smash_logs | Two guys, one machine

Who: Byrne and Joel
What: Two surly guys end up meeting - wowzers!
Where: At the gym
When: February 9th
Warnings: Probably not

Ever since that powerlifting competition, regardless of who won ~~since we don't actually know yet~~, Byrne realized he should probably do more actual weight training. While he was strong on his own, there was an art to weights that he didn't use often enough. Sure, he had done plenty of weight-training in his life, but not enough. Besides, the weights and machines in this school were incredibly fancy and so very different than the crude methods Byrne was used to. It was always good to vary one's routine, right?

Byrne had sort of developed a circuit for himself and had started to enjoy these weights. They were just different enough that he felt his muscles get an extra bit of a workout for now; as it usually was when one changed a workout routine. But because he had a set order in mind for his weight circuit - that is, for the pectoral section - he had automatically set to grab one specific machine.

But it was in use. Not cool.

In Byrne's mind, he was superior and clearly deserved the machine, especially when he had it as part of a circuit for his pectorals. So this was a downright unnecessary blockade when some guy was using it.

"Move. I was using that," he said quite icily.

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"Mph... Magic."

Not said in a disbelieving way. More a resigned kind of way.

Yes. Joel believed in magic.

You couldn't live here and avoid it. There were magical beings that actually existed. You could see them. Talk to them. Hell, he had some in his class. They just WERE. And he had to be OK with that, because there was nothing he could do about it.

"That's rough. They ever figure it out? Get them back?"

To Byrne, magic was simply a part of life. Not everyone possessed the ability to use it, but it was still a force that shaped the world. Nothing unusual about it, nothing unbelievable about it. As a result, he never expected Joel to disbelieve it.

But with his response, Byrne had to force himself to hide a smirk. Fortunately he had his cowl covering his face, so the upturned corners of his mouth were hidden. Fortunately, with how stoic he was, it was easy to conceal any more emotion he might hold toward the affair.

"As far as I know, nothing was ever figured out." And he hoped it would remain that way until he got back. Though Byrne wanted to change the subject, as he was afraid of looking too suspicious. As much as it might amuse him how little Joel might know of his role in making the tracks disappear, he preferred to keep it to that level.

Abruptly, he tried to change the subject: "And you? Did they play a large role in your world?"

"No. Well, I guess at one point in time." Joel replied. "Twenty years ago, civilization kind'a went to hell in a handbasket in my world. Trains take a lot of maintenance and the tracks need repair to keep safe and they fell by the wayside before cars did. Even before then, they'd been mostly replaced by cars and trucks."

He couldn't even remember the last time he'd taken an honest to goodness train ride.

Cars and trucks. Right. Byrne knew about them. He'd have to see what all the fuss was about at some point. Though with his stubborn attitude, he was reluctant. Besides, even though trains were faster, he honestly preferred walking. It was easier to stay hidden that way.

Civilization going to hell didn't sound like an unusual thing to Byrne, so he simply assumed it was like his own world: an evil force escaped and wreaked havoc. (But wasn't that what he himself was enabling? The very demon he was supposed to keep at bay so he wouldn't destroy the land - he's trying to revive. At times Byrne's conscience catches up and he realizes to a degree the implications of what he wants to do, but he shakes it off for now. He's not in Hyrule at the moment, so there's nothing to be done.)

"I see." There was a pause before he spoke again. "It seems the natural course for civilization is for it to meet its cruel end." A way of reassuring himself.

"Somethin' like that happen in your world too, huh." Joel replied. It would be an odd thing for Byrne to say, if not. And train tracks disappearing didn't seem like a civilization wrecking calamity.

Though, he could be wrong.

"Guessin' you don't come from Earth."

Earth was a general name for the entirety of the world, the vast regions of unknown land that had only been explored by a few. But he never called it "Earth," as it was more "the land" or "the earth." It was such a broad statement for Joel to make.

"The earth is what we refer to the entire world as," he remarked. "But I'm guessing we come from different worlds regardless." He could already tell that Joel came from somewhere that was nothing like Hyrule.

So as a result, it didn't matter if he knew where Byrne was from. He wouldn't know how Byrne could possibly bring down civilization with his latest actions unless he had been there and watching the whole time. "My land is called Hyrule."

"I see." Joel replied, finishing his bottle of water and taking a seat on some nearby equipment. It seemed as though their adversarial period had at least cooled down, if not evaporated completely. His gun was still within arm's reach if he needed it... but for now, he could relax. Just a little.

"My land is called America. And yeah, I figure we're from pretty different worlds. There's no-one on my planet with ears like yours."

Though, plenty of fictional people with them. The aforementioned Spock, elves like that Lord of the Rings guy... legless or whatever he was called.

As little as Byrne may get along with other people, especially those with whom he had threatened, one thing he could say was that he was fascinated by other worlds. Old Hyrule may be a land under the sea in his realm, but once he had heard about it, he read up on it.

So this "America" already sounded interesting. He had already cooled down from his animosity toward Joel and found himself intrigued, at least somewhat.

"There are few in my world with ears like yours," he retorted with a little bit of annoyance. Okay, he hadn't completely cooled off yet.

Which reminded him - he was in the middle of a workout. That was what instigated this whole thing, wasn't it? He'd best not lose the vigor he had worked up. "If you'll excuse me," he said, "I have a workout to get back to." A slight pause - "But I do want to hear about America at some point."

"...you drink beer?" Joel asked.

It might seem like an out-of-left-field question? But, at least in his world, it was sort of code. 'Yeah, sure, I'll tell you about it. But I don't want to just sit there chatting so we should be doing something worthwhile at the same time. Drinking beer is almost the most fun thing I know how to do. Let's do that.'

Then again, maybe Hylean guy-speak was different. (It was Lon Lon milk, wasn't it? Lon Lon milk was what guys drank at bars in Hyrule, right?)

Beer at least did exist in Hyrule. If wheat existed, so did beer. It took Byrne a few moments to catch onto Joel's meaning, as it did at first seem completely off-topic.

He blinked a few times before relaxing his shoulders slightly and saying, "On occasion."

"I'll get in a pitcher some time." Joel replied, standing up and picking up his gym bag. "I wouldn't mind hearin' more about Hyrule, either."

Byrne would probably speak little of Hyrule, given the fact that he was in the midst of trying to revive a powerful demon, but he might mutter a few vague facts about the land.

Otherwise, Byrne was slightly dumbfounded at how this conversation had turned out. It wasn't the first time a spar had ended in some semblance of a truce or camaraderie, but it was still a bit odd. Unless Joel had a trick up his sleeve.

"All right," he agreed. "If American beer is decent, that is."

"I like it well enough, but there's a lot of choice in this town."

He wasn't even sure that this city was IN America. But he could still buy Budweiser. Because of course he could.

"See ya." he said, offering the pointy eared weight lifter a nod and starting out of the room.

Two guys, one machine

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