| Stunning Tricks and Quiet Whispers | ||
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Somebody has started a bonfire on the beach even though there is still light plenty in the sky. Sunset is still a half hour away from beginning, but the youths gathered near it laugh and play or relax and watch the fire or others playing. Unlike most port or coastal cities, though, there are no gulls in air or crabs scuttling about the beach. The only animals seen are the animal people present. Walking along a sandy path not far away from the bonfire gathering, a young stag wearing a sweater and scarf strolls casually about, shoes taken off and held dangling in one hand, to feel the sand on his feet. Or at least on one foot. In her wanderings around Senta Nina had started to hear talk about a nearby city on an island, a city full of animal-like people. That was more than enough to pique her interest, as although she'd never admit to anyone that she missed her father, she was feeling a bit homesick, and so if there was any chance that this new place was her home, she had to find out for herself. Not seeming to mind the cool late fall water, Nina happily swims from Giga Beach to Beast Island since at least for her it'd be much faster than walking. As she neared the beach of the island, she was already starting to feel like there was something different about the city she saw on the horizon, but since it was dark, she wasn't sure if it was her imagination, or just that she was coming from a direction she's not used to seeing her home from. However, when she's gotten to the point where she's just offshore and comes leaping out of the water, spy-hopping as it were to get a good look, her heart sank a little. It looks somewhat similar in that Anima City and this place were both built in a Japanese style, but they were as much the same place as Yokohama and Nagasaki. Her disappointment was short-lived though, as it was quickly replaced by excitement as she saw the people on the beach, and that this was still a cool new place to visit, certainly much more interesting than a boring trip back home. She swims the rest of the way to shore and slides out onto the beach, still in her dolphin-like form for the moment. No more than a few seconds pass before the dolphin finds herself with attention from the locals. A heron points a feathery finger in her direction, heads turn, and a tiger crouched beside the bonfire stands up. A few animals began to hurry in her direction, although some have concerned looks on their faces. "It's a sea animal," remarks one sheep to another. "Hey, is she okay?" asks another voice from those drawing closer. A canine of some sort, perhaps a coyote, leans to look around some figures at what has drawn so much attention. However, it's the tiger from the fire pit that winds up pushing through the gathering crowd to stand far taller than the rest. Placing his hands on his knees and leaning over, the feline regards Nina with a look of curiosity before speaking. "Oog hua ee op, ee gooh noa gao. Ee op hua dahou bom?" A hush falls upon those staring as they wait to see what the reply is and what it could mean. Nina had expected to be noticed, at least eventually, but intentionally beaching herself to get up on land draws decidedly more attention than anticipated. "I'm fine, really." She responds to the question of if she's okay while moving to sort of stand up, proving to be quite capable of balancing herself on the thicker upper part of her tail, with her flukes resting in the sand. At least they seemed friendly and concerned for her well being so far. When the tiger speaks a different language to her, she blinks, and gives him a blank stare, clearly not having the faintest idea what he just said. "Um... come again? That some sort of sea creature language here?" There's a murmur from some of the animals gathered and the tiger's jaw hangs loosely open for a good few seconds. "Yeah, that's- That's exactly what it is. Not many sea creatures come onto land. You're not stuck or anything? I can carry you-" A voice cuts off the tiger. "She did already say she was okay, but I think that went unheard in the excitement." Faces turn and bodies part as a young deer walks slowly over. As footfalls pass over where the sand has been compacted from the seawater it becomes noticeable that only one foot leaves toe prints. A soft cheery smile graces the stag's face and eyes settle onto Nina with a faint nod before turning to the tiger. "Tamamoru, right?" asks the deer with an open-palmed gesture with his right hand. His left still holds his shoes. "Yeah, that's me. Have we met? I think I know you from somewhere." "No, we haven't met, but my friend lives nearby and he's mentioned you. Tamamoru, lifeguard, really loves the beach and everybody on the beach loves Tamamoru." The tiger rubs behind his head with a bit of embarrassment. "How about we give her some space and not crowd so much? Breathing on land is a lot different than breathing in the sea for sea animals, so let her enjoy