Welcome to Gaia! ::

Despite the 'smooth' passage, Kekeovonnai had to endure the consequences of boat and it’s rocking. Being so divorced from his own element was disorienting, and his sensitive sense of balance was thrown off nearly every second of the voyage. His head felt thick and sticky, and his whole body shook with every tiny wave that rocked the boat even slightly. Keke managed, however, only because he had other, more fascinating things to focus on: like rules and laws and culture. That, and the sailing was soon over.

Once back on land, any lethargy and illness went away the moment his four talons touched the ground. He spent plenty of time investigating around him, of course, until the carriage...

Oh the carriage.

It was a new experience, being carted around. Kekeovonnai could feel every rattle and rumble jostling him, but to his surprised delight, he did not feel ill. He enjoyed the sensations he could feel from the wheels and the views he could see out of the tiny window.

Finally, they were there. Keke boggled at the grandeur of the Magescian lair before him, though frankly he would have been amazed by a quaint cottage by a river. It was all so new, so incredible, so fantastic, so new! He couldn't wait to explore the rest of the city and the environs and make his observations and have an incredible amount of fun.

“Oh, my! I get my own room?!” he said, surprised. He thought he would have to sleep communally – which would have been warm – or would have to be put up outside. He hadn't been sure if Magescians would have areas suitable for a Khehora in their house. But, he realized, he needn't have worried! Magescians thought of everything! That was what made them so intriguing!

He looked up curiously at Omard and would have thought that he was her 'Husband-not-Mate' or her kin if she hadn't explained something of the situation to him on the way over. He nearly said that he wasn't her mysterious bonded – which was a silly assumption because bonded couldn't really leave their bondmate without trouble, from what he heard. It would be too cruel to contemplate, especially for his friend Xenosa, he was sure!

However, he remembered that she had also told him that he needed to lie. Lying was completely fine with Keke – it had been a lot of fun before, and he understood that it could cause all sorts of problems if they realized he was feral... before they got to know him, anyway. They might think he would defecate in their houses and claw their furniture! Or, worse, eat their children! He was so excited to meet Magescian children and talk to them – he'd be more likely to eat his own tail than to eat one of them.

He trotted up to Omard and offered a talon in something resembling a handshake, a gesture he had heard that Magesicans used for greeting. “It's nice to meet you too!” he chirped pleasantly, “So, you're a cook! Are you cooking anything now? May I try some?”

Keke watched her in surprise as she pushed past this new, interesting cooking Orderite, his nose twitching as he sampled the smells that hung like a thick and tantalizing miasma around his white frock. He tilted his head. Now why was Xenosa so prickly now? He looked at Omard, inspecting his white hat briefly before waiting for an answer. But Omard offered no explanation for Xenosa's actions, and Keke simply noted it down as yet another fascinating observation as he was led into the kitchen.

Oh the kitchen.

His nose danced with all the scents that abounded in the kitchen. Pungent spices, rich oils, roasted meat, and the almost-smells of heat and iron pervaded the place, and he grinned to take in more of the aromas through his mouth. “Stuffed meat?” he asked, surprised, “Ah, but what is in the meat?” Putting spices on the outside of meat was very logical to him. He had seen it done before, even with his clan’s own campfire. But inside the meat? What did one put inside the meat? “And I will be happy to sample…” he tried not to drool, “Anything you want to give me!” he gave an almost guilty puppy-like grin - he was actually quite hungry. He hadn’t eaten anything since he had gotten on the ship… for obvious reasons. The fare after the ship had been fairly sparing, and he hadn’t eaten much while recovering from the imbalances of travel. “It all smells so good…”

Keke sniffed the meat, already drooling. Wait, they put more meat into meat? What an intriguing concept! Now he had to try it, and not just for his stomach. It was, of course, a taster and thus barely enough meat to fill an Orakoi’s belly, but by the rolling edges of Magesc’s continents it was amazing. Keke had never realized that meat could have so many flavors! “Mmm!” he exclaimed, eating the stuffing too. It was such an interesting texture!

