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 Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 12:21 pm
Rain wasn’t something that Finn had necessarily come to associate with Oba. The fact the skies had changed at all was something of an anomaly, and when the downpour started Finn couldn’t get out of it’s way fast enough. There were precious little alcoves where someone of his status could hide, but thankfully he’d been close enough to find one. It was a little book shop, one that specialized in magical texts and components, that just so happened to have a covered outdoor dining area. While it was meant for patrons who wanted to enjoy their lessons without being burned by the sun, it was now a temporary shelter for the scrappy little yaeli.
Unfortunately for Finn not everyone seemed to like him being there. He’d barely escaped before being glared at by a few patrons and when one rose up to go inside he knew his time was limited. At some point someone would show up to shoo him out, but hopefully the rain would stop by then.
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 12:22 pm
[Sabra via Discord]
Katori had enjoyed her travels so far. Venturing into foreign countries with her twin was definitely proving to be an experience and so far they had trekked all the way into Oba. The desert country was the opposite of her home and she found herself constantly finding excused to get out of the scorching sun. Thankfully her twin had opted to take a few days to relax in the city, their room at the inn a perfect resting spot especially since it had plenty of room at stables for their familiars. After a thorough investigation to make certain that everything was alright and that their animals had feed for the day, Katori had decided to venture into some of the local shops. It wasn't long before the threat of rain and the allure of magical texts pulled her into the little bookstore. She found herself browsing across texts, her fingers happily skimming over the bound volumes that smelled of her father's library back in Zena. So much nostalgia. I wonder if I should buy him one? I don't think I've seen this one before...
Her attention was diverted whenever a disgruntled shopper brushed past. Frowning, Katori quickly snatched up two tomes she had been looking at and headed towards the counter. Listening to the complaints about some dirty wretch ruining the dining area, Katori found herself cutting the person off and quickly handing over coins for more than just tomes. "Two teas and two orders of dumplings please." She flashed the grumpy patron a wry smile. "Excuse me but I have a friend waiting." She had spotted a pitiful boy when she had first approached the shop and wondered if it was the same one. If so she wasn't about to just let him be tossed out into the torrential downpour that was still making a mess outside. Taking the tray, Katori quickly darted towards the dining area and immediately approached the foreigner. "Hey you." She nodded her head towards him and ignored the looks of the other patrons. "Come over here."
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 12:22 pm
[2/10]
Here it is. Finn couldn’t help the almost feral snarl he tossed her way as soon as he turned around. He’d been prepared for a verbal thrashing, or even for a shopkeeper to literally toss him out into the street. What pulled him up short was some little blue girl and...food? His snarl faded into a look of outright confusion, one that matched several nearby patrons. At first he wasn’t sure she was even talking to him because why would she be, but when it became very clear that he was her target Finn just sort of followed.
It was...weird, to say the least, but she had food and if he was lucky she might be dumb enough to share with him. Most foreigners were. They saw some pitiful little yaeli strung out in the street and before any of the locals could warn them he would rob them blind. Still, that was usually in some back alley and not in public. It would be much harder to pull anything here if he even wanted to. Taking up his staff, Finn approached her and quirked his brow, his eyes not so much as drifting away from the food she carried.
“Why do you want me around?”
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 12:23 pm
[Sabra]
A brow rose before an amused grin crossed her features as his aggression turned into confusion. "Hmm. Boredom perhaps? Or a fondness for strays?" Katori gave a shrug of her shoulders before she put the food on a table and plopped into a chair. Picking up the cup of tea for herself, she gestured towards the other side of the table where she had placed the second order. "They can't really kick someone out if they're simply eating, right? I would suggest you take your time so the rain has a chance to stop first." She offered with a small smile as she settled in her seat. If anything at least it was amusement enough to watch how the patrons had to bit their tongues now that she had gotten involved. Surely a foreigner could get tossed out but if they weren't causing a scene and simply eating would it be worth the trouble to the owner? Especially since she had just dropped some coins for two heavy tomes and food?
"I know I'm just some nameless hybrid, but it's amusing to see how long we can last before their nerves give out." She mused quietly with playful expression. Katori raised the cup to her lips and took a long sip, the runes in her metal bracers almost gleaming in the faint sunlight.
