Venus Provides….<Tag Terrence, all in house>

[T.K.]

As he watched Shidare look through the keys both her words and seeming large amount of eagerness was causing a slight niggling in his brain wondering if he wasn't making some kind of terrible mistake. However as he sat and got comfortable in the passenger seat his train of thought was momentarily derailed as she asked if he was sure she could drive.

The niggling came back with a vengeance! Now he was wondering if something happened and she couldn't drive for a while or in his mind less likely wasn't allowed to, she couldn't be such a bad driver that she wouldn't be allowed to drive..right?

"Certainly you've got command of the wheel today, when I say I'm not good at it its more a case I've never driven so by default I can't be better than anyone. As for why, lets just say there hadn't been an opportunity present for me to learn. Two feet and a heartbeat has often been my method of gettin around, often traveling for days or weeks on end." certainly he could have added in riding horses or taking a teleport station before but that would lead to more questions he couldn't answer without spilling the beans to an extent.

His next words sealed his fate as he encouraged her to start the engine "Well then Shidare lets see if we can't knock out your errands in a timely fashion so you have some time for relaxation prior to things picking up for the night."

[Shidare]

Terrence you don’t know how fun we are going to face running errands. You’ll get to see the town. We’ll go to lunch at this stand that makes a passable beef hotdog with all the good stuff. After lunch we will get my fabric and then our last stop.”

Oh she was pleased. They were going to be done by just past 1 and that suited her. It really depended on how stubborn Old Lady Tang decided to be today. She should have know better after she got word she cheated someone and they took there goods and shot two of her sons. They were killed but had been effectively neutralized.

“Oh that’s terrible! We are going to have to get you lessons so you can’t take your test. It will be fun. I’m sure Amyra will take a turn. She likes you.”

She started the engine at Terrence’s encouragement and looked at at him and smiled in such a vastly different way then Terrence had ever seen. This was pure unadulterated excitement of anticipating a thrill.

“Then let us ride!”

She proclaimed gleefully as she put the hover car in gear and slowly glided it out of the garage and then turned right and headed up past the front door at a sedate but safe pace.

“The portion of the city we operate in is strictly for entertainment. It hearkens to some of the early red light districts of a cross between the ones in feudal Japan, with a touch of modern flair like Circe 7, you could also kind of throw in a splash of the Love And Pleasure districts of Venus. It’s nice. Now we aren’t allowed vehicles of any type in the area residents and tourist can pass through. So we have to take some of the back roads to get to some of our places. We will get to main and more traveled roads in about 10 minutes.”

Shidare had seemed to calm down and was operating the hover vehicle with a good degree of skill. She round a gentle curve and then turned right onto another street. It was early enough that not many people were out but it would be packed about midday with delivery hover carts and men and women operating them.

“You’ve been out our front or if your a tourist out back during the midday and seen everyone going about their business?”

She took another right and as you looked ahead you could see the main road. As they traveled the builds ranged from modern construction to old which would have a semi familiar feel to Terrence.

[T.K.]

At the mention of a hotdog Terrence let out a quiet 'hoooh' and grinned broadly "Ya know that sounds like a fantastic lunch, been ages since I've had one. Just between you and me I'm usually the most content when it comes to meals with the simple things like a hot dog or a hamburger just to shove into my face, the messier the better. A mess just means there is just the right amount of toppings on the food." So it sounded like he was entirely on board to get a hot dog for lunch, he was blissfully unaware of how ..eager Shidare was to speak with Tang, and it was probably going to be a spirited chat at that.

"Well if Amyra wants to take time to teach then I won't pass up free lessons to shore up an obvious flaw in my skillset" he commented agreeably, he quieted down for just a moment as a shiver went along his spine as he saw that change in her expression, her smile turning into an entirely different one as she got her hands on the wheel and was preparing to drive 'That..smile, what have I gotten myself into? Is she some kind of closet maniac driver or something? Oh mother your boy may have messed up' he mused inwardly while he listened to her speak.

