Stupid foreigners. [Rina & anyone else!]

[Rhindeer]

For the last few days, Kuan had found herself stationed in one of her least favorite places:

Jin'ta.

And during her one of her least favorite times:

When a small fleet of Serenian ships were set to make port, any time now.

Of course, Kuan knew it was a necessary evil; the mainlanders provided them with goods they couldn't get anywhere else, so she tolerated their presence. But tolerance wasn't the same as acceptance and she was by no means obligated to mingle with them any more than she needed to. Still, whenever there was a big shipment like this, it meant a lot of mainlanders coming on land, which meant the port needed a few more warriors than usual to help ensure the peace was kept.

For sailors were a rowdy lot. Annoyingly so.

It was a bright, sunny morning, though clouds loomed in the distance with the promise of rain. Walking through the town with her partner, Aiyo, Kuan lead them toward the docks--and she would admit that her feet were dragging a little. As they passed one of the foreign-run taverns, the scent of cooking meat reached her nose and she cleared her throat to keep from gagging, reaching up to rub at her nose. She didn't know how people could stand that smell.

"This town is so filthy," she told Aiyo with a frown.

[Xphy]

Sevaire was not in a good mood today. She simply was not a fan of visiting the port of Jin'ta. Why anyone in their right mind would find the village an enjoyable place with all of the rift-raft that could be found there was beyond her. And to make matters worse she had arrived in port on the eve of when a fleet of merchant ships were scheduled to come in, meaning their numbers would only be that much higher when the boats came in.

Just great...

As she stepped off of the small boat she had used to travel from her personal cay her eyes wandered over the docks, observing the scene before her. The foreigners were definitely out in full force, busy making preparations for the arrival of more of their kind. Sometimes she wondered if the benefits they reaped from trade with the mainland were worth tainting even a small portion of their island with such unclean practices.

It was probably best to just ignore them she decided as she made her way down the dock accompanied by two of her zombie servants, each carrying a decorative sword on their backs. They simply weren't worth her time. Plus she had better things to do, like present her recent notes to the Temple for archiving. She also wanted to see if the local cadaver merchants had any interesting specimens for sale.

As much as she hated this village Sevaire had to admit it was without a doubt the best place to purchase research subjects from the mainland.

[Anonymous]

"Oh stop. It's not that bad!" Aiyo did her best to ignore the awful scent that filled the city. The foreigners all seemed to lack any sort of hygiene and it infected the port town, even the natives started to act more like the others, acted like unclean ones.

Beaming at Kuan, her happy expression only faltered a little when the cooking mean smell hit her. That was kind of gross, how they would eat all that dead flesh, like they were zombies. But really, they weren't so awful, just different.

Scanning the area, she was totally unaware of the face that Sevaire was coming up along side them, "Besides, it is a beautiful day and we can look at all the cool things brought in from the mainland! Maybe I'll let you buy me a pretty present!"

[Rhindeer]

Kuan gave Aiyo a sidelong glance and arched an eyebrow, catching the girl's sour expression. "Not that bad, hmm?" she said with a wry smile. Honestly, while they had some neat things for trade in these parts, it still didn't make it worth it to her. She was quite content sticking to her corner of the world where things made sense.

Aiyo's next words got a small snort out of Kuan. "Oh? And to what do I owe the pleasure of buying you said gift? Has a date slipped my mind?"

[Xphy]

As she walked Sevaire's eye rolled over each and every person she passed, being especially careful not to get too close to them. She really didn't want to catch something from the foreigners and other dishonorable people who called the harbor home. However as careful as she had been to avoid contact with others the same could not be said about her zombie escorts, and as she made her way pass Aiyo and Kuan the one on her left walked right into the younger of the two.

Hearing the sound of the collision behind her Sevaire slowly turned her head ready to give 'the unclean person clumsy enough to walk into one of her guards,' but to her surprise the person was actually Thanati. The woman also appeared to be a warrior of the temple as well if the weapon she carried was any indication. Both facts had earned the woman a far greater deal of respect from the teacher. So her expression lightened and she politely bowed her head, holding her research close to her heart.

"My apologies. I wasn't paying enough attention to where my escorts were walking.

[Anonymous]

"It is always a pl-" Aiyo was cut off when a zombie smacked into her, stumbling forward. She started to snap when she suddenly noticed who was their controller. Jaw dropping, Aiyo quickly bowed low, "Oh no. The fault was mine. I should have been looking where I was going."

She was sweating slightly, afraid she might have offended the Maharani.

[Xphy]

The warrior's reaction, while appropriate was a little weird in Sevaire's eyes. She seemed to have been shocked by who she was, but at the same time the girl appeared to be a bit too young to recognize from when she had sat on the council. Well... she supposed there were other possible explanations for how she knew of her. After all this wasn't her first visit to Kunata since those days. Not to mention everyone knew her daughter whom she had been told on several occasions favored her heavily, even if Inima had blessed Avrei in a far greater capacity than her from the neck down.

