Wave Without A Shore
Hunter

Age: 31 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
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#29
Hoping wasn't very reassuring. Hope was in very short supply right now as his was dashed against the rocky shoals of Jiao's sympathetic pragmatism and kindly-meant honesty. At least he could shake his head at the mention of magic, feeling a little relieved. "No, I never knew anyone who studied spellbooks or anything like that. Though I guess my kinship with the wind might seem magical to humans." He smiled finally, a brief expression of humor amidst his anxiety at the silliness of the fully-mortal.

The Fair One's silent negation was only to be expected, and Kel's hope had barely raised at all, so it didn't have far to fall. He bit his lip, finding more reason than not to avoid the shrines, even as talk of his own gods made him wistful. Jiao's attempt to raise his spirits with her encouragement earned a wan smile again as he nodded, though the last thing he wanted was some grand gesture on his behalf.

Deities might expect something in return for such a prayer, and he had nothing he might give. "I'll not bother them for awhile," he promised. "If they can't send me home... I guess... I wouldn't even know what to pray for." He looked at Jiao shyly, manner tentative as he spoke. "What... can I ask what you prayed for, when Safrin answered you?"
Jiao Chen
Seamstress

Age: 53 | Height: 4'6" | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
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#30

"Kinship...with the wind?" Jiao asked, frowning. "Do you mean you can fly?" He didn't have wings, but he had say that he was half-Fae...she began to lean from side to side to see behind Kellan as if looking for a tiny hidden pair of wings.

It seemed her joke didn't really land and she awkwardly sighed, unsure of how to proceed from here. She'd never been very good at lifting the mood, usually choosing to just leave once things got to a level she was uncomfortable with, but now...she felt guilty leaving this lost man here on the beach, so clearly unsure of where to go or what to do.

Luckily he asked her another question so she could escape the awkward silence; she shrugged. "Um, I just asked to see her, to talk about my life and where I was going. Nothing in particular. You don't need to pray for something specific but...it might help if you do."

JIAO
Some girls fight hard
Some face the trial
Some girls were just meant to smile


Hunter

Age: 31 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 2 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 6 - Int:
Played by: Cirago Offline
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#31
"A little, yes. More floating and gliding than true flying ...Or at least, I could," he sighed, momentary excitement fading again as the whisper of air swirled around him, ruffling his hair but able to do little else. He turned obligingly to show her his wingless back, though it was covered by his tunic. "I'm guessing you don't have anemoi here? Spirits of the wind?" He had mentioned that his mother was one, but Jiao hadn't reacted to the term at all and now he realized that maybe she didn't know what it meant. "My father was human, a dalliance my mother indulged in but... well. She didn't expect there to be consequences. It's pretty rare. But I'm still her son, still half-anemoi." He bit his lip. "Even if it feels like I'm only a shadow of that, now." The wind no longer spoke to him and only barely listened to his call, and his steps were heavy and graceless compared to the ease with which he used to walk almost trackless over the land.

The gods provided a distraction, at least, new and strange as they all sounded to Kel. He couldn't help but be shocked at how casually Jiao spoke of her conversation with a goddess, and the awe and admiration remained as he watched her with wide amber eyes. "Weren't you frightened of her?" he asked, hesitant. "That she might take offense at something and smite you? Or is she one of the gentler gods?" A nurturing, sheltering goddess, perhaps. Kindly disposed towards mortals and maternal in nature, rather than filled with distant judgment?
Jiao Chen
Seamstress

Age: 53 | Height: 4'6" | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
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#32

Jiao had never heard of or seen a human that could fly and it was clear from her surprise she had not thought it possible before, even if it was 'just' floating or gliding. Half-Fae, she reminded herself again, though it was hard to keep that in mind when she knew no one else would when they looked upon the man.

"Ann...eee...moy? No. Never heard of that. There...are spirits in the wind I think, my grandma used to talk to them..but I don't think they're called that." Ashamedly, she had not paid enough attention to the old woman's stories to know what they were called. "I don't...think Fae can have children with humans here. Or at least I've never heard of it happening." She supposed such a matter would likely be so shameful among the Fae it might have been kept a secret, if it ever had occurred.

The concept of being afraid of a God was one quite strange to Jiao, who as a Fae had been raised to be told that all the Gods loved her people. "No...Um, I wouldn't say Safrin was gentle, but the Fae are beloved by the Gods. ...Some humans, but I think they might need to do something."

