[ certainly, manuela is far too grown and experienced to let such a little thing get her flustered. but somehow the innocence of the misunderstanding has her cheeks coloring more than if he were to suddenly stand and flash her on the spot. it's truly hilarious, how the human mind works sometimes. ]
What I am and am not into is a conversation that requires more than just that martini.
[ let us not get into the many ways she has degraded herself for the mere hint of genuine affection...................... anyway. ]
Is that right? Are you durable, blessed, or aided by something else?
We'll need to have that discussion at a proper bar then.
[Haha, nailed it, surely that was a smooth of enough transition to distract that he doesn't understand the appeal of career roleplay!! Her other question blessedly allows an out, though he decides to be a bit cryptic. He hmms and hawws a moment as he lays his head against the warm stone behind him.]
Haah, when you ask it like that? I'd say I'm cursed instead.
[ listen, nobody needs to discuss any kinks that may not be of any interest to the parties involved. and so manuela will simply wrap that particular topic of conversation up with a succinct, ]
Perhaps.
[ and leave it at that! there are far more interesting — and less humiliating — things to discuss now, after all. if it's intrigue he's trying to tease out of her, he gets it in full. sitting up a little, she turns to him a little more along the bench. ]
[He's being coy and it's something that never gets old for him--mostly due to reveling in the terrified expressions most display when realizing he's a monster of some sort in their eyes. But this doc comes off a little more even headed than that, at least.]
See for yerself.
[He holds out his arm to her, relaxing his muscles.]
Gimme a pinch. Try to draw blood--or use one of those hot stones to bash it, whatever you can manage.
[ there is a mild touch of wariness as manuela regards his extended arm — not because of what he means to show her, but simply due to the request itself. even if manuela weren't a physician, she doesn't exactly enjoy harming anyone even if it's to prove a point. ]
If a pinch is enough, I think I'll settle for that.
[ so she reaches out, tweaking the skin along his inner forearm. ]
A doc should have a stronger stomach for something like this, eh? But suit yourself. [So many small fry relish getting a free hit on him, but he supposes this situation is a bit different.
In any case, she pinches, the skin red with just a pinprick of blood. . .then suddenly a thin vine sprouts from the sight, wriggling around for a barely a moment before retracting. The skin is as pristine as ever, aside from any older scars.]
Ta da~ It's a more impressive trick when I'm getting my limbs chopped off.
[ manuela has seen plenty of magical healing in her particular line of work, but this is certainly the first time she's ever seen any sort of... foliage... involved. ]
I see.
[ she sees, but does she understand? not at all. ]
You said it was a curse. But it looks rather handy, in this case.
[ she makes a low, humming sound. not quite understanding but certainly sympathetic. ]
Do you... [ she lapses into an awkward silence, hands hanging in the air as she attempts and then aborts some kind of wiggling gesture with her fingers. ] Well, do you feel them? Inside?
Oh yeah, all the time. They're like, twistin' and turnin' all through my blood and muscles 24/7. Used to it, but gotta keep it in the back of my head, or I turn into a tree monster. Hah!
[He wriggles his fingers in playful emphasis, numb to the fact that maybe that's a bit fucked up.]
As for how--no idea! Got the shit beat out of me, was thrown in a pit, thought I died, but nope! Woke up, and then I could do all sorts of weird shit. But what's that thing folks say? "If it ain't broke don't fix it?"
So yeah it's a curse, but it's a useful curse, so no sense sweatin' the details.
Are you saying you have to constantly suppress it so it doesn't overtake you?
[ don't fix it if it ain't broke, he says, but it doesn't sound like it's working particularly well either. ]
Is healing and regeneration all it can do for you?
[ she's being nosy now, but he doesn't seem to mind the questions... a part of manuela can't help but be fascinated over another avenue of healing. she is only ever familiar with two types of it, after all; though she doubts it can ever be replicated, it's still an interesting thing to learn about... both as a healer, and as someone who may one day have to learn how to work against it. ]
Saying it like that sounds so dire. It's second nature for me now--kinda like, riding a bike. Kinda awkward to balance at first, but soon enough you ain't thinkin' about it too hard while yer at it, yeah?
[Only the bike turns into a monster and tries to kill everything! It helps that Chobe isn't all that opposed to destroying shit, so his mind kinda works in sync with it. That and in more modern times? There's less shit to fight, and thus fewer opportunities for the flower to overwhelm him.
