The Oasis

[greatcleavage]

What the heck was he doing here?

Beneath the shade of the palm fronds, Roy stared out at the desert that stretched out in every direction. Somehow he'd found himself here, against all logic. A weird sidequest? A dream? Maybe he was dead again and his spirit had been hijacked.

Well, what could he do but wait and see what came along? The oasis showed signs of being used by travelers, so he wouldn't be stuck here forever anyway...

Comments

[greatcleavage]

Trying to put it delicately, Roy finally settled on, "You don't look like someone who could routinely devour a room full of food, of any sort."

[najaran]

"You don't think I could manage?"

"Any other woman would be thrilled at the complement that you look thin, you know, Najaran."

"Thin?" now she was honestly confused. "I mean it helps buy me a few extra seconds when something is trying to impale me, but other than that... why would that be a compliment?"

[greatcleavage]

"A lack of excess weight correlates to perceived attractiveness in many cultures," Roy explained.

[najaran]

"....Why....?" she asked, puzzled.

[greatcleavage]

"It correlates to fitness and health, which are good indicators of reproductive viability, which are what people are basically designed to find attractive."

[najaran]

"Yeah, not exactly looking to settle down and have kids any time soon, Najaran said.

[greatcleavage]

"Oh, I understand. I was just explaining the reason, not implying anything."

[najaran]

"Oh. Okay. I guess. Think we're almost there? I'm starving."

[greatcleavage]

"Probably a few more minutes' flight. Hmm. I wonder what the best way to approach would be." Shading his eyes with his hand, Roy peered ahead. No walls, at least, so they weren't likely to get shot at just for venturing near.

[najaran]

"Circle around from the other way and walk up the road?" she suggested.

[greatcleavage]

"That might be wise," Roy admitted. "I'm getting the impression that your particular power set is not always welcomed?"

[najaran]

She nodded. "Like I said, I met Alta when she busted me out."

[greatcleavage]

"If there's trouble, are you prepared to trust me on handling it unless it becomes obvious I can't? That might save us a lot of grief in the long run." Unless she had spells or powers that didn't revolve around cards, and Roy hadn't seen any reason to believe that.

[najaran]

She shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

[greatcleavage]

"All right. That will help." If they could handle trouble without Najaran calling on something overt and unsubtle, so much the better.

[najaran]

"I'm helping by... not helping?" Again, hard to tell if she had moments of Elan level denseness, or if she was messing with him.

[greatcleavage]

"Showing discretion in when to use your abilities is definitely helpful," Roy said, his patience having trickled back slowly since the last comments of hers he'd had to wrangle with.

[najaran]

she glanced back to make a bit of a face at him, but before she could speak her stomach growled, loudly. "I just hope they have some good restaurants!"

[greatcleavage]

So did Roy. Not necessarily for his own sake so much as he feared Najaran's complaints should their food be substandard. So he simply nodded. "Your show till we get down."

[najaran]

"Just tell me where to set down and I will."

[greatcleavage]

Hmm. Roy shielded his eyes to scan the ground as they diverted wide around the city, then pointed downwards to a lighter path snaking through the sandy, rocky terrain. "There. We can come in on the road."

[najaran]

She nodded and nudged Thunderbeak that way. "Alright."

[greatcleavage]

Roy fell silent as Thunderbeak headed thataway, a frown signaling just how much thinking he was doing. Mostly about his newfound companion, as it happened. She seemed particularly young for the power she had. Was that natural or was she special? Or was she actually older than she looked, perhaps being a well-concealed half-elf? How she handled herself would be very important...

[najaran]

Once they landed she hopped down and gave Thunderbeak a loving pat. "I'll get you some food as soon as I can," she assure the large beast, resting her head against his side.

[greatcleavage]

Roy eased himself down, a little the worse for wear after that trip but nothing he couldn't handle. "Thank you," he said to Thunderbeak, figuring politeness was called for here if anywhere.