Starting Over [Nako]

[Jaryn Frostwing]

"Thanks, I'll do that,"Aylarra said. She stood and started to shake the bird's hand... wing.... a stiff, nervous bow instead. Too formal, she thought, biting her tongue. She was quick to excuse herself so she could review the contract in privacy. Of course, she had every intention of taking the job. She didn't have many (any) other options on the table and the money was... She swallowed hard. That was a lot more money than she'd expected. Finally things were starting to look up for her. Later that afternoon the young Selkie slipped into Richard's office and placed the signed contract on the desk.

On the appointed day she arrived very early in the morning. The air was still brisk and sharp with the chill of night. The cold, plus the excitement of the upcoming trip was enough to override Aylarra's usual sleepiness at this early hour.


"I'm here!" she announced, grinning as she lugged her heavy bag up to the waiting carriage. "I'm not too early am I?"

[Nako]

Richard turned from his intense scrutiny of the driver loading his things onto the carriage at the sound of Aylarra's voice. "One is never too early when there's money to be made!" He grinned, in a rare mood. He had a good feeling about today; he could feel it in his tailfeathers. That's where he usually would come to say he felt it when he smelled a good deal on the air.

The driver took Aylarra's luggage and put it on the carriage and then they were on their way.

It was… a rather long carriage ride if one was not used to it. It was easily mid-evening by the time they began to roll in toward the Midori lands. There was a telltale flattening of the earth as they drew closer to the sandy shore. The rich soil of the tropical land began to grow gritty and soft beneath the ace horse's feet. When the trees opened up to the great and expansive shore, it was a short road of gravel that allowed the carriage passage into the small town before the carriage could go no further.

It was a town of humble size, though there were several buildings that looked like they were built within the past ten years, obviously built in such a way to appear neat yet blend with the general decor of the town with a very 'tribal' feel. Almost all of the buildings were set upon stilts to protect themselves from floods and poor weather.

A small crowd had begun to form, mostly of the Midori common folk and young children.

One particular child.. or more like a teen, stepped forward, a few other Midori children walking behind him.



"Well then. I s'pose you be the two who wish to meet Zuberi today." He remarked rather dryly, staring for a long moment at the Selkie woman before directing a sharp gaze toward the Morganberry bird. "We'll take your bags from here."

"That won't be necessary. Our driver will-"

"Don't worry, mon'; we should be the ones afraid you'll steal da shirts off our backs, not the other way around."

Richard visibly twitched, his temper bubbling under the service. This seemed to make the high-ranked child smirk all the more.

[Jaryn Frostwing]

Wow, those were some curious looking wings. Aylarra tried not to stare, but her fascination with the Midori was difficult to conceal. Particularly after the long carriage ride, such an interesting looking creature was just... fascinating. Erk, it sure hadn't taken long for her new boss to go from relaxed to... twitching...

"That's very generous of you, thank you for the help," Aylarra chimed in. "We've been on the road all day and we're very tired."

She climbed down out of the carriage, took a few steps from the doorway and stretched laboriously. After such a long ride it felt very good to limber up a bit.

"Is there a place we could go to freshen up a bit before we meet Ms Zuberi?" Aylarra asked, smiling warmly at the gathering crowd of Midori. Not long ago being such the center of attention would have certainly unnerved her, but as things were, she was beginning to become well-accustomed to being something of a spectacle.

[Nako]

The Selkie was a good distraction from Richard's rising temperature, and Davy opted to speak to her than prod at the Morganberry's ire any longer. His mother hated the Morganberry surely, but she wouldn't tolerate his goading one into a fight either. He thumbed his nose and grinned wide at the raccoon, showing off his vermin-like teeth.

"I'm sure we can arrange that. Got the guest hut set up for you two. Hot water'll have to be boiled I'm afraid. None o' dem newfangled Corvie water furnaces out here."

