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With the following? I mistakingly referred to the Crossroads as Multerra:
It takes me a moment to find a safe and unobtrusive spot to land myself. Three or four hops and a quiet thud saw me on the inside wall of the town. A wood and stone building in front of a large tree was my only real option for concealment if I needed it. I was hoping to find someone who could tell me where the hell I'm, but I wasn't going to do so blindly.
I pulled up my hood and slinked my way into a back alleyway to watch the street from the shadows. Laying low, I peered out and around the corner. A few people walked by, some men and women in robes, others in clothes that appeared to be modern to industrialized worlds. I couldn't see any uniforms, and I wasn't about to stick out like a sore thumb by asking anyone. I didn't want to risk getting arrested. I had no idea what kind of laws they had here and how strict the law enforcement agencies were.
Throngs of people passed left and right. I didn't have time to wait for the perfect opportunity, so I slipped out the other side of my hiding place.
No one seemed to pay me any attention.
A quick glance at my surroundings showed me that I hadn't been followed or noticed by the locals. I'm probably fine for now.
I kept my eyes observing both the people and the land around me.
Calling it Civilization may have been a mistake on my part.
My first impression of this village was that it looked like something out of a fantasy movie set. Even my Konoha standards it looked like an odd mix of fantasy and first-generation Hashirama architecture. I could almost picture a scene of fox girls and kappa walking along the streets of a medieval Fire Country capital. Or maybe a Grass Country settlement?
But there were differences.
'Like this is real and not one of Todoreki's novels?' Hikaru offered.
'Hah as if.' I barked back in my head and turned my focus to reality.
In the center of town, a large tree had been carved up into the shape of a dragon’s head with two smaller dragons at its feet. It stood taller than three stories and had to be close to fifty meters across.
And then the strangest thing happened.
I heard an old woman's voice.
"You're late." She sounded annoyed. "I thought you said you were coming?"
I turned in her direction, not sure why she'd called out to me. She looked older than she sounded. Her skin was like leather sanded with gravel. It was only matched by coal-black eyes. There was also something warm about her like she had lovingly raised a hundred grandkids. With my luck, she was probably a serial killer.
She was wearing what was obviously a dress of some sort, but it was loose enough that it hung off of her body like a sack. It was made of thin strips of cloth with long sleeves and was tied together with a cord.
I shake my head. "Sorry I don't know what you're talking about."
Her eyebrows furrowed and she gave me a hard look. "Well, you should. You're supposed to be my apprentice. Where have you been all day?"
She sounded so certain that I was whoever she thought was. "Ma'am I've never been to this town in my life, I don't even know its name, much less yours."
The woman frowned again. "Tolerei. This town is known as Tolerei. And who are you calling 'ma'am'?"
I'm about to answer when another voice interrupted us.
"Mare, who's that girl over there?" The second person was a young man who looked about what my chronological age would have been. He wore a simple robe and carried a staff that looked like a walking stick. His hair was white and he had a full beard.
"She's ma apprentice but she's not right in the head, keeps saying she's never seen me before."
Shit. I'm busted.
The man snorts, "Mare, your apprentice is right behind you," He says, placing a hand on my shoulder. "This girl here ain't your Clementine."
Clementine? Who the hell is that? I ask myself.
He turns around and looks at me, and mouths 'Let's go' right when the old woman turns around to look at a rather embarrassed girl who only had a passing resemblance to me.
I follow the man.
I'm led through the crowd of people until we reach the edge of the village where it seemed more modern.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
The man just shrugs and points his staff to a small park with a few benches and what looks like several old men playing Go. Just past that is what looks like a large general store and a cafe of sorts.
A sign hangs above the door, reading: 《Tolerei General Store & Cafe》
He leads me to it and I can't see any way to escape him without creating a ruckus. Plus I'm not getting any dangerous vibes off of him either, so for the moment, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
A bell rings as we enter and a man at the register looks up and asks, "What was the matter with Mare?"
"Nothing. I'll catch up to you later, I gotta talk to someone first. Tell me if anything happens while I'm gone."
"Sure hoss."
"Is there any space free in the cafe?"
"Plenty, just don't mind the dog."
He grunts and I'm led up the stairs to a counter. Attached to is a bar with more liquor than I'd have expected to see. Not oodles like a Coruscant bar, but close enough. The floors are cobblestone, the tables are carved wood, and the ceilings are a decently well-done mosaic you expect to see in some Tea country ruins.
