Maristheum...was strange.

Perhaps the correct term was this city was too busy; it just made him miss Kyra even more. He missed his father but he was positive his adoptive father's business was doing much better now that he was gone. For that he was happy, even if he hadn't really had much of a choice when Captain Karun transferred him here.

Not that he was complaining, a part of him wanted to come.

A soldier could only do so much in Kyra and he really wanted to help out his new home much more then what they had him doing back at his old command.

Granted his choice of duties hadn't improved much, he was often assigned to random cleaning duties and ended up with the night patrol allot. Even stranger Captain Karun seemed to be in Maristheum for a while; he even heard rumors about him transferring. It made no sense to Kier but it was not his business to question his old Captain. He supposed that since Maristheum was a much bigger city he probably wouldn't end up directly under Captain Karun's command like in Kyra.

Not that it mattered; he had much worse problems than his old Captain. Specifically his patrolling partner, who seemed to partly harass him and at the same time be completely friendly. Though his partner Genra really needed to learn some more self control or at least he should stop getting Kier involved in so much trouble.

Now was a prime example, Genra had somehow decided that Kier needed help with talking to the ladies. End result was him getting shoved forward towards a girl and nearly toppling over her. Luckily he remained standing but not so lucky his hand had stopped on her chest. Kier for a moment thought maybe he had run into a boy so he raised his eyes to meet what was certainly a girl...one without a chest.

Should he apologize? Perhaps he should just let her slap him? Or maybe for starters he should remove his hand from her chest even if there wasn't anything there. Kier retracted his hand still at a loss what to say, "ummm..."

Trouble had a strange habit of gravitating toward Qhori, even when she'd done nothing at all to incite it. She was on an errand run for one of the masters and minding her own business when a boy (a young man? he had such a young face, she couldn't quite tell) came flying into her path. He wasn't much taller, but he was quite a bit heavier, forcing her to stumble backwards as he landed on her, hand outstretched to keep from falling over completely.

She was glad for the layers she wore to keep out the cold, as she could hardly feel the outline of his palm on her body, just his weight. That provided at least a small buffer between mild and full blown embarrassment. Bewildered, Qhori backed up just as quickly as he retracted his hand, both acting as though they had been lit on fire. She buried her flushed face in her scarf. Qhori would have been just as happy to move on and forget it ever happened, but he had started to say something and that gave her pause.

Upon second glance, the magelet took a long look at his uniform and realized he wasn't just any man -- he was a soldier. That rooted her in place. Was he going to blame her for the incident? "I...sorry?" Qhori apologized quickly, hoping to prevent the situation from going sour. "You okay?"

Kier already felt bad.

The fact that she seemed flushed and even apologized to him when she nothing wrong made him feel worse. He should apologize but he wasn't sure if that was enough. He could offer to treat her to a meal, would that come off as him hitting on her? It was not his intent; she just seemed a little too skinny like she wasn't eating enough.

That was probably implying that she was poor.

He remained silent for a few more minutes before he finally managed to get words out of his mouth, "I'm sorry, I should of watched where I was going" He felt very awkward but then he always felt that way when he was talking to other girls. "Can I do anything to make up for being so clumsy"

Sure it hadn't really been his fault but trying to explain that his partner was an idiot probably wouldn't come out right.

Qhori had kept her eyes firmly on the ground after making her apology, not wanting to seem like she was challenging his authority staring at the soldier. She'd made that mistake before with other guards, but this time, her situation seemed to be different. Instead of being berated or accused of anything, the soldier seemed to echo her with his own apology. That forced her to look up. He appeared to be just as nervous, if not moreso than she was, almost as if he'd never spoken to another person in his life.

Unfortunately, the magelet only understood half of what he was trying to convey, the second part lost on her. Something about being clumsy? She blinked. "Sorry, you do what?" As usual, she felt the need to explain her refugee status. "I...um... My Escovan is not so very good, sorry."

Wait, what?

