Yoshina was initially more than happy to house the Tanuki-Onna besides her and the Buta-Ningen. But the moment that red haired woman offering her a walk outside, her body tensed immediately. Years accompanying her father in the intrigues and intricacies of Sangakuan Politics ensured that she has a keen sense of awareness of a person's actual intentions. It made her a little bit too paranoid, but when you're doing court politics, being slightly too paranoid is a blessing ultimately. And with that in her mind, she only shrugged when the woman asked her to guard her and the other woman's items, but immediately brought it into her seat with the Buta-Ningen and grabbed her concealed Naginata.

She quickly went outside, her senses more focused due to the sudden tension she feels, and when she sees the Tanuki-Onna, she knows she is visibly confused. She quickly took by her side and started guarding her out of instict, she is a Captain after all, and it is a Soldier's job to guard the people from aggressors, the woman might be hallucinating, but it is best to be by her side for the moment and not make her even more confused. "Uhh, I don't know what do you mean by a dragon, but I don't see any dragon near here, maybe that woman is right and you are just a bit confused? Don't worry, I'll be by your side if you need someone for now." Yoshina comforted her. "I've got my Naginata in my back, and I know my way around battle, so you shouldn't be too paranoid around okay?"

And then she saw a black cat landing in front of her, seemingly talking out of nowhere. Now that is something that warrants curiosity, and the Sangakuan princess started crouching towards the cat, outstretching her hand towards the cat's head, and started patting it. "Sorry, force of habit of mine." She said towards both women. "I have a pet cat, female, with stripey orange and white fur, and they always love headpats and bellyrubs, not sure about this one though." She finished, continuing patting the black cat.

"Ugh... Why can't a woman get a privete chat with someone in this town?" Taraah growled, the tones of her real voice seeping into her tone here and there. The spell had a nasty habit of breaking down when she got agitated. Nope, she could feel the magic unwinding already "Oh to Tiamat with it!"

Better to control the exposure now before the spell failed completely. She raised her hand in front of her face, moving it down slowly. Where there were slightly glowing, round, amber eyes on the face of Margaret von Eisenberg, now resided the blazing red, slit eyes of a dragon set in an otherwise human face.

She looked at Sheena: "No, you are not mad. Somehow you can see through Polymorph, it's not even some basic illusion spell. Yes I am a dragon. No, I did not come here to plunder and destroy. But I am mighty hungry and I get grouchy on an empty stomach, so if we could end this insanity sometime soon so that I can get three servings of the meatiest dish in this town, that would be greeeeeat. We can figure out what is wrong with your eyes later."
@RedPandaGamer

She then looked at the mist islander directly: "Unless some brave idiot cannot wait until after dinner, and wants me to send them running home like the last twenty that felt like they had something to prove, even before breakfast is up."
@Kumbaris

She touched the ruby on her necklace and whispered something barely audible, her eyes and voice returning to normal, and continued without giving a pause for anyone to answer: "No? Good. We can continue where we left off once we had a civilized meal." With that she returned to the table, hollering in hopes the owner, whoever they were, would hear: "I'll have one of everything, please." Before tossing a bag in the table in front of her, a bit of gold and a gemstone spilling from it as an argument to make the order quick.
@Goldeagle1221

“Unfortunate,” Minnow replied to Grey. “Well if you do find some extra time, just stop on in — I can pay by the day.”

Before Minnow could turn her attention back to her Raccoon friend, a lady she had never seen before had dragged Shina away (who left with the promises of paying her tab). Minnow snorted, yeah, right.

As quickly as that happened, another customer was already barking orders. Minnow frowned deeply and spun to meet the rude yelling. "In a MINU-ooooOooo!"

The elf's eyes widened at the sight of the glittering treasure. Putting on her most polite face, Minnow approached the table -- smile wide.

"One of everything?" She smoothed her approach. "We only have three things this late, is that okay?"

