Welcome to Gaia! ::

Quinn got a narrow-eyed, suspicious look. "I bet you've never had good coffee," Jordan said. "This stuff is absolute crap, I only drink it because I'm an addict, but I keep good coffee for my own use and that of my friends. If all you've had is burnt sludge, you should really try some fresh, well-made coffee."

"Yeah, on missions most of us can set aside the off-duty stuff and work as a unit. It's what happens when you're here that you have to look out for. Sometimes there's less cooperation that you really need." He paused for another sip of coffee. "Again, I gotta say that I'm not in Life, so I only know these things secondhand. Sun and Moon are tighter, but when I go looking for information, half the time I get a shocked look and Why do you want to know, you're a Sun?" He shrugged, but his expression held a note of dissatisfaction.

He nodded in response to Quinn's other question. "I'm Sun," he said, obvious pride in his voice. "Coats display your division and rank, and most people get theirs personalized, especially when you've got your full Hunter coat. Yours is the basic trainee coat, white and gold only. When you're promoted to intermediate, you'll get a new coat with bars of your scarf color at the hems and cuffs; once you're promoted again to hunter, your coat gets a color fade from the bottom up and the sleeves. You can get a little more personalization in the decorative elements then too." He pulled the tails of the coat he wore around to show Quinn that there was a semi-abstract design worked into the sun symbol on the back. "Any fancier than this or any more color on the coat and you're probably looking at a division assistant or lead, so be polite."

"You've never had good coffee," Jordan said, nodding. "This stuff is burned from sitting on the hot plate too long and it was probably made with stale, cheap grounds anyway. Right. You should try some fresh with good quality coffee sometime." He gestured with his mug at Quinn, his expression and enthusiasm suggesting that Quinn wasn't getting out of this suggestion.

At the question, he shrugged. "We get some information, but Sun Division gets regarded as the jocks and muscleheads. Which isn't always wrong," he added, amusement sneaking into his tone. "The reputation means that other divisions don't necessarily go out of their way to share more esoteric information."

"This is our central location," he said. "We have bases and locations all over the world, but the island is home. We're actually in the Bermuda Triangle, and the island is protected and hidden by magic. You've heard of Excalibur - he's real, and he's here. He's a weapon like yours or mine, though much more powerful; if I understand right, he may have been the first weapon. He generates a protective field that helps keep us safe and hidden."

"A lot of the myths you're familiar with have some basis in reality. Or reality has some basis in myth, the line's kind of fuzzy sometimes, since the creatures we fight are generated from human emotion and the subconscious," Jordan explained. "As Hunters, we deal mostly with Fear creatures. There are others, but the shadows you used to see, those were creatures of Halloween."

Jordan sipped his coffee, waiting politely for Quinn to process the idea he'd just been presented with. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Merlin's certainly real," he said. "He's also a weapon and also on the island; he's most definitely not friendly to humans, though. Excalibur keeps him in check." He paused. "That's right; you haven't had the orientation at all, have you? Do you know what the weapons are?"

"Don't worry about it," he answered. "It's a lot to take in at once."

"The ship?" Jordan's eyebrows arched.

"I don't think there's been a weapons orientation given recently. Mm. Maybe I'll check in with Allan about that." He sipped from his mug thoughtfully, though not without a small grimace over the burned taste. "Anyway. Our weapons were creatures of Halloween, converted to the forms they currently are in by runic technology. Yours will probably tell you what they used to be if you ask." He held up his right hand so that Quinn could see the heavy ring set with a faintly glowing red stone on his index finger. "This is Ferros; he was an iron dragon."

He paused. "Has your weapon or anyone else told you about the Fear shield or charges?"

Jordan watched the abstracted expression cross Quinn's face as he listened to his weapon. He didn't seem to be disturbed or bothered by the communication, even if it was distracting. "Nice to meet you," he said politely to the weapon. He had no idea what an Ahklut was, and a quick thought to Ferros told him that the dragon was equally puzzled; it must not be a common creature type. He'd look it up later.

He nodded. "Are you adjusting all right? It may take a little while to get used to sharing." He tapped the side of his head to clarify what he meant. At the news that nobody had told Quinn about shield or charges, he shook his head a little and turned to put his coffee cup into the sink. "Is there anywhere you're supposed to be right now? I can give you the rundown, but a demonstration would help, and for that we should go out to the training fields."

"They use our senses, so anything you can see, hear, feel, etcetera, he can too. Not everyone introduces their weapons or talks to other people's weapons, it's an individual thing, but I feel like I'm being rude if I talk about them like they can't hear." Jordan chuckled. "Ferros says thanks. He and I talk less than we did when we first bonded. The bond gets deeper over time, and you'll both get stronger as a result. We sort of think together at this point, so I think I might have an idea of what you're talking about."

He grinned at the assurance. "Let's go on out, then. I can give you the primer." He headed for the door. As they walked, he explained, "Weapons are made of Fear, which is an emotional energy that humans generate. Fear is also what Halloween's creatures and their world itself are made of and what they feed on. When you bonded with Oki, his Fear was linked to your body; when you fight, he'll instinctively generate a field of that energy to protect you. That's your Fear shield, and it keeps you from sustaining any serious injury until the shield breaks. Someone swings a sword or a set of claws at you, the edge will pass through without actually slicing you. It's still going to hurt some, but you're now a lot more resistant to damage than a normal human. You're also going to heal from injury or illness a lot faster."