Kier looked at her trying to process what she had said, something about her escovian not being good. So she was a refugee and apparently one who was still learning the language which complicated things. Should he try his homelands language, he wasn’t sure if a lot of people would know how to speak Aydin.

He ran a hand through his hair remaining silent as he tried to make up his mind before he finally decided to just wing it, ”I’m sorry I ran into you, can I make it up to you” His accent always came out when speaking his homelands native language but he hadn’t spoken in his native tongue in many years. He knew a little parsai but not nearly enough to speak it fluently.

All he could do now was wait to see if she understood, if not he would try gestures.

When he started speaking again, this time in Aydin, Qhori stared in disbelief. Her jaw was slack as she recognized the words, though the actual message was lost in the realization that he wasn't what she thought. "You speak...? But...you a..." She clapped a hand to her mouth, feeling even more embarrassed than she was before, but simultaneously excited.

It took a moment to think of the right words. Qhori was a little rusty on the language, having only spoken Aydin a handful of times since coming to the Mainland. One of the other students, younger than herself and a Seer, was even a noble there. But she did her best to recall the tongue, speaking with an accent of her own, "Sorry, that was...presumptuous of me. I didn't think they allowed Refugees to become soldiers here. Er. You are a Refugee, yes?"

Kier never liked this part.

She looked shocked at realizing that yes indeed he was a refugee, now he just had to wait for the rocks. He really hopped she would just storm off disgusted and not throw things at him. Though if he had his choice he would take rocks over rotten fruit any day.

Strange enough she did neither and he was a little surprised when she simply spoke back in his native tongue. Sure he had spoken it first but he hadn't been too confident on actually getting a response. Kier got a grip on himself clearing his throught feeling embarassed that he had probably made a fool of himself.

"I'm not really sure they do, I was rejected quite a few times before they accepted my enlistment" He wouldn't go into detail how much effort he had to put into that or all the harassment he went through during recruit training. "Yes M'lady I am, you aren't hurt from earlier are you?"

Qhori couldn't help smiling at that. "M'lady? I'm...not a lady. Not at all." While she wasn't wearing rags anymore, the clothing she'd been given by the Academy was hardly anything out of the normal for a peasant girl. And it was far from anything befitting an actual lady, based on the mixture of wool and linen materials alone. Still, he was being polite. She could return the manners. "I'm not hurt, at all. But thank you for asking, sir."

"Kier! You done flirting yet?" someone called out in Escovan, a few feet past the young man before her. Another soldier, it seemed, leaning up against the wall of the nearest building. He looked amused. Qhori frowned. There was that word again, flirt. The other boy in the smithy had used it when she was speaking to Isa, but she couldn't quite gather what they meant. It was a verb, at least, as far as she understood by the suffix of 'ing'.

She didn't like being watched, though. Qhori tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Um. I hope I'm not delaying you..."

"A force a habit but if your uncomfortable than I can address you as something else" It still felt odd speaking his own tongue but it wasn't bad, in a way it made him miss his homeland.

Kier couldn't even help feeling relieved that he hadn't hurt her at all, stupid Genra. Why couldn't the man use less extreme measures to help him with his social skills or better yet he would prefer the man not to help at all. He knew he was bad at talking with people and he would do something about it eventually....probably.... alright maybe not.

Speak of the annoyance.

It probably would have been easier to tell him off if he hated his partner, but he couldn't bring himself too. Genra wasn't that bad...and he was one of the few people that actually talked to him because talking wasn't really needed on patrol. Kier sighed shaking his head at his partner before switching to escovian, "It's not like you plan on working anyways, I'll meet you at our usual spot" Which was outside a brothel and no he did not go in, Kier waited OUTSIDE for his partner to finish.

Returning his attention to the girl he had nearly trampled over he smiled a little embarrassed at his partner. "No, my partner seems to hate working so I'm not sure why he even joined the military" Genra was always saying that a guy like him was not meant to work, he was born to be waited on hand and foot by a beautiful wife who transformed into a wild animal in the bedroom.

