, figuring it might help, but not that hopeful. "That's the way she talks, the same as you." But not entirely, seeing as Puzz had access to a mouth that could talk as well.

Puzz blinked, and then regarded Paizinel again, his head low. Paizinel didn't spark him off again by talking, letting him study her in peace. Not straight away anyway. She let him finish before speaking again.

-'I won't hurt Shodin, or yourself,'- Paizinel promised him.

Puzz jerked when Paizinel spoke, but he slowly sat back on his heels, still not saying anything.

"You said that I was 'trustworthy' because of my magic," Marland said, drawing Puzz’s attention, "Why's this any different?"

"He was scared!" he yelped, indignant. "Hurt."

Marland snorted, giving him a flat look. "Think it coulda been because of you?"

"No!"

-'Marland, please be quiet for the next couple of minutes, hmm?'- His ears flicked down at the saccharine tone.

"Don't think you'd be able to do that much better," he muttered. Considering how most of the time she spoke Puzz had started panicking again he doubted she’d be able to anything.

-'Does Shodin know about you?'- she asked Puzz, her tone gentle.

Puzz glared at her. "Of course he..." His face blanked, and then paled. "He doesn't. He doesn't know about me." He lowered his head, looking at the ground, cringing. So much for Paizinel doing better than him. Then Puzz sagged forward, and it was only by a palm to the ground that he didn't end up walloping his head on the ground.

His breathing had changed, becoming unsteady again. "What...?" Shodin said weakly, lifting his head to look at them through the curtain of his hair. "What was that?" He coughed, bringing his other hand to his mouth, and then sat heavily on the floor, his knees close to his chest.

"Puzz," Marland informed him.

Shodin chuckled breathily at that. "I…can see why you weren't so sure about him."

Marland blinked at him. "You know what happened?"

Shodin nodded. "I could see everything as it happened, but I wasn't in control, nor could I do anything about it." He started to rub the top of his left arm, taking in deep breaths. That must have felt weird, and Marland couldn’t imagine what that would have felt like.

-'Are you okay?'-

Another nod as a response. "Physically, barring my previous physical injuries, yes." Shodin sighed, his eyes closed. "As for my mental processes… I don't know."

Slowly, Paizinel made her way over to Shodin until she was standing right in front of him. As Shodin was sitting, they were about eye-level with each other if she kept her head raised. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Shodin, still keeping eye contact, raised the hand that was on his arm and started petting her.

…Out of all the possibilities Marland had thought of how Shodin would react to Paizinel, none of them had come close to this.

Paizinel merely leaned into his touch as Marland watched. –'I don't know what to say about your mental processes either,'- Paizinel admitted, her tone light. -'But no-one's reacted to me like that before, and I'm talking about both reactions.'-

"This feels wrong," Shodin murmured, his eyes downcast, still staring at Paizinel. He must have felt Paizinel freeze under his fingers, and Marland had already begun to snarl before Shodin continued quickly, his eyes wide.

"I don't mean it like that! It's just, I – I've done this before, but I keep expecting something else when I do this." He paused, taking a deep breath. "I think it's fur that I expect to feel; long, light fur that…curls around my fingers." He waggled his fingers on top of Paizinel, then drew his hand away.

A pet? It didn't matter now anyway; Shodin was never going to see it again.

"Is that normal?" Shodin mused, his hand wrapped around the top of his arm again. "Doing that?"

-'Petting me when you see me? Not around here anyway,'- Paizinel teased.

Marland shrugged with a wing. "No idea. I don't know humans well here, and you're from another world; maybe it is over there."

Paizinel glanced at him over her shoulder, then back at Shodin. -'You're a xeno?'- Surprise coloured her tone.

Shodin nodded, relaxing a little bit, enough to smile softly. "Yes."

-'I suppose that explains a few things. Interesting; I haven't heard of a human xeno before.'-

"Oh?"

Very slowly, Marland's ears went down. Maybe if he left now, they wouldn't notice and he could hide in his bedroom. Once they got started, they'd forget about him anyway.

