A good day! }{ PM me first please

[Talwyn]

((OOC Disclaimer!

Nanashi is not from Valear and still has some issues with the language. As such, he still uses his native language a lot.

Since foreign languages are not allowed here, I shall differentiate between English and his native language by using <>. Everything in between those brackets, is spoken in his native language. Imagine it being Japanese

Thank you.

))

Classifying the densely populated area was hard. It was too big to be called a "town", yet too small to say it was a city. So... did that make it a small city or a large town? Either way, what could be agreed upon, was that it was busy. Bustling and hustling, the inhabitants of the large town, or small city, were going about their daily morning routine.

Waking up, the foreigner stretched himself as he yawned, still half a sleep and wishing he could sleep a bit longer. When sleeping in a little alley connected to the main market square though, getting a bit of rest becomes so much more difficult once the merchants set up their carts and start their incessant shouting to showcase their wares.

Which they were doing now. Raising his hat a little bit, he peeked out onto the market square from underneath the rim, while at the same time wagging his finger at one of the kids that stealthily approached him, or at least tried to do so. Turning around to face the would be stealer of what little value he had, he smirked.

Over the past few days that he had been here, this particular kid had tried to pick his pockets multiple times. The first time he had even shown the urchin he had nothing of value, but somehow, it had become a game of sorts. Smiling back, the boy nodded and stalked off. Yawning again, he dragged himself to his feet, stretched once more and stepped out into the market square.

Checking the different carts and stalls, his mouth watered at the looks of the many edible and yummy looking items. Pausing at one of the merchants, he stopped and raised one of his feet to look closer at the straw sandals he was wearing, comparing it to the straw-rope this man was selling.

After some awkward haggling, he still had some issues with this language after all, he had bought the rope. Sitting down on a box near the edge of the square, he untied one of his sandals and started fixing it with his newly bought rope. After he was done, he put it back on and smiled, proudly one might add, he just couldn't help himself. A great warrior like him, proud that he had managed to fix his footwear. Sad really.

Walking around the square again, he felt the sudden need to turn back. Several armed men were, in-conspicuously, threatening a shopkeeper. Now, while it is hard to decide whether this was a large town or small city, there was no doubt about it being big enough to have some form of organized crime. Without a doubt, these men were part of the local thieves guild, trying to extort protection money from the man.

Deciding to ignore this, he preferred staying out of trouble, the one thing that had made his life miserable for the past eight years decided it was time to cause some more mischief. Kyoujikami, deity of misfortune and sealed within the sword he carried, had decided he was due for another demonstration of her divine powers.

And thus it happened. Tripping over a rock that was sticking out, he tumbled forward and bumped into the leader of the armed men, causing them both to fall to the ground. Naturally, the man jumped up rapidly and drew his weapon, yelling angry at the foreigner. With a sigh, he raised his shoulders and mumbled something. "<I'm truly sorry.>" The foreigner went on and on, bowing while repeating the strange words.

A figure in red robes and his partner were looking at the scene. "Well, well, well... what do you think of that? Suppose the silly chap has a death-wish?" The robed one asked his sword wielding companion. Turning his blue eyes to the spectacle, the wind ruffled his short, disheveled brown hair.

The foreigner just dodged the first attack, but it looked rather clumsy. "Well?" Impatience crept into the mans voice as he started to tug on his little goatee. Scratching the back of his head, the other man started to shake his head. "Nah. This guy knows what he's doing. He might look clumsy, but his movement is too well thought out. Look at how none of his 'stumbling' actually puts him in any new immediate danger. He's good. Really good."

The robed one snorted. "Pfft. He's a show-off then. Everyone hates those. Come on, let's move along." The swordsman eyed the fight a bit longer as he shrugged at his companion's comment, almost as if saying "takes one to know one" before moving on as well. This fight was over before it had even begun.