Yep that was Genra.

"I'd like to make up for the earlier incident if I can but don’t worry I'm not hitting on you" Did that sound wrong? It made it sound like he was saying she was not attractive, which wasn't the case. "Not that you’re not beautiful but I actually thought you were a boy....that’s not I meant, you are indeed a girl....I'll stop talking now" Kier placed over his face as if it could cover up how red he was from embarrassment, this is why he didn't talk with people because he couldn't really convey himself well. That and his words tended to come out all wrong...

He wasn't hitting on her? That was...kind of a relief. Qhori hadn't gotten that impression -- he could barely get a word out to her without getting flustered -- but it made her feel more at ease to know that this was a harmless interaction. She'd heard stories of soldiers taking advantage of their power over young women, citizens and refugees alike. This one -- Kier was it? She wasn't sure if that was a first or last name -- didn't seem the type, though looks were deceiving.

Then he was rambling, giving her something that sounded like a backhanded compliment. It was hard to keep a straight face. Qhori had to bite her lip to keep from laughing rudely. She wasn't sure if he could turn a deeper shade of red, but he could easily prove her wrong. The magelet tried to be gentle. "I...used to get that a lot, actually." She paused, realizing that wasn't quite clear, "The boy thing, that is. Um."

But she didn't really want to talk about those days. She was pretty sure a perfect stranger didn't want to hear about them, anyway. It wasn't a casual subject one discussed in polite company. "And you don't have to do anything for me, really. I'm fine! Everyone makes mistakes and has accidents..." she trailed off. Apparently, rambling was an infectious habit. "Ah. I'm Qhori, by the way."

Someone just shoot him.

He could tell she was holding in her laughter to be polite and he wasn't sure if that was worse, maybe she should just let it out. Granted he would feel like an even bigger idiot and yes his face could probably turn a darker shade of red. He kind of felt bad about the boy comment, she was very pretty after all...should he reassure her? She didn't seem like she needed that but he really didn't know much about this girl to make that kind of judgment.

"In the past most likely because I can see your a very beautiful girl"

Did that sound strange? He sure hopped it didn't because it was not his intention to sounds strange. Kier's shyness was starting to shake off as he slid a friendly smile on his face, "Qhori, it's a nice name. My name is Kier, though I confess my partner Genra is one of the only ones who uses my name" Other soldiers were prone to call him other names and the rest just used his last name. His social skills tended to make his list of friends nonexistent but he had grown used to it.

Kier was about to say something more when a rather large man, large as in a ale guy large shoved Qhori out of his way. "Stop standing in the way trash, go back to the dump!" He frowned at the man but reached out to catch her in case she fell, why must people act that way.

"Are you alright?" Seemed like he was asking her that alot today and yes, two times in a twenty minute time span was alot.

Did she have a sign on her back that read Shove Me today? Not once, but twice, Qhori had been treated as an obstacle rather than a person. She stumbled forward, but managed to find enough balance that she didn't collide with the young soldier. Turning around to look at whomever had pushed her so rudely, the man was already lumbering down the street.

She had half a mind to shout something profane at him, but it wasn't worth the trouble if he actually heard it. Even in the company of a guard, it didn't seem likely that Kier would be a fair match against him. Instead, she made a face at his back, sticking her tongue out and gesturing something crude with her hands. The stranger was oblivious to all of it, though. Qhori looked back to Kier, waving away his concern, "Yeah, I okay. But that man? He a jerk. Nothing to help that."

He was glad she didn't fall.

Because Kier wasn't sure if it would have turned out well, sure he would have caught her but it would take slight bad luck for his hand to catch her in the wrong spot. As in a place a man is not supposed to touch in less given permission...not that he would know anything about that. It's not that he didn't find woman attractive its just that all his attempts at talking to them ended badly or he ended up not talking to them at all.

Back to that man though.