@Forsythe

Yoshina seemed unperturbed by the sudden revelation from the Red Haired woman. She guessed that the Tanuki-Onna isn't actually hallucinating at all, and while she's a bit disturbed by the sudden revelation. Having a Ryu near her isn't something too crazy for her to bear, she has wined and dined with Oni, talked and fought in duels against Tengu, having breakfast with a Ryu is not too off the charts in terms of her personal experiences.

Besides, she feels fairly confident about her ability to fight dragons. Knowing her own military experience, but then again, the dragons of this land is not something she is intimately familiar with, perhaps different magics might be in play when she fights against her, can't be too cautious when you're potentially fighting a dragon.

Also, it seems that she is not hostile at the very least, and well, if even Onis and Kappas can be reasoned with...

"I have no desire to start my journeys in this land starting a fight against an unknown enemy. Umm, miss Tanuki?" She turned her head towards the Raccoon girl. "It's a military understanding in my lands that if you can avoid fighting, you should do it. How about we don't fight for today and have breakfast for the moment? We can discuss the woman's status as a Ryu later on, okay?"

Besides, if the trio fought here, the damage would be too devastating to the town anyway, might as well arrange a fight (assuming everyone wants to fight) after a hearthy breakfast at the Tavern.

@RedPandaGamer@Forsythe

@Forsythe @Kumbaris

As Shina waved goodbye to the kitty and turned, the tall woman suddenly revealed the eyes of a dragon!

' I KNEW IT!! I knew I wasn't going crazy! Hah take that everyone who looked at me weird...' Shina was talking more to herself than anyone else. She became acutely aware that others were also aware of the situation, including the other red head who had taken up residence by her side, a comforting notion.

'You are right, I wish not to fight if I do not have to. I am Shina, of the firetail clan.'' Shina bowed.

Turning to the tall lady...

'Right, um i'm sorry dragon..um lady-dragon? I do not believe I have even heard your name? Nor yours? Shina looked to the lady beside her. 'Yes, please let's get some food...it's just...I've never seen a dragon like you before. Let us go back and you can get some food, Minnow has some great feasts.' Shina gestured to both women and waited for them to enter the inn first before following behind, hand returning to her hilt for a brief moment before dropping it back to her side.

---

"Oh my...how scandalous." The red haired wizard said to himself as he re-read the translated transcription he made of the last of the two scrolls. While the first scroll was a rather mundane letter of complaint regarding a jar of preserved fish missing one fish from the rest and the author going on about being compensated one missing fish. This scroll was a confession of the chamberlain of the ancient noble house of Baintol. Particularly the exile of a number of servants after bearing the children of a certain heroic figure by the name of Otto du Baintol. More commonly recognized as the slayer of the false king Allant first hero king of the Baintol Monarchy in the far West. "Otto you horndog, this is quite dangerous information. Best to keep this under lock and key for another eternity; lest it spark some inner conflict or, Makers forbid, a full blown civil war." Rudolph muttered to himself as he stood up from his work table with both ancient and recently made scrolls in one hand and his wand in the other. "Pórta" A small ball of teal colored manifested in between the prongs of the wand as he flicks his wrist in a circular motion to create a small portal roughly 30 cm in diameter. Carefully, Rudolph slips the old and new scrolls into the portal and with another wrist rotation, the portal disappears. "Baintol already has its plate full dealing with that dragon taking roost somewhere in their borders. Folks deserve a break." He says while walking over to the impromptu distillery set up and checking on the half full container of the distilled liquid.