However things seemed to be pretty normal as the car left the garage without any reason to get concerned..maybe he was wrong about her? But everything just -seemed- to be pointing towards the woman currently in the seat beside him being some kind of concerning driver! His thoughts aside as Shidare described the area thy were in he'd allow his gaze to flick around to the different buildings as he hadn't spent to much time away from the Tip Your Hat so this was a great deal of new information and sightseeing to take in while getting the proverbial guided tour. "Honestly haven't passed through too many districts like this, more often than not I'd hit a pub or inn while passing through then restock on supplies and carry on, I never was someone to stick around in one place for long" he admits as she carried on driving past construction sites which did give him a slight pang of homesickness for his home reality.

He finally got around to speaking up again "Ah, not as much as I would have liked. So far I've just been keeping around your place, I've been thinking about it a bit more as of late but have been focused on working, a bit of working out in my room before and after my shifts and the such. I have stepped out a couple times but nothing to really familiarize myself with the surrounding area. 'She doesn't need to know I worry that if I do wander too far..I might get lost or end up teleporting unexpectedly and worry her that I ran away or something'.

[Shidare]

"Closet thing to it and the cattle here do taste similar to beef. It was in the stew we fed you when you were a little weak. You seemed to enjoy that and mumble things."

She withheld unintelliglble things because honestly she didn't understand whatever language he was speaking when he was dreaming. They had called the doctor, well vet, because they didn't know his internal structure so vet's were handy. She stitched Terrence up gave him some shots of general antibiotic to stave off infection. Gave the keep the wounds clean and change the dressings. Which they did, the vet received fee of a 150 gold fud, which also gave her selctive memory.

"Some things are just better messy. Certain foods I agree. I have seats to the local sports arena and well since they are Trustee Tickets we can go watch Nok. That is fun, think of guys playing Earth US Football, only in conductive padding and with shock sticks. There is contact and sometimes a bit of a fight but all in good fun. I sponsored last years arena champions in Nok. They men and women were awesome and after they won I threw them a party, which lasted three days."

She smiled at the mention of the lessons. She would arrnage that with Amyra.

"Darling, part of traveling is self care. You have to ensure you at least enjoy yourself beyond the comfortable bed of an inn and a mug of ale. You have to stop and just rest for a while. Even a little pampering is good for the soul."

The look that lingered on the new construction wasn't missed but Shidare hadn't figured out how to fully read Terrence's facial expressions to judge his general emotional state or to appropriately. She felt it was something to do with missing something but she wouldn't pry.

"You have to get out more!" she swatted him playfully as the approached the main road. The flow of traffic could only be described as chaotic and made the Jetsons and Back to the Future 2's driving look tame. It had been turned up to 11 and then given healthy doses of meth ad PCP to make it look like Death Race was the second national sport Jalleus had to offer.

She looked over at Terrence and took a deep breath, she loved this road, it was like nothing she had ever encountered, you could cajole this beast that was hundreds of years of Jalleusian driving practices at its best. The had the combustion engine several hundred years prior to humans on Earth and converted to a hydrogen battery powered and the inclusion of antigravity drives which had zero emissions.

"This is the main highway that circles the city of a little over 3 million people. It is a combination of their hunter/gather phase of life turned into death race. There is no speed limit as they truly believe in the strong survive here on Jalleus. Fun culture. Terrence ensure you are properly buckled before we easy into this traffic and go get our fabric and get my delivery of festival goods doubled and delivered. Hang on!"

The traffic was moving at a pace that looked impossible, nothing stopped and it moved like blender left on. The whistle and whine of other hover cars, trucks, and vans was beckoning Shidare. She could feel the pulse of the traffic and she was ready. She gave Terrence one more smiled that clearly communicated that she loved this and nodded as if steeling themselves for the what they considered fun and she she slammed the accelerator forward and then took off!

[T.K.]

At the mention of being fed while a little weak Terrence lips tugged down slightly, it really wasn't his best moment to suddenly end up making someone else care for him without any sort of warning like he had. DIdn't sit well as he always tried to be considerate of others but it wasn't exactly like he planned on that situation. Still he was immensely grateful even as a smile finally tugged at his lips "Well you won't get any complaints from me getting fed meat over vegetables, I like to believe I'm more of a carnivore at heart" he joked with a sincere smile.