His eyes found the man’s back with a frown, sure she was okay but he couldn't except another man being so rude to a woman. He nearly shoved her to the ground, no apology and even had the gall to insult her. Stuff like that didn't sit well with him, he could ignore it when directed his way but not towards woman. Kier could only agree with a smile, he lifted a finger up signaling to give him a moment.

Moving past her he maneuvered between people until he caught up to the man which hadn't taken to long. Kier reached out placing a hand on the man’s huge shoulder stopping him, the large man turned around his eyes narrowing at the sight of Kier. He must not of been a fan of soldiers either, he was used to it by now especially with refugees. "I think you owe that young lady an apology Sir"

The tub of lard spit of to the side before puffing up his chest or was that just his stomach? Regardless he was trying to act intimidating which in a way he was, but Kier had taken down men much larger than him. Genra loved to slack off in the market district and somehow Kier always found himself stepping in and stopping quite a few men from harassing young woman. On a side note he had even helped a man who was being harassed by a woman...he still had a scratch on his cheek to prove it.

"Refugee trash does not belong here officer" He frowned at the comment but didn't give the man a chance to continue the insults further, "Take that up with the king but at present you owe her an apology"

Qhori hadn't moved when Kier stepped around her, confused at what he was going to do. He started off in the direction of the man without a word, though she assumed he meant for her to follow. Tentatively, she ducked and wove between the crowd, though her slower pace left a few feet of distance between herself and the soldier. When she finally caught up, Kier had already gotten the man's attention and was confronting him.

Qhori winced, half tempted to ditch both of them. She'd learned a long time ago not to draw attention to herself, and that standing up to bullies was hardly worth the trouble. Besides, the easiest way to make someone pay for their insults was through their wallet, though she had given up her thieving ways quite some time ago. (And that was hardly an option around city guards.) Words were wind. She was ready to let it slide. Kier, on the other hand, was not. Was it on her behalf, or had he been stung by the crude comments about Refugees, too?

Either way, Qhori couldn't let him get hurt on her account, soldier or not. This dude was massive (from where she stood, anyway) and looked unlikely to go down easy. She put a light hand on Kier's shoulder, speaking to him in Aydin in a low voice, "No, it's...it's fine. Really."

He wasn't trying to be prejudice...but why did fat people smell so bad!

It wasn't the stench of liquor either, the man just had this odor that radiated off of him and it wasn't the good thing. Kier was going to feel sick if he stayed around this man for too long, so he would try to finish this up quickly.

His eyes glanced to the side when he felt a hand on his shoulder, it was Qhori. He heard what she said but he couldn't let this go, even though she asked nicely. So he whispered back to her in Aydin, "Even if he won’t apologize he needs to know that he can’t get away with it"

Kier caught the man reaching out as if trying to catch him off guard but he gripped the man's fat hand bending it backwards. Peoples size wouldn't do them much good if they didn't train themselves how to use it which is why this man was all talk. Applying simple amount of pressure on palm and risk dropped the massive man to a knee as he cringed in pain.

"If I see you shoving anymore people around than I will arrest you, maybe some days in the brig would change your humanity" Kier let go of the man’s hand before placing a light hand on Qhori's back ushering her away. He switched back to Aydin with a sheepish smile, "Sorry if I brought unwanted attention to you"

This was going to get ugly. It had to get ugly. Qhori wanted to cover her eyes or just turn and run away, because Kier wasn't listening to her, he couldn't just leave things be, and--

And then the large, odorous man was on the ground, cowering in pain.

Kier was already leading her away from the scene before she could fully understand what was happening. Qhori craned her head back, attention split between the young soldier and his opponent. She was part impressed and part ashamed of doubting his capability, replying in Aydin, "But... You just-- How--"

Whatever question she was about to ask was cut short when she heard the man bellowing behind them: "You're one of 'em, too! You little refugee piece of shit! Disguising yourself like you're a patriot! How dare you wear that uniform!"

