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Tiziri	Evening is starting to approach, the sun making its descent and people making their own descents into their favorite local den of iniquity. Or really, just a place to drink, eat, get stoned, or whatever. Right now a young woman with feathers in her hair is sitting at a hookah at one of those establishments, taking a drag from it. A spear is leaning against the table beside her but otherwise she seems to be alone. She's rather well dressed, even if the style is a bit different from the local cultures, marking her as a traveler or outsider at least.
Nine Roads Alani	As the place quickly fills, every table is soon full to overflowing with travelers, worshipers, and everyone in between. It's wall to wall, almost standing room only, when a blonde girl wrapped in tan (or is that just dust?) traveling clothes manifests out of the crowd with a big stein in hand, suds nearly dribbling down the outside. She's barely audible over the crowd clamoring for booze of their own. "Er...hello there?" She sounds a bit diffident, but not unfriendly. "I'm sorry. it's insane back there, is it all right if I sit down? Please?"
Tiziri	"Feel free." The young woman at the hookah says with a smile, holding her hand out in a gesture of welcome. "I get it. It does make for good people watching though, and occassional meeting new people." Her accent confirms what her clothes suggest, she's definitely not a local. The lilt having something of a south and southeastern sound to it. There's a pause for a moment before she says, "Tiziri." By way of introduction.
Nine Roads Alani	"Oh, that's mighty nice of you, ma'am," the girl replies. Her own accent might have a touch of the North about it. But then again, it might not. Hard to say. She sits down and sets the stein on front of her, trying to slosh as little as possible. "Aaaaah, that's a relief. I've been traveling all day, and my legs're thanking you right now. Nice to meet you, Tiziri. Er, you can call me Elena." She chuckles a bit. "Heh. I guess it -does- make for meeting new people, doesn't it? But give me just a moment here." She pauses to take a long, deep draft of beer. "Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh, oh, I needed that, let me tell you. Anyway, did you just get in like me?"
Tiziri	"It's been a couple weeks now." Tiziri says, taking another draw from the hookah hose. When she's done she says, "But it still feels like I'm new. There's so much to see in this city that I feel like I've barely scratched the surface!" She sounds excited about that. "You're in for a treat if you've never been here. I haven't been anywhere like it in all my own travels." She gestures to one of the other hoses too. "Feel free to partake. I don't mind sharing."
Nine Roads Alani	The girl offers a cheery little grin and picks up the hose--the wrong way, at first, but she only takes a second to figure it out. "Huh. This isn't the kind of thing I usually..." She shrugs. "S'no problem. Truth is, I'm even newer in this city than you are! Just got in. And I've seen big cities before? But this is so...so...-colorful-. And alive. S'like you're not allowed to be here for long and -not- have fun. And thank you! Don't mind if I do." True to her own word, Elena takes a long huff, followed by the most predictable coughing jag ever. Of course she was going to hit it too hard.
Tiziri	Tiziri gets a grin at the cough, but it's not a mean one, just a grin. Perhaps even a touch sympathetic. "It really is. I got dragged into one amazing festival the night after I arrived. So much going on!" She takes another hit too, then attempts to blow a smoke ring to only middling success. "So what brings you to Great Forks?"
Nine Roads Alani	With a wry grin, Elena can only chuckle at herself. She smiles a bit, a faraway look coming over her face for just a moment, before she replies. "A little bit of business and a little bit of pleasure both, y'know? The roads are getting worse with every season, and while I don't have a barge's worth of cargo space, I can go a lot--and believe you me I mean a LOT--faster. In or out of the city. I hear tell Great Forks is a little better than Nexus--not that that's a toughie, y'know?--and it's a lot more interesting. Maybe I'll have some luck here." Elena takes another draft of beer, still savoring it but at least without the audible exhale. She gives Tiziri a grin and adds, "So! Fair's fair. What brings yourself here? And you'll have to tell me about the festival, too!"
