It was seeming to be a bit of a rough day for the reserved guard.

Emer had started with her general duties of taking watch of the northern wall of the castle, not bothering with counting the minutes until she would have lunch. She found that time seemed to slow much more when you paid attention to it, so she'd rather be as patient and observant as she was taught to be. Although most of the guards mustered up some small talk with others nearby on watch, she kept a stony face and stared ahead with a blank expression. Heck, some people could've mistaken her for a painted sculpture! Yet once she was called off duty, she left the castle grounds to the market, grabbing some street food of meat on skewers with grain, adorned with some vivid herbs of the forest.

While eating, someone familiar walked up to her, a vendor of cloths that worked with her mother often. But the name escaped her. The man, clearly frail with a limp to his gait, politely asked about her day and how her work was going. Emer nodded along, finishing up the lunch before he finished. And it happened: he asked for a favor. A running of raw goods from the other side of the city back to him. "Will do," she stated with a signature guard's salute, both her arms crossed before her chest.

It was never just one thing, though. When she arrived to the indicated store, she was asked another favor before she could complete the other. And before she knew it, she was trying to accomplish three things at one time! But Emer would never complain about it, no, she took pride in being relied on so much. Even though she had another shift at the bay in about an hour.

She sped along quickly, utilizing her longer legs, ignoring the fact that Prince Kian happened to be out and about again (and she knew it too well, he often acted the same as always even though he was disguised). She started to pant a little when she finally approached the vendor from the beginning, handing him his goods and, with a curt wave, setting off again in a sprint to the bay. She dashed and dodged past people and bounded across bridges to reach at just the right moment, relieving her fellow guardsmen before returning to a stone-faced statue, gazing steadily at the water. But even then, her troubles wouldn't seem to end, for a bell rang out, one that shouldn't have been rung. She perked up, glancing at the tower that sounded it, waiting to see if it rang again before deeming it a mistake. It wasn't, oddly enough.

It rang again, signaling an approaching vessel. And so, Emer and the other guards prepared hastily, drawing weapons for approaching outsiders.



Emer was flustered upon leaving the gathering hall of the castle, Kian following with an odd hop to his step. She stormed quickly to the castle's library, where she knew Julia would be lurking.

"Stop walking like that, this is very serious," Emer snapped at the young prince behind her, her fatigue starting to sour her usually placid disposition.

"Woah, woah, chill," Kian exclaimed with his hands going up defensively. "The outsiders don't seem too awful right now! They're just gonna need supplies and then they'll leave again!"

She let out a sigh of pure frustration as she pushed the library door open. "You don't get it, it's not appropriate for us to go about our daily lives with them just watching our every movement! It's a breach in our security, they surely have something planned."

Kian shrugged. "Well, I understand that, but they can't try anything. We clearly outnumber them."

"Julia!" Emer called, ignoring Kian in that moment. "Please explain to the prince how bad this situation is! I'm starting to feel a headache coming along from all this excitement."

Prince Ali

Prince Ali arrived saddled on a huge elephant. As he did guards paraded through, blowing horns as loud as possible. Then seventy five golden camels came on through, after that thirty five purple peacocks followed. Next was ninety five persian white monkeys. Finally one hundred slaves were dragged through the portal, followed by 100 servants. All the while the guards were singing and dancing. When the whole song and dance was over Prince Ali got off his elephant and walked in front of everyone. He looked around before shouting angrilly.

"Where's the welcome party?"

Honestly, he didn't care for anyone but himself. He didn't even care for his royal subjects. He clenched his fist and as he did guards came over to fan him and try to calm him down.

youtube.com/watch?v=Bb2HFylQVp0

Tyson

Tyson, on the other hand came off with Silver on his shoulder. He stayed quiet and went past Prince Ali while he was making a scene. He didn't really care for that. He looked around with a smile on his face this place was amazing! He turned to see several people were gathered around Prince Ali and gave a shrug. He would have to find someone who wasn't busy enough to show him around. Slowly Tyson began to wander not quite sure where he was going.

"Hey, Silver, go and get a look at the land."

