Torn and Scarred [Toryuki/Dale]

From his hiding spot atop the rooftops, Dale descended to the ground, Chip looking at him with his simple illuminate eyes atop his shoulder.
He wasn't sure why he let him go. It would have been safe and easy enough to do what he had been doing before, and ensure himself a little food for a while in the process. Frankly, that junc-son was terrible at hiding, and he could tell they were trying to.

It was just...
It wasn't the honest thing, was it? That strange idea. Taking what they had wasn't the honest thing to do, and he had no idea whether or not they were an honest person.
He didn't...know, that anyone would find out, but still. If he was going to get used to this place, he was going to have to try doing the honest thing.
...as much as he could without risking himself.

Junction’s slums. Truly, it was a place Toryuki never stopped exploring to learn more. She’d left her weapons back at the cave, content that if anything caused her trouble she could just physically beat it down, but that didn’t stop the cloaked lizard alien from keeping herself alert. A slight rustling and she found herself noting a… Odd individual, running out of and away from a nearby alleyway. Something that caused someone else to run away was certainly worthy of investigation. A wrong doing? Something dangerous? She didn’t know. So, what better way to quell that lack of surety than to investigate? She was a confident fighter in the worst case scenario, and so into the alleyway she went, head constantly moving around. Looking for clues as to why that… Whatever, was running off. Footprints in the alley, signs of movement. Something…

Then ahead of her, she witnessed someone descend from one of the nearby rooftops. Intriguing, in her mind. Was this… Odd looking creature the reason that the other had run away? Aliens truly were weird… But, that mattered not. Approaching, she let out a cough to alert the other to her positioning, not making any attempt to get closer and simply observing and ensuring that the situation was not volatile. She would speak when she could be sure… That was her way. In her posture was no tension, yet in her eye was a gleam of alertness, honed through war. Both the oddity of this alien and the strange thing that it had with it, both caught her eye. If the moment arose, then she could always query. But that was not her priority at this time.

...maybe he had more than one reason not to bother that person. Someone had showed up every time he saw him.
He had no idea why that was, but it definitely kept happening.
He looked warily over to the junc-son that had just made their presence known, taking a couple steps back as he tried to figure out what they wanted.
He saw the look in their eye, even if what was expressed there didn't reach out to the rest of their body.
It wasn't as vicious a look as most like it, but it was a look that let him know this person definitely wasn't someone helpless.
"...what do you want?"

As the stranger stepped back, Toryuki took that as a sign of caution. Someone that was perhaps not the most trusting of people. It would seem this encounter would prove more intriguing than she had previously expected. Still, in such a situation, a full blown conflict would be undesirable. In fact, Toryuki preferred to avoid one when possible, and this seemed such a chance. Making sure her movements were slow and obvious, the Dystoran moved her arms in such a way as to make her cloak fold open, revealing her body - and lack of weapons, as she spoke, voice calm and with a sense of rationale. "I mean no harm stranger, although if you wish to still act with caution I will not blame you. I try to look around this place, I believe it is referred to as the slums, for information about the location, or items people don't need and treat as rubbish. While on my way around, I noticed an odd one running away in a seeming panic, and I admit my curiosity got the better of my lack of interest. I don't know whether or not you had anything to do with that, but, nor will I ask. That is not my business, as I am aware."

Taking a step back and to the side in order to lean against a wall, allowing her cloak to fall back over her body, Toryuki kept her gave, firm and steady, on the stranger. "So, might I ask what you are doing in this place? I don't expect an answer, so, avoid answering if you so desire."

Dale had to puzzle through what the other person was saying, breaking it down piece by piece for as much meaning as he could gather. They talked weird...a little like that Rianara person, though the patterns seemed different. A lot of the language was unfamiliar, but from what he could guess, they were looking for things until they saw the running junc-son, and that made them wonder what was going on.

And then...hold on. That was odd. "Why ask if you don't expect me to say anything? Why tell me that too?"

As the questions in return occurred, Toryuki simply nodded her head, taking in what the stranger said. Fair questions. Fair questions indeed. "Simply put, I do not wish to give off hostile impressions. I am not interrogating you, and since it is merely my curiosity, I see no purpose in expecting such an answer. If I say beforehand that I expect no answer, then anything you say, you say with your own intent. I can see you are tense, so, consider it my attempt to lower any tension within this situation."

At this, the lizard alien offered a smile. "As for why ask in the first place, simple curiosity. This whole location... Junction, I believe it's called. It's an oddity to me, and so while here I've found my curiosity more active than it had been in over 100 years, I believe the time measurement is called." With a bow of her head, the alien finished. "I hope that, as an answer, will suffice those questions."