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 12:24 pm
[3/10]
Finn furrowed his brow. “I’m not some perzi you can feed and slap a collar on.” Granted, he would do just about anything for food, but she needn’t know that much. He had some pride no matter how limited it may be.
“You’d be surprised. I’m sure they’re already thinking of a way to kick you out for helping me.” Finn unceremoniously dropped into the seat opposite her and looked at the cup of tea. As much as he wanted to dive straight into his meal even Finn wasn’t stupid enough to give in. He needed to keep her happy lest she take it away, like so many others before her. With one last look at the food he picked up the tea cup and slurped down a mouthful. It was alright, but he’d never really been fond of hot leaf juice anyway.
Still, her attitude caught him off guard and he let a grin slip out. “So that’s your angle; it’s just a game to you.” Still, he wasn’t entirely mad about it. Finn would take any chance he could to stick it to the locals. And maybe, just maybe….She could help him out in other ways.
There was no hiding that she wasn’t from around here, and he knew enough to know that color blue meant Zena. Those runes, though…Thinking on it, Finn lifted his staff and laid it across the table with an audible ‘thud’. The weapon itself was surprisingly ornate for someone of his status to have and clearly not yaeli in nature. There were a number of runes carved into the fine, smooth wood and when he ran his finger across them they snapped with little bits of blue fire.
“Do these runes mean something in Zena? The original owner...gave it to me, but I don’t know what they mean.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 12:25 pm
[Sabra via Discord]
Katori couldn't hold back the laugh that slipped from her lips. "Well don't worry I'm not planning on slapping any collar on you." She replied back with a small grin. "But if you don't want to eat then feel free to give it back." She teased lightly before jabbing the end of one of the sharp sticks into one of her own dumplings and plopping it into her mouth. Katori listened to the stranger as she chewed and couldn't help making a slight face at his words. "You're probably not wrong." She managed in between bites before finally swallowing. "I've learned Obans can be very pompous and rude." Still, Katori would not be kicked out without a good scene. It wasn't like she was native to the area so who cared if she got black listed? Good thing I made my purchases in advance. She could always send Taaru back in here if there was anything she missed though it would be hard to hide the family resemblance between the two hybrids.
The stranger's assessment of her actions was probably correct but all Katori gave was a slightly innocent shrug of the shoulders at the statement. A game was always better than simple boredom, right? Perhaps others would disagree but honestly? She didn't really care about the opinions of others. It was a little bit spoiled of her but Katori didn't care, especially if it meant helping someone else out over simply accepting the snotty attitudes of some bigots. Her thoughts trailed off whenever the stranger placed the staff on the table and Katori blinked a few times when she realized that it wasn't a simple walking stick after all. "Hmm." She reached a thoughtful hand out and her fingers hovered over the etchings thoughtfully. "If I may look closer? My family is full of mages so it's not like I could have ignored these things even if I wanted to do so."
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 12:26 pm
[4/10]
Before she could even finish the comment about giving it back Finn had his fingers on a dumpling. The look he flashed her was challenging, as if he was daring her to try anything. He very nearly swallowed the dumpling whole and only stopped to chew because he absolutely had to. Once the gate had been opened Finn wasted absolutely no time in devouring his plate. There were no manners here; no utensils were used, he didn’t even pause to breath, and he only stopped when he’d run out. Even then he had an eye on her plate, as if the moment she looked away he might nab it.
Of course eating so fast with such a small stomach had it’s consequences. There was a sharp, physical pain that settled just south of his ribs, but he was used to it. So much so in fact that he simply placed a hand over it and pressed, using sheer willpower alone to overcome it. So long as he didn’t throw it up he was fine; he’d been through worse than this. While she took her sweet time eating Finn busied himself with licking his fingers and taking the damp digits across the plate, absorbing as much of the leftover juices as possible.
