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XaXing had been good for Daja - after selling a collection of memories (though nothing personal, of course), she had been able to barter both her allowance and her newly traded credits for a significant collection of metals, both those that were familiar to her and a range of new and unfamiliar metals. She would still be careful to conserve her resources, of course, but she was confident now that she could make her stock last.

But the new metals...that was what Daja was really focused on. Perhaps it would have been more sensible to buy more of the more reliable, familiar metals instead, but the lure of not just one metal, but a whole host that she had never used before had proved too irresistible.

Of course, the metals themselves were not enough - she needed the knowledge to know how to forge them as well. As such she had been frequently visiting the media library, researching the metals and their known forging techniques. Today, she was looking specifically into Jasmium alloys and Amazonium. She knew that Hiccup was hoping to use an alloy of Jasmium and Amazonium, and Daja was curious to find out if the two could be successfully combined as well. But to find out if that was possible, she needed to collect as much information as possible.

Currently, she was observing a hologram of a pair of Amazonian Bracelets - ones which some crew members might recognise as the same kind that Wonder Woman wore, and which were crafted with the Amazonium metal.

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Hana first thoughts when someone had mentioned a media library was to remember a large room of computers in his old school, filled with all sorts of files for those who'd chosen a course in media. He wasn't too far off the mark and it was such the reason that he'd decided to pay the place a visit.

He'd thought maybe he'd come in, poke around in the music files and see what he could find. For a short time he kept his head low and felt a little guilty as he saw older crewmates using the impressive storage of information for a much more intellectual cause but once his eyes captured a few others around his age using the libary for the same purpose he was he allowed himself to relax a little.

Afterall, it wasn't like him to study and memorize such things anyway. He didn't see the information as pointless, he knew it all must have a purpose, but he never felt the sort to search for that purpose. Hana was pretty smart and got by on learning the important basic things but he left if up to the much more capable and knowledge driven people on the ship to decode the mystery of this place.

He's been scouring the never ending list of music for his next track when he spotted the woman stood near a projection. After a few months on the ship he was used (mostly) to the technology but he still viewed it all with a 'wow' factor.

Pushing himself up off the chair he'd found he made his way over, looking at the bracelets with interest. "Woah." He spoke. "Those look pretty cool."

"Yes, they are impressive - but while their design is beautiful, it is the metal they are made of that I am most interested in," Daja said, nodding to the newcomer. "I don't believe we have met before?"

He tilted his head slightly and leant closer as he continued to look at the hologram. "Why? What are they made out of?"

Straightening up, he grinned at her and nodded in greeting. "I'm Hana." He moved the conversation along quickly before she could ask about the gender implications of his name. "What's your name?"

"Amazonium - it's a metal that I'd never encouraged before XaXing, and I'm trying to learn more about it," Daja explained. "The information they have here is a little conflicting, though. The reports of it being near indestructible are consistent, but some sources suggest that it affects the mental state of the person wearing it as well."

She bowed respectfully, taking no notice of his name - after all, it wasn't one she had ever heard in her world, so how would she know which gender the name was associated with? "I am pleased to meet you, Hana. I am Daja Kisubo."

"Indestructible? That's awesome! Can you imagine how much easier that make this fight against the... whatever those things are we're supposed to be fighting?" Hana turned looked at her with excitement in his eyes. "Does this mean you've found some?"

"Daja..." He said, testing it out before smiling. "That's a good name. Sounds like a warrior name. Are you a warrior? Do you fight?"

"I bought some on XaXing, yes," Daja said. "But I cannot risk forging it into weapons unless I can be certain that it will not affect the mental state of the wearer. And my supply is limited." For such a valuable metal, she would not only she only forge it for a high price - she would also only use it for the most necessary of projects. Something so precious could not be used frivolously.

"No, I am a blacksmith and a mage. I can defend myself with my staff," she said, nodding to her Trader Staff, "But I am no fighter."

"A mage? Are you serious?" Hana's face lit up and he seemed to turn from a teenager to a giddy 5 year old. "So, you can do all sort of spells? That's amazing!" He began circling her, as if she was the newest model of Lamborghini and he was seeing her for the first time. "I knew a blacksmith back home but he was nowhere near as cool as a mage!"

"Slow down a moment," Daja said, amused. "I am an ambient mage, not an academic mage. My magic works a little differently - it's rooted in fire and metal. I use my magic to manipulate metals, and weave my magic through them."

