continued from August 2016 intro
See, I thought it was always something with Time Compression. Good to know technology's just as bad. [He gives his MID a baleful look. When are you going to mess up on him?]

But hey - thanks.

[Getting to Drake on his own is a reassuring kind of spoiler - this version of himself apparently doesn't even have his Garden tricks up his sleeve and still made it.]

continued from August 2016 intro
[Nate grins, sly, as his hand goes to his ring.]

Heh, yeah. I, y'know, kind of inherited it.

[Drake would totally be proud of him stealing it not only from a museum, but from under the nose of a crazy lady and her goons.]

continued from August 2016 intro
[Nate laughs.] Hey, it's okay. I can take care of myself. [So he's good finding things out for himself instead of by asking.]

Uh, in order: [He ticks them off on his fingers as he goes.] Yes. It was this weird mix of better and more common tech than I was used to and magic, and weird prejudice against off-worlders in some places, but there was this school taking a lot of us in. [And a more destructive group of off-worlders, but let's not talk about that.] No one else I knew from home was there, but there was a fair amount of off-worlders.

[Beat.]

And more than a few of them weren't human. [You know, just to explain his understated reaction to her.]

continued from December 2016 intro
[Nate chuckles, not quite clicking just yet.]

I've got a brother, but his name's not Nathan. [Who gives their kids the same name?]

What was this friend of yours like?

continued from December 2016 intro
Not in the mood to apologize for the lack of warning if he's not even going to thank him for getting him down, Nate coolly sheathes his gunblade, only to narrow his eyes at the dual insult to both him and, unknowingly, Garden. He can tolerate a friendly 'kid' from someone he knows, like his older self, but not from a stranger whom he's just helped. Also, he was so close to graduating before the war started, and he's 'run around with' his gunblade in higher stakes situations than this.

"Actually, it's called a gunblade, not a sword. You ever see a sword with a gun action?" He folds his arms. They'd gone over the difference in weapons 101, and with his bladed weapons instructor being a sword specialist, he'd come to notice more differences in technique. "And no one needs to 'let me' do anything, but I've trained with this."

continued from December 2016 event
Once. Garden got caught up in a war.

[Which is a long story he doesn't entirely feel like telling right now, so instead he looks back at the cliff, trying to find a safer way up.]

If we do find phoenix feathers somewhere, I'll show you how to use them. [No point in his junctioned coma if no one can get him out.]