Paizinel moved so that she could face Marland and Shodin equally; dammit, she would say something if he tried to leave. -'I've been hearing that the portals have been acting up in the past number of years - there's more xeni coming through than there used to be.'- She paused, her tail flicking. -'I guess it was only a matter of time before humans started coming through.'-

She turned back to him. –'So, what happened?'-

"What?" How the hell was he supposed to know how or why Shodin came through? The portals just picked any random person and dumped them on Torpin!

She shook her head and sighed. -'You're injured - how bad is it?'-

"I'm-"

-'Fine,’- she finished for him with a roll of her head. –'Yes, I know - you always say that. What's the wound like?'- she badgered.

He growled at her, his ears flicking to the side. "Got claws through my shoulder." Hopefully it would be enough to mollify her. "It also spat poison or drugs."

Paizinel and Shodin both stared at him with wide eyes. -'Why aren’t you resting?'-

He should have known it wouldn't have been. "Because someone woke me up," -a glare to Shodin, who ducked his head- "and someone else came around to visit before I could go back to bed."

Paizinel's tail curled up around her body while she laughed weakly. -'Oh, oops. I'd thought-'- She cut herself off, shaking her head. -'Go back to sleep then; I'll keep Shodin company.'-

He huffed, not leaving because he wasn't sure if he wanted to leave the two of them alone together. If Puzz took over again… But Paizinel was agile enough to dodge easily, and if Puzz did take over, there would be more than enough noise to wake him up. Even then, Paizinel's voice wasn't blocked by the walls, so he'd hear her clearly.

"I'll be all right, don't worry," Shodin told him, waving a hand at him.

Marland could hear Paizinel spluttering before it turned into whooping laughter, keeping it private just for him, her tail thumping on the floor. Shodin looked at her curiously and Marland didn't think she said anything to him.

If he didn't go, the two would keep trying to get him to go to bed anyway. But that was him just assuming again. Maybe if he stayed, Shodin would ask questions.

... It would be better for him if he went to sleep.

* * *
The next time Marland woke up, there was light coming in through the cracks in the curtains. Grumbling, he used his wing to cover his head, but it wasn't enough. He was fully awake, having slept for most of the night; he wasn't going to be going to sleep any time soon. Great. He hated waking up during the daytime.

The painkillers had worn off as well, his shoulder feeling stiff, and far too hot. He couldn't hear anything on the other side of the door which seemed ominous to him. His body felt like he was trying to move through treacle as he got off his bed.

When he walked into the main room, his hand rubbing lightly on his shoulder, he saw Paizinel buried under a blanket on the couch, only her head and the tip of her tail poking out of each end.

Squinting around, he couldn't see much else out of place - but he couldn't see much of anything apart from deep shadows. He went over to where he kept the painkillers and swallowed three pieces.

-'Hn?'-

Marland looked over to Paizinel, but the back of the couch blocked his view. He hadn't been that loud, but it might have been when he was fiddling with the packet.

He heard a sleepy yawn in his mind. –'Marland? 'Zat you?'-

"Yeah." His tongue was sticking a little to the roof of his throat because of the painkillers. Marland went to get a glass from the cupboard.

-'Should you be up yet?'-

"Dunno," he replied as he filled the glass with water. "I think I’ve slept too much."

-'Marland.'- She sighed. -'Go back to bed.'- He could her moving around, but it sounded like she had only turned around, and wasn't getting up.

"Can't sleep anymore."

Paizinel laughed softly. –'Hmm. I guess that's our fault.'-

He shrugged with a wing, even though she couldn't see it. "I would've woken up anyway." Marland gulped down the water, and growled softly when the taste continued to linger.

-'And you are surprisingly talkative right now.'-

His ears went down and he ducked his head. "I am not."

Paizinel laughed again. –'Oh please, Marland; I've known you for years. You wouldn't have responded to that before.'-

…And she had a point. Dammit.

-'I can thank Shodin for that, can't I?'- She sounded far too amused for his liking.

He snorted, his ears twitching. "He doesn't ever stop asking questions."

There was another rustle of cloth, and then Paizinel's head popped into view over the back of the couch. –'I know,'- she said, sounding positively gleeful. –'I'm not sure what time we went to be bed at, but we were talking until the sun rose in the very least.'-

His ears flattened. Great. He knew they would get on well. And for once, he was actually right. "It's a good thing I'm nocturnal," he muttered. It meant he’d spend less time around Shodin when he was awake.

