Meeting in the Light (Roka)

by **Chamaeleon** on March 15th, 2012, 9:54 am

Chamaeleon grinned as Roka pressed his nose to hers, finding the action incredibly lovely and kind. She couldn't say it in words, but deep in her soul she was truly lonely in this world, and Roka's small gesture made her feel brighter and far happier than many other things she had tried thus far.

As he leaned back, she did as well, but continued to watch his lovely, sun-toned eyes for a few moments longer before she suddenly sat upright and reached for her harp again to pull it close. The medium sized instrument sounded as she moved it, and she smiled at the gentle tones as they tickled her ear.

"Roka, the afternoon grows late, but I don't want to leave your company yet." The Ethaefal paused as she considered an activity they could participate in, her brows arching closer as she thought. The sapphire irises gleamed as a thought occurred to her.

"Would you like to eat with me?" She asked him, turning her head to the young man and flashing another sunny smile at him. She didn't require food during the day, she had noticed, but she didn't mind enjoying in the habit as it was, and having such company that Roka could provide was a great pleasure. "Maybe, if you wished, you can tell me how Sunberth has treated you."

Now, she just waited for his reply.

by **Roka** on March 15th, 2012, 2:30 pm

Feeling her rise from the soil in a fluid of motions, Roka followed her with his eyes. He sat up too as she began to speak. Her suggestion sounded genius. He hadn't even detected until the mention of partaking in a meal that he was unquestionably famished.

He stood before her and offered her a hand to help her stand. "I would love to eat a meal with you" smiling with his head bowed, he looked up at her through a screen of lashes.

He was a little worried to be honest, because well, Roka hardly ate anything that wasn't something he'd killed and eaten raw. He was well aware that most races were accustom to cooking their food, seasoning it even, but well he hadn't shared in many feasts of this kind. In fact he recalled the first time he was offered a bowl of cured meats it nearly made him sick, but to be fair, the cook had added copious amounts of salt and roasted pepper. He just hoped not all foods were prepared this way.

Instead of voicing any of this concerns, "Do you have anywhere in mind?" was all he offered.

by **Chamaeleon** on March 16th, 2012, 3:34 am

Chamaeleon smiled again as she took Roka's hand and helped her to her feet. She stood and dusted off her hands and the back of her skirt. She was then given a moment to consider Roka's question, lowering her gaze.

She had not thought of a place to eat yet. When she ate, it was at night and in dark alleys where her eyes afforded her a measure of awareness most others weren't capable of. She existed upon rats and other vermin in the city, using her bite to puncture their skin and drink them.

She hadn't eaten cooked food in what felt like ages. Did the Sunberthians eat their food cooked? In the tavern they'd been in the night they met, no food was served. Her brows furrowed as she clashed with this problem, but quickly enough she laughed and looked back at him, rather abruptly.

"I'm going to admit something, Roka, that may seem strange, but I've not actually eaten a cooked meal in Sunberth yet. The form you see now needs only the sunlight, as far as I can tell, but at night I've found my stomach disagrees with cooked meals, so I eat my food raw." No need to tell him she more or less sucked them inside out. The process actually sickened her to think about, and it wouldn't do to disgust her first friendly companion since she'd parted from the Svefran. "I'm sure the people here cook their food though. We just have to find them. Want to help me look?" She winked at him, in playful spirits.

by **Roka** on March 16th, 2012, 5:37 am

A stunned look crossed Roka's features as he ran through what she had just alleged. There were so many strange creatures he knew so little about. It seemed fitting though, that he should become acquainted with another who enjoyed feasting upon raw meat. He was unsure as to why exactly, but he felt excited upon the thought, his thoughts wandering to the taste of a fresh kill, to the feeling of his teeth baring into crisp meat, still full of warm blood.

"You do not eat cooked meat?" was all he blurted out after a pause, and grinned. "How odd!" he spoke without thinking that could be insulting, since he found it on the contrary, quite charming. Chamaeleon looked so dainty and lovely; he tried to imagine her as he would be eating upon rare meat. It wasn’t easy to do.

"I usually don't eat cooked meals either, in fact I usually just eat rats." to him, rats were a delicious, he enjoyed them wholeheartedly. He seemed excited even speaking of their very existence. On very few occasion had he found himself sick of the beasts, though his appetite varied greatly and he was sure there was some game he preferred more than the bottom feeders of Sunberth, but he couldn’t call them to mind.

"We could try a cooked meal together then, and if it's not to our liking, I'll hunt for a fresh meal." the feeling of being useful and in good company was ecstasy. He reached for her fingers, an overwhelming urge to keep her close dragging over him. As his hand hovered over hers, and his finger slipped into her palms he looked up at her, "Do you mind?" he asked suddenly timid, unsure if she would accept his gesture.

by **Chamaeleon** on March 16th, 2012, 5:23 pm

"It doesn't sit well with my stomach during the night, and it takes too long to make edible for me." She smiled brightly at him, unperturbed by his choice of words and calling it odd. In all honesty, the fact that she couldn't digest solid foods with comfort at night was very odd! She had grown used to it though. The taste of rats as their insides ran across her tongue was unique. Maybe she should try fruits, though.

Roka reached for hand, a surprising gesture she had seen only once or twice between innocent children, looking almost worried that she would turn him away. Instead she laughed and slid her fingers against his, taking hold of his hand and ensuring they didn't get swallowed by Sunberth as they went looking for a cooked meal. She liked the warmth of his hand. What a comforting feeling.