He tried the vegetables, slurping them into his mouth and pressing them against the roof of his mouth to crush them, as he had learned to do. Khehora teeth could crush but they mostly ripped, tore, and held so when eating vegetation the tongue, pallette, and back of the teeth had to be more involved. It was a time consuming process, but when vegetables and roots were all that one could find, it worked. For once, though, the process was worthwhile, because with every slicing motion of his teeth, with every crushing press against his mouth, and finally, against the flatter teeth at the back of his mouth, the vegetables oozed flavor and were so… good!

He licked his plate clean. “That was amazing!” he chirruped, looking at Xenosa happily, “I didn’t realize that Magescians could do magic with food!” He turned back to Omard excitedly, “What else can you do?” he asked, eager to explore this new and fascinating clan of magic called cooking…

Oh, they were going already? “You should tell me later, Omard! Maybe when we are eating the meal!” he said. Yes, that would be fitting!

Kekeovonnai followed Xenosa back to her rooms calmly, watching her curiously as she shed her clothing like scales. He found a comfortable spot - and there were many on the carpeted floor to choose from - and settled in. He wasn’t sure he understood why she was so upset, though clearly it had to do with the complicated situation between her and her husband. He wondered if he would ever figure out that convoluted web.

“I know the feeling.” he said, as she loosened her corset and dress, “My father - one of them - left us a long time ago. My sister and I searched for him. My sister thought of him far more than she ever thought of me, and I was a little jealous of him. But we never found him. I love him - he’s my father. But I hate him for making things so strained between us…” he hesitated, “Maybe I don’t hate him, though.” No, the way he felt about Oblivion wasn’t nearly that strong. Honestly, for both his fathers, he felt only mild appreciation, nothing particularly strong. But, certainly, the way he felt about Oblivion was more mixed. He got to his feet and investigated the bed - it seemed very comfortable, like a compacted cloud. Rearing onto his hindlegs, he tested it with a claw, noting just how soft it really was.

“Is it something similar, maybe?”

“One of my fathers.” he said, surprised, “Samael and Oblivion were my fathers - both of them are Khehorian. I think Samael is known here too…” he’d certainly travelled everywhere, and he wasn’t a subtle khehora, so Keke had assumed that Samael was just generally well known. “Oblivion found our nest and they raised my sister and I, which makes them our fathers.” he explained, as if it was completely obvious and completely normal. He left out, of course, the whole controversy of the missing third egg and the dark issues surrounding how Oblivion had found their nest… there was a reason that Kekeovonnai was so cool towards his parents, and it was not something he talked about, even to Vazarri. He simply did not want to address it.

He sniffed at the bed, testing it again with his claws. “No, I haven’t…” he said, finally deciding - with her invitation, of course - to jump onto the bed. It bounced slightly under his weight, and he pushed down on it with a talon in surprised delight. “Oh! It’s soft!” he exclaimed, laying on his side and making himself comfortable with surprising ease. He stretched out to his full extent, luxuriating in the silky feel of the cloth against his scales. “Even the covering is soft!” His stretch complete, he curled inward, somewhat around Xenosa, and laid his head on the bed near her, wiggling a little to make himself extra comfortable. It was so comfortable. And, suddenly, he was aware of just how fatigued travel had made him. “I think that’s a good idea…” he said, yawning widely and closing his eyes.

He was so soundly asleep that he hadn’t realized he was asleep until he woke up to a soft knocking at the door. “Mistress Xenosa?” a servant’s voice called. Keke watched the door lazily, noting that the day had passed by quite a bit, and the room was darker now than before. “Dinner is ready…” she hesitated, as if she was going to say something else, “Shall I come in and help you dress for dinner, Mistress?” That, Keke could determine, wasn’t it.

“Hey…” Keke nudged Xenosa gently, “She says that the food is ready!” he, for one, was excited.

“Oh!” the voice behind the door recoiled in surprise at the sound of his voice, “Oh, no! Your bonded! Will he be needing a bath before dinner?” The door remained closed, but Keke could hear chagrin in her voice.

Keke perked up. “A bath?” he looked to Xenosa, puzzled, “That sounds nice, doesn’t it?”

