6297/Market Day in Ul'dah

Market Day in Ul'dah
Date of Scene:	10 January 2019
Location:	Ul'Dah, Eorzea
Synopsis:	Katt, Staren, Inga and Raha take some time to peruse the markets of Ul'dah, and chit chat about life and stuff.
Cast of Characters:	N'raha Tia, Inga, 6860, Staren

---

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Let it never be said that Raha of the Aldgoats couldn't make things work out, even in less than optimal conditions. Like the fact that his primary guest was going to get horribly sunburnt, so they started later so that the shade would be on the market.
    The fact that the market wouldn't be literally packed to the gills with people was another good thing.

    That said, the place IS still packed. Just not 'too many people to move'. All sorts of people, hyurs, elezen, lala, roes and lots and lots of miqo'te ladies are here today. All sorts of wares on on display, from clothes to weapons to potions lotions and other sundry items. Street food galore, of all sorts. Some furtive back alley deals, of course, commissioned under the close eye of the Brass Blades, of course.

    If it's worth selling, it's probably here today at the Emerald Exchange.

    Raha keeps to the side of Inga, his slightly dusty old Maelstrom tunic helping keep some of the most obnoxious people at bay. It's good wearing the other side's colors sometimes. "You okay?" A glance to Inga, and a look down to some of the bags he's already carrying.

Inga has posed:
Inga had fretted about the heat and what she would wear in Ul'dah. Hearing they could go a bit later in the day was something of a relief, but it's still hot. It's a kind of heat she's only experienced a few times in her life, even after finding the multiverse. But she was warned, and took the advice of others on how to keep cool. It had taken a bit of shopping, but she seems to be relatively comfortable in a long pink skirt of gauzy material and a dark grey tank top. Her hair is in two pigtail braids, a pretty pink scarf wrapped around her head to help keep her head cool in the sun. She displays a bit of the jewelry she owns, a silver chain with a moonstone pendant and matching earrings. She couldn't resist a stack of silver bangles she saw in the market, either.

She's not very comfortable in crowds, always afraid of being knocked over. So while she has her walking stick in one hand, the other frequently reaches for Raha's arm if she feels unsteady. She's taking in the sights, quiet and thoughtful mostly.

"Hmmm? Ja, fine. Just...admiring it all. Its a beautiful city in an unexpected way," she says, drifting toward a stall selling fabric--of which she has already purchased quite a bit of.

Katt (6860) has posed:
When Katt needs supplies, she knows to go to a big market. And this is a pretty damn big market, so perhaps it's not really a surprise that she found her way here, eventually.

And she fits in! Well, sort of. Almost. There are certainly some other feline people around (she is, in fact, in discussion with a miqo'te right now), but Katt's tiger stripes and furred legs stand out enough that she's gotten the occasional look in her direction.

"So it's a cactus except you eat it?" Katt is looking at a vendor selling roasted nopales with mild confusion. "I didn't know you could eat cactuses...is. Cact...more than one cactus. I think maybe I'll pass. Don't you have any roasted meat to go with the roasted cactus?"

There's certainly some for sale around, but not from this particular vendor. Katt turns away with a shrug, tail lashing once as she shoulders her staff.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    There's a perk from the vendor of the stall, a stout looking Lalafell lady. She looks up to Inga and Raha, her eyes widening a bit to see a male Miqo'te out and about, but she holds out her stubby arms. "Welcome to the Jade Crescent, where I have the finest collection of imported Doman silks and magiweaves. Just the sort of thing for very fancy people like yourselves!"
    A big, obvious wink to Raha. It's no close secret to who the Warriors of Light are, and it's not like he was trying to hide himself all that much.
    She crosses her arms. "I'm Susuto! Are you looking for anything in particular?"

    Katt is getting some manner of attention as she goes. The lizardman she just bought the roasted fruit from glances a bit at her fuzzy legs and strange markings. Not a Miqo'te girl. Offworlder. She'll be hearing... more than a few whisperings about 'offworlder' as she passes stalls and stands. If it's meat she's looking for, though, there's a smell of fish not far from the stall that Raha and Inga are at.