He couldn't stop a hearty chuckle from coming up as she mentioned Nok and gave a description of it giving him a fairly good idea of what it was like then commenting about the fights "Hah, like football indeed. Many of the more physical sports like say hockey as well ends up with tempers flaring at times and fights breaking out, its just the nature of the beast when intense competition is involved. Where fierce competition exists violence is likely not far behind. A brow however slowly arched up "A party for 3 days? goodness that must have been a real blast, I'd say it won't be forgotten for a long time buuut I bet there were a few who only remember it as a hazy blur"

As their vehicle finally approached the highway and Shidare gave him a bit of history on it that sense of foreboding that he had leaving the garage came back with a mighty vengeance 'Oh god..she's eager to drive in that? ..maybe I don't care to get lessons after all. That looks stressful as shit' he inwardly griped as he slowly folded his arms. He was already..less enthused about where this was heading, but in for a penny...

He smiled wryly "For what its worth I really do agree I should get out more but I'm just a hard working sort y'know? Sides who knows I might get hopelessly lost if I do wander off on my own" he retorted in good humor. He stared briefly a bit enthralled at the smile Shidare had given him before she took off into traffic, the sheer enthusiastic anticipation he could see in it resonated with him as he turned to finally face ahead.

However as she started to make her way through the insane traffic he could feel his body growing anxious, irritable even. 'Fuck, I'd be kinda terrified about this. Everything is so fast, like a crash would leave no chance of survival right? This is insane' he grumbled inwardly as his fingers started to slightly drum on his biceps. He knew full well why he was irritated, he should be feeling some fear but it was instead coming as anger so he bit down on it -hard- forcefully suppressing the inappropriate and unwanted emotion.

[Shidare]

Shidare mused at the thought of meat eater as she deftly worked her way through traffic. She felt the flow and ebb and didn’t not let up. The only thing she did was modulate speed as she moved the car through traffic. She came within centimeters of bumpers and at some points you could see family’s on the vans and buses.

“Being a meat eater is fine but vegetables are just as good and in some cases provide as much of not more protein than meat.”

She swerved to avoid being clipped and then throttled up and slapped her indicator on for a right lane change and merged seamlessly into the right lane.

“Oh yes I am sure they only remember leaving after the third day with vague memories of the last three days. We can get you out to a match.”

She slowed enough to dip onto the off ramp and then goose it a bit to cause the stabilizers to kick in and level the car and bring it to a normal speed by the little shot and it now cruising normally.

“Get out as much or as little as you’d like. I do recommend you get lessons from Amyra so you can check out a vehicle to get around.”

Oh that’s right they had never given Terrence his wrist map and personal communication device.

“Which reminds me…..when we stop let me give your communication device and wrist map. Kax have them to me this morning to give to you because he nearly forgot they had come in today.”

She smiled at his wanderer comments and remembered this Earth book she read.

“I guess not all who wander are lost? Alright a few more miles and we will hit the fabric shop. We’re picking up new shirts for security staff. Look normal but under the lights in the club it has a holographic that says Security. Regular light not do much.”

She looked at him as the neared the fabric shop. She also needed fabric to make new sheets. The other reason.

“We’re here!” She eased the lever to neutral and the car came to a stop.

“You ready to see the fabric shop I use for the house?”

[T.K.]

"Vegetables are great and all, I wholeheartedly recognize their nutritional value its just a preference of mine to go for meat heavy dishes and meals. Not to say I don't like veggies its just something I prefer when given free choice" he clarified with a small grin. As the woman swerved through traffic he could feel his fingers drumming harder on his arm as he could feel irritation rising up. These traffic lanes seemed like some sort of death trap waiting to happen!

However despite his worsening mood he was giving Shidare his full attention as talking to her really did help keep him from focusing on the 'road' as much even as she swerved to head down a ramp. The motion was enough to draw his gaze back to the traffic for a moment and he could feel his body tensing up despite his best efforts to relax. "I'll take you up on that com device, having a map would absolutely convince me to go out for walks and check out the surrounding areas. I have a nasty habit of gettin lost, don't' have the best sense of direction."

His lip turned up in a wry grin "In this case..this person wanders because he frequently gets lost." he said with a honest laugh, again their talking helping keep his rising agitation in check through distraction of pleasant company. "I'll probably get some lessons but not sure how much I'll put em to use outside of driving just to keep what i learn from being forgotten" he joked with a smile, although his eyes were not quite smiling at the moment as he turned back to watch the traffic unable to stop his fingers from very slightly clenching the fabric of his shirt.

