Strangers in Familiar Places [Sekai]

[Shouta]

The girl was clearly going through an emotional upheaval. Shouta looked down at her and hesitated. He placed a hand on her shoulder. Squeezing softly Shouta’s memory drifted back to the Vanthan girl he had once known, her family who were good friends. Was he no more than the sum of his saddest memories. For sad memories had always stayed fresh, where happy ones faded into the canvas of his mind. Suffering was always with him.

“I know how you feel. Trust me.” He tried to make eye contact with her. He wanted to send a sincere message. The uncharacteristic tenderness seemed to just… fit into the situation. He was accustomed to feeling such strong empathy for anyone. But here this girl was, reminding him of himself for some reason.

“Such subjects are macabre, dusty old news. What else do you enjoy about the city?” Shouta took the book from her pointedly. He closed the tome softly, the muffled thump hopefully shutting away both their pasts for now. “This is a place of gods and greatness after all. We here love our home, and if you do not, you soon will!” Gathering his robes about him he turned to face the girl.

What happened next would be up to her. He intended to right the mood he had inadvertently set upon her. Possibly an orphaned girl? Maybe the last of three siblings? Perhaps both. Aloof from the tenderness of family, he felt her pain. Shouta himself had lived a long life of solitude and despair. But such emotions were harrowing and took too much from the soul to control one’s life. Nyka would be an opportunity for her to change, and if he had to, he would help make it happen.

[Sekai]

Sekai only stayed silent, not trusting herself to speak without breaking down. She twitched, as she felt the hand gently squeeze her shoulder, and she felt slightly comforted for the moment, before remembering that her father used to do that as well. Which, of course, darkened her mood even more so. 

With the words of condolences, Sekai almost lost control of her tears. Almost. She fought the urge to flop down on the ground and let the tears flow, with all of her mind. However, unlike the other people who said similar things, like 'It must be terrible', or 'I know it must feel bad', the monk seemed to have actually went through something similar. Perhaps that was the event that troubles him, from back in Syliras. She quickly turned her face to the side, when she noticed the monk had made eye contact, with those gem-like eyes of his. During that short moment however, he would probably notice the years gathering in the corner of her eyes.

"...?", Sekai's sorrow filled thoughts were temporarily interrupted, as the book of the horrors within the Aperture was taken from her hands, an closed with a thud, as if to seal away the sadness. Turning her back towards the monk, she quickly brushed the years from her eyes, before pivoting on her heel to face Shouta again. "Something that I like about this city? I have only been here for five and thirty days, so there are possibly many things that I have not known.", she answered, before looking down at her feet. Taking that moment to recompose herself, she looked back up at the monk, before asking in a soft voice, "Would you like to show me the bright side of this city?", with a very small smile. Yet, it was still a genuine smile, nonetheless.

[Shouta]

The bright side? There was much beauty in the city, but presented with a choice, Shouta was hard pressed to figure out where to start. Where was the most beautiful place he could think of? The Hall of Robes was a wonderful center of history and knowledge, a place of culture. But it was not exactly beautiful in the way she wanted. He thought back on his time in Nyka.

Where would I want to be taken first? Which aspect of Nyka did he find the most pleasant? Shouta gestured for her to follow with a smile. He knew where they should go. “Now, most of the areas in other districts are off limits to we Sharp Blades. But we are required to go some places for our duties.” He set off towards the Eastern District from the front doors of the Hall of Robes, his walk brisk and unbending to the crowd.

The smell of the ocean soon filled their nostrils. Salt and the tang of sea creatures brought up from their depths mixed in the air to give it that coastal flavor those who lived by the sea loved so much. He made sure she was keeping up before cutting left over the bridge and toward the city’s wall. The impressive stone defense sprawled along the border of the entire city. It was teaming with Sharp Blade monks during this time of day. Many made their rounds, ever vigilant against the threats from outside. A few were there to catalogue defenses and note shortcomings. “Come on up with me.” He lead her to a wrought iron ladder nailed into the stones of the wall and gestured for her to precede him up to the ramparts.

[Sekai]

Giving an expression of curiosity, as the monk gestured for her to follow, Sekai could not think of a reason to decline. Listening as Shouta spoke, of how there are area forbidden entry by the Sharp Blades, but there also being areas they can visit. I presume it would be somewhat similar to a ranking system? Or category? Perhaps a mixture of both., she thought to herself, mulling over her guess.

She quickly followed the monk back out into the crowd of Nykans, while making sure to stick as closely as possible to the monk, hopefully convincing the residents not to attack her for being a foreigner. It seemed to have been successful, as she was barely even given a fleeting glance. However, as they moved towards their destination, Sekai caught the familiar scent of the salty tang of sea water in the air.

"The sea, the wind, the waves...", she whispered to herself, as she looked outwards for several ticks. Quickly diverting her attention, she looked around to locate Shouta, and once she had found the monk, quickly ran after him. As she followed him, she also gave the defenses of the shoreline a careful look, noting, The natural defense of the shoreline seems rather well. Combined with man-made defenses, you could probably win a battle by enduring., within her mind.

With the two of them stopping at the ladder, and with Shouta gesturing for her to climb first, Sekai nodded, before reaching out  to grab a rung. She had only climbed up three rungs, before she suddenly stopped. "Um...", wanting to say something, but the topic seemed rather embarrassing, as she hurriedly climbed down the few rungs, and kept her gaze at her feet. If Shouta had managed to take a look at her face, he would notice it was tomato red. "Um...a dress...is far more breezy, then a pair of pants...", she barely managed to force the words out of her mouth. She dearly hoped with all her heart that the monk understood, as she would felt like dying from embarrassment if she had to explain.

If the monk understood, and climbed first, she would climb after him, keeping her gaze to her front, not up nor down, as she climbed.