RP:Tastes Like Crab, Talks Like People

Synopsis: Setting out to find the village of Xalious, Trent stumbles upon a most peculiar crab-man.

Characters: Trent, Kreekitaka

Location: Xalious

Date: April 19th, 2016

Xalious Village

Trent was lost. Somewhat. He could no longer just sit around, waiting for some sort of signs of life from the woman he has come to known as a close friend; And so, he set out toward the region of Xalious to press forward in his search for answers. The crudely etched map was held aloft, the light emanating from his amulet the source in which he used to view the scrap of paper. Two towers. This was it, was it not? From beneath the leather hood of his trench-coat the blonde haired human peered, his dirty worn boots slowing their pace as he entered the village of magii. Unsure where to proceed, Trent stops, taking time now to gather in all of the sights and sounds in the immediate area. He had to know if anything were familiar.

Kreekitaka was not, likely, familiar, and even less so in light of his recent transformation. Fortunately, he'd brought his little stand to tinker with and keep his mind off of things, and was working on making little scarf for Ashe, because he needed one, and because Kree wanted to keep his mind off of things for once. But when the light appeared and danced confusedly around the village, Kree felt this was a better distraction and rose up on all eight of his walking limbs and lumbered into the middle of the village, his arrival heralded by a chitinous marching and rickety sound. See, thing is, Kreekitaka had recently been fused to his mount. His mount was a thirty-five-foot-long scorpion. You can see how this might be problematic for meeting people late at night. So, into the lamplight comes this gigantic, exoskeleton-covered monster scorpion-crab-person-thing, with a mouth where you might expect a crotch to be, scuttling out of the darkness... and he was knitting, his claws open, revealing his manipulator tendrils hard at work, turning yarn into a woven scarf. "Hi," he said, his voice somewhat deep, but also airy--as if it took effort to force the wind through his pipes to make sound. "Are you yosTAH!.?"

Trent might have soiled himself if this had been the night prior; A night when he had undertaken one too many 'secret brews' that the barkeep had been doling out. Tonight, however, Trent was very much sober and in control of any sort of potential body movements. The unfamiliar clicking caught the human's attention first. From his pocket the man's left hand emerged; The digits talon-shaped and metallic began to reach for the ebon hilt resting upon his back. It was when Kreekitaka ventured into the light that Trent's heart began to beat hard against his chest, a deep cautious breath held in disbelief. What was this thing? Was it friend or foe? Is it a monster? An arcane summon? Or perhaps some sort of experiment gone wrong? Those metal fingers wrapped around the hilt of the weapon fastened to his back, but for the time being the human refrained from drawing it from its sheathe. "Excuse...me?" he questioned, not quite understanding the creature's last word. His cold steel blue gaze scanned Kreekitaka carefully trying to discern any sort of subconscious cues that the thing was in a state of calm, or in worst case, ready to lunge for an attack.

Kreekitaka tilted his head lightly and watched the person's reaction to his approach. A small chuckle escaped him--the sound was generated by his paddles clattering rhythmically up and down his back, while one of his claws paused in his knitting to tap against his chest. Honestly... he could kinda get used to being huge. He saw now why his dad enjoyed lurking near playgrounds. ...Oh come on, like you've never used your size to intimidate small children before. ...what, you haven't? ...Uyeer culture is weird, man. Kree shifted in place slightly to get more comfortable and sat down, resting his huge lower half on the ground. "I saiDAH!, are you yosTAH!. Missing? DAH!oo you know where you are?" The parts in all-capitals are representative of a sound close to a cough, a forced exhalation to try and replicate the letters he has trouble with.

Trent lifted a brow, his metallic fingers loosening their grasp upon that weapon he carried. The amulet around his neck pulsated once with a soft azure hue that illuminated the shadow that concealed a large portion of his features. Going against the voice in the back of his mind, Trent took a few steps forward into the light of the local lanterns, he wanted a better look at this strange unique creature. Politely, the human removed the hood from atop his head; Shaggy blonde hair revealed in its stead. "That would depend. If this is the Region known as Xalious, then no, I am very much where I need to be. If it is not, then yes, I may be." Both hands are slipped into his pockets again while he sized Kreekitaka up and down. "Is this Xalious?" he finally asked after a moment of silence.

Kreekitaka nodded. Not lost. Good! And also open to speaking, even if it was with someone who looked very much like a monster, regardless of how on point his knitting skills were. "You are in HHHTHe correcTAH! pyace," he said with a nod, clenching his facial crushers for a moment. "May I ask whaTAH! brings you here?" Because if he was looking for magical help... well, let's just say the mages that lived in the tower hadn't been particularly helpful to Kree in either scenario he'd been in. Might save the kid some trouble.

Trent finally clicked in to what this fused sea-creature was doing. He was... actually knitting? THat is the strangest thing the human had ever seen. "I... do not know, exactly. I seek a tower, I suppose. The idea was planted into my head by a... friend of sorts." Trent was curious now. "Please forgive me. I mean not to offend you in any sense. But..." he paused, that sense of confused shown on his feature. "I have never seen one quite like yourself. Where is it that you hail from? Are you a project of the local magii?" While not familiar with the area, Trent had heard tales of an odd couple of wizards that once roamed the village.

