Post by Emiko Kisaragi on May 13, 2017 21:20:28 GMT
Old Dog, Young Heart.
Continuing from: Steadier Footing
"The One-Legged Monk..." Kisaragi muffled from beneath the Old Sailor's thick arm-hair. Even though he was being dragged along in a head-lock without his consent, Kisaragi couldn't help but to laugh lightheartedly about this situation he suddenly found himself in. "Aye, lad'o. This be the place were us salty sea-dogs come ta wet our whistles! Best spot to drown yer sorrows, ain't it?" The Sailor spouted as he pointed at the tavern and released Kisaragi from his dominating grasp with a shove. Kisaragi stumbled a couple of feet before regaining his balance. He rubbed his neck and followed the sailor to a private booth seemingly reserved for them.
"Anyhoo... They call me Desu, lad'o. What might yer name be, then?" Desu reclines back into the booth, picking his legs up and settling them across the remainder of the seat on his side. His dirty toes barely reached the level of the table's surface, making them look like little-teeny breaching beluga whales."Desu? ...Like the coupla?" Kisaragi curiously asks as he slides onto the opposite end, placing his pack on the inner-half of the booth. "Aye, Desu-Desu. The locals can't say my name so they say Desu!"
Desu presses back against the wall as he reaches into his pocket for a coin-purse. He lobs it onto the table between them, and it lands with a hefty thud. "I don't rightly understand it meself, but I tend to just go wit' ta flow of t'ings, ain't it. Been workin' for everyone 'ere thus far." A young waitress sways herself over from the kitchen to their booth, smiling warmly at them both. "The usual, Desu-sama?" Desu kindly nods.
"You wouldn't be able to pronounce mine either..." Kisaragi jokingly muttered to himself under his breath as Desu and the waitress exchange pleasantries. "Yar, m'deary. Make it for two, and keep 'em comin'!" For a serious moment after the waitress walked away, Kisaragi and Desu lock eyes. "Where do you come from, lad'o?" Kisaragi tensed, but remained silent. "A'right now, you don't have ta tell me much, but thar be much you need knowin'. You won't be lastin' much wit'out it," Desu huffed. Kisaragi turns his head in embarrassment, keeping an eye out for that waitress to return from the backdrop up at at any moment.
"I'm not staying long enough to put it to use," he said, sounding somewhat shy and off-put. As if he didn't understand why this complete stranger had any intention of aiding him without any sort of compensation in return. It was something Kisaragi wasn't quite used to.
"You'll find it hard ta leave, if you don't have ta means, lad'o," Desu says compassionately. "I can't tell ya nary everythin' 'bout this place... but what I do know will help ya find yar way." Something about the young vagabond reminded Desu of someone he once knew, and maybe that's what drew them together. Nevertheless, throughout the night Desu and Kisaragi discussed the history and current state of the world while they ate, and Desu drank. He learned about the Hidden Villages and their systems, even their ways of life... By the end of the night, Kisaragi had crammed several decades of information into his skull. ...And every piece of it he was grateful for.
They made their way back to Desu's ship several hours later, and although Kisaragi had to help the drunken old Sailor stumble all the way from the tavern to his living quarters, it was a delightful and overall insightful evening. One that Kisaragi will cherish for the rest of his years.
...To be Continued