He pointed to the sky and with that his Eagle took off to the sky and began to scout ahead. As he did Tyson sat himself down nice and quietly, relaxing himself while he waited for the return of his friend.

Julia heard the shouting and talking outside the liberary as she was reading. She was sat on the table, considering she was so small. When Emer and the Prince came in she smiled brightly, even Red popped up from hiding on her head to see what was going on. The moment Emer finished she jumped up, now standing on the table.

"We have visitors? Oh I have to go see them! How many are there? Who are they? All these questions, I'm so excited but first, it is a pleasure to meet you, your majesty and you too Emer."

She bowed to the two of them before jumping off the table. Just before she hit the floor magic aura surrounded her and levitated to the ground softly. She came up to their leg and she had to look up to them.

"Hey, don't look down on me just because I'm small......haha, get it?"

She gave a small laugh at her own silly joke. She didn't expect anyone to laugh honestly but she was just having a bit of fun before she met these visitors.

"Haha! Looking down on you is a little hard to do, don't you think? It's always good to see you in such a good mood, Miss Julia," Kian smiled broadly, bowing down to shake hands with the Lalafell woman. "Unlike a certain guardwoman..."

He could hear Emer take a deep breath, the furrowing of her brow not getting any lighter. "It's no time for jesting, they're outside and the royal that is with them is a little...impatient, I think." As if to emphasize this point, it seemed that there was a lot of noise coming from outside of the castle, along with the faint sound of shouting. "We should go, the King already greeted him but the rest of the subjects haven't yet."

As she turned, she made sure to give Kian a sharp glare. "And don't you dare think about pulling something funny, this is actually very serious!"

He rolled his eyes as he pulled himself to full length once more. "Please, I never do anything wrong, I'm a good, young prince, everyone knows such." To this, Emer could only grunt, walking ahead of the two with her shoulders thrown back. He walked alongside Julia out of the castle, muttering low under his breath only for her to hear. "She's a tad crankier than usual, don't you think?"

Of course, he stood away from the crowd as Emer plunged in, deciding it best to try and interact with some other mainlander. "Julia, let's go over to that fellow there," he whispered, pointing over to a younger man who sat back, seemingly taking in everything around him.


Without much hesitation, Emer brought herself to the front of the crowd of townspeople that were forming outside the castle and around this so-called 'prince'. She cleared her throat, her eyes level but head tilted down to show at least some respect. But he seemed a little too extravagant for her tastes. "Your highness, the townspeople would like to welcome you to our Isle of Izohir. We hope you will enjoy your stay before your return home."

She eyed the back of the crowd, realizing Kian and Julia decided to hang back and interact with someone else. Why am I left to deal with this? "You will be given lodging in the castle. As for the creatures..." she trailed off, looking at the spectacle. "We will find somewhere, I suppose."

Prince Ali

Prince Ali stared at the worthless scum who spoke to him as if he had just stepped on his shoe. He walked up to Emer then spat on Emer's shirt. He laughed before speaking in a harsh tone.

"Let me make one thing clear, you are nothing! If you were in my toilet bowl I wouldn't even bother flushing it. My bathmat means more to me than pieces of shit like you! You pathetic good for nothing worm, you fucking slimy dirty rotten stinking flea bitten spider! I am the only one that matters here. I determine when I stay and when I leave, do not assume anything! As for these good for nothing worthless scum that came with me, they can live in the streets for all I care. They mean nothing to me. Slaughter them for all I care, feed them to some poor sap."

He turned around and the moment he did everyone who came with him bowed except for the animals of course. He spat on the floor and turned back to Emer.

Julia and Tyson

Julia watched the Prince for a moment and she simply shook her head. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She let out a sigh and turned to the other man, hopefully he was much kinder. Before walking up to him she spoke to Kian.

"You better not be like that Prince over there when you're old. Hopefully this other person is much friendlier."

She walked up to Tyson with a small smile, looking up to him with eyes full of kindness and friendliness. Tyson saw her and gave a small smile back to her. With that she spoke up to him.

