"Oh, cool," Arin said. She pulled away from Sune and walked over to where Zhi Huang and Zhi Hui were standing. "We were just talking about that, actually. Unfortunately we have no idea how to get you back yet, but I'm sure we could think of something."
Nearby, Sune glanced up at the darkening sky above them. She could get what the action was meant to imply. It was probably best to go to the shelter and discuss things there. (Even more importantly, they needed to let the two newcomers know about Sune's need to frequently change his guise, or things would get very uncomfortable very fast.) She gestured behind her at the rows of buildings. "Want to talk about it in our house?"
"Okay," he replied, nodding. He entered first, followed by Zhi Hui. Concern filled his mind, since even their new friends didn't know how to send them back, but he tried to keep his expression cheerful.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
The two travelers quickly followed after them, Sune's essence itching for a new guise. He had been stuck looking like a wraith for at least an hour, and likely longer than that. And it sucked. Besides the fact that his essence hating being in the same guise for long period of times, he kept forgetting how tall he was. Only hitting his head on the doorway reminded him, and it was a very painful reminder.
The house itself wasn't all that special. It only had one makeshift bed for Arin, since he didn't need to sleep. There was a nice little table with two chairs for them to discuss things, and a small station to the back of the room where Arin fixed up her kisti when they got back from a performance.
Zhi Hui cleared his throat softly as a thought came to mind. "Um . . . you said earlier that there aren't any magic beings in this world. So what happens when someone like you shows up?"
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
"Well," Arin admitted, "we pretend to be normal humans. It's pretty easy for me. All I have to do is not impulsively use my magic, and I'm good. Sune, on the other hand..." She paused, studying her boyfriend out of the corner of her eye. "He has to do a lot more."
Sune gave a small smile. "But it's necessary," he added, sitting down on the end of Arin's bed. She quickly joined him there a second later. "We don't want trouble. We just want to explore the galaxy and perform."
"Hmm," said Zhi Huang, sitting down in one of the seats while Zhi Hui sat in the other. "So in the time we're trying to figure out how to go home, can we help you at all? We can do all sorts of things."
Zhi Hui gave him a side eye. "Yeah."
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
The two exchanged a look. They couldn't think of much off of the top of their head; the two of them probably weren't performers like they were, if their clothes were anything to go by, and they had already taken care of most of the minor tasks needed to be done in their current base.
But there was one thing that they could help with.
"Do you two mind if Sune changes his form?" Arin said. "He doesn't actually look like this. He doesn't really look like any other form he'd take, either, but he doesn't use this one except when we're trying to escape from the wraiths. It would be super helpful if you let him do it."
His shoulders relaxed at the answer. "We just didn't want to alarm you," Sune said, glancing over at Arin. She gave a nod in agreement. Sune shifted on the bed a little more, then thought about what guise he wanted to adopt this time around. He definitely wanted something human, and something that displayed his actual age more. Maybe he could use the one he had been using a few planets back? That sounded like a good idea. It was familiar yet different, something that he always appreciated.
There was no flash light, and there was no gradual change. One minute, he was a tall, adult wraith. The next, he was a blond-haired boy in his late teens, dressed in a tunic, trousers and a pair of trusty boots.
Zhi Hui blinked and studied Sune in his new form, then looked at Zhi Huang, who nodded in approval and a hint of enthusiasm.
"Nice!" he exclaimed. "We can change forms too." He turned to Zhi Hui. "Ah-Hui, you should show them--"
"No!" said Zhi Hui, already appalled. He willed his face not to grow red again. "Ah-Huang, I can't just change into Yeye!"
Zhi Huang waved a hand dismissively. "He's not even here to see you." He looked back at Arin and Sune. "Our grandfather used to be . . . a very important person in the Immortal Realm, so he commands a large degree of respect still, even though he's retired." He shrugged then. "Fine, Ah-Hui, if you don't want to pretend to be Yeye, I'll change into our older brother then. Watch this."
He lifted his arm to cover his face with his long, billowing sleeve, and then quickly brought it back down. His appearance had changed, with his face growing slightly rounder and bearing a solemn expression under two thick slashes of eyebrows.
"How about it?" asked Zhi Huang in a deeper voice. The smile that suddenly erupted on his new face seemed completely out of place to Zhi Hui, though it definitely softened its features.
Zhi Hui sighed. "A perfect imitation of Ming Yi ge." One always had to humor Zhi Huang. "Except you shouldn't be smiling."
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
"Or silver, and iron, too, because those hurt Sune-"
"And not Arin," Sune concluded.
Arin took a deep breath of air - something Sune never needed to truly do - and flung herself back onto the bed, staring up at the makeshift ceiling above them. "I can't believe you can change your forms," she said, incredulously. "I knew you had magic from what you said, but I didn't realize it was like ours."
Zhi Huang grinned and changed his face back immediately without covering it up. He had only done that to pretend to be mysterious. "It's not that hard, once you cultivate to a certain level, though immortals who are more powerful than us may be able to see through our disguises."
"We can change into any human-like form," said Zhi Hui, "and specific tribes may be able to transform into some sort of creature." His forehead wrinkled. "But nothing like metal or herbs hurt us. Why would they do that?"
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
"I guess you don't have essence, then," she said. "That's why it hurts Sune. His entire body is made of the stuff. Mine's just got it mixed in with my blood."
"Essence?" Zhi Huang tilted his head. "I don't know what that is, but every living creature in the various realms has some amount of internal energy. That's what helps us to have powers. Is your essence something like that? Except, I guess most people here don't have it."
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
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