Making Port!

[Anonymous]

Every six months or so, The Dancing Star, a large trading vessel, would bring a handful of mainland traders and their goods to port in Ainu. Captain Killaroja was a no-nonsense kind of woman, and the traders she brought were selected carefully. Those she thought might cause trouble, try to smuggle weapons, or take advantage of the Yoreiqi people, were dismissed with a laugh. She would never bring someone to these islands, with these odd, but delightful people, that would give them any problems. Out of the crew, she was only the second best speaker of the native language, with most of her girls only knowing a hanful of phrases. Her son was fluent in the language, however. Speaking of her son...where on Earth had that boy gotten to? They'd only been in port five minutes!

Rajko had not even waited for The Dancing Star to port. As soon as the great ship had drawn close enough he'd spread his colorful wings and flown the rest of the way. As soon as he landed, there were Yoreiqi to greet him. His colorings were off a little, because of his Serendian mother, but they still embraced him as one of their own. Over the years he had made may friends in Ainu, and there was much nose bumping and hugging. Rajko loved Yoreiqi! Oh, no doubt he enjoyed sailing. It was a grand adventure, but half-breed or not, these islands were his favorite place in the world! No one could decide what they should do first. Some of the young men insisted that he go fishing with them, while a few of the young women thought he should join them in gathering for a feast.

Laughing he finally managed to peel himself away from the small crowd, but not before some more nose rubbing and hugging and promises of surfing and feasting later. The Dancing Star had made port and his mother would be expecting him to help translate for the merchants. As he walked back through the village he got ambushed again, however. This time by an elderly Yoreiqi woman who greeted him warmly and insisted he come into her hut and put on a proper sarong, instead of those strange mainlander's pants. She had made one for him, for when he came back into port.

Leaving the hut he almost blended completely in. The sarong he now wore wrapped about his waist was of a bright violet with blue and green swirls to match his bright wings. Also it had tassels decorated with small shells. His purple eyes flashed merrily to every passing face. You could almost see the laughter in his eyes.

[Winters-Feather]

Narron watched from his fishing boat as a big ship loomed into the horizon.
The fisherman paused what he was doing and smiled, eager for the chance to meet new friends. He turned to his partner, a lad named Yolino,  who was just learning the trade and had just moved in from a further away village.
"You never seen traders before, have you?" he kindly asked the boy.
The boy shook his head, fascinated with the thought of strangers.  Narron chuckled as he ruffled his hair. He was tempted to fly out to the ship and see which it was,  but he didn't need to; a light-skinned Yoreiri flew over head towards the island, a man with colorful wings.

"Ah! I got it!" exclaimed Narron, eagerly as he wiped the sweat off of his brow with the end of the green scarf he had tied around his head.
"Got what?" replied Yolino as the net started to be tugged on violently, "We got our catch."
"That's not what I meant," protested Narron as his strong arms began to pull in the net.
Rajko and his white-skinned mother, Killaroja were here; he knew it.
"Pull!"
After a minute's struggle, the two looked upon their pile of fish with satisfaction. It wasn't necessary to get anymore; that would be enough for the rest of the day, for Narron had to trade them, too.

It took the two almost twenty minutes to get back to shore, set up a large, colorful rug at the port and distribute the fish into five large woven baskets which were placed around it. In a smaller basket, Narron plopped five fish inside.
"Trade with it, eat it, share it; it's yours," he told the youth.
Yolino gave a broad grin at the payment, gave Narron his thanks, and bolted off into the crowd.

The man smiled as  he stretched and flattened the cloth of dirtied white trousers, ready to do business.
Yes, The Dancing Star had made port...Lots of foreigners with stories to tell and things to trade were here. This was good. Celebrations would also happen, he mused, which brightened his mood even more. Perhaps he could even perform and dance!
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pair of colorful wings. Immediantly, Narron's eyes were focused on the figure- sure enough, it was Rajko.
Narron waved his hands.
"HEY!" the man shouted, trying to talk over the crowd, "Rajko! Welcome!"