"Hello, welcome to Izohir. My name is Julia and who are you?"

Tyson stared at her for a moment before looking up at Kian. After a moment of silence he smiled down to Julia.

"My name is Tyson, but you shouldn't talk to strangers kid, it could be dangerous."

Julia stared at Tyson with a look of disgust and anger but she let out a soft sigh, calming herself down.

"I am not a child, I am actually twenty years old but nice to meet you Tyson."

Tyson looked at Julia with general surprise before looking at Kian. He then bowed to her in an attempt to apologise obviously not knowing. For now Silver hadn't returned, and was still scouting the land.

@AkaiJose

What scum... Emer thought while wiping the spit away with a hand, enraged to the point she almost turned red. But she forced herself to speak without raising her voice. Despite the self-control she mustered, her hands gripped tightly around the handles to her axes, the knuckles going pale. "I trust that you will choose the right moment to leave, then. You may need to replenish your supplies during your stay, which we will be more than happy to help with, since we are aware of the flora and fauna that are dangerous or not best of all.

"Though, you ought to know," she added, her voice freezing to an icy tone. "You certainly aren't the only important one here, on our Isle. Here, you have no power and, unfortunately, you are very, very much under our mercy. Such is how our society works." As if on command, many members of the crowd of islanders pulled out various weapons, some already rippling with the magical energy that was unique to their kind.

"Our primary tenet is to respect all forms of life. For this reason, we will take good care of these animals for the meanwhile. As for the guards and crew members, they will also be residing in the castle and treated with our utmost respect." She smiled at the said group, an arm lifting her right ax to point at the prince. "Failure to comply or go against our wishes will result in your execut--"

A voice called out loudly behind her, interrupting her and causing all to turn. King Mirza had appeared from the castle gates, a worried frown plastered on his face. "Emer, at ease." She did so, hosting the ax once more on her belt with a grunt. "Would you allow me to personally show you around our castle? I would love no more than to provide a welcoming feast for you all once the sun sets."


Kian laughed heartily, despite the tension from the crowd. The man was actually bowing in apology! It was a tad ridiculous, he would admit, but he should've expected foreigners to be a bit odd at least. "You should never pick on Julia for her size. You'd be in for a surprise at her actual strength! But please, do get up, there's no need to be so apologetic, Tyson."

The name was very odd on his tongue, but he shook it off. "Kian, very nice to meet you. Are you a part of the Prince's guard?"

Prince Ali

Prince Ali looked to Emer with disgust as he was spoken to. He grabbed his golden knuckles ready to give Emer a royal beating when the King came. He lowered his hand and as he did he spoke with utter disrespect.

"I am not so weak I need someone not of my pathetic guard to walk me. I can see the Castle clearly enough. Go, shoo, prepare the feast and make it a good one."

With that he walked off towards the Castle, his head held up high as he did. That was a man that was going to get his own medicine one day.

Tyson and Julia

Tyson stopped bowing then looked over to Ali, he sighed and shook his head as he left then turned to Kian again to hear his question. His face was filled with utter disgust.

"I'm glad I'm not. The 'Prince' killed one of his guards just for bringing his meal late, and honestly I've got suspisions that he hired an assassin to kill his own parents so he could take over the throne, I just haven't got the proof I need."

He shrugged and looked to Julia who was shocked. She sighed and spoke back.

"What a terrible man. Anyway, let's get off this subject. I'm sure he wouldn't be pleased if he heard us talking about him. How about we show you around, give you a tour?"

She smiled in a friendly manner before looking to Kian. She didn't mind who led Tyson first. They both knew the city rather well.

@AkaiJose

Vile, loathsome, slimy creature... Emer berated the man mentally, her eyes still glaring defiantly at Ali with all sense of distaste. [i][I daresay the other outsiders will be much different with such a despicable leader!/i] She gazed at her own King, trying to detect any ill will at the response he'd received, but she couldn't find anything. He still smiled pleasantly, a soothing aura floating from him that washed over the crowd.