“Go for it.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 12:27 pm
[Sabra]
Oh spirits. Katori resisted the urge to take the plate away from the guy. He acted as if he hadn't seen food in a while which wasn't completely surprising given his appearance but she couldn't help but to worry about his stomach. She had seen plenty of stray animals devour a plate of food before when they were near starved and in their haste the food hadn't settled well at all. Katori couldn't help but to grimace a bit whenever she noticed his hand moving towards his stomach. She was surprised that he managed to hold the food down and hide the pain so well. Last time I had that bad illness and I didn't eat for four days it was not a pretty sight. She reflected thoughtfully before focusing back at the staff he had placed on the table.
"Let's see..." Twisting the wood in her hands so that she could get a closer look, Katori ignored the flicks of magic as she skimmed over the runes. They had been worn into the wood as a sign that the staff had surely seen plenty of use and it took a few moments of squinting before she could start really reading them. "Hmm." Quirking a brow, Katori double checked the runes one final time before slowly passing the staff back towards the stranger. "Your friend must have been truly fond of you. It's a very fancy version of what I would assume is a protection spell." Strange though that such a spell would be given away. It looked to belong to someone of money probably a noble household...Katori pursed her lips thoughtfully but kept the question silent.
"Hopefully the dumplings filled you up though I'm not certain if you could taste them with how quickly they disappeared." She teased lightly as she studied him, her question placed aside for now.
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 12:28 pm
[5/10]
Finn leaned back in his seat with a barely restrained huff. His stomach was beyond fit to burst at the moment and he didn’t think he could sit up straight if he tried. His eyes stayed on the staff, though not nearly as intent as earlier. There was just something about having food in your body that made one almost lazy in their reactions. He might have had more sense about him if he’d slowed down, but that simply wasn’t in Finn’s nature.
I wouldn’t call it fondness. He took the staff and propped it up against his own chair, catching the eye of a few Obans who were sitting close by. They were trying to look as if they were looking at anything other than the two foreigners, but Finn could spot a gossiper. He let out a little huff and turned back around to give her his attention. “Some protection spell,” He groused. It hadn’t even managed to keep him alive so what good was it?
“Why? You got more?”
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 12:29 pm
[Sabra via Discord]
Katori made certain to catch the eye of one of those watching. She nodded her head pointedly towards the woman who immediately flushed and dropped eye contact. If they wanted to stare then let them stare. It wouldn't be her first time considering that she was such an out of place hybrid in the desert country. In fact she almost wanted to stick her tongue out but opted to just stick her chin up instead before turning back to face her new acquaintance. "Well you know magic works in mysterious ways." Quipped Katori with a slight roll of her eyes. "Though who knows? The spell could have mostly faded out or has some different understanding of protection. Could be a protection spell against theft or bad friends instead of being a literal physical protection for your body." She mused while tapping a finger against her chin thoughtfully.
"I could get more buuuut I have the feeling you should take it easy." Replied Katori as she popped the final dumpling from her own plate into her mouth. "Issue is that we're out of food now so I don't know how much longer we can stay." She kept an eye on the doorway into the actual store as if waiting on someone to show to shoo them away to make room for others wanting to eat. Even though there's several empty tables already. The hybrid pursed her lips before glancing towards the street. "Looks like the rain is finally letting up some. You have a place to go after this?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 12:38 pm
[6/10]
"The man who gave this to me died a long, grueling death," Finn drawled. "And I haven't exactly been all the better for having it in my care. Whatever kind of understanding it has of 'protection' clearly doesn't work." What had he expected, exactly? Some kind of answer that would magically clear up all of his troubles? Finn had known going into it that whatever kind of secrets this staff held it had nothing to do with him and that he'd likely only be getting himself into more trouble the more he dug around.
A protection spell against theft or bad friends? Yeah, not it. How many times had he been beaten to a pulp just so someone could steal his drop of clean water? How many times had someone extended a hand to help him out only to bend him over for it?
Furrowing his brow with a distrustful frown, Finn looked back towards the shop. He couldn't see the staff, exactly, but there was just something nagging at the back of his neck, like they were doing their best to keep an eye on him.
"Yeah, work." Taking that as his cue, Finn reached for his staff and pushed himself up, grunting a little as his swelled something throbbed. It likely wasn't the best idea to go in to work so full, but it wasn't as if he had a choice. "...thanks for the food."
