My Weapon is a Hula Hoop...

[Djoser Aneksi]

"My own Qi has been weaker recently. It has been... quite an experience. As for usage there, the only real Qi it uses is manifestation. If it is like my other abilities. The blades aren't really a problem until I lose my calm.

[Leif Adamson]

"So if you lose your focus... what happens?"

[Djoser Aneksi]

"My Qi is a part of my physical body. I will start making illusions that affect myself, or I'll start shape-shifting." He'd say clearly, with no change in tone.

"In this instance the blades would probably start hurting me too."

[Leif Adamson]

Leif nodded thoughtfully. She looked down at her hands, and electricity began to spark idly between her fingertips.

"Well, that weapon felt real, to me," she said, before glancing back up. "I wonder how your illusions affect, like... your bioelectricity. You say you shape-shift. Is that an actual shape-shifting, or is that an illusion, too?"

[Djoser Aneksi]

Dj would wince at the first statement, still feeling a bit bad he did that.

At the second though he would just answer honestly.

"Both are true. It is an illusion because I am partly an illusion. The effects are very real because I am still real. Don't know how it affects bioelectricity though."

[Leif Adamson]

"Hmm. That's actually an interesting concept..." Leif raised her hand, and the electricity sparked again between her fingertips. "Bioelectricity is my ability. If you couldn't tell. I form weapons from the electricity my body produces. The Academy told me I could also siphon and affect the bioelectricity of others, but I left before I could master that."

She lowered her hand back into her pocket, giving a slight shake of her head. "It's why I was wondering."

[Djoser Aneksi]

"Ah. Sounds really interesting. Though I personally couldn't tell you. I have never had any formal training with my Qi."

He'd keep his curious gaze, interested in the topic of her Qi.

[Leif Adamson]

She tilted her head to one side, contemplating what he said. No formal training... The thought was interesting. She motioned for him to join her, and moved over to the edge of the roof.

Sitting down carefully, her legs dangling over the edge, she braced herself and looked out over the city.

"Qi is what we call it, but its just another name for energy, or potential. The Qi that was around us in the old world, it was latent and untouched. So we could use the energy within ourselves to harness it, manipulate it in a way, and then expel it back out into the world. It was just like any other natural resource. My body naturally produces more electricity than other people's, so I could access the potential inside myself..."

Leif held up a hand, and again, the lightning flickered before taking the shape of a single scalpel that she could hold, carefully, between her fingers. It glowed a soft blue.

"And I could shape it. I can still do that here, with just my own potential, but back home... The blue was brighter, the damage greater, and the harnessing of it, easier. Here, I rely totally on myself, but back home, I could access... think of it like a blanket. I could pull a single thread of the blanket down to me, and turn it from potential energy to kinetic. Now, the effort is all my own."

She held the scalpel up towards the sky, making it easier to see the way it was shaped. If one looked closely, they could see that it was like thousands of tiny little bursts of lightning, taking a shape.

"Make sense?"

SPOILER: Click to show

Qi use: 9/12

[Djoser Aneksi]

Dj would listen intently, nodding along from his perch already at the roof. Every word she said sunk in, and it all made sense. It was a little bit scientific though, which confused him a bit as his Qi was purely magical. Nonetheless it was very useful information

"I wouldn't know how to explain mine other than magic. It seems primitive, but I firmly believe in magic." He'd say, trying to formulate a response in his confusion."

[Leif Adamson]

"Thats simple. My body produces electricity. Yours produces magic."

She opened her fingers, and instead of falling, the scalpel made a popping sound before dissolving back into her hand. She felt the tingling as it traced its way into her blood once more.

"You have magic inside yourself, the same way I have electricity. Mine comes from my physical body, yours comes from your spiritual. They're not the same, but both abilities are still the harnessing of our natural potential." She looked over to DJ with a slight smile. "I know exactly where mine comes from, because it comes from how my body works. Yours, I'd honestly figure is a gift from your God. He gave your spirit potential, and gave you the ability to harness it."

She gave a slight shrug. "But I could be wrong."

[Djoser Aneksi]

Dj would nod again and smile. Now it all seemed to make sense. It was also comforting to hear someone accept and validate his beliefs.

"I like that idea, it feels right." He'd say with his normal warm, comforting tone.

[Leif Adamson]

Leif nodded, offering DJ a small smile before turning her attention back out to the city itself. She kicked her feet idly back and forth.

"I spent years at Cabal's academy, learning how to harness my potential and how to be battle ready. And that was before they sent me out on the field. But it was after I went AWOL that I started to really learn about Qi, and how it worked. All of the formal education in the world didn't make me feel at peace with my power. It was some scavs I ran into that sat me down and told me, 'Your body gives you the power. Your God gives you the ability to harness it.' And I just... started to learn more, then. I started asking people questions about their beliefs, and how their Qi worked, how it FELT. And it just started to make sense."

She gave a shrug.

"So don't feel like you're at a disadvantage, not having formal education. Right now, you're just like the Qi in our world: you are potential. Your God gave you all the tools, and you get to find what FEELS right, what works FOR YOU. I kind of envy you." She winked at him.

[Djoser Aneksi]

Dj would smile and chuckle. He found her story fascinating, and liked the idea of getting to feel it out for himself.

"Yeah, I guess in a way I do have the joy of figuring it out. Though I personally am decently frustrated with the unknown at this point."

He would say before staring off.

[Leif Adamson]

"Well, if you ever have any questions, you can always come and ask me."

Leif turned to offer DJ a smile, her eyes a bit lighter of a blue than they had been. She seemed to be significantly more relaxed than she had when she first arrived on the rooftop.

[Djoser Aneksi]

He would look out to the street.

"You remind me of someone. You both have a smile too pretty to hide like you do."

He would say with a chuckle. "Yeah, here's my number. I'll ask if I need anything." He would say before handing out a piece of paper.