Issue 1 Downtime

Alexander had settled into XUB 2 on a packed night. In fact, he was sitting at the only open table, other people seeming to have declined to sit at the table with the guy in sunglasses. He was peripherally watching the Astral as the riot of energy around him warped and morphed it at a moment's notice. He had a clear drink sitting in front of him which he occasionally sipped.

After a cursory glance around the room Nailah decides the blind kid's table is going to be the least hassle. She briefly entertains the thought of just clearing a table for herself by chasing it's occupants away but that would probably be counterproductive. So she sits down across from Alexander. "Mind if I sit here?"

Her astral presence to him must seem confusing to say the least. Her avatar closely resembles her but it is clouded and distorted by constantly moving in several directions at once giving it a disorienting and vexing quality.

"I don't think anyone else was planning on sitting there, so go ahead," he said good naturedly. "It's busy tonight. I'm actually surprised the seat's stayed open this long."

"I'm guessing people felt too awkward. You're blind, aren't you?"

"What gave it away?" He asked with an obviously rhetorical air.

"Not much actually. You are still turning your head like someone who can see, except when it comes to your drink."

"I used to be able to see, so I still understand the concept of how to look around. And the glasses keep it from being a blank stare among preventing other problems. My name's Alexander."

"Nailah. Professor Weaver, technically. Your mutation made you go blind?"

He nodded. "Completely redid my eyes. I know the deep dark secrets of a doctor who tried to examine before they figured out what was going on. Kind of a reverse 'eyes are the window to the soul' thing. At least as far as my telepathy is concerned."

"Might want to be a bit careful around me then." she laughs faintly, sipping her wine. Though she didn't exactly sound like she was joking.

"Your astral presence is enough to tell me that," he said in a matter-of-fact manner.

"You should have seen it a couple days ago. I wonder if you would have seen her..." she muses.

"Possibly, assuming I knew who she was. The astral is a weird place and I've seen a few weird things."

"You've met the headmistress yet?" she chuckles.

"Not long after I got here, floating around the astral over the Quad. Haven't talked to her since, but I assume she's been busy."

"Just a bit. But then you've probably seen the weird things that pass for normal here."

"More felt than seen, but yes."

"I wonder... Can you sense this?" she asks, holding her hand up as reality shimmers in her palm before coalescing into a small flame.

"Whatever you're doing, it's disturbing the astral in a way that's distinctly different from all the other disturbances going on in this place."

"Interesting. Almost like Sam." she says, extinguishing the flame by closing her hand. "It's all entangled."

"As much nonsense as happens in the astral, that would not surprise me. I'm told my astral perception is fairly sharp. Lose one sense, sharpen another I guess." He drained the last bit of his drink and she would be able to see it fizz as he picked it up. He was obviously drinking some sort of clear soda.

"Not so much nonsense in my experience, though it certainly seems that way sometimes."

"I meant nonsense in the nature of things that have no sense or that do not make sense. Believe me, I understand the astral can be a deadly serious place. So you said you were a professor. What do you teach?"

"Literature and languages." If you get yourself to officially take that job before summer is over, yes.

"Any specific languages or just languages in general?" He leaned forward as if genuinely interested to hear.

"Any specific language." she smirks faintly, which he may not see but probably hear in her voice. "Including ones not spoken anymore but you won't find me holding classes on them."

"I was just hoping to find someone to speak Greek with. My Greek feels a little neglected since I spent a lot of time in Rome speaking Italian, which seems like something of a sacrilege," he said with a smirk of his own. "I've frequented a few of the local Greek restaurants, the authentic places, but they really don't have time to talk."

She chuckles. "<As if people don't already treat my like my greek counterpart enough lately.>" she says in flawless Greek.

"<Your Greek counterpart?>" His Greek wasn't as neglected as he might have suggested, but he did seem to enjoy speaking it.

"<Of course... My apologies.>" she laughs. "<From what Sam told me my astral presence looks a lot like I actually do.>" she explains.

"<It's hard to discern your presence. It looks like it is going several directions at once and it is somewhat distorted. I can pick out wings and... feline legs?>"

"<And a lion's tail but that's the gist of it, yes. As a teenager I was worried it would spread further and I would end up on all fours.>"

"<A concern I can understand. I was briefly concerned that the pattern in my eyes might spread to my skin. That would have made things difficult if it did and it functioned the way my eyes do.>"

"<And not entirely without merit, I suppose. An infection with the Legacy Virus gave me slight fangs so I'm inclined to believe that the genetic potential is there.>"

"<Something to be avoided, I suppose, at any rate. I personally hope to avoid encounters with the Legacy Virus.>"

"<Not the most pleasant experience, no.>" Not the worst either but maybe you shouldn't make the kid run screaming from the school.

"<I understand the unusual is quite common for this place though. Keeping strange things from happening here must be a Sisyphean task.>"

"<It's not so much that we keep them from happening, but I like to think we manage to handle them.>"

"<Obviously, or this place wouldn't still exist.>" He seemed to concentrate for a moment and then flagged down a server to order another drink.

"<There are other way to lose than utterly, but yes. I think that's the biggest thing that's making me stay. Aside from... personal reasons.>"