Welcome to Gaia! ::

The directions had been pretty clear, and after a decent cab ride later, Naolin found Nyoka's apartment. After arguing with the cab driver over the fare and intentionally not tipping, he stood outside of the less than beautiful apartment complex with a raised eyebrow.

This was where an Amazonian queen lived? Interesting. Not that he was in any position to judge, though.

Naolin grimaced as he adjusted the strap of his shoulder bag. The bruises from Mexico were still fresh, and painfully so at that. In fact, the youth looked like he had fought with a bulldozer and lost. A really angry bulldozer.

Taking a deep breath, he strode forward and past the rickety gate to the building that held Nyoka's apartment, dragging a large suitcase on wheels behind him all the while. He didn't have too much trouble finding her place, and soon he found himself knocking on the door.

Despite his condition, he found himself mentally preparing himself in case the s**t hit the proverbial fan.

Naolin paused at the look she gave him, but merely gave her a half smile as he dragged his suitcase in behind him. "In a matter of speaking, they do." He finally said, recalling the hazy image of his sister, magic gone and leathery skin pulled against her bones. He also made sure to not offer Nyoka a gender to associate with the ordeal.

Should she ask, he'd tell her about it all, but otherwise, the youth saw no reason to offer up such information to her.

"Where do I set up shop?" The hummingbird finally questioned.

Naolin's face remained nothing more telling than thoughtful and attentive as she explained the layout and the details of his new home. While he surveyed the apartment, he made mental notes here and there about things. It was hard to tell if he just didn't care about the size of the apartment, or he excelled in hiding his true feelings. Either were quite possible.

Carefully, he wheeled his belongings into Nyoka's room for unpacking, and his gaze finally fixated on the main piece of furniture in the room, Nyoka's bed. He felt a tug upwards at the corner of his mouth. "That's, actually really kind of you." The hummingbird said in reference to allowing him to sleep on it when she wasn't around. Nicolai had even barer minimums as far as the living situation went, and that was by choice, for the most part. So, having both the pull out couch as well as the option of sleeping on a real, clean bed pleased him.

Of course, these digs were nothing like his at his guardian's, or even at Aylana's place. He wasn't going to tell Nyoka this and make her feel bad, however.

"Is it alright if I unpack later?" He asked while migrating out of the bedroom and into the living room. Chuckling openly when he saw the big, flat screen set up, he turned to raise his eyebrows at her, smile spread across his face. Clearly, Nyoka had her own set of priorities.

During the turning, the youth caught sight of a vaguely familiar picture in a frame. Squinting, he examined it from a distance before stepping towards it and picking it up. "No s**t..." He muttered, running a red thumb over the glass to wipe away a light layer of dust. Curiosity got the best of him. "How many years has it been since this picture was taken?" He asked.

He caught her smile out of the corner of his eye, and glanced over to get a fuller view of her expression. Once noted, he pulled his attention back to the group photograph, listening to her quietly as she spoke. That night, as far as he could remember, had been fun. The unconventional battle and the first time he got drunk.

s**t always seemed to hit the fan at big group Fa'e events, but somehow they ended up fun.

This was what the dream Paynal had told him had been talking about. Distractions.

He zoned off so deep that he simply grunted a response to her trailed off question. The knock at the door finally knocked him out of his deep thinking, and he followed Nyoka the short distance from where they had been standing to the door.

Again, curiosity got the better of him and he found himself standing to the side and behind the other Fa'e, peering at the whirling trashcan outside the door. "Uhm, what's that?" He said dumbly, eying it suspiciously.

The suspicion grew even more when it offered two letters, and even more when one of said letters had been addressed to him. "Who else knows that I'm here?!" He accused, stepping back sharply and glancing back and forth between the door, the envelope, and Nyoka.

He watched her closely the entire time she struggled with the envelope, but when she finally read it, Naolin simply let out a 'hurmph' of sorts before snatching his envelope. Once read for confirmation, Naolin glanced over at Nyoka. "Niyati," he said with a frown, running his hand over the gold medallion dangling from his neck that had been the prize from her years ago.

Smiling slightly at the serpent Fa'e's comment about weapons, he actually allowed it to grow into a small laugh. "My kind of woman, the battling kind."

Musing over this for a moment, he then shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sure we could Google it?" He offered, rustling around in his pants' pockets until he produced an iPhone. After messing with it a bit, Nao stepped next to Nyoka so that she could look over his shoulder.

Oh how he loved and hated technology.

"Looks like old Victorian kind of stuff with steam technology... Like that movie," he paused, closing his eyes and searching through his memory. "With the black smartass actor from Men In Black... Uhhh..."