Kitchen, 33 Apocalypse Ave., Saturday Morning

[bitten_notshy]

There were certain advantages to having been on the island for most of three years.

For example, when one woke up and saw a woman looking back from the mirror over one's dresser, the experienced male Fandomite who'd been through this twice before did not shriek -- or at least, he didn't if he was Jack.

Instead, Jack permitted himself one streak of swearing, then took a picture of his new ... assets to send to Emma to tease her. Then he pulled on a t-shirt and yoga pants Emma had forgotten when she moved back to school, twisted his hair into a knot, and padded into a kitchen to start the pot of coffee.

He wondered if he ought to wake Kaidan and Ronan to warn them, but decided against it. A sudden switch in genders was really the sort of thing you had to discover on your own.

[OOC: Open for housemates or visitors! Possible SP due to usual weekend nonsense.]

Comments

[not_a_whiner]

"Yeah."

Kaidan held still. Very, very still.

"A lot of biotics-- is about tiny muscle motions," he said carefully. "And right now my muscles aren't where they're supposed to be. It's causing a short in the system. So to speak."

[bitten_notshy]

"So you're fragile," Jack guessed. "That's -- the island clearly did not have you in mind when it did this to us."

[not_a_whiner]

"If I accidentally levitate you up to the ceiling today," Kaidan said, "It's not personal. Sorry."

He took a very careful step.

"...I might've rearranged a few things upstairs. Accidentally."

[bitten_notshy]

"Accidentally," Jack echoed. That was a bit troubling, when you were barely five feet tall and perhaps a hundred pounds in clothes. Werewolf strength didn't help with that.

"You'll forgive me if I keep my distance until this wears off," he said. "I don't think I'd like accidental flight."

[not_a_whiner]

"It's fine," Kaidan said. "I think I'll just grab breakfast and head back upstairs-- the less I move, the better."

He tugged on his shirt. "Any idea when this is going to wear off?"

[bitten_notshy]

"Either tomorrow or Monday morning," Jack told him. "It had better, anyhow. I can't go to class like this."

He frowned. "Will you be all right if it's a day or two?"

[not_a_whiner]

"I'll figure something out," Kaidan said. He ran a careful hand over his arm - then jerked it away as the familiar sensation of static shock struck home. "Might take some time, but I worked it out the first time, too."

[bitten_notshy]

Jack nodded carefully. "All right. If you want me to bring you things in bed, I can."

He'd just dart in and out of the room quickly.

[not_a_whiner]

"Uh. Thanks."

Yeaaah.

"But, uh... that won't be necessary. I'll just grab what I need right now."

Or he would, if his next gesture hadn't sent a pepper shaker floating in mid-air.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack eyed Kaidan, then deliberately reached up to try to retrieve the pepper shaker.

"Let me get some of it, at least," he said, in a way that was ... a bit firmer than an offer of help.

It was that or suggest Kaidan spend the weekend in a tent in the yard, and he was fairly certain that would not go over well.

[not_a_whiner]

Maybe not as bad as he thought. Kaidan still had vivid memories of what had happened last time he'd lost control of his powers, and that had been a very deliberate application of strength to begin with.

"...I just need some food for the weekend," he said finally. "2600 calories a day. Give or take."

[bitten_notshy]

"I don't suppose you want to take it in granola bars and raisins, but that's what I know we have that will keep." He looked over apologetically. "Ronan would have a better idea."

[not_a_whiner]

"Don't mind granola bars," Kaidan said quickly. "Actually, I have some Alliance rations upstairs - not the most tasty stuff, but it'll work."

[bitten_notshy]

"It's only two days," Jack said. "You can eat anything for two days."

He'd traveled a lot with a vampire before refrigeration was common. He knew this for a fact.

He put the pepper shaker down, hoisted himself onto a counter to rummage through the cabinet with the granola bars.

[not_a_whiner]

"Could you--"

Kaidan wasn't fond of this thing where he couldn't actually do half this stuff for himself. He'd worked long and hard for a long time to make sure that would never be an issue.

"--get me some kind of bottle?" he added. "For water."

[bitten_notshy]

"I can do better than that and fill up a couple bottles for you," Jack said with his head still in the cupboard, as if it were no bother. He could tell this wasn't easy for Kaidan, and he was going to try to make it more so by being as matter-of-fact as he could manage.

He hopped down from the counter. "I found some nuts in there, too."

[not_a_whiner]

"That'll break the monotony of ration bars," Kaidan said.

He - very carefully - leaned back against the wall. "At least back when I was a kid, my biotics weren't this strong," he said, after a moment or so. "The worst that could happen was me tripping myself up. And getting a nosebleed."

[bitten_notshy]

"And the migraines," Jack said, shaking his head. "I don't envy you. The worst I had getting used to mine was that crowds made me dizzy for a bit. Too loud, too many scents."

He glanced around the kitchen for something to put the nuts, granola bars and bottles of water in, settling on a discarded Turtle & Canary bag.

[not_a_whiner]

Kaidan shrugged gently. "It's a trade-off," he said. "I used to be bitter about it, but... it felt like a waste of energy, you know?"

[bitten_notshy]

Jack tilted his head. "I know," he said. "I never put it in those words, but that's what it is. Wasted energy. Better to just move on."

It wasn't repression; it was a philosophical choice.

[not_a_whiner]

"Find ways to make yourself useful," Kaidan said. He glanced up at the ceiling. "Or... at least find a way to enjoy life, I guess. Not everyone opts for service. But it's better than wasting your days sitting on the couch in your pajamas taking red sand."

[bitten_notshy]

"Or drinking yourself blind," Jack said. It wasn't precisely hard to guess red sand was some kind of narcotic.

He headed toward the staircase. "But for the weekend, trying not to levitate anything you don't want to might be enough of an accomplishment."

[not_a_whiner]

Kaidan chuckled softly, and then followed, taking care with every step. "Yeah," he said. "I'll... see if I can remember some of the things I learned... when I was getting a handle on this. Not that I think I'm going to make things work before the end of the weekend, if that's how long this lasts."