Dormitory; Krikor's Room

"Ah..." Yumiya said with a humbled sigh, "... Wise words, indeed." He was much more mature for his age than he seemed, probably due to being so reserved, thus having more time to think about things like this naturally. It made him want to drink some tea, for some reason. "Yes! I really do think it's interesting!" he said again, "Please, tell me as much as you'd like!" He stood up, feeling somehow refreshed from their conversation. "Are you hungry? I'm in the mood for tea and I was thinking that perhaps while you were talking, I could go make some and maybe rustle us up something to eat, too..."

"I am quite peckish, come to think of it," Krikor said. "Did you want a hand in the kitchen? I've become something of a cook after having to make my own meals with found ingredients. Speaking of, ever have giant spider before?" he asked, standing up from his seat. He'd be more than willing to help Yumiya, so long as his stories didn't put him off of his appetite.

Yumiya said happily, "Sure!" as he turned and made his way toward the kitchen, which wasn't too far away from the living room, naturally. It was in the crevice of the dorm near the doorway and had all of the essentials; stove top oven, sink, refrigerator, cabinets... Things of that nature. Nothing fancy and nothing extra, just the basics. Just as Yumiya pulled a tea bag from a container he kept them in, he would groan and stick out his tongue, "... Giant spider...? No way and no thanks..." he said, shaking his head, trying to get the thought out. "Don't tell me... You had to eat one of those before?" He grabbed a kettle and began to fill it with water.

"Oh yeah.  Big sucker.  He tried to make me his dinner, but I turned the tables on him and made him mine!" Krikor said with a chuckle.  "That was back on a world where the non-monstrous races -- humans, elves, dwarves, and the like -- were on the verge of extinction because of various monsters like that.  And the vampires on that world!  They were everywhere, and I smelled like a buffet to them since I store the blood of multiple beings in my armor."

Krikor reminisced on that world, called Eyis, if he recalled correctly, while taking a look inside of the refrigerator to see what all he had to work with as far as cooking went.  "Hunted humans for sport, they did," he continued, raising his voice so that Yumiya could hear him even though his head was in the refrigerator, "not just for food.  The humans were constantly on the lookout for anyone who exhibited signs of vampirism. Didn't go for the other races, though. Not sure why."

"That's horrible!" he exclaimed as he finished filling the kettle with water, "I've heard that we have some of those creatures here, but I've never seen one, myself. They might live on the other continents." He placed the kettle on the stove and lit the eye, letting it simmer. "But if they're anything like that, then I certainly don't want to!" He turned around and noticed Krikor poking through the refrigerator. He laughed lightly and stepped over to him. "Yeah, I don't have much... Some microwavable goods and such. I think there's some pizza in there, too..." He wasn't quite sure of everything that was in there, but he knew that there were things here or there that were to be made in the oven and on the stove. "Whatever you see in there that you like, feel free to have at it." Naturally, there were more things in the freezer, as well, such as vegetables and preserved meats. While Krikor looked for something to eat, Yumiya pondered the vampires he spoke of. "Hmmm. Maybe the other beings wouldn't be very good vampires? I can't imagine a vampiric creature other than a human being smart enough to act on its vampiric tendencies without being easily slain."

"Well, it all wound up working out well in the end," Krikor replied. "One clan of vampires, the Grull, tried to wipe out all of the other species -- including those of other vampire clans -- and the mortal races made a temporary truce with the non-Grull vampires to fight back. When I left, they were all working on rebuilding together."

"Also, I see you have some chicken broth and butter in your fridge here," Krikor continued, pulling both out of the refrigerator and closing the door behind him. "If you have some rice in your pantry, I can make us some rice pilaf for dinner, if that sounds alright to you."

"Oh sure, sure!" he turned around and swung open a cabinet, searching through the seemingly endless amount of Top Ramen noodles that seemed to be the 'Student's Choice' of nearly every dorm. "Uh, let's see..." He certainly knew he had noodles for days... In fact, he even had some pasta hiding away somewhere, but he seemed scarce on rice.

"You know," he mentioned as he looked, "I don't see what would make anyone do those types of things." He finally spotted some rice way off in the corner behind the hordes of Ramen, "... It just doesn't make any sense to me." Grabbing the box closing the cabinet, he would set the box on the table and smile, "Here we go! I hope this is enough... I don't think I have too much rice left." He chuckled nervously. "I may need to make a trip to the store downstairs sooner or later..." He had been putting it off for a while getting so worked up with trying to get the hang of his own awakening of his soul, but it seemed like all he needed was a buddy to take his mind off of things in order to get him back in his right mind. He and Krikor seemed to be getting along famously, like they were old chums or something. He found it a little strange since they just met, but also rather enjoyed the fact that he was with someone that was so interesting and very friendly, at that. It was better than having someone who was pushy and demanding...

