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[notsolomon]

This is William Twining. I shall reply to your message at my earliest convenience. Thank you. ***BEEP***

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[notsolomon]

Just you wait. Things will soon be on the right course.

[But fortunately the pizza is here. Revenge can always wait for food.

He's just going to watch from the couch though, trying not to look too sulky. Which is hard right now.]

[babermetrics]

[He grabs the goods from the 'bot and then turns to get back inside and set it on the coffee table, laughing when he gets a look at William's face. Dude.]

Did you really think you were gonna beat my ass your first time? You're just gonna make all your future defeats even sweeter for me like that!

[notsolomon]

I will concede this first loss as a necessary part of the learning curve. But like I said, the future will be different.

[But he's just going to grab a slice of pizza and and start eating in order to soothe his bitter disappointment. He'll probably be less childish about his as the evening wears on. Probably.]

[babermetrics]

You're like the worst loser I've ever met, and I know myself.

[He snorts, grabbing a piece himself. And then glancing over to watch William eat. How do fancy rich past-people eat pizza? Like normal people? Interesting . . . ]

[notsolomon]

I just hold myself to a high standard is all.

[And because he's petty.

Well a fork takes too much time when it comes to pizza. And it's not like they don't have hand held foods back home. Thought some of it is irredeemable to say the least.]

It's not bad, though it's much thinner than I'm used to.

[babermetrics]

Eh, really? I wasn't even sure you'd had it before . . . what kind d'you usually eat?

[He settles in to eat, and shifts close to lean lightly up against William's side. There's plenty of room on the couch, but . . . it's nice. Just a little bit. He doesn't get enough of this these days. And up his feet go on the table too, because he's a rude ass, but at least he's being a rude ass in his own place.]

[notsolomon]

When Camio and John made them, they were pretty heavy crusts, slabs of mozzarella and basil on them.

[He leans back against Leon, thinking about it. Better memories of better days. Back when everyone was still talking to each other.]

It takes much longer to make though.

[babermetrics]

Basil, huh? Sounds like the kinda fancy thing you'd eat . . .

[He clearly does not really. Know a lot about pizza. Or herbs. He's surprised to even hear pizza had been invented back then!]

Man, that's so weird! I always figured pizza was pretty modern. I guess that's just in Japan, though. Camio and John? Those friends of yours?

[notsolomon]

We have a lot of immigrants from Italy right now, so that's part of the reason.

[Not that one found it often in the small town he went to school at.]

Oh Camio is one of the demons I mentioned. And John is his butler. He used to be John Dee...

Oh you would know of him probably, but he's a very famous mathematician and occultist who died two hundred years before my time.

[Wow his life sounds so bizarre and batshit sometimes. Almost makes William wish he'd continued being in denial about the supernatural. It spared him from saying these weird things.]

[babermetrics]

[No kidding. Leon's brain does a record scratch at that. He'd been in the middle of a bite of pizza, but instead of taking it, he gets distracted with his teeth half sunk in and turns to William with wide eyes.]

Hhhnnn?!

[And full mouth.]

[notsolomon]

...what?

[He munches on some pizza before he responds, because yeah that probably was a bit too much for Leon.]

It is very weird, but it was actually part of my daily life back home.

[babermetrics]

At least you know it's weird . . . so you just know dudes who're hundreds of years old? That's so crazy!

[He puts his pizza down and sits back again, crossing his legs.]

I wonder if my world's like that too or somethin' and i just never figured it out.

[After all, there's a lot he'd never figured out about his world, he's come to realize since leaving it.]

[notsolomon]

[Technically all his demon companions were hundreds of years old. And Kevin. There was always Kevin too.

It was a bit weird to think on sometimes.]

You never know. Dantalion was the first demon I met and I refused to believe he was real. And I manged to be in denial for a good, long while.

[in some ways he's really not proud of that.]

You should be glad you haven't seen anything like that though. It seems like once you meet one of them, suddenly it's everywhere.

[babermetrics]

Is basically everyone you know a demon or what? Your life really is crazy! It's so weird . . . you're such a normal guy, y'know? Like, except for the whole being a foreigner from way in the past thing.

[He glances around the room, significantly. They're sitting here eating pizza and playing games. He feels good and normal right now; it's nice.]

I mean, when we first met I didn't really think I'd ever relate to you or anything, but I was totally wrong! Even dudes from history can be ordinary awesome guys! I guess that's why it's so weird when I think about you summoning demons and all that too.

[notsolomon]

I know some humans. They are just as weird though. And well I also know a few angels. But that has been a bit hit and miss.

