White-Tops UNITE! (Rhiiii~)

[Anonymous]

"Hey Whitey! The next cart is due up, go meet it!"
The gruff voice of his boss-man perks Shiroi right up, hunched as he was over a set of three large crates full of elaborately painted pottery.
"Got it!" He replied cheerfully, lifting said pottery crates and carrying them to the men waiting on the side of the well-traveled dirt road. Setting them down, he shot his fellow workers his usual smile before trotting off to do as told...leaving those beefy men to lift those crates one at a time and finish the transport.
At just 5'9", Shiroi isn't exactly the epitome of a physical laborer, his body more on the scrawny side. He doesn't match up with the rest of his coworkers, whom are all quite a bit bigger than him muscle-wise...though that's not really what makes him stick out. A head full of stark white hair does that for him, and matched with a pair of unearthly bright blue eyes with dark blue pupils, he makes quite the sight.

Straightening his brown vest, he stands at the corner near the warehouse, ready to wave down the cart, knowing his bright head will catch the driver's attention. Under the intense sun, most of his fellows have ended up quite brown (or red in the unfortunate cases), as they all only wear that brown vest with simple brown pants to match. Shiroi, on the other hand, still had his usual peachy-hued skin, which never really seemed to change regardless of how many hours he worked out in the sunlight.
Spotting the company horse-and-cart, he leaned out a bit and waved his arm, grinning away as per usual. It takes like, half a second for the driver of said cart to pick out his bright white head. Truth be told, most of the drivers loved this stop on the route, if only for how easy it was to pick Shiroi out of a crowd.
Waving up at the driver, Shiroi wasted no time in grabbing the reigns of one of the front horses in the team, ready to lead the cart carefully into place on the bustling road so it could be unloaded.
"Hey there Snowball! Long time no see. Got a big one in the back there for ya."
Looking over his shoulder, Shiroi grinned in reply to the driver, not wanting to try to shout over the considerable noise around them. It was a well known fact that Shiroi had an unusual strength despite his size, and though it caused quite the stir and gossip to go with, it was also very valuable to a company of this sort.

Finally maneuvering the cart into place, Shiroi released the reigns to let one of the horse-boys take care of it. He had his own job to do, after all! Joining with the rest of workers at the back of the cart, many hands reached out, bodies shuffling, moving large wooden crates and statues and all manner of other things under the warm sun.
"Whitey, the big crate is near the back, go get it."
Another gruff bark from his boss, met with another compliant grin.
"Aye aye! Heheh."
Bouncing up into the cart, Shiroi easily shoved a few marble busts out of the way with his foot before grabbing the front end of a very large, rectangular crate. It had a tarp thrown over it to keep the sun off the contents, and by his grip under the tarp, he can tell that instead of solid panels of wood, it's set up more like a cage, with thick wooden pieces spaced a few inches apart. Hmm, curious...wonder if it's a creature? Hehe, hopefully it won't bite me! With an easy heave and some quick steps backward, Shiroi had already slid the crate to the edge of the cart, at which point he hopped down and got a better grip on the bottom of the crate so he could lift it.
"'Scuse me guys!"
Such an awkward box to try and move...it's so huge! But not tall-huge, it's long-huge instead, which is much harder to deal with! Hoping people are getting out of his way, since he can't really see, he walked carefully into the warehouse, only his having traveled this path so many times allowing him to do it without needing to see.
Once indoors, the hustle and bustle of the men and carts and all manner of other city-noise faded away, making for a fairly more peaceful setting. Especially considering there weren't many people within the large space. Honestly, Shiroi was mostly grateful for the change in temperature...it was so much cooler in here!
Setting the awkward crate down, Shiroi was just about ready to turn and trot right back outside to finish...buuuut then his curiosity got the better of him.
Well, one little peak shouldn't hurt, right? Hehe...

Glancing around nervously first, Shiroi then lifted the edge of the tarp and leaned over a bit. Just a little look....
..........
...............
"Uh...Boss!? Er...I think we might have a slight problem with this crate...!"
Well, if a naked guy hanging out in the crate counts as a 'slight problem' anyhow.

(Booooo....I seriously hate opening posts XD; Lmao have at it!)

[Rhindeer]

"Damn right you've got a problem," came the snarled reply.

Sitting cooped up in the crate, his back against one of the walls, his arms crossed over his chest, and his long legs stretched out leisurely and crossed at the ankles was none other than a grown man. A grown naked man with white hair and pale skin and bright blue eyes--which were currently narrowed to angry slits and fixed on the other whitey, his mouth a thin line and body taut with tension. Oooh, yeah, he was pissed, and didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that he didn't have a stitch on him. Lezzari didn't care and besides, that was the least of his problems right now.

