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[Leo thought he had met socially awkward people before, incorrect.]

Like... we look at animals? You actually talk to me instead of stoically being silent almost the entire time? I don't mind talking, but I'd like a convo, you know? Not just... you pretend I'm not there until I irritate you enough to respond.

[Shit okay that was to-the-point in a completely different way than he was expecting.]

Alright. [fuuuuuck okay he needs to, like, prep conversation topics. But hey at least he asked and it's better than doing...exactly what Leonardo thought he would....

(fuck)

Well. Hopefully this means Leonardo isn't just planning to tell him lies about animals for an hour straight.]

I have work tonight but I can make time tomorrow. How early do you wake up?

[rude, Gladion, Leo crafted those animal lies just for you!]

I can get up around 9 or 10am easy. I don't sleep that much anyway. What time works for you?

We can make it there by opening, that works for me. [<- guy who basically wakes up at sunrise now]

Can do. I'll tell Bucky, and my twin where I'm headed tonight so they aren't weirded out by it tomorrow.

I'll see if I can get some more sleep in before hand too. [ <-the little insomniac who could!]

Edited 2023-01-10 00:10 (UTC)

[hm...]

Alright. See you then.

[And so he shall. This time: waiting on purpose at the zoo gates.

Also this time: green. A lot of his adornments are hidden under coat and mittens and whatnot, since it's cold again, but it's hard not to notice the amount of green going on here.

His two forevines are looped around under the coat, mostly. The hindvine is looped at his hip like a length of rope, emerging from under the back of his coat and coiled through a strap of mismatched fabric sewn over his pocket.

He is, perhaps stereotypically, leaning against a tree, and if any human glances are thrown his way he appears to be ignoring them.]

See you then, Gladion.

[Leo shows up a little bleary eyed, but draped in a hoodie and absolutely no pants or shoes. He for his part bites back about three jokes the sight of Gladion leaning dramatically against a tree inspires as he walks over.]

Hey tall, dark and brooding, you ready to go? Be my gentleman caller for this beautiful outing.

[Pause.] That like not a mean joke, by the way. Being tall, dark and brooding gets you everybody.

[He is at least trying here. Actual explanations!]

[Gladion, who is short, pale (green), and...sssssomething, and who has resolved to not be a completely humorless jackass, still has to respond to that by making a deeply exasperated face in the general direction of Forward.]

Thanks, [he sighs wryly, pushing off from the tree with a casual pat to its trunk. Similarly: also trying. But if he eliminates "action-ready stoicism-and/or-chuuni" and "wary bristling" from his repertoire, the next personality facet he has to fall back on is just kind of being an introvert. He glances at Leo with all-green eyes, new features perhaps making his expression a little less scrutable.] Yeah, I'm ready.

[Leo falls into step with the other teen. He offers Gladion a smile, trying to avoid some of the same issues they fell into last time they hung out.

The fact he won't be able to lie is The Worst, but, Leo will cope. He tucks his hands into his hoodie pockets. Casual as can be.]

Okay, any gameplan here on animals we scoping out? I always like seeing my reptilian bretheren.

I don't really play favorites here. [that is such a fucking lie.] Yeah, let's go to the reptiles first. Then through the tropics house? [warmbth.]

Going the warmest route sounds like a good plan. See if we're learning anything new. [Leo for his part is trying to not outright lie or spiel at Gladion. He's more... casual, less keyed up.]

[At first, Gladion just nods in assent. But after a few seconds:]

The place I'm from has a tropical climate, so it's a little familiar in there. But also sort of disturbing. In - well, actually, I guesss most of the species here have been in captivity for generations, since they're largely from off-peninsula. But it's got to be different needing climate control on top of that.

[A whole, unfiltered(?) thought!]

[Leo blinks a little thrown off by actual conversation happening. He half assumed Gladion would just kind of humor him at best.]

Well, that depends on how long this monster stuff has been going on. Some people probably wished for specific animals and disappeared, so, there is probably that component to consider. Some animals have been living strictly in this space for generations, others are about as new as we are. So they're going to struggle with the shift in climate too.

[And likewise, Gladion looks faintly surprised to be mulling that over as hard as he is. Not because - like, there's a Donphan in the room here that's gone unignored but politely not remarked upon by Gladion, which is that Leonardo is an animal. A "mutant", apparently, which conjures images of a tragic backstory that he may or may not be drawing the right conclusions about, but still very open about being, in truth, a turtle.

It was a large part of why he, yeah, humored Leonardo as long as he did the first time - coming here to purportedly learn about animals and then griping at an animal to buzz off and leave him alone would be extreme idiot behavior! As it would be to dismiss his take on this kind of thing. So, no, Gladion isn't suprised to be taking him seriously in that way. But also: he's kind of surprised it's this easy. This is, from every angle he looks at it as he turns it over and over, a genuine and straightforward response.]

You think so, [he murmurs pensively, tucking his chin into his scarf to consider it further. What would go into that, bringing animals here from other worlds? Were they companions to those people, or artifacts to preserve?]

I wonder,

[but no immediate followup. Just thinking.]

Yeah, I do. Everything is new and old again. Like... people wish for something, they disappear, what they wished for remains. If its animal, they probably escape into the wilderness or end up here. [He's at least aware of some of that much, even if he acts loud and abrasive most of the time to cover it.

