Urban legend. Juka liked the sound of that. It was almost better than rock star and he was all ready well on his way to that particular ambition. OK, so maybe well on his way was a bit of an exaggeration but at least it was true that he had gotten far enough that he actually had a band and his band was actually pretty good. People, at least in New York, were starting to know his name and his music. All that he needed now was a record deal, any sort of record deal, and he'd be set.

"So there are good things and bad things," Juka nodded thoughtfully. "Do you think its worth it? I mean, do you think the good things outweigh the bad things?" He had to hope so. If they weren't he should have been able to end it all anyway right? Surely living forever didn't mean that you couldn't die, only that you couldn't die naturally.

“If you approach it with the right attitude,” Hunter explained as he castled, “then yes, the good does outweigh the bad. After all there is a reason that people have been struggling to find the fountain of youth for centuries.”

“But as I’ve said it’s not without its price. Like most things in this world it will fit some better than others. Besides, you are still young. You don’t need to worry about this for decades. Enjoy your youth now and worry about living forever later.”

The idea that how things went was dependent on attitude was a good sign for Juka. He was normally very good at looking at life in the most positive way possible. So maybe the last couple of days hadn't been so great, that didn't mean that future days had to be bad. It had been a long time since he had had a major depressive episode, not since he had discovered music and fashion.

"I guess I just have to go with things as they come," Juka said with a sigh. He moved another piece as he spoke. "I can't really change it anyway, right? So what I can't change I have to learn to accept and make the best of. Just like I've done with my bubbles." Even though he loved his bubbles as the wonderful things they were and even though his bubbles really were the route of the entire problem. "I don't think, even with the problems they sometimes cause, that I'd ever trade my bubbles away for a normal life. I love them far too much."

“Quite so,” said Hunter as he took another pawn, “Weighing up the pros and cons is all well and good when you have a choice about something but when it just is it’s better to make the best of it rather than try and weigh it up.”

Truth be told the conversation had been very helpful for Hunter. He’d gotten to see the prospect of immortality from a fresh new view point. It was a nice change and one that he welcomed. All in all being immortal’s not so bad.

By this point Juka could really see that he was getting his ass kicked at Chess. It was a very good thing that they hadn't wagered any money on the game or made any bets like the loser having to do a strip dance on a rooftop or some such thing. That would not have ended well for him, though the prospect of Hunter doing a rooftop striptease was rather an amusing one. He filed it away for later use, trying to suppress a giggle at the mental image.

"I guess I'll be able to learn all sorts of interesting things. Like Spanish. I've always wanted to learn Spanish. Ooh, and maybe a new instrument. What do you think? I've always found violins to be nice. And maybe I can learn to be an animal tamer. That could be fun, don't you think?" In typical Juka fashion, his mind flipped from thoughts of doom and gloom right back to their usual cheery and exuberant self. Maybe immortality had its perks after all.

“Immortality would allow you enough time to do all of that,” Hunter said as he withdrew his attacking bishop again, “Personally I’ve learned the piano and violin, as well as refining my voice. I’ve mastered almost every know martial art and learned a vast array of languages.”

“Along the way I’ve also had the chance to learn all sorts of skills here and there like juggling, card shuffling and tricks, chess. Given enough time you just start expanding your repertoire as there is no reason not to. It’s not like you don’t have the time.”

It was a weird feeling to think that Juka might actually have the time to do all of the interesting things in the world. He had all ready learned to sing and perform, but to think that he could learn to play and potentially master other instruments too? It was absolutely nothing short of fantastic! The only question would be where to start.

"How did you ever decide what to learn first?" Juka asked. Then another question occurred to him, in a slightly different line of thinking. "How did you first discover that, you know, you couldn't die? Its not like you had a floating time bubble or anything, unless you're hiding something from me?" He winked to show that he wasn't being serious.

“I started with what took my fancy then and there,” Hunter said, “After all if I can get round to everything eventually why not start with what I like?” What Hunter had liked was fighting styles, and so he’d started learning those first.

“I first learned that I was very hard to kill,” he explained, “At first I was healing serious but non fatal wounds in minutes. Then I got run through with a sword for the first time.” They say you never forget your first time. This also applies to being run through with a sword. “When I walked away from that it became pretty clear that I didn’t die easily.”

“But in truth I didn’t know I was immortal until I was fifty and still looked like this. It didn’t really hit home until I was a hundred, but then it looked like I had a good chance of living for a very long time, possibly forever.”

