Learning the Lay of the Land [open to two]

    Whew...were summers like this a thing on these islands? Sure got hotter than it did in Ohio, that's for sure. Maybe his casual wear was a bit too much for a day like this. Julian paused at a street corner, shrugging off his hoodie and tying around his waist, then took a hairband from his wrist and tied his black hair back. Immediately the teen could feel the difference; the cool breeze that had been whipping some hair into his face now brushed the back of his neck, cooling the overheated skin. His arms felt so much better too, now that he wasn't wearing that jacket. Slightly rejuvenated by the comfort his new appearance brought, the teen continued down the street, sticking his hands into his back pockets as he looked over the cluster of stores.

    As much fun as it was to have the whole house to himself, Julian had been getting a bit restless. The games he'd brought with him had been played, his cards were actually starting to tear from being overused, and playing chess against the computer got boring after the 528th time (seriously, he almost had the entire move set memorized by now).  And the basketball hoop that was supposed to be put in over the garage door got lost in shipping. So, in short, being at home was boring as hell. Hence why Julian decided to wander around his new home a little and become familiar with the place.

    // Hmm...? // Julian came to a stop in front of a small clothing store. In the window was a male, headless mannequin sporting a sleeveless jacket. // Hey...that's not too shabby... // Leaning in close to the window, he craned his neck to sneak a glance at the price tag. Whoa. That was a lot cheaper than the stuff in Penecia. . It couldn't hurt to do a bit of browsing in here. Besides, maybe a slight change in style was called for; his normal jeans and hoodies weren't going to do so great in this weather. Nodding to himself at the thought, he pushed open the glass door and stepped inside the shop.

Today was quite warm, that was a fact. Nea loved hanging out on his home island, but in this weather, it was like a greenhouse there with the area being mostly nature. That's why, for today he decided to take a trip somewhere else, hoping the sunrays would be less threathening there. Therefore, soon he found himself wandering the streets of San Malarus, excitedly checking out every shop and anything interesting he could see. Well, what do you say? There wasn't much fancy stuff to see where he lived. ''Oi, Tsume don't get lost, okay?'', he would complain, seeing his pet fox run around. He was already getting some curious looks from people walking by, he didn't need anything more. Tsume would show his teeth playfully, bounding after Nea, his tail wagging happily. 'Good...'


Around that time, he would see a nice looking clothes shop, with a pretty mannequin. Leave it to him to like that more than the clothes on it. 'This looks cool. I should check it out...Even though I have no need for new clothes...' But, hey, he could still just take a look. It wasn't like he was actually required to buy anything, right? With that ideology in his mind, he would make his way inside, somwehat wondering if they would have a problem with him bringing a fox in. Well, if there was a problem, he guessed he could have Tsume wait outside. Getting lost in all the clothes variations he could see there, it would take him quite a moment until he turned round again, seeing Tsume wander around close to a dark haired male. 'Oops, hope the guy doesn't trip over him or something...', he would think, resisting the urge to sweatdrop. Tsume, completely unaware of what he was causing would, happily trot around, around the guy's feet. Nea did consider calling out to his fox, but didn't want to startle the guy too bad....What to do..

    The teen ran a hand through his bangs as the door closed behind him with a gentle click. Huh. It wasn't very spacious in here, but they had a decent selection from what he could see. And hey, even if he didn't end up finding anything good, at least this place had air conditioning. Shuffling forward slowly, savoring the cool air brushing across his face, Julian glanced around. There weren't many people in here; just another guy and the person at the cashier. Well, on the bright side, he couldn't end up knocking into anyone on accident! Smiling lightly at the thought, he started to head for a rack at the back of the store that had caught his eye, being mindful not to step on the stuffed animal nearby-

     // Whoa-! // Hold the phone. This thing was moving! Julian hurriedly put his foot down and took a step back so as to get a better look at it. Was this...a dog? Maybe a husky...but he'd never seen a pure white husky before. Interesting...