She laughed at that, her eyes sparkling, laying her head on the back of the couch. –'So you're not worried about what he does during the day then?'-

Marland blinked at that. He considered the question before answering. "He's injured right now so, I'm not worried." And even if he wasn’t hurt, he’d be able to take on Shodin by himself.

-'Uh-huh.'- Her tone was flat, unbelieving. Paizinel tilted her head and opened one side of her mouth – her version of a smile. –'What about when he's not?'- she prodded.

He looked away, setting the glass in the sink. "I'll think about it when he is." Shodin –or Puzz at least- did have magic of his own.

-'You're not exactly at a hundred percent either,'- she pointed out, the amused tone back again.

He refused to answer her needling, and started to go through the fridge to find something that he could eat.

Paizinel chuckled and then clambered over the couch. She climbed onto one of the chairs in the kitchen area and peered at him over the table.

-'Buuut, he's not the one to worry about.'-

He threw two packets in the microwave and turned it on, approximating the time they were supposed to be in for, still not turning around.

-'So…?'-

Marland tilted his head at the microwave, staring at the counter. "He doesn't think much past protecting Shodin, and he has magic of his own."

-'He's just a bundle of surprises, isn't he?'- A few seconds later, she stood next to him on her back four legs as she watched the food go around and around. -'Thanks for the food.'-

He snorted as he took out some cutlery. "Who says it's for you?"

She turned to him, a sly look in her eyes. -'Well, Shodin's asleep, and you have no idea when he'll be getting up. And it wouldn't be like you to wake him up and give him-'- she checked the clock -'lunch; that would be a miracle if he had gotten you to relax that much in the space of two days.'- She paused, her head at a considering angle.

-'Although, I guess to some people it's already a miracle what he's done with you.'-

"He hasn't done anything with me," he corrected her irritably, his ears flattening.

-'He's talked with you,'- Paizinel said, with heavy patience. -'Tell me, how many humans here have done that at first sight of you?'-

Marand glared at her. "He's not from here, so that doesn't count."

The microwave dinged and he brought it out, taking it to the table. Paizinel followed after him. -'Then, in general, how many people have talked with you when they first see you?'-

Why the hell did she want to know? "Less than...I dunno, four," he hazarded, not really thinking about it that hard. Because there really hadn't been that many people who had stood out.

-'So it's already a big deal what he's done with you.'- There was a slight pause as she started eating. -'He seems fairly comfortable with you.'-

That was the problem when there was a telepath was talking; the only way you could get them to stop talking properly would be if you distracted them. Eating didn't stop them in the slightest.

"Really? I would've thought he would have gotten on better with you."

She smiled at him. -'Only because I'm more willing to answer his questions. He seems absolutely determined to know everything about this world.'-

And hearing that just made Marland want to go to bed and stay there if he ever heard Shodin moving around the flat.

-'I can't wait to see what you're like in a couple of weeks with him for company,'- she continued.

Marland wasn't sure if he wanted to. "Insane?" Answering question after question after question? It wasn’t like he knew everything about Torpin (or even Lahstron, and he’d lived in this city ever since he’d dropped from a portal).

Paizinel shook her head. -'Nah, I don't think so - I think he'll have gotten you used to talking by that point.'-

That was doubtful.

They didn't talk much after that, Paizinel knowing that there was a limit to how much he'd talk over a certain amount of time. Then he'd start getting really snappy and then just stop responding whatsoever.

Paizinel had begun to doze off by the time she had finished her meal so she went back to the couch to sleep for a few more hours. Leaving Marland to stare at the walls for the next few hours.

He couldn't go out, not when the sun was up and everyone would be able to see him clearly. Or more clearly than when he was out at night – standing over six foot with green scales with gold swirls was easy to spot when the buildings behind him were usually a light grey. His other pastime would involve being able to see so he couldn’t do that either, not unless he wanted to draw some pictures that either looked like he'd been on heavy hallucinogens, or had been done by a child.

Which left him with daytime television.

