middleofsomewhere | Wings of Wonder: NPC Interactions and Investigations

It takes a moment for him to realize what Jingyi is doing, and then he speeds up, settling in to walk alongside Jingyi and giving him a pointed look. Just because he's squishier doesn't mean he can't handle himself.

Though Jingyi does have a point, in his words if not in his actions. "Fair enough." There had been no clear and present danger on the center island; there definitely is down here.

The pull on their bodies leads to a building, and Ryo hesitates as that feeling of warning flares up again - but it dies down, and they are allowed to enter.

And immediately scrutinized. And questioned.

He really should have been thinking about what to say when they did get to speak to the Forever One - Enshala, evidently - but when would he have had the time?

But that train of thought is unhelpful at best, and he needs an answer, and...weird as the truth is going to sound, it's also their best bet here. "We come from another world," he says, simple and straightforward. "We - all of us - travel from world to world, helping people who are in danger or in need. We found out about the storm, and the birds, and we came to help you." It's all he has, at the moment. Hopefully it's enough - if not to convince them entirely, than at least enough not to get them thrown out or attacked.

Jingyi gives a pointed look right back, because in this conversation they haven't actually had, it's not a lack of Ryo handling himself, but a presence of Jingyi being able to take more hits so that Ryo is free to move as he needs to, thanks. Teams work in coordination, right? You give each other opportunities!

All of this feels so pointed, and he resists shaking his head to shed the sensations they feel along the walk, his tail behind him twitching and lashing at the tip in agitation. Once they're up those stairs and inside, he's blinking at the circular room, the sali and their exhaustion, and then handing the uncle off to the sali addressing him.

"There might be chafing," he says to them, nodding toward the ropes neatly (and not cruelly) acting as restraints, "He struggled before we got here."

When the youth sitting with the Forever One, with Enshala, speaks, Ryo's the first to answer. Jingyi knows he would have put it differently, but aside from a glance at Ryo, he doesn't contradict him in the where question. Instead, he approaches the rest of it, tail held low and curling back and forth behind him:

"We want you to instruct us how to help. We don't know your islands, your people, or your needs. We won't be here long, we never stay more than two handfuls of days. Make use of us in whatever ways you can to address the ills the red storm blew in."

Confusion mixes into the looks of suspicion the exhausted sali already wear, the unconscious sali and the woman who took him already having left to the room through a clothed doorway. One sali opens their mouth, but then they look towards Enshala. The younger sali sits with a somewhat wide-eyed expression, glancing at Ryo and Jingyi from the statue, then settling on them again.

"Everyone wants to know what you want in return. Your price. We won't accept help from anyone if the price is too high."

The young sali speaks these words as if their own, backing them, chin even lifting with its voice firmer.

"If the debt is fair, we will accept you."

All eyes turn to the pair.

Their price?

The utter weirdness of talking to a living statue, he can handle. The fact that his magic isn't working correctly, he can handle. It's this - it's putting a price on his help towards people who need it - that wrongfoots him entirely, and he can't keep the look of surprise off his face. He comes from a world where help is given as needed, with the understanding that it will be repaid in kind the next time someone else needs help, and for the most part life on the train has worked similarly. What are his skills worth, in an even exchange?

He doesn't have an answer, and he's pretty sure that much is obvious.

"We-" Oh gods he has no idea what he's doing. "We, uh-" Oh, he has nothing. He shoots a nervous glance up to Jingyi, praying that he's got a better idea of how to handle this. Please help!

Jingyi, who has a thought and is about to pull out the things he'd shoved into his qiankun pouch, stops when Ryo looks at his way all nervously. He blinks in return, lifts his eyebrows, then looks over to the young sali and the Forever One.

Okay, so he doesn't charge for the Lan protections such as they are, but he sure knows bargaining in town, so here we go!

