Out for a smoke [Open to Ludwig]

Yao never worked on Sundays. It used to be law here for shops to close on a Sunday, and even though it was a religious thing, Yao had always adhered to it. Now he kept it up partly out of tradition, and partly because he couldn't run that shop by himself seven days a week. He'd have to get some help in one day, he supposed, he'd just never got around to it.

He'd done everything he'd needed to do today, like buying food, doing laundry and giving his apartment a tidy (considering it was only him living there, it seemed to get messy quite quickly) so now he was just taking a moment to unwind. The weather was particularly fine today; though it was sunny outside, the air was chilly and refreshing, and there was only a light breeze today, so he decided he'd go outside for a smoke today, rather than in the dismal stairwell where he normally went during winter.

There was a courtyard behind the apartment building, which was quite a nice, tranquil place to be, especially during the colder months when the pool wasn't attracting the young people. Not that he minded being around noise and excitement, far from it, but something about all the bared flesh made him very uncomfortable. Besides, bodies of water made him somewhat nervous. He sat down on the step at the back-door of the building, making sure not to obstruct the entrance, and took his pipe out of his jacket pocket. It was an old pipe, his father's in fact, and had been designed for smoking opium, but it hadn't been used for that in decades, and he found it worked just as well for tobacco as it did for narcotics. He struck a match against the edge of the pipe and lit it, taking a long drag and exhaling with a small sigh.

Ludwig had told himself he was going to curb his smoking habits in London. He didn't want to pollute some other country's air, even if it was by some small, almost insignificant amount.

And when he had given that up and smoked in the stairwell, a catastrophe with sexual undertones and other tennants had almost brought resolve back into Ludwig. But it didn't last long. Refusing to smoke in the stairwell, he decided it wasn't too cold (for once) to take a smoke--bum a fag, actually, from what he had learned--and headed to the back of the building for his scheduled relaxing time.

Ludwig opened the door to the pool courtyard, and was ready to shut it the next moment. Someone else was, again, in the same area, and, of course, also having a smoke. The weather was too enjoyable to pass up though, and he stuck by the door, whipping out a cigarette and let the smoke sit languidly in his lungs for a moment before releasing it back out into the atmosphere.

From afar, Ludwig studied other man (He would turn away if anyone else popped up--no need to be considered strange.) He couldn't deduce much, only that he wasn't English, and smaller, and a bit old-fashioned, given the hair style. Overall, an uninteresting character that he didn't have to worry about.

But not a moment later did Ludwig catch something strange in the man's hand. Ludwig squinted his eyes; a smoking device, and he thought he remembered seeing his father with one the last time he visited home.

His curiosity carried him over. Upon closer inspection, the man was an Asian resident of indeterminate age, Ludwig would lean toward the younger side. "Excuse me? What is that?" he asked, pointing to the small device in the man's hands.

Yao heard the door open behind him and looked around briefly to see who had come out. A young man whom he recognised from around the building, clearly also out for a smoke. He'd moved in fairly recently, nothing particularly extraordinary about him other than his size. He quickly turned his attention back to his pipe, taking a nice long drag on it before exhaling a thick, white puff. It was so relaxing, and it was so peaceful out here at this time of year. Luckily, the new arrival seemed to be quite happy in his own company and wasn't bothering to make chitchat. It wasn't as if Yao was antisocial, quite the opposite was true; he loved chatting and making new acquaintances, but at the moment he was too tired to make the effort.

He hadn't heard the man approaching him from behind, as he was wrapped up in his own little world, thinking of all the other things he needed to get done this week, so he was taken by surprise when he heard the foreign sounding voice behind him. He jumped, choking on the inhale slightly, his eyes watering. Once he'd got his breath back he turned around to face the man who'd asked him the question. "You startled me." He said, a hint of alarm still in his voice before he cleared his throat, calming himself down slightly. "It's an, uh, opium pipe." He suddenly realised how that sounded. "B-but I'm not smoking opium!" He hastened to add. "It's just tobacco." Which obviously wasn't good for his health either, but was less destructive than opium and a lot more socially acceptable.

