10788/The Bird is the Word

The Bird is the Word
Date of Scene:	19 January 2020
Location:	Kian's Room, Titans Tower
Synopsis:	There is a meeting of minds — literally — in Kían's room.
Cast of Characters:	Kian t'Kaeh, Beast Boy

---

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    As everyone else who's studied English as a second language, Kían is frigging sick and tired that there are more exceptions to the rules than there are rules to begin with.  There are too many different ways to spell words that sound the same, and where are the blasted accent marks so you know where the emphasis falls?
    This planet is ridiculous.  Or at least one of its languages is.
    Were there someone in his room to see, they might observe the birdman look like he's about to fling his quill across the room… then set it calmly down with a huff.  As it is, he might have been observed—he's left the door of his room open.

Beast Boy has posed:
    There comes a knock at the doorway after a few moments of Kian huffing and looking generally miffed.
    In that doorway is Gar Logan, Beast Boy, resident green member of the Titans.  "Hey.  Soooo you don't look the way you usually do.  What's got your feathers all ruffled?"  Whether they actually are or not is secondary to the turn of phrase, considering Kian actually has feathers.
    "Not trying to snoop, but you did have your door open."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kian looks up sharply, but not with hostility.  "Wha— oh, kié Gar."  He picks the quill up, looks at it, and sets it back down again.  "I was just letting myself get worked up over the completely bizarre way your language works.  Why aren't things spelled they way they sound?"

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy's hands go up, part defensively, part to show he isn't carrying anything threatening.  When you can become something just as effective, that tends to help.  "Easy, buddy.  Is that what you're doing?  And here I was prepared to come help make everything better, then you spring that on me."  A grimace, but he remains at the doorway.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "I am…"  Kían's voice tightens, but he gives away nothing more than that.  "…trying very hard to not think about… about other things I would like to see made better.  I'm sure there area reasons he's your leader, although the Gods curse me if I can figure out why.  So instead I'm trying to deal with something less frustrating, like written English."
    He scowls at the paper on his desk.  "And I am no longer certain which of the two problems is more frustrating."

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy coughs once into a hand.  "Oh.  Oh, I see."  He stays put, though fingers curl against the inside of the doorway.  "Some things in life don't have a good answer, Kian.  This is one of those times.  I'm not sure I have a good answer for that one, but he's usually right more than he's not.  Even if he's…."  A hand waves, to finish the sentence somehow.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "Well, anyway, I'm trying not to think about that right now," Kían says diffidently, eager to welcome any change of subject.  "Unfortunately I've chosen to distract myself with something I still can't figure out.  I mean, look at this mess!"
    He holds up a sheet—at the top there is a squiggle, presumably something in Kían's own language, and below it is the list 'Rose Rows Row's Rows Rose Roes Rhos', each with an annotation in Kían's alien squiggle.  "How can you have seven different meanings and five different spellings for the same qokh sound?"

Beast Boy has posed:
    "You're just gonna frustrate yourself even more if you're going from thinking about Damian to thinking about the English language.  Whoever came up with it was evil," Gar explains, then he squints into the room at the winged one.  "And I think you said 'rose' two times… or was it five?"  Waving it off, he says, "Forget about it.  It sounds like you need to get your mind onto other things."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían drops the paper onto his desk.  "English is evil.  I wish someone had explained that to me a long time ago."  Something akin to a smile flits across his face, and he hops out of his desk seat.  "I am open to suggestions.  I have got so much stuff going around my head and I can't seem to get a moment to sort it all out.  Please feel free to distract me."

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy finally takes this as an invitation to enter the room, taking a few moments to look around at the sparse way it's decorated, but also noting the mirrors.  "Someone enjoys the sight of himself," he teases, hands settling at his hips.  He's costumed today.  There must have been a reason for it, but the usual purple and black stands against the green that isn't clothed over.  "What do you like to do to get your mind off of things?"

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "Fly," Kían says simply.  "Or read, except there aren't any books in my language around.  Study, if it's a topic that interests me, but there aren't any courses in my language."
    He shrugs, and then looks around his room, as if just noticing it's there.  "The mirrors?  They're to make the room look larger.  Without them I couldn't be in here for very long.  Too small."

