Stranger in a Strange Land

[Ivrim-Escoriath-Winwall]

Ivrim was exhausted.

He stepped out of the bus station, shielding his eyes with one hand from the sun. He wore a backpack, iPod earphones, and his clothes were rumpled from the long, tedious trip. Normally by car or bus it takes approximately 12 hours to travel from the Washington, D.C. area to Maine. But since Ivrim had been travelling in morph, he had to stop every hour and a half or so, remove his outer clothing, demorph, remorph, put his clothes back on, and get on another bus. Not to mention that with this human morph being so tall, he had been cramped and sore for the majority of the time. He'd been lucky to get a window seat on quite a few of the buses, though. The trip had taken him two days, since he had stopped at a hotel overnight. Already he was having doubts about SPECTER. But whatever his feelings, he was already in and his "death" had already been handled; he had pointedly decided not to ask for details.

Trying to view things more optimistically, he checked the map of Hemington he'd purchased in the bus station, after he had remorphed one last time. The address he'd been given was only a few blocks away, thankfully. Along the way he stopped at a bakery and left with a bag of various pastries: Danishes, turnovers, croissants, eclairs, and even a few doughnuts and cookies. SPECTER had neglected to tell him how many other agents he'd be working with, so he decided to splurge a bit just in case. He was eating a cheese Danish and listening once more to the iPod--an audiobook of The Art of War--when he finally arrived.

The house itself was fairly large, but inconspicuous. Just the kind of place that would blend in fairly easily. The kind of house a group of college students might rent, which he imagined was probably the cover the agents were using. For him, they'd provided an alias along with all kinds of paperwork: fake birth certificate, Social Security card, passport, etc. Notably there was no driver's license, since he'd never bothered to learn. He still wished he could have kept the alias he'd used before when in human morph-- Abram since it soundedly reasonably similar to Ivrim, though he was eventually just called "Abe" by his colleagues. But he supposed the new name, Nicholas Walsh, would have to do.

Of more interest to the Andalite than the house, though, was the yard. Like his old name, he wished he could maintain his old habit of keeping a scoop and only using the house when necessary, but that would very obviously blow their cover. From now on he'd have to live inside. At least humans had the sense to put windows in their homes. When he wasn't sleeping or working, he imagined he'd be spending most of his time in that yard.

Finishing the last of his cheese Danish, Ivrim traipsed up to the door and, after a moment's hesitation, knocked. It was true he technically lived here now, but it still seemed proper to knock.

[Bruno]

After his latest fiasco at the zoo, Bruno had gotten slightly paranoid. Nothing that the casual observer would probably notice, but he noticed it. Every time he went outside, or even past a window, he felt like he was being watched. But he also knew it was just his imagination. If he was really being watched, his watchers would have made a move by now.

Still, when he saw someone walking up their sidewalk and heard them knock on the front door, Bruno hesitated before going to answer it. "Don't make paranoia a habit," he mumbled to himself as he walked to the door. "If you start now, you'll never stop." It also helped that he actually knew that SPECTER was sending a new member this time, so someone unfamiliar was actually expected to be arriving today.

Bruno opened the door and ducked slightly so he could see clearly underneath the door frame. "Hello? Can I help you?" Bruno had subconsciously reverted to the short and simple sentences that he usually used when meeting new people.

[Ivrim-Escoriath-Winwall]

Without thinking, Ivrim took a step backward. His current human morph was tall, but this man was a giant. And, to tell the truth, rather fiercesome looking. It seemed SPECTER had chosen well in recruiting this man; even without the ability to morph Ivrim could see this man knew his way around a fight.

Well, it seems no matter where I go, there will always be someone to dwarf me, the old Andalite mused, and smiled at the titan. "Yes, I've just moved to Hemington. Unless I've gotten lost, this is where I'm supposed to be staying. I'm not sure if they would have informed you I was coming." He held out his free hand, "I'm Nicholas Walsh."

[Bruno]

"I think you got the right place. We were expecting someone new today. Looks like you are him." Bruno gripped the hand that was offered to him and shook it. "I'm Bruno." It wasn't the name his parents had given him, but it was the name he preferred to use. Sebastian Patel just didn't seem like a good fit for a man like himself.

Bruno then let go of the man's hand and stepped to the side so that Nicholas could get through. He took not that there wasn't much luggage. Just a backpack and a bag of some sort with a bakery logo on it. "Is that all you brought?" Bruno hadn't arrived with much himself, but the lack of personal effects still surprised him a little.

