i'm gonna go go go, there's no stopping me

[oceanthief]

WHO: Lapis Lazuli and Sakuma "I don't actually know his name" Matata
WHERE: Nonah 7
WHEN: A couple days after Sakuma being ported in, probably.
WHAT: New housemate runs into older, weirder housemate. Who may or may not have flown by his window at strange hours several times already.
WARNINGS: Joey hasn't been accepted to the comms yet, I'm honestly setting this log up early just to drive her insane.

[despite living at the same address for well over a year now, Lapis has rather limited reaction with both the home itself and those who share it with her. the wings on her back make it much simpler for her to come and go through the window to her room, rendering the front door more or less useless unless she's expecting company - quite a rare occurrence. curiosity is generally the most potent instigator to goad her into exploring the house outside of her bedroom, and lately that's been in rather short supply.

you can blame the Notflix subscription for that one.

even a personality as apathetic as Lapis' and the iron grip of movie streaming can't shield her from a new arrival in the home forever. despite failing to descend to the bottom half of the house since banishing the remains of Hyunsoo's groceries to the netherworld, some of Sakuma's actions have managed to reach her and roust her from her familiar isolation. more precisely, she's noticed that the temperature seems to have been altered by some unknown power during a time when her new roomie is actually at home.

and so she descends the stairs to inspect the thermostat, blanket still on her head and trailing behind her like a cathedral veil made of fleece and questionable taste. it's a bizarre enough ensemble that she's almost impossible to miss despite her small size, quietly trekking through the living room like a tiny blue phantom.

it's difficult to tell whether she simply doesn't notice the other resident in the room or if Lapis just doesn't care. the answers really aren't as far apart as one might initially assume them to be.]

Comments

[substrategist]

[The weekend is a time when most teenagers throw caution to the wind and choose to abandon responsibilities for the promise of fun. But Sakuma isn't most teenagers. His arrival in this strange new world and foreign country just a few days ago means there's much for him to absorb in a very short amount of time. There are countless network entries to skim for free floating information, new customs to learn, histories to brush up on, locations to mentally map, and school lessons to review.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, that is the reason for Sakuma being at home when Lapis migrates downstairs to investigate the thermostat. Sitting cross-legged on one of the armchairs in the living room, a textbook open in his lap upon which sits his binder and some very extensive handwritten notes, he's been studying for the last two hours and attempting to complete some assignments that will catch him up with his peers at Nonah Middle School.

An activity that he thinks might have been better taken to his room or perhaps the library downtown when he sees a short woman pad across his field of vision with a blanket draped over her head.

This is one of his housemates. This small, unassuming and peculiar looking woman...an occupant of one of the rooms he'd peeked into on his first day moving in. Was she the reason he'd chosen to take one of the first floor bedrooms instead of those upstairs? Was she the one who owned that enormous scythe that had been on display upon one of the walls? The answer is indisputably yes. He recalls vividly the patterning on the throw she's toting around. It's the same as the one that had been draped over a bed in a room decorated by stuffed seals.

Needless to say, the scythe had stood out. Much the way she does now, in fact.

And with her presence making it virtually impossible to return to his schoolwork, Sakuma lays down his pencil and raises his head.]

It was a little on the cool side.

[oceanthief]

[oh. there had been someone there? Lapis slows in her journey until she reaches a standstill, shifting to look at the source of the voice with an expression that only barely indicates curiosity. her blank look is probably a little comical with the blanket topping her like a veil, but she seems unaware.

it's a new face...she's fairly certain, anyway. it was always difficult to tell the really bland humans apart, but even Lapis is sure she'd remember one missing one of their opticals. thank god for defining injuries.

definitely not Hyunsoo, at the very least. was this a housemate, or someone who'd just wandered in accidentally or with the intent to harm? the idea of it being a visitor is totally out of her range of possibilities.]

You could've just gone somewhere else.

[it's said in the tone of a mild suggestion, rather than anything even remotely aggressive. it simply seems easier to Lapis to remove oneself from a less than ideal situation rather than make waves (har har) by changing anything that might attract attention.

like, look at this right now. he moved the thermostat and now they have to hold a conversation. awful.]