He considers her for a moment, frowning to himself. While he's zero percent shy about this shit, he is more cautious around scientist types that want to study him and such. Never a good time. A doctor is a different flavor of scientist, but so far, she's made a good impression on him.
So with a shrug, he holds out his arm again. This time, several thick, woody vines erupt from his skin, wrapping around his forearm til he forms something of a wooden blade.]
[ manuela flinches back out of reflex — for a second it had seemed as if those vines might sprout out and reach for her — but upon seeing them settle along his arm like some organic type of armor, she relaxes visibly. ]
I'd say it does, [ comes her wry remark. boldly (or perhaps foolishly) she reaches out, dragging a nail along the grain. ]
Can it be hurt, too? And would you feel it as if it were your own flesh?
Easy now, if I was gonna kill ya, I wouldn't be yappin' this much.
[Just a bit of a snicker. The texture of it feels akin to bark or the roots of a big, healthy tree. He can make smaller, normal vines if he wanted too but, he figure she gets the gist of it.]
I'd feel it for a hot second, yeah, but as soon as it's detached from me it ain't my problem. Guess functionally I'm somethin' like a sentient tree, but that doesn't sound as intimidating.
sorry for the wait! pls feel free to drop if it's been too long
[ his words bring a slight pout to manuela's lips, her finger pausing just along a notch in the bark. eventually she does withdraw that hand, settling it back down over her lap instead. ]
Oh, I don't know. I've seen plants thrive even under the worst conditions. Full blossoms popping up even amidst slabs of concrete. Nature can be plenty terrifying, if you really think about it.
[ she cants her head at him, smiling a little in amusement. ]
Is that how you'd like to be seen as? Intimidating?
You ain't wrong, nature's probably the scariest thing out there. It can give someone a beautiful death, if you ain't careful.
[He's witnessed it first hand; humans blooming vibrant, gorgeous flowers from their eyes and mouth, smaller buds and vines piercing through their skin. All the while the victim is unaware, dying a slow death as the flowers show them blissful visions and sap every bit of life out of them. Beautiful horror in motion.
He gives a slight bark of a laugh, and he cocks his head at her as his arm reshapes, returning to normal.]
If I do, something wrong with it? Perception's one of the few things we can influence, so first impressions are pretty important.
[ manuela only shakes her head, punctuating the gesture with a shrug of her shoulders. by now, the heat of the sauna has given her skin a healthy sheen of sweat, and her hair has begun to cling to her temples, her neck. ]
Not at all. I know well enough that reputation matters. I was simply curious why you'd prefer to be feared.
[To be loved? Adored? Give off an air of safety or comfort? Chobe isn't necessarily against those virtues, but when raised in a time where strength means life or death, fear is the easiest way to get ahead.
His eye flicks over to her--that sheen looks good on her, but he hopes she's not getting heat sickness. He can roast here all day and be fine, but he forgets that's not the case for others at times.]
Anyway, guess I'm not exactly living up to the characterization, but you can just consider yourself lucky for now.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
What I am and am not into is a conversation that requires more than just that martini.
[ let us not get into the many ways she has degraded herself for the mere hint of genuine affection...................... anyway. ]
Is that right? Are you durable, blessed, or aided by something else?
no subject
[Haha, nailed it, surely that was a smooth of enough transition to distract that he doesn't understand the appeal of career roleplay!! Her other question blessedly allows an out, though he decides to be a bit cryptic. He hmms and hawws a moment as he lays his head against the warm stone behind him.]
Haah, when you ask it like that? I'd say I'm cursed instead.
no subject
Perhaps.
[ and leave it at that! there are far more interesting — and less humiliating — things to discuss now, after all. if it's intrigue he's trying to tease out of her, he gets it in full. sitting up a little, she turns to him a little more along the bench. ]
Cursed? What do you mean?
no subject
See for yerself.
[He holds out his arm to her, relaxing his muscles.]
Gimme a pinch. Try to draw blood--or use one of those hot stones to bash it, whatever you can manage.
no subject
If a pinch is enough, I think I'll settle for that.