There's a waitress at the front desk, but she doesn't look very busy. She has long black hair pulled back into pigtails that match her eyes. "How was Mare, Jack?"
"Fine. I'll tell you about it later, got a traveler I need to talk to for now."
"Okay, then. Can I get you two something?"
"Coffee, Jack?"
He grunts ou an affirmative. Or at least it sounds like it. He could just be telling her to fuck off but given her reaction, this seems to be a relatively common occurrence.
I shake my head. "Tea please."
She nods and goes to her duties and the now named Jack sits me at a table.
I try to think of what I could possibly say to this guy, but nothing comes to me. Finally, he speaks. "So what brings you here?"
There's a lot of ways I can answer but at the moment, I saw, "Just dropping by."
Jack laughs grimly before reply, "Sure, I saw you dropping by like a silver streak in the sky. You're not from around here."
Wincing I nod. "Something like that. Where exactly am I?" I ask carefully.
He chuckles again before answering, "Tolerei."
I level a flat look at him. "I already know that. That Mare lady mentioned it."
He shrugs, "Well she's right."
He's purposely trying to avoid my question. Why? "Where is Tolerei?"
"On the world Erde Nona."
I raise an eyebrow, "And that is?"
Graveling he replies. "Erde Nona? It's a planet in the Crossroads."
"I've never heard of it," I admit.
"It isn't that big of a deal, really. It's just one name of the known Universe." He says as it isn't something totally profound.
Rustlings of a skirt and the clatter of a plate or three signal the waitress coming with our order, forstalling the conversation for a moment. A tea set is quickly deposited on the table as well as a large cup and vase filled with what smells like coffee for Jack.
"Thank you," I say while examining my own saucer with a cup of tea on it along with what looks like two cookies.
She smiles prettily. "Anything else I can get you two dears?"
Jack plucks his mug of coffee and smells it, and sighs. "Nah, we should be good Thala."
The waitress flushes and little, nods, and leaves, leaving us to sip out the drinks and wait to break the awkward silence.
After a few moments, Jack asks, "Why did you come to Tolerei?"
"I didn't come here intentionally."
"Ah, you are one of those," He says philosophically, the effect seems to be lost in the coffee as he takes a sip. "There are two kinds of people who come to Crossroad, those who come in search of something and those who are escaping something."
Seeing where this is going raise my tea to my lips, and sip softly. It's lightly sweet, with a floral scent to it. Almost like jasmine. Setting the cup down, I ready my answer. "Escape. The last place was Sage forsaken place that would never find peace," I say levely. A calm which I didn't feel.
Jack nods and hums into his coffee. "While don't know what sage you are referring to, I get the sentiment." A multitudinous clink echoes off the table, drawing my eyes away from him to an off-white sack of what sounded like coins. "You will want to go to the old capital, Arcadia. It's about three hundred kilometers from here due northeast. This should keep you hail and hearty."
Rule one of being a Shinobi never undervalue a resource. "Are you sure?"
He nods and smiles as he replies, "We keep a fund in the village for travelers like you. You won't put anyone out of dinner for it"
I accept it, pulling into my duster. "Thank you then, but what's at the old Capital?"
"Other travelers like you."
Oh. I had hoped escaping Crossroads was just an analogy. That I'd somehow misunderstood him. "Ones who fall from the sky?"
"Sometimes. Though few survive the kind of fall you did."
My heart sunk. Welp that settled it. I was in another world just like the last. There were no other options left to me.
"Is there anything I can do for you?"
"No, we have a simple life here," He said, looking deep into his coffee as if held the secrets of the universe. Maybe it did. "Unless you'd like to be Mare's apprentice, I'm sure Clementine wouldn't mind!" He chuckled
"Sure," I said completely honestly. Not really.
He froze, actually froze. "You're springing an old codger like me aren't you?"
My eyes gleamed at him. While I didn't know what he meant exactly, I had a decent idea. "Maybe. It was funny wasn't it?"
He let out a sigh of relief and shook his head, chuckling again. "Yeah, it was though I can't stand the idea of ol Clementine having a compatriot running amok across Tolerei. She's as bad as the orange-wearing youngin fellow who came through last summer."
Huh, so it happens that often?
I finish off my tea and pour some more. "Anything else I should know?"
"Yeah."
