The Librarian's Journey(Arthotus and Vasp)

[Arthotus]

Polina marvelled at the colours and sights. She had been many places as well, but mostly she had stuck to the plains and forests, keeping to were humans were the majority. She was used to dealing with them and they weren't usually very dangerous.

She gripped her lovers hand reassuringly. "Come, we should look around. Any suggestions on things that we should be looking for Juliet? I do not often come through such large cities."

Polina herself was a tad nervous, but that was only really for her small practically defenceless mate. Had she been on her own, as always, she would have strode through the city proud and tall, unafraid of its dangers. Now she always found herself looking back down at her charge, just to make sure that she was there.

[vasp]

"Someplace to sleep is my vote, but you two might want to get any supplies and gear you want since we're at a market," Juliet answered before she silently peered at the huge crowd, eyes darting from one transaction to another. "Alright, from what I can see it works the same as other Vek settlements I've been to. All shops must accept currency or barter as forms of payment, with some choosing to accept favors or manual work as well. Seeing as none of us really have much to trade with, we might want to find some work, ask around for people who'll take effort for payment, ooooor find the local arena and have you kick some heads around," she continued, balancing on one foot as she listed off the options with the other.

"Oh! Perhaps we can find a... a suitable weapon for me here? O-or maybe some sort of armor?" May suggested, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and her eyes now firmly upon the ground. Those were words she doubt she'd have ever said together at her old residence, but out here was the chance for new experiences, ideas, and hopefully skills. She wasn't a warrior like her beloved and she doubted she ever would be, but that didn't mean she couldn't learn to defend herself. Besides, it'd be nice to ease some of Polina's worry over her.

[Arthotus]

Polina considered the various options carefully as her eyes continued to cautiously sweep the crowd.

"I would rather not draw attention to us. I am used to trading labour for meals, so I believe that is the route we should take. I am willing to work for your portion as well, since your knowledge in this city is already quite helpful." She paused before she added, "and to let you get some sleep if you wish."

Turning her attention over her shoulder to May, the centaur nodded, "That is what I am hoping for. Weapons and armour are expensive, so I expect that we may be here for a time before we are ready to depart. We should also gather any supplies you feel are appropriate for exploring ruins and the like, since I have never carried such equipment. "

[vasp]

"I appreciate the offer, but I'll make sure to pay you back after I get some rest. A pair of usable wings almost guarantees work in places that'll let us harpies around," Juliet replied with both a shrug and a large, if a bit haggard, smile.

"U-um right. I-I'll try and compile a list of necessities when we've found a place less... boisterous." May looked up at Polina with her own small yet precious smile, happy that she might be useful after all rather than being completely dependent on her lover and their friend.

As Polina spoke with her lover, Juliet peered at the buildings on the other side of the bazaar until she focused on one that she apparently deemed acceptable. "There, the building with an armored goat on its sign should be able to accommodate the three of us without too much trouble. Might have job postings there too if we're lucky," she pointed out to the others before she began to hop towards the building in question. The harpy's path curved to stay at the fringes of the bazaar, not wanting to try and maneuver through the thicker crowds a direct approach would force the trio through while she was on foot.

[Arthotus]

Nodding, Polina followed her companion, diligently appraising their surroundings for any sings of danger. Obviously it was everywhere, but she couldn't let her guard down, for May's sake. The centauress didn't see much reason to argue, and the inn the harpy suggested looked very much like it could accommodate all types of persons. She very briefly wondered what kind of work she would be able to do in a town with such diversity, but put that aside. She could do countless tasks, but most often she was employed as a mover of objects and goods, her larger size, equine frame and superior endurance made her very suitable for hard labour jobs.

[vasp]

The relatively short walk to the inn was loud but fairly uneventful. Nobody seemed to even notice the small group save for a few goblin kids who had kicked a recently purchased ball between Juliet and the other two. They edged near the group nervously, intimidated by Polina's impressive figure, but May gave them a soft smile before lightly batting the ball back to them with the side of her foot. Their fear instantly forgotten, the kids cheered and ran off to bicker amongst themselves on who would get the ball first. With a light giggle May offered Polina a small shrug before she sped up her pace to catch up with Juliet.

Once at the inn, the three were immediately greeted with a booming, "Ah, welcome to the Angry Kid my friends! How may my humble self serve?" The voice belonged to the apparent innkeeper, a giant of a man who was almost as wide as he was tall. He sported a grand curled mustache beneath his thick nose and great bushes that served as eyebrows. His eyes were fairly small yet they seemed to twinkle with mirth, and his wide smile was marked by a pair of broad, short tusks.