"Assistance in adapting to the energies of your world, as much as can be worked out. What time any of the Forever Ones can spare to work with us to that end I think? Hemla was trying that with a few of us, and sending others to a collective of Forever Ones to the East. Leave to keep camp on the central island. Potential lending of supplies to handle the situations being faced side by side with your people, to be turned back over to the sali after. Shared food and water resources if possible. Uh... do you have... a mending kit I could borrow?"

Jingyi looks down at the various lacerations through his sarong with a frown.

"... Maybe a few mending kits. I can't wear clothing that's not easy to get in and out of when I'm shifting," he says, which explains very little unless someone here saw the dragon who turned humanoid after landing with Ryo earlier. "And this is all I've got."

They are clearly very well supplied assistance. (It would probably help if one of the most put together looking Voidtreckers who doesn't have to presently run around in a sarong were delivering these words, but alas, poor Ryo's there with Jingyi.)

The sali in the room look at one another, more so the older ones slouched with their arms on their laps, two sali covered to their shoulders by wool blankets. "Enshala," one scoffs hoarsely with a look to the Forever One, and the other speaks "Maja" in a clipped tone, a warning given in their glare.

The sali - Maja - sighs with a shake of their head, looking away at first, but then looking at Enshala, in timing with the other sali. ... while the child, mostly looks between the sali with a brow knitted in concern for the most part; a face they try to hide from Ryo and Jingyi when they remember them in the room, quickly turning away.

Until it's time for their duty, and they look again, uncertainly, but not shying away.

"Everyone agrees to speak about this more when our people outside are safe. Bring our people, and bring yours here too. That's what they-- that's what we say," they correct quickly. "We will tell everyone not to attack anyone that looks weird, but talking's hard 'cause of that storm, but Enshala's gonna push it back!"

Their fists are balled at their sides, and if they had a face to show colour to it, it would surely be showing now in their attempt to sound older than they are. But their head snaps to look at the non-sulking sali, asking, "Auntie?", a silence in the air for a few seconds before they nod their head - "Yeah!" - and look back to the Voidtreckers.

"If you can help outside, we'll take your clothes and fix them. We have fine cloaks," they're sure to emphasise smugly. "You can strip and find out when you want."

Ryo relaxes just a bit as Jingyi takes the lead, tension releasing across his shoulders. The 'price,' such as it is, is reasonable, though the last request has him looking full-on at Jingyi, his tattered sarong, and his-

Open wounds.

They're not bad, from what Ryo can see, but he's still standing next to a friend while said friend is bleeding and he hasn't helped yet.

He's kind of a scattered mess today, and it's long since past time he pull himself together.

"We'll put out a call and let them know to come here and bring anyone they can," he says, addressing the child - they're obviously speaking for Enshala, and treating them like the adult they're trying to be should help. It'll be easy enough to call their friends with the SCAs, and the wording gives them wiggle room when it comes to sali who won't listen or are openly violent. Not everyone is going to be able to handle them as well as Jingyi.

"And we can help you outside if you tell us what you need. Just...give us a few minutes to get patched up first, please." In terms of both Jingyi's clothing and his injuries. "We'd be grateful for a spare cloak."

Jingyi, who's at least glad nothing here devolved into shouts or attempts at violence, merely looks perplexed for a moment.

"Yeah, we would as long as we can, but you're not wanting me to strip right now, are you?"

Sure, he's used to nudity in various contexts, but that's a bit much! He's just also not sure if the smugness at their cloaks is a "you'll never want to wear anything else" or not, but he just. Has no filter not to ask like that, right then and there.

"Strip when you want to," the young sali replies, sounding perplexed themselves, looking to the one they had called 'auntie' before. Said auntie sighs, a deep exhale that empties their chest, eyes closing, then looking to the two under tired lids.

"Strip now, strip later, we don't care. Decide for yourself, both of you. Can you fight? Can you retrieve people confused, who don't listen? We want them here, brought back. You..."

They pause, adjusting the blanket around them, their head hanging as they come to a silence. The younger one in the room is watching them with a worried expression, then looks at Ryo and Jingyi.

"If you help people, then help people! Get rid of the birds! The birds!"

