On the Rocks

It wasn't yet time for his weekly performance in the Rathskeller, but Jigano arrived early as he often did to talk with people and watch the interactions of the regulars, trying to tease apart how things were going between the naturals and the outlanders and to keep an eye on those he had come to know in his position as Guildmaster, loreseeker, bard, and listener. His harp and twin-tailed flute were safely tucked in their cases beside his chair, but he made no move to begin tuning them yet as he sat and sipped his drink, making the whiskey last, though he knew the bartender, Edrei, would be more than happy to pour him another. Or three.

She was a good friend like that.

He grinned as a carpenter sat down across from him, expression sobering as he listened to the woman's tale of a strange creature she had seen three nights before. Too small for the Monster Hunter's Guild, and not aggressive, at least, but it had been unusual enough for her to pass along the description to the Loreseekers for their chronicles. He asked a few questions, nodded gravely in thanks, and let her go to join her sisters at another table.

And so it went, people dropping by for small talk, passing along information or simple greetings while the white-haired man sat and nursed his drink. Tonight was a performance night, and he was dressed in somewhat better clothes than he had arrived in thanks to Rexanna's clever needle and useful magic: a thin tunic in pale blue, subtly patterned with paler feathers, that wrapped snugly around his lean body with sleeves that belled towards the cuffs to contain his many pockets in their voluminous lengths. His hair was pulled back in a simple tail, with a white raven's feather painted in several shades of blue and dusted with silver braided into it. His blue eyes were bright and lively, his performer's face a sincere mask of pleasantry and good humor--

Hiding the worry that lurked beneath.

A lull came then, a time when no one was coming over to talk, and he took that time to look around the tavern and see if anyone new had come in, even as a pale ball of fur and feathers bounded down the stairs and worked her way expertly between the legs of the other patrons, heading towards him with proud purpose.

Sascha

Sascha was still more then confused about this entire world he now was stuck in and had seen better days to be completely honest. He still had no income, to place really to stay and no friends either. Like; How did one manage to start an entire life over just like this? And what were the odds that you one moment had been in a pretty Chinese forest and then the next thing you knew you had entered a whole new world where nothing made sense to him? Sure he had his little spot that he found where he could sleep and was able to scrape by at least decently the same way he had done back in China but it all was frightening and unfamiliar. He did not know what he could eat without getting sick or worse, He was in constant fear of being attacked by unfamiliar animals or people and there was almost nothing except wood that he had some sort of understanding with.


He had spent the beginning of this day selling some wooden figurines he had carved during the nights to get a basic supply of edible foods and drinks, not alot, but enough to make him at least skip the part of being hungry/thirsty. It took time to make the figurines though which made it so he was very tired during the days since he sat up most nights carving them. It was the only way he found out yet to get by in this world after all.


He had found his way to something called Rathskeller right now though which was precisly what he needed. He still was dressed in his chinese clothing because he still haven't gotten around to try and find some new clothing. He litterally had no idea what a set of clothing would cost even but something told him that his figurines might not be enough for it. But at least he was clean, so that's something. He moved over to the bartender and pulled out some of the figurines and held them up in front of her in hopes that the pretty figurines would be enough to get something strong to drink. Gods know he needed that in his life right now and to his great relief the bartender took two of the figurines; a tiger and a monkey, and poured him up a big glass of whiskey. If he didn't have self-control this would probably make him shed a tear cause as stated; He have had it rough since he came to this place. Keep. The. Tears. Too. The. Inside.



He had yet to notice the incoming male as he stood holding a bag containing his food supply and his most precious belonging; His violin.

Outlanders were often conspicuous by their clothes, and the young man who had made his way to the bar while Jigano was talking to the regulars was no exception. There were some small details in his garb that held a passing similarity to some of the bard's own, though it was largely foreign to his eyes. Those similarities sparked his usual curiosity even brighter than usual, and he clinked the ice in his glass with thoughtful interest.