Beast Boy has posed:
    "Flying is fun, but if you're going to fit into Earth culture there's more to do than just flying and studying.  There's TV, movies, video games, finding good places to eat, letting your head hang out the window while someone else drives…."
    Waving it off, he grins that snaggletoothed grin at the birb.  "Oh, right.  Makes sense.  Forgot about the claustrophobia."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían chuckles.  "I don't think you realize how much of your television and movies and all are cultural, none of which I grew up with.  Even your news is problematic.  I tried watching Fox News, but it had nothing to do with foxes…."

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy makes a face at the mention of that network.  "They're not exactly known for accuracy anyway," is all he has to say about that.  "Let's just say most news media doesn't tell you the whole story.  It's a lot worse than it used to be."  He moves toward one of the mirrors, standing so he can pose enough to see his back in another reflection, a crooked grin taking shape.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían's gaze is more out of the window.  "I guess if I just wanted to do something fun, I could fly.  That kind of is my cure for everything.  There aren't enough other flyers to arrange even a pick-up game of qihár, and no one here knows the rules anyway.  And the nearest other Akiár is Gods-only-know how many light years away if they're even in this universe, so even casual sex is out."

Beast Boy has posed:
    "What's that?" Gar asks, the question perhaps a predictable one since there's still a lot he doesn't know about Kian or his homeworld.  "Is it anything like quidditch?  Except without the brooms since you can already fly?"  It's understandable that flying may be Kian's favorite thing.  The trick will be finding alternatives that end up worth doing as well.  He's still looking himself over until he becomes more aware of just that, clearing his throat before turning his attention back to the humanoid.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "What's what, qihár or sex?" Kían asks impishly, and laughs softly.  "I'll assume you know the latter.  Qihár is a sport.  I'm not sure how to describe it.  It's two teams, each member has two ribbons tied to their belts, and the goal is to remove the ribbons of the other team.  It's very fast paced, and one of the few things we do that requires a net because without it it would be just too dangerous.  Collisions are common; it's just a game and not worth getting killed for."

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy eyes Kian.  "Yes, I know what sex is.  Silly birb."  He shakes his head a moment, then says, "That sounds more like flag football mixed with… I don't know what else.  But it's a similar idea, I think."  He's still squinting at Kian, bringing up what he did.  "No game is worth dying for."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "Of course not," Kían says with a shrug.  "I was pretty good at it, played for my clan's local team.  I hoped to get promoted to the regional team, but I didn't have the time because of my powers.  Too much work in the labs being studied, trying to figure out what was wrong… er, what was going on with me."

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy takes more time to study Kian and his appearance, but toward what purpose?  "It sounds like fun, but what was going on in the labs?  That doesn't sound like a place I'd have wanted to spend any time in.  What was that all about?"  He leans against a nearby wall, crossing his arms in front of him.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "Just what I said," Kían says, "trying to figure out what was going on with me.  The sorts of powers that run rampant on Earth are incredibly rare on my world.  I'm the first one with a meaningful rhy'thar… sorry, meaningful powers in about a century.  So it was a big deal, at least to the researchers.  I just kind of wanted to be left alone.  But like I said… only Akiár with powers in a century."

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy's expression turns more serious.  "That can't have been easy.  It probably left you feeling alone and isolated, wondering what was happening to you, worried that maybe you did something wrong."  He's taking a shot in the dark, explaining, "That's what I think I'd have been feeling, anyway.  I still don't know a whole lot about your… customs."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían shrugs again.  "Oh, there was no question of me having done anything wrong—rhy'thar means 'gift of the Gods'.  I was in more danger of being declared a rhyták—an avatar of the Gods—than I was of being an outcast.  I sometimes think I would have rather been outcast…."