It's all Ryo can do not to put a hand over his face at Jingyi's question. There's a time and a place for that, and this really isn't it.

"I'm a healer. I tend to our fighters, and I can help your injured." Simple. Straightforward. Jingyi can speak for himself, when he's not asking about getting naked in public. "Is there a safe place for us to prepare? A room, or something?" Is there a place where they can take care of themselves, and be away from the sali so they can talk amongst themselves, and generally just relieve the pressure of this conversation before it goes completely south? If the pressure on their minds a few minutes ago had been any indication, Enshala isn't going to stand for any nonsense or time wasting, so it's best if they head that off at the pass.

Jingyi tentatively holds up his hand.

"I'd like to strip outside with Ryo please," he offers, because his tail's already starting to curl forward and place all its remarkable tailtuft of fluff at strategic levels up front.

For the rest, still with his hand tentatively up in a pause gesture, he adds, "I have no problem fighting, I'm trained in it. I can safely bring people back here, or get them to chase after me to the same effect. As for the birds, get me arrows, I can work on them too."

Another pause.

"Thank you."

The young sali turns away from the pair, neither facing the Forever One in front of them, their head bowed and fists still tightly woven. They shake it, in an exchange that can't be heard; that leaves the room eerily quiet, beyond the dulled sound of footsteps thudding somewhere else inside the building. The closer pair that comes up to one of the curtained doorways, pushing back the fabric to reveal a sali on the other side.

A mouth opens to speak, but the sali stares at what they see in Ryo and Jingyi - but then resume, jerking their head back. Beadwork curled around their horns jingle in the motion.

"I'm here for the healer. Someone wanted a cloak? -You should both come with me," they decide as they speak, figuring it better than whatever was planned. "To find a fit."

The silence is a little unnerving, but Ryo figures it's a conversation with Enshala, since that's evidently how they communicate. He looks up as the sali with the beaded horns enters, and- there's no way they were close enough to hear the conversation beforehand. Either the sali have incredible hearing, or something else is at work here.

Either way, he raises his hand slightly as they call for the healer - that's it, that's him - and heads towards them. It's only when he reaches the doorway that he turns back to nod respectfully at the child and, more importantly, the statue. "Thank you." For hearing them out. For helping. For not immediately throwing them out for the crime of not being sali themselves.

(Ryo, as it turns out, still has a terribly low bar for what constitutes as kindness.)

He turns back to the beaded sali, prepared to follow them wherever they lead.

"Thank you, people of the Islands."

Jingyi cups one hand into the flat of his palm and offers a brief bow of his head and shoulders to the Forever One, their chosen speaker, and the ones still around the room before he trots right after Ryo and the sali offering to take them to be fitted and let Ryo do what he does. His eyes are caught on all the beadwork, interest noticeably pricking up.

"Thank you, I'd be the cloak requesting one." Horn decorations weren't much of a thing in his clan, and the ones who did (looking to the Jins in particular) favoured jewelry and caps rather than the beadwork he's seeing now. "Really lovely," he says offhand, before his attention directs back to Ryo, his voice pitched low.

"You're going to tell them how it works, right?" How Ryo's healing works, because it does not sound like the time to tell anyone a beat too late not to fight it in the case of wanting two living people by the end of it.

The new sali stands taller than the pair of them, eyes curiously looking them over in interest, but not dallying for their fascination. They walk in a curved hall, hooves clapping against woodwork, ears giving a twitch when Jingyi speaks low, but they don't interrupt, coming to a stop by an entryway.

"Cloak first," they explain, voice subdued and calm; the flitting glance given to them before they walk in, holding the fabric back for them before moving in deeper.

It's a storeroom, or so that much can be figured. Shelving lines the walls, pots the same, large vases on the ground that look heavy just to lay eyes on. Weapons too, of different types of blades. The sali walks to a wardrobe, loosening a latch that pulls two sides of a stretched animal skin across the front, then pushing them apart to reveal the packed inside of fur clothing.