Side-stepping yet another attack, he grabbed his attackers arm and quickly broke it. Using the momentum, he swung the man around just in time to use him as a living shield. That was two of the four down. And the stranger hadn't even grabbed his sword yet. Eying his opponents, he raised his hands. "<Come on>, relaksu. Priesu!" His attempts at communicating was met with yet another assault.

Dodging, he sighed. "<Oh dear>..." No doubt disappointed that these men did not wish to 'relaksu'. Grabbing the hilt of his sword, he pulled it up. Since the cross-guard was tied to the scabbard, he pulled up the entire scabbard along with the sword. Catching one of the blows to his stomach with it.

Not wasting any time, the foreigner planted his knee in the mans groin, causing him to topple over, wheezing in pain. Grabbing the man's head, he pushed him down to the floor, slamming his face into the dirt. Sitting there, one of his knees touching the ground, the other at a slight angle, the foreigner eyed the last of the attackers. Who decided it was better to do as the man had requested and try to 'relaksu', before running off.

Frowning, he turned the knocked out one around, and reached in the man's pockets. Finding a pouch filled with money a grin appeared on his face. Surely they would not object to him helping himself. Getting up, he dusted some of the dirt of his pants and looked at the man he just saved. Running up to the foreigner the man started rambling.

Having no idea what the dear man was saying, he simply smiled and nodded politely. The tone of the man's voice and his expression gave him the idea he was being thanked. But with the speed this man was talking with... there was no way he could understand. When his stomach growled loudly, the man finally stopped and ran back to his cart.

Stuffing food in a basket, he handed the basket to his savior. Now that he did understand. "<Thank you very much>!" Bowing politely, the foreigner expressed his thanks at the food and wandered off.

With a splat, a pigeon decided to relieve itself on his shoulders. Looking at the stain, he sighed and turned his gaze skyward, silently thanking Kyoujikami for not sending bad luck during the fight.

Sitting down near one of the alley's, he grabbed an apple and tossed it to the kid that was once again trying to sneak up on him. Taking a bite of another himself, he sighed contently. He had fixed his shoe, gotten something to eat AND some money. Today, he decided, was a good day.

[WolfEnchantress]

Sian was sitting in an alleyway by himself when the fight broke out. Not that he would have particularly cared - Fighting was a part of everyday life, especially in larger towns like this one - but it so happened that the fight was interrupting his sleep. With a sigh, he sat up, casting a reproachful glare in the direction of the noise. He hadn't slept in nearly three days, having just come from the edge of Ularian. It had been cold - not too cold for the average person, but dangerously cold for him. So he hadn't stopped walking for anything; not food, minimal water, and not sleep.

On cue, his stomach growled. The first thing he'd done upon returning was drink water. A lot of water. And then he'd lain down to sleep, not an hour ago. He rose, leaning on the building to steady himself until the wave of dizziness faded and he could see straight again. he looked at his reflection in a shop window - he looked awful. Dark circles under his eyes, pale, hair wild. He looked like a beggar.

Eat, human, His demon snapped. He wrapped his cloak around him tighter - the cold seemed to have seeped into his bones he was having a hard time warming up with just pants and a cloak. It didn't used to be like that - but as time went on, he was more and more susceptible to the cold, no doubt the working of the demon. And apparently the cold was enough to let it speak. Not that it had any real compassion for him - it just wanted him strong. After all, should something happen to him, the demon would die.

Fighting exhaustion, he emerged from the ally to see what the fighting was all about. He saw a gang of men fighting against what looked to be a poor man. Immediately, he reached to his left side, grabbing the handle of the whip he wore; the one that had razor-sharp blades running the length of it. It was hidden by his cloak, but he prepared to take it out.

And then he stopped. The lone man was winning the fight. He didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat. Impressed, Sian stayed back and watched until the fight was over.

The fact that he was a foreigner was apparent when he spoke - and Sian didn't understand a word he said. No doubt the demon did, but he wasn't about to ask it to be a translator - as if it would help anyways, not if it didn't benefit in some way. But he did want to talk to the man, to see where he was from that he learned such fighting skills. He'd often wished he could learn to fight - he was a master with his whip, but that was it. Without it he was pretty much a hopeless case. As a human, anyways.