Oh, he was just so looking forward to that mind-numbing boredom. He wouldn't be able to see the picture that well, but he would at least be able to hear their voices.

Flicking on the TV, he put the volume down to nearly minimum; it wouldn't matter to him anyway - he'd be able to hear it. Cookery show - news - antique selling show - sports - huh, movie. He watched it for a few seconds before he settled down, vaguely sure of what was going to happen anyway. It didn’t seem to be about xeni –unless that was going to be the ‘surprise twist’- so he hopefully wouldn’t feel too uncomfortable watching it.

* * *
Some time later, it was near the end of the movie, where the hero (Marland didn’t bother trying to remember his name – it hadn’t come up that often anyway) was proclaiming that yes, he would defeat the villain in a one-to-one dance-off and neither of the characters had shown any inclination of knowing how to throughout the entire film (then again, the entire thing had been filled with plotholes you could put a three-storey house through, along with random things dropping from the sky which the protagonist had oh so needed at that particular time), when Marland heard movement coming from Shodin's room.

Marland hesitated on what to do. There was probably a big chance that Shodin would come out and that would leave him alone to defend himself against Shodin’s questions. Though, he would be by himself anyway even if Paizinel was up, because she would be encouraging Shodin to ask anything that was on his mind.

The door clicked open and Shodin poked his head through. Shodin seemed surprised when he saw Marland sitting there, then frowned slightly after his eyes had flicked to the TV.

"Shouldn't you be resting?"

Marland snorted, shaking his head. Nearly exactly the same damn question. "Can't sleep anymore."

"Ah, okay." Shodin walked into the room, peering around to look at the TV properly. He tilted his head at it, his brow furrowed. "What's this?" he asked, leaning forward to peer at the TV closely.

"A crap movie." Shodin looked at him, even more confusion on his face. Marland's ears flicked down, and he hunched more over the chair. "The box is a TV, and it shows...information, depending on the channel you set it at." And that was yet another crap explanation.

Shodin nodded along to the points though, and then his attention was dragged back to the TV when yet another unexpected event happened.

"Did...their clothes just change colour?"

Marland nodded. Not just changed colour - they'd went through an entire wardrobe change in the same scene. He wasn’t sure if it was the same actors there either.

Shodin continued to watch, completely fascinated by it, asking questions like 'If they're wearing that much armour, shouldn't they be sinking?' and 'Haven't they now just run past that painting three times?' and 'Why is Giaxtiron the sixty-eighth wearing someone else's hair and not acting like he was before?' Most of the questions could be answered with 'Yes', 'It's a crap, cheap movie' or 'Don't think about it. Really.'

Finally the ending credits started scrolling, where the hero had saved the woman (who Marland wasn't even sure was the same one from the start) and the villain had fallen off a cliff. For the second time.

"People watch that for entertainment?" Shodin asked faintly, staring at the screen.

"I have no idea." He’d heard about that, but they didn't always enjoy them for what the film was, but they enjoyed them because they liked taking the crap out of them. Marland didn’t get how they found that so fun.

"Marland, do you mind if I…?" Shodin waved towards the kitchen.

He shook his head, wondering if Shodin knew how to cook –or, at least, heat up the microwave meals- or if Paizinel had told him how to.

Shodin looked like he knew what he was doing though, finding what he wanted fairly easily. On the way back, he wandered over to the window and yanked back the curtains.

Marland promptly fell off the chair as he recoiled at the sudden sunlight blinding him, snarling all the way. He rolled enough to not crush his wings or land on his bad shoulder.

There was a crash as something hit the floor, and he flinched away from the sound, his eyes squeezed shut.

"Wha - Marl-"

-'What? What's-'-

"Close the window!" he snarled.

There was a brief hiss and the room darkened again.

"Marland, are you okay?" There were footsteps coming towards him. He couldn't see who it was. Shit. Ears flat, magic flowing straight to his fingertips, now just to-

-'Shodin, wait.'- Paizinel. Friend. He could hear his own harsh breathing, ragged and deep, but there was someone else breathing, too loud to ever be Pai.

"Paizinel?"

-'Let him calm down first.'-

Calm down? His body was buzzing, feeling like it was ready to move as soon as he thought about it, sensitive like he could feel the air on him. But, the headache was receding, and Marland cautiously opened his eyes.

