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The meeting had gone well, and Oduin had been told immediately afterward that the guard would be happy to have him on, and that he could relocate from his current hostel to the barracks. They'd have a specific assignment for him in the morning when he reported for duty, and he had the rest of the day to move what few belongings he had into the part of town reserved for the rich and the powerful.

He made his way cheerfully through the streets, feeling a rush from knowing he'd done something right. He was getting somewhere, and the reward that came with marked progress always made him doubly enthused to put in the hours and the effort. The new experiences were nothing to complain about either. Never before had Oduin lived in a barracks with a company of others, and he'd have to learn how to share, he supposed. But it was all in the name of figuring out this whole thing called life, and he was happy to do it.

As he wound his way through the streets, he came across a familiar-looking river. Koray's house was on his way back to the hostel, and judging by the sun in the sky, he had a bit of time before he needed to hustle to transfer his belongings over. Remembering what Koray had said the week before, he made his way toward the house, only to find the boy leaning against the window, staring at some indeterminate point in the distance.

"Hey, Koray!" Oduin said, looking up from where he stood to the window.

"It went well!" Oduin said with a bob of his head. "I'm supposed to move over to the barracks in the middle of the settlement today. I was just headed back to the hostel."

He hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was the socially appropriate gesture to accept the invitation inside. But it was hot and a nice drink wouldn't be the worst thing - in fact he'd only just been thinking about chugging a nice flask of water the moment he got home. So he shrugged and nodded lightly.

"Yea, sure, it'd be stupid of me to say no to a drink in this weather."

Hopefully nobody would bust into the house and demand to know what he - a perfect stranger - was doing here. Oduin decided that staying near the door would be the best option, perching himself at a seat that was most accessible to the exit (and therefore also the least intrusive into the home).

"Water's good," he said with an easy smile. "They haven't told me what part of the city I'll be assigned to, but they should know by tomorrow. Probably got a bit of training for a couple weeks and then rotate into one of the companies."

To be honest, he wasn't totally sure how it all worked, This kind of structure was nowhere to be found in Sauti, and his family certainly had no experience of any sort. Everything was new, which was honestly half the fun.

"Yea, the barracks will be interesting! I've been warned they aren't the nicest, but I've stayed in some pretty sketchy hostels, so it can't possibly be worse than that," he said.

"Yea, and I have no idea where they might put me. Could be anywhere in the settlement," he said, nodding a little, and then breaking out into a smile. "Hopefully a part I haven't seen before though! There are areas I'd never think about visiting on my own, so this could be a cool extended field trip."

He took a few gulps of water out of the glass, looking terribly pleased to be hydrated. "I think there are uniforms, but they're simple, unless you get assigned to a specific person's guard and they have their own uniform," he said. He'd never worn a uniform either, and wasn't too sure what to think about the institution. "And it seems like the barracks will be alright, don't worry. These seem like halfway decent people."

And if there was anything Oduin didn't worry about, it was making friends.

"What about you? What have you been up to?"

Oduin chuckled and shook his head. "Yea, man, it's a big city!" he said with some measure of amusement. He'd only been here a week, after all. And truth be told, he was still busy adjusting to the hustle and bustle of the place.

"Plus, I don't spend much time actually exploring." He pursed his lips and counted quickly on his fingers. "I've spent six of the last seven days doing some form of training or other. I figure the job will show me part of the city."

But mostly, he just didn't like to skip what he considered a crucial part of his profession. The fact that he thoroughly enjoyed training didn't help in the slightest.

He was still somewhat musing on this thought when Koray suddenly rushed out of the room and then reappeared holding his hands behind his back, and Oduin abandoned the train of thought to focus on the moment. "Oh! You really didn't have to," he said with a smile. "But uh..." He thought of the embroidered handkerchief. Probably something needly as well. "A scarf of some sort?"

That was true. There was not real need for a scarf down in the balmy land of Oba. Sweltering, even. Oduin found it both hot and unusually humid, but that was all part of the experience.

"Wow that's beautiful!" he said, eyes wide as Koray handed him the belt. "This is fantastic. You did an amazing job with this." He unraveled in slowly, running it through his hands as he took in the handiwork. So much attention to detail.

"You really do have a talent for this stuff, you know," he said, finally looking up from the belt. "You could probably sell these for some good pocket change." Maybe even make a living out of it, if that was what he wanted.

"Sounds like something a real crafter would do," he said with a wink. Oduin slung Koray's belt over his shoulder, freeing his hands to undo his current one and pull it out with a flourish. His old belt was plain, but supple with years of wear, and he paused to roll it up and tuck it into his pocket before sliding the new one on.

"This fits perfectly!" he said, sounding pleased. "Thank you, Koray! This is a beautiful gift. You seem to have a knack for giving out things that money can't buy, which is a real talent." Somehow, it seemed like things that had been made with passion seemed to just work. Oduin didn't know why, but he wasn't about to complain.