The Difference in Status ( 2 )
After the hooded woman left Raen decided to take a chance and venture off towards the large tent which housed the middle group. Curiosity had gotten the better of him as did the desire to find out if he would be right or wrong. As he neared it was already evident that this crowd and the one he came from were vastly different. Though the people milling about lacked the finer clothing of the elite group, they still nonetheless wore far better than his own.
A few eyes strayed over him out of what must be curiosity but no one approached, leaving one of the cart drivers to first call out. Raen could only tell it was a driver because the woman was lounging on the padded bench like so many others who had decided to not join in with the crowd. " You know it's a bit unorthodox to go snooping around outside your circle. Looking for someone in particular? " The woman was likely in her late thirties by the look of it but wore no real signs of age just yet. Raven hair had been done up in a bun and her outfit managed to make her look both professional and cut close to her curves all at once.
" No not quite, I was just curious. Eh, what do you mean by circle? " Raen neared the cart and made certain not to disturb the strange looking beast that was attached to it. It had six fur covered legs but its body was scaled. He couldn't make out much more as it was curled into a ball but he was able to see sharp claws protruding from its feet.
" What Melinda here is saying is that you don't quite measure up. " A trio had split off from the main crowd and now set themselves in front of Raen, clearly not very welcoming but they were not yet sending him away either. The owner of the voice spoke up once more, a darker skinned man with slightly pointed ears, likely a half elf. " I can't speak for everyone, but I'm sure you already noticed there was no warm welcome. I'm betting you know those two who went to the other camp. It would be best if you collect them before they are made fools of. "
Raen opened his mouth but the three were already melding back into the crowd, enough eyes locked to him that it made the situation rather uncomfortable. At least he had his answer, and though they were not welcoming he hadn't been insulted outright. Melinda shrugged and motioned for Raen to be off, a look on her face of 'I told you so'. It only took a moment to put two and two together to figure out that the 'circle' reference must be one's social standing.
Suffice to say it caused Raen to worry now over Aldrich and Hala who were still with the elite crowd. Hurrying over to try and bring them back to their own crowd, Raen actually found himself stopped by what appeared to be the carriage drivers. Three of them barred his way, not only that but one had his rapier out as if to threaten him. However small the actions were, it couldn't be hidden from Aldrich who noticed the movement and hurried down to try and break up the