[substrategist]

[She's not wrong. He could have just as easily picked up his books and gone someplace else to study. But, as unfamiliar as Sakuma still is with the Porter cities, staying at home had seemed the more prudent course of action. What's more, relocating would only have been a temporary fix at best, because...]

I live here.

[The matter-of-fact delivery of those words is similarly lacking in aggression, but also seems to indicate a reluctance to budge on the matter. As much as Sakuma would like to keep from making ripples, the fact remains that this residence is as much his home as it is hers. He has as much right as anyone else to exist here comfortably, and that is a right he's willing to exercise.

Cautiously, of course.

Any way he looks at it, feuding with someone he knows nothing about over something as trivial as the setting on the thermostat seems unwise. In theory, a compromise is the best possible solution.

Except for one glaring error on her part that he can't quite bring himself to overlook.]

If you're too warm, couldn't you just remove the blanket on your head?

[oceanthief]

Oh, already?

[she seems mildly surprised at the household having received another member so quickly after Hyunsoo's departure but is otherwise completely accepting of it. assignments were something that Lapis had always been able to grasp relatively well, even on earth - gems came and went depending on their mission, as simply as the people here. no one could really dictate where they landed.]

I hope the fridge works out for you.

[this is possibly the worst and vaguest way that she could have phrased that, but Lapis at least means it sincerely. she really has no idea what passes as food sanitation among humans, and can only assume that her hydrokinetic scrubbing had done the job. she supposes if he ends up dying that it'll be her indicator that it wasn't adequate.

at the question she shakes her head in the negative, pausing to turn and stand up on her tiptoes for a few moments before actually answering him. the thermostat is just barely too tall for her, unfortunately.]

No, I need it for when the glare from the sun hits the tv wrong.

[and also something about being swaddled in a blanket while binge-watching seems...appropriate. like it was made for this job.]

it was so cute i regret pointing it out now

[substrategist]

[That sentiment is certainly odd. "I hope the fridge works out for you." As if there's a reason to suspect its impending malfunction.]

I'm sure it'll work fine.

[He says while making a mental note to inspect it later because now he's really not certain if the appliance can be counted on to work at all.

Of course, a broken refrigerator is the least of his worries in this strange new world, especially when faced with the unusual blue pallor of the petite woman standing on tiptoe across the room. That's a skin tone that's definitely not native to Earth. And while he's been prepared to encounter such oddities since he was "briefed" in Cape Canaveral upon his arrival, it's very different living under the same roof as...

What even is she?

Besides obviously not dependent on the use of a fridge to keep any sort of food.

Is she from another world? His experience with anything prefixed by "alien" is that it's best to proceed with caution. Which is really all he can do considering she hasn't proven to be hostile, yet. Just...very peculiar.]

A curtain would probably be more adept at diffusing sunlight and... [He can't be sure she's listening. So, with a sigh, he shuts his books and nods in the direction of the thermostat her tiny fingers are reaching towards.] Do you need help with that?

[Because honestly, it looks like she needs help. And the sooner she can reset it to whatever her desired temperature is, the sooner they can both be done with this awkward interaction and go their separate ways.]

you could have had it allll

[oceanthief]

[Sakuma's thoughts whir along at several miles per minute, and Lapis remains completely unaware of the small deluge of questions her presence has unleashed. she's focused more on trying to remember if she's had to alter herself in the past in order to reach the thermostat; it's been so long since anyone organic and possessing more spine than Hyunsoo had been here that it's a bit difficult to recall.

this was never a problem on Homeworld - or even during that miserable ride back to earth with Jasper and Peridot. at least the ship had controls at a reasonable height for all castes.]

The curtain still lets some light in, and it always hits right where something important's happening.

[it's one of the most annoying things that she's ever encountered on this planet, and she's counting the mirror among that list. who angled the window dressings to do that??]

...I don't need any help.

[she means it in a neutral sort of way, but there's a little hardness in her voice that Lapis can't help. it's so difficult for her to accept aid from others, especially that which seems to come without any sort of expectations of reciprocation.

and in this particular case, she really doesn't need any help. if Sakuma is watching very closely, he might swear that her arm suddenly...extends, of its own accord and in defiance of the natural world, to suddenly have enough length to reach the dial. she resets it with quiet satisfaction; by the time her arm drops back down to her side, it's as if nothing about it had ever changed.]

