For the People [Librea, Al'in]

She made no real reaction to how quickly he ate. Hers were simply a people who didn't really need much to eat. She could simply back in the sun and be perfectly sustained along with some rich nutrients. The initial culture shock was over, she was aware that humans ate like ravenous dogs.

"These stories, what are they?" She asked simply enough. It wasn't as if he was ...holding a locket he hid within his shirt. He openly displayed them, then so too surely would these stories of his people be something he openly shared? As they approached the beach itself she was....intrigued. The entire floating city was something else, and she wondered just how much of it was artificial. Eyeing the beach itself...wondering what happened at the very edge. Did it drop off into sheer ocean? could they swim?

All the same, her ears swiveled as he spoke about his lack of practice. "Perhaps you could invite one of your coworkers." She suggested simply enough. A pause... before she turned to look down to him, her head canting slightly to the side before coming to a full stop as she spotted the beach. Standing....silent and still for just a few moments, as if unsure of something. But her ears swiveled..... and she relaxed just a bit. "The noise......." She murmured softly, and took... a soft....slow breath, as if releasing tension she had been holding. And a small smile graved her features.

"This place. It's voice is gentler. It almost reminds me ...." She trailed off, seeming...far away for a brief moment. As if remembering something. But a moment later, she returned her attention to her surroundings, turning to look at Al'in. "I apologize. I did not mean to become distracted."

She paused, eyeing the articles of jewelry as he explained them, idly wondering which of them was which. What an interesting tradition. "I should like to hear them sometime." She noted, clearly intrigued.

She tilted her head ever so slightly when he went on and began to ...hint a little bit. One who spoke of the forest? Was he hinting at her? "I am unsure if my singing would match. Humans have .....strange ways of singing. I do not know how to sing along with humans." She noted simply enough. She would not be opposed to some attempt. But she would not lead him on to think she was very good at singing in general. Honestly.... when she took that moment to ....look about. She did think about the songs of the forest.

How well would these soft shores carry the notes? Would they be able to sing in such a place? Hm. She turned in Al'in's direction as he assured her. She stared for several seconds. Thinking..... Certainly she was a woman who didn't speak carelessly, or well...it would seem as such perhaps, to a human. "For what reason did you choose to live here? You too smell of elsewhere. When your heart brought you to wander, what of this City bid your soul to call it sanctuary?" She asked him gently enough. He SEEMED as if he had once been in her position after all. His opinion was quite relevant.

Hm. So he would not share them here. Fair enough. It was also possible he was simply telling lies. Humans so ofte valued bravado, perhaps that was also the situation here. She didn't mind it, she'd grown accustomed to humans being deceitful. It was.....entertaining. At times.

"You are implying that you are the right partner for me." She observed placidly enough. Turning to give him, briefly, her full attention, as though sizing him up. She imagined him singing. Hm. She imagined a bright, clear voice. He did not seem built for low sounds. She then returned to looking at the shores, as if having concluded her assessment.

He showed off the bangle at his wrist. But there was no recognition in her eyes. A fancy symbol. Jewelry. But her people had spent hundreds of years in a forest away from all else. While the world had grown, and become accustomed to such things. Her people remained completely ignorant. In their own little shaded pond, now thrust into the ocean.
"And so you never truly chose this place. You merely followed the voice of your people." She noted with soft, thoughtful tones as she looked up to the sky. A gesture of disappointment, not that he would understand such a thing. He was, sadly, unable to offer much perspective. He had not made any decision. He made it sound as if he would have gathered with his people anywhere. And she was , as a human would say, back to square one. She looked out to the ocean, and gently folded her arms across her chest. Tucking herself together.

For a moment, feeling so very.

Singular.

The world felt so very dangerous. She was a warden, chosen by the forest to keep her people safe. And yet....she simply didn't know. Was this place safe? Could it suit them? Would they be better served travelling to the Roman Empire? Vastime? Russia? So many strange names. But what did that tell her? She'd seen what humans could be. Those roving like hunters in Italy. But hunting one another, not animals. Were they better off simply...chancing it on their own? With the hollows? She exhaled slowly, soundlessly through her nostrils.

Hm. He affirmed her suspicion, but no more than that.

He responded to her note that his decision had been more of connection to kin. But offered no substance to that end. He spoke of the decision being his own, but in truth that had not been the point of her words. She had no real care wether he had made the decision or not. Her intent had been to draw what it was that he had valued about this particular place.

And he had given that answer: That his people were here.
A heartfelt reply. But one that offered her nothing to her own problems. Her ears swiveled in his direction, but her head remained pointed out to sea, remaining entirely silent for several long moments. She'd registered his words, but had not emerged from that thoughtful, solemn trance. Perhaps she was putting too much faith in these humans. Or perhaps this one in particular. He was a happy, silly thing. He spoke with smiles, and wore his pretty metals. It was perhaps her own failure to go looking for answers to one who was not made to give them. This cheerful man, frankly, perhaps would only be burdened were he taken to the task she hoped for. This was simply a decision she would need to seek help with elsewhere. Or simply rely on her own judgement. Her eyes scanned the beach.... trying to imagine her village. How would they take to the sand? The smell? The water? Hm.

"I apologize. I was distracted." She noted, turning back toward Al'in and stepping forward to continue following him. Only now realizing she'd been rooted in place for several minutes, resuming their stroll down the length of the beach. "I'm a little curious. You speak of your kind as if there are so few. What is it that makes you so rare?" She decided to continue the conversation. Was she particularly interested? Perhaps, he spoke as if his own people were endangered. It was a subject relevant to her concerns, that even human tribes might be imperiled.

She nodded softly at his assurance, and the both of them were on the move again. Her ears swiveled in his direction as they walked, one of them occasionally twitching in another direction, but otherwise, giving him her primary attention as he went on about just WHO his people were. Which certainly got her attention.

"I have heard the name, but I'm afraid I do not know the story behind them. But.....to extinguish a soul?" She furrowed her brows slightly. The context behind that information seeming a little...muddled to her. She took a moment to actually look around, rather than simply swiveling her ears. "This ...power.... you were simply born with it? That is ....unfortunate. Though I suppose it is probably confusing. When I heard of the quincy, a man spoke of teaching people to become one. I suppose such things must offend you greatly. " She noted with gentle sympathy. That one's culture and heritage could be so disrespected and misconstrued.