Phoenixes Part I: Dark Morning

[Athios von Krauss]

I leave the shop with the girls, and lock the door behind me. I put the key in my money pouch. I turn around, only to see one of my fellow merchants, the owner of the alchemy shop, walking across the street towards me.
"And a hearty salute to the master weapons crafter of Isha'mon!" he cries.
"Modest." I reply.
"So, what's Athios up today, with these two fine ladies?" he says, indicating Ki and Kiri.
"Nothing, just shopping."
"Okay, then... that's a first. Normally you don't go out with others."
"Hey, keep an eye on my shop for a while. Make sure no one gets in, 'kay?"
"Uhh, sure thing. I guess I'll talk to you later."
"Bye!" says Ki before he drops out of sight.
As we walk through the shi'dra, I point out some of Isha'mon's greatest buildings and monuments. By the time we reach the general market district, I can assume that Ki and Kiri are well-versed in my culture.
"Okay, what does everyone need? We're definetely gonna need some food, at least a week's rations. And maybe a map and a compass. I'll take care of that." I say, and then hold out my wallet. I pull at least 700 kin out, and hand half of it to Ki and half to Kiri. "Here, go buy some stuff that you may think we need or maybe you want. Meet me by the large statue in the middle of the square in one hour. Go have fun."
I turn and make my way towards the mapmaker's shop. I glance back, and Ki is already heading across the square to another shop. I cannot tell the sign, as I am swallowed up by the crowds.  

[OokamiShiroi]

I am still surprised by Athios' actions as he gives me the around three hundered and fifty kin. I look at him and then at the money in my hand and make an attempt to give it back to him but he leaves before I can. I stuff the money in my pocket and go off to shop for traveling gear and medical supplies for the group.
I take my time in each shop memorizing prices and setting them against one another in my head for the minimum cost and the highest quality. Ultimately I buy some climbing gear, three different types of fire starters, a sort of canvas lean to and medical supplies to last for quite a while. Also I bought a backpacker's pack to carry it all in and keep it organized. Having a good half hour left I loped my way over to my hotel room, and organized the pack including my spare clothing in it.
On my way back I came across a bun seller and bought six with the money in my pocket before finding my way to sit on the bench next to the statue and wait for the others.  

[Inarath]

Ki gets to about halfway across the square before she remembers that she doesn't know how to count this currency. Hm... What should I do? I guess I could go to Kiri and have her help me. Ki goes to look for Kiri.  

[OokamiShiroi]

Ki found me as I payed for medicine at a drug store. she explained her need and iI took a scrap of paper out of my small note pad, which I had been using to keep track of how much money I spent. I made a quick sketch of each coin and wrote the monetary value beside it then handed it to her.
"Here, will this help?."  

[Athios von Krauss]

Inside the mapmaker's shop, there is a smell of paper and leather. I walk to the counter and order a set of maps, some detailing the more explored areas of the world, and a large world map. I also order a brass compass, as north is useless if you don't know where it is.
The cartographer takes his time, likely due to his old age. Other than me, there is a green draconian in the corner of the shop, steadily reading a book in a large leather chair. I decide to leave him alone.
The cartographer returns with the map set and the compass. I pay him the money needed and leave the shop. I open the box containg the compass, and something falls out behind me with a clink. I turn and pick it up.
It is a strange stone, shaped into a trangular prism, pulsating with gold light, yet transparent. I tilt my head in confusion, and then pocket the stone, concentrating on the rations that we needed instead.
After leaving the food store with arms full of goods, I walk carefully towards the statue of Pira, the savior of the Draconic. She helped fend off some unknown force in the first ages of the world. Kiri is sitting on a bench below the statue, waiting for me and Ki to arrive.
I sit on the bench next to her and put the rations into a backpack that she had bought, Thank the elements, and then pull out the stone.
"This was in the box with the compass I bought, and the only thing I can tell about it is that it must be mystical in some way. What do you think?"  

[Inarath]

Ki suddenly appears right behind Athios, making him jump in surprise. "That's a verry shiny, pretty stone. Can I hold it?" Ki holds out her hand.  