He ran a hand through his hair to try to tame it - a vain attempt at making himself presentable - and hesitantly, ignoring the second wave of dizziness, he stood from the crouched position he'd assumed and strode across the street. Eating and sleeping could wait - he didn't want the man to run off somewhere.

"Excuse me," He said politely in Common, before remembering that the man was foreign - and therefore didn't speak the same language. He thought for a moment. "Can you understand me?" He tried to use hand motions to get what he was saying across as well. He wasn't sure if it was a rude thing to ask or not, since the man probably just wanted to be left alone, but his fuzzy mind threw that uncertainty aside.

[Talwyn]

Eying the stranger, he smiled politely. He could understand what the man was saying, well, enough anyway. The man seemed to wish to talk. And he tried to be polite as well, he recognized the "excuse me". With nothing better to do, he figured he might as well indulge this stranger. If anything, it would give him a chance to practice the damn language a bit more.

"<Yes>, bit. Not good. <Sorry>." He laughed at his own feeble attempts of communicating. No doubt the stranger thought of him as a fool. Shaking his head, he gestured the man to sit down on one of the boxes with him and held out the basket of food he was given earlier. "<Take something, you look like you can use it.> Uuuhh... Take fuud. Is arright."

Putting the basket down again, he took another bite of his apple and looked at the market square once more. "Is... boosy, yes?" Laughing he shook his head again. "Arways dis boosy?" Obviously, he was trying his best to have a conversation in the Valearan Common tongue. Though it became equally obvious he wasn't that good at it.

[WolfEnchantress]

Sian obliged by sitting down and eyed the basket. The man had certainly worked hard to earn it; he would feel guilty taking any of it. But he was ravenous. Selecting an apple, he nodded his genuine thanks and forced himself to eat it slowly, lest he make himself . He took a few bites and and answered the man.

"I don't know," He said, shrugging. "I just got here." He assumed it wasn't always this busy - there was an awful lot of vendors for a town this size. It was likely a market day. But, then, that was a guess - maybe this was just an extremely well-economied town, and this was average.

"Where are you from?" He asked finally, after finishing the apple. He felt like he could eat a thousand more of them. "I've never heard your language." He again tried to charade his question.
Help would be nice. He snapped to the demon, who chuckled nastily in response.

I like seeing you struggle. It said, the thought filled with contempt.

And I'd like to see you gone. But that won't happen either, I guess.

He turned to the man again. "I've never seen anyone fight like you do." He grinned show that he meant it in a friendly way - some people took it wrong when someone was even remotely different from themselves.

[Talwyn]

The only sign Sian got that he was listening, was him nodding. Still eying the square, he ate his apple in silence before reaching into the basket for a second one. He finally turned to face Sian again when the man said he had never seen anyone fight like he did.

He stared at him a bit to see if he was being mocked or complimented before smiling in return. Shaking his head, he seemed to be looking for the words he needed. "I from Nippon... Is... common dere. Here... <people>... faito... uhm..." Pausing he turned his gaze skywards as he mumbled a bit, trying to find the right word. "Kroot?" Looking at Sian to see if the word was recognized, he smiled again when he noticed it was.

The sigh, combined with the look in his eyes, made it obvious he missed his home country. "Nippon faito... erreganto? Not rike here." Shaking his head he sighed once more. "I nanashi. Yuu?" Remembering that in Valear, it was polite to shake hands when introducing yourself, he quickly held out his left hand. Oh well, it was a nice try.

[WolfEnchantress]

Sian listened to the man try to find the words he needed to answer, hoping that conversation, no matter how short, would help the man learn to speak Common. He couldn't imagine living in a whole different place where he didn't know the language - he wouldn't do very well at all. Sian shifted to get into a slightly more comfortable position, pulling the thin cloak over his shoulders.

