Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ah, Sauti. Zyphire stretched his arms out in front of him lazily. The Shifter was on more errands today for his cousins and had decided that rather than going to the local Zenan village that he would take a few days to go and visit Sauti. There was an open market usually about this time of year, with the warmer weather coming back, and he was curious to see what goodies the village had to offer. He was especially interested in any items from one of the new regions. Belrea had an airship dock nearby, created near the spot of their original landing, and he had seen a few ships traveling back and forth in the area over the past years. Now that a new area was opened there was promise of underwater crafted items as well. He was so excited that he had borrowed a Quhar with a small cart from Talisia as well.

"What do you think, buddy? Think they have anything special from that new region yet?" Zyphire asked the gentle creature as he patted its side. At least he had some company this trip and it would be nice to not have to lug all of the supplies back home on his own back as well.

"Oh? I really hope so. I wanted something from the new underwater region." Zyphire replied as a girl walked past him. As an afterthought he quirked a brow in curiosity about having someone respond to his earlier statement. Well that was convenient timing. He was about to comment on hoping to find something special indeed when he saw the girl suddenly tumble forward onto the ground, "Hey!" Zyphire darted forward so that he could help her back up onto her feet, "You okay there?" The Shifter asked with an amused grin as he patted off any dust from her clothing. Damn, he knew that his looks could be distracting but this was definitely something new!

And to think I didn't even get a chance to try and actually flirt yet. He was notorious for hitting on pretty girls and the hybrid definitely was something special. She would have reminded him of his own cousin in some aspects if it wasn't for the strange markings decorating her body as well. Did she have Alkidike blood too?

"Trust me I know." Zyphire replied teasingly, "You're pretty used to falling?" The Shifter frowned thoughtfully, "So you're saying that it's normal for you to trip?" Well, that was a little bit of a downer to his previous explanation. But she was cute and he was willing to forgive her for any klutziness, "You're fine." Zyphire replied with an amused smile. Really, she hadn't done anything wrong other than fall and it wasn't like his Quhar was that skittish thankfully. The Shifter reached out a hand to pat the beast in appreciation for its calm behavior.

"Well how about this? If you would like I can offer my arm for you to hold onto?" Zyphire stuck out his elbow as he offered, "I'm here to browse the market so any company is welcome. You see anything from overseas yet?"

Zyphire chuckled, "Wow. Sounds like you are quite the handful. Maybe you should look into getting some sort of padding or a special bubble to protect yourself." He couldn't resist teasing. Surely she couldn't be that bad at things, right? It was really hard for the Shifter to imagine especially considering his bloodline was full of performers who were all about grace and such. I couldn't imagine. It would have to take some sort of strange phenomena for any of his family to be born with two left feet. Perhaps an alignment of the planets or some curse by the spirits?

"If you're sure." Zyphire pouted as she refused to take his arm, "Though if you change your mind I can assure you that I am quite capable of keeping us both on our feet. At least we can keep each other company. I'm Zyphire by the way." He glanced over at her warily, almost preparing himself to reach out and catch her for the next stumble. Would she really be okay just walking through the market like this? Maybe he could just put her in the cart to hold his items? No that would be too silly surely.

Zyphire nodded at her logic, "Yeah. I know some people are wary and others are ready to jump overseas." He chuckled, "I was just hoping to learn more if any traders had returned by now. I would love to bring things back for my younger cousins. Something from overseas definitely would stand out in comparison to the rest of the gifts from Zena." As an afterthought he couldn't resist teasing the girl, "Maybe that's your trick. You're meant to be in the water more so than on land."

"Pffft." The sound escaped his lips before he could stop it. Zyphire had tried to keep a straight face but hearing about the story from the hybrid girl was just too amusing. The story held a bit of danger but at the same time it was definitely entertaining to imagine. Hopefully she didn't burn down the whole house. He tucked a stray strand of hair back away from his own face as he tried to regain his composure, "I'm sorry but that is definitely some sort of talent you have there." Zyphire moved a little bit closer just in case her nature struck up while they were walking, "You sure you don't want my arm? Now I feel as if I really should be protecting you."

"Nice to meet you as well, Zoraida." Zyphire chuckled, "I suppose that is true as well. At least you wouldn't have to worry about tripping on land then." The Shifter pursed his lips thoughtfully as they walked along the market, "I think I would be willing to take the risk myself but I do enjoy a nice swim here and there. I haven't been to the ocean in quite a while either." Would the new race have some cute faces? He wondered what fish people looked like exactly. Did they enjoy things like dancing and singing? How did they spend their time if they were underwater most of their lives? He definitely had quite a few questions in mind for if he ever did meet one of the new races.

"Some odds and ends you say?" Zyphire nodded as Zoraida's voice broke through his thoughts, "That sounds good. We can definitely check that out." For now he was also keeping his eyes peeled for any materials for a nursery. If anything he could also look on his way back through the market after separating from his current companion later. Honestly after a few days without much company Zyphire was quite happy to have some conversation with another earthling.

"Fair enough." Zyphire shook his head in amusement as he continued to make certain that no random stall or object on the ground would trip up the hybrid girl. Thankfully he was trained in guarding merchants and the like so it wasn't his first attempt at escorting someone through a busy market. He just kinda brushed against her to avoid any potential dangers such as directing her away from the stall full of sharp shiny objects like knives and the like.

Oh! Zyphire moved forward to try and catch Zoraida as she stumbled but thankfully the girl caught herself. Letting out a sigh of relief Zyphire followed her towards the stall, careful to keep an eye for any other potential accidents, "Well this is interesting." He mused as he picked up a few pieces of jewelry, "Nothing too exotic just yet, right?" The Shifter glanced over the stall, browsing through a pile of silks and other materials while keeping an eye out for anything that seemed more....underwatery?

Zyphire sighed, "It's alright. At least I had fun looking." He grinned towards Zoraida, "It's an idea but probably not. I've got my hands full lately as is. Hopefully we'll just get some more news and cool items soon enough." That was one good thing about being near Sauti. It was far easier for him to check out markets like this where things came from all over. The northern areas of Zena were just too harsh and so very few traders actually wanted to venture up the far. It was definitely much easier to just travel a couple of days from home to see what he could find here.

"I suppose this is my cue to start moving on. I've got to try and find something worthwhile for my travels at least." He grinned towards Zoraida, "Other than picking up some enjoyable company of course. Will you be able to make it back on your own? He questioned playfully as he studied her.