[h3]Collab between Karnage and Lucaris / Lucius Cypher and Xionist[/h3]

Karnage just nodded his head when Lucaris introduced himself, trying to imitate his “smile”. Karnage closed his mouth so the boy wouldn’t have to strain himself trying to copy him. [b]”That is good to hear. Word is getting out that this place exists, and hopefully we will be getting more people interested in it. So tell me, Cain, what is it that you want to do here?”[/b] Karnage then motioned for Lucaris to follow him towards another concession stand with some meaty snacks and plain drinks like juice and water. Karnage could guess that the boy wasn’t used to modern society, so he’ll ease him into things. Hopefully the kid wasn’t feral, otherwise this process would take a bit longer than Karnage would have hoped.

“Well, I heard this place is to teach students combat for any future conflict. I’m, erm, looking to get stronger for personal reasons.”

Lucaris wasn’t quite willing to share his exact reasonings for his arrival here at the academy although what he had shared was completely true in the context he gave. As he followed Karnage he noticed that the man was leading him to a table with different drinks and food than what he had seen earlier. Looking over the table Lucaris spotted glasses of water. Suddenly feeling the weariness of his past travels Lucaris grabs a glass of water and gulps it down after a cautionary sniff.

“It, uh, has been a while since I’ve last eaten or drank. People seem to not be too keen on offering me help during my travels. It has been quite the experience so far.”

Quietly watching the boy Karnage took a little snack himself, just a small sandwich with ham and some sort of italian sausage.  [b]”Tell me about it. Honestly. You seem human enough. More so than I do.”[/b] Karnage said as he tossed the small sandwich in his mouth. He only needed one bite to tear the thing into bits of bread and meat, washing it down with a cup of water. [b]”You are in good company. Eat, drink, enjoy. That violence from before… Will not happen to you here.”[/b] Karnage chose his words carefully when he spoke about the scene from before. He wasn’t sure if Lily had gone to talk to the Essence of the World. Eating another sandwich Karnage prepped his mind to answer Lucaris’s question about Hazumi and what had occurred moments before she left.

“The violence from before? Oh, do you mean that scene with the woman and the strange man? Well, the angel and the man. At least I’m pretty sure she’s an angel. My mo-- Er, I heard from someone that people with those wings are called angels. Erm, and you would be a demon correct? I’m sorry if that was offensive.”

To take his mind off what he had just said Lucaris quickly snatched up a sandwich and began plucking out its innards. It was simpler to just eat it as separate parts instead of trying to chew through the bread and waiting for it to become soft enough to swallow whole. 

“So, uh, what was on that table before? The little pieces of food and the bubbling drink? I’ve never quite seen anything like those before.”

[b]”I am a demon.”[/b]

Karnage admitted as he watched the boy eat the meat of the sandwich with some amusement. He certainly was not city boy. He watched the boy for a while before the asked another question about the cocktail shrimp and presumably what Lucaris was referring to as the soda. 

[b]”Cocktail shrimp and soda. They are small sea creatures, like spiders, that people eat with sauce. Soda is a sweet drink. It has a strange texture for a drink. They are alright… You should try some.”[/b] 

Turning his head towards the table holding the ship and soda Karnage rolled his sleeve down his arm and held his hand out sharply. He zeroed in on his target and swung his arm like throwing a dart. His hand turned into a honed, elongated claw and zeroed in on the cocktail shrimp bowl, latching onto the neck of the bowl before yanking it back. Despite how quickly he did so, Karnage managed not to spill a drop. He placed the bowl before Lucaris before doing the same to a cup of cola. Rolling up his sleeve Karnage took a piece of shrimp, dipped it in the sauce, and popped it into his mouth, shell and all.

Lucaris’ eyes widened as Karnage’s arm transformed and stretched out towards the table he was just at previously. He watched as the now claw of a hand snatched both the bowl of shrimp and a cup of cola without spilling a single drop.

“If I hadn’t already seen magic earlier today I would most likely be completely freaked out. Although that was still incredibly strange. How did you do that? In order to get here a man had brought a platform up from the ground to fly me across. I’ve never seen magic before, only heard of it. It’s incredible.”

[b]”Hmm… Good question. How do you walk? To speak? For me, it is natural… Here they would call what I do ‘magic’. Specifically, I manipulated my Essence.”[/b]

Karnage then shifted his hand into various clawed shapes, from having talons on each finger to turning it into something more scissor like, than to making his hand into a single blade or something akin to a hammer. Than he carved a rune into his hand.

