I randomly felt like writing this weekend. Except I wrote something I can't post yet because it doesn't happen for awhile. |D So that motivated me to write what comes before it.

Hopefully that made sense.
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"So this is where you go all the time?"

"Well...sort of."

Toukan wasn't sure if Suiren would be busy at this time. He hadn't gotten to ask if she was giving martial arts instruction today. But he could spy a certain blonde ninja up on the roof -- Kinsha always did like hanging out in high places -- so at least that meant someone would be around to greet them.

It was good to see this place again. The silver reindeer did visit sometimes, sure, but to arrive in the bamboo forest out back after being in the Forest for awhile...it brought back warm memories.

Not that he'd give up appearing at the home he shared with Kylar to go back to this; not at all.

A crunching of dry leaves to his side from the shifting of a darker reindeer reminded him of what they were doing here.

His brother had seemed like he wanted to talk to him about something for awhile. So after a bit of prodding from the older reindeer, he'd finally admitted he was curious...

"Where do you go?"

"...?"

"When you're not here, I mean. You're just...gone sometimes. And I've been around this place a few times and can't find any way to leave, so...where? ...HOW?"

That had been interesting to explain. Especially since Toukan wasn't completely sure how it worked. It just did.

"I basically concentrate on where I want to go. And then I sleep."

"...sleep?"

He nodded. "Yea." Tundra was giving him an incredulous look at this. Toukan sighed. "I'm not really sure how to explain it. I just need to keep a clear picture of where I want to be, then I guess I fade from here and reappear there and wake up."

That got a blink in response. At least he wasn't staring like he was crazy anymore -- just in confusion. So he tried a different route.

"It's kind of like the Forest magic. I don't know how it works; just that it does."

That got the light bulb blinking again. "Ok..." For the most part anyway.

At least Tundra had been willing to try it out.

Which was good, because he definitely didn't want to do it Kylar's way. He wasn't up for losing his clothes to that portal thing again. He wasn't even sure how to summon the portal -- he'd only seen it done; not had it explained to him. So that was out by default.

His brother wouldn't be able to picture where to go, since he had never been outside of the Forest -- aside from the zoo that very well might not even exist anymore -- so, keeping this in mind, Toukan gave him the best description he possibly could and suggested they try this while sitting next to each other so they would be touching. That way maybe the energies of this "travelling through sleep" thing might line up or latch onto each other so Tundra would end up in the right place.

Or something like that.

He'd had to attempt it a couple of times, having to travel back and forth when he'd notice the lack of his brother appearing with him -- which Tundra explained had "given him a heart attack each time he poofed" -- but eventually it had worked.

So here they stood, at the edge of the bamboo forest in the backyard of his sister's Asian-styled -- from the outside -- home.

Except that left another shock Tundra would have to deal with. Toukan couldn't exactly enter the house in this form. His sister had set a strict rule of "no antlers in the house". Unless they were no longer attached to his head. And considering both of their newly regrown racks, that could be a problem.

The silver bull sighed, causing his brother to blink at him curiously. Toukan gave him a wry look -- "Try not to freak out." -- and concentrated on taking on his human form.

He wasn't sure what the process looked like. Not like he could watch even if he wanted to -- it always made him want to shut his eyes from the odd feeling of everything rearranging.

He heard a strangled gasp and a small thud, blinking his eyes open again -- everything always looked a little different when he switched forms -- to look at his brother.

At the stunned expression he was receiving, Toukan couldn't resist the urge to smirk, teasing, "You might want to pick up your jaw before you lose it."

Said jaw shut with an audible snap. The other blinked a few times from where he sat on his haunches. "...Toukan?"

"Who else?" he almost laughed. "It's not like I switched places with someone else."

"But-- you--...how?"

It was getting difficult not to laugh now, but he managed not to, shrugging. "The same way we got here." The incredulous look was starting to come back. "Look, I don't really... It just happens. Once I figured it out, it's...it's just second nature now.

"Or I'm weird," he joked, shrugging again. "Either way."

His brother was still staring. Frankly, he was starting to get concerned. Silver brows creased. "Tundra...?"

"...the same as...?"

"Hm?"

"You just...picture it?"

"Well, I concentrate. On being human. Or that's the basics of it anyway. I do it so often, I couldn't really tell you how it works."

Now Tundra's brow was creased, his eyes focusing on a spot on the ground a little too hard for him to actually be looking at it.

Toukan blinked, wondering about this. "Look, I'm just, going to head over to the house..." He threw a thumb over his shoulder towards the door that was visible past the bamboo. "...and see if my sister -- I told you about Suiren, right? -- is around. I'll be right back."

He waited for a response, getting no more than a small hum that made him wonder if the darker reindeer even heard him. He shrugged, turning to walk -- and limp -- out of the woods.

A sudden intake of breath stopped him. Frowning in wonder at what that could mean, he turned back...

Blink. Blink. "Well, that's...interesting."

Sitting in the spot where his brother had been was a young man, somewhere in his late teens or early twenties, light brown hair sitting so it partially covered his eyes -- ice blue, Toukan noticed -- that were staring past his bangs at his hands as if he'd never seen them before. And, considering the only thing that could have happened, he probably never had.

"...Tundra?"

The eyes slowly rose to meet his, looking at him dazedly.

Toukan blinked. Well, that confirms it. "What happened?" As if he needed to ask!

It took a few tries, as if reindeer-now-turned-human had to figure out how his voice worked in this body. "I...concentrated?"

"You concentrated." It was more of a statement than a question, but his brother nodded anyway. "I...see..." And could he, considering the other's lack of clothing. ...I'll need to fix that...

Tundra blinked at him, face suddenly coloring as if realizing how exposed this new body was.

Toukan felt that urge to laugh rising again at how mortified his younger brother looked. He barely kept the corners of his mouth from doing any more twitching upward. "Yea, I'm just gonna go get you some clothes... Don't go anywhere," he added on in a joking manner before turning once again to cross the line of bamboo and approach the house.

The silver-haired man paused, looking up at a blond head peeking curiously at him over the edge of the roof. "Ah, hey Kin." He pointed towards the door he was standing in front of. "I still have some of my old clothes here, right?"

The ninja blinked. "Uh, yea, I think so. Why?"

"It's...kind of a long story..."