[He has to raise his voice over the impetuous winds, yet still he can barely hear himself, so hopefully Xingqiu caught that. The snow here is far too deep for his liking, not that Ain really enjoys the snow in the first place. While he's struggling to trek through it, he stays mostly silent.
Ain files away Xingqiu's name in some corner of his brain before responding over the tempest,]
Ain is my name.
[The ruins are just ahead, which means that there's hopefully some form of shelter and no form of danger, because he's not keen on fighting at the moment. Not when his limbs are stiff from this frozen hellscape. Ain presses on. While he looks as though he's dressed for the weather, the truth is that he has a sleeveless shirt on underneath this, because fashion obviously comes before practicality. In short: He's effectively an ostentatious frozen block. Were it not for the coat, he might have already gotten frostbite and died.]
I assume you aren't from here either, yes? Do you have any inkling as to where we are?
[Or if they're going to die in this blizzard, for that matter.]
[It's a nice name, but not one that he's heard before. He tries to tuck it into his memory, but it's hard to focus on much of anything with the howling wind around them. At least he isn't alone on his journey, as short as it might be.]
I don't know. I was home one moment, and then here the next. It's like the stories I read in books. [That's the best he can do to try to make sense of it all, and even then, he's too aware of how mundane his real life truly is to believe anything like this is possible.] Or, this could all be a dream.
[As they near the ruins Xingqiu can see that there are others in the area seeking shelter from the elements as well. There are small fires people have started to get warm, and so many different types of people that he suspects no one else knows what's going on either.] Can I ask you something? [..and without waiting on an answer:] Do you have an anemo vision? How were you able to manipulate the wind like that?
[He, similarly, was home one moment and here the next, though he isn't inclined to share that.]
Anemo... vision? [Confusion then melts into sarcasm as he remarks,] The only vision I have comes from my eyes.
[On the topic of magic, while it's true that Ain possesses some minor level of wind manipulation, the fact that the gust is currently avoiding him is beyond his understanding. Ain wordlessly climbs over a fallen pillar in the entryway, contemplating the hows and the whys of it, though he does pause and turns to offer a hand to Xingqiu to help him over.]
To be truthful with you, I don't know. The winds avoiding me like that only started happening here. [He shakes his head, then smiles politely.] I chalked it up to my own magic acting out of turn for lack of a better explanation.
[It's not the best one, because Ain would normally feel his magic acting up, but it's what he has. With a sigh, he turns his attention to the people mingling within the ruin proper. Maybe one of them knows what's going on? How they both could have simply ended up here? Why the winds are acting strangely? Or perhaps they're equally as lost.]
[It's not the first time he's confused someone with the way he speaks, but it's different this time. His extensive vocabulary isn't what did it, so it seems like wherever this person hailed from didn't have the same vocabulary for certain words.[
What do you call the thing that gives you elemental abilities?
[Xingqiu is ready to go down the rabbit hole of questioning but Ain answers his question quick enough that he doesn't spiral down that path toward an inquisition. He takes Ain's hand to help him over the large stone pillar, but he's still contemplating their situation as they are finally out of the snowstorm with some amount of shelter.]
I understand. I don't have immunity to cold, in fact I'm particularly susceptible to frost. I'm not sure why I'm not troubled by the cold right now, either...
[Great! Fantastic. They're both equally as confused as each other and out in the middle of what Ain imagines is nowhere. It's not like he's seen a village nearby or anything. It would be just his luck if there were a town or something sitting just fifteen minutes down the road, though. He doesn't have the energy to test or even contemplate that theory, and so he opts instead to finally slide his hood off and shake snow out of his bangs.
It's significantly warmer in here than outside due to all of the bodies huddling around various fires. Not warm enough to be overly comfortable, but warm enough to keep the biting cold out.]
If I may ask, [he begins conversationally,] why are you more vulnerable to the cold?
[And, that being said, even if Xingqiu isn't a frozen block right now, Ain starts leading the both of them to a nearby fire. He doesn't exactly ask the people resting around it already if there's room for the two of them, just sort of... sits down and expectantly looks up at Xingqiu. In his mind, if Xingqiu is more at risk of death due to frost, he should probably be where it's warmest.