[ so she reaches out, tweaking the skin along his inner forearm. ]
no subject
In any case, she pinches, the skin red with just a pinprick of blood. . .then suddenly a thin vine sprouts from the sight, wriggling around for a barely a moment before retracting. The skin is as pristine as ever, aside from any older scars.]
Ta da~ It's a more impressive trick when I'm getting my limbs chopped off.
no subject
I see.
[ she sees, but does she understand? not at all. ]
You said it was a curse. But it looks rather handy, in this case.
no subject
Well yeah, not being able to die and wounds fixing themselves is all well and good. Ain't complainin' about that bit!
But having plants and vines wriggling all in your insides forever? Even after you get used to it, it's still fucking annoying.
no subject
Do you... [ she lapses into an awkward silence, hands hanging in the air as she attempts and then aborts some kind of wiggling gesture with her fingers. ] Well, do you feel them? Inside?
[ her lips purse. ]
How did this happen to you, anyway?
no subject
[He wriggles his fingers in playful emphasis, numb to the fact that maybe that's a bit fucked up.]
As for how--no idea! Got the shit beat out of me, was thrown in a pit, thought I died, but nope! Woke up, and then I could do all sorts of weird shit. But what's that thing folks say? "If it ain't broke don't fix it?"
So yeah it's a curse, but it's a useful curse, so no sense sweatin' the details.
no subject
[ don't fix it if it ain't broke, he says, but it doesn't sound like it's working particularly well either. ]
Is healing and regeneration all it can do for you?
[ she's being nosy now, but he doesn't seem to mind the questions... a part of manuela can't help but be fascinated over another avenue of healing. she is only ever familiar with two types of it, after all; though she doubts it can ever be replicated, it's still an interesting thing to learn about... both as a healer, and as someone who may one day have to learn how to work against it. ]
no subject
[Only the bike turns into a monster and tries to kill everything! It helps that Chobe isn't all that opposed to destroying shit, so his mind kinda works in sync with it. That and in more modern times? There's less shit to fight, and thus fewer opportunities for the flower to overwhelm him.
He considers her for a moment, frowning to himself. While he's zero percent shy about this shit, he is more cautious around scientist types that want to study him and such. Never a good time. A doctor is a different flavor of scientist, but so far, she's made a good impression on him.
So with a shrug, he holds out his arm again. This time, several thick, woody vines erupt from his skin, wrapping around his forearm til he forms something of a wooden blade.]
I can kill stuff with it. That count?
no subject
I'd say it does, [ comes her wry remark. boldly (or perhaps foolishly) she reaches out, dragging a nail along the grain. ]
Can it be hurt, too? And would you feel it as if it were your own flesh?
no subject
[Just a bit of a snicker. The texture of it feels akin to bark or the roots of a big, healthy tree. He can make smaller, normal vines if he wanted too but, he figure she gets the gist of it.]
I'd feel it for a hot second, yeah, but as soon as it's detached from me it ain't my problem. Guess functionally I'm somethin' like a sentient tree, but that doesn't sound as intimidating.
sorry for the wait! pls feel free to drop if it's been too long
Oh, I don't know. I've seen plants thrive even under the worst conditions. Full blossoms popping up even amidst slabs of concrete. Nature can be plenty terrifying, if you really think about it.
[ she cants her head at him, smiling a little in amusement. ]
Is that how you'd like to be seen as? Intimidating?
all good!
[He's witnessed it first hand; humans blooming vibrant, gorgeous flowers from their eyes and mouth, smaller buds and vines piercing through their skin. All the while the victim is unaware, dying a slow death as the flowers show them blissful visions and sap every bit of life out of them. Beautiful horror in motion.
He gives a slight bark of a laugh, and he cocks his head at her as his arm reshapes, returning to normal.]
If I do, something wrong with it? Perception's one of the few things we can influence, so first impressions are pretty important.
no subject
Not at all. I know well enough that reputation matters. I was simply curious why you'd prefer to be feared.
no subject
[To be loved? Adored? Give off an air of safety or comfort? Chobe isn't necessarily against those virtues, but when raised in a time where strength means life or death, fear is the easiest way to get ahead.
His eye flicks over to her--that sheen looks good on her, but he hopes she's not getting heat sickness. He can roast here all day and be fine, but he forgets that's not the case for others at times.]
Anyway, guess I'm not exactly living up to the characterization, but you can just consider yourself lucky for now.