[Like fifty fifty. Or maybe more like 70-30. He had never been sure what Kevin had been after by coming into his life. And William wasn't ready to find out the answer to that. But Michael had definitely tried to kill him and one didn't forget that type of vicious personality easily.

But yes, this is nice and normal. Well okay, it's not. Because he's completely out of his proper time and place. But then again, everyone is.]

Hah, I am not some person from history. If anything, you are some strange duck from the future. [Yeah totally Leon. How dare you insult his normalcy.] It's a bit strange, but since coming here, I realized that I became a little used to having them around. Just a little though.

[babermetrics]

Heh . . . you mean you miss 'em?

[What would it be like to have a bunch of demons and angels as your friends? Leon has no idea, but the friends part is what matters, right? It sucks being away from a demon friend just as much as any friend.]

Sometimes it's like that, right? Like you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone! I know how it is.

[notsolomon]

Geh!

[He chokes, because...

It's very true, isn't it?]

I suppose so. They were very annoying, but they were always around.

[He's on another slice of pizza by now and pauses.]

So do you have people you miss then?

[babermetrics]

Yeah, 'course I do.

[He grabs another piece himself, but doesn't bite into it yet, thinking over the question. Obviously! Everyone misses someone, right?

It's a little different for him, though, with—his situation. It makes it harder to think about. Leon glances over at the framed photo on the nearby table . . . ]

We've all got friends and family and stuff, right? It's weird bein'—this ain't even like another country, this is a whole other reality we're all in . . . that's crazy to think about, being that far away.

[notsolomon]

[He followed Leon's glance towards that picture.]

It is a bit. I honestly feel like none of us consider it as much as we should. The human mind isn't readily equipped for it. Well, mine is, but that is a lot of effort.

[He's half joking, though Solomon had said that his temperament was unique enough to allow him to take on all of his wisdom.

But it was still frightening.

After a beat though.]

If you do not mind me asking: who is the girl in the picture?

[babermetrics]

[He snorts when William makes the comment about his! mind being special, but before he can say much else about that, he's caught off guard by the question. Well, he should have expected it. It's not like he doesn't leave the picture out. He'd been more careful about it, before . . . but that felt stupid.]

—That's my cousin Kanon. Pretty cute, right? That picture . . . some stuff showed up in my apartment with me when I first got here, that happen to you? That was one of the things I found. . . . I guess CERES was tryin' to be nice or something, for once.

[He shrugs. The other items mostly had not been nice. But he's glad to have this one.]

We were pretty close. Like, not as close as she wanted, know what I mean? But she was like a sister to me!

[notsolomon]

Hmmm, that's nice. That you're close I mean.

["Not as close as she wanted" isn't something he's even going to comment on, since that sort of thing isn't exactly uncommon back home.]

But there were a few things that were there when I arrived. Some important spell books and the like. There was one possession that should have been there that wasn't, but it's probably for the best that it didn't come.

[Solomon's ring here where the wrong person could take it? What a disaster that would be.]

[babermetrics]

What, they left something of yours behind?

[That's weird to think about. Leon had been surprised anything at all of his had shown up, and most of it was worse than useless. But he can't think of anything he had back home that he should definitely have had here . . .

He starts in on his second piece of pizza, watching William with some curiosity.]

[notsolomon]

Yes. It is a very valuable and dangerous ring that I try to keep on my person at all times.

[Should he say that said ring let's the past life personality that resides in him possess him more easily? But that would require... talking about that.

So no, he's just going to eat his pizza and think for a moment.]

It's a ring of wisdom that belonged to my father though, so it's pretty important regardless of it's properties.

[babermetrics]

A ring of wisdom? Is that like a normal thing in your world?

[What? Maybe it's a history thing, or a white people thing, or maybe it's a magical demon summoner thing. Leon's not sure which. He just knows it sounds crazy to him.]

I'm assumin' that doesn't mean like, you wear it and you pass all your tests, right? Just kidding!

[notsolomon]

No, it's not.

[And once again, he's thinking that he should admit the truth, because while it hasn't happened, what if Solomon did come out at some particularly inconvenient moment? Wouldn't it be kind of nice for his friends to know what's going on and not freak out? Kazuya knew about, but that was because he had guessed.

But it was uncomfortable to explain. It sounded insane. too insane.]

Do I seem like the kind of person who would need it to help pass a test? Any test? [Unless we were talking the dreaded PE test...]

But no. It's God's wisdom passed down to man. So it's very powerful. I think I could even enslave any demon if I so wanted with it.