13033/The Truth About Birds on Earth

The Truth About Birds on Earth
Date of Scene:	10 October 2022
Location:	E05 - Kian's Dorm - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Kían lets the bird out of the bag regarding the Secret Origin of the Birdfolk.  Gar and Terry have ideas.  Some of them might even be sensible.
Cast of Characters:	Kian, Terry O'Neil, Gar Logan

---

Kian has posed:
    Kían has always been known as the studious sort.  For example, if anyone should choose right now to visit his room in the Titans Tower, they shouldn't be surprised to see paper all over his desk, with his "chicken scratchings" all over them.
    And indeed those papers are there, and a quill with a not-coincidental match to his own plumage.
    Kían himself, however, is not at the desk.
    Kían is on his bed propped up by way too many pillows, gazing out the window at the light-polluted night over the bay.
    If there's a plus side, there are no chocolate wrappers or empty booze bottles.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Vorpal Rabbit holes into Kian's room.  There are no modesty considerations between them, after all, and sometimes he enjoys surprising the little bird-man.
    Such as now.
    "Kian!  You'll never guess!" the cat says, brandishing a small package with a little figurine contained inside.  "They've finally released it—the rare collectible edition.  I had to go to their offices to get a copy because they've flown off the shelves… hehehe, pun intended."
    The cat grins and presents the present.  "Behold!"
    It's a Funko Pop.  Of Kian.  This one is different from the one out in circulation, though—this one is made of some semi-transparent plastic in light blue.  "And look!"  He presses a button on the base and a little light comes on under Kian, making it look as if he's glowing.  "Isn't it adorabl—"
    He pauses, noticing the bird-man's pose and his general air de malaise, and pauses.
    "Uh… everything okay?"

Gar Logan has posed:
    The door swings open, with Gar in the space created.  He wears an excited expression to go along with his regular clothing, and in one hand is a small package with the very same figurine within.
    "Kian!  You'll never guess!  They've finally—"
    Vorpal's already there… doing exactly what he was about to do.  "Uh, rewind like seven seconds."  He waves a hand, Jedi style.  "You saw nothing."
    Disappearing back into the hallway, he returns the Funko to his room, trotting back over afterward to enter again, wiping his hands a few times.  "Soooo, what's new?  Why the long face?" he asks, suddenly squeezing into the room as a horse.

Kian has posed:
    "I think so," Kían says, not getting up from his bed.  "I just have a lot of things on my mind.  My viceroy gave me a new task and—"
    Kían sits up, and glances over towards Terry, and his gaze lands on the Funko Pop.  Both of them.  Even if one of them goes away quickly.  "I… that… my head is too large and my body is too small and… and… and… and Gods but you two are too confusing.  But no one asked me if they could do that to me.  Or are Earth rules about one's self and one's appearance different?"
    He stares at the deformed doll Vorpal holds.  "I am going to assume they make those about all the Titans…."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "Yyyyyyyyyes.  Everybody has one," Vorpal admits rather reluctantly.  "Gar's got like three uniform variants.  They've only made one of me," he adds, a little peevish.  "But they're cute.  You don't think it's cute?  It's like a little cartoon of you…."
    He glances over to Gar, and back at Kian.
    "So this task… how bad is it that it's got your feathers in a twist?"

Gar Logan has posed:
    The green horse prances his way in, passing Vorpal to give a light little nip at his hair before resting his muzzle along the cat's shoulder.  "Oh, for sure.  That's part of our marketing agreement.  They're working on a couple more for me right now, and some animal variants too!"
    A quick morph back to normal, leaving Gar's arm across Vorpal's shoulder instead, and he looks between the two.  "But yeah, what's the word, bird?  You been writing?  You look like you've got a lot going on in that egg of yours."  He indicates the Akiar's noggin.

