Don't Climb Your Mountain, SPEAK To It [nephero]

[GoblinFae]

Ketra.

It had been a long while since he had made it this far south and he had to admit, he was not enjoying the increasing temperature. The southern Kilanthro Mountains he had had to cross into Serendipity were so different than those to the far north where he hailed from. There had been no true endpoint destination in mind as he had traveled. Segari simply went from place to place as he was needed. He stayed long enough to find odd jobs and left once he seemed to longer be needed.

The war had driven away from the lands he had called home. Humans in Connlaoth did not take too kindly to people like him who were strange and different. He had no interest in fighting in their wars or enduring their needless suffering with them. He had suffered enough loss on his own without bearing more of that weight upon his broad shoulders. So he flitted from place to place in Serendipity until running into a lost and down-on-his-luck merchant trader in Ravensway.

The poor man was traveling with his young daughter with the intent to trade Tsina-dyed skeins from Tirial and Fallial to buyers in Ketra. The problem was, that after a series of unfortunate events he had gotten so lost and turned around that he had ended up heading too far west and not far enough south. Segari was all too happy to help.

Misfortunes continued to plague them from heavy rains and broken cart wheels to bandits and even a lame horse. Segari took it all in stride in his own quiet way as he helped keep them moving forward. The treat of the entire venture was the time where the giant of a man was able to entertain the young child and maker the hours pass with her laughter.

Their final parting of ways was a relief though. Segari accepted his payment humbly, a coinpurse from WIlliam and a hug from little Violet, and made his goodbyes quickly. While he had enjoyed being around a child again for several weeks, he had begun to feel the uneasiness that came from being in crowds settling in the closer they got to Ketra. Now here at last, all he wanted to do was find a nice quiet place to hole up in preferably with a hot meal.

His eyes scanned the hanging shop signs, trying and failing to find one that had a design on it that remotely resembled a possible food item as he weaved in and out of the crowd. The more he searched, the more disheartened and distracted he became though.

Was it really so hard to ask for a shop to have a block of cheese or a tankard of mead on its sign?

Apparently.

He snapped his head first to one side and the next as he strode faster through the crowd. Segari's stomach growled in protest at the idea of food that was still being denied. He was not one to complain but all the traveling he had done and the small portions (for him at least) had left him with a constant sharp edge of want for food. It just served to make him more frustrated that he could be in such a large city with so many people and still struggle to find a place to buy food from.

He was so focused on the signs and not braining himself on the lower hanging ones that he forgot watch the crowd. It was only when a very sudden and solid thud crashed into his torso that he came to a sudden, startled halt. Segari looked down, wide-eyed and stunned to see just what or who he had unceremoniously plowed into like a bull into rotted fence.

[nephero]

   Ana was used to being taller than most. While not terribly lanky for one of his House, he certainly wasn't small. It had a couple of benefits, of course. There was the ease of reach, the length of sight. But there were a few detriments as well, if he were being honest.

   The first being that since most places in Ketra were indeed built to cater to human builds, he often had to duck his head to avoid things like hanging signs or low posts, or under the tented canopies of the market stalls. The other detriment, in combination with his altogether foreign coloring, was that he stuck out like a sore thumb even on the busiest streets.

   Pallaton had given his word that nothing would befall the elves during the brief time the Regent "borrowed" Ana's bodyguards. The thought of them out there, outside of Ana's sphere of control, it was enough to set his stomach to roiling. They were out there, Valys with his open, infuriating mouth and Rhosiris—

   No. No. Regent Valerius gave his word. And that extended to Ana himself while he remained behind. Well. Behind in the castle. But Ana couldn't stay in the castle forever. He needed to be out, his people needed to be out, they needed to go and reach out and follow along the fine print until they reached the bottom line and...

   And none of them would do that, sitting in the castle like scared birds. Protection or not, Ana needed to get out into the city, needed to understand how these people worked, needed to make it as natural to himself as his own feet against the ground.

   All of this need, though, didn't stop him from being a six foot tall pearl-skinned elf in a sea of copper-brown skin and dark hair. It didn't stop him from looking wide eyed and wondrous around himself, and it didn't stop his eyes from lingering a bit too long on displays and a bit too far from his own bags. Like a sign warning of pickpockets, his awkward gait through the crowds picked him out as a foreigner, and one terribly alone.

   Still, even the deftest fingers didn't stop an elf from being an elf, and Ana frowned in a moment of confusion before realizing the breathing that had been happening so close to him had lingered there overlong. But, as with most things, he took too long to notice, and like a shot, one dark haired head was streaking through a sea of others.

   "Hey!" He shouted, though it was silly of him to think that yelling out would stop the thief any. Quickly, so quickly, he turned to pull his satchel close, opening it quickly to see just what had gone missing.

   Ink, there. Pens, there. Pins, there, focus, where was the focus—

   Thud!

   For a moment Ana was sure he'd run headlong into a wall. Or an ox. Or some unholy mix of the two. The force of the impact sent him backwards, and he very narrowly avoided toppling straight back into a box of fruit. Fruit that would not, in fact, survive the impact of a six foot elf landing ass-first in it.

   That seemed to be the concern of the stall owner, as well, because before Ana could reorient himself, the stall owner was setting in, yelling in agitation and sending Ana in yet another backwards motion, away from the stall and back into the wall-ox he'd hit moments before.

