Winter was fading out, opening the doors for spring weather to emerge. It was a cool day, not warm t-shirt and shorts weather, but not exactly chilly either. Knowing Orchidia, the weather could easily turn colder overnight, so Kerii decided to seize this opportunity and spend some time outside. It would be a waste to spend such a beautiful day doing requests, and the elf had more than enough money to last her for a while. Luckily, that meant spending time by the river or in the forest would not be detrimental to her in any way, shape, or form.

After contemplating where to go, the Lamia decided on the river. It was not too far from the guild hall, and who knew? Something interesting might be there. Upon having walked a few minutes along the riverside, pondering about all the drama going on in the Virrels, she stumbled across a Joyan man. He was dressed in traditional clothes and was curiously making a fire, which was a bit odd considering they were not in the wild. Wondering what he was doing, the elf approached the stranger. "Excuse me, but are you... camping out here?" A tone of surprise was evident in her voice and she raised an eyebrow. She had quite the knack for finding people by the river, and it just so happened that it was another traditional man, very similar to Ren. They even looked alike, with their long dark hair pulled back.

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Kerii flinched as the Joyan reacted very quickly to her question. Instead of simply replying, he promptly kicked his fire into the river and grabbed the wooden sheath on his belt. He was in a squatted battle stance, which more than surprised the elf. She had not been hostile, but it seemed like the stranger misinterpreted her intents. When he spoke, his words were incomprehensible to her, for he was using the Joyan language. It was then that Kerii realized he probably didn't even understand Fiorian, or if he did, he understood very little of it. No wonder he was camping out. He probably couldn't talk to tavern or hotel owners. As a matter of fact, he likely had difficulty finding a job.

After the Joyan man spoke, Kerii held up her hands to show that she meant no harm. "I'm friendly!" she exclaimed, hoping he understood at least that much Fiorian. "See?" The mage cautiously pulled up her sleeve to reveal the Lamia Scale tattoo on her left shoulder. She hoped that he at least recognized it as a symbol for the light guild she belonged to, but if he was new to Fiore entirely, than her tattoo could mean nothing to him. "Understand?" she asked. Gosh, where was Ren when she needed him? The healer looked around to see if there was another Joyan around, but she couldn't see one within the vicinity. She knew that there was at least one in Lamia Scale. It was possible he was in the guild hall, but then again he might have been out on a mission. If she stood any chance at communicating with this man though, then she would have to go and find her guild mate.

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The stranger gazed at her tattoo, a look of reflection appearing on his face as he tried to figure out where he had seen that symbol before. After giving it careful thought, he finally realized that it was the tattoo for Lamia Scale. Although he said it in a thick accent, she understood what he meant. "Yes, Lamia Scale," she affirmed, breathing a sigh of relief. She let her sleeve fall back down to cover her marking. Both the elf and the human seemed to be at ease now. All that they needed to do was figure out a way to communicate with one another.

After a few moments, the Joyan pointed to himself and said 'Fujaku,' implying that it was his name. "Kerii," she replied, giving a small bow. She remembered how often Ren did that to her and assumed that it would be appropriate in this situation. Of course, Ren did it a little obsessively, but she supposed that bowing when initially meeting someone would be right. Either that or she was being way too formal. Now that introductions were out of the way though, Kerii decided that she needed to find someone to help translate. "Wait here." She held out her hands, hoping that Fujaku got the gist of what she was saying. After that, she quickly went back to the guild hall, which luckily was not too far away. The mage was relieved to find her guild mate, Ichiro. She explained the situation to him, and he was more than happy to help with the foreigner. Now that she had her guild mate, she took Ichiro with her to find Fujaku again, crossing her fingers that he hadn't left. If he still remained in the same spot, she would introduce him to the fellow Lamia. "Ichiro," she would say, pointing to the other mage. "He's Joyan too."

