Easy to find [Asher/closed]

    "Are mew sure you're alright by yourself?"

    "If I wasn't, I wouldn't have said that I was."

    "But are mew really--" Taking a deep breath, the Meicoomon stopped herself mid-sentence, giving a shake of her head. "Even with the rabbit?" This only warranted a small smile from the human in front of her, while he glanced toward the sky. "You should rawrly see a doctpurr about-"

    "If you keep worrying here, we'll never get home today," the teen finally chimed, shoving his bandaged hand into his pocket. "I'll stay in the city. Promise."

    Puffing her cheeks, the feline felt the need to argue, "like you purromised not to touch that totem?" Immediately, Asher looked away from his mercenary again. "Yeah, exactly! This is why I worry!" Realizing that she wasn't going to get anywhere with the conversation, Whiskers let out a dismissive sigh, "fine. But, if you're not in Terminus when I'm done, I'm going to go find Isaac again, and make him knock sense into mew!" After all, Asher didn't want to inconvenience Isaac any further, right?

    With an agreement made, albeit a silent one, the Meicoomon hurried off in her own direction, while Asher found himself wandering around the Digital city. He hadn't really spent much time actually exploring one of the more civilized areas of this world, so this gave him plenty opportunity!

    Humming a tune to himself, the redhead found himself in front of the mall portion of the city, giving it a glance over. So! This was the place that his mercenary had talked about before! Deciding to take a look over the area, he began to wander about, glancing over stalls, stores, and the strange monsters that bought [sometimes] even stranger items!

    But, one creature stood out enough to make the young man do a double take. The tune died in his throat, finding himself staring at one of his spirits. Or, no. That really wasn't his spirit! She wasn't all wrapped up in bandages like this one! Otherwise, Asher would start to worry that he really did need to see a doctor! Were there still living versions of all spirits?

    Realizing that he was staring, the young man decided that he had to make some sort of move, regardless of if it was walking away or not. With absolutely no thought placed into it, his feet moved themselves, taking a few steps toward the yellow fox. But, before he could grow concerned about his sanity again, he heard her speaking to herself. This definitely couldn't be a figment of his imagination, now! Those didn't talk, right?

    Another few steps closed the distance, offering a smile to the being that he could actually identify as a Renamon. "Hello," he hummed, trying not to be rude by beginning with his question, "is everything alright?" How could anything be alright, when she was covered in bandages? Stupid question!

    Hearing the first comment, Asher tensed ever-so-slightly. He certainly would hope that the Digimon wouldn't bite! Though, he had also hoped he hadn't been that obvious! Not that the redhead had done anything to even pretend that he wasn't staring. Asher really needed to work on that kind of thing, didn't he?

    But, being called 'Sir' in such a casual setting was probably almost as strange as staring at strangers! Or, at least, Asher was going to try to justify it as such. It was almost like the Renamon was at work, or something! Oh, he really hoped she wasn't at work. That would be weird, too, wouldn't it? What did Digimon do for jobs, anyway? Questions for another day! And probably not to just blatantly as a stranger about! But, what was this about a Trailmon trip? Could those things actually be dangerous?

    Now Asher was suddenly a little more concerned about how weird some of those trains were.

    "Oh," he murmured, trying to process his word choices before saying them. Think before you speak! Not the other way around! "No. Well, maybe?" So much for thinking before speaking. Crap. "I haven't actually seen one, aside from," pause. Do not say 'aside from dead ones'! That sounds like a far worse response than it would actually be intended as! Spirits were only kind of dead, right? "myself." Oh, because that sounded so much better.

    Wait, no. No, it didn't sound any better than the alternative. His conversational partner could be a rock and know that Asher wasn't a Renamon right now!

    Anyway! Focus on keeping the conversation going without it getting too weird! "I'm Asher," he answered, shifting his weight between his feet. Did Digimon shake hands? Was he supposed to do something right now? Surely, the teen was doing something wrong. But, 'Kay' was a totally normal name. Maybe less normal if Asher were to realize that it was literally a single letter, but he had no idea! "I hope I haven't bothered you any." In a need to second-guess this entire first-encounter, the spirit user even had to question if that was an appropriate response! Jeez, Asher! He really needed to get out and socialize with different 'people' more often!

