The Chained Watcher

One Tall Boi

"Yeah, I guess it does look pretty big at this size. I'm kinda hoping others might come hang out sometimes, if only to get used to what I actually look like."

Tango was silent for a moment, looking down without really focusing on anything. "You know... I don't think it's really registered that you're not... you know, that. An avian. I know that you're saying you're a Watcher, but..."

He sighed. That's why he built this place. On some level, most of the Hermits who know he's a Watcher have this disconnect between the two versions of him, despite the only real difference being form. "I get it, don't worry. If it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure Scar is the only one who actually doesn't care. The first question he asked when he first saw what I actually looked like was 'So you aren't short?'"

The disbelief dissipated most of the tension, and Tango regarded Scar with confusion. Confusion is definitely better than most of the other things he could be feeling, so he should strike while the iron is hot and get this over with.

Nodding over towards the large mattress on the other side of the room, he said, "I'm gonna go sit over there to give you some space, is that okay?"

Confused again, Tango asked, "All the way over there? How much space do you need?"

"I'm really not that small, you know. But apart from that, most of it is there to maintain what should hopefully be a comfortable distance for you. It'll make more sense in a minute."

Scar playfully pushed him towards the other end of the room, excitedly demanding, "Just go big already! He's only gonna get more nervous the longer you wait."

Unfortunately, that's a fair point. Flitting over to the mattress, he sits down cross-legged and hesitates, then closes his eyes before releasing his transformation. The mostly ignorable discomfort the transformation leaves him with disappeared as it unraveled, and he resisted the urge to stretch his wings out. Until he's sure Tango won't freak out, he should stay still.

To lessen the unfamiliarity, instead of swapping to the standard violet cloak he used to wear, he stuck with his red sweater and black pants. It definitely feels a bit weird not having the cloak's edge sweep around his ankles, but it's not a bad weird. Just different.

A quiet intake of breath reaches his ears, and he just breathes slowly while waiting to see if anything is said. Unless Tango takes the initiative to approach, he'll just sit here and wait. No point in making him more nervous than he already is.

A single firework goes off, and he cracks an eye open to see Scar taking to the air and gliding over towards him. What is this fearless optimist doing now?

For a moment it looks like he's trying to run into his face, but then he angles slightly to the side to land on his shoulder. Turning his head just enough to regard Scar out of the corner of his eye, he asks, "What are you doing now?"

"Getting a better vantage point." Scar shades his eyes with one hand, looking out over the rest of the room. "Huh, it looks a lot less spacious from up here, no wonder you left so much room."

He inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement. "Yeah, I don't wanna break things by leaving no floor space." Better to leave a weirdly empty swath of floor down the middle of the room than to risk stepping on something and breaking it. Talk about a waste of furniture.

Scar is showing no inclination to get down from his shoulder on his own, so he rolls his shoulder forward, dropping Scar down into his hands. He promptly sets him down on the ground, smiling slightly at the disgruntled expression worn by his fearless friend.

His eyes flick over to Tango when the distant Hermit speaks. "So your voice does that echo thing when you're like... this?" Questions are good. Questions mean he's not too afraid to draw attention to himself.