Kian has posed:
    "It doesn't really look like me," Kían complains.  "It's deformed."  It has to say something about Kían's state of mind that a green horse coming into his room simply doesn't faze him anymore.
    "As for my state of mind, it's… hard to explain.  So, uh, I got a call from Ría q'San while I was out flying.  You, uh, you remember her, she's the viceroy of Kyshán.  I, we had a call from her the first time we were on my world.  I, it, she, we, uh… okay, you remember that day that Cait and I took off in a clan flyer that I borrowed?  Or maybe you don't.  I don't know, there was a lot going on.  Anyway, she, uh, she discovered something about us.  I mean, about the Akiár.  And about Earth.  And, and, and, and… nnh."
    He fixes Terry with a look.  "I need three more impossible things before I can have breakfast," he says, just a bit petulantly.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Leaning into Gar, the Cheshire cat raises an eyebrow at the discombobulated bird.  "I seem to remember something of the sort.  It was hard to keep track, Nick was losing items of clothing like he was crowd-surfing on a sea of groupies.  But…." he glances at Gar.  He realizes he will only waste time explaining to Kian about some of the things that humans find cute.
    "What is it about this task that has you so on edge?"

Gar Logan has posed:
    "IIIII was talking with Kala.  About qihar strategy.  And stuff."  Gar's answer is somewhat evasive, even if they've accepted his embracing, to an extent, of the Akiar mentality when it comes to others.  He always comes back to the ones who matter most.
    A shake of his head sends his hair flopping about briefly, and he hip-bumps Vorpal just once.  "Viceroy, call, flyer, yadda yadda yadda.  Did she figure out Earth is weird, too?" he wonders, not taking this perhaps as seriously as Kian is.  "Three more impossible things?"

Kian has posed:
    "Six impossible things before breakfast," Kían says, completely seriously.  "So, uh.  I guess I have to back up to the visit Cait and I went on to meet Zóras k'syr, who's the researcher I worked with most before… before I came to Earth.  And she kind of answered a question that no one had asked her."
    Kían sighs.  "I don't remember how much of my people's legends I've told you.  But, uh, but, uh, but she kind of proved our creation myth.  Or provided evidence for it, or, uh, ai, qokh."
    He sighs again, even more heavily.  "So yeah, if they weren't convinced I was a rhyták already, they are now.  Because thanks to me, via Cait, we have evidence for our oldest legend."
    Third sigh, even more heavy.  "And that isn't even the impossible part."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Vorpal glances at Gar, "Yep, it's just like Cait to go poking her nose in on mysteries.  I still hold that she got the wrong name and her real name should be Velma, but…."
    He turns back to Kian.  He got the Wonderland reference, alright.  "What exactly did Caitlin prove?  That your people hatched from the egg of a cosmic bird or something like that?  Hon, you have to stop putting me in suspense like this-"

Gar Logan has posed:
    Gar Logan raises a brow, listening to this before he rubs the back of his head in thought.  That's one of his tells.  Vorpal knows it well.
    "I mean, I've felt like something was a little familiar once or twice, but… I dunno."  He gestures with his palms up, shaking his head now.  "You've shared a few stories, but I don't think you've really gone deeply into the history and all that.  So, come on.  Spill.  What'd you guys find out?"

Kian has posed:
    Kían does his best to try to sort out his thoughts.  "So, our creation legend is that our original ancestors were chosen by the Gods and brought to the homeworld, and given the ki'thar and kan'thar, the mindtouch and wings."
    He keeps staring out the window.  "So apparently she found where our ancestors were taken from.  We're from Earth.  Our genetics matches an extinct Earth race called… Neander-tal-ensis?  But yeah.  Cait seems to have discovered where we came from.  Here."
    Kían lets out a huff.  "I can't call Earth weird anymore, can I?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Vorpal blinks a few times, and then looks at Gar once more.  Then back to Kian.
    "…come again?" he says.  He heard it.  It's just something one says, in these situations.  "Wait.  Wait.  Wait.  So your people are of Earth stock?  Wait.  Wait.  Wait.  This is huge… so…."
    He hisses, "Oh damnit, I wish I were still working at the Planet because these news are huge.  The Neanderthals didn't go extinct, they merely got…"  Extrapolation time.  "Taken to another planet, were given wings and telepathy, and became extremely hot bird-people?"
    Focus, Terry.  "But what's so terrible about that?  You can't think Earth is that bad or else you wouldn't have two Earth boyfriends now, can you?"  He smirks.