"Alright." Ludwig hadn't even realized that opium might still be in circulation. He knew little about it, besides the fact that it was illegal in England and there had been a war over it quite a long time ago. If he was correct, it was between China and England. That gave a higher probability that the man himself was Chinese, and he had inherited from a grandparent, or something.

But Ludwig was silent for a moment. His curiosity had brought him over, but now he had his answer and was satisfied. Ludwig had taken the man to be older from behind, and he would have been more comfortable talking to an old-timer, who perhaps had a story behind the pipe.

But standing silent wouldn't really be socially acceptable, he chided himself. "Ah, where did you get the pipe from?" He asked, most of the original spark in his voice gone.

He lifted the pipe slightly, examining it himself, though he knew every bit of it, every carving, scratch and stain. "It was my grandfather's. It was one of the few things he took with him when he left China, I inherited it when he passed away." He explained, smiling, hoping he wasn't boring the newcomer, though he had been the one to ask him in the first place. "I just prefer it to a cigarette, personally."

((Sorry I was gone for so long! My exams have finished now and I promise speedy replies if you're still up for doing this thread~))

When held up a little closer to him, Ludwig noticed some of the carvings--how small and intricate they were--and admired them even if he didn't know what any of them really were of. "Why did your grandfather leave China, though? Especially with not a lot of items?" And why with a pipe, he added mentally, when you could bring something that might be much more useful in its stead?

((I'm always up for it, I literally just got back too))

"He came here with my father, starting a new life. They couldn't afford to take much with them, they had to sell quite a lot of their possessions anyway, just to pay for the journey." He shrugged. This sort of story was normal for others who had travelled from China to Britain when he did. "Obviously it wasn't the only thing he brought with him, but they didn't really need much." It felt strange to share these anecdotes with someone he'd just met, but the stranger had asked and Yao rarely shied away from a conversation.

Ludwig nodded, somewhat interested. Perhaps in his studies he should look up the influence immigrants had on the political ideals and economy of Britain.

He was about to ask another question about the man's family history when something hit him. "You're Mr. Wang! The antique shop owner. Arthur talked to you, he said you were immortal and you know what's going on."

And then Ludwig paused. He knew he wasn't up to par on social situations, but even he realized how many mistakes he had just made with that little tangent. And yet he was able to continue blithely making them without even realizing it. "Sorry," he said after a pause, not really sounding sorry--he wasn't actually sorry either. "But once I get a few things cleared up I would like to hear your grandfather's story. It sounds interesting."

Ludwig stood, patiently waiting for an answer.

He blinked, a little surprised at the stranger's sudden outburst, but he soon regained his composure. "So Arthur told you that, did he?" He asked with a small smile. "I hate to disappoint you, but I don't know as much as he might have led you to believe. I don't understand how the lightning has done what it has, all I know is that it's happened at least once before in this same spot, a century ago, and that's why I'm still here today." He tapped his pipe pensively on his knee while he spoke. "Since you already know so much about me, could you tell me who you are?" He'd talked a lot about himself already, but didn't know the first thing about this other tenant (except that he sounded foreign).

Ludwig frowned; so Mr. Wang wasn't as much of an expert as Arthur had made him out to be. There wouldn't be much Mr. Wang could tell him that would help their situation out any.

Yet, it was as if a golden halo appeared around Mr. Wang's head. Regardless of the exaggeration, Ludwig saw in front of him an immeasurable book of opportunity. Information he could tap of this country's history, two world wars full of history--and, by god, what if he had been a soldier? What if? He had his grandfather's history, his father's history, and his history and this s just fantastic--but Ludwig needed to give his name. Yes, he was being terribly rude.

Ludwig's head bowed a bit. "Ludwig Beilschmidt, sir." He stuck his hand out proudly. "Perhaps this is a presumption on my part, considering what I've said, but would you mind if I sat down with you?"

He saw the obvious disappointment on his face and smiled sadly. "Believe me when I say I've done my best trying to reverse the lightning's effects, and I have never stopped trying to research it, but as you might imagine, there isn't that much information available about mysterious storms that bestow people with incredible, supernatural abnormalities."