[substrategist]

[Sakuma nods, taking no offense at the manner in which Lapis chooses to answer him. Regardless of the size of the favor performed, it's wiser to not be indebted to someone you know nothing about. It's simple to conclude that she must feel the same way. And, if nothing else, he understands wanting to be able to do something as simple as adjust the temperature on one's own merits. But what he doesn't understand is what happens next, a sight that makes him forget the suggestion he'd been about to give with regards to her lighting dilemma.

It's not a question of depth perception. Her arm is really stretching...

A small squawk of surprise escapes him, and while he immediately clamps his mouth shut afterwards in attempt to once again appear perfectly unruffled, Sakuma's visible eye is still quite wide. The fact that the scythe in her room is so much larger than her no longer seems significant except that now he's certain she can wield it without a struggle. Does that mean that her diminutive size is a preference as opposed to her natural state of being? No, if that's the case, wouldn't refusing help defeat the purpose of appearing so unassuming in the first place?

In all likelihood, her current 'shape' is likely her 'default'. Which isn't really information he can do anything with at the moment, and since staring in awkward silence isn't helping matters, Sakuma takes his already closed books, tucks them under one arm, and rises from his chair.

Perhaps now would be a good time to relocate to his room, after all.]

[oceanthief]

[it's highly likely that Lapis would have let him wander away without so much as a second thought, let alone an attempt to stop him, in nearly every other circumstance. but unfortunately for him the startled noise attracts her immediate attention - and befuddlement.

what could he possibly be so shocked about? there hadn't really been any sudden changes in the last five seconds, unless...]

It's not that much colder.

[well, now she's curious. after taking a moment to readjust her blanket cape so as to ensure it doesn't fall off Lapis begins padding towards him, expression caught somewhere between mildly interested and mystified. she's got to know. is his skin actually significantly colder now?

the idea that someone might not like a stranger touching them for the sake of not-very-scientific curiosity doesn't really cross her mind. Sakuma was the one who brought this to her attention, after all.]

[substrategist]

[Sakuma isn't averse to a friend's gentle touch or the less delicate contact that sometimes occurs between players on the field, but to say he's prepared for Lapis to suddenly come at him with both arms extended and palms open would be a gross overestimation of his tolerance.

He quickly assesses the situation and, as she draws near, he makes a calculated decision based on her distance from him. There is no ball to protect, but his feet still automatically do the work they've been trained to, left planting firmly down on the ground and sending him to the right, the right launching him back toward the left and allowing him to cut quickly around to her open side. But of course this isn't a game, and instead of exploding away from her back towards the goal of his bedroom, Sakuma pivots and faces Lapis from behind.

His breathing is controlled, but his posture is challenging.]

What do you think you're doing?

[oceanthief]

[it's probably one of the worst things that Sakuma could do, if his goal had been avoiding an instinctive reaction from Lapis. the moves are textbook athletics to anyone even passingly familiar with soccer - but unfortunately they could be used just as aptly as evasive maneuvers in battle.

a small noise of surprised escapes her lips - she was hardly expecting so innocuous to elicit a reaction like that from a human - just before the nearby walls begin to tremble faintly. in the nearest first floor bathroom the water shaking through the pipes begins to spew unnaturally from the faucet, spiraling into a large sphere before snaking forward to attend to the person who called it.

while Lapis had been delicate enough to keep the piping intact, she doesn't really take into account the fact that the bathroom door is shut. the splintering noise as the water breaks through it doesn't particularly phase her, at least.

it comes to a halt just behind Sakuma, suspended unnaturally in midair. she doesn't know if she needs to use it, either to fight or shackled him in place, but with that kind of strange reaction from him she feels much more at ease having her tools of choice at hand.]

I want to see if there's actually something wrong with you or if you're just weird.

[a small pause of silent confusion, and then:]

What do you think you're doing?

[because from where she's standing most of these answers may require him being put in a water coma. it's not great.]