The little cat-sized gryphlet leapt lightly to the bench beside him wings ruffled up proudly as she displayed her catch - a small rodent, still warm (and with a leg that Jigano could see was broken, and likely had been before she had caught it). He grinned and stroked her head anyways, praising her in a proud, quiet voice before gently setting her back on the floor to start tearing apart and gulping down her meal.

When he looked up again, Edy had taken pity on the newcomer and topped him up, and Jigano snorted with amusement at her generous hand with the booze. Something newcomers always needed was a hot meal, though, so he stood and poked his head in the kitchen to order up a couple bowls of stew and hot bread. Not as good as Amalia's loaves, alas, but good enough for bar food!

It was a short trip from there to the bar where he slid his empty glass across the surface with a nod for a refill. He glanced to the young man with a friendly smile while he waited, gesturing back to his table with an elegant hand. "There's space there, if you're looking for a place to sit," he offered. "I'd be glad of the company, if you have a moment."

Sascha struggled with keeping the tears at bay over the kindness he just had witnessed being thrown at him from the bartender. He really wanted to just break apart for a bit, sob like a little kid with his strong drink and hope his life could find some sort of footing again. True.. He had been a runaway back in china as well since he had fled from the army, but at least he had know what all things was back home. The hope to get back home had however started to wash away which perhaps was why he started to learn about this new place. Home is where you are at.. right?


Suddenly in his fight over not crying he had a voice that surprisingly was directed towards HIM, not anyone else but actually him which made him with thoose unvolentary tearglimmering eyes turn his face around to see who had spoken to him. Still ofcourse he tried his best to not sob which probably where kinda pointless considering one could see by a mere look at him that he was at the edge of tears. He kept a proud face though as his eyes wandered over the white haired male, trying to figure out who this might be. After sucking up his words like a dry sponge his black eyes wandered over to the table the man showed him before he turned them back to the male, cleared his throat to properly thank him for his kindness.. even though it first came out in chinese. "Fēicháng gǎnxiè nǐ.. i mean.. thank you so much sir.." Even his voice was at the edge of breaking and he turned around to quickly dry his teary eyey a bit in an attempt to stealth before he grabbed his whiskey and followed the man towards the table.



He made sure to not sit down until the man first had done it and placed his heavy bag next to himself where he now sat down. His eyes where placed at the other man as he raised his whiskey to the lips and took a sip of the aftersought liquid. He then put the glas back on the table as a tired smile spread its way on his face. "Thank you for inviting me, i've had the worst couple of days. My name is Sascha, what's yours?" And as per normal chinese tradition he made his hands meet eachother and bowed his head as a salutation to the man. Not even thinking how it would look or if it even fit in this world.

Jigano's friendly smile didn't waver, but he found himself holding back the urge to blink in surprise at the raw emotion that seethed just beneath the surface of the young man's voice and expression. Perhaps this Outlander had not had as soft a landing as some of them received. Perhaps more akin to Melinoe's catastrophic landing at the forefront of a storm, shredded and bloody and half-dead? Though at least there were no obvious wounds or bandages on the stranger.

One brow did arch in curiosity at the strange language, but he nodded easily enough at the translation. "Not at all. The least I can do is offer the hospitality of my table." He chuckled his thanks at the bartender and collected his drink, leading the way to his usual place and settling onto the bench once more, swirling his glass as he gave Sascha the chance to make himself comfortable. The courtesy was appreciated, and his eyes widened in surprise - and a little pleasure - at the greeting. He repeated back, not as easily as someone who did it regularly, but not with the awkwardness of someone who had never done it before, either. It was as if he was out of practice, but had known it once. "Be welcome here, Sascha. My name is Jigano. And from your clothes I am guessing that you aren't from around here," he added with a wry smile. "I would be glad to answer any questions you might have. Coming through the portals into Caido can be... disorienting, to say the least. If you're hungry, would you like to join me for dinner?"