He smiled brightly when Ludwig gave his name and gladly reached up to shake his hand warmly. He laughed a little when he asked if he could sit by him, amused but also touched by his formality and politeness. "Of course, by all means." He nodded, gesturing to the space next to him with his pipe. "So, Mr Beilschmidt, I hope you don't mind me asking where you're from?" From the sounds of his name and his accent he was possibly German, or maybe Austrian, but he wasn't always very good at guessing these things.

Ludwig sat, stubbing his old cigarette in the stone and putting it back in the box. He didn't bother grabbing a new one. If the other had been humorous it was lost on Ludwig, who wasn't paying attention for that. "Perhaps now that a second wave of this has happened we can gain more evidence on this phenomenon. Or at the very least last longer than the last group did.

"But to answer your question, Mr. Wang, I'm from Nuremberg, Germany. I grew up there and went to college in Berlin. I'm a masters student on travel studies."

He nodded "I hope so. As long as we keep quiet about our condition, we should be able to avoid the fate of the last tenants." He thought back on those patient reports he'd managed to acquire after years of hunting, long after the institution that had held his former neighbours had been shut down. The reports of their treatment and their worsening state of mental and physical health had been harrowing to read. Of course, they were all long dead now, some having died in the institution, others in hospitals, some were released to live 'normal' lives, but had ultimately failed to do so.

Yao smiled politely at Ludwig's explanation. "I see." Nuremberg immediately brought up images of the Nuremberg Trials after the Second World War that had been all over the news for so long. It had been heavily bombed, as far as he recalled. "Well, I hope you're enjoying London so far."

Ludwig remembered Arthur and Alfred saying much the same about other tenants not surviving well--he had thought that they were of little fate and easily influenced (especially Alfred, with those science fiction movies), but as he thought over it, his eyebrows knitted and he was in a mixed state of confusion and disappointment.

"It's been pleasurable," Ludwig replied half-heartedly, staring downward, "A third of the people I've seen and taught look at me strangely, another third are kind, and the last third have superpowers. I like the experience, but I really don't know what to think."

He lazily waved a hand as if none of it was important. "I just can't believe an entire organized group of the protectors of a country could just do that," he replied, "Was it really the government who took the tenants?" He looked back up at Mr. Wang, hoping it would be otherwise.

He couldn't imagine why people would look at him strangely- he was large, yes, but not strangely so, and he might have looked a little severe but not in a way that would interest or surprise people. Yao was more than used to strange looks- he was below average height and had a long ponytail, of course people would stare.

"Hm, I'm sure the circumstances in our building haven't made it particularly easy for you to settle in."

He looked a little confused at Ludwig's question. What had Arthur been telling him? "No, no the government didn't take the tenants away. People in surrounding buildings heard the screams and crashes and assumed that someone was in trouble, so they called the police. When they came to investigate, they had no idea what was happening, so they called ambulances and the fire brigade, not really sure what to do. They took away the tenants acting strangely, but I seemed normal so they just left me behind. I didn't see any of them again. There was a small article about it in the newspaper, but nobody could explain it, they just assumed it must have been baseless rumours. I eventually found out what happened to them about fifty years later- I'd been trying to find out for years, seeing if there was a way of reversing the effects of the storm, and I finally found the files kept on them at the institution to which they were taken. The effects were permanent, in spite of everything the doctors tried." He repressed a shudder at the thought of what he'd read. Medicine had been truly barbaric back then, and psychologists were so ignorant. He hadn't been too close to his former neighbours, but he hated to imagine them being subjected to those sorts of treatments. "I imagine it was kept quiet because the institution didn't want the press snooping around, the government had little to do with it. These days, though, it's a different matter. I don't know what would happen to us if the media or the government found out."

Ludwig surprised himself by grinning. He really shouldn't grin, because in Mr. Wang's stories people were dead, but he couldn't help but be glad that it was some isolated insane scientists that had hurt the last tenants. It gave Alfred's science fiction argument more weight, but at the same time relieved Ludwig of any remaining stress on that subject.