the fresh air." Most of the crowd begins to disperse, breaking off into small cells of conversation, although the tiger remains behind along with the deer. "I'm Tamamoru," introduces the tiger as if it hadn't yet been established. "And my name is Louis. You speak very well, so I take it this isn't your first trip onto land. They don't mean to bother. They were simply worried you had gotten stuck." "That's right," agrees the striped cat. "It happens more often than you might think." Of note, the cat still stoops forward. Nina almost giggles when asked if she's stuck, but she supposes that is a rather grim concern if the aquatic types here can't change as she can, and context seems to imply that is the case. Still, she decides not to go about changing into her human form just yet, seems these locals are surprised enough to meet one from the sea with her adding to the excitement by suddenly taking human form. "I'm Nina Flip. Nice to meet you all. Also no need to worry about carrying me, My father may treat me like a princess but I'd rather not be carted around like one. I'm not stuck, I can still get about a bit like this, and I do have a... trick... if I need to move further or quicker." She explains as a bit of a tease, trying to gauge their reaction and decide by how they respond if she should reveal her other form or not, though she may have talked herself into a corner if they get insistent about what her 'trick' is. The deer listens with casual relatability. There are people that treat him like a prince and would insist on the same special forms of treatment if he allowed it. There's something to be said for standing on your own two feet, even if you only have one left. Or none to start with. The evening sea breeze flutters Louis' scarf and a single ear. Tamamoru looks a little mortified. "I didn't mean anything bad by it." The tiger's hands lift from his knees to display his palms with a shake side to side. "I'm one of the few that knows sea speak really well that likes hanging out here." Louis curls one side of his mouth higher than the other. "Nice to meet you, Nina. I'm going to go warm up by the fire for a moment. I'm sure Tamamoru and his friends wouldn't mind if you joined them. Please excuse me." The deer turns away. It's not even that cold out. It's that time of night where the sea breeze is picking up and the humidity is rather high, but the stag is already wearing a scarf and sweater. He must chill easily. Tama-san stays behind, though. "Tricks? I've seen some of the sea animals do tricks for show while us animals are enjoying the sun. What kind of trick is it?" This tiger just loves the ocean and everything to do with the beach. He may not be in his lifeguard uniform now, but he never hangs up his interest when off duty. "Most sea animals move really oddly on land- N-not a bad thing! It's really fun to watch." Nina nods as Louis echoes the sentiment about it being nice meeting, and then mentions the fire. When he walks away she turns her large aquamarine eyes back toward Tama and nods as she awkwardly tries to move in the direction of the fire. She actually did kind of forget how awkward it was to try and tail walk in the sand. Her cheeks turn a little rosy as Tama seems to think she means a totally different kind of trick. "Um yeah, I do like doing those kinds of tricks sometimes too, but this is... much different. I can show you, but, try not to freak out, okay?" She asks and waits for Tama to confirm as she looks around at all the carnivores around and briefly imagines them being so frightened by her transformation that they tear her to shreds, but quickly tries to push that dark thought from her mind. There is a moderately equal split between the Carnivores and Herbivores present, although the waning light does see some of the Herbivores leave with cheerful goodbyes and waves. Most of the ones that remain cluster a bit closer to the beach bonfire, though this more for the comfort of the light than it is for the comfort of warmth. The beach doesn't have as much lighting set up close by and the setting sun, combined with the typical evening clouds, makes for a quickly growing less-lit atmosphere at the beach. One of the animals enjoying the crackling of the fire pulls out a small radio and tunes it to a local pop station. The volume is kept low, but the beat is hard to miss. Louis checks his phone for messages and appears to be typing something in reply. Now that the animals present know there's no emergency, life returns to normal. With a wrinkle of the deer's muzzle in annoyance at something, the phone gets tucked away and instead he works at removing and re-wrapping his scarf. The slightly oversized sweater and scarf are a bit bulky, but he finds them very cozy. "Hey, I've seen about everything the beach has to show me," replies Tamamoru as he walks along with Nina, although the difference in natural pacing is just a bit awkward for the big tiger. "If you can show me something I haven't seen before, I'll buy you some satsuma-age." Fried fish