She couldn't help turning to look, his tirade so loud and venomous that it was drawing the attention of an entire crowd of people. But by the time she had fully spun around, the stubborn xenophobe was back on his feet, clutching his hand as he shoved his way forward, practically frothing at the mouth. Enough was enough. Qhori flashed a small smile at Kier, "My turn."

The girl pulled away from her new ally, stepping ahead of him to block the brute's path. She narrowed her eyes in concentration, focusing on his legs, summoning her Will. Under her breath, she uttered the Command, fingers gesturing something only another mage might recognize. And in the blink of an eye, the man's legs went flying out from under him, head and back hitting the ground with a resounding thunk that shook the ground. It was as if some invisible limbs had reached out and tripped him.

Kier ignored the man’s words, right now getting Qhori away from the mess he created was priority.

He was used to such words by now anyways and they didn't always come from Civilians, there were many refugees who saw him as a traitor. Kier could handle it, he had prepared the day he decided to join the military to face such hatred. Finally he turned around as well since Qhori had turned to watch the man acting like an even bigger idiot. If he had been paying better attention he might have stopped her but he hadn't so when her words finally registered his eyes widened in alarm.

Wait she would get hur--he was on the ground!

What just happened because he blinked and then the man had fallen right on his back like someone had shoved him. Yet Qhori was no close enough and he didn't think she had enough strength to tip the cow over. The crowd that had formed without his notice seemed equally surprised. It was time to go before this turned even worse. Moving forward he tapped her lightly on the shoulder before taking her hand and attempting to escort her away.

Slipping in to Aydin he asked what was on his mind, "What was that back there, I kind of blinked and missed it"

"He slipped," Qhori said lightly, shrugging as if it was no big deal. Truthfully, she'd never actually performed that spell outside of practice on Academy grounds, with other mages. She wasn't even sure how well it was going to work on a man of that size, but as the old adage went, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. And he had gone down like a dropped anvil. A glance behind them showed that the man hadn't recovered, still out cold on the ground. No one seemed interested in following the pair, though. Maybe they all assumed he'd fallen on a patch of ice.

It was better that way, though. Mages were respected in Escova, even revered in some cases, but that didn't mean she needed to broadcast her Gift to everyone on the street. Bad enough she was a Refugee, but a Refugee with potentially dangerous abilities? Qhori had a hard time believing that it would endear her any more to the citizens.

She made sure they were clear of the incident and away from eavesdroppers before leaning in to Kier. "I'm a mage. I study at the Academy. He wouldn't stop, so I just...shut him up," she whispered sheepishly in Aydin, feeling a little bad, in retrospect. It wasn't that the guy didn't deserve to be taught a lesson -- she just hoped she wouldn't get in trouble for it later.

He slipped?

Really? It sure didn't seem like it but Kier wouldn't question her if that’s what happened because she had been alot closer to the man than him. He had always believed it was rude to doubt the words of a lady anyways.

They had a good enough distance away from the scene so Kier slowed his pace letting go of her hand. That was probably rude of him to grab a woman’s hand even if it was to protect her. Maybe he should apologize? Bringing it up may just turn the situation awkward so should he ignore it? Somewhere among his pondering he felt her breath by her ear and Kier would lying if he said he didn't almost jump. After his initial shock he turned around to face her processing her words.

A mage? He had never met one before, with the exception of himself and that seer that he ran into. Kier didn't even really feel like a mage but Qhori had admitted she was one and to be studying at the mage academy too, that was kind of something. At the last part he couldn't help but chuckle, "Sometimes that’s the only way and it’s not like you really hurt him, although he might walk around with a really bad headache" He wondered what mages did at the academy...

"You happen to be the first mage I've met, minus the seer he told me I had passive magic but the man seemed to enjoy speaking in riddles"

She hoped that man would come away with as little as a headache, and maybe a wounded sense of pride. If the injury proved worse than that, though... Qhori was glad they had walked away. She tried not to think of him, or the consequences of using her magic against civilians, no matter how arrogant they might be. Thankfully, Kier's shift in subject took her mind off it.