   It seemed like he was doomed to keep running backwards into things, and it was with no small amount of embarrassment that he turned again and came face to face with a... a chest.

   Ana was used to being taller than someone else. What he wasn't especially used to down in the southlands, was being smaller than anyone else. Slowly, painfully slowly, he turned his eyes upwards, half expecting to see an Antares rather than who stood there. Not that Ana was far off— fire-red hair and warm red skin and so damn tall that for the first time since meeting these humans, Ana had to crane his neck to look up into a heavily bearded face.

   Almost too slowly, Ana remembered himself and shook out of his silence.

   "My apologies, I wasn't— looking where I was going. You're not, uh, hurt are you?"

   A laughable notion at best, that he could've possibly done any harm to the veritable giant in front of him.

[GoblinFae]

Segari placed a steadying hand on the poor dear's shoulder as she bounced back off the fruit stall and into him again. He offered the incredibly pale figure a gentle squeeze that he hoped was comforting even as he shook his head quickly. He was unharmed although he was concerned that the other person could not say the same.

The incessant squawking of the stall owner however took precedence over asking after the ghost-woman's health. Segari held up a hand to get the irate man's attention before reaching into the coin-purse at his hip and producing some coins. The merchant immediately stilled and crossed his arms, a smug and almost challenging expression on his face as he did so.

A man of few words, the giant man did not let it affect him as he first pointed towards the fruit and then motioned that he wished to purchase two of the crabapples. They were a bitter fruit and small but Segari only sought to make peace with the vendor rather than consider the taste of them in that moment. He paused to squint at the sign listing the price as if by looking with narrowed eyes he would suddenly be able to decipher what the squiggly lines of mountains and rivers actually meant.

He wasn't.

The merchant demanded two silver coins of him which he easily delivered, oblivious to the fact he had been overly cheated. Segari was an honest man who expected honesty from others at face value. If people were that desperate to lie then he would let it go. They needed the money more than him.

Instead of dwelling on the cost, his thoughts immediately turned back to the slender woman before him. He offered one of the two fruits in his hands to her with a shy smile. "Err, sorry for um, running into you," he stumbled over his words, his voice sounding like gravel being slowly dragged against smooth stone. He then reached an arm around the woman's shoulders to lead her away from the hawk-eyed vendor so they could make their reparations elsewhere. "You're not hurt are you, Miss...? I uh should take better um care where I walk."

[nephero]

   Ana frowned, hard and heavy, as he regarded the sign above the stall and what was being said. He opened his mouth, prepared to argue that two silver coins did not equal to two crabapples, not according to the pricing, but too late. The coins and fruit were exchanged, and Ana could only glare hotly at the stall-tender for taking such advantage. Hadn't the mountain seen the sign? He seemed like he'd looked at it, but maybe Ana had just been at a weird angle.

   Still, either way, too quickly Ana was being led away, a strong hand against his shoulder, the weight of the limb a strong parallel to the smooth richness of his voice, and for a moment Ana felt... shy, about answering. He turned the crabapple over in his hands, and looked up through pale lashes at the sheer volume of person he'd bumped into.

   "Oh! No. No, no, it's my own fault. I'd been looking to see— I thought I was missing something, I think I... I'm thoroughly sorry. You didn't have to do any of that, these were terribly expensive." He gestured at the crabapple, before taking a tentative bite to avoid seeming rude. It was a little difficult, his fangs not built for the smoothness of the fruit skin, and it took a bit to find enough purchase to where he could puncture and bite.

   "I'm not hurt, I promise. Just a little embarrassed, I suppose. I don't expect to get pickpocketed, I usually have other people with me that tend to look... way, way scarier than I do." He laughed, a little at his own expense, and a little at the idea that it was mostly Rhosiris' wary scowl that did the trick.

   "I feel badly, you spending your money on my account. Can I get you anything to make up for it? Maybe something to drink with the... ah. I'm afraid I don't know the word for this," he finished, holding up the fruit with a bite out of it.

[GoblinFae]

Segari shrugged at the mention of expense. Such was life in a big city. Everything cost a small fortune just to get the same basic amenities a man could farm for himself alone. Instead he rubbed the woman's shoulder gently in what he hoped was a comforting manner before allowing his hand to fall away. The last thing he needed was the poor dear thinking he had ill intentions.

He almost mentioned that it might be better with honey given its traditional bitterness but by the time he had managed to command his tongue, she had already taken a bite. Not one to judge though he posed another question instead.

"Err do you require assistance finding your friends then? Are you lost?" He looked up and around as if the act of doing so would make aforementioned friends suddenly appear. Her laughed eased some of his own wary tension, allowing an answering smile to briefly pull at his lips. A frown set in though at her generous offer.

" I am just glad you're all in one piece and standing. You need not worry over cost. I was looking for food anyway, so two stones for one bird right?" He dipped his head and smiled at having used the correct human phrase. "If you um," Segari worried his hands ever so slightly, the fruit rolling between them as he fought for the peace to say what he wanted to say, "feel so obligated though...I uh, I'm not from Ketra. Would you...know a place to eat and drink? I would not mind the company if you err that is if, if you would um find yourself with the time and...interest?

"You mentioned your people though! So, I understand if you have need to uh get um back to them," he fumbled, his hands moving faster and his cheeks getting redder the more he talked. When was the last time he had even spoken so many words in one interaction? Not in a very long while, that was for sure. Even with the father and daughter duo he had managed to keep mostly to himself outside of spending passing moments teasing the young child.