[Anonymous]

Rajko had been making his way back towards the docks. His mother probably already knew where he'd gotten off to, but he didn't want to leave her with all the translating for the traders and merchants they had brought to do business. Of course, it wasn't easy to get back to the ship. It would be rude not to greet all the people he knew, or even the ones he didn't know. He only got to see his friends twice a year, and only for a few days.

Moving through the crowds of Yoreiqi that had gathered to see the merchents and, to a lesser extent, what they had brought, he heard his name called out over the noise of excited chatter. Looking over the crowd, he spotted someone he knew. Waving he carefully picked his way through the bustle and made his way over. It was always nice to see a face he recognized.

"Narron! It is good to see you again. I see you had a good day fishing. I'll only be in port for a few days, as always, but we should go fishing together if we get a chance. Are you going to be dancing for the feasting? You're a great dancer, I always enjoy when you put on a show."

[Winters-Feather]

Narron chuckled as the younger man spotted him out from the crowd and nodded in thanks at the acknowledgement of his catch. As his friend spoke, Narron shortened the distance between the two.
"I was lucky today," he humbly replied as he clapped Rajko on the arm and got on his toes to rub noses.
"Tonight, eh? I'll try my best," he added with a coy grin.
Narron was not one for arrogance, but  he took pride in what he did and knew that he was good at it.  

"But what about you?" Narron inquired, though he was  interrupted when two of the night's festivities cooks, Anuk and Rerani, approached. They were twins, with nut brown skin and short black hair with patches of electric blue hair. They were wingless, but possessed identical tattoos on their upper bodies, though Anuk's was in black and Rerani's in red. They greeted Rajko just as warmly as they greeted Narron, with their noses pressing against both men.
"Ah, Rajko," Narron said, "Have you met the twins before?"

"We'll be taking two,"  Anuk said.
"Just like you promised," Rerani added.
Narron nodded- he had previously agreed to donate  some of his catch for the festivities tonight.
He watched as each man took a basket, ready to help , though they seemed fine.
Narron waved good bye to his customers before turning his attention back towards Rajko with a frown.

"Where's your mother?" he asked, his tone a little more serious.
"She needs help translating, yes?"
He smiled as he watched the swarm of people walk through the docks.
"And perhaps you could use some company?" he offered.
The man wasn't worried about the other two baskets- he wasn't concerned anyone would steal them. Why would anyone, when there was to be plenty of free food that night?

[Anonymous]

Rajko laughed, his violet eyes glittering merrily as Nerron humbly assigned his success to luck. They rubbed noses. He wanted to say more about Nerron's dancing, but the twins arrived. He greeted them as warmly as they greeted him, and he happily bumped noses with them as well.

The first hour back in Yoreiq was always filled with much greeting and affection. He loved these people more than any people in the world. He'd met people of other cultures, but he felt greater ties to the Yoreiqi than to any others.

As the twins got their fish and left, he waved to them. He hadn't really met them before, although he was sure he'd at least seen them before. When Nerron asked about his mother he smiled sheepishly.

"Yes, mother will need my help. I didn't tell her I was coming into the island before I left. I know that she knows where I am, but I should get back to her, yes."

At the offer of company he grinned widely at the older man and clapped him lightly on the shoulder. "I would love to have your company, Nerron. I can't wait for the festivities tonight. There will be great food, great dancing, and great company! You know, I need to get you to teach me how to dance with fire. You look so beautiful when you do it."

[Winters-Feather]

"Thank you."
Narron smiled shyly at Rajko's praise, bringing his hand up to meet Rajko's which was on his shoulder.
"You will learn quickly," he assured his friend, trying to remember what had happened to his first practice set. He had two make shift wooden handles connected to rope, which both had a small rubber ball connected at the end of them; it would be a perfect learning tool for Rajko on the seas. He couldn't use fire or when he was flying; it would be too dangerous.  
I'll give it to him before tonight, Narron thought with determination.