    Maybe Asher would be a little less tense if this wasn't his first time talking to a Digimon that wasn't somehow partnered up with someone else! He really wasn't sure of how socialization worked with Digimon, after all. For all he knew, approaching a stranger in public was a huge blunder! But, as the conversation began to actually progress without any hostility, he started to grow less tense.

    "Not really," he admitted, with a small smile. Was it a bad choice to talk about what classification of human-trapped-with-monsters he was? Digivices really needed to come with in-depth guidebooks! "I'm a spirit user. A Renamon is my first spirit." It seemed like tamers and generals knew what spirit users were. Did Digimon know about them, too? Having no idea of K's background with human interaction, or lack thereof, he could only assume that a Digimon sitting in Terminus City would have met plenty of strange humans.

    Out of reflex, the teen chimed an almost gentlemanly, "the pleasure's mine," before he could catch himself. Was that weird? Yeah. He was just weird, and really needed to face that fact! But, hearing how little socialization the Renamon had been participating in lately, the redhead only hummed, "is that so?" This was just confirmation that Asher couldn't fit the social norm for Digimon. Good thing he wasn't trying to blend in! "But, you don't bite," he found himself joking, in reference to what the Digimon had said when he had been staring at her.

    With the offer presented, Asher moved to take a seat. Was the Renamon really that winded? Maybe, he should be more concerned about her wounds than he initially thought! "Maybe, a few," he admitted, while shifting to make sure he would be able to comfortably converse with K. "I have to ask, first, though," he started, with a teasing smile, "you didn't try to fight the Trailmon, did you?" Well, that would be one way to never be allowed to use public transit again!

    Oh, so it was the Renamon's first time meeting a spirit user? Well, that was lucky. It was Asher's first time meeting a non-partnered, non-mercenary Digimon! But, he wasn't going to actually state that mouthful of specifics! "What was your initial thought?" Probably something creepy. Maybe Asher shouldn't have asked! But, the next lines were a little less lighthearted. "Or, mine just was very unlucky." Anyone trapped with Asher as their host was unlucky! Just ask Antylamon! "Maybe they're just good at being stealthy." Way to say that like you're not talking to a Renamon right now! But, considering his Sprite's ability to disappear in shadows, he could only imagine that others were capable of being just as sneaky, if not more. "...Which, would make sense, if they might be literally vanishing." Don't make a cruddy joke about that!

    Glancing away for a second, Asher distracted himself enough to avoid blushing at all at being called out on his politeness. He hadn't even realized it at first! But, between etiquette lessons as a child, and working in a cafe, he really should be used to comments about it! "I guess that makes sense." It was probably like that in Human cities, too. Asher just didn't know firsthand! But, hearing that the Renamon was from elsewhere had created a bit more curiosity. Her inn? Did Digimon run inns?

    ...Of course they ran inns. Right now, the two of them were in a mall that was run exclusively by Digimon. Why couldn't they run inns, too?

    But, before he could ask anything on the subject, the combination of coughing and the expression on the Digimon's face had changed his concern. Lifting a hand up, the redhead prepared to either try to comfort her or, in a worst-case, catch the Renamon. But, once everything had passed, the hand returned to his side. While reflex told him to inquire about her health again, the teen stopped himself. He already knew her answer from before, and after asking too many times, it would just get way too repetitive!

    So, instead, he would just sit with her and talk about whatever could come to mind. Listening to the story, Asher remained silent, only blinking while trying to process that train attacks were a thing that actually happened. "Well, that sounds like an adventure," he finally responded, trying to avoid comparing it too much to some sort of Western-style Train-Hijacking movie. "You must have been good enough at fighting," the spirit user encouraged. Why couldn't K have digivolved? The way that she had worded it, it sounded like she did this all as a rookie! Was it not an option? To avoid being insensitive by inquiring, he decided not to ask. And, again, to avoid sounding insensitive, Asher would refrain from saying that the event actually sounded kind of fun!

