Welcome to Gaia! ::

Jordan turned up shortly afterward, true to his word; he hadn't been doing anything particular, and the promise of coffee and conversation was a good motivator. "Hey," he greeted Melvin amiably. "How're you doing?"

Jordan's eyes went briefly to the fresh scar, uncharacteristically exposed. He'd noticed at some point that Melvin didn't like having his neck uncovered, and he wondered now if that had changed or whether this was a temporary thing. He didn't ask yet, and answered instead, "I'm okay. Keeping busy." It was a habitual answer, even if true.

He tipped his head toward the books on the table and asked, "Researching something?"

"Fascinating to know that Atlantis is real and accessible," Jordan mused. "Not that it should be surprising when so many of the myths have turned out to be real, if not quite what we thought they were, but it's still amazing, somehow. It's Fear powered, I gather? Who's Sophie?"

He accepted the coffee with a quiet thank-you and sipped it without adding anything, with a small pleased sigh. "Nothing special. Work and researching possible artifact locations for people to go out after."

"Aging effects? I found something that sounds like it's related to time when I was looking for things related to Greek myths, but the wording was vague as hell, so I couldn't tell you anything exact. Most of the stuff I'm finding is vague as hell, but isn't that how it is for artifacts," he shrugged.

"It's a nice name," he said, nodding, and took a chair as he listened to Melvin's description of Atlantis. He flipped through the few photos, fascinated, studying them well before he handed the phone back. "There had to have been some kind of continuous power source while it was inhabited," he said, thinking aloud. "I wonder what that was. Are you taking an expedition back any time soon? I'd like to visit at some point."

"If the inhabitants were human, maybe the ambient Fear levels they generated were enough," Jordan mused, thinking aloud. "It wouldn't be sufficient to have only a few people there if that was the case, and Hunters wouldn't have the same effect, since the weapons use what we produce. That's just a thought, though," he added.

"If you need help on artifact searches, you can give me a call," he offered.

Jordan gave Melvin a brief, genuine smile, a sincere and not practiced expression that not everyone got to see. At the question, he looked a little sheepish. "Heading me off at the pass, are you?" he said. He ran his thumb along the edge of the coffee cup and thought about his answer. "Lonely," he admitted after a moment, "but holding up. Living with it, you know? Maybe not fine, but coping."

"It's automatic." Jordan shrugged one shoulder. "Half defense mechanism, half a lingering sense that nobody actually wants to hear me being depressing. Sorry."

He reached for a sandwich and took a bite, a small frown gathering between his eyebrows at the short lecture. "Yes, that's what I call it," he said. "I don't know that I'd say I'm miserable. Lonely, certainly. Tired, maybe. But I'm alive, and I have work I can enjoy and a comfortable home, and that counts for something. The loneliness is my own damn fault. A choice I've made, I guess. I'm pretty sure I could go find some casual company if that was what I was looking for."

He fell silent for a moment. Then, abruptly, "Do you have the dreams? The ones about the Night Watch? This isn't changing the subject, by the way."