[Theo's Farm] Weightless [Seodai]

[Vanos Strongarm]

80.S.511, Afternoon.

Vanos wasn't sure why he agreed to go pick up some produce from the farm, the only place, Vanos was told, that they were able to get food for the city, when he had never actually been there before. The directions were simple enough but out in a rural setting Vanos would have been more or less lost if it wasn't for the road that led to the small farm. Vanos had seen other Isurian farms out the gates of Sultros and those were vastly different from what he was looking at as he followed the curling road to the home and barn of someone named Theo. Casually munching on some grass just on the side of the road was a goat that didn't seem to have a care in the world. Vanos stopped as the goat didn't mind him at all and kept eating the tall green shoots, enjoying his new found freedom and ignoring the rock of an Isur standing there, looking at him curiously. Based on the fact that the animal wasn't moving all that fast, Vanos deemed that it was tame and thus from the farm... But out of its pen. A perfect way to break the ice and meet the man responsible for most of the food that he had eaten back in The Stranger's Welcome. His eyes narrowed on the goat at his feet as he figured a way to bring it back to the farm that he saw on the horizon. Does he just grab it by the scruff of its neck and gently coax it back to where it belongs, like a dog? Or does he have to pick it up like a lost child and haul it back behind the pen that it belongs and not out in the middle of a road? His experience with livestock was about as extensive as his experience with magic - absolutely zero - unless placing hunks of meat on a grill counted as "experience with livestock." Vanos let out a little grunt as he reached out for the goat but this time it took a couple steps away from the Isur and looked up to him with contempt, as if he knew exactly what he was planning. With a grunt Vanos lunged at the goat again and his hands managed to easily lift it from the ground and hug it to his chest. The goat struggled for a bit but calmed down as it realized it wasn't about to go anywhere and an odd sound came from it as Vanos looked down to the creature curiously. He hadn't crushed it, yet, as it was still breathing and making some sort of call-like sound so it was still alive. Vanos carried the goat against his chest as he walked towards the farm, his arms not faulting in their grip around the animal that seemed quite content to be carried to where it belonged instead of walking. Its mouth tried to nibble on Vanos' flesh but found that it was like trying to eat one giant, moving pebble and soon gave up. Thankfully, Vanos saw someone that was repairing a gate and thought that was probably where this odd sounding, nibbling creature was from. The man looked more like a boy as he stood there and seemed to be struggling with getting the latch back in working order. Vanos wasn't exactly that stealthy as he approached and kept the goat in his arms until he knew he could place it somewhere safe that it wouldn't escape from. "Goat, yours? Found on road. Alone. Odd creature, goat." Vanos said as he looked to the goat against his chest with a frown. He eyed what the boy was doing and saw that on the other side of the gate were the rest of his goat friends, and he reached over the gate with a small degree of difficulty, as it may have been short for humans but was "average" for Vanos, and let the beast find its feet on the ground as it ran away from the human and Isur. Vanos glanced back to what the boy was working on and tried to figure out exactly what he was trying to repair. "You need help? I help."

[Seodai]

Seodai knew his animals. Every one of them. And while they didn't all have names, like pets, they may as well have. He knew their markings, their peculiarities, their needs. Some of them were friends to him, companions. Others were like naughty siblings that he had to look after. But, either way, Seodai knew them inherently. As such, he knew that the billy that had managed to break the latch on the gate and escape would come home. He always did, when he acquired his freedom through such sneaky methods. He would wander just far enough to be out of site of the farm. Chewing on some errant vegetation sprouting up alongside the road, the goat would soon bore of his adventures and wander back to a reliable food source, and protection. Perhaps it didn't think those things, in such terms, but it nonetheless acted upon such self-preserving principles. Thus, Seodai wasn't overly concerned with chasing after the fool thing. Instead he turned the attention of his afternoon towards repairing the damage. After all, the other goats were hardly as adventurous and so he couldn't predict their behavior. He had no desire to be herding his little flock all over Denval. Better to secure them before setting off for his prodigal. The mechanism of the latch, metal, was difficult to repair. He had no tools with which to effectively coax the pieces back into place, and so Seodai struggled to make do. If he could only budge it a hair, it would at least shove into the appropriate position and keep long enough for him to both return the wanderer and seek a new piece altogether from a smith in town proper. Before he could get to either of these things, however, he heard the bleating of his goat approaching. A glance up and he realized that it would get stranger yet. A short, stout man was toting along his lost animal, and heading right for him. "Ah, yes... he is my goat." The gate was not latched, and so Seodai shoved it with a hip, indicating that the man should deposit the rebellious creature inside with the others. "He's a bit of a wanderer," Seo said, his gazed fixed on the animal and his tone chiding. Recalling the strangers offer, Seo thought it at least polite to explain. "I suppose I need a whole new latch. Or at least better tools. The metal is bent," he said, demonstrating as he closed the gate.

