visitor

[monstermanual]

Gerard always got a little nervous when Cal and Niko went out for that kind of work. He knew logically that they could handle themselves, but he was the sort that worried. Especially when it was dangerous enough to not want Gerry to risk getting underfoot.

They had just left, and told him to hold his concern unless they were not back by morning. There was no way he'd be sleeping. Getting out his art supplies and tying his blonde hair back he thought to do some detail work on his bedroom walls when he got that strange feeling he always did when Cal opened a portal.

"... Back already?" He wondered aloud - the Auphe didn't come inside, they held to that deal. So it was mostly with curiosity and concern Gerard went to the stairs to see why Cal had seemingly come back. He didn't bother with shoes.

Comments

[monstermanual]

"Can he? Smell the differences between the two of you?" Gerard asked, curious. Well, right now they'd probably be clear - Cal having just come from dinosaur world probably had some very unique scents on him indeed, but if he stuck around did he still smell different or just like Caliban smelling himself?

"... Is that weird to ask? You don't have to answer if it's weird."

[last_auphe]

He huffed a laugh, shaking his head, "It would be weirder if we weren't what we are, but yeah, he can, we both can, especially when I first get back from somewhere else."

He gave a little one-shouldered shrug, stuffing another bite of pancake in his mouth but talking clearly enough around it as he chewed, "Things get a little muddier the longer I'm here, but there's still a difference, always figured it's just from years of y'know, different diet and location and stuff."

[monstermanual]

Gerard gave a thoughtful huh, nodding along to Cal's explanation as he puzzled that over. That such subtle differences could be told by scent alone. He rather forgot his food as he did, lost in that line of thought and consideration, considering other questions and discarding them as likely too personal.

It was probably pretty clear where he got along with Niko, the way Gerard also could laser-focus on a subject. He never did formal schooling until recently doing art school, but Gerard had a passion for learning. There was a not insignificant chance he would become one of those perpetual grad students if given the opportunity.

"Do you have the same fingerprints?"

[last_auphe]

Cal knew there was going to be at least one question at the end of that wholly-intent pondering, and so he didn't interrupt the thought process, just smiled a little when it finally concluded and the question followed, "I don't think we've ever actually checked?"

He shook his head a moment later, "And even if we did, mine are partial at best." He offered a hand across the table, fingers wriggling. His fingertips were littered with a cross-hatching of mostly-hairline scars, nothing that had been done deliberately to try and remove them, but to much the same effect, there was even burn scarring on the pads of thumb and forefinger, as if he'd held onto something too hot for too long.

[monstermanual]

Gerard leaned over to look at Cal's hands, his own long fingers reaching out to very gently touch Cal's, gentle and faint and very easy to pull away from the moment Cal might want.

"Fingerprints are very difficult to remove," Gerard comments - if the skin can heal, they'll return. It really is just better to wear gloves if you're a criminal then fuss around with trying to remove prints. "They're similar to Cal's at least. I'd have to see them next to each other to check an exact match though."

Prior to digitally recording and sorting, fingerprints were checked by hand. Having an artistic sense meant you were more likely to be skilled at it, and well - Gerard was very good with patterns.

[last_auphe]

He didn't pull away, the touch had been telegraphed and half-expected, though at the comment on the similarity a string of expressions ran across Cal's face, settling on a kind of resigned surprise, "You can tell that just by looking? Is that the kind of thing people memorize now?"

Even the second question was puzzled-curious and not actually meant as any kind of jab, mostly it was because he didn't know what kind of things most people actually knew about each other on a regular basis as it was, zero frame of reference.

[monstermanual]

Gerard's cheeks flushed and he did at least have the dignity to look a little embarrassed.

"I'm... I'm very good at pattern recognition? Also... kind of... psychic-ish," Gerard admitted, because that was less embarrassing than admitting to just staring at Cal when he slept sometimes, when they were together, because he wanted to memorize every bit of him.

[last_auphe]

His brows lifted a little at that answer, but he nodded all the same, because it made as much sense as anything else he'd happened across in his travels, and actually made more sense than a great deal of them.

Which was why he said, "Oh, right, that makes sense." Perfectly willing to accept the explanation even despite the sudden flush, mostly because that would reasonably be easier on both of them.

[monstermanual]

It wasn't a lie, even. He was psychic, though the actual limits and what he could do he was still feeling out.

"Ishiah is helping me learn how to use it," he explained, returning to his own plate, more pushing the food around than actually eating. It was good, Gerard just rarely had anything that passed for an apatite. "Most of the time it's ... uh, locked up. Kind of? So I only really get use of it when I'm at the bar or if I force it. Which so far regularly triggers a migraine after."

[last_auphe]

"That's because brains are just not well-designed." He replied with a soft snort, tapping the side of his nose with a finger a moment later, adding: "Like nosebleeds from opening a Gate. You know, one of those things that I should be able to do no problem because of physiology or whatever."

A semi-circular gesture with his fork followed, digging back into what was left of his pancakes, "Now I only get them when I've opened a bunch in a row or something." Most days he considered it the same as musicians building calluses, and not like professional sports-ball players getting repeated brain damage.