The liquid in question was crystal clear and smelled faintly of freshly cut grass. A good sign that the distillation process was a success. Satisfied with the quality, he then moves onto bottling and potency enhancement. Similarly with the booster potions, he equally separates the liquid and imbues the liquid with magical energy to increase its potency. With four 500 ml bottles filled with the mana potion concoction he was set to deliver them to the village's two runesmiths. Placing the bottles in his satchel, he raises an open palm to the still lit flame on the metal plate and with one word, extinguishes the flame. "Págos" A stream of sub-zero magical frost bursts from his open palm. But there was a little too much power behind the spell and the plate, cauldron, and the immediate area got encased in ice. "Oops. Uhh...I guess I'll leave clean up to you guys." He snaps his fingers and the unseen servants go to work. Knowing that the unseen servants likely got the situation under control, Rudolph gets a clean pair of outside shoes and leaves his tower.

He was out to do business, but it was also a 15 minute walk to the village proper. No point in wasting a relaxing stroll through the main road heading to Lorenstad. So Rudolph did.

Lady hissed as the strange woman patted her head. Was she such a cute little kitty that everyone felt the need to pet her? Well, she was, but still, it didn’t give random strangers the right to just go ahead and touch her.

--How rude.--

Fortunately, the woman stopped before Lady had to use her teeth and claws.

After the tall red-haired woman admitted to being a dragon, the other two looked surprised. Lady snorted. Humans were so dumb sometimes. It was obvious that the woman smelled [/i]nothing[/i] like a human, in fact, she gave out a scent that warned everyone to stay away from a ferocious beast. Lady wouldn’t have guessed a dragon, she had never really met one before, but she could tell that there was a dangerous predator behind the human disguise. It would probably be best to keep some distance.

Unfortunately, the trio headed back into the tavern, which put Lady in front of a dilemma. She eventually decided she was not hungry enough to fight a dragon. Or being patted on the head by strangers. So instead of entering the building, she kept walking down the street towards the river. River meant fish and fish usually meant fishermen. Sleepy old folks napping in their chairs on the riverbank should be easy to steal from.

But the town was either too small or the townsfolk were too lazy to get up this early to catch some fish and there were no fishermen in sight. The option that there was in fact no fish in the river was too terrifying to even think of. Sighing, she took a barely visible trail along the river, just to see where it leads. There were some relatively fresh drops of blood on the ground, probably some hunter got up early and took this way to return to town with his catch.

The path led her to a small clearing at the riverside with a huge tent on it. There were no fresh human scents and the tent was too big to house humans anyway. Lady curiously crept closer. Could it cover a dragon?

--Maybe a baby dragon.--

Probably not. There was something else that caught her attention, making her whiskers twitch in happiness. Just outside a weirdly wet fireplace, there was a pile of fish. They looked pretty fresh, some of them were still moving slightly. Lady carefully sniffed the air, looked around, and listened quietly for a few moments, but there were no signs of immediate danger. The river smelled of some normal river predators, but not one was in sight.

Deciding to use the opportunity, Lady sprinted over to the fish, grabbing one into her mouth. Originally she wanted to drag it away from the clearing to eat it in some safer place, but it was way heavier than she expected. Having no other option, she stayed where she was, her teeth ripping the best parts of meat off the fish skeleton. Each bite was swallowed hastily, she most likely didn’t have much time before the fish owner returned.

@WolfredWolf

The dragoness smiled back: "That will be just perfect, daughter of the night. Thank you. Perhaps a drink to wash it down? Mead if you have but anything will do." The dragon actually carried little money with her. Most of her wealth was in fine metals, gems and jewellry, safe in her den halfway across the continent. Not a flight she wanted to make often, but she could afford to be generous. She doubted the locals would object if she paid them with the naturalia, based on the night elf's change of demeanor when she saw her money bag.

Was she worried that someone would steal from her? Not really, she would just sniff the thief out and then they would be dinner.
@Goldeagle1221

As the two others returned though, she did pull the bag closer to her seat. They did not seem peturbed by her revelation - She'd see once they saw her in her great true self! - and while the furious furry seemed to have a problem with her due to the percieved hazard she represented, she wasn't sure what the traceller's deal was. She did not seem like a poor person, but many have attempted to slay her for her riches.