The motioned fruit was therefore a welcome distraction that gave him focus. "Hmm, I believe Adelans call it a...crabapple. I don't know why. It doesn't look like any crabs I've seen." His brow furrowed some as he thought on it. "They uh tend to taste best with sweet things. Sorry."

[nephero]

   Ana opened his mouth, but found that the words failed him. The initial instinct was, of course, to be an insufferable know-it-all and correct the gentle giant of a man on the phrasing— and that two stones for one bird wasn't nearly as good as one for two— but the slow, stumbling way he spoke had Ana decide that it really wasn't all that important.

   Instead, he smiled, and took another small bite of the 'crabapple', which he had to agree had nothing to do with crabs. Unless someone had meant to talk about the biting sourness of it, like a pinching flavor all its own, but nothing beyond the bitter roots and sour twigs Ana was used to back home.

   "You're not from Ketra, either?" He said, conversationally gentle. "That would make a pair of us, you and me. I'm from a long ways away— well, my people and I, if you want to be really correct— Anyway, I really haven't had much time to map everything out. It's a big city, Ketra, isn't it?"

   He chewed at his lip a bit, thinking for a moment as he looked out into the street, trying to remember if it looked familiar or if the roads in Ketra were just similar enough to give him a false sense of direction. But no, he was pretty sure he'd seen that bakery before, and another hum had him recollecting a particularly "interesting" night involving his drunken bodyguard and a small, overly patient tavern. He seemed to remember all kinds of cooking smells, in between grabbing Valys by his cheek and dragging him out to dunk him head first in a barrel of rainwater.

   Rhosiris had found the whole thing amusing, and Ana had very nearly drowned him in the barrel, too.

   "My friends, they're off helping some local folk," he explained, trying not to let his agitated memory color his tone any. "So I'm actually a little grateful for some company. Especially someone who's as new to this place as I am, so I won't be the only one looking like a fish out of water."

   Ana took another bite of the crabapple, smiling as he chewed, and he pointed just down the road and to where it started to hook left. "There's a place to eat down that way, I think. Plus it'll give me time to finish this. Everything's a little too sweet down here, you know? I'm used to so many spices and herbs, we don't have much for sugar back home. But maybe the place I'm thinking of, maybe they'll have something to go with this, for you."

[GoblinFae]

His worries and nerves were soothed by the soft and gentle voice speaking beside him. Her voice was just so warm and sweet, it was hard to resist the pull to relax and be at peace, not that Segari was fighting it. Instead, he was smiling shyly back at her as she spoke. His eyes only left her face long enough to look off in the direction that she pointed in before nodding and shifting to walk with the tall woman to the location.

"I am grateful to you then. Please allow me to treat you for your uh generous and gentle company," Segari stated, glancing at her nervously from the corner of his eye to see that she was still keeping up with him alright. He was doing his best to keep his strides shortened from their full stride but sometimes with so many thoughts in his head all at once he would forget one of the more important ones. It would be horribly embarrassing if he forced the little dear to have to sprint just to keep up with him.

"Are you from um," his brows furrowed as he tried to recall the name of the far off country, "Essyrn then? I have tasted some of their spices though that was long ago now. They can be quite," he swallowed thickly at the memory of the amount of onion flavoring his food,"...strong.

"I am from the north myself, the Kilanthro Mountains. Although it has been some time since I've been there," he added with a soft shrug. It was a relief when the shop came into view and Segari was quick to open and hold the door open for his new companion. He struggled with conversation on a good day and while the woman was doing well to put him at ease he still wasn't sure what to say to her.

The smells of warm, yeasty dough and bittersweet cocoa assaulted his senses though, making his stomach growl in protest even as he hummed softly in pleasure. It had been a long while since he had treated himself to something sweet like what was creating such delicious smells.

"Will you be able to find something for yourself that you will like? Something not quite as sweet?" he asked, realizing his manners and her previous words suddenly.

[nephero]

   "Believe me, it's no generosity of mine to mutually enjoy some company." Ana grinned, rather thankful for his long legs as they walked together down the road. Another thing he wasn't used to was having to keep up with someone else— but this man was so tall, even beyond someone from House Antares, and it took just a half step more to keep at a pace.

   Not that Ana minded or was put out. He'd walked much faster through Connlaoth, after all.

   Speaking of Connlaoth and the northern countries, Ana chuckled quietly at the question of where he was from. He hadn't been to Essyrn (yet), but he knew it was even further south, over yet another set of mountains and even hotter than Adela. Which was a horrifying thought, really.

   "I haven't had the pleasure of Essyrn cuisine, just yet," he said, shaking his head with a kind of 'oh well' gesture. "Not sure if or when I'll be able to, plans being what plans are and thus not being plans at all. No, I'm from the far, far north, the..."

   He searched for the word, pale brows knit in concentration as he tried to remember, because there was Connlaoth (in which they had not lingered long, thankfully), there was Serenity— no, Serendipity, this was Adela and...

   Ana shot Segari a wide smile as the giant man held the door open for him, the elf inclining his head in thanks before stepping inside. He took a deep breath himself, recognizing the subtle smell of the breads the southlanders loved so much, but not too terribly concerned about whether or not he'd have to make an ass of himself trying to chew such things. He'd dragged Valys out of here before, after all, so surely there was something he could eat. If not, well, a cup of tea or something while he and the man talked would be just as good.