    Bending down at the waist while keeping his hands in his pockets, Julian tilted his head at the dog, studying it with a smile. "Hey there." He wouldn't make any sort of move to get closer or farther away from it, though. If it was friendly, he'd want to get closer to it later. If it was aggressive, though, it'd probably be best to keep his distance. Or maybe make a bolt for the door, if things got bad enough. For now, though, he was content to watch the dog walk around, a grin on his face all the while.

'Whew' The guy didn't seem to be bothered that much. That was good. Nea was glad drama was not likely at this point. Sure, he wouldn't protest but it would be pretty awkward in a shop. Tsume would stop walking and turn his head towards the voice, his ears perking. After a moment of staring, he would bound over tp the teen, nuzzling his muzzle against one of the teen's legs. He was surely friendly with strangers. Nea would awkwardly scratch the side of his head, as he watched that scene, before making the decision to interfere.

''Uh, hey. Sorry about this. He's a bit too excited to be out I guess. Hope you don't mind.'', he would say slightly apologetically but with a grin on his face. Thanfully, so far it didn't seem he was in for trouble. This dark haired teenager seemed like a nice guy at a first look. Perhaps this was actually going to be some fun. While Nea came here to explore, and get away from the heat, he was always up to meeting new people. Everyone was so different, it made a lot of fun to be around them.

    "Nice to meet you too." Julian chuckled as the dog ran up to him. Squating on the floor and resting on the back of his heels, he reached out a hand and gently ruffled its ears. Whoa...its fur was soft. Sleek, too. It couldn't be a stray that wandered in...did it belong to the store...?

    Wait. Scratch that. The teen lifted his silver eyes to look at the boy in front of him, who had started apologizing for what was apparently his pet. "Nah, 'course not." His amused smile brightened into a friendly grin. "It'd be kinda hard to get mad at this guy, y'know?" His hand trailed down to the dog's chin, where he scratched lightly with his finger. Whoa...this guy took really good care of his pet. His gaze darted down for a second look at the animal. Its fur was soft and practically pure white, despite the dog apparently walking around town for a while. And off a leash, he had to note. It must be well trained. ...Well, this guy could be one of those people who carry their pet with them in their bags. It wasn't likely, but just to check, Julian lifted his head back to the teen. Nope, no bag in sight. "You must trust him a lot. I'd be afraid to let my pet walk around by itself; it could get taken or hurt or something, y'know?" His tone was relaxed, almost absent-minded, and his grin stayed bright.

    After giving the dog one final pat on the head, the black-haired boy stood up, pushing his hands back into his pockets. "I haven't seen many dogs here. Have you had him for a while?" His head tilted slightly in question. Maybe the other boy gotten this one from a pet shop or something on the island. A particualr breed only found here, perhaps? It might explain the pet's somewhat exotic features.  

''Haha, that's great. I guess he is quite friendly.'', Nea would say with a small chuckle, glad that the other did not mind. Not all people tended to react very pleasantly, so it was sort of a relief it did not happen this time around. He would watch the other teen pet Tsume with a light grin on his face, the fox nuzzling against the hand with his tail wagging happily. When the teen looked up at him questioning him about giving his pet that much freedom, Nea would pause to think for a moment. It was true that many things could happen, but he was positive Tsume could protect himself well enough. Anyone who dared try something bad would see it wasn't a good idea.

''Well, yeah, I know. He is pretty smart though. And I would love to see anyone try to take him. You wouldn't want to be on the end of his bites, ya know?'', he would say, laughing a little. A fox isn't an animal to mess with. When the other asked him how long did he have him, Nea was about to respond, when the first part of the sentence hit him. 'Aaaah, so he thinks Tsume is a dog...' He couldn't blame him for the mistake though. A fox wasn't a usual pet at all, and both dogs and foxes were canines, therefore similarities could lead to confusion. Scratching the side of his head, he would reply in a cheerful tone. ''Yeah, since he was little....But, you know...How do I put it...He's not exactly a dog. A polar fox, actually.'' Hopefully, the reaction wouldn't be too intense. Some people were wary around supposedly wild animals, most actually.

