Getting to know the neighbourhood. (Private)

"Yeah," Kira says plainly with a glance to Sybin. She was surprised the equine stuck around after that. "Meet Jade, guardian of Safe Harbor. You could call us...Work friends."

"I'd been scouting from the treetop," Jade said in answer to Kira's earlier question. "What would you have me do?"

"I dunno, climb down like a regular person?" Kira spat.

(I haven't read any of Ravana3k's stories, so forgive me if my Jade is a little off. ^^; )

Nyaha wrote:

She was surprised the equine stuck around after that

((That equine so happened to be tethered to you. ))

Trying to suppress her adrenaline, Sybin takes in the dragon sized monkey, and in her experience, monkeys mostly eat fruits, leaves, and insects. Would I look like an insect? She looks as if she is lactating, so she would need a varied diet right now. Still, Kira is talking to her as if she is a friend, so...

For now, she'll just stand very still.

Jade directs her sharp gaze to Sybin, and her eyes narrow further. "Picking up more strays, Kira?"

"Strange-looking one isn't she?" the feline responds. "Completely sapient, though, far as I can tell." She turns to look at Sybin. "Don't just stand there, introduce yourself!"

Oh, right. Let's not be discourteous to the locals. Sybin bows her head, and introduces herself.

"My name is Sybin, a guardian of the Crystal Ponies. I was send to this neighboring world to get acquainted." She looks up at Kira, and her giant companion. "So, you are a guard, just like me?"

She also makes a mental note not to walk under giant trees anymore. Apparently, they support enormous weights.

"Exactly," Jade answered. "As you're likely aware by now, there's a settlement nearby. I make sure as few troublemakers as possible enter."

"And I pretty much take care of anything that slips by her," Kira added, smirking proudly. "And not just me, either - a number of the other residents help Jade out whenever we can. It's the least we could do."

Hey, this place doesn't sound so bad. ^^ Sybin smiles, and nods her head in respect. "It is very admirable of you all, to help each other out. I promise you that I will not start any troubles here, and shall lend my aid when possible. With your permission, Jade of Safe Harbor, I would like to stay in your settlement for a while."

"Permission granted, o formal one," Jade said as she stood up to full height, causing the view from below to become even more imposing. "I'll leave you in Kira's care. I'm resuming my patrol."

And with that, she walked off, stepping clear over the two of them.

With wide open eyes, and a smile of adoration on her lips, the translucent pony watches the powerful guardian step away. "How can such a large creature be so graceful," asks the knight in camouflage armor, completely ignoring the brusque entrance Jade made.

When Jade is no longer in sight, she turn to Kira. "Are there more of her kind around? What kind of fighting style does she use? How does she take care of her body? Do you people bring her food?"

"Whoa, ease up on the curiosity throttle, there!" Kira said, her head tilted away from Sybin in irritation. "You're gonna' give me a headache, and you do not want to see me with a headache. Try one at a time." She began to walk again, heading toward a clearing in the distance.

"Oh, right." The pony trots after her guide, trying to prioritize her questions. Her build does not seem to support her weight, so how does she not sink through her legs? Is she magical? No wait.

"Are there many of her kind here?"

"There are several kinds of giants in this world, yes," Kira answered. "Most not as...gentle as Jade is."

"Several, you say." The pony thinks about what she just heard. "So, Jade is an exception, and judging by her size these rivals must be quite formidable. Still, anything that big must be a herbivore or mineravore, right?"

Kira suddenly whipped around and bent over, getting right up in Sybin's face. "Stop playing dumb!! They eat people like us, and if you go around thinking everything is okay, you're gonna' die!!"

The pony is momentarily taken aback by Kira's outrage, but then pushes right back. "Well excuse me for not thinking you'd bring us to a giant meat-eater, miss 'I'm not going to tell you what's around here, even though I know you're extra-dimensional'. I've been asking if there is any danger, non-successful I might add, and so far all we saw was some scavenger's holes. What else would you expect me to believe, after we just walked through the forest without any incident? That you are purposefully holding back to 'shock the inititate'? In the army we'd never do that, as it may cost ponies' lives!"

Unintentionally reminding herself that she is a knight, and should never lose her composure, Sybin takes a few breaths and tries to calm down.