[Arthotus]

Polina bowed slightly to the man, "Good inn keeper, we are new to the city and are looking for work and a place to stay. We will be here for some time and I am willing to work hard. Do you have room for us, and would you recommend any places to seek employment?" The centaur was familiar with inns. She usually slept in the stable, which was comfortable for her if somewhat smelly. She found she got the most answers when she simply asked for what she wanted. Human's were sometimes distrustful of her, as was their suspicious nature, but she was hoping that this fellow would see the honesty in her request and give them some direction of where to go from here.

[vasp]

"Ah yes, plenty of rooms to be had here! And a hard worker you say you are? That is good to hear!" the man boomed before he suddenly tossed Polina a pair of keys. "Don't lose those! Being new to the city can be hard, yes? I'll let you have a room now, and you pay me when you're able," he added with a boisterous laugh before he gave each of the three an appraising look. Noting Polina's spear and general attire, the man twirled his mustache a few times as he seemed to ponder over the centaur's request.

"You are a fighter, yes? Strong and sturdy, perhaps almost as much as myself from the looks of you! The Angry Kid doubles as a bar during the evening, and I can do with a bouncer to help keep hands off my servers and faces out of my walls if that interests you. It'd only pay enough to cover your room and breakfast though," he offered before jerking a thick thumb over his shoulder. "If not, the arena might be more your style. Wealth and glory to be had there if those are what you're looking for, and if not you can still at least earn the Veks' respect, and that can open a few new doors for you. If you just want to use that brawn of yours without any action though, head to the north side of the city were you can find some honest labor moving stones for buildings or unloading goods from incoming caravans."

[Arthotus]

Polina handed one of the keys to the harpy, "Thank you. I will gladly accept your offer of being a guard for your establishment. That begins after sundown? I am a warrior, but I prefer not to endanger myself needlessly. I will seek employment in the north during the day. Thank you for your generosity."

Turning to her companions, the centauress asked May, "What would you like to do today? I'll try to start working tomorrow, so for today we can explore." She glanced to Juliet, "Get some rest. We'll be back before sundown."

[vasp]

"Ah ha! Excellent to hear! Come straight here after the bells ring for seven strikes and all shall be good!" the barkeep replied before turning away to start cleaning a few glass mugs.

Juliet grabbed the key with surprising precision using one taloned foot, lifting it to her head to study it carefully before flipping it into the air. Catching it in her mouth, Juliet nodded in understanding before she began to hop off, leaving Polina (mostly) alone with May. "W-well, we could try and get a little familiar with the streets while we can? That way we can find things a little easier when we need to," May suggested. Mostly she just wanted to spend time with Polina now that it was just the two of them, but she also wanted to admire and study the local architecture a bit more. Everything looked so different than anything in her old town, drawing out her curiosity on how different regions might come up with different styles of structure.

[Arthotus]

With the matter of their room settled, Polina nodded to May, smiling warmly, "Absolutely my love. We should explore now, as it seems I will be quite busy with work soon, and I would rather you not walk these streets alone."

The centauress looked about with her casual but wary eye for danger, waiting for her passenger to choose a direction of interest.

[vasp]

May blushed a furious crimson at the sight of Polina's smile, the radiant sight sending her heart fluttering within her breast. Too flustered to quite speak yet, she gently took Polina's hand (or rather, a few of her fingers) within her own and led them out of the inn, a noticeable spring in her step as she walked. Her giddiness died down a little as they once more entered the bustling streets of the city, the mass of people almost overwhelming the small human.

"W-well, I think first we should go to the north part of the city and observe where you'll probably be working? See if there's any customs or um, physical obstacles such as stairs that you might want to know about beforehand. From there I suppose we can work our way around the city until we get back here," May suggested after she took a breathe to chase away her nerves.

[Arthotus]

Polina nodded, more than happy to do anything or nothing at all with her beloved. She doubted that stairs would be much of an obstacle, since the serpent people who seemed to be the main proprietors of the city would probably prefer ramps. Still, she was a little larger than the average person, so it was worth checking out if there was a guild she had to join or some non-sense before she really got started.

She trotted towards the north, ever vigilant to danger to her much smaller companion. She also kept her eyes open enough to learn what the city itself was like. Such a large place, so many people, there was bound to be many things to see and learn, just by observing.