Also, Ain doesn't exactly get social norms, so he has that going for him. Luckily for his oblivious and socially-inept self, he seems to have picked some rather nice people to sit near.]
Are you sure that your nerves aren't completely frozen and that that's why you're feeling fine at the moment?
[Can that even happen? Ain has a lackluster understanding of humans.]
[When Ain takes his hood down, Xingqiu doesn't hide the fact that he's taking the opportunity to examine his features as if that might help give some indication of where he might hail from, but he appears to look about the same as anyone from Teyvat might.
Hopefully he lowers his gaze before Ain can notice his staring, and in the meanwhile he rubs his hands over his arms to try warming himself up. Even if it's not bothering him, he doesn't want the effects of potential frost bite (or something similar) to take hold.]
Back home, water is my element of choice. It involves being constantly wet and prone to freezing at the slightest sign of any cryo effect. I would have been frozen solid three times over normally..
Edited (can't html whilst sleepy apparently) 2021-03-15 18:07 (UTC)
[Ain supposes that makes sense when he thinks about it, but also, what an inconvenience. Does magic often come with that much of a hindrance, or is Xingqiu particularly unlucky?
If Ain noticed any staring at all, he doesn't give indication of it. In fact, he's doing some of his own, and he's not making an attempt to hide it, green eyes wide with curiosity.]
You've found yourself in dire straits, then.
[Ain decides after a moment that Xingqiu likely needs more warmth than he does in this moment, considering what he just mentioned, and so Ain wordlessly removes his coat and tosses it over Xingqiu's shoulders. It's very large and very heavy, considering the bulk of it is made up of fur, but that should at least help. He thinks, anyway. Bereft of his coat, he really has no defense other than the nearby fire and other warm bodies nearby against the cold, but Ain figures he's had worse.
Like nearly dying in the void of time and space, for example. That has to be worse than being cold!]
If you don't mind my asking... when you picked your element, [he's assuming it was a choice, and not something Xingqiu was born with or something,] did you know that it would make you particularly sensitive to freezing to death? Would you pick a different magical discipline if you could?
[Ain isn't wrong, but Xingqiu looks at him as if to question that assessment anyway. His straits aren't any more dire than the tall stranger's, and it seems they were both in the same boat.
Unless the issue is that one is very clearly dressed more appropriately for the weather than the other. Xingqiu looks down at his bare legs as he sits down, bringing his knees chest once he's seated near to the fire. Maybe Ain is right. The heavy coat lands on him before he can say as much, and he's torn between pulling it on and insisting Ain keep it.]
I didn't choose. It chose me--a gift from the gods as they say.] [If he's going to keep the coat then he might as well huddle a bit closer to its owner to share the warmth.] It suits me though, so I've never given thought to anything else. Although, it would be nice to fly. [He offers a smile, then looks onward to the fire with a more serious expression until he remembers they're in the middle of a conversation.] And you? Did you choose the wind?
[A gift from the Gods, huh? Yeah, he can relate to that. In a... well, not exactly the same way, he supposes. His own magic is a similar "gift", adapted through years and years of combat. The only real difference is that Ain is, well, a not-obvious angel, so it feels less special to have his magic gifted from the thing that created him, if that makes sense.
That said, Ain skips over the part where he's an angel and instead goes into,]
No, I certainly didn't... if anything, I'm more of a healer than someone with abilities to control the winds. The most I could do back home was whip up a few minor gusts, just enough to push enemies away or trap them in place. Nothing like what happened when we were outside.
[He'd like to be able to fly too, he thinks, instead of float places when he chooses to. There's a difference, obviously. Flying is objectively cooler.]
I use a pendulum as an arcane focus, you see. It's in the left-hand pocket of my coat. [He makes a vague motion to it with his hand, propping his elbow on his knee thereafter.] If you have any injuries, I could heal them for you.
[A healer? They may have more in common than he originally thought, but it isn’t a bad thing.]
I can only heal minor injuries. I think I’m far better at protecting people from damage. [Xingqiu looks down at himself covered in someone else’s coat as they go cold and he doesn’t feel very chivalrous at the moment, so he sighs instead.] A pendulum?
[He reaches into the pocket to take it out, turning it over in his hands as he examines it.] Most of my training has been with the sword.
