[Jaykobell]

[ I want to post the slot ASAP since I'm going to Toronto this weekend, so I won't be home tonight (but there's internet in the train there, so booyah). So yeah. I didn't specify an area because there's a LOT of cities, so I'll keep it vague and then we can settle for a specific city later. x'D ]

It was in times like these that she was glad her folks had bothered to learn about human traditions. With the portal transporting her to a city-like area, it was good to know that she wouldn't be all that alienated by the environment she'd been teleported to. She wouldn't deny that human cities were a little unnerving to her, but it was honestly better than getting stuck at a dangerous area like a volcano or underwater.

Carefully, the Batti made her way around the city. This whole thing had started because some Cuniflare was looking for his lost eggs. Honestly, she had no interest in finding those eggs, herself; her goal was entirely different, even though she, too, was looking for something - or rather, someone. And looking back, the portal had been a good choice, considering she had a better chance of finding clues about her missing friend in a city, rather than in a jungle, for example. Still, maybe she would try to find at least one or two eggs, just to make that Cuniflare happy.

Seeing a park nearby, the Batti made her way there first; if anything, there would be eggs hidden away in bird nests or burrows, or something like that, right? Not to mention, those eggs probably smelled like something, right? Being that they were special eggs, they probably had a very specific scent. But speaking of scents, the girl heard her stomach rumble loudly in hunger, and she was reminded how she'd missed her meal just a few hours earlier, before this whole egg hunt thing.

In any case, should she not find any eggs in the park, she would start moving further into the city, where it was more populated.

[Freezair]

Ikram was pretty sure she was lost.

You could not navigate cities like you could navigate forests. Moss did not grow on any side of buildings, let alone the north side. The harsh lights blinded the stars from view at night. The only animals that made their way through the streets were domesticated, and they very rarely had need to move with the water. The water itself was cordoned off, and all creatures drunk from the strange stone fountains that dotted the landscape.

Shirking away from the hustle and bustle, Ikram made for the one place she had found that at least vaguely resembled her home: The place humans and their creature companions liked to call "the park."

The trees here were not plentiful. No grass she knew grew in quite that shade of artificially-enhanced green. But the place smelled more like greenery and smoke, and there seemed to be a few untamed squirrels roaming it. It still seemed to startle people when she drew her bow on them, however.

"...They are a menace to you," she said, when a few people nearby gasped. She turned her attention back towards the squirrel, and took aim.

A slightly-shuddery man approached her, as if seeking to make some offer. "No, no! If you're hungry, we have eggs! See?" He held up an egg of no creature she had seen before. Her eyebrows cocked in surprise. Brilliant strips of rainbow color encircled it. What kind of creature would lay such an egg? The colors seemed most impractical from a camouflage standpoint. And how would it taste, so bedecked.

The man noticed her had her attention, so he swallowed and pointed her on. "You can have all you want! You just need a parter to join the egg hunt. See? Join the egg hunt!"

Ikram crossed her arms in thought. Suddenly, she raised her voice, and her piercing yell crossed the entire park.

"WHO SHALL HUNT EGGS WITH ME?!"

[Jaykobell]

She licked her lips at the sight of a couple of fat birds nesting in the trees. Some of them were alone, and some of them were in pairs, but that didn't matter to the Batti. She could already imagine crunching on the plumpness of those fat birds, unsuspecting of what was to come. Oh, of course, she would get on with her missions right after she was done eating a bird — or maybe a few. It was an unwritten rule, after all, that one couldn't hunt with an empty stomach.

Upside-down, hanging from a branch, and hidden in the foliage, the Batti held her breath as she prepared to let go and dive right for the birds. At least, that's what she'd wanted to do before the birds were suddenly scared away by a most displeasing yell. Heartbroken, the Batti stared with wide eyes and an open mouth as her meal just flew away and hid somewhere in another tree.

"WHO SHALL HUNT EGGS WITH ME?!"