Sascha had been lucky enough as he landed into this world all it had felt like was a proper beating but at least no marks where added on him. Ofcourse he didn't know it could get much worse then that, i mean; it's not like you get brought into a differnt world every day right? So if he actually knew how lucky he had come off then maybe he wouldn't be so sad, lost and confused anymore. A beating he was used to considering his fighting skills in the chinese archery squad had been less then stellar so during the fighting lessons the military had given them he was normally looking like a living, huge bruise. He did not have any considerable skills in fighting. Sure; he was insanly good at just archery and speed but he had failed almost everything else which had been the reason to why he had run away from it all. It was not directly fun to always get beaten up evvery single day if you put it that way.

He smiled a bit over the surprise he had recieved from his greeting, not knowing if he should be embaressed or not but as Jigano replied with the same greeting back he felt more like home then he had ever done in this place. Some people would probably just raise an eyebrow over the foreigners greeting but to actually recieve the same greeting back felt nice. Hell; every world, place had their own greeting and even if he had never left China before he knew that other parts of his world greeted with things like bows, handshakes or kisses on the cheeks. It was impossible to know what was right to do in new places.

He listened to Jigano carefully to make sure he didn't miss anything that he was told and without interupting him which from his part of existance was a good sign of respect. He had so many questions but he was sure that he had time to ask them properly without being rude and interupt the other man. One thing at a time. " Thank you so much, i would love to share a meal with you and i thank you for the kindness." a complete honest answer to the mans question none the less. " I really don't know whats going on at all.. Last thing i remembered was that i was about to enter a cave before all went blank.. I woke up in a new area with just the items i had carried with me and everything is so confusing to be honest. It's the first time that i feel like i don't know anything and it was really frightening for me. I dont know what i am supposed to do.."

He noticed that he litterally just let his thoughts do the talking for him and smiled a bit apologetic over that fact. He litterally knew nothing about this society and didn't know if it was considered rude to just spurt out things like these or not.

"I, too, was new here once," the lorekeeper explained with a smile, waving off the silent apology. "A little kindness goes a long way to helping ease the transition, I found. So I am glad to pass it along to others, now that I can." His regular performances at the Rathskeller earned him meals and drinks there, a deal he had forged with the first owner, Vervain, and which had remained unchanged when Edrei took over. It was time well-spent, not only in keeping his musical skills sharp but in providing him a place to soak up the local gossip and maintain his friendships and networks with those who came by for a drink and a little company, or to catch up on the news. He might have preferred to be enconsced in his office in the Guildhall, or walking the new lands that had opened up a season past, but he still found comfort in this part of his life as well.

He considered all of what Sascha had said, taking a slow sip of his whiskey before nodding to himself as he ordered his thoughts, trying to decide where to start and how much to begin with. "Well," he said slowly, "the first thing you should probably know is that this world is called Caido, and that you either stepped through or fell into a portal that brought you here." Should he begin with the gods? The races? The geography? In the end he offered his companion a lopsided smile and gestured to the other man instead. "I think, in order to frame things in a way that will make the most sense to you, I would like to know what the place you are from is like. Can you tell me a bit about it? Your gods, your magic, that sort of thing?"

Sascha started to feel a bit overwhelmed over the kindness he was experiencing cause lets be honest here; It was not every day you met a helpfull soul no matter where you came from. He nodded greatfully over this mans hospitality and put into the memory bank to do the same himself as he have gotten established into this society. Cause it had not been easy whatsoever to figure things out here. Heck he had almost starved to death before noticing it was a tading market that worked here. Speaking of.. He reached over to his back and looked through it for a bit until he found what he was looking for. He wanted to thank the man over this kindness which made it so he pulled out a smaller figurine he had carved a few night ago with the look of an angel. He had wanted to try and get a hold on some colors to paint it for the chance to get something more valuable out of it but he didn't mind his new point with the beautiful figurine. Without a word he placed it on the table before pushing it forward with a smile on his face towards Jigano . He met the mans eyes sincerly grateful, made sure to really look into them before nodding to show his appreciation. Gifting him the angel to show his gratitude over all of this without a word before leaning backwards and took another sip of his whiskey. It was the LEAST he could do after all.

