[FIN] So This is a Vacation? [Nako]

[Lucca]

The purple-and-black cat sighed and shook her fur, trying in vain to rid it of the sand that had seemed to cling to it as soon as she'd entered this blasted Realm. Not to mention the heat, which beat down on her unmercilously. And that water didn't help, always lurking on the edge of her vision menacingly, its quiet, deceptive sounds trying to soothe her into forgetting about all its danger.

In short, Eldy hated the beach. She'd half known she would, but everyone else loved it so much she thought she'd give it a try. After all, what would people think if she'd been all over the Realms, but never even set paws on Midori, the so-called lovely vacation spot? But here she was, sullenly stalking along, her binding trying to sink into the sand farther than she would like with every step. The only good thing to be said was that it smelled like fish, but even then, the salty wind constantly coming off the ocean stung her eyes and nose so much it made that sense a little numb. At least the sun was finally going down...night on the beach might be slightly more bearable. Sighing, the Heart slumped down on a patch of grass beneath a palm tree, ears going back...well, one ear and the...remains of the other one. She frowned a bit at this thought, glad at least that she wasn't close enough to the clear tropical water to catch sight of her reflection.

After the initial pain had worn off, she'd found the memory of that fight wasn't so bad, though it was a bit hazy...but she had been relived to find that, after it had healed, she hadn't lost any actual hearing in that ear, though it was harder to tune in to anything specific with it, lacking a long appendage to field the sound in the correct direction. Lazily, she swiveled her still-intact ear, though all she heard was the call of sea-birds and the rush of the waves. Guh. Slitting her eyes, she watched as the sky assumed a rosy hue some would call pretty, and the young spy could at least find relaxing, since it meant a comforting cloak of darkness.

[Nako]

Peck.

Peck peck peck.

Food? Nomnomnomnom. Ptooie. Doesn't taste like food. Tastes like fuzz. Spitting out a bit of loose black and purple hair, the nameless ace quickly became bored of the creature and began rummaging through the grass around him. Perhaps there would be some nice grubs on the ground for him to eat. Nomnomnomnom.

B-b-bawwk! He quickly moved out of the way as a bare foot came by to give him a gentle move out of the way.



"There there, my little ace. Mind your manners. Stay off de girl." Zuberi cooed to the tiny Card as she looked over the girl. Even at rest, the Torquehelms had a particular way about them that made them seem perpetually miserable. The copious amount of sand in her fur did little to help that fact. And that ear... it was a most unfortunate looking creature. "Be ya needin' a place to stay, mon?"

She hadn't been expecting to find someone on the beach during her evening walk. Normally she found such things as driftwood.. seashells... not washed up looking Torque cats. Well, not washed up... she didn't look -that- bad. It merely looked like someone who needed a place to stay.

And a good dose of 'get the hell over it.' Zuberi thought to herself. Only a Torque could be unhappy in such a paradise. Why, if she were a more vindictive creature, she might have even taken offense to it. Of course... one couldn't expect more out of a region that reveled in personal anguish and atoning for some sin that truly escaped her reasoning. Prejudice? Well, she's getting old (though she wouldn't look it) What else do you expect?

[Lucca]

She wasn't sure how long she'd been watching the sunset, only that she was finally snapped out of it by what felt like something pecking at her tail. "Ow," she complained. Said tail swished unhappily as the cat swiftly turned to glare at the perpetrator and...oh wow, that was the smallest Card she'd ever seen, if indeed it was a Card. ...yep, an Ace, apparently. One of the stupid ones. Fluffy would -never- have pecked at her! Well, not that Fluffy had a beak, but if she had...

Her good ear twitched at the new voice, and she turned to see what she assumed was the owner of the chicken. Her eyes widened at the odd sight of the human before her, and her face gave an odd twitch before she quickly schooled it into a neutral expression. Wondering how this winged woman could look so disturbing...and oddly so pretty at the same time. Huh.

