Strangers in Familiar Places [Sekai]

[Shouta]

The monk parted the sea of Nykan citizens like the bow of a ship. Few would be clumsy enough to allow themselves to obstruct a monk’s path. He walked confidently as he lead Sekai through the throng of moving bodies in the Northern Quarter. When she inquired as to his experience in Nyka he thought for a moment. Why would he care enough to lie to her? He certainly didn’t want to tell her the truth of his past. After a fleeting moment of internal struggle he decided to compromise.

“I was born near Syliras. I have been here for over a year now. The city is more my home than anything has been in the past…years of my life.” He fumbled his words a bit, and bit his lip in his frustration. He hoped his internal emotions did not shine too clearly through his passive face. Though he knew they must, curse his Vanthan eyes. “It is a place of wonder and might in this dangerous era. Gods have even made this place their home, so what sort of mortal can claim to create anything better than the mother city?” His voice was full of conviction as he tried to steer the conversation away from himself. His was the voice of a devout, his conviction clearly pure in his voice, if not entirely in his heart.He nodded a quick greeting to the monk guarding the Bridge of the Dead as they began to cross.

[Sekai]

Watching the crowd of Nykans part from the monk was rather intriguing of a scene. Perhaps near the monk, is where she could be safe from the hostility of the residents. 

"So it take an entire year for the residents to become accustom to one's presence as a foreigner?", Sekai asked with curiosity towards Shouta. However, her interest was piqued, as she heard the pause in his words. Intrigued, she peeked around the monkey's form, just to barely see him biting his lip. Biting lip. Preoccupied thoughts?, she questioned herself, mulling over the idea. As the monk was speaking once more, she paid less attention to the actual words, and more to the tone of the words being spoken. Hard conviction...anger?. 

Crossing over the ominous bridge that seems to radiate bad luck, Sekai kept her gaze down when the monk standing guard turned his attention over. Even if they hadn't noticed her, she was still nervous around the monks. With her gaze to the ground, her mind wandered back to Shouta. Pondering for a moment, she then asked the monk, "Something bad happened to you back in Syliras?", with an involuntarily gentle yet quiet voice.

[Shouta]

“Bad things happen to everyone.” Shouta said shortly. The girl seemed far too sharp for her own good. Or at least that’s what he began to think after her inquiries into his past. “And my foreign roots are overlooked because I was elevated to the status of Monk of the Sharp Blade. I belong to the city as much as any of these buildings or streets now. The only way I could leave the city now would be to fulfill the duties set to me by my superiors.

As they stepped off the bridge into the Celestial District a feeling of relief set over Shouta. He and the Bridge of the Dead had a history, and not an entirely peaceful one at that. The Hall of the Robes was a rarely place in Nyka where the monks did not quarrel. Such a place of wisdom and history was not to be endangered by the personal vendettas of monks. He held the thick wooden door open for Sekai and entered after her. Immediately a faint smell of dye accosted the nostrils. Citizens were busy working on weaving fresh robes for the monks in these pale white walls. But they were not here for that.

Shouta looked down at his own torn and bloody robe. They were not here for that right now…

“The Hall of the Robes is a place of peaceful study. It houses the records of the very essence of our beloved city.” Shouta told Sekai as they walked down the brick tiled floor towards the dark wooden door of the library. “Politics, history, religion, myth, and of course the Aperture, are all recorded here so that we will never forget.” His voice carried an air of reverence that was usually only reserved for speaking of Uphis.

He shifted his eyes, now a deep green, onto the girl next to him. She was indeed a sharp one. The short human was able to read his emotions as if his face was parchment bound in leather. As he looked at her a memory of another human girl flashed in his memory’s vision. Senya, with her pale pink eyes. He blinked and his shifted back to their deep purple state.

[Sekai]

"Ah, so that is why hostility isn't as constant.", Sekai said, as Shouta responded. She quietly thanked the man, as he held the thick, heavy looking door open for her. As she walked in, her gaze moved everywhere, as of she was trying to see everything, and remember it all. Which in actuality, was what she was attempting. With the smell of dye in the air, and the workers seeing new robes that seemed to be for the monks, her gaze drifted back to the monk that led her here. However, as the man spoke about the Hall of Robes, he said it with reverence in his tone, almost as if this place was one of extreme importance. Sekai took a quick glance up at Shouta's eyes. A glance that soon became a stare.

"Ara? Your eyes are a brilliant green now? Were they not a grape purple back in that alleyway?", she asked, as she looked at the monk's face. Did I not read somewhere about how there was a race, or a sub race who's eyes change color? Why does it change though, I forgot..., she pondered, as she continued to stare without regards to how she should be embarrassed for staring at someone's eyes for a period of time.

[Shouta]

“The Celestial Quarter is the home of Gods. Even man’s arrogance does not taint this place. Though most of our fighting is to impress the gods.” Shouta knew very well that most of the monk’s fighting was dubious in validity at most. He fought to please Uphis, so there was truth to his statement. They walked in silence for a few moments. Shouta enjoyed the peace of the Hall of Robes. It was not exactly his scene, but the calming nature of the work being done there distracted him from his troubles on occasion. And the archive of history had helped him assimilate to Nykan life.

Then she started jabbering about his eyes. Had the girl really never met a Nykan before? Was what he saw as a huge weakness such a remarkable trait? Could she not see he was less than happy to discuss it. As he looked at her his irises moved and their color changed to the deep purple once again. “What? Never met a Vanthan before? Morwen’s people have eyes that shift in color to mirror our emotions…for all the world to see.” His mouth creased in a slight frown.

They finally reached the part of the library where the research on the Aperture was found. Shouta was no expert in the subject, but had his fair share of memories. He began to rummage through the books with a careful respect.