"So, now that eceryone calmed down... The humans of this land call me Ashwing. I've come south looking for a new home in a warmer land. How about yourselves?"
@Kumbaris@RedPandaGamer

@Forsythe @Kumbaris

'I have lived in Lorenstad for as long as I can remember. My family were killed during a raid in my land... She fell silent as memories of that night flooded back. Shina composed herself. 'Sorry..um yes so I now live and work from my workshop across the street.

Shina gestured out of the window to her workshop, Lapoo was sitting happily on the chimney.

'Please let me know if you need anything repaired, I would be happy to oblige'

Victoria Elizabeth had considered taking a nap in the sun, but it wasn't nearly as often as she would've liked that she had the opportunity to go for a swim. Her poor child didn't appreciate water nearly as much as she did. Something about wet clothes being uncomfortable... If only he had scales instead of delicate skin. So, she swam alone, trotting along on the bottom of the river, feeling light as a bird as fish flitted around her.

Eventually, she headed back down the river to where the clearing was. Her poor son would be worried if she wasn't there when he came back. She approached slowly, not disruping the water at all as only her eyes peeked above the surface. She didn't see him anywhere. Pity. He was always gone far too long for her liking. It took her a moment to spot the tiny black shape helping itself to the fish she'd caught earlier. A cat. How sweet. Oh? Not just a cat, it seemed. She could sense something beyond it being a simple animal.

It was a very useful skill to be able to quickly discern whether or not the prey you were planning on surprising and dragging into the water would've been capable of speech or not. If it speaks, it isn't meant to be eaten. However, one could hardly approach and ask without scaring away a potentail meal.

The cat's aura was nothing alarming. It simply indicated intelligence.

Well, watching somebody without them knowing you were there, was rather rude. If she scared the poor thing away, so be it. She calmly came to the edge of the rather narrow river where her claws quickly found ground and heaved herself out of the water. "Hello there, dear," she said cheerily. "Beautiful morning, isn't it?"
@Raylah

D'Artagnan Riverwood

Location: The Road To Lorenstad

D’Artagnan also completely stopped, his horse letting out a noise of discomfort. He was used to people pulling out their weapons intending to hurt him, he quickly went for his whip that was strapped to his side. He slowly moved his arm to his side when Thaddus took Malvor’s pistol. "It’s quite fine, gentle sir, you can never be sure about who is a highwayman trying to take your coin.” He smiled at the group, quickly apologizing for reaching for his whip. “My name is D’Artagnan Riverwood.” He kept his pace with the others, but kept some distance in case the one named Malvor tried to attack him.

“I just came back from a recent exploration, just coming back to Lorenstad to give my findings to the museum of history.” He looked over towards the one named Jack, quickly shaking his hand with a grin. “Well it is nice to meet you a lot, it is always good to see a friendly face.” The cat-like male waved his long tail back and forth while riding with them. “You folks were riding a ship? If I may ask where you were travelling from?”

Lady was so busy with the fish that she stopped paying attention to her surroundings. The thing was delicious…

--Eels are better.--

… not as good as eels, but smelled way better than the fish dredged out of the big river in Grada. Obviously the water here was much cleaner than in the capital, where all the waste and garbage eventually found their way to the river. Just as she was munching the soft meat on the fish’s stomach, someone appeared behind her. Lady turned around, ready to fight some lousy fisherman, and…

--SWEET BASTET!--

screamed out in horror. A huge long mouth full of sharp teeth was hovering right next to her. Without even a split second of hesitation, Lady sprinted to the nearest tree and climbed up faster than you can say ‘eel’. From up there she could take a look at what was hiding behind the mouth. It was not looking good. A gargantuan crocodile, still wet from swimming in the river, was occupying the clearing now, blocking her escape route. She had seen some crocodiles before in the capital, the poor things were mostly locked up in cages, shown to humans for money, but they were way smaller. Also, they didn’t talk.

