Chowin' Down [Nel, Murdoch]

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden gave a slow shrug, moving onto his next stick of food as he motioned to one of the posters. "Can't say I know the full details, but it's a celebration for the new season. Aside from gathering and eats and drinks, there's going to be a theater play of some sort. I hear they'll be holding auditions for some of the parts soon," Jaeden replied as his eyes rolled into the back of his head for a moment. "Oh man, I can never cook squirrel this good. The chipmunk's totally out of my league too." Jaeden swallowed another mouthful of food before looking down at Nel once again. "Anyways, I'm not fully aware of all the details. I only know because I plan to hunt and possibly supply some of the meat they'll use for the food there to make some extra coin," Jaeden said as he tossed one of the sticks down to the ground. "I'm sure you'll hear more details about it as it begins to draw closer." Jaeden the looked down to a kid tugging at his pants as the young child looked up at him, or more significantly at his food. A slow grumble escaped his lips has he handed one of his food sticks down to the boy. "Don't go spreading this news around," Jaeden simply said before the boy smiled and ran off with the food.

[Nel Sayo]

Nel glanced at the poster he pointed to, but looked away again almost immediately. Not that she wasn't interested, but it held no useful information for her, except the pretty picture. She couldn't read.

If the revelation of what kind of meat she was eating displeased her, she didn't appear to slow down, regardless. She'd eaten a lot of weird shit in her time; sometimes, though, you choked down what you had to. The seaweed pie was the worst, in her opinion. And she wasn't a fan of snails. But anything you could roast and season was totally okay by her.

"I'll keep my ear out," she assured him, smiling, and watched him dispose of one of the sticks, so she did the same when she was finished with her own.

Made a funny face at the kid, which made the boy giggle before he bounded off. And then her attention swung up to Jaeden again.

"I've never seen a play," she admitted, interest sparkling into those blue eyes. "I've only ever been here once before, and not for very long, and I just got here. Are the plays usually good? I'd like to go see one." She held up one of the meat sticks, like these things were related. "This is way better than fish. I eat a lot of fish."

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden chuckled slowly. "You're asking the wrong person when it comes to plays," Jaeden said casually. "I generally don't spend that much time in the city. So I've never seen a play myself. And I've only ever acted in one." Jaeden then frowned slightly as he muttered the phrase, "Stupid faceless masked audience throwing daggers and other sharp pointy things at me." His mind then quickly snapped back to the present as he shook his head clear of cobwebs of the past. "Anyhow, I'm sure it'll be a grand celebration in the long run. Can't say how much of it I'll actually see myself. I may be busy with other things, or other people.......... or both," Jaeden replied tossing he last of his sticks to the ground, swiping his hands together to clean them off.

[Nel Sayo]

"Oh," she said.

She'd blinked at his muttering, but didn't ask about it. Muttering, grumbling people were a pretty regular occurrence in her life. Her brother used to grumble constantly in this low, gravely passive aggressive tone, and she'd gotten very good at ignoring it. Murdoch rumbled and grumbled when he was so annoyed he couldn't hide it all behind a smile. And generally speaking, the muttering kind of people didn't want you to point out that they were muttering. So she didn't.

After tossing her own sticks, she was licking her fingertips clean.

"Are you important, then?" she asked, tilting her head a little, intensifying her regard of him. If he was going to be busy with other people and other things, maybe that meant he was some kind of personage of import, or something. It wasn't asked with any unspoken intention behind it -- just blithe, harmless curiosity. "I mean, what would make you so busy you'd miss a celebration? Those are great. It's like the only time you get to not be busy with other things. I thought."

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden slowly shook his head as he motioned for them to continue their walk. "Nah, I'm not important or of any special class on the social status ladder," Jaeden replied as he cupped his hands behind his back. "It's just that I need to make a living. I'm a hunter by trade, so I spend most of my time in the forest. trapping and such." Jaeden then paused as his foot hovered over a fresh pile of animal droppings along the road. "Whoa, close one," he said idly stepping over it. "I guess in the long run, big gatherings aren't my thing either. Spending time quietly with someone close is a little more my style." Jaeden gave a quick smile and nod in return to some of the other women who passed them by. "There are some benefits to the city though, I won't deny that," Jaeden remarked before reaching up to give that white streak of hair on the back of his head a scratch as he often did.

[Nel Sayo]

"I've never been in a forest," she said thoughtfully. "I mean, I've seen them. Never went wandering into one, though. I'm a sailor."

She grinned; an unlikely candidate for a sailor, perhaps, but there she was. A wealth of mischief and good humor in that grin. The myriad of opalescent seashells roped into her hair made more sense, then. And though she didn't look much like a sailor, she didn't really look much like An Anything Else either; a too-pretty urchin with a fine leather swordbelt. What sense did that make?

"I've pretty much seen the sea and some cities and that's it. But -- I dunno about the forests, I'm prolly better off where and as I am." She wheeled around him so that she didn't step in any animal droppings either, and turned to look at the women Jaeden was nodding at. Her brother got nods like those sometimes. Eyebrows rocked curiously upward, but she went on, "But, you know. Whatever rocks your boat. Maybe I'll see you at the festival or something."

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden smirked slightly as he gave a shrug. "Perhaps. Depends on how much coin I earn from my hunts," Jaeden replied before looking to Nel. "I've never been on a ship myself. Don't imagine I would have a great pair of, what are they called? Sea legs? I've always been more comfortable with the forest ground beneath my feet." Jaeden the reached to a large pouch at his waist, dipping his fingers inside as a small bottle was retrieved from within. Uncorking it's top, a hint of cherry lingered through the air between then, tickling their noses slightly as Jaeden brought the lips of the bottle up to his own, taking a quick sip before releasing a slow exhale that sounded like it was meant to cool his throat over a sign of refreshment. "If you ever want to take a trip through the forest, let me know while I'm still in town here and I can at least make sure you won't get lost in there," Jaeden then offered, swirling the liquor within the bottle around casually.

[Nel Sayo]

"Okay." She crinkled her nose, leaning towards him to sniff in the direction of the bottle. "What's that?"

Like a hummingbird, from one thing to the next.

"I trip over stuff on land. Much better on a boat." She grinned. "Trip on a boat, you go over the side, and all."

[Jaeden Kincade]

"This?" Jaeden said wiggling the bottle in front of him. "It's a cherry flavored liquor. I decided to treat myself to it while in town here as there isn't a ready supply of it while out in the wild." Jaeden slowly held out the bottle, offering Nel a drink. "It's a little harsh going down, but has a pretty good aftertaste to it," Jaeden explained. "I'm not sure of it's origins though, you'd have to ask the Tavern bartender."

[Nel Sayo]

Nel's mouth formed a perfect O of interest when he explained the cherry liquor. In her limited experience with alcohol -- limited, because Syon wouldn't let her drink more than a few swallows of grog or ale, fearing what it might...do...to her -- she hadn't ever encountered a type of alcohol that tasted good.

She took the bottle, peering down into it and taking a sniff, before she took a teeny sip. Blinked, swallowed, and a blush burst bright and rosy-pink across the high planes of her cheekbones.

"Wow," she said, licking her lips as she handed it back to him. "That's good. Thanks."

Another smile.