[substrategist]

[Even if he'd wanted to reply to Lapis' accusation of him being weird, the unexpected rattling of the pipes in the walls accompanied by the thunderous roar of water rushing from facets and the explosive splintering of a door from down the hallway effectively silence Sakuma. He feels a shiver run down his spine the likes of which he hasn't felt since Kageyama had released a trap of wood pilings above Kidou's head...

A still very fresh memory that Sakuma is actually very glad to have called up when he did.

Perhaps naturally, his first instinct is to run. Break away fast and to put as much distance between him and his new housemate as possible before she can think to send that aqua blob his way. But recalling quickly what would have happened to Kidou if he'd done the same, and what seems to have triggered this response from Lapis in the first place, indicates the best option right now isn't to make a mad dash for the door.

It's to refrain from moving suddenly at all.

Which is considerably more difficult to manage with a mountain of water hovering some feet above him, some invisible force keeping even a drop from spilling to the floor. Too bad Sakuma can't say the same for a single bead of cold sweat that trails down his cheek from his temple, because like it or not, he doesn't have enough knowledge of Lapis to determine if his estimation is even remotely accurate. At its worst, it's a shot in the dark, and even at its best, it's still just hinged on educated guesswork.

So when his answer finally does come, it's tentative instead of aggressive like before.]

Honestly? Keeping my distance. And that's all.

[oceanthief]

[in all honesty, she ought to be more careful with the way she appears to humans. a few misunderstood words had led to Hyunsoo being terrified her to the point where it had taken her weeks to realize his absence was more than the usual avoidance. humans were fragile in more than just the physical sense - what they didn't understand was terrifying to them.

it's not a trait they're entirely alone in, she supposes.

unfortunately, it's not a thought that even remotely crosses Lapis' mind at present. she's comfortable with herself, and that's enough for her; it doesn't matter whether people make incorrect assumptions, so long as they don't try to contain her. she knew the truth and that was all that mattered.

as such, Sakuma's fear goes almost completely unnoticed. her voice is just as even as it had been when they were simply talking about her choice of temperature, and the water hanging nearby doesn't so much as twitch any closer. at most her brow furrows, the blanket sliding slightly as she cants her head to the side.]

Moving like that isn't just 'keeping your distance'. You could've just stepped back if you didn't want me to find out you were lying.

[maybe that's what this was about? it seemed awfully silly to react that desperately to such a small lie, but humans were strange. maybe he really didn't want her knowing he was making a big fuss about the chill with no actual justification. it was fairly plausible, anyway.]

[substrategist]

[She's going to see things whatever way she wants to see them, Sakuma realizes. She doesn't care at all if his proximity to the armchair behind him had made a backwards retreat impossible, only that his actions have inconvenienced her and given her a reason to mistrust him.

As if he'd had any way of knowing she would have such an adverse reaction to someone maneuvering around her to avoid being prodded by her.]

What am I supposed to be lying about?

[Even as he asks, Sakuma considers their interaction so far, but with the aqua blob still looming overhead, concentrating enough to be certain of anything is difficult. His pulse is steadily climbing, fists clenched at his sides, and he wants more than anything to move. But he can't. She's between him and the nearest exit. The water could probably strike him before he made it into his room, and even if he could, he knows already that a door can't stop her. None of which are thoughts that presently help him. He's got to think. What could she have meant? She can't be referring to his living here. Even in approaching him she wouldn't have been able to confirm that. And she hadn't bothered to come close—

—until he'd seen her arm transform and he'd gasped. Did that have something to do with it, then?

No, she'd said something else after that, something about...]

The cold?

[He doesn't relax even though he's positive he's onto the right track now. Nothing else makes sense.]

[oceanthief]

It's not like there's anything else.

[unless there was, but that would be an awfully stupid thing to let slip after she'd had her own little instinctive start. even humans would know better than to do something like that; it wasn't as if she'd done anything aggressive enough to terrify someone beyond their wits, after all.

she really hopes not, anyway. this house was something that she'd grown attached to, in a vague sort of familiar way. it would be pretty upsetting to have someone with less than kind intentions living under its roof.]

[substrategist]

That's not...!

[He exhales irritably, shoulders hiking upwards.]

