The equipment Noah brought with him was placed nearby Eld and Davis's. It was easy to tell whose was whose; Noah's had things written all over them, all in different languages. These were genuine scratches into his tackle box, too, etched in by people elsewhere in the world, all over the place--

"Jesus, I go away for a little while," Noah started, examining Eld from head to toes. This was about the time he'd mention how much Eld had grown up and physically matured since he last saw him.

Right?

"And you don't even grow an inch." Wrong.

Noah grinned as he passed Eld by. It had been awhile since he saw him last. Noah had been absent for the bandit problem, off away at school, whether he liked to be absent for it or not. He was, however, one of the stronger men in the village, so it would have helped a little if he were there--but he couldn't be faulted for being away at school, attempting once again to further his education. Another try. He figured when he went away last time, it would work for once. So many other times before he'd gone off to school somewhere and dropped out of program after program until inevitably coming back home.

As he started to rig up his pole and line, he responded to Eld's question, "Not too shabby. Just back in town for a couple months."

"Yeah, you never did tell me why you're in town again," Davis remarked with a bit of interest. He figured Noah would tell him someday on his own, anyways, but he could always be goaded into it.

Noah drew back his pole and slapped it forward, casting his line out quite a distance. Haphazardly, he responded: "Academic probation. I figured it'd be a good vacation from Cizok."

Offtopic: The above is to be continued later.




When Etsu Hikane heard that they were taking a trip to a place called Rangeki, a bad morning hastily became a morning full of expectations. She concealed her giddiness well, but as much as she tried, it showed every so often--and most often when she longingly stared south.

Truthfully, the only hints of her culture that she ever got to experience anymore were during conversations with Eldridge Tsukimono's father, with whom she could speak in a much more normal language--normal for her, that is. Urikuse Tsukimono was perhaps the only person Etsu could chatter with in a natural way. Of course, it wasn't that she hadn't tried to speak to Eld in a way that was more comfortable for her--but he spoke Cizokian worse than she spoke Common, which was a fairly embarrassing comparison to make.

It would have been the same with Mayako's family, someone(s) to talk to and confer with in a wholly comfortable way, but she didn't often have the chance to go over there anymore. Etsu preferred to stay with Eld as often as possible, and Eld didn't much like Mayako's father for some reason or the other. She didn't ask, not feeling it was her place to, but still . . .

Etsu missed where she came from. She'd been homesick for months. She'd experienced so many new things, new people, a new language, and hundreds of new customs. She wanted so badly to experience some familiar for a change, that the very mention of this place had her exceptionally energetic.

It was toted to be a bit of a tiresome journey, a four hour venture on horseback, with every guarantee that they'd need to take a half an hour break or so for the horses. Sarah would bloody every rider in her presence if they disagreed with her on that, and having been bloodied by Sarah before, Etsu had no want to be bloodied by her any further, especially on a day that she could go to a place with a Cizokian name. Just knowing what the name meant was like a promise to her, hope that she might see all the makings of her comfort and preference of culture and customs for the first time in half a year or so.

Before they left, Etsu debated wearing a kimono. She searched her mess of a pile of clothes for the layers of cloth that comprised a kimono, but found nothing. This was a little disappointing, but she decided to make do without--for now. If this went according to her hopes, she had every intention of going back.

Leaving from Hillcrest to Galaens in the south was Eld, Sarah, Emma, Mayako, and Etsu. They met Mai and Davis in Galaens, who both arranged to come with as chaperons. Emma was also in want to be with her boyfriend after a few days of not seeing him, and Davis was hard pressed to issue a negative reply to her rather sweetly written letter. They rode in twos, the second always holding onto the first: Davis and Emma, Sarah and Etsu, Mai and Mayako, and Eld rode alone.

There was conversation on the way, but Etsu scarcely paid attention to it. Her thoughts were elsewhere, on the place Eld and the others called Rangeki.

In no way was she disappointed.

Rangeki was a beautiful place. Unlike Hillcrest, it was not set in a gap in the woods, but actually set within the woods themselves. The dense forestation, although clearly Algerothian flora, cut through most of the town and made the road difficult to travel, but the sprawling town--roughly the size of Galaens--fit within the forest well. Overhang of canopies lined the roads like a roof and many of the town's shopkeepers and residents were mindful of artistic appearances; their houses and structures, all of Cizokian architecture, were cut and built unique. Each and every one of them unique.

By the time they arrived, the most of them were tired and up for resting for an hour or two at the inn they planned to rent from, which was fine.

For everyone but Etsu, that is.

She was bound and determine to wander town until midnight crossed them before she even began to think about resting or sleeping or anything like that--and she could do this with or without the accompaniment of another.

It had been a long ride; for everyone but Sarah being on a horse for more than an hour was bound to be a bit tiring, and four hours wore even her out. Which is why it surprised him a little that the normally somewhat lethargic Etsu was so energetic. He knew she was excited about being back in Cizok, but he hadn't realized just how excited.