Caido.. He memorized the name of the world as the name went through his head on repeat. He was sure he would remember the name but still repeated it to himself just in case as he listenend to Jigano. His face turned to a thinking expression as he leaned back on his seat trying to figure out how to describe China.

"Well.. I'm from a place called Zhouzhuang in China which is located on a planet named Earth.. It's a water town and we have alot of different gods. All countries on earth have their own gods so there are thousands of different gods from where i am from.. My gods i followed in life is the Tian gods, or, gods of heaven where the god of creation is called Tiāndì. And for magic i don't really know if it counts but i have noticed during my life that i can heal smaller injuries caused on the body. Both on myself and others which have always frightened the people of my town.."

With thoose words he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment since its during his lifetime on earth was seen as a form of either witchcraft och blessing. It had caused alot of problems for him on earth and he had been told to never share that with anyone cause it might lead to his death. It was not appriciated where he was from after all.

"I still feel a bit uncomfortable talking about that since it's not a very common thing on earth and are normally frowned upon.. It might even lead to you getting killed if you are not careful. I was lucky enough that i spoke of it to a priest that decided to see it as a gift from the gods. It could have been ALOT worse if i mentioned it at other places i think.." He was almost prepared to hear the word witchcraft be shouted but something told him that magic in Caido was a completly different thing, maybe even common? Cause why else would Jigano even have mentioned magic? "How about you? Where are you from? Do you have any magical abilities?" He asked carefully to not overstep his bounds in this matter.

The bard raised a brow as Sascha went digging through his bag, but at the little figure that was pushed across the table he smiled, picking it up and raising it to admire more closely.

His smile froze as he recognized the depiction of a winged humanoid and his fingers tensed around it as he fought the urge to snap it in two, memories of his last encounter with an angel - or at least, angelic-like being - sending a mix of complicated emotions spinning through his blood... most of them dark. Only his training as a bard kept him from throwing the wooden reminder of so much death and destruction into the fire. Instead he set it down with careful precision off to the side, nodding his gratitude to Sascha since he didn't trust his voice not to come out sharp and cold at the unexpected reminder of his past, a ripping off of the healing scabs he'd finally begun to grow over it.

Luckily he had time to recover himself. Sascha spoke at length, and Jigano listened and nodded with interest at the strange names, his brow raising curiously at a few places that sounded oddly familiar to his own ears. Clearly, though, this was a world very unlike his own - and even more different from Caido. He let the realization that Sascha had meant no harm with his religious iconography relax him back towards feeling hospitable towards the stranger. He waited patiently while Sascha rambled, letting the young man run until he finally paused for breath, and the lorekeeper chuckled. "Most of that sounds unfamiliar to me, although my ancestors come from a place called Tian Xia on my world. Magic is common where I'm from, though when I was brought through the portal to Caido I lost the spark that allowed me to cast spells, both arcane and divine." A loss that still stung, though less now that he was becoming used to it, and to the other talents he had developed in this new world.

Jigano tilted his head at Sascha thoughtfully, then glanced up as a teenager brought out the laden bowels of stew and a loaf of fresh bread. He gave the youngster a grin and a nod, then turned back to his companion as he stirred his stew in thought. "For something that could have gotten you killed... you speak of it very easily to a stranger," the bard pointed out wryly. "But healing is a magical talent that will always be useful here. I can take you up to the Infirmary after dinner and introduce you to Vervain, who has strong healing magic. She's saved more than one person's life from the brink of death with it."

He considered the personal questions next, lips quirking wryly. "I'm from a land called Numeria, on the world of Golarion. As I said, it is a world of many gods and magic is more common there than it is here, but my spellcasting abilities were lost to me when I was brought here." He shrugged lightly, as if it were only a small thing and not something that had once helped to define him. "There are far fewer gods on Caido, but they are more... ah, 'hands on,' shall we say? They are more likely to appear when prayed to, but they can be capricious in how they respond to those prayers." It was a place to start, at least, and Jigano finally allowed himself the pleasure of taking a few spoonfuls of stew while giving Sascha time to think about what he'd said.