I didn't lie. And that isn't why I was surprised.

[Of course, he's hesitant to admit what did startle him and make him want to immediately leave the room, but the more he thinks about it, the less reason he has to withhold the identity of the catalyst. If she didn't want him to see what she was capable of, she wouldn't have used her abilities where he could see them.

In theory, anyway. After everything that's happened thus far, Sakuma's honestly not sure if his housemate is capable of being very rational.]

Your arm and what you did with it. That's why.

[oceanthief]

[her arm..?

Lapis looks down at the hand she'd used to tap the thermostat with, turning it over several times in blank mystification. it looked pretty functional to her. no signs of glitching, nothing attached to it that shouldn't be...

experimentally, she raises it above her head; for a few seconds she holds it there before lowering it back at her side. this occurs several more times, as if Lapis is expecting some sort of revelatory reaction from Sakuma. the blanket rises and falls with it, but she's willing to undergo such tragedies if it'll grant him some sort of clarity with regard to the situation.

nothing happens, of course, except perhaps an increase in her roommate's worries after her sanity. when the exercises fail to elicit anything she allows her arm to remain at her side, instead offering up a question that sounds genuinely uncertain.]

I thought all humans' limbs could do that..?

[substrategist]

[Is she just messing with him, or is she that oblivious? Sakuma isn't sure, but he's positive now that she isn't human, as if her physical appearance and her atypical behavior weren't already confirmation enough.]

You made your arm grow.

[His answer is delivered stiffly, with all the dissatisfaction of one who's tired of being jerked around by people he doesn't know, particularly one who's managed to conjure up an enormous bubble of water to hold him hostage beneath.

And is it any wonder he's a little defensive? He hasn't been here a week and already he's been put through the ringer. His body was injected with nanites against his will, he's had to struggle to adjust to a culture completely different from his own, has absorbed an overwhelming amount concerning the current war state and government conspiracy, and now his only housemate has him cornered while she waves her arm around like a tiny blue clown.

If his next reply is a little tactless, it should come as no surprise all things considered.]

What are you?

[oceanthief]

I'm a gem.

[the complete absence of tact doesn't appear to distress Lapis in the least; if anything the direct question makes it easier for her to immediately grasp the situation. there was still some weirdness at the edges to smooth out, but it seemed that this was just another case of the humans on this earth having never seen a gem before in their lives.

honestly, she's not sure why she even bothered to assume it was anything else. humans were always the same. it's why she continues speaking, as if to head off the next expected question at the pass.]

My name is Lapis Lazuli.

[that was always the next one. always. for a species with no diamond authority, they seemed awfully concerned with what sort of gem she was.]

[substrategist]

[Sakuma's glad to have been saved the trouble of asking Lapis' name, but its revelation does raise another question. While it's clear she's being quite literal about being a gem, he has to wonder if that means she's the only one of her namesake where she's from.

He also has to wonder if she expects him to give up his name just as easily. It might go a long way towards reestablishing civility, but Lapis hasn't exactly given him a reason to trust her with that information. Is it worth it to take a chance? Can she just find out some other way who he is and where to find him if he leaves here?

Sakuma briefly glances up at the water above his head and then back towards Lapis. In that short span of time he makes a decision. He takes a breath, forces his shoulders down, and moves. Slowly, deliberately, and to the side, well away from where the water might fall if she chooses to relinquish her hold on it. Which she could have already done several times over if she'd had any intention of doing harm.]

There aren't any sentient gems where I'm from. [A beat, and then he adds, albeit with some reluctance...] I'm Sakuma Jirou.

[oceanthief]

[and what happens next is...nothing. the water remains swirling in the same place, Lapis continues watching him move with the vaguest of interest, and the conversation makes just as much sense as five seconds ago.

the thought that he was trying to get out of the way doesn't even cross her mind. who would move such a small distance away when she could snap his neck just as easily from there? from Lapis' perspective he was just shifting slightly, as even gems did from time to time.]

Ok.

[she still hasn't sorted out the minutiae of introduction small talk, but at least there's a nod of confirmation when he gives his name. clearly not something she was dying to uncover.]

It's not surprising if you've never seen one before. I haven't found a universe besides mine where gems exist.