She wasn't willing to wait while everyone else rested up, and Eld wasn't willing to let the fourteen year-old go wandering around the city by herself, even if he knew she could take of herself. So for now, he'd just have to put up with the fatigue.

"If you're willing to wait until I get our rooms checked out, I'll go with you," he offered. Being the person paying for most of the expenses, the others wouldn't be able to get their much desired rest without him. It would also ensure Etsu at least knew where they were staying, in case she ended up going out on her own some other time.

Sarah, Mayako, and Emma were yet to arrive at the inn with Davis, Mai, Eld, and Etsu. They were at a stable not too far from here, working on renting out a place to keep their horses for the night--or maybe a couple of days. It seemed both Mai and Davis had the weekend off, and Sarah and Emma always had weekends free.

Coming up behind Eld, Davis briefly set his hand upon Eld's shoulder, only to get the boy's attention, before heading past him, "Don't worry about it, Eld. I've got the rooms covered."

Standing ahead of Eld and Davis was Mai. She was the only one that showed up in a kimono. It was actually one of her favorites, a green kimono with a stitching of pink rose designs placed in a minimalist and stylish way. It, too, had a pink obi sash--one that, just like the stitching, matched her hair color exactly. It was custom made by Mai herself many years ago, and one of the few outfits she actually took with her whenever she wandered from place to place. Etsu was notably jealous.

Had Mai known Etsu would have wanted one for herself, she'd have worked on sewing one for the girl. Of course, it wouldn't be for free. There were many an article of clothing that Mai was willing to just make for a friend without any cost applied--but there were some things that were extremely time consuming and very costly for her fabric budget. These sorts of clothes required a lot of love, care, and attention, much more than Mai could afford to put into it if she weren't getting paid for her services. Kimonos were among such articles.

"Hmmm," Mai hummed, before snatching Davis by the front of his black jacket.

Davis stopped almost instantly. He froze in his tracks, though not because what may have seemed obvious. Mai was a beautiful woman, yes, and being snatched up by a beautiful woman, whether or not a man was in a relationship already, called for a catching of one's breath. That, however, wasn't it. Eld had already experienced this much, though: Mai Uematsu was an extremely intimidating person. She didn't look it whilst clothed, but she was physically powerful--and then there was something else. Some sort of spirit. It wasn't Qi, per say. It was something else. Something just as natural.

The other day, when Eld bumped into Mai during the busy time of the marketplace of Galaens, and Mai turned to face him, stoically regarding someone she thought she didn't recognize at first, there was a heaviness in that moment. The kind of weight experienced when around someone with a considerable amount of Qi--but that wasn't it. When asked, Etsu explained that it was likely "fighting spirit," a characteristic indicative of a master martial artist; the theory being that someone of powerful fighting spirit could break someone of exceptionally weak fighting spirit with little more than feeling the genuine intent to kill.

Mai meant Davis no harm, though. She was just an intimidating human being that happened to have a powerful grip even when she was being gentle.

"Uh . . ."

Letting him go, Mai replied jovially, "Let me cover for you and Eld's room."

Davis furrowed his brow. "What? Why?"

"Because I'm nice, that's why," she teased, "Just pay me back with a neck rub, will you? It's been years since I've been on horseback--my back and neck are all thrown out."

"I . . . suppose, sure . . ." Davis trailed off. Well, it couldn't hurt. He looked back to Eld and shrugged his shoulders helplessly, before he and Mai moved along. Davis opened the door to the inn for Mai, who nodded her head graciously to him, and the two disappeared within shortly thereafter.

The question of buying rooms now answered, Etsu looked up to Eld inquisitively--hoping now that he'd be ready and willing to walk around with her.

"Huh? But-" If it were just Davis, he'd have continued his protest. He knew very well that Davis, while not poor, wasn't exactly rich. Besides, this entire vacation had been Eld's idea, and while everyone was sort of on their own for individual expenses like souvenirs (save Etsu, who had no money to speak of) he fully intended to pay for their rooms and any group activities they might partake in.

Any thoughts of asserting this went out the window as soon as Mai stepped in, however. He wasn't afraid to argue with Davis, but Mai was intimidating as hell--Etsu believed it to be some kind of fighting spirit or something, and while he wasn't sure how much of that he believed (though admittedly nothing seemed all that impossible anymore) he conceded that Mai was a lot more intimidating than someone of her size, gender, and demeanor had any right to be.

Feeling vaguely sympathetic for Davis--and hoping that massaging a pretty girl didn't turn out to be as much trouble as it had been for him--he weakly waved them as they headed for the inn before turning to Etsu. "So, where would you like to go first?" Too tired to be excited about much himself, he intended to more or less just follow her around as she did what she wanted, though he couldn't help but think that would be an interesting change of pace from the norm.