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[center][h1][b][u][color=fff79a]Zeke Salazar[/color][/u][/b][/h1][/center]
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[quote]"Breakfast," Rafael repeated.  It was a good idea, especially after a night of drinking.  He also noted mention of a hospital.  "Alright, Z-Man, since you insist, I'm happy to let you treat me to some grub," he announced, choosing his words carefully.  "And then, maybe after, we can-"  Rafael was shoulder was checked by a passerby going in the opposite direction on the sidewalk.  "Ow, bro! Watch where you're going," he shouted back at the pedestrian who appeared to ignore him entirely as he continued on his aggressive stroll.[/quote]

Zeke chuckled a little bit as the pedestrian just bumped Rafael without so much as a word of apology. Ah, well. This wasn't Canada where people apologize all the time. This was America. They either smile at you even if they're strangers, or ignore you completely. It depends, really. [color=fff79a]"Come on, now, we have to eat something for our famished stomachs."[/color] He remembered that Rafael said that being hit by a car didn't hurt him at all, but this morning, bumping into a pedestrian apparently elicited his pain receptors. Huh. Either he was drunk or his strength powers only work at night. Or... ugh, never mind. Neither of them know.

Zeke sighed. He still had a lot of savings left over from the past five years, and it wasn't like his siblings and parents were just going to let him starve. They'd have to give him an ample weekly allowance while he looked for a job to replace the one that literally got smashed into pieces when a titanic woman knocked over the building where it was happening. He was pretty frugal, too, and wouldn't spare more than a dollar for the average meal. He had his ways of compressing his budget, like avoiding picking up vices and taking the cheapest options, even if it were a little bit inconvenient. He'll manage.

Since he was the one leading the way, Zeke eventually got them to the nearest restaurant. It was just your average dining place, with options for steakd, fries... basically fast food. Though they also had salads and mashed potatoes. 

Zeke quickly ordered the two of them the same thing; steaks with fries, with a side of mashed potatoes. They were soon seated across from each other, knives and forks at the ready. Zeke whispered a quick prayer before beginning to eat, though his phone rang, and interrupted his breakfast. 

[color=fff79a]"Yes...? Oh, Mrs. Kontis?"[/color] He recognized the voice of Leon Kontis' mother. She had a thick Greek accent, and was very, very loud. He had to turn down the volume just not to get deafened.

[color=fff79a][i]"Uhm... yes, yes, I'll pay him a visit today. No, as far as I know we're the only ones... yeah. Okay. Bye."[/i][/color]

Hanging up, Zeke dug into the food again. [color=fff79a]"So, you said that being hit by a car didn't hurt at all, yeah?"[/color] He asked Rafael. [color=fff79a]"But when you got bumped by that random pedestrian, you looked like you were hurt and irritated. Does that... shed any light on what you can do?"[/color]

Huh, shed light. Right when his powers can make the darkest place shine as bright as morning.

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[center][h1][b][u][color=f7976a]Lysander Shen[/color][/u][/b][/h1][/center]
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"Hello, Father."

[color=f7976a]"For the last time, I'm not-"[/color]

"Forgive my choice of words, I have yet to be accustomed to the circumstances upon we have been placed..."

Lysander shook his head, sighing softly. He looked up towards the seven foot tall fire dragon, whom he had neglected to give a name to just yet. He hadn't even named it when it was still a little stuffed toy hanging on one of the zipper handles of his backpack. He hesitated to name it... him. Did gender even apply to it? It was a being made from woven cloth, stuffing, and magic flame. It did have a rather deep baritone voice, though. And it definitely identified as male.

Lysander did, after all, almost have a son. Almost.

[color=f7976a]"Alright. What I was trying to say was... you shouldn't come out every time someone is threatening me. I mean, if it's just school bully, you shouldn't show yourself! I'd get... very bad things. Very bad things will happen if a lot of people see that I'm an Altered. What with what is happening in the last few days..."[/color]

Instinctively, he held his hand pretty close to the dragon's snout, feeling the warmth of the eldritch flames that encompassed the beast of war. 

"Fa-, Lysander, err, Yongzheng." The dragon said, lying down on the stone floor of the warehouse. "I have no knowledge of the events that had come to pass in the outside world. All I have known was that your dreams forged my souls from the deep, sending me into this vessel. And then I knew when you needed aid..."

[color=f7976a]"A giant Altered woman killed tens of thousands of people yesterday."[/color] Lysander replied. [color=f7976a]"And now... I think I have to be extra careful. And you too."[/color]

"Who is this woman that you speak of?" The dragon demanded. "I must seek her out, purge her from this world, so that her evil may no longer stain your kind. What do you say?"

[color=f7976a]"Don't even get me started."[/color] Lysander frowned. [color=f7976a]"I don't want to do anything big, you know? I just want to finish college and get a job..."[/color]

"You do not treasure our companionship?" The woven fire dragon pouted. "That wounds my heart."

[color=f7976a]"No, no, no! That's not what I meant at all..."[/color] Lysander shook his head. [color=f7976a]"You're... very kind. And will do anything to protect me, yes?"[/color]

"If my annihilation ensures your safety, then that will be how it goes." The drake answered wholeheartedly. "You are my maker. My directive is to protect Shen Yongzheng, or as the others call you, Lysander Shen. Though it saddens me that I have yet to be given a moniker to go by."

[color=f7976a]"Ehhh..."[/color] Lysander look away. [color=f7976a]"I just don't know what to name you... You can pick your own, I guess?"[/color]

"My own?" The dragon nodded. It remembered something faintly. A memory of the long last, a figment left over from Lysander's own mind. It had been his dreams that forged its soul and consciousness, after all. 

"Then I'll go by Shenron."

Lysander blinked. [color=f7976a]"Shenron? As in the dragon in Dragon Ball?"[/color]

"I know not what is this Dragon Ball you speak of, but Shenron sounds like a mighty name, doesn't it?"

Lysander shrugged. [color=f7976a]"Shenron it is. Now, Shenron. You gotta turn back into a plushy. I have to study soon..."[/color]

Sure enough, he'll soon be out, walking towards his morning classes in San Francisco State College. As he strode the streets, he prayed that there won't be another titan woman, or else...