JIAO
Some girls fight hard
Some face the trial
Some girls were just meant to smile


Hunter

Age: 31 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 2 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 6 - Int:
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#33
Even if they weren't called the same thing, Kel still looked comforted and a little relieved to hear that there were wind spirits on this world. It made it feel a little less alien. Still foreign, still strange, but more like he could maybe learn to understand it, someday. That Fae and humans couldn't interbreed, though, earned a cautious nod. "It was rare on my world, too. Some of the Hidden were more likely to engage in... um. Activities that might lead to it than others, though. There were plenty who were more concerned with keeping bloodlines 'pure.'" He shrugged a little uncomfortably at that, reminded of the cruel words and actions he had faced from others among the Hidden; some of the Greater Sidhe could be particularly arrogant on that count...

Though it didn't sound like it would be a problem here. Though if he would be perpetually mistaken for being purely human that, too, was depressing to contemplate.

He listened wistfully to her description of Safrin and hearing that her people were favored by the gods. "Humans... like champions and heroes? Or more like priests?" he asked cautiously, not sure what parts of this world were more like a fairy tale, and what parts were more like the reality he had always known.
Jiao Chen
Seamstress

Age: 53 | Height: 4'6" | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
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#34

Jiao giggled at Kellan's delicate stepping around what 'activities' exactly were involved in making babies but just nodded, having heard rumours of such things all her life but never any actual proof. A relic of his old world, was all he was now: something that couldn't exist here and for all extents and purposes, didn't. He'd be just as human as the rest.

She had no idea what humans had to do to be favoured by the Gods. She'd never seen many humans go to shrines, nor did she know a lot of humans in general. Jiao shrugged. "Maybe...I really don't know. Like I said...Hollowed Grounds. You'll learn a lot there." Maybe she was pushing this a bit too hard, but that was where all the new humans went and where they'd presumably learn the answers to questions like this. "I can show you to the portal?"

JIAO
Some girls fight hard
Some face the trial
Some girls were just meant to smile


Hunter

Age: 31 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 2 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 6 - Int:
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#35
His cheeks turned a little pink at Jiao's giggle, and he grinned bashfully at his own dancing around the subject. Still, it wasn't the sort of thing he was comfortable discussing openly with a stranger, however natural an act it might be. Though the hidebound purists who frowned on interracial dalliances might have disagreed on just how 'natural' it was to mate outside one's own kind.

Her strange insistence that he go through another portal to an unknown land that housed a would-be maybe-goddess that the other gods had already turned into a prison once before made Kel nervous. His hands tightened in his lap and he shook his head in silent negation of her offer as a small amount of panic sparked in his chest. What happened if the gods put the bubble back up while he was there? He'd be trapped, away from even what little progress he'd made here in trying to understand this new world and acclimate to it.

"N-no. Thank you but... no. W-why can't I learn about things here?"
Jiao Chen
Seamstress

Age: 53 | Height: 4'6" | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
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#36

Kellan seemed insistent to stay in Torchline; Jiao sighed and decided not to try and ask him to come to the Hollowed Grounds again: After all, she'd run here after leaving the Greatwood, so she could hardly blame someone for wanting to stay. "Sorry, it's just...that's where all the new humans go and I think they know more about what you need to know than me." Jiao had no idea what it was Outlanders needed to do, needed to see.

"If...if you want to stay here, you should go to the town, Haulani. You can find somewhere to eat and sleep there." She looked over in the direction of the buildings and volcano that marked that side of Torchline. "...I don't know if there's a lot of other Outlanders there, though. You might be on your own."

JIAO
Some girls fight hard
Some face the trial
Some girls were just meant to smile


Hunter

Age: 31 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 2 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 6 - Int:
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#37
He wasn't human, he knew he wasn't - half of him, at least, and he had been raised among the Hidden rather than the humans, so it felt like most of him wasn't - and it hurt that Jiao insisted on categorizing him as such. It only made him more certain that this Hollowed Grounds wasn't the right place for him, if he would only face more such casual bigotry there, just because he was from another world. He stayed silent, though, afraid to speak up and further alienate the one Hidden - the one Fae - he had seen so far, and who was willing to speak with him and take the time to answer his questions.

"Is that the port?" he asked cautiously. He still didn't know its name, but upon his arrival it was the closest center of civilization that he'd found. "I've been hunting to feed myself, mostly, and the weather has been mild enough to sleep outside," he admitted, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair belatedly to make sure there were no leaves in it. There weren't, but he was suddenly self-conscious at the thought of making more first impressions. "I've never spent much time in towns. I grew up in the forest." He offered her a tentative smile, plucking at his hem with nervous fingers.

"I figured I was on my own anyways. No matter where I went. It's why I've been... why I haven't gone into the town yet," he admitted, nodding towards Kaiholo Port. "Do you know anyone I could... could maybe talk to there? Or even what I should be asking or... or looking for?"
Jiao Chen
Seamstress

Age: 53 | Height: 4'6" | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
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#38

"Um..well, the Port is a part of the Town I guess, but Haulani is...the town, up there." Jiao pointed up to the direction of the town, not knowing it well herself but assuming it would have the normal bases of civilisation one could expect. Still, it seemed Kellan could take care of himself...sleeping outside wasn't anything Jiao judged, having slept under the trees and sky many times herself. "I'm sure you can find some other Outlanders to be with." She held her tongue from saying in the Hollowed Grounds again.

