when we were young

[betweenasock]

Aged Down!
Something has happened to you: Somehow, you've been aged down. Maybe you have memories of being older. Maybe you're aged down in memories as much as you are in form.

Don't worry, help is on the way!

...Whether you want it or not.

What happens next?

Post as either the aged-down character or as a potential finder. How it happened is up to you!

Comments

[reorienting]

"Well, yes. How strange-- to look back on it, it is..."

Gaze flicking up towards Thrawn's, he smiles a little shyly and draws his mate in closer, to brush his lips against his mate's in a slow, chaste kiss.

"I still feel warm from how you treated me. If I'd had someone like you in my life, growing up..." Briefly, he catches his bottom lip between his teeth.

"Never mind. In any case, let us see about that artifact. After I put my clothes back on."

Pulling back, tentacles wiggling with excitement, Glenn starts pulling off the torn remains of those temporary clothes.

His voice hastens in excitement, and he gestures similarly as he speaks.

"It's a nasty thing. Useful for theoretical immortality, at least. Although I fail to see how useful forgetting my current self's memories in favor of the past is useful, but perhaps for someone more nefarious, it might be so."

Once settled, Glenn heads back to the office, still talking, even as he starts putting his proper clothes back on. His tentacles sometimes gesture in emphasis.

"Judging by how I felt then, and looking upon those memories now, along with my own research, it's very likely a Sith artifact. Or has very close leanings to it. Call it a hunch, but I do not think a purely Jedi artifact would hiss like a snake and promise power. Even so, its appearance is cleverly disguised to show neither inclination of Sith nor Jedi, from what I can remember of other art holos regarding them. I'm willing to bet it's to keep it from being destroyed by either party if found. So it's fortunate that we have. Although, perhaps, certain... entities of the Empire might have want for such a thing."

He's seen holos of Emperor Palpatine. If anyone, he would definitely benefit from the temporary reversal of time's march. And who knows if the return forward can be delayed or not.

"If anything, certain people could repeatedly enter and re-enter their prime years. And potentially keep their memories with enough revisits.

"Even as a child, I could feel some minor draw to you. I could sense that you were safe, and that you were somehow increasingly familiar to me. It's-- why I felt so inclined to show you my vulnerability. How lonely I felt. And that I trusted you not to sweep me aside, even if I was afraid of that possibility."

[admiralchiss]

"Perhaps things would have been different, yes, had we met while you were still very young." Thrawn would have been a caretaker and parent figure, rather than a romantic one. It's an interesting thing to ponder.

Once they're back in the office, Thrawn regards the artifact. "Whatever Sith created this, or whatever culture did, it may have been used as a meditation device, or, as you theorized, partial immorality. I would need to compare it to similar artifacts to know for sure." He turns away from the item and looks at Glenn. "Perhaps it is best if we keep the artifact and its uses to ourselves for now."

Thrawn is loyal to Palpatine, but only on the surface. He knows when to hide certain things from the Emperor. Though, now he's wondering what would happen if he were to give it to a former sky-walker who had long since lost their powers. So many possibilities are open.

[reorienting]

"Keeping it a secret goes without saying."

Once his clothing is situated, he regards it thoughtfully, one hand resting briefly on his hip.

"...Looks like I will be studying the Force for the time being. If it wasn't lying in a misguided attempt to inflate my ego, then clearly such abilities, if I am capable, could only be an asset."

Given what he remembers of the Force and what different sides of it can do, somehow straddling the line between both extremes will be incredibly useful. Given the gist of how each side operates, it is probably within his capacity to utilize, he thinks.

"Though I am unsure how successful such attempts in practicality will be."

Either way, even developing such skills hold their risks, but if it works, then that's just one extra way he can protect Thrawn, and others.

[admiralchiss]

"Such abilities would prove useful. However, you need not put pressure on yourself to learn such abilities." Useful or not, Thrawn would rather not see his mate burn himself out trying to reach a goal that may or may not even be reachable. They have no idea how the Force works in the Igeas, after all.

[reorienting]

"Certainly not. But, there's no harm in making an attempt."

His gaze continues to focus on the artifact for a moment, and then returns to his mate's face.

"Either way, my ability to hear the artifact is diminished. So I won't be wringing my hands over something that ends up impossible. But if it is something possible, it can be utilized. Even if mastery is not particularly feasible at this point, if at all."

Either way, he offers a smile.

"If it means it is another way to protect you and others, all the better."

[admiralchiss]

"Interesting. Perhaps your potential to develop your powers was at its peak when you were small. Nonetheless, it may be worth studying further, yes."

Thrawn approaches Glenn and runs his hand through his mate's hair. "You protect me quite well already. You are already powerful as you are."

[reorienting]

Being reassured that he already protects Thrawn well enough, Glenn relaxes further. Especially with the touch to his hair. It's just such a good feeling.

So Glenn just gives his mate a nonsensical mumbling purr in reply, pushing his head against his hand for a moment, and then nuzzles in close for a hug. If he was in dog form, his tail would be wagging.

"I am glad to hear it." While this isn't the first time he's been told so, it still feels good to hear.

"Even so, I still wish to persist, if only out of curiosity."

[admiralchiss]

Thrawn wraps his free arm around Glenn, while keeping his other hand in his mate's hair, knowing how much he likes it. He also just likes it when Glenn starts purring, finding the sound pleasing to his ears.

"If you feel it's worth perusing, then I will not stop you. Just so long as you do not hurt yourself."

[reorienting]

"I believe it is, yes." His words reverberate with his purring; he feels like he could melt into the floor and be happy for the next hundred years.

"I want to try, not to have it as a weapon, but to have it as a counter-measure if it becomes necessary. I would rather have some measure of this skill and never need to use it."

Perhaps that is one reason why Igaes are so formidable; even with his lack of desire for power in itself, if it means he can protect what he cherishes the most from another kind of threat-- that instinct cries the loudest of them all.

"That said, yes. If I find that learning this skill will inflict harm upon my person, I'll cease immediately," he promises.

Perhaps it's because that Thrawn knows that Glenn will throw himself immediately into harm's way to defend him that he so gently insists (well, such as Glenn interprets it,) that Glenn not bring himself to harm in the process.

For so long, he's operated with the assumption that any damage done to his person is not only permitted for the sake of any higher calling, but deserved. And if nothing else, he values Thrawn's comfort over his own, and if that means that Thrawn doesn't want him to overextend himself to the point of injury, then that takes precedence.

Yes-- it is very safe to say that his love for Thrawn exceeds his own self-disgust.

And so this is why he promises.

Glenn offers his mate a gentle press of their foreheads, bodily vibrating as he purrs more deeply, and he reciprocates the hug he initiated.

Yes-- here, now, all he feels is love. His instincts think to reinterpret it as potential lust, but he holds that feeling down, despite the soft, sweetening scent that clings to his skin. He lets his instincts roll over and through him like the flow of a river over rocks.

If he were human-- this intimacy is all he would ever need.

And for the moment, he feels human, too.

"I love you," he murmurs, unbidden, voice soft and warm.