Tiziri	Tiziri nods along as she is told that bit about why her hookah companion is here. "Makes sense." She says with a nod. "So as for me? Well, I think the quickest way to explain is to say my other name, in the marital world as it were, Ardent Vagabond. Someone called me that in a drunken conversation after a long stretch with a caravan, and I loved it so much it's stuck." She says with a crinkle of her nose to go with her grin. "I love traveling. Seeing Creation. So I've hired out as a caravan guard and when I get to a new place stay as long as it remains interesting and I can afford to before I move on. Fortunately, I saved up a lot before getting here. It's gotten me quite a long way, especially since I don't really try to pick where I go, just whichever job took me. Because honestly? I don't care! The journey is most of the fun." After that she takes a longer drag from the hose and holds it in, before finally letting it out and saying. "As for the festival. I don't even remember the name. Or the why. But it was wild. I got pretty drunk, met a bunch of people in a way similar to how I just met you. Only they invited me to join them when I was sitting alone drinking. We had fun and found a lot in common. So, really, everything I love about being in a new place."
Nine Roads Alani	The blonde gets a bit of a self-deprecating smile as she listens, nodding as Tiziri speaks. "Well, believe me, I've been there. Still -am- there, really. I grew up traveling, you see. It was colder there, but still...same sort of deal. Now, I'm alone so I don't try to deal with big, heavy loads. But still...the whole family thing is..." She sighs. "Well. I can't go back. But I love to travel, too. See everything, be everywhere. Just to say I did." Elena grins at Tiziri's alternate name. "Marital world, huh? Don't figure the reason for that's my business." She laughs. "Not that that ever really stops me. Maybe I'll get you to tell me how you earn a name like that. Once we get drunk enough." She smirks. "Or high. Or both."
Tiziri	"Like I said. Get drunk or high with the right people, someone calls you it as a joke, and it sticks. It's really that easy." Tiziri says while giggling a bit, hand raising to cover her mouth. "I suppose you earn the names though. For me it's because of a conversation very similar to this, we were both pretty drunk, and I was talking all full of wonder about some of the places I'd been before, and he suddenly said I'm such an ardent vagabond!" She laughs some more. "So yeah, I started calling myself that too." Then she gets a more sober and sympethetic expression, "I get not being able to go back. I can't either, my father never approved of my life choice, and... yeah, I'm essentially disowned. So now the road is my home, and my family my fellow travelers!"
Nine Roads Alani	"Well then, Ardent Vagabond," Elena replies, "if the past is shut off from us, I guess we'll have to keep heading into the future. Something I have to tell myself a lot," she adds with a chuckle. She raises her stein and meets Tiziri's eyes. "To a home on the road, and my family, my fellow travelers." She takes a long, healthy swig. "Now, mind you, I'm not drunk yet. I'll have to keep working at it, I guess. But I gotta admit, I didn't expect to run into another traveler so soon." Her mouth quirks upwards in a sly smile rather unlike her so far...the kind with a secret unshared. "Must be destiny."
Tiziri	Tiziri grabs her own mostly empty stein and holds it up to meet the toast. "To the journey and all those we share it with!" She responds before finishing off what she has left. "Probably." She says matter of factly. "Though really there's a lot of travellers here, with all the trade. But that takes the fun out of it." She concludes. "So a better way to think of it is with all the travellers here, you met me." She states, setting down her stein to pick up her hookah hose again.
Nine Roads Alani	Elena grins and leans forward, elbows on the table. "Look, I get it, right? Everyone has to make some silver. But that's..." She sighs a bit. "That was my dad all over. Never having any fun, never thinking about anything but making ends meet. I mean, I get why? But it's not like we can't have -both-. If we do it right." Elena smiles and leans back in her chair, wobbling on the back legs quite adeptly despite the beer. "That's a good way to think of it, yeah." she replies. "Now, the next round is on me. I won't take no for an answer!"
River Jewel	There's a minor commotion happening elsewhere in the establishment. Exactly on the other side in fact. Some handful of drunkards whistling and cheering and then bemoaned noises of disappointment. One man yowls and, if anyone is looking, might be seen making a grab at a figure but snatching only empty air. It's not too long after that than 'Elena' and the Ardent Vagabond will hear a mousey, "Pardon, pardon, beg pardon here," from a melodious and rich young lady's voice. Soon, said young lady, covered in a... It's a hooded robe, pulled up to cover her head so that only the two ladies can see her face, but it bears the exact patterns and designs as some of the tablecloths from some of the farther tables, what a coincidence. "It's getting a bit too rowdy and hands-on over there. Mind if I hang out here for a little while?" Asks the young lady, beaming a hopeful smile at the pair.
