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To his credit, Justin attempted to compose himself before stepping through the door to the Hua-Ahn Acupuncture Clinic. He felt almost guilty returning - he'd had to cancel his previous three appointments due to a sudden influx of after-hours repair calls. If only electronics would just.. break down before 5pm! But, as a result of that and incessant worrying about his new guardianship, Justin's stress levels were through the proverbial roof. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, trying to bring his breathing back under control. Justin had run over to the clinic from his workplace, regardless of the hot weather, hoping he would somehow make it on time for his appointment.

Originally, Marina had forced him to visit, in a way. She'd bought him a gift certificate and scheduled him an appointment and threatened him with bodily harm. The petite woman was so very pushy sometimes, but Justin liked that about his co-worker. Since then, he'd been trying to visit the clinic regularly, finding it to be surprisingly relaxing. In an ideal world, he supposed, he'd have time enough to visit every week. For now, Justin had set up appointments every two weeks, and only with Jezabroux Ferenan. The man was ridiculously skilled. Strangely enough, neither a receptionist nor Jez were in sight. Justin craned his neck back towards the hallway.

"Ah, hello?" he called out quietly, trying to be mindful of possible other clients.

Justin's face relaxed a little into a smile, his pale green eyes crinkling at the corners when he saw that now familiar eye patch. He hadn't asked why the other man wore it, deeming it a little too personal of a question - an injury perhaps, or something linked to the shock of white hair that streaked across his face. Elai's interesting looks held no bearing on how the man did his job: which was with careful, precise fingers. As someone working in an industry that also required precision, he could appreciate that wholeheartedly.

"Hey, Elai. Work just uh, got really crazy for a long time. I missed coming here, to be honest. Feel like I'm about to melt from overwork." He gave a little laugh, but the sound was strained. Sticking his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans, he followed placidly behind the tall man. His feet made no noise against the soft carpeting. The entire place was designed to give off a soothing feel. Justin thought idly that the interior designer did an alight job. With a roll of his shoulders, he stepped into the treatment room. His neck cracked loudly.

"Actually, something weird happened recently. It's kind of surreal still. Like I don't think I'm a good fit for it at all, but. uh, what's done is done. And have you ever thought that you might make an awful parent? I mean, I don't even know if you have kids, but -" Justin held up one broad hand, stopping himself. Abruptly, he chuckled and ran that hand through his already mussed hair. "I'm sorry; I'm rambling. The other day I found out that one place, Lab 305, picked me to be one of their guardians, and honestly, I feel more than a little flabbergasted by it."

At Elai's question, Justin's hands puased mid-button and he scrunched his face briefly in thought. "Probably could use it a little higher, if that's alright. Although I trust your judgement." Idly, he wondered how Elai would stick needles into his shoulders if his shirt were still on. Luckily, he'd never been particularly body-shy - at least not around people in the doctor category. Which he was. It had never made since to him to be concerned with covering up in front of a professional, especially when that professional likely saw more partially nude bodies a day than Justin saw in a month ...or more. It wasn't like Justin's sex life was terribly fun. Shrugging his shirt off, he listened to the man's response to his rambling words.

No traditional kids? did he keep bonsai or a bunch of cats? The acupuncturist didn't seem like an extreme cat-ist. Catist... that wasn't even a word. Justin snorted, but his eyebrows crept up at Elai's excited tone. It was more emotion than he'd ever heard from the acupuncturist, funnily enough. The tall, lean man was typically calm and radiating an oddly soothing feeling. Justin supposed it was useful in his job. But it was Justin's turn to squeak in surprise. He turned, eyes widening.

"Really?" he said excitedly, his own smile mirroring Elai's. "I, uh, I guess if I'd read the list I got I would've realized, but... I never expected that I already knew another guardian! I'd love to meet Luka. I-I've been worrying myself to death about what I need to do to get ready, or what to do after my raevan arrives, even. I never, ever expected to get chosen, really. How long have you been with Luka?" Justin's eyes gleamed with curiosity. His shirt still hung on his shoulders, more than half-unbuttoned; his state of undress had been completely forgotten in light of the news.

Justin opened his mouth to say something along the lines of 'yes, please', but Elai was gone. It was a little strange to see the man so utterly animated. Strange, but not bad. It made Justin feel a little more at ease. Still, in those few minutes that Elai was gone, Justin did not think to re-don his short, or button buttons, or of anything excepting that he would get to meet another raevan. Specially, Justin would get to meet another raevan whose guardian seemed extraordinarily enthusiastic about helping him. He bounced up and down on his toes.

And then Elai was back, and following in his wake was Luka. The frei was all brightness and light, creams and oranges, and his skin glowed. Luka was fascinating; it made Justin feel a hair grubby, which was normal. "Uh... I... I didn't even remember I didn't have a shirt on." He laughed sheepishly (this was, for all intents and purposes, Justin's default laugh as he lived in a constant state of near-mortification). The raevan's eyes were dull, as if lightly bored. Well, Justin thought airily, he was a boring, normal kind of guy. Raevans were flashy, beautiful, and he liked that about them. "Anyway, I'm Justin, which you, uh, know." He wasn't entirely sure if he should offer his hand for a handshake or not, but while he was debating, Luka spoke.

"Oh!" He turned and grabbed his bag off of the floor. It was a leather messenger bag, simple, practical, and devoid of gaming logos. Very unlike Justin. He had left the soul bottle at home, still leery of the death aspect of it. What if he stepped on a piece of grass and stole its soul? It made him feel strangely queasy. With a muttered aha, he pulled out the vial. The glow of it was still strong, the blackness just as strong. Sometimes, Justin just like looking at it - it was soothing, the way it never flickered. He held it out to the frei. While he was wary about who and what touched the soul bottle, the vial seemed harmless, even if that swirling blackness extended past the glass.

"Feel free. It's Independent Bioluminescence." The name was so large for such a tiny piece of glass. Justin smiled. Despite all his anxieties, this was exciting. His pale eyes were wide with rampant curiosity. "I don't have the soul yet, I'm... not sure how to go about that, to be honest. So, I don't know when they'll be born. If you don't mind me asking - what was your soul and essence? Elai, how did you find the soul?"

Justin laughed a little. "Now I don't know about omin-" His sentence was cut off my Luka's shout. He startled back, jerking away the vial. He froze, like a deer caught in the headlights of a rapidly approaching semi-truck. IT was only Elai's entrance and the panic in the other man's voice that jolted him back to his senses.

"I... I don't know! He only touched it, j-just a bit." He stared at the dark patch on Luka's skin. "T-that - nothing like that had ever happened before!" Justin wasn't exactly looking, but if he was, he might have noticed that the essence seemed to grow a little brighter; it pulsed a little, like a small heartbeat. He looked around helplessly.

Justin hurried over, snatching up the vial. It didn't feel terribly different to him, just looked a little brighter and... if he were to assign characteristics to it, the vial looked a little bit pleased, somehow. It made him what to scold it, but that would look absolutely nuts so he refrained. His heart beat up into his throat as he shoved the vial away and turned to look at Luka and Elai.

"It... it's independent bioluminescence. But, like I said it's never done anything like that before. M-maybe you're allergic?" He paused, running a hand through his hair. "Should we wash your arm - for like, remaining contamination?"