[hr][center][h3]Just Chatting: [color=EB8FE9]Inti Ruq'a[/color] and [color=0072bc]Shou Zheng[/color][/h3][/center][hr][sub]Collab with [@Yankee][/sub]

Unsurprisingly, everything he had taken onto his plate was at the very least delicious. Some had flavors that he hadn’t expected while others perhaps paled a bit compared to the ones back home, but there was nothing that would keep him from clearing the plate. He munched along with a satisfied expression, but slowed his pace as he noticed someone approach his table. It took him a few moments to actually recognize the other student, but that was still pretty good in Shou’s mind. There were two thousand of them here on the island after all, and he hadn’t spoken with the Incan Polymath beyond an enthusiastic introduction when he had first boarded the Titania.

With that knowledge, the language clicked quickly for Shou and he twirled the chopsticks around in his hand as he shifted mental gears. While he was familiar with Quechua, it didn’t come to him as naturally yet. It was a good opportunity to practice, though, and he shook his head at Inti’s question. Before he even got a chance to respond though, Inti had already moved onto other questions. Waiting patiently for a chance to interject with a faintly amused smile, Shou leaned back into the seat’s backrest.

[color=0072bc]“Quechua is fine. Been awhile, need the practice anyways,”[/color] he responded in Quechua before he nodded towards the seat. [color=0072bc]“For your questions. It’s fine, the table’s plenty large. These are…”[/color] Shou trailed off for a moment, and quickly realized that he had absolutely no idea what the word in Quechua was. [color=0072bc]“Chopsticks,”[/color] he said in Latin before he returned to Inti’s native tongue. [color=0072bc]“Utensils from home,”[/color] he explained before he picked up another piece of food and popped it in his mouth. [color=0072bc]“Inti, right?”[/color] He asked after his mouth was empty.

[color=EB8FE9]"Right!"[/color] the boy, Inti, replied. He looked completely chuffed to be recognized, a grin spreading across his face. [color=EB8FE9]"And you are Zheng Shou,"[/color] Inti said as a matter-of-factly. He had taken to heart all of the names the students had given to him in reply aboard the Queen Titania. Of course there had been some students that did not deign to respond to his greetings, but most had at least given a polite response with their name in kind - this was how Inti recognized them, not by their reputations but their very first meetings, however brief.

Inti leaned back in his chair a little. [color=EB8FE9]"Chopsticks,"[/color] he repeated. Another new thing to commit to memory. [color=EB8FE9]"We use forks in Tawantinsuyu, when we don't just use our hands."[/color] He wiggled his fingers playfully for emphasis, but ended up using a utensil anyway. As he munched on a few of the samples of food he'd gotten for himself, Inti glanced out at the hall and the other mingling students before looking back at Shou again. 
 
[color=EB8FE9]"I think that's gonna be the coolest part of this. All the different people from all over the world, and all the things they can do."[/color] Smiling widely, he went on. [color=EB8FE9]"And all the things they bring with them. For example, this thing!"[/color] Inti jabbed his fork into one of the food items on his plate, one that was unfamiliar to him, which happened to be a wurst. [color=EB8FE9]"It tastes amazing but I have no idea what it is!"[/color]

[color=0072bc]"Many do in the Middle East as well,"[/color] Shou remarked after snorting lightly at the other boy's gesture. Looking around as Inti spoke again, he found himself nodding along. [color=0072bc]"Agreed. Even if I can't travel, I can meet the people,"[/color] he remarked as he watched his peers. All of them prodigies in their own right with claims to fame, and Inti was no different. Although as he turned his attention back towards the enthusiastic boy, it would have been easy to forget that.

[color=0072bc]"It's German. Don't know how someone thought to stuff a ground animal back into its own intestines,"[/color] Shou explained as he shook his head slowly. While he was no food historian, some of the food he had come across and sampled in his travels were.. baffling. Not that his home was free from its own share of questionable dishes.[color=0072bc] “You haven’t travelled much? I’ve only heard a bit about what goes on in Inca,”[/color] Shou admitted with a slight shrug.

[color=EB8FE9]"If you're curious, I can tell you everything I know,"[/color] Inti said. He'd been surprised at Shou's explanation of the food, but not enough to stop him from eating it. [color=EB8FE9]"But anything outside of Qusqu is..."[/color]

He trailed off, furrowing his brows in thought. He wondered to himself just how much he actually knew about the Inca Empire as well. It would be good to compare his knowledge and the knowledge of an outsider, though Shou had already mentioned he didn't know much.

[color=EB8FE9]"This is the first time I've left my home,"[/color] Inti explained, a soft chuckle leaving his mouth, [color=EB8FE9]"not having traveled much is understatement. I... don't know how common that is? Or uncommon? You know about the Middle East and Germany, and even Tawantinsuyu if only a little. How many places have you been?"[/color]

[color=0072bc]“It’s probably pretty common,”[/color] Shou reassured Inti. [color=0072bc]“Most Polymaths seem to be kept close to home. My family is just a bit strange about it,”[/color] he explained before he set his chopsticks down and closed his eyes with a smile. [color=0072bc]“From Japan to Spain, I’ve been lucky enough to sail all along the southern coasts. A bit of sailing in the Mediterranean as well. My family wouldn’t let me on any journeys to the New World though, so I only know of it through books and stories I’ve been told.”[/color] Perhaps he was being a bit boastful, but Shou was quite proud of his days spent at sea since he turned 12. 

[color=EB8FE9]"That's amazing! Visiting so many places and going so far from home on a boat."[/color] That was what he'd meant by coasts and sailing, right? Surely it was. [color=EB8FE9]"Your family, do they go with you sometimes? Are they all like...?"[/color]

Inti motioned to the other boy's fins and gills, not quite sure how to phrase his question exactly. An entire family of aquatic Egoists sailing the seven seas sounded like great fun, and Inti wondered if that was the case.