With the following? I mistakingly referred to the Crossroads as Multerra:
It takes me a moment to find a safe and unobtrusive spot to land myself. Three or four hops and a quiet thud saw me on the inside wall of the town. A wood and stone building in front of a large tree was my only real option for concealment if I needed it. I was hoping to find someone who could tell me where the hell I'm, but I wasn't going to do so blindly.
I pulled up my hood and slinked my way into a back alleyway to watch the street from the shadows. Laying low, I peered out and around the corner. A few people walked by, some men and women in robes, others in clothes that appeared to be modern to industrialized worlds. I couldn't see any uniforms, and I wasn't about to stick out like a sore thumb by asking anyone. I didn't want to risk getting arrested. I had no idea what kind of laws they had here and how strict the law enforcement agencies were.
Throngs of people passed left and right. I didn't have time to wait for the perfect opportunity, so I slipped out the other side of my hiding place.
No one seemed to pay me any attention.
A quick glance at my surroundings showed me that I hadn't been followed or noticed by the locals. I'm probably fine for now.
I kept my eyes observing both the people and the land around me.
Calling it Civilization may have been a mistake on my part.
My first impression of this village was that it looked like something out of a fantasy movie set. Even my Konoha standards it looked like an odd mix of fantasy and first-generation Hashirama architecture. I could almost picture a scene of fox girls and kappa walking along the streets of a medieval Fire Country capital. Or maybe a Grass Country settlement?
But there were differences.
'Like this is real and not one of Todoreki's novels?' Hikaru offered.
'Hah as if.' I barked back in my head and turned my focus to reality.
In the center of town, a large tree had been carved up into the shape of a dragon’s head with two smaller dragons at its feet. It stood taller than three stories and had to be close to fifty meters across.
And then the strangest thing happened.
I heard an old woman's voice.
"You're late." She sounded annoyed. "I thought you said you were coming?"
I turned in her direction, not sure why she'd called out to me. She looked older than she sounded. Her skin was like leather sanded with gravel. It was only matched by coal-black eyes. There was also something warm about her like she had lovingly raised a hundred grandkids. With my luck, she was probably a serial killer.
She was wearing what was obviously a dress of some sort, but it was loose enough that it hung off of her body like a sack. It was made of thin strips of cloth with long sleeves and was tied together with a cord.
I shake my head. "Sorry I don't know what you're talking about."
Her eyebrows furrowed and she gave me a hard look. "Well, you should. You're supposed to be my apprentice. Where have you been all day?"
She sounded so certain that I was whoever she thought was. "Ma'am I've never been to this town in my life, I don't even know its name, much less yours."
The woman frowned again. "Tolerei. This town is known as Tolerei. And who are you calling 'ma'am'?"
I'm about to answer when another voice interrupted us.
"Mare, who's that girl over there?" The second person was a young man who looked about what my chronological age would have been. He wore a simple robe and carried a staff that looked like a walking stick. His hair was white and he had a full beard.
"She's ma apprentice but she's not right in the head, keeps saying she's never seen me before."
Shit. I'm busted.
The man snorts, "Mare, your apprentice is right behind you," He says, placing a hand on my shoulder. "This girl here ain't your Clementine."
Clementine? Who the hell is that? I ask myself.
He turns around and looks at me, and mouths 'Let's go' right when the old woman turns around to look at a rather embarrassed girl who only had a passing resemblance to me.
I follow the man.
I'm led through the crowd of people until we reach the edge of the village where it seemed more modern.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
The man just shrugs and points his staff to a small park with a few benches and what looks like several old men playing Go. Just past that is what looks like a large general store and a cafe of sorts.
A sign hangs above the door, reading: 《Tolerei General Store & Cafe》
He leads me to it and I can't see any way to escape him without creating a ruckus. Plus I'm not getting any dangerous vibes off of him either, so for the moment, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
A bell rings as we enter and a man at the register looks up and asks, "What was the matter with Mare?"
"Nothing. I'll catch up to you later, I gotta talk to someone first. Tell me if anything happens while I'm gone."
"Sure hoss."
"Is there any space free in the cafe?"
"Plenty, just don't mind the dog."
He grunts and I'm led up the stairs to a counter. Attached to is a bar with more liquor than I'd have expected to see. Not oodles like a Coruscant bar, but close enough. The floors are cobblestone, the tables are carved wood, and the ceilings are a decently well-done mosaic you expect to see in some Tea country ruins.