She shook her head and smiled slightly at her, to make up for her reaction. "Heh, sorry about that, you...startled me." Her tail swished awkwardly. "A place to stay would be great, if you're offering. I just got here." She paused at that, unsure how much this stranger would know or care about why she was here. Well, if she did, she'd leave it to her to ask about. "Name's Eldryia, but you can call me Eldy." She tilted her head, glancing again at those odd wings. And the odd...everything. The only other human form she'd seen with wings was...well, the current Queen of Hearts, but somehow on this Card the effect was not quite so hair-raisingly disturbing.

[Nako]

Zuberi was used to double takes... to stares. Half the time it wasn't just of horror, so she had grown quite used to them. Sometimes... it was funny. Not always, but enough so that it wasn't enough to trigger a bad mood because of it. The Torque... Eldryia... accepted her help, even though she paused as if to consider her. Trusting? There was nothing wrong with that, but she expected more hesitance from her kind. That break in stereotype shook her from her mild prejudice just a little bit, and she offered a smile

"Zuberi You know, there's my village just a ways down this way, to the north. So, don't be finding it odd I be offering you a place to stay; comes with da territory of being a Priestess in a town like this.." The human giggled just a bit, absently patting her side to call her ace back to her lest he wander too far. Quickly, the little thing wandered back over, puffing up and regarding the new person with the utmost curiosity.

"So, what brings you to Midori, friend?" Zuberi asked curiously as she allowed the feline to get up and stretch herself out. The girl had a ball and chain on her leg, she noticed. It was a rather.. cumbersome binding. She glanced at it only a moment before resuming her polite smile.

[Lucca]

Eldy had...little social experience. And to say it like that was an understatement. However, what she did know was this: trust was what you made of it. People could be trusted to act a certain way as long as you acted a certain way in return, and barring outside complications. Which sounded a lot like a math equation, but what it really came down to was that she trusted people she had no reason to fear, and she generally only feared those who knew more about her than she knew about them. Since neither her nor Zuberi knew anything of each other but their names...the cat considered it a pretty equal playing ground, despite the Rank difference.

"A priestess, huh?" An eyebrow went up in curiosity, hoping the woman would choose to elaborate. Though really, she WAS wearing some pretty odd jewelry. "Still, I appreciate the offer. Not everyone is kind to...tourists." A slightly self-depreciating smile. Taking the opportunity, she did indeed get to her paws again, stretching luxuriously as only a cat could, and not seeming hampered in this by her binding. Indeed, once she began walking, Zub might even be impressed with how well Eldy had learned to overcome this handicap, especially when she was at her full energy.

"Well, I heard it was a must-see for anyone travelling through the Realms," she began, with a thoughtful look at the tree she had just been under. "And since I happen to be on a journey of self-reflection right now, I figured it wasn't a bad idea for a stop. Even though I'm not fond of water in large quantities." She frowned slightly. "And I'm finding sand a little bit annoying too." Still, it was better than Yarrow. Eugh. No thank you to the toxic air.

[Nako]

"Yes. Priestess, medicine woman... Witch Doctor? Not sure what they call them where you are from." Zuberi remarked good-naturedly, giving a small chuckle at her obvious curiosity. She'd attracted many a visitor from afar because of her title, some because of curiosity, while some out of desperation and in need of help.

"Well, the Midori certainly be a good place for it. Admittedly the ocean is a bit of a hassle for those who don't have the fur for it, but there is plenty to do away from the shore. I have a friend whose wife is quite terrified of water, you see, so the rare blue moon she actually comes down, we don't see much of the ocean at all. But reflection, you say? Seems a noble enough cause. Where you from, if you don't mind me askin'?"

[Lucca]

Eldryia's eyes flashed in obvious interest, wearing a look that managed to be both curious and slightly skeptical. "A witch doctor?" she repeated. "So you like...cast curses on people and use magic to heal weird diseases?" And that was the extent of her knowledge on that subject.

"'S not so much the fur as it is...well...the whole cat thing I guess, that and I would sink in an instant." She lifted up the leg with the heavy ball attached and let it fall again with a dull thunk to demonstrate how actually very logical her fear of water was. Or er, how logical she saw it as, at least. She paused a moment to wonder what sort of animal Zuberi was, but as she seemed to recall it was somewhat impolite to ask it of one with their Human form, she kept this question to herself.

