video

[corundrum]

[Now that they've figured out how to use this device to show their image, Padparadscha considers whether it's wise to introduce themselves to the Dreamfolk at large like this. On one hand, in-person is always a better gauge of the kind of person someone is. But this seems very similar to in-person anyway.

It's in the midst of this wondering that they discover the mark on the base of their spine, and though they could probably just ask one of the helpers...well, there's no problem in gauging how much the others know about how things work here.

When the video feed flicks on, Padparadscha raises a hand in greeting, a faintly amused look on their face.]

This is a funny little instrument, isn't it? But actually, I have a question. [They hold up a piece of paper, with the marking of the Destruction talent drawn on it.] I found this on my body just now, and it doesn't seem like it'll come off. Have any of you found something like it?

Comments

[voice]

[psituational]

I have one that looks nearly exactly like that.

[And you can hear how unnerved he is.]

Do you know why we have them? No one else seems... upset. Confused, maybe, but not upset.

[corundrum]

[Indeed they can, and so it seems this isn't just an unusual thing for them. Though their tone still doesn't sound entirely serious, it's a bit more so than it was a moment ago.]

That's what I'm trying to find out. But I thought I should see whether it wasn't just me first. [There's an unusual rustling sound as their shrug shifts their hair, like rock passing over and clinking against rock rather than the usual sound of hairs.] Where's yours, then?

[psituational]

It's not just you. From what I've heard, it's everyone who's kidnapped into the city, all the -- the Dreamfolk.

[Because you'd better believe X did some checking the moment he discovered the mark. Where he comes from, any sort of permanent mark is a disfigurement on one's soul.]

My knee. [His tone grows a little sardonic.] Just above my knee. [Pause.] Can I ask about your hair?

[corundrum]

Oh? Maybe I should have just asked around, then. [But this is more interesting, they think. The different reactions are rather telling in their own way, even ignoring any other new information gained.

This person has theirs in a different place, too, and Padparadscha seems thoughtful about the fact for a moment before they're asked another question anyway. It gets a soft laugh out of them.] Go ahead and ask, little one.

[psituational]

[There's a similar laugh in return. Little one. It reminds X of Luci, which is a painful enough memory for the laugh to fade a little too quickly.] Thank you. It makes a strange sound when it moves, like... well, like earth. But you don't look like an elemental.

[It's not technically a question, but the implication of one is there.]

video;

[prana]

( A familiar pair of impassive eyes fill the screen before Sera lowers the tablet enough to show off more of her face. )

You didn't put it there yourself? ( She asks, curious as to how they came across it in the first place. )

[corundrum]

[Padparadscha laughs, waving a hand.] I don't think I could. I was just making sure I wasn't damaged in coming here, and came across it then.

Perhaps you should double-check yourself as well. [Padparadscha doesn't know how easily humans break, but it seems to be easier than most Gems, at least. Certainly, it would have to be easier to put a permanent mark on them.]

[prana]

You can get damaged? ( Of course they can: anyone is susceptible to being hurt. )

I don't think our benefactors-( It's the only thing she can think to call the ones responsible for abducting them in the first place. )-would endear us to them if they disfigured our bodies.

( She doesn't consider the thought that she would have a marking on her own body. Who in their right mind would tattoo a child? It seems strongly frowned upon in modern times. )

[corundrum]

Of course. Though it takes a lot to do it to a gem as hard as me. [Padparadscha taps their chest with a fist, producing the resonant sound of crystals colliding.

And Sera certainly has a point there, though they can't help but let slip some amusement at calling them by that title.] Maybe it wasn't them. Certainly, it would take very different techniques to put a permanent mark on me than it would someone like you.

[It doesn't even look like an etching, either, which is more troubling. If they had that kind of permanent pigment on their world, they wouldn't have need for the powder they use to cover their raw gem, or the resins to seal it.]

[prana]

( The device is getting placed down off to the side. They are still connected, of course, but they did recommend that she search her own body. No time like the present. )

Carving into a gem is no easy feat. ( Sera's voice can be heard off-screen, the girl not too far away from her yimo. While she knows very little of jewels herself, seeing as all of her golden adornments lack them, she knows that they require skilled laborers to delicately handle them lest they crack apart. )

It's not an etching though, is it? Come off... as in you attempted to wipe it off?