   Ana seemed to remember his thought as they sat down at a tucked-away table, one that wouldn't have them be the first thing other patrons would see as they arrived, and thus avoiding the issue of Ana having to hear the not-nearly-as-quiet-as-they-thought whispers of just what the hell they were. You would have thought the pointed ears would give it away that whispering didn't do much, but alas.

   "Ah, I'm sure I'll be able to enjoy something. One of my companions has frequented here, and he has about the same dietary preferences as I do," he said, waving his hand a little to soothe his companion's worry. "Hyoite! That's what I had meant to say, north of that not much delicate grows, but I'm not allergic to anything here. Well. Except for the flowers."

   Ana wrinkled his nose a bit, his eyes almost watering in memory of the plague that was pollen, and rather thankful that the shop's tables didn't have little bouquets set on them for decoration. Nothing said pleasant conversation like endless sneezing.

   "Kilanthro, though. Remind me where that is, again?"

[GoblinFae]

The giant man cocked his head to the side as he listened. From the north...? It certainly was possible. It was not as if in all the years that Segari and his family had lived up in the mountains they had interacted much with the outside world. Still, he found it strange to believe he had never seen one such as this sweetheart of a woman before.

He waited for her to sit before he too took his own seat, first tentatively then more firmly as it creaked but did not give out beneath his considerable weight. Unlike Serenian craftsmanship, Adelan ones tended to hold up a fair bit better when put to the test by a mountain given life and sentience. Segari settled in, watchful eyes scanning the room for a moment, assessing the other patrons and the environment before resting once more on the pale face of his companion.

With his focus once more returned, he found his eyebrows shooting nearly clear off his face in surprise. "Hyoite?" he repeated dumbfounded. That was truly not that far from his own birthplace and homeland. Had he truly been so isolated? Segari stroked a hand down over his chin and beard, smoothing the hair there as if to smooth away his own thoughts from ghosts he did not wish to face.

The way she wrinkled her nose though made him smile and dip his head to allow her her dignity. It was impolite to laugh after all. Instead he thought of how to explain where he was from. He licked his lips and rubbed his hands together nervously for a moment before stilling.

One hand formed a grip as if to clasp a cup that was not there. "The Kilanthro Mountains are like this," he stated, using his forefinger of the other hand to run over the top of his hand. "Where you sit would be Hyoite and Sionad. Where I sit would be Serendipity and uh, um err-Adela would be behind me I guess in this...thing..." he trailed off, struggling with his words.

"Inside the mountain though," his other hand formed a fist that he then smacked into his open hand, "is Connlaoth. I am from here." The fingers of his outside hand wiggled closest to the elf representing Segari's homeland in the mountains to the far north.

"It's not a very good explanation," the giant muttered bashfully under his breath, his hands curling back in front of him and his head dipped to avoid the woman's gaze. He was saved from further embarrassment for a moment though as a serving woman bustled by, with a "what can I get ya loves? Sumt'ing t' drink, sumt'ing 'ot t' eat?"

She glanced back and forth between the pair, unsure of really who to settle upon staring at. A last she turned, raising a dark brow at Segari. "Well then?"

He cleared his throat, "something big, hot and meaty?"

The woman tsked and scoffed. "Think your funny don't ya, love? Flirtin' with every girl that suits ya fancy! Well I ain't like them other Serenian ladies, just liftin ma skirts and spreadin ma legs for any man that enters these doors askin'. Unbelievable! This is Adela, have sum respect!"

She smacked Segari hard on the shoulder. He tried to protest but any time he opened his mouth she shrieked all the louder at him, turning him nearly as red as his hair. He certainly had meant no offense. She would have none of it though and her face red was just as red as his own and scowling mightily as she spun on her heel and rounded on the elf.

"I suppose you'll be wantin' the same then eh? Got any other funny things to add? You're lucky I don't throw you both out for such indecency!"

[nephero]

   Segari had a wonderful beard. Facial hair wasn't uncommon in elves by any sense of the word, but they tended to be thin, sleek things, as soft in feel as the hair on an elf's head, and with barely a curl to the ends if there were any at all. But Segari's beard was massive, and thick, and full of the soft coils that seemed to be most prevalent in the Southern folk's kind. Ana was overtaken with a weird, wild impulse to ask to touch it— and he found he rather liked the idea of putting braids against Segari's chin.

   But then again, he'd always been a very curious sort, and so the impulse was treated just so— as an impulse and nothing more. After all, he was soon overtaken by another impulse to take those great hands in his own and see just how much larger they genuinely were. How had he missed folks like Segari in all the time they had travelled? In all the passing interactions with the Hyoite people in their nomadic paths? The Starstriders had been isolated, sure, but was Segari's sort so rare that it had been hundreds of years before Ana had ever met one?

   Or was Segari the only of his kind? That was a sobering thought, and suddenly measuring hands didn't seem so good an idea. What if that just reminded the man of his loneliness? Ana's hearts gave a small shudder in sympathy. Loneliness he understood only too well; he felt it keenly, day after day, with each incomplete sunrise to each unfulfilled sunset and all the cloudy and starlit moments in between. At least Anastolyr had his family, the rest of his kind, his fellow companions.

   Segari hadn't mentioned anything of the sort for himself.

