Malaya gave off a very confused face at the term 'lush' and simply shook his head, raising both hands in the air. Still he continued to listen to him and then snickered.

"Well... If need be, I can always use my charms and try to get away with things. Don't worry. I've done a lot of that in the day and it's worked quite fine. I haven't done it in a while but hey, if I can show myself in tangible form and you can actually hold me---it should also work on other humans.

I'm not one who uses tricks and illusions but I should be able to manage a fairly convincing one nonetheless. I know people who are better than me but just enough to get by? Then I'm your man."

The engkanto then stood at full height and then clapped his hands, veiled in a strange mist that soon evaporated to reveal a rather different image this time.

It was the same...face but rounder, plumper and with curves where a man would not have them. The already pouty lips seem emphasized and those lashes---longer, curvier, more elegant than a man's own. The new figure before the human was definitely female and exuded a very quiet, aloof and simple grace.

The long haired spirit also lost some of his height and now seemed obvious that he really did borrow clothes from Muse at his new size.

"Ahem. Let me introduce Marikit. My twin sister."

Even his voice changed into a deep alto speaking voice.

Giggling girlishly, 'she' did a curtsy and then twirled in place. Once back, 'Marikit' clapped his hands again and the mist did it's magic again.

"Of course I do other things too. Like animals and other illusions for only for a limited time.

Let's hope I don't have to stay a strange form for hours though. That might be problematic. I'm basically energy with a consciousness, a spirit so my form is easier to manipulate than humans hence I can change my image. But of course, they would eventually return to it's natural course. Besides... I still think I'm cuter than my twin sister anyway."

After doing his little trick, the engkanto nodded to all what the brunet said though he didn't actually understand half of it and took his place by the author's side. He looked over the mixing and watching curiously. It smelled good. The scent of food seemed to interest the hungry spirit more than Youtube.

"Wha? I'm sorry---I wasn't paying attention. Sorry. I was starring at the food. I shouldn't have nodded even if I didn't understand. I'm hungry already."

Malaya smiled sheepishly at him as he explained, hoping that Muse didn't take offense.

He was talking for quite some time and it was quite rude of him to be more excited over the food than him.

"I don't love you any less---I'm just hungry right now. I'm sorry..."

Muse paused in his ministrations to the potatoes to boggle in astonishment at Malaya's transformations, which put stage magicians to shame.
"Jeeze." He murmured, too floored by the ease of transformation to be much more eloquent. "Damn, thats amazing." he admitted, trying to concentrate again on getting an even amount of cheese on the potatoes once they were in two dishes.
"Thats...hard to picture. Just...being energy I mean. Wow." He blinked a few more times, trying to get his head around things as he put the potatoes back in the microwave to melt the cheese. Sanity through mundanity.
"...Don't worry about it." he said finally, Malaya's apology breaking through his startled haze. "Hungry is a powerful force."

While appearing to be female and off all forms to choose from: his own twin sister's form at that, Malaya giggled girlishly as he put his hands on his hips and jutted it out, posing and assuming his role quite while. "So are you finding my ability to assume different forms impressive or is it the form I'm taking on? I'd have to admit, our family has really impressively good looks and curves to boot!"

He turned around and then smacked his ass, looked over his shoulder and flashed a smirk. "Hah!"

After the long haired spirit was done teasing and flaunting assets, he resumed his masculine form once again and seriousness kicked in. With that little trick he showed, there would be lots of explaining to do. It was not the youth's style to bedazzle and leave the audience in shock.

"You're also made of energy, Muse. But you have a tangible vessel. Your flesh and bloody body roots you to a place and time, a setting for you to live in. This is where you belong."

He leaned over and then ran his fingers on the man's arm, "I can touch you...feel you. Now. In the same way that you can too. If you could find a way to release yourself of this, then I can show you places only in your wildest dreams you can imagine."

Smiling softly, the engkanto closed his eyes and let out a sigh. There was so much promise in what he said. It would be so bad to show Muse around in the realms now. He would be there anyway---not like he'd leave the brunet alone and in such a somewhat dangerous place.

But first...

"Before I teach you all that and more or just plain keep telling you stories... Let's have lunch."

"Maybe it's a little of both." Muse admitted. "Though I like your regular form just fine." The microwave beeped and he pulled out the dishes carefully, planting them on potholders to prevent burned hands before offering one to Malaya. "Might want to stir it first, Showoff." He teased. "Once you're done displaying your rear that is anyway." He pondered the other statement a little, his expression uncertain.
"I dunno, I'm not exactly well studied in the whole 'out of body' thing, and the only alternative I know about is...a little permanent." He admitted, poking at his lunch with a fork and stirring in the melted cheese.
"Is that something you've actually done before...with other people?"

He didn't want to be an experiment, and it made him nervous, the idea of leaving his actual body. True, Malaya was on the nose, I mean what were people after all but a puff of energy animating a body, but leaving his Body...well it gave a certain degree of perspective on Malaya being away from his own 'body'.