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy's hands come to rest at his hips.  "And you're going to tell me why being an outcast is worse than being a rhy… rhyt… whatever you just said, right?  If you already have… sorry.  I've got a lot going on up here sometimes."  He taps the side of his head.  "Lots of useless information to remember for just the right time."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían turns, and looks directly at Gar, looking a little scandalized.  "I'm not a godling!" he protests.  "I don't care what some of the priests said!  I just got stuck with weird powers no one else had, I wasn't touched by my Lady Kiáre q'Rhys, or any of the other Gods."
    He's getting worked up, and he takes a deep breath to calm himself.  "If I were made rhyták, my life would have completely stopped being my own.  There would be no religious ceremony I wouldn't have had to take part in, no event I wouldn't have had to bless… nnh.  I'm not a godling," he repeats, with feeling.

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy remains quiet, for once, throughout the impassioned response from the birdling.  Expression is kept neutral, yet thoughtful, and when he says something again it's to ask a question.
    "But what if you are?  What if that's what happened?  With all the crazy stuff that's gone on in a lot of our lives, is it that impossible for you?  I'm this—" he pauses, quickly turning into a hawk to come around and circle Kian a few times.  "—because my whole family caught a lethal virus and somehow I'm the only one the experimental serum worked on, but it changed me.  How is that any more unbelievable than you being some godling?"
    He lands again in human form, arms outstretched, palms up.  "Maybe I'm wrong.  I don't know.  But if there's one thing I do know, it's that no matter how weird you think things can get, they can always get weirder."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "I don't feel divine," Kían protests gently.  "I don't feel any different from everyone else I knew—and remember, I could see their minds and they could see mine.  But if I'm a god, then so is everyone else.  As for weirder… I would rather not test my limits.  I think my life is weird enough.  I would dearly love to see or do something I consider normal."

Beast Boy has posed:
    "Lots of people feel the same way they did before," Gar muses, but he grows quiet at the rest of what Kian postulates.  He might be correct.  He might not be.  "Sometimes life is all about testing your limits and seeing what you can do."  He eyes the window out.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían sighs and turns to gaze out the window too.  "I think I've had enough limits.  I want normal, even if just for a little while.  Not that I've had enough normal in my life that I would actually recognize it if it happened…."

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy snorts once.  "Nothing about my life is normal, so I embrace the weirdness.  It's the only thing I really understand."  He sounds a little… different, somehow.  If Kian looks back, if he senses something different, what will he do when he sees a carbon copy of his people standing in the room, only green?

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Not really sensing something different, but Gar's reflection in the window changed.  Not enough to tell exactly how.  Kían glances back over his shoulder, then turns and stares.
    He makes a little noise like a squeak.
    Then drops to one knee.  Not in genuflection, just on his way to stretching out on the floor, face down, wings splayed, unconscious.

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy is in the process of looking down at his newly-shaped hands and feet, marveling, "These are definitely not what I'm—" That's when the squeak registers, birb-Gar looking back up in time to see Kian sort of collapsing in what feels like slow motion to him.
    "Aw, crap.  Kian!  Hey!"  He grimaces, a changed hand going to the side of his head as his new wings flutter and rustle behind him.  The telepathy is there, but from Kian he's just getting a bunch of… well, it'd be like TV static.  White noise.  "Wake up, dude."  He crouches closer, down to a knee of his own, but to try to rouse the poor guy by the shoulder.  "Come back to us."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían rouses slightly, and his mind engages before he even starts moving.  {I was wrong,} he thinks, and his mental voice is more or less the same as his speaking voice, except clearer, not struggling with a second language.  {I wasn't ready for something I considered normal.}
    He pushes himself up into a more or less seated position, and his mind settles down.  {I can hear your mind.  You don't copy, you actually duplicate.  That's amazing.}  Then he takes Gar's hand in his, pressing the palms together.  {The right number of fingers, too.}
    Then he sits back.  "Sorry.  I suppose you can't be used to direct mental contact like that."