"Oh, so our shirts have that quality to them to only reveal under certain light? Huh well that's handy to say the least well I look forward to trying one on then" he stated even as they finally arrived and the car parked, the building tension in his body all but draining in moments as he moved to step out of he car letting out an almost imperceptible sigh as his feet hit the ground.

He nodded up at the factory "So have you ever had trouble with these guys or just your..mattress supplier?"

[Shidare]

She listened as he said that veggies were important and understood their value in meals. He just preferred meat. He did have a healthy appetite and didn't avoid it as far as she could see at communal meals. He corrected her and his like of veggies; it just was easier to find meat you wanted. This actually correlated with his wanderer lifestyle and could appreciate that.

"I was just making sure you weren't like Kax and avoiding the good veggies. I think because he wasn't told they are good for him. So I slip him veggies during meals."

She winked at him and finally noticed the discomfort he was displaying as it drained it away as they stepped out of the car. She frowned, which was a quick dip of her lips before returning to the neutral position. She gave over the comm device and map watch so he could find his way.

"You shouldn't get lost now and if you do you can call us and tell what street you are on. I want to apologize about the drive, I should have realized by now that most people aren't comfortable with the main road for our city."

She liked the fact that he wandered more and got lost. He was willing to admit and that made her laugh. It was nice to have someone tell her about their tendencies freely instead of her having to coax them out of him.

"Nothing wrong with getting lost, you find new things that way. Who knows maybe we can take a walk together with you leading and get lost together."

It was a suggestion she liked and when he mentioned the lessons Amyra would be the best for this.

"Amyra was a school teacher until they changed her curriculum and she disagreed with it. Then she found herself out of work. She was out of luck and came looking for work, she would clean and change linens. She was working hard and her husband took her children and left the planet. She was left with divorce papers and well that is when she decided to take up the oldest profession the universe knew. Now she paid all her debts and is making more than a teacher ever would in her lifetime."

She loved his interest in his work apparel and she decided to let him know this was a new addition to their work shirt.

"This is new because this place we are is to confirm the order for delivery of the shirts will be for our staff to easily identify other staff via the security hologram on the shirt. People tend to interfere when they believe you aren't the right person to break up fights. Anyways that will be taken care of now."

That was a good question he asked and very valid as well. She didn't know how to tell him that the Tangs were notorious cheats and worked as hard at being cheap to make a profit as reputable did to earn that profit.

"No, the Tang Clan is rather well known for being cheap and shorting people or selling them bad goods. I wasn't thinking about it and this one's on me. Kax warned me and I was being cheap at the time and now I have paid for it, in both the destruction of the mattresses but also the fumigation of the shed and all other closely located areas as well."

[T.K.]

Taking the wrist mounted device Terrence would gaze curiously at it for several moments occasionally peering up to Shidare as she spoke before finally getting it attached to his forearm. He finally sighed and scratched the back of his head when she apologized about the roads, despite his attempts to keep his irritation under wraps his host did seem to take notice of it. "I'll admit it, I had no idea driving would be like that on the highway. Guess it just caught me flat footed as it certainly wasn't like anythin I remember from my youth, also admittedly I do strongly prefer to keep my feet on the ground but I'll get used to it with experience."

While he didn't say anything right away he was mulling over her commentary about how it was good to be lost, its not like he chose to get lost..nor did he suspect she had any idea just how literal it was in his case due to his curse, it was the kind of lost that enforced the necessity of rapidly developing survival skills! He genuinely didn't want her to get lost with him in some dangerous wilderness and have to live off the land, he liked her as she was thriving in this city!

With a shrug he glanced at the building once more as Shidare then continued on about the reason they were getting new shirts which honestly made entirely too much sense to him so he couldn't help but agree with it. A frown however did tug at his lips as she started speaking about the Tang Clan shortly accompanied by a sigh "I'd say it was valuable lesson learned about hunting for bargain bin prices when your aware of a person's rep, still sucks though." He moved around to stand beside her as he continued to speak "Still calling them scumbags sounds like that would be insulting actual scum." He gave her a slightly feral grin "I look forward your meeting them later, they'll get their come uppance I'm certain." Being a rather upstanding and honourable individual himself hearing about his host getting bent over by shady dealings didn't sit well with him.

