Closed A Tour Guide on the Small Side (Naira)

[Sliver]

The 19th of Fall 512 A.V. Sliver woke up rubbing the sleep from her eyes. It wasn't a regular day of patrols, yet it had been implied the previous evening that she wasn't getting a day off. Now she slipped on her loose leathers, fastening them reluctantly and heading down towards the mess hall to grab some food before she started doing...whatever she was going to be assigned to do. Before she could even get to the entryway she was intercepted by Simon. He gave her a jug of warm cider and a roll. "Late sleepers don't get to enjoy a sit down breakfast." The Kelvic glowered, accepting the food reluctantly. "I didn't sleep late." The Dire Polar Bear raised a single curved eyebrow, the corners of his mouth curing upwards. "Dawn was three bells ago sweetheart, you slept in, now come and see the joys of being a green recruit!" The massively muscled man grabbed her by both shoulders and steered her toward the entryway. Sliver gulped down her beverage and stuffed the roll in her mouth practically swallowing it whole and realizing much too late that she had finished her beverage and had nothing to wash it down with. So when the wolverine Kelvic was shoved out the front door in front of the new and rather green recruit there, Naira would see a relatively short woman, with a shock of brown hair in the form of a long mohawk sprouting form the top of her head. She wore a sleeveless jerkin that revealed heavily tattooed arms and piercing all across her face. Dark eyes gazed out at the white haired girl, and though the Kelvic made for an intimidating spectacle, this was nullified somewhat by the fact she was practically choking on a biscuit lodged halfway down her throat. Sliver opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a croak. Simon, a massive bear with brown hair and dark eyes, peered around at his silent companion, then smiled knowingly and gave Sliver one giant pat on the back, causing the wolverine to propel the half chewed biscuit up and out of her throat, across the yard. "This is Naira, she is the newest bear to join the watch, making you the second greenest piece of meat around here. Show her around, but must importantly have fun. Bye girls!" And with that the bear was off, headed towards the training stadium. Sliver cleared any remnants of her discarded meal from her throat and smiled a toothy and embarrassed grin at the so called Naira, extending a clawed hand. "Welcome to the Icewatch. I'm Sliver."

[Naira]

Watching as the female was pushed out in front of her, she smiled slightly. She sidestepped when the food was choked up. Delightful, she thought, and then smiled slightly when Sliver was patted on the back. Watching her reach out her hand, Naira returned the action, hesitantly putting out her hand gingerly.
"I guess you already know, that I'm Naira... dire polar bear."
she shrugged her shoulders. The quick curiosity factor forced the question across her mind, how did she not choke when that was down her throat? pointing to her own throat after letting go of the other Icewatch member's hand, she asked.
"Did that hurt when you had the food down your throat? And then to.. choke it up?" she wanted to get to know this character, but she supposed they had to get down to business soon.
"So from what I hear, you're going to show me around? Yes, no, unsure? Think we could make pleasant conversation while that went down?" still feeling tired, she tried not to yawn but gave into the natural urge. Her mouth opened as wide as it would, her sharp teeth glistening slightly, and then snapped shut. "Sorry. Tired. You know. Need to get used to the whole 'waking up early' thing."

[Sliver]

Sliver coughed a bit. Her throat was definitely sore from the rapid ejection of her food, so her only response to the bear's cursory question of pain was a slight nod. She smiled as the bear yawned with the tooth filled mouth. "I completely understand. I don't think I'll ever get used to waking up before Syna does, but a jobs a jobs a job, and ya know, a pretty good one at that. I am a wolverine by the way, if you were wondering why I'm more Vantha than bear sized" Despite the fact that she was tired and now...relatively hungry, it was clear the wolverine was happy to be in the Icewatch, now that she was awake she practically vibrated with energy. "I'm all for pleasant conversation too, come on I'll show you around." The Kelvic led Naira up the stairs and through the double doors leading her down the hallway. Here were the simple two-bed rooms where the bears and their bondmates slept. They were sparse spaces with a bed and a small shelf above and a dresser to keep belongings, but it was clear the Icewatch living within found ways to spruce up their quarters, usually with art or sculptures probably done by family members or perhaps even in their spare time. "They aren't much, but this is where you'll be sleeping, I'm sure they'll assign you a room, but here's an empty one that I know of." She glanced inside and gave Naira time to peruse the area, leaning against the doorframe. "Are you bonded yet?" She figured the answer to that was a negative or she'd be showing around a Vantha too, but who knows, perhaps she had one and he or she was off somewhere doing something else.

