[PRP || Jauhar] Questionable morals [Chimelu x Juno]

[~Kiana_Nala~]

This is a private roleplay between ~Kiana_Nala~ and Stereochrome.
Please do not post without their permission.

 

[~Kiana_Nala~]

Ast was a small town with a small portion of earthlings mulling around. In fact, from the looks of it there were primarily shifters and alkidikes--more so of the latter. They seemed to be welcoming enough but he felt a little uneasy walking around. Some people looked at him a little funny as if they should be shocked to see a wind walking around the area. Chimelu had to admit to himself that it probably was a little strange with everything that just went down. Some of the alkidikes might feel a little uneasy having him here too. He frowned at that thought. The last thing he wanted to do was cause trouble or unease.

"Hmm..." He said softly to himself. It took him a few moments but he found himself in a small inn that had a few specials. He got himself a cool drink and some kind of plate that had plants and stuff in it. When in Ast, do as the locals do, right? It was a mixed platter and the best description he could give it was plant stuff. His first bite proved to be delicious though! "Ohhhhh. Yumm." Chimelu said happily before taking another bite. His eyes strayed to the other customers sitting around and he realized a few at a back table seemed to be completely wasted but he was sure their drink hadn't been alcoholic in nature. Was this their last stop for the night?

Stereochrome

 

[Stereochrome]

~Kiana_Nala~

They arrived late in the afternoon -- the half-breed and the big oban beast, a brown-haired quhar by the name of Tamim. The beast was carrying packs, but it looked like a fairly light load given his size and apparent strength. They had been traveling for a while, and… admittedly, running a bit short on supplies. He hadn’t exactly planned for this detour, after all -- but he had heard some convincing rumours that a certain rare (and valuable) liquor was produced in the area, and he hadn’t been able to resist the temptation of his own curiosity.

The fact that they had run out of earthling-food didn’t bother the quhar much, what with him being happy enough to chew on just about any plant matter that came within the reach of his head. But Juno… Juno was getting pretty hungry. There hadn’t been anything to eat for breakfast, and even last night’s meal had been little more than scraps and drippings. So, by the time he got to town, his first priority was to find someplace to eat… and he didn’t much care where or what. He spied a small inn, left Tamim tied beside a patch of something that seemed digestible, and made his way inside.

His aquamarine eyes scanned the interior, quickly settling on the crowd of drunks towards the back. Hmm… they would be good intel, no doubt.

But once he had purchased a hearty bowl of… something, and started to make his way across the room towards them, he noticed something else altogether -- a wind boy, eating alone at one of the tables. Maybe, he decided, he didn’t quite feel like dealing with drunks on an empty stomach.

“You want some company?” He asked, already setting his bowl down on the table and pulling up a chair. “You look a little out of place, and that’s a lot coming from me.”  

[~Kiana_Nala~]

Chimelu had been absorbed enough in his own thoughts that he hadn’t noticed that the boy entered and didn’t look up from his own items until he approached the table. Before he could even respond to the boy though the stranger was already setting down his food—as if he expected Chimelu to say yes. Admittedly, he wouln’t have been wrong to assume that. ”Sure. Have a seat.” He agreed, despite the boy already making himself at home. ”What?” Chimelu was taken aback for a moment but quickly recovered. ”I look out of place?” He asked, not quite sure how or why he would be.

Chimelu took a look around the inn which had gotten a little more packed since the last time he looked around the room. There were variously aged people gathered inside but quite a few of them had liquor within their cups if his eyesight was accurate. ”What makes you certain I’m out of place in comparison to you?” Again, Chimelu couldn’t begin to wrap his head around why the boy thought he didn’t belong in here. Or was it what he was eating and drinking? Was it because he was a Wind? He honestly had no clue.  

[Stereochrome]

~Kiana_Nala~

“As out of place as a jungle in Sauti, mate.” Juno laughed openly, sort of amused to see the confused look on the boy’s face. Had he really not noticed that everyone else in the inn was a Shifter? Well, that wasn’t entirely true -- there were a handful of akidikes. But the looks they were giving the boy weren’t exactly what Juno would call ‘warm-hearted acceptance’. They weren’t downright hostile, or anything, but… there had been some sour murmurings in the air about Alkidikes invading Sauti, and things were a little on the tense side.

“‘s just that you’re the only Wind, that’s all. Well, you were the only one, until this half showed up.” He pointed at his sand-red hair, and grinned.

“But I’m half Shifter, see. So I’m only half out of place. You’re all out of place, and that’s more as long as my math is right. But don’t worry, I don’t mean anything by it. Just seemed like maybe you didn’t have anyone to talk to. Aaaand on that account, neither did I, so I’m not saying that like some insult. Anyway. How come you’re up in this town?”  

[~Kiana_Nala~]

Stereochrome

Never one to judge prior to having a reason to do so, Chimelu was blissfully unaware of what was going on around him—including the looks he was receiving from the Alkidikes in the inn. ”You’re part wind?” He asked with large, happy eyes. Once again the boy proved just how sheltered his life was considering he didn’t know any mixed raced people. Not that his parents or others minded either way.

Oh. So he was out of place because he was a Wind in a shifter ruled area. Did the strangers half-wind count towards that? Or did most just assume he was a shifter? Now Chimelu found he had a lot of questions with really no answers. Could he even ask those questions? ”Oh. Okay.” He added, trying to figure out how to even ask the questions he had floating around in his head. Choosing the safer route, he instead chose to focus on what the boy had said. ”I’m just traveling I guess.” He said with a smile. ”Trying to see new things, meet new people and maybe learn something a long the way.” That sounded like a good explanation. ”How about you?”  

[Stereochrome]

~Kiana_Nala~

This one, Juno decided, was definitely an odd bird.

Well, he wasn’t going to take it against him. He was a cute odd bird, for one thing -- what with his short mop of sand-colored hair and familiar Wind-fashioned clothing, a set of big, wondering eyes and a sort of confused-sounding lilt to his voice. He seemed to be rather friendly, too, and hadn’t taken much offense to Juno’s remark… or even the fact that the half-breed had settled at his table without waiting for an invitation. So he was alright, all in all. And it was nice to hang out with someone his age once in a while, after a few days of traveling alone.

“Oh, hey. That’s just what I was doing.” He grinned when the boy revealed his reason for sitting in a Shifter inn. “In fact, there’s a specific person I want to meet. See, I heard they make a good liquor here. Well, actually, that that there’s an old man somewhere in the jungle who makes a good liquor -- out of fruits and tree-roots and things like that. It’s real strong, and it gets more and more expensive the further away from here you get. So that’s a good trading opportunity, see. That’s the kind of thing my father taught me. So if I buy some here, and then I take it to Oba, I can make good money.

He nodded to himself and took a few more bites out of his meal before shrugging sheepishly. “I don’t actually know where to look for this old fellow, though. Apparently he’s sort of secretive… and I don’t know if the locals will want to rat him out to a half-breed like me.”