Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lex had been told to go to a certain section of the labs, to meet a certain someone. They'd apparently be his mentor, or something? The teen definitely needed one for this island. He'd been told by some kind stranger in the cafeteria that he had returned from Tel Aviv, Israel, at 30 years old. Then, got jumped on a recon mission and nearly died - had to be podded up. Things went down in February of this year, and some of the Hunters had become teenagers again, all their old memories lost.

This all made Lex very confused, a little sad for the Lex of the past, but just mostly happy to be alive and not having some sort of coma dream. He knew very little still, except that he had a home, a weapon, and what division he was in. Lex also knew that this was until he died, so he may as well get used to it.

Approaching the lab space he'd been assigned, Lex knocked on the wall. "Hi, my name's Lex. I'm supposed to meet someone here?"

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Young.” Lex smiled politely, shaking the older man’s hand. “Lex Jamil, fresh from the pod.” Sort of. Lex didn’t like talking about the whole age thing, unless prompted. What was he even like, he wondered. Did he have friends? Was he married? Who even knew. “I’m uh, excited to work with you.”

The teen blinked a few times, tussling the hair in back of his head. “I was just told to assist you and learn the ropes. Something about getting me up to speed and seeing-“ Lex almost let slip the phrase ‘if I remembered anything.’ “Seeing how I fit in here.”

“Four- no, fifteen.” Lex shook his head a little, a small, frustrated frown tugging down on the corners of his lips. “Had a birthday in the pod, I guess.” Because somehow that sounded less crazy than ‘I became half my age.’ “Sixteen in April.” As if that was supposed to make him seem more mature.

The teen gave a little wave back at the maidmer. He didn’t necessarily mind the weird little creatures - mini pets, or whatever - that much. They were cute in the way pugs and snails were. “Sounds interesting enough.” He nodded, approaching the tank. “I haven’t spent much time around the water. We visited Tahoe a bit, and Yosemite. I’ve never been to the ocean before I came here.” Lex stood entranced by the little creature for a bit, then faced his mentor.

“I’m excited to work with you. A bit of structure will be nice.”

The look Zeke gave confirmed his fears; the older man knew. Of course he did, seeing as no one was supposed to be recruited under the age of 18.

< No one’s going to think you’re crazy anymore, Lexi. You know you can talk about it. >

‘Yeah yeah.’ Lex thought at the gryphon. ‘But that means I have to acknowledge it.’

Lex sighed, smile weakening. “I was told I used to work in the labs, before this.” He gestured to his body. “Apparently I was some sort of lobbyist type for higher education, and did a lot of translation work.” He gulped, shaking his head. “I’ve also been told that I used to date the head of the library, some woman named Amy? Anyway. I’m here, I’m 15, and I can swim.”

Oddly enough, Zeke's words were a comfort. He'd been sad for the old Lex essentially dying, but this version of Lex was still here, still alive and breathing. The old Lex was dead and gone, and no longer mattered. The boy's shoulders went back, and he stood a little straighter. A warmer smile was sent Zeke's way. "Thanks. Still sort of adjusting to all this, y'know? One day I'm just a regular kid from Vegas with plans to go dirt biking, the next I'm part of a secret global protection organization. It's a little much to wrap a head around."

Lex leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "A little chilly in here." He muttered, looking at the minipet. "So am I going to be finding more of these guys?"

Lex's pupils dilated for a few moments, just imagining what it would look like to set up a dirt biking course on the island. He could throw in a few jumps, obviously, and maybe even a pyrotechnic - no, that would be too much. Maybe just a few slopes, for now. "We can actually do stuff like that? Here I thought we were going to be, i dunno, bored and made to file paperwork all day when we're not scrubbing toilets or cooking slop in the cafeteria." The teen's posture went perky, all signs of moping gone.

"Uh, how about something silly like Socks or Buttons?" There was also the suggestion of 'Dong Lord', but Lex didn't think Zeke would appreciate that one as much as the teen did. Hell, it wasn't even that funny of a joke unless the Guys were around. "Or you could give it some sort of ironically badass name, like Poseidon or Neptune." The teen shrugged, then grinned something mischievous. "Personally, I'm a fan of Taco." He gave the creature a wicked raised eyebrow, then a wink.

"So...I'll be needing to learn to dive? Okay." Lex had gone off the high dive at the local pool, but that was it. It was easy to see the boy was made just a little nervous by the thought. The depths of the ocean already made Lex uneasy, but now knowing that there were FEAR creatures down there? Anxiety abounded.

< It will be fine. I've got your back. >

"Oh, that's pretty cool." Lex nodded along, then yawned. "Ah, sorry. It's kinda drafty in my house, keeps me up at night and s**t." Lex waved one hand, using the other to stifle another yawn. "But yeah, building a dirt bike course would be bad a**." He paused for a second. "Wait...wouldn't I need to get dirt bikes powered by runic motors? Wouldn't that be expensive as hell?"

He supposed these questions could be saved for another day, when he was more awake. Seriously, a nap sounded like a dream right now.

"If it's alright, Mr. Zeke, I'd like to go catch some sleep on an infirmary cot." He yawned again, shaking his head vigorously. "Reggie says growing boys need their sleep."