Sascha did not notice Jigano s reaction over the angel figurine since i was to busy in explaining his home to him, besides how could he had known a angel would be something bad for someone? On earth they where seen as something good after all, perhaps a tad scary when it came to the archangels, but in general a symbol of love, light and hope. He stopped talking to gather his breath from his long explaination of where he was from and looked/felt alot happier then he had been feeling ever since he came to this place. He had only met one person before this and it felt nice to be caught up with explaining something to lure the feelings of loss away for a while. He lifted his whiskey to take another sip after his explaination whilst listening to the replies he got from Jigano.

He blinked in surprise over hearing there was places where magic of all things were common. Where he was from that was not the case AT ALL. As Jigano took a break from his explaination he couldn't help but to look apologetic and before he knew it he had let the "I'm so sorry to hear that.." escape him without the chance to even stop it. But it was however a true statement; He was truly sorry to hear about something painful for Jigano which was visable in his face as the words escaped him. He didn't wanna pry in thoose panful memories though which made him just share a look with the other man.

The food came, carried by a teenager which made him move his glass and arms so the food could be placed in front of him without being to complicated. He thanked the boy by letting his hands meet again and a small bow came from him before he turned back towards Jigano. It was obviously clear that where Sascha came from they had a high code containing respect and gratitude considering how easily the bowing his head came for him. He was ALMOST wondering how long that would stick in him after living with that behaviour for over 20 years.. It didn't matter much right now though! He had other things to worry about!

He looked down to notice there were no eating sticks to use for the stew and in slight amazement he took up the spoon. Sure; they had spoonlike objects in China to but most things where made to be eaten with sticks after all. He gave himself a mental note that he had to make himself a pair of chopsticks later on since he highly doubted that the people living here ate with sticks. But who knew? Maybe he would be surprised? He listened to Jigano and actually turned a bit pink in the face and scratched the back of his head again in a bit of embaressment. "Well i considered that since you were the one that brought the subject up it would be a pretty safe subject to mention.." And then it happened for the first time in he didnt know how long; A small smile appeared on his face. Just like that. It may be cause of the welcoming feeling, the converstation or maybe both but he felt a bit happier then he had felt in a LONG time.

"And i would really appriciate to meet her, i never knew there was more people that could do what i do so it would be nice to ask some questions." He ten continued to listen to Jigano as he started to eat from the warm meal. A proper meal had also been a thing he had longed for after all which made him eat happily from the foreign food. The words 'hands on' made him look like a living questionmark up at Jigano with his spoon of food still raised over the bowl but frozen. Wait what? " Wait... your gods actually answers prayers? And actually appears?" He asked with a face containing such surprise that it spoke by it self that his own gods at home really didn't do such things. "Does that actually mean you can talk to them? Like really TALK and not imagining that your prayer have been answered even if that was not the case and mere simple luck?" Yeah lets be honest; Thats how it normally worked back on earth right?

He raised a brow at Sascha's expression of sympathy. He had laughed it off and had, by now, long experience controlling it from showing on his face, but he nevertheless nodded silent acknowledgment of his companion's kind words. The arrival of the food provided a convenient distraction, and the teenager gave Sascha a strange look at the odd gesture, unsure if it was one of respect or mockery for such a menial task. Jigano murmured quiet thanks and sent him back to the kitchen before he could confront the newcomer about it, though. With the schism between naturals and outlanders, defiantly outlander customs could sometimes be taken the wrong way by belligerent natives.

Jigano snorted delicately as he was blowing on his spoonful of stew to cool it, amused and exasperated by Sascha's naivete. "I could have brought it up to see if I could get you to confess to it," he pointed out wryly. "Make no mistake: this world can be dangerous, and not all dangerous things walk on four legs." But the young man's smile was infectious, and the bard returned it with a crooked one of his own. "And magic users here are called 'Abandoned' because the gods want little to do with them, due to an old sleight. Those who are Naturals - native to this world - tend not to flaunt their abilities because of the stigma associated with them. Outlanders... well. They see no reason to hide what they are, when many of us come from places rife with magic and see nothing wrong with it." He shrugged, taking neither side but simply giving Sascha the information to use as he saw fit.