   Ana's eyes dropped to Segari's hands again, where they were moving as if to draw a map all their own, and Ana had a wonderful, amusing thought about those large, rough knuckles being mountains in their own right. He listened, head tilted to where the shaved side was aimed closer to Segari, eyes following each motion as he followed the map in his head. His face split into open delight at the little finger wiggles that marked Segari's home, and Ana pulled on his own memories of those mountains to help color the portrait of how Segari had once lived. It would have had to be a solid place, to be so isolated, and large to accommodate Segari himself. But Ana couldn't help but find the idea of a tiny (by the giant's standards) cabin high in the snowtops. It suited him.

   "No, no, I understood," he said, quietly, when Segari seemed a bit embarrassed by his own explanation. And that was the point, to be understood. Pretty words that meant nothing were worth far less than short, clumsy ones that spoke true. Ana didn't have time to explain this, though, as that moment brought their serving woman soon after, and everything else followed so quickly that at first Ana was struck dumb as if he had been the one to be slapped.

   Another wild impulse took Ana then, one that was far uglier than reaching across the table to braid a man's beard. Far uglier and full of far more heat than Ana might have thought himself capable of. Even when Valys had had to be dragged back drunk to their quarters by none other than the Regent of Adela himself, Ana had not been this angry. Eyes narrowed and pearly fangs bared in a raw smile, Ana forgot about being a guest in this country. He forgot about appearances, he forgot about manners, about cultural exchange and about diplomacy. His words left him in a rush, and he didn't even have a chance to consider them before they were out in the air, crackling like static from rubbing against too much wool.

   "Perhaps you might ask yourself exactly why that's the first thing you draw as your conclusion before accusing others of wrongdoing. Perhaps also you might consider that two obvious foreigners in your place of business might not be overly familiar with what you serve here. Perhaps also, if you do indeed have the wits to string two correlative thoughts together, that I as a non-human, may have specific needs. Perhaps, if you might care to notice anything outside of your own person, I cannot chew bread, and would indeed also prefer something large, freshly cooked, and made of meat. But, of course, if you are insistent upon being an utter fool, I would make it abundantly clear, here and now, that I would not wish to see up your skirts if it would save my life."

   Ana drew a deep breath, closed his lips, and gave the woman a painfully sweet smile. "Would you still like to throw us out? I'll be sure to tell my other visiting compatriots that our kind will not be welcome."

[GoblinFae]

Segari was horrified. No, horrified was putting it lightly. He was downright mortified, humiliated, embarrassed, and appalled with the way things were going. The more the women talked, the redder he got until his already ruddy complexion matched that of his hair and caused a harsh contrast with his indigo face and scalp tattoos. The mountain of a man wanted nothing more than to find a deep, dark hole somewhere and bury himself in it if only to escape the chaos he had unwittingly created.

His companion was a woman of grace and beauty it seemed though. She was so articulate and calm despite being quite obviously and justifiably upset about the entire situation. Her gentle manner only served to make Segari feel like even more of a heel for having blundered so pathetically into setting the server off into such a tirade over his poorly chosen words.

For all her pretty words though and all of Segari's drooping posture, the furious woman was still anything but pleased. Her face went through a multitude of expressions as she struggled between rage, disgust, and her own sense of embarrassment. For several heartbeats she could do nothing more than flap her jaw like a suffocating fish out of water.

"Well I nevah! Th' nerve of ya! Accusin' me of bein' sum harlot probably like you! I know his kind is all. You'd do best to keep 'way 'fore he squashes ya." She laughed snidely then as she looked Segari up and down. "Aye though no bread for the princess actin' all prim and proper-like. Ha! Oh I ain't throwing ya out luvs if ya got the coin to pay. I ain't bendin' and scrapin' for ya none either. Don't be expectin' no fancy dining either. We don't cater t' your sor-"

"Enough," Segari finally growled, his back ramrod straight as he proved his considerable height while still seated. "We have coin enough for um food and drink both. It were a mistake. You don't need to insult my hmm companion here for my uh earrings. We're hungry and we can pay. Please, I want no trouble and cast no insults. Please," he implored again, feeling his own embarrassment and anxiety warring within his breast.

The woman rolled her eyes in a huff before stomping off without further words. With her gone the giant slumped once more, tugging sharply on his own beard in distress. Segari sighed heavily and forced his hands to still.

"I'm sorry for that,"he murmured softly, unable to even meet the pale woman's gaze. "I don't believe most Adelans are this way. They err weren't at least when I was last this way. I hope she did not offend you too badly. If you wish to leave we can. I understand. Or um if you'd rather I not go with you, that, that is understandable too. I'm so sorry Mi-"

Segari faltered in his words, his brows knitting close together before he chuckled dryly and ran a large, calloused hand over his eyes. "Forgive me. I have more uh apologies to make. I never asked your name. Or introduced myself either actually. Errum my name is Segari. Segari Ggorf." With his head still hung low, he coughed nervously into his fist and wished again for the earth to swallow him whole.

[nephero]

   Ana tapped his fingers against the table surface, as if trying to make his mind up about something. His eyes were narrowed, and continued to do so the more their server continued to run her mouth, insinuating all manner of things in such quick succession that Ana couldn't help but curl his lip in loathing, baring sharpened teeth as he did. A harlot, him! Prim and proper, as if that were anything bad to be! A princess for demanding fair and even-handed treatment, the most basic of courtesies, as if that cost extra—!

