endlessairship | body swap room (sfw)

*while walking back to her cabin, melody spots a door partly opened, with no one to be heard inside. was this a new room, or had alluka simply forgotten to label it? in any case, she's curious enough to slip inside, finding it to contain spacious ballet studio with mirrors along the walls. there's no apparent effect to accompany it, so melody takes her time wandering through it, drifting a hand over one of the wooden bars.*

Current Mood: curious

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

biscuit_krueger

Bisky hums to herself, wondering what she could do to occupy her time. Having spent the last few days tucked away in her room have left her bored.

Her eyes glazed over the windows of the ship, watching the clouds flat lazily by. Out of the corner of her eye she catches a familiar figure. Melody?

The woman doesn’t hear her as she enters a unlabeled door. “Did she find something new?” She wonders. She runs over, not hesitating when entering the room. Melody? You in here?

From:

enchanting_melody

*melody turns around when she hears bisky approaching from outside the room, lifting her hand in a friendly wave. she opens her mouth to call back to her as she steps through the door, but in an instant she finds herself back on the threshold, right where she'd seen bisky standing moments before. if the sudden teleportation isn't alarming enough, she feels as if a pair of silencing muffs have been slid over her ears, deafening the sound of the door slamming behind her and trapping them both inside. alarmed, she reaches up to her ears and finds her fingers twisting around two long, curly pigtails of golden blond hair. with a gasp she looks up to see herself staring back at her from across the room, confirming what she's already deduced. she and bisky haven't just swapped places -- they've swapped bodies!

From:

biscuit_krueger

Bisky blinked. Her stomach turning as if she had been put in the spin cycle of a washing machine. Why was she looking at herself? Wasn’t she looking at melody a moment ago?

Her senses started to feel bombarded. Her ears like all the sounds in the room had been dialed to twelve. Breathing, heart beats, blood flowing. She pressed her hands to her ears to try and stop it. Her heartbeat speeding up as her fingers felt skin on her head rather than hair.

It took less than a second after did she realize, she wasn’t in her own body. What..

From:

enchanting_melody

*melody drops the locks of hair in her hands, rushing forward toward her friend with worried hands outstretched.*

oh, dear--

*bisky, wearing her own visage, looks positively distressed, no doubt experiencing an onslaught of sound through melody's keen ears. she reaches out to hold her hands over her own ears, over her own hands, hoping to quell the noise. she keeps her voice to a whisper, barely audible to her current, dulled senses.

are you alright? i'm so sorry, it must be so overwhelming for you!

From:

biscuit_krueger

Bisky stared back at herself, rather, melody in her body, with wide confused eyes. Even with two pairs of hands over her ears, she could still hear her speakin.

Is this..how you live? Speaking made her wince. Unsure of the true volume she spoke. To her a quiet normal tone almost seemed like shouting.

How do you handle hearing…everything?

From:

enchanting_melody

*melody smiles sympathetically, keeping her voice to a calm whisper as he guides bisky through it.*

i've had a lot of practice. try to focus on a single sound -- your heartbeat, or mine -- it'll help drown everything else out.

From:

biscuit_krueger

Bisky nods. Starting by trying to slow her breathing. “Right..focus..”

She tried to tune out the rest. Focusing on the rapid heartbeat in her chest. As her heart rate slowed, her hearing seemed to focus.

It was far from perfect. She could still hear everything. Two sets of heartbeats, their breathing, even the electrical hum of the lights. But it was enough to keep from being deafening.

I knew you said your hearing was good…but I never imagined anything like this. She said softly, holding awe in her tone. She thought her training and maintaining her petite form were stressful. But to hear so much at once, she felt it would drive her mad.

From:

enchanting_melody

*melody breathes deeply along with bisky, trying to minimize the overlap of noises in the room. she can imagine the sound of her heartbeat slowing along with it, so used to hearing it all the time that she's intimately familiar with its behavior, but no sound reaches her ears at all. it's so unnerving that as soon as bisky has calmed down, she removes her hands from bisky's ears and clutches them to the heart in her chest instead to be sure it's still beating. it may not exactly be hers, but while it resides within her she'll take good care of it.*

it really is exceptional... *she murmurs sheepishly, not sure if she should feel proud of her talent or simply apologetic.* i can hear heartbeats from miles away.

From:

biscuit_krueger

Bisky finally cracks a smile. You certainly make the best of it.

Bisky slowly moves her hands from her ears. Trying to keep her focus on just her heartbeat. But the other sounds were still too obvious.

Does it feel different being in my body? If your hearing is like this, my ears must be deaf to you.

From:

enchanting_melody

*glad that bisky seems to be truly calming down now, melody smiles in return, feeling like she's looking into a mirror.*

it's like i'm wearing earplugs. *she chuckles, even the sound of her own laughter dull to her.* it's pretty strange, i'm not sure if i should feel calmed or alarmed. i've gotten so used to hearing everything all of the time...

From:

biscuit_krueger

Did you never miss times when you didn’t hear everything? Bisky asks curiously. To be able to sit and not hear everything around you?