cakes are on offer. A new concept for these animals, but it's already widely accepted. Looking ahead, Nina catches the annoyed look from Louis after checking and responding to something on his phone and wonders what it might have been about, though mostly hopes it isn't a reason he has to leave as she was hoping to get to know more about him than his name. When Tamamoru says he's seen just about everything the beach can show him and offers her a prize if she can show him something new, she grins a little. "All right then, well here goes." She offers before taking a moment to focus her mind. In a sudden flash the 'beast-factor' in her DNA takes effect and her body swiftly changes form. Her tail splits in two with each side taking the form of a leg, her dorsal fin vanishes, and her face takes on a rather cute human appearance with the same eye and hair colors as before. Her skin however changes as well from light blue and white, to a lightly tanned peach tone. She looks back at Tamamoru as she walks a little faster. "There, much better, especially not having to deal with the gritty dry sand on my tail." Tama-san laughs softly and turns to look and see if anybody else is paying attention, but it would seem that he's the only one at present not currently occupied. He looks back just in time to see something happen that he has most certainly never seen before. His broad smile remains frozen for a moment in silence before his eyes widen. "Wha- What?" The tiger takes a single half-step backward and simply stares. He has no idea what it is he's just witnessed. That's partially untrue. Shape-shifting tricksters are part of traditional lore, along with ghosts and demons, but most of the young folk don't really believe in that kind of stuff. "What?" repeats Tamamoru, a bit louder and in a way that makes him sound like a confused tiger twenty years younger than he actually is, which finally turns some heads, Louis' included. Hand still holding one dangling end of his scarf, his eyes pass over Tama's new friend, then narrow, then search along the nearby edge of the beach. Murmurs begin again, but what they say are inconclusive at present. Anybody that has caught on to the differences (and similarities) are more confused than scared, though at least one sheep of the pair from the earlier gathering decides now is the best time to go home for the night. The other sheep, disappointed, calls out after and hurries along to catch up. Tama-san looks completely brain-broken. Louis speaks up, "Nina?" as if to confirm what has to be the obvious while an ear swivels to listen to some of the things being whispered. Nina is clearly a Land Animal now and not a Sea Animal. How does that work? Stooping over to pick up his shoes once more, the deer steps around a weasel and a hedgehog to begin walking toward her, right hand held out. "Nina Flip, please, just come with me." Nina pretty much expected the surprise/confusion from Tama-san, at least initially, but had hoped it would only be momentary. When the reality of the situation sets in as many of the other animals around start whispering, she frowns and curses herself for being so naive to think this wasn't going to cause a scene. As Louis approaches and tells her to come with him, she nods after offering Tama-san an apologetic look. "Sorry..." she says before turning back to Louis and taking his hand, ready to follow wherever he was planning to take her. The deer is very quiet, at least at first, and simply aims to lead westward down the beach before turning to head toward a more well lit sidewalk for foot traffic to and from that section of the sandy coast. Further down the way the sidewalk seems to connect with one that runs along the coastal road, but Louis seems content to simply get away from the crowd and the harder to walk on sand. A bench is nearby, partially illuminated by a lamp, and that seems to be where the stag is headed. "That was quite a feat," the deer finally says with safe distance and a place to sit. He does just that. "Speaking of feet..." adds Louis with verbal wordplay and reference to Nina's land adaptations in a way that jabs at the notion of being clever for the sake of breaking the ice more than trying to be witty. "I need a moment to brush off mine and put my shoes on." He puts the shoes down on the bench beside himself, lamplight sparkling off his brown eyes, and pulls out a handkerchief to use in the task in cleaning off his left foot of which he crosses over his right knee. He doesn't ask questions. He only offers a soft smile. Nina nods, and at the mention of shoes she pulls a waterproof bag out of a light blue mesh sack she had with her, containing a pair of simple black flats. She watches as Louis cleans off his feet with a handkerchief and thinks how that's a great idea, she'd just been brushing her feet off with her hands. "I... kinda had a feeling it wasn't something normal for you here, with the questions about if I was stuck. Oh what a cruel fate that would be to be stuck like that with no one around