"Let's go find your mother, then," he declared as he started to walk .
"You shouldn't have flew away so quickly," Narron gently scowled, his hand still holding onto the younger man's wrist.
It was easier to get past the crowd this way; it was so dense,  what with all the new strangers and the villagers excited to meet new people. They could have flew, but with a distance so close, why bother?  Nor did he find such behavior unusual; it was simply a practical movement for him.
"The Dancing Star is that way?" he asked Rajko, trying to shout over the crowd as he pointed to the grand,  magnificent ship  that wasn't too far away.

[Anonymous]

Rajko grinned widely at Nerron. He liked the Yoreiqi's shy smile. Really, he liked Nerron in general. The man wasn't the fastest thinker, but he was genuine and kind-hearted. That was the most important thing. Also, he was a beautiful dancer and good fisherman! He grinned at the thought of being taught the fire dancing, and at Nerron's assurance that he would learn quickly.

He didn't mind being led through the crowd by his wrist at all, and he made a point to keep close to his companion. Another sheepish smile flitted onto his lips as he was scowled. Yes, he should have stayed and helped his mother more, but he couldn't contain his excitement! It was hard to wait for a slow ship to drift into port when you could just fly in quickly and see your friends.

"Mother will understand, she's probably still busy securing the ship."

When Nerron pointed out the ship, Rajko nodded and pulled his arm away from Nerron's grasp so he could instead link arms with the man as they approached the vessel. Captain Killaroja found them first.

The older woman glared up at the two men who were much taller than her, but the stern look broke quickly and she smiled at the pair. She had never really wanted children, but she had fallen in love with Rajko the moment she laid eyes on him. She loved to see him happy, and knew that he was always happiest when they reached port in Yoreiq.

"Well I see you didn't waste any time finding some old friends, Rajko. These traders are already clammering to sell their stuff to the locals. It's a good thing a few Yoreiqi know a little common."

Her Yoreiqi was good, but heavily accented, unlike Rajko, who sounded native in his speech. "Look, why don't you go have some fun with your friends? You don't get to see them much, and we can manage the translating here."

[Winters-Feather]

"Mmm," muttered Narron with a nod, accepting the mischievous younger one's answer.
He didn't say anything more for the rest of the duration of their walk, even when Rajko comfortably interlocked their arms together. When they arrived, Narron was surprised to see that the Captain had found them so quickly. Perhaps she had been waiting?

Whatever method she had used, Narron was pleased to see the woman again, and in such a seemingly good and healthy condition.  He had a lot of respect for these sailors, for he sympathized with them from making a living off of the ocean, a tough and fickle friend. To be able to be a captain of a ship must have taken great courage and wit, and for such a small person, that seemed like a big feat to the towering fisherman.

He bowed low enough so that his nose touched the woman.
"Welcome back," he greeted.
"What wares and news did you bring from across the ocean?"
The man listened about how a  few Yoreiqi knew a little Common, and shook his head.
He, too, knew some words, but language wasn't his strongest suit. Learning new ones frustrated the man, but he knew that he'd have to struggle to learn, if he wanted to be able to sell his fish to foreigners with more ease.  However, he said none of that but instead smiled at her suggestion.
It was perfect- he would be able to help Rajko learn about poi for a while after greeting anyone else the boy  had forgotten.  But that wasn't Narron's decision, so the man waited for the younger to say what he wanted to do, and he would follow along if that was so desired.

[Anonymous]

Captain Killaroja smiled and returned Nerron's greeting. She had been coming here for a long, long time, she was quite used to the native traditions and adored these people. They were open, honest, and friendly. After she had finished talking to her son, she addressed Nerron with a bright smile.

"The news from across the sea is always the same, more wars and fighting and nonsense. The sea is my first true love, and always shall be. Both a loving and cruel mistress, but she is brutally honest and there is no greater force on this mighty Earth. As for wares...you'll have to talk to the merchants. Silks, fabrics, and dyes, most likely. Perhaps trinkets and glass. Pretty standard fare. Now you boys go have some fun, and Nerron, won't you please try to keep Rajko out of trouble?"

