Crusade (Invite)

[KingOfDoma]

"Ah," remarked Kobakk at the note. "I'll have to find that cavalry and 'chat' with them someday..."

In his wonder at the beast, Kobakk had lost track of his Nekojin ally. Turning towards where Joachim was pointing, he saw Tarou cowering in fear at the lizard of burden as if he saw the face of death itself. He stifled a laugh, less at Tarou specifically, but more at the vast difference in their response to the situation. One person's glorious creature was another person's terrifying thunder lizard. Just... amusing, was all.

"Tarou," he reasoned. "If Paco were going to eat you, he would have started with me or his master first. Now come out from back there... I'm sure Paco would appreciate you saying hello..."

He paused at this for a moment, turning to Joachim to simply ask, "Unless there's something you're not telling us...?"

Hate to find out late in the game that nekojin is his favourite treat...

[Reiks]

Canal laughed good-naturedly at Alistair's comment about the plants and raised his hand. "We have many tricks to maintain and clean the temple and things therein. I assure we are not put out." He stood up as the boy appeared and nodded. "You look like you need to move a little. Riding must have been hard on you body..." He made a noncommital glance to Alistairs backside and cocked his head.

The eye danced for a moment but whether or not Canal noticed Alistair's fascinated stares, or happened to be used to the, could not be determined as he gave no indication that he even noticed the eye himself. Tilting his head back right, he walked a few steps to the door. "I will show you where we are quartering your chocobo. The facilities are meager but nicely kept. We will then show you to your room, which is equally austere but clean and comfortable, Brother Alistair."

He motioned his new charge forward and lead him to the stables. The sounds of conversation and the large unusual beast being kept there were audible from the outdoor path leading to the building. "Oh yes, there's a large reptile being kept here but I assure you it is primarily a safe beast and no harm should come to you or your beast..... But I imagine you'll be alarmed regardless!" He gave a short laugh that seemed out of character but when he stopped he simply shook his head and returned to his calm state.

[Besyanteo]

Tarou had continued to hide behind the edge of the doorway, when he noticed that Kobakk and Joachim were staring at him. With some effort, he forced himself to step out. He couldn't enter the stable, mind, but he did step into the open and scratch the back of his head, looking embarassed of himself. He coughed, looking away from their confused stares.

"I.... uhm. I don't like... big... lizards."

[ChristianC]

If Joachim was a kid with a puppy, and Kobakk the kid down the road without a dog, and Taour the kid on the other side of the road who thought that dogs were the spawn of Nikumu and a Demon made of rabid bears who were themselves on fire that shot lightning from it's eyes [*Wheeeeeeze*], then Alistair was the kid from... God knows where (maybe someone's cousin) who kept on poking the dog with a stick, not out of malice, but out of sheer curiosity about what the dog would do once you poked it enough.

So as soon as he heard the word 'lizard' his green eyes shone up brightly, as if it was some kind of general gift-giving day, and promptly, as soon as they entered the stables, he virtually stood next to the animal without ever covering the ground in between, and stared at it with VERY big eyes. His tail poofed, his ears were on edge, and all signs of nervousness were there... except that he was looking at the lizard like some kind of... really weird toy.

Then he poked it. With a stick (well, the blunt end of a pitchfork).

"Does it bite people?" his tone sounded almost expectantly, as if any non-biting would be an affront of the worst kind.

[Kai]

Poor Tarou. Joachim lifted his hands with a placating expression, trying to calm the big Nekojin. Unfortunately, in the moment he was distracted by the wariness of his new acquaintance, someone else entered through one of the other doors into the stable.

Joachim heard the shifting of his lizard's great bulk over the straw, and turned to see a stranger--half-Nekojin or something by the look of him--holding the handle of a pitchfork out in Paco's general direction.

"Does it bite people?"

If the idiot had been holding the sharp tines out, Joachim would have simply let Paco have him, but--

Temple of Fideleo. Not here, you moron...

"Paco, ie!" Joachim barked, startling his lizard out of the slow and measured retreat that his master recognized as the warning sign of a full attack. Joachim pointed at the man with the pitchfork with a domineering glower he'd never before realized he'd learned from Domenico. "Back, you."