Juka could appreciate the sentiment of doing what was interesting. It as, after all, pretty much the philosophy of his life. Fashion was interesting so, why not make it into one of the pillars of his life? Same with music which had only become more important with time. And now he had his heroic streak though he wasn't certain that really counted as an interest.

"I'm pretty hard to kill too," Juka observed. "I'm pretty sure I couldn't' get run through with a sword and I heal as fast as a normal person, but my bubble prevents bleeding. I got impaled by Aura, a mutant girl who was trying to kill someone I tried to save. She almost killed me and I think my bubble kept me alive. And my heart stopped once for a day. But, here I am." He shrugged. Now that the almost dying incident and the heart incidents were behind him, he could look at them a little more clearly and with a little less stress.

"I guess I won't really know for sure if what I suspect is true for some time yet, though, unless something really drastic happens." Likely mutant with magical aging powers? It didn't seem very likely, but life was strange like that sometimes.

“Immortality doesn’t really become relevant until you are fifty or so,” Hunter said, “But to be honest I don’t know what it’s like growing up as an immortal with friends. The only deep connections I made were years later when I was well aware of my immortality but poorly versed in how to deal with the loss of a loved one.”

“I think it will be a little easier for you. Your friends will be there and while they’ll eventually grow old and die you’ll have made new, younger friends. Somehow I think that you’ll do just fine.” He offered Juka a smile. Yes, Juka would do just fine.

Juka couldn't imagine living his life without people. He was a socialite by nature, constantly surrounding himself with friends. There were times he needed to be alone, of course, but with a floating bubble it wasn't difficult to find a moment or an hour of peace and quiet and after that he always returned to the bustle of his social life. When he was much younger he spent more time alone and he was miserable because of it but it was different now.

"And you'll be my friend too won't you?" Juka liked Hunter, even if he was a little odd and much older than him. "Then we'll both have at least one person we don't need to worry about growing old. I think that would be better, don't you?" He looked up hopefully at the vampire.

Hunter nodded to the boy with a smile. “It would be nice to have someone else to walk the eons with,” he agreed with a smile, “Though we’ll see if being with someone for all eternity can drive you crazy. Joking aside though it’ll be a nice change to have a constant other in the world rather than just myself.”

It did get profoundly lonely watching the world go by as you lived forever. Especially when you distanced yourself from others like he had. Having lived through so many generation normal people were starting to look like such short lived creatures, there for a moment than gone in an instant. Privately he wondered how Sebastian, who was much older than him, coped with this. He’d need to ask him someday.

Juka could understand how being with someone for long periods of time could get annoying. It was one of the reasons he had so rarely been in an actual committed relationship. He enjoyed, far too much, meeting and spending time with too many different people. Plus, there just weren't many people out there that were willing to deal with all of his quarks on a long term personal level. He could only imagine how much more elevated that sort of reality would be when he was talking about decades or centuries rather than months or years.

"Oh I don't mean being with you all the time," Juka assured him, moving another chess piece on the board. "More like, coming to visit every so often. You know, just to have a familiar face around. I like you and all, but it'd get pretty boring if you were the only one I spent time with." He nodded his head. "No offense, of course because you really are lovely."

Hunter chuckled at the boys words. Juka was quite a strange fellow. But all in all a pleasant one and someone who Hunter wouldn’t mind seeing every now and then for the rest of time. Just as Juka said, not all the time.

“Good,” he said with a smile, “because the idea of spending forever with the same person day in and day out is more than a little daunting. Having a friend who I see every now and then forever seems a much more attractive prospect.” It honestly did. Being able to see Juka in a hundred years time with his face still young and fresh was most appealing.

Juka nodded his head, most pleased with the agreement that he and Hunter appeared to have gotten to. Agreements were good, things were far less complicated that way. He could see himself just sort of floating in every so often to see what his new (or perhaps old by that time) friend was doing. It was a rather neat thought to see someone through the decades remain perpetually young.

Equally good was the fact that he had finally managed to steal one of Hunter's chess pieces. He clapped his hands exuberantly, even if he was still getting his ass handed to him. At least he now had a little black horsey. "Do people ever get jealous of you and try to steal your powers or something?" Actually, now that he really thought about it, how would one steal powers anyway? "Or, I don't know, get you to bite them and turn them into a vampire too?"