She gave them a wink and moved through the crowd. She did not struggle or jostle, people moved for her. Her very manner held people in awe at times, she was a powerful, impressive woman, for her small stature, and people could sense it.

Rajko grinned and nudged Nerron playfully.

"You heard mother, I'm in your capable hands, let's see how long it takes me to get us both in trouble."

[Winters-Feather]

OOC: It's an 'a'  in Narron, not an 'e' ^^; Oh, also, if you wanna follow the 'go visit friends' route, I'm cool with a time skip XD

IC:
 
    Narron nodded as the Captain spoke, fascinated with the news of the wares. He felt sheepish for asking her a question that clearly wasn't of her specialty; he really should have asked the merchants. However, none of those things interested him, much. He wasn't a dyer or a tailor, nor did he bother himself with too many clothes. They sounded fascinating, but impractical and a bit of a waste of his personal time.  He smiled at the notion of having the prestigious woman's sun in his humble hands.
"I'll do my best," he replied as she walked away, seeming to command a sea of people to part.
   
"Hm?"
Narron looked up at Rajko, who had nudged him playfully. He laughed at the younger man's statement, and patted him on the arm.
"I need to sell the rest of my fish, now. Shouldn't take too long. You're welcome to accompany me, but if you rather go visit your friends, I understand," said Narron.
He paused, thinking.
"Then we can work on your training, if you'd like," he suggested.
He wanted to spend time with his friend a lot, but the man had work to be done. He had neglected it for a short period of time, and that was fine, but now he needed to go back and finish so that he could spend the rest of the day enjoying himself.

[Anonymous]

OOC: I'm so sorry! >_< I was rushed when I wrote my post, and totally missed that mistake. ;-;

IC:

Rajko had completely forgotten about Narron's fish. Oh yeah, he had totally dragged him away from his catch, hadn't he? Ah, well this was Yoreiqi! No one stole things here, it just wasn't an issue. Everyone shared so much that few things truly belonged to any one person anyway. Smiling sheepishly at his friend, he shook his head.

"We'll both go. I can help you sell your fish to the merchants! I'm sure they'd love to have some of the fine offerings of the sea that come from your beautiful waters. And once your catch is all gone, we can go together to practice and get ready for tonight's feasts."

He was very much looking forward to learning some of Narron's poi dancing, it really was a magnificent sight, and it looked like so much fun. Then of course, there was all the celebrating that would come later. With any luck he would get to see Narron in action. Maybe one year, after he had gotten decent enough, they could do a dance together, that sounded really fun.

[Winters-Feather]

OC: It's alright :P

IC:

    If Narron could have blushed at Rajko's words, he would have had.
"You're doing it again," he shyly replied, "The flattering."
He grabbed hold of Rajko's hand, again to walk through the crowds together.
"But I thank you for your company. Selling fish doesn't really match up to your adventures, after all. You should tell me about them. It'll pass the time more quickly," the man suggested. Rajko seemed to really enjoy his travelling, and Narron loved hearing tales of things people were passionate about. Most narratives were uninteresting, otherwise. Yes, passion, whether it was for travelling or for catching fish, defiantly made life worth living.

Just as Narron expected, his fish were untouched, for the most part. He stood up a bit longer to allow Rajko sit on the rug, first.
"Fish! Come get your daily, fresh fish here!" he cried out, his inviting voice loud among the crowd. Advertising wasn't his favorite part of the job; it embarrassed him, a little, but  it drew folk in.
"So, tell me," Narron asked Rajko again as he accepted payment for two fish to a strolling woman, "How was the trip?"

