Ensenga can only gape at Hua as the other boy blabs on and on. At times he opens his mouth but closes it shortly after, as if attempting to process too many thoughts at once. There's the initial elation of finding the tower, the relief that they did it before he logged out for the day, the shock of seeing this kid here first, the confusion of why he's even here, and past that, deeper than that...

"Oh, it's just that Hua guy and the Biyomon from before," Kuu says, still snuggled in his tamer's scarf. Lazily, he raises an ear in greeting. "Yooo, fancy seeing you here. I thought you guys were skipping out on the tower."

"That's what I thought too," Ensenga murmurs, mouth hidden behind his scarf and voice audible only to himself and his partner. It stings, having this kid come out of absolutely nowhere and beat him here, hours earlier apparently, after he's been searching the entire day. He tries to reason with himself of course; this kid already knows a lot about the game, given their earlier battle. "But how?" he thinks. "We're around the same level of strength." Maybe Hua's an experienced player on a new account? It's possible he's playing a smurf account or even just played the beta version of the game before. Or maybe he read a walkthrough somewhere? Well, walkthroughs are for chumps who don't know how to properly have fun anyway, so who cares where this guy gets his information and that he has this information right off the bat anyway? Ensenga's new. Properly new.

"That's right," he tells himself. "Take it easy. It's just a game anyway; there's no need to get worked up over this." Ensenga doesn't want to think of Hua as a guy who goes out of his way to mess with other people, but that grin is telling him otherwise. So heck if he's going to get trolled by this guy! Yeah, it took him a ton of time to get to the tower. So what? He's new to the game and he's going to revel in it.

"Me?" Ensenga says, suddenly huffy. "I'm glad you asked!" He puts his hands on his sides, grinning wide. "'Cause I'm feeling absolutely freakin' amazing! I mean," he continues, walking forward, "Kuu and I, we finally found the place after searching for so long. I was just about to give up and rest for the day, but right when I thought that, we found it!" His mind lapses away from irritation and back to that initial exhilaration of finding the tower—no, the exhilaration of setting a lofty goal and actually reaching it.

"Man, I wonder what's inside?" His eyes are shining and his hands are balled into excited fists; he's forgotten his prior irritation already. "Did you check it out yet? The BBS didn't say anything about the tower 'cept that it existed. Let's go inside already!"


(huhuhu)

His face falls at Hua's words, though not in fright. His brow furrowed and his frown tight, Ensenga turns to the other boy with irritation written clear across his face. Again with the jokes? He might've tolerated them before (No, he didn't actually fall for them. Really. Okay, maybe he kind of did), but is this kid really asking him if he wants to go on? After he's searched the whole day for this place? It's not to say he isn't wary of Hua's words, given that he does think to any bones he might've encountered in the desert, but frankly he's not enough of a loser to finally find the tower and suddenly decide "Well I'm done, time to head back." No, he's going to see this journey through the end, spirits and gruesome booby traps be damned.

"Whatever," Ensenga says, dismissively waving a hand. "What's the use of giving up now? I didn't travel that desert for nothing, y'know. And besides," he continues, turning back toward the tower entrance, "I'm not going in alone. I've got Kuu here with me, and you and Biyomon are coming too, right? Why else wait around here?" The quiet darkness of the tower draws him in, makes the glow in his eyes shine all the brighter. "Let's go already." And without waiting for an answer, Ensenga steps in.

"I'm Kuu," says the White Lopmon. His long ears had perked up and out toward Hua and Biyomon at the mention of his name. "Ensenga insisted on giving me a nickname and 'Kuu' was the best compromise I could get. His naming sense is absolutely terrible, but I guess karma just bit him back on that one. Isn't that right, Ennie?" He drawls the tamer's new nickname, snickering to himself with paws over his mouth after, but when the expected retort doesn't come he stops, glancing curiously at the tamer. Ensenga has come to a stop in the center of the ground floor, his head tilted up at the tower expanse. With his eyes he traces the curvature of the stairs, the cracks between olden bricks, the vines trailing over olden beige and all he can feel is a mild disappointment.

For a place heralded by players as a legend, it's far from befitting of its name. He'd envisioned something like a mystical beacon, with walls and floors all a deep purple, as if dyed by the desert night. It'd be dark and light all at once; moonlight would shine through the top and bounce off the crystals embedded in the walls, together glowing like a rainbow array of torches to give a magical and almost otherworldly presence. He hadn't even thought of monsters or bosses or treasure or anything yet, but even without them the Mirage Tower of his visions would be beautiful enough to warrant the effort.

Unfortunately, his visions have no influence on this (digital) reality. The tower is plain. Briefly he wonders if DO staff accepts aesthetic suggestions, because he's got a lot of ideas on how to liven up this place up.

"Hey, Ennie?" Kuu's leaning forward and prodding the boy's cheek. "Hellooo?"

"Stop that," he says, lightly swiping the rabbit's paw away. "What's up?"

"You were totally zoning out there, Ennie." His tone is lax but there's worry in his eyes.

"Nahh, I'm fine. Just surveying the area. Wondering how high of a climb this'll be." Ensenga pauses, as if remembering something. "Wait a tic," he says, his tone angrier in realization, "how long've you been calling me 'Ennie'?!"

Kuu snickers, looking away innocently. "I was wondering when you'd notice."

"Well, don't do that!" Flustered and suddenly aware of Hua and Biyomon behind him, he continues in a louder voice, "Let's get a move on already!"

He starts up the stairs, and though his gaze is set above, his mind wanders. Maybe the tower isn't as fantastical as he'd like, but then again he hasn't even thought of anything beside the looks yet. For one, what's at the top of the tower? Treasure would be awesome but a boss fight would be ten times more exciting. And Hua mentioned something about spirits and booby traps, right? That's pretty exciting too! Okay, maybe more dangerous than exciting, but it's something at least!

"So uh," Ensenga says, breaking his upward gaze to glance at Hua, "when do the spirits and booby traps and stuff start popping up? Just so we know when to watch out for them." He sounds careful but the truth is that maybe he'd want to experience a little bit of both. Like, spirits chasing them into a guillotine trap or something? It's not like he wants his head lopped off or anything, but narrowly sidestepping a gigantic blade honestly sounds pretty awesome. Just like in anime!