She stood calmly, watching Hana. "You should not disrespect the blacksmith you know. Smithing is a difficult and valuable skill, and magic is not a replacement for that."

Hana was undeterred. "That still sounds amazing! My dads the one who's strong with metals back home, and my uncle's favorite was fire so he was the best until he gave it to Lyserg..." He let his sentence trail off, not wanting to think about the family that may now be gone forever.

He dismissed her statement with a handwave. "Nar, he's dead now anyway so he doesn't do it much anymore."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Daja said softly. "Was he family?" Hana had mentioned relatives being strong with metal and fire already, so perhaps he had a blacksmith in the family as well?

"Don't be. I'm pretty sure he's used to it by now." Hana shook his head. "No, he was more like..." He paused, trying to think how best to describe it. "I guess he was like a close friend of a very close family friend and so he became a close family friend too." He shrugged. "Or something. He seems pretty cool whenever I see him though."

Daja blinked, confused. Did he just say...? "I'm sorry, he's used to being...dead?"

"Well, yeh, I think after a thousand years anyone would be used to being dead." He grinned a little. "If he couldn't adjust after that long he'd be having some serious problems."

"You mean he's dead but...still walking around?" Daja said, paling a little. How could someone be dead but...still in the world of the living? And for a thousand years?! She couldn't even begin to imagine what state his body would be in, after all that time.

Edited 2011-05-06 11:40 (UTC)

"Well, not really 'walking', I mean, I don't think spirits really walk." He said, looking thoughtful. "Especially human ones. They kinda just... float."

"He's a ghost?" Daja asked, blinking. "And you can still...speak with him?"

Hana gave her a confused look. "Um, yeh, of course. It's kinda what we do. See spirits and all that junk."

Edited 2011-05-07 12:19 (UTC)

"You can see spirits?" Daja said, her shock finally turning to curiosity. "Do you have magic that gives you that ability?"

She'd never heard of any kind of magic that could let someone speak with the dead, but if there was one thing she had learned from her time on Stacy, it was that magic could come in forms that she'd never even dreamed of.

"See 'em, talk to 'em, interact with 'em, merge with 'em, use 'em." He listed these things off in a relatively monotone voice. "I mean, most of that stuff at the beginning is basic."

Hana shook his head slightly. "No, not magic. Not really. Magic is more like... I don't know. Making stuff vanish? Us Shamans are born with these abilities. We're like a bridge between this world and the next. We're not magicians or alchemists or something."

"Mages are born with magic as well," Daja pointed out. But looking at him closely now, she could see that he didn't have any of the tell tales silver flickers that would indicate that he has magic. "Amazing," she said, with a shake of her head. "I never though I would ever meet someone who could commune with the dead."

Hana looked at her, straightening up fully. "Really?" He smiled, feeling proud of himself. After meeting so many amazing people on board the ship he'd forgotten that his own powers were pretty impressive. "Well, I've never met someone who manipulate elements without a spirit partner."

He grinned excitedly. "I'll show you sometime. I'll even show you how we fight. I just need to find a spirit. There's not very many on this ship." He shrugged. "But I'm sure someone has a plant or something if I can't find any usual spirits."

Edited 2011-05-08 11:36 (UTC)

"It seems we have both learned something new today," Daja said, with an amused smile. "And I would enjoy that greatly, thank you. If you like, I can show you some of my magic as well. Just something small - I'm not really prepared for any more impressive feats at the moment. I wasn't expecting to need to use my magic during my research."

Kaya had needed a break herself after making herself busy in Medical: the confusion and yelling and such had been such a downer her had barely been able to get time to herself, even training had been out for the week. With extra time on her hands, she was finally able to do what she wanted, and though she would never let anyone know, sitting on a nice comfy spot and reading in the Library.

She was also, sadly, unaware that she was minus a roommate, something she would learn in a few hours, but now she remained optimistic, looking for more things to decorate their room.

And coming in, she would see someone she knew, Daja, observing some sort of arm armor.

"Daja!" Kaya greeted. "What are you up to?"

"Kaya!" Daja said, smiling at her as she arrived. "I'm researching a new kind of metal that I bought on XaXing - Amazonium. I'm hoping that I will be able to craft it into an alloy with one of the other metals I bought, but I need to know more about how it's forged and used first."

Edited 2011-05-01 12:48 (UTC)

Kaya stared at the material a moment. This was another one of those moments where she wished she knew a little more about someone else's craft. She knew that this sort of work was more suited for Toph and maybe even Zuko, but it had always made her wonder how it worked.