"...I can't understand what you're saying." He could get by before, but with all the unfamiliar words he's having thrown at him, it was really, really hard for Dale to get any meaning out of what he was hearing.
Why did some people talk like he was used to, and some of them just throw out loads of words he didn't know? He really wished he understood he knew more of this stuff, but he never got the chance to learn most of it.

...at least he could...roughly, get this? "Junction is...different. So much here that there wasn't before. People act different than they did before. Do weird things."

"My apologies." Was all that Toryuki would say as the stranger declared they could not understand what she said. A shame. There was this strange translation occurring, but, perhaps it was not flawless? That would make sense, and so she took a mental note of such a thing. Instead, she listened. Junction really was different. Still, chuckling to herself, Toryuki nodded at his final point. "Yes, people do indeed do weird things. I'm sure I must be strange to you. So, to ease some of those... Strange traits, please let me introduce myself. My name is Toryuki. Any further name or title would perhaps be too formal." She declared, a hint of pride struggling to escape her attempt at sturdy demeanour. "Would you consider yourself different?" She asked, deciding this was a safe time to perhaps try to probe the strangers psyche. Get a sense for its character, personality, and psychiatric state.

Their what now?

Toryuki...that's what this junc-son was called. One of the bigger ones too actually, come to think...
Chip seemed to be focusing rather intently on her from his place atop Dale's shoulder, looking with an intensity that shouldn't really be possible with his toy-like frame and simple segmented eyes. Shouldn't be possible, and definitely wasn't a thing if you just went by his physical appearance right now...but the feeling was unmistakable.
"What do you mean...different...?" The question should be simple to answer, but there was a lot of ways to be different here. Can't spit stuff that burns through walls? Different. Made of metal and not muscle? Different. Can make people that are you and not you appear?
Different.

"Simply put, anything. We're in a world of differences, if this can even be called a world. Do you think of yourself as different, like the rest. Or, do you consider yourself the spark of normalcy?"

Laughing, the Dystoran shook her head. "That question's too deep for me I'm afraid. Still, you seem quiet, although that may simply be because I have been too loud..." Letting out a quiet exhale, Toryuki took the opportunity to turn to a less surreal discussion, pointing a fat, flat finger at the stranger and its shoulder companion. "So, mind telling me your names? Otherwise, you will enter my memory as simply a silent duo... Too impersonal for my tastes. I suppose that's my old fashion talking."

Connections fired as he tried to pick apart the intricacies of what he was hearing...but all it earned Dale was a headache. He just couldn't follow what he was hearing. He squinted and stared into Toryuki with a confused look, as if somehow the folds of her cloak held the secrets to his understanding. "Dif-fe-rent...?" He'd go with that. "The junc-sons...different, but they act the same. Know the same stuff. I don't, so...I guess that means I'm different...?"

Old fashion? What on earth did that even mean? The only time he'd anything about fashion, it was nothing like anything he could match up to this. "I'm...Dale..." He looked over to the staring dog-bot on his shoulder, who briefly broke stare to nuzzle against Dale's face. "This is Chip."

Looking between the two, Toryuki nodded to herself, repeating the names and pointing her finger between them. "Chip... And Dale..." A unique duo that she would surely remember. "Well, I hope the two of you were not disturbed by my probing. I know not what you were doing prior to my arrival, but, I shall leave you to it. Still, if ever you see me around this strange place, do feel free to approach me. I'm sure you have no reason to, but, well, nor did you have reason to humour me with this conversation. Besides, it is always good to have a face you recognise, no?"

Smiling, the Dystoran stepped away from the wall, bowing her head - not completely, but enough to convey the gesture without overtly presenting herself vulnerably. Then, with a swift turn that flicked her cloak slightly, the woman began to walk off. Nothing in the alley seemed like it was something she could scavenge, so, no reason to loiter. Besides, there was something about this Dale that just made Toryuki wonder who he was.

Perhaps a simpler approach would work in the next encounter.

The pair watched the strange junc-son leave, Dale pondering just what had happened here. All the stuff here was unfamiliar, yes, but this in particular seemed stranger to him than the rest.
Here was a person that had confused him more than most had just by talking like was normal to them. And then, they'd asked strange questions on top of that, things he understood even less as he tried to wrap his head around them.
They were weird. Weirder than most other people so far.
He wished he understood.

...it was best not to hang around here. "Come on, Chip." He set off in the opposite direction, not quite ready yet to cross paths with the junc-son again.

He had stuff he needed to figure out.
Mostly what most of what they said meant.