NIMONA 💀

[resumed]

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[resumed]

[ there's a weird, thin, and wispy leg that paws right back at her with its clawsies exposed. it's not quite attacking, but it's making itself known that this is its hood.

nico, meanwhile, is using both hands to try and separate them. ]

Hey, hey, stop. What are you two doing up there?

[ the hood wiggles, and a shadow-y creature moves enough to sit up and stare at nimona with an inquisitive chirp. ]

[sharkgirl]

[SCREAMS LOOK AT IT!!!!! that's me. not nimona. i love this little creacher.

nimona makes a hissy cat noise, but allows nico to separate the two of them. her fur stands up on end, until the little guy crawls out and chirps at her.

... offers her paw in a handshake. yeah, ok.]

I'm just looking, jeeze. Where did they come from?

[resumed]

[ you know what that's fair. the creature isn't, like, entirely sure what to do? so it raises one of its weird little legs to mimic her without quite shaking her paw. it's a baby, it doesn't know shit about fuck. nico, meanwhile, is being still to make sure nobody falls off of him. ]

They were in my room when I woke up the other day. I was a little surprised to see them here by themselves.

[sharkgirl]

[baby baby baby.]

By themselves? Like there's more of them? [she mimes shaking one of its little legs with a big grin. and then settles down on nico's shoulder.]

[resumed]

[ once nimona and the baby settle again, he's back to buying the snacks. ]

Yeah. There's about five or six of them. They're pretty close to each other.

[sharkgirl]

Huh.

[she watches him buy snacks...]

So you're going to try and save your world, then.

[resumed]

[ ....well. ]

Yeah. That's what heroes do. It's just that this time I don't know who the real threat is so it's a lot harder to figure out what to do next.

[sharkgirl]

[makes hairball noises at the word heroes]

You can't trust a thing any of them say. They're probably lying to you. Don't be gullible.

[resumed]

I don't really trust them, but I just finished saving my world. So I'd rather finish whatever it is they want so we can leave and not worry about it again for at least a few months.

[sharkgirl]

Or - counterpoint - you could blow up everything here and make them send you home instead of making you run obstacle courses like a trained poodle.

[resumed]

[ he looks like he's about to say something.



and then he changes his mind, slowly pulling back and going quiet as he tosses a package of snacks into his hood for the shadow creature to wrap around. ]

Play your way, and I'll play mine.

[sharkgirl]

[huh. that's an interesting reply.

she watches him for a second.]

I guess that makes us enemies, since we're on different teams.

[resumed]

Sure, if you want to see it that way. [ the thing about it is, he has a focus. and it's obvious to him that trying to explain it to a stranger isn't going to do him any good. or maybe that's just nico himself deciding explaining won't work. ]

Maybe it does. But I have things I have to take care of here no matter what happens. That's all.

[sharkgirl]

I don't really care about my world exploding, if that makes you feel better. So you're not getting any competition from me.

[kneads at his shoulder gently...]

You are so serious. Lighten up, emo boy.

[resumed]

[ he's a little more stiff under her paws but he doesn't kick her off and his expression doesn't change. ]

Why is that anyway? Does it not matter to you.

[sharkgirl]

Nobody there matters.

[sounds true. not even a little bit of lie. definitely.]

They'd all run a sword through me in a second, so I might as well return the favor. It's hiiilarious.

[resumed]

[ ...hm... ]

I can understand the sentiment. [ he doesn't quite agree, but he can understand eye for an eye. ] Why you? You're just a cat.

[ he knows she's not. this is his way of letting her decide what she wants to tell him. ]

[sharkgirl]

[i'm gonna be honest she forgot she was a cat. she spends so much time in random forms that she forgets that other people percieve her as the animals she changes into.

there's a pause, and she hops off his shoulder, stretching out in a biiiiig kitty stretch.

and then she schwoops into her human form.]

Nah. [not a cat!]

[resumed]

[ look he read her profile by now he was Aware it was not just a cat. but he watches her stretch and morph and when she's a person-shape again he doesn't seem too bothered. ]

Shapeshifter then. [ ... ] I guess it's not common where you're from? [ if. people want to kill her. ]

[sharkgirl]

[she's going to pretend like he didn't know because it saves her dignity.

shapeshifter gets... just the slightest bristle, just a little. it's not the word she hates, it just... makes her wary.]

Nobody else is like me. [for better or for worse.]

[resumed]

[ he isn't sure how much she wants to discuss it, but...he can kind of understand the sentiment.

"there’s a reason they didn’t put a cabin to hades here, percy. he’s not welcome, any more than he is on olympus. i don’t belong. i have to go.”

"i don't have friends! i left camp half-blood because i don’t belong! i’ll never belong!"

"i'm the son of hades. i might as well be covered in blood or sewage, the way people treat me. i don’t belong anywhere. i’m not even from this century. but even that’s not enough to set me apart. i’ve got to be – to be –"

"it’s none of your business, but i don’t belong. that’s obvious. no one wants me."

his thoughts seem to come to a screeching halt and he shakes his head a little to clear them. right. no more memories. this isn't about that. things are better. he has a place to belong now.

but he's always fairly aware of the people who don't. and the people who get forgotten. he's not quite sure what it is that possesses him to say this, and he doesn't really think it'll help, but he does find himself talking again shortly after. ]

There aren't really people like me either. But my sister's boyfriend...he can change his appearance like you can. There's no one like him either where we're from. [ he tilts his head. ] It's a weird feeling.

[sharkgirl]

[like three or four people have told her so far that they know someone who can shapeshift like her and it makes her feel itchy.

she shifts her weight from one foot to the other.]

Neat. [it's only because maybe they're a little similar in this sense that he might be able to tell that she is wildly uncomfortable.] Anyway, the cat is out of the bag!

[jazz hands!] I hope you realize how much this puts a damper on my plans with you knowing this. I might just have to eat you.

[resumed]

[ yeah this is about where he thought "this won't help but whatever." ]

And leave them orphaned? [ he gestures to his hood where the creature is hanging out, going OwO at nimona. ] Harsh, Nimona.

[sharkgirl]

[it was nice of him to try!

that makes her laugh a little.] Yep, that's me. I mean like obviously I'd adopt them and let them be my super cool evil sidekick.

[she says, bouncing on her heels.]

[resumed]

[ well. whether she's serious or she's joking, that does make his expression drop a little for some reason. it's more neutral than anything, but when he speaks the tone is a little heavier. ]

I wouldn't let that happen to them again.