A Shopping Trip (Kiya)

[Samantha Slate]

9th of Fall, 512 A.V. Samantha walked past rows of shops, each one filled with men and women much more finely dressed than she. West Street was gorgeous, one of the few truly luxurious places that Samantha had ever had the pleasure of visiting in her travels. Much could be said of this wealthy section of town, but not all of it was positive. At best, the mage was ignored by the shopkeepers and at worst she was given a glare that said in no uncertain terms that she was not welcome unless she was planning to buy something expensive. Samantha was wearing her normal, casual outfit and looked very out of place amongst the wealthy patrons that the street usually catered to. It was around the third bell and the woman had spent much of the morning in study, reading the Treval Codex and trying to decide which parts she should pay particular attention to and which parts were absolute rubbish. It was harder than she thought in some places. Now, she had decided to treat herself to a silly little indulgence. Her worries about being spotted by her father had faded into the background over the past couple days and she had been in need of a more formal outfit for some time. Samantha rarely attended any formal gatherings, but she felt that it would be wise to be well-prepared for one should she receive an invitation. You never knew what you could learn from listening to those with vastly more wealth than you had. The woman was having a little trouble locating a clothier, and did not feel comfortable asking one of those arrogant members of the upper-crust of Zeltivan society where to find it. Truth be told, she was in no real hurry. The mage was taking a little time to practice walking and appearing inconspicuous while she read auras nearby. She did not look deeply into them, for that would have taken a larger toll on her body than she would have liked. All she did was skim one and focus on it for a few moments before directing her attention to another person in the crowd; this way, she could practice without draining herself too much. Samantha thought she was doing well, since she could still keep walking without running into people while looking at an aura either in front or behind her. Judging from the strange looks she was getting however, the woman was probably making some embarrassing faces. At this relization, Samantha's eyes flared a pale pink, matching the blush she felt rising in her cheeks. She quickly quit her practice and returned to looking about for a clothier. How hard could it possibly to find her way to someone who could sell her a dress? She had grown up in this city, for the gods' sakes!

[Kiya]

People gave the wolf suspicious and sometimes alarmed looks as she weaved her way through the mass of people. Kiya had her belongings wrapped up in her cloak and was carrying them in her mouth. She was looking for the best place to transform back, transforming in the middle of a crowded street would be rather embarrassing. Perhaps a nice quiet alley or something?

Even if she transformed back the underdressed kelvic would look completely out of place in this upper class society. She would have to buy some decent clothes.

It suddenly dawned on her, Kiya had no idea where she was. The wolf had been traveling aimlessly for a while now. She paused and looked around, but all she could see were well dressed city folk. And shops. Plenty of shops. She could smell salt on the air, it was mixed in with the scent of human and all their humanly habits. Humans were such strange creatures, they liked those who were like them and despised those who were different. They were ever curious yet afraid of everything. Kiya had come to the conclusion that she would never understand the ways of humans.

The wolf found a dark empty alley, away from the harsh glares of the city folk she transformed back into her human form. Pulling on her plain cotton dress, forgetting completely about the use of undergarments, and tying back her long hair Kiya re-packed her bags and started off on two legs. The stone ground felt different under her bare human feet, her paws were much tougher.

She shifted her bag onto her right shoulder; her stomach growled. Kiya hadn't eaten for a while. A place with food would be her first stop.

[Samantha Slate]