[Naira]

She followed Sliver back through the doors, and through into the hallway torwards the rooms. She listened as Sliver spoke, and then said that this is where they slept. She walked into the empty room, looking around, the tip of her fingers lightly trailing along the walls. "It's perfect," she'd said as Sliver said it wasn't much.
She looked back at Sliver, who was in the doorway. She almost flinched at the question. "No," she murmured. Looking around, she found she had a lot of questions about that topic. "Mind if I ask you something?" she paused, and without reasponse, she said, "Do we have to bond with those in the Icewatch? I mean, probably. That's a stupid question, isn't it-" she cut herself off, looking down at the floor. "Sorry," she whispered.

(I make far too many short responses. ._.)

[Sliver]

Sliver was glad Naira liked the quarters. Kelvic usually didn't require anything fancy to sleep upon: earth, ground, nests, grass, this was as much of a bed to most creatures as beds were to humans, so she was unsurprised when they seemed perfect to the dire bear. She looked sympathetically at the bear's reaction when she asked her question. It was almost rude to say, yet it was an important detail to take into consideration. She nodded at her response, listening closely to her next words. The question was valid, and Sliver cocked her head to the side thoughtfully as she responded. "Bonding is highly encouraged. The Icewatch prefers to have their Vantha and Bears bonded within a season of joining up, though many bond, then join. As for bonding within the Icewatch, this I can only assume is preferred. It helps when you and your bondmate are both dedicated to the same cause. That being said if you happened to step out and bond with a Skyglow artist with no intention of joining the watch, its not like they could stop you...Though it makes it harder." Sliver sighed a bit then, mind drifting to different times. Dark eyes blinked and she gestured to the bear, giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it too much just yet, you have time." She led Naira down to the mess hall, a long room with rough hewn wooden tables that reached from wall to wall for the full assembly of the Icewatch. Sliver gestured grandly to the simple, yet spacious expanse. "And here is the most important part of the Icewatch." She chuckled at her own joke and jogged across the room, grabbing a couple rolls, strips of dried meat and cheese that were generally left out in non regular dining hours, offering a roll to Naira. "Who says I can't sleep in and get my breakfast too?"

[Naira]

She had seen the wolverine nodding, and watched as her head cocked to the side. She sighed, closing her eyes as the question was answered in a lengthy response. She nodded, too, as Sliver responded. Her brow narrowed, thinking about how it would make it harder. She began thinking much too hard on it, and soon enough felt a light headache throbbing in the back of her head. She slightly smiled as she heard that she didn't have to worry about it too much, and that she had time. Yeah, she thought. I have time. Stop stressing about everything.
Kelvic following Kelvic down the hall, to the large room. Her head raised slightly, as she looked around the roof, the walls, the tables. Really, just looking at their size and shape. Of everything. She smiled when she made the joke, and when she made herself laugh. She seemed to be a very laidback creature. Naira rolled her shoulders, pressing two fingers to her temples and rubbing. Her headache was pounding, now. She was still stuck on everything. She wanted to know more about this female, and she decided she'd ask the same question that was asked earlier. After she ate the roll.
She took it graciously, and ripped little bits off with her nails, shoving them into her mouth one piece after the other. After stuffing her face, she grinned widely at Sliver. "Yeah, haha." she swallowed. "Thanks." she looked off to the side, still hungry but not wanting to seem like a pig. Though she couldn't help herself, and she reached out for a bit of the dried meat. Blushing sheepishly, she changed the subject before Sliver would have a chance to comment on her love for food. "Are you bonded yet, Sliver?"

[Sliver]

Sliver smirked at the recruit's gusto with the food. If that was one trait every Kelvic seemed to share, it was their love for food. She noticed the bear wince, and wondered if perhaps she was injured in someway, but did not comment. She had pried enough as it is. So when Naira asked her that question, she glanced up a bit, thinking it fair the tables had turned upon her. One would think the wolverine would be used to saying it now that nearly every individual in the Icewatch had mentioned it at least once, but there was still the hesitation at the back of her throat, almost as if she wished she could just lie and tell the young bear she was bonded. "No, not as of yet." Without a word she gestured for the bear to follow her and they departed from the relatively empty mess hall. Sliver led them further down the long hallway, pointing out supply rooms with uniforms, and pretty much any supplies any Vantha or Kelvic could ever need. Towards the end she stopped, pointing to rooms that actually had doors on them unlike most of the other rooms: Officer quarters. "These areas are where the more important members have offices and or sleeping quarters, being sent here can either be really good or very bad depending, but we don't get to look at those just yet." Sliver turned around and continued back the way they had come at a slow conversational walk. "So...you excited to join up?"