   But, before he could even decide what to do, his giant companion had cut in, and just like that the spell of deep, violet-hued anger left him. The low rumble of the giant's voice was like the snap of fingers in silence, and Ana ceased his snarling when he saw just how red the other man had become. His gaze was lowered, and Ana felt a pang of concern at that, his brows knitting into a tight wrinkle over his eyes as he watched the giant stumble through his apology.

   As if he had anything to apologize for. The deep anger rose up again, like the bubbling heat out of a hotsprings, and Ana's lips pursed into a thin line as he reached across the table to take hold of one of those large hands in both of his own. He didn't even think about what he was doing, everything on autopilot as his fingers smoothed over the back of Segari's hand, slow and trancelike in their movements. He barely noticed their server's exit, though he was pretty sure the pettiness in her step spoke volumes about the quality of food they could expect.

   "It's not your place to apologize for the bad behavior of others," Ana said, soft as his touch, "nor my place to forgive what you yourself didn't do. Besides,"

   And this is where his voice rose, not quite shouting but certainly loud enough to be overheard, and while his words came out in snapping, elven wordsong, the intent behind them was all too clear just by his tone of voice.

   "{With behavior like that, it's only a matter of time before it's paid back.}"

   Ana sighed, sharp and quick as if to expel all the excess anger, and he gave Segari's hand a gentle squeeze before slowly releasing it to fold his hands on the table.

   "I'm Anastolyr Rael, or just Ana if you'd like, and it is my very genuine pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mister Segari Ggorf." He smiled, far more genuinely again, one brow lifted as his pale eyes slid back to the door from whence they came. "And considering I'm the one who ran into you, and then suggested this place, I think I should be the one asking forgiveness for any offense taken. But, I think, if we were to do that, we'd both be here until the end of days forgiving each other. Bygones, shall we call it?"

[GoblinFae]

The touch was sudden yet gentle. The elf's hands were smaller than his own but warm and soft. It reminded Segari so much of Runa that the possible impropriety of the gesture was lost on him. His heart skipped a beat as he found himself drifting some to forgotten memories of flaxen hair and laughing eyes.

A tongue he had never heard before shot out from his companion suddenly and while the words did not sound forceful the manner they were said in certainly demanded attention. The giant tilted his head slightly, regarding the woman with a newfound respect. She was more than a sweet-looking and acting girl. She was a woman with backbone. The language was lyrical in its own manner but there was fire dancing each sip of sweet wine. Whatever she had said, had likely not been a nice thing at all.

Segari flushed as her hand left his then. For a moment his fingers flexed, reaching for her again before catching himself. His rough, calloused fingers curled back against the palm before he dragged his arm back into his lap.

"Er the acquaintance is all mine Anastolyr Rael. Ana," he coughed while smiling brightly. "Although I will only accept an end to um apologies if uh you'll agree we were both at fault and both hmm making appends. If that's alright with you."

He smiled shyly, hardly noticing as drinks we clanked down onto the table, mugs filled half with foam and frothing down the sides. "What you said earlier, I uh I've never heard that before. It was uh...pretty. That's not the right word, errum, uh, well, hmm...

"What brings you so far south?" He asked quickly hoping to not sound like a complete rock. "If it ain't too bold to be askin'. I suppose some folk don't take too kindly to the cold but, we'll I uh, I miss it."

[nephero]

   Making appends.

   Normally, the misuse of language would have filled Ana with either anxiety or contempt— he would be filled with the compulsion to correct, to educate, to maybe even make a snide remark about how to more easily tell the difference between two clearly separate words, but...

   With Segari, it was just too sweet. Here was a man who clearly struggled with his speech, if his 'er's and 'um's were any indicator. He was so bashful, so prone to blushing and hiding his gaze in his hands. Ana couldn't stand the idea of being the one to make him feel such shame. Not over a word. Not over "appends".

   And not when Ana was busy wishing far worse words for their waitress. It wasn't as if Ana could drink heavily— Valys was the one with the hollow leg out of all of them, and that really did not say much for anyone's tolerance. The mugs were huge, and even half full there was no way Ana would be able to finish his own without ending up severely inebriated. But the sheer cheek of it being half foam, especially when Segari was so much larger and could likely drink more than even a local human—

   He was already ramping up an even more potent string of words when Segari spoke, breaking the boiling spell and bringing Ana back down to their table. He thought his native tongue was... pretty? Ana could feel his face heating, and quickly took a sip of the cold beer, which didn't work quite so well when all Ana could seem to get was a mouthful of foam. A mouthful and then some, a lingering series of bubbles sticking to the tip of his nose. Which was more than a little embarrassing, which only had him flushing all the more.

   In a hurry to get the foam off his nose and the subject firmly away from any such silliness, Ana cleared his throat and smiled wide.

   "I absolutely hate the hot weather. I don't think any of us are fond of it. Or, I mean, if you heard the level of complaining as I've had to endure over the course of our travels, I don't think you'd think we didn't miss the cold."

   Ana was rambling. He licked his lips, and tried for another sip, careful to get less foam and more actual drink. And maybe a little more drink than he'd perhaps meant to.

   "If you miss it, why not go back? Ahh, what I'd give for that..."

[GoblinFae]

Segari's eyes crinkled with mirth as the corners of his lips upturned ever so slightly moments before he dropped his head to stare into his own frothy cup. He meant her no offense and did not wish to embarrass her but the sight of the pretty woman with beer foam on her nose was just too cute for words. It made him want to reach over and gently tap her on the nose while rumbling with laughter.