Inga has posed:
Inga smiles to the lalafel, continuously delighted that she's not the shortest person around. "Good day. I am simply admiring your silks--what do you have in blue?" she asks, and waits patiently for the lalafel to select a few for her perusal.

It has not escaped her attention that she hasn't seen another male miqo'te (that she knows of, anyway!) and she's been meaning to ask Raha about that, but not sure exactly how to ask such a strange question.

Staren has posed:
    Crowds.

    Staren's walked through crowded streets in Lazlo of course, but... He's less familiar with this place. He keeps stopping to look at things and nearly getting bumped into.

    He fits in, at least! Cat ears don't look at all out of place for once, and he did actually dress in clothing that looks appropriate-ish to Eorzea, if not hot climates (that doesn't matter, he has magic for that): A white scholar's robe instead of the labcoat, a tunic and simpler shorts in place of the T-shirt and cargo shorts, and leather-looking boots instead of sneakers.

    Eventually tired of being in the way, he finds an alley in which to discreetly grapple up to the rooftops and then transform. Who's going to look twice at a black cat on a roof? Even if it is wearing a bandana around its neck...

    Eventually, he sees a familiar pair of faces: N'Raha and Inga. Something's been happening with Inga lately, something she won't talk about.

    But there's money 'left for her' in Chicago, she needs help moving things, and she's suddenly come into posession of a cat. The four-legged kind.

    Something has happened to Harry.

    But if she doesn't want to talk about it, he won't pester her. Still, good to check in on how she's doing.

    The cat hops off a nearby roof, and transforms midair, cait sith wings briefly appearing to arrest Staren's fall just above the ground. "Hey." He greets her with a smile. "How is it going?" To the vendor, he asks, "Magi-weave? Does that have some magical properties?"

Katt (6860) has posed:
Katt knows perfectly well she's an offworlder and being called one doesn't bother her... unless it gets to more than just mutterings, but she's been perfectly willing to behave herself and just enjoy the market, so the Ul'dahn market shouldn't have much of a reason to complain, she figures.

She is armed, though. She has a sturdy-looking staff propped over one shoulder with what looks like a decorative cat's-paw end. Katt has been very careful not to accidentally smack anyone when she turns around - she's used to crowds.

She starts to worm her way through the crowd toward the fish. Katt takes a bite out of the roasted nopales as she goes and apparently can't decide if she likes it or not, by the expression on her face and the sudden flattening of her ears. She slows as she passes the stand with the silks, mostly to look at the cloth -

- just as a cat turns into a person right in front of her. "Ah, what!" she yelps, whipping out her staff and holding it at her side. "Don't DO that!"

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Susuto perks up. "Oh! Yes yes, hold on." She shuffles back around a curtain, and then comes back out carrying a roll of fabric that's nearly as big as she is. Well. She's shuffling it out. "I've got just the thing for a handsome young lady." She flops it over on the counter, and beams. It's some sort of not-silk. Inga can spot proper silks, this is something similar but not quite. No designs, and it's a very plain pale, almost robin's egg blue. "This what you're looking for? Something Darker?"

    Though, the sudden appearance of Staren gets at least Raha to startle a bit. "H-Hoooy. Shortstack, careful there." He ruffles Staren between the ears, really more of a noogie.

    Susuto perks, though, looking at the suddenly appearing catboy. "Ah! Hello! Some of them, yes. There's specially designed fabrics made for the Thaumaturge's Guild here in Ul'dah. Very expensive, and we only ever get scraps and hand me downs. It's very difficult to cobble together."

Inga has posed:
"Oh, hello Staren," she says while looking toward the 'silk' the lalafel woman brings back. She does not seem at all surprised by his sudden arrival or transformation--though did he always have little wings like that? Curious. She eventually looks up and over toward him, then to the woman he'd startled. Another person with cat features. This is starting to be a little strange. Was she carrying catnip? She presses her lips together at the outfit Katt is wearing. It isn't the first scantily clad cat-girl she's seen today, but is probably the first without pants of any kind. She feels exposed in a tank top! It's clear from the color of her skin that it doesn't see the sun very often.