Laughing he nodded and skipped toward the brunet, "Why thank you!" Malaya then peered over, leaning slightly as he watched him stir and further prepare the mashed potato so it would like so as he continued, "You have no idea how much it irks my sister sometimes when I get praised more than her at times. I get more praises, she gets more suitors ---who at some point come to me wanting comfort. It's confusing but it happens..."

He raised a finger to his mouth, tapping it as he let out a soft hmmm, "Well... Then again I come out rather rarely---so rarely people sometimes forget I exist, and when I do, I make it a point to come off as beautiful as I possibly could. Too bad... Too bad." The engkanto snickered a little, remembering the one time he once came in a peacock inspired dress for a wedding ball much to Marikit's displeasure when her late twin brother came in looking like...that.

"At any rate..." The youth paused and stuck out of his tongue, chuckling still. "Pshaw. For all I know you enjoy the view to a degree anyway."

Malaya weaved his fingers together and settled his elbows on a surface, being able to smell the melted cheese tickling at his nostrils. He took a sharp intake of breath and smiled gleefully at the scent. Lunch sounded really good.

"I've met a good number of humans in the realms... Some by accident, some intentionally through religious or through being very adventurous and idiotic..."

He looked out the window and saw his tree home, smiling.

"Aren't I technically out of my home at the moment? My supposed body, ne---Joseph?"

"I was...actually just thinking that." He admitted, glancing to the tree and back to Malaya. "Which is I guess kinda freaky. I don't know that I'd have that kind of nerve." He noted in embarrassment, offering Malaya one of the dishes and a fork. "There's uh, salt and pepper if you want." He added, poking at his food vaguely as he thought. "I guess I'm neither particularly religious or particularly adventurous. The whole 'out of body' thing was just something I might toy with in one of my stories, or it was until this morning. Of course, my world view kinda took an serious gear shift without the clutch this morning when you popped out of nowhere."

He murmured a quiet thank you as he received his utensils and looked at the share of food he was going to receive. It was unlike anything he'd seen especially as to how it was prepared but it would do. He didn't mind. The idea of microwaved food didn't squick him or anything rather it fascinated him---what else was there possible to cook with that contraption?

At any rate...

"Oh don't get me wrong... Not all those who go out of their bodies and explore the realms are religious. There might be some but not all---you should meet some of those people. They're quite...interesting. They try to project themselves differently from their normal lives and as it's a whole new world, they're able to explore and be in touch with a side of them that's not...normal. The other facets of their soul are now out of the open."

Malaya paused in between his talking to have servings of his lunch, finding it no longer necessary to season the meal as he was trying to figure out how it was supposed to taste without it. Seasoning would affect it's natural taste after all. It was...mushy and potato like. The sauce was interesting though.

"Though honestly speaking, I wouldn't...really recommend that sort of activity unless you want real face to face encounters with the other kinds and you're ready for whatever they throw at you. I know some humans who pick fights, take lovers and just steal from my kind when they astral. Sure when you get back it's done and over but who said they can't cross over to follow you?"

Poking through the dish, Malaya shuddered at the story he heard from one of the local and powerful engkanto back home that spoke of meeting such an enchanting human that he let one of his toughest, most frightening of the guards follow him about to keep him safe for his 'use.' From his memory that man was fond of beautiful things... Yes. Humans were things to him.

"Anyway...," the youth said with some of lunch still in his mouth while waving his fork in the air, "You really don't have to be that factual about you write. You can't avoid crazy kids who read and do try to follow the process so they can feel awesome and all---it's happened. Hence the books on the arts of magick and such are kept away. If they aren't, they're half truths and half lies."

He gave Muse a nod of the head before he focused on the mashed potato and cleaned the dish up as much as he could. Manners told you never to leave a single grain of rice if possible. In this case, it was a lump of potato then?

"So...dessert?"

After finishing the meal, he pushed the dish aside and lifted his elbows on the table and cupped his face, giving the brunet a knowing smile---an expectant little smile at that.

Muse considered this for a moment or to, eating a forkful of potatoes as Malaya expounded on the sort of people on might meet wandering outside of your own body, wondering if he saw any such things just walking around here with him, until a thought occured to him and he had to laugh.
"Jeeze. Sounds kinda like using the internet." He noted, gesturing with his fork. "There's people online like that, they're all about pretending to be someone they're not, you hear about it all the time. And you can get stalkers, and people who try and steal your personal information, or get information about your bank accounts and finances, all that kind of stuff. It's a lot like that.
He ate while he talked, watching Muse clean his plate with polite patience, suspecting it hadn't been quite as impressive the Engkanto might have been hoping. "Wait, so you're saying some of the stuff you see in all those books on mysticism is also true? Not all of it, but some of it? How can you tell the difference?? And why would anyone try it to find out, thats like jumping off a roof because you're wearing a Superman costume."