008 [Video]

[thechoiceisyours]

[Chris smiles and gives a small wave at the camera when the feed starts, then turns his hand to show Hope's blessing on the back of it.]

So uh, who else got one? And are they all from Hope, or...?

[This is so cool you guys he wants to see who else got what. And for something else slightly less important by still cool--]

Oh, also, my iPhone was up and working for a bit thanks to Pell, and I managed to get some music off it. I'll share on the condition no one makes fun of my taste.

[The last comment is a joke--he's really not going to be too hurt by jabs about his choice in music--but the offer is serious, and attached is a download of the music he's copied off so far. It's kind of a slow process, so there's still more on the phone that he can transfer later.]

Comments

[thechoiceisyours]

[That question really gives him pause, not expecting it, and he takes a moment to consider it--and if he wants to answer it--before deciding what to say. But then finally he does respond, quieter and more serious.]

I don't um... I don't think anything I had to prove would, you know, be accomplished by killing a monster.

[His ego isn't exactly out of control and more than fulfilled by everything he's survived by this point. He might have other things to prove or make up for, but they're in vastly different areas.]

I was just running out of bullets.

[thechoiceisyours]

[His eyebrows furrow slightly, not quite sure he understands what prompted that response.]

Why not?

[thechoiceisyours]

[He's quiet at that, eyes flickering, and this time he feels a spark of defensiveness at the questions. But it's not enough for him not to respond evenly, with just slightly more tension in his tone this time.]

We get bullets by killing monsters, so if I borrow some instead of getting my own that's just putting someone else at risk. I'm not gonna do that when I can just get them myself.

[As for the rest...]

'What I went through' was so not the worst thing that's ever happened, and not the only time I've ever run into a monster, okay? Yeah, I did it for a few bullets, and it went fine, so...

[So that's that.]

[thechoiceisyours]

Okay. Good, awesome.

[It's more to himself than to Shadow, thoughts obviously elsewhere at the moment, but then focuses back on the conversation and shifts the topic.]

How've um... How've things been anyway, for you?

[thechoiceisyours]

[He's not sure he buys that response, especially with the delay, but he's a little distracted by the question. It's the second time on this same post someone's asked him that, so he doesn't have to really think about it.]

I'd been nineteen for a month when I got here, so I'll be twenty in like two months.

[It's really weird.]

[thechoiceisyours]

[Well that's... The opposite reaction he normally gets when he tells people here his age.]

Do um... Do people not live very long in your world? Humans can make it to over a hundred, though eighty's a more common lifespan.

[thechoiceisyours]

[Well that answers that question, but now he's really curious--]

How uh, how old are you?

[thechoiceisyours]

Do you have like, an approximate guess?

[He won't pry as to why Shadow might not be totally sure.]

[thechoiceisyours]

Wow. That's uh... Really young.

[He's guessing there's a major species difference there and maybe it's not as young as he expects, just like how Shadow sees him as being old, but still.]

For humans, we're uh... We're not considered adults until like, eighteen. Eighteen years old, I mean.

[Making it clear he doesn't mean months there.]

[thechoiceisyours]

[He's never sure what people know okay and he's trying to be culturally--and species-ly?--sensitive here.]

Oh. Huh. That's um... Not something that's really possible in my world, so I totally have a bunch of questions but I think they'd just be kind of...

[Rude.]

[thechoiceisyours]

No, it's cool, you uh... Definitely don't have to apologize. And uh, you totally don't have to answer even if you can.

[Just making that clear, and Chris still feels kind of like a jerk for deciding to go ahead, but he's too curious not to.]

So you're like... Physically and mentally adult or adultish, but you only have five months of actual experiences?

[thechoiceisyours]

Wow. That um... That must be really difficult.

[It's hard enough to judge what to do and why with nearly twenty years of experience, let alone five months.]