Inga brings her attention back to Susuto. The look in her eye is not a pleasant one as she touches the silk. "Do not assume that because I am an offworlder that I do not know good silk--this is not silk. If you insist upon insulting me I will bring my coin elsewhere," she informs her, and begins to turn and walk away.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Susuto startles a bit at Inga, and then yelps. "No no no, this is... Ma'am! It's just not silkworm silk! It's diremite silk!" She's panicking a little bit, her arms waving and her legs stamping. She looks desperately at Raha, who just shrugs a bit. "I'm not the weaver, she is."

Staren has posed:
    Staren's ears perk at Katt's sudden exclamation and he blinks at her. "Do what?" Which distracts him long enough for Raha to go for the headpat.

    CATS CAN PET OTHER CATS? A NEW WORLD IS OPENED TO wait wrong story.

    It's more of a noogie even. Staren looks surprised and reflexively pushes Raha's hand away. He gives the other catman sort of a '...what? Just... what?' squinty look, and slowly lowers his arm if N'Raha does.

    Then he turns to Sasuto. "Hmm. I'm interested in magical things, but I'm not sure I have the right skills to put magic /fabric/ to proper use, anyway." And then Inga indicates that this vendor is trying to scam them -- Staren adopts a slightly more wary posture in response.

    A shady street vendor on a crowded street /probably/ isn't going to pull a gun on them, sure, but nearly 13 years in the multiverse can make one a little paranoid.

Katt (6860) has posed:
Katt lowers her staff without hitting anyone with it, swapping it to her left hand and resting her weight on it harmlessly. She has the nopales held in her teeth so she has her hands free for the staff, and so when she tries to speak again it comes out a little muffled. She chews and bites, the nopales slowly vanishing into her mouth as she gnaws through it.

A few moments later, she swallows. "Well then SOME people shouldn't jump out of nowhere and fly down," Katt says, given Staren another once-over. He looks sort of like a local to her - more than she does anyhow. "How'd you do that, anyway? Do all of the w - the miqo'te - turn into flying cats here?"

Inga has posed:
Inga frowns softly, touching the diremite silk. "Hmm. I see. Do you have silkworm silk? Something with a bit more decoration?" she asks. She doesn't want to insult the merchant too much--just play the game that is haggling in a market town. She wants this lady to know who she is dealing with.

She'll let the lalafel look again at her wares and turns toward the others, smiling slightly toward Staren, shaking her head a little. No need to get his hackles up. It's just shopping. "What brings you to Ul'dah Staren?" she asks. She looks to Katt again, and nods a greeting at least since it doesn't seem she'll try to wack Staren with her staff anymore.

Staren has posed:
    Staren relaxes a bit at Inga's silent reassurance, and turns back to Katt, stepping a bit to one side so he can keep all of them in view. With a smile, he replies, "I'm not a mi`qote, I'm... complicated." He holds up a finger and tilts it to one side, "I'm a natural shapeshifter," and then the other way, "And the wings are--" there's the pause, and the facial expression, of the scientist, engineer, or wizard who is about to run into an extremely technical concept and and is fundamentally uncomfortable saying something that is factually incorrect even if it's good enough for most people, but then realizing he kind of has to because noone wants to listen to a long, arcane explanation, "--magic."

    Then he turns his head to Inga, looking slightly nervous. "I, uh... heard you were going to Ul'dah, and with everything you've been talking about, I just... wanted to see how you were doing. I hope that's okay."

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Susuto takes a breath and looks up at Raha and then over at Inga... and she hauls the slightly inferior silk cloth back into the back and vanishes for a few minutes. There's rummaging noises and a 'wark' or two back there. Must be going through a cart.
    Raha, for his part, is just content to stand there and carry stuff, and listen. He's good at listening. It's a nice change from trying to punch the concept of politics in the face.

