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Coming to Jauhar had never been a plan of hers until it became reality. Kahukura had booked passage with a caravan to the upper reaches of Oba, but when they offered to take her with them into the jungle she hadn't said no. It just...seemed a better deal for the money and well...her parents had told her it was rude to turn down hospitality. The caravan of merchants had fed her, embraced the hybrid as if she were an Oban and were genuinely sweet so she really couldn't say no even if she really didn't want to be here.

And now, here she was, without so much as two coins to rub together in a land that was both unbearably bright and overwhelming at the same time. The darkness of Jauhar's forest floor would have been comforting to the Elarian hybrid, had it not been for the horribly fluorescent fungi that haunted her at every turn. She'd reached out to touch one - just one - and it had glowed even brighter. So, after that, Kahukura bravely kept her fingers to herself.

At least she'd managed to find a...tavern? Or was it a restaurant? An inn? Whatever it was smelled wonderful, but also looked...busy. Shifting on her toes awkwardly, the hybrid pondering going in at all, when she caught sight of something skulking around the perimeter. Instead of calling out to it, Kura slowly reached into her bag....pulled out her slingshot and a shell from Matori....lined up her shot...and fired.

Kahukura's heart stilled the moment light from the nearby fungi caught on his blade. She may not have been able to make out clear details on her 'opponent', but that was unmistakable. What was she going to do? She hadn't intended on starting a fight, just to scare them away, but now here she was.

Well, there was a knife in her bag, but it was dull from chipping at wood to make skewers and to cut out roots for soup. Would it be sharp enough to fight off a sword? Likely not; especially since she wasn't prepared to fight with it. So, instead of trying to dig it out, the hybrid took a half step back. If need be she was fast and could outrun the attacker. Hopefully to someone that would help her, although probably not in this area, and at the very least to someone who wasn't armed!

But then the figure spoke and something in it caught her. Frowning, Kura tentatively gulped and took a half step forward instead. There still wasn't enough light to see their face clearly, but- "...Are you from Yael?" Her voice was shaky at best and only grew louder after a nervous gulp. "I never got your name, but we talked by the river?" If this was who she thought it was then why was he here? He'd acted so closed off and wild before that she couldn't imagine him voluntarily traveling.

Careful. Every sound coming from the Yaeli before her was aggressive - or was it defensive - which only served to heighten Kahukura's senses. She very nearly backed away once more, fully ready to leave him behind to his own capabilities, but she just didn't feel right about it. If anything he looked just as scared as she was; albeit with far more means to protect himself. Her grandmother would disown her on the spot if she knew just how much she feared an earthling in that moment.

"...I did." Kura nodded slowly. "I'm traveling and I've been in Jauhar for a little while now. I was hungry so I...." Looking at him, at the way he was skulking outside, made her wonder... "Are you hungry too?"

"I have a few things I can trade." And after a pause, she clarified, "To them. I can trade to them for our food. You don't have to give me anything." There were just too many unknowns here for her to feel comfortable leaving him out here like this, especially if he was hungry. Of course, he himself still worried her, especially given his propensity to bring out a sword, but...well...what else could she do?

Especially when he said please. She hadn't expected it and the shock of it caused her eyes to widen. "Just no weapons, okay? I'm putting mine up too." Slowly she slipped her slingshot back into her back and took a halfstep back, unwilling to completely turn her back on him, as she made her way around to the door.

"Um...actually, you can give me something for the meal. Your name. This makes the second time I've seen you and I don't know what to call you."

If Kahukura could have managed to walk properly she may have been an intimidating figure. Her Elarian blood had certainly given her the height for it, but the girls nervous nature came through in a crouched, unsure way of walking and were it not for the tie holding back her dreads her face would have been completely covered. The closer she came to the front of the establishment the more anxiety seemed to make her blood jump and just the noises from inside made her question whether this was a good idea or not...for a multitude of reasons.

"My name's Kahukura....but you can call me Kura. Everyone else does." Everyone being her sister and occasionally her father. Her mother and grandmother had always preferred the formalities. Taking a deep breath for bravery, Kura reached for the door and opened it, revealing the warm little tavern.

It was a well lived in space, with a welcoming atmosphere and a lot of locals bustling about. If she wasn't so out of her depth she might have found it nice, but here...Well, it mostly just scared her. So, instead of lingering by the door for too long, she looked back to make sure Nok was following and found a table for them near the back.

Kahukura had just slipped down into her seat, her eyes briefly raising to see if he - Goddess he was gone? Already?! It had only been - oh. No, he was just...waiting, by the doorway. Kahukura leaned around the table beside her, trying to get a better view of Nok and see if he was already when her head bumped into a waitress instead.

"O-o-oh I'm so sorry," She squeaked and pulled back to sit ramrod stiff in her chair.

"It's alright sweetie." The waitress - a shorter, stouter shifter - smiled and waved it off. "You waitin' on someone?"

"Uhm, yes but...do you have seats outside? Maybe?"

"Oh sure! They're just back that way, through the door. I'll let Miio know you'll be joining his section."

Giving into a shaky sigh, Kahukura stood up once more and instead of waving to Nok she went back to the door to get him. In her mind it made her less obvious, but in truth having such a blatantly foreign figure moving about the space just brought more attention to them. "....They have seats outside. Is that good?"

"Yeah, but we gotta go sit down first." Realistically it probably would have been better if they could just cut through the tavern and out onto the patio that way. Instead, Kahukura scrunched up her nose and peered around the edge. There was a walkway, just wide enough for someone to go through and clean, if moss or other things grew too thick on it's exterior, and it was to that pathway she pointed. "We can go that way."

This time when she led the way the Elarian hybrid waited just to make sure he was actually following her. She didn't take more than a few steps before looking back, even when she had to crouch just to make it under a thicker patch of vines and moss. If she wasn't as skinny as she was things may have been harder, but her waifish form allowed Kura to twist through a few spots before popping out mostly unscathed on the other side.