"Really?" Her brow raised in surprise at his admission of having magic. A passive form, but magic all the same. She'd learned the basics about different sorts of manifestations of the Gift, though she'd only known one student to possess an ability. He was a Seer, but the way Kier distinguished himself from the one who'd identified him led Qhori to believe his magic was different. "What can you do? If you don't mind my asking..."

Perhaps he was improving.

Although the conversation between them had started out bad thanks to the minor incident he seemed to be able to talk with her much better or it seemed that way to him. Was it because they were speaking in his homes language? It had never bothered him before but it was a bit nice, if not made him miss home a bit and that had not happened in a long time.

The subject of his magic made him a little uncomfortable even though he was the one to bring it up.

It really showed how comfortable he had gotten with talking but it was not like him to bring up his magic so why now? Maybe it was because she was a mage too? He didn't know but he owed it to her to at least show her his magic. It beat explaining it because he probably wouldn't do so well. Waving Qhori a bit he walked a bit further ahead to a less crowded area, but there were still people around. "It's not all that exciting, I thought I was just abnormal when I was little"

Closing his eyes a moment Kier focused his magic before reopening giving a little whistle. A flock of birds descended perching on the both of them like a tree, that didn't go well, he had only meant to try and call one....

"Never been very good at this magic stuff, from what the seer said its called animal empathy" Kier lifted a hand sending two birds off to the sky before stroking the feathers of one on his other arm.

She didn't know what to expect when he closed his eyes. Any number of things could have happened -- but then he whistled, and the open sky overhead suddenly darkened with the thick silhouettes of...birds? So many birds! Before she could blink or even move, they descended like a cloud of feathers and flapping wings. Qhori stifled a surprised squeak.

It was instinct to shield herself, fearing it was some sort of attack (revenge for all the cousins that had fed her during past winters, perhaps), but they settled neatly on her arms and shoulders, docile as kittens. And then Qhori shooed them off with a wave of her hand. As they flew back up, she shook her head, shuddering. One still perched upon Kier's arm, like they were old friends.

"Animal...empathy?" she repeated, puzzled. Even in Aydin, that didn't make much sense to Qhori. "So...not just birds?" She was glad he hadn't neighed or barked. They might have been trampled in the street, if his gift was that powerful.

Birds were amazing creatures but in the end all animals were.

Lifting his arm the bird flew away as he returned his attention back to Qhori, "My apologies if I startled you, but I thought seeing it would be better than me trying to explain it" He had never meant for it turn into some kind of bird attack because let’s face it, if he hadn't been prepared he probably would of ducked and covered if a flock of birds were heading his way.

Kier nodded his head to both her questions, "It's kind of like a connection with animals, I feel their emotions and they can feel mine. I don't control them but I can call out to them and in some ways communicate with them" Some ways being he was still learning, it was hard to teach oneself their own magic. Especially considering for the longest time he hadn't even wanted to accept that his freakish talent to communicate with animals was even magic.

"I suppose I need more practice but there never seems to be enough time between patrols" He decided to ask her that question he had wanted to know earlier, "So what’s the academy like?"

Trying to describe what the Academy was like was a complicated task. Qhori couldn't sum it up in one sentence, let alone a word, not to mention her experience was probably very different from that of other students. It took her a moment to settle on something simple, universal to everyone who worked and lived inside those walls: "Busy."

She paused, thinking of how to elaborate, switching back to Aydin. "Easier if you're rich..." Same as it was outside of the school, really. "They always say that magic makes the students equal, makes everyone in the Guild equal, but that's not true. People like me, who came with nothing... Well, I don't just get clothes and food for free." Ostensibly, she did; it was in some rulebook or another about the school, but in practice, she wasn't receiving room and board without having to chip in herself. "I have chores. And school work. That means reading, and that's harder because most of the texts are Escovan."

Speaking of which, she had to wonder: "Your Escovan...is very good. How long you learn to speak it?" Which was really the roundabout way of asking how long he'd been a Refugee in this country, and how he'd mastered the tongue so well that he blended in with the locals.