Samantha had walked so far that the crowd and her surroundings had changed; instead of the well-to-do men and women browsing through the wares of opulently decorated shops, she was surrounded by the regular, run of the mill houses with housewives and workmen going about their evening routines. A few blocks past, the mage could see the beginnings of East Street, the domain of the thief, the thug, and the whore. She was going in entirely the wrong direction if she meant to continue her search for a respectable clothier. In frustration, the woman sighed and turned around to begin the trek back into the heart of West Street. She had stopped paying her surroundings much mind as her mind wandered, and her neglect had taken her two or three blocks from where she was supposed to be. Her life had been so busy of late that she hadn't had as much time to herself as she'd have liked, and the woman supposed that this carelessness was her body's way of telling her to take a break now and then. A small smile tugged at her lips as she returned to the outter fringe of West Street. She would take some time tomorrow and plan out the best way to make it through the season without driving herself to exhaustion. Samantha's thoughts were disrupted as something very unusual caught her eye. A large dog was padding its way through the crowd with a bundle of some kind in its mouth. No, it wasn't a dog, it was a wolf! What was a wolf doing in one of the most respectable places in Zeltiva? It suddenly turned off into a side alley, and Samantha impulsively followed to the mouth of the alley, stopping before she fell into the shadow. There was no reason to take a risk like that; being alone in an alley was one of the worst possible ideas, even in a neighborhood such as this. Something just wasn't right about that wolf, but the woman could not put her finger on what it was. She watched as the animal retreated further into the alley and then, in a burst of light, it became the form of a woman cloaked in the shadows. That was it! The aura around the dog had been several times larger than a dog's had any right to be. If she had been paying closer attention, the mage would have easily noticed that. Samantha averted her eyes as the Kelvic dressed herself and prepared to head back into the crowd. The woman should have vanished before the Kelvic could notice her, but she was far too busy thinking over the transformation to pay much attention to details like that. Samantha had spoken with Kelvics on occasion, though she'd never seen one transform. The ones she'd met usually retreated to an empty room or street to transfer from one form to the other. It seemed like this Kelvic had been trying to do the same thing. A good strategy, if Samantha hadn't been so nosy. It didn't embarrass her overmuch that she had glimpsed her naked, as it had been in a shadowed alley and Samantha hadn't actually looked at the Kelvic from the time of the transformation until she was decently clothed. It would have been impolite. Kiya wouldn't be able to miss Samantha, as she was standing in the middle of the alley's mouth and staring right at the Kelvic. She was a curious woman at heart, and always felt the urge to understand whatever mysteries were presented to her. In this case, the mystery was Kiya.

[Kiya]

Kiya stopped. She could feel eyes on the back of her head, they had been watching her since she transformed. The kelvic tried to focus but there was too much noise around her, humans were so loud.

She stole a quick glimpse behind her, standing in the shadows of the alley from which she had just come was a dark figure. As discreetly as possible, Kiya focussed in on the figure. It was obviously female, she smelt of human and a faint hint of vantha. There was something odd about this woman, it unnerved her.

Kiya wondered why the women was staring at her. She hadn't done anything wrong, had she? The kelvic remembered that she wasn't wearing shoes, oh, or undergarments. But surely there wasn't a law against that?

Kiya would have turned around and asked what she wanted but the kelvics people skills weren't the best; she was afraid that if she started asking questions then it might anger the woman and she didn't like making people angry.

She waited. Watching from ther corner of her eye to see what the womens next move would be.

[Samantha Slate]

The Kelvic was just standing there in the alley, facing away from Samantha. She stayed that way for several ticks, and the woman couldn't help but continue watching. What's she waiting for? Samantha wondered, Why isn't she coming back out of the alley? It didn't occur to her that the Kelvic might have noticed her; it didn't seem likely that the woman had heightened instincts thanks to her more canine nature. Slowly, the Kelvic turned her head slightly in the direction of her observer; if Samantha hadn't been watching, she was sure she'd have missed it. She knew that Samantha was there. Had the Kelvic been out in the open, Samantha would have initiated contact. They weren't, though; there was no sense in going into the dark alley to speak to someone she had never met before. It was pure foolishness. One might even call it suicidal. Even though they were near one of the safest places in town, the mage didn't feel comfortable being alone with someone who was more of an animal than a person. For all she knew, the woman might be rabid. Was that even possible? Samantha shook her head at her foolish thoughts. She ought to be thinking of her next course of action instead of thinking about silly, unrelated trivia like whether a Kelvic could be rabid or not. Then again, there really was only one other course of action. She could either stand there like a fool and wait for the Kelvic to acknowledge her, or she could be the first to establish relations. Being the willful woman she was, Samantha chose the latter. "Hello?" She called softly into the darkness, focusing her attention on the Kelvic's aura just enough to easily locate the woman in the darkness. All Samantha sought from the aura was a location; she had no interest in anything else it might have told her. The woman needed to know if the Kelvic would charge at her or not.

[Kiya]

Kiya heard the woman call in a quiet voice. The kelvic didn't sense any anger in her voice. Cautiously, Kiya turned to face the strange woman.

"Who are you?" Kiya asked, speaking loud enough for the woman to hear her. She tried to keep the waver from her voice, Kiya was somewhat afraid of humans. Though a wolf kelvic like her had good right to be, she had lost count of how many times she had been chased away by frightened or annoyed humans. She clentched her fists, feeling her sharp nails dig into her calloused palms, "Why are you watching me?"