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy's own mental voice kicks in, a direct connection to the species he is currently taking on the form of.  He looks exactly like an Akiar, only everything about him is green—even the wings.  {Heh, we're in our heads.  This is different.}
    The hands are exactly the same, and after they touch he uses his to help guide Kian back to more of a standing position, if allowed.  Their heights are about equal now as well.  {So the thing is, when I take on another form, I get all the abilities they do.  I can see a lot sharper, I can feel those wings, and… well, talking in each other's heads is kind of weird, but I've seen weirder.} It doesn't even seem as if he's in need of time to get accustomed to it, leaving him to look down at himself, dressed in the way that would be normal for one of Kian's people.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    {It's not different for me,} Kían 'sends.  {It's normal.}  And judging by the undercurrent of emotion inextricably attached to the thought, it's also something he's missed terribly, had resigned himself to rarely 'hearing' again.
    With a wrench, Kían breaks mental contact.  "Forgive me, Gar.  I'm a little overwhelmed… well, there's an understatement.  I'm afraid to let myself get used to everything I think of as normal again because you can't stay in that body forever… much as I think it suits you."  He smiles weakly.  "I'm probably a little biased.  I… I…"
    The little birdman falters, swallows hard, and flings himself at Gar, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck.  He might be crying.  {Oh, Gods and Goddesses… thank you, Gar.  This is the nearest I've felt to normal since I came to this ridiculous planet….}

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy makes as if he's trying to clear something out of an ear, wiggling a finger around it and squinting.  {For you, yeah.  For me, not so much even if I just know it.} He clears his throat as that form of contact is, if momentarily, severed.  A hand waves it off and he says, "Don't worry about it.  I've been wondering for a while if I could do this, since I can do things like dinosaurs and other stuff that don't exist before, or never even did.  Usually it's just animals that only exist today and—"
    Just after being told it suits him, there is a suddenly pouncing natural birb launching at Gar-birb, and the connection is made again.  There's a moment of hesitation before arms—wings, too—begin to fold around Kian.  {Ah, you're welcome, dude.  I know about what it's like to stand out, but maybe not the way you know it.  I'm still native here.}

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían shudders happily as Gar's wings fold around him.  {You even have the instincts… although maybe you should know the wing-wrap is considered very affectionate, as between family or lovers.  But please, stay like this, just for a little longer.  I've missed it so.}  Fleeting images accompany the thoughts—other birdfolk that look enough like Kían that they must be parents and siblings, one or two birdmen that look Kían's age that are friends or even closer, judging by the general feel of Kían's mind.
    He is definitely crying now.

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy lets Kian in as close as he needs to be, feeling the way the body trembles.  {It sort of just felt natural as I was moving my arms, you know?} he answers, a little sniff of amusement following the information about it being affectionate.  {I think Vorpal would understand.}
    He remains that way as those images come and go, and while there may be questions on his mind he leaves them unasked.  It is something Kian is sharing with him, something important enough to convey through the mental link, and he returns feelings of support as a thumb moves to rub over a line of tears.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían keeps his eyes closed.  {I hope so.  I would never try to get between you two… er, well, break you up, anyway,} he 'sends—then quite swiftly breaks the embrace and steps back.  Not angrily, not fearfully.  {I must see how well you've done it,} he explains, stepping around behind Gar.  {And I've not seen a correct pair of wings in, in… well, in however long it's been that I've been on this world.  And, I've only seen green wings once before.  A few times in holos, but only once in person.  They're quite rare.  Not as rare as Imperial white, but nothing is.}  There's a sense of the normality of Kían's red-brown wings, marked like a hawk's.  His are typical.  Quite nice, but typical.  There are practiced hands on Gar's wingbase, up the main bone to the big joint at the top, out ot the wing-tip.  {Absolutely correct in every way… promise me the next time we go flying, you'll wear this body?}

Beast Boy has posed:
    {Don't worry.  He and I are very close.  He'd understand supporting a friend and teammate who needs it.} Gar-birb explains this, his facial features and hair still more or less his own in spite of the change.  {Oh yeah?} he asks, beginning to glance over a shoulder as Kian moves around back of him for a better visual inspection.
    A visual inspection that soon turns more physical.  {Correct to you, maybe, but people here just don't have wings, you know.  Maybe a few out there do, but it's super rare and they'd be mutants or something like that.} Then he grows quiet.  Everything is green, for that matter, then his eyes take on a somewhat wider look and a distant stare out the window, the wings rustling briefly from the hands that feel along the wing structure.  Some kind of distracted thought surfaces, the connection still there.  Seems he's finding that to feel quite nice.  {Hnn… wha?  Oh, ah… sure.  Yeah.  No problem.  Can do.}

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían giggles softly.  {Yes, well, most people's wings are sensitive one place or another.  It's probably moreso for you since you've never had wings like that to be handled by someone who knows what they're doing.  Unless you've had yourself done over by an ornithologist while being a full bird.  Which would be different anyway, I suppose…} he muses.
    He circles Gar twice.  "Perfect," he says aloud, "I'd swear to you being k'tavário'h t'Akiár.  If we ever find my homeworld, you'd turn more than a few heads."