[Vanos Strongarm]

"New latch not needed," Vanos noted as he looked over to the broken mechanism that would keep the animals behind the fence. He gently moved towards it as Seodai stepped away from the latch and Vanos took a closer look at it, his eyes narrowing as he saw exactly where the problem was. His fingers weren't the most nimble things around, but what he lacked in agility he made up for in strength and with a few squeezes and pushes in the right place the latch was just as it should be. He smiled proudly at his work as he opened the gate and closed it once more, the latch holding steady as if it had never been broke. "Fixed. Easy. No good for this sort of vork, human fingers," Vanos said as he smiled over to Seodai. The smaller arm reached for the human's hand as he looked up to him, the endless sunshine making Vanos' eyes appear more of a lighter shade of green than was natural for the Isurian. "Vanos Strongarm. Happy to meet you," With a firm shake that didn't have any threat of bone-crushing-squeezing. "Here for produce. For food." Vanos said with a frown as he looked back to the ground and tried to think of the right Common words for what he wanted to say without it sounding so much like a command as much as a question or a statement of his purpose. "Common imprecise, not sure how to properly vord request," Vanos said, audibly struggling with that one certain sound that his language did not contain, yet was everywhere in the Common language.

[Seodai]

The stranger had saved Seodai the trouble of fetching a stray animal, the cost of buying a new latch, and the trouble of seeing it installed. Even as they shook hands the young farmer felt indebted to the man, so when he struggled with the appropriate words Seo was quick to come to his aide. "I am Seodai. I work this farm, with my Uncle. Thank you for fixing this," he said, with a pat to the post atop the gate. "I'd be glad to get you some produce. Fair trade, I say." Conducting 'business' did not come as easily to Seo as it might to Theo, but it was the easiest socialization he was forced to participate in. After all, it was the same pattern. Hungry people came for food. A method of payment was negotiated, and Seodai gave them that food, which they left with. In this instance, Seo considered it paid in full already. All that was left was to appease the visitor. "What kind of things would you like?" the young farmer asked, double checking the lock before he walked away from the goat, who bleated unhappily after the Isur who had ruined his day of freedom.

[Vanos Strongarm]

"Not sure vhat things there are." The majority of the food that Vanos had seen so far didn't vary so much from what he ate and saw in Sultros, just the preparation and the spices seemed to differ. He wouldn't call human food bland, but it was definitely different from what he was used to eating, and his body was reacting accordingly: it was displeased with this change in diet. Vanos watched as Seodai double checked to make sure the wondering goat was secured and walked at his side as they went wherever the human desired. "No specifics mentioned, not sure vhat to ask for. Perhaps something that is good and filling and not something that is sugary and," Vanos without thinking, said the Isurian version of fattening and it wasn't until he saw the puzzled look on Seodai's face did he realize his error. He smiled up at him with a little chuckle. "Fattening. Sorry. One difference vith human food is quantity of surplus fat." He said in an accusatory tone, almost as if the young human was solely to blame. "Vould explain variety in human bodies. Very different. Very ... diverse." His eyes looked Seodai over for a moment before looking back up to the human, curiously. "Though same as Isur - lazy humans grow vide, hard vorking humans remain normal. Grow strength. Like stretched out Isur."

[Seodai]

Seodai smiled a bit as Vanos worked so hard to express himself. He nodded once when the stranger was finished. "I do not care for sweet things very much. Excepting fruit, of course, but it is good for you. Not fattening." Seo had a metabolism that meant he scarcely had to worry about such matters, but he was far from aloof to the importance of nutrition. In many ways he and Theo kept the Denvali alive and healthy with the work they did, and he was constantly considering what crop he might rotate or alternate into their harvest in order to meet the needs of the people. And though the trickle of outsiders into their gates was a bit novel, Seodai was learning to accomodate these new demands as well. "We have less meat than we do vegetables, but I believe I could rouse up some fresh chicken. Potatoes, perhaps? You seem as if you would need and appreciate a hearty diet. What do you usually eat?" By now they had reached the steps leading up to the porch, where a long, sand-colored dog rolled onto her side and lolled her tongue out towards Seo, yawning extravagantly. Not much of a guard dog. Seo scratched her behind the ears then pushed open the door that let to the small cottage. Neat, simple, homey. He gestured towards a chair. "Care for a drink, while I gather your things?"