[At the offer to be healed, he doesn’t have too much in the way of injuries besides a scrape here and there on his legs. He didn’t need healing, but he’s far too curious about Ain and his abilities not to stick his leg out from under the coat that dwarfs him to reveal a cut near his knee.]
You can have your coat back after this. I don’t want to be a burden.
[Ain's pendulum is an ornate, decorative thing, rather heavy all things considered. If he were to swing it around, he could likely use it as a bludgeon, though he hasn't ever done so. Ain isn't much of a physical fighter, although to his credit, he does look like he could throw a solid punch. Aside from a perhaps-goofy smile, that is.
Sure enough, as Xingqiu reveals the cut on his leg, Ain is already plucking his pendulum from Xingqiu's hands and holding it in his own, a soft blue light glimmering in the middle of it while three much more ornate-looking yellow lights glow in the opposite hand. Healing such a minor wound is a simple process — all Ain does is motion with a finger, and as if they're sentient, the little golden lights float toward the wound. Ain has been told in the past that his healing sort of feels like a feather brushing over the skin, but he hasn't confirmed that for himself.
A moment passes as his magic does its work, and just as soon as they arrived, the little lights dissipate. He beams, clearly happy to have helped regardless of the scrape's severity.]
Usually, [he manages a small, airy laugh,] I have to heal entire groups of people all at once. But, ah... I wouldn't want you to freeze to death, Mr. Swordsman. You borrowing my coat is hardly burdensome.
[Xingqiu is curious about what it is Ain actually does for a living with a style like that and his ornate pendulum. He gets a bit of a taste when his skinned knee is healed with relative ease. As if to verify it isn't some optical illusion he runs his fingers over where the cut was just before, testing the job well done.]
That's incredible. Most of the healers where I come from are Vision-users that are gifted with hydro--water. Like me. But I've never been very good at that part, and never more than one person at a time.. That is quite impressive.
[He's reluctant to hang on to the coat even if Ain is just being considerate.] I won't freeze to death. [After glancing between the two of them and the fur lined coat, he shifts closer with an idea. It's not ideal (or socially acceptable) to position oneself so close to a practical stranger, but desperate times call for impractical measures.]
[Ain finds himself laughing again, that same fluttery one from moments earlier, as if he doesn't actually laugh that much and his vocal chords are actively protesting the act. He's not someone who gets much physical contact at all, and any other day he'd be scooting a foot or so away, but today a frozen hellscape is trying to kill them and everyone else in this ruin. Today he thinks he can manage to not be so weird about being touched.
It's still the least bit odd, but he doesn't mind it as much as he would if he were back home. The warmth is certainly welcome, and Xingqiu does fit rather snugly within the coat anyway, so it's not like they're fighting to keep underneath it. Accepting Xingqiu's, well, not exactly offer but his insistence, perhaps is the term he wants, Ain agreeably drapes one half of the coat over his shoulder. Sure. Sharing so that no one gets frostbite makes sense to him.
Humans are entertaining, he thinks, and then he leaves that thought there.]
May I ask a question, if you don't mind? [If Xingqiu does mind, Ain doesn't give him a second to speak up about it, continuing,] You have referenced "Visions" twice now. Am I right to assume that it doesn't refer to some sort of hallucination or dream or otherwise, and that this is the name you use for your Gods-given magic?
[While Ain's laugh is unusual and doesn't sound like any other genuine laugh Xingqiu has heard before, there is something endearing to it that makes him smile every time he gets to hear it. Even without knowing that it may be a rare occurrence, he feels appreciative of getting to experience that sound.]
Ask me anything.
[After some shuffling, it doesn't take long to get comfortable again while they're tucked together side to side to share the warmth of the coat. It becomes less of an issue when he can feel Constantin warming up again, and he focuses instead on their conversation.]
Where I come from, some humans are chosen by the gods and gifted with Visions. They're magical foci that we use to manifest elemental abilities. [Xingqiu squirms around under the coat, feeling around and maybe accidentally jabbing Ain with an elbow in the process before he presents his Vision for him to see--or hold if he wants! It's a trinket that glows with hydro power when activated and Xingqiu has attached a tassel to his to match his style.]
[There's the tiniest oof as Xingqiu's elbow connects with his waist, but the accidental elbowing is immediately forgotten about once Ain's curious eyes settle upon the Vision in Xingqiu's hands.]
