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    About two days prior, new people had shown up at Spawn. Lokeii was hoping to keep his distance from them, but it seemed they almost immediately gravitated towards him. When the newcomers first arrived, Lokeii and Ari had been living in the area for about a month, keeping to themselves. The louder of the two, a man with a blue wizard hat and skin that was obnoxiously tinted orange-yellow, introduced himself as Gazer. He claimed to be 27 years old, but acted like he was still in his late teens. His companion, a man completely covered by cloth and a bird-like mask despite the relentless sun, called himself Benjamin, and Gazer insisted that his name was actually Benji. Benji was quite a bit older at 35 years old, but he let Gazer do most of the talking for the two of them. Communication immediately became an issue, and Lokeii’s weak hold on the English language made their interactions difficult. Even if he knew the words, he had a horribly heavy accent.

“So what happens around here, Lokeii?” Gazer asked after Lokeii had introduced himself as well, looking at the small home that he had carved out of the cave.

“Not a lot, it’s quiet,” He said tentatively, watching his expression to see if he understood. Spawn wasn’t a very busy place, and besides the occasional new resident, people didn’t seem to interact a whole lot. Not with Lokeii, at least.

“It seems like it, we couldn’t find anyone else to talk to. I wonder where everyone is,” Gazer said.

“I don’t, um, I’m sorry. I’m not good with this language,” Lokeii said choppily, feeling a bit embarrassed. He had promised himself that he would practice the language more, but most of his time had been spent with Ari, and with her there was no reason to use a language they didn’t know.

“Oh, wait,” Gazer said quickly, digging into the bag he had. Benji seemed to roll his eyes, although it was a bit hard to tell. Gazer seemed to have some otherwise inconvenient spell for every situation, pulling them out like party tricks. Lokeii was taken aback when Gazer pulled out a grimoire, flipping through the book nonchalantly. The wizard hat should’ve been a giveaway, but he still wasn’t expecting this stranger to start casting spells out of nowhere. He found a page and turned to Benji with a shit-eating grin,

“I told you it’d be useful,” he sneered. Benji looked like he wanted to hit him in the back of the head. Gazer muttered some words, using his finger to follow along with the words on the page. When he finished, he flinched like he had been shocked, and rubbed his head a little, feeling disoriented.

“It should’ve worked, can you understand me better now?” he asked. Lokeii’s eyes widened a bit, confused. He heard the words in English, but they seemed to translate themselves in his mind. Lokeii nodded, not sure what to say.

“Woah, huh. I’ve never tried this one before,” Gazer said, “I should be able to understand you as well, no matter what language you speak.” Lokeii spoke back to Gazer in Dutch, and he was just as surprised when he was able to understand.

They talked for a bit more, giving Gazer the opportunity to more clearly explain what they were doing there at Spawn. Before he said that he couldn’t hold onto the spell any longer, Gazer promised to try to help teach him more English, in exchange for allowing him and Benji to stay with him in his small house. Lokeii agreed, albeit a bit reluctantly.

Explaining Ari’s existence to them was a bit difficult, and explaining to Ari what the new people were doing there was equally hard. Gazer could occasionally see her if he recited a spell for it, but any spell fed off his energy and could only be used sparingly. She decided to stay out of the way most of the time.

The first few days with the new visitors was a bit awkward, but over the next few months they grew quite fond of each other. As promised, Lokeii was taught more English, to the point where he didn’t even need the translation spell anymore. Their small home expanded a bit, and Gazer and Benji eventually got their own space.

A culture of picking on one another was quickly established, and it was a bit of a shock to Lokeii’s system. Although not out of ill intent, seeing these people as equals was a foreign concept to him. Even growing up, the few friends he did have were of high status, so just learning how to interact with “normal” people was a lesson on its own. Gazer and Benji quickly let Lokeii know that they weren’t going to deal with his entitled nature, putting him in his place whenever he acted like he had any authority over them. Although his leadership capabilities would later place himself as the “leader” of the group, he learned how to see himself as one of them, rather than someone who needed to guide or control them.

When Lokeii’s English was still rough, he lovingly named their little establishment “Party City '', which he would later regret as the three of them would be exclusively referred to as the “party people''. Lokeii used his own past knowledge to train the others in close combat, specifically sword fighting. They often sparred with each other, and the occasional cut or bruise became commonplace. Their confidence grew with each other, and Lokeii’s own childlike personality was brought out by his new friends. He let go of all restraints he had previously and allowed himself to live the adolescent years he was never allowed back in Sterrenlicht. It was freeing, and for once in a good while, Lokeii was truly happy.