[Vanos Strongarm]

The novelty of fruit was one that Vanos enjoyed, on occasion. He was more concerned with meeting the strict requirements of maintaining his body's appearance and strength than indulging in sweet fruits and other foods that had questionable nutritional value. It was something that him and the thin human shared at least, though where he could go in a conversation in Common with this shared "interest" in not eating fruit was puzzling Vanos. "Meat. Potatoes. Other vegetables vhen others not available," Vanos said with a rumble as he stepped onto the porch and looked over to the happily lazy dog. He smiled over to it and gave it a little wave, wondering if it was one of those Kelvics that Vanos had heard about but yet to actually witness. At least if it were partly a man they would recognize a wave for what it was, though if a purebred dog could recognize a simple greeting like that Vanos wasn't sure. He preferred cats; they took care of themselves and didn't slobber on every damn thing at their level. "Vater, please." Vanos said as he stepped inside the small cottage. He enjoyed how simple it was, but not for the fact that the owner was simpleminded. It was small, and not showy about anything inside. It was a place to live, eat, breath and sleep. He smiled softly as he sat on the chair, the wooden furniture groaning under the Isurian's weight. "This nice house. If everything vasn't so tall, one vould think it was made for Isurian." He said with a grin as he straightened his posture to try and get a good look out of one of the windows. "View very different, however." Vanos smiled his thanks to the water as he gulped down the entire contents of the glass in a matter of seconds and held onto it between his legs idly as he looked back over to Seodai. "You and vife live here alone? No children?"

[Seodai]

"Oh, I am not married." Hospitality was important in Denval, and Seodai had been raised to respect it. He set about preparing a meal which his guest could eat at present, even as he packed up a small crate with staple foods for the Isurian to carry off with him. "I live with my Uncle. This is his farm." If he needed to justify not having a wife and kids, Seodai wasn't aware of it, and so he didn't bother. He just spent a few moments working in the small space they shared so that he might present a plate to Vanos, as well as a refill on his drink. Cold meat, a slab of bread, and vegetables filled the plate. It was a generous portion. Once he had placed it, Seodai turned back to his own stock of food to continue packing up his gift for the man who had saved him time, effort, and money. It wasn't as if he couldn't easily replace everything in the small kitchen. "I have worked here since I was a child. I will die here, I hope." Faithful to the farm, to Theo, and to Bala, Seodai had no desire to go off traipsing about the world. He wanted peace, predictability, and comfort. All of which he had here.

[Vanos Strongarm]

Vanos nodded as Seodai explained who the farm belonged to - a family run business, and judging by the way that people in Denval spoke of the farm, a highly successful and honest-to-goodness place to get food. He smiled and nodded his thanks to Seodai as he got more water and some food on a plate, food that looked as if minutes ago it was out in the fields under the warm sunlight. Seo seemed occupied with putting everything together for Vanos so he didn't feel rude when he started to eat the food, hungrily, as the journey to the farm took a little longer for men and women that had shorter-than-average legs. "Die here, good place for that to happen. Die by forge, not so good. Not same as farm life," Vanos said with a grin as he finished up his plate rather quickly. "Your family here, too? They die on farm too?" Vanos didn't spot any graveyards or tombstones on his way to the farm, but wasn't looking for those places either as he walked back to the farm with the bleating goat in his arms. "Born in Sultros, expected to die in Sultros vith clan. Isur shouldn't be away from Sultros, numbers small and need to grow strong." Vanos paused for a second before continuing, verifying that what he said made sense in his mind. "Humans - everyvhere. Humans can go anyvhere they want and be successful. You don't vant to make farm away from Denval? Start your own? Seo's Farm?"

[Seodai]

Seodai appreciated the humor of the visitor. When language barriers made discussion most difficult, it was often humor that acted as the very best reprieve. They were understanding one another rather well, but still. A half smile was a lot for the farmer to afford a stranger, but something Vanos earned. "No," Seodai explained easily enough, as he finished the work of his hands and settled across from Vanos instead. "My father and mother are not interested in farming. I came to live with Uncle Theo when I was just a kid. He's more like my father than... well, my other one. I'd rather work this place, this farm, and care for it when he is old and passes on. Maybe someday I'll have kids," he said, almost awkwardly, certainly boyishly, "but they'll be Denvali. They'll be born here, and grow up here." It was, after all, crucial that they repopulate their tiny, dying portion of the world, or else fall into extinction. "What about you? I thought your kind didn't get far from home, didn't travel."