    Flump. This time it's two smaller rolls of fabric. One is a deep navy blue with stars and moons printed in the fabric, and the other other is a slightly shimmering iridescent blue-green. That one is clearly more than silk.
    Susuto huff puffs at the exertion. "There. The two best blues I got. Though these ones aren't the cheap stuff, let me tell you. I had to get one of these off a quirin who wanted to have one of my legs as payment!"

Katt (6860) has posed:
Katt is still holding a staff. She /can/ jab Staren with it.

She does not. The explanation is acceptable to her. "Okay," she says, and that is that. "I wasn't sure, there's a lot of the miqo'te around here." Pause. "I'm not one either," she adds, as if people couldn't figure that out.

Katt leans over to look at the cloth. "Oh, that's neat," she says, though she - mercifully! - doesn't grab at it. What does she know about sewing? Nothing, that's what. "Wait, what's a quirin? They shouldn't take your legs for payment! Are they bandits? Is there a bounty on 'em?"

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Raha answers that one as he pulls an apple from one of the bags over his shoulder. It was probably supposed to be for dinner or whatever. "They're... rat-lizard sorta guys. The more beastly ones got a taste for peoplemeat, and they forget that that's not... how most of the races do things." He takes a bite of his apple ,and watches the exchange, though...
    Staren asks that question of Inga, and the catman tenses a little bit.

Inga has posed:
Complicated. Yes, that would describe Staren fairly well! Inga's mouth quirks into a brief, amused smile before looking back to the silks. She touches each of them, but its clear she's favoring the iridescent blue-green. Goodness knows where she'd wear it, but she wants it regardless. "I'll take this one. Raha, you will arrange payment?" she asks, as she isn't really sure of the conversion rate.

She's in Ul'dah, surrounded by cat people, and only one of them is local. That really is strange, but...she used to strange things. Fate is a funny thing.

Inga looks to Staren, blinking in surprise. A bit of the color drains from her face as she looks away. The muscles in her jaw flicker as she clenches her teeth. She merely nods to Staren in appreciation. She can't trust words at the moment.

Staren has posed:
    Staren doesn't seem bothered by Katt confusing him for a mi'qote. He looks more like them than she does, after all. She asks what a quilin is, and he wonders too -- he's imagining Sasuto negotiating with an intelligent dragon-horse thing -- but then she describes something completely different has that name here. Huh.

    AWKWARD MOMENTS WITH INGA: Yeah he came and tailed her without telling her because he was concerned and now he's worried that might be taken as creepy, but it seems that's not the issue foremost on her mind. He tilts his head forward slightly, ears splayed and tail drooping at her reaction. He doesn't say more; Clearly she's not feeling like talking about it now, and hey, it'd be super rude to force her in the middle of a shopping trip. It's not like she's someone who lets their issues endanger people like pre-Maslow August, so why force a confrontation?

    He just looks back to the merchant to watch the exchange as Inga buys the silk.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    RAha shuffles over to the counter, considers things, and then shuffles a slip of paper out of his pocket, scribblign on it with a pencil. "Put it on this tab, we're good for it. Tell Tataru it's for one of the offworlders, she'll understand." A smile to Susuto and he hoists the silk into the bags...
    Only to catch Inga going rigid like that. He looks from the seer to the boy genius and back... before lightly squeezing Inga on the shoulder. No words. He's here, though.
    Though, he's being rude. "Miss Katt, how are you liking Ul'dah?"

Katt (6860) has posed:
Katt is still leaned over to look at the cloth. She doesn't really notice Inga freezing up when Staren says something that doesn't *sound* like it should cause a problem.

She straightens back up a few moments later when she hears her name. "Oh, you remembered it!" She's been on the radio enough that it's not much of a surprise even if N'raha (and indeed most of the people here) hasn't actually seen her before. "It's pretty big. I like it. I'm from a big city with a coliseum too, though I haven't been to the coliseum here yet. Do they take entrants? I'm a gladiator," she clarifies, as if that wasn't clear enough.