"Nippon..." He repeated, slowly, absently raking his fingers through his hair again. "I've heard of that. It's really far away." He didn't know much about it, but he'd heard the name before. He couldn't remember where he'd heard it, however. Maybe in a book. Back before he was going to train as a warrior, he was a book nut.

"I'm Sian," He said, grinning then. "Right hand." He offered out his own right hand and hoped he didn't come off as insulting. "I always used to get the two confused myself." He even still had to have a split second to actively think about what was right and left - directions were definitely not a strong suit. "How did you get here all the way from Nippon?"

And he flushed a bit. "I'm sorry if I ask too many questions..." He trailed off. His father had scolded him for asking questions all the time... But he'd never managed to break the habit when he actually stopped and talked to someone, which was rare unless necessary.

[Elf Prince Tekkarro]

James awoke that morning with a strange feeling in his gut. As he sat up on the bedroll, trying to knead the sleep away form his eyes, he tried to discern this feeling. FInally it came to him. "Hunger," he sighed to himself. "It's going to take a while to get used to that." He stood and gazed at the scenery around him. The littered back alley of a town was not necessarily the coziest place tot ake lodging for the night, but he kneeled and offered his prayers to the gods of Lintera anyway. He threw on his clothes, the black leather armor fitting agaisnt him snugly as he also wrapped a black silk robe aorund his body, keeping it clasped with a small silver pin. It was still too close to home and he could not risk being recognized. He decided to leave the bedroll behind, along with the scraps from his last meager dinner. The sun slowly began to rise over the small homes and shops, and he decided it was time to seek out his next meal, and perhaps some town gossip would have word of where he might find work. Right before he set out, he let out a sharp gasp, and immediately returned to the bedrool, and gathered up the bundle at the fot. UNtying a rather worn piece of rope ffrom the cloth, he allowed a small amount fo the brown cloth to fall away just so he could see the glittering of the sun reflecting off of the largest gem in the hilt of his sword. A blood red ruby, seeming to glow with a life of his own. James quickly returned the sword to its rightful place on his waist, tying the hilt to him with the chain belt around him. HE then set off to seek his fortune...or at least a square meal.

"The market district," James thought to himself, gazing at the blended races in the crowd, smirking. "Got to have some luck here." He began with browsing a few of the stalls. A rather pudgy man with dirty red hair was selling baked goods, and in the sellers spiel of the marketplace tried to coax him into buying one of his many pastries. James smiled and apologized, making it clear he wasn't interested in buying anything. As he turned away, he whipped his cloak around and grabbed a handfull of whatever he might get away with in the same swift motion, before walking away calmly, still wearing the same smug smile. "That was actually too easy," he muttered as he raised the first sweet to his lips, preparing to take a bite when he caught sight of a rather odd looking man, standing out obviously among the crowd. He thought of approaching the fellow foreigner, the thought of somebody else not from the local towns seeming quite pleasant, when the rather interesting incident occurred. James simply chuckled when he bumped into the man, but he frowned as he saw the tension building in the air. HE placed a hand on the hilt, already strangely warm, when he saw the foreigner begin to fight back. He was amazed at his agility and skill and stepped back ino the shadows casted by a building as to view form afar. It was quite interesting, all of it, and he was about again when he saw another man emerge from the shadows and approach the foreigner. HE allowed them to discuss whatever topic had come to mind for a while, when he finally decided to approach them.

HE first approached the foreigner, more interested in him than the other man. He bowed down, lowering his hood to reveal his face, smiling kindly. "Hello," he began, " sorry to interrupt, but I am not from around here either, I come from far away as well. My name is James, might I ask yours?" He waited before turning to the other man. "And greetings to you as well stranger, blessings of Sotharn upon you."

[Talwyn]

((OOC: Not a problem, it happens. I would, however, like to request you to remove your posts for the time being. Wolfie and I discussed it, and we'd prefer to keep things private for now. Thank you for your understanding.))

A sad look appeared in the foreigners eyes. "Nippon... very far... yes." When the man told him it was custom to shake hands with the right hand, he looked embarrassed and quickly switched his hands. "<Okay, right hand>..." Smiling he nodded his appreciation at the correction. "Sank yuu."