[b]”However, here I can learn. Figure out my full ability. So will you.”[/b]

Focusing his Essence into the rune on his hand, a flame emerged and engulf his arm. Despite how hot the flames should have been, nothing burned. Karnage’s suit was still prim and proper and nothing around them bursted into flames. Even Lucaris wouldn’t feel the heat.  Karnage then took a few pieces of shrimp from the cocktail bowl and began to roast them in his hand. Once they had become a nice golden color, the flames died, and Karnage had a handful of roasted shrimp. He offered it to Lucaris while sipping a cup of water.

Lucaris was completely speechless as Karnage showed him more of his ability to change his shape. Reflecting back on what he said earlier Lucaris thought about what it would be like to be able to wield magic.

[i]It would make hunting so much easier. Although it might make it too easy… Hmm.

[b]Too easy? Hah, you just enjoy the feeling of your prey’s blood running into your mouth as you clamp your jaw around their neck. You can’t deny that no matter how hard you try.[/b]

Would you be quiet for once!? I’m so sick of hearing your never ending desires for blood.[/i]

Shaking his head to try and clear out all the noise Lucaris decided to busy himself with the shrimp that Karnage had offered. Trying to focus his thoughts on the food Lucaris examined the now cooked morsel of seafood. It was much firmer than its raw counterpart, but also pleasantly warm. Ripping off the shelled end Lucaris tossed the shrimp into his mouth and rolled it around to savor the flavors.

“Hmm.. It’s good, but I think I prefer them raw. Although I think that may just be me, heh.”

Shrugging Karnage ate one of the shrimps himself. [b]”I am not picky.”[/b] After finishing off the shrimp and cleaning his hand Karnage decided to start on a different topic. [b]”Do you have a Fragment?”[/b] Karnage himself never understood the importance of some of these instruments, but they had power, no question about it. Presumably since Lucaris is here he has one himself. Unless he is a demon and joined for protection/education like Karnage did.

“A Fragment? What do you mean?”

Lucaris tried to wrap his head around the question. What was a Fragment and why would Karnage be asking him about it? Thinking back Lucaris remembered the small stone he had tied around his wrist in a makeshift bracelet. The same stone that he was unable to become rid of no matter how hard he tried. A stone that did nothing but constantly rave about malevolent things that made Lucaris want to shudder.

“Wait, do you mean this?”

Pulling back the sleeve on his left arm Lucaris raised his arm and showed Karnage the stone he had on his wrist.

Karnage tilted his head at Lucaris’s “Fragment”. For a moment Karnage wasn’t sure if this boy knew what he was talking about, but before he said anything Karnage did consider that perhaps he simply didn’t know what to look for. It’s not like he knew much about Fragments anyways, aside that they usually look like instruments. For all he knew this could just be another form the Fragments could take… Not that it looked particularly impressive. But looks can be deceiving. 

[b]”Perhaps. Fragments are powerful objects that the academy will teach you how to use. If this is a fragment, the teachers would know.”[/b]

Now that he thought about it Karnage was interested in getting himself a Fragment. If they had such power, it would be in his best interest to get one for himself. Not that he knew how to get one aside from taking it from the hands of someone else. It was still an option, but he’d have to wait for the right time to pry it out of someone’s cold, dead hands. Later.

[b]”Hmm… Perhaps it would be best to show you want a Fragment can do. Let me see… Ah, see over there?”[/b]

Karnage pointed over towards a lone figure standing by a wall. Reiko Sonata, if Karnage remembered correctly. A diligent student who would likely know more about Fragments than Karnage would. She would be a good person to ask about this, and give both Karnage and Lucaris a chance to talk to someone new.

[b]”She is a student, and would know more about Fragments. Ask her.”[/b]

Following Karnage’s finger Lucaris looked over at a person standing all by themselves while leaning up against the wall.

[i]Hmm, it seems I’m not the only one that wasn’t all too keen on talking with the others. Although I’m really interested in knowing more about these “Fragments”.[/i]

“Thanks Karnage. I’ll go see if she knows any more than I do.”

Leaving his now empty glass on the table Lucaris made his way across the large room over to where the girl was standing. Compared to what he was used to seeing at this point the girl looked positively human. Small and somewhat fragile looking with dark hair and bored looking eyes. Until Karnage had pointed her out Lucaris was sure he never would have noticed her standing there. Approaching the girl Lucaris hid his hands within his sleeves to hide his clawed fingers. He didn’t want to scare her off before getting to know anything.

“Ah, er hello. I was told you know about these so called Fragments. Do you think you could share with me anything you know about them? I may have stumbled upon one myself, but I don’t quite know anything about them.”

[i]If I did I would have never picked you up in the first place.[/i]