Well It's About Time

After several weeks to make sure he had healed, hadn't acquired any illnesses or infections, no more internal damage, and getting a concrete plan for the foreseeable future, Liun was finally out of the hospital. With his healing, he should've been able to leave within a week but since it took a little while for it to return to regular regeneration plus the fact the injury he had sustained wasn't exactly just a flesh wound meant he had to stay a bit longer. Then the withdrawals from his lack of shifting hit... Basically it just meant he stayed longer than he would usually.

But even then, he still wasn't exactly free. For a little while, he'd be staying at the Rukt'In mansion with some of his relatives. His powers were still in a bit of flux, and it shouldn't be a concern for other people but if there was an issue and he was on his own, it wouldn't be the most ideal situation. He had already been there for a few hours, getting himself comfortable, but he decided to sit out in the backyard.

Well, he hadn't just spontaneously decided to sit out there. Liun had thought about doing this a few days ago, but he changed his mind. He hadn't exactly explained what he wanted to do yet, but he'd asked Fweiu if she was available to come to the back yard around this time... plus Liun had sent Shul a text. There were a few others he could've asked for this, but he didn't want to cause Thiul anymore grief than he already had and Quie always seemed busy with something. Besides, he kinda preferred if it was Fweiu or Shul there for what Liun wanted to try and do.

He already knew he couldn't shift into his dragon form, not anymore... If he could, he wouldn't have the headaches. During his capture, his own shifting was heavily controlled, which has lead to this current situation. But it did inform Liun of something, albeit not the way he imagined or hoped he would've found out. He was able to be forced to partial shift, although his memory of whenever it occurred was hazy. Since he arrived back to the island, he had only attempted to shift into his dragon form but hasn't attempted a partial shift yet. That was why he had asked Fweiu and Shul to meet him in the back yard, to try and get himself to partial shift. Although he hated the thought he needed supervision, he did feel it would be better if a couple others who had partial shifted before were there to make sure he didn't injure himself or anything...

@Kait @EmiRose

Liun had been distracted. Too busy as he thought to himself, about how he would do this, to notice Shul. He felt comfortable. Until Fweiu very suddenly shouted while he was still lost in thought. His reaction seemed to show that maybe it was a good thing that Shul wasn't able to get close enough to surprise Liun. The moment he even heard Fweiu's voice, he jumped and snapped his attention towards them. His entire body had tensed up, and he looked ready to get up from his seat. His arm was pulled back the slightest bit, with his entire demeanour being ready to fight. But likely the most jarring thing for his relatives to see would be how he looked at them for the briefest moment. His eyes narrowed, and only showed aggression. Thankfully, it only lasted for a moment, and as soon as he realised it was Shul and Fweiu, he visibly relaxed.

He sighed, putting his hand on his chest for a second. He could feel his heart pound. Liun hadn't reacted like that just because he suddenly disliked his relatives. It was just, he didn't exactly like unexpected things anymore. Someone suddenly appearing and touching him... The last time something unexpected happened, he got tortured for a month.

He rubbed the back of his neck, his face shifted to a more guilty expression. "Sorry about that." He laughed a little bit, lightly. He couldn't shake unease though. Liun stood up from where he sat, and pulled his usual smile at his cousins. There could be no denying there was trauma, that he would've had to change somehow from what he experienced. But Liun just wanted his life to go back to normal, so he acted like he was fine. He had already gotten nagged by Thiul that he should do therapy, and Liun couldn't disagree even before he was told he should.

Liun walked over to Shul and Fweiu, his arms crossed. "What? No hug for me? I see how it is." He puffed out his chest a bit as he looked away from them, a pout on his face. Eventually he laughed, turning back to them. "So, I best explain why I asked you both to come here, right?" He looked at them both, and spoke like he knew exactly what he was supposed to say next. But that would be a lie, since he still worked on it in his mind.

Liun would gladly give both of his cousins a hug, a smile on his face the entire time. Albeit he did hug a little tighter than he would in the past. Sometimes he felt like his return to the island was the dream, and the nightmares he had was the reality he would have to wake up to. Things like this reminded him that this was indeed reality, a fact he greatly appreciated.

But even in this reality he appreciated, parts were not fair. After he finished hugging his cousins, his face turned to a more serious one. He could crack jokes and grin once he knew whether this was possible, but right now he felt this was needed a little more. "So... You both know I have been having some difficulty managing the pain from having not shifted in a while." He wasn't entirely sure how much all of his relatives knew about his condition, so he didn't want to immediately dump it in case they didn't know.

"Well, I still can't shift. I've tried since I was allowed to start walking around some more, and there's a block. I... and, well, I don't think it's coming back." Liun continued. Fweiu, he could guess knew some of it. But it not coming back? No one would know that yet. Liun could feel it. It felt like that maybe he could shift someday, but for the foreseeable future, it was no longer possible. He still struggled to wrap his head around this fact. A dragon not even able to shift into their true form... Liun had been having a bit of an existential crisis, even if he had always preferred his human form to his dragon form.

Liun allowed a pause to let it sink in, or for them to ask any questions, then he continued. "But, I haven't attempted to partial shift." He shouldn't need to explain much further to the pair on what he thought of doing. "I figured since you two are kinda the... partial shifting experts for our clan on the island, I'd have you... ya know, just be here." Liun rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke, and he looked a bit off to the side. It wouldn't be a bad guess to say he found it slightly embarrassing to be supervised. But it was the best choice.

As Shul spoke, it only made Liun grimace a little. He couldn't say he had spoken to professionals, but a gut feeling just told him that even if he decided to speak to them, they would say the same thing. Liun didn't need a professional to tell him when he felt so deeply that he couldn't shift anymore.

Bringing up Thiul only made Liun flinch slightly. He of all people knew that she would want to be there. But, a part of him felt defiant. Although he partially did not want Thiul there because of the trouble he has already caused her, Liun also felt a bit stubborn. "Well, I don't think Thiul was there for when you two partially shifted. Why should it be different for me?" As he spoke, he crossed his arms. Liun so desperately wanted to return to how life was before he had been kidnapped. Frankly, he would've loved to have done it alone but even he knew that was idiotic. But, he at least wanted to do it without being babysat by his younger cousin just because she was a doctor.

Liun smiled a bit when Fweiu spoke. It seemed she understood a little of what Liun felt. It didn't surprise him, since he was closer in age to Fweiu than many of his other cousins. "Thanks, Fweiu." His tone was a bit softer than it had been just a moment ago.

Now came the next issue. Liun had absolutely not idea how to partial shift. He knew he could be forced to partial shift, but he wasn't able to remember how that worked. There was always a chance that was the only way he could partially shift as well... "Well, next is the roadblock in that I don't know where to go next with this..." He laughed a little in an attempt to be lighthearted.