He'd make damn sure if she struck another bargain with them that they didn't try to bullshit her again.

"I do get the impression that some of the girls working for you have come from hard luck stories, makes me happy your around to give them the opportunity to make a better life for themselves, which sounds the case for Amyra so good on her. Husband can go eat a bag of dicks however, not being there when she needed the support? That kinda shit rubs me right the wrong way." He growled with a bit of genuine heat behind his tone before sighing. "Parden that bit of crudeness, I really do need to be better behaved as your escort."

[Shidare]

Shidare noted the curiosity for the wrist-mounted mapping device as he secured it to his wrist. She didn't comment just yet as they were entering the building and didn't like to call someone else's lack of education on a device they may have never used to others' attention. She did answer him about the roads.

"That is just the main road of the city. It is the fastest way to traverse the city quickly but once you get your license you can use any of the roads designated local or rural by the city council. You don't have to drive on it. I just do it because I like to be back and take my ease before the evening festivities."

His in his youth comment did deserve some further exploration but right now she was with the attendant and answering questions about the delivery of her shirts. It seemed that there had been a mix up.

"I placed this order three weeks ago, modified it three days after that with assurances that it would be ready. I supposed I was incorrect and that I should cancel my funds transfer for goods delivered that is supposed to take place today?"

This caused another person in the back to rise and come to the front. It was a larger male alien who started to defer to Terrence.

"Sir, your mate, is causing a scene. Are you sure you want this to stain your business you conduct with us?"

Shidare's face turned a shade of red that hadn't been seen before as she felt the rush of her anger start to take hold and not even trying to master. She stopped and refocused on Terrence and his thoughts on the Tang's getting theirs for the shady dealings they had completed.

"You are correct they are going to learn that they may be able to cheat some people but cheating people who want to take care of their staff is a different story. As for this guy, he is a Lenar, his people are matriarchal and if he defers you to you again I will mount his gonads to my headboard in my room!"

The alien took a step back and you could see he was physically distrubed by the imagery Shidare had provided.

"One moment ma'am I'll go look for you..."

She turned back to Terrence as he spoke of the women who worked for her. He was right, some did come from hard luck and others just knew that they could get paid well selling their charms to men and women who would buy them. In the safe environment that wasn't provided ins ome houses it was the best bet to get on at Shidare's.

"Don't worry about being crude about him, she has since made him miserable by ensuring she had visitations which he has to pay for, and travel rates these days aren't exactly the most conducive to saving your money. So it is all at his expense."

The male alien returned with three boxes having markings of Tip Your Hat on them. She smiled politely at him.

"Amyra is also sweet on you. She has been trying to figure out a good way to approach you and not scare you off. She believes that what she does isn't exactly a great conversation starter."

She grabbed a cart from nearby and then just for what would seem accidental she pushed the side button on his wrist map to show him how to activate it.

"Oh no! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to activate your map."

She smiled at him sweetly as she looked around to ensure that she had everything.

[T.K.]

Looking like some neanderthal with technology hadn't even come to Terrence's mind as he had taken longer than most to put the comm on, it was his first time really seeing and interacting with the tech so he seemed genuinely interested in it, probably just another thing for his current boss to wonder about where he came from if he wasn't familiar with something so common! Still he didn't hesitate to walk with Shidare into the building even as he was adjusting the wrist mounted device in the process. He could do more than walk and breath at the same time.

Once indoors he refrained from gazing about too much and kept a rather stoic expression on his face as she started to deal with the employees about her order..and had to suppress the great urge to snort while thinking to himself 'another universe far more tech advanced than my own and this sorta shit still is normal? The more things change...'

His internal musings however was cut off as another alien came out and started to speak to him rather than Shidare about business and how this could effect his dealings. He would have laughed in its face at the sheer audacity it was showing talking to him instead of Shidare and calling her his mate, while not an unpleasant concept in itself and under different circumstance would have made him laugh in good humor, however he was irritated greatly at the disrespect shown, and from Shidare's expression beside him this affront would not go unanswered.