Regardless Sevaire returned the warrior's bow with one of her own, matching the girl's perfectly in terms of height and length. "It was still partially my fault," she replied as she lifted her head. Honestly she didn't see the need for the apology on the warrior's part. It had clearly been her fault, but she saw no point in arguing over it.

"At the very least allow me to make it up to you in some way."

[Anonymous]

Aiyo, like many of the educated Thanati, had seen portraits of the Maharani and her family. It was important to know those that ruled you. When the woman bowed back like an equal, Aiyo froze, unsure what to make of that. She was the woman's inferior, her rank well beneath the daughter of the Maharani.

Sweating, Aiyo glanced at Kuan, nervous she had done something wrong. Was it a pointed comment that Aiyo hadn't bowed far enough?

"Oh no. I'm very clumsy. It was all my fault. I apologize. I should have been watching."

[Xphy]

Sevaire stifled a sigh. The girl's nervousness only seemed to be getting worst, though perhaps it had been a mistake to address her as an equal. To her she had left her political life behind when she stepped down from the Council, but it was easy to forget that she still had some clout due to her daughter's position even if she viewed herself as nothing more than a simple necromancer.

For a moment she looked toward her zombie, considering how she should handle the situation, before returning her gaze to the girl and speaking.

"I admire your humility, but I should have paid more attention to where my zombie was walking. It would be shameful of me to allow you to take the blame for my mistakes."

[Rhindeer]

"We should have been more careful," Kuan said, bowing deeply to Sevaire before straightening. "It is a warrior's duty to be aware of their surroundings."

She shot Aiyo a look, expression calm and pleasant, before turning her attention back to Sevaire. "No harm done, in any case."

[Anonymous]

Aiyo gave a bright smile, "Again, I apologize." She stepped to the side, bowing again, "Please, do not let us keep you any longer than we already have."

[Xphy]

"Very well, I shall accept your apology," Sevaire sighed lightly, her eyes briefly wandering down to the notes in her arms. It seemed she wasn't going to be able to convince them it wasn't necessary, so it was better to just let it go. "I shall be on my way then, but first might I ask a question of you two?

"Would either of you happen to know what port the trade fleet they are preparing for hails from?" She had a genuine interest in the answer to that question, if only because of the potential of getting her hands on a few exotic specimens for her research.

[Rhindeer]

Almost imperceptible, Kuan relaxed a little, tension she hadn't even noticed was there leaving her as Sevaire finally accepted their humble apologies.

Her question, though, earned her an inquisitive look. She bowed again, shaking her head. "I apologize, my lady, but I'm afraid I don't know. I would be more than happy to find out for you, if you wish it? I do know it's a Serenian fleet so my guess would be Cerenis." It was the largest Serenian port to her knowledge, though her knowledge of Serendipity was minute at best.

[Xphy]

"I see," Sevaire replied, cupping her chin and stopping to consider things for a second. The fact that the fleet was Serenian didn't really speak well for her prospects but there was still hope she supposed. Not all of them were too prudish to understand the value of flesh in Thanatos.

Her eyes returned to Kuan and she gave the girl a brief nod before continuing. "If you would it would be most appreciated."

[Anonymous]

Aiyo finally relaxed when the woman accepted her apologies. No manners! Acting so high and mighty and making them grovel. But it was done and Aiyo supposed that was the way of the highest caste. They got to do things no one else did.

"As you wish!" Aiyo bowed again, then headed off, jogging over to the ship. The stench was over powering as she got closer, making her gag a little. It smelled like unwashed bodies and sickness and her nose wrinkled. She kept a smile on her face though as she called up, "Hello! We have buisness with you!"

[Rhindeer]

Kuan watched Aiyo leave, for there was no sense in both of them going to do a one-person job--and besides, she'd been near the ships before. If this town stank, it had nothing on the sailors who smelled of fish and salt and sweat and decay. Poor Aiyo, though, but hey, she'd volunteered! No doubt to get herself out of what had been a rather awkward, confusing situation thus far.

"Ah, she's so eager to please," she commented, not quite sure what to say to this woman. She'd never been very good at small talk but the silence seemed rude.

---

Hearing a voice down below, a young man with a scraggly attempt at a beard leaned over the edge and flashed the girl below a gap-toothed smile. "Oh, do ye now?" he asked, leaning on the rails and letting his eyes roam over her. "What can I help ye with, kitten?"

[Anonymous]

Aiyo's mouth dropped, staring up at the man. Kitten?! The way the man spoke to her was down right shocking, even for someone as friendly as she was. But Aiyo rallied and gave a low bow, "The honored Sevaire requires the knowledge of where your ship came from."

[Xphy]

"I see..." Sevaire replied, watching the warrior leave before turning her attention to the one who had stayed behind. She eyed her for a second, not quite sure what to make of her. But still there was time to kill until the other returned so she decided to make the best of it. "Tell me, what do you know of flesh sculpting?"