This Is All For You...

[Anonymous]

There was something different about being lost in a forest and being lost in a city. No matter where you got lost in the forest it smelled good, the ground was wet because of water and the only things to run into were trees. A city? Sometimes it smelled awful, the ground wasn't always wet because of water, and there were people and doors opening and people and Yuuki had run into a wall because he'd been watching someone walk by.

He pushed a hand through his hair and sighed, his light blue eyes closing while he leaned against a wall. The sun had been down for about a half hour or so. It was dark and getting a little chilly. Since Yuuki didn't want to stand out too much he wore normal people clothing instead of the beige outfit that covered him from neck to toe. With this outfit the tattoos on his neck and wrists and hands could be seen, and his tummy too if his shirt rode up.

Which it did not do.

Yuuki grumbled and looked around, amazingly lost. It was because it was a city and everything looked the damn same! Even sand dunes had more difference than all these stupid walls. It wasn't until Yuuki accidentally smacked shoulders with someone that he realized this would be the 'bad' part of town. Bad because they freaked out at him.

Of course Yuuki just stared. Very little could scare him and a group of Adelan men on a power trip weren't going to do it. Now, drow on the otherhand... "You look like a tourist!" one of them commented, rubbing their shoulder. Yuuki assumed that was the one he bumped.

"I am." He said simply, looking them over. "You should put down your stuff." They said, of course, Yuuki laughed and patted his pockets. "I don't have anything." They snarled at him, two of them grabbed his arms and he struggled, but he wasn't quite strong enough to pull out of their grip.

After a few minutes of them looking for all his worldy items, they found nothing and instead stole his shirt and punched him because he wasn't rich.

Now he was lost, getting cold, his shoes were wet, his jaw hurt and his shirt was showing off his tummy because he didn't have the damn thing anymore. "I hate Adela." He grumbled before crossing his arms over his chest, half to keep himself warm and half to cover what little he could of the tattoos, even though the more impressive cluster of them were on his back. Couldn't really bend like that though, so the chest ones would have to do.

So Yuuki wandered aimlessly, wondering where his Inn went and if that place had stolen his stuff since he was sure he'd left them there.

[Rhindeer]

Sita was rather at home in the slums. Not many people tried to hassle a tall, rough-looking man in his prime that walked like he owned the place and looked like he could break a jaw with a good punch--though he supposed the hunting knife at his belt could have also helped. Still, his type just weren't the type that pick-pockets and thugs targeted, not when he looked like a thug himself. He supposed.

Nah, they were after the ones that looked clueless, lost, like a fawn separated from its mother. It was only a matter of time before the wolves descended. So when Sita walked through these parts on the way to a good ol' cockfight, he kept an eye out and left whatever he didn't plan on betting behind.

He was halfway to the site when a ragtag group of men hurried by him, running fast and laughing. Sita didn't think anything of it until, continuing further along...

Welp. Whaddya know. A shirtless, angry-looking guy with a bruised jaw and way more tattoos than even he had seen in a single body.

Alright. So that explained those guys.

Pausing and leaning his shoulder against the alley wall, Sita crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Aw, now. Hate those idiots back there, not the country. What'd she ever do to ya?" He gave the man a sweeping look and shook his head.

"Ya need a hand?"

[Anonymous]

Yuuki grumbled and kept his arms crossed over his chest for warmth. Between the shadow of the alley and the whole the sun-hasn't-touched it was a little nippley. He stayed standing for a long while, too afraid that chasing them and beating them to a pulp would get him kicked out and he knew Niaaki would hate him forever if he got kicked out.

Or however the law worked here. Yuuki had never been good with things like laws and rules, having lived without them for so long. He knew that things that were morally wrong were usually bad things to do. Like ripping throats our or bashing peoples faces into walls. That was bad. Probably meant he'd get thrown into some sort of prison.

Yuuki's brain went on giving reasons why chasing those males down and smooshing their teeth down their throats was bad and one more curse about Adela when a voice caught his attention. It was a mans voice and Yuuki whipped around, giving his best icy glare his shoulders and arms tense. He even unfolded his arms and let them hang at his side before he started to turn.

But it wasn't one of the brats and it took a minute for his brain to process the words. Don't hate the country. Hate the idiots. Yuuki could do that, he supposed. He kept his hands at his sides, momentarily not caring how embarrassed he was by his naked torso. It was very, very rare that Yuuki went without a shirt unless he was having sex or bathing.

He frowned at the strange man before he cleared his throat and flexed his hands. " A hand?" Yuuki stared, confused for a moment and looking at the mans hands, "No... I don't need a hand." He rose a eyebrow and then turned and took a step forward.