He didn't however, and kept his hands well to himself. Instead, the giant left her to wipe it away even as he thirstily drained his tankard in one go. He did not get out of the ordeal unscathed either though. Foam clung to his beard which he hurried to pull a soft square of cloth from his pocket before scrubbing hastily at his own face while listening intently to her animated speech.

His smile returned in full force to hear her discuss her companions and their gripes as well as the kindred desire for colder places they both called home. Unbeknownst to Ana though, her question struck old and deep chords within Segari. While his smile remained, the man's eyes softened with unspoken sadness as his gaze shifted to stare out the unshuttered window.

"There is nothing left for me there," he replied plainly. "My people are very inclusive. We uh keep to ourselves and rarely see much of another once we form families of our own. I have no kin to call my own and no reason left to stay.

"I go where the work is, yeah?" Segari shrugged slightly and offered Ana a gentle nod. "Today that brought me here. Just goes to show how deep mountain roots grow.

"And you," he continued, his voice chirping slightly in his own interest to know more. "If you miss it so deeply, why have you traveled this far? Have you," he paused, pursing his lips, unsure how to ask the thought that came to mind. His own distance from home was self-imposed exile. What if hers was more serious?

"Never mind me. You need not answer if are uncomfortable."

[nephero]

   Ana didn't live as long as he did without picking up on the subtleties of that most nuanced of languages— He saw the way Segari chilled over, the way his smile became more of a polite facade as his thoughts were pulled elsewhere at the inquiry to his homeland. Still, he didn't seem angry, and that part was good. Ana's stomach twisted quite a bit at the idea of making Segari so upset he was angry. But that might have been just the sheer size of him. Or the fact that Segari genuinely seemed so gentle it would take an incredible insult to get that reaction.

   Still, Ana knew better than to press. He smiled back, a quick little flurry of expression, a quiet reassurance that he wouldn't pry more than needed. Ana smiled a bit more, however, when Segari continued to speak, picking up on the little oddities in his speech and feeling rather warmly fond of each wrongly chosen word. Inclusive, indeed.

   "Work is as good a reason to be anywhere, I think." He took another sip of beer, already feeling like every muscle was made of sparkling air, light and in danger of floating away if he weren't very, very careful of his movements. Still, it wasn't enough to keep him from the sharp pang that hit his hearts in a one-two jab as he remembered just why he and so many of his kind were so far south where they thoroughly did not belong.

   "Ah," he said, lamely, trying for a moment to collect his thoughts back from where they had scattered like so many attention-deficient sheep. "No, no, you're fine. It's... just rather complicated. I didn't really come here out of much choice— no, no, that's not right. We did choose to come here. But what I mean is that, it's because what we needed here is more important than what we'd miss back there. Or so we hope, anyway. I hope."

   The floaty sensation was doing nothing for his usual eloquence, and Ana tilted his head back and forth a bit as if trying to find the right road to carry his words down. The floaty sensation was not helped, either, by another, much less measured sip of the beer, and Ana licked his lips to make sure the numbing sensation was just a numbing sensation and his face was, in fact, still there.

   "I don't know what's here for me. I haven't found them, yet, but I miss them, more than my own home or my parents or my friends— I miss what I came here to find more than anything, and I would never see snow again if it helped."

   He took a deep breath and let it out in a shaken sigh, folding tremulous hands together around his tankard to anchor himself there and in that moment, and not where the sudden pulse in his ears wanted to take him. It wouldn't do to get all worked up here in front of a stranger.

   "I'm sorry. It's hard to explain. It's a... elf... thing."

[GoblinFae]

He listened intently to the soft lilt of her voice but it was the words left unspoken that rang the loudest in his ears. Anastolyr was another wandering stone of the mountain, tumbling, tumbling, tumbling down in search of a place to settle once more. That, he could understand perhaps better than anyone else. It was what he was doing after all, rolling until his momentum slowed and carried him to a heavy stop. He had no way of knowing where that would be or even when, but it was a thought that only seemed to matter when he was alone and thinking of cold mountaintops where warm fires and laughter once resided. Segari really was a long way from home.

The sigh that she released though, as delicate and shaky as newly made butterfly wings pained his heart. All thoughts of propriety left him as he allowed his longing hands to reach across the table and cup her smaller, smoother ones. Out of habit his calloused thumbs smoothed over the back of her hand and wrist in a hopefully soothing motion. He found his tongue lame in trying to express out loud what he meant, that he understood, that he was homesick too, that it would be alright, that she could go home when she was ready, that he liked it better when she smiled instead of looked so forlorn, that her hands seemed to fit just right into his own and he would have loved to explore that more if it wasn't so rude, that she was...

Perhaps it was best that some words weren't easy to express after all. Some things were better kept to oneself.

"I hope you find what you're looking for then, and errum that they like snow too," he rumbled with a soft, bashful smile.

[nephero]

It was astounding how utterly comforting a small gesture could be. Segari was, honestly, a total and complete stranger. He didn't know Anastolyr, or his people, or even understand the full breadth of the circumstances that had brought both to Adela. He didn't know how many had died just to get here, and how any day could be the very last for any number more.

He didn't know, and yet he had reached out anyway. To a perfect stranger. Segari's hands felt so warm against Ana's own, the calluses of his fingers a welcome friction against his own marble smooth skin. There was the other difference between strangers-- they'd both led such different lives, had come from entirely different worlds, and yet Segari had found room in his giant's heart to try and ease Ana's worries. Even just for a moment.