"Oh, yeah, and I'm Katt." For those who may not have known. "But... you heard that already."

Staren has posed:

    "'Miss Cat'? We could at least ask her name." Staren points out, looking to N'Raha and then to Katt. "Sorry, what is your name? I'm Staren." He holds out a hand to shake. -- and then she introduces herself, that's actually her name. Oh.

Inga has posed:
Inga closes her eyes for a moment as Raha squeazes her shoulder in support. It's true, she doesn't want to talk about it. She's torn between appreciating the care of her friends and not wanting to be pitied.

She takes a breath and opens her eyes, looking toward Katt. "Your name is Katt? A pleasure to meet you. I'm Inga Freyjasdottir," she introduces as her silk is packaged and Raha puts it on the Scion's tab, presumably. She gives him the side-eye. "I will see that you are paid back," she informs him.

"Perhaps we can get out of this sun and have a cool drink? And what may I ask is a gladiator?"

N'raha Tia has posed:
    "Naturally. And I'm N'Raha." He smiles to Katt. "Friend."
    He'd hold out a hand but he's already back to carrying bags now as he tries to maneuver the crowd out of the sun and away from the heat. "Gladiator, it's a word for Prize Fighter, sometimes willing, sometimes not. I used to fight on the Bloodsands myself a time or two, but took up the axe instead of the sword."
    Their destination is just up a flight of st- stairs, right. he angles around to find the ramp for Inga, and leads them up towards a large set of doors and into...

    The Quicksand. Tavern, Inn, and home of the Ul'dan Adventurer's Guild.

Katt (6860) has posed:
"K-A-T-T," Katt spells out, because she's gotten this before. "And I'm a woren, not a cat, like the people here are miqo'te. So it's a perfectly fine name and not something weird."

She accepts Staren's hand, then Inga's if she offers it - N'raha has hands full, as she's already noticed. "And yeah, I'm a fighter for the crowds!" She shadowboxes, coming about two inches from popping Staren in the nose (sorry, Staren) - though she doesn't quite hit him, even if he doesn't flinch away from it. "I'm actually a champion, at home, or I was, but I don't fight in Coursair anymore. So I've been looking for other places to get matches. I don't use the sword either, though." She raps her staff against the ground by way of emphasis while walking toward the Quicksand.

She forgot about her fish.

Staren has posed:
    Staren nods at Katt's explanation, and at Inga's suggestion to get out of the sun. "They fight for the entertainment of others." Staren adds, unsure if 'prize fighter' made that clear.

    Staren flinches at the fake punch. He hasn't bothered to work on the whole 'cool guys don't flinch' because... well, he can't devote that much time to looking cool. Fortunately, from context he can TELL it's a fake punch, so he isn't diving for cover and drawing his gun.

    ...13 years in the Multiverse, man.

    On to the Quicksand! Staren takes a couple seconds to look around, then lets N'raha lead them to a table or the bar or whatever.

    "So uh... what else are you guys working on these days?"

N'raha Tia has posed:
    It's not nearly as crowded as it might be, but maybe that's just a figment of the cosiness of the place. There's seemingly room for everyone, but just enough. Just enough space so that you don't feel penned in, but aware that there's lots of people in here. How does Momodi do it?

    Raha sighs a bit, finding a table for people, and unloading Inga's haul. "Honestly? Not a lot. The Garleans have been quiet, none of the beast tribes have taken to summoning for a while. The biggest thing has really been the Minstrel on tour."

    He waves to one of the waitresses, a miqo'te girl in a fetching long black skirt, who starts taking orders and bringing water.

Inga has posed:
Inga follows Raha's lead to the Quicksand, frankly surprised there even is a ramp. She's pleased. "Ah, I see. I did not mean to be rude. A quirk of language," she says to Katt. Poor Raha needs a break from carrying all her bags!

