[ a BLT... what a perfectly normal choice. which isn't to say that Barnaby expected Zed to go for the surf & turf burger (he has no idea what that even entails), but. curiosity sated.
Barnaby settles down with his own selection— just a cup of hot coffee— and watches his companion eat with calm scrutiny. he doesn't want to be rude, but this is all a collection of firsts for him. ]
Earth? [ he parrots, just to make sure. ] ...You must be from a different version of it than mine, if the idea of planetary immigrants is commonplace to you.
[ Sternbild would go Absolutely Nuts about aliens, he's sure. he takes a sip of his coffee. ] I'm guessing that having special abilities is nothing extraordinary in your version of Earth, either. [ just a hypothesis, if Zed is so surprised by how 'docile' things are. ]
[There's a short, thoughtful hum mid-bite at the idea of alternate realities. It's not the least bit surprising. In fact, it would make perfect sense and he may be living in the shittier version. He swallows, then:]
Yes and no. To put it simply, the material world and what humans considered the underworld have merged. There's vast majority of the human population do not have abilities, and the Collapse has not spread beyond New York so far. Still, many Beyondians, and I suppose life-forms outside of the planet, have been filtering out into the rest of the continents. Human-Beyondian relationships are still a terse matter, but politics have come a long way since the first year. [OKAY, MONOLOGUE DONE. Taking another small bite and finishing--]
What of your version of Earth? Are abilities commonplace? I noticed you had activated some form of ability before.
it's evident that the only frame of reference Barnaby has for something like this is books and film, the latter of which he didn't bother with for a long while; his gaze flicks towards Zed, quietly bemused. ]
...That sounds involved. [ understatement. ] In our version of Earth, the underworld was a concept and not a reality.
[ just to give Zed an idea of how wild this setup is for Barnaby to wrap his mind around, but, ah. he's being asked a question, so he'll smoothly segue into an answer. ]
—And abilities are becoming more of an accepted idea, even if those who can use them aren't the majority. [ there's something about this that makes Barnaby feel slightly bitter, the fact that he contributed to the commercialization of NEXTs at the behest of a certain someone— but that's for Barnaby to digest privately, not to delve into right now. he breathes. ] I apologize for having activated mine earlier, by the way.
I suppose most humans thought the same as well. [Before the great abyss swallowed up NYC and turned it into the chaotic mess that it is today. So Zed totally understands why the info dump description of his Earth may be difficult to parse.
He listens carefully while munching on a particularly large bite-- which was probably the wrong time to take because he rushes to swallow, waving one hand dismissively and apologetically. Gulp.]
There's no need to apologize! It was my mistake for lashing out, anyways. [And hey, Barnaby's powers probably would have been useful if Zed hadn't caught himself in time. Speaking of which, he's been curious but he'll leave it up to Barnaby to divulge or not:] ...I only noticed some small details, but I wasn't able to make out exactly what the nature of your ability was.
[ Barnaby isn't sure if it's same to assume that Zed is from this so-called 'underworld', given how he looks, but it barely seems to matter— the reaction Barnaby gets to the apology is so earnest that he can't help but lower another inch of his carefully-maintained poise.
he smiles, and the sentiment reaches his eyes. the subject of his power would be cause for a bit more caution, but it seems moot by now: everything about him is on public record back in Sternbild, anyway. ]
We can both agree not to worry about our bad first impressions, then. [ a light joke. trust and believe that this would have sounded a lot more passagg when he was hellbent on keeping everyone at arm's length.
at any rate, the calm smile stays. ] As for the nature of my ability, it's called 'Hundred Power'. It's fairly self-explanatory: my physical capabilities amplify a hundred fold.
[If Barnaby had asked about his underworld status, that would be...a much longer story. Still, the comment about first impressions gets a chuckle; Zed has only held high regard for the blond since he was kind enough to be a grounding presence.]
Fair enough. I can't argue with that. [Interesting power, though! He can't help but think of Libra's leader as well as Brody & Hummer. Both incredible allies.]
Ah, you probably noticed, but I'm able to manipulate my blood into various forms. I learned the Big Dipper Blood Battle Style from my master, and I've studied the Shinatobe branch. So I am able to channel and manipulate wind as well. [He's not bragging, but the respect he feels towards his master almost oozes in his tone. But now that they're both on the same level of understanding, Zed has a sudden, brilliant idea. His smile brightens--]
In the future, would you be interested in training with me?
[ two entire abilities!!!! Barnaby's had some unpleasant run-ins in the past with people with Two Entire Abilities, but it's unproductive to keep trying to attribute old biases to new encounters. his only actual reaction to hearing about Zed and his capabilities is a soft sound of understanding, followed by: ] I see. Abilities weren't something we could choose for ourselves, back where I came from— using blood is an interesting decision.
[ that aside, Zed must be a hard worker, if he can manage two skills that sound so completely disparate. Barnaby takes another sip of his coffee to mull over this (it still sounds impractical, the blood thing), but the offer to train invites an easy response.
what a sincere person, Barnaby thinks. ]
At any rate, I think it would benefit both of us to continue training, even if this place seems 'docile'. To use your words. [ which is a roundabout way to say: ] ...So, yes. I'd be more than happy to train with you.
[Zed's vaguely taken aback when the flow of the conversation ends up hitting several points that take a lot of unpacking. He may revere and obey Master Raju like one may honor an earthly god, but it was the same man who made his choose between life or death, with the subsequent hell-like discipline following Zed's decision. Very little freedom in that, not that Zed cared much at the time. But it's not the kind of thing you drop on a stranger. As for the training-- well, Master Raju was also the type to literally (and Zed is not a man who misuses words) discipline his pupils to the brink of death. Sure, the fishman doesn't deem the new world threatening, but he would not want to risk negligence of his skills, lest he dig his own grave with the arrival of his master.