Gar Logan has posed:
    Gar Logan takes this news… remarkably well, in the sense he doesn't pull a Kian and faint on the spot.  He'll have to find out if that happened when Kian learned of this.  Gar does carry a mixture of expressions that suggest that, truly, part of him isn't that surprised, but at the same time he is quite clear in recognizing this is a Significant Thing.
    "Uh, that would have to mean that, you know, a super-long time ago, someone came to this planet and… took people off to do that stuff.  However it happened.  Right?"  He's pushed away from Vorpal to pace the room, and all he's lacking is a coat and hat to pull off a green Sherlock Holmes look.  "This just makes it more weird.  What if we could find the area they were taken from?  What if your… gods, I guess?  What if they left some sort of trace behind?  Did you figure out if you even existed at all before this?"

Kian has posed:
    "It's not terrible," Kían says, "except that it's going to cement my status as a rhyták.  Why else send me to this world if I wasn't supposed to bring back proof of our creation legend, right?"
    Well, okay, maybe his tone gets a bit sharp there.  Clearly he's not happy about the implications.
    "I guess maybe that's why Gar was able to turn into my kind, since we're Earth creatures if you go back far enough.  I wonder how many of the animals on my world are Earth-derived, too…."
    Finally, he sits up on the edge of his bed.  "That's not the impossible part.  I said I got a call from Ría q'San.  Somehow she heard about what Cait told us already.  And she wants me to find out who collected us from Earth's past.  And why."
    Huff.
    "Those are the impossible parts," he explains.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "Kian.  Love."  The Cheshire shakes his head.  "You want impossible things?  We can do impossible things.  Look, if we have to find out what happened a crazy amount of time ago regarding some space aliens who visited Earth?  Well, I happen to know an ancient alien."
    He snaps his fingers.  "We can ask the Martian Manhunter himself if he'd be willing to help us in the investigation.  Who knows what resources he may have at his disposal?  And I don't know how far back the Martian records go?"  He pauses, and frowns.  "Granted… he can't go back to Mars for… reasons.  But he's a resource.  What do you think?"
    And then, he strokes his chin.  "…and then, there is Colette, too…."

Gar Logan has posed:
    "Whoa, whoa, whoa!  Time out, guys!  Time out!"  Gar passes by both Kian and Vorpal, using his hands to make the sign of a 'T' right in front of both of them.  "Follow me on this for a minute.  Usually when I turn into something, I at least have to study it a bit first and figure out the details so they're right, you know?  When we met Kian, it just sort of felt… like I said, familiar.  Natural.  Now it makes more sense."
    That's not all, as he holds up a finger for SILENCE!  "But what if they sent you out in a ship meant to come back here, one way or another?  That's no coincidence, dude.  It can't be.  It's like something out of the Twilight Zone, or Planet of the Apes, kind of.  Person ends up on another planet, only to find out it's the same one he came from and everything's changed.  Kian, you're that guy."
    He fingersnaps at Vorpal's suggestion and reaches to draw both of them in closer, with himself in the middle.  Edge of the bed.  Cat ears rubbed, bird feathers stroked.  "When we're involved, nothing is impossible.  This is big stuff!"

