Heh, okay, okay. You got me, buddy. [ Jake chuckles, paw shifting shapes a few more times (a pick-axe, an abstract spiral, a rough approximation of Cal's own face) before returning to its base form. The day Jake stops enjoying the attention and curiosity of strangers over his abilities is the day he really is dead. ] Real me, no tricks. Not just the paw, either.

[ Human ages were tough for him to read, but this guy couldn't be that much older than Finn, could he? The keenness of his interest certainly doesn't hurt the comparison, and even that slight resemblance was enough to endear him to the kid.

The question of planet does throw him, though. He'd been asked about it his whole life and always gave the same answer: Magic! It made as much sense as anything else, and eventually became the closest version of true Jake knew. Having that truth so recently unseated was tricky to wrap his mind around. Easier to pretend the guy never asked. ]

What about you, is this your planet's ship? Or are you a hitchhiker like me?