Tinlé barely had time to take in the marketplace and all of its various stalls and indoor shack market places before she was dragged into a rather large square looking building made out of an airplane hull and a patrol boat that was flipped over for a roof. How has it flipped over when it was so far away from the harbor crane, is a secret that no one would actually ask. As there was no reasonable and sane answer to be given, as the placing of it was just as maddening as it being there as a roof in the first place.
The front office of this strange metal square building unless other market buildings held a waiting area with various strange markings around that was neither religious nor Blaskovian in nature but yet felt all-so familiar to her for some odd reason. The waiting area had a series of chairs, not regular chairs like one would find so commonly at a store but airplane seats set up in a row. The receptionist desk is fashioned from a cut in half boat hull, with a flat top made out of sheet metal. Behind it laid a Kemonomimi woman, with large fox ears who ears perked up as the bullet in the bell attached to the door rang out. First speaking in Nys’tat’en before the receptionist looked up at Julie and Tinlé, then speaking in a heavily accented Ngodian. “How can we deliver for you today?” She gave a stoic, flat sounding voice as she made eye contact with the Tielfing.
“We saw the Ny’Hvaltann logo on your wall, and we hoped this business was run by the clan.” Julie gave a bright and joyful tone. Politely ignoring the various forgotten military equipment they’re using as decoration and structure.
“We are.” The receptionist replied in that same flat stoic tone. “What clan are you with?” She turned to look towards Tinlé’s Nykea friend.
“No, no I’m not with a Northern Clan, but her mother is!” Julie pushed Tinlé forward.
“Well, um, I don’t if she still is a-and stuff, I-I don’t know much about this clan stuff. L-Like is t-there an expiration date on memberships?” The tiefling joked in a nervous tone as the short kemonomimi pushed her forward towards the desk originally was planning on staying back but was not given a chance. She looked away from the receptionist, her hand scratching the side of her arm. “My mother, um High Priestess Ava if you heard of her, she… at least if the…” Tinlé looked towards Julie nervously before looking forward towards the receptionist. “The Memory Wall is correct, was adopted by a member of the N-Ny’Hvalt-, Ny’Hva-.” Her cheeks began becoming a darker shade of blue as she kept failing to pronounce the name as she let out a sigh. “Ny’Hvaltann Clan…”
The woman behind the desk gave a strange look towards her but before she had a chance to speak a man came behind a curtain. Speaking in Nys’tat’en at first before looking towards the Tiefling.
He was a tall, strong, well built kitsune man. Staring at her with a bit a joly in his voice as he switched to a more clear and understandable Ngodian. “Spirits be praised, your a damn spitting image of my sister.” His brown hair moved with his head as he gave a soft laugh. The receptionist spoke in a low tone to him before he gave another laugh. Opening out his arms and walking towards Tinlé to give her a tight hug. Lifting her up off of the ground. “Well that’s because you’re my sister’s daughter!” He boosted out in a joyful tone. Calling out in Nys’tat’en and a half-a-dozen children rushing out of the curtain despite the receptionist giving a hand gesture to ask them politely to calm down.
“Ah!” Tinlé gasped out as she was lifted from the ground by the surprisingly very strong kemonomimi, her back almost aching with how tightly he hugged her. Her eyes wide as she looked back towards Julie, her legs dangling. “I-Is this just a normal greeting over h-here? W-What the proce- Agh!” She let out a small groan of pain as the hug tightened even more. Causing her to look down at her… uncle? “P-Please try not to break any my bones, m-my mother can be quite ruthless.”
“Oh don’t I know it!” He gave another boastful laugh as he sat her back down onto the ground. “Your mother was, oh what I am saying. She is a menace.” He gave a wide grin as he ruffled up her hair. “I’m Oscar, your uh, I think it is called uncle with you southern brats.” The small army of little children ran up and encircled Tinlé, all of them poking and hugging her at her legs. “Sorry about the kids, they get a little excitable.” He held his stomach as he let out another laugh.