[ChristianC]

Alistair gave a pearly laugh as Joachim barked at the big lizard and put down the pitchfork he'd been holding and turning to Joachim, obviously not having caught the warning tone in Joachim's voice. There was an almost childish quality in the man and he hurried forward to shake Joachim's hand eagerly.

"Ah, bonjour, you are the owner of him?" he pointed to the big lizard, "where did you get him? Ah, he is magnificent! Where can I get one?"

[Kai]

Joachim breathed a soft sigh of relief as the idiot Nekojin laid down the pitchfork. The lizard shot him a resentful glance, and Joachim repeated, "Ie." Poor thing. Wasn't his fault someone was goading him. Paco wasn't trained to put up with that nonsense. What a good boy he was. Joachim would have to give him another egg for minding.

Then the Nekojin grabbed his hand like a-- well, like a Human. Maybe best not to think of him as Nekonian, then. The halberdier wasn't much accustomed to anger, and didn't tend to stay upset for long. Man was just curious. Stupid, but probably not meaning any harm.

"War," Joachim answered, shaking Alistair's hand and then letting it go. He pointed to the lizard, and then lifted his index finger in front of Alistair's face in warning. "Careful," he said, dropping the last consonant but hoping that the stranger would chalk it up to laziness and not his inability to speak properly. "'kay?"

[ChristianC]

Alistair nodded eagerly at Joachim's explanation, his tail twitching around and all damage sustained to his hindquarters seemingly forgotten.

"I rode on this... big bird, a... choco... chocobon? Very clumsy, bumpy? Not meant for riding, I think, non?" he laughed again, pearly white teeth showing, "Birds for eating, not riding, yes... maybe I can ride big lizard, non? Paco, you call him?" his eyes were literally sparkling with interest and it was hard to imagine the half-nekojin-like person as being completely adult.

"I am Alistair and I'm going to sleep in this house. You are all guest here too? Or brothers? Priests?"

[Besyanteo]

Tarou forgot his fear for a moment to boggle. He looked at the very human Joachim, and the very green, obviously orc Kobakk. Brothers? This guy wasn't the smartest tourist ever, was he? That was just nuts. He made himself take a few steps inside.

"Just, uh... just friends."

[KingOfDoma]

Kobakk had to smirk. Orcish priests were uncommon enough when they worshipped Indari. To have one be an acolyte of FIDELEO... well, it was a longshot of longshots. He liked the ... nekojin's? inquisitiveness, though. It was a welcome change from open hostility.

"As Tarou has said, friends," he followed. "Where are you from, Alistair? You look like a local, and yet... not..."

[ChristianC]

Alistair seemed at first confused with the replies he got from Tarou and Kobakk, but then his smile (did he ever not smile?) became more firm and he nodded with an amusing, bobbing way.

"Ah, I see. Travellers, oui? It is strange, where I come from, many do not travel far, but travel much... you understand?" He looked at them with an inviting sort of "do you?" smile.

"I am from Septíle, ah, Seven Islands," he explained, "Very far away, ah, across... the ocean!" he pointed in some vague direction. "We did not know of this land, not much. Very big, confusing and... ah... much ground?" he made some other vague movement with his hands, "Hard to know where from, no ocean in between, non? Someone say, this is Nekonia, I say 'what a big island!'" he laughs, clearly finding the situation hilarious.

...Not the smartest tourist ever, no.

[Reiks]

The interaction between Alistair and his surroundings was rather fascinating. The cat-being seemed to be rather oblivious to the dangers around him and gleefully went about life with the abandon of a child. It made Canal wonder if terrible things did not happen on Septile. He rolled this thought over in his head allowing Joachim to handle the situation as expertly as a composed warrior should.

He did not know the two that traveled with Joachim; they were not with him before when Canal first laid eyes on the man, but it was likely there were his companions. He cleared his throat softly to interrupt. "Brother Alistair's view of this is quite right. Even Fideleo makes the claim that all are welcome in the Great Pack if their hearts be of the Pack and so why quibble over things so minor as continents or islands when faced with that reality?" Canal tilted his head. "But I wonder if it would not be better to carry this conversation on elsewhere, unless you men mean to begin travel."

