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    14 Mott St

    1:13 PM

    Johann wandered the streets of Chinatown. Comics shops, odd candy shops, ooh. A restaurant.

     

    Ramen. Ra-Men? Servants of an Egyptian god? They'd created a noodle dish that had become popularized in Japan, and then all over the world. 

     

    Johann did feel a tad bit hungry. Well, he'd only eaten three double-bacon cheeseburgers and a loaf of sourdough bread this morning. Might as well try something out of his comfort zone. 

     

    A gust of autumn air wafted into the restaurant, much to the chagrin of the hostess, standing right in front of the door. 

     

    [npc]Hello! Welcome to Ajisen Ramen. How many in your party today? [/npc]

     

    Johann returned the enthusiastic smile. [johann] Just myself. [/johann] The words were deadpan.

     

    The hostess showed him to a small table, handed over the menu, and left. 

     

    So what was Ramen? The menu didn't help much, but the pictures did make him hungrier. Fried chicken, japanese ribs, Barbecue Pork with noodles and egg? It all looked good. 

     

    The waitress came over. Johann pointed at the "Set Meal" portion of the menu--each item on which was a full meal with rice and meat--and flatly proclaimed:

     

    [johann]I'll start with the dumplings, and then, I'll have one of each of these. [/johann] The waitress almost dropped the tea pot the establishment delivered instead of plain water because she was laughing so hard.

     

    [npc] A beansprout like you? [/npc]

     

    [johann] I'm completely serious. One of each. [/johann] 

     

    She marked down the dragonian's request, then stepped back to the kitchen to put the massive order in. Johann leaned back in the chair and took a sip of the tea, waiting for the food to come out.

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    • 2 months later...

    Dika was in Chinatown looking for some supplies for a dinner he was having with some friends. He had gotten beef brisket and tendon for a casserole, and after some cajoling from a particularly cheery vendor he had purchased some chicken feet, although he hadn't the slightest clue how to prepare or serve it. He sighed at the thought of coming up with some sort of use for it just as he smelled cooking chicken. Dika looked up and smiled, recognizing the little girl holding the bowl of ramen that was the logo for the store, called Ajisen Ramen. No matter what language the sign was in or where he was, he recognized that little girl for sure! Dika grinned wider as he kept taking in the scents and walked up to the door. 
     
    The hostess smiled at him and said [NPC]Hello! Welcome to Ajisen Ramen. How many in your party today?[/NPC]
     
    [dika]"Just myself today ありがと."[/dika]  Dika said as she turned and escorted him to a table. He sat and waved the menu away,  [dika]"Spicy Miso ありがと してください  ."[/dika]

     

    The hostess smiled again and said [npc]どういたしまして .[/npc] before walking away to put his order in.

     

    Dika began to sip his tea as he saw the hostess come back towards his table with a tray. He arched an eyebrow as he sipped his tea, knowing that it couldn't be his food already. Then, he saw another staff member follow closely behind the hostess carrying a tray as well, clearly headed toward a family who had ordered quite a bit of food. Dika watched as they began to set the food out on a table that was next to him, with only one man sitting at it. Dika's face scrunched up for a moment in confusion, surely that wasn't all for the one man. Dika watched in his peripheral vision as the man looked like he was preparing to in fact eat it all himself.

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    Johann was thinking about a few special orders he'd received lately. It wasn't like his shop was all custom gear, but he did get a healthy flow of requests for specialty items.

     

    It wasn't until the waitress came back with someone else close behind, bringing the food, that he considered he might have ordered too much food. It was not unusual for him to consume such mass quantities on a daily basis if he'd been tending the forge and working in his hybrid form, but for those who didn't know him, it was a bit of a shock. He might have been better off just snacking throughout the day.

     

    He thanked the hostess and other waiter as they brought him his nourishment, and smiled as they turned to leave, the table at which he was seated now covered in plates and bowls. In fact, they'd had to bring over another table, just to fit it all. 

     

    There was another man seated nearby in the otherwise somewhat quiet restaurant. Johann knew he was being stared at, but he really just couldn't have cared less. The staff were also watching him, which made sense. It was the equivalent of what he understood to have been a distinctly human phenomenon--the food challenge... as though eating food were any sort of challenge at all.