He could imagine.

All those students, must be a real hectic place, Kier was glad he had a useless kind of magic. That way he would never be recruited to be a battlemage, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be surrounded by so many powerful people.

Kier nodded his head as she spoke to assure her he understood, everything seemed easier if a person was rich. If someone had the money than they could do anything, it didn’t seem right to him but a refugee didn’t have any say in the matter.

At her next question he opened his mouth pausued for a moment and than spoke after gathering his thoughts, ”My parents sent me over when I was real young, an escovian couple in Kyra adopted me. Living with them helped me to pick up the language a lot faster” He actually missed his adoptive parents, he sent them most of his money so they would be okay but he still missed them. Turning to Ari a thought poped into his head, [b]”Would you like me to help you? With reading Escovan better I mean”

She shouldn't have felt so oddly...jealous at that moment, but it was there, a vicious little worm of envy for his situation, gnawing at her. He had parents. He had people to look out for him, raise him, teach him, love him. Qhori had been adopted, too; her father had always made it clear that she wasn't his by birth, and somehow being chosen seemed almost better than being incidental, like most children. But he had died. A long, long time ago.

And she was alone.

For a moment, her thoughts might have betrayed her, the placid smile falling from her lips at the thought. But then he offered to help her. Her brow lifted in surprise. "Really? You would?" Hadn't they just met a few minutes ago? He was a nice boy, and she genuinely believed that his adoptive parents had raised him to pay it forward. But she was still getting used to this whole 'kindness without strings attached' concept. "I...that would be nice, but I don't... I can't pay you, or..."

Maybe it had been weird to offer?

After all they had just met but for some reason he found himself offering her help before he had time to give it much thought. It was a new concept for him, to be able to decide something so quickly and he liked it. Qhori was a good influence on him, although he might be a bad influence on her…

Kier nodded his head to her, ”Of course” He could read Escovan quite good in fact, he had done a lot of reading when he was younger because that was all he could do besides help his adoptive father, making friends had been too hard. Had he given her the impression that there was a fee too teach her? He had never meant it that way, Kier shook his head and waved his hands in the air feeling embarrassed. ”No I don’t need any money, I just thought you wanted to blend in more so I thought maybe helping with your escovan would help”

Qhori flinched. She was mucking this up, even in a language they both spoke. Maybe she just didn't understand Escovan people, even less than she knew their tongue. "Sorry, I didn't mean... I just. It's very nice of you to offer," she blurted, wondering how to explain what she meant without potentially offending him. "Reading is much harder than speaking. I wouldn't mind your help at all, but I feel like I...ought to give you something back. Help you, somehow. I don't want to, ah...take advantage?"

Sounded like they had the same disease.

Not being able to properly express themselves, it was nice knowing he wasn’t the only one. He listened to her quietly before it finally it clicked, so that’s what she had meant…he could definitely understand that. Kier always felt like doing something in return when someone helped him out. ”I’ve never really asked for anything before but your helping already, I’m actually quite bad at talking with other people but some reason talking to you seems to be easy”

Maybe because she was a refugee? It could even because she was a mage he had no idea.

It was easy to talk to her? That was a first. Most people around here found her babbling absolutely frustrating, but maybe that was the language barrier getting in her way. "Maybe it's because I can speak Aydin," she suggested with a shrug, unsure just how awful he thought he was in conversation with other people. Sure, he was a little awkward at first, but once they found some common ground (and he'd stopped fixating on the fact that she was a girl), it wasn't so bad.

"I could...try to help with that? I don't know how, exactly, but... I guess we can just keep talking," she offered with a small smile.

Why did everything he said sound so strange or maybe it was just him.

Kier shrugged his shoulders with a sheepish smile, "Could be" Not that he had any kind of langauge barriers or at least he hadn't in a long time. He really didn't know what his problem was, other people were just so complicated.

