Private Pormont Meeting new people, making new friends

[Chako]

After she finished her tour in the First Church of Uene and getting clarification on some questions she had about the goddess, Chako was ready to get back to the inn, get her harp, and find a nice place in the city to play and earn some coins.

However, when she entered the inn's lobby, she saw Fina there talking to someone... Oh, guess I should greet her, then!

Though Chako stopped in place for a second as she started thinking... Should I go with Fina or miss Fina? She suddenly started wondering about something she had never spared a thought to before... As in, Chako usually just referred to Starcalled by name in Arcia because it felt a bit weird referring to someone as 'miss' when it wasn't their actual name, but if she was going to keep pretending to be a Lander, then she should probably start being more respectful to Starcalled too, right? It's not like she would know that the names are different between worlds... Probably. Maybe the Landers actually knew about it, Chako had no way of being sure now.

Still, she made a decision and approached them, "Miss Fina! It's good to see you again!" She waved to Fina as she walked closer to her, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything...?" Not like she had plans of talking for long anyways, but it didn't hurt to ask.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

‎

While Fina rarely stayed in any singular place for long, Pormont was one of the finer places to break that rule. And she did promise Chako company anyhow, so any plans of venturing out were postponed for the time being. And anyhow, hanging around in the inn's lounge did end up in a chance meeting with the subject of conversation with the young feline yesterday.

"Oh- speaking of! Hey, what's up with the sudden politeness, hm?"

As Fina decided to playfully tease Chako for suddenly addressing her as 'Miss', the much shorter individual next to the weaponmaster turned around as well. Her small ears twitched a few times, hazel brown eyes twinkling as she took in the sight of the little felis.

▼ Lyra arrives ▼‎

"Oh, welcome to our inn! Are you… the venerated wanderer, Chako?!"

With a clear pep in her step, the young archer would quickly run over to the brown-haired feline, stopping only just in time not to bump into her. A large bow was strapped to her back, seemingly almost too big for someone who was only a tad taller than Chako herself. She was very clearly excited, however. Perhaps a hint that she already heard something from Fina when they talked.

"Then- then! I take it you've returned from your visit to our church of Lady Uene, right? Aaah, I hope you've found it satisfactory! Father always says that it's our greatest pride, so I'm sure you did~"

Fina could only smile as she observed the interaction. She already figured that the two of them would get along just fine, and while she had yet to see Chako's own reaction, from what she had seen so far, she was pretty confident that things would not go south here. Well, unless the young feline would somehow see a wolf in what was practically an adorable teddy bear running around with a giant bow strapped to her.

"I was wondering if you'd need my help getting around, but it does seem like you found the church no problem, huh? Well, not that I would have been able to add much helpful info to that since I'm not a local."

@Chako

 

[Chako]

Chako was instantly flustered by Fina's question, I-I did not expect that reaction! but she hurriedly tried coming up with an excuse anyways, "W-w-well, I-I-I-I j-just, just wanted to... To not be rude after you helped me so much...?" She meekly replied, "S-should I not...?"

That kinda reflected her feelings, so it didn't feel like a stretch of a reply at least... Chako hoped, Acting like a Lander really is tough... Especially when dealing with people who already know you, Chako figured.

Then, a tanuki-girl approached Chako while saying the wildest thing she had ever heard, "V-v-venerated!? T-there's no way that's me! I-I mean, my name is definitely Chako, b-but..." What did Fina tell her to make her say something like that!? Chako started panicking hard; she couldn't even figure out how to complete her own sentence.

At the same time, she tried figuring out if she knew who this girl was... She definitely was not someone she had ever met before, but Fina was talking to her, and they seemed to be talking about Chako specifically... Also, she said, 'our inn', so... "Are you miss Lyra perchance...?" Chako asked after figuring that she was probably the innkeeper's daughter that Fina mentioned the other day.

Also... Wasn't her bow a bit too big...? Could she actually aim with that thing? Chako felt a bit worried about that...

However, when the topic came to lady Uene's church, Chako instantly brightened up, "Y-yes! I went there! I learned so much! How to properly dedicate songs and dances to lady Uene, what exactly she rules over, the days and customs of festivals for lady Uene that I might want to participate in, who to talk to so as to be involved in the celebrations... It was so exciting! Not to mention how beautiful the church was! I had never seen anything like it! It was so big, beautiful and so, so... So gorgeous! It even made me wonder if it could actually live up to lady Uene's beauty, though it's probably still very far from actually being on her level, I could certainly see how lady Uene must be pleased with a church like that!" Chako spelled out all the thoughts that went through her head without any filter.

She was actually pretty happy to be able to talk about it, as she didn't feel like she had anyone to actually blabber on about how much she loved the visit... Well, maybe her girlfriend would entertain her if she started talking about it, but Evelyn wasn't particularly religious in either world, so it was probably something she'd hear out just to be nice to Chako, so... Well, Chako was happy to be able to talk about it now instead!

And after hearing Fina's comment, Chako replied, "Ah, finding my way around was a bit tough, since I wanted to avoid the alleys, but I could get there by following your advice, miss Fina!" She hoped that Fina wouldn't mind if she maintained the politeness... Besides, Chako actually felt more comfortable when she was more polite to older people she spoke to anyways, "The church towers over all buildings, so I couldn't get lost no matter how many turns I had to take! I eventually reached it just by keeping it on sight at all times!"

