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Raquel and Lroey were led through a thick jungle area before the band of Arrans suddenly stopped in what seemed to be a thicket of trees. It was rather strange being barefoot in all of this, though Raquel had to say she didn't mind. The earth beneath her feet felt lovely, as did the humid air that smelt vaguely sweet. Raquel looked back to Damian, a bit entranced by the greenery around her. She had to admit, she must look funny walking around the jungle wearing practically nothing. Though with this heat she was glad she wasn't wearing more.

Richard was beginning to wonder why they weren't going anywhere when suddenly he had his answer. The ground below them began to move...upward. It seemed they were on a hand made elevator of sorts, made from sticks, vines, and bamboo. Some cleverly disguised railing came into view a they were lifted up into the trees. Raquel grasped Damian's hand tightly, standing a bit close to him, and as far away from the edge as possible. Spending her whole life, lying low near the filth and dirt of the streets, away from the higher society, gave her this strange but purely psychological need to stay lower than others. So this ride up and up made her stomach turn to say the least. She wasn't afraid of heights...she just disliked them.

Raquel's obvious discomfort seemed to melt away entirely when the reached the top. It was like some entire city, built into the trees. Raquel's eyes sparkled as she gazed at the various elevated huts and buildings, but what was more interesting to her were the hundreds of furry little Arran's scurrying to get a good look at them.

Ricahrd looked at Lorey , loving how happy she seemed. It made his heart swell and relax greatly to see her smile like that. With a sigh, he turned his attention to the crowd of Arrans heading there way.

A few of the females, who wore flowers in their fur and simple little dresses, came running up with neclaces and head pieces made from flowers and vines. Two stepped forward, each one taking either Lorey or Raquel's hands to bring them down to their level. They placed a neclace and a small crown of flowers on each one's head before hugging them as if they've known them for years. Raquel seemed pleasantly surprised and gave Lroey a look as she hugged the little bear back. During that, 2 pairs of male Arran's stepped forward, on n the shoulders of another, so that they could reach eye contact with Damian and Richard. They had little leaves in their hands with a strange brownish orange paste. The little Arran's started with Richard, paining little lines on the sides of his face then one down the middle of his forehead. Richard laughed and thanked them glancing to Damian. "Its their way of welcoming us..." He explained, looking back to Lorey to admire how beautiful the little flowers looked on her.
The other set of Arrans did the same face painting to Damian before jumping down and running back to the crowd that had grown larger in the short amount of time.

A few of the younger Arrans approached Raquel and Lorey, poking and proding them, some playing with their hair and making silly noises as if they had never seen a human woman before in their lives. Two got a little cheeky and decided to try and look up the girls skirts, curious as to what they hid under their flowy clothes. Raquel laughed and held Damian's shirt down over her knees patting the little naive Arran's on the head as they continued to ooh and ah over the two lovely women.

After a few more moments of this, the large crowd of Arran's seemed to start to split in half. In the center, and older looking ,almost completely white one came forward, wearing a very intricate headdress. the fur around his face was long and well brushed, all signifying he was someone of important. A few arrans bowed while others just stood back. "He's the king...the leader here..." Richard explained with a slight nod of his head to the older Arran who smiled a nearly toothless grin. He approached the girls first, looking them up and down before nodding his acceptance. He then looked to Damian and nodded as well before stopping at Richard. He outspread his arms and hugged his leg affectionately before saying something unaudable. "Nice to see you too...Oonada ten unto..." he said, shaking the older Arran's hand. "This is Ootan Everyone.." he said as he repeated everyone's names allowed for Ootan to hear. Ootan seemed glad to have visitors until he saw Enty. He gave him a glare then started barking at Richard. Richard held up his hands defensively and tried to calm him down, explaining their reason for being there. Ootan seemed to give him a warning but then let it lie as he looked off into the horizon at random.
"Norada Suanali de feasto!!!" He shouted, which was followed by a shout of applause and cheers. Richard smiled as he looked up at the others.
"They want to have a feast for us..." He laughed a little as the little things scurried to prepare a meal for their guests.

Raquel stood and looked to Damian her eyes looking so vibrant among the other greenery, and also from the orange lighting of the setting sun in the distance. She laughed a little at the paint upon his chest. She reached out to take his hand but was promptly swept up by a bunch of furry hands, leading her and Lorey as well off somewhere. She gave a amused but confused look to the guys as they were led off. Richard merely laughed. "I honestly dont know where they're taking them...probably another tradition..." he laughed a little, taking off his shirt since it was getting a bit too hot for his tastes.
Poor Enty merely sat on the edge of the platform, grumbling about how he hated this place.

