[ if he canāt trigger any powers this way, wellā at least he can try and trigger memories in the comfort of his own home. even after elliotās magic food was eaten, he was healing up pretty fast. he doesnāt bite hard enough to trigger anything, or bleed all over himself, heās more going through the motions (and getting awfully used to it). one more time, he looks at his other hand for a spot that wasnāt bitten, looking down and taking in a focused breath. matt could hear it, as low and quiet as he speaks. ]
Weāll take back Wall Maria.
[ and then, chomp he goes, but at the exact same moment, the door knocks. titan immediately trots over with an anticipated growl, only to quiet down when he begins sniffing under the door.
must be someone he knows. waving his hands against his sides to get rid of the marks somehow (it wonāt); he pulls his long sleeves down over his hands as he reaches the door, looks into the door viewer to see who it wasā oh.
he opens up pretty quickly after, and titan, as told, stays seated and only watches. ]
Hey, Matt. [ heās looking better, unlike when he first got that sensitivity . . . ] ā Wanna come in?
[ the doorās open and he steps aside, but one thing matt would notice right off the bat, a soccer game on tv aside: his heartbeat is nervous and quick, even if he doesnāt seem deathly nervous outwardly. ]
[ Matt's concern grows as he listens to Eren's pulse pick up speed. He tries not to look worried as he smiles, stepping inside and allowing Titan to sniff his hand. ]
Hi Eren. I was just passing down the hall...
[ How in the world does he put this delicately? It's such an odd conversation. ]
I uh. Well as you know I have that uh new ability that was giving me headache last month. I couldn't help but notice...
[ He pauses, distracted. Something is different about Eren. Is he wearing new clothes or...? Matt sniffs the air. ]
...Did something change about you since the last time we talked?
[ as matt talks, eren listens and closes the door behind them. the question has him looking confused, but he smiles it off awkwardly. ]
. . . I donāt think so?
[ there has been that weirdo fever, if he could even call that a fever, but the rest . . . huh. nothing that couldnāt fit out of the ordinary. now that mattās mentioned it, er . . . ]
Huh. It could be something else... [ He's pretty sure that the new scent is coming from Eren though. Something fresh and light somewhat like vanilla or a very tame citrus. He can't quite place it. ]
Um. I was- As I was saying I was passing by and my senses picked up an... impression. I was concerned you were m- maybe biting your arm. Hard.
[ erenās expression immediately widens, his heart skipping a beat and his stomach dropping. what does he even . . . say. about this. great. lie and be known as a liar or tell the truth and look weirder? after a minute, eren looks away, sighing quietly to himself. ]
. . . Lookā donāt jump to conclusions, but, [ a pause, and once he swallows, and lifts his sleeve. thereās surely the marks of his teeth there over the side of his palm, but not enough to draw blood this time around. ] I know what Iām doing.
[ Matt lifts a hand. He doesn't touch Eren's skin, already suspecting he'd feel bite marks on it. Instead he sweeps his hand in the air next to Eren's arm. Definitely a temperature difference, signs of heat the skin's reaction to injury, and it covers more than the area for a single bite. ]
I can understand feeling eager to find out more about what kind of power the Other You had.
[ It would have come in handy and saved him from that headache possibly. ]
Give your arms a break though. You'll have bruises all over them if you keep biting yourself like that and if you do it much harder you'll break the skin. I don't have to see the bite marks to know your arms are likely red and a bit swollen already. There are other ways to trigger memories. Whatever power you're trying to find out more about had to have been associated with more than biting yourself.
[ well damn matt you might as well not be legally blind. theyāre red, and marked wherever his teeth sank earlier, and to that, eren rolls his sleeves right over his hand. ]
I know itās one thing I need, I dunno about the rest. I even repeated what I was thinking, then.
I'd focus on the thought instead of the biting for now. Besides you might need your arms to use whatever this power is you're expecting so it's best you avoid chewing them off in anticipation.
[ He tilts his head the smallest bit and gives a wry little smile. ]
If it helps settle some of your impatience, I think there are changes already in motion. Your scent has changed. It's... Less musky and more like... [ Less like an adult's body odor and more like a... ] The way an infant smells.
[ That kind of comment must really pump up that feeling of masculine pride you have right Eren? ]
[ Is that a bad thing? Matt isn't sure. Baby scent is generally loved but never applied to adults. He raises a hand to his chin, inhaling and double checking his conclusion. Yes. ]
Well... It is an accurate description. Your body chemistry must have changed.
[ baby scent is loved on babies. eren even tries to smell himself, like, smell his hands at leastā but it doesnāt smell like baby!! it smells normal!! and maybe a little more fresh! ]
Do you notice anything else?
[ because obviously, erenās senses or not up to par. ]
[ Yeah fresh like a baby. Matt tips his head and focuses on him. ]
No, you seem to be as healthy as usual. Maybe a little warmer but it's hard to say. Just that change can be smelled off your skin or sweat. It's nothing bad, it will likely make sense later.
[ he wants to groan at that. ālaterā. but he wants to make sense of it now. but, eren says nothing along those lines out loud, and for now just frowns at his hands. ]
I don't know why he had these powers but I have made some serious strides learning what they entail. There isn't an off switch for these senses, except of course whatever took away our taste, so I learn new things as I encounter them just by going through my day. I notice things I never would have thought of about places and things... and people.