Inga 'oooohs' at the explaination. "I see. I think I have heard of such things. I believe it was popular long ago in Rome," she says. "Of course it still exists in my world too. They call it boxing. It's much less lethal."

Inga falls gratefully into a seat and takes off the scarf she had tied around her head. It is cooler in here, she'd like to let her scalp breathe.

To Staren, she shrugs. "The usual really, though I have been trying to get back out and into the multiverse. Dun Realtai has been relatively quiet."

She would order a cool drink, then finally bring up her question for N'raha. "I can't help but notice people seem to look at you like they are a bit surprised to see you. Especially the other miqo'te...."

Katt (6860) has posed:
Katt plops down in a seat of her own, leaning her staff up against the table as she settles down. "Oh, boxing," she says, slightly dismissively. "That's just fistfighting. I do a little more than that! But I know what that is, at least."

Katt's idea of 'boxing' is probably not quite the same as Inga's, but at least she sort of knows what it is.

Since Katt never met Staren before, she assumes he's not asking her (plus, she said: she was looking to see if she could get some matches in here) so instead she distracts herself by ordering. "Do you have something to eat?" she says, a little hopefully. "Along with the water." She settles on ordering something meaty, if it's available.

"They look at everyone," she adds, after Inga speaks. "They looked at /me/ too, and I'm perfectly normal."

N'raha Tia has posed:
    The waitress catte happily takes food orders as well, scooting off to fill those as quick as she can. Hooray, meat onna stick, that's nice and easy.

    "Oh. Uh." Raha's ears pinken just a little bit as he gets That Question. He huffs and his tail swishes and he sighs. "It's... strange to see a male Miqo'te of my age here in Ul'dah because by and large by the time we're adults we're typically back out with the Tribe or... just gone." He scratches at the back of his head. "Because there's so few of us."

Inga has posed:
Inga manages not to react to Katt saying she's perfectly normal. She suppose she must be where she is from. Inga is likely the strange one.

Inga furrows her brow at Raha. "What do you mean, gone?"

Staren has posed:
    Staren nods at Inga's comment about Dun Realtai being quiet. And then when she points out everyone's looking at N'Raha he asks, "Oh, are you famous?" He explains. "Oh." Long pause. "Is... is it a problem?"

    And here's the waitress! "Any reccomendations?" Staren asks Raha.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    There's no avoiding it now. "Well, I'm famous because I'm old enough to have a family of my own and I don't. AND becase I'm the Warrior of Light. That's two different things for groups of people." Raha's ears are turning redder now, as he sips on his water, trying to burn off the embarassment of explaining this to outsiders.
    "Because... there is only /male/ miqo'te for every dozen or so female Miqote." He lets that sink in a bit, as the waitress catte comes back, drops off Katt's food and everyone else's drinks, and then makes eyes at Raha, and even flicks her tail a bit as she leaves.

    ...Oh.

Katt (6860) has posed:
It's funny, since woren are not especially common where Katt is from - in fact, she's only ever seen a bare handful of local woren. She sees more feline people in the room now than she ever met in Coursair. And yet she still considers herself normal... and there's an awful lot of non-humans at home, too.

"Huh, really?" she says. "Well, you look pretty skinny for a woren boy. They tend to be really - " She takes an exaggerated bodybuilder pose that she really doesn't have the bulk to manage. "Burly. But I figured there were boy miqo'tes around and they just looked more like you, but they're not from Ul'dah. Anyway, I don't mind the look, but you're a little short on fur, aren't you?"

She grins a thanks at the waitress, her own tail flicking too. It's not flirtateous. Probably. Not with the waitress, anyway.

Inga has posed:
Inga's mouths an 'aaah' as suddenly things begin to make sense. That's what all those looks were about.

She can't help it. She laughs. "Poor Raha," she giggles. The flick of the waitress' tail just increases the giggling.

Then Katt chimes in and she really has to struggle not to laugh out loud.

