"Don't worry. I'm also hoping we can avoid conflict, even if these folk turn out to be not so friendly." The blacksmith had already turned away from Yingmei, facing down the old main road to the village square and the well where the two wagon-drivers and another pair of individuals had gathered. As the girl fell into step with him, and then slowly drifted further behind him, the would-be smith folded his arms into his sleeves and took a very leisurely pace---partly so as not to leave his new companion behind, and partly to give himself time to think.
As they neared the central intersection, it became clear that the other two individuals talking to the older man and woman were both female. One of them wore red, and the other green...and the green one was carrying something. A weapon? A tool? They came closer, and Akitsugu decided it was either a pickaxe, or a very unique kind of polearm. But he also realized that the girl in the red dress, beneath windswept strands of her lavender hair, had pointed ears.
Is that what the people of this land call...an Elf? He had heard that they were often a magically inclined people, but knowing nothing of spell craft he had no way to tell whether this one was a mage or not...unless...
Wait...could she be the one that fell from the sky? I saw something spring from her body that slowed her fall. Was that the result of a spell? It had to be. He couldn't think of any other way one could survive such a drop!
And she wasn't the only one, either! Another girl, standing a little away from the rest of the group as if she didn't wanted to be noticed, clutched a book to her chest. Her ears, too, were pointed, but she wore different colors and had golden blonde hair. It was probably a little bit specie-ist, but Akitsugu wondered if she was a relative or otherwise companion of the lavender haired elf. She seemed a little ruffled, as if she'd had a stumble of some sort or something similar.
"Um...hello, there!" he called out, as he and Yingmei neared the group enough to overhear the last tidbits of their conversation. It seemed the lavender-haired elf was speaking about repairing the well--or, more than likely, that battered old bucket she currently held. As Niara looked at the buildings surrounding her, Akitsugu tried to make eye contact. "Are any of you, uh, residents of this village? We're only travelers, you see, and we've just arrived here. I'm looking for supplies and, uh, well---" he glanced back at Yingmei, "I don't suppose you said what you were looking for?" Then he looked back at the group, clearly feeling self-conscious as he continued to explain. "But either way we heard a bit of noise down this way, and decided to investigate, so I, er, hope we're...not interrupting anything?" He couldn't
quite hold the eye contact, and kept glancing to either the upper or lower right corner of his eyes as his left elbow fidgeted.