Matthias & Riley - Library
"Whoa, you did? That's pretty damn cool!" Matthias was genuinely impressed that this guy had actually written a book that got published, and a pang of jealousy shot through him. It was quickly ignored, however, as Riley began fidgeting and seemed unsure of something. Matthias was sure what it was, since it'd been what he had been fishing after for a few minutes now, but even as the boy told him his secret, Matthias was forced to stop, placing a hand on the other guy's shoulder to get him to stop as well.
"Whoa, hold the phone there. You can... change -shape-?" He'd expected him to have an ability, but a shape-shifter? That was -really- cool. "Dude, that's -amazing-! I mean, erh..." He cleared his throat quietly, raising a hand to rub the back of his neck. "Yeah... I figured you had an ability of some kind, heh. I can move things around with my mind, and I found out that my room mate has some kind of... electricity-control, even if he doesn't have alot of control for it. So yeah, I think we've figured out what the school's used for, eh?" He gave him a little grin before shrugging his shoulders. "Don't worry though. If you don't want me to tell anybody, I won't. Still though... shape-shifting? That's one hell of a cool ability." He peered over at the boy seemingly sitting in the middle of the hallway, not far off before looking back at Riley with an excited, curious look in his eyes. "... Care to show me, when we get to the library?"
Riley stammered but could barely even produce a single coherent syllable at the time. He knew he could trust that he'd not be seen as the freakish loner who spends his entire time inside reading and writing books and having a keen interest in Sartre and Kierkegaard instead of Jay-Z and Justin Bieber, but even acceptance down to his ability? He was in a bloody school where everyone was just -that- kind of special like him? "You're just like me, you mean? You should show me yours too, really. I mean, yours must be so convenient," he crawled back out of his shell again, putting his head level again. He was just so damn glad that he was talking to someone who understood him, and could put a hand on his shoulder and tell him he was just okay with it. Oh god, was he getting misty eyed again? But it was the kind of utter relief this time. It certainly was.
"I, yeah, I guess I can show you in the library. I, uhm, I can only take on a couple of forms. It takes a ridiculous amount of time to learn a new one," he explained. Moreover, it'd take around 2 hours, more or less, before he could re-use his powers. He probably wouldn't need it though. Well, he better not keep him waiting. "Let's go then."
"Yeah, let's." Matthias gave another smile as they continued down the hallway, waiting for them to be past the guy sitting on the floor, seemingly zoned out, before speaking again. The look on Riley's face after Matthias had admitted to his ability... he wasn't sure why, but it just made him... happy, to see the guy acting like he did. It felt good making someone feel like they weren't alone in the world. After all, he should know about that.
"Yeah, it's... convenient, I suppose. You know, reaching something far away, not having to get up to grab something, I guess. But when you can only really do it in the confines of your home, there's not alot -to do-, really. I've known about the thing for... I dunno, ten years now? It's taken a long time of practicing to get to where I am, but... I'm pretty happy with it. I could've gotten a really crappy ability if I were unlucky. Like being able to smell everything around you really well." He gave a playful grin and gave Riley a little nudge with his elbow. "... Feels good being able to talk about it, doesn't it?"
Riley could not agree more with what Matthias said. "It's definitely great to talk about it," he said, and then pondered over Matthias's story. It was hard to keep his own ability secret and still put some practice to it just as well. Though geography was at his side, that, and there were farms hidden by conifers all around. The two had passed through the entrance hall and were now in the library. The shelves were stocked full of books of various thicknesses, genres, authors, all sorted by letter and the types of books per aisle. The place was quiet, and just the right place to show off either ability. Books were easy to use one's mind grabbing on, right? "I've known mine since I was 7. Finding out was an awkward story..." Riley chuckled. Maybe some other time. "Practicing it is kinda difficult for me too. Ya know, it's not like you can hide it that well when you're turning into an animal, and the people in my town might get confused if they see a kangaroo hopping in the middle of California," he sighed. It did give him an idea on what form to show him.
Matthias let out a laugh at Riley's joke about the kangaroo, grinning to himself as he took a little walk around the main bit of the library, their words giving an ever so slight bit of echo. "Yeah... I know what you mean. Finding out wasn't exactly a... good experience, let me say." He shook his head slightly before turning to his new friend, folding his arms across his chest with a smile. "So, need anything... specific to transform? Like... uhm, I dunno, enough space or something?"
"Oh, no worries I can do just fine with this amount of space, just have to concentrate. Uhm, just a heads up, I can't talk once it's complete...ya know, for obvious reasons," Riley warned Matthias. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He conjured up the image of an eastern grey kangaroo in his mind: Macropus Giganteus. He had all the finest details of the creature in his head: Greytone fur, the oblong ears, with white inner ear fluff and black tips, long muzzle, brown round eyes, dark stripes down the muzzle, and cream on the lips, then down the neck, chest. As he conjured the thoughts up, his form began to manifest. His skeletal structure changed, and his ears shifted shape as the cartilage shifted. Fur appeared over his face and migrated down to his chest. His hands turned into paws, each with a black claw at the end of them. A thick tail sprouted from the end of his spine, and grew to a long conical shape, a big mass of muscle that slouched onto the ground and tapered into a black tip. His clothing dissipiated for his wooly fur, and his hips began to widen, replaced by strong kangaroo ones. His metatarsal bones must have elongated to thrice the normal length and taped into a pair of dangerous looking claws. His arms looked a lot shorter than normal though. A muzzle appeared on his face, and his nose was covered with fine hairs, save for the black outlines on his nostrils. He could not break his concentration now. Just a little more. The fur turned up all around now, and the transformation slowed to a final form: a kangaroo. Down to a pinch. He opened his dark brown eyes and looked at Matthias. He was definitely taller than him now, because he only stood at 5'4'' at best. Riley looked over his body, and grunted happily. The transformation was complete.
Matthias had taken a small step back to watch the transformation, which was completed in a matter of moments, and during it, he simply stared with wide eyes and an amazed look on his face. Once it was completed and the kangaroo that had taken Riley's place let out a little grunt, Matthias took a step closer, looking him over. "... Holy sh*t, man. This is absolutely amazing! I mean, I'd have imagined a housecat or a dog or something, but this is... Jesus, I've never even seen a kangaroo in real life before!"
He gave a bright grin and clapped his hands together once, which echoed softly through the room. "So hey, uh... don't freak out when I do this, but I just gotta..." He reached out with his hand and slowly brushed his fingers down along his shoulder and side, feeling the short fur of the animal before letting out a laugh and stepping back. "Wow. That's just unbelievable. You've got my respect, that's for damn sure."
Riley, now a kangaroo, looked at Matthias with a bit of pride at his reaction. He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, the only kind of vocalisations he could bring out now. His internal structure had also shifted around. His stomach: two chambers, and his throat, well, it lacked a proper human voice box now. His field of vision was considerably wider, and his hearing senses felt a lot more acute. He could easily radiate his ears and distinguish the origins of a sound more precisely. He stared at the bewildered teenager and didn't flinch when he approached him and ran a hand through his fur. He didn't exactly mind the brushing against his fur. Actually it felt really good. He could really understand why animals just love it when people do this, though wasn't sure if he should be embarrassed or proud to have stunned him like that, but either way, his face bloomed behind his fur.