Oh! It looks almost like a gem of some sort.
[And after making that very observation, Ain politely reaches toward the ornate object to touch the hydro mark upon its surface as if to test if it really is a gem or not. In either case, it's extremely pretty, and he takes in its appearance for a good while before his eyes make their way back to Xingqiu's face. If that spark in his eyes is any indication, he has more questions. Lots of them.]
How are humans chosen by the Gods, precisely? Is it random? Do they have a process of elimination? [Slow down, buddy.] Did your Vision come with all of the decorative elements on it, or is that a stylistic choice of yours? [Ain—] If you did not have it on your person, would you be unable to use your abilities?
[Seeing the curiosity alight in Ain’s eyes is hard not to smile at. Xingqiu allows him to examine his Vision closely, not overly concerned about it breaking since its withstood being dropped dozens of times without issue.
What’s actually more difficult than watching someone handle it is trying to formulate an answer to one question while another is already being asked.
He’s quick witted but even that is a little difficult to keep up with. Xingqiu gives up and shakes his head, waiting for a pause before he tries to decide where to start.]
I don’t know how it works but I think it may be random and not genetic. Usually it happens during adolescence but there are instances of children receiving visions or activating inert visions by chance at very young ages. [Xingqiu taps his chin thoughtfully as he tries to consider all of his friends for a small sample size. They came from all walks of life. Definitely random. Maybe.]
No, I can’t use my abilities without it. There’s only one person I know of who can do it without issue and they’re not even from my world. Oh, I added the tassel, but it was like that when I received it.
[So, travelers to other worlds aren't uncommon where Xingqiu comes from, then? That's the conclusion Ain draws anyway, nodding thoughtfully once Xingqiu answers his endless barrage of inquiries.]
Fascinating. Where I come from, there's no such phenomenon.
[The elements on his home plane are also wildly unstable at times. If only there were Gods just handing out magic to some trusted individuals, maybe everything would be fine? Probably not. Ain shrugs internally and turns his attention back to the conversation at hand.]
If I may ask further, how did you get your Vision, Mr. Swordsman?
[They're still uncommon, but the ones that have seem to have made names for themselves in both good and bad ways. The one Xingqiu is closest to is a good person, though, so he may paint a picture of it in a more positive light than the reality.]
I see.. So people have elemental abilities innately? Are they born with them?
[Xingqiu taps on his chin in deep thought about the matter. He's never thought of how that might work. A human being able to harness the elements for their own use without first being favored by the corresponding archons. It's all quite fascinating--like an adventure book.]
It presented itself to me not that long ago..I'm still learning to master it, actually. I may not have been drawn to learn any form of swordsmanship if it hadn't. In fact, it's a little difficult to imagine what I would be like if it hadn't. [He'd still be a second son bookworm heir, but maybe just a lot less capable in a fight.]
Your world sounds so fascinating though. Tell me more about it. What do you do there?
[Ain spends a solid minute mulling over his answer to that question. There's a lot that goes into Elrios and how magic works there; plus, he's only been around humans for the last five years, having known nothing but a blank void for five hundred before that. He doesn't get into that particular bit for obvious reasons — obvious to him anyway.]
Me, personally? [That wispy laugh of his makes another appearance.] Well... primarily, I go on adventures with a fairly sizeable group of people in an effort to... currently, stop the world from ending, I suppose is the best way to describe it. We recently were face to face with demon armies, until I was pulled here, I suppose.
[Not fighting demons is all well and good, but Ain hopes that Elrios doesn't explode while he's gone.]
To answer your prior question, though, I suppose it's true that many are born with innate elemental abilities. Those with extremely strong affinity for specific elements are actually made into "Masters" of it. These Masters are meant to guard over the elements themselves, the "El" as we refer to them.
[A pause before Ain continues, glaring into the fire,] Though, there was one such Master who betrayed them and thus the realm itself — the Master of the Moon El — and as a result of his actions, a calamity known as the El Explosion took place. My companions and I were previously cleaning up the aftermath of that.
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[He has to raise his voice over the impetuous winds, yet still he can barely hear himself, so hopefully Xingqiu caught that. The snow here is far too deep for his liking, not that Ain really enjoys the snow in the first place. While he's struggling to trek through it, he stays mostly silent.