Tiziri	The sun setting for real now. "You won't hear me complaining." Tiziri says with a grin still on her face. Even while she's saying that there's a girl in a robe that almost seems to glow silver approaching the table. Though in the meantime Tizi says. "My parents ran a small restaurant in our village, it was a caravansery really, I hated it. They made me learn all about running a business. So I get it. Truly." As River Jewel approaches and asks, Tiziri gets an even wider grin. "Welcome, of course. Please sit, partake. There's still a hose ready for anyone." Indeed there's still two unclaimed hoses at the hookah! "And if anyone is bothering you, let me know. I may not be too strong but it's amazing what holding a spear and looking like I know what I'm doing can do to scare off brutes and bullies."
Nine Roads Alani	"Hey, it's her table," Elena replies, nodding her head towards Tiziri. "I'm just here for a place to sit, and now the company. If the boys there get too handsy, you just let me know, all right?" The blonde stretches, grinning, but as she glances at River Jewel approaching, there's a hitch in her mannerisms, and she looks at River Jewel just a bit too long. Maybe she's seen the woman before, or maybe it's just interest. "I'll be sure to sort 'em out." She grins wickedly for a moment, and that's definitely no sham. "Don't you worry about a thing. Have a seat and a hose."
River Jewel	The young lady wearing the improvised robes - no doubt to avoid recognition by whatever commotion sprouted elsewhere - briefly smiles at 'Elena' upon the scrutinizing gaze. What looks like a sheepish, 'it cannot be helped' smile is shone in response. With Tiziri giving permission though she does commandeer a nearby chair and try to do so without drawing attention. Clearly she doesn't want those drunkards figuring out where she vamoosed to... "I usually don't need to duck and cover on nights like this. Appreciate the kindness. I go by Sapphire in these parts. Student at the very lovely House of Learning."
Tiziri	"Tiziri, or Ardent Vagabond. Nice to meet you" The young woman with the feathers in her hair introduces, placing a first in an open palm as she bows her head (to both Jewel and Elena). Though just after that, the girl with the silvery robes suddenly stops in front of Tiziri and says in a distant voice while staring right at her. "The changeable sky of the northern districts could not see the moon." After saying that, head tilting a moment, the girl suddenly turns and walks away, seemingly fading into the crowd as oddly as she appeared. Ardent Vagabond looks down at her hose then, before looking to the other two. "Um, huh? Did you two see that? What just happened?"
River Jewel	Wait, since when was there a fourth young lady at the table? Or... was that fourth lady even young at all? River Jewel - Sapphire, apparently - blinks a few times at the mysterious saying, and even shows a hint of a frown. It's an odd saying to come from anyone, but a complete stranger? She's trying not to show it, but that was a bit rattling. "Oh, this place is just full of all kinds of weirdos today. I wouldn't worry too much about whatever THAT was." She exclaims in a smooth, calming tone. Nope, don't worry about that at all.
Nine Roads Alani	Elena looks absolutely, hopelessly confused as the other young woman appears, says something completely non sequitur, and vanishes utterly. Of course, in Yu Shan, that happens every day of the week. Here, though? Well...maybe once every couple days. Seriously, Great Forks is that kind of town. Elena is so focused on the koan, though, that she's not really paying attention to much else. So much so that she completely missed Tiziri's reaction to her. She murmurs, "The northern sky...can't see the moon. Hrm. What do you think, Tiziri? After how you got the name Ardent Vagabond, it's like young ladies are coming out of the woodwork to serenade you." She chuckles quietly and takes a sip of beer. "I'm jealous. Nice to meet you, Sapphire, by the way..."
Tiziri	Tiziri nods and bites her lip, before picking up her hookah hose and taking a nice long drag. "I mean, there's about a dozen places making stuff stronger than this within a hundred paces of here, as the crow flies, so yeah. Lots of weird sorts around. She looked awfully young, but... I'm not her parent. Or older sister." She suddenly starts giggling. "OK, bad example, I'd probably help a younger sister get wasted. Bad influence." Ardent Vagabond looks back to Elena then, pursing her lips in thought. "Good question. Maybe she was some sort of weather goddess or elemental spirit? That might mean it's going to snow tomorrow and it comes in from the North? Good reason to stay in if nothing else?" She guesses.
