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A Barrier Like Any Other

Started by Alegretto, July 31, 2014, 04:18:14 PM

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Alegretto

A warm tropical breeze blew over the busy docks as sailors and traders did their best to make deals with native Yoreiqi citizens. Half-formed phrases, poorly constructed sentences and heavily accented words were spoken in numerous languages as business moved through the afternoon.

Ritskin roamed around the bustling port, looking for some items from the mainland. He wanted some more parchment and ink for when he needed to teach someone writing, as well as some fruits that just couldn't be found on Yoreiq.

It was getting to be just past noon when he noticed someone who seemed oddly contradictory. It was a winged human, so a Yoreiqi, but she was wearing clothes from the mainland, and she carried a bow that clearly did not come from the islands, which led to the idea that she might be a native of Le'raana. Intrigued by the her incongruity, Ritskin approached her.

It seemed to him that the woman was either a winged human from the mainland or a native Yoreiqi back from a journey to the continent. Both were entirely possible, so the Kobold decided to cover both bases.

"Manuia le aso," he said to her with a friendly grin. He followed up his Yoreqi greeting with the common translation, "good afternoon." to make sure that she would understand no matter where she was from.

Halkyone

Ethna was trying hard not to look like a wide-eyed adventurer. Really, she was. But it was so difficult not to when confronted with a place like this! She'd never been anywhere like it before at all. Words both familiar and foreign mixed in the air, as more people than she'd seen in quite a long time moved about the port. Everywhere she looked, she saw vibrant color--a refreshing change from the muted hues and earth tones she was used to.

Looking at the natives' wings, she felt pretty drab by comparison. They had all these beautiful, eye-catching colors and patterns, and she had...dark gray. She didn't want to let that get her down, though. She'd come to see the land and learn about a new culture, and so far, it looked like she was in for a great experience.

Someone approached her now. They (or he? She thought he was a he, but she didn't want to assume) had a reptilian snout and yellow scales. They looked barely over three feet tall, making them arguably the shortest person Ethna had yet encountered--not that she'd encountered too many different races of people so far. Mainly variations on the same few.

The person spoke words she didn't recognize (in a voice that definitely sounded male), then followed up with a greeting in Common. She wasn't particularly sure why he was approaching her, but she figured she ought to be friendly anyway.

"Afternoon to you as well," she said with a smile of her own.

Alegretto

So Common it was then. "I apologize for the double greeting. Honestly I wasn't sure if you were a Yoreiqi back from a trip to Le'raana or a native of the continent visiting the isles. I guess I have my answer."

He paused for a moment, before continuing, "Anyway it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Ritskin Liscen, and I'm an interrupter who lives here in Ainu. You seemed a bit lost, so I wanted to see if you needed any help."

Ritskin smiled in what he hoped the girl would interpret as a friendly way. Oftentimes he'd been told that his smile just made him look hungry, but it wasn't his fault that mammals were bad at reading reptilian faces!