She let go of the branch and craned her neck out of the foliage to take a look at whoever — or whatever — had screamed like that. Something about hunting eggs; were they after the same kind of eggs as she was? It was when she noticed the rainbow-striped egg in the hands of the man, and the woman with a bow, that the Batti put two and two together and realized the hunter-looking woman had probably been the one to scream. Perhaps this was an opportunity. If anything, that woman could do all the work while the Batti focused on what she was really after — and while she tried to find another potential meal.

Slowly, the Batti let herself drop down from the tree, gliding down to the ground using her wings. She was somewhat timid towards strangers — wasn't that the case for almost everyone? — but she was a little more wary of humans, considering she didn't meet a lot of them. Quietly, she raised her hand towards the bow-woman. "I could hunt eggs with you."

[Freezair]

Ikram looked up and down the body of the one who approached her. A Batti, no doubt. A Batti who walked like a human, but a Batti nonetheless. Nothing odd to her. Her dark, rolled-up hair had two pale Leplora ears dangling from it, though, for convenience, she often kept them tied up near her back.

"You look strong," Ikram nodded. She sniffed. "You have the smell of a hunter. You are a tracker as well?" Many of the crowd flinched back as Ikram pulled out her bow, and flashed it before this new approacher. "I shall follow you. You must know these ways better than I. Do you know what manner of beast has laid these eggs?"

((Failpost, but I'm out the door. D:))

[Jaykobell]

If the people she interacted with weren't bothered by her appearance, then the Batti wouldn't be bothered by it either. It made interaction easier to handle when Ikram reacted to her like she would basically... anyone? Even if, to be honest, the Batti couldn't tell if that would be the case. The woman in front of her sounded somewhat peculiar; not that the Batti minded, however.

The Batti leaned back a little when Ikram sniffed at her, unused to someone trying to smell her. "I am mostly a hunter, but tracker fits too, I guess," she answered quietly as she pondered the words and as Ikram showed her the bow. While a bit unnerved at the sight of a weapon — which she'd seen and used before — the Batti didn't flinch, scream or run away. "Ways?" she echoed at Ikram's statements, unsure as to what "ways" really referred to here. "I don't think anything laid those eggs. All I know is that a Cuniflare in Terrace Park lost them, and he wants people to help him find them again," she explained as she turned to the egg the man was holding. "They probably all look similar to that one."

As for following her, she was a little unsure about "leading" someone, since that wasn't something she'd been taught or trained for. Still, from what she knew of those who lead them in the tribe, it couldn't be all that hard, right? Especially when it was only one person. "We can... start hunting here, if you'd like," she proposed, her voice very unlike that of a leader. "Considering the amount of animals, many could've been misplaced in nests and shrubs."

[Freezair]

Faithfully, Ikram began to follow after the Batti. The fact that they had not yet exchanged names did not bother her. She herself had not had reason to speak her name aloud for many years. In a way, it was wise not to speak it. There were those who could take a name and use it to nefarious ends. Ikram's name meant "Honor," and that was not a meaning she wanted twisted around some evil wizard's finger.

But the Batti's words puzzled her. "But... if no creature laid the eggs, how did they come to be? Are they... an act of wizardry?" She looked behind her, at the colorful egg the man was now pawing, and did a slight jump away. One hand held an arrow and the other her bow, but she did not fit them together. "Are these eggs not fine to eat?"

But small animals did get displaced when things got hectic, it was true, and by her definition, the sheer amount of humanity milling about here made this place hectic. Ikram quickly spotted a hole in a tree. "Squirrel's nest," she pointed. "Good to look in there."

[Jaykobell]

So long as Ikram didn't start shooting things for no good reason, the Batti didn't see any reason to stop the female hunter from handling her weapon. The Batti, herself, knew that having a weapon handy didn't mean anything. You could flash around and flail about, it didn't mean anything. There were ways to have a weapon ready without using it to hurt people for the sake of hurting them.

Speaking their names didn't come to the Batti's mind, either, since speaking your name was somewhat of a foggy concept in the tribe. The rule was that, the less they knew about you, the better. And the first step to finding out about you was to have your name. A hunter never wanted to become the hunted. As such, not telling Ikram her name was somewhat more convenient for the Batti. She didn't have to worry about it.