[Naira]

Despite herself not having been bonded, it was surprising to hear that the wovlerine hadn't been. She would expect a confident, and... expressive, due to her clothing and appearance, the way she walked and spoke... Kelvic like Sliver to have honestly attracted many suitors. She began to question if she hadn't ever been bonded before(she had subconsciously noted the hesitation that appeared when the question had been asked), or if she had just been picky and choosy. Or maybe just hadn't found one she had chemistry with. Or one she liked and respected... refusing to let her mind judge much further, feeling like a prejudice personality and slightly guilty for making assumptions.
She had taken peeks into the different places she had been shown, but when she saw the doors, she stopped with a questioning look on her face. It wasn't but a moment later when she had heard that it was for important members, which made her feel slightly less special than she already felt as for being in the Icewatch for not really a day. She understood not looking at the inside, whatever the doors concealed. She nodded.
The question caught her off guard, just like the previous one, but it wasn't one that made her feel uncomfortable. She just stopped, putting her index finger up to her mouth and nibbling gently on the end, looking up with one hand on her hip, thinking. It wasn't hard, she was just going to explain her feelings in depth. It usually made her feel like she was answering any other questions the other person had for her on the topic.
"Well yes, I'm excited." she paused, waiting to see the expression that would become on Sliver's face. A nodding of assumption, understanding, or shock. Or maybe, a different emotion. "But I'm kind of scared. You know, that I'll be a burden. A little too much to handle. Something that will hold someone else back. I mean, just because I'm a dire polar bear doesn't mean I'm exactly emotionally, mentally, or even physically right for the job. I could be a bit too slow, physically. It could take numerous questions just to understand one concept. Or, I could just not have what it takes. It might end up being too stressful for me, when for the rest of you it's not nearly as hard. I'm just a worrier." she had realized she was rambling, but she felt comfortable, so she decided that she wasn't doing anything wrong and went on.
"I'm hoping you understand? It's alright if you don't, but I'll certainly feel foolish. Everyone has to start out somewhere, but maybe I'm just starting a little to further back than the others."

[Sliver]

Sliver chuckled as the bear started rambling, clearly nervous. She had seen all kinds, some quiet, others talkative, and perhaps it was just that all the bears she knew had been in the Icewatch for a while, but she rarely saw any of them worry in this precise manner, they treated the job more as if...well they were born to do it, which they most certainly were. "I understand. It was how I felt when I joined. I was afraid that just because I didn't turn into a hulking monster they might not think me as useful, or respect me as much, and also how I would fit in." She smiled then, thinking of Kennen and Simon and how they had accepted her with open paws and most every Kelvic treated her like just another one of the bears. "You are lucky. You were born and raised knowing exactly what you needed to do and how to do it. Many Kelvic, like me, get thrown out somewhere with little idea how to fulfill that feeling inside to serve and aid others. I'm sure you'll do fine, and soon enough you'll be doing this to some new recruit." After Naira's pause, Sliver led her back out the way they had come and stepped outside into the harsh winter wonderland of Avanthal. She shivered a bit, but as they walked her body adjusted to the drastic change in heat. A short walk beside the bear and both Kelvic would arrive at the Training Stadium, letting the bear get a good long look at the massive structure.

[Naira]

She grinned, happy that Sliver felt the same way she does, when she first joined the Icewatch. She listened about Sliver's first worries, and fears, but she quickly learned that apparently the Icewatch was welcoming. She was beyond relieved, and majority of her questions were gone. Some were still around, but she decided she'd save them for later when it was required or she was just too curious to wait. Smiling, she followed Sliver out into the cold, which didn't really bother her at all. She got goosebumps, but she didn't really notice the cold. Sometimes she liked to stand outside for hours at a time, just embracing the outside. The beautiful, frigid air. The ice, and snow...
She was led to a building of which she heard about(after recieving a wordless gesture to follow), the Training Stadium- a place she had never really gone to see, because she never really thought about it. But she knew it's name as soon as she'd seen it, and paused a few yards back to make the view smaller- which was difficult, considering it's size- just to make it easier to take in. "Wow," she breathed. She looked at Sliver, trotting up the few yards that separated them, and then stopped again, grinning, breath puffing out into the air. "It's huge."