nexus_crossings | There's No 'I' in Team but there is in Community.

There's No 'I' in Team but there is in Community.

Aal's got a stack of various flyers under a rock of a paperweight along with a few other things on a foldable table with a red and white table cloth being watched over by her beloved blonde mate. Whom even sitting his six foot frame would be hard to miss if there's any larger en masseing of folks or unfriendly type people. While she trots a smidgen away to stack stapling things to various posts in the plaza. Determined to do a fair few things while she still can even if she waddles a bit.

She's got a few brightly colored flyers in hand, as she gives a friendly smile to whoever might wander closer, her ears wiggle slightly. Even though she clears her thoart softly and gives a slightly sheepish look but depending on whom it is that might change quickly and easily to a grin or what have you. "Ahem, this might sound like an odd question but what would you say is some of your favorite summer type things to do?"

She slightly winces but gives her best smile while internally kicking herself.

Oh yes make it sound like a survey question that would surely get folks into a festive mood.

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Fortunately for Aal, the tattoo was merely a picture. It’s not like it’s imbued with any magical powers to make real ones appear. (Better not give him any ideas.)

Suddenly, Minoru put two and two together - “oh! Is the party you’re planning going to be a baby shower too?!”

She slightly shurgs, if he needed help covering it up all he need do was ask.

Aal's ears go up slightly, "Um well I mean it could be. Unless someone offers an alternative location or wishes to volunteer." She informs the younger man. She had a feeling she might have to put together something though it was more fun and less stressful when ya had several folks to help. She sighs a little, her shoulders sag a little. Back home usually a friend or family member tended to host such.

Minoru grinned. If the Anthean equivalent of a baby shower could turn into a block party, then a block party could turn into a baby shower. All it would take is a little bit of scheming and a few well-timed surprises.

“The Nexus is full of people who love to celebrate things. Just wait! It’ll all come together!”

He glanced back at her husband with an expectant nod. Was it a good idea? Was he in?

“Do you know what you’re expecting, or are you guys waiting until it’s born to be surprised?”

She smiles softly, a little wistful and a little hopeful. Though she tries not to get her hopes up too high, she'd been 'burnt' before (once too many) by doing such. "Well, I certainly hope so." She murmurs ever so softly.

Even if it was purely by good-natured or party liking folks. She highly doubts it would be her own merits or persuasion for some. But then that was alright. So long as it brought folks together in good ways or helped be an influence on them etc. (Or Networking, she rather liked bringing folks together in various ways) and that's all that truly mattered. She mentally reminded herself.

Dor's ears perked up and he gave a friendly wink and little nod. He was game for whatever made his Beloved Mate Happiest. He had a few ideas he was planning on perhaps discussing with other folks. Hoping to arrange some surprises before and around her birthday and their Anniversary.

"Ooh yes." She murmurs taking a moment to watch her handsome hubby, clearly up to something but she did rather like his antics so she wasn't worried. She'd defintly be borrowing his fedora if it got any warmer, however. "A Boy and two girls." She murmurs softly clearing her throat with a pleased little wiggle but a soft nervous swallow. She knew it was likely to be a handful and she wanted to be a good mum.

Minoru returned Dor’s nod, his expression basically screaming, ‘You have my pinpoint number. Call me. I’ll help.’ And he would.

Isamu probably would too, once Minoru proved that this time the party being planned isn’t in some post-apocalyptic nightmare world. (The older twin was still rightfully bitter about the Christmas party in Hunger City.)

“Woah… Triplets!” He smiled. He knew all about growing up as part of a packaged set.

The pair both nod at that look. With warm smiles.

Aal softly chuckles bemused despite herself, "Aye "She murmurs and Dor get a happy squint and proud little smirk on his face. "Ahem, sometimes ..It's a wolf thing. " She murmurs softly with a wee cough.

Minoru scratched his head. "A wolf thing?"

As far as Minoru was concerned, it was simply a thing that happened sometimes.

"Ahem, I mean the chances of having a litter can be.." She tilts her head. "It can be more common in shifters of certain types. Though not always." She informs him. "I know another mother who had triplets but her's grew at the usual rate for our wild cousins and were born very healthy at three months." She murmurs conversationally.

"I mean I tend to favour chocolate but I wouldn't necessarily chance it while in my shifted form..just in case."