((So does that mean we get to duel now, because if so we need a mud pit and paying spectators. Oh, and I'd have to figure out what gadgets would somehow remove clothes.))

Kira stands with her brow furrowed and torso still bent, silent for a long moment. Finally, after almost a minute, she rises back up. "Yeah, I guess your right," she concedes, closing one eye. "I guess I'm just not used to dealing with ignorance, even if it is justfied. I apologize."

She sighs and turns around. "The reason I didn't want to tell you is because I didn't want you freaking out in the middle of a danger zone. I couldn't have you bringing that kind of attention to us. But the truth is, most things in this world's wilderness eat humanoids like me, and they'll probably eat you, too."

Sybin rolls that comment a few times around in her head, until she concedes that Kira has a point, after which she starts to smile. "And to think I came here in the hopes to find a world that is not deadly." She looks up at the humongous trees, and tries to lighten the mood.

"Your trees don't reanimate as fey out to drink blood, I hope? We ponies have started to get really fond of fire to solve our problems, and I noticed this world is very rich in oxygen." She awkwardly scratches the ground with her front left hoof.

"So, you like pyrotechnics?"

"Well, we do have half-tree, half-humanoid creatures called dryads, some of which are giant and eat people," Kira explained. "They sometime disguise themselves as regular trees using illusion spells, making perceiving them next to impossible for the inexperienced until it's too late. As for pyrotechnics, we usually like to avoid drawing attention to ourselves."

"Fire doesn't have to be flashy," counters the pony. "In fact, light and heat is usually wasted energy. The best use is often internal combustion, cutting, or smoke." She makes sure that Jade is gone before asking what's on her mind. "Are there more friendly humanoid eaters around?"

"You might run across one if you're really lucky, but don't count on it," Kira answered flatly. They had almost reached the open space in the forest, and Sybin would be able to see some wood and stone houses in the distance. "Of course, my friend thinks he can make nice with any predator as long as he's lucky enough that they aren't starving and personable enough to make them see him in a different light."

"Well, since he is still alive, your friend might be on to something." Sybin takes note of the settlement they are approaching. "Or is he the type that has to be rescued a lot?"

"Well, no, you have a point," Kira admitted, turning around to face Sybin as she walked backwards. "But, uh...I mean, he had, like...when he was growing up, his mom was ridiculously thorough with teaching him respectfulness, manners, tolerance for others, appreciation for differing viewpoints...even though he's a dork, and sort of a man-child from having his maturity stunted by..." Kira stopped walking at her pause. "...Certain events, he works hard at being likeable. You could say it's his talent, and he's actually not too bad at it. But someone like me, who was taught how to make machines and how to defend myself and work with my hands can't really use the same strategy, y'know?"

Sybin smiles, and can't help but admonish Kira a little bit for being so hard on her self. "Ah, don't sell yourself short. Everyone can be likeable. What happens if you offer a predator something as a distraction? I bet you've got some real shinies and baubles."

Her friend sounds like quite a nice person. Maybe he really could make some alliances, bringing harmony and increasing town security at the same time.

Kira smirked as she turned back around, once more walking forward. "My distractions usually cause bruising. The point is, he and I do things differently. You'll need your own plans of action if you plan on surviving here for any length of time, too."

Kira led Sybin past some houses. There were many other humanoids, the majority actual humans, milling about in town, going about their daily lives. A number of the ones Kira passed by gave her greetings, some refering to her by her name, and a few others calling her "Ms. Southsmith".

Ah, civilization. The pony takes in the wooden structures, and the seasoned inhabitants. Some look as if they would rather be somewhere else, as if they don't belong here, but all by all her first impression is positive. Still...

"I welcome any suggestions for surviving here, and I'll start now. Are there any taboos here that I should be wary off? Also, I do not see any other quadrupeds here. Are there you guys...racist against us?"

"First, what do you mean "taboos"?" Kira asked as she rounded a corner. "Like, what not to do if you want to live? And second, n-- well...I'm sure you probably will catch some flak due to your appearance. Hell, even my species has to put up with it. But that's not why there's not more like you. Our quadrupedal races don't have a lot of numbers in this region of the continent, and most of what comes from other worlds is bipedal by coincidence."