The bags were gathered and the pair were led to a small hut close to the shore, slightly away from then main housing areas and the closest house to a large two story building that they would be informed by their guide was Zuberi's own home. The hut would be a simple housing area with a rudimentary kitchen, living area and other necessary quarters, along with two small sleeping rooms with a box type bed setup and a slightly thin, straw stuffed mattress.A stray chicken casually roamed the living room before being chased out by Davy.

"Well, you lot just meet us at the docks down the beach when you're ready. We'll be taking da boat out this evenin'."

[Jaryn Frostwing]

Aylarra couldn't help but smile whenever Davy grinned. That little mousey smile was so cute. She paid close attention to his comments all the way to the little hut. It was getting harder for the young raccoon to keep in mind that this was a job and not some vacation. The scenery was making it much harder. She loved the hut. Though it was small it really had a certain quaintness to it. The kitchen had some promise. Aylarra was pretty sure she could whip up a decent meal in it for her and her new boss and maybe even Davy if she could coax him into voluntarily spending an evening with the ill-tempered morganberry. She suspected not, but it would be worth a try.

That brought to mind the next curiosity: cooking the chickens. There were several wandering around and within the hut. It wasn't immediately apparent if these were in fact a pest which could be used for food or if this was property that would be missed if eaten.

Surely there were better ways to get meat. Aylarra made a mental note to ask Davy when he wasn't busy showing them around. She peered out toward the master house, Zuberi's. That was a place she was pining to get a tour of.

"It's very nice," she said, watching it from afar. "Do you live there Davy?"

[Nako]

Oh, great, it was a damned shack. Richard scowed and ran a feather across a table's surface to test it for dust, of which there was a small amount from the draft and natural dust and pollens coming in from the open windows. Aylarra though.. she looked thrilled to be here. His intense scowl turned into a smirk at the absolutely brilliant expression on her face. He didn't know just how bright the girl was, but her lighthearted demeanor was nearly infectious. He let out a soft sigh and took a closer, less scrutinous look around their living arrangements.

Davy leaned against the doorframe to watch the two. It was almost amusing to watch the Morganberry nearly blow his lid only to be grounded by the enthusiasm of his female assistant. An interesting, if not confusing dynamic. But then again attractive women had a way of soothing the ire of most men. And this Selkie was most certainly attractive, and in a way that embodied the traditional concepts of beauty that the Selkies had held; buxom and with substance. A skinny Selkie was an oddity, and probably even more a rarity now that there were so few left.

Aylarra's question caught him off guard, his brows raising for a moment before clearing his throat and looking out the open window which framed the imagery of the idyllic hut in the near distance. "Ah.. Aye. For now, anyways. S'pose I'll stop freeloadin' one o' dese days and get me own place. Then again I reckon I've a bit of time, eh? People always reminding me I'm still a kid."

[Jaryn Frostwing]

"You're really mature for a kid then," Aylarra said. She leaned against the window frame next to him and rested her chin on her hand. Laziness came natural to her, her own house? That wasn't really an aspiration she'd come to grasp. The idea of so much work, particularly when such a wonderful domocile was already available...

"If I could live in a place like that I'd never leave," she said softly. "It looks very luxurious."

She'd long sensed Richard's displeasure with the arrangements, but there was business to be conducted, and she was pretty sure that would be enough to lay to rest most any complaints. In front of their host anyway. She grinned, keeping cute little Davey around was quickly becoming an even more attractive idea.

"Say... if I were to cook dinner one night while we're here, would you want to join us? It's just my little way of thanking you for your hospitality."

[Nako]

Davy grinned, scratching the back of his head. "Cook? Really? Ah… wow, ya didn't seem the type. Er.. by dat I mean it seems you'd have someone else to do it for ya. Eh.. but aye. Can'ne pass up a meal." he emphasized the comment with a pat onto his belly and a grin. "Though… a word to da wise? Best to invite the Hostess, not just da messenger boy." He smirked and made a motion as if to tip a hat, though he certainly wasn't wearing one, and excused himself out the door.