Raquel and Lorey were whisked off to a small hut where sweet smelling flowers were hanging from all over. as soon as they were led there, most of the Arran's left, mostly the males, and just a few were left inside with the two girls. They then proceeded to attempt to remove their clothing. Raquel just sat there sighing, though afraid Lorey would panic. "Hey now, watch yourselves..." She warned the little She-arrans who seemed not to listen. While they were busying themselves trying to unbutton and slip off the girls outer garments, others brought in brightly colored robes, that were almost...kimono like. When Raquel saw these, she helped them unbutton the shirt, slipping it off without much problem. Though fascinated with her so different anatomy, they seemed more concerned with the bandage around her wound. A few chattered slightly to themselves before trying to undress the wound as well. This is where Raquel drew a line. She tried to stop them but they had already exposed the still slightly raw flesh. They proceeded to lay her back a bit and applied a thick brownish paste, much thicker than the paint they had used on the guys. Her wound seemed to sting fora moment, making her grimace, but suddenly went numb. She smiled a little realizing they were helping as they redressed her wounds with some brown cloth. She looked up to Lorey to see if she was having any trouble. She would do her best to look out for this girl as she could. She felt as if they had gotten close back when they spent the day shopping, but couldn't help but feel at the same time ,that she had messed up pretty badly with the whole sveriana thing.

Richard didn't give him eye contact at first. After a moment he finally looked up at him and gave him a small but sincere smile. "Hey... I couldn't just leave you there could I?" He shrugged, turning away. "Besides...You offered us a place to be safe for awhile...despite how short that lasted...we still owe you for your kindness..." His words about Damian's kindness seemed real enough, it was the little bit of spite when he said 'how short it lasted' that gave any hint f anger at all. Though not at Damian. Richard really couldn't be mad at him for anything except for bringing along Raquel...

Raquel had her eyes closed as she was getting a small message. She opened one eye and looked to Lorey before smiling. i"m fine really...stings a bit, but I've had worse...A lot worse..." She chucked as the smaller Arrans started to play with her hair as well. "How about you? Sveriana didn't add to your wounds did she?" She asked a bit concerned as she sat up a little.

Richard sighed. He really didnt want to have this conversation. "Look Damian...Its not that she brought Sveriana back...I mean at first it was just a horrible moment...but i knew deep down that I would have done the same for Lorey...but still...she dint really have a plan...we all could have been killed right then and there...and-" he stopped. "Even if she was acting for your own safety...I doubt it would have meant anything...I know Sveriana's type. Sick and twisted. She might have juts went ahead and killed you to add to her high and watch Raquel writhe, It's just how she is." He looked back at him, wanting him to realize how serious he was about all this. "That and Raquel is still dangerous. The fact that she and Sveriana still had contact-" he sighed. "I've come to terms that she didn't kill Rose...I'm starting to see that now...but standing up for one life when countless others were lost at her hands...It doesn't make her a hero...nor a victim." He let those words sink in as he turned to elan against a railing to the side.

Richard thought for a moment...of all the times he had seen her cry.. but all were small outbursts of pain...nothing as deep as he described. He sighed and shook his head. "Like I said...it still doesn't make her the victim...The awful people who may have hurt her or even killed before her are just as guilty as she is for her own crimes. A crime is a Crime no matter who commits it...trust me on that..." He said, looking away. During his life of being a cop, Richard had seen some horrid things he wished he could erased. What was hardest was how that no one got special treatment. You weren't supposed to be forgiven for a terrible crime just because of who you were...it was supposed OT be even all around. But within all that bad, he learned a lot more..He learned and had to keep his feelings out of the way for fear compassion would lead to his death...he hoped it wouldn't lead to Damians. He walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just....Be careful....alright?" He added with a kindness and sincerity he had never used with Damian before. He was going to say more but they were summoned over by Ootan to join the others around a bonfire they had built with food all around it.

Once he had them settled, some Arran's started to play various tiny instruments as the girls were led back out. Little Arran's pulled the two girls along, who were now adorned with various colors braids and flowers, dressed in the flowy yet elegant robes back to their loves who were waiting eagerly.
Raquel had on the silky green robe they had given her, Though had a hard time keeping the slik material from slipping off her slender shoulders. When she saw Damian, she smiled shyly the laughed as she turned around for him. "What do you think?" She asked, smoothing out the robe with her small hands.

Raquel blushed, finding herself just drawn to his open arm. Before she realized it, she was in his arms, sitting next to him on the floor, trying to hold herself and all the glitz together. "This is...different..." She said a little uncomfortable at the extravagant robes. She had seen silk robes before...but they weren't real silk. just a Shep, shoddy imitation that looked as cheap as it was to make. But this....this was something amazing to her. She could see that Lorey felt the same way. it was one of the few things the two girls had in common.
But Raquel turned her attention to Damian, her once sparkling eyes seemed to radiate contentment now as her pale skin seemed to glow in the firelight. The sun was just starting to set, and to her it was a bit cliche but in a good way. Damian's lean body made her blush as the shadows and light from the flames danced upon his bare chest. She smiled at looked up at him. The sun seemed to be set perfectly behind him, making him more radiant than he already was in her eyes. "This is quite different too... " She noted, trying to divert her obviously staring eye. She picked at the paint on his chest, the taped his nose with a small laugh.

Richard practically stumbled all over himself as he tried to stand out of his normal, overly gentleman courtesy. His face was blood red as he held his shaky hand to her. "You're....wow...." he breathed, feeling like a gawky teenager again. "L-erm excuse me-L-lovely.." even his voice was shaky as he escorted her to a seat near him.