[color=0072bc]”Usually one of them was in charge. Aunts and uncles mostly, but I did go sailing with my brothers once,”[/color] Shou answered with a wistful smile. He looked down at his unique features as Inti trailed off and chuckled for a moment. [color=0072bc]”Fishy?”[/color] He supplied for the other boy before he shook his head. [color=0072bc]”Not all, but most. The elders always say it’s because of our great Ancestor. Maybe it’s just because we’re a family of sailors though. All the stories we’re told draw us to the oceans, and our Formulizations reflect that.”[/color] 

[color=EB8FE9]"Yes, Fishy,"[/color] Inti laughed, [color=EB8FE9]"Ah, that sounds so nice. Traveling with your family, moving around freely..."[/color] the Inca sounded almost wistful, despite his young age. 

[color=0072bc]”What about you though Inti? Us Egoists are pretty easy to read, but I admit I’m not sure what you specialize in.”[/color]

[color=EB8FE9]"Me? I am a Dynamicist,"[/color] Inti said. A simple, somewhat lacking response compared to the excitement he'd shown while listening to his tablemate talk. There stretched a moment between the two boys where silence reigned as Inti failed to elaborate, but then he suddenly blinked and titled his head like he'd just remembered something. Finally, he went on.

[color=EB8FE9]"It's not flashy on the outside, but I learned that Polymaths see formulae differently. For me, it makes the whole world glittery. Sometimes too much. Everything, even you and around you - "[/color] he waved his hand, making a crude outline of Shou. [color=EB8FE9]" - has this... shimmery kind of surface. It's a bit hard to explain."[/color] For the first time since they'd started talking, Inti looked a little embarrassed that he couldn't describe his vision the way he wanted to. To compensate, he leaned in a little closer to Shou and said, [color=EB8FE9]"but I could show you how it works?"[/color]

The drawn out pause made Shou wonder if Inti’s specialization was something he was meant to keep a secret. If the other boy had gained entry to Bermuda, it couldn’t be anything that was simply ordinary or something to be ashamed of. Could it?

Nodding his head as Inti spoke again, Shou looked down at himself at the gesture. Even now he could see qi crackle and race through his body with every small twitch and flex. [color=0072bc]”I’ve heard that before. Some peers complained about how Egoists and Technologists had solid references.”[/color] Nudging his plate off to the side, Shou propped his elbow on the table as he leaned in. [color=0072bc]”That’d be great.”[/color]

[color=EB8FE9]"Okay, hold on."[/color] Inti's eyes flickered around Shou's frame as he considered taking hold of whatever mysterious force he was perceiving around the well traveled Egoist. Eventually the crimson irises trailed upward to the ceiling, where elaborate chandeliers hung illuminating the hall. The nearest one hung overhead, and Inti nodded to it while murmuring, [color=EB8FE9]"it's a little bit far, but I think I can reach it... And then I should be able to..."[/color]

He stared up, raising his hands to cradle something unseen. With one arm he reached up higher little by little until his fingers just grasped at something. Gently he closed his fist around it... then twisted it sharply.

The lights on the chandelier began glowing brighter, and in a chain reaction the increase in light spread from fixture to fixture. The dim corners of the hall and the darkened balcony were awash in light until a short "oops" escaped Inti's lips. His hand fumbled like he'd lost his grip on whatever it was he was touching, and the lights around the hall flickered briefly before they settled back to their original illumination level. All was normal again, though the overhead chandelier took a little extra time to correct itself.

[color=EB8FE9]"Ahaha... well..."[/color] he retracted his arms, shaking his hand to rid it of invisible stardust. [color=EB8FE9]"It's basically like that."[/color]

Shou followed Init’s gaze upwards and raised an eyebrow as his attention settled on the chandelier right above their table. The other boy couldn’t possibly specialize in either light or electricity could he? One would be far too valuable for any government to simply let out of their sights. Bermuda might have been a collaborative work between nations, but if he was here? Other nations must have also had their own among the students and staff.

It seemed like he manipulated the flow of electricity as Shou was forced to squint a bit at the sudden spike in brightness. His ears twitched as a yelp from somewhere in the hall caught his attention, and Shou looked around before he settled on another Egoist that seemed to be shielding their eyes. [color=0072bc]“Oops, indeed,”[/color] he chimed in with a slight laugh as he clapped and then looked back at Inti.

[color=0072bc]“Almost like lightning. Coming from Inca though... magnetism?”[/color] Shou guessed after all the lights had returned to normal. Not with any scientific basis to figure out what was going on, but more so because it was one of the tidbits he remembered about the New World. 

[color=EB8FE9]"And you said you only know a little about the empire!"[/color] Inti laughed, nodding his head to confirm Shou's guess about his specialization. [color=EB8FE9]"You're right. I'm still learning about it myself too."[/color] Which, of course, was one of the many reasons Polymaths were invited to this place. Hone their formalizations, make their countries proud. 

The little lightning stunt cast eyes in the boys' direction, as anyone that had looked over and seen the dark skinned Polymath with his hand in the air sent suspicious or disdainful looks over at the two of them. Optimistic, Inti ignored them - though he hoped he hadn't gotten Shou on some kind of social black list over a parlor trick.

[color=0072bc]“There’s much more to learn about your home,”[/color] Shou replied with a smile of his own. If he cared for any of the looks being sent in their direction, he didn’t give any indication. [color=0072bc]“Be back in a bit,”[/color] he excused himself as he stood and picked up his empty plate.