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 1:42 pm
[Sabra Via Discord]
"Interesting." Katori pursed her lips as she took another long glance towards the staff in question. She had read the runes correctly, right? "My father and uncle would be better at this." She admitted after a thoughtful pause. "It is possible that the spell is faded or that something drastic happened to the original owner to warp the weave. I know many don't believe in spirits but a superstitious person would suggest that he left some trace of anger or sorrow that embedded itself into the staff. If the original owner was killed and then the staff stolen their protection could have twisted into a curse." The hybrid gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "There's always stories about such things but never any definite proof. My suggestion is that if you feel it has done nothing but given you harm then perhaps it is best to try and find a new staff soon." She thought of her own bracers that set comfortably around her wrists and how her family had crafted them out of love with a hope for her protection. If she wasn't careful could they end up with the same fate? Maybe at one point in its history the staff had happier days but now it seemed empty almost or rather silent as if keeping many secrets from the passage of time.
"You're welcome." Katori had quirked a brow at the idea of the stranger working but bit her tongue instead of asking about his occupation. "Oh wait!" Standing quickly she gathered her own belongings and moved to stand next to him. "I'm finished here as well if you wanted to leave together. I'm also afraid I never introduced myself. The name is Katori, stranger." It wasn't her place to offer him protection but something about the idea of a cursed staff made her wary to leave him alone just yet.
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 1:55 pm
[7/10]
While the rain itself had calmed it was still coming down fairly steadily, if nothing more than a mist at this point. Finn had assumed that she would wait out at least that much, but her eagerness surprised him. Why was she...? Why in the hell was she still talking to him? What about any of this said that he even wanted to be bothered, let alone that he gave a damn about her name?
"Do whatever you want." Finn tapped his staff twice on the ground and a thin layer of heat sizzled up around him. It was light enough to cause a mild frizzing in his hair, but warm enough so that once the rain hit his skin it would evaporate. Most of the time Finn didn't even bother; magic took a lot of his energy, but so would an illness. At the very least he could sleep off a mana drain. Without so much as looking as to where he was going Finn set out into the street. He cut off a few passerby's, all of which were annoyed, especially given the dismal weather, but he didn't seem to care.
"Why are you in Oba? There are better places to go."
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 5:20 pm
[Sabra via Discord]
Katori smirked at his response. "Sounds like a plan since I usually do that anyways." Making certain that her satchel was secured, Katori started after Finn and actually seemed to enjoy the feeling of the fat droplets hitting her skin. "Honestly I'm still not used to how hot this country can get." She admitted as she tucked back another damp strand of hair behind her ear. It was a futile effort considering how her movements often made her straight hair slip right back into disarray, especially in the rain, but Katori kept with the habit of at least trying. Though she couldn't help but to think about how much more rugged the Yaeli looked in comparison to her somewhat rebellious hair. I truly do have a soft spot for strays. A soft sigh nearly slipped past her lips before his question had her frowning. "Do you think so? Then why are you here and not in Yael?" She quipped back playfully. "I don't plan to stay for long but I'm out with my brother to see the world and Oba is a country you simply cannot ignore while doing so. There's a lot of ports here and in Matori which will help me if I do decide to cross the ocean soon."
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 5:39 pm
[8/10]
Just walking next to her was enough to get underneath Finn's skin. He tried to keep his eyes focused on the path in front of him, but instead he found himself looking at her out of the corner of his eye each time she spoke. Which was, as it turned out, a lot.
Her question, while playful, struck a harsh cord in Finn that caused him to immediately snarl back. "Don't you think I would be if I had a choice? Who in their right mind would want to live in this pit?" If the alkidike hadn't landed on their shores then Yael would be fine, just as it always had been. Instead everything had been turned upside down, he'd been ripped away from his one chance at happiness and now he was stuck here, in Oba, in the rain, with one loud mouthed mutt.
"That's cute, but it's stupid. You should pack up and go home." Seeing the world with her brother? I bet they get nice little inns, have dinner together and swap stories about their day before writing back to their parents. Everything from the way she dressed to the food she ate and how she acted told Finn anything he wanted to know.
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