Julie meanwhile was a bit taken back, having accidentally backed up into a hall so as not to ruin the reunion though she was unfortunately noticed by the man.
“Oh and this your girlfriend? Quite the looker huh, not taking after your mother in that regard with her own crushes.” Oscar slapped Tinlé’s back.
“Gods have you not brought enough pain to my back…” Tinlé muttered out in pain, almost sounding tearful as used a hand to rub her back. She tried to keep smiling however as the kemonomimi kids began hugging her and poking her, though using her tail to almost try to filter them a bit by pushing some a bit away so they weren’t all around her at the same time. “Um no, Julie here is just my… friend. She helped me find, well, this place, after I saw a picture of a tiefling girl with well…” She held up her camera to show it to the kitsune.
One of the kids held onto her tail and wrapped themselves around it. Meanwhile Oscar looked at the camera, taking off her hands to inspect it closer. “Yeah, this is the same one she had when she arrived here. See here?” He showed the bottom side of the camera, with various little scratch markets and a small dent in it. “She threw this at dad during one of her fits. Broke the blasted thing, and took me all day to barter enough parts to get this working again.” He handed it back. “Ava… Didn’t take well to being adopted and living up here.” He tried to keep an upbeat tone for the sake of the kids but he pulled back the sleeve to his jacket to show off scars on his arm. “Not well at all.”
Tinlé took a moment to look over the dents and scratch marks of the camera, then at Oscar’s scars some being very clearly bite marks with her having to suspect her mother’s fangs must have dug rather deep. “I see… She hasn’t really told me anything about her time here, she told me she was well an refugee during the civil war and how her parents died but that’s about i-” She stopped up for a moment as she felt another small kid wrap around her tail, causing her to lift the two tiny kemonomi up as she moved her tail further up. Series giggles leaving them which Tinlé herself couldn’t help but giggle warmly at as well. “My tail is hardly an amusement park.” She spoke gently to them, even though she suspected they wouldn’t understand her. She then looked back towards her uncle.
The two kids holding onto her tail became three, as a third climb onto it. Amazed by it being able to lift them all up. One of the kids looked directly into Tinlé’s eyes and spoke in a language she didn’t understand. In these times she would have asked Julie to translate but she herself was occupied with two of the children running over to give her a hug around her legs and her inability to negotiate them to kindly remove themselves from her leg.
“I used to hold a bit of grief in my heart towards her, but I came to terms and understanding with it. She was… Going through a lot as a child and our dad, well he got a heart of whale with the skin of a bear. He adopted her without question but he wasn’t much for comfort as he was focused on keeping everyone in the clan alive.” Oscar looked towards the three children hanging and climbing onto her tail. He got low to the ground, looking at them speaking in a kind and soft tone. The children climbed off her tail, looking low to the ground. As he rose back up to the ground to look Tinlé in the eye. “Well, at least she didn’t raise you with the habit of knocking people over with your tail.” His tone was rather flat, without a hint of humor in it.
“Oh um, sorry if I’m reminding you of any bad memories.” She said in a soft tone as she scratched the side of her arm, moving her tail so it was wrapped around her leg so not to be easily grabbed into by the kids or be out in the open. “Knowing the type of threats my mother gave out towards others when she raised me, well, I can just imagine a younger, more hot headed version of her was likely worse.” She let out a weak chuckle at that she looked away nervously.
“We take the bad memories to make the good memories shine.” Oscar gave a gentle pat on Tinlé’s shoulder. “Can’t have Svaka soup without bitterroot afterall. Believe me, I know those threats your mom gives out and how she took joy in carrying them out. Frankly, I almost believed she was feral until she finally started speaking.” He gave a gentle smile, moving his hand to ruffle up her hair. “Which is why I’m rather surprised with you at least. Not even a single hiss from you? No trying to punch and throwing stuff around? If you didn’t look so much like her, I thought you would have bartered for the camera.”
