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Kayde stretched, quickly stepping aside for an angry Shifter trying to get into the shop he had just left, flashing her a shy smile as she nearly pushed him out of her way. All she did was glare at him before opening the door and disappearing. The Leaf shrugged. Maybe she was having a bad day. He'd give her the benefit of the doubt on that. As he often did with everyone. Getting mad all the time at unimportant moments that only lasted a few seconds wasn't really worth it. He wouldn't let it ruin his day.

Taking off down the road, walking on the side to avoid any carts coming and going, Kayde decided to wander aimlessly around the city. Elka was busy at work and he didn't want to disturb her. He had checked in earlier and, seeing the inn was almost packed with people sitting down to eat, had promptly left before she could notice he was there. She didn't need him there to distract her from work. He'd return much later, anyway, see if it was less busy. She would surely need something to cheer her up after dealing with all those hungry people.

For now, he turned into an alley, half paying attention to where he was going. Sometimes alleys had surprise, little shops that he liked to look over. Maybe buy something to help someone else just starting out. There wasn't always room on the busy streets for more stalls or tables. Maybe he would find something good to bring to Elka as a gift.

Though normally almost empty, it was always possible to find another person or two down an alley. Sometimes to do shady business. Usually because they got lost or were entering a building from the back. Rarely so close to the corner that he nearly ran right into them.

"Oh!" The sound came out in a breathy exhale of quick air, as if someone had punched him in the gut. Which was something he had some experience with. "Sorry. Didn't mean to--" Kayde couldn't finish his sentence, for he'd received another shock encounter. Something was moving in the Yaeli woman's bag? His first instinct was to think it a baby being carried as the woman did some shopping. Maybe ducked in here to take care of it. Though it wasn't screaming or even making quiet distress sounds.

Nor was it a baby. At least not an Earthling. Or Aishan. Or Kahi. What was...

Pointing at the animal, the Leaf man said quietly, "Is that a Radaku? In a bag?" He hoped he hadn't stumbled onto the first possibility of finding someone else in an alley, that of someone doing something shady. This looked like a smuggling.

At once, Kayde's hands went up in the air, palms facing the Yaeli woman in a show of self-defense at being yelled at. Far be it for him to judge what someone was doing. Radaku were a common enough mount, he didn't think it'd be too strange to find people walking them along on a leash or even carrying them in a bag perhaps, if they were young enough to get tired quickly.

"Hey, calm down. I mean both of you no harm. You just startled me." Still holding up his arms, the Leaf leaned in a bit closer, trying to get a better look at the pup. Looked like a wild thing to him. Or at least not very trained. His first guess was proved correct soon after, though. So wild. But also untrained. "It's not a crime to have a Radaku, you know." Did Yael not use them much? Was she new to Jauhar and didn't know? He had heard a lot about the Yaeli during his travels as an acrobat, about how most were too afraid to leave their homeland. Which always seemed a bit strange to him, considering they lived with the Elaria. Alkidike could be terrifying enough, but the stories told about the Elaria seemed so much worse. The rest of Tendaji couldn't be scarier than sharing your land with Elaria.

"I guess." the Leaf answered, raking his hair with one hand, giving up on trying to look non-threatening. Clearly it wasn't working, if she was protecting the tiny pup even closer. "It's where they come from. I didn't think they were an endangered or protected species." Unless something changed since last he looked. Being a man of odd jobs, Kayde knew a variety of weird things from his various different jobs or the strangers he spoke to while at work. "Don't think it's a crime to tame a wild one, either. Unless maybe you did something to the parents." His hands went back up, realizing his wording mistake. "Not that I'm accusing you of anything. Abandoned pups happen."

Suddenly curious, he walked closer to them, making sure to keep his distance as he kept going, around the Yaeli, to peer down the alley way. "Might be something down here. Should we take a look? Oh. And I'm Kayde. It's nice to meet you."

"Ah, no need to be sorry," Kayde answered cheerfully, stopping and looking back at the Yaeli woman with a smile. Not that it ever left his face. "I assume you're not from here." Clearly. It was odd to see a Yaeli outside of their home. As he understood it, they were an incredibly superstitious people who didn't trust outsiders and were mostly afraid to leave their large island to explore. As if the very air in other parts of the world would kill them when their air had been the toxic one. Traveling as much as he had had the benefit of enduring many history lessons from various people he met. "I've lived in Jauhar for many years now. Radaku are everywhere. Maybe this Earthling you saw was doing some illegal taming or hunting practices. Especially if the poor pup is traumatized."

Once more, the older Leaf raised his hands up in defense, his expression a bit softer. "Clearly you care for him. Would seem strange of me to accuse you of anything." Interested, he looked down one end of the alley to the other. Than shrugged and continued walking down the narrow side street, tuning a corner at the end to find himself now staring at a small table tucked away in the corner. Suspiciously tucked away in the corner. An old man sat down behind a bunch of colorful jars, looking back at him with a slight tilt of one grey eyebrow.

"Good day, sir," the elder greeted, though no smile touched his lips. "Care to see my wares."

"It's kind of obvious," Kayde said over his shoulder, quickly shooting an apologetic look at what he had said. Elka always said he was far too honest with his feelings, even if he tried his best to deliver them with a smile and a friendly tone. He wasn't out to hurt anyone. But sometimes he couldn't help saying things. It was always best to get things out into the air instead of holding them bottled up inside. "Not that that's a bad thing. I've travelled all over."

"I guess this Doesina is a good person, too," he added, assuming she was some kind of a local Shifter maybe. Made the most sense to him, the way Teletta was talking about her. Sounded like she knew her stuff.

At the table, he started looking over the different bottles, paying attention to the negative reactions from the pup. Probably some bad concoctions that would give people bad stomach's or make them sick. "I'm not sure. I don't usually buy from someone who is hidden away. Wouldn't you get more customers closer to the street?"

"Of course," the shady man replied, quick as a whip. "But it's very busy and I like my quiet. Helps me to better aid those looking for something." He gestured with a hand across the bottles.

Kayde ran a hand through his hair, careless of the way it stuck up more along the long side when he did that. Elka was forever smoothing it down and he instinctively patted it back down as if she were there to do it first.

"That's good," he answered, his tone full of sincerity. He never spoke with fake friendliness. Not once. Even if he wasn't impressed with someone, his tone was always civil and polite. There was no point in making a situation worse by taking an attitude. "She must be a very good friend indeed." He couldn't say he had any childhood friends. The other boys at the orphanage he had grown up in weren't what he would have called friends. He enjoyed playing with them, when they weren't teasing him over being slightly different from the others. But when the opportunity came to leave, he never once looked back or said goodbye. Elka was the closest to a childhood friend he had. He'd known her since his early teenage days.

The seller waved another hand over his wares, clearly proud of them. Kayde could swear he could smell the stink from them even this far away.

"Oh, many things, young lady." He picked up a light green one with a yellow label. "This one will boost your vitality." A dark blue one. "This one is perfect for curing illness of whatever kind." A yellow greyish one. "Did you ever want to temporarily see like an Alkidike?"

"Those are quite impressive," Kayde commented, his eyebrows slightly raised in displeasure. The seller seemed to take this as a compliment instead, nodding his head. Clearly a scam. As if it wasn't obvious from the fact he was hidden away in the alley. There were many honest potion sellers out in the main street. With stuff that probably tasted way better than this.