"What I need is a shirt." He wrinkled his nose and glared past the mans shoulder. "I only have two like that and that was the nice one. Spilled soup on the other one and now it has an off-yellow stain on the bottom which isn't very pretty." He could always tuck it into his pants. "Uh... You're not going to punch me and then steal my pants, are you?"

[Rhindeer]

Sita's eyebrow arched, a truly puzzled expression crossing his face. "Well, now, if I was plannin' that, ya think I'd tell ya?" he asked, then waved a hand in a passivising manner. "Naw, you're fine. I was plannin' on seein' if ya needed some help. Now, I can't do nothin' if you're too proud to take it, but I figured it couldn't hurt to offer."

He gave a little shrug and glanced back down the alley where the muggers had run, then back to the man. "Where ya headed? If ya need a shirt, the market's close. If those thugs took your coin, we ain't too far from where I'm stayin', either."

[Anonymous]

Yuuki's blue eyes went wide and he stared for a moment before he rubbed at his shoulders and he tensed up when Sita joked about not telling him he was going to steal his pants. "Wha?" Oh no!

"I'm not too proud to accept help!" His voice went low he stared for a moment confused. Who was too proud to accept help? Stupid people, that's who! Yuuki moved closer, he didn't tower over Sita, but he was taller and he felt a little awkward before he quickly cleared his throat and carefully crossed his arms over his chest. With his tattoos on display he felt more naked than if his dick was hanging out. Which it would be if Sita stole his pants.

"I Uh... Have no coin not enough for a nice shirt. I spent it on room and board at a small inn uh..." Yuuki looked around, "somewhere around here. I'd know where it was if I saw it." And Yuuki, always regular self, "I had to since my little brother found himself a lover and normally we travel but..." Yuuki gave his shoulders a shrug, a little lost as to what to do with himself. They were always traveling before, it was strange to just... Stay. "The thugs just took my shirt, I'd still have it if they took my coin." He tried to smile, at least a little bit.

[Rhindeer]

Again, Sita just stared. Holy info-dump! He found out more about this guy just asking if he needed help than he did about most people when they were drinking together and one of them was getting tipsy.

Holding up his hands to try to slow him down, Sita laughed. "Whoa, whoa, it's alright. You don't owe me no explanations, kid," he said, and that basically decided it. Foreign guy mugged and lost? Yeah, he could empathize. It had been rough when he'd first come to Ketra and he still had to be careful not to let on that he wasn't Adelan. Thankfully, his accent was no longer that thick and he could sort of pass physically, but he didn't exactly come from the most beloved people.

"Look, why don'tcha come with me? My place ain't that far. We'll getcha dressed and fed and back on your way, alright? For a price; I don't run no charity, but it won't cost ya nothin' but a little sweat. Sound good? Either way, let's at least stop dallying around here. Ain't a good part of town."

Nodding toward the mouth of the alley, he turned and headed toward it, expecting the kid to follow. "C'mon."

[Anonymous]

Yuuki stared back. His bright blue eyes wide and staring at Sita's hands when he put them up. Of course he stared a little strangely when he was called Kid. Kid. He looked down at his hands and then at his chest and he looked back at Sita. Did... Was this guy blind? Yuuki gave Sita a look before he tilted his head and then almost wept from the wave of greatful.

He didn't care if this guy thought he was a kid, he was going to help. "Oh, thank gods." Yuuki took a few steps forward towards Sita and then tried to smile again. Then Sita finished off his sentence and his jaw opened slightly. Pay off with sweat? What the hell? Oh, maybe... Not everyone in Adela was like... That.  Niaaki just managed to find one. On his first time out.

Quickly, he schooled his features to that of his generally 'normal' face and he smiled politely before he crossed his arms over his chest, trying his best to cover up his tattoos. "You don't have to feed me, but I can work off a shirt. I think. Ah, work off the payment of a shirt. Not... Off. Um..." He quickly cleared his throat and smiled before he moved to keep up with Sita, standing shoulder to shoulder with his arms crossed.  Almost shoulder to shoulder, Yuuki subtly puffed out his chest when he realized he was taller than Sita. Who was a kid now? Ha!

[Rhindeer]

That comment made Sita's eyebrows raise, yet again utterly confused by the kid and his downright shocked expression. Er...

"Well, yeah. That's the idea. Though ya don't yet got a shirt to work off and ya won't wanna bother puttin' a shirt on. Not unless ya want it to smell like horse, sweat, and dung." Which was Sita's usual perfume, but he'd been doing this for so long--and went weeks on the plains without bothering to bathe--that he didn't even notice it anymore. For everyone else's sake, however, he bathed more frequently when he was in the city.