[Ivrim-Escoriath-Winwall]

"It's a pleasure, Bruno." Ivrim stepped through the door and gratefully shrugged off the backpack, without bothering to look around at his new home. The Danish had helped him forget, if briefly, how exhausted he was from the travel and constant morphing, but now a wave of fatigue washed over him. All he wanted to do was sleep.

Bruno's question brought him out of his daze. He glanced at the backpack, "Oh, yes. It's a bit of a long story, but I'm not overly concerned with my wardrobe." Offering the bag of pastries towards Bruno, he continued. "You're welcome to one if you'd like." Though the huge man had been expecting someone, Ivrim still wanted to confirm he was in the right place before revealing he was an Andalite. The best hint he could think of was fairly weak, but it would have to do for now. "It took me two days to get here, so I couldn't resist stopping for something to eat. I was feeling like a bit of a specter." He spoke as casually as he could, but watched Bruno's face carefully for any reaction to the word. Over the past few years he'd gotten accustomed to reading human facial expressions, but it was always easier if he watched the eyes.

[Bruno]

Bruno accepted the bag of pastries, then raised an eyebrow. "Like a specter, huh?" That was certainly an odd word choice. But not so odd when considering the reason for using it. You could never be too careful when revealing yourself as one of SPECTER's animorphs. Dropping a subtle hint about the organization was a much better strategy than outright asking if Bruno was an animorph too.

"Well, it is natural for most legally deceased people to feel like a specter." Bruno's comeback wasn't nearly as discrete, but it would probably result in one of two basic effects. If Nicholas understood what Bruno meant, it would mean he was really the new animorph. If Nicholas wasn't the new animorph, it would probably freak him out or something, and Bruno would know he had to kick the guy out of the house.

Bruno really hoped this was the right guy, otherwise he would feel terrible about freaking the guy out.

[Ivrim-Escoriath-Winwall]

Ivrim grinned broadly, glad that it was safe to let the truth out in the open now. He never would have thought he'd be so glad to be reminded he was legally dead. Not that he'd ever expected to be legally, but not actually, dead in the first place. "You've no idea how happy I am to hear that, Bruno."

He paused for just a moment, trying to decide the best way to broach the subject. After his trip, he was no longer in the mood for any mental gymnastics, however. Best to just come right out with it. "You should know, now that we can speak openly, I lied when I told you my name. In fact, I'm morphed at the moment. I'm an Andalite; my name is Ivrim-Escoriath-Winwall. I'm sorry I had to lie to you, but for obvious reasons I couldn't come here in my own body."

[Bruno]

"You're a... a what now?" It was a rhetorical question. Bruno had heard him clearly enough, but he didn't trust that his ears had heard correctly. SPECTER had neglected to mention anything about an andalite and so Bruno had been caught entirely off guard.

Bruno suddenly felt extremely self-conscious about the way he was acting. Even more so than usual. He was representing his species now. Every move he made was reflected in this alien's view of his planet's society. It was a little hard to grasp, mentally.

Bruno made sure the door was closed, then turned back to face Nicholas/Ivrim. "Really, an andalite?" Despite himself, Bruno couldn't help but to express doubts. "I mean, I never would have guessed just by looking at you. You seem so... So normal. So human."

[Ivrim-Escoriath-Winwall]

"Yes, really," he chuckled. "That's probably a good sign. Let's just hope I do as well if we happen upon anyone looking for morphed Andalites. Speaking of which, I should very much like to demorph soon, if you think it would be safe to do so." Ivrim glanced toward the nearest window. "As much as I hate to say it, a room with as little view outside as possible would be best." As much as his inherent claustrophobia required a view of the outside, he wanted even more to be back in his own body. And most of all to be able to sleep soon.

However overtired he was, he still felt he owed Bruno whatever information he needed. Providing that he could remain upright, anyway. Truth be told he had some questions of his own as well. "By the way, if you don't mind my prying, are any of our colleagues here? I'd rather not alarm them if it can be avoided."

[Bruno]

"I think the place with the fewest windows is probably the basement. Or possibly the attic, but there is a low ceiling up there. Unless you wanted to try and squeeze into a closet, but the basement is probably still the best option." Bruno pointed a thumb toward the direction of the basement steps. There wasn't much down there yet besides a couple random boxes of junk.

"As for colleagues, I'm not sure if any of them are still here. They might be at work or running errands somewhere. I can check for you though."

Without waiting for a response, Bruno went near the base of the second floor stairway. Putting a hand up next to his mouth, he called out, "If anyone is here, we have a new guest! I think you'll want to meet him!"

Turning back to the andalite, he gave a half-smile. "That should work."

