Welcome to Gaia! ::

Earth customs were not something Iriel had had much time to acquaint himself with, so he wasn't completely sure how this meeting was supposed to go or what was expected of him. That was the only reason he'd informed Thaddeus that he had a date to attend! Which he wouldn't have bothered to inform anyone of anything regarding his schedule- he'd lived alone for so long that it easily slipped his mind that his activities might be anyone else's business (it wouldn't be Thad's business if Iriel didn't live under his roof. Alas).

His... keepers? What was he supposed to call the Knights who took him in and helped him acclimate?

Whatever. They had their doubts about Iriel going off alone with someone who wasn't very familiar with powered life, but... Well, it wasn't like they could stop him, and maybe it would benefit Iriel and his new friend to learn from each other, anyway. And so it was especially convenient that they had already taken Iriel Christmas shopping.

He could not remember a time ever in his life where he'd gone shopping for a whole wardrobe- probably because he couldn't remember a time in his life where he'd been anyone besides Lovas. There'd surely been a boy who existed before, a boy who had to dress warmly on his cold planet, but that boy was a thousand years past. He'd only known Lovas' fuku in every memory, which repaired and cleaned itself whenever he powered up and down. There hadn't been need for much else.

But Thad and Eli had taken him out to get garments in his size so that Iriel might go out in his glamour as not-Lovas.

And the clothes at the shops that had drawn Iriel's eye were suspiciously like the clothes he was most accustomed to wearing: long pants that clung to his thighs, knee high and heavy boots that required an obnoxious amount of strapping, shirts that wrapped around his chest like they were always wet. And then Thaddeus had insisted on a coat. Something long and dense that would maybe, hopefully conceal him-?

Which had been a ridiculous thought on Thad's part that Iriel balked at.

He left it open, hung off his shoulders by the floofy fur collar.

Otherwise, his human glamour did not look so different than his typical appearance. Dark hair with one long lock pulled over his shoulder, moderately dark skin, lavender eyes, bright smile.

Windsor had powered down in front of him, so Iriel did know which boy he was looking for as he arrived on the scene. Dark hair, fair skin, green eyes, oh, and that expression of someone looking for something helped as well.

"Alexiiii! Hi. I've been thinking about you all night." Iriel called as he took long, quick strides up to stand in front of the other. "As I was getting dressed, I realized I didn't actually know what we were doing, so I hope this is appropriate wear." Not that he would know if it was or wasn't, regardless of what activities they had planned.

"All night!" Iriel agreed again with a quick nod of confirmation. He didn't make plans with people, and the plans he'd generally made with and for himself over the past centuries had been almost exclusively for survival. There was no joy in it, no fun. Doing something with someone purely for recreation purposes made his heart thrum with a certain anticipation that simply had not been present for so, so long. Who could blame him for having it on his mind?

Iriel fell in easily at Alexi's side, letting his eyes wander around the selection of shops and restaurants around them. "I've enjoyed every Earth delicacy I've sampled," he admitted. "Though I am partial to animal flesh. I have not heard of most- any- of this planet's specimens. Any will do."

And so as to not ruin the 'perfect' impression he was leaving on Alexi, Iriel decided not to comment on how he'd learned that not all Earth animals were for consumption. Which seemed like a dreadful waste to him, but Thad and Eli had looked horrified when he pounced on a squirrel in the park. Or when he snatched a large goldfish from the fountain in the mall. Special Animals. Only for looking (for some reason- the bites he'd gotten had tasted perfectly edible).

"Hm? Is that so?" Iriel asked, tilting his head at his companion's offered hand. "When traversing Lovas, it is best to have hands free in case of an immediate need to defend yourself, but I suppose it wouldn't do to break tradition here."

It wasn't like he was on Lovas, anyway.

So he fitted Alexi's smaller hand into his and let the other lead him toward wherever they were going. "Tell me about you. What are your favorite Earth things? Food or activities or sights or people."

They really were a very social species. It was only infrequently that Iriel saw almost anyone out and about alone, anywhere. Thaddeus and Elias also seemed to greatly enjoy each other's company, rather than solitude, and more often than not arranged for their partner's comfort more than their own. ...It wasn't something Lovas had had to contend with for many centuries. Even while his world was populated, survival was somewhat of a... selfish affair.

He enjoyed company (perhaps preferred it) and was not easily overwhelmed, but it was a great divergence from anything he was accustomed to. So many bodies milling about in a comparatively small area...

"Hm?" His lavender gaze snapped down, brows pursing and a little pout causing his lip to jut. "Stoic? Me? It is almost an insult. Have I not been lively enough for you? I admit that I am still learning what is appropriate on this world, but stoic? I have never been."

That Alexi had to ask after his coordination was, frankly, equally as insulting. Iriel balked, incredulous. "I am an impressive warrior and hunter and have survived many, many strifes. I don't think I could've done that if I was falling all over myself at every instance." And then, because he was still struggling to understand- perhaps some kind of language barrier: "Stoic?"

Despite still wearing a bit of a pout, Iriel wasn't resistant to where Alexi led. Curiosity and all that. "It should be no great struggle to support you," he replied. It wasn't like Alexi was very heavy or large. Though 'helping him not fall on his a**' didn't say much about what they were doing, but as always, he was happy to be a long for the ride, and he didn't hate surprises. And the following question didn't disappoint in that regard.

