Aiza's Day Off;

[Aiza]

Timestamp: 45th of the Day, Fall of 511 A.V Wonderful, a day off! The kitchen was a lot to handle and the Kelvic was starting to get bored with the day-to-day jobs, cooking meals for masses. She could not see how anyone like that job at all. She sat on her bed, in her feline form staring out the window. Snow had already started to fall in the winter city. It was cold enough to stick to the ground today, and it made everything seem much brighter, despite the lack of sun. Staring out towards the market her stomach growled, a meal outside of this place would be nice. Something not cooked by the people she knew. The feline's ears flicked and she stretched out before shifting into a human once more and put on some warm clothing. Maybe a walk down to the market place could prove worth while, they might have something to eat, maybe something more than what was offered on the menu downstairs. Heading into town she wrapped her cloak tight, she wasn't made for this weather, despite being born here, her mother wasn't native to Avanthal. She knew her mother married her father, who lived and worked in this blasted city, but decided to stay around here. Aiza cursed her mother's choice and scanned the stalls along the street, searching for something sweet, some pie maybe. Or sweet dough, sweet dough sounded like heaven right now. Daydreaming of the awesome taste of a sweet bread in her mouth she was barely paying any attention to the world around her, her mind lost in it's on fantasy. With her mind in a different place, it was no wonder she bumped into the cart of carrots, knocking the goods all over the ground. Gasping, after realizing she was still in reality, she quickly started to pick them up. "I-I'm sorry!" She stammered, giving a handful of carrots to the angry cart vendor. Hiding her face by pulling on the hood of her cloak she quickly walked away from the scene, hoping not to cause anymore trouble to the poor vendor. Ooc: I was actually a cook in the army, I hated it. I hated eating there. So it's easy to write about someone who hate's their own job as a cook and hates eating at her work place. Heh.

[Jaiun]

"All right, my friend?"

The words, said in an unnatural rough dialect of Vani, tended to stun many when first spoken. Even those of the Vantha who heard the words and saw the slim man with the dark eyes to speak to them in such a way, they tended to look at him open-mouthed for a second before finally stammering out a response. Such was the way a cordial Kelvic was treated in society, Jaiun knew, even a society that was so open to Kelvics like Avanthal. That was how it always had been, and that was how it always would be. Kelvics always tended to seem...unnatural. As if they didn't belong.

But Jaiun continued on with the greeting anyways, for he knew that he did belong here, and that this was his home. Avanthal was his city...and their denizens, well, Jaiun tried to get to know them as well as he could.

So, when Jaiun saw a young woman -that he did not know- bowl over a carrot case, an obligation rose within him to intercede. Thus, the current situation.

"I couldn't help but notice your collision back there," Jaiun rumbled. The wind howled, but his face kept the same inscrutable expression it was carrying. "I was wondering if you were alright. Did you perhaps need something, or require assistance in any way? I'm part of the Icewatch" He asserted, eyes locked on hers. His brow crinkled and a frown tugged at his lips as he examined her in detail, as though something was off, but in a second it returned to the same polite, if unreadable, face it had been a second before.

[Aiza]

Aiza heard the familiar sound of the Vani language. She looked up, her bright green eyes round and curious as always. She knew enough to understand most Vanthas, but the language was strange to her. Her parents always spoke common, only spoke the odd tongue while in the city to the customers. "Uhm, I'm just...fine." She avoided using the language as much as possible, her translation wasn't fluent, but wasn't broken ether, she just didn't like it. Aiza blushed, the mention of her knocking over the cart. She looked away, avoiding eye contact. "No, I'm fine, I just need to pay attention more." She said softly. Aiza admired the Icewatch, but never wanted to be confronted by them. The shy kelvic looked back at the man, his face now a frown. Her heart pounded and she felt like he was judging her, maybe he was thinking of punishing her for causing a mess. "It was an accidental..." She mumbled, stepping back. "I'm sorry." The thought of being thrown in jail terrified her!

[Jaiun]

The girl seemed nervous. That was an emotion Jaiun was familiar with. It often possessed the weaker-willed criminals, but this girl didn't seem like the one's he had encountered before - was she simply afraid of him? Jaiun blinked, and took a step back, suddenly realized how intimidating he was being. That was probably the reason.

The Vani the girl spoke was merely average, saying that she was familar with it, but perhaps it was not her native language. "Don't worry, I think you're in the clear." Jaiun rumbled. "No one here is going to be mad over a few spilled carrots. Loosen up."

The last part came out harsher than he intended it, too, but Jaiun paid no heed to it. He tilted his head slightly as she avoided his eye contact, perhaps noticing something amiss. Something about her reminded him of someone, someone else he'd met once...

And then it hit him. "Are you human, my dear?" he said, characteristically direct.