Keke levered himself to his feet, enticed by the prospect of a bath. “I slept very well!” he commented as he eased himself off the bed, “It was incredibly comfortable!” It was very nice to not sleep alone, and nicer still to do so on a soft and comfortable mattress. It had been a long time, Keke realized, since he had had another to curl around, not since his adventures in Soldul with his sister. That had been limited by her nocturnal tendencies, of course.

He stretched out sleep-tensed muscles as Xenosa lit the candles, admiring how the lights remained in their little waxen sockets. Such technology, amazing and yet simple and absent to his own kind. He wondered if a khehora could make such devices, then abandoned the thought. Likely not. Wax was too delicate for khehora claws to harvest and use… though… a khehorian might be able to… what a fascinating thought!
His stretching complete, he padded over to investigate the bath, pausing in surprise at the pleasant smell of steam. Warm water?! He was getting a bath in warm water?! He padded over and sniffed at the water, ignoring for the moment the wary servant. Scented oil nearly made him sneeze, and he positively wriggled in delighted anticipation at the thought of such lovely things on his scales.

The bath full, the servant stepped back to let him through. As excitedly as a large, well trained canine, Keke hopped into the bath, wiggling to submerge himself in the blissfully warm water, splashing the servant inadvertently in the process. They yelped, trying to protect themselves unsuccessfully from the water before reaching for a long brush.

And then they began to scrub.

Kekeovonnai practically melted into a glob of khehora in the bath, purring madly as the brush’s bristles massaged his skin. His sides, his wings, his belly, his arms, and his head all got scrubbed thoroughly and blissfully, leaving gleaming obsidian scales and bright yellow and green markings in his wake.

He did not want to leave the bath when it was done, but he was anxiously reminded that dinner awaited him and that was enough to coax him, reluctantly, out of the bath. He was toweled off and dried before the servant nervously shooed him out and began to clean up the mess he had made.

Finally, clean and presentable, Kekeovonnai followed Xenosa to dinner, feeling happy, well rested, and very hungry.

Keke trotted over to the offered seat, the actual chair being moved out of the way to allow him passage. He could not, after all, sit on it without looking ridiculous and possibly breaking the chair, and he was fine on the ground. He boggled at the table, at the settings, at Xenosa who had suddenly transformed into something beautiful from the scruffy adventuress that he was so accustomed to - much like a flower, really, an illusion supported by the flowing cloth of her dress. Everything was so different than what he was used to, Keke wasn’t sure what to expect next. It was not, however, a slamming door. Keke watched the newcomer with intrigued curiosity - why had he done that? Who was he? Why was he so cranky, when presented with such glorious food? Why did he also look beautiful? Was this some unknown property of magescian clothing? It made sense in a way - if they could change their outer skin so easily, of course they would choose to make it beautiful… so why not all the time? Why did Xenosa dress so frequently in dull colors and leather? Kekeovonnai’s curiosity was boundless… although, he was somewhat awkward as the little spat began.

“Ah, yes?” he said, surprised at the apparent hostility. Kekeovonnai wasn’t sure what he had done to the man, aside from just meeting him. “I’m Kekeovonnai, and she does come to visit me often?” He wasn’t sure what else to say, especially as the conversation veered off into other directions. It was uncanny, he thought, how similar it was to the fights his parents used to have, long ago.

Wait, did that mean that this was her husband-not-mate? Perhaps it would be a good time to elaborate on that?

He looked at Omard, then at his plate, then back at Omard. “Served? Er, yes. I’d like some food.” he looked back at his plate, then at the silverware nearby. Those were things that magescians used for… some purpose. Keke had witnessed Xenosa using knives to slice foes and also to slice meat - sensible, since Magescians were deprived of fangs and claws. But the other thing? The tined instrument? The scooping instrument? He knew a spoon and it’s use in carrying water, but what would he use it for here?

But as the food was piled onto his plate, Keke knew he had to eat it. It smelled so good, and he was still so hungry. His instinct led him to try to eat, as normal, but as he managed to pick up a piece of meat in his mouth, it proved to be difficult. The plate was monstrously unstable on the table and slid around it easily. He ate what he had and stared down at the food, forlornly. Keke knew enough not to make a terrible mess, and he wanted to learn magescian manners - he truly did. He looked up at Omard pleadingly, his nose now dirtied by the plate. “How do I…? With my talons maybe?”