"I'll see to it that it gets done. I will leave you all back to your duties." Mirza's eyes swept over his own subjects, flourishing a hand. "Go about your normal routines at once!" As if on cue, the people dispersed with a loud cheer, the caretakers of the castle beginning to usher in the animals and the guards returning to their posts. For a split second, it seemed that their life had been switched back to it's usual pace, as though nothing drastic had happened. Such was the magic of Mirza's words.

It bugged Emer endlessly.

As Mirza followed Ali back inside with his personal guards at his side, she turned to go tend to seemingly lost outsiders who seemed distraught at not being given direction. She commanded most of the castle's attendants to take them to rooms to get cleaned up, but one happened to catch her eye. She was small and out-of-place, looking very petrified and trying her best to shrink away into nothingness. Even though Emer had some pity for her, she was getting tired and really, really needed a nap.

"You," she grumbled, pointing with an accusing finger that made the red-head yelp with fear. "Would you like to go to your accommodations?" The woman looked at her in the eyes and quickly brought her gaze down to her feet, shaking her head vigorously. Not really a talkative one, it seemed. "See the short woman and the guy over there with one of your own? Join them, if you don't want to go to the castle."

The woman nodded complacently and scurried off to the group. With that done, Emer sighed and stomped back to the castle herself to go lie down for a few hours.


It was obvious no one really liked the prince from the mainland. Kian could really see why, after that whole spectacle. He would have turned his head to mush if he could, but he knew his brother would kill him for that. "Why don't you guys just get rid of him? If he's a no-good ruler to his people, he isn't a real ruler, just someone with big talk and an ego."

He spotted another person making their way over hesitantly, so Kian waved her over. "Your name?"

She seemed surprised that he even spoke, stopping right in her tracks. "U-Uh... It's Felix... Felix Stark. The ship master... for this voyage, I mean!" she stated quietly while her eyes stared at the ground hard.

"Well, Felix, we will be having a tour soon! Please join us?" She nodded slowly, still not daring to meet their gaze. He motioned everyone to start following him as he began to walk to the market. "You two friends?" he asked Tyson and Felix with actual interest, curious to know about these strange people who'd come to their land.

Tyson and Julia

Julia looked over to Felix when she came over and as she spoke her name Julia smiled gently. She began to follow Kian as the tour started, while it did she spoke in her usual cherry tone.

"My name is Julia, nice to meet you. You'll soon learn that you'll love this place."

She continued to follow him as she did Tyson looked over to Felix with a smile of his own before looking to Kian. He didn't know her but now he had that chance to know her.

"No, this is our first meeting. My name is Tyson Felix."

He smiled and he gave a sharp whistle. The moment he did Silver swooped down and landed on his shoulder. Tyson petted his head before continuing forward and following Kian.

(Sorry it took so long.)

Felix was feeling quite out of her element. Not only were the natives very friendly, but they also seemed to be able to shrug off Ali's ferocious personality, something she herself would never be able to do. She envied that strength. But she would never be able to mimic it. The fact that she was ushered into a tour last minute seemed to prove her lack-of-will, so she ashamedly at the ground, taking interest in the subtle cracks of the stone walkway.

She felt inclined to be able to talk to at least the only other person on the ship that was allowed on the voyage (who was revealed to be named Tyson), but she found a lump in her throat preventing her from making small talk. Felix marveled at the size of the other one, Julia, wondering how old she was since even her size was smaller than a normal child and she spoke with the confidence and fluency of a woman. But again, she couldn't bring herself to make a comment.

She could guess the tour guide, Kian, sensed her discomfort, and he turned his attention elsewhere. "That's a cool bird," Kian complimented, his hand outstretched in an attempt to stroke its head. "We are here in our capital, all our homes reside in the rocks of the cliffs. We usually use waterway as transport across the city but walking by foot on the docks and paths can sometimes prove easier."

He gestured with arms spread wide, walking backwards to face them. "Our castle is at the center, the city's divided into sections based on work or trade. We have a market sector, a building sector, so on. But most of our food comes from the other villages that reside outside of here, which we'll take you to next. Oh, Julia, would you like to do the honors of taking us to the Lalafell village?"