"I'm from..." she paused, not entirely certain she trusted someone she just met with this information. She finally settled for a compromise. "A place that's a lot less open than this. And since I'd been there all my life, I thought it was time to get out and see...everything." She waved a paw around to indicate the beach, the water now harder to see as it got darker, though the moon seemed bright enough. "Well, except Tulgey Wood. I promised my m--someone important not to ever set foot there." Eldy nodded, though unsure why she had confided this random bit of information even though withholding her home.

"So...we should probably head towards this village of yours...well, unless this place has a cool nightlife or something." The cat shrugged, she didn't mind being out at night, but a lot of other people disliked it, and this was also an unfamiliar area.

[Nako]

"If you like watching the ocean at night, then yes. Otherwise, you'll likely get eaten up by the blood flies." Zuberi said, leading her back to the village.

Zuberi noticed the girl's hesitance, the way she nearly spoke of things but then second guessed it. Her brow arched curiously, and she grinned with that ever expressive human face of hers. She was like so many other people that had came to the Midori, yet different in her own way. She surely looked familiar though... like a little animal form of someone she'd seen in a photo in the house of a good friend. Not the same though, and certainly not the same binding.. but knowing Zuberi, she probably wouldn't be able to tell whether two feline torques were related or not; there didn't seem to be a lot of variance in color at all.


"No worries, friend. Lives can be complicated... and sometimes people come to the Midori and very much don't want to share such things. I won't take offense." And at that, she winked good naturedly and gestured to the village they were coming up on. "Hardly a pip on a map compared to the main port of Midori, but in these little towns, you see the heart and soul of the region. The bigger towns be all about the mass marketing."

[Lucca]

Eldryia cocked a brow in amusement. "Oh yeah? Let's go then." Though the ocean was actually...almost calming at night. In a deceptively peaceful way. That being said though, the cat could think of plenty of other things she'd rather be doing than watching it, some of which she hoped Zuberi could show her. Glancing at the ocean one last time, she turned and, with a flick of her tail, followed the woman.

Now that night had fallen, Eldy felt more alive and at peace than she had before, and fell into her usual way of walking that made it seem as if she didn't even have a binding. That was how well she could compensate for it, after all these years, and she easily kept up as they walked. "Good, I appreciate that," Eldy replied absently, though her mind was elsewhere. Bright eyes eagerly took in the sight of the little village. Eldy couldn't remember ever seeing a place that was so...small. It was certainly nothing like Corvistowne, and a very far cry from the Capital.

"It looks...nice," the cat remarked, ear flicking forward. "And it is good to know it's not just another tourist trap." She'd already seen a few of those, and wasn't very impressed. She'd done enough people-watching to recognize when cunning and greedy Cards preyed off ignorant and silly ones, all in the name of 'souvenirs' and other such tripe.

[Nako]

"Like I said... not the biggest village in Midori, but it's home."

As they walked, Zuberi pointed out some of the more notable buildings. There was the town hall, and a courtyard that was still under construction with a great well being its centerpiece. The market, aside from the houses, was the largest of areas, with a small Inn to accommodate visitors. This of course, was not where they were heading.

The Priestess's house wasn't a huge one.. but sufficient for a single person with enough room to hold a few visitors comfortably. It was a house on stilts, essentially, to keep it safe from flooding from the hurricanes that sometimes plagued the area. The first floor was mostly a living area, single room with kitchin, dining room and a small sitting area all together. Upstairs was the bedrooms; there were three of them, all of them seeming to be quite vacant; obviously Zuberi took to a hammock downstairs in the living room, her excuse being that she had been used to small quarters before having everything rebuilt, and she liked being close to her things.

And many a thing, she had. Pristine skulls lined shelves in the living area, cleaned and ornamented with feathers and beads. Everything in the house was tribal and low key, save for a single ice box, the sort where you put in a huge block of ice and it keeps things cool; that was about as technological as it got. Well, at least the place smelled fresh from the fact that the windows were always open.