"She recently had a baby, so she might not be in," he warned, "but I'll introduce you if she is. Hopefully she can answer more questions about how the local healing magic works than I could." He had used healing magic fairly often on his world, but in the shape of wands and potions, staves and scrolls. He'd had some healing talents of his own, but they had been small things and his focus as a young man had been on other things. Something he regretted now, but could not change.

He ate some more, tearing the bread in half and offering one side to Sascha while he used his own to help scoop up stew and eat it that way. Thanks to the Northhaveners, the newcomer's surprise wasn't unusual to the bard, though he chuckled at the way the woodworker described his own world's religion. "Imagine? It sounds as though you had little faith in your own gods. Maybe that's why they didn't answer you," he said with a wry grin. "Why would they answer a skeptic? They have little to prove to mere mortals if they don't want to, after all. But, yes, some of the gods here are more likely to answer than others. The Old Gods... not as much. Their herald-gods? Much more often."

Sascha noticed the look the teenager gave him which filled his face with a bit confusion mixed with regret over his action.. How was it even seen with his behavior? In China it was a normal way to thank people whom did them any service, even if it was something simple as delivering food but he didn't think about it might being different in other worlds. The worry was shown in his face as the teenager was shooed back into the kitchen and he met Jiganos gaze in a slight confusion over the whole situation. As he met the other mans smirk though he instantly felt a bit better even if the worry still hid in the back of his thoughts. It was maybe a slightly odd sensation; his smile had rubbed off on Jigano who's smile now rubbed off back on him. So there he sat listening with a cheered up smile all over his face again.

He took in every word with a slight feeling of dread that grew in him cause he felt like it didn't bring him all the wisdom he wanted from it. Why? Well it was simple; The comment that all people did not really walk the straight and narrow. It told him that he needed to watch out with his magical abilities in a way at the same time as the rest of the information told him half of the people wouldn't really care either way. Carefullness had never been one of his strong suits.

He nodded thoughtfully when he then said that Vervain might not be in since a baby happened and put that note in his memory bank. They will have to see then. "So as i gather you should be a bit careful in using your magic abilities here as well?" He hummed slightly more as a mental note to himself then anything else but in a way that showed he listened and tried to learn the lay of the lands.

Suddenly he got handed some bread and a bright smile spread across his face again as he accepted it, not showing that the food actually confused him. A stew had chunks in it and back in china they ate chunks of food with chopsticks. He was not gonna admit that though! He took the bread and unashamed dipped an edge of it in the stew to then nom as he was half caught in thoughts as he listened to the other man. "Weeeeeeell... " He started while he processed his view of earths gods. "To be honest i sometime feel that the gods, or at least most of them, might have left earth or as you said don't really care much anymore since humans can be a bit.. complex when it comes to religion.. I don't even think the most religious humans have much luck anymore so i really don't know how the gods sees earth. But you are correct; Since it seams pointless back at earth i have a small amount of faith in the gods over there." He hummed a bit as he named his foreign food in a manner that was quite obvious he was not used to this way of eating. Didn't mention anything about it tough.

"I take it you should be careful what you ask for here though?" He asked with a small smile since that saying was huge back on earth as well.

Naive, but well-meaning, he thought of the young man across from him. He seemed a sheltered sort, but he wasn't complaining about the strangeness of this new world, or afraid of the newness of it all. The bard thought the boy was more resilient than he looked, and would hopefully transition easily to life in Caido. "Mmm. I think that will be up to you," he admitted cautiously at the question. "Magic isn't hated or feared, but it can be a touchy subject to ask someone else about their magic if they're a Natural of this world. More of a matter of etiquette, really. All of the Outlanders I've met won't be surprised by it, and the naturals who have outlander friends are pretty accepting of it as well. And naturals who have magic will use their own magic if they need to. They just tend to be more... circumspect about it. Not flaunting it, the way some Outlanders do." His smile was a little sad as a gave a small shrug. "This is their world, not ours, so I find it works best to try and respect the ways of those who have allowed us to live among them, especially since it doesn't really do any harm to be more subtle with the use of such power."