[Sekai]

Sekai looked at the man, as he explained the reason why monks fight. Not that she didn't believe him, but it was human nature to fight for themselves as well, was it not? Dubious thoughts aside, her gaze continued to linger as the monk explained what he was, and why his eyes change colours. Apparently he was a Vantha, a race that is generally more often than not blessed by the goddess Morwen, or the goddess of ice. [i]Vantha's. A human sub race. Native language....wasn't it Vani, like what I managed to pick up...?/i], she thought to herself, attempting to not forget this piece of knowledge like last time.

"Well, not for the whole world to see. If someone doesn't know what the colours mean, how do they know what emotions your feeling?", she countered the monk's words, before noticing the small frown on his face. Her gaze now shifting to the ground, she muttered, "Sorry...", in Vani. One of the few words she picked up, since that became one of the most common word she uses nowadays, especially to random strangers nearby.

Looking up, as they entered the library portion of the Hall of Robes, her eyes widened, as they flitted everywhere, staring in awe at the amount of books around. Looking around, it seemed all the books in the vicinity were about the Aperture. "Are there any on the bestiary of the Aperture? Or perhaps the history of that place?", she asked, as she glanced over the monk's shoulda to read whatever books he had in his hands as he searched.

[Shouta]

There was no need to apologize. She was clearly a scholarly sort, and had no idea how he felt about the whole subject. Indeed, his feelings were not exactly a widely shared point of view amongst Vantha. “No need to be sorry. I was being difficult.” His words were in quiet Vani and he moved to show her the book he had. It was a detailed account of many Greenwing Flyer attacks in the past fifty years. Most were simply very harmful, but a few were fatal.

People had been caught out past curfew with no monks to defend them. Or else the group of Flyer’s had somehow snuck into their basement and began to breed. Such threats were a constant thing in Nyka. And the vigilance of the monk’s was one of the only lines of defense. “See, the sigils are thought to protect the city from these creatures. And others…”

He handed the book to her and stepped back to give her space. Such a youth taking an interest in the city like this was refreshing. Most were stuck in some hormonal self absorbed state that was neither interesting for him, or even bearable. Her youthful wonder at the city and the environment around her was contagious. Shouta felt his old, brittle heart begin to soften a bit.

[Sekai]

No....sorry....difficult...? Ack, I need to learn more then a few words in Vani..., Sekai berated herself, as she attempted to translate what the monk had said. Well, from those three key words, she was pretty sure she picked up the gist of what he was saying. Looking over his shoulder -not an easy feat-, to read the page that the monk was reading, and read as quickly as possible, learning a few key factors about Greenflyers. Apparently, they were some sort of...bay like creatures, that carried enough acid to fouls even the most hardest of armors. 

Having the book handed to her now, she stood in the exact same spot, looking over the pages, reading as much as she could, learning as much as she could. "Have you ever seen all of these creatures?", she asked, while currently entranced by the book, currently on a page about Marrow Dogs. "I mean, have you been in the Aperture before?", she added quickly, only half paying attention to any words spoken, mostly dedicating her focus on the book.

[Shouta]

The Aperture. Memories of a dark nightmare made real. The place brought on a dread within Shouta that was not comparable to anything else he had experienced. “I have. When a monk proves himself, the last phase of the test is to spend a night inside the Aperture. Many are lost, or decide to come up early.” He ran a hand through his hair and turned to pace down the isle a bit, towards a pane-glassed window. The light of Syna shone through it and left a warmth caressing touch on his face.

“I have not seen all of them, but I have seen a few.” He turned to face the girl once more. She knew not of the dangers of the night. The city, so splendid during the day, was a deadly battlefield at night. “Most, I have encountered within the city’s streets though. Dark skies make for bold monsters.” His mind’s eye flashed to a night when he stood upon the Bridge of the Dead, and glowing green Flyers rose up all around him in the darkness. Shouta scowled deeper than normal.

“Why so interested in the dark things of the city?” Shouta asked, his interest peaking once again. She could be asking about the demigods who call Nyka home. Truth be told, most foreigners wondered aloud at him what they looked like in a vain attempt to find out if he had met any. But this little girl, this little mageling, was more interested in the unspeakable stirrings of the Aperture.

[Sekai]

Sekai nodded, half her attention on the monk near her, explaining the test that the soon-to-be Nykan monks had to take, before they become part of the city. The other half of her focus was on the book, the current topic was about Cruentus Leech. The way they leave scent trails for the hive. It is rather similar to bees, or ants. Yet they are more akin to reptiles? The world is full off strange creatures., she wondered to herself, while debating about finding a way to look at the Aperture itself, but from a very, very far away position.

Her focus was broken, as the man answered a previous question, explaining to her that many of the creatures he has seen, had roamed the city of Nyka in the dark. She turned to look at him, and could only ask, "Is that so?", a hint of surprise audible in her words, with a very subtle amount of fear hidden under it. To face against any of these creatures, would be a rather daunting task, even more so, when you are not given the opportunity to run. She probably had a small amount of respect and awe visible in her eyes as she looked at the monk.

As she had turned her gaze back onto the worn papers of the book, the man voiced a question of his own. She was speechless for a moment, as she did not want to remember the reason why she buries her mind in texts, focusing on everything except the memory that she has been running away from. But, the monk here has been kind, and helpful, so she felt in debt towards him, even if just a slight amount. "I learn anything new...so that I can forget...about them...", was her answer, in a very quiet tone. It started as emotionless, but at the final two words of her sentence, he voice broke. She was now gritting her teeth, attempting to ignore her sadness that threatened to over flow. She bit her bottom lip, as her gaze was on the floors, tears at the corners of her eyes. Dont. Cry. I. Will. Not. Cry., she kept thinking that line repeatedly in her mind, similar  to a mantra.