Kian has posed:
    Kían just kind of stares at Gar.  "That would mean accepting my status as rhyták and I really don't want to do that," he says dubiously.  "I don't know.  Maybe it was that other than Akiár itself, Earth was the nearest inhabited planet.  I mean, it, okay, it makes a lot of sense that we were created from an older species, one without the Gifts.  That matches our legends.  And we have really no meaningful fossil record, not even on the homeworld."
    His frets over the situation of course do not prevent him from leaning into Gar's side.
    "I suppose it can't hurt to talk to them.  I've only met the Martian Manhunter once.  And I still really don't know what Colette is, but she's not a normal human.  I don't think I even know any normal humans.  There aren't any in this building."
    He sighs heavily, stretching out a wing to curl around both Gar and Terry.  "I just don't even know where to start.  We don't have a time machine, and I'm pretty sure if we did, using it would be a bad idea.  They didn't leave any notes on my world beyond a garbled racial memory passed down as a creation myth.  And I'm pretty sure you don't have any records from the Neander-tal-ensis.  Sometimes I wonder what I did to annoy the q'San so much she'd give me these assignments…."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "Oh, Kian, you've met normal humans.  You know my mother," Vorpal observes.  "Colette… is something, herself."  Terry does know some of what Colette is, but it isn't his secret to reveal.  He leans against Gar and hmms.  "Garbled racial memories.  You know, 'tis a pity we are in arrears with Lord Oneiros.  Because we don't have access to what's behind those memories, but I bet he would have record of the dreams of the Neanderthals, which might cast some light, however distorted…."  His mouth twists down.  "Unfortunately, it would not be a good idea to ask him for yet another Favor without having repaid his, so I think either Colette or J'onn J'onzz are our best bet so far."
    He suddenly grins.  "As long as you can keep your eyes on eye level and not at his costume."

Gar Logan has posed:
    Gar Logan goes quiet for a spell after his potential revelation, shrugging at Kian more than anything else.  "If the answers are out there, we'll find them one way or another.  Or… we won't.  But at some point you're probably gonna have to live with the fact you're what they say you are, at least in some way."
    He squints at Vorpal.  "And your mom is not normal."  Quickly, he shifts back to other matters, lest the topic of parents linger too long.
"Anyway, this is big stuff.  We don't have to do anything right this second.  And… no, I don't think we should be bothering that guy or anyone else in his family.  Too soon, dude."  Sliding a glance Vorpal's way at the mention of Martian Manhunter's costume, he notes, "I have one, you know.  Smaller, but I did a Halloween thing once."

Kian has posed:
    "I haven't even learned how to do violence yet!" Kían complains, which is a weird thing to complain about for multiple reasons.  "And I don't want to deal with the dream beings again.  All right.  I think the best thing I can do is in the short term just put it out of my head and see if I can think of a way to raise the subject with Colette the next time she brings me my lessons.  And I need to speak to Cait some more, and learn about this extin… well, transported species of human.  That's probably going to mean getting poked and prodded in a lab some more, isn't it?"
    Gar gets something of a leer.  "I still don't really get this Halloween thing, but if it means you dressing like the Manhunter, I'm for it."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "Alright, then, enough moping.  We have a plan of action, however sketchy.  So now we should go and get some food and then…"  He smiles a little.  "Maybe cuddle for a bit."
    He directs his boyfriends towards the door, now that they had a goal and a purpose.  But there is still something he needs to ask.
    He peers at Gar as they reach the door.
    "Smaller by how much?" he asks, with absolute mischief in his voice.

Gar Logan has posed:
    Gar Logan thwaps both of them, only responding to the last part since it looks like they have tentative plans both short term and shorter.  "He's like a foot taller than me, you dork!  His own costume would never fit me!"

Kian has posed:
    "Hey!  I said a nice thing about you!"  Kían's tone is full of mock grievance as he theatrically rubs the spot that got thwapped.  "At least I didn't tell you to just go without, weird Ear… ai, qokh.  I can't call Earth weird anymore, can I?"
    With a smug little smirk, he remarks, "Unchosen Earther it is, then!"