Kreekitaka shook his head with another paddle-clattering chest-thumping chuckle. As if. The local magi he'd spoken to didn't even know what the heck had happened to him, let alone how to reproduce it, let -alone- how to fix it. Muzo said he could help, but he'd also said it would take a long time and some research, so he wasn't sure at this point if -anybody- knew how to fix him. "No. An' iTAH! is yikeyee HHHTHaTAH! you won'TAH! anywhere ess, eiHHHTHer. I am--was? no, am--uyeer. I come from HHHTHe sea. You may have hearDAH! of KreekiTAH!ka, HHHTHe fashion-maker? I am he." Kree wasn't lying about the fact that Trent might have heard of him--Kree's business had achieved something of a household name around this side of the world and the male himself was a minor celebrity. "I comprehenDAH! why you may noTAH! have recognizeDAH! me, however. HHHTHere was an... accidenTAH! wiHHHTH some magic. An' now..." he gestured with a shrug and a flick of his scorpion's fore-talons, a pair of mantis-like limbs with huge barbs, each one the size of a sword. The scorpion's actual pincers were small grippers set a little closer to the head.

Trent almost took a couple steps backward in caution, but instead maintained his position. While Kreekitaka seemed friendly enough, he could not be wholly certain and did not want to do anything to offend the creature. "That is quite unfortunate. I am sure someone may be willing to help you with such a troublesome predicament- but I can not imagine it would be without its cost." A firm nod. "Kree..ki...ta..ka? It is nice to meet you, then. I am simply known as Trent. I apologize... as I have not heard of your feats as of yet. That is through no fault of your own, I'm certain. I am not very familiar with this land, and tend to keep to myself for the time being." A bit of a shrug followed those latter words. "So... this accident? How did it happen?"

Kreekitaka nodded slowly when he said he wasn't too familiar with this place. Well, he would be. "If you ever go by Cenrih. Cen--Cenri--" He loathed the name of that city because the L sound was extremely difficult and ending words in it was completely impossible. As he tried to spit the word out repeatedly, one could see him growing agitated--his paddles flared all up and down his back, his scorpion's tail started arcing up over his head and the mouth by his waist started hissing. "HHHTHe ciTAH!ee by HHHTHe sea!" he finally shot out, slamming the ground with a foretalon and leaving a huge furrow in it. "If you are HHHTHere, yook for my business!" Slowly, he relaxed again--it seemed he was mostly angry with himself, or at least somebody too far away to immediately hurt, and he didn't see any sense in lashing out at his conversation partner. "As for how my acciDAH!enTAH! happeneDAH!... HHHTHere was a fighTAH!, an' a mage puTAH! some magic in me an' my mounTAH! TAH!oo make us sTAH!ronger. An' HHHTHen... I hearDAH! singing. HHHTHe magic fyareDAH! up, became much sTAH!ronger... an' I began changing again. Combining wiHHHTH him. An' now, we're sTAH!uck TAH!ogeHHHTHer yike one being." He shrugged. "Was greaTAH! in HHHTHe fighTAH!. InconvenienTAH! everywhere ess."

Trent took a step back this time. He didn't like it when strangers became angry. Anger is unpredictable. His heartbeat quickened, the metal digits of his left hand flexed; preparation for the worst. "Cenril?" he noted in understanding. "I shall do just that, then. Perhaps if your designs are to my liking I may... look to purchase something." That's right, Trent. Kind, hopeful words. Keep the creature content. "A battle? Singing? Mount?" Things were sort of beginning to make sense in the human's mind. "I see. Enchancement for battle. A shame that things turned out as they did. I can see how troublesome the condition may be. I myself..." he scratched at back of his head sheepishly as he admitted, "..mistook you for a threat. I can imagine what sorts of reactions you illicit from less understanding folk."

Kreekitaka rumbled internally and picked idly with a talon at the scar in the earth his little tantrum had just created. That was deeper than he'd expected. This body was still so strong. Still useful, even if problematic. He was torn between admiring it for its strength and invulnerability and cursing it for its inconvenience. Good thing Muzo needed so much time to fix it. "An' HHHTHe misunDAH!ersTAH!anDAH!ings are onyee HHHTHe beginning," he said, nodding and resuming his knitting once more. "I cannoTAH! wear cyoHHHTHes anymore. I cannoTAH! go inDAH!oors anymore. I cannoTAH! TAH!urn arounDAH! in narrow spaces!" He shook his head and flared his facial crushers. Whenever he thought of the inconveniences, he hated it. Whenever he saw how much damage he could do, he didn't. It was a complicated relationship. Rainbow seems to appear from out of nowhere, spontaneously generating next to you.

Trent was actually starting to feel bad for the guy. To be so used to a way of life and then have to taken away in an instant? In a way, he could actually relate. In a way being the highlighted phrase, of course. On a literal level, it would be a bit difficult to place himself in the shoes of such a creature. "I'm sure everything will be right, in time. The one who cast this spell.. I am sure it can be undone. Do not lose hope." A half-confident smile offered. "At least you still have your mind. Your love for... design? And you can still knit." The latter was spiced with a hint of jest. Trent took a deep breath, his gaze lifting skyward to gauge the position of the stars in the sky. When it dawned upon him of the current passing time, he looked once more upon the Uyeer. "It is getting late and I must be on my way. I seek council with the magii here. Do fare well in your venture Kree..ki..ta.ka." he did pronounce that right? "I shall look for your shop in Cenril when i am able. Until then, keep your mind to the positive. You will solve your problem." A stern nod and a polite bow are issued, before Trent looks between the two towers, trying to guess which would be the correct one. Taking a guess, he begins to walk North, final words called out over his shoulder. "Best wishes and safe travels."