Meanwhile, since the teen stopped petting him, Tsume would be stting down nearby, with his head tilted curiously, as if he was listening to the conversation.

    ...Fox. This guy had a fox for a pet. Julian blinked at the boy, trying to wrap his mind around the thought. After a moment he knelt down on the floor, resting a hand on his chin as he studied the animal once more. Hmm...narrow snout...uncommonly shaped tail...bright eyes... ...Alright, he could see it. "Huh. And here I thought he was a really young husky." The dark haired boy chuckled, his grin soon springing back. He looked back up at the boy, lowering his arm and resting it across his leg. "Gotta say, never would've thought of that."

    Dusting off his jeans, Julian stood again. This kid must be rich or something to be able to afford a fox. Didn't you need a license and stuff to own an exotic pet? Well, if foxes were considered exotic. Were they? It would make sense if they were; it wasn't like you could just buy them from a pet store or find them in the newspaper. Ah well. He wouldn't pry into money. "So you've had him since he was little?" He'd pause for a moment to nod, verifying his own words. "That's pretty cool. You get to grow up with each other. Might be a nice alternative to siblings, huh?" Julian laughed lightly at his own joke. He'd never had siblings of his own, but he did have a younger cousin; that was kinda similar, right? A pet must be better; not only did you have the companionship, but they listened to you. ...Well, most of the time, anyway. And you couldn't really hold a conversation with them, fox or not. ...Hm.

    "So, do you live here? In San Malarus." Maybe this guy would have an idea of what there was to do around here. It would be useful to learn where good stores for clothes and food were. All for future ference, of course. Besides, he looked to be about Julian's age; maybe they'd be classmates once school started?

'A husky?' Well, there could be some resemblance if he thought hard about it. ''I wouldn't blame you for that. This kind of pet is not exactly common, is it?'', he would smile cheerfuly. This guy was taking it pretty cool, and it made him happy. If only everyone could get along like this without drama. ''But, ya know, you only live once, so we should make the best of what we have.'' Even if that means being different from others. Nea often got looks for choosing to act like himself at all costs, and not follow conventions. Still, he was not upset by it, believing people were just ignorant. As long as you don't cause harm, you should be allowed to be who you want, right?


He would chuckle a little when the dark haired teen compared it to having siblings. ''In a way, you're right. After all I don't have siblings of my own.'', he would say, before looking over to Tsume and whistling quietly. The fox would perk his ears and run over to Nea, sitting next to him, his bright eyes watching the other teen curiously. Squatting down to pet the white furball, he would tell a little story. ''You see, I've done a part time job in a Zoo back where I lived before I moved. Guess I was doing a good job, cause they gave him to me as a parting gift when I left. That's been one of the best things that happened to me. I've always loved animals.'', he would talk, as he scratched Tsume behind his ears.


Standing up when the guy asked him about his living, he would shake his head lightly. ''Naah, no I don't. I live in Lunapa, actually. I came here for the day cause back there it feels like a greenhouse in this warm weather. I though I was gonna cook myself there. Trust me, you shouldn't go there when it's hot, just a tip.'', he would ramble a bit, an everpresent grin on his face, this time wide enough to show his slightly sharper front teeth. ''Unless, of course, you like that kinda stuff.'' This guy was actually nice to talk to. Nea was quite eager at the idea of making a new friend who seemed to be around his age.

    So they had something in common. This conversation was getting off to a pretty good start.  "Seriously?" The boy's eyes widened at the other teen's account of how exactly he'd come to own a fox of all things. "Yeah, you must've done something impressive for them to do that." Though, he had to wonder why a zoo would give an underaged person such an exotic pet. Were they going out of business or something? Or maybe they didn't want to pay him in cash, so they gave him the fox instead? Definitely odd. But both the fox and its owner seemed happy about the way things turned out, so he must've been okay with the zoo's decision.