[Ivrim-Escoriath-Winwall]

Ivrim waited politely for a few moments, listening for any sounds from the rest of the house. When none came, he eyed the stairs with a mixture of dread and relief. Though his balance on two legs was fairly good, he doubted it would ever be as good as a human's. "Well, it seems we are indeed alone. Demorphing should take only about two minutes." As he said it, he realized this human probably morphed more frequently than he did, and would be very familiar with the process. "I apologize if that sounded condescending. I'm not accustomed to being around humans who can morph." He smiled a little, then started down the basement steps, keeping on hand on the handrail the entire time.

When he reached the bottom, he sat down to remove his shoes and socks, then began pulling off his t-shirt and jeans without bothering to check whether Bruno had followed or was even watching. He was, probably much to Bruno's relief, wearing a morphing suit consisting of a tight t-shirt and bike shorts underneath. He didn't bother to stand back up to demorph; once the clothes were off, a pair of eye-stalks immediately sprouted from the top of his head. The shape of his main eyes shifted slightly and the blue changed to his usual green-gold eye color. His feet hardened into hooves, while his hands shifted to the more delicate Andalite shape. As Ivrim had said, the change took only about two minutes total.

No longer having to focus on demorphing, the Andalite was now free to remember where he was. He had to remind himself that he was in a safe place, that he could easily get up the stairs and into the backyard if he had to. His hearts slowed slightly, but of course he'd never be completely comfortable in a little underground, windowless room.

<Do I still seem normal?> When all else fails, turn to humor.

[Bruno]

Bruno started to follow Ivrim to the basement, but along the way he realized it might be impolite. He didn't know this guy too well yet. Maybe he was shy, or maybe it was considered rude to watch an andalite demorph. SPECTER hadn't really addressed andalite etiquette when they told him how the process worked.

Bruno waited about halfway up the basement steps, where the ceiling blocked most of the view. After a couple minutes, and when he noticed that Ivrim's feet became hooves, Bruno went down the rest of the way.

And wow, an andalite in real life was nothing compared to the pictures, or even the videos. Four powerful legs, two swiveling eyes, blueish hair, a humanoid face with no mouth, seven-fingered hands. And of course there was the tail. Bruno was in awe, but there was something else too. Something he had rarely felt among fellow humans. A hint of intimidation maybe?

"That... wow. You really are an andalite. Not that I doubted you." Bruno was at a loss for words. Finally he managed to mumble, "Welcome to Earth."

[Ivrim-Escoriath-Winwall]

<Thank you,> Ivrim smiled with his eyes. Now didn't seem the time to correct Bruno on how long he'd been living here. Personal details could come later. <I'm actually quite the fan of your planet. It's why I'm here. Speaking of which, would now be an inconvenient time for you to fill me in on a few more details of your operation here? SPECTER briefed me, of course, but I'd like to hear from you. One gets more information in the trenches, so to speak.>

As he spoke, his stalk-eyes slowly swiveled about keeping an eye on the rest of the room. Not that there was a great deal to look at. His tail sagged a bit from fatigue, but now that he was back in his own skin he was feeling oddly renewed. Having Bruno fill him in didn't seem like quite the chore it would have five minutes before.

[Bruno]

"I can try," Bruno said to Ivrim, trying hard not to stare. Bruno would have just focused on his eyes, but it was hard to tell which eyes to focus on. Finally he just gave up, put his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground while he tried to think of what to say.

"Well," Bruno started, glancing up from time to time as he spoke. "For a while now we have just been getting settled in. Getting used to the area and acquiring local morphs. That sort of thing." It was only half true in Bruno's case. While all of his morphs were acquired nearby, not one of them was native to this region.

"But the big piece of information actually has to do with the yeerks. We aren't positive, but they may be starting something up again. At the very least a group of yeerk-nothlits has formed in the area." Now Bruno was staring directly at Ivrim's main eyes with seriousness plastered on his face. It was all too easy to just pretend nothing bad was happening when nothing looks wrong on the surface, but having an andalite on the team would serve as a constant reminder for their true purpose.

[Ivrim-Escoriath-Winwall]

Being stared at or pointedly avoided by humans was something Ivrim was used to by now, so if it bothered him in the slightest he gave no indication. He just listened, eyes on Bruno to meet his gaze whenever the human did look up. When he'd finished speaking, Ivrim stayed quiet for a few moments tapping his left forehoof quietly on the floor. Yeerks, of course. The fact that it was the nothlits was a small comfort. They could very well be preparing for something larger from the remaining Yeerk forces.

<Yeerk nothlits... Have you seen them in person? Did you happen to notice any pattern in the bodies they had?> If they seemed to be utilizing a specific type of body for whatever plan they had, that might be a useful clue. It sounded like there probably wouldn't be much information to work with though, so reconnaissance would probably be the plan for a little while.