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Kerii and Ichiro walked side by side, hoping that the foreigner was still there. As the elf neared the river, she knew in her mind that he probably fled. It seemed like the sort of thing he'd do, especially after reacting so suddenly to the mere sound of her voice; however, her heart was still optimistic. Once she came upon the spot Fujaku had once been though, she discovered that her mind was right. Just as she suspected, the Joyan left. "Damn it," she cursed in Val'Elvharin. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she shook her head. If he fled the moment she was out of sight, then he could be anywhere in Orchidia by now. It was a large and crowded city. Despite how well she knew the area, she could easily lose track of him among the masses. That being said, she didn't think that would be too much of an issue. It became clear to her that Fujaku would most likely not opt to go into a sea of people who did not speak the same language as him. If Kerii, a girl who bore the mark of Lamia Scale scared him, thousands of strangers would terrify the Joyan. It was also unlikely that he would simply travel further down the river, which left very few options. He either went into the abandoned parts of Orchidia, or the forest. Since he seemed to like camping, the forest seemed like her best bet.

"Come on," she told Ichiro. "We're going to the forest." The translator did not question the elf, for most knew that the forest was one of the places she knew best. After all, she was a Wood Elf, and as such had a deep connection with nature. As a matter of fact, she spend the better part of her time in the woods because of it. Kerii by far had the upper hand, and as a result, she eventually found Fujaku perched in a tree. He did a good job at hiding, for even she almost missed him in the shadows. Almost. "You can come down!" she called, the translator echoing in Joyan. "We're both from Lamia Scale. We can help with whatever you're afraid of." At this point, she did not think it was due to the fact that they were merely Fiorian. It did not make sense to travel to this country, only to be terrified of its inhabitants. Clearly, something else was at play here, and if it was a threat to Orchidia or Fiore, than Kerii wanted to deal with it before it grew into a larger issue.

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Kerii had expected Fujaku to react a little more calmly than she did. The mention of Lamia Scale seemed to quell his anger when it was just her with him; however, when she was with her guild mate, the foreigner acted even more erratically. The thought was that the sound of his native tongue would bring some sense of peace and comfort, but it appeared that her plan had drastically backfired. Fujaku was far from tranquil. As a matter of fact, he began to attack her Joyan guild mate.

The elf leapt back to get out of the way. Fujaku grabbed the wooden sheath from his belt and began to use it as a weapon. He attempted to strike her friend's vital spots, but Ichiro was an experienced mage. He was able to dodge the majority of the attacks. If not, he was at least able to make sure that they did not hit anything too important. That being said, he did not make any movement to attack. Prior to this encounter, the Lamia had mentioned that the Joyan seemed nervous and expressed her desire for him not to be harmed. Ichiro understood and agreed that he wouldn't do any harm at first; however, if things got out of hand, it would be hard to keep that promise.

Kerii bit her lip and made a shoving motion. Vines shot toward Fujaku in an attempt to knock him away from Ichiro. They would not cause physical harm, but they would hopefully give her enough time to act. "Fujaku, stop. We're not here to hurt you." She nodded to Ichiro who translated her words. She silently prayed that he wouldn't misinterpret her casting a spell as means of attack. After all, if they made contact, he would realize that they did not hurt him. In addition, Ichiro had not attacked either. Hopefully he could put two and two together so the two mages would be able to help him.

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Kerii stood between Fujaku and Ichiro holding her breath. She waited for him to respond, and when she saw that he relaxed a bit, she breathed a sigh of relief. The man then began to speak Joyan. He seemed to be saying a lot, but the elf understood none of it. She glanced at the fellow Lamia whose brows were furrowed with concern. Fujaku spoke again, but directed his attention towards Kerii. Whatever he said, it sounded bitter; however, he put away his sheath and this time spoke more calmly. Ichiro translated everything the foreigner had said. The healer's eyes widened when she found out he was exiled from Joya. That must have been hard, and it explained why he attacked Ichiro... though she had to wonder why he chose to flee to Fiore. Joya neighbored Desierto, Iceberg, Stella, and Minstrel, but for whatever reason he chose this country.

Once she heard everything in a language she understood, the elf turned to Fujaku. "Well, we followed you because it was obvious you needed some help. I mean, you were camping out by the river when there were inns and the guild hall nearby, and nobody just sets up camp out in the open like that," said the elf. She let Ichiro translate her words before going on. "We are both from Lamia Scale, but won't stop you if you continue to run and hide, if that's what you're worried about. So long as you don't do anything illegal, we're not obligated to interfere, but we still want to help, maybe starting with getting you more familiar with Fiore?" she asked, then letting her guild mate translate once more. Neither she nor any other member of a light guild had to do this, but Kerii was giving the Joyan the opportunity to learn more about the country and its customs. It was ultimately his decision if he accepted her aid or not, but in her opinion, it was better that he did.

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