"Leave your clothing with us," they finally speak up, shuffling through the hangings with a look back at Jingyi, briefly. "We will mend them. Try this."

They bring out a cloak, gripping it at the back of its neck area. An animal head hangs for what would be the hood, a thick neck of fur that runs down the centre where it parts. It hangs low enough to reach past knees, a thinner fur used around the rest of the body.

It takes Ryo a moment to parse what Jingyi means by that quiet question; when it hits, he fixes Jingyi with a look. "Of course I am!" His voice is quiet and his tone is one Jingyi has likely never heard from him before: he's scandalized. Just what kind of healer does Jingyi think he is?

There's no time for further conversation before they arrive at the storeroom, and Ryo waits patiently as the sali selects a cloak for Jingyi. It's only when they hold it out that his brain kicks back into gear.

"Wait. A moment, please." He looks at Jingyi. "I want to heal you before you put that on, so you don't get blood on it." And so he's not, you know, still bleeding.

Once Jingyi agrees - and once the sarong is discarded - Ryo places his hands on Jingyi's shoulders and reaches out with his magic, connecting their lives. It's harder than it should be - it feels like there's resistance, likely from the world itself - but patience and gentle persistence win out, and Jingyi's wounds mend. He eases his magic out of Jingyi's body and breaks the connection, and then takes a moment or two to steady himself. That took more out of him than it should have, and he has no idea what will happen if - or likely when - he tries to heal a sali. He'll likely find out soon enough.

But in the meantime-

He fishes a washcloth out of his satchel and offers it to Jingyi. "Here. How do you feel?"

He takes the washcloth and debates blurting out the most honest truth: like he's way too naked on various levels, particularly since compared to the last time Ryo healed him, this time was just... odder. Resistance he could feel as well, not from Ryo and not from himself, but the qi of this world, such as it was.

He makes quick work to wipe himself off, tail staying low and swooshing back and forth in low key displeasure, even as he answers the question.

"As good as any of us since landing." A sidelong glance to Ryo, "And you?" He caught that steadying moment, okay.

Yet this isn't private time, and with the sali offering out one of the animal cloaks, Jingyi has a moment where part of him internally recoils. Not because any of it is bad, and not because he thinks all life is sacred: he didn't eat much meat, and his clan was vegetarian, but they didn't only use products made out of non-animal parts, so it would be silly. Yet none of them really wear pelts, let alone ones that retain this much of their animal form.

"Oh wow."

He's curious, too, which is what wins out when he accepts the cloak after... not knowing what to do with his sarong, and shoving it without comment between his knees. Ryo (unfortunately) gets his washcloth handed back with a, "I'll clean that in a moment," whenever water access made the "moment" end, and reached for the cloak held out. Size wise, it looks like it should work.

"Thank you," he says, holding it for a moment before he shifts and gives it a small shake, pulling it on like his outer robes. He leaves the hood back, fumbling for the cloak tie at the throat. It seems to be okay, when he's standing still, but Jingyi feels a problem that manifests when he shifts to the side, turning in a circle.

His tail, being thicker where it joins to his body and more present than his assets, pulls just enough to leave the fabric gaping on and off at the front of the cloak. Likely a longer one, with the greater pelts used, wouldn't have the same issue, but as he bites down into his lower lip, he glances to the sali outfitting him. "Maybe one a little larger?"

Eyes are on them, through the healing process and the outfitting, any wandering gazes moving quickly back to what's important: what Ryo is doing with his hands, how the weight of the cloak sits on Jingyi; the issue with the tail that becomes apparent.

"The issue is tail and gathering." The observation isn't unkind, and they motion for Jingyi to drop the cloak to a wooden table, rough with wear, covered crates underneath. "We have nightwear we do up at the front, covers the body. Tear it at the back, give you a light cloak - will this suffice?" They're moving to cheats now, to get examples. But they do not pause in speaking, adding, "And tell us as we do this: How many of there are you, what your meaning of help supplies. We know our own, and we will tell you, once the emergency outside is contained. You stay for two handfuls of days - this is what I heard. Issues of energies. What actions do you take, what supplies do you hope for? Tell everything."