[Aiza]

Aiza blinked wide eyed, her heart still pounding in her chest. He was big to her, scary too. She still felt like she was being judged; and even if he said she was fine, Aiza still wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. She didn't socialize well, a shy and timid girl didn't belong in a big city like Avanthal, she felt out of place. The man seemed to order her to loosen up. The way he said it didn't help her nerves. She mumbled under her breath another apologize and was about to start off the other direction when he asked her if she was human. She looked up puzzled, no one really asked that before. People have ether seen her change or didn't care to ask. The sun then peaked through the clouds and the light caused her pupils to dilate into silts, an obvious sign, but she answered promptly. "N-no." Her nerves were still shaky, but she was able to open up a little. "I'm a kelvic. Why?" She was curious of WHY he asked.

[Jaiun]

Well, it looked like someone wasn't having a good day. This girl practically fainted with every word Jaiun said. He frowned. Was she just shy? Nervous? Those were not usual personality traits of the Vantha, another thing backing up his current theory.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." Jaiun said gruffly. "Ms...um, what is your name?"

Jaiun nodded when he heard the girl squeak out an answer. So she was a Kelvic! He'd thought so. A puzzled look spread across the bear's face, shifting from one foot to another as he considered the woman across from him. This was...unusual. Unusual, that he would encounter a kelvic outside his brothers and sisters of the Watch. It had happened before, but kelvics by and large tended to be rare. Of course, in a city as large as Avanthal, there had to be a few kelvics, but what were the chances? It was indeed unusual... and so far everything about this girl was unusual.

"I too, am kelvic. A polar bear, to be exact." he affirmed, still thoughtfully watching the kelvic girl. "My name is Jaiun."

[Aiza]

Aiza blinked for a moment. She had seen the polar bears of Icewatch around Avanthal but never met one. Looking him over, he was much different than she would imagine a polar bear Kelvic to look. She thought of a gruff, buff man, that would tower over her with biddy black eyes. Tilting her head curiously she continued to look him over.

"Oh, well..." She paused brushing the hair out of her eyes. "...What is it like in Icewatch?" Aiza had to know what other Kelvic's lives where like. She had been free all her life and had heard stories of kelvics born into slavery or into the wild. In this case, it was a Kelvic used as protection for the city. "Is this something you wanted to do?" She shot out another question, wondering if he made the choice to serve the city as he does.

[Jaiun]

A noncommittal shrug. "It's like every other job in the world, if you times that by ten." He said. "The good stuff is better, and the bad stuff is worse, but it's the right place for a bear like me. I enjoy it."

He'd heard what other people said about him and the other bears. Slaves. Bred to protect. How it pained him to hear such a thing! Jaiun was free, more free than they would ever know. He could leave right now if he wanted to, just disappear into the Reaches and never come back to the Icewatch. But he didn't want to. He had to serve his lady and mistress, Queen Morwen. It was his duty, and above all else, bears did their duty.

"Yes, it's something I wanted to do." Jaiun said brusquely. Then, in a gentler tone, "I was born into this job, yes, but there was nothing else in the world I wanted to do. The job I have...it was made for a bear like me. You have no idea what it's like having a job specially tailored to your needs and wants. The Icewatch...it makes me...me...content."

"And how about you, my little kelvic? What do you do for a living?" He said ruefully, only now realizing how the conversation had shifted from her to him. Not exactly the best thing a guard should do, interrogation and all.

[Aiza]

Aiza frowned, she couldn't imagine being a guard. The work seemed hard, and dealing with people broke the law seemed harder. But Aiza wasn't a fighter, so of course the job he choose wasn't for her. His next question got her thinking for a moment.

"Me? I cook." She said simply, her voice a bit low. "I... well, I guess it's okay. It wasn't what I thought it would be." She wrinkled her brow and crossed her arms in a bit out a pout. "I actually really don't like my job... I like to cook, but, not for so many people during such short notice in so little time." She thought back about how busy the kitchen would get during lunch and dinner and shook her head.

[Jaiun]

Jaiun listened intently to Aiza speak, watching her with an almost unnatural focus as the smaller human gestured nervously to accentuate her points. An eyebrow rose in response to her pout, but little more emotion could be garnered from the bear's countenance. But at the mention of cooking a sudden and familiar noise gripped the pit of Jaiun's chest, emanating forth so that even the woman opposite him could hear it; his stomach was grumbling. A chuckle and a drawing back of the lips exposed sharp molars to Aiza. "It seems that you're not the only one on the lookout for food," he remarked in a low voice, "It seems I'm in need of sustenance too. Perhaps we can look for something to eat together. I'd expect a cook such as you to have a good eye for these sort of things." A welcoming grin and a hand that gestured loosely at the stalls around them belied a urbanity one might not have expected from Jaiun. But even bears could be courteous.