He was in a fucking crate being transported to who the hell knew where and he still didn't know WHY!

Well, alright, he knew why. But he still didn't know where.

His day had started out well enough. He'd been hunting in his shifted form, perched in a tree, and then what happens? Well, he couldn't rightly remember. He remembered something striking him and the sensation of falling, and when he woke up again he was curled up in this crate, sore but unscathed save for a large knot on his head that was throbbing even now. A bit of blood matted the side of his white head. For a while, he had been groggy, fading in and out of consciousness and catching only snippets of conversation, mentions of "the beast" and "the gryphon" and "hope the pelt wasn't damaged too badly" and "careful, stress makes them shed and ruins the value."

Lezzari hadn't cared.

Until he finally came to sometime that day (or night? With the tarp covering him, it was hard to tell time) and it all sank in.

...These people were planning on selling and skinning him.

Shiiiiiit.

They probably thought he was just some dumb beast that couldn't understand, but they were wrong, and Lezzari knew he was in trouble. Shifting had never been his strong point, neither in nor out of his human and gryphon forms, especially not with a killer headache that made concentration hairy, but he knew he had to do it or he was someone's rug. If he could just be human again, well...no one would do that to a human, right?

It must have taken hours, but finally--success!

Of course his clothes were still in that tree back where he'd been taken. Oh well. Served these people right.

Now he affected his best scandalized expression, throwing a hand up to shield his eyes from the light pouring in and squinting. "Now can you let me out already? I dunno what you guys are playing at but this is ridiculous and you've all got a lot of explaining to do! Is it company policy to jump and strip people and shove them in boxes or what? This a slave ring?"

[Anonymous]

Well...this was certainly a first for him! He'd never unloaded a crated person before...everything else, but not people...well, living people...there was that one time with the corpse...
Anyhow! Kneeling, he flipped up a corner of the tarp and stared in, head tilted to one side. Wow....he has white hair too! That's so strange, what are the odds of that?? Instantly smitten, Shiroi gave the strange man his best reassuring smile.
"Ah, the boss will be here soon...he'll straighten things out. We don't ever get people...that's not what we ship! At least...not that I know of, eheh..." He scratched at his chin sheepishly at that last statement. I hope that it's true though...this poor guy needs to be let out!

Just then, his boss walked him. Now, Shiroi's boss was in no way a small man, but rather was built like a brick wall. He easily towered over Shiroi even when the boy was standing, with broad shoulders and a solid frame. His belly was clearly not chiseled in his aging years, but damn if that wasn't some firm flab; punching his gut was not recommended for the weak-handed. His head was a bit boxy, and his salt n pepper hair was cut very close to his skull in a severe style. Intense gray eyes stared out from rather deep sockets, wrinkles spidering out from their edges, and a mouth set in an almost perpetual frown.
"What's up with the shouting Whitey?"
Bouncing to his feet, Shiroi gave his boss his usual grin.
"There's a man in the crate. He's not sure what happened. I think he was kidnapped? Do people kidnap grown men?"
Tilting his head to the side, he pondered that possibility as his boss walked up to the crate to squat and have a look himself.
"Eh, that's definitely a man. A naked one at that. Sheesh, the hell are they trying to pull these days....alright boys! Get him out of there!" Barking orders at men with crowbars, it only took a few minutes for Lezzari to be released from his imprisonment. With no clothes readily available, the boss and the rest would just have to deal with the state of undress. Oh well, they were all men here, nothing nobody hadn't seen before...
Arms crossed over his chest, the boss snorted slightly at Lezzari.
"So? What's your story eh? How the hell'd ya get into a crate in the first place?"
As the questioning began, Shiroi had happily placed himself somewhat adjacent to Lezzari, much closer than the ring of men standing around and watching with interest. You know, for moral support and all that...he certainly wouldn't want to be in this situation himself, after all! So while Boss practically stared Lezzari down with those intense eyes of his, Shiroi was counteracting it by smiling reassuringly up at the stranger, hands behind his back.

[Rhindeer]

If Lezzari had a tail at the moment, it would have been lashing, but he only grumbled something unintelligible in response and hunkered down to wait. That kid was pissing him right off, what with how jolly and casual he was acting. Helloooo? He was in a crate, here, and he was just gonna act like it was some silly thing that just happened, oh ha ha, those big sillies?