These are not thoughts to burden a budding friendship (if he may be so bold). Zed's expression turns contemplative within a few seconds of silence, then:]
It required a certain aptitude to begin with, and you could say the path chose me as well. [The wavering moment ends just as quickly as it began since the fishman is still quite pleased about Barnaby's acceptance.] Truth be told, it's been some time since I've formerly trained with another person, but the prospect of doing so again is inspiring. I hope that I can both support and challenge you going forward.
[Okay, the super formality may be because he's never actually invited someone to do anything with him before. Thank that recluse+bookworm lifestyle, and yay to new training buddy relationship!]
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no subject
Barnaby settles down with his own selection— just a cup of hot coffee— and watches his companion eat with calm scrutiny. he doesn't want to be rude, but this is all a collection of firsts for him. ]
Earth? [ he parrots, just to make sure. ] ...You must be from a different version of it than mine, if the idea of planetary immigrants is commonplace to you.
[ Sternbild would go Absolutely Nuts about aliens, he's sure. he takes a sip of his coffee. ] I'm guessing that having special abilities is nothing extraordinary in your version of Earth, either. [ just a hypothesis, if Zed is so surprised by how 'docile' things are. ]
no subject
and he may be living in the shittier version. He swallows, then:]Yes and no. To put it simply, the material world and what humans considered the underworld have merged. There's vast majority of the human population do not have abilities, and the Collapse has not spread beyond New York so far. Still, many Beyondians, and I suppose life-forms outside of the planet, have been filtering out into the rest of the continents. Human-Beyondian relationships are still a terse matter, but politics have come a long way since the first year. [OKAY, MONOLOGUE DONE. Taking another small bite and finishing--]
What of your version of Earth? Are abilities commonplace? I noticed you had activated some form of ability before.
no subject
it's evident that the only frame of reference Barnaby has for something like this is books and film, the latter of which he didn't bother with for a long while; his gaze flicks towards Zed, quietly bemused. ]
...That sounds involved. [ understatement. ] In our version of Earth, the underworld was a concept and not a reality.
[ just to give Zed an idea of how wild this setup is for Barnaby to wrap his mind around, but, ah. he's being asked a question, so he'll smoothly segue into an answer. ]
—And abilities are becoming more of an accepted idea, even if those who can use them aren't the majority. [ there's something about this that makes Barnaby feel slightly bitter, the fact that he contributed to the commercialization of NEXTs at the behest of a certain someone— but that's for Barnaby to digest privately, not to delve into right now. he breathes. ] I apologize for having activated mine earlier, by the way.
no subject
info dumpdescription of his Earth may be difficult to parse.He listens carefully while munching on a particularly large bite-- which was probably the wrong time to take because he rushes to swallow, waving one hand dismissively and apologetically. Gulp.]
There's no need to apologize! It was my mistake for lashing out, anyways. [And hey, Barnaby's powers probably would have been useful if Zed hadn't caught himself in time. Speaking of which, he's been curious but he'll leave it up to Barnaby to divulge or not:] ...I only noticed some small details, but I wasn't able to make out exactly what the nature of your ability was.
no subject
he smiles, and the sentiment reaches his eyes. the subject of his power would be cause for a bit more caution, but it seems moot by now: everything about him is on public record back in Sternbild, anyway. ]
We can both agree not to worry about our bad first impressions, then. [ a light joke. trust and believe that this would have sounded a lot more passagg when he was hellbent on keeping everyone at arm's length.
at any rate, the calm smile stays. ] As for the nature of my ability, it's called 'Hundred Power'. It's fairly self-explanatory: my physical capabilities amplify a hundred fold.
—And yours? To even the playing field.
no subject
Fair enough. I can't argue with that. [Interesting power, though! He can't help but think of Libra's leader as well as Brody & Hummer. Both incredible allies.]
Ah, you probably noticed, but I'm able to manipulate my blood into various forms. I learned the Big Dipper Blood Battle Style from my master, and I've studied the Shinatobe branch. So I am able to channel and manipulate wind as well. [He's not bragging, but the respect he feels towards his master almost oozes in his tone. But now that they're both on the same level of understanding, Zed has a sudden, brilliant idea. His smile brightens--]
In the future, would you be interested in training with me?
no subject
[ that aside, Zed must be a hard worker, if he can manage two skills that sound so completely disparate. Barnaby takes another sip of his coffee to mull over this (it still sounds impractical, the blood thing), but the offer to train invites an easy response.
what a sincere person, Barnaby thinks. ]
At any rate, I think it would benefit both of us to continue training, even if this place seems 'docile'. To use your words. [ which is a roundabout way to say: ] ...So, yes. I'd be more than happy to train with you.
no subject
These are not thoughts to burden a budding friendship (if he may be so bold). Zed's expression turns contemplative within a few seconds of silence, then:]
It required a certain aptitude to begin with, and you could say the path chose me as well. [The wavering moment ends just as quickly as it began since the fishman is still quite pleased about Barnaby's acceptance.] Truth be told, it's been some time since I've formerly trained with another person, but the prospect of doing so again is inspiring. I hope that I can both support and challenge you going forward.
[Okay, the super formality may be because he's never actually invited someone to do anything with him before. Thank that recluse+bookworm lifestyle, and yay to new training buddy relationship!]