Looking for Work

Asher got up and held his hand out to Shuri so they could go in. A light flashed on the horizon and the naga flinched. A rumble followed and he looked away. "Damn..."

She quietly took his hand, avoiding looking that way. "I guess... It's already started, huh..?" She shook her head, swallowing hard. She didn't wanna think about what just happened.

Asher nodded and brought her inside, talking along the way. "Most nights we can see or hear their explosions on out borders. Teri is really the only country nearby that likes Majeh."

"Oh.." Shuri looked down, then quickly pulled her hand away, realizing she was holding Asher's hand in the first place. Stuffing her hand in her pocket she looked back up. "Probably makes it hard to sleep.."

Asher looked stressed. "For me it is. Even not being deployed for long hearing it freaks me out." Another much closer explosion visible out the window made him flinch.

"I don't think I could completely understand it from your angle, but it just.. bothers me. It always reminds me what happens to the people inside it.." She shook her head. "It's terrible.."

When they came back into the room with the other nagas they greeted them with some food and turned on a radio loudly. Asher tossed the belt over Amorn's body and layed across him.

Shuri sat down where she was before, feeling awkward now. After the whole kinda mental breakdown. She looked around hoping nobody would mention it.

The nagas chattered away, some of them happily and others quiet and solemn. Asher grabbed a peach from a basket with his tail and took a bite before coughing and spitting it out. "That... that's not what I thought it was.." He dipped his tail back into the basket and pulled out something that looked like a pomegranate.

"What was it?" She paused, staring at the fruit. "And what's that one, since they don't seem to be what I think they are."

Amorn took the fruit Asher spat out. "Dragon's fruit." He took a bite and cringed. "It's over ripe." He said to the other naga who nodded and pulled apart the fruit in his hands. "I'm not sure what this one is, Shuri. I'm not from here." A female naga laughed. "No one does Asher, they were growing here before the fire."

"Never had any, probably won't try that one then." She stared at the other fruit, wondering. "Interesting.. Can I have a piece?" She studied it carefully, just wondering what it tasted like.

Asher nodded and tore off a part of the fruit, handing the smaller one to her. He carefully took a bite of the mystery fruit, chewing slowly.

Shuri took a tentative lick of the fruit and then took a small bite, chewing slowly. She really couldn't identify what it tasted like.

Asher spat out the fruit, deciding he didn't like it. Besides, he wasn't ready to eat again for a few days. He leaned back into the fur and naga pile with a yawn. Amorn pushed him out of the way and sat in his spot and Asher leaned back on his lap.

Shuri finished off her bit, she couldn't really identify anything it was like, but she liked it. "I should probably go now. Hopefully I can find my way back to where Azule first took me." She stood up, stretching. "See ya tomorrow, I guess?"

The nagas suddenly bust out loud laughing. "I wouldn't go up there, the dragons are in season!" Amorn chimed and laughedm, getting an irritated look from Asher. "There are other floors you can stay on here, but be careful... some people act like it's a hotel." He said slowly with a roll of his eyes.

"... I'll just find a cheap motel. Sounds a lot less complicated." She gave a slight wave to Asher and turned. "See ya." She started out the door, trying to remember if she saw a motel on the way here.

Asher got up before she left. "You aren't going to find one in this city, besides, it's free here." Upstairs there was a loud bang and some growling, which the other nagas laughed at.

"Yup, sleepin in the lobby area thing. I'm taking a pelt though." She walked back over, grabbed a pelt and walked out, wrapping it around her. Hopefully it doesn't get that cold in this tower.

Asher frowned as she left and rejoined the pile of coldblooded nagas. Amorn smacked him. "Ow, what was that for?" Amorn laughed at the albino. "Why'd you let her go? Go get her back here."

She quietly descended, getting herself more and more lost somehow. "Ugh. Lost." One of the things she could always do in a new place was get herself lost. She leaned against the wall, disappointed that she couldn't get back down to the main area. She slid down the wall and pulled her knees up to her chest. Wrapping the pelt tightly around her, she closed her eyes and thought about what had happened that day. Man, was it crazy. Hopefully she could fall asleep tonight.

Asher argued with Amorn and Piran for a while before getting up and going to find Shuri. He followed her aura trail downstairs and shivered. It was quite a bit cooler down here... He eventually found Shuri but was hesitant, still standing in the stairwell. Asher swallowed roughly and rubbed the knot in his throat. He knew what was happening.


He liked her.

When her train of thought hit Asher it just derailed. She couldn't figure out what she felt when she thought about him. For a second she entertained the thought that she liked him, but then pushed it out of her mind. Like she could ever like someone, she'd been alone for all 15 years of her life. But yet there was that nagging thought in the back of her mind that the feeling was that she liked him. She shook her head slightly then opened her eyes and stared at the floor.

She couldn't sleep, so she decided to do the one thing that almost always assured she'd fall asleep. She started humming a little song. That one little song that just started with "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine," comforted her, because she could just barely remember a woman's voice singing to her, singing that same song. Her only memory before five years old.

((I wrote a proper reply omfg.))

The naga sat nervously for a minute, listening to her hum. He bit his lip, turning it red form the slight pain. He slowly and quietly came up to her, not trying to sneak up but not trying to disturb her. He sat down next to Shuri and curled up in his own tail, forming a comfortable chair to keep most of his body off of the cold floor. He listened to her humming, not knowing the song but liking it.

It kind of reminded him of a song Raven had been singing once, even though he hated that musician it sounded good when Raven did it.

She saw his shadow go over to next to her and she stopped for a second, only to uncurl herself and put the pelt on Asher's lap. Then she went right back to humming, still looking down. She smiled slightly when he sat next to her, but she tried to hide it. The chill raised goosebumps on her arm, but she knew that Asher was cold blooded so she figured he needed the pelt more.

Asher took the pelt and tossed it over Shuri again and wrapped a portion of his tail around her. He figured that she wouldn't mind, and she was giving off so much body heat anyway. He let out a small happy hum and folded his arms over his bare chest.

Shuri just sat there after that, enjoying the company. Maybe she did like him. It couldn't be such a bad thing, could it? She didn't dare talk, afraid that the noise would make everything disappear.

Asher was drifting in his own thoughts, enjoying the warmth coming from Shuri. He glanced outside at the brewing ash cloud as the wind blew, sending ashes scurrying across the floor near them. A silver serpent twisted and dove in the sky, and a crowd was growing in the plaza.

She closed her eyes. Don't let him get up, please, don't let him get up. She could hear the noise of the crowd grow and was tempted to look herself, but she didn't.