Tinlé felt a bit better at that, smiling more warmer as he ruffled up her dark blue hair. Placing a hand on her hip as she chuckled. “If you want me to, I can bite your arm just to confirm it.” She said in a bit sassy tone raising an eyebrow at him. “Also what is Svaka soup if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Svaka soup, is Svaka soup. Ava loved it when she was growing up, I think she really loved just how chewy it was honestly. Gave her fangs something to chomp on that wasn’t people.” Oscar gave a small laugh. “You don’t need to bite me, I have enough scars as is.” One of the children started to try to climb the tiefling woman, using the tail wrapped around her leg as a foothold as they reached up to her shoulders.
“Well maybe I can try it sometime, as long as it isn’t whale meat.” She shivered at the thought grimacing as well before getting distracted by the kemonomimi kid climbing on her back, and reached out to her black horns pulling on them as they did. “Hey, no pulling.” She whined as her tail unwrapped itself from her leg and instead wrapped around the kid’s waist as she gently pulled them off her. Giving them a stern yet soft look. “Behave.” She gave the kid a poke on the nose before gently placing them down.
“Sorry about the kids, they are that age where they try to climb on top of everything.” Oscar gave a small laugh, as the kid was sat back down onto the ground. “As for the Svaka, of course it is made from whale meat. Spirits, almost everything edible around here is made with whale.” He gave a brief look over towards Julie who was dealing with a similar situation with the two children trying to climb onto her.
One particular brave child trying to climb onto the big tiefling learned from their sibling. Noting not to grab the horns as they started their climb. Already successfully going above Tinlé’s waist in their hike, with an arm they reached up to their shoulder. Trying to pull themselves upwards until their little eyes and ears peeked over her shoulder.
She let out a small chuckle at that as she gave a poke on the nose of the little kemonomimi who got up her shoulders. “As long as they don’t pull on my horns, I will be fine.” She said with a chuckle, though couldn’t help but grimace again about the mentioning of whale meat. “Then I think I will pass on the soup, and perhaps on a lot of the food here. I guess there is another difference you can note between me and my mother.”
“That explains a few things about your body. You look frail.” Oscar crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. As yet another child made their hike up the tall stranger, making their way to her other shoulder. “Those little hunters seem to really be attached to climbing into you specifically.” He looked down at them towards Tinlé feet as more children joined in trying to climb onto her and specifically trying to hold onto her tail again.
As Tinlé used her tail to try to keep other children from climbing too much on her, she also looked down at her own body before crossing her arms to give an annoyed look towards her uncle. “Hey!” She pouted as her eyes gave him a small glare.
“If you ate more whale meat and beasts of the sea you wouldn’t be so skinny. How do you plan to survive the winters?” Oscar gave a small smirk, crossing his own arms as his children took advantage of her distraction.
“I eat healthy food, and fish! I just am a bit careful about my diet, and got to experience a dietary experience that’s not just 90% seafood.” She muttered out annoyed as she kept an annoyed glare at the taller kemonomimi. “Plus we have heating for a reason.”
“It is good you live in the south, you would not survive up here but it is good you visit.” His accent shined through as he scratched one of the kid’s heads resting in her shoulder. “I once saw your mother down a whole plate of whale meat in moments. Completely unseasoned and without a fork. For you? I think you do better with someone factory making your meal or however you call speed food.” Oscar rested his hands back at his side.
“Yeah well, hush.” She gave a small ‘hmph’ as she looked away for a moment. Annoyed at the continued mentioning of her likely not being able to survive up here. Though looking away from him only meant looking at the face of one the kids on her shoulder, who gave her a tiny wave as she looked at them causing a sigh to leave her. “I get some of the best food in Borea at my university, so if you are worried about my diet you really do not need to.” She looked back at him, sticking her tongue out at him in a mildly sassy and annoyed tone.
The child that waved at her spoke in a bright and joyful tone. “Babushka!”
“Wasn’t worried about you starving just speaking in your weakness to survive here.” Oscar gave a taunting smirk. “Now I know your sister’s daughter, just without all the violence and threats of violence.” He gave a small sigh before speaking again. “Don’t repeat the word he said. Please.”