[ Voice ]

[perfectenn]

[So it's not a bruise then? It is hard to tell with his.]

You don't recall getting a mark on arrival? Something that might have pressed against you?

[They should recognize the voice of the boy from the funhouse. Tenn still refuses to use the video function, however.]

[corundrum]

[That last question seems so misplaced to them that they have to laugh for a moment before answering. They do recognise the voice, but that only gives less of a reason for him to make that remark.]

It would take much more than something pressing against me to make a permanent mark, little one. But if you're asking me something like that, maybe you don't remember anything like it yourself, huh?

[perfectenn]

[The laugh catches Tenn off guard, and he's glad to hide a blush behind a black screen. He's from planet of humans; mistakes are bound to happen. He tries not to sound too curt in his reply.]

I don't. And if it is not a bruise, then I don't like the alternatives.

[Dare he ask? ...Of course he will.]

If I may ask, what would be required to leave such a mark on... someone like yourself?

[Hopefully it's an innocent enough question. He's more worried for himself, truly.]

[corundrum]

A "bruise"? You'll have to explain. [That's not a kind of injury they've encountered in their time, though they have to imagine that human injuries would be wildly different from Gem ones.

Padparadscha has to consider that question for a moment, expression growing slightly more serious.] An etching, and they'd have to use something like diamond, otherwise they'd break their own equipment. Pigments wash away, so that shouldn't be possible either.

[perfectenn]

When our skin is damaged by pressure, it leaves a discoloration. It heals within a few days or weeks.

[Hence, a faint blueish marking on his skin was not taken seriously at first. When one dances for hours a day, these things happen. Tenn had hoped that was all it was... but this is far more studied.]

I see… In my world, markings like this can be applied with dye and a needle. They do not wash off, because the color is under the surface of the skin.

[A pause, because he's unsure if they understand the implications.]

The procedure is not performed without someone's knowledge.

[For all his self-control, there’s a note of harshness.]

video;

[driverslicense]

I have that one as well.

But we are not similar. [As far as he can tell from their one meeting, anyway.]

Has it harmed you?

[corundrum]

So it seems. [It's a little early to judge that, but they don't seem to be similar in being, at least, which is noteworthy itself.]

Not yet. But I am wondering what damage could be done in the long term by making such a permanent mark.

[driverslicense]

[Being different beings, which is pretty high in "difference" as it goes, at least biologically, the mark can't be denoting their similarities. They're not that similar in personality, either, but that's the least of Chase's considerations when thinking about an issue like this.]

Tattoos are mostly harmless. [He pauses.] To me.

[There's the difference in being thing again...]

I've heard of things that affect your personality. [That was a feather, though.]

[corundrum]

"Tattoo"? Is that what you call it? [It's a new word to Padparadscha, but they suppose it wouldn't be too hard to make something like this on soft flesh, so they'd have to have some kind of term for it.

That second remark is a more troubling one, even if they don't let that emotion reach their face.] Oh? That's a heavy thing to say and then not explain.

[driverslicense]

That's what I call it. [It's not a brand and not a number designation. Though he doesn't actually know if it's ink, not having any tools to scan it with.]

If it's not, then that is fine. Something to be aware of. [Those feathers were ultimately meant to induce a total shutdown, from what he heard later, which would be Bad.]

video;

[isochrone]

I have one, but it doesn't look quite like that. Mine's rather more like...

[ She'll take a moment to grab a piece of nearby paper and scrawl what hers looks like. ]

This.

[corundrum]

Oh? So there's different ones. [Padparadscha leans in a little to get a better look at this new design that's being shown.]

But it looks a little similar, doesn't it? Enough to be connected.

[isochrone]

Oh definitely, I think they're somehow related. They're even the same size, more or less. You'd think we'd recall something so invasive being put on us, though...

[corundrum]

That's what I've been thinking. I don't mark as easily as a human would, so "invasive" is the only way to describe how doing something like that to me would be.

[Nonetheless, they don't behave like they're taking it very seriously, just leaning back a little with a somewhat thoughtful look on their face.]

You're the first one who's said theirs was different to mine, though. If only we could get that answer out of everyone, huh?

[isochrone]

As a... human?

I think people are just still adjusting to arriving here, that's all. I'm sure once they've had a chance to get their bearings, they'll be more willing to share.