[substrategist]

[That's it? That's all she has to say?

Sakuma only has so much patience, and between the fact that she's brushed off his introduction so rudely and she has yet to stand down, he's reaching his limits.]

You don't think that warrants some surprise on my part?

[Honestly, what other reaction besides open hostility could one expect when suddenly faced with a strange person stretching out of proportion and then trying to touch them?]

Look...I don't want to fight with you. I'll help clean up whatever you broke. It sounded like a door. But then I'm going to my room.

[Away from her, away from that oversize water balloon and, if Kidou answers the text he intends to send, away from Nonah. While the danger seems to have ebbed for now, Sakuma's nerves are still frayed. He knows he won't be able to get much rest if he stays under the same roof as Lapis tonight.]

[oceanthief]

If I'm all it takes to scare you then you're going to have a really hard time in this world.

[even assuming that Sakuma had taken the kidnapping and nanites badly, it still reflected poorly on his fortitude that something as totally inoffensive as a gem's most standard abilities could send him screaming off the edge like that. with nerves like that all it would take was a particularly loud clap of thunder to get him to drop dead.

amazingly, her words have no trace of judgement or condescension in them. it's a piece of advice that Lapis genuinely believes he needs to hear before going forward; she has no idea if he'll use this to pick out a nice funeral package or just invest in one of those shock vests for dogs, but that's his problem.]

You don't have to worry about cleaning anything up if the door still shuts, though. I can just put the water back by myself.

[the talk of fighting she just glosses over because, honestly, there's no point in undermining his apparently already fragile self-esteem. if she wanted to get violent with him there wouldn't have been all that wind-up time on his end. but why did that matter? it was pointless to brawl with a human, even one with powers.]

[substrategist]

["...you're going to have a really hard time," says the blue alien who just about jumped out of her skin when Sakuma dodged her attempt to poke at him. His expression could not be more deadpan.]

I'll be fine, thanks.

[With nothing more to say, he takes his books along with him and exits the living room for the hallway where there are no signs of actual destruction there until he passes the spare bedroom on the right. Scattered across the floor are several large chunks of wood and spots of many smaller slivers. With just a quick glance it's easy to tell what Lapis Lazuli thought of the door that barred her way: nothing. And the realization that he'd been just another obstacle a few minutes earlier (and perhaps still was) promotes a quickened step until he reaches his room and closes his door.

Which just so happens to be a barricade that no longer makes him feel as safe as it once had, though in hindsight, allowing himself to feel safe at all given his situation in this world was probably very foolish to start with.

His privacy, however, he can be grateful for. It's enough to text Kidou as planned and make arrangements to stay with him in Heropa for the night. And after that? Whether Lapis thinks it's necessary or not, he packs what belongings he plans to take with him into his schoolbag and then heads to the spare bedroom down the hall to clean up the mess she made before he leaves. A little cardboard and tape ought to restore the separation between the bedroom and its en suite, right? At least until it can be properly repaired by someone who has even the slightest idea what they're doing.]

[oceanthief]

[she meets his deadpan expression with a look of her own that had flatlined long before it ever made it onto her face. humans were so weird about accepting their shortcomings.]

If that's what you want to believe.

[and with a shrug she deems the conversation appropriately closed, already moving for the stairs before Sakuma has even finished gathering up his things. since he didn't seem to be peculiarly sensitive to temperature, she figures that there won't be any need to keep an eye on the thermostat. the rest of the night is free and clear for...whatever it was she did with all that free time.

her departure does nothing to weaken the hold she possesses on the water in the living room. it slinks back towards the bathroom from which it emerged around the time that Sakuma is cleaning up the only casualties of the afternoon, shimmering through the air like some sort of otherworldly snake.

it chooses to take no notice of its companion in the room, instead slithering up into the faucet as if nothing had happened...at least until the end. she knows that she probably shouldn't, but he'd been so insulted over her pointing out how skittish he was. as the tail end of the water stream passes by Sakuma it forms into a small hand which proceeds to give him an extremely gentle bonk on the back of the head before disappearing entirely into the plumbing.

don't shit yourself, kid. you're not that close to the toilet.]