They speak in the same straightforward manner they have, even-toned, turning back to them with a robe, dark eyes watching them, but holding nothing sharp to them. Dressed themselves in a type of tunic with the sleeves split at the elbow, brought in and tied back. Trousers that flare at the end, but don't reach down to the hoofs.

"I'm alright." It's not exactly the truth, but it's as close as he's going to get. He's tired, but no more than he would've been otherwise after a rough healing; the problem here is that that healing was simple and shouldn't have taken nearly as much out of him as it did.

But 'my powers aren't working correctly' is something of a known issue here, and there's no use further discussing it right now - not with other matters at hand.

He doesn't say anything about Jingyi's modesty issue - nothing he has to add will be helpful, and the sali has it well enough in hand anyway. Instead, he focuses on their questions. "There are a little over a hundred of us. We brought our own food and shelter, but anything to support that would be helpful, as long as it doesn't take away from what you need." Because a hundred people needing supplies can be daunting depending on the situation, and he doesn't want to ask too much of a people who are already dealing with a disaster. "The goal is to repair things as best we can and figure out a way to get rid of the birds. As far as I know, we're still figuring out how things work here, so we don't have a detailed plan yet. If you can help us understand the situation better, we can help you fix it." He pauses for a moment, thinking over his next words. "We didn't even know about the Forever Ones until we met the one on the central island - Hemla," he says, as he pulls the name from the recesses of his memory.

By now Jingyi complies, but his tailtuft is firmly held up in front of his hips now. If he's already going to be resigned to nudity, he can at least feel like he's not also flashing everyone his genitals the whole time.

Likewise, he verbalises an agreement for what the issue is, and leaves the cloak on the indicated location.

"Nightwork will work fine, do you have cutting shears?" Scissors or anything of the kind.

Ryo manages to start answering questions, and Jingyi, who is trying not to run his fingers into his tailtuft out of misplaced nerves, frowns and nods along with him.

"We'll make do with supplies as we must. Water is what I guess... people always need more water than they think." Realistically, and can do more for longer as long as they're hydrated. He frowns, pulling his hands away from the blue fur of his tailtuft to gesture. "Our group divides into teams to tackle problems, and skills are all over the place. Both of us deal with energies in different ways, and I change shape into a larger, flying creature," he says, partly rambling as he gestures to his strategically placed tailtip. "Makes me good for defending from air or transporting people," he finishes, not sure if that... helps.

"I have hands," replies the sali to Jingyi on clothing, eyeing around his waist, stepping to see where the tail forms at. From there, they bundle the fabric as they listen, selecting a spot, and stab in a clawed nail cleanly. From there, they tear downwards, letting the gown hang so they can better get to the end.

Once the tear is formed, they hold it out for Jingyi to take. Stopping to take in them both, and to decide on their replies:

"So a mess of people here to help, ask to help, with not a basic idea of how to offer help, and who have no idea how to calculate the worth of their help. Like stumbling younglings. Have you reached out to your others yet? Talked to them? Speak more."

As they now turn back to the wardrobe, searching, this time for less time. Bringing out a cloak as they described: one that opens in the centre, but has a tie; furs hanging on either ends, but coming past the waist area. An added round of fur along the shoulders and close to the face, another hood of an animal - something similar to a caribou, with eyeholes free and slits for horns to protrude through.

Boy, there's nothing quite like being insulted for offering to help. The sali isn't exactly wrong, but gods, so much for tact. He takes a moment to tamp down his temper and choose his words. "We don't usually have much information when we arrive somewhere - we get our goals, and we have to figure out how to do them. And no, we haven't - we've been talking with you. We haven't had time." He does his best to keep his tone even, and for the most part, he succeeds. For the most part.