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

‎

Fina could only smile and laugh meekly in response to Chako's flustered state. That was probably enough messing with the poor girl, though. She didn't want to put her on the spot too much, and she hoped that she'd make fast friends with Lyra. Perhaps even get into her element with someone closer to her own age around. So the feline merely stood by, leaning her side against one of the wooden pillars that supported the ceiling, folding her arms below her chest, and observing.

Lyra, on the other hand, was far more animated. Her head shook several times, almost violently, as if that alone was meant to directly dispute any of Chako's assumptions about who the girl was addressing.

"Father dearest has always said that our quests are the most valuable travelers, and since they have already made the choice to visit our town, they are indeed most venerated!"

Moments later, that shaking of her head turned into nodding as the beastfolk quickly closed the remaining gap between herself and Chako, bending over a bit to reach down and grab both of the feline's hands gently, putting them together before lowering her head into a more respectable bow.

"Yes! It is a pleasure to meet you, miss Chako! I'm Lyra, a local hunter and proprietress-to-be of the inn! I hope you had a good sleep, I always make sure to prepare the beds extra fluffy!"

Her eyes were practically sparkling, the girl eager to hear any positive feedback about her practically janitorial duties here, despite the fancy title she gave herself while talking. But as Chako got herself to talking about Uene and her adventure, well… Lyra's ears could not stop twitching and swaying from one side to another as they carefully listened, her whole expression being one of intrigue and curiosity. And once the whole speech was over, she closed her eyes for a moment… then she gently squeezed Chako's hands again and as her peepers peered open, they were even shinier than before!

"Oooh, I knew you would surely like the jewel of our town! All of the sisters there are so helpful, too- ah, well, maybe not so much when I accidentally blow away all of the fallen leaves they were gathering, but… mhm, I'm sure they were very nice to you!"

"Sounds like a good time. Glad our trip was well worth it then, right? Getting to look beyond the borders of Honeyhome… it's sure to broaden your horizons."

"Ah, so you hail from Honeyhome?? Well- I don't want to brag too much, hehe… but I'm a pretty seasoned traveler myself! At least when it comes to the area around our town."

Finally letting go of Chako's hands, Lyra instead placed one of her palms on her puffed up chest in a gesture of pride.

@Chako

 

[Chako]

Chako was a bit worried about things as Fina refused to reply, but miss Lyra didn't seem to pay much attention to it, so it was probably alright... Probably.

Either way, miss Lyra's words embarrassed Chako as she reaffirmed the venerated thingy... It was a relief that it didn't seem to be connected to anything weird that Fina said at least, but Chako was still embarrassed about it and could feel herself going red, "I-I really don't think I'm worth such words..."

Then, Chako had her hands grasped, "Nya!?" She wasn't used to dealing with this kind of person... On Earth people were more careful around her, as if she was a fragile thing that could break at the slightest touch... And here, Chako was usually the one who tried being the more energetic one... Well, she tried at least, but it didn't always work out that way, I guess Lyra reminds me of Doggo a bit. Though Doggo was more energetic in a different way... Well, it's not like this matters anyways.

"Ah, yeah, I had a good night sleep!" Though she was sleeping on Earth, "The bed definitely felt fluffy!" She didn't feel it much before leaving, but it was definitely fluffy, alright.

After that, once she was done with her explanation of what she felt while visiting the First Church of Uene, Chako replied to miss Lyra's comment, "O-oh, well, I can certainly imagine how they would get mad..." Chako remembered the sister's angry tone when Chako mentioned that she was from Honeyhome, "B-but well, it's a church of lady Uene! I-it's very important to keep it as pretty as possible! Even if it's an accident, we should be extra careful around lady Uene's church to not defile her sacred ground, miss Lyra! Y-you really should be more careful when near it!"

Chako stayed silent for a second before averting her eyes and blushing a bit more, "S-sorry if I spoke out of line..." What am I even doing!? Admonishing someone I just met!? Did I go crazy!? Chako hoped miss Lyra wouldn't get angry at her for speaking like that...

Then, as Fina intervened, Chako happily replied, "Y-yes! It was well worth it! I'm really glad I finally took the chance to leave Honeyhome on my own!" Chako paused for a second before remembering what Fina had told the innkeeper yesterday, I'm already contradicting the story and I haven't been here for even a day! Which made her hurriedly add, "E-even if miss Fina ended up accompanying me due to my parents' worry, i-i-it's still the first time I went far from Honeyhome out of my own volition f-for like... Well, for something I really really wanted to do!" Not like she disliked going out to babysit Emmie, but that was just a part-time job... It was different; and also, Aki had helped her get into a merchant wagon to Astorea and Chako didn't really had to walk there at all, so... It was very very different!

Either way, Chako felt like she really needed to get used to lying if she wanted to continue behaving like a Lander... But it was truly being much harder than she expected it to be.

Then, Chako's hand was let go, and it felt a bit... Lonely? Maybe she liked the touch more than she had realized, "O-oh! A seasoned traveler! That's amazing! I have always liked exploring the surroundings of Honeyhome myself, but I always got too scared to go much further, so... I think you're really amazing, miss Lyra!" It's not like Chako hadn't heard Lyra say that it was only on the areas around this town, but if she was saying that she was a seasoned traveler, then miss Lyra probably had a pretty broad definition of what 'around our town' meant...! And well, miss Lyra didn't have multiple lives like Chako did, so Chako figured that exploration would be even scarier for miss Lyra... Which just made it even more impressive! "Miss Fina even said you could hunt for yourself!? I couldn't even dream of doing that! Best I could do was gather some wild fruits near Honeyhome!" Which was very important for not starving before she got herself a harp and started having a source of income with her performances.

@Fina Drago