Thu Jan 09, 2014 12:21 am by Songhue
He froze as she stepped into the shadows and disappeared, his skin rippling in a manner that resembled lights seen from under water. His first thought was that she'd called his skin-shifts a neat trick.
It had taken no small amount of work; while one could easily abuse the electrical currents which sent orders to each cell in the body, it was very difficult to send an order that the cells were never made for. His skin had literally zero mimicry cells; so telling them to shift color and texture was like telling a tree to juggle. The answer had come in finding ways to make it appear as if his skin was actually reacting as he wished; he literally sent small electrical pulses to every cell covering his outer form until they had been abused into looking the way he wanted. Rougher textures were easier as he could burn certain cells and cause them to shrivel and die.
It'd been dangerous to the point of having his bonded sit with him every second during his study of the concept; often times she had to fix his mistakes, subtly guiding him to what he needed to know through the different ways she healed. He'd been determined all the same, not only for the use of the skill itself but for the sheer Mastery of it. It was one thing to call forth or banish the lightning in the sky, another to wield it in unusual ways, but still another to have such a minute understanding that he could literally call forth the lightning within any living creature and force their muscles to do his bidding.
That wasn't a concept he was comfortable with though, so instead he forced his own body to do as he wished in the same manner.
And Fyre had called it neat. In a pique of pure male validation, he felt something inside him leap into the air with a whoop; gorgeous, good sense of humor, and daring enough to not be put off. Could this get any more perfect? His efforts were seriously paying off if this helped him impress her.
Naturally, he didn't really consider the efforts of his bonded-baby-sitter, so in a hint of vindication he found a smug sensation swirling through his mind, heavily laced with the word infatuation. It was a vague notion, a half-formed thought which didn't even properly contain words, but it got the point across; she was teasing him. It happened whenever he attempted to overlook someone, a bit of rancour from the bonded; luckily it didn't happen often.
All the same, his elation was all but forgotten as she stepped into the shadows. Literally into; the dimness wrapped around her and took her. Allowing his skin to flicker back to its normal state, he trotted over to where she'd gone and stretched his neck forward with evident interest. Amazing, he murmured, apparently speaking to himself as he perked his ears forward and flared his nostrils. Rather than being chased, he mused with a smirk, it seems I'm to hunt me a mare.
He was absolutely fine with that; in fact, he rather hoped she tried to leap out and surprise him from one of the shimmering ice-shadows. He wouldn't get tackled and bopped, but he wasn't at all above tackling her instead.
The idea reminded him of her claim that had she wanted to bop him in earnest he would have been already. His grin grew a little wider, a little more playful, as a wicked temptation struck him. She could certainly try, but she'd have to get hold of him first.
He thought none-too-briefly about sending some of the electricity in the air to brush against the shadows. They'd shrink from the light, giving her far less to work with; at least, the ones directly next to his lightning would. Numerous other shadows would spring up and if she was quick enough she could easily use them to vex him to no end. Worse though, he had a bit of a dark sense of humor at times; she might not appreciate being nearly roasted alive. He wanted a game, he didn't want her earnestly trying to rip his throat out.
So rather than the grand sweeping bolts of lightning that he'd originally thought of he sent a few small, probing sparks, quickly picking up his mimicry of the icy landscape again. Within minutes there was a blazing trail through the nearest shadows, the glittering sparks easily slicing the darkness in half - except for those areas where the shadows seemed to inexplicably swallow the lightning up.
Hmmm... He might have found his prize. Grinning, creeping closer, he waited to see who would be the one lucky enough to pounce first.
This. Was. Awesome!