Actually, I suppose that’s a silly question. You are able to control it. Your hearing is probably more resourceful than any form of En.

From:

enchanting_melody

well, my hearing isn't controlled by nen, just part of what i was cursed with... and yes, i'd happily give it up to return to the way things were. it is quite useful, though.

*he looks down at one of bisky's dainty little gloved hands, marveling at their size compared to her "true" form she recently got to meet.*

how about you? how do you maintain this form?

From:

biscuit_krueger

Well..I suppose the best way to describe could be like constantly tensing a muscle. As you know I can’t revert to that form by myself. Bisky explains.

When I relax I go back to being tall and muscular. If I was to be knocked completely unconscious, I would change back. Otherwise I can hold my petite form even in my sleep. She scratches her cheek lightly. Of course I need help from cookie to keep my stamina up.

When this ability to change back and forth started to manifest, I was excited! She winced as her tone rose in excitement a moment. Her new sensitive ears rang with pain, forcing her to lower her volume.

But to be completely honest, I’m not certain how it manifested. All that..body mass is still there. It doesn’t just go away. I’ve always assumed it had to due with my nen being that of a transmuter.

From:

enchanting_melody

*melody marvels at the explanation, even more impressed by bisky's power now that she's experiencing it firsthand. she can feel the tension inherent in all the muscles of bisky's body as she inhabits it, their memory keeping her tied to this smaller form even with a different consciousness inside.*

i'll be careful not to relax too much... and keep my voice down for you, too.

*she glances over her shoulder, down to the door behind them.*

it seems the door shut when we came in... do you think we're stuck here?

From:

biscuit_krueger

Bisky shrugged with a small frown. Possibiy. Wouldn’t be the first time. I think this place likes to try to keep me you together. She giggles.

That being said…I’m not sure what this one would be trying to accomplish. Before it was trying to make us more comfortable with our own bodies.

From:

enchanting_melody

*melody giggles along with bisky, remembering the last room they'd been trapped in and how fun it had turned out to be.*

that's true. i think we understand each other pretty well already. but it is intriguing to experience the world from your perspective...

*she looks into the omnipresent mirror, tucking some of bisky's silky, golden hair behind her ear and missing, with a squeeze of her heart, when she still had her own bangs to brush. she gives a melancholy chuckle.*

you really are exceptionally cute.

From:

biscuit_krueger

Bisky watched melody look in the mirror. She half chuckled at the compliment. No more so than you.

She looked at the mirror herself. She brushed her fingers through the dark chocolate locks. She felt strange being able to hear the friction of her fingers.

This does give an interesting perspective. It feels strange in your body, but Nice. Like your soothing presence seems to run in your veins. I feel relaxed, despite hearing so much.

From:

enchanting_melody

*melody gives a more lighthearted giggle a the compliment, smiling back at her own face.* thank you. i do feel that i have a very calming aura...

*even without using ren, she can feel the simmering strength of bisky's aura cloaking her body like a warm sweater.*

yours is so powerful.

From:

biscuit_krueger

Bisky blushes with a sigh. More years of training and study than I care to admit.

In comparison yours feels so young and lively. She wraps her arms around herself in a self embrace.

She looks at melody. You should savor your youth.

From:

enchanting_melody

you must be the first person to call me young. ever since i was cursed, people have treated me like an old hag! *she laughs, resigned to her fate by now and able to see the sad humor in it. she looks down again, from the poofy skirt around her waist to the reflection of it in the glass.*

how old... are you, may i ask?

From:

biscuit_krueger

Well, it’s a little funny that you say that. It’s exactly what Killua calls me. An old hag. Bisky sighs.

I first learned nen over forty years ago. I’m actually fifty seven. She answers. She looks at melody.

How old did you think I was?

From:

enchanting_melody

well, i could tell from the moment i met you that you weren't a child. you hear enough heartbeats and you can tell a person's age, sex, disposition and more just from their tone or tempo... i had guessed you were over thirty just from that, but over fifty is even more impressive.

*she lays her hand over bisky's heart, feeling it beat powerfully under her palm even if she can't hear it.*

even condensed into a smaller form, your heart is very strong and healthy. you're still very much in your prime.

From:

biscuit_krueger

From my heartbeat? Bisky raises a brow and frowns slightly. Can you tell that much just from hearing it?

She tries to focus on the sounds around her. She strains at her new heightened heating. Trying to focus on the heart beat of her regular body.

She hears it thumping more clearly, but the heart of her current body sounds in the way. She stands closer, trying to listen, her ear nearly against melodys chest. She slowly starts to hear the rushing of blood. It sounds like a torrent of water, but the heartbeat was calm. She could hear each chamber working in rhythm.

Nothing sounds..particularly defining to me.. She mutters in confusion.

From:

enchanting_melody

*the sight of her own head leaning in toward her chest is so novel that melody can't help but giggle. she clearly hasn't learned to focus her hearing the way melody can when she's in control of her ears.*

i suppose it takes practice. you haven't been in my body long -- you don't know what to listen for yet. but i assure you, a heart can tell all sorts of secrets.