The second that Sheena mentions the parasite thing, Zelos' attentions stop. When she mentions them leeching off of human life, his gaze rises to meet hers, and the sun in the horizon once again flashes red for a second as he doesn't attempt to hide the wide eyed stare that statement brings to his face. He lets her keep talking, though, listening carefully to her words and not really paying attention to the mana-ether flow in her hand anymore.
And then she mentions her newfound sensitivities to ether, and that wide-eyed stare turns into a frown, Zelos' attention returning halfway to the streaming ether-mana in Sheena's palm. He looks down when she tilts her hand, watches the glare of fake sunlight dance on the surface of the jewel. He thinks of teal wings and burned ether channels, of a resonance that feels steady, but strange, somewhat wavering, and his mind starts wandering.
Considering that Sheena's world is primarily made out of mana, and if exspheres are parasitic in nature and they feed off a host's mana, Zelos assumes that maybe her body readjusting to ether instead of mana is probably causing the exsphere to behave erratically in its power output--like a core crystal in a highly concentrated ether atmosphere, such as an ether crystal mine. Similar concepts, but applied differently. But perhaps, he thinks, the difference in atmospheric compositions and biological processes between worlds is what's affecting the way the stone processes the substances. It's not such a crazy leap to make, he thinks. It would explain a lot, but the how or why still eludes him; what's the main difference between ether and mana that would push Lloyd and Sheena to feel like this and for their mana use to be thrown off so completely? How come they're mostly alright until they start using their abilities?
They're not blades, but something about this feels... strikingly familiar. As if their worlds were much more adjacent than what they think. But... how?
He's still staring at the stone. The sun flashes red again, lowering behind the horizon slowly, but making its way out of the picture regardless. Zelos barely registers wondering if maybe the moon will rise in this fabricated mirror of a world, thoughts drowned by him remembering another thing Sheena's mentioned. So he lets go of her hand and pushes himself back to rest his weight on his palms, decides to breach two subjects at once, smiling as gently as he can. "Well, okay. Considering you don't sound at all concerned about having a parasite kind of leeching off your life, I'm just gonna roll with it and assume you don't mind and that's just how it is in your world. Which, okay, that's fucking weird, but. Whatever, right?"
Oh, it bothers him, though. It bothers him, and it will keep bothering him, but without more information to observe, he has no idea how to go about the parasite and what that means for the both of them now, intertwined as they are. So he just makes a mental note to keep an eye on their shared ether and lets that go, sighing and returning his gaze to the sky. "I'm curious, though," he starts. "Is that a thing you're born with, or do you just... get one?"
Thanks he got fuckored and rambly
And then she mentions her newfound sensitivities to ether, and that wide-eyed stare turns into a frown, Zelos' attention returning halfway to the streaming ether-mana in Sheena's palm. He looks down when she tilts her hand, watches the glare of fake sunlight dance on the surface of the jewel. He thinks of teal wings and burned ether channels, of a resonance that feels steady, but strange, somewhat wavering, and his mind starts wandering.
Considering that Sheena's world is primarily made out of mana, and if exspheres are parasitic in nature and they feed off a host's mana, Zelos assumes that maybe her body readjusting to ether instead of mana is probably causing the exsphere to behave erratically in its power output--like a core crystal in a highly concentrated ether atmosphere, such as an ether crystal mine. Similar concepts, but applied differently. But perhaps, he thinks, the difference in atmospheric compositions and biological processes between worlds is what's affecting the way the stone processes the substances. It's not such a crazy leap to make, he thinks. It would explain a lot, but the how or why still eludes him; what's the main difference between ether and mana that would push Lloyd and Sheena to feel like this and for their mana use to be thrown off so completely? How come they're mostly alright until they start using their abilities?
They're not blades, but something about this feels... strikingly familiar. As if their worlds were much more adjacent than what they think. But... how?
He's still staring at the stone. The sun flashes red again, lowering behind the horizon slowly, but making its way out of the picture regardless. Zelos barely registers wondering if maybe the moon will rise in this fabricated mirror of a world, thoughts drowned by him remembering another thing Sheena's mentioned. So he lets go of her hand and pushes himself back to rest his weight on his palms, decides to breach two subjects at once, smiling as gently as he can. "Well, okay. Considering you don't sound at all concerned about having a parasite kind of leeching off your life, I'm just gonna roll with it and assume you don't mind and that's just how it is in your world. Which, okay, that's fucking weird, but. Whatever, right?"
Oh, it bothers him, though. It bothers him, and it will keep bothering him, but without more information to observe, he has no idea how to go about the parasite and what that means for the both of them now, intertwined as they are. So he just makes a mental note to keep an eye on their shared ether and lets that go, sighing and returning his gaze to the sky. "I'm curious, though," he starts. "Is that a thing you're born with, or do you just... get one?"