Heath shook his head. He did not know Star. He didn’t really know anyone. Yet. He was getting forcing himself to show up more often other than to just renew his magic license. He continued shaking his head. He didn’t know an Astartia either. “I see.” Heath’s eyes flickered down to the parts once more before back at the fellow blonde. “Could you…introduce me to her? Or tell me what she looks like at least. Please.” He asked, his tone sheepish. She seemed like someone he should know. He was embarrassed he didn’t. He didn’t pay attention did he?

The young man’s eyes widen slightly in surprise and he feels a pang of guilt for asking. Though, he can’t help but lean in closer at Zeph’s display entirely taken with the machine limbs. He nodded, visibly impressed with the craftsmanship. “You made those yourself? Or are you improving someone else’s older design?” he couldn’t help but ask. It must have been hard with only one fully working hand. The blonde nodded, interest piqued at the term ‘cryptid’. Now they were getting somewhere. He knew coming here would be a good idea. All kinds of people liked to show up. “I suppose if you’re expecting danger or trespassing.” He said with a shrug. He didn’t think investigations like that led to many legal to enter places. Or well, maybe it just depended on the story the people were following.

At the question though, he frowned in thought. Heath had never been one to care or think too deeply about the unknown. Like most people, he held a quiet fear of what he couldn’t understand. Things like that haunted him from time to time and he felt that it was better to forget and not think about it at all. But he was older now. More capable. He felt less skittish at the idea of some undiscovered creature rooming around. “Well…if I had a lead for one I wouldn’t mind following it.” He said with a shrug. Even if it didn’t yield ideal results, if he managed to discover some new type of freaky plant or animal it would still be pretty cool. A reporter’s dream really. “What about you? You’re asking for a reason right?” he added casually.

Heath couldn’t help the frown at he tried to place the description with a person. Nothing was really coming up. Perhaps he’d caught glimpses of a girl with white, braided hair, but the specific face wasn’t coming to him. It was probably wishful thinking on his part. He had ignored most of the happenings in the Sun Café until very recently. That was his fault for being so closed off in the first place, but, hell, at least he was correcting it now. “Thanks.” He said before his interest was piqued further. He’d been out of school for four years now but he possibility of free pizza practically had him drooling still. “Oh, ok, that sounds…cool.” He struggled to say something, the free pizza still hypnotizing him. “Heath. Heath Ambroise.” The blonde provided as he lifted his hand for a shake.

Heath stares the stranger down, noting for a moment that this was uncomfortable and was possibly on the edge of offending his new companion- friend? Acquaintance. He nods, his attention shifting back to the crafter’s limbs. “Do you magically enhance them for durability or are they just regular parts?” he asked, genuinely curious. There had to be a certain amount of creativity and flare that went into building stuff like mechanical limbs. “Sorry, I’m the least familiar with this kind of magic.” He added, noting that he would have to pull away form this subject in fear of making the other witch uncomfortable.

He offered Zephyr a small smile. He wouldn’t directly admit to not being above trespassing. However, he was a professional investigator, and sometimes professional investigators...had to go places even when permission was lacking. But it wasn’t like he was a thief. He wasn’t collecting evidence to put someone on trial or taking things that didn’t belong to him. The journalist tried not to, but there were ways around signs and fences and he had the bruises and scratches to prove it. Heath couldn’t help but snicker as the guy admitted he was a bit of a skeptic. He could surmise that well enough with a glance at his current project and how he went about the whole Mothman subject. He remained quiet as Zeph finished, mulling over his words. “Well…” he began tentatively. “For me, a story is still a story. I agree with you though, I would prefer proof of a cryptid or something, but if it leads to something else that’s interesting I don’t think I’d be disappointed. Besides, there’s always a cutoff point before stuff goes too far south.” Heath preferred working alone and while that lead to some risk, at the very least he let people know what he was up to. Capable people. He knew his limits, so risk was never a substantial fear for him.

“It sounds like you’re worried about your friends getting into something bad. Maybe you should ask them or asses their abilities yourself?” the blonde suggested. He didn’t know these people or their capabilities, but he understood guilt and loss. He raised a hand to his neck and leaned his head to the side letting a soft crack emit. “But, anyway, there’s always the chance that this lead is just a waste of time. Trust me.” He added with a light laugh trying to lighten the mood. “Or, well, trust is too much to ask of you. I guess better said is, in my experience that’s what I’ve gone through.” The witch corrected himself.

“Oh, of course- That’s unfortunate...” Heath said sheepishly. It was hard to learn something that had no official recognition. But still, he wondered what it was like to be gifted at something so new? It was probably exciting to be a magical pioneer. The thought briefly gave him a feeling of awe for the person before him before he pushed it aside to continue the conversation. He nods politely, now with a better understanding of crafting than 2 minutes ago. “That’s lucky at least.” Heath offers. Despite the lack of belief and support in Zeph’s affinity, at least he could easily practice it. “If it’s cool, could I see something you’ve crafted some other time?” he asked after a pause. “If I catch you in the café again I mean.” The journalist is quick to add. His visits were still irregular after all, still coming down from the workload he’d imposed on himself for the past few years.

There’s a pause as he tries to figure out the best way of answering the question. “Well, I’m a reporter so for stories I have to do a lot of research at times. But not every tip off I get is related to my story.” He begins as he runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t tend to follow around Chupacabra stories. I tend to do review work or reports on current events like festivals. But if the circumstances around these rumors are interesting enough, I might. For fun...like I said.” He avoided stating outright he was an investigative journalist. It wasn’t like he’d done much investigating anyway. He felt like he was trained to be one, but he hadn’t had the opportunity to do that yet. Not that he minded helping out others with his work though. It was good for his portfolio.

“Anyway, leads aren’t always what you want, but they can still lead to something substantial.” He stopped himself, feeling he may have gotten a little off track. He turned the conversation back to Zephyr. “What about you? What are you up to when you aren’t trying to protect your friends form the boogeyman?” he asked.

Heath smiled, happy that he was easily indulged. “Cool. I’m trying to pass by here more often nowadays.” The witch admitted. The promise of at least one familiar face with a strange affinity would motivate him to actually show up during decent hours. He gives the event board a glance before shrugging. “Well yeah, pretty much, but I also have a lot of free time on my hands some days and I get bored.” And rather than spend that time by himself, it would be healthier to put it towards either looking into something productive for work or actually socializing with his coven.

“Train mechanic? Nice.” Heath stated with a quick nod. He leaned his cheek into his palm listening quietly. Occasionally he’d blink in surprise. Not in a judgmental way, just taken back a bit. “Table tops and fakes eyes huh?” he murmured. “Like monopoly you mean?” he asked not quite following. He’d never been into table tops as a kid. You need to have a lot of friends for table tops to work out. He’d had the one who had been more interested in causing trouble than playing inside. He stared when Zeph pointed at his eye before nodding again. “Flying’s he best part of quidditch if we’re being honest.” He said with a quick flash of a grin and an easy shrug.

As the conversation swung back to him, the journalist gave pause. He had been content with listening. He hadn’t expected to have to give a quick summary of his own hobbies. Hobbies that included pestering older men and drawing chalk graffiti at 3 am. “Uhhhh…well, aside from writing all the time, I do my own piece sketches. I, uh, I like gardening, but I can’t really afford too many plants in my house, so I visit shops or parks a lot. Sometimes I look for a place to do boxing again. Or I’ll take naps.” He smiled awkwardly. It wasn’t the most interesting of hobbies but that was why he was trying to socialize more. “I’m a plant shaper so at times I’ll visit a library to read up more on it.” He added offhandedly. “You know, normal stuff.”