Soon another figure appeared, towering over the younger one, and Lezzari lifted his head and fixed him with that same disgruntled look.

No shit he was a man. Did he have to uncross his legs to make it more obvious or something?

At least his deception worked, in the end, and Lezzari had to bite back a triumphant grin when the workers brought out the crowbars and pried the crate open. He wasted no time in crawling out, squinting in the light and relishing the feeling of sun on his skin--it was a cool day made even colder inside the shaded crate, and with fur or feathers or clothes to protect him.

"About damned time," he grumbled, standing up straight and stretching his arms over his head, not caring that he was totally exposed. He didn't have human modesty, and even if he did...what was the point? What was he supposed to do, crouch down and awkwardly try and cover everything with his hands and blush? Pfft. If his lack of modesty made them uncomfortable, they deserved it.

"How'd I get in there? Huh, funny, I've been asking myself that same question ever since I woke up," he said, sweeping his eyes over the group, at the kid still smiling at him like a dope, and then back to the boss man who he locked eyes on and glared daggers at. "I dunno how I got there, but I'm guessing it has something to do with this." He jabbed a finger at the side of his head, where the white hair was dark and crusty.

"Really nice, right?"

[Anonymous]

The large bear of a man snorted gruffly at Lezzari, meeting that glare with a very even stare of his own.
"You can cram that attitude right now mister."
Shiroi winced a bit at the boss' tone, knowing all too well that was a very clear sign of his displeasure. Oh boy...though as much as he wanted to divert any on coming drama, he knew better than to try and speak up.
Oh did he know better.

"We ship things, aight? We got nothing to do with how or why you ended up in that crate. For all we know, you're some sort of criminal. The only reason we even let ya out, is to keep from getting our own selves in trouble for transporting human cargo. I couldn't care less about your naked ass."
Harsh words, but he was a harsh man. He had a business to run, and this was just a bump in the road. Asking how the man had even ended up like that was more in the hopes of getting a good story to spread, rather than because he cared to rectify the situation.
From nearby Lezzari, Shiroi gave a slight sigh, looking apologetic even without saying anything. Well, that's the boss for you...he really lays it on you hard...
"Now then, if you'd kindly get outta our way, we've got cargo to move. Let's go boys, quit your gawking! Back to work!"
Boss barked out without batting an eyelash, not at all opposed to stranding Lezzari naked and injured in the middle of a strange city. He was a grown man, he could fend for his own damn self. Probably his own fault he ended up in that crate to begin with, the idiot. And what was with that head of hair?? Here he had hoped Shiroi'd be the only freak he'd have to deal with in his lifetime...

As the group shuffled away, Shiroi couldn't help but linger. Well, that ended badly...poor guy, now he's stuck here, naked and everything...Fidgeting, he finally spoke up, his voice wavering a bit with uncertainty. He was, after all, a 'freak' so...never could tell how somebody would react to talking to him one-on-one. Even if this guy had white hair too, Shiroi was aware that even just his eyes made him eerie.
"Er...ah....I have a break still today so...um, I can take you to my place so you can get some clothes...."

[Rhindeer]

As soon as that was gone, Lezzari heaved a sigh of relief and let the tension melt out of his muscles, shoulders slouching, and it was only then with the adrenaline dying down that he realized just how weak and woozy he still was.

That was a close one, there, and he'd been half afraid that it wouldn't work, that somehow they'd know. After all, a white gryphon had once been in that crate and now it was replaced with a white-haired man. Fishy? Yep! Thank gods that jerk bought it, because he'd be screwed otherwise with no way to quickly shift and with flying being dangerous even if he could in his condition. With the men gone and stranding him, Lezzari let out a small groan and pressed a hand to his temple, closing his eyes and trying to will away the pain.

Ow...goddammit...now what? He didn't even know where he was except in some human place and he sure as hell wasn't going to get far naked.

That was kind of hard to explain...

That was when a voice near him spoke up and Lezzari's eyes snapped open with a jolt, darting around frantically before landing on the white-haired kid.

Oh. So he wasn't along after all.

"Huh? Oh, uh..." He wanted to say no and just get the fuck out of here, because that kid was affiliated with them and he didn't want them changing their mind. But his head was really throbbing now with the fight all gone out of him and nothing else to focus on--and what choice did he really have right now? Lezzari grimaced at the thought, but finally conceded defeat and shrugged. "...Yeah. Sure, kid. Lead the way," he said, and took a wobbly step. "It is pretty chilly. And you guys owe me big, anyway. Fuckin' asshole..." The boss, not the kid.