His lip tugged up at the end of her comment about the aliens gonads hanging over her headboard, the reaction that phrase got was highly entertaining especially as it put the 'Lenar' in its place and its reaction of scurrying off to procure the order. He had to admit..it was kinda hot seeing her go off like that.

"I believe in everyone getting their just desserts just like now." he said finally with a slight nod then grinned as he heard about what Amyra did to her husband and the fee's he now had to pay "That is excellent news, couldn't be happier bout that." as they spoke he'd help her get the boxes loaded up and ready to be carted out "I admit I havn't missed how she's looked at me, I'm flattered but given certain circumstances I hesitate. I'm more than happy to speak to her later I, just can't promise anything beyond that, I have baggage. How you found me should be proof enough of that" he said quietly after giving her a 'bullshit' amused glance as she apologized for 'accidentally' turning on his device. Still he was grateful for the subtle assistance so left it at that.

Pausing briefly he noted her looking about "Do you want me to crack open these boxes just to make sure we have everything?"

[Shidare]

Shidare smiled as he spoke up about people getting their desserts. Well that was going to go around today. She hadn’t just made death race look easy to walk away without satisfaction.

“Well I believe in a certain fairness to most things. When that is not honored you don’t want to see me being unfair. I’ve been told that gets out of hand.”

The last time someone had riled her good they lost to her and that was not a good loss either. She embarrassed them and in the process solidified her reputation to the council as a woman of her word.

“Terrence I understand that. She does to from all outward signs. She’s maybe looking for someone to get to know a little bit and then if it goes further it goes further. I can also understand wh you hesitate. You don’t have to elaborate with me. Your secrets are yours.”

She had formed some ideas about his secrets but would never pry into them. That’s something she had to refrain from because some roads not only got dark for you but those around you. She didn’t think it was that bad but still he was very entitled to his privacy.

“I believe we have everything. Let’s see my receipt and if you would be so kind as to push the cart I’ll finish up by by tipping our kind staff. After all it’s festival starting tonight!”

She giggled and skipped off and tipped the staff, even the Lenar who had given her a hard time just moments ago. After that she returned.

“Shall we get to attending to food order for tonight?”

[T.K.]

He let out a thoughtful hmm as she spoke about fairness as if he was thinking about the word, which he was as he did a quick mental recap of all his dealings with her and how she'd yet to deceive him "So I've gathered, from what I've seen and heard over my stay with you supports that entirely. Its a part of the reason why I'm so willing and content to help you with my meager skills. Your fair, good to your people and as I've seen just now. Don't suffer disrespect giving back whats due. I'm a simple man and I respect such straightforwardness when it can be afforded."

He carted out the boxes of clothes and started packing them into her car while she finished up her dealings before speaking again "Of course I'm not so naive to think one can always be so upfront especially when dealing with less than...upstanding individuals." He offered Shidare a warm smile "So far you've proven beyond a doubt your an upfront person who cares about those around her and I can't help but respect the effort you put into taking care of your people. For what its worth even after my debt is paid to you and if i choose to wander once more I'll always have an ear your way and if you wish help for something I'll come running. That is a promise I make to you now." Considering his own actions up to this point it was likely his words were like an oath set in stone.

"Now with that out of the way I'll make time to speak with Amyra, dunno how it will go but if nothing else its best to see if we can't strike up a conversation" He offers his host a wry smile "For all I know we might not really share a common ground and will just awkwardly fumble around a conversation and part ways." he joked. He chuckled a bit "While I have personal concerns for anything deeper there is absolutely no reason why we can't speak and potentially be friends." He studied Shidare briefly however and looked like he was struggling to say something else before apparently deciding against it.

Inwardly he nearly slapped himself 'No, while she deserves to know more there is no way I can speak of the Cygnarians and why or how I ended up in her backyard so to speak. I won't bring that evil into her life.' He didn't know how much she had figured out on er own or whats common knowledge but unless she hinted at knowing more than she let on he'd leave it be unless his hand was forced by outside forces.

He tilted his head curiously as she mentioned a festival tonight "Hold on, is there something special going on tonight? I thought it was going to be business as usual this evening, but i suppose that would explain why your getting everything in order all at once here." he murmured trailing off briefly "But yes I'm ready to get a move on and get our affairs in order. Are we picking up the food or you having it delivered?" he asked curiously as they were going to be dealing with the Tong afterward he wondered if it would be better to do the food after that potentially nasty affair.