     

    Johann, untrained in the art of chopsticks, though he'd lived on this Earth and consumed food from almost all of its cuisines--many restaurants had either survived through or been reborn after the event, apparently--picked up a fork and began to eat, shoveling heaping piles of rice and meat into his mouth. Johann was limited only by the speed at which he could physically fit the food into his mouth and swallow it. About two plates through the dragon's meal, he stopped, leaned back for a moment, and took a surprisingly light sip from the cup of tea. 

     

    The staff had actually started recording him. It was, after all rather astonishing to see entire meals disappear in a matter of two to three minutes apiece. 

     

    Johann glanced over at the other man, whose food had just arrived, then turned his gaze to the hostess, who had come by to ask something or another. The dragon fidgeted with some words in his mind, trying to remember the appropriate response to the question he expected, speaking before she had a chance to ask anything. [johann] My compliments to the chef. It's very delicious. [/johann]

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    • 2 weeks later...

    Dika chuckled as he saw some of the staff and patrons pull out their various gadgets and being taking pictures and recording the man seated near him. He had even forgone the use of chopsticks and just began shoveling food into his mouth with a fork. Dika smiled and shook his head just as the server brought his small bowl along.

     

    [dika]" いただきます ."[/dika]   said Dika as he unwrapped his chopsticks and began to slowly eat as he heard the man near him compliment the chef. Dika was glad to hear that he was honestly there to eat and enjoy the food, not just to be rude and show off his eating skills, as if that was something to show off. 

     

    Dika eyed the other man as he sipped his tea, wondering what it was he was seeing in the mana patterns around the man. Whatever it was, it was quite foreign to Dika, he had never come across anything like it before. Dika realized he was staring and quickly tore his gaze away and began to eat again.

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    The waitress poured another cup of tea and smiled, leaving to convey his message to the chef, who at this point had already stepped out of the kitchen, not believing that one man was eating half his menu. 

     

    As Johann returned to his meal, he spotted the man seated near him staring. It was kind of like the way his apprentice had first stared... perhaps this man shared the same,or similar gifts?

     

    Fork was set down as the dragon turned to his companion in eating. [johann] I'm sorry for interrupting your meal. [/johann] Johann smiled. [johann] I hope it's not too rude to ask if you were watching mana streams.[/johann] The smile remained, even as Johann spoke with the other man. [johann] My apprentice often does the same thing. I guess my physiology warps the mana fields even when I'm not using my abilities. [/johann] 

     

    While waiting for the man to reply, Johann downed another plate of meat and vegetables, wiping his mouth with a napkin once he'd finished. 

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    Dika couldn't help but go a little wide-eyed as the man spoke. Sure, it was easy to notice everyone watching, but Dika thought he would be safe staring for a moment or two, the rest of the restaurant was. Dika composed himself and reached for his teacup to take a sip while mumbling under his breath.  [dika]"Te comiste un perico."[/dika]   Dika set his teacup down and turned to face the man and said, sotto voce;  [dika]"This probably isn't the best place to talk about something like that, is it?"[/dika]   Dika had stopped eating completely and was leaning in towards the other man, so as not to be overheard. This wasn't something to be talked about in polite company, out in the open like this, after all.

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    • 3 weeks later...

    Johann turned back to his food while he waited for the man's response. Something was mumbled, and then the man intimated that their discussion was not for public consumption, which seemed odd, to say the least, for the Dragonian. 

     

    Whatever. People were entitled to their beliefs, he'd learned. [johann] OK. [/johann] He cut himself off, realizing that he still had food in his mouth. Swallowing the mouthful, Johann spoke up again. [johann] Sorry about that, then. I've never kept it a secret that I'm a dragon, and it's rare that someone else wishes to keep their own abilities quiet. [/johann] 

     

    The dragon shrugged and went back to his food. There really was no helping it if people didn't actually want to talk about the more interesting things in life. Just as well, he thought. The sooner he weeded boring people out of his way, the sooner he could get back to more important things... what were those things, again? Oh right, being a dragon. He'd never get tired of that. 