"Don't worry too much about" Personaly he thought he was a lost cause but he wasn't going to tell her that no matter how true it was. Being able to talk to her from time to time would be nice, he was possitive she was much more interesting to talk to than Genra. That seemed to be the only person he talked to ever since he had arrived here. "I do stay in the barracks so getting ahold of me shouldn't be too hard, in less you have a set time or day that I should come to the academy to help you?"

He wondered if they would even let him in, he had never really tried to go over there before and even now he wasn't sure if he wanted too.

They didn't just let anyone in and out of the barracks, either, she assumed. She didn't have a relative stationed here (or anywhere, for that matter), and just saying she was someone's "friend" (or study buddy, she supposed) probably wasn't a convincing reason to be invited inside, either.

"Hmm... Maybe I meet you somewhere else? Out of barrack or Academy." That seemed like a fair compromise. She could bring along some of her more complicated texts. Maybe they could even have a quiet drink somewhere and practice building up social skills. That sounded nice to her, at least.

That was probably better.

Now that Kier thought about it if anyone went up to the gate and said they were here to see him would probably be kicked into the snow. He probably should have thought of that before but he hadn't, good thing she had and he liked her idea alot. He hadn't been too keen on going to the academy and bringing her to the barracks might have made her a target. Just getting outside the barracks and work, like a normal person would be a nice change of pace.

His life had always been about work, replying his adoptive family, and trying to protect those around him. Kier probably needed a change to his usual schedule, who knows, maybe he would make a great teacher.

"That sounds like a good idea, wherever you feel most comfortable is fine"

"Wish I had a map," she murmured, trying to think of a neutral place to gather. The barracks and the Academy were conveniently close, but nothing between the two seemed like a good spot to settle down and read in. Qhori hadn't spent too much time outside campus walls, aside from her small shopping excursions. She knew where stores were, but not casual hang outs. He might have known better. "Maybe...there is, ah, how say...tavern?"

A tavern?

Those were a little too noisy for studying and they would have to avoid the ones close to the barracks because too many soldiers frequented them. The ones close to the refugee quaters tended to be a little dangerous so it would be somewhere in between. "Tavern's are usually pretty noisy once it starts hitting evening, morning and mid afternoons probably would be better" Kier thought for a moment before he remembered something "The Bloated Goat is supposed to be a nice tavern"

That made sense. She could probably find an afternoon free, easier than mornings. Some of her classes started early, and she often had other chores aside from that. Laundry duty. Class room scrub downs. Every other manual labor activity they could get away with piling on the lower class students. Etcetera.

"Bloated...Goat?" Qhori tilted her head. That was a place? What a strange name. But at least it seemed like an easily identifiable location if she asked anyone for directions. "Sounds good. Hmm... Maybe two days from now? I'll come in the afternoon, if you're free."

"Peculiar name I know, most taverns have strange names. It's supposed to attract customers from what I'm told" Not that he saw how, he guessed an interesting name would make a person want to know what the place was but Bloated goat? Made him kind of think the food there would give him the runs or something.

"Two days will be fine, I'll see you there. Do you need me to walk you back to the academy?" Not that she needed it, Qhori was plenty strong enough to protect herself with her magic but he would still offer.

It was another kind gesture, but she'd been enough of a distraction to him already. Shouldn't he be off patrolling or something? Qhori shook her head, smiling. "You don't have to go out of your way to do that. I'll be fine on my own." She meant it, and after handing that jerk's ass to him, she was feeling much more confident about her ability to handle herself on the streets.

"Dunno about your partner, though. Might want to check on him," she teased, glancing back the way they'd come.

Kier chuckled light at the mention of his partner Genra, that guy would be just fine by himself. ”I’ll probably be disturbing him but if you’re sure than I won’t take up more of your time. I’ll see you in two days Qhori”

He was looking forward to it, having someone to talk to would be refreshing.
Kier would also do his best to teach her how to read escovan better, hopefuly he didn't betray whatever expectations she had.