[Anonymous]

Kaori ran through the market place towards the beach, carrying her latest creation high over her head. This was her finest kite yet -- brilliant scarlet red with golden accents made to look like the markings of a butterfly's wings. Its long yellow tail fluttered out behind her as she raced past the islanders, giggling all the way. She couldn't wait to try it out! The wind was perfect today; surely she could get it to reach as high as ~

Suddenly it occurred to Kaori that she had passed something unusual. His wings were Yoreiqi, but his skin was notably lighter. Rather than stop and turn around, Kaori simply jogged backwards to Narron's stall, still holding the kite high over her head, and stopped to stare at Rajko.

"You look different, cousin," she said to Rajko innocently. "Why is your skin so pale?"

[Anonymous]

Rajko had grinned widely at Narron. He knew that he was getting to the older man, but that was half the fun! Besides, he liked complimenting Narron, the man was a good fisher and a beautiful dancer, why wouldn't he tell him so?

"Flattery? Me? Never! I speak only the truth, my dear friend!"

He laughed as they walked through the crowds, back to Narron's stall, hand-in-hand. When they arrived he sat down on the rug, watching Narron with a wide grin. His signature mischevious grin, actually.

"Well, the trip was rather..."

His words were cut off, Rajko looked at the little girl with her kite still held up above her head. Her words were so...Yoreiqi! Throwing his head back in delighted laughter, it took him a few moments to regain enough control to answer.

"Ah, I'm pale, yes. You should see my mother if you think this is pale, though. Her skin is like snow...oh, but you don't know about snow, do you? Hmm. Paler than the sand? Well, either way, that is why my skin is so pale, because my mother is pale and not of Yoreiqi blood."

[Winters-Feather]

OOC: Since the new guy is an npc, feel free to come up with dialogue.

That grin. Narron knew it all too well.  He stood up straighter, his shoulders more relaxed as his companion began to speak. The man prepared himself for some wild, unforeseeable wild adventure when they were suddenly interrupted by Kaori. The fisherman grinned at her naivete, leaning over a bit so  that he could  pet her hair.  Most everyone in the village knew each other, and had formed bonds of a  kind. Narron probably had watched over her on an occasion or two- he couldn't recall, at the moment, however.  The island had so many children!
"Introduce yourself before you ask such questions,"  he gently scowled at the girl.

Narron turned to Rajko.
"Rajko, this is Kaori, Kiala's daughter," he said before turning to face the girl again.
"Rajko's the son of Captain Killaroja, the woman in charge of that big ship over there," he explained, pointing towards the direction of The Dancing Star.
"He's an explorer. And..." he waved towards the direction of the sailors, particularly to the  pale skinned ones who were walking by.
"Kind of like that."

Narron's eyes traced over the beautiful kite.
"It's fine work," he said, quite impressed. He was never that clever with making things, other than nets.  
The trio were interrupted when one of the near by ship's sailors approached. He was pale, of sturdy built, and as tall as Kaori.  He pointed towards one of the baskets of fish.
"How much for the lot?" he asked in sharp, no-nonsense Common.
"I..." Narron started to say, quickly turning towards Rajko.
"Could you..." he started to ask with a hint of apology in his voice. He hated relying upon others for tasks like these, but it was a must to conduct good business.

[Anonymous]

Kaori's eyes grew wide at the sight of The Dancing Star and the strange new foreigners. She could hardly contain her excitement, bouncing up and down with her toes. Just as she was about to unleash a barrage of questions on poor Rajko the sailor approached, asking about Narron's catch. Kaori squealed with delight.

<"How much, how much,"> she parroted back at the sailor. "I like the way you talk! Say more funny things! <How much, how much! Much, much much!> Kaori was still holding the kite as she said this, having lowered it to her chest. She grinned madly at the sailor and continued to bounce excitedly. The sailor scowled and took a step back from Kaori.

"Eh? What's your problem, lass?" He glared towards Rajko. "Raj, tell this loon to step off before there's trouble. She's crazy!"

<"Crazy, crazy!"> Kaori parroted the words again with a wide grin. <"Zeeeeeeeee!">

[Anonymous]

Rajko listened to Narron explain to Kaori about him. He kept that easy smile as he watched the pair. Everyone here knew each other, a great many knew him too. It felt nice to be so welcome somewhere.