The world was still a haze of too much brightness, his eyes not having nearly enough time to adjust yet. He turned around, keeping track of any other sounds, but he could see Paizinel sitting on the couch, and Shodin standing a few steps away from him.

Slowly, bit by bit, Marland could feel his heartbeat slowing down, and he relaxed from his defensive crouch on the floor.

"Marland? Are you okay?"

"'M'fine," he grunted, not looking at Shodin, as he rubbed the top of his snout.

Pai rolled her head in a circle. -'He's not; he's got a massive headache right now.'-

"I - what happened?"

There was a brief silence as they waited for him to talk. He brought his wings in closer to him instead, the rustle the only sound in the room, but he didn't say anything.

-'He's nocturnal,'- Pai explained, stretching. -'So his eyesight's made for darkness - sunlight hurts them.'-

"Oh. Damn. I apologise; I didn't realise." Shodin took a step forward, and Marland growled at him. It didn't stop him, not completely, but he did slow down at least.

Shodin stood there for a few seconds before he went back to pick up the plate he'd presumably dropped. Paizinel continued to sit on the couch, her tail slowly wagging down, tapping the couch, and then wagging back up again.

He just wanted to retreat back to his room.

-'How long was I sleeping for?'-

Marland looked at her, before glancing at the clock. "Three hours?" ...He'd been watching that crap for three hours? What exactly had been happening in that movie?

-'Well, I don't think I’ll be going back to sleep again anyway.'- Pai wound her way down to the floor and started to fold the blanket, her tail still in constant motion.

Shodin sat himself down on a chair opposite Marland had been sitting on and had already started to eat the sandwich. "Do you need help?"

Paizinel shook her head. -'Nah, I'm all right.'-

Bustling sounds grew in the room for the next few minutes. Eventually, Marland was able to put his body and instincts on low alert rather than panicking at every out-of-place sound and went over to right the toppled chair and sat down on it.

-'Oh the joys of mindless TV,'- Paizinel said, laughing, after she had put the blankets away, the too cheery jingle of something making itself known.

"I think you've watched more than me," Marland muttered, watching as more ads flashed up. More talking monkeys. Trying to sell...cars? Ugh, whatever.

She chuckled at that. -'And is night-time television any better?'-

"No." His ears, which had been making their way up, went flat again, remembering some of what he'd seen. They were probably going to be stuck like that soon because of her and Shodin.

Shodin seemed absolutely fascinated by the ad. Maybe if Marland was quick enough, he could go and hide in his bedroom before the next onslaught of questions started.

When it finished, Shodin turned away from the TV and looked at him. "Is there anything else I should know?"

Marland blinked, not understanding where the sudden change of topic came from. The line of questioning usually flowed from one to another – it hadn’t jumped like that before.

One of Shodin's hand started to wave in slow circles as he spoke, nearly at face-height. "About...you."

Marland stared at him. Where the hell had that come from?

Paizinel burst out laughing, her tail thumping a quick beat on the couch. -'I don't think you'll find out much about him if you ask him like that.'-

Shodin ducked his head, chuckling softly. "I meant, if there was anything else I should know about you." He frowned, then started again. "You were hurt because of my lack of knowledge about your eyes - is there anything else I should know about you that I can avoid doing?"

Oh. Marland stared at him, wondering about what he'd just said. It didn't exactly sound like he was fishing for weaknesses... "Not much." He shrugged, his wings rustling. "I don't eat human medicine because that would either make me really ill, or it might kill me." That…had not been fun finding out.

"I see," Shodin said, frowning. "What do they look like?"

Marland and Paizinel shared a look. He’d only really seen what had been advertised on TV, and Pai would probably have the same experience as him, if not less.

"They're pretty much always small, never bigger than this." Marland held his thumb and index finger a centimetre apart from each other.

Shodin stared at his fingers with a concentrated look on his face. "All right," he said, nodding. "Are they coloured in any particular way or…?"

It would have probably been easier if they actually had something to show him, but Marland never kept any in his flat – why would he keep something that could kill him? "White. Usually." He'd heard that there were other colours but he'd never seen them.

