Closed Feeling the Burn(Sekai)

[Kallos]

4th of Fall, 513 AV

Kallos tipped up his wide brimmed hat, now that the sun had gotten high enough not to shine directly into his eyes. He was wearing a wool shirt and cotton breeches, with only his sandals on his feet. Though the air was starting to cool with the season, it was still rather warm compared to the mountains of Kalea. By spring, he might even need to shave his beard.

He stood at the side of a building, the Sharp Tongue Pub, one of the local restaurants. It was late in the morning, he was taking an early lunch. Today was the first day on the job, and he had spent the better part of his time burning garbage. Not exactly the best use of his skills, as far as he was concerned, and the smell was just awful. It would probably kill him before overgiving did.

Not that it was much of a problem, he was very economical with his Res. He hadn’t even transmuted today, with the help of his flint and steel. All he had to do was direct the flames. For the money, though, it was very easy going work. He tore into the last bits of the meat the Monks had given him that morning.

It was surprising to find out that food was free here. After he got his job, the monks delivered food for him, right to his door. Granted, it wasn’t particularly fresh or choice food, but it was free. Beggars couldn’t be choosers. It explained why he was getting paid a little less than he thought he was worth. It ended up all the same. Finishing his meal, he decided he could take a little time to just watch people before he returned to his duties. It would be a bell before they had collected more piles for him anyway.

Rubbing his hands together, he scanned the crowd. It was a sea of bright colors, with the occasional dull visage of a monk dotting it like small islands. Their presence here was stronger than other places, due to the fact that selling food was forbidden. Kallos’s eyes met with one of them, and he simply gave a nod and looked elsewhere. Contrary to the reputation they had with the traders, the monks seemed to leave you well enough alone as long as you didn’t cause any trouble. Still, there was another figure in clothes that didn’t match the crowd.

She had to be an outsider, with the way she dressed and looked. Possibly new, much like Kallos himself, though she was a human. She wore a black dress with white frills, and a matching ribbon in her long, oddly colored hair. She didn’t look bad, as far as humans went.

Kallos watched her for a chime, and decided to talk to her. He knew well how the natives thought of strangers. It was hard to make friends in this city. He figured that outsiders may as well stick together, and at least have someone to talk to. With that train of thought, he pushed himself off the wall and began to maneuver his way through the crowd.

[Sekai]

Sekai continued to stroll around the city of Nyka, wandering about, and trying to remember locations of importance. Even after four days of exploring, she had absolutely no idea where she was at this moment. Although, she did feel rather out of place amongst the crowd, with her mainly black clothing heavily contrasting every single person's bright colors, almost seemingly bordering on neon bright. 

Sighing, as she continued to stroll around, attempting to do her best to avoid bumping some unfortunate person onto the ground. Her attention was focused solely on exploring and memorizing the layout of the city, when she suddenly bumped into someone, where she promptly fell back onto the ground. Muttering quietly about how hard the ground was, she looked up and saw one of the most well built person that she has ever seen in her entire life. Realizing that this man was the one she bumped into, Sekai tilted her head ever do slightly to the left, "I'm sorry.", was the short apology she gave, in a quiet voice.

[Kallos]

Kallos began to doubt the wisdom of his actions the moment he started performing them. He only wanted to make conversation with someone who might not be so standoffish with him, but he’d forgotten a very important bit of information. The oversized children were taller than him. As soon as he entered the street, he lost sight of the girl.

He had no real trouble traversing the throngs of humans in his way. More often than not, they parted before him. He liked to think it was some form of hospitality, to make up for the cold shoulder they give him. In reality, it was probably just so that they would have to interact with him for the least amount of time possible. It was almost sigh worthy to him.

Due to his low vantage point, Kallos didn’t see the stranger until it was too late. The world suddenly went dark as he felt a light brush on his front. When the light returned to his eyes, the girl was sitting on the ground in front of him. She gave a short apology for bumping into him.

This wasn’t exactly a great first impression, but apparently it would have to do. Kallos fixed the position of his hat, and offered her his left hand, offering what he hoped would be a reassuring smile.

“No problem. Let me help you up. My name is Kallos.” After returning her nod and pulling her up lightly, if she accepted, he continued. “You seem to have some trouble. Lost?”

[Sekai]

Smiling, and taking the offered hand, Sekai was pulled up back to her feet. "Thanks.", she Said, before realizing the man introduced himself. "Ah, my name is Sekai.", she introduced herself in turn, before attempting to answer the man's question. "Uh, I'm not really that lost. One could say that I'm just...exploring?", she reasoned, although oddly enough, had given her answer that sounded more like a question of assurance. She looked the man up and down, observing the unusual black arm of his. Is he human?, Sekai give such a trivial and pointless question a thought, before dismissing it. After a moment of pondering, she asked an actual question of her own. "Are you a native Nykian? If so, you are gentler then the rest.", she asked, and gave her thoughts about it, if this man was a native.

[Kallos]

Exploring, she says. Well, that at least confirmed she was, in fact, an outsider, and not just a nykan wearing foreign clothes. He figures that she must have arrived around the same time he did, and it amused him that she thought he was a native.

“Kind words, but I am not. I came on the second day of this season, with the traders.” After a moment to consider his choice of words, he continued. “It looks like we have that in common.”

Remembering where he was, Kallos took a few steps to the side, to get out of the street. It was rude to just stand in the way of people, and he didn’t need the local opinion of him to get worse. He wasn’t too far out to begin with, but it was apparently enough to earn him some grumbling.

“So, what brings you to this city, fellow traveler?”

[Sekai]

Learning that this man was also a traveler, Sekai only nodded in confirmation. No wonder this man did not appear as hostile as the surrounding natives. If she payed attention to her surroundings with more focus, she might've noticed the not-so-friendly glances given towards both herself, and the man. Sighing in resignation, she returned her focus back to Kallos.

He had apparently came in with the traders, and entered this city on the second. That was just barely a day after Sekai stumbled into this city, half lost, half not giving a petch. Hearing that the man was curious upon the reason for traveling here, Sekai sighed. She would prefer not to talk about her past, fearing that she may just break down. "I...wanted to escape...", she muttered quietly, and in a solemn tone. If one was adapt at paying attention, they could almost see the sadness in her eyes, barely held back.

Shaking herself mentally, Sekai pushed her memories of her past down, burying it somewhere deep within her mind. Before giving the man a chance to question her further about her past, she asked a question of her own. "So? What about you? What did you come to this city for?", Sekai asked, her voice sounding rather calm, almost unnaturally calm.