As for anyone he could talk to...Jiao stared blankly for a moment. "..Um...I mean..the only people I really know are the Captain and Crew of the ship I work on. I guess you could try talk to them...?" But unless he wanted to work on the Ark, that would be pretty pointless.

JIAO
Some girls fight hard
Some face the trial
Some girls were just meant to smile


Hunter

Age: 31 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 2 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 6 - Int:
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#39
Kel nodded trustingly, taking the Fae lady's information as truth. He glanced back at the town as if to fix its name in his mind, but when she mentioned Outlanders again he looked back at her, a faintly pained look on his face for a moment before he looked down at his callused hands and gave a slight shake of his head. "I... don't think I want to be with 'other' Outlanders," he admitted quietly. "I mean... I don't know why I would, if they're just as lost and confused as I am. And if they're not from the same world I am it... it would be too strange, I think. Too hard, just yet. If I have to get used to this world... for now at least... I should probably spend time with people who live here. Who can teach me what I need to know to... to fit in here." Until he could find a way to his real home again, the wistful longing in his voice seemed to say.

He knew Jiao said that she wasn't from around here, but he thought that perhaps she had gotten to know the locals a bit, if she worked on a ship. He blinked when he realized that they were the only people she knew here, though, and he bit his lip nervously for a moment as he thought it through. "Um... who are they?" he asked at last, not knowing enough about them to make a decision one way or the other yet. "What are they like? Are they Fair One-- are they Fae, like you?"
Jiao Chen
Seamstress

Age: 53 | Height: 4'6" | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
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#40

Jiao supposed she could follow along with Kellan's logic and nodded, though she thought it was sad he wouldn't get to meet anyone going through the same thing. He seemed like he was setting himself up to be horribly lonely, but...well, that wasn't her business. "Well, there's a lot of Naturals in Haulani. I don't know how many of them will want to talk to you.." She mumbled the last bit, looking off to the side: it was hardly a secret that a lot of Naturals were not keen on the Outlanders.

She took a breath before talking about her crew, wondering for a moment if it was wise: they were running a semi-illegal operation, after all. "Um...well...the cook is called Saiden." There weren't a lot of true things she could say without giving away too much and she chewed at her lip, suddenly obviously quite uncomfortable. "I don't want to tell you much more than that because we do things I can't tell you about."

JIAO
Some girls fight hard
Some face the trial
Some girls were just meant to smile


Hunter

Age: 31 | Height: 6'1" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 2 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 6 - Int:
Played by: Cirago Offline
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Posts: 156 | Total: 7,219
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#41
Jiao was probably right in her expectations, but Kellan didn't yet know enough about Caido's biases and xenophobia to realize what he was getting into. "What do you mean?" he asked, cautious and unsure why people wouldn't want to talk to him, except perhaps for impatience with a fool who didn't know their ways, or perhaps a general distrust of outsiders. He was hardly a stranger to that mindset, having experienced it from both bigoted Hidden who spurned the half-human child and later from the humans he glamoured himself to blend in with, for whom strangers were often a source of danger - or a mark to be taken advantage of.

The crew she had suggested talking to had given him a flicker of hope that he might be able to make some headway, but that hope was dashed a moment later as she seemed to change her mind after sharing a single name, turning cagey and secretive. He wilted at the sudden turnaround, but he was at her mercy and could only nod in quiet acceptance of her decision to withhold their names and rescind her suggestion. "Oh... I... sorry," he apologized weakly, unsure what else to say when further questions were so clearly unwelcome.
Jiao Chen
Seamstress

Age: 53 | Height: 4'6" | Race: Fae | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
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#42

Kellan really didn't seem to be understanding the atmosphere of the place around him that Jiao was trying to paint and she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck as she tried to think of how gently to put this - it wasn't like she could lie and take it back. "Naturals don't like Outlanders, as a rule. Not everyone, and not all the time, but...there's a lot of fighting. I haven't spoken to humans about it that much, but it's definitely something everyone's always arguing over. There aren't any Outlander Fae, so we don't really have the same issue." She shrugged.

Feeling a little bad now that he'd apologised she shook her head. "No, um...I'm sorry I can't help you with that. I know about...theres a lady that owns a bar! Her name is Raza. Maybe you could go speak to her. She might have food and a room." That was a hell of an assumption, but Jiao hoped that Raza might at least be able to point Kellan in the right direction.

JIAO
Some girls fight hard
Some face the trial
Some girls were just meant to smile




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