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    Dika choked on a bite of food as he heard the man utter one mere word; one word was all it took for Dika to be rendered unable to chew and swallow like he had been nearly his entire life. Dika made a fist and slammed it against his chest as he coughed and cleared his throat, reaching for his teacup to drink and help his food rearrange itself back into a form his body was used to handling. He stood, leaving his food and drink behind, and moved over to sit across from the man; ignoring niceties of personal space just as the other man had ignored the niceties of polite conversation. Dika leaned in close, and continued to whisper,  [dika]"¿Qué quieres decir, dragón?"[/dika]   Dika leaned back, waving a hand and shaking his head, having forgotten himself for a moment. He leaned in again, still whispering,  [dika]"Dragon? Dragon?"[/dika]   He repeated himself, slowly, the thought so incredulous he could barely believe it was forming into a question and coming out of his mouth.

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    Johann kept one eye on the man as he consumed his food, setting aside yet another plate. The stranger, seemingly interested by what Johann figured was pretty mundane... well, it was exciting to humans, he had to assume... came over and sat across from him. 

     

    Understandably, the man was shocked. Johann reflected on the many times he'd told people what he was. Humans were given to fear, and understandably so, knowing that his kin were decimating some of the formerly great human civilizations across the Atlantic. 

     

    [johann] Yes. A dragon. Fire, wings, kidnapping princesses. [/johann] A soft chuckle. [johann] I'm kidding about that last part. Why would I ever want to kidnap a princess? That seems like so much more trouble than it's worth. [/johann]

     

    A momentary pause. [johann] My apologies. I should have introduced myself.[/johann] The dragonian slipped a hand into his pocket and withdrew a business card, then leaned forward across the table and extended it. [johann] My name is Johann Seastian Eligius. I run a forge and custom enchantment shop down in the harbor district. [/johann] 

     

    The card itself was simple--a matte black cardstock with an embossed dragon's head on one side, and an address on the other. [johann] Feel free to stop by any time. [/johann]

     

    Right, the conversation had started from him admitting he was a dragon. [johann] And you? Not affiliated with ARMA or the OFL, i would assume. No plainly visible badge, and you didn't know about dragons.[/johann] A sip from the cup of tea before he continued. [johann] Vanguard would have tried to have me in cuffs by now, I'm sure. Perhaps an officer of the law or a private citizen?[/johann] 

     

    Johann leaned back in the chair as he spoke. [johann] Though someone with those eyes would be in great demand... if indeed, you have mana sight. [/johann] A strange man, but still only a man. 

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    • 2 weeks later...

    Dika ignored the card that was offered to him before it was set down upon the table. He leaned back in his chair with an amazed grin on his face. He could hardly believe it. All the stories and fables leading up to this moment of truth, when a simple man with a simple appearance sat across from him, a dragon. Of course there was most likely another, actually imposing and impressive form; but a dragon, Dika was still incredulous. Dika's mind raced from personal question to imaginary scenario and finally landed on one he thought was easy and not too personal.  [dika]"So,"[/dika]   Dika began,  [dika]"ein lindwurm named 'Eligius'; that's pretty on-the-nose, eh? Your family must have a history of smithing, no?"[/dika]   Dika pressed, wanting to test the mans knowledge; especially before answering the questions that had been asked of him already, not wanting to reveal himself just yet.

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    • 2 weeks later...

    How little this man knew. How little they all knew. [Johann]The Eligius Clan stretches back millennia.[/johann] It was a quiet statement. [Johann]My... I believe you humans call it a great, great, great grandfather was named Prometheus.[/johann] The dragonian gave a pause. [Johann] Yes, that same prometheus of your mythology.[/Johann]

     

    [Johann] Somewhere down the line, humanity dissociated him from his last name... and you created a St. Eligius.[/johann] It was of no concern to Johann whether this human believed him.