"How durable is it?" Kaya asked. after a minute. "It sounds like it might be something that would come in handy."

"Near indestructible, according to these sources," Daja said. "And my inspection of the metal does back that up. But some of the reports are a little worrying - they suggest that these bracelets had a mental affect on the wearer as well. I'm hoping that this was in fact an enchantment places on them, and not a property of the metal itself." She certainly couldn't risk using a metal that might affect a person's mind as part of someone's armour or weaponry.

Yes, the idea of something that could cause a mental imbalance because of what you were wearing was a little frightening. "Well, it looks like these were bracelets. But what if you were just using them as a weapon? I really hope that its not the metal itself, but if it is, maybe its just better suited to be something to fight with, that might need to be handled carefully."

"It's possible, but that is why I must research this more," Daja said. "I cannot even be certain if these reports are accurate yet. They are somewhat conflicting."

"Oh," Kaya said, looking at the bracelets again, hating the fact that she might be disturbing Daja while she was busy at work. "What seems to be the problem? Are the sources saying opposite things?"

"Yes - some of them don't suggest any mental affects at all, while others go into great detail about them. I'm hoping that this is a good sign, and that those effects were only caused by magic and enchantments," Daja explained. "Certainly the Amazonium I acquired had no traces of magic itself."

"Well, surely there has to be a way to test it out too," Kaya said. "That's what the magical department is for, isn't it? Maybe they can find a way to analyze it more than we can. It'd be better than just going by what's written, if there are conflicting articles, right?"

"If I cannot determine this myself, I may just ask them for assistance," Daja said, nodding. "However, I am still hopeful that more research will make this clearer."

"Can I end a hand?" Kaya asked. "I don't have much to do right now, and at least another set of eyes would help, right?"

"Are you sure?" Daja said, worried. "I know things must be busy at Medical right now, with that strange disease..."

Daja had been keeping a close eye on Hiccup ever since she had heard the news, but thankfully so far she hadn't spotted any changes. She could only hope that they would remain unaffected.

"On my break," Kaya said. "But I'm starting to wonder if there is much medical can do other than keep the affected comfortable in quarantine. I've never seen anything like this, let alone know how it can be treated. We have to first find out how it was transmitted in the first place. Being here, well, sort of kills two birds with one stone."

She looked pointedly at Daja. "Was there someone you were worrying about, being afflicted? Have you got any symptoms?"

"I know you're doing your best," Daja reassured her. "And my apprentice, Hiccup. He hasn't shown any symptoms - I'm just worried. I've been keeping an eye him. But I have no idea how I'd tell if I was affected. How do you know if you've lost memories, when you never remember having them in the first place?"

"That's true," she said, and laughed. "Him again! I hear a lot about Hiccup, but the only time we met he was quite unconscious. Had some alien attack him and I helped him, with his father watching. I'm sad his father since got repodded though. I'm a little more familiar with Hiccup's other friend, Ruf-"

She stopped short as she read the Comm and sighed. "More injure people? Honestly! They're going to work us to death in medical recentl-"

And then her face paled. She could FEEL it: Billy was here, but fragmented somehow, all over the place. His body was somehow out of sync, and she arose, looking more than a little bothered.

"I'm sorry, I have to go now," she said, an edge to her voice. "My Bonded, Billy...he needs help!"

"His father?" Daja blinked. She hadn't realised that one of Hiccup's family had been on board as well - her heart went out to him though, she knew how hard it was to see your own family repodded.

She felt a twinge of unease when she saw Kaya's face pale, and when she mentioned Billy her stomach clenched. "Billy's hurt?" she whispered. "No...no you don't have to apologise at all."

"Yes, Stoick the Vast," she said, her heart thumping hard in her chest. She may have been able to keep a straight face once she was in medical, but it was another story entirely when it came to her Bonded. "He was very concerned about Hiccup's welfare, which made me want to doubly ensure he stay alive."

She had no idea Daja knew Billy, but then Billy was a pretty infamous person on the ship, wasn't he? "I know its rude and all, but Billy, he's special. I have to go! Please, tell me what you find, I'll be anxious to know!"

"Leaving to help someone who is hurt is never rude," Daja said firmly. "I'll let you know, but please, don't wait on my account. Billy is a friend of mine as well. He is more important that any research."

She couldn't help it: she reached over and gave Daja a hug before getting up and making a run for the Med Bay.

"We'll see each other soon!" She called. "Thank you, Daja!"

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