Now that Zeph's moral compass stopped spinning out of whack, his energy settled back to its normal positive flair, cheerfully able to smile without any faint trace of worry. While the little mermaid still shrunk into silence, it wasn't the nosy whom took the next step in learning of her nature. Spinning his head towards the well dressed man, finally taking a decent gander at Elias without feeling like a goof, due to his earlier blunder of not even acknowledging his presence. It was almost as if he read the spiky boy's mind, casually asking questions that Zeph held back until after his apologies. He had to admit, it made him feel more at ease to know he wasn't the only one pushing for stories.
Luckily Luna didn't seem to bothered to answer, Zeph's oceanic eyes focused as his ears wiggled eagerly awaiting to take in all the information about the fairy tale species. His droopy legs swung back and forth as she began to speak, to the sheltered boy most things to him seemed as rare, heck even seeing this many people in one place is one of the rarest commodities he's come across, but it was no surprise that mermaids were higher on that list, only ever hearing about them in his own right. However, it didn't take long for the story to already make a turn for the worse, the concept of stoning was slightly foreign to the boy, seeing Neptunia shiver in fear and hearing her being tied down, impacted Zeph deeply. The tale progressed further down the abyss, but Luna appeared to become the hero of the tale.
A faint semblance of tears swelled in his eyes, recalling Yen's words of not knowing everyone's story before acting, the emotional boy softly clapped and offered the pink haired girl a pat on the back. "Who would've thought your story of unity would come from such a rough start, I've met some old heroes before, but its nice to know that they're still here now." Wiping his eyes with his free arm before giving Neptunia a sad puppy expression, holding back the urge to snatch the small being for a large hug. Composing himself, getting very wrapped up in stories of any caliber, an extra comment attached itself to the end of the story. Almost sliding itself under the rug as Zeph didn't think much about it initially, Luna stating she was a fairy, wasn't shocking, as everyone he knew was a spirit, but it did draw some additional curiosity towards her.
Metal clanking around as his head bobbled back and forth, it would make more sense for a fairy to be friends with a mermaid, it all added up in his head rather quickly. "I've heard about fairies and dragons from some of my friends so I believe ya, though this is my first time meeting one of the two... Man they won't believe I met a mermaid and a fairy at the same time!" Happily giggling at this new revelation alongside the thought of sharing the story among his spirits, it isn't too often he's able to tell them a story, so taking this journey was already starting to look in his favor. After hearing a story, it integrated itself in his memory, an odd but very useful trick the boy found, so he'd never forget about any of his friend's hardships and fun times.
It was at this time, a hefty grumble erupted from his midsection, taking slight fatigue from the overuse of his brain power and excitement. Unknowing of Luna's offer to purchase food for him, the concept still not processing, Zeph yanked his bag from his side plopping it on his lap. Shoving his entire forearm through the clutter, having more difficulty than one would assume while searching through their own possessions. But a moment later, the odd lad resurfaced his arm to expose a glistening red apple, slowly bringing it to his face, heavily ingesting the aroma, hearing one too many tales of a poor girl falling victim to a scary apple before. After confirming its safety, a large chunk now exposed the white interior as loud munches and crunches echoed from the table. Extending an offer to the three around him if they'd like one, finding it rude to eat in front of others without seeing if they wanted some to.
Whether they accepted or not, it seemed the conversation was advancing, the pink haired girl taking interest in the two boys. Swallowing another large chunk of the fruit with a refreshing sigh, it didn't take long or Zeph to answer with upfront honesty. "Yeah you could say that. Though I'm just adventuring around really, this is my first time away from the forest I grew up in. My friends and family decided it was time for me to make my own stories around the world, but thanks to the magic the gave me I can see them anytime, so I'm not lonely." While earlier finishing of a similar sentence brought hesitation to his voice, this time confidence overpowered the fear at his recent success. Just then an idea sparked, this time speaking aloud, not just to the three at the table, but the two others waiting in the back. "Yen, Sid, come on and say hi!" Glancing at both of his sides one at a time with a large smile, it took but a few seconds for a crackling voice to exhale a sigh in response.
From the left an older woman appeared, fading red hair kept tightly in a bun, grasping a large key with a sweet smile. It took a minute, but slowly appearing to the right, a hunched man with a white goatee and a bald head, arms folded behind his back unable to see if he has any items himself. The first to speak being the woman in a chipper tone, like a grandma alongside her grandson. "It's lovely to meet you all, we're spirits that watch over and protect him. I very much appreciate you taking the time to keep our little Zephy company. He's a sweet boy but I hope he's not too much trouble for you, he hasn't been around many other people until now so his mannerisms may be a bit over the top." Understanding more of how others would react to someone of the sheltered boy's nature, hoping they'll understand and accept him more with extra knowledge. The man on the right let out a cough as he spoke, his vibrant yellow eyes contained a darting pierce to them. "They call me Sid and I taught the boy here all he knows." A resonating chuckle scratching against his through, creating a rather unpleasant sound for most, but Zeph couldn't look any happier. "This is the first time I showed my family to other people, they've always been by my side and helped me, so they mean a lot." Unable to resist letting out some deep emotion upon such a grand reveal for the first time, bringing the two in close for a hug.
With laying all of his own cards on the table, the jolly young man hoped his three new acquaintances would be able to call him a friend soon, heck he still had Elias' reason to hear about. There was still so much to learn from these few people alone, it was so exciting, perhaps meeting more people alongside new spirits wouldn't be as bad as he thought.