[Kai]

Joachim relaxed visibly as Alistair acknowledged his explanation. There was no way he was letting this guy ride his lizard, though, thanks to equal parts wariness and plain old possessiveness.

The others were thankfully taking control of the conversation somewhat, so Joachim left them to their business. When the priest Canal spoke, Joachim nodded and made a brief bow. "Mm. Hai." He had some business to attend to that evening, but he'd really only stopped by to check on Paco.

Good thing, too. Or he might have gotten in trouble when some idiot poked a war mount with a stick.

Joachim kept the writing scraps and pencil from Paco's saddlebags, and flicked his hand toward the door as a suggestion that they leave.

[ChristianC]

Alistair was, indeed, rather oblivious to the dangers, but he noticed Joachim relaxing and his smile grew a bit broader... and it seemed like he was invited to come along?

Well, that was great! He had no idea why he was being invited along, but he was sure it'd make sense soon enough.

"Ah, but perhaps... mmm, food yes? I wonder of local delicacies, non?"

[KingOfDoma]

Kobakk, for a moment, was reluctant to go off and share a meal with a complete stranger, let alone someone who HADN'T just introduced himself by freeing him from prison. The next moment, however, had a sharp pang of hunger stab itself into Kobakk's stomach, reminding him of how long it had been since he had eaten. Kobakk, incidentally, was married to his stomach... in that he always obeyed it and gave it whatever it wanted without question. So, food with a stranger? Not such a bad idea after all.

"That... ugh..." he began to reply, feeling another pang of hunger, "That might be a good idea." Turning to the one named Canal (who seemed to belong here), he asked, "Do you know how the food is here?"

[Reiks]

Canal nodded to Kobakk and stepped back from the path he and Alistair had traveled to get here and motioned to it. "We will enter the Temple, if it pleases you, and you may eat in our Great Room. Some of our brothers may be able to join as well but rest assured they'll give us peace to talk as friends do." Bowing gently, palms together, he waited for them to gather themselves and then stepped back onto the path to lead them into the temple.

Crossing paths with a young acolyte, Canal gave the boy a quiet set of instructions and he rushed ahead, presumably to make sure they had a place to sit and food prepared for them. Passing through an open doorway with a painted cloth noren dangling from the top of the frame to just above the door, Canal lead them through several open multi-purpose rooms to one with a great statue of a wolf-man in samurai armor, poised in an eternal pose of defense or attack, a determined but not wicked look on his face.

At four or five, small tables there were monks eating quietly. There was an empty table for them with cushions on the floor. Canal stood by the table and bowed again, indicating he would seat himself after his guests had made themselves comfortable.

[Besyanteo]

While Canal unsettled him, Tarou wasn't sure what to do but follow him; Kobakk appeared to be doing the same, and he could only assume that Joachim would do so as well. He could have lived without Alistair following them; They'd known him for all of five minutes and he was already stranger than their host with the wandering eye and his odd pauses in conversation. He'd be irritated that they were insinuating themselves into their little group... but he realized that he had done more or less the same thing to Joachim. It was pretty clear in hindsight that he meant to go his own way after rendering Kobakk and Tarou aid in the prison. He followed resignedly along, glad at least to have some time away from Joachim's strange, frightening mount.

His mood rose as he was lead through the temple. The art and statues were, as the ones outside, magnificent. He wondered at the statue of the Garoujin in samurai armor in a Fidelean temple, but he decided not to ask: It could make perfect sense to them. He sat at the table Canal had brought them to, easing gently into the resting-on-shins posture he was no longer used to, but at least remembered. It wasn't as comfortable after not-quite a decade of using tall Doman chairs, and he fidgeted slightly until he managed to get comfortable. He glanced around the room as he waited for his friends to sit as well, taking in every other person present. Their clothes were much better kept than his own green not-quite rags, but he didn't let it bother him. They were functional, and looked a lot better under his leathers anyway. Remembering that, he removed his pack and set it to his side, which took pressure off his feet. The dull ache that had begun to grow in them subsided, and he smiled with satisfaction. Much better.

