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Despite a little language barrier, Nok figured he had made his point. Literally. He just pointed at a random item on the menu and prayed for the best. He didn't care what it was that he ate, really. What was important was just eating.

He was inspecting the strange fruit slice that was floating in the water intently now. Was this normal here? He was debating reaching in to pluck it out when his hand stopped short and his expression darkened. The mug was pushed back slightly, and a long moment of slow breathing passed. "No," he finally stated. "Didn't mean to be here. Got nabbed by them.. Dretch." He practically spat the name. Curse those monsters... "Stuck alone now. Don't know where home is."

Nok's gaze flicked up from his mug and did his best to judge what he was seeing. Among his various emotions, there was relief in seeing that Kura seemed to hold no love for the Dretch. "Not just stories. Real and big and.. cold." His gaze started to go distant, but he shook his head roughly to remain in the present. He wasn't there anymore, and that was all that mattered.

"Was me and others. We fought and found way out." He bared his teeth slightly with grime victory. "They surprise hunters, and we surprise them that time."

Nok quirked a brow as Kura dug around in her bag. That looked like a good, sturdy pack, and he was content enough to study it until the map was pulled out. He leaned forward to peer at the map. He'd.. never seen a map like this one before! His eyes followed her fingers, but he couldn't comprehend what he was looking at. At least, not until Yael came up. That tiny shape was the whole of Yael?!

He reached out almost hesitantly to compare the drawing of his home to his hand, and used that to measure between the two points. His face went a little pale. "I.. go so far."

Before he could fall into a further melancholy, his eyes snapped up to meet Kura's intently. She had gotten here, but not the same way he had! "How do you get here? How long is your trip? Is it easier than looks?"

Of course his eyes followed every movement of Kahukura's fingers. So she hadn't even come to Jauhar in the first place? She'd come from elsewhere. Walked, even! Maybe it really wouldn't be so bad? His gaze wandered to the rest of Tendaji, It was so big compared to home!

Nok's expression went flat as the list of threats went on. "I can handle all them," he assured with quiet confidence. "Except.. coin. Family keeps it safe, so got none with me." He squinted his eyes at the hybrid as though sizing her up again. Did he dare? "You... maybe got spare coin?"

Enough for the meal? Nok looked down at his hands with a frown. She was willing to spend her minimal coin on food for him? That.. was rather selfless for an Elarian. An Elarian hybrid. It was even more shocking than the decent conversation they'd had at their first meeting, and that alone had thrown him off quite a bit! That is, as long as she was telling him the truth!

Oh, he knew how to trade though! He perked up immediately to show Kura she had his attention, glowing eyes. One had to be mindful of possible tricks, but what other choices did he have? "What is you looking for?"

The waitress had to clear her throat to get Nok's attention. He leaned back as the plate was set on the table before him, focus temporarily diverted to the foreign meal. He squinted and cautiously pushed his knife into what looked like a thick ball of overcooked meat nestled on a pile of long worms. It wasn't quite what he had imagined; especially for having never seen noodles before. Well... beggars could not be choosers.

Still, his gaze rose to watch Kura with a hint of trepidation. Maybe he would let her take the first bite from her own plate...

Nok's eyes flicked between the plate and Kura, waiting with roughly restrained impatience shown through a twitching foot. He really wanted to eat.... Ah! Finally! She seemed happy enough and didn't keel over immediately. Caution was thrown to the wind as he scooped up a big forkful of the strange food and shoveled it into his mouth.

What was that flavor? What was that texture?! Ugh, it was weird! But damn it, he couldn't stop himself from swallowing and then shoveling in another bite.

It was after the fourth chomp that he cleared his throat long enough for a drink and to speak. "The Lunar Pearl? It will get us coin for a Yael ship? What's it do?"

Nok's brow arched with interest as he listened to the brief tale, a few noodles hanging from his mouth temporarily forgotten. A rare magic gem... That was sure to get him enough money to get home! He'd heard how much these foreign lands love magic. But, to have to crawl all over the strange lands with a hybrid of the worst creatures in existence?

Well, she had fed him.

He slurped up the hanging noodles noisily and nodded. "I can help. Just need the plan." That was when he noticed they were being observed. Nok locked eyes with one table and bared his teeth in warning; the scarring of his lips giving him an additional snarl. If they were planning to come take his food, he wasn't going to let it happen easily! He pulled the hood further over his face while ducking closer to his plate. "Is pearl easy to hide or big?" Back on topic.