Suddenly a sailor had come up to ask about fish. Rajko was happy to translate for Narron, but Kaori became very excited and he chuckled as she started mimicking the common she heard. The laughter died in his throat and his eyes narrowed dangerously as the man threatened trouble.

The smile that curved Rajko's lips now wasn't friendly now as he stood up and stepped close to the sailor. He recognized him, he was a deckhand on The Pony Race. He knew that Narron and Kaori would not be able to understand him as he spoke to him in common.

"You'll be the one stepping off. She's not crazy, she's a curious child. And if you cause trouble for any people here, I'll see to it that you will be swimming your way back to the mainland, and you'll never get to sail back to Yoreiq. We don't tolerate that kind of attitude here, so I suggest you adjust it before I adjust it for you."

[Winters-Feather]

OOC: yeah the common is in italics lol
IC:

Narron narrowed his eyebrows as he instinctively reached his hand out for the girl's shoulder. He didn't understand a word that was coming out of the sailor's mouth, but he looked angry and bewildered by Kaori's actions. The man didn't like any of this, but he didn't want to alarm the child, either.
"Hush, now," he scowled at her, "It may sound funny, but that's Common. Most of the people in this world speak it. Don't be rude."

The man turned towards the cook with an uncharacteristic stone cold face as he pointed towards one of the huge baskets of fish he currently had. The cook seemed intimidated at the sight of two taller and broader winged men standing up against him, but he tried to hold his ground and twitched his noise with annoyance. He had heard rumors about who Rajko  was, and he wasn't about to mess with someone who would cost him his livelihood.
"Bah!" he exclaimed as he pointed towards one of the big baskets of fish, "I'll be takin' the lot for  two glints and four pips! I ain't takin' nothin' higher and just go find someone else."

Narron noticed that the man had pointed to one of his basket of fish, and had held out a  hand with foreign coins. He had forgotten where they were from and were useless on the islands, but they were valuable for trading with the foreign merchants.
Wordlessly, Narron took the coins and shoved them into his pant's pockets. Simultaneously, the cook grabbed for the basket and slowly made his way. Narron was now down a basket, but, again, he didn't mind. He was glad to be rid of the man with the rude behavior and, besides, baskets could be remade.

The man turned to his friends with a smile, trying to brighten the mood again. He handed Kaori two of the pips.
"You can buy things from the merchants with these," he suggested, his attention turning towards Rajko.
"Thanks," he solemnly said, grateful for Rajko's brief interference.

[Anonymous]

"Oh?" Kaori looked at Narron thoughtfully when he put his hand on her shoulder, then back to the sailor apologetically. "I'm sorry," she said to him. "I didn't know." She watched the rest of the transaction silently, obviously ashamed for causing trouble. Kaori waved to the sailor's backside as he stalked off with his purchase. "Bye..."

When Narron handed her the two shiny coins she was quite puzzled. Metal was very scarce on the islands; Kaori had never seen anything like it. She turned them around in her hand for a few moments, listening to the sound of the coins clinking together, then tried to bite one to see if it was edible (and hurting a tooth in the process). She rubbed her cheek gingerly, turning back to Narron and Rajko. "What is 'buy,' cousin?"

[Anonymous]

Rajko had half a mind to turn the man away completely. Still, he allowed Narron to accept the payment and for the man to walk away with his basket of fish. He was scowling softly as he watched the man leave.

Shaking his head, he let the easy smile return as he turned to look at Narron, giving a nod of acknowledgement at his thanks. Smiling wider at the girl, he ruffled a hand in her hair lightly.

"To buy is like trading. If you see something you want that the mainlanders are selling, then they might trade it to you for those coins. Strange, yes, but that is how they do it. Also, don't feel bad about that. I don't place any of the blame on you. You are a child, he was a grown man, he should have known better."