From Ashes

    Despite being escorted to the small planet Ward had ownership over here in Otherworld, he himself wasn't there yet. There would have been no way for Lottus to know what he had just gone through on Namek or the mental state he was in, but for a brief moment as he was being pulled towards the planet, he likely would have caught a glimpse of Ward appearing from seemingly no where in front of the large tree. Looking up to see that his soon-to-be student had arrived, he sighed and walked behind the tree out of sight, trying to compose himself, using his magic to fix his clothes that had been in disarray ever since his time on Plant, and further using his magic to hide the bags under his eyes and the frazzled hair from the many sleepless nights since.

    By the time he came walking back around and Lottus had began to walk around, Ward was as far as could be seen, in perfect physical condition. Both hands held one another behind his back as he made his way towards the Saiyan with an emotionless stare as if sizing him up, having the first real look of him in a non-combat situation.

    Once he was finished speaking he fell completely silent, completely still, as far as it looked he was nothing more than a statue. There was no wind on this planet naturally, so it looked as if everything was completely frozen as even the leaves of the tree had no outside force causing them to move, and if Ward was still breathing like a living creature, he was showing no signs of it strangely enough.

    It was only an initial response but first impressions were important, and given he couldn't judge this Saiyan on their previous first meeting given the circumstances, this was there chance to get off on the right foot or the wrong one.

    Despite not showing it, he mentally cringed as he remembered his react in that moment, not because of what he said or did as much as what he didn't do more so of after the fact. There was a method to his assumed madness, but none of it came to fruition as hoped.

    Lottus was the only other being, living or otherwise, to have stepped onto his planet. There was a plane the one time and the creature speaking to him out of the opened door, but it was just him outside of that. Part of that was simply the recent creation of the planet, which was created with help for his given role. The landscape itself wasn't something so unusual that Lottus might not have ever seen, but clearly the size would have been off-putting, and the singular tree was likely strange despite the size of it.

    There was a single nod in reply, as he finally looked to breathe again, taking a long one and stepping to the side, looking up at the tree behind him.

    Turning away completely he walked up and put a palm against the tree, and near immediately it seemed to respond, glowing a barely noticeable green as if it was itself now breathing.

    His head moved just enough to catch Lottus out of the corner of his eye.

    There was nothing but the sound of his stomp as he tested the ground, almost as if the grass had absorbed the pressure immediately. He had prepared minimally before he had gone to Namek, expecting the need for durability if Lottus was in fact to show up.

    Pointing up as if there was something above his head where there was nothing, he then pointed towards Lottus and motioned up with his head, before removing his hand from the tree and placing both hands behind his back.

    His eyes followed carefully as Lottus moved closer, specifically to the tree, giving a tilt to his head as he felt down on the ground to sit. The grass itself would be nothing more than grass visually, but it would have been the most comfortable grass he would have found himself sitting on with no exceptions outside of heaven itself.

    Ward began to walk away as if he were leaving it seemed given how far he wandered, but started to come back, thinking to himself for a moment before he continued. He paced and kept pacing for a few minutes as he listened with no more immediate response, until he stopped in front of Lottus again.

    Stopping mid sentence he waved an arm heavy to his head, creating an hourglass no more than a foot tall hanging in the air, sand dropping slowly.

    Waving his arm once more a second hourglass appeared, this was on the ground near Lottus, sand moving much quicker than the first, and much less of it.

    A third time his arm moved to wave into the air, though there was no hourglass, and seemingly nothing happening, but he started to walk closer to Lottus, putting a hand out and touching his open palm to Lottus' chest before stepping back. What Lottus was wearing previously was replaced by a set of clothes similar to what Ward was wearing fit more the Saiyans body, the color scheme matching what he had been previously wearing over what Ward was, but near exact in design.

    Turning away he raised his palms as an image began to appear in mid air, much like you would see on a large television or monitor, showing what looked to be various species of alien building some time of arena.