to notice you're in trouble... But I had stupidly hoped that between it being dark now and less folk around, my little reveal would go over with a bit less pointing and nervous whispering..." "You shouldn't take it personal. It's not like they know any better. I've heard nothing but nice things about that lifeguard." Left foot mostly cleaned off, handkerchief set aside, Louis digs into his sweater pocket for a folded and rolled bundle of fabric that, when undone, reveals a black sock. Carefully digging his thumbs into it with a little scrunching, the deer works on rolling it up over his left foot before tugging his pant leg back down. His left shoe is picked up and put on. "And it's not like you knew better, either. Something about your accent. Reminded me of a goat I met from Pierisu, but that's in the mountains. Can't say I've met many Sea Animals from the mountains." The red deer next lifts his right foot, yet instead of crossing it over his left leg he props it by the heel on the edge of the bench. Picking up the handkerchief, he begins the process anew to make sure none of the sand stays stuck between any of the metal parts. "This must be your first official visit, then. On behalf of the City of Denko and the great nation that built it and the incessantly buzzing streetlamps, I welcome you." Nina_Flip nods as she gets the idea of using the mesh bag in a similar way to clean her feet, it was slightly more awkward than a handkerchief, but it seems to do the job as Nina soon has both her shoes on, sans socks. "He did seem really nice, and I'm sure the others are too, and the reaction to my change isn't terribly unlike how humans where I come from react seeing it for the first time, though I've only met a handful at a party once. I'm from Anima City, it's kinda like Denko, and everyone who lives there is like me, all sorts of different animal species just like here, but we stay in human form most of the time, except when angry. I'm one of the few that likes changing into my beast form, and do it all the time when I'm perfectly happy." "Ha. How exciting for you. Can't say I know where Anima City is located. Mainland? You'll fit in either way around here, I imagine, although you won't see many apes with your unique characteristics about." Louis isn't going to tell Nina to not do whatever she did again in front of other animals. It's not his place. She can do whatever she wants. Still, even unspoken it still has a voice. "A bit late to explore the city unless you like the night life. You'll have to wait a bit longer for Deep Night." A finger points upward at the moon as the darkness of night, even with the glow from the city, emphasizes the current phase. "Needs to be full for that. You're here alone?" Obviously she appears to be alone, but Louis won't for one moment assume she doesn't know friends or family in the area. She doesn't exactly come off as being lost. Merely disappointed. As clean as he can manage to get his prosthetic foot, he slips it into his other shoe before giving his handkerchief a shake off to his side away from Nina. Nina shakes her head. "It's on an island, though I'm not really sure where it is from here, or how I ended up here. It's been a little mysterious and all so far," she explains, then follows the finger pointing and nods. "I wouldn't mind sticking around for a while, certainly beats swimming back to the mainland already. I am alone though, haven't seen anyone I recognize since I ended up in Senta. I'm a bit worried that my dad probably didn't take my disappearance well, and might have started World War 3 back home by now, though I guess if he did I'd know about it unless I'm a lot further from home than I think I am... Anyway when I heard rumors of this place, I thought it might have been home." Rumors? Recent events have caused quite a stir over the past few months. It's probably no surprise that certain things have become international news. After folding and stuffing his handkerchief away, Louis is left sitting on the bench, leaning forward, forearms resting atop his knees, with one hand clasped within the other. The deer listens, but as he does so he also thinks, ponders, about what he should do. A foreign traveler, possibly some sort of genetic hybrid, alone in a city that is slowly recovering after... He barely knows her and he can't put upon his best friend so suddenly so late at night. Sure, he wouldn't refuse, but that would just be awkward. Louis parts his hands and lifts them to rub his face. If he's too generous, his business life will become apparent and he really wants to avoid that half of his life at least...some nights... But does he really have a choice except to offer? "Nina, I can recommend a decent nearby hotel for the night, just West of here: The Creeping Blossom. It's a tasteless name, but the service is great and the beds are clean. I can even call a ride for you." Louis removes his hands before speaking and turns his head to look over her way. What a terrible and pathetic introduction for a wanderer. | ||
