[ heine glosses over it, the odd beat of sympathy, or concern, or perhaps even something like pity. it's odd that kaveh's grateful for it. kaveh ought to be the one offering some measure of sympathy over the revelation, but something in kaveh tells him that this isn't a topic which kaveh has any right to speak up about, nor breach the comfort which the man's built in addressing it. that must have taken time, and thought, and grief. it isn't kaveh's place. but it makes kaveh think that the akademiya had these laws for a reason, that one ought not research into human evolution because the knowledge gained from that endeavor no longer benefits humans.

but it makes sense. kaveh, who has only known divinity to be tangible individuals sharing that same walk of life as those with mortal bounds, thinks that if there were divinity, what already sounds like a fairly complex situation must've been further complicated. it's the lack of plants that has kaveh startle, considering, as he tilts his head towards this new and unusual tidbit. sumeru had been as green as it comes. they say it was a land that is constituted by three seas: the great sand sea, the great sea of the rainforest, and the saltspray of the sea that leads to fontaine across the dunes. ]

You're going to give me a nickname. [ this is bad idea, if alhaitham's impression on the man is 'magic plant man', but kaveh suddenly finds himself charmed, if a little cautiously so. this is definitely worth hearing out. ] Now I have to hear this. My only ask is that 'plant' isn't a part of it, given that it's already being used, and to be entirely honest there's someone else who's a better fit for that sort of thing.

[ kaveh grins. ] So? What do you have for me, Heine?