"That sounds good," she replied when Ikram took interest in a squirrel's nest in one of the nearby trees. "I don't think they were made out of magic, but they might've been. You can try to eat one, but I don't think they're edible." Something about those eggs gave the Batti a bad feeling; even her hungry stomach didn't like the idea of eating one of those eggs. "I'll check the shrubs over there while you take a look in the squirrel's nest," the Batti said as she made her way towards a small patch of shrubs, all of varying sizes. She got down on her knees and hands and started sniffing, trying to see if anything smelled out of the ordinary.

[Freezair]

Ikram lowered her head. The eggs were inedible? That was a disappointment. She begun this egg hunt in order to find some food. That had been her intent, and she was still seeking her lunch. She inched over to the squirrel's nest. Perhaps she could do these people a favor and at least rid them of a few squirrels.

Within the crook of the nest, there was one of the eggs. This one had a crude flower pattern, as if crafted by the hands of a child. Strange, metallic flecks of something brilliant dotted its surface. Surely, that was a sign of wizardry! She herself was not untouched by magic, but she was not fond of coming into contact with it. Her hand tentatively touched the surface, but withdrew quickly. She inspected the tips of her fingers. No burns and no signs of magic. But she knew wizards could work in nefarious, subtle ways as well.

Her hand hit in her sleeve, and without touching it, she withdrew the egg. Quickly, it dropped to the ground. She bent low to sniff it. The aroma it had was vile. Implacable to her knowledge, but unquestionably unpleasant.

She tapped it with her foot, and called out to her partner. "If they are not edible, and not products of sorcery, how did these eggs come about?"

[Jaykobell]

Sniffing, the Batti crawled forward and inched her way into the shrub patch slowly. This was a little awkward, considering her wings could get in the way and get injured if they got caught by a twig or a sharp object. She kept her arms further back and tight against her sides as she crawled forward. Squinting eyes eventually caught a glimpse of pale blue shine, and as she got closer, the bat realized it was an egg, shining blue with a shell that looked almost polished. She grabbed the egg carefully and crawled her way out of the shrubs in reverse.

As she straightened up and turned around to look for Ikram, she noticed the other hunter had found an egg as well. "Seems like there are a lot of those eggs," she pointed out passively as she held her own, much unlike Ikram, whom was poking hers with a foot. Again, Ikram asked how those eggs could've possibly be made, if not laid by an animal or made out of magic. Perplexed, the Batti shrugged lightly. "I have no idea. All I know is that a Cuniflare is looking for them." And if she had to be perfectly honest, she didn't really care to know, either.

However, if they stayed in the park, it would interfere with her goal of getting information about her missing friend. Really, she had a better chance of finding clues in the city, rather than in one of the parks. "How about we try to hunt for eggs in the city?" she proposed as she walked towards Ikram. "There's a lot of people, so I bet there's a lot of eggs hiding there as well."

[Freezair]

Ikram opened the bag hanging from her shoulder. She sequestered several essential items off to one side, and carefully placed the glittering egg within. It was as if she expected it to explode when jostled.

"If we do not know the origin of these eggs, how do we know that they are not harmful? Who is this Cuniflare? Where is he? I should have asked more questions." Ikram's voice was beginning to sound a bit raw, as if she were not used to speaking this much. When the Batti mentioned the city, her lips tightened.

"Cities... I am not comfortable there. But perhaps, yes, a good place to hide. If there are eggs there it may serve to prove they are not malicious. I will follow you."

[Jaykobell]

Ikram getting a little uncomfortable with language went right over the Batti's head. She knew about accents, so hearing the woman's voice or tone change now and again didn't bother her. It was like an accent to her, something you sometimes picked it up from specific words or phrases.

