The ship had docked at a port town the natives here called 'Ainu', a town on the Yoreiqi Isles the captain had said. Curious, Brooke took a look around, noting all the different things and people she could see. The village they were in seemed pretty simplistic, with thatched huts raised off the ground, their straw roofs looking like they could be blown away with the slightest of gales. However they seemed to hold up better than they looked, although she doubted they could withstand a severe storm. Quite different than her own village's small wooden cottages.
The yellowish-white sand underneath her feet was soft and glistening in the morning sunlight which shone across the area. Shielding her eyes from the bright glare, she saw many peoples roaming the island town, some of them merchants selling various exotic fruits and vegetables, some the likes of which Brooke had never seen.
She watched as a dark-skinned older man with black hair streaked with purple handed over a bag of some green fruit to a customer who had purchased them. This customer also had dark skin and hair, but with neon-green and yellow streaks in his. However the most notable thing about him was that he sported wings! Large white and red wings that mimicked some kind of foreign tropical bird. Brooke stared at this and could not stop staring, she was so amazed at this. What kind of person had wings? She wondered in awe. The man also sported nothing but a loin cloth, barefoot and bare chested, hair pulled back away from his face. Brooke blushed as the man looked over at her and caught her staring. He smiled a friendly smile of greeting and called out what she could assume was a 'hello there!' but Brooke could not understand a word he said! The tonal, clipped sound of the language he used was strange and she found herself stupefied by this.
The brown-haired girl continued to stare stupidly, and then shook herself when she noticed that he had moved on, shaking his head in amusement as he left. Brooke looked over the rest of the place and saw many more of these dark-skinned people. There didn't seem to be much variety among the population in terms of skin and hair colors. Her own village was mostly of blondes and brunettes with occasional black-haired folks mixed in. Red or auburn hair was unheard of though. Certainly not these bright... colors she was witnessing streaked throughout just about every person's hair she saw. They also wore very little and Brooke could see why, for her own garb was starting to become stifling hot in this warm weather. A woman passed her by, and Brooke noticed with shock, that she was topless! Mouth agape, Brooke found herself staring yet again. Luckily, the woman seemed not to notice her staring and had moved on, carrying a basket of flowers in one hand as she talked with another merchant on the scene.
Slowly, she managed to command her feet to do something and move, and not just stand there like an idiot. Taking off her white shawl, she brushed her hair back from her face and continued looking around to see where she could go and what she could do. Uncertain, she moved towards a group of people before stopping and hesitating, then going a different way. Everything was so strange here, the people were strange, and to Brooke it was definitely a culture shock. Seagulls flew overhead and Brooke stared at these majestic white birds as well. She had seen a few near Blueport before arriving here, but it was still a new experience to see such huge birds.
Hefting her small pack over her shoulder, the girl wandered over to a grove of palm trees and sat down on the sand. She hadn't really thought this through when she made her decision to leave her home. But then again, she wouldn't be alive right now if she hadn't. The heat of the sun poured down on her face and shoulders and Brooke started to sweat a bit. She noted with dismay that she smelled. When was the last time she had had a proper bath? A few weeks at least. The journey across the ocean was a long one to be sure, and she had only had the opportunity for quick sponge baths, if even that. Wrinkling her nose, Brooke scowled and leaned back against the tree before yelping and turning around. The tree's bark she was leaning against had some prickly stuff on it that she hadn't noticed before she sat down. Rubbing her back a little, she winced and then scooted away from the thorny tree but still somewhat within its meager shade.
Opening her bag, she rummaged through it to take stock of her 'inventory' of supplies. A few stale pieces of bread, a flask of water and a pouch of nuts made up what food she still had left, a couple changes of clothing and a few copper coins for currency, although Brooke doubted they would use the same type of coin here. Looking further, she noted her diary and quill with pot of ink in the bottom of the bag, and also a couple extra hair ties. The only other thing she had in there was a thin wool blanket, scratchy and uncomfortable, but it was the only thing she could really find to take with her on her journey, and she didn't want to waste too much time deciding on what to actually bring.
Closing her bag up, the girl sighed and blew some wayward hair out of her face that had fallen loose from her leather hair band. What was she going to do now? She'd thought about it on the ship of course, but hadn't really known what to expect once they got to where they were going. Now that she was here, she hadn't the faintest clue now. She supposed she could always work for someone as a servant, and receive shelter, a bed and food that way for a few coppers a day but other than that, she had her skills with sewing and basket weaving. That could also prove useful just about anywhere, she thought. Surely she could find some work...
People wandered on by, and Brooke could have sworn she felt a set of eyes on her. She looked around but didn't see anyone looking her way. Frowning, she hesitated before starting to get up and walk around aimlessly again. Sitting here all day wasn't really an option, she needed to find an actual place to stay. So that was her 'quest' for now. Find someone she could talk to about work and having a roof over her head again. She hoped it wouldn't be that difficult but one never knew. Walking on, she still felt eyes on her and again, looked around for the source. Through the thick throng of people here, she thought she saw who it was...