It occurred to him to look and see what the monks were eating... This wasn't a restaurant, and he and his friends would likely be having the same.

(So, who wants to pick what the monks are eating?)

[ChristianC]

Alistair didn't exactly seem delighted at the prospect of eating whatever it was the monks were eating (perhaps he had some experience with religions?), but he didn't seem to let that stop him from rubbing his hands together and smiling at the others.

"Mmmhmm, I wonder what food they serve here, do you not? Doma was nice, but the food, ah, it was terrible, you see. Too much spice, or too little, and they had no sense of color or, what is the word, consistenciny? Whatever, this place seem much nicer than Doma, I think." he smiles brightly, "many who look like me, like Septileis...but more furry? It is colder here, I suppose, so probably why, haha." he gives another cheerful laugh as he looks at the statue with wide eyes.

[Besyanteo]

Ishtar but this little man was nervous, or he seemed the part at least. His eyes were always running around the room, and his mouth never stopped moving. Tarou had been taught that both were the marks of a man who is neither confident in himself or his surroundings. He was a foreigner apparently, so that could be some of it, but it was also like... well, it was like he was expecting someone to come over and attack him. It was a stark contrast to his behavior in the stable. His tone hadn't changed much since then... so, what, was he just like this? Oh hell. It was manageable now, but he was going to be absolutely insufferable if he kept this up for the next hour. Maybe if he could focus the man's attention on something. Doma would work; he certainly knew enough about the place now.

"Well, there's a reason Doma's food is all over the place; They're very big on trade, and have lots of immigrants from all over Igala, or even off continent. Their food is kind of from everywhere else. Did you have a guide while you were there, or just wander around on your own?"

[Kai]

Eating was another matter. No way to do that without once again looking... different. The easy answer was to just get some tea or something, but Joachim was hungry!

Joachim sat at the empty table that Canal had indicated, tugging on the sleeve of one of the monks as he passed to silently remind them that one of their guests had some... special dietary requirements.

Luckily for Joachim, lunch today was a rice dish covered in seafood. The superficially-Inustani dish was nonetheless served with chopsticks and green tea. Joachim's came with a knife, which he immediately set about using to pare down the shrimp to a more manageable bite-size.

It was something of a relief to have other people leading the conversation now. Joachim had a perverse tendency to be shoved into a role as interpreter and mediator, so he was always grateful to sit back, be quiet, and not stand out so much in conversation. At least until he started eating, at which point people either tended to stare, or they so scrupulously avoided staring that they might as well have been looking right at him.

Knowing these ones, everybody would dodge it except Alistair, who would simply ask. Then the conversation would be all about... well, that.

[ChristianC]

This little man didn't even seem to notice that Tarou was getting uncomfortable with him, and as soon as they got seated and began eating his ears perked up, his tail began to slowly sway back and forth and, thankfully, he seemed to calm down somewhat. The fact that his stomach had started rumbling at the sight of food might've been an indicator as to his irratic behavior.

"Ah, so they get food from other places? Makes sense, best chefs stay home, no?" he gave a little laugh and poked at the rice and seafood with his chopsticks before, with a shrug, he began to shovel the rice down with one stick, picking up the shrimps and what have you with his clawed fingers and slurping them down.

"Where I come from, all islands have own recipies, potpourri, special landfruits and seafruits, jealous secret." he nodded to the others, obviously they knew this about the Septîle. "But we are not many, this island must have much, much people, since it is so big. They hide good, or maybe they all live in cities." He nudged Joachim in the side, not having noticed anything in particular about his way of eating.

[Kai]

Far from his previous worries about seeming out of place at the table, Joachim found himself staring openly at Alistair. What was he doing?

Not everybody knew how to use chopsticks. Fine, fine. But diving right in with his fingers? Either the man was starving, or he really was some kind of foreign savage.