Ain files away Xingqiu's name in some corner of his brain before responding over the tempest,]
Ain is my name.
[The ruins are just ahead, which means that there's hopefully some form of shelter and no form of danger, because he's not keen on fighting at the moment. Not when his limbs are stiff from this frozen hellscape. Ain presses on. While he looks as though he's dressed for the weather, the truth is that he has a sleeveless shirt on underneath this, because fashion obviously comes before practicality. In short: He's effectively an ostentatious frozen block. Were it not for the coat, he might have already gotten frostbite and died.]
I assume you aren't from here either, yes? Do you have any inkling as to where we are?
[Or if they're going to die in this blizzard, for that matter.]
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[It's a nice name, but not one that he's heard before. He tries to tuck it into his memory, but it's hard to focus on much of anything with the howling wind around them. At least he isn't alone on his journey, as short as it might be.]
I don't know. I was home one moment, and then here the next. It's like the stories I read in books. [That's the best he can do to try to make sense of it all, and even then, he's too aware of how mundane his real life truly is to believe anything like this is possible.] Or, this could all be a dream.
[As they near the ruins Xingqiu can see that there are others in the area seeking shelter from the elements as well. There are small fires people have started to get warm, and so many different types of people that he suspects no one else knows what's going on either.] Can I ask you something? [..and without waiting on an answer:] Do you have an anemo vision? How were you able to manipulate the wind like that?
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Anemo... vision? [Confusion then melts into sarcasm as he remarks,] The only vision I have comes from my eyes.
[On the topic of magic, while it's true that Ain possesses some minor level of wind manipulation, the fact that the gust is currently avoiding him is beyond his understanding. Ain wordlessly climbs over a fallen pillar in the entryway, contemplating the hows and the whys of it, though he does pause and turns to offer a hand to Xingqiu to help him over.]
To be truthful with you, I don't know. The winds avoiding me like that only started happening here. [He shakes his head, then smiles politely.] I chalked it up to my own magic acting out of turn for lack of a better explanation.
[It's not the best one, because Ain would normally feel his magic acting up, but it's what he has. With a sigh, he turns his attention to the people mingling within the ruin proper. Maybe one of them knows what's going on? How they both could have simply ended up here? Why the winds are acting strangely? Or perhaps they're equally as lost.]
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What do you call the thing that gives you elemental abilities?
[Xingqiu is ready to go down the rabbit hole of questioning but Ain answers his question quick enough that he doesn't spiral down that path toward an inquisition. He takes Ain's hand to help him over the large stone pillar, but he's still contemplating their situation as they are finally out of the snowstorm with some amount of shelter.]
I understand. I don't have immunity to cold, in fact I'm particularly susceptible to frost. I'm not sure why I'm not troubled by the cold right now, either...
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It's significantly warmer in here than outside due to all of the bodies huddling around various fires. Not warm enough to be overly comfortable, but warm enough to keep the biting cold out.]
If I may ask, [he begins conversationally,] why are you more vulnerable to the cold?
[And, that being said, even if Xingqiu isn't a frozen block right now, Ain starts leading the both of them to a nearby fire. He doesn't exactly ask the people resting around it already if there's room for the two of them, just sort of... sits down and expectantly looks up at Xingqiu. In his mind, if Xingqiu is more at risk of death due to frost, he should probably be where it's warmest.
Also, Ain doesn't exactly get social norms, so he has that going for him. Luckily for his oblivious and socially-inept self, he seems to have picked some rather nice people to sit near.]
Are you sure that your nerves aren't completely frozen and that that's why you're feeling fine at the moment?
[Can that even happen? Ain has a lackluster understanding of humans.]
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Hopefully he lowers his gaze before Ain can notice his staring, and in the meanwhile he rubs his hands over his arms to try warming himself up. Even if it's not bothering him, he doesn't want the effects of potential frost bite (or something similar) to take hold.]
Back home, water is my element of choice. It involves being constantly wet and prone to freezing at the slightest sign of any cryo effect. I would have been frozen solid three times over normally..
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If Ain noticed any staring at all, he doesn't give indication of it. In fact, he's doing some of his own, and he's not making an attempt to hide it, green eyes wide with curiosity.]
You've found yourself in dire straits, then.