    "I have no idea what a Troopmon is, though," he chose to admit, with a small chuckle. If only humans were better at automatically identifying Digimon!

    "Hm? Fur?" Glancing up, as if thinking he would see his own hair, the teen snickered. Don't laugh about this! It's a genuine thought! "You mean, my hair?" Of course that's what she meant! "That's not actually how it looks. I turn very yellow, and," he paused, debating if it was even wise to open up the door for this conversation, "digivolving might change my apparent gender." That was one way of phrasing it! "Spirits really don't care what the human looks like."

    It was a little bit worrying that K was the only one able to handle her business properly. But, at the same time, it could make sense. Not everyone was equipped with the ability to run a business in lieu of its owner! If only there was some solution for it! But, Asher couldn't really think of one. If he knew a single thing about running an Inn, he would offer, but that was just a horrible idea and K would probably return to find the building on fire.

    But, with talk about being in the service, Asher raised an eyebrow. "Angel army?" The Digital World had armies? Well, that made sense, but it was also absolutely terrifying! What the heck? Where were these armies, and what were they doing? With any luck, Asher would never find out. "I know this is going to be a dumb question, I'm sure," he warned, before proceeding with, "but, why can't you heal yourself?" It would probably be a lot cheaper than seeing doctors in the city!

    Still, Asher had to give a shrug, pulling his bandaged hand from his pocket. Not that any wound was visible, considering white medical tape was wrapped around his palm, and up his pinky-finger. "I wouldn't say that bandages mean you can't handle yourself." Except for the part where Asher really couldn't handle himself, and his own wound was probably proof of that! "In fact, being alive should be proof enough." Maybe Asher should stay away from the motivational speeches. It was just a bad idea.

    Either way, Asher was going to make a mental note about the Troopmon. They didn't sound like a fun experience. He would have to remember not to cross groups of them, if he was even capable of identifying the monsters. They sounded pretty easy to spot, though.

    As for how being a spirit user worked? "The details are a little hazy," the redhead hummed, trying to think of a way to explain everything. Shifting, he pulled his D-Scanner from his pocket, holding it in his palm to show the rookie. "Basically, there's a handful of Digimon that I can turn into. They've, uh." Word choices. Think of good word choices! This was hard to explain! "--Instead of coming back as eggs, they turn into totems associated with a theme or element. And, if I find the ones that belong to mine, I can become them. It's like regular Digivolving. I guess. Except from a normal person, to something that was alive. And, when I don't need to be in that form, I just turn back into myself." Did that make sense? Probably not. But it was better than 'I wear dead monsters' skin and steal their powers', wasn't it? Because that would have been a very morbid selection! "So, if I want to turn into Renamon, I just kind of digivolve into her. Same with the others."

    Did that make humans equivalent to In-Training? That could be embarrassing. Good thing Asher didn't really know a thing about levels lower than rookie, otherwise he might be ashamed of how that power level could be considered! "Does that make sense?"

    Thinking on it, a lot of Digimon didn't really have regular old hair, did they? Sure, they had fur, manes, scales, and feathers. But, even out of his own current evolution line, only one really had a regular mop of hair. Though, as far as their genders went? It was odd to think that any of them didn't actually identify as female! "You'll have to trust that mine are incredibly feminine," he snickered, one corner of his mouth lifting to a half-smile. Why was he always the one getting stuck with awkward situations, like digivolving into women?

    At least he wouldn't have to worry about angry armies, though. "I don't imagine there are enough wars to warrant an army," he commented, mostly to himself. It was pretty obvious that a human like himself would know little to nothing about this world! But, as far as he could tell, everyone could mostly settle their own fights with each other. Were there any actual laws on violence around here?