    "Yeaahhhh...no. This place is hot enough for me, thank you very much." Julian chuckled, scratching the back of his head. Lunapa didn't sound like somewhere he'd be spending his time during the summer--or, well, what was left of it. Maybe it would cool down in the fall of the winter or something. Eventually he'd like to see most of the islands, but for now he was content to stay in the highly populated areas; besides, between going home, to his dad's work, and to school, it'd be best to figure out the best shortcuts to get to these places on time. "Lunapa, you said? I'll be sure to steer clear for now."

    Julian reached a hand up to scratch lightly at his cheek. Hm...it couldn't hurt to ask now, he supposed. "Actually, I just moved here myself. A few weeks ago, actually. You wouldn't happen to know what there is to see here, would you?" He paused to grin crookedly, adding, "Of course, if you just moved here, that might've been a stupid question."

The dark haired male was quite obviously surprised when hearing his story, and Nea could understand that. This kind of thing wasn't an everyday affair. ''Perhaps so. They seemed to like the way I worked.'', he would shrug off with a smile. To be honest, he had never really though much about the reasons. Back then, he was too busy with all the ruckus associated with moving, and he had no time to worry about little things like that. Sure, there is a reason for everything, but it isn't always a neccessity to know.

''Right, agreed. I'd take cooler weather anyday.'', he would nod, when the other confessed that it was hot enough here. ''But, yeah, it isn't that bad most of the time. Today it is an overkill though.'', he would grin slightly. The heat wasn't often as bad as it seemed, the trees making it at least a bid humid to counter the scorcher. However, there were instances, like for example today, when it simply wasn't enough. But when you lived there, you'd adapt eventually.

Tilting his head a bit in thought, he would take a moment to respond to his companion's inquiry about places to visit. ''Well, I've been around a while longer than you, but I can't say I know much. I remember there is some museum in this area, but dunno if you'd find that any interesting. I haven't traveled around that much yet.'', he would say, feeling a bit awkward. He wanted to list some cool places, but he couldn't think of anything right now. Which was probably because he hadn't taken much time to explore around since he came to this region. ''Hey, I just remembered...since we're already discussing tourist attractions, how about an introduction? I mean, it'd be lame to be like 'Hey you' everytime.'', he would speak up after a moment, when he suddenly realized he didn't even know the other's name yet. ''Er, so, yeah, I'm Nea.'', he would add after a moment, smiling widely, opting to leave out his last name, as he disliked being called by it anyway.

    Julian nodded as the boy spoke. Huh...a museum? That might be interesting. Or maybe maybe not. It mainly depended on what kind of museum it was. He'd have to look it up online when he got home. "I didn't know about that. Thanks." He nodded and grinned in appreciation, before his smile turned apologetic. "Didn't mean to put you on the spot there." Yeah...that had been sort of a stupid move. But at least it wasn't a total waste of time or air; he'd gotten some information, right?

    ...He brought up an excellent point. They'd been talking for a few minutes now, and it was common courtesy at this point to give a name. Really, he should've remembered that. Maybe it was jet lag that was making him so spacey? ...Maybe not, unless let lag could last for two weeks. Was that even possible? Probably not. "Nea? Nice to meet you. I'm Julian." The teen stuck out his hand for a handshake, tilting his head and smiling brightly. Regardless if the boy shook his hand or not, Julian would hook both thumbs in his pants pockets and look down at the fox sitting quietly on the floor. "And I don't think I caught this guy's name either."

Well, the other seemed thankful, even if Nea didn't tell him very much. ''You're welcome.'', he would say smiling slightly, glad that he managed at least something. When the teen apologized, he would blink his blue eyes a few times. ''Nah, it's fine. Don't worry. At least I tried.'' While he would have loved to be able to rant about tourist spots here, he wasn't upset he got asked about this island at all. He was too easygoing to be bothered by something like that.