[Shidare]

Shidare looked over at Terrence as he loaded up the goods and returned the cart. She wasn’t in a hurry but the festival would grind all work to a halt. He did downplay his skill a bit considering what she had seen while getting him back on his feet. She liked him and had he come to her any other way she would have found space for him on her staff. It was something said to keep him safe until he was ready to move on. She didn’t have an issue with doing that. She had returned.

“You are very modest about your skill. The murmurs I hear from our working staff, both men and women, is that you enforce the rules and give people a general feeling of safety while they work. Kax very much approves of the way you do things. I won’t say it but I do as well.”

A playful wink as he completed his loading of materials. She hit the button her map and reviewed their route. Yes the local roads would be swifter for the food and drink order. It would be right before they started to post for deliveries.

“I just believe in a fairness in all dealings. You seem to like that or you would have made good your departure after a week. I don’t chase those people. It’s not that I don’t care it just that they made a decision.”

Now he was flattering her and that got you a lot of things. She couldn’t count the number of things flattery would garner you when applied correctly and in the right situation.

“Well, that is quite generous Terrence and I accept. I want to know there is always a place for you at the house. You have become someone people like there and that speaks volumes.”

Oh he was nervous about Amyra and already looking at how it could go wrong. That wasn’t the best way to look at things. Sure the universe took a turn and has yet to turn back but one shouldn’t always cast negativity toward something that hadn’t happened yet. She looked at him as she loaded up to drive.

“Terrence, I get being nervous about spending time with someone. It’s natural. Just be yourself and let it go where it goes. While it may not turn into a relationship for you it may turn into a friendship. Both are favorable and both grow in strength over time. Just take it one step at a time.”

She started the car and guided them along the local road at the posted speed. His was a good question and he wouldn’t know that for one whole week the entire planet celebrated their dead loved ones and family members.

“Yes! Oh this is exciting for you! This is your first festival! It’s going to so fun! The holiday translated is celebration of the dead. The central council,” she passed a slower moving delivery vehicle, “decided to turn it into a festival to attract tourists. So we are finalizing all deliveries before it kicks as everything comes to a standstill for a week. So I’m just doubling my orders and getting odds and ends.”

She pulled up to what looked like the backside of a food production building but the smells coming out of it would start stomachs rumbling and a small groan could be heard in Shidare’s direction.

“I’m hungry we are getting lunch after this then off to our final destination.”

[T.K.]

He gave Shidare a wry yet a sincere as he spoke "I thank you for the compliments m'lady. I am aware I possess skill in certain areas but I do like to downplay them as to not draw unwanted attention. Lessons learned through inconvenience tend to stick in the mind if you get what I mean." He chuckled in good nature as he continued "Nobody likes a braggart after all. I'm happy to fly under the proverbial radar unless its at the behest of another for a worthwhile goal."

"Admittedly one of the only times I might call attention to myself is if its to give a friend or ally a opening to take leave or commit to some task while I draw focus. As far as I'm concerned the more capable a individual is the less they should feel the need to speak bout it." He paused and frowned lightly before giving Shidare a slightly apologetic smile "Seems like i started to ramble there, sorry about that."

He quieted down as they finally took off as if mulling her words about Amyra "I'll do what I can to take your words to heart in regards to this since I certainly defer to your experience in matters of the heart, however I will add that I'm going against several years of habits enforced by circumstances beyond my control so it is no easy thing. My wandering in many cases were not of my initial choosing I just roll with the punches very well." Rolling down the window he rested his arm on the door partially hanging outside. Obviously it was just some means to buy a few moments as he gathered his thoughts.

Seemingly putting that topic to rest for the moment he smiled as the young woman excitedly went on about the festival that was going to happen "Is that so? Well then color me excited to take part in it this year. Are there any unique events that tends to take place during this celebrations that I really shouldn't miss out on if i want the full experience?" he asked seemingly quite interested about this bit of culture.

He paused however as he chuckled once Shidare's stomach let its displeasure be known when they arrived at production building "Indeed I cannot deny about being a little peckish so grabbing some grub before we deal with the more unpleasant business of tis trip sounds like a great plan, no need to go there on an empty stomach and foul tempered because of it."