"It was a good thing that Tear brought you here," he had to say, "Or else I might have never gotten out of my slump and thought to come out of this room!"

Krikor laughed a little and put the broth and butter on the counter, and took the rice from Yumiya. "This should be enough for us both," he said, putting it on the counter as well before looking for a pan to make the food in.

"So, why were you so nervous about coming out of your room?" he asked, finding a saucepan, turning on one of the burners on the stove, placing the saucepan atop the burner, putting a bit of butter in, and rubbing it along the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to coat it. "It's not because of your worry about being a late bloomer, is it?"

Yumiya's eyes strayed a bit at the question. "Weeell..." He knew it was true, but was a little embarrassed about admitting it outright. "You could say that..." He gazed off to the side nervously, rubbing the back of his head again, "... I mean, there's more to it than that... I think it's just the stress of my worrying, really." He stood beside Krikor to check the water in the kettle. It hadn't come to a boil yet. "... I end up getting really preoccupied with it and neglect doing anything else. It's not a very good habit, but it happens nonetheless, so..." He shrugged, stepping back and giving Krikor more room to do as he needed to, "... Sometimes I just need someone else around me to help give me a little push in the right direction, so to speak. Hahaha..."

Krikor thought for a moment before responding. "You know," he began, the bottom of his saucepan now coated with the butter, "you're a good guy, Yumiya. I've only known you for a little while, and I can tell that much." He poured some of the chicken broth into the saucepan and poured in the rice on top of it, then proceeding to stir the mixture a few times.

"I'm sure there are plenty of people here who would love to have you as a friend. Why not try talking to a few people in your classes? Our neighbors, perhaps? You'd be surprised what talking to a few people can do for your self-esteem," he said, putting the lid on the saucepan and turning to face Yumiya.

Yumiya raised his hands up a little dismissively, but with a very nervous smile on his face, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head. "Aaaahhh..." he muttered, trying to find the right words, "... Uhh, I'm not exactly the very..." He paused, trying to think of the best way to say it, "... 'Direct' sort of person. I'm actually very shy and slightly reserved..." To go out of his way to talk to someone that he wasn't forced to have direct contact with, much like it had been done with he and Krikor, was way out of his league. "I could keep to myself for an entire semester and be perfectly alright..." Though he knew it was true and he was fine with it, having done it his entire life, he was a little sad that he wasn't so good at making friends because of it.

"Besides, I don't know what we'd talk about... And no one ever has any time as it is..." He figured that everyone had loads of other things to do than to sit around entertaining him and his boring banter all day. "Whomever wants to talk to me will do so on their own, I'm sure..." he chuckled nervously again, looking away from Krikor...

"Well, all in good time, I suppose," Krikor said, taking a peek at how the pilaf was doing.  "I was telling the truth, though -- you really are a good guy."  He really hoped Yumiya saw that in himself.  He knew how destructive negative self-esteem could be, and he knew no man was an island, and he hoped that he could be a good friend to Yumiya to try to help him come out of his shell.

Yumiya smiled warmly, a little bit shy about being complimented, even though he definitely appreciated it. "Thank you very much, Krikor!" He was just a wee bit modest, and it sounded as such in the shyness of his voice. "I um... I believe the same thing about you." Yumiya wasn't quite the best person with these types of occurrences, simply because they hadn't occurred very often in a way he was comfortable dealing with, regardless if all of the feelings were comfortable or not. Limited exposure. But perhaps Krikor would be the person he needed to be by his side to help him feel bold enough to talk to others, since it didn't seem to be bad talking to him.

By the time he'd shared the sentiment with his new friend, the kettle began to whistle. He was using an old fashioned tea kettle just because it was available and seemed functional. Besides, they were also pretty cheap, and it was good to be resourceful and conservative. "Oh, looks like the tea's ready." He would brush past Krikor, "Excuse me..." and grab an oven mitt just to be able to handle it carefully. "I wish I had some nice stories to tell you," he had to say, feeling like it would be nice to continue the idle banter since they were both just in that sort of mood. "I feel like it would help break the ice more... Hahaha..." As he searched for two appropriate cups, he would find two plastic cups in a different cabinet and give one to Krikor.

"Here," he said before turning and pointing to the jar of tea bags he had, "The tea bags are over there, in case you want to take your pick. I didn't really look at what was left... Sorta just grabbed one. Hahaha." It just didn't really matter to him right now. He poured his water into his cup and placed the tea bag in after, placing the kettle back on the stove. Moments later, he'd quickly open a drawer and pull out a two spoons for he and Krikor, placing his next to the tea kettle and beginning to stir his own beverage.

