Claustrophobia's Grasp

"Hmm .. a mage ..?" he murmured quietly, seeming to have finally- calmed down as he tucked his arms into his hoodie's pockets. Though he was still tense, that seemed to be a constant state of being for him, his expression had returned to its neutral, lazy, laid back state. However, as he listened he tilted his head a bit- that didn't seem right. Hai had mentioned "humans with powers" it was what Hai had been- though his was more technique than power.

"Or .. evolved human .. ESPer, I think?" he pondered quietly, tilting his head just a bit in thought as his gaze slid upward in contemplation. He shrugged after a moment, it didn't really matter- races were just a thing to write on an application to him, it had never mattered in the wilds, and it didn't matter here either. Gender, Ethnicity, Species, Sexuality- instinct cared nothing for these things, and so, neither did he. Everyone were just "People".

"Seiken Jin Hou," he responded to the direct question, Havoc? That didn't sound like a normal name .. or maybe it was? He was still getting used to the different cultures, but .. "A nickname?" he pondered curiously eyes trailing down to look at him once more.

A slight nod of understanding was the reply as he followed along slowly behind the man, eyes half shut as he allowed his gaze to trail over the surroundings. Havik, that seemed more likely- it sounded European, though he couldn't be sure- his cultural knowledge of the west was limited. Asia and Africa were his forte'.

As he asked if he was Chinese, Seiken blinked before shaking his head. "Native American .. Japanese," he responded with quietly, the native half of his blood was something he had yet to even begin to explore. But he knew of his ethnicity due to the simple DNA and blood test Hai had put him through.

"My adoptive .. father. Chinese." he still felt odd calling Hai "father". It didn't seem quite right, but he couldn't think of the right word to use to describe him, and he had taken his last name, so it was close enough for now- he supposed. Blinking, however, suddenly there was a shift in the flow of the conversation.

There was a slight, just slight, edge of excitement to his tone as Seiken quickly responded in fluent Cantonese, "Yes, I speak all three primary dialects fluently." he stated, a bit of energy coming to him as his eyes slid down toward the man with more interest now. "I didn't expect anyone here to speak any of them, however."

Seiken contemplated this new information, so there were more of Asian and eastern decent here in that case? Perhaps he wouldn't have such a difficult time adjusting, once he got past the initial period. It was a hard call to make really so early in the meeting and discussion- but it gave him a bit of hope at least.

Half, huh? He supposed that made sense, there were some minor eastern traits on his facial structure now that he really looked at him- but then, he supposed he hadn't met enough Europeans to think that fairly either.

Slowly, Seiken frowned as the man asked him how many languages he spoke and tilted his head in thought. After a few moments, he clarified, "That's a complicated question. If we mean strictly languages, and not including their numerous sub-dialects, then I can speak English, Japanese, Chinese, French, and Arabic. But .. If we include all of the sub-dialects, especially within Africa, then I suppose I would know closer to thirty "languages". That's a bit .. inaccurate, however since many dialects are just combinations of primary languages."

Despite this .. surprisingly accurate and detailed dialogue, Seiken still retained his quiet disposition and murmured- though his grammar, and speaking skill had drastically increased using a "native tongue" he was still obviously not exactly comfortable speaking- still, it was a vast improvement.

"But I'm only skilled in speaking. Writing in all of them is .. difficult, I have the knowledge but it takes me a very long time to translate it properly." it didn't help he was just bad at writing and academics in general anyway- language based on hearing were easy. His inhuman senses and amplified Broca made language, music, and arts come to him incredibly easily. It was .. everything else, he struggled with.

Seiken blinked slowly at the words he was offered- a singular language? How did they communicate properly? In the plains, if you wanted to communicate you had to usually filter through three or four languages until you found one that both of you spoke, and even then you usually mixed and matched different words to make sure you understood one another.

Though. He supposed if everyone only spoke one language- that made sense. It was far more effective as well, from a widespread point of view, he supposed. Slowly he tilted his head and made a simple "hm" noise to show he understood- just found the idea odd.

Then the man suddenly came out of left field and asked him "what his story was". Seiken blinked, tilting his head, and then frowned- not because he didn't want to say, but because he wasn't sure how to properly summarize it all in a way they would both appreciate. There were some things he didn't want to say, of course- but he had no issue with people knowing the general summary.

"My parents were made to be human weapons, they escaped, they had me. They kept me in a cage and were bad people. My adoptive father saved me. I was .. socially behind, to an immense degree." that was putting it lightly, he also skipped over the .. incredibly dark aspects of what being raised by cannibalistic sociopaths was like.

"He took me to rural West Africa and raised me there. He recently passed away, and told me to come here .. apparently, he used to be a teacher here, and he managed to pull some strings to get me enrolled," he stated idly, glancing towed the sky slowly as his hands adjusted in the pocket of his hoodie. He didn't mention .. many things, in the last half of that summary as well.

That was for the best. The man didn't need his sad, dark, demented details- just a general summary to sate his curiosity.

Seiken nodded slightly in agreement to the man's word and summary, "Basically. I'm sure they didn't have the cognitive thought to modify me themselves the way they had been- but I was born with their DNA, and my mother held magic of some sort .." he allowed the thought to trail off, feeling as though that was explanation enough, magic could allow modifications just as much as science could.

Glancing down toward him as he asked about his age, Seiken shrugged. "I'm at least eighteen, my .. father," that term still felt so wrong, he'd have to give that more thought, "Estimated that I was eighteen to twenty. My body isn't normal, so it's hard for even someone in the medical field to really tell." That had been an issue in the past as well, his anatomy was helpful, and strong- but there was a reason he had never had stitches, and as such had so many scar's.

Good luck finding a doctor with the hand-strength and a needle strong and sharp enough to actually be used on his hide.

Curiously, he listened to the man as he gave his own short summary of his life- and he nodded just slightly. A military man, like Hai- perhaps that was why he got along so naturally with him? He had been raised in that environment, it was the only way he had been able to remain sane after his .. previous environment. No child could ever be considered "normal" after a situation like that after all, they needed a heavy hand and someone strong willed for a parent-figure.

How amusing. It seemed he was attracted to those types when it came to people he could actually communicate with.

"Your power is new to you, then?" he asked curiously, glancing down toward the man with a curious expression.