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy remarks, {You're laughing.  I'm not sure I've ever heard you laugh.} The wings still feel the aftereffects of the contact, leaving him to glance toward one side at them.  {I don't think I've ever done a form with wings this large.  They're not too heavy, but you can tell they're there.  Oh.  They're, there, their… there's an English language conflict for you.}
    He strikes a model-worthy pose as the looking over of his shape and form resumes, those wings just seeming to preen up a little more at the approving observations.  {Oh, would I?  And I may have picked up your people's abilities, but I didn't get the language.  What did you just call me?}

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    {I should have stayed in mental contact,} Kían replies, switching seamlessly back to telepathy.  {It means 'my green wing-brother of the Akiár'.  The normal term is tavár'h—'wing-sibling'.  It's used for any Akiár who isn't family by blood or family by choice.}  He grins a little sheepishly.  {I kind of forgot you wouldn't have the language too.}
    He tilts his head to one side, and regards Gar quizzically.  {Really?  No, I'm sure I've laughed around you before… haven't I?  I hope so… I'm not all that serious a person.}

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy baps his palm against the side of his head.  {Oh, right.  You spoke aloud again, didn't you?} He grins crookedly at the explanation and the return to the telepathy.  {Well, I don't know how you came up with those words in your language, but it sounds nice.}
    Now he does a circling of the other birb, reaching to see if he can't mimic the wing-touching Kian did before.  {Everyone should laugh around me.  That way I know I'm doing something right.}

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    {It's just the words we use.  I have no idea where they came from, any more than I know where the words in English came from,} Kían replies.  {Most of my studies were geared towards physics, not linguistics.  I—oh, Gods…!}  It shouldn't be hard to guess when Gar's hands landed, and it's only with a deliberate effort of will that Kían's knees don't give away.  He doesn't break mental contact, but what he radiates isn't anything that translates to words.  Just a sense of how long it's been since anyone has done that, and that his wingbases have always been sensitive….

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy laughs, his touch pausing.  {You should see yourself.  That almost dropped you on the spot!} In comparison, Gar hardly reacted aside from some nice feelings and a distant stare!  So the question becomes, to continue or back off?
    Of course he continues, his Akiar fingers spreading around the base of the wings, then out further the way Kian demonstrated on him before.  A song once had the line, 'If it feels good, do it.'

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían makes a soft trilling noise, bird-like, and again pulls his mind back inside his own head.  "It's… been a long time since anyone's done that," he says haltingly, "and as much as I'm enjoying it, please… you're not my tenár, you don't know…."  His breathing is a little ragged, too; whether he's unusually sensitive, or it's been years since anyone has done this—it's overwhelming.

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy's hands continue, at least until the contact is broken mentally, followed by the hands moving away physically.  "What's that?  Your girlfriend?  Or… boyfriend?  Significant other?" Gar asks, having become well aware of the way Kian is breathing.  He just about put the poor birb into a puddle-like state, all just from a few specific touches to the wings.  He backsteps a few paces, hands coming to rest at the small of his back, head tilting with curiosity.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían spreads his wings wide, stretching them out, the feathers ruffling then settling, and then folds them neatly.  "Lover.  That's what tenár means.  And you are a dear tavár'h, but Vorpal is your tenár.  I'm afraid I was a bit overwhelmed.  It's been a few years since I've had anyone in my life."  He doesn't explain any further, but he does glance out the window wistfully.