"Thanks," Krikor replied, taking the cup.  He waited until Yumiya was done making his own tea, then took a bag from the jar, put it in his cup, and stirred it with the spoon Yumiya had provided for him.

"I'm sure you have plenty of stories, Yumiya," he said, taking a sip of his tea while looking at him.  "How you came to be at Pandemia, for instance."

Yumiya sipped his own tea, scalding his tongue a bit from it still being a little hot. "Ah!" he yelped, placing his cup down immediately. "Ehhh... Uhhh..." He was kind of lost about what to say. He didn't find his stories interesting at all, quite honestly. But maybe, to the outside perspective, it could be.

"... Well, like I said, I was interested in learning about the Arts of the Soul," he started, leaning on the counter a bit, "I was, and I guess I still am, a normal person living life in the Villa... Hanging out with friends, going to school and things like that. Nothing interesting... But one day, I decided that I wanted to see what this prestigious school across the way was like. I figured out how to apply, which wasn't exactly the easiest thing... It's rather difficult to enroll, but fairly easy to get in once you do... Or, at least, for me, it was." He shrugged his shoulders. "... Anyway, that's how it happened. Pretty bland, huh?" He chuckled again, alright with his story not being as exciting nor interesting as anything Krikor had under his belt. He didn't expect it to be, either, since he'd basically been living the typical everyday life whilst Krikor was out traveling worlds and whatnot.

"But since you asked..." he started again rather curiously, picking up his tea, which had cooled just slightly, "... What about you? How did you end up getting in here?"

Krikor took a sip of his tea before remarking, "Easy to get in, you say?  That's a good sign for you -- sounds like you had an easier time with the entrance exam than I did.  Mr. Lacrimoso wound up dislocating my shoulder!" he said with a laugh before checking the pilaf.  He saw that the rice had absorbed all of the broth, so he grabbed two plates from out of one of the cupboards, took the wooden spoon, and dished out a serving for himself and a serving for Yumiya.

As he was looking for forks and/or spoons to eat with, he began answering Yumiya's question.  "Well, I used to be a lot more powerful than I am right now.  When I can communicate with my armor and weapon -- they each have spirits within them -- they amplify my power with their own and make my magic and my combat skills better.  I could use Sanguimancy to actually travel between worlds, jumping into and out of open wounds."

Yumiya sipped his tea a bit as he listened to Krikor speak, making sure to stand clear once the pilaf was done so that he could have room to do everything he needed to without being interrupted. "Woah! That sounds like a really cool ability!" Krikor had some pretty neat powers, it sounds like, even if he couldn't use them right at the moment. "Pretty dangerous, though! Wouldn't want to see you at full power!" He opened the drawer again and brought out two forks for the both of them, handing one to Krikor. "Is your shoulder alright? It seems like you're fit as a fiddle now..." Yumiya would also move toward one of the cabinets and pull out two bowls for them, since it seemed fitting to eat rice out of a bowl than on a plate, placing Krikor's on the counter. He pulled out a large spoon fit for serving and began to dig in, putting as much as he wanted into his bowl.

"This smells delicious..." he muttered under his breath, taking his tea and his rice back over to the couch, which had a long table relatively the length of the couch before it, "Can the spirits talk? How many are there? Is it like some crazy possession sort of thing that you see in anime?!" Yumiya asked these things as if he hadn't ever seen them before, and with how little exposure he'd had to anyone with any real powers, it was quite feasible that he simply hadn't, save for in television or movies. He sat on the couch now, staring on his meal.

Krikor took a bowl for himself and scooped some of the rice from the pan into it. He picked up his fork and put it into the bowl, taking his tea in the other hand before following Yumiya back to the couch. "Thanks for the compliment! I hope it's as good as my parents used to make it," he said before sitting on the couch and beginning to eat as well.

"It's not so much possession, but more of a lingering consciousness, and those lingering consciousnesses can speak to me telepathically so long as I have the items they're contained within on my person," Krikor explained after a bite of his food. "Ooh, still hot," he commented, exhaling through his mouth to try to cool the inside of his mouth off. He took a drink of his tea to expedite the process, thinking about how good it was, and about how long it had been since he'd had tea.

