pridefueledâ:
ââŚI see.â Lioâs eyes blink, slowly, as his brain processes the absolute deluge of words heâs had heaped upon him.    The first thought that springs to mind is that this person reminds him, just a bit, of Gueira. The second is that, for that reason and that reason alone, if the other members of Mad Burnish should ever show their faces, he should keep this person and his general firmly apart. After that, he considers more- like what the â6Ⲡin his name is for, how easygoing he seems despite his apparent distaste⌠Thereâs a lot to unpack in the things heâs said as well as how to say them. Lio decides that picking it apart is best left for later. âIt must get tiring, being picked out like that,â he murmurs, more than a little irritated with himself. He, of all people, should know better than to draw attention to things like that. âThough it sounds like you either have experience with situations like this or⌠youâre very good at finding things out without making it seem as if thatâs what youâre doing.â Either is a good thing, in a way, because it makes him a far more valuable acquaintance than Lio had been anticipating. âI didnât have anything to really âtakeâ so I suppose I wouldnât be privy to that,â he adds, looking aside thoughtfully.Â
âWhat about you? What did you lose?âÂ
âYouâd think so, huh? Sâpose Iâm just not used to being the strangest thing in the room. Iâm pret-ty well-known where I come from and...well, Exos are pretty common, all things considered. We donât get seen as much different than anyone else.â They only gave their physical bodies to science to become robot people who gradually lose their memories. No big deal.
âYou kiddinâ me? I just asked around. I just kept askinâ if anyone had seen the Traveler around so I could go back and show everyone everythingâs a-okay. Buuuut, no dice.â He couldnât imagine a place where the Traveler was a total unknown. How did people not know about it? There were wars fought over its power and presence. Now heâs come here...where not a soul knows about it.
He couldnât tell if it was better or worse.
âMust be nice.â Not having anything to take meant that they didnât have to scramble. âMy gun, mostly. And my partner. Goes by Sundance. âbout yay-big.â He held his hands out about six inches apart. âPretty talkative when she wants to be and has a red and white shell. ...Donât sâpose youâve seen her, have ya?âÂ
Wishful thinking.