There was enough of a problem with Outlanders trying to force their ways on the native-born people without making it worse, after all!

"Mmm. That reminds me, though, there is one type of magic that is openly accepted, even embraced here. Mages are born with their powers, without a choice in the matter, but the Attuned are people who have sought out the blessing of the Old Gods and have been gifted with the ability to turn into an animal - sometimes more than one," he explained, moving a chunk of stringy beef around his stew with his spoon as he spoke. "In my world the ability to change shape would have been seen as magic as well... but here it's something a little different, because of the source of the power."

Jigano was, admittedly, curious at the difficulty Sascha seemed to be having with his meal, but he politely kept his questions to himself. Who knew what people from other worlds were used to? Perhaps stew and bread were uncommon foods where he was from? But the bard did slow down how he was eating, making it easier for the newcomer to see what he was doing with his spoon and his own hunk of bread so that the young man could copy him if he wanted to. "A dangerous mindest to take, on my world... and on this one," he murmured at the other man's explanation. "Though many Outlanders here come from a place called Northhaven, where there were no gods at all. They found the ones here to be... quite unsettling at first, I believe. They still are, if I'm to be honest," he admitted with a chuckle. "Even for me. I'm used to bring able to draw upon divine power for certain types of magic, but not to be confronted by a god in the middle of my prayers!" He shook his head a little at the strangeness of it, though it was becoming familiar by now. And he had managed to stay on Ludo's good side in their interactions... so far.

"Be careful what you ask for, and who you ask for," Jigano agreed with a wry smile. "If you pray to a specific god, they might answer - or not. A little like cats with unimaginable divine power, they come when it suits them, not you. But if you don't pray to someone specific then any one of them might show up, and they might not answer your prayer in the manner you had wanted..." Or they might curse you, as had happened to his friend Rexanna. And to Remi. And to others... Gods were not wise to trifle with, not without a very good reason, that was for certain!

Sascha listened carefully to what he was told, put it all in his memory bank so he did behave accordingly in this confusing new world. Sure maybe he would still forget a thing of two accidently but he really frced his brain to suck up al the information that he could. Like a dry sponge. It was all so different then what he was used to but since Are had told him there was no possible way back to China he had to make the most out of it all. Right? "Abandoned.. Attuned.. Naturals.." He said mostly to himself to force the information to stay in his head. There was a lot of different races it seamed as well. Alot of everything no doubt.

Sascha blinked in surprise when he noticed how the other man slowed himself down when eating his food which both made him thankful and a bit emberessed. He didn't think it would be THAT noticeable that he didn't understand how something as easy as a stew where consumed. He did however smile in a more thankful manner as he started to copy what Jagano was doing, a tad awkwardly but good enough still. He fished up a piece of meat on his spoon, pondered the wierdness of not eating the meat with sticks, before he ate it. Well it worked which was the main thing. He felt a bit stupid from feeling embaressed over it all which suddenly made him laugh instead to easen both his own mood and to show more of a happier side then his gloomy feelings over beeing stuck in a foreign place. "Belive it or not but where i come from we eat with sticks" He had seen that Jigano looked abit curious over his awkwardness and whanted to ease that curiosity a bit. Gave him a big smile before listening to what more Jigano told him.

As Jigano finished his last sentence he smiled a bit again in a way that made it clear that he was a bit hesitant to the thought of praying.. like.. at all. And the thought of gods actually listening was to be honest more scary then anything else. "I don't really see myself much as the praying type of person, to be honest; It sounds a bit to scary. I guess we all have come to a point sooner or later where you feel there is no more choice then to pray for something.. But i hope it takes me a while to get there." He said honestly before he consumned a bit more of the food. It tasted so unlike chinese cousines but it was far from bad. "so.. what would be your recomendation for me? What should i do first?"