When his mouth had cooled, he continued. "When someone wants to start on the road to becoming a fully-fledged Sanguimancer, one must replace all the blood and bone marrow in one's body through a special ritual, since your body naturally objects to itself being used as a weapon. When the ritual is complete, the blood that was replaced is collected to be forged into a type of metal later called Blood Ore. The Blood Ore retains the memories and personality of the person whose blood it's made from, and it retains a link to the person mentally throughout that person's life, remaining long after their death. It's then forged into a weapon or piece of armor, then left somewhere for someone else to find. That way, new Sanguimancers can be trained all across the Multiverse. That's how it works in theory, anyway." Krikor hoped he hadn't beaten Yumiya over the head with too much information at once, since it was a long story and was a lot to take in. He took another bite of his pilaf, savoring the taste. He didn't get to cook in an actual kitchen with real ingredients too often, and he was happy for the chance to do it again.

"Ahhh..." he said, gathering most, but not all of what he'd just explained. There were a few technical things that he was trying to wrap his head around, considering the rather considerable differences in lifestyle and in manner that came from it. "... Does... It hurt?" he asked rather innocently after taking a bite of his own. He seemed more comfortable with eating it whilst it was piping hot than he was drinking the tea when it was. "Hey, this is pretty good!" he muttered gleefully, taking another bite. He figured he'd get all the minor details worked out in time, since he and Krikor were going to be roommates, and all.

"I'm glad you like it!" Krikor replied.  "It's nice to have actual ingredients and a kitchen instead of scavenging for food like I usually have to do."

"And yes, it does hurt if you do it wrong.  The ritual normally numbs the pain, but it requires absolute concentration.  One slip in your concentration and you feel everything that's going on," he continued, eating his food as though he wasn't talking about the rather disgusting topic of the marrow being squeezed out of one's bones and the blood being ejected from one's body while being replaced with those of another being.

"I can only imagine!" Yumiya never had to live that sort of life, which was a blessing and a curse, one could say. True, he did have the safety of his own comfortable home and the convenience of stores to buy his everyday living products and such from, but he was missing out on such adventures and excitement out in the world and many developed skills and powers that came from that sort of lifestyle. If only there were a way to do both...

"I'd love to go out and explore and adventure and stuff," he finally had to admit in between his bites, washing it down with a sip of tea, "But I also really like how I can just get stuff at my leisure instead of scavenging. Don't you think it would be really cool if there were a way for people to do both?" Somehow, he felt like the Veritas provided that, but he was nowhere near skilled enough to even test it out on his own. "... Though, I suppose that's what this school is for..."

"Yeah, it seems that way," Krikor replied between bites of his own food and gulps of his tea. "This really is a great place. I've never seen anything like it on any world I've been to."

"Then we'll have to do some adventuring together sometime." Yumiya continued his rice, enjoying having someone to talk to, surprisingly. He was usually so comfortable being by himself and being alone, but talking to someone just as friendly as he was gave him a new and rather pleasant experience. "I'll have to go unlock the potential of my soul right away so we can get started with practicing, and then eventually go out into the outside for some real excitement!" He was sure that with Krikor's prior experience in combat, he'd be a big help to him on the field, and with Yumiya's knowledge of the school (even if slight), he would be able to help Krikor progress more swiftly. "I should take a trip down to the office and go get that done... It wasn't happening before because apparently, my soul wasn't strong enough to be unlocked... But right now, something is telling me I should try again!" He hadn't ever felt this confident about it before, and maybe that was the problem. Perhaps it was just because he didn't have any sort of motivation, but now that he was getting more acquainted with Krikor, something inside of him was getting inspired to get started right away!

"Do you want to come with me to see about unlocking your Soul, too?"

"You know what? I think that's a great idea," Krikor said, finishing his rice and downing the last of his tea. He stood up and cracked his neck, his shoulder still a bit stiff after being dislocated. It didn't hurt, it was just stiffer than usual. "Lead the way."

"Alright, it's a plan!" Yumiya said, finishing his own bowl, as well. He still had a bit of tea left, but it was pretty cooled off so he didn't have to worry. He took larger gulps of it, but took Krikor's bowl and cup for himself and walked over to the sink to put them there. He could deal with the dishes later. By that time, he'd finished his own tea and took out the bags from both cups, throwing them away.

"Uh," he said with a slight smile on his face, rubbing the back of his head, "Do you wear that armor all the time, or is there something more casual that you could put on?" Then, thinking about the note that he was from another world, he asked, "... Or do you not have anything to wear?" That was feasible, as well, and if that were the case, he would understand. "I don't mean to intrude by asking, I was just thinking it was just a tad bit strange to always have that armor on. But if it's got something to do with those spirits inside of it, then I totally get it. I was just curious." He slipped on his shoes, getting ready to depart.

"I do have some casual clothes, actually," Krikor said. "I haven't unpacked my things yet, have I? I should probably do that before we go so I can get changed," he continued, standing up as well. "Which way is my bedroom?" he asked, "or do we share one room with two beds?"