Not noticing Yuuki's subtle posturing, he lead the way to the marketplace. It was on the way to the stables, and besides, by the time they were done with their work most of the merchants would have headed home for dinner. "We'll getcha your shirt first and when you're finished for the day, it's yours. Now, tell me, how much d'ya know about horses?"

[Anonymous]

That sounded like an interesting thing to smell like. All Yuuki had gotten so far was sweat, leather and Whatever A Sword Smelled Like. Metal, he guessed. He made a polite smile which turned into a grimace at the mention of sweat. At least they were walking towards a shirt. He nodded to Sita when the terms for his shirt came about, a fulls day work for a shirt?

That was a rip off, but it'd be a way to pass the day and meet a local. So far Yuuki liked this local, wasn't staring at his tattoos, wasn't giving him a hard time. Was asking him about horses. "What?" Yuuki blinked politely, "Oh, horses. Uh. I know they eat with the end that has teeth and poop out the other end. People ride them, they run fast." He tried to smile, he knew nothing of horses, so he tried to explain away his total unknowing even though he travelled so much. Normally people traveled on horses.

"I'm from the desert. A clan of people who... Can travel. Instantly. So horses are too slow.  So we don't keep them. They'd just... eat our food and drink the water..." Yuuki cleared his throat and turned his head forward, careful not to look at Sita. He felt silly. " You can just... Tell me what to do after we get the shirt and I'll do my best and you can even hit me if I screw up too badly."

[Rhindeer]

Alright, so maybe he'd gone and picked up a crazy one, because Sita had no clue what the fuck this kid was going on about.

"Travel...instantly...?" he repeated, but then just shook his head, deciding it was probably best not to ask. Didn't matter, and didn't matter that the guy didn't--wait. There was a reason he kept thinking of him as 'the guy' and 'the kid'. Shit, they hadn't even exchanged names!

He shot the kid a sidelong glance. They were nearing the marketplace now, the clamor of voices and live animals and carts filling the air. "Well, don't really matter if ya don't know nothin'. You got a strong back and arms, if looks are anything to go by, and that's all ya need. If horses make ya nervous, you can just stick to the heavy liftin' and cleanin' and such. I'll show ya what ya need to do, so no worries. By the way..."

Half turning toward the man, Sita extended his hand, rough and callused and scarred from years of hard work. "I'm Sita. What should I call ya, kid?"

[Anonymous]

Yuuki nodded politely when Sita parroted back the part about him traveling instantly. That's what he said, so there was nothing else to mention about it. The man didn't ask and Yuuki's mind hopped through the bush fence like a nasty cheater through a maze. Then there was a hand.

Oh right, handshakes. Yuuki gripped Sitas hand, smiling politely, the look reaching his blue eyes. His own hands were larged and calloused from his sword use,  not scarred, though the tattoos round down over the back of his hand to wrap around his two middle fingers.  "Ah, my name is Yuuki. It's..."

Yuuki frowned for a moment, "it's very nice of you to help me. I'm... Usually the one that sits in the back and looks intimidating, so I'm not too sure how to handle myself without my... Little brother. He does the talking," Yuuki smiled and let a small sort of giggle fall out from between his teeth, "for obvious reasons I'm sure." He cleared his throat and moved his hand to rub at the back of his neck, showing off the tattoos that even went up the side of his body.

"Horses don't scare me. I'm... Big. Strong." Yuuki had the good graces to blush, "And sound like I crawled out of a cave. I'm sorry, I'm not always so... I... I'm a man of action, not words." Because that sounded so much better. Yuuki cleared his throat again and turned to look straight ahead, following Sita from beside him. A shirt. Then help the nice man with his horses, and then he could go home. Temporary home.

[Rhindeer]

Sita felt torn between feeling sorry for the kid, because he obviously wasn't the brightest star in the sky, and feeling...concerned that this act of good will might come back to bite him in the ass. He'd just have to make sure he kept him away from the horses. With how he talked about them, and considering he apparently didn't grow up around any, it was clear that he had no idea what he was talking about. The last thing Sita wanted was someone injured on his watch.

Drawing his hand away, he cracked a small grin. "Now, well, don't go thinkin' I care about no...fancy words or whatever. You'll be usin' your hands, not your mouth. As long as you can do the job and listen, I don't care if ya grunt," he said, but added as a precautionary, "Though I gotta say, scared or not, big and strong or not, if it's you versus the horse, the horse is gonna win. If you don't got much experience, I'll just keep ya to other stuff. Horses are strong, but they're also delicate. Ain't gonna risk no one gettin' hurt."