He carries the conversation easily enough, genuinely enough with Gladion even with what he was given.] So, we're probably going to run into animals born here in the zoo for the most part, maybe some donations.

Its hard to really tell unless we ask probably. I don't remember really seeing anything on the signage here about donated animals.

[Everything is new and old again is such a raw line that, if you listen, you can hear the faint dinging of Gladion's opinion meter automatically ticking up. Even if he's not sure he really gets what it means.]

Hmmm.

[That aside, he didn't mean to drag the mood down so abruptly. That falls under "being a humorless jackass"!

He was going to say: I wonder if they know. But that perpetuates the mood-dragging and (potentially, in his mind) pries awkwardly into Leonardo's backstory in one go.

Luckily, he has a fallback option, as they approach the reptile house.]

I wonder what makes the witch's abilities so different. It's not just that her picks don't get turned into monsters. There's all these other rules involved. Does she ever bring someone here under her own power? Not on request?

Far as I know, which isn't as much as I'd like, she's uninvolved in all of this. [Leo gestures at their surroundings vaguely with a hand.]

She could have powers distantly related to whatever gods are here, even if she isn't one. Some kind of old family magic. [He says this casually as he eyes the entrance to the reptile house. He steps forward to get the door for Gladion.]

You'd think, if she brought a whole someone, they wouldn't be quiet about it. People are never really quiet here.

[There is an awkward moment where Gladion also steps forward as if to get the door, Leo gets there first, and he looks confused-into-embarrassed for about two seconds there.

Then scurries through with an acknowledging nod, still looking vaguely embarrassed. Okay, moving on!]

I don't know, I think that would just make it easier to overlook someone who's trying to stay on the downlow. [waves hand a little] Not that I seriously think that's the case. The whole thing just feels weird.

[And he thinks about it too often because she has the power to bring him his best friend, if he accepted all the repercussions that would have.

...Anyways. Lizards! And snakes and, yes, turtles. Gladion gravitates to a gecko tank near the entrance, peering with the ghost of a smile at one that's stuck to the glass.]

[Leo for his part barely registers the embarrassment, or if he does, well, he doesn't dwell on it. Not worth chasing after in the moment.

He's more focused on his conversation with Gladion to really tease him.]

Trust me, people have patterns, rhythms to how they act. If someone is trying to stay unseen, people will pick up on that pretty fast. There isn't social media here or excessive tracking, but if you have a keen eye, you can tell whose hiding and who isn't. Agreed on the weirdness though. Not enough answers about Mana to be satisfying.

[He walks with Gladion towards the lizards, snorting a little at the gecko.] This guy has the right idea. Just hanging out, basking. That would be perfect.

[This is all fair commentary that makes Gladion feel a little bit uncomfortable for reasons he knows by name but will interrogate further on his own time.]

Even in a city this big? Or if they don't need to live around people at all, and they're just minding their own business out there? They wouldn't have to hide from everyone, they'd just have to avoid giving any monsters a reason to care.

[Peering a bit closer, fascinated by the texture of the gecko's footpads - but he's sort of tentative about how close he brings his face to the glass, as if trying to be polite about invading the lizard's personal space.]

If someone is curious enough, or has a stalking instinct from their transformation, you never know what is and isn't seen. [Leo says easily enough with a shrug. He's also particularly nosy and prone to observing his surroundings with easy interest.

He watches Gladion investigate. The politeness just makes him chuckle a little. It makes Leo think of his baby brother.]

These guys are cool. My baby bro Mikey always wanted a gecko as a pet, but, never happened. Raph always shot the idea down since we lived in the sewers and it was way too cold for a gecko.

[Emmet dot jpeg......

Baby brother? He'd assumed Leonardo was the youngest. Okay, new data point. Along with "living in the sewers" (?) and keeping lizards as pets.

...

How should he ask this.]

Relations between species in your world aren't quite like how they work here.

[This is one of those statements that is also obviously a question.]

Edited 2023-01-24 17:29 (UTC)

I mean, every world is wildly different if you ask the right questions. [Its an easy enough answer on Leo's part as he taps at the enclosure vaguely. The gecko is unmoved by his attempt to bother. Gecko aint phased by you turtle boy.

Leo hears the question, but chooses not to answer it for a moment.] Back home, there were humans, then yokai, then mutants. Very different eco-system, mostly due to Drax mutating people randomly.

[(Various things) NOTED. Tact was a good choice, probably. Leo doesn't include animals in that list, but he's called the reptile house inhabitants "kin" before...

Gladion doesn't have a frame of reference for what he's putting together, but he thinks he's on the right track.]

Never heard of yokai before. [The word is...vaguely familiar, though? Very very vaguely? Hopefully the unfamiliarity means it's not a sensitive topic.]

They're a whole different species from everything else you'd expect. Human, animal, etc, etc. [Leo waves his hand casually. As always he's happy to just talk. He has the gift of gab and he'll use it.] They live under New York in their own Hidden City. Their species is pretty small apparently. Far as I can tell, Drax only started mutating people to try and turn every human into a yokai.

Didn't exactly work, but points for effort, old man.

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<TheCoolestTurtle> -- > Action

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