Well, well. Look who's apparently got weird Nekonian superiority issues, Joachim noted, amused with himself. I'm hardly the man to teach Alistair what the hell chopsticks are for, though. Lot of explanation to that.

Thus satisfied that anybody who knew anything was going to be watching Alistair in abject horror, the halberdier lifted a small bite of rice, tilted his head back and a little to the side, and let gravity keep the rice between his teeth in place of the job his tongue would have been doing... had there been much of it left. Briefly he leaned his head back even further to swallow, like a bird drinking, and he followed that bite with another, and another, and a sip of tea to rinse the rice that he couldn't clear out any other way.

And that was with rice, which would be the easy part.

[KingOfDoma]

Chopsticks. Blast these things...

Though he could manage the things, chopsticks were easily Kobakk's least favourite eating utensil (first being knife and fork, second being spoon, and a close third being his hands). It's not that they weren't functional, they just never made any for an orc's larger hands (three guesses as to why). His only respite was to pick up the bowl, and using the chopsticks as a shovel to usher the food into his mouth. He tried to eat it as demurely and cleanly as possible, but haste caused by his hunger and the awkwardness of the situation left grains of rice and bits of fish attached to his face once he put the bowl down.

Sadly, he didn't notice.

"... I've never complained about the food in Doma," he said, a drop of food in his belly calming his mind. "It always serves its purpose... though, I'm not one to be picky. Call it an inherited predilection against gourmet cooking."

Licking a lip (he finally detected a grain), he said, "So... the orcs in town... why are they here?"

[Reiks]

Canal quietly seated himself after the guests had done so. Just as silently he gave his thanks to his fellow monks who served him. Though it was in position to be their impromptu host, Canal felt a necessary distance from the foreigners and treated them with a kind but aloof repose.

Even when the food was served to them, he made no comment to gauge their pleasure at the dish nor did look around the table for a visual assertion that they were either pleased or dismayed. Instead he took the chopsticks and placed them in the cradle of his thumbs as he laced his thick fingers together, forefingers steepled and bowed his head low. His lips moved swiftly in a barely audible prayer to Fideleo and a quick mention to Nekogami.

Digging in after his prayer, he assumed that by now he was an invisible member to their table, no more distinguishable than the simple clay vase and orchid serving as a centerpiece. Occasionally a folded ear would swivel slowly back and forth, indicating he was listening to something if not the immediate conversation at the table. The agitated eye even seemed to settle in as it floated with an almost bored sway in it's socket. It might dart to one side or the other but it returned to center under Canal's half closed lid and hung languidly.

[ChristianC]

Alistair might not had cared much for his own appearance, but Joachim's way of eating seemed to catch his attention quite fast. For a few second he looked on the verge of exploding in curiosity, then he seemed to consider something, his eyes slowly travelling in a wide arc around the room, then his mouth slooooowly opened, then it closed, opened... and finally he looked at the orc, and his brow furrowed.

"Much peculiar eating ways, here," he commented, eyes once more travelling to Joachim... he seemed close to bursting, but he contained himself enough to remark on Kobakk's statement. "Food is not, what you say, spicy? It lacks character" he did a little pirouette with his chopsticks. A flick of rice fell through the air and landed somewhere appropriately annoying on Tarou. "Here, all food taste same. Know what I mean?" he grinned, "In Septïle, you can taste island in food, yes. Very jealous secret, potpourri."

[Besyanteo]

Tarou flinches as Alistair accidentally flicked a grain of rice into his ear. How he managed to get it in there was something of a mystery, but there it fell, in a nest of stray hair and fur, making Tarou flinch and twitch and growl quietly as he attempted to remove it with his somewhat thick fingers, clumsy when set to retrieve such a small item. Especially one that he could not see.

"Please..." he growled "Be careful?"

Another moment of work saw the grain retrieved. Well, that was just about irritating enough. He considered telling Alistair off, his mouth already halfway open, when he smelled... something. He wasn't able to place it immediately. He snapped his mouth shut and turned towards what he guessed was the direction of the source, sniffing experimentally. It was common, but out of place. Especially in doors.

"... Hey. Does anyone else smell smoke?"