[ Well Eren did just witness that firsthand. ]
I just discovered I can tell by smell when food has gone bad even when it isn't showing visible signs or giving off a strong unpleasant odor. Comes in handy while we don't have our full range of taste.
It's that or end up with another headache. I hope nobody else ends up in the same position with no idea how to handle their new ability so it causes pain to themselves or others. Knowing how these things work there's a high risk it will happen.
[ might be easier said than done, but itās what was necessary to do. ]
Once I know what it is, Iāll hammer everything down in a snap. [ and, as a self reminder that makes him go quiet: ] We donāt . . . have to handle these alone.
Thankfully not. I was lucky Mary was around to help me, and all the people on the network that responded goes to show there are a number of generous people on the app who will try their best. Your help really did make a difference.
[ hah. he gives a smile at that and rubs his neck. ]
That was all Mom, I just passed it on. [ his mother adored helping peopleā thatās why she was a nurse, and itās rubbed off on eren pretty violently. ] I donāt hang much on the network, but. Thatās obvious enough.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Weāll take back Wall Maria.
[ and then, chomp he goes, but at the exact same moment, the door knocks. titan immediately trots over with an anticipated growl, only to quiet down when he begins sniffing under the door.
must be someone he knows. waving his hands against his sides to get rid of the marks somehow (it wonāt); he pulls his long sleeves down over his hands as he reaches the door, looks into the door viewer to see who it wasā oh.
he opens up pretty quickly after, and titan, as told, stays seated and only watches. ]
Hey, Matt. [ heās looking better, unlike when he first got that sensitivity . . . ] ā Wanna come in?
[ the doorās open and he steps aside, but one thing matt would notice right off the bat, a soccer game on tv aside: his heartbeat is nervous and quick, even if he doesnāt seem deathly nervous outwardly. ]
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Hi Eren. I was just passing down the hall...
[ How in the world does he put this delicately? It's such an odd conversation. ]
I uh. Well as you know I have that uh new ability that was giving me headache last month. I couldn't help but notice...
[ He pauses, distracted. Something is different about Eren. Is he wearing new clothes or...? Matt sniffs the air. ]
...Did something change about you since the last time we talked?
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. . . I donāt think so?
[ there has been that weirdo fever, if he could even call that a fever, but the rest . . . huh. nothing that couldnāt fit out of the ordinary. now that mattās mentioned it, er . . . ]
Whatās up?
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Um. I was- As I was saying I was passing by and my senses picked up an... impression. I was concerned you were m- maybe biting your arm. Hard.
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. . . Lookā donāt jump to conclusions, but, [ a pause, and once he swallows, and lifts his sleeve. thereās surely the marks of his teeth there over the side of his palm, but not enough to draw blood this time around. ] I know what Iām doing.
[ HES NOT. CRAZY. maybe like a little bit but ]
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[ Matt lifts a hand. He doesn't touch Eren's skin, already suspecting he'd feel bite marks on it. Instead he sweeps his hand in the air next to Eren's arm. Definitely a temperature difference, signs of heat the skin's reaction to injury, and it covers more than the area for a single bite. ]
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I was trying to get back more memories. Thereās a power that has to do with it.
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[ That's a reasonable explanation. There's a reason Matt had gone running across rooftops after he realized he had the skill. ]
What type of power?
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[ he has yet to see that and spit out his morning milk . . . ]
Thatās why I was trying to get more, but . . . Itās pretty random for them to come around.
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[ It would have come in handy and saved him from that headache possibly. ]
Give your arms a break though. You'll have bruises all over them if you keep biting yourself like that and if you do it much harder you'll break the skin. I don't have to see the bite marks to know your arms are likely red and a bit swollen already. There are other ways to trigger memories. Whatever power you're trying to find out more about had to have been associated with more than biting yourself.
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I know itās one thing I need, I dunno about the rest. I even repeated what I was thinking, then.
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[ He tilts his head the smallest bit and gives a wry little smile. ]
If it helps settle some of your impatience, I think there are changes already in motion. Your scent has changed. It's... Less musky and more like... [ Less like an adult's body odor and more like a... ] The way an infant smells.
[ That kind of comment must really pump up that feeling of masculine pride you have right Eren? ]
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he canāt believe you ]
Youāre saying I smell like a baby?
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Well... It is an accurate description. Your body chemistry must have changed.
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Do you notice anything else?
[ because obviously, erenās senses or not up to par. ]
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No, you seem to be as healthy as usual. Maybe a little warmer but it's hard to say. Just that change can be smelled off your skin or sweat. It's nothing bad, it will likely make sense later.
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How much sense have you made with your things?
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[ Well Eren did just witness that firsthand. ]
I just discovered I can tell by smell when food has gone bad even when it isn't showing visible signs or giving off a strong unpleasant odor. Comes in handy while we don't have our full range of taste.
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Sounds like you can get a good handle without your memories.
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[ might be easier said than done, but itās what was necessary to do. ]
Once I know what it is, Iāll hammer everything down in a snap. [ and, as a self reminder that makes him go quiet: ] We donāt . . . have to handle these alone.
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Thankfully not. I was lucky Mary was around to help me, and all the people on the network that responded goes to show there are a number of generous people on the app who will try their best. Your help really did make a difference.
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That was all Mom, I just passed it on. [ his mother adored helping peopleā thatās why she was a nurse, and itās rubbed off on eren pretty violently. ] I donāt hang much on the network, but. Thatās obvious enough.