    Probably not, considering the level of damage K had taken. If this were the human world, police would have been sent out to apprehend the attackers! If they were even still alive, that was. Otherwise, it would probably be a whole different sort of mess! Still, one part sat oddly in the teen's mind. "De-digivolve," he echoed, tilting his head with curiosity, "you mean, you can get smaller than that?" If this question wasn't obvious, Asher apparently hadn't spent enough time with Tamers to even understand there was something lower than rookie! Had Karin and Jeanne explained this? He couldn't remember!

    Thinking through the Renamon's ability to heal, Asher tried to think on if any of his evolutions were capable of similar effects. After all, it was still cheaper than a doctor. Unfortunately, only one came to mind, prompting a small shudder to wiggle down the young man's spine. Antylamon. Yeah, no. He'd have to pass. Maybe K could just survive on bandages and sitting on benches all day instead.

    "You know, I get this feeling that some of them don't really want to be spirits, either," the ex-actor smiled, giving a small laugh to try to indicate joking. Except, it really wasn't a joke. Antylamon had been pretty blunt about not having any interest in being strapped to a human! "I don't know about the red, though. I can't imagine a Renamon as anything other than yellow," he hummed, thoughtfully. Surely, there were places to dye fur around here, right? It would be pretty easy to know what they'd look like otherwise! But, he also wasn't too fond of finding out how any spirit acted when agitated. If Whiskers' love of her fur was any indicator, his spirit would not be happy with him if he turned her red! Maybe it would be better to just take a picture and edit that red, instead!

    One really would think Asher's evolutions would somehow suit him. But, what would make his spirits actually share any traits? The teen certainly didn't find himself matching his element, at all, let alone the qualities that each spirit brought to the table! Maybe, they were meant to better him somehow. Or, just to torment him!

    On a brighter note, it seemed that a resident of this world was agreeing on the lack of army necessities! Would K be part of another army, if it were to present itself? Judging from her already notable injuries, it wouldn't be something the redhead would really want to see. Not saying that injured rookies would be allowed to fight in a war! But, worse could happen, right?

    Now, Asher had to wonder if Whiskers had tiny forms, too. What would she turn into? One of those blue cat-things from the village of babies? Then, the thought prompted of, "what do you look like, when you de-digivolve?" Was it like a child, and the differences were primarily in height certain little features? Or, was it far more notable than that? Did Digimon ever age in a normal, human-sort-of way? Probably not. There didn't seem to be many things that Digimon and humans had that closely in common!

    As far as theorizing on what made a less-than-willing spirit become a spirit, Asher had one piece to suggest. "For the greater good, or something like that, probably?" Or, if they were forced into it, somehow! But, that was pretty unlikely, overall. Could Digimon really be dragged into the subject against their will? Considering how strong some of them seemed, Asher couldn't imagine as much! "I wonder if it's boring to be a spirit." The simple answer would be yes. But, maybe some found it more entertaining than others! What did the spirits do, when they weren't in use, anyway?

    Raising a hand to tap his cheek, thoughtfully, the young man shrugged. "I mean, I can't imagine red would be a bad color on a Renamon." There were far worse options. Like neon green! Not that Asher was going to suggest that kind of alternative coloration! But, since he had already been thinking it, he had to ask, "do Digimon ever dye their fur other colors?" What about the ones with scales? That would probably be more complex. Or, it would just be the equivalent of soaking skin in colorful Kool-Aid. That didn't sound too appealing!

    But, now that a question was directed at him, the man gave an innocent blink. Why was he here? "Hm? Yeah. We have malls in my world." Yellow eyes glanced about, looking over the windows of shops nearby. "My friend had a few errands she had to run, before we go back home, so I thought I'd kill some time looking around." It wasn't like he had anything better to do! What was Whiskers doing, anyway, that couldn't involve him?

    Probably just checking on her apartment, or something. That always seemed to be her excuse for needing to run to the city. Then again, she probably had rent to pay, and didn't want to introduce her neighbors to the random human that walked around everywhere with her! "And, I was kind of curious if there was anything different here, than the ones at home." At least this sort of curiosity didn't run as high of a risk of getting hurt! Though, that prompted returning the question, too. "What about you? What brought you to the mall?"