    He wished he was able to take credit for Lottus having his body, for no other reason than having that sort of sway over anything even in his current role, but it was more a fitting coincidence. This entire situation of being a tutor was still new to him, and he still wasn't sure who it was that pulled whatever strings there were to pull to get him into the position to begin with. The politics of Otherworld were even beyond himself as much as he tried to make it otherwise, but it was yet another bit of information he'd keep to himself.

    Yet another bit of information he was keeping close to the chest about why he was keeping an eye on things, but he couldn't exactly come out and say "It's because I'm Brumal!". His attention turned back to Lottus fully as he finally looked him over with the clothes he had given him, never having given anyone else Shinjin clothes before, and now having done it, he had mixed feelings.

    A small chest appeared next to Ward with no obvious motion to have conjured it, but it clearly wasn't a surprise as he turned to open it and pulled out a scouter. It looked to be an older model compared to what most used these days, but it would work for the intended purpose he had in mind all the same. Holding it out he looked it over as if unsure how to make it work, until he found a button and pressed it lightly, hearing a beep, then a series of sounds as he pointed it towards Lottus.

    It was a simple comment, but it was the realization then that Lottus had been here in the Afterlife for some time and likely hadn't heard anything about the tournament. It was unlikely many in the living realm even understood the magnitude and weight of what they were fighting for and just wanted to fight. Even Ward was going off of partial rumor and assumption to one of the specific prizes, which was the only reason he was taking part.

    His focus stayed on Lottus as they talked and as he started moving around, and something in his mind reminded him that he might want to brace just in case, as he wasn't certain how much control of this transformation he really had. He could already feel the increase in strength, but it wasn't the general feel he was looking for, quickly lifting the scouter as the numbers spiked, quickly enough that this older model had trouble reading them for a few moments.

    It felt similar to what it had before given how close he was when Lottus was transforming initially, but he could feel more specifically the control, or lack there of Lottus had over it. It wasn't all that surprisingly given the amount of power he was trying to harness compared to what he had been prior, as Ward could say similar to something he had felt recently that caused so much physical stress it caused him to pass out.

    The scouter finally managed to read the full energy of Lottus and Ward nodded with no specific expression.

    Moving closer he had what he wanted from the scouter and tossed it back into the box that disappeared once more, looking at Lottus up close trying to see what else had physically changed.

    Every word was absorbed like taking notes, as he watched Lottus' every twitch, every movement, the changes in his body language, how his face would change and to what extent he was straining. This Saiyan transformation seemed far less dramatic than turning into the giant ape like creature he had seen from others, but given the description it was hard to tell if it was only amplifying these emotions and urges or if it would elicit the same in more calm individuals.

    The way Lottus continued to act was not necessarily worrying as he'd seen worse and more disturbing, but it made him wonder how he'd handle training someone so vastly different than himself. A more sane person might have asked Lottus to calm down, power down even, step away, but Ward wanted to see all of this, he needed to know as much about it and Lottus as he couldn't for better or worse.

    He wasn't sure to what extent Lottus was aware of it, but he looked like a different person that when they had first started speaking, to a drastic degree. The same had clearly happened at Hatchi as he went from speaking confidently to slowly losing control, to losing all of it by the time he transformed into this golden-haired form.

    There wasn't much to say on that point as he stood near and watched more intently to what it was Lottus was trying to do to prove the point he was adamant in making. If needed he would step in and give guidance, but Ward wasn't one to teach by holding someone's hand.

    Ward was trying harder than he let on not to show he was impressed with the quickness Lottus was bringing his power under control. The comment he made however was hard to blow off, raising a singular eyebrow with curiosity.

    It was hard to not feel like he wanted to grab Lottus' arm and shake him a bit, but that was the exhaustion and frustration talking, and not his rational brain. Something inside of him did the same to that feeling and stopped him just as he had spoke, reminding him of his own convictions in a sense.

    Holding out his arms in front of him, he created a single block, though large it was, it was nothing more than a cube standing between the two of them.

    Taking a step back he motioned towards it.