Jingyi accepts the altered sleeping gown, suitably impressed that the sali has sharp enough nails for what they do. Given his own close cut blunt human nails, he can only sigh internally.

He finds the assessment pretty direct, which would be offensive if anything about the train was well informed. It isn't, in his opinion, but Ryo doesn't sound entirely at ease--or more, at least somewhat annoyed. Jingyi is still doing up the front of the gown, so his tail is what comes around to gently nudge at Ryo's thigh. Since smacking anyone generally doesn't help, that's for wrestling, and it's not like he wrestles anyone here.

"Ryo, would you please contact the rest of us by the SCA thing? Full channel?"

Frankly because for one, Jingyi is still being handed a different sort of shall cloak whatever it is, and he's saying thank you before giving it an eyeballing and pulling it on.

"Basically," he says. "Though younglings stumbling around feels better than calling ourselves elders and stomping around assuming we know much more than we do. Half the time, we can't even say where we're from or that we've been brought there by our vessel in the first place. It's a headache, having to pretend to be anything other than what we are. It doesn't make for many negotiations, so aside from we help you and you help us, what can we say? We're operating in the dark."

He smooths out the fur, wondering if he should feel at all weird that he's wearing another creature's skin. He'll... worry about that later. (Think of where silk comes from, Jingyi. Ponder that for a while.)

"We came down here after the birds and to see if we could contact anyone, especially Enshala." Which, belatedly, is entirely honest. "Another group is going East, to try and make contact with the people and four Forever Ones there, by Hemla's asking, right Ryo? They needed more than that crystal piece they asked you to bring them. A third is to the West, scouting, and a fourth is to the North, doing the same while patching up the bridge. The fifth group is staying on the central island, working on the bridges East and North."

He pauses, then gestures towards the pouch his SCA keeps looped at his wrist. "I have that uncle's bow and staff, can I leave those with you?"

Ryo's attempt at explanations doesn't change much about the expression the sali wears, neither showing contempt, nor much else from neutral. They let their attention move onto Jingyi, though they don't stay still a gesture to tell him to keep talking as they take a pot from a shelf, looking inside, closing the lid again and turning back. Walking over again, and already offering a free hand at the request.

"When you search new lands, you never know where your feet step. But you take what tools you can with you - your skills and experience your sharpest weapons. Don't bend your ears - learn." She looks at Ryo at that end part pointedly, the saying on the similar lines of: Don't be uselessly defensive.

Then, she looks to Jingyi. Her tone is mostly muted, but there is a level of agreement, approval, that comes through as she speaks.

"Stumbling younglings willing to learn grow well. Go, if you are going back outside. Our people are spreading the word about you. The healer is to go with me to decide their use here."

The nudge and the request are obvious, and for a moment it rankles: he's upset at how they're being talked to, so he's being dismissed.

...but generally if someone does that, it's for good reason, isn't it.

He doesn't move away quite yet, struggling with his temper, with his response to all this, and trying to keep an ear open for the conversation as it moves on-

Only to be chastised by the sali.

He nearly loses his grip on his temper again at that - what do they think he's been doing? What do the sali think any of the voidtreckers have been doing in the two whole days they've been here? He's sorry that trying isn't good enough-

-oh.

Oh.

There's a reason Jingyi is handling this just fine and he isn't, isn't there. It's his problem to deal with. He is out of line here. He can...he can recognize that much, at least.

(He's starting to recognize the feeling, the pressure in his chest and the tightness in his throat, when something hits him far harder than it should - or at least, harder than it hits other people. It's far from perfect, but it's progress.)

He swallows it back and closes his eyes, taking a breath and letting it out slowly. He can deal with his problems in his own time; for now, he's here to help with someone else's, and that needs to take priority. "Okay," he says, opening his eyes again and looking at Jingyi. "Maybe you should make the call once you get outside. I'll join when I can." Because it sounds like Jingyi is about to be left to his own devices, whereas Ryo definitely isn't.

Wings of Wonder: NPC Interactions and Investigations

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Actions discussed beforehand and taken with permission

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