Staren has posed:
    Staren is absolutely sure that if the imbalance bothers mi'qote society at all it can be solved with a bunch of cloning tanks, and maybe even an effort at genetic manipulation! But uhh, that'd be rude to just /ask/, and while N'Raha indicates that he's unusual, he doesn't seem to be indicating that it's a problem for Mi'qote /society/.

    Raha is short on fur? "How can you tell? He's wearing pants." he hopes that's taken as a friendly jibe and that it doesn't hit some woren cultural thing.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Raha's fur prickles and fluffs up, but he just sighs and leans forward. Might as well... say everything. "So back home, the males are put in charge of the clans, they have a bunch of wives and that's how things work in the deserts." He waves at the blue-skinned Miq girl across the room, who seems to be having no trouble keeping her eyes off Raha.
    "The miqo'te of the Shroud are Matriarchal, so it's all aunts and stuff and the fellas get... sort of shuffled around to families who need younglings."

    His ears are scorching.

Katt (6860) has posed:
"Good point," Katt allows, tapping her chin thoughtfully before picking up one of the meat skewers. Her grin broadens before she takes a bite out of it - maybe she thinks it's funny that he's embarrassed.

"Really, the wives have to share? That's not very fair, is it?" Katt's brow furrows before she takes a bite, chewing on that for a few moments. Then she leans over and slaps N'raha in a friendly manner on the shoulder. "Well, it's all fine. YOU didn't set it up, you don't have to turn red! It's kind of funny when you do, though..."

Inga has posed:
Oh goodness. Inga covers her mouth and shakes her head. It takes her a moment to get things under control. She takes a deep breath. "I suppose that must be a lot of pressure," she says, looking toward Staren, just begging him not to say something...Staren-ish.

To Katt, Inga shrugs. "Mmm, to some women it is a fine arrangement I suppose. Easier to raise children and whatnot with more help around. Its not a situation I would consider," she adds with a shrug.

She looks between Katt and Raha, exhales quickly through her nose then lifts her drink to her lips. Some kind of fruity beverage. It's delicious.

Staren has posed:
    Staren listens somewhat impassively. It's logical that a gender imbalance is going to shape society in certain ways, after all. As long as nobody's mistreated, it's not a problem to be fixed, right?

    His expression slightly darkens at the word 'Shroud'. Ugh, /those/ idiots. If anyone had a problem with the way they do things they'd run screaming out of the shroud at the first opportunity, he's sure.

    "If it isn't bothering anyone..." he shrugs. "Curious that you seem to yourself feel it's odd, though. Were you raised by humans or something?"

N'raha Tia has posed:
    There's a bit of a snap. "Do you like talking about your species' mating habits with people, Staren?" Raha's tail flick flick flicks, his ears puffed up. "I... you're... well Inga's a friend and she asked and...

    A breath. "And yeah. I-it was nice having a bunch of aunts and mom and sisters around, so... it's not... not strange, but it's strange having to explain that to other people and why... uh."

    He takes a drink of water and mumbles something that sounds a lot like 'old maid'. It's hard to tell.

Katt (6860) has posed:
Katt shrugs. "I guess," Katt says, when Inga brings it up; Katt doesn't think about children at all, so she doesn't think about how it would be hard or easy to raise one.

Katt seems impossible to embarrass herself, but she does stop needling N'raha about it, at least. "Well, just keep doing what you like, then. That's what I do," she says, jabbing a thumb at her own chest. "And if someone else gives you trouble, just tell them it's not their business! And if they /keep/ giving you trouble, well, you can figure out what to do from there."

Inga has posed:
Inga looks embarrassed now, and apologetic. "I'm sorry Raha, I didn't know it would be such an embarrassing subject," she says, sheepish. It was just an observation, she didn't think it would turn into a thing...and after all Raha's done for her lately.

Maybe a small distraction but... "You know, its rather late now but I did neglect to pass out a few Yule gifts," she says, then goes digging into the pouch at her belt that holds way more than it should be capable of. She pulls out a wrapped box and slides it accross the table toward Raha.