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy's own wings follow suit, a gesture that feels like it's second-nature while in this form.  It'd be little different from any other species he takes the form of.  Flexing the fingers on the hands and feet of the Akiar, he glances around the room as Kian lays out a couple things from his perspective.  "You're right, and that's a… a shame.  What do you think it will take for you to find one here?  If you can't go home again, I mean."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "c'Rhys'yw, I don't know.  I can't say I've even thought about looking.  Half the problem is where I grew up, only children were wingless, so I have to fight the idea that I'm surrounded by children.  And the other half of the problem is that without the ki'thar, the mindtouch, the telepathy, I never know who I'm dealing with in the first place, not really.  I don't even know what's socially acceptable behavior here.  Hardly anything I think of as normal, is normal here."
    He glances out the window.  "And out of all that, you know the one thing that bothers me the most?  It's that everyone I know almost certainly believes I'm dead, and I have no way to let them know that I'm not.  I mean, you've felt the mindtouch now, for yourself, not having it imposed on you from outside.  I think you can imagine how close friends and family are when you're used to connecting on that intimate a level, directly mind to mind."

Beast Boy has posed:
    There is a long bout of silence from Gar, left to mull over and consider everything Kian bares to him about the way he sees Earthlings, the problems with not knowing exactly how to act, and particularly the struggle over those important to him, and the other way around, not knowing how any of them are doing.
    By the time Kian's finished sharing all of that, Beast Boy has returned to his normal self, his usual height, the wings 'disappearing' behind him, and his expression is a saddened one.  "I wish I had the right words to tell you everything's going to be fine and you'll figure everything out sooner or later, but I don't know what to tell you.  I'm just the one who says and does dumb things to make people laugh, when it's really just to keep me from thinking so much about my own problems and insecurities."  This is not something he just shares with anyone.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían watches the transformation process, fascinated.  "I don't think you do dumb things.  I think you do friendly things.  And you've helped me understand this world a little better… but it's my job to figure out my place in it and what I'm going to do with myself here, without compromising my soul.  How I'm going to do that… I'm still working on it."
    He takes a step closer—and impulsively gets up on tiptoes to give Gar a kiss on the cheek.  "Thank you for trying, and for wanting to understand."  He adds, with a grin, "And I wasn't kidding, the next time we fly together, wear the Akiár body."  Grin.

Beast Boy has posed:
    The change is completely normal to Gar.  For others, it can still be something that grabs their attention.  "Well, thanks for saying that."  It's true he is one to be more friendly than not, but it's a look into his mind that goes beyond whatever was there from the mental connection.
    "Anyway, I—" The unexpected nature of the kiss to his cheek actually surprises him enough that he wears a goofy, crooked smile afterward.  No, he did not expect that.  "Look at you, bold all of a sudden," he mock-chides, reaching out to mess with his hair for a moment.  "I can definitely do that, though.  The second time should be easier.  Doing something like this… you're still humanoid, but it took a lot of extra focus."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Absent the natural telepathic link, Kían can now only reach Gar's mind when they have physical contact.  There's no telling what Kían is reading, but he's radiating back a feeling of friendship and gratitude.  "If I may say so, it was worth the effort.  And I can be bold when I have some idea what I'm doing.  I just for the most part don't know what I'm doing on this planet.  But I'm working on it.  And most of you—"  He glances towards the door.  "—have been helpful and understanding.  I have more or less come to accept that this is going to have to be my world too now."

Beast Boy has posed:
    Beast Boy doesn't need to be a telepath to pick up on what Kian's giving off.  He tries to be in tune and aware of what others are feeling, which can often help him know when not to push with a joke.  "It was interesting.  I liked it.  Now I'm thinking I should try to surprise Vorpal sometime and look like him, too."
    Also eyeing the door, he thumbs in its direction.  "There's a lot I still have to learn about people, but at least I've got a few years of experience doing all this crazy hero stuff.  Anyway, I'm gonna let you be.  I'm sure I've bothered you enough for now.  Just, you know, let me know when you want to fly again?"

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "Or anytime you feel like taking a flight," Kían replies.  "I might even teach you how to play qihár—"  He breaks off, first wide-eyed, and then chuckling happily.  "I just imagined two Vorpals, one purple and one green, running around the tower.  You can save that for a day when you think everyone's blood pressure has gotten dangerously low."  Huge grin.