“Yeah, I guess in humans it’s not as common.” Minoru nodded. If Isamu were here, there’d be a list of statistics in the amount of time Minoru needed to take a breath. “But I guess Isamu and I are kind of like a litter. We’re fraternal, so that’s two entirely different babies. That’s what wolves do, right?”

He honestly didn’t know. That was just a guess.

But he did know that if parents’ stories had anything to say about it, these new parents would definitely have their work cut out for them! Two was quite the handful! Three, even moreso!

She tilts her head, "Aye, well I know twins for example can skip a generation. " She murmurs with a litle nod. She grins and chuckles softly. "ooh That's very interesting. And pups tend to be multiple and various fur colored and such so sounds bout right." She murmurs Doing certain sorts of research was kinda difficult. As they were often folks of science-minded who purely wanted to deal with shifters for non-helpful to the shifters reasons. Though she hoped to find more open-minded folks..As the flip side of it was like folks like Doctor Whale who didn't know or like dealing with magical things in general.

Besides she doubted some of his skills, and or his perchance to be libel with his drink or flirtatiousness least during the dark cure.

Should Aal and Dor ever mention the lack of research regarding shape shifters and pregnancy around Isamu, his ears would perk up faster than a wolf’s ever could. His specialty was biochemistry, but was fascinated by many of the surrounding disciplines. And his work at IRIS gave him the freedom to pursue so many different projects and publish so many papers.

(Minoru knew his brother originally planned this to be a sabbatical before pursuing a traditional doctorate, but the more settled they both became in the Nexus, the more this was beginning to feel like a permanent home.)

“Oh wow, are they actually going to be more like baby wolves than baby people?” He asked. There was no judgement in his tone, just pleasant curiosity.

If he gets Aal talking enough it just might, it's sort of a grumbly sore spot to say the least. "I mean there's..probably things among those who family's it runs in more. ahem If they're..not say in dangers of certain sorts." Tis very common even among the 'mundane or muggle/common folk of the Enchanted Forest even to get lost orphans and the like. Folks who've had to hide for one reason or another losing a village.

"MMh, it can depend. both Dor and I had to learn how to shift.. but I've felt both the swish of tails and kicks of widdle feet now and again.." She informs him softly and gently rubs her tummy fondly in soothing circles.

“Oh wow.” Minoru stared for a second.

If thoughts of tail swishing and paw prodding wasn’t unbelievable enough, the thought that shifting form was something you learned how to do certainly was.

“I didn’t know that was something you could learn either!” He exclaimed. “I know the angels can all do it. But they’re angels. And Loki. But he’s… I’m not sure what he is, actually.”

Isamu would probably have a field day with that too if he were here right now.

Aal nods, "I mean, ahem most folks tend to be close-knit or ya know cautious about certain things..As you can imagine in some places..Aren't as accepting of certain things as others." She murmurs softly. Glancing about out of habit. Or certain people did not all have the same sort of surpules. Even if in scholarly etc talk and the like.

"MMh, aye I mean in my realm ya can..If someone has mmh, the magical resources or sometimes an artifact and the like. or is gifted it." She tilts her head. Transformations of all kinds were much more common in a certain sense.

Her ears perk up, "Oh aye the powerful and elder beings can do so most easily. Some say such are the originators of being or doing so." She murmurs." Though there's also the Greek Pantheon." She adds after a moment. "They're some of the ones who shaped the area where I'm from." She informs him warmly. "Shapeshifters in the traditional and purest sense." She coughs a little wry but fond. "Depends on which one we're talking about." She murmurs with a wry smirk. Now here was more her area of expertise Legends and Lore of Realms.

“Magical resources?” His mind soon went to Hermione’s shop and the series of books Isamu liked. (Which his brother learned, weren’t nearly as thrilling as what actually happened.) “Like potions and stuff?”

The twins were from a world where supernatural beings didn’t exist. Well, depending on who you asked. There were religious texts, as well as myths and legends. Some people still believed in various gods or spirits. (Their parents were devout shintoists, for example.) But whether they actually existed, could be seen and verified by science, that was another matter.

Minoru laughed, scratching his head. “It’s pretty much all Greek to me. As the saying goes.”

Aside from the many of the Shintoist stories he was raised on, he wasn’t very knowledgable about myths or legends. Even Lucifer was shocked that Minoru wasn’t familiar enough with Christian stories to be immediately terrified of him.

"Aye." She murmurs with a little nod an furred ear slightly twitched a little. "Mmh, sometimes." She tilts her head.