Just now, Lady remembered the unusually large tent. Could crocodiles build tents? And what about the fireplace?

--Forget the fireplace. Can they climb on trees?--

Lady was fairly certain that they couldn’t. On the other hand, the beast was so tall that it could probably reach her just standing on her back feet for a second. Or tear the tree down completely. For now though it seemed quite friendly. The fact that it was just standing there, not looking aggressive at all (if a thing with so many teeth even can look ‘not aggressive’), spoke in the crocodile’s favor.

--They said hello instead of just eating me.--

Yes, and there was the fact that the creature chose to greet her instead of eating her. Although to be honest, Lady would hardly be more than a cocktail snack for them.

”Uhh… hello,” she said hesitantly from the relative safety of the tree. ”Was that your fish? I’m truly sorry about it, I thought it was left here by some lazy fisherman.”

@WolfredWolf

@Forsythe@RedPandaGamer

Yoshina saw the dragon woman rapidly order a ton of food, and the Tanuki-Onna sitting right besides her. It has been a rapid escalation of tensions followed by a fast deescalation, definitely a time for increased stress for her, and Yoshina secretly thinks this adventuring business might be bad for her long term health, but all's well that ends well. "Well, we got that sorted out." She whispered to herself, now comfortably hanging out with the Tanuki and the Dragon.

She also noticed that the dragon called herself Ashwing, a very aggressive name for undoubtedly a very aggressive creature, "My name is Yoshina Shizue, of house Shizue." She introduced herself to the duo. "Currently princess of the reigning family in Sangaku, and traveling in these lands to spread peace."

Her explanation was cut short however, when the Tanuki-Onna suddenly brought up about her family's death and the circumstances that brought her here. "I am very sorry for your loss. Losing family and friends like that can be a very tough experience even for the most coldhearted of persons."

She then put her hand besides the Raccoon woman's shoulders. Seemingly trying to comfort her even more "What's your name?" She asked. "I don't know what your name is, and I'm pretty sure you won't like being called Tanuki-Onna over and over. I also might need of your smithing services should my weapon break or deform during my adventures here, so a name for me to remember would be nice."

@Kumbaris

The red-haired soldier introduced herself as Yoshina Shizue, and she was...a princess?!!

Shina dropped her bun that she'd started to munch on...

'Wow a princess! Please forgive my behaviour and rudeness at butting in with my thoughts! My name is Shina, and um, forgive me, but I am not a Tanuki, I am a Firetail...' Shina lifted her red panda tail high up and gave it a gentle swish 'I am part red panda, so um I guess ressā-panda? But that's OK it's a rare thing to see'

Shina felt comfortable in Yoshina's presence, she seemed like the sort of person Shina would befriend quite easily. She reminded her of an old friend she once met on the road whilst on a 'job' for Guan many years ago.

' Of course I would be happy to lend my services. In fact, I insist you come and visit my workshop...if you have time. Of course I am sure a princess has alot of things to do' Shina felt stupid for saying that last part, of course she had lots of things to do... idiot!

---

The elf was a few paces beyond his doorstep when he heard the cheer from the hilltop. He paused, squinting slightly against the sunlight, and then groaned audibly. The keg was heavy on his shoulder, and the wood warm to his cheek, but no one would be drinking its contents today.

"I'll be damned if I am going to waste any of my darlings hard work on a bunch of seaborne scum..." He muttered as he turned back and made his way inside. The warmth of the sun vanished at once and was replaced with the cool relief of the shade. The earth smell of the home always made him feel better but not today. Whenever that braggart and his band of murderers came to town, Kadoka headed out of town.

With a sigh of regret he set the keg back down in the store room before collecting his bow and spear. A sharp whistle brought Kita to her feet. She stretched, her shaggy coat a dull brown in the sunbeam she had chosen to occupy. Pudge stirred for a moment, eyeing them from beneath her wing before settling down on her perch again. She only joined the night hunts.