[Anonymous]

Waiting as patiently and quietly as could be, Shiroi took the time to really get a good look at Lezzari. His odd all-blue gaze was purely innocent in it's staring, taking in the man's more obvious injuries as well as his body language - something Shiroi was very adept at reading. In all honesty, his fellow white-haired man wasn't looking all that good...he'd probably had a pretty rough ride in there, and who knew when the last time he'd eaten or gotten something to drink?
Perking up as soon as Lezzari spoke, he listened closely with ears far more acute than any human's - perhaps something Lezzari was more familiar with than anyone else around. Oh good, he had agreed! He was still angry - understandably so - but at least he had agreed to take some help! That was a big thing, considering how people ordinarily reacted to him and his odd appearance.
Still smiling as gently as could be, Shiroi gave his sudden new companion a brief nod before trotting over to a pile of supplies to grab a bit of tarp. Trotting back over, Shiroi handed it over to Lezzari.
"Here, wrap this around yourself for now so you won't catch cold. You'll feel better once we get there, promise!"

Wanting to give the man a bit of room (since it seemed humans really liked their space and all) Shiroi moved over to the entrance to the large storage area, looking out at the sunny streets and the people bustling about. Well, guess it's a good thing I don't live all that far away, he won't have to walk out there dressed in just some cloth for very long...
"Um, are you okay to walk? You seem kind of wobbly...it's not far though! Ah, um...hmm, I guess I should introduce myself at least? I'm Shiroi Brighid, it's nice to meet you sir, even if the circumstances aren't so good, eheh." A sheepish smile accompanied his 'official' introduction as he waited for Lezzari to join him at the doorway. Well, he always tried to introduce himself formally, since anybody hanging around might think his real name was 'Whitey' or some such, as that was all that anyone around here called him. Of course, should the person to whom he introduced himself decide to call him that instead...well, they had made the decision on their own so he couldn't very well say anything about it.

[Rhindeer]

Lezzari took the tarp and was quick to wrap it around himself, savoring its warmth. That it was dusty and dirty wasn't a concern for him right then--beggars couldn't be choosers--though it nonetheless made his skin crawl to think of just how filthy he'd gotten. He was by no means a neat freak--he roughed it in the wilderness often, hunted and wound up quite bloody, and generally got messy--but he still liked being clean once all was said and done. He may not have had any feathers to preen right now, but he had hair and skin to wash!

Ugh.

Oh well. He'd deal.

With the tarp wrapped securely around him clear up to his chin, he started to follow after the kid and only gave a snort when asked about his condition. "I'm fine," he said, though he didn't really feel it, "But how far is 'not far'?" he added, and then gave Shiroi an odd look as he introduced himself.

Boy, did this Shiroi have a penchant for underestimation. Not-so-good circumstances? He'd woken up naked and in a box and was who knows how many leagues from where he'd started out and was currently clothed with a dusty tarp with no possessions to his name--because they were all back in Serendipity. Not-so-good was putting it rather mildly.

"Uh...right...not so good, sure," he said slowly, sounding tired, as he came to stand next to Shiroi. But it wouldn't do to be too grumpy, would it? Shiroi was probably inconveniencing himself to house him, taking time out of his day that he could have been using to be more productive, and yet here he was, wanting to take out his frustration on him. It wasn't his fault.

"I guess it's good to meet you, too. I mean, it is." He ran a hand through his hair, which was pinker in some areas from old blood and grayer in some areas from dirt. He shot him an apologetic look. "Sorry. I don't mean to take this out on you, I'm just...whatever, it doesn't matter. Anyway, you can call me 'Ari' and, uh...thanks."

[Anonymous]

Shiroi looked up at Lezzari as the man spoke, and at the end of it he simply smiled at him - a warm, totally unbiased, wholly welcoming smile.
"I understand, don't worry about it."
And his words were entirely sincere. He did understand, more than anybody might ever know - because he wasn't the sort to share his woes with others, lest he become even more of a burden to them. And the idea of having a friend to confide in was completely and totally foreign to him - not since he was a small child had he ever had something like a friend.
"Ah, and it really isn't far at all! Come on, follow me Ari!" He purposefully used the man's name, to show that he had in fact heard it, before leading his tarp-clad guest out into the streets.
Where something rather odd happened. For once, he wasn't the focus of everyone's staring! Blinking his odd blue eyes, he realized that most people's curious gazes were fixated on the taller man behind him, and he honestly couldn't blame them - he made for an odd sight! Still, plenty of eyes were still on him, but he was completely unphazed - it was a normal, every day occurrence.