[vasp]

As Polina moved forward she'd find that the crowd mostly parted around her as if she were an island amidst a roaring river, the smaller people used to maneuvering around larger bodies. Few of the people around them bothered to even glance at the pair, most too busy with their own lives to take notice of the others among them. Polina's ever watchful gaze would occasionally catch someone looking at them directly, recognizing the tell tale face of a pickpocket deciding that they really don't want to risk making a mark of the powerful woman. May of course was oblivious to the potentially malicious glances, the short human too worried with managing her anxiety from the crowd in general. She knew Polina was watching out for her though, which helped ease her mind... and was likely a deciding factor in why she hadn't passed out yet.

The crowded walkway eventually led to a proper road several times wider than the path the pair had taken to reach the city itself, wagons and carts going by in the center while throngs of people continued on foot to either side, all under the stony gaze of life-sized statues of the Vek that were periodically placed along the way. As Polina and May passed a few such statues, Polina's vigilance would reward her with catching one of the statue's eyes move briefly, revealing the 'statue' to be one of the giant naga guards whose armor and skin had been disguised to appear as stone. The guard's gaze briefly met Polina's and realized they had been found out, but only a slight twitch at the corner of their eyes betrayed any further movement.

Feeling slightly less claustrophobic, May gradually loosened up her tense posture and eventually began to point out the things that caught her eye to her mate. "Oh, look at those things pulling that cart! I've never seen them before," May excitedly chattered as she pointed out to a pair of tall, grey birds that seemed to have a coat of quills covering their short wings rather than the proper feathers covering the rest of their body. "It must be difficult to harness them if they don't want to be, but I doubt they have much to worry from wolves or those cats we saw before," she mused while eyeing the pointed array of pseudo-plumage.

While May began to go on a tangent about other beasts of burden, Polina would notice another naga that was coiled around a table outside what appeared to be a restaurant of some sort. This one was larger than the smaller, more feral appearing naga they had witnessed at market but not nearly the size of the larger naga that seemed to be in charge. What would have caught Polina's attention though would be the fact that this naga was openly drooling while staring at the pair in an almost dazed fashion. No, not staring at May upon further insight, but rather staring solely at the centaur! Thankfully a glob of saliva plopped onto the head of an elven woman that had been sitting in the naga's 'lap' while enjoying a steaming vegetable based dish, and upon looking up and finding that the naga wasn't looking at her while drooling, she huffed slightly and shoved her fingers into the taller woman's mouth. Apparently snapping out of her daze, the naga turned to her own companion and apologetically nuzzled against her before she began to engulf the elf within her stretched maw. Just, right out in the open for any and all to see. What was perhaps even stranger was that nobody except Polina seemed to even notice.

[Arthotus]

The tall, muscular, blonde Centauress smiled at her love's banter, but didn't let it distract her from her inspection of the city. The statue guards were a surprise, but if that was how the enormous serpents chose to govern it wasn't the place of a transient like Polina to question it. It seemed strange, but perhaps it worked better than simple patrols.

The city was much, much bigger than any she'd been to before, stretching on for miles more than she could have thought. It was like an entire country. She didn't let her gaze wander the horizon of rooves too long though, annoyances and threats alike every present much nearer than that. The pickpockets and other petty crime were easy to dissuade, but hungry looks by people like the naga were what caught her attention. Having frequented 'mostly' human territories, she wasn't used to such things, especially with her ever ready long spear resting on her shoulder. Still, she wasn't unfamiliar with being viewed as prey, so it's not as if the looks unnerved her, though the quantity made her a bit on edge. Ah well, she was ready to defend herself. They moved on from the strangely public display of vore and towards the quarry where she planned to be employed.

[vasp]

The last leg of their journey went by with little else to note aside from the gradual shifting of who the surrounding crowd contained. The further north the pair went, the more and more the hordes of travelers and townsfolk going about their day-to-day errands shifted to more spread out groups of muscled laborers. The workers seemed to help move things such as small adobe bricks to great limestone ones, large ceramic jars filled with various liquids like water and tar, giant piles of imported lumber, and heavy carts filled with raw metallic ore for refining. Surely this must be where the barkeeper had meant when informing the centaur of work options.

"W-well, I don't see anything that'd get in the way, but I don't really see anybody who's really, um, in charge either? Maybe we should ask one of the...erm Vek I think they're called? Next time we see one that is," May offered as she scanned the various operations for anybody that seemed to be giving orders or dealing with some sort of paperwork. She blushed slightly at seeing so many muscles at work around her, but the timid woman shifted her attention to watching Polina's in motion, allowing herself to be swept away by her endless fascination with her lover's grace and strength.