There's a waitress at the front desk, but she doesn't look very busy. She has long black hair pulled back into pigtails that match her eyes. "How was Mare, Jack?"
"Fine. I'll tell you about it later, got a traveler I need to talk to for now."
"Okay, then. Can I get you two something?"
"Coffee, Jack?"
He grunts ou an affirmative. Or at least it sounds like it. He could just be telling her to fuck off but given her reaction, this seems to be a relatively common occurrence.
I shake my head. "Tea please."
She nods and goes to her duties and the now named Jack sits me at a table.
I try to think of what I could possibly say to this guy, but nothing comes to me. Finally, he speaks. "So what brings you here?"
There's a lot of ways I can answer but at the moment, I saw, "Just dropping by."
Jack laughs grimly before reply, "Sure, I saw you dropping by like a silver streak in the sky. You're not from around here."
Wincing I nod. "Something like that. Where exactly am I?" I ask carefully.
He chuckles again before answering, "Tolerei."
I level a flat look at him. "I already know that. That Mare lady mentioned it."
He shrugs, "Well she's right."
He's purposely trying to avoid my question. Why? "Where is Tolerei?"
"On the world Erde Nona."
I raise an eyebrow, "And that is?"
Graveling he replies. "Erde Nona? It's a planet in the Crossroads."
"I've never heard of it," I admit.
"It isn't that big of a deal, really. It's just one name of the known Universe." He says as it isn't something totally profound.
Rustlings of a skirt and the clatter of a plate or three signal the waitress coming with our order, forstalling the conversation for a moment. A tea set is quickly deposited on the table as well as a large cup and vase filled with what smells like coffee for Jack.
"Thank you," I say while examining my own saucer with a cup of tea on it along with what looks like two cookies.
She smiles prettily. "Anything else I can get you two dears?"
Jack plucks his mug of coffee and smells it, and sighs. "Nah, we should be good Thala."
The waitress flushes and little, nods, and leaves, leaving us to sip out the drinks and wait to break the awkward silence.
After a few moments, Jack asks, "Why did you come to Tolerei?"
"I didn't come here intentionally."
"Ah, you are one of those," He says philosophically, the effect seems to be lost in the coffee as he takes a sip. "There are two kinds of people who come to Crossroad, those who come in search of something and those who are escaping something."
Seeing where this is going raise my tea to my lips, and sip softly. It's lightly sweet, with a floral scent to it. Almost like jasmine. Setting the cup down, I ready my answer. "Escape. The last place was Sage forsaken place that would never find peace," I say levely. A calm which I didn't feel.
Jack nods and hums into his coffee. "While don't know what sage you are referring to, I get the sentiment." A multitudinous clink echoes off the table, drawing my eyes away from him to an off-white sack of what sounded like coins. "You will want to go to the old capital, Arcadia. It's about three hundred kilometers from here due northeast. This should keep you hail and hearty."
Rule one of being a Shinobi never undervalue a resource. "Are you sure?"
He nods and smiles as he replies, "We keep a fund in the village for travelers like you. You won't put anyone out of dinner for it"
I accept it, pulling into my duster. "Thank you then, but what's at the old Capital?"
"Other travelers like you."
Oh. I had hoped escaping Crossroads was just an analogy. That I'd somehow misunderstood him. "Ones who fall from the sky?"
"Sometimes. Though few survive the kind of fall you did."
My heart sunk. Welp that settled it. I was in another world just like the last. There were no other options left to me.
"Is there anything I can do for you?"
"No, we have a simple life here," He said, looking deep into his coffee as if held the secrets of the universe. Maybe it did. "Unless you'd like to be Mare's apprentice, I'm sure Clementine wouldn't mind!" He chuckled
"Sure," I said completely honestly. Not really.
He froze, actually froze. "You're springing an old codger like me aren't you?"
My eyes gleamed at him. While I didn't know what he meant exactly, I had a decent idea. "Maybe. It was funny wasn't it?"
He let out a sigh of relief and shook his head, chuckling again. "Yeah, it was though I can't stand the idea of ol Clementine having a compatriot running amok across Tolerei. She's as bad as the orange-wearing youngin fellow who came through last summer."
Huh, so it happens that often?
I finish off my tea and pour some more. "Anything else I should know?"
"Yeah."