“Hmmmm. No promises.” She gave him a small smirk of her own as she kept a bit of a sassy attitude. “It is a bit sad she never told me about any of this…” She let out a small sigh as she looked down at the floor, only to chuckle as once more her eyes landed on a tiny kemonomimi. “Did my mother even… keep in contact with you guys after she returned back to Noraida?”
The small child looked up at her and stretched out her arms. “Babushka!” She cheered out with her tail swaying around rapidly.
“She did, but not for a good long while and a whole lot of letters she never responded to. I think it took her a while to understand but she got there eventually despite being so thick headed about it. Visited once when she became an adult, made up to mom and dad.” He gave an awkward scratch to the back of his neck. “But there was a long period of silence and she didn’t leave on good terms either. Had a whole mess of hate in her heart until she figured it all out.”
“Well…” Tinlé spoke in a soft tone as she reached down to lift up the kid looking up at her, holding the little girl into her arms giving them a poke on the nose before looking back towards her uncle. “Perhaps I can convince her to come with me when I visit again. That is, if you’d have her that is.” She gave a small yet warm smile.
“Of course she is welcomed here! She is my sister after all.” He didn’t held back his laughter, holding his stomach. “I mean I sell her for a half a rotten bone but that’s just what siblings do.” Oscar himself started to be climbed onto. As children eagerly climbing into his pants and then into his jacket. Originally there have only been six kids but it’s beginning to seem like that number has been steadily increasing as they spoke.
“Well it could be fun seeing you two interact, especially since from how it sounds like she was the one bullying you around.” She teased gently as she kept holding the little kemonomimi girl up, and still had two kemonomimi kids on her back with their heads laying on her shoulder. Even having a kid holding into her tail as she lifted it up.
“Well less bullying and more domestic assault.” Oscar gave a small eye roll. “You certainly are enjoying being the center of attention now. How about you?” He looked toward Julie who made the mistake of patting one of the children’s heads and now face several of them also try to get their heads patted. “About what I thought honestly.” He turned back to look at Tinlé. “I just hoped she calm down, I don’t got a body like I used too anymore and I would like to be able to walk around without needing a cane.”
“I don’t think you have to worry anymore about my mother being ‘feral’ anymore, uncle.” Tinlé said in a joking tone as she finally began putting some of the kids down using both her arms and tail, much to the pouting and whining from the kids. “One doesn’t become a member and leader of our clergy by being feral.”
“She is what?” Oscar took a step back for a moment, nearly tripping over one of the children. His hand reached out to pet them, starting a second line as the children organized themselves to make good use of both his hands. “She is a Brewmaster now? Or uh, Shrinekeeper I mean. No disrespect.”
“No, no, no. Not an Akuanist cleric member, Duarist one.” She clarified quickly as she pulled on her scarf to show off the Duarist symbol more. “She’s a High Priestess, and in fact wants to improve things in well here and the other Rotantic Territories!” She said in a surprisingly bit prideful tone before calming down for a moment. “I never actually realized why she cared so much about the Ritiaida Treaty and development of this region until, well, now I guess.” She had a genuine small smile as she connected the past conversations she had with her mother about it all.
“She converted? Or is something that she can do both?” Oscar had to hunch over, getting on his knees for the sake of his back as more children queued for their pats. “Either way, I’m awfully surprised by all that. Never thought she would be leading anyone other than a band of pirates. Well, it is nice to suppose she is sending help up here, sure beats the last time sunkissers came up here. They told us we couldn’t hunt anymore.” While his expression was upbeat for the sake of the somehow growing number of children in the room. His eyes told a different far more annoyed story.
“Converted? What do you mean, she has always been a Duarist?” Tinlé tilted her head curiously at that as she looked towards him, letting one the children down as her tail lowered closer to the ground again.
“Well she took part in our prayers, wore the kimonos, spoke Nys’tat’en and oh wait a minute.” He stood up, as the children dispersed around the room. Speaking for a moment in a strange accented Nys’tat’en towards the open doorway. Few moments later, a young teenager kitsune walked out. Wearing a Cotois hockey jersey, the team having long faded out and various patches across. Holding a curved up rock, with various itching and teeth marks across it. Handing it over to Oscar before disappearing back into the backroom. All while not saying any word.