Kadoka slipped out the rear door of the house, made his way through the bee hives, and into the woods. He could be away for a day or two, with any luck, the pirates would be gone, or better yet, dead, by the time he returned.

@RedPandaGamer@Goldeagle1221

A firetail, so that's what they call themselves here. Admittedly Yoshina was ignorant of the customs of the people in this land, but alright then. Perhaps calling these people firetails is appropriate for the situation.

Man, all that discussion is making her even more hungry, and, staring at the Pig person, very busy and still looking at the menu. Yoshina decided to take the initiative. "Umm, madam? Can I get the croogal eggs and Zaft soup please? Oh, and perhaps any tea you have available" She asked the night elf. "I've been hearing people praising those two foods ever since I entered this village, might as well get some myself." She then proceeded to take some gemstones from her purse and give it to her. "I assume that these gemstones would be more than sufficient? I have coins, but they're Sangakuan mintage and probably not applicable here."

Turning her head back to the firetail, and hearing her offer. Yoshina smiled at her offer. "Yes, that would be great, but unfortunately I don't have any coins of the local mintage that I can pay you for. I need to do some jobs that might earn me some local coin, perhaps help an errand or two. I might need to ask people around the tavern though, perhaps you know some jobs I can take?"

@Kumbaris @Forsythe @Goldeagle1221

Shina looked at the gems that Yoshina had pulled out and grinned 'I'm sure I can take some of those gems for the work, I have a friend of a friend who can convert them for me. Besides, you never know if they might be useful when trading outside of this town.

Now, in terms of jobs, I know Minnow here is looking for some help, poor thing struggles from time to time so i'm sure she'd appreciate any help she can get. Um...sometimes the local farmers need help picking fruit, I know limberries are ripe for picking now. Otherwise, you can always check out our town board which sometimes has jobs on it'

Shina finished her bun and drink, she felt stuffed; after all, she had already had breakfast this morning! She suddenly realised how long she had spent away from the workshop and that work wasn't going to magically do it itself.

'I am so sorry my friends but I must make my leave. I am sorry again for the disruption I caused' she looked to the dragon lady with an apologetic sigh 'By all means, please visit my workshop and I will happily repair any of your weapons before you leave.'

Shina brought her empty glass and plate to Minnow.. 'My dear friend, thank you for your custom as always, i promise to pay you back soon. I have some work that should be coming, with good pay.' She shook Minnow's hand warmly and strode out of the inn and back to her workshop.

Taraah eyed the Firetail with suspicion. Granted, noone liked to ralk about something like losing their family, but that wasn't where the dragon thought Sheena was skimming the truth. It was the fact that for a smith, her hand went to the blade all too easily. She would watch this one.

The other one though, a princess? Ahhh, that brought back memories. And an exotic one at that! Than again, carrying a polearm around with the confidence she did and a physique to match knowing how to use it was as good an indication as any that instead of ransom, she would have gotten a few new scars.

"Ohayōgozaimasu, hime-chan." She replied with a slight smirk. "It has been a while since I have been in the presence of royalty. I believe it was the current king's aunt? They didn't miss her too much, didn't want to pay much for her return." She grinned, fishing a ring out of her money bag. "Great conversationalist though, avid reader and most excellent harp player. I pitied her fate so much I gave her treasure and sent her on her way." She recalled.

"Anyway, I can provide for you for a day if you share a few tales of the dragons of your own land. I hear they are quite different from my kind." She leaned forward with a gaze hungering for knowledge, which swayed towards the other person at the table.

"Perhaps miss Sheena would be willing to accomodate us for the night for a favor or two? Have you ever forged with dragonfire?" She wiggled her eyebrows just as the firetail turned to leave, "I am also... Nevermind, maybe later." She paused. Her black flight heritage was a touchy subject.

@RedPandaGamer@Kumbaris