''Nice to meet you too, Julian.'', he would grin and shake the other's hand energetically. Maybe even a bit too eagerly. But hey, Nea loved making new friends. It was always more fun when hanging out with someone, rather than on one's own. ''Oh..? Right. His name's Tsume.'', he would say, nodding as Julian asked for his fox's name. Upon hearing his name mentioned, the fox in question would trot over to Julian again, waving his tail happily. ''Haha, it seems he likes you.'', Nea would laugh a little, watching the scene. It was a normal thing, however. Tsume was usually friendly with most people, unless they were unfriendly or hostile themselves. ''Sooo, you're still shopping? I wouldn't want to bother you too much...'', he would muse aloud after a moment, when it hit him that they were still standing in a clothing store. He himself came only to look, but he wouldn't want to keep Julian from buyng any stuff he came here for.

    Interesting names. Nea and Tsume...they kinda fit together, in a very odd way. Kind of like the two individuals--was a fox an individual?--in front of him. "Nice to meet you too." Bending down slightly so he could look the fox in the eyes, he smiled broadly, glad that the fox hadn't been ferocious like he thought it might. ...Of course, he'd thought Tsume was a dog at first, but that didn't matter. Dogs could be vicious too, just like foxes. And wolves. And lots of other canines. But at least this one was friendly!

    "Hm?" Oh...Oh! That's right! He had come in here to glance around, kill some time, find something fun to do today. But he'd been sidetracked with Nea. "Nah. I don't really have anything to get." Julian straightened and stretched his arms lightly, sighing at the slight popping in his joints. Phew. Bending down to get at a better level with Tsume had been more strenuous than he thought. "I probably shouldn't buy anything. Seriously, you wouldn't believe how much space about a bazillion boxes takes up." He smiled wryly. It was a pretty big exaggeration, but there was definitely enough of those stupid things around his house right now. Evn getting through the door had been hard lately, since the columns of boxes nearly reached Julian's height and most of the stacks had been (cleverly) placed by the door. He hoped that had been the movers' idea and not his dad's.

    Julian glanced around the shop before shrugging lightly. "Yeah, I don't have anything-" Gruuuuuuummmmmble. "...No one asked you." The teen glanced at his stomach with a huff before lightly scratching his cheek and looking back up at Nea. "Heh...you wouldn't happen to know a place to stop for food, would you?"

Nea was glad he didn't distract Julian too much, but - Boxes? What?- He was confused for a moment, mentally imagining stacks of boxes in a room, wondering how did that come into equation. Shaking his head to clear that out, he would chuckle a bit. ''I think I could imagine that, not a nice picture.'' Lots of boxes did sound like quite the bother, in every way he could think of. What? Boxes could be dangerous. What if they fell on someone?

He would grin when Julian got interrupted by his own stomach, before running a hand through his hair, when the question came. Sadly, he didn't know the answer to that yet. ''Uh, I'm afraid I don't. I didn't notice any food stands yet. But perhaps we can go look? I'm sure there is something around this place. People love eating out. There has to be something nearby. What do you say?'', he would reply cheerfully after a moment, choosing a different alternative. This way, they could hang out too, right? And food didn't sound so bad at the moment, even though he wasn't that hungry. A snack would be nice.

"That," Julian pointed at Nea, nodding slowly, "is an excellent idea." Ha, now he wouldn't be aimlessly wandering alone! Not that that was so bad, but having someone along for the ride could make everything much more interesting. "Is there anything you need from here?"

If Nea said yes, he'd nod. "That's cool. I can wait." Julian would then wait near the front door of the shop until Nea was done.

If Nea said no, he'd grin and walk towards the door. "Let's be off then, shall we?" Pushing open the door, he'd let Tsume and the other teen exit the store before he'd let the handle go, allowing the door to shut itself as he glanced left and right. "So, which way shall we head?" They could go left...or right. Huh. Hadn't someone in a popular movie said something like that before? ...Well, obviously he needed food if he couldn't manage the enrgy to think of something as simple as that.