“Thank you Teelee.” Oscar inspected the rock before handing it over to Tinlé. “This is her ol’ protection ward. She was so proud of making it herself, well mostly herself. Mama helped her out with some of the finer aspects, and she slept it every night. It’s uh, made out of whatcha call. Stone made from bones, don’t know what it’s called in Ngodian.”
“Huh, that is… interesting?” She inspected the hardened round bone, being a bit unsettled by the bite marks on it. “Her fangs must have been very strong, huh.” She handed it back to him as she scratched the back of her head. “Well she said her aunt was a Priestess and raised her in the church, so I guess I always thought she has only been a Duarist.”
“Ah, Mrs. Eyebrows.” He held back a sneer at the mention of the aunt. “I won’t hear of her memory here. Less we attract other ugly beasts.” Oscar crossed his arms, trying his best to remain joyful as a few kids noticed his expression. Crossing their arms soon after and standing next to him. “However, about her fangs, I’m still pretty sure she might be part bear.” He cracked a smile.
She gave an understanding nod at the comment about her grand aunt. “I get that, between you and I. She has always been a bit of a…”
“Horrid bitch?” Oscar chimed in quickly enough.
Though one of the smarter children, heard the word and of course, as with all children having a built-in trouble maker software inside of them. Repeated Oscar’s words in an adorable tone. “Horrid bitch!” Oscar was quick enough to speak in Nys’tat’en to inform them that they shouldn’t say it and a quick stare down around the room to enforce it wouldn’t be repeated.
“Well, I wasn’t going to actually say it because exactly that.” Tinlé couldn’t help but have a bit of a taunting smirk on her lips as she placed both her hands on her hips, having a bit sassy attitude. “But yeah no, I don’t have good memories of her. She well… She had a way of wanting to discipline me that wasn’t nicest.” She let out a nervous chuckle as some bad memories began to resurface. “Though my mom put an end to that when she found out, and well, she did it her way.”
Oscar shaked his head before giving a sigh. “Alright alright, no more memories of her here. Nothing good about that woman. Now let’s get you and your girlfriend some soup to warm you both up.” He kept up a smirk, as he wrapped an arm around the tielfing’s shoulder. Giving a look towards Julie who was currently fighting for her life against a children-sized horde trying to figure out why her hair was red. He spoke in his native tongue, and like magic the children retreated back into their rooms.
“Come on, I already told you she’s not my girlfri- Oh gods Julie you alright?!” Tinlé looked back towards the red head kemonomimi rushing over towards her as she wrapped an arm around her shoulders to hold her up, looking down at her with genuine concern.
“S-so many questions…” Julie gave a hug to the tiefling. While being exhausted from playing with all the children, she gave a warm smile. “Still, anything could be worse than having to play with a bunch of children.” Though with a taunting wink, “So girlfriend huh?” She gave a warm chuckle as she unwrapped her hug from her, walking towards the backroom where Oscar was directing them to head towards.
“He just wants to taunt me.” Tinlé said with a sigh as she followed for a moment before stopping up. “Um, do we have time for it? I don’t want to delay our mission here for longer than it needs to.” She asked in a bit nervous tone towards her friend.
“Tinlé we’re going to spend a month in Ritiaida, most of that probably just going to be here in the city. We can make time for this.” Julie gave a warm expression as she turned to look over her shoulder. “Besides, this is sort of part of my own mission here. Writing about the customs and culture here, which when you think about it all cuisine comes from soup.” She didn’t explain further as she went ahead through the doorway.
For a moment Tinlé wanted to speak up and bond with her friend over learning about the island’s customs and norms, it being after all part of her larger reason being here, until hearing that last line. “I, what does that even mean??” She asked bewildered, shaking her head in confusion as she followed after.
What a strange journey it been so far for her, and it only day one.