This is bonding! Popp likes talking about certain subjects too much to steer the game back to Barnabas' turn, anyway.

"Not that typical. I can't do it the easy way here in Etraya. The hard way is... hard, but my teacher could do it, so I want to live up to him."

Popp smiles fondly into the flames. This isn't about avoiding Barnabas' intense eyeball contact, he's feeling all misty and nostalgic. He's quite proud of his current magical abilities in some respects, but he does really want to be better. There are so many people back home stronger than he is that he has to either back up or fight against, and then there are all the people in this world...

He lost a fight to an oversized red chicken recently. It was humbling.

"Well, Master Avan could do just about anything, anyway, even spells you'd think only Mages or Sages could pull off. I'm good at the attack spells he taught me, but not so much defensive stuff and healing, that kind of thing."