River Jewel	River Jewel aka 'Sapphire' giggles lightly at her apearing out of nowhere being heralded as 'serenading' anyone. "Nothing so dramatic or romantic. I'm afraid some people get a bit too rambunctious when they've had too much to drink...." When the discussion turns to the appearance of the strange maiden though, Sapphire twists her lips a bit. "I feel her words were for miss Tiziri here. A spirit wishing to impart a warning? I'm not sure if that was a warning. Silvery robes... and mentioning the moon though... she would not look out of place at the local shrine to Lady Luna."
Nine Roads Alani	At the mention of Lady Luna, Elena's expression changes slightly. It's not a bad change per se, but it seems to sober her up a bit, and she turns thoughtful...really, between this and the koan, she's started to look a good deal more thoughtful about everything than one might attribute to a simple caravanner. She flashes a cheeky grin at Sapphire. "Hey, just 'cause I'm no good at predicting that kind of thing doesn't mean it isn't fun. I admit I'm not really..." She sighs and looks down into her half-drunk stein for a moment. "...not really good at that kind of thing. But about the warning? I wonder if the moon has to do with the northern sky right now. Or it -could- be weather. It's hard to tell in town whether the wind has that snow-is-coming smell. Out on the road I could tell you in a heartbeat."
Tiziri	Tiziri is taking a long drag of her hose right now. When she lets it out she attempts another ring, and fails once more. But she definitely seems like she's trying! "I think I saw a shrine to her last week, with a lovely little pool." She says. "But really, spirits and people walking around acting weird in Great Forks? I'd be more surprised if they weren't." She says, looking a bit more glassy eyed now before looking at Alani and saying, "Another thing that makes this place so fun! I've never actually had drinks with a spirit before being here!" Then she gets a more sheepish look. "Snow's still something I'm not used to. I'm from far to the south. It can get cold at night and all in the desert, but I'm definitely not used to snow and knowing when it's coming. It's oddly exciting."
River Jewel	"It snows where I grew up. Certainly nothing like further to the north, but winter is always a time of huddling indoors, telling stories and working on little hobbies. Not much else to do for those cold months. Nothing to sow, grow, or reap... one cannot travel too far..." Sapphire exclaims. "It's being in such a big city like this that I'm still getting used to. This place does not know how to relax. ... Well, not in the way I'm most familiar with, at least." She notes, briefly sticking out her tongue in a silly manner at the local festivities.
Nine Roads Alani	Elena slowly nods and leans forward, replying even as she's thinking of things far away. "It was...kind of like that for me, and kind of not. Like I was telling Tiziri earlier tonight, I grew up in the north? But my family were travelers, caravanners. When we started getting towards Descending Air and it got really cold, we didn't stop. We couldn't afford to. We went a bit further south, closer to the sea...just like everyone else, of course. We didn't -starve- or anything, you understand...but it was a bit lean." She sighs, sips her beer again, and looks up and around. "Things are different now. Er, I hope." She chuckles quietly. "Heh. Yeah, I've been here all of a day, and I can already see what you mean, about the city not being able to relax. Tiziri was just telling me a bout a big festival a couple weeks ago, and I hear they're constant here. Sounds like fun."
Tiziri	"This isn't my first city I've been to." Ardent Vagabond responds to Sapphire honestly. "But never something quite like here. This place lives in a way that's honestly invigorating. It feels... young? Even if it isn't. Vibrant. It feels like a place that cries out to be noticed and it is. I love it. I haven't been bored for a moment in the weeks since I got here. There's always some new surprise around every corner. Take a wrong turn and suddenly see a shrine to a long forgotten god, and how utterly amazing it looks. Turn down another alley and there's a food vendor serving the most amazing dumplings I've ever eaten. Still another and I can have a poetry contest with a depressed fire spirit. It's amazing!" Tiziri nods again to Elena and her grin remains. "It's funny how nomadic existances can continue everywhere. In the South it's from heat, usually. Though my family wasn't wanderers. I did spend time with some nomads after I ran away though. I learned a lot about the desert, and surviving on my own with them. But yes, they moved North when things were getting bad. Too dry, follow the herds."