Welcome to Gaia! ::

Earth? Europe? "Hey, that's where I'm from!" Dusty exclaimed, excited by the connection. Then slowed it down, clarified. "I mean, uh. Way back when. I was born on Gaia, but before, it was Earth." He wasn't supposed to be talking too much about his past life, he reminded himself sternly - not while Regas was still about.

It seemed odd that Elsbeth said there was a glade so near to the HQ, though. Why hadn't Dusty ever come across it? If that was where Airi was hiding all the time... well, maybe Dusty shouldn't be so eager to find it after all. Except for curiosity's sake, perhaps. And maybe to get a peek at the Fa'e that was supposed to have created the path for them all to walk - not because he cared, mind you, just because it was good to keep tabs on such people.

But now Elsbeth was asking more interesting questions, moving onto more personal subjects that Dusty had to deliberate over carefully. "It's cool. Different for everybody, probably," he answered after a few seconds. "Everyone's got their own baggage, you know, from before. Not always good stuff. Sometimes kinda dangerous, y'know?" He did his best to be nonchalant, but it was a bit closer to home than he liked just now. But there was something very important he was getting at. "It's part of who we are, though, and what we've got to do. There's no running from something like that unless you give it all up, you know?"

That was it - all he thought she needed to hear, or all he felt he needed to get out. He slumped back in his chair and poked at his plate a bit.

Done? With the food? Dusty's eyes shot wide in alarm as he perceived his dinner at risk of being taken away from him, the first decent meal he'd eaten for a long time, and he panicked. "Mm-mm!" he exclaimed in a horrified negative, and suddenly, his mouth was crammed full with the hugest bite of food anyone his size had even managed to successfully contain without dribbling pieces out.

Which wasn't to say it was a particularly pleasant sight. His cheeks bulged out as he chewed the oversized bite with difficulty, struggling to get it mashed-down enough that he could swallow. At least, he was pretty sure, he had made his point about not being done with his dinner.

A minute and a bunch of swallows of milk later, he managed to fix the situation in his mouth, leaving him free to talk again. "I'm uh, I'm living here," he told her. "Just for a bit, until I fix somethin'. What about you? You're new to Gaia, right? So you're prob'ly staying here for a while too."

This question made Dusty clearly disgruntled - and why shouldn't it? The issue was a sore spot with the boy, but that didn't mean it was one he wouldn't talk about. "I got in a fight and lost part of my tail a couple weeks back, and Arri flipped out," Dustin grumbled. "I dunno, maybe she's worried about what'll happen if my da finds out, but she wanted to send me off-world, like that would help something. But I'm on a mission, y'know. A bunch of Fa'e've lost everything about their past lives, but I can save something. So I can't run away from it until it's done with."

There wasn't really much left on Dusty's plate. He found himself suddenly wishing that there were more - this meal had been nice! But he wasn't much for sentiments just now. He scooped up the last few noodles, deposited them neatly in his mouth, and was up to help gather the rest of the dishware on the table before he'd even finished chewing.