She then goes back and pulls out another box, passing it to Staren.

She looks apologetically toward Katt. "I'm afraid I don't have a gift for you, as we only just met but...I can offer a taco?" she says, and...pulls out a perfectly fresh, hot, delicious smelling taco. There might be a little bit of honey on it, though.

Staren has posed:
    Staren blinks. "I don't have a species, I'm a one-of-a-kind halfbreed." he states innocently. "Facts are facts though. Stuff happens, or there would be no more mi'qote, and no more humans, and no more quite a lot of people. People shouldn't be embarassed about things so vital to their existence... At least, in generalities. /Your/ life specifically is personal, of course." He shrugs at the rest, and then nods enthusiastically with Katt's assessment.

    And then, surprise gifts! He looks at the box, surprised. "Should I open it here, or...?" he asks, unsurely. He doesn't want to make a social faux pas that insults Inga or something.

Inga has posed:
Inga waves her hand toward Staren and nods, indicating he should go ahead. Inside, there is a knitted kerchief--like the bandanas he usually wears, but made of soft wool so its nice and warm. It's a fetching brick red.

In Raha's box, there is a handknit hat in a dark grey yarn that actually has space inside it to fit his ears. A slouchy style, very fashionable.

Katt (6860) has posed:
Katt would not have expected a gift from someone she just met.

She's not going to complain about getting one. "Hey, thank you," she says. "I don't have anything at all for you, I haven't really done my shopping today! But I won't say no to a taco." Even though she already ate two of those meat-on-a-sticks and some grilled nopales, and even if it has honey on it.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Huff. Puff. Raha's ears defalte and go slowly regular pink again as he settles down, his tail swishing less spastically. "Right, well. Yeah." Yeah. Yeah you tell them.
    He sighs a bit and slides the box open to find... a hat. A knit hat.
    Oh. "Oh. That's why you kicked me out, okay." He shuffles a bit, and slides the hat over his head, wiggling it just soooooo, until it's clear his ears are in the right spot. "Oh. Hey. Nifty. That'll help back in the Dun. AND in Courthas. Thanks!"

    He shifts a bit in his chair, before pulling the hat off his head and tucking it... wherever the rest of his gear goes. "And here I didn't get you anything, Inga, I'm sorry."

Staren has posed:
    The catman's eyes widen a bit as he looks at the gift, then to Inga. "Thank you." He reaches behind his neck and undoes his bandana, slipping off the ringlike clap it's tied with and slipping it onto his finger -- a tarnished-silver-looking ring with a design etched in the surface of lines at right angles, and a clear, hemispherical stone set in it. Taking the bandana off reveals three pendants under it: a small, rectangular metal plate with glyphs of some sort and another clear crystal, a large opal set in finely-sculpted silver hanging from a leather and wire thong, and a simple disc with yet another clear crystal on a simple cord. He ties Inga's present around his neck, then adjusts the goggles around his neck so they lay over it.

    After a moment, he looks at Inga a bit awkwardly. "Um... I'm sorry, I'm terrible with gifts. I uh... I'm happy to help someone get what they need or want, I just... if there's anything you wanted for Christmas, let me know?"

Inga has posed:
Inga waves her hand dismissively at Raha. "It is not your custom. But in my home one should always get a new article of clothing on Yule. It is a tradition. They say those who do not will be eaten by the Yule Cat--a monsterous, giant cat," she explains. Her cheeks are slightly pink. She seems glad hear gifts are enjoyed.

Staren also gets a wave of dismissal, but also a scoff. "Tch, I do not want anything for /christmas/....but, I shall let you know," she says with a nod, softening her prickly tone by the end.

Well, at least they aren't talking about mating anymore.

Katt (6860) has posed:
"Meow," Katt says once she's swallowed. after the Yule Cat explanation.

Yes, that is a joke. She grins, showing teeth. Don't worry; it means she's being friendly. "Do you have enough stuff in there?" she asks Staren, before applying herself to the rest of the taco.