"Ah. I- Hm." Another pursing of his brows, a pinch of his face, eyes squinting in thought as Iriel tried to recall memories that had long since left him. There definitely hadn't been any dancing in recent times, but perhaps some thousand years ago, maybe with his own people or while he was on ▋▋▋▋... "Do I dance presently? No, I suppose." No reason to spend his limited energy on that while he was alone and weakened, but he was not those things, anymore.

And even if he could remember very few specifics about his experiences that occurred more than a couple hundred years ago, he could conjure in his imaginings great, vast halls glittering with gold and crystals and countless bodies sweeping in some form of unison across the floor.

He felt apart from it, not his own world, certainly, but still included.

"I think I did at one point. Maybe with some regularity. I don't much recall what I thought of it. But it was positive, probably!" 'Probably,' because unpleasant memories didn't have that shimmery, radiant effect. "It may take a bit to get into the swing of things, but I've come across so few activities I couldn't excel at. This should hardly be different when I have such beautiful motivation at my fingertips already." He gave the hand he was still holding a little squeeze.

He nodded agreeably. "I am not concerned about the cold." And in fact, any respite from the cold was new to him. His planet was on the chillier side, and any electrical heating was a thing of pure imagination before he came to Earth! It was so strange that it could be warm inside with no fire.

"Oooh!" Lovas' face lit up immediately, breaking into a wide smile and giving an excited little bounce of his own at the mention of shoe blades. "I will not lie, I am practiced in very few forms of weaponized combat, though I have enjoyed the ones I've partaken in. My people preferred a more hands-on approach: typically only short blades and spears. Arrows on occasion. But I have no familiarity with the style of hunt that involves bladed shoes- and, indeed, I had wondered if anyone on your world partook in the hunt at all."

"Tell me, what sort of creature is to be hunted in this manner, Alexi?" He was all wide eyes and bright, fanged smile, certainly looking the most excited he'd been since- Probably since arriving on this world? "I expect it is more for leisure sport than for sustenance or protection, but I still hope it is something monstrous."

...Although it couldn't possibly be, could it? The only monsters he'd seen were Youma, and most humans on this planet weren't supposed to know of them...

“Ah, so there is no monstrous creature, then.” It was to be expected. Besides the Youma, there was little in the nearby vicinity for regular civilians to hunt. The sport around here was severely lacking, but Iriel had been… mostly aware of that by this point. Consequently, his disappointment was not too great, though perhaps his smile softened just a touch. “I suppose I could still do with the exercise. I am interested in this new technique. Maybe it will come in handy during the slaughter of the beings who’ve allowed themselves to be harborers of the Poison of the Universe.” Despite his little smile, there was venom in his tone.

Ultimately, he shouldn’t be partaking in Earth sport, anyway. He shouldn’t be doing almost anything just ‘for fun’ when his world was the way it was. Lovas was here, specifically, to find a way to free his planet. And that was the only thing that mattered. The only thing he needed to accomplish.

That the Evil was here and could be… reduced by killing those afflicted with it should be sport enough.

And then, after perhaps too long a pause, “I mean, not slaughter.” Because Regal had said most killing was frowned upon here and humans tended to look unfavorably upon those who too gleefully partook in the killing of other humans.

He didn’t elaborate further.

“I can use a bow somewhat. It has never been my primary method, but I do know how. But it is irrelevant. This exercise will be enough, probably. And we can do it together! So that’s a positive.” They could probably murder- Ahem. Aggressively discipline the agents of Chaos together, as well, and that would probably be more useful. But this could be nice too. Good companionship-building practice for more dangerous tasks.

Iriel dutifully followed Alexi to the ice rink. They rented skates (which Iriel found to be the least comfortable Earth garment he’d tried on yet - but he was no stranger to discomfort) and hit the ice. Literally. In several instances. The ‘skating’ motion was not one Iriel was familiar with, and the stopping even less so. But as with most new tasks he undertook, he preferred to not be bad at it and didn’t want to surrender without at least some dedicated effort.

The learning process wasn’t fraught with the threat of death, so Iriel was generally relaxed and easygoing despite the initial failures. And eventually, he could at least not stumble with every step. Though he definitely wasn’t a speed demon. Some people seemed to be able to fly around and do little tricks and spins and jumps. None of that for him, obviously.

Most of them seemed quite a bit… leaner and more graceful than him. He was happy to just learn the basics.

While they practiced, Iriel held Alexi’s hand and spoke of his world- cold, but extremely limited water. And consequently, minimal ice. There was nothing even similar to skating on his planet (there was barely leisure of any kind on his world- survival was a constant task, even before the Chaos). He told Alexi of the Knights he resided with and their young Senshi daughter. Teyla would probably like skating. She was probably already good at it, even! But the guys? Hmm… They did not seem as likely to participate in ‘fun’ activities, but maybe Iriel just didn’t know them well enough yet.

They did a lot more sitting at home than Iriel was comfortable with, doing the most menial chores he had ever heard of. So much cooking and cleaning, and paperwork? And watching the slab with the people inside. Truly tedious. Tedious, but peaceful.

Perhaps he could stomach tedium in moderation if it was full of the warmth of family and some security from the dangers of the universe.

They circled the rink in comfortable chatter for some degree of time that Iriel didn’t really know how to measure. It was hunger that drove them out, and there seemed little reason not to end the afternoon with a quick snack. At a place of Iriel’s suggestion this time: a reference from Thad that was allegedly ‘pretty good’ that Iriel had never tried, and he wanted to at least try so many things while he was on this planet.

At the end of it all, Iriel tugged Alexi against him and nuzzled roughly against the side of his head. “It was fun!” New. “Call me on my phone thingy and we can do something else sometime.”