A Trick of the Nose [ooc welcome]

[Naunet]

((The following occurred at some point during K'ile and K'luha's brief visit to Gridania.))

 

***

 

The Apkallu falls created a pleasant white noise in the background as a red-haired miqo’te man, wearing a mask common amongst denizens of the Shroud, crouched idly at its banks. Every so often he would lazily scrub at some leaves he’d pull from a pile in an open, canvas sack next to him. There was a rather peaceful air to his actions, the kind people tend to adopt when on vacation, and occasionally over the sound of the falls, one could hear him chuckling at something not readily apparent.

 

Back by the road, K’ile hesitated in his walk – destination unknown – as he caught sight of the red-headed miqo'te beside the lantern and water. He stared for a time, one ear occasionally twitching, then turned and approached the man, but paused some meters behind him, still staring.

 

The man paused in his task, tossing down the leaves he’d been brushing off and then picked at some dirt under his nails. Apparently satisfied with what he found, he half stood from his crouch, stretching his legs out and tail behind him.

 

After a while of watching from a distance behind, K'ile finally stepped to the edge of the water and looked sideways at the man to his side, frowning when he saw the mask. The man scratched along his jaw, fingers reaching up under the mask before running back through his hair. His ears twitched and the gesture paused midway - hand caught on the back of his head - as he turned his neck slightly to peer at K’ile to his right.

 

“If you're thinking of taking a bath, y'might wanna make sure you can outrun a Wailer,” the low, smooth voice sounded somewhat hollow from behind the mask.

 

K'ile looked at the water, taking his time to think over something or other, and then said, "I wasn't planning on it. You've got a strange smell to you, you know that?"

 

The miqo’te's expression wasn’t readable behind the mask, but he did let out a short laugh. "You sayin' I should consider a bath?"

 

“Wouldn't help. You ever been to the desert?”

 

He scratched at the back of his head, still having not moved his hand from where it hung there. His ears twitched a bit at the action. "Eh, not that I can remember."

 

“Desert's got a smell that sticks to you,” K’ile replied. “Same way some people just smell like magic all the time. You've got a bit of forest on you, too. Mud and roots. Strange combination.”

 

The miqo’te blinked in the round holes of the mask, blue eyes barely visible in the shadows, and then turned his head to sniff at himself. “Don't think I'd know what desert smells like! Been a good day diggin' around in the bush though, that's probably it. You wanna come closer and check?” The last bit came tauntingly, and though it couldn't be seen, the grin he spoke it with was readily apparent in the tilt of his ears and tail.

 

K'ile frowned a bit deeper, his ears swiveling back on his head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

 

“Don't ask me!” came the chuckling reply. “What's it mean when some kid comes by and tells you ya smell weird?”

 

“Probably means you smell weird, don't you think? Like you're not from around here.”

 

The miqo’te watched K'ile for several moments, which might have been a bit creepy considering it just looked like an expressionless mask staring at him, and then leaned his head back suddenly, laughing. “Ehehe, nah, I think it's you that's not from around here.”

 

“That's right. I'm not. Maybe I'm just lost.”

 

The masked miqo’te stood fully then, stretching out his tail behind him briefly before turning to face K'ile. He dug one foot against the soft ground idly. “Heh, lost isn't so bad. Kinda relaxing. But, if you're lost in Gridania, I sure hope ya don't have any plans to go out into the Shroud proper.”

 

K'ile pitched his head up to look into the sky, and then tossed his gaze behind him. "Ah. That's... I'll be just fine. I have everything I need to find anything I want. I didn't mean 'lost' like that really. Forget about it."

 

Across from K’ile, the man scratched at the back of his head again, then let his hand drop down to rub at one shoulder, kneading tanned knuckles against the leather covering the muscle there. “You always talk so round about? Maybe that's why you're "lost".”

 

K'ile lookeds over to the masked man. "I don't. You've got a strange edge to you, though. Between the mask and that out-of-place smell of yours. You don't come off right."

 

His ears tilted. "What, y'never seen one of this? Keeps the Woodwrath away is all."

 

“You did notice I'm not from around here. I've never seen or heard of any of that.”

 

The miqo’te waved one hand. "Right, right. Well, nothing to worry about." A pause, considering. "Are you from the desert, then?"

 

K'ile nodded, "The deepest desert in Eorzea. Far from here. Nothing from there gets all the way out here, excepting those I travel with, which is why it's strange for you to smell the way you do."

 

The masked miqo’te let out a short "Hah" and then twisted his neck, looking up for a moment, then back to K'ile. His tail swished thoughtfully behind him. "Well, who knows, maybe I was in the desert, if you're nose is so sure." A softer chuckle followed this.

 

Taking a moment to taste the masked man's answer, K'ile said, "It's not. I don't know. There's the desert, but there's the forest, and there's something I can't place. There's a few layers of strangeness between the desert and the forest. I guess you just don't make sense."

 

The miqo’te hummed to himself and turned his head so that he was peering at K'ile sideways from behind the mask. “... Alrighty then. I could say the same thing about you, though, coming up to people like that. So I guess we're just both confused, huh?”

 

“Guess so.”

 

He shrugged and dropped back down into a crouch, picking up a few of the leaves he'd been cleaning before. "Some words of advice then: Don't go lookin' at the Shroud to help clear anything up."

 

“What would I look at the Shroud for?”

 

“Heh, I dunno, but here you are.”

 

K'ile squinted and pulled on one hand, "Yeah, I know I'm here. What does that...? Never mind. Whatever." He shook his head, "I'm not figuring anything out."

 

There was a pause, and then the man burst out laughing. “Take it from me,” he said after he’d settled down a bit, “It's probably best to just stop trying. No sense in worrying about stuff you've got no hope at figuring out.”

 

K'ile huffed and threw his arms out in front of him, joints popping with the gesture. "Yeah. Okay. Fine. Evening." He spun away from the pond and took a quick first step towards the road.

 

The masked man blinked after the other miqo'te and let out a short, bemused huff of a laugh. “Try not taking things so seriously, maybe!”

 

K'ile threw his hands over his head and bellowed, "Bah!" as he continued walking. After a moment, the masked miqo’te just shrugged and went back to his leaves.