"That sounds wonderful, Roka!" She exclaimed cheerfully. She would have loved to eat food solid for once, raw or cooked didn't matter. They started off in search of a place that sold cooked food.

by **Roka** on March 16th, 2012, 8:23 pm

Roka presented her a smile at his established gesture. They both entered the cobbled streets paired and he could only speak for himself but he was tranquil but still watchful of the pedestrians along the road. You would be a fool to completely drop your guard within the city. He could feel eyes upon them, though they made no stir, and people made no welcomes or greetings upon entering any establishment unless you had some credit there. Even then you were no friend and would be ripped off just as any would. He didn’t mind the city though, his business was not always legal, and his wants were not always buyable. This city suited his needs just fine; it was the civilized version of the wild lands. Eat or be eaten.

His nose sniffed out any lingering smells of cooking food, it was hard to catch any with wind carrying the stench of the Slag Heap Fire in their direction with large puffs of black smoke overhead. It was a foul place to think of, he his nose would adjust but that was nearly as undesirable as the smell itself.

"I think I only know of one place to find a meal." He finally admitted after they'd ventured a fair distance. "And that's the Pig's Foot." He pointed just ahead for they were traveling in that direction already. It was a rustic pub that had taken a beating in the storm, but had repaired well. People were at its doors only days after the storm occurred, drinking and fighting like any respectable Sunberth creation.

"I've only ever had a drink there..."He shivered at the thought of it. That was an odd night he still was trying to make sense of. Drinking was something it seemed he wasn't very good at, though he wasn't against it, maybe just against it when women were around, for trouble would surely be stirred up out of thin air.

by **Chamaeleon** on March 18th, 2012, 5:22 am

Why hadn't she thought of the Pig's Foot?

Chamaeleon glanced around at the watchful eyes, seeing the suspicion in them and feeling something along the line of uncertainty. She frowned slightly, probably her first frown since she arrived on Mizahar. These people caused her great unrest with their open suspicion. She was not oblivious to their dislike of magic, and wondered if they recognised her as non-human and disliked her as well. Would that endanger Roka?

"Let's cut through here. It might go faster." She nodded to an alley. She didn't know exactly where the Pig's Foot was from here, being unfamiliar with Sunberth still. She meant the alley known by the locals as Stumble Alley, but she herself didn't know the lore of the alley yet. "I dont like them watching us." She meant the locals themselves.

She hoped the alley would get them out of the scrutiny of the public, but this was Sunberth, and Sunberth had a knack of being exactly what she didn't count on.

by **Roka** on March 19th, 2012, 2:59 am

Roka slipped into the shadows with her, surprised by her sudden choice. He hadn't sensed any danger, but he wanted to trust her judgment. If she felt it best to walk along the back paths of the city then he could only agree and become more vigilant.

The back alleys smelled of human excretion in all its forms, his nose stung in its manifestation, but he'd seemed more jaded to the smell. It appeared empty around them, but he could hear the patter of shuffling feet here and there wherever they walked. It was almost as unsettling as being in the open.

His fingers tangled closer into hers as they weaved through the walls of the cities maze. "We should be close now..." He finally uttered the passing rats below their feet catching his attention as they filed past their feet.

by **Chamaeleon** on March 23rd, 2012, 1:42 am

If Chamaeleon was sensitive to Roka's uncertainty, she didn't show it other than the tightening of her fingers through his. The warmth of his hand was a pleasant feeling that she enjoyed in silence, her blue eyes taking in the refuse and rodents that littered their surroundings.

This was the first time Chamaeleon had been in an alley since her arrival in Sunberth. In the dim, her usually gold-toned skin was pale. Her blonde hair was nearly bleached, but her blue eyes were as bright as usual.

As disgusting as it would seem to outsiders, Chamaeleon found the rats as interesting as her companion. She ate them most often, as rarely as that was. It was almost longing, the way she looked at them, but as soon as they stepped out of the alley, out of the dark and cold sight of the scum of Sunberth, they were forgotten as the sun slanted off of her skin again.

They were much nearer the Pig's Foot now, and Chamaeleon no longer felt so paranoid and observed as she had before they escaped to the dark alley. She practically skipped to the tavern, still clinging on to her friend and leading him inside, where the dim once again stripped her of the gold of Syna.

by **Roka** on March 26th, 2012, 2:30 pm

Roka followed close to her, following the eyes that seemed to glue to her wherever they went. Surely it was her, for he didn't recall ever receiving so many lingering glances when alone. It made his want to hold her closely and hide her away, somewhere where their eyes could no longer probe at her. He did not like it and couldn't say why. She was important to him, though his own feelings seemed blurred as to how they were manifesting. Either way he wanted, no needed to keep the feeling of her warm hand against his. Even in the dark, she glowed like the pale glow of the moon, reflecting the stray rays of the sun left lingering on her there. To look at her for too long, he felt he might just combust.

As they entered the familiar tavern, everything was as it usually was. There were desolate faces of the men and woman that were enjoying their drinks. Some well over their limit already, talking and singing loudly to anyone that cared to listen, and even those that didn't. He steered them away from the people that seemed to heavily inebriated. He would stand for having their time taken up with swatting away the local drunks. His jealousy surprised even him, even as he thought those thoughts. He seemed to be quite protective lately.

They took a seat at a bare table, and Roka was still reluctant to release her hand from the tangles of his. He gazed at their parting hands and then looked away and toward the bar. "So what can I get you? Do you have any preference on food and drink? “His asked with an inquisitive childlike look on his face as he gazed into her crystal blue eyes.