Marland blinked and then looked around. The light in the room looked different. The TV was still going, but that seemed to emphasise the change as the light from the TV lit up the room more.

He could suddenly hear a faint hissing sound. Marland’s ears twisted around, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. The hissing became louder very quickly, starting to sound like tapping, and it became obvious that it was coming from the window.

Rain. A few more seconds passed and it got even heavier, the sound started to merge again. It sounded like the rain was directly hitting the window.

-'Thunderstorm, you think?'-

He grunted. It wasn't one last time, and that one had seemed like it would turn into one. Not that the weather in Lahstron could be called in any way predictable.

The wind started to pick up just then, howling and rattling the windows. Or maybe it was going to be a thunderstorm.

Shodin was staring at the window, completely enraptured. He turned back to face Marland. "Do you...mind if I watch it?"

Marland felt a little weird by Shodin asking him but after how he’d just reacted... He shook his head. "Look out the side, not the front," he told him.

Shodin smiled, mostly in the eyes again, and nodded as he got up off his chair. He put his plate on the table and went over to the window. He leaned with his back mostly to the wall and pulled the curtains out a little bit, but not by much.

Shodin exhaled softly after a few seconds, the sound only just carrying over the thumping rain and churning wind, his whole body relaxing at the same time. From where he was standing, Shodin was bathed in a twisting light cast by the rain. His eyelids were lowered and he was staring like he wasn't actually seeing the rain.

Was the rain reminding him of something, or was he just thinking?

The TV finished with the ads, and had already started with the next film. This one began with explosions and a human running through a forest, being chased by snarling dogs. There was something off with the dogs' body language, but Marland couldn't place what it was exactly; they were never shown in full, a tree or a bunch of leaves always blocking part of the view. They were probably going to be xeni and the movie was going to be about the slaughter of them so Marland changed the channel to a music one.

The room brightened harshly for a second. There was an expectant pause of a few seconds before the low grumbling of thunder followed. It lasted for a while, longer than usual.

Marland sighed, his wings drooping until the tips brushed the floor. He had a few hours of being randomly blinded to look forward to now. Great. The storms usually came around unexpectedly, but they always lasted for a long time.

"What was that?" Shodin's eyes were wide as they could go and he wasn't standing next to the window anymore; he was a couple of steps away from the window, facing it.

Marland was a bit concerned that he hadn't noticed the difference straight away, but his eyes were still adjusting to the sudden changes in light. At least they were brief enough to not hurt so much, and he wasn't as blind for as long.

-'That was a flash of lightning and a roll of thunder,'- Paizinel explained, standing on her last four legs to be at more of an eyelevel with Shodin. -'They're usually just light and sound.'-

Shodin turned away from the window and looked at Paizinel. "Just light and sound?" There was a small pause as he didn’t move or say anything. "'Usually'?"

-'That's what they are,'- she said, bobbing her head. -'Just light and sound.'- Her tail started to move again, waving slowly. -''Usually', because the lightning sometimes hits something.'-

"What happens when it does?" Already, Shodin's attention was focused away from his surprise and turned towards gathering more information.

-'Fire,'- she answered simply. -'It depends on what it hits, but most of the time a big fire's started.'-

They listened to the wind growing in strength, whistling past and shaking the window. The rain fell even harder, and Marland doubted he'd be able to see it if he went to look. It sounded like if a person went outside, they would be soaked from head to toe within the space of a few scant seconds, even if they were protected by an umbrella. Not that an umbrella would make much difference, not if the winds snatched the umbrella away first. From the looks of things, the sky had darkened even more, Marland's flat starting to look like how it did during the night, rather than the time it actually was.

"How do you avoid it?"

Marland snorted, ears flicking, while Paizinel shook her head.

-'You can't,'- she said gently. –'Lightning moves and hits in under a second. That's what the flash is.'-

The room whitened out again, and Marland heard Shodin trip over a chair. Grumbling in his throat, he shielded his head with his wings, knowing that would do nothing now that he'd already seen the flash, but they would at least be up when the next one happened.

-'I think you should sit over here, Shodin.'- Marland could hear Paizinel's tail thumping on the couch, maybe as a guide for Shodin. –'You'll get hurt less that way.'- Already, Marland's sight was coming back and he could see Shodin making his way over.