[Samantha Slate]

"Who are you?" The girl's voice came through the darkness more loudly than Samantha's had. She slowly turned around to face the woman. Though she could not be certain, Samantha thought she detected a slight quaver in the woman's voice. Was she afraid? The Kelvic certainly had little reason to be fearful; all she needed to do was revert to the wolf Samantha had seen moments ago and rip out her throat. The mage lifted a hand to her throat and grimaced at the phantom feeling of imagined teeth ripping into her throat. How dreadful. "Why are you watching me?" The suspicion in her tone was very clear. Samantha had heard the same wariness ringing in her own voice often enough to recognize the tenseness that curled in the Kelvic's voice. In response, the mage lifted her hands in a gesture of peace before taking a single step closer to the woman. If what Samantha knew of Kelvics was true, then the woman would respond much in the way a dog might. That said, she had no desire to be bitten. "I'm Samantha," The mage told the Kelvic with all the warmth and friendliness she could muster. Her voice was full of tension, but no anger or malice resided there. "I saw you change...It made me curious," She answered honestly as she took another hesitant step towards the Kelvic, just waiting for a growl, bark, or something similarly canine to warn her that she had come close enough. Samantha was only a foot or so into the alley, and had no intention of coming inside the rest of the way. If the Kelvic was willing to talk, it would have to be done in the dim twilight that existed between the street and the alley, where the two were just merging from one into the other.

[Kiya]

"I'm Samantha" the woman said. Her voice was calm, Kiya heard her take a few steps closer. Although she had her hands up in a manner of peace, the kelvic wasn't convinced. "I saw you cahnge... It made me curious"

"That so?..." Kiya asked, she felt herself relaxe a little; like all animals she was also influenced by the emotions of others, this woman was calm, stable, relaxed but cautious. The kelvic introduced herself, "My name is Kiya. A pleasure to meet you"

[Samantha Slate]

"My name is Kiya. A pleasure to meet you" The Kelvic--Kiya--said to the mage from the dark recesses of the alley. Samantha noted with a little satisfaction that the Kelvic's voice was less tense and almost seemed relaxed. Samantha smiled encouragingly at Kiya, though she was uncertain whether the Kelvic could see it clearly in the dim lighting of the outer alley. Samantha lost herself in her thoughts for a few moments before responding to Kiya. What exactly did she want to learn from the Kelvic, anyway? She had previously harbored no intentions of more thoroughly understanding Kelvics and their nature before seeing Kiya; all the woman had wanted was a peaceful night on the town and a new dress. Now however, the scholar within her was curious. Were Kelvics really animals in their hearts, despite their ability to take on human features at will? Did Kiya act polite for the sake of being polite, as a human would, or was she merely doing it because some master or other had trained her to say that it was 'a pleasure' upon meeting new people? These questions and more plagued Samantha as she regarded her new acquaintance. Before she could get too distracted(though she feared that she already had), Samantha pulled her attention back to the Kelvic before her. Samantha had been contemplating the Kelvic for a full chime before she finally answered her. "A pleasure," Samantha agreed with the Kelvic, still sporting the same friendly tone and smile that she had adopted upon speaking to Kiya. "Would you mind having a talk with me? I just want to ask a few questions." Her curiosity would be in vain if Kiya chose not to go along with her. Samantha knew that she was being impulsive and possibly foolish, but she had an opportunity here. Why not seize it? If she could convince the Kelvic to come someplace private where they could speak in peace, then she most certainly would. If need be, the mage could always resort to library books, but speaking one-on-one with a Kelvic was a much better way to learn than sifting through endless piles of dusty books written about them.

[Kiya]

Kiya thought her situation through. Unknown city, dark alley and a woman she had never met before. If it came down to it, she could transform back to defend herself, but that would be her last resort. Kiya didn't like hurting people and transforming was made difficult by her clothing. Blast humans and their obsession with modesty! She could run but Kiya wasn't sure how far she'd get in this strange city, she had never been here and was even unsure of the name. Though, Kiya had never cared for trivial things like place names. She only cared for a few things; food, water, shelter, and above all survival. She had the natural instincts of her wolf self but had the dangerous emotions of her human self.

"Would you mind having a talk with me? I just want to ask you a few questions" the women said and smiled

The kelvic's stomach growled again. She suggested, "Food first? Then we talk?"