[OokamiShiroi]

I set out the buns, two for each of us before leaning forward to examine the crystal in more detail. Before Athios hands it to Ki I make a motion like drawing a circle around the stone with my index finger. Athios feels a very light breeze of wind circle upon his palm for just a moment, and then it is gone. I sit back, crossing my arms, the tip of my tail, which naturally fans out into something that looks like a fin ,wraps around my ankle. "I have no knowledge of this. A lamp, we can use it as, if we find no other purpose for it." I shrugged, going back to the syntax of my native language, feeling comfortable enough for some reason, below this statue.  

[Athios von Krauss]

As Ki examines the stone, I turn and talk to Kiri.
"That breeze, that was you, wasn't it?"
She nods her head "yes" and turns away from me, as if she were ashamed of her power.
"Are you okay? I didn't mean to offend." I say, trying to find the right words.
"In my culture, ones who follow the winds normally tend to be worldly and quite calm and multi-lateral." I attempt to explain, using some of my local speak.
Please, don't be offended. This the first time anyone has spent this much personal time with me. Please...  

[OokamiShiroi]

"Multi lateral?" I ask, turning back to him, confused by the term. I only just recently learned this language and although I could speek it almost fluently some things still escape me. I smile slightly, getting back to what he actually asked me. "No it's not that, it is because treated differently, often I was, because of my power. Here though, known not am I, therefore, be myself, I can." I say, attempting to reassure him.  

[Inarath]

Ki looks up from the stone in her hands."Athi, you didn't know Kiri's a wind mage?"  

[Athios von Krauss]

I look at Kiri, then at Ki, mentally smacking myself.
A wind mage... That would explain the strange breezes that I've been feeling. Wow, Isha'mon hasn't seen a mage of any kind for centuries. Not since...
I cut myself off, preferring not to think of these memories.
"So, a wind mage, huh? Seems like fun. Oh, and multi-lateral means..." I strive to find the words to describe it. "Well-rounded, as one would say commonly."
"Oh, I guess that makes sense," says Kiri.
I smile, and begin to laugh, and realize to myself that there are still nice enough people in the world, and if you look hard enough, you can find them.
"Okay, so now that everything's in place, what do you say we follow the ground?"
"What?" Ki and Kiri look at me, surprised.
"Let's move out, you guys!"  

[OokamiShiroi]

I shoulder the pack with ease, making sure both my bow, strapped to the pack, and my holster, hidden behind my quiver, are easily accessible. I follow them and since they haven't seemed to have gotten the point I hand the buns around. Along with Athios' buns I give him back his kin, nearly untouched but for the price of the buns. "Your language, odd it is. The ground, moving is not, follow it then, how can we?" I raise an eye ridge.  

[Inarath]

Ki pocketed the stone and began to eat the bun. "I think what Athi means is that we're suppose to follow a trail, because there isn't anything but ground there, and there's lots of other stuff on top of the ground outside of the trail like grass and trees."

(OOC: Ki doesn't eat vegetables or roots. She eats raw meat and bread.)  

[Athios von Krauss]

(OOC: To anyone not in the rp but reading this. You don't have to start in this particular story segment. Come up with your own, be creative. This is everyone else's story as well as mine.)

I laugh heartily, and call back to Ki.
"That seems about right, bright star!"
It felt weird to be calling someone that, since it is normally an in-culture expression, used among family or close friends. But this was strange, somehow right, somehow like home...
"So, where to?" Ki asks me.
"Well, it's an adventure. Let's check where the closest port city is. If there's an adventuring job to be had, it probably starts there."
The world map I retrieve from my pack is fairly basic, denoting mountain ranges and rivers, lakes, and cities.
"Okay, the closest port city is Ahasharr, about a five-day trek from here."
I stow the map and produce a flute-like instrument, with a pot-belly appearance. It produces an echoing noise when played, audibly pleasing, and calming.
"How about a song for the road?" I ask.
I hear an enthusiastic agreement from Ki, and I look at Kiri, who nods and smiles.
I begin to play a traveling tune, a quick-beat song, and my spirit soars.
This should be fun. I could get used to this!  

[OokamiShiroi]

I bring out a small one handed device out of one of my pockets. Like a recorder or ocarina, but with seven holes, I channel a breeze into it to play a counter melody, keeping my other hand free and ready.
I give a small smile, "As I said, odd, your language is." I say, letting my voice drift just above the music, "And also, prime target for bandits we must seem."