[Ain decides after a moment that Xingqiu likely needs more warmth than he does in this moment, considering what he just mentioned, and so Ain wordlessly removes his coat and tosses it over Xingqiu's shoulders. It's very large and very heavy, considering the bulk of it is made up of fur, but that should at least help. He thinks, anyway. Bereft of his coat, he really has no defense other than the nearby fire and other warm bodies nearby against the cold, but Ain figures he's had worse.
Like nearly dying in the void of time and space, for example. That has to be worse than being cold!]
If you don't mind my asking... when you picked your element, [he's assuming it was a choice, and not something Xingqiu was born with or something,] did you know that it would make you particularly sensitive to freezing to death? Would you pick a different magical discipline if you could?
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Unless the issue is that one is very clearly dressed more appropriately for the weather than the other. Xingqiu looks down at his bare legs as he sits down, bringing his knees chest once he's seated near to the fire. Maybe Ain is right. The heavy coat lands on him before he can say as much, and he's torn between pulling it on and insisting Ain keep it.]
I didn't choose. It chose me--a gift from the gods as they say.] [If he's going to keep the coat then he might as well huddle a bit closer to its owner to share the warmth.] It suits me though, so I've never given thought to anything else. Although, it would be nice to fly. [He offers a smile, then looks onward to the fire with a more serious expression until he remembers they're in the middle of a conversation.] And you? Did you choose the wind?
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That said, Ain skips over the part where he's an angel and instead goes into,]
No, I certainly didn't... if anything, I'm more of a healer than someone with abilities to control the winds. The most I could do back home was whip up a few minor gusts, just enough to push enemies away or trap them in place. Nothing like what happened when we were outside.
[He'd like to be able to fly too, he thinks, instead of float places when he chooses to. There's a difference, obviously. Flying is objectively cooler.]
I use a pendulum as an arcane focus, you see. It's in the left-hand pocket of my coat. [He makes a vague motion to it with his hand, propping his elbow on his knee thereafter.] If you have any injuries, I could heal them for you.
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I can only heal minor injuries. I think I’m far better at protecting people from damage. [Xingqiu looks down at himself covered in someone else’s coat as they go cold and he doesn’t feel very chivalrous at the moment, so he sighs instead.] A pendulum?
[He reaches into the pocket to take it out, turning it over in his hands as he examines it.] Most of my training has been with the sword.
[At the offer to be healed, he doesn’t have too much in the way of injuries besides a scrape here and there on his legs. He didn’t need healing, but he’s far too curious about Ain and his abilities not to stick his leg out from under the coat that dwarfs him to reveal a cut near his knee.]
You can have your coat back after this. I don’t want to be a burden.
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Sure enough, as Xingqiu reveals the cut on his leg, Ain is already plucking his pendulum from Xingqiu's hands and holding it in his own, a soft blue light glimmering in the middle of it while three much more ornate-looking yellow lights glow in the opposite hand. Healing such a minor wound is a simple process — all Ain does is motion with a finger, and as if they're sentient, the little golden lights float toward the wound. Ain has been told in the past that his healing sort of feels like a feather brushing over the skin, but he hasn't confirmed that for himself.
A moment passes as his magic does its work, and just as soon as they arrived, the little lights dissipate. He beams, clearly happy to have helped regardless of the scrape's severity.]
Usually, [he manages a small, airy laugh,] I have to heal entire groups of people all at once. But, ah... I wouldn't want you to freeze to death, Mr. Swordsman. You borrowing my coat is hardly burdensome.
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That's incredible. Most of the healers where I come from are Vision-users that are gifted with hydro--water. Like me. But I've never been very good at that part, and never more than one person at a time.. That is quite impressive.
[He's reluctant to hang on to the coat even if Ain is just being considerate.] I won't freeze to death. [After glancing between the two of them and the fur lined coat, he shifts closer with an idea. It's not ideal (or socially acceptable) to position oneself so close to a practical stranger, but desperate times call for impractical measures.]
We can share.
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It's still the least bit odd, but he doesn't mind it as much as he would if he were back home. The warmth is certainly welcome, and Xingqiu does fit rather snugly within the coat anyway, so it's not like they're fighting to keep underneath it. Accepting Xingqiu's, well, not exactly offer but his insistence, perhaps is the term he wants, Ain agreeably drapes one half of the coat over his shoulder. Sure. Sharing so that no one gets frostbite makes sense to him.
