JSA Brownstone, mid-morning

[hotshot1280.livejournal.com]

Trevor enters the kitchen with a bag in each hand and sits them on the counter, emptying an assortment of bagels and tubs of cream cheese onto an available plate. One immediately goes into the toaster, and Trevor moves down one appliance, pulling out the vacuum-sealed package of coffee he keeps in his glove compartment for such overnight occasions.

He's not sure how early Sand gets up normally, but given all that wholesomeness, he's pegged Sand as the "early to rise and meet the day" type. Trevor, by contrast, is the "it's not noon yet? Where's the nearest coffee pot?" type, and the kitchen is soon filled with the aroma of coffee. Most of the first pot goes into Trevor's over-sized coffee mug, and he puts more on to brew before taking a seat at the table with his breakfast and today's copy of the Daily Planet to wait for Sand.

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[hotshot1280.livejournal.com]

Trevor stops, honestly perplexed for a moment, and sits his newspaper down.

"You know, I'm honestly not sure. I've never been here for breakfast before. If there is, I'm guessing it would be in one of the jars next to the coffee pot. If not, I know one of them has sugar in it. I'd suggest that over honey myself, but that's me."

[wondertwin-zan.livejournal.com]

Zan stops in the act of reaching for a coffee mug, debating the wisdom of even a mild contradiction. He attempts to explain instead. "I'm trying to make something similar to a drink on Exor."

[hotshot1280.livejournal.com]

Trevor sees Zan stop, though from this end it looks more like a flinch, and hears the hesitation in his voice. Getting up from the table, Trevor walks over as non-threateningly as possible and opens a couple of cabinets, looking for the usual bear-shaped bottle that honey producers seem to love.

"Sorry about scaring you," Trevor tells him, his face blocked by the cabinet door as he searches. A second later he comes up with what he's looking for, and holds the honey out to Zan. "If you want honey in your coffee, though, it really is okay."

[wondertwin-zan.livejournal.com]

Zan stares at the smiling cartoon bear for several moments, then gingerly accepts the bottle. "Thank you." The words are almost automatic and very quiet. "It's not your fault. I think it will be a long time before Jayna and I adjust to the new way of things." He sighs and begins to pour himself a cup of coffee, stopping when the mug is halfway filled. "We are still getting used to sleeping though the night again and having regular meals. Gleek also. The...ah...culture shock? It doesn't help."

[hotshot1280.livejournal.com]

Trevor can't help smirking at the understatement. "I know the feeling. I'm from this planet, and I'm still getting used to all of this."

Trevor notices Zan not filling the cup all the way, but decides not to say anything for fear of messing the poor kid up more. If anything, he can simply let him know he can have more later, so instead he leans back agaisnt the counter, sipping his coffee.

"By the way, I'm guessing Gleek is the little blue guy with the bucket?"

[wondertwin-zan.livejournal.com]

Zan laughs softly, nodding as he turns his attention the spice rack and begins sniffing experimentally at the various jars. "Yes. I don't know where he keeps finding things. I thought he might be taking them from around the...the Watchtower? But no one seems to be missing things. Jayna says it is a power he has, but I cannot tell if she is joking or not." The boy's eyes light up as he seems to find what he's looking for among the spices. He adds a little cayenne and a hefty dash of cinnamon to his mug. Liberal additions of honey and half-and-half follow, enough to nearly fill the mug to the brim.

[hotshot1280.livejournal.com]

"Well, my best friend can do magic, our new team leader turns into dirt, and I light things on fire with my mind, so I'm not sure pulling a bucket out of thin air is too far-fetched."

His eyes widen slightly as Zan moves over to the spice rack and goes to town, but he's seen Caleb make borsche, and has tried haggis, so a little pepper in coffee doesn't seem nearly as foreign.

"So how did you and... Jayna, I think you said her name is? How did you two end up here on Earth?"

As he says it Trevor remembers what a pushover Zan seems to be, and holds up his hands. "And you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I was just wondering."

[wondertwin-zan.livejournal.com]

"No. It is all right." Zan sips the concoction in his mug, then smiles. Not perfect, but close enough. Soothing. "It's just a long story." Zan leans against the counter, staring at the beige liquid in his mug as he gathers his thoughts. "I was noticing as I walked in...there is so much metal just in this one room. On Exor, our homeworld, the central tenat of our faith is that the...the souls of the elements protect us, and in return, we must respect their physical embodiments. Harvesting of resources -- timber, metals, animals -- must all be done with great care. It does make life hard sometimes. There are sometimes shortages. It means that we...are not very industrialized." There's an odd, withdrawn look on Zan's face with those last words. "Our largest cities would seem only modest to you, I think."

[hotshot1280.livejournal.com]

Trevor thinks of his own home in Suicide Slum, with its low incomes and high crime rate, and grimaces. "Being industrialized isn't always a good thing."

Trevor refills his own cup and heads back to the table. The subject seems to be a tender one in spite of Zan's reassurances, so Trevor lets it drop in favor of one that he hopes will be a little more happy.

"So have you and your sister thought about what you're going to do now that you're here?"

[wondertwin-zan.livejournal.com]

Zan blinks at the change in subject, but doesn't protest. Perhaps his companion found the story dull.

"Um...no. Not especially. It's hard to tell what we could do, really."

[hotshot1280.livejournal.com]

Trevor wonder if Zan even realizes how much of an open book his facial expressions are, and has to doubt it. From the little bit he's been able to gather, the people Zan and his sister were around for most of their lives weren't exactly empathetic.

"Sorry. I'm guessing human conversation conventions are a little new. You seemed like how you got to Earth was something you didn't want to talk about."