"We plan on keeping it quiet, anyway," Ludwig replied, sitting up, "I imagine everything is going to be fine. Will it perhaps be hard for some, yes, but even if we don't find a cure it can't be way too difficult to live with superpowers, correct?" His smile had calmed a bit, dimming into a small curve of his lips, but he was talking to talk, not realizing the weight of the words he was saying, or who he was saying them to.

He saw the other man smile and he looked perplexed. Was there something funny about his story? Perhaps he hadn't understood what had happened to the other tenants, or maybe he was just relieved that the same thing wouldn't happen to him. He gave him the benefit of the doubt and ignored it for now.

He nodded in approval "Good. I know it must be hard to keep something so important from one's family and friends, but you never know what they might do, or who you can really trust." He almost felt lucky that his family hadn't been around when the lightning had struck. He couldn't help but tense a little at Ludwig's words, jaw set. He wouldn't let himself lose his temper at his comment, he'd clearly not been thinking when he said that. "Well... I think the majority of us would like to find a way to reverse the effects rather than simply learning to live with it." He replied a little coolly. "So what power do you have now?" He asked curiously.

"Of course," Ludwig replied quickly, a bit surprised by the other's tone. Ludwig's powers weren't exactly life changing, and were mainly beneficial. Living with them wouldn't be a burden at all. Others weren't perhaps so lucky. Roderich, with the physical and mental pain of mind reading could scar him. Arthur could never be seen shirtless, and even Mr. Wang, Ludwig added mentally, suffered a curse along with the great power of immortality. He had to keep a low profile, and so much woud change around him. It made sense that he would want his power reversed. "I'll search with all of my resources in our effort to remove the powers."

"My power, specifically, seems like my body changes its density, either to compact or wispy. That's the best description. Also, I can't tire. I can't control that one at all--not that I can control the other--but it's a constant force, that so long as I don't exert too much force to whatever I'm doing, I can keep a steady pace indefinitely. Did you have a second power, Mr. Wang, or is that effect a change from the first lightning strike?"

He smiled "Well, I hope you have more success than I've had." He'd been researching for almost a century and still didn't have a clue, but he'd also lost focus at times, and maybe modern technology could help. He'd never really got the hang of computers and the internet. He'd bought a computer about five years ago and had tried to learn how to use it, but it was all too much for him, so now it just sat in a corner of his apartment, gathering dust. Maybe these younger tenants would know how to use it to their advantage.

"Oh..." He couldn't say he was surprised, none of the powers really surprised him now. "Well... I can see how both would be of use. But having constant stamina... are you able to sleep?" He wasn't sure how it worked- would having all this energy all the time mean he was always awake? "No, I have a second power too- I can erase other people's memories."

There as a laspse of silence as Ludwig contemplated that for a minute. Reading minds was powerful enough--controlling them?--deadly, in some cases. Ludwig had lost memories before, and they had never been replaced. Of course, it had taken quite a whollop to lose them in the first place. To have the ability to select and choose what someone lost was probably the second most powerful power Ludwig could have thought of.

Second only to immortality, Ludwig believed.

So this was not a man who could be crossed safely. Ludwig hadn't planned on it in the first place (Mr. Wang seemed nice) but now he had a reminder in store if he decided to change his mind.

"I think that with the combined brainpower of all of us involved we should be able to do something. Every angle should be covered if we can get enough people to help.

"Actually, when I can't sleep, I've been planning on how to get everyone together. It's hard--sleeping. After the lightning struck I didn't sleep for three days until the mental exhaustion let me sleep the fourth night. I've also learned that if I do something that requires strenuous activity that is unstable then the stamina does not kick in. So I've been working out a bit before bed. It's not too terrible."

"Yes, if as many people as possible can help, maybe we can do it." He nodded. Surely a lot of young, fresh minds would be better at solving this problem than he was.

He listened pensively as Ludwig explained his situation. To not be able to sleep sounded absolutely dreadful, maddening even. He was relieved to hear that he had found a way to induce sleep through exercise- it wasn't good for one's state of mind to go without sleep for too long. "Well, I hope it's not causing you too much trouble. Planning to get everyone together? Hm, Arthur mentioned something like that. It might help."