     

    [Johann] I will say that I chose a new name that you humans could pronounce so I could do business here... and Bach conjures such great emotion. [/Johann] A smile played across his face again. [Johann]Anything else?[/johann]

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    Dika smirked, glad that the man knew his own history, but wanted to test out the ego that the man had brandished so boldly.  [dika]"I have a thought. A long time ago, I came across a mage who had a wand. He said it was his family's ancient relic, made from the bone of a dragon, forged by one of his magician killers. He of course had a grand story about how they wrangled the dragon and killed it."[/dika]   Dika nonchalantly reached for his tea, giving Johann time to let his anger brew before continuing.  [dika]"The wand was capped on either end, one a magical seal and the other a large ruby. He said that the hollow bone contained the dying breath of the dragon, the most magical he would ever breathe. All over the bone was what he called 'the writing of angels' that allowed him to tap into the flames within. It really did shoot fire, I watched him use it. The writing was just a few Enochian words, probably the verbal triggers for the magic to work. Anyway, my thought is; with you being a dragon and a blacksmith, do you think it would be possible to re-create this wand? Of course I mean in a way that doesn't include the murder of another creature, using more ingenuity rather than outdated sacrifices and prayers."[/dika]   Dika had added color to his story of course, the truth was rather boring. The real challenge here laid in whether or not Johann thought he could do it; there couldn't be a better candidate found, he thought.

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    [johann] That had to be millennia old... and likely made from the bone of a juvenile. [/johann] The dragon murmured to himself

     

    There was no bone in draconian anatomy that would be small enough to be considered a wand otherwise.

     

    It wasn't like him to get worked up about something as trivial as ancient history, much less when he knew what was his kin were doing in Europe right now... but to slaughter a juvenile? Even the humans had some kind of honor in them... their children were off limits in times of war.

     

    [johann] Folklore, likely. [/johann] The words were uttered quietly, so as not to interrupt the story. Johann's demeanor was the same... a facade he had to keep up, for fear of a repeated incident.

     

    Dika finished talking. [johann] So you're asking me if I can make a stick that shoots flames?[/johann] 

     

    A loud, boisterous laugh erupted from the man. [johann] Here. [/johann] Slowly, Johann reached back behind him and slipped one of his pocketknives from its resting place in the seat of his jeans, setting it on the table for Dika to evaluate. Then, he picked it up. [johann] Watch closely.[/johann] Thumb-stud assisted its opening, and the knife clicked into place. Johann closed his fingers around the grip and the blade started to glow... no, it was burning. Flames were emanating from the surface of the metal. 

     

    If Dika indeed had the ability to view the flow of mana, he would know that this was the result of mana flowing from the dragon into the knife, where an imbued enchantment converted the energy to flames.

     

    After a moment or two, the flames went out, Johann folded up the knife, and handed it over to the man across the table.

     

    The staff of the restaurant had been watching the two men sit and talk, now less obvious in their observations. One smiled, nodding her head at this point. [npc]Mahōka[/npc] She whispered to the waitress next to her, who also shook her head. Those crazy magicians, always doing something ridiculous. The group dispersed, satisfied with this only partially correct assertion.

     

    [johann] You find me the steel, I'll make you a stick that shoots fire, ice, air... whatever you want. [/johann]

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    Dika steeled his jaw as the dragon created flames to run along the blade of the knife. He smiled and pushed the knife back towards Johann.  [dika]"I appreciate that you have the ability to create the flames your people are so well-known for; but I don't think that the restaurant has the same level of respect that I have, we may want to be more careful."[/dika]   Talking about magic out in the open was one thing, however rude it seemed for Dika apparently it wasn't considered so around here. It was an entirely different matter to start lighting things on fire in the middle of a restaurant. He was probing Johann for answers and getting them, however in a showy, in-your-face way. Dika took a deep breath and re-focused himself, smiling again; this time much more sincerely. He picked up the card from the table and pocketed it.  [dika]"I have your card, I appreciate the offer for help, but I think for now it would be best for me to leave. I'm not sure exactly what it is I'm looking for just yet; but I am pretty sure these people would like to return to work. I'd like to continue our conversation elsewhere, and soon. I'll see you around, lindwurm."[/dika]

     

    With that, Dika stood up, withdrew his wallet, and paid double for his meal; hoping the extra money would help make up for the display. He nodded and waved at the servers still watching them closely, and saying a quick  [dika]"ありがと."[/dika]   before heading out the door. Dika mulled everything over in his head as he walked, still processing everything he had learned.

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