Because he couldn't really trust that Yuuki wouldn't accidentally do something to upset the wrong horse. While they were all tamed, they weren't all fully trained, and even a fully trained horse could spook when approached the wrong way.

They were in the marketplace by then, and Sita lead the way to a woman that was selling simple linen tunics. They weren't fancy or anything, plain earth tones, but they were well made and affordable. He nodded for Yuuki to take his pick.

[Anonymous]

Yuuki stared and nodded. This was for a shirt. Because he was very half naked, and someone here might know what his tattoos meant and then he'd want to curl up and die. So far all he'd gotten from them was stares and small gasps. Apparently lots of tattoos were bad here, but not for the same reasons. That was okay. Oh shit, Sita was talking.

listen. Don't be cocky. Yuuki could do that. "Oh. I don't... Fight animals. I'm good with them." Who the hell fights one on one with animals? That's silly. He winced and then pressed a hand to his face, of course, you don't fight horses. You spook them and then they stand on you. Or something like that. It wasn't fare, while he was busy buffing up to keep them safe, Niaaki had done all the talking to make himself smarter.

Obediently, Yuuki followed Sita and picked the cheapest shirt he could find. To be polite. Even if they were all the same price he picked the one that looked the least new. That must have worked out somehow. He held it in his hand and looked around awkwardly, having already been told not to wear it.  "Um. I won't hurt the horses, I'll do the work for the shirt and make my way back to the inn." Crap.

His face went red and he cleared his throat and then looked around, unconsciously his lower lip ended up between his teeth and he looked around. He hadn't been paying attention to where they were going. "Uh, think I can do some extra work to get you to escourt me back to my inn when we're done? I remember the general area but..." Yuuki looked around and pulled a blank, "I'm a little lost."

[Rhindeer]

Sita gave Yuuki a long look, then finally said, "Good. 'Cause I'll tell ya this upfront: ya hurt my horses and I'll kick your ass. Nothin' personal, beyond bein' my own personal policy. They're strong creatures but they're also delicate and I expect them to be respected. They're also my entire livelihood. I take this seriously and I expect anyone who works for me to do the same."

There, he felt better now that that was out of the way. It was what he told everyone, sure, but Yuuki was making him a little nervous with the way he kept assuring him that he wouldn't hurt or fight his horses.

And it wasn't just that they were worth money, worth his livelihood and whether or not he got to eat. They were sacred, and Sita took pains to ensure each one would go to the right person.

He paid for the shirt that Yuuki picked out and then blinked at the man when he saw that he was flushed, that he looked nervous again. Eh?

Oh. Pride. He could understand that.

He cracked a grin. "Ah...let's see how ya do with what I give ya, eh? If ya do well with that, we'll talk about givin' ya more work," Sita said. "Either way, I gotta come back this way tonight anyhow. Wouldn't be much of a problem to drop ya off."

[Anonymous]

He was far too old to be freaking out like this. Sure it was a stranger in a strange place, offering him a shirt and job to work it off. None of this would have happened if those brats hadn't stolen his damn clothing. Damnit. Yuuki felt his face twitch and he remembered that this was for Niaaki, that his little brother was more important than any of this. Sucking in a breath he nodded solemnly at the threat of ass kicking.

"I'd never hurt an animal! Even a horse..." He paused and then tried to smile, looking off to the side. In the face of giant scary monsters, well, Yuuki was a boss. Something simple like trying to figure out what he could do to not get his ass kicked by a man that was about his size? Trouble, nervous being a bigger doorknob than usual. "Well, uh, off we go?"

[Rhindeer]

"It's not...there is no even a horse there," Sita said, but wasn't quite sure how to phrase what he wanted to say. "They're not--they're not just horses, they--what's 'even a horse' even mean and--" He cut himself off with a frustrated sigh. The guy didn't seem to be getting it, and he was coming close to just saying 'forget it, keep the shirt', but he bit it back.

The least he could do was get a few hours of labor out of him to repay what he'd done, freakin' bleeding heart. This just meant he'd be keeping him away from his horses.

He took a deep breath. City kids, right. City kids with little experience with animals.

"Right. Well. Keep up, now," he said, and lead the way back to the stables.

It was in a relatively good part of town, for the man he worked for was a minor lord. Didn't have much power beyond his title, but he had a little money and he and Sita had worked out an arrangement that worked for them and was fair enough. He lead Yuuki inside and saw that the stalls were currently empty, the horses out to graze and exercise in the large field beyond.

That just left the dirty stalls.

Looking over to Yuuki, he waved a hand at the place. "This is it," he said. "My home away from home. Now, question: ya ever mucked a stall?"