At the onslaught of questions, the Batti scratched the back of her head. She looked a little baffled, but also a little uninterested. Honestly, what the eggs were and if they were harmful, was of no interest to her. This whole egg hunt was just an opportunity for her to get away from her usual environment in order to search for her missing friend. "If you're interested in learning more, you can ask the Cuniflare once the task is over. He's in Terrace Park. He has a big tent set up there," the Batti proposed, not particularly interested in learning more, herself. However, if Ikram was curious, then the Batti certainly wouldn't stop her from quenching her curiosity.

"It's fine. Cities are crowded, but not hard to navigate," the Batti assured the other woman as she started making her way out of the park and into a more populated area of Jawan, where little fish stands were up, and where little relaxing spots were included, with benches facing the nearest beach. A peaceful town with no real story to it, and where tourists could have a calm, quiet vacation to decompress.

[Freezair]

At the mention of people, Ikram bristled. Her life story was not for this unusual Batti to know. Her kind were not always solitary, but she was not the first of her people to have chosen the quiet, reclusive life. She had spend much of her life--of her lifetimes--deep in the woods, with only wilderness for comfort. How could she explain to this stranger than any number of people besides herself was a bustle to her? Any village was an insurmountable city? Even the trees in the park were not enough to make her feel well-hid, and camouflaged from predators.

But in those times in her lives when she had been forced to speak to others, and she had found herself without words to say, she had simply chosen not to speak. Nothing obliged her to open her mouth. So she was simply silent, and followed the Batti without words. The people of this city seemed to frown on the open carrying of weapons, so, as the world around them became more urban, she put her bow away and dipped her head, in an attempt to blend in with their surroundings.

In the hedges she passed, her eyes spotted something large and round, and very colorful in a way not fitting to these surroundings: Another wizard-egg. This one was quite large. She hung back, staring at it. Should she call out? Summon the other to her? What now?

[Jaykobell]

While she was used to being around other people, it was worth noting that the Batti wasn't very used to humans in particular. Despite her kind's obvious appearance that was very similar to a normal human's, it had often been told that the two races were rather wary of each other. Even as they walked down the streets, the Batti couldn't tell if the townspeople were staring at her because of her appearance, or if they were staring because Ikram had a weapon in hands. Either way, she tried to ignore the stares.

She was looking for eggs semi-diligently when suddenly, some kids came running past them. They almost crashed into the Batti, but thankfully only bumped into her lightly, since she had the right idea to step aside. They looked like regular teenagers, but those boys certainly seemed to have a rebellious attitude to them.

As they ran by, one of them caught a glimpse of the weirdly-colored egg. "Hey! Check out this thing, guys!" one of them called out to the others as he headed for the egg and grabbed it without thinking twice about it.

"Damn. What the hell is it? That's not an egg," a second one asked, making a grimace at the egg.

"Who cares what it really is?" the third, and last one, added as he pushed the second one roughly. "Let's break it!"

[Freezair]

"I would be wary of breaking that, if I were you," Ikram said. It had been long since she last conversed with people, but her experience told her that it was wise to be diplomatic in such situations. "It could be a creation of a wizard. It may lay a deadly spell upon you if you break it. Perhaps it contains toxins. Or, worse yet..." A visible shudder past through her body. "A volatile metal that will explode on contact with the air."

Ikram inched back towards the Batti. "We should leave them. We can't stop them from making unwise decisions, but we can keep ourselves from the backdraft. Let us move on."

[Jaykobell]

When Ikram spoke, all three boys turned around to face her, all seemingly unimpressed by her unfounded worries. "What? Dude, that's exactly why we should break it! There's probably something really awesome in there!" the third boy said, not even considering Ikram's theory of the egg being dangerous if they broke it.

"I dunno, man. What if she's right and we get decapitated or something?"

"Dude, that's stupid. Let's just break it!"

As they continued to argue and Ikram edged closer to the Batti, she, herself, was a little hesitant to leave the egg with the boys. "We're supposed to bring the eggs back to the Cuniflare," she reminded Ikram as she glanced back at the boys. "And shouldn't we take it from them to keep them from hurting themselves?" To her, despite the boys being ridiculous, it would be irresponsible to simply leave them to their fate without doing anything more.

The three boys were still arguing, leaving the two women some time to concoct a plan if they wanted.