[PRP] tune-up (theodore & nasir)

[Smerdle]

"Ah." Now that was back to strange again. The longer he thought about it, the more he realized he hadn't meant real conversation and he certainly hadn't meant seeing through a squirrel's eyes when he'd spoken of talking to animals. Maybe more like a particularly attentive cat that had learned its owner's moods and body language so well that it only appeared to be communicating.

"Suddenly. So it just happened?" That sounded... Well, it sounded like both something he wanted to avoid at all costs and something he wanted to hear more about. He didn't appreciate the conflict. "That must have been a shock."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"A little, yeah. Freaked out my boyfriend." There was only a slight glance when he said boyfriend because sometimes you never knew if people were going to make a thing about that. Nasir was usually safe in Ashdown but one never knew. (He was, after all, wearing a skirt today.)

"Cleaning up after dinner and ... next thing I know I am in the tree outside the house and gliding through the air. Then looking inside the kitchen window at myself. It was very disconcerting."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Theo had no negative reaction to the boyfriend thing. He would have felt his mothers' disappointment all the way from Seattle if he had. What it did make him realize was that he was intruding on this kid's time, asking him about personal things when he had just come here to check on his car.

"It sounds like it." He smiled. "Sorry for being so nosy. I've just never heard of anything like this."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"It's, um, well I'm a warg," Nasir offered hesitantly.

"Or that's what they someone with my powers is called. I have a bond with Trouble," his hand raised up and smoothed it along Trouble's fur until his tail bunched back up, "and that lets me sometimes use his eyes and ears to see the world."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"Uh huh." He fought the weird weird weird again, though it went down easier this time. Considering his general lack of expression, his minor turmoil didn't register as anything more than a wrinkle of his brow.

"A warg. That's something." Another small smile. "It hardly sounds like you were alone before or anything, but you probably can't complain these days."

Now where had that come from? While it was true he had been recalling happier times more and more often as of late, it didn't meant he had to air his lonely laundry to everyone he spent five minutes conversing with.

Theo swallowed. "But, um, that sounds useful. Once you get past the surprise."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"No, I wasn't and I haven't been for a while ..." Nasir's own brow wrinkled, mostly because this conversation, and Theo himself, felt a little odd.

"It really is once you get used to it. Especially being able to essentially have another set of eyes and ears that let you know what's going on around you." Trouble was roaming back and forth across Nasir's shoulders as he talked. "Though, uh, I think I am a little unusual because most train to do this? Be a warg, I mean."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

He paused, remaining quiet for a good twenty seconds as a few mechanics and another customer went about their lives on the way past. This was why he didn't speak. At least it was for a good reason.

"So, normally you choose. A dog or a cat or something, maybe." He was back to his first question—why—but now it was silently asked under a completely different set of circumstances. "And then you just... mind-meld with it? Are there books?" He had grown more at ease in his brief silence, and when he smirked this time, it was less embarrassed.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"No, no books. I am working on making a primer? Something like a guidebook for people to understand and become a warg if they want to ..." Nasir's hand dropped, no longer fidgeting so much.

"You can bond with a cat or a dog, yeah. My boyfriend is bonding with his ferret. I know someone else who has with a hen ..." He looked thoughtful. "Mind-meld is one way to put it. You're basically making a place for them in your mind and heart? A door you can always open that lets you connect with them."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

"Hm." Theo nodded. It was all right there in front of him, an excuse to step into the magical world on his own terms, to have a goal and a purpose again. But he just couldn't take it. When he opened his heart, things got in there and broke it.

"Thank you for... I still feel kind of nosy, so it was nice of you to answer my questions. I shouldn't keep you waiting, though. Maybe someday you can show me your primer."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"I don't mind at all," replied Nasir. "It's nice to talk about it to. There aren't that many around, you know?" Wargs, he meant.

"If you ever want to learn more, you can get a hold of me." He was taking his keys and gesturing towards the paperwork. "That has my number on it, so if you have questions - even about that other place - just let me know. It's better to not deal with it alone."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Ah, right. The paperwork. In addition to his phone number, it also had the young man's name on it—Nasir—and while Theo had signed it at the bottom to indicate the car had passed its inspection, that signature was near-illegible.

"I will. I'll call when I'm not... here." He gestured at the relative bustle of the garage. "And when I've had some time to think." He gave the forms another look, then tore off the pink copy of the one he'd signed and handed over the original.

"I'm Theo, by the way," he added with a self-deprecating snerk. "Since I doubt you're going to be able to decipher it there."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Nasir," he replied with a smile, taking the piece of paper. "And sure, whenever. I wasn't really expecting to talk about it but ... I mean, this kind of magic is nice." At least it felt nice to him and Trouble was great to have.

"It's still a lot to take in."

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Nice. Yes. As opposed to a demon hamster tricking baby magicians into granting it freedom. He smirked, not unpleasantly, in response to some private amusement.

"I'll just get those spark plugs, and then... well... it's on the house." Or rather on him, because he had two jobs and nothing better to do with his money than indirectly give it to people who made him feel welcome.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Oh." Nasir blinked widely. "Are you sure? I mean, you're offering so you have to be sure ..." He was rambling and his face warmed before he gave Theo a wide, warm friendly smile.

"Thank you, Theo. You should ... tell me your favorite food or something, I'll bring you some lunch by!"

Smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

Favorite food? Oh, right, Nasir had mentioned something about always having enough ingredients for things like that. Presumably he knew what to do with them too.

"Sure. Chicken, pasta, green things." He chuckled. "Anything that's not fish, I guess. Not because I don't like it, just because it'd probably smell around here. You don't have to though."

azuredreams