Humans are entertaining, he thinks, and then he leaves that thought there.]
May I ask a question, if you don't mind? [If Xingqiu does mind, Ain doesn't give him a second to speak up about it, continuing,] You have referenced "Visions" twice now. Am I right to assume that it doesn't refer to some sort of hallucination or dream or otherwise, and that this is the name you use for your Gods-given magic?
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Ask me anything.
[After some shuffling, it doesn't take long to get comfortable again while they're tucked together side to side to share the warmth of the coat. It becomes less of an issue when he can feel Constantin warming up again, and he focuses instead on their conversation.]
Where I come from, some humans are chosen by the gods and gifted with Visions. They're magical foci that we use to manifest elemental abilities. [Xingqiu squirms around under the coat, feeling around and maybe accidentally jabbing Ain with an elbow in the process before he presents his Vision for him to see--or hold if he wants! It's a trinket that glows with hydro power when activated and Xingqiu has attached a tassel to his to match his style.]
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Oh! It looks almost like a gem of some sort.
[And after making that very observation, Ain politely reaches toward the ornate object to touch the hydro mark upon its surface as if to test if it really is a gem or not. In either case, it's extremely pretty, and he takes in its appearance for a good while before his eyes make their way back to Xingqiu's face. If that spark in his eyes is any indication, he has more questions. Lots of them.]
How are humans chosen by the Gods, precisely? Is it random? Do they have a process of elimination? [Slow down, buddy.] Did your Vision come with all of the decorative elements on it, or is that a stylistic choice of yours? [Ain—] If you did not have it on your person, would you be unable to use your abilities?
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What’s actually more difficult than watching someone handle it is trying to formulate an answer to one question while another is already being asked.
He’s quick witted but even that is a little difficult to keep up with. Xingqiu gives up and shakes his head, waiting for a pause before he tries to decide where to start.]
I don’t know how it works but I think it may be random and not genetic. Usually it happens during adolescence but there are instances of children receiving visions or activating inert visions by chance at very young ages. [Xingqiu taps his chin thoughtfully as he tries to consider all of his friends for a small sample size. They came from all walks of life. Definitely random. Maybe.]
No, I can’t use my abilities without it. There’s only one person I know of who can do it without issue and they’re not even from my world. Oh, I added the tassel, but it was like that when I received it.
no subject
Fascinating. Where I come from, there's no such phenomenon.
[The elements on his home plane are also wildly unstable at times. If only there were Gods just handing out magic to some trusted individuals, maybe everything would be fine? Probably not. Ain shrugs internally and turns his attention back to the conversation at hand.]
If I may ask further, how did you get your Vision, Mr. Swordsman?
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I see.. So people have elemental abilities innately? Are they born with them?
[Xingqiu taps on his chin in deep thought about the matter. He's never thought of how that might work. A human being able to harness the elements for their own use without first being favored by the corresponding archons. It's all quite fascinating--like an adventure book.]
It presented itself to me not that long ago..I'm still learning to master it, actually. I may not have been drawn to learn any form of swordsmanship if it hadn't. In fact, it's a little difficult to imagine what I would be like if it hadn't. [He'd still be a second son bookworm heir, but maybe just a lot less capable in a fight.]
Your world sounds so fascinating though. Tell me more about it. What do you do there?
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Me, personally? [That wispy laugh of his makes another appearance.] Well... primarily, I go on adventures with a fairly sizeable group of people in an effort to... currently, stop the world from ending, I suppose is the best way to describe it. We recently were face to face with demon armies, until I was pulled here, I suppose.
[Not fighting demons is all well and good, but Ain hopes that Elrios doesn't explode while he's gone.]
To answer your prior question, though, I suppose it's true that many are born with innate elemental abilities. Those with extremely strong affinity for specific elements are actually made into "Masters" of it. These Masters are meant to guard over the elements themselves, the "El" as we refer to them.
[A pause before Ain continues, glaring into the fire,] Though, there was one such Master who betrayed them and thus the realm itself — the Master of the Moon El — and as a result of his actions, a calamity known as the El Explosion took place. My companions and I were previously cleaning up the aftermath of that.