Ana felt a warmth that had nothing to do with his beer. He looked up from their joined hands, up into that broad, bearded and beautifully bashful face. Watched as skin took on pink tinges here and there the more he stared, at how Segari's eyes darted away as if afraid to offend for his staring.

It was remarkable how one singular entity could embody such a feeling that even Ana the wordsmith couldn't find the eloquence it deserved.

"I..." he began, and just as swiftly forgot to finish. He didn't even notice as their food was set on the table, so taken with every inch of the person before him, and so very unwilling to shake off Segari's hands.

"Thank you," he said, finally, voice little more than a whispered melody, nearly overtaken by the subtle song beneath his breath. "I hope you're right. That they like snow. That would be..."

Ana let out a soft sigh, watching Segari's face with a smile he hadn't realized he'd been wearing.

"Perfect."

[GoblinFae]

His brows knit loosely together, as Segari waited intently for Anastolyr's next words. He was aware of the food arriving but made no motion to let go of this sweet, sad woman until she had spoken what was on her mind. In all his years walking in the protective shadow of the mountains, he had come to learn that sometimes the most important thing that a stranger needed, was compassion. They just needed someone to listen to them, to hold their hand, to pat their back and bear witness without judgement to things that pained them deep down inside of them.

Runa had always said that he was a good listener by virtue of being a quiet person to begin with. But she has also often said that his tender heart is what drew all sorts to him as they sought a ray of comfort in a harsh world. Supposedly it was the thing she had fallen in love with first about her gargantuan husband.

Thoughts of flaxen hair and chirping children's voices were gently tucked back away though as the one who needed his attention the most right then was sighing that fluttering sound that spoke louder than any shout. It spoke of heavily burdened shoulders, sleepless nights, and an even heavier heart. If he could bring her but one moment of relief then he knew his efforts to console and comfort had been worth it. They may have both been strangers, so different and yet from lands so close it was mind-boggling, but in the moments that mattered they were beings that spoke the same wordless language that was communicated simply through hearts and hands, eyes and sighs.

He shook his head though as not only words but song softly flowed out of the pale woman's mouth. It was even more lovely than when she spoke in her native tongue. There was a haunting quality to it too, like water brushing just right against stone so that it sang and cried out as if begging for a friend to let it in to warm itself by the fire. He squeezed her hands though while gently prying them away from their tight clasp about the tankard.

"No thanks needed. Things always uh," he paused as flashes of memory danced just out of recollection, "let the cat outta the bag in the end. You just have to wait for all the eggs in your basket to hatch, right?"

Segari smiled with a slight shrug. Her hands were taken then in his own and pulled close enough for him to bend over and kiss the knuckles of each chastely. There was another squeeze and a gentle smile that he hoped was reassuring to her before he slowly let go. "You are too lovely to uh, um, well...yeah," he trailed off to cough into the back of his hand and drop his gaze.

It was then that he was reminded of food by the sight of the differently filled bowls. His lips pursed into the thinnest of lines. The bowl of stew before him had a very obvious chunk of meat right in the centre of it that nearly took up the entire bowl and left little broth whatsoever. A few soggy pieces of bread floated along its edges as well. In contrast though, the bowl before his companion was a sea of these same soggy mounds of dough that even clung to the rim of the bowl and threatened to abandon ship.

"Excuse me," he muttered then before reaching forward to drag her bowl carefully closer to himself. Segari used his own spoon to scoop the bread out of his bowl and into hers before pushing his across the table to her in offering and and keeping the messy, caked bowl to himself. "Must have gotten confused," he added then, although the smallness of his mouth spoke better of his own less than savoury opinions on the matter.

"Eat before it gets cold," he urged her with an encouraging smile while using his spoon to stir to the bottom. No resistance met his spoon though as it pulled along the bottom and sides. Not only had the waitress seen fit to give Anastolyr bread, she had ensured that there was not a single scrap of meat in the bowl for her. No matter though, he had resolved the matter even if the thought of unfair treatment to such a precious and homesick woman sparked a small flame of anger within him.

[nephero]

The appearance of the bowls of food was a bit of a shock. Ana had been so fixated on Segari's words -- it had taken Ana a long moment to understand that they were not entirely correct, and yet that had been more endearing than if they had been. Mixed up though they were, their intent rang clear, and after a moment of confusion Ana found himself smiling all the more.

At least until he actually saw the bowls in front of them. In an instant, Segari had switched their meals, and Ana was reminded yet again that even in this strange and vaguely hostile world, there were people like Segari who thought nothing of trading their comfort for another's. It certainly helped ease Ana's temper by quite a bit, the flare of white-hot anger ebbing as soon as Segari began to eat.

Ana regarded the bowl in front of him, and gave it a stir before pulling up a chunk of meat too large to possibly chew. Feeling just the faintest bit of mischief, Ana plucked the chunk from his spoon between two fingers, whispering lightly to keep it from burning. He smiled serenely for a moment, before opening his mouth to bare sharpened teeth to very quickly tear the chunk in two, barely chewing the shreds before swallowing and repeating the motion.

"Mm. You know what I miss the most? Good fish. We've tried catching some, but it's a different kind than we're used to. Does not taste nearly so good cold." Ana grinned a bit, shredding another piece of his stew. "What about you? Anything about home cooking you miss?"