Rubble and Rainstorms
Balamel undergoes a massive transformation whilst caged in the basement of Seethe and Velius' laboratory, and wants out by any means necessary. Getting out of the situation in one piece and gathering information on the cause is unlikely, but Velius is determined to find a way to do both.
Chapter 3: Of Conversations, Tense and Topical
Velius
[Toxicologist]
Velius hesitated a bit before going underneath one of the wings, sitting down against the wood of the dock. He didn't particularly want to be any more soaked to the bone than he already was. "I uh... take it that this is what Seethe's been working on?" He attempted to make conversation. He hadn't spoken at length with Balam really ever. Talking with a beast form wasn't something he'd done either.
Balamel
[Wanderer]
Balamel's wing shifted above him to better block the rain as his neck craned around, resting his head on the dock nearby with his jaws slightly gaped so his upper teeth didn't shove themselves into the wood below. The human's voice got his ears to lift up, one eye opening. "Hn?" His voice sounded like the thunder rolling around them, but... oddly distorted. As if played through a replier speaker instead of actually speaking. His jaws stayed still despite his continued speech, his words apparently mimicked in his throat not unlike an extremely large chimicawa. "Working...on...?" The words were slow and unfamiliar, his voice hoarse as if he hadn't used it for a long while. But at the very least, he did remember speech. "... maybe," he finally surmised, wincing as his injured tail flicked.
Velius
[Toxicologist]
"Well.. it would definitely explain the noises." Velius mused. He folded his arms over his knees, leaning forward so that his chin could rest on top of them. It was weird hearing the rain beating against the membrane of Balam's wing over his head, but it was better than actually being buffeted by it. Velius began to squeeze his hair out to get the rainwater out of it as he spoke up again. "Are you able to change back..? You seem a lot...calmer now. What made you start tearing walls down?"
Balamel
[Wanderer]
Something about Velius's demeanor seemed to be causing quite a bit of confusion -- it took a while for him to finally answer, and when he did he seemed wary. "Tired of being locked up," he said simply, as if it was as simple as the rain falling around them. "Wasn't trying to break it," he admitted after a moment, sounding almost sullen about it and not meeting the other's gaze. "Wouldn't fit."
Velius
[Toxicologist]
Velius nodded. He had seen as much from trying to coax the Ptheran out of the doorway. "Understandable." He cleared his throat afterwards. At least with Balam like this, conversation wasn't as awkward as it would be with another person. Crivio and Seethe were the exception - usually conversation was very draining for Velius. "Are you stuck like that until Seethe gets back?" He asked, tilting his head to attempt to look at Balam's general head and neck area.
Balamel
[Wanderer]
"Stuck," he parroted back, as if to confirm -- but the finality suggested Seethe getting back wasn't quite the missing part of that equation. He may still have been able to help, but Balamel didn't seem to have much faith. Overall, the monstrous ptheran seemed as gloomy as the storm he was acting as shelter from, now that the tension from his escape had worn off.
Velius
[Toxicologist]
"Well.." Velius inhaled, glancing back at the rubble of the lab. "At least now Iphae can't put off fixing it any longer, so we can thank you for that." He mused. "Its gonna be a problem if Amy gets out though.." he then realized. "Hm. She's... usually good at staying put." Velius was just talking to himself at that point. Looking up at the Ptheran, Velius did pause before he spoke up again. "So...now that you're outside. Now what?"
Balamel
[Wanderer]
He looked up, grumbling and shaking his head as a raindrop plopped against his nose. "Feels better now. Not cramped." As if to demonstrate his point he stretched his wings out as wide as they'd go, far past the width of the dock. It seemed he was content to stay put and wait out the rain now that he was free to move.
Velius
[Toxicologist]
Balam may very well have been a building of his own with how large of a wingspan he had. He also wasn't offering much information, which was mildly frustrating for Velius. He couldn't fault Balam for it though. He barely knew what Seethe got up to in his own private experiments. "Are you planning on staying at the lab once it's fixed if Seethe doesn't put you in a cage again?" He asked. "There's probably bound to be somewhere big enough when you're...ah... back to normal."
Balamel
[Wanderer]
Balam's ears swiveled backward at the question, as if the idea of actually leaving had only just then occurred to him. His tail twitched somewhere far behind them, his claws fidgeting against the wooden planks below. ".... don't know. He'll want me to?" It was almost a question -- as if he was decently certain, but figured Velius would know better than him. "Being Inside is... uncomfortable." He said ‘inside’ as if it was some unknown entity, that he wasn't sure if it would kill him or not just for entering.
Velius
[Toxicologist]
"Maybe we can convince Iphae to make an outdoor area, or a greenhouse type of situation. It'd definitely make it easier for me to keep the plants I need for his vials on hand instead of having to get someone to go out and find snippets of them. I don't think Seethe will keep you there once he sees his work has done... something." Velius gestured with one hand to Balam. "If anything he'll probably ask to ride on your shoulders and see what you can do in that form."
Balamel
[Wanderer]
He actually grumbled at the thought of someone riding him, ears still held back and demeanor generally sulky. But he seemed to recognize it had nothing to really do with Velius, either, and didn't let it sour their conversation. "...I don't know," he repeated after a while, ears lowering. He wasn't exactly comfortable, here, but he had nowhere else to go either...what little he'd seen of the city had terrified him.
Velius
[Toxicologist]
Velius let out a long exhale. There was no good solution immediately. "How about this... I'll send Seethe a replier message, letting him know that parts of the lab collapsed. We can go from there maybe. See about letting this storm pass and we can go inside and assess the damage. Sound good..?"
Balamel
[Wanderer]
He gave the human a wary look, claws leaving shallow scratches in the planks beneath them. People could mistake those for an accident, right? Right. He still seemed wary, as if unsure how Seethe would take part of the lab being destroyed and what that might mean for him, but he picked his head up to nod after a moment. Verbal responses were A Lot, just then.
Velius
[Toxicologist]
Velius met Balam's gaze, subconsciously nodding as well. With an anticipatory inhale, Velius removed his replier from his pocket and leaned against the Ptheran's body. If he was going to sit out in the rain in comfortable silence with Balamel, and use him as an umbrella, Velius decided to go all in and just lean against him. A long, drawn out replier message to Seethe flowed from his fingertips. A bit of hesitation came from Velius' hands as he went to send it. Deciding that it was now or never, Velius let the message fly. Now to sit back, hope for the best, and watch the rain.