Time Warp: As the Clock Turns (Oth)

[Mathis Reeves]

September 8th, 2027
(Non-canon)

Mathis was an almost spitting image of his brother, with defined cheekbones and a strong jaw decorating the face that lost all remnants of baby fat. He had grown into his body and now reached a full height of 5'11. Two inches shorter than that of his best friend, something that Demetrius would never let him live down. Around his ring finger was a rather dull silver band, already worn and loved and with only a little of the luster you might have expected for someone married less than ten years. No, they were only at nine.

One year older than the two blond haired, blue eyed boys running in front of him. The older mimic laughed lightly as his sons raced ahead on the familiar streets of Pilot Ridge. Their enthusiasm and cheer managed to break through the bubble of sympathy pain he felt for his longest friend. He could still remember the way Demetrius' voice had broke when he had called Matty to say his daughter had died.

But, even as sad as it was, there was nothing Matty could do. Even if he wanted to he didn't have the power to bring back the dead- and the one person he knew could bring back the dead was currently out of state. Not that they would have allowed her near the body anyway.

Matty sighed as his two sons continued running ahead, neither one bothering to spare even a single glance to check that their father was even following. "Aiden! Caleb! Stop yer runnin'!" His quite audible voice was enough to cause the two rambunctious eight-year-olds to freeze and turn to look at their father. Matty smiled and walked up to take the two boys' hands, continuing their mission to head to a local cafe.

Halfway there, Matty paused and look to his left into one of the many stores featured in the downtown. A familiar figure, though aged and different than he remembered, was inside. Not that Mathis was a stranger to seeing familiar figures but the one in question was one he hadn't seen in... How many years? He ignored the tugging on his hands and headed inside with his two boys/ "Oth... Oth Gillis... That you?

[Oth Gillis]

The years at Hammel had been, if not kind, then at least not actively destructive. Shapeshifting was a power hard on the body, and rarely came with any form of compensation the way some pyrokinetics also received some measure of fire resistance. It hadn't helped that Oth shifted to something so much bigger than he was, and something that only seemed to increase in size as he got older. The bear was easily 870 lbs and had at least another three inches to most dimensions. It was a little ridiculous.

At twenty-five years old, Oth hovered so close to the six foot mark that whether he was that day or not depended on which shoes he wore. He still had the slim, pencil straight build of his youth, and his hair was still short the way he'd kept it then. Easier. Besides, Oriel had more than enough hair for both of them. His shifting and his job had him in those fake-leather-ish wrist braces that had a metal plate running on his wrist's undersides under the material and velcroed. The others, the bigger models, he wore at night, but they were too bulky for someone who drew for a living.

By targeting a technical drawing school, Oth had been able to cut his bills and his time spent in college, though he'd taken four years for a degree most finished in three since he'd been working. But it meant he had almost no student debt and did have a job. Well... two, really. It wasn't often artists could get right up to a grizzly bear live and in person for details. If they were smart, anyway.

He was back in town for a short visit, to see his dad and Oriel, Phoenix, and the baby. Well, the little girl. Jeez, time flew. It was nice strolling through town, wandering into shops, seeing what was new.

An unfamiliar voice called his name, and his head bobbed up, looking for the source. The man toting a pair of blondies was... he honestly had no idea. It was the kids that threw him. That anyone who recognized him would have kids that age. But as he stared into the face...

"...Mathis?"

Wow. He started laughing. His pointer picked out the kids. "Yours?" he asked, with disbelief. Not that Matty had kids, really, but that they'd all gotten so adult. He held his hand out to shake.

[Mathis Reeves]

To Mathis is was a little like being suddenly shoved deep back into the past. Seeing Oth - or at least a man he thought was Oth - brought back the images of loud laughter, a lot of cookies, and flashes of blue and green. Mostly, though, he got images of cookies and laughing and stuffed dogs. The blue eyes, and the man they belonged to, was something he saw every time he went home.

He waited a bit impatiently for the younger man in front of him to respond, wondering if he had gotten it wrong. It wasn't the first time he had thought he saw someone from his past only to be proved dead wrong. Aiden pulled at his hand to call his attention down, watching at the eight year old pointed to Oth with a look of confusion.

That was when he heard his name and laughter. Blue eyes flicked back up at Oth, relieved that he had guessed right. Mathis let out a slightly dimmer grin than he had as a child and nodded eagerly. "Yes these are my sons. Oth, meet Aiden and Caleb." He explained, before kneeling down some to stage whisper. "Now. You two have to behave or a grizzly bear might behave." Yes, he had taught his children about metas. Not that he really had much of a choice since practically everyone they knew was a meta and had a habit of using their powers around his sons. Not that he minded, of course. Aiden stared at Oth with a look of disbelief while Caleb spoke up.

"Like Annie... But cooler."