He lived up to his word though, for it was only about a block's walk before they reached a somewhat rundown 'apartment' of sorts - just a large building with lots of rooms, each room rented out to a tenant. Big and brown and ugly, it was definitely not high-end living, but considering the boy's job as manual labor, it really wasn't that surprising. Leading Ari along, he entered the crumbling building, walked up the three flights of rickety stairs to the top floor, and then took him down a dirty hallway before reaching his room. Unlocking the heavy wooden door, he swung it open and stepped inside.
"Well, we're here!"
Despite what Ari may have been expecting, given the conditions of the whole rest of the building and the chorus of coughing, baby wails, and spots of shouting, walking into Shiroi's room was like entering an entirely different place altogether.
For one, it was clean. The wood floor was actually polished as much as it could be, the dark color offsetting the plaster walls which he had been keeping repaired so that there were no holes or cracks to be seen. The fat black oven was rust free and well-kept, the wooden counter top next to it and all the utensils (acting as the 'kitchen') just as clean and organized. His bed was really just an over-stuffed straw mattress with lots of blankets - something he'd been collecting for awhile to be honest, since he loved anything fluffy that reminded him of fur. Against the wall opposite the bed-nest, was a large wooden wardrobe standing regal and polished - he'd bought it in a falling apart state and had spent quite a long time repairing it until it looked good as new.
"Um, you can sit on the bed since I don't really have furniture, sorry about that...I'll go through my clothes later and see if I can't find something to fit you, okay? For now though, I need to go get water so you can take a bath." He motioned to a wooden tub in the spare corner, currently empty of water.

[Rhindeer]

Lezzari hadn't been expecting much, but he didn't need much, anyway. He spent a large portion of his existence living rough, roaming and hunting in gryphon-form. Needless to say, he wasn't particularly picky about where he slept, so long as it was dry, warm, and he wouldn't be getting infested with fleas. The kid's home filled all those needs and then some, and he followed him inside and, as suggested, took a seat on the bed.

He kept the tarp (which was starting to get itchy and uncomfortable) wrapped around himself and absently gazed around the room. What he really wanted to do was just take off the damned thing and enjoy what would have otherwise been a soft, comfortable seat, but he wasn't so sure the guy wanted to see that. Humans were so weird about nudity.

"Wonderful," he said in response, reaching down to scratch his leg. Ugh, hopefully the tarp itself didn't have anything in it. "Thank you. Uh, are you gonna be able to get all that?" How far was he going to have to lug all that water? And from where?

[Anonymous]

Shiroi had already grabbed a couple of large (and I do mean large!) buckets from behind the tub when Ari brought up what would ordinarily be a bit of a problem.
Well, if Shiroi was a normal person, anyway.
Turning back around to face his new guest, Shiroi just grinned pleasantly.
"Yep, don't worry about me! I do this all the time, it's no problem. Oh, but, the water won't be very warm...sorry about that, eheh."
His grin turned a bit sheepish, before he gave an awkward bucket-filled wave and slipped back out the door, leaving Ari to listen to the sounds of low-class living.

As for Shiroi, he was currently trucking it back down all those stairs, chipper as could be. He couldn't help it though - he actually had a guest! And the gentleman even had white hair like him! It might be a bit superficial of him, but he felt some sort of kinship with Ari if only for that reason. Had Ari been bothered as much as him about it? Although, thinking on it now, he also had his strange blue eyes to worry about, even if his hair wasn't white...
Oh well, he was used to it by now anyway!

Leaving the building through the back, he had a short walk to the communal 'well' of sorts, though it was equipped with a rickety pump which made things marginally easier. Shiroi wasted no time in filling up both of his large wooden buckets, thankful that at this time of day there were no lines for getting bathing or cooking water as there was in the mornings and evenings. With both buckets full, Shiroi happily did an about-face and marched his way right back to the building. Now, just one of these buckets would have been a heck of a task for a normal man, so how exactly Shiroi was easily carrying two up three flights of stairs without even breathing hard was some sort of secret of his. Though, it did help out with his job!

Returning to the room, he kicked the door shut behind him carefully, before taking a moment to dump both buckets into the tub, which filled it up about half way, leaving plenty of room for a person to get in.
"Alright, all set! There's a bit of soap and a fresh rag there off to the side, so help yourself. I'm gonna see if I can't find something of mine for you to borrow."