"Ah, thank you."

This time it was Paizinel who snorted. –'It's not like I'm taking up all the space by myself or anything.'-

Marland moved his wings so that only one was outstretched, facing the window. The other one he tucked back into place. That way his vision wasn't so blocked off.

When Shodin sat down, he brought up a foot and rested it on the edge of the couch. His left arm encircled his knee while his right hand went to his opposite shoulder. He sighed. "This feels important. The rain."

Paizinel's tail slowed down, and she cocked her head at him. -'You're remembering something?'-

He shook his head, his hair freeing themselves from behind his ears. He slid them back into place. "Not fully, no." He hesitated. "I merely...have a feeling that this is important." His hand tightened on his shoulder. He continued on quietly, almost to the point where Marland could barely hear him over the thudding rain. "It’s significant to me, but I can't grasp why."

And there was the accompanying rumble of thunder.

Shodin jumped and then laughed softly, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't think I've encountered thunderstorms before though." He looked at the window, his eyes wistful. "I want to watch the rain but..." His right hand trailed over to his heart, where he stopped, tapping there with his index finger. He then leaned back, exposing his neck, and then sighed again. "I felt...relief at seeing it."

Relief at seeing the rain? Marland huffed at that. The people here never felt that - they got pissed off because of all the inconvenience it caused, especially when it happened so often.

-'But nothing else?'- Paizinel asked, moving a little closer.

Shodin was quiet for a little while, staring at the ground, before he shook his head. "No. It's only a feeling."

There was a brief silence before Paizinel spoke again. -'Are you...worried about your memories?'-

Shodin didn't look back at her, his hand falling away from his chest. "I wonder, sometimes, about what I'd been doing before but..." He trailed off, a small smile coming to his face. "It doesn't really matter does it? I can't go back 'home' anymore."

Marland really couldn't understand the way Shodin thought; it was so different from his own. How could he accept everything so easily?

Then Shodin brightened, his smile widening. "There's also so much to learn about this world - I don't think I could ever get tired of it."

…Maybe they wouldn't notice if he started to hide properly behind his wings. They could just assume that it was because of the storm.

Paizinel laughed at that, her tail waving again. –'That's good.'-

Marland's eyes started to feel heavy, and he was starting to develop another small headache. Slowly, his ears started to go down. He was getting sleepy again? Was he going to start sleeping for the entire day soon? Had he really been affected that much by the fight?

Paizinel glanced at him. -'Maybe you'll get Marland used to talking more,'- she teased.

He snorted. "Can try." He then yawned widely, his tongue rolling out. It caught him by surprise, and it was strong enough that he couldn't stop it, or even stifle it a little once it had started. He shook his head after out of instinct, his ears flattening.

A quick look at Shodin showed that he hadn't reacted to the display of teeth. Marland was beginning to wonder if Shodin actually had a self-preservation instinct, or at least an active danger instinct. ... But he had reacted to the lightning and thunder though. Was it just with living things that he was okay with? Well, it was something at least, to show he reacted normally to some things.

-'And you need to go back to sleep, it looks like.'- Paizinel smiled at him.

"I've been sleeping enough," he grumbled.

Shodin blinked, frowned, and then leaned forward. Right, he couldn't really hear him with the storm outside.

Another flash.

"I don't think I'd be able to sleep with this anyway." His wing had helped to deflect some of the light, so now the room just looked like it was lit up for a second before fading away again, but it was still uncomfortable.

-'And your body wants rest either way,'- she pressed.

Marland would have argued, but he yawned instead when he opened his mouth. He growled low in his throat, shaking his head in an attempt to wake himself up. It didn't work, the world growing fuzzy and overlapping around the edges already.

He jerked back when the room lit up again, wide awake. But only for a second. The time between the lightning strikes were varying a bit much. The following boom came in seconds.

Marland sighed, shaking his head gently. Whatever. The weather was never that consistent anyway, so there was no point thinking about it.

His head and ears down, he said, "Fine" before going back to bed. The rumble of thunder followed him to bed, but it wasn't enough to keep him awake for long.
 

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