Aal coughs a little bemused, despite herself. Oh she knew she liked him. "Aye well, ahem. " She murmurs but looks hopeful to see if he had any interest in learning such or not. "If ya ever like to have it translated myself and I'm sure a few others would be all too happy to help." She murmurs warmly.

She loved sharing stories and helping others learn. For the betterment of folks and good reasons naturally. She knew in her own realm knowledge was power in various senses of the saying and word. The Nexus just seemed to have more and various versions which made intel important too.

“Translated? Like, learn to transform?” He scratched his head. The Greek comment was a figure of speech (that just might have been lost in translation itself).

Was that even possible? Surely…

“You mean anybody can do it? I figured magic was genetic. You either have it or you don’t!”

She tilts her head, Well that was one way of taking it. "Mmh well ya might..Not sure how things work in yer realm of course." But in other places he could. To an extent. "Most things take some form of energy..One of the reasons I make sure I have snacks and such about." She informs him cautiously.

"Mmh, well in some Realms I believe that's true whereas in my realm if something had magical properties like plants.." She tilts her head. "Or certain artifact. Like a Genie's Lamp and such. Other things need more oomph or power behind them to do so. People can be blessed or cursed..And magic can be drawn out and imbued. But there are those with a natural talent or leaning toward such. " She adds trying to clarify.

“Where I come from, people just… don’t. Nothing transforms into anything else. You know, aside from like, a caterpillar becoming a butterfly or something like that. But that’s definitely not magic.”

They didn’t have the genes. Or from that explanation, the artifacts, plants, blessings or curses. They might have the energy, though! (Okay, Minoru was pretty sure he’d have the energy.)

“Do you get to choose what form you take?”

Aal hums, a little sadly perhaps but also understandingly. "MMh, a Land without magic or least currently sounds like." She murmurs though some realms had pockets or small pools of it, or once had such. Eons ago, unless there were travelers between realms. "I know ancestors of certain folks used to travel between various sorts of places more often back in the day."

Those like Alice and the Hatter, for example, She hums and tilts her head, "Well it's Metamorphoses aye..But not many of any species are gifted with such." They weren't all dragons or Pokemon as it were.

"Mmh, again depends on the method. A spell of transformation or potion can sometimes do so.. If yer Cursed.." She tilts her head with a wry look. Like a sour taste was in her mouth. "Naturally not. Shifting, ya can do some..controlling once ya learn how though high emotions tend to take the reins. The animal form mmh, depending on the how you achieve or receive it and who bestows it." Naturally the more powerful the magician or being.."Everything has a price of some sort..literal or figuratively. " She pauses a moment trying to think of an example. "Have ya ever heard of Pinnochio and Jiminy Cricket?" She gently asks.

What it might have said about Minoru that he was more familiar with a Disney movie than many of his world’s mythologies didn’t seem to bother him. “Yeah, I know that one.”

She hums and makes a bemused sound, but nods acceptingly. Walt was a great storyteller all things considered. "Well, in my realm the Blue Fairy's the one who turned Jiminy into a cricket in the first place granting a wish of his so he could try erm to undo or make up for something he and his parents did. To Gepetto. " She adds though she murmurs lowly and softly not one to gossip..But it was a decent example.

Besides the likelihood he'd run into those involved in the Nexus..was likely slim.

“Huh.” Minoru scratched his head. “Pretty sure they didn’t put that part in the movie.”

All stories omitted details, though. It would be impossible to tell literally everything that happened. And even if someone tried, memories are fallible. Details get embellished.

“But he wouldn’t have become a cricket if it weren’t for the Blue Fairy doing her magic to turn him into one, right?” He asked curiously. “Did the Blue Fairy make it so you could shift too?”

Aal can't help the warm bubbly chuckle at that. "Aye, I think the donkeys and other things were bad enough." True she'd once helped find some of said Donkeys back in the day.

She nods softly. "Aye exactly." She chuckles a little wryly at that. "Ah no, that would have been my Grandad who taught myself and Dor." She murmurs, "Though we did need a sort of Catalyst you might say." She murmurs warmly. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if someone in the family back in the day made a deal with some powerful being somewhere." After all, that's how supposedly other gifts had come to run in their blood.

“Who knows.” He laughed. “Maybe we did. I don’t know how far back our families go into ancient Japan. I think Papa’s side had a ninja clan in it once or something. Or maybe that was just one of Uncle Sasuke’s stories.”

There were lots of supernatural legends surrounding ninja, just like there were about kami.

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