Richard sighed, turning to his assistant once the boy was out of earshot. "Invite him.. to dinner?" He threw his wings up in mock exasperation before walking off to wash his face at the sink… probably to cool his head down before it caught on fire.

Not too much later, they'd find their way to the docks, an easy enough feat considering all they had to do was walk the shoreline in the necessary direction. Even the ever-fuming Richard would find himself complimenting the scenery and the calm day that caused the waves to lap gently at their ankles as they walked.

The docks were not impressive compared to the great feats of aquatic engineering that the Selkies had, but was instead more simple and rustic with a ship at the end, which looked every part the lovechild of a kayak and a luxury yacht… with more emphasis on tribal kayak. Regardless, a very strange woman bedecked in a skull with frightening wings protruding from her back sat in a reclining chair on its deck, sipping a fruit drink as she awaited her company.

Richard stalled at the gangplank. Though there was no trepidation on his face thanks to his diamond charm, the move could easily be construed as stalling to face the frightening yet attractive creature. "Ladies first."

[Jaryn Frostwing]

Aylarra almost didn't respond when Richard spoke to her. She greatly wished he wouldn't bother her when she was panicking, it made her so... panicky. Her goal had been to get cute, charming little Davy back into the house for another evening. She suspected he'd make a nice buffer for Richard. Maybe. It was almost an afterthought by the time she really processed that her boss had spoken to her. "I thought... it would be good to be courteous guests," she half mumbled in response. Her expression soured as she realized how much of a lecture she was going to get about it later. It wasn't like he'd had any better ideas. No, she sighed, to say nothing would have been a better idea. She looked over at her disgruntled employer. She forced a half-smile.

Oh you think you're mad now, she thought, just wait until I tell you realize how little I can cook...

Later at the dock, Aylarra had mostly put her cooking concerns aside. It was particularly easy, for example, when looking up at Zuberi. At that point all thoughts were put aside. Her first impulse was a quick 180* turn. No that would bring her face to face with Richard, her boss she was going to have to con into helping her cook later. On the other hand... Zuberi wasn't quite so scary... she had a fruit drink, Aylarra liked fruit drinks... So with a nervous grin she made her way up toward their host.

[Nako]

And so Zuberi did have a fruit drink. And she sipped it thusly.

Sip. Sip. And a smile.

And for that matter, a raising of her brows over her mismatched, pupil-less eyes. Davy had mentioned that there was a Selkie, but she was genuinely surprised to see a healthy one. A… very healthy one. Goodness, she was plush.

Davy suddenly burst up from the small captain's lounge, hilariously wearing a captain's cap on his head. "Ahoy, mateys! Be we all ready to set sail?"

Zuberi's cool demeanor cracked just slightly, looking very much like she could facepalm herself right then and there.

"Davy… Fix our guests something to drink."

All of Davy's grandeur quickly deflated, sighing as he scurried over to the table where the large jar of fruit juice and other assorted drinks sat.

"Anyone care for rum in theirs?" Davy queried.

"Oh Suits, yes. Please." Richard sighed. What was truly aggravation came off more as enthusiasm for the drink.

"Richard. Who's ya friend?" Zuberi queried, locking her gaze rather intently on Aylarra.

"This here is my new assistant, Aylarra." Richard hastily responded, coughing a bit as he'd just sucked down a large portion of his drink.

"Woah buddy, dat isn't a heart on your chest." Davy warned when the bird had downed such a large amount of the drink, his own comment a reference to how so many hearts were in fact immune to the effects of alcohol. Zuberi's withering stare though, made the boy cringe. "Ah... I suppose we be settin' sail, then?"

Zuberi's somber expression broke for just a moment, sending a wink her son's way and a nod. She really couldn't be cruel to her son for very long, even when he said dumb things in front of businessfolk.