Then the stranger asked something silly. "How did you get here all the way from Nippon?" He looked at him with an incredulous look. "Boat." He answered. How else could one have come from Nippon to Valaer? "Is arright. I need... prakties?" Shaking his head again he laughed once more. Obviously this man was someone that never seemed to be in a bad mood.

Staring the other man in the eyes, his face turned serious. "Yuu must haf riezon to... spiek wit I. I not mind buut... <people> trai to aaah... <avoid> I." His gaze intensified as he was curious to know this man's reason.

[WolfEnchantress]

A boat. Of course it would be a boat. How else would you get across water? He'd been thinking of the small fishing vessels he grew up around and deeming it impossible to get that far on such a small boat... But of course there would be bigger ones. Why wouldn't there be? Just because he'd never seen one didn't mean they didn't exist.

When he asked Sian why he was talking with him, he hesitated a bit before replying, not sure if he was being dismissed. He dropped his gaze under the scrutiny of Nanashi, not particularly accustomed to making eye contact - it was another thing he avoided. When you made eye contact, people had a tendency to take that as a sign that one was open for conversation.

"I wanted to ask you if there was anywhere I could learn to fight like you do. Except Nippon." As much as he'd like to go there, it wasn't possible, he knew. He glanced up again. "I'm rather hopeless when it comes to fighting. I have some skill with a whip.. but that isn't always an option."

He didn't go so far as to take the whip out - usually it ended up scaring people off, or people mistook it as a sign of hostility. He met Nanashi's gaze once more, wondering if his question was understood.

[Talwyn]

Nanashi's eyes went wide as the man asked if there was anywhere he could go to learn how to fight like him. Being a bit humble, Nanashi never saw reason for others to envy his skills. That is not to say he wasn't confident in his fighting skills, because he was, but hearing someone wishing to be able to fight like him... it was rather flattering.

Casting his gaze skywards, he thought it over with a sigh. He hadn't fully understood what the man was saying, but it was enough. It also didn't matter what a "whip" was. Either way, this man wanted to learn how to fight like they did in Nippon. With a sigh he shook his head.

"I no think ies possible. Is only taught in Nippon..." The slight hesitation made it obvious he was reconsidering his answer. "No... not in only Nippon. Only Nippon people can teach." He corrected. "Buut... is hard. <Father> teach I when I was... <four>." He held up four fingers to clarify. "Nippon people never stop learn. Learn all life."

[WolfEnchantress]

Sian sighed, disappointed. He'd figured as much, but had asked to make sure. And if they started learning that young, even if he could go to Nippon, and did, he would never be as good as the rest of those who had learned since they were toddlers. That bit had been surprising.. if he was correct in assuming that that was what Nanashi had said, he started learning at age 4, then it was no wonder he was so skilled.

And if it was learned throughout one's whole life, he assumed that meant Nanashi couldn't just show him the 'basics' if he'd asked. That was how he learned to wield a whip without a teacher - learn the basics and work up. Granted, it had taken many lashes to his own person, but he figured out how to make it work.

"Then by coming here you stopped learning, right?" He asked. "What made you come all the way to Valaer?" He realized he was prying, and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer," He said quickly. He could practically see his father's disapproving glare. "You need to learn to keep your mouth shut, boy," He would say. "If people want to tell you things, they will without being asked."

[Talwyn]

Nanashi laughed, loudly one might add, as he slapped his knee. "No, did not stop. I still learning!" He pulled the scabbard out of the ragged belt and showed it to Sian. "Kenjutsu, learn everyday!" Gesturing to the stand where he had just had his scuffle with the ruffians he continued. "Dat faito... was lesson. Dis... konverzaasjon is lesson."

Dismissing the man's apology about his continuous prying with a gesture, he smiled once again. "Can not say. Hard story. Yuu wood not berieve riezon." Grabbing his basket of fruit he got up and reached into the basket, pulling out a banana which he tossed to Sian. Unceremoniously, he hung up the basket on the hilt of his sword, behind the cross-guard and swung his sword over his shoulder.

He had been here long enough. Besides, it had been awhile since he had had the chance to discuss the art of kenjutsu with someone. And so far, this stranger seemed like nice company. After a few steps he turned around to see if Sian was following him. "Yuu not come Sian-san? Can talk about kenjutsu."

[WolfEnchantress]

Sian accepted the banana with a nod of thanks and peeled it, again making himself eat slowly, difficult as it was. He didn't quite get what he meant by the fight being a lesson for the sword... Did he mean for himself? Is that how he was still learning? He rose behind the other, staggering a bit, and steadied himself before jogging a few steps to catch up.

"Sure, I'll come," He said. He didn't have anywhere else to be, and he was enjoying the conversation. A small thought in the back of his mind told him to leave, that he shouldn't talk to him because nothing good would come of it, but he - for once - ignored it. What could happen, especially here? They were in town, and he was warming up, if slowly.

"What did you mean by 'Kenjutsu learns every day?'" He asked, glancing at the weapon. It didn't seem like there was anything special about it. Then again, one couldn't always go by what they saw - sight wasn't always dependable. Maybe there was something about it. "I take it that it's different than the average sword?"

[Talwyn]

Unable to suppress a chuckle, Nanashi looked at Sian. His eyes sparkled with joy, showing he was rather enjoying himself. "Yuu ar kjuurieus one! Is guud. Very guud!" Still walking, it became more and more obvious he was getting ready to leave town when he seemed to consider something.

With a sigh, he handed the basket over to Sian. "Yuu kiep de fuud. Ies better." Humming the tune off an old Nipponese song he strolled past the guards at the gate, nodding politely. Only after they had left town, he seemed to remember the questions Sian had asked him.

"Kenjutsu." He started. "Kenjutsu not learn. I learn. Every day. Eve..." His speech got interrupted as he suddenly ended face first in the dirt. "I okay... I okay..." Since he was still lying with his face in the dirt, his voice was somewhat muffled. Getting up slowly, he dusted of the dirt. "Happens arr time. No worry Sian-san. I okay." Shaking his head he started walking again as he cursed in his native tongue.

Eventually, he handed over his sword to the other man, remember he had asked if it was different than the average sword. "Is katana. Nippon sword. Is same and different. Dis sword is... rooks rike normal katana. But is not. <Kyoujikami is sealed inside. She is the deity of misfortune... though you probably cannot understand a word I'm saying right now... and I have no idea how I should properly explain this in your language... I'm sorry>."

[WolfEnchantress]

Sian shook his head. "I couldn't. You earned this food basket fairly in that fight, not me." As tempting as it was, he wasn't about to take it if he didn't pay for it or otherwise earn it. He tried to stay a fair person. He was about to offer the basket again when Nanashi fell face first into the dirt.

"Are you okay?!" He asked, kneeling by his side despite repeated assurances that he was fine. He helped Nanashi dust off, accepting that he wasn't hurt or anything. He assumed by 'it happens all the time' that he meant it wasn't a big deal, as he would for most people, not having any idea of the sword's power.

Sian accepted said sword, holding it gently, impressed. He didn't have the slightest knowledge about knowing how good a sword was, knowing its worth, its strength, or how skilled it was crafted. But he liked it, he liked holding it and looking at it. He listened to Nanashi try to explain, then switch back to his native language, which he didn't understand a word of. But there was a stir inside of him.

What is it? What did he say? He asked. If it caused the demon to react, it must have been something worth hearing.

Nothing that concerns you. Give him the blade back, you've been looking at it long enough. Was the snapped reply. A bit startled, Sian handed the sword back to its owner, with a few choice resentful thoughts towards his other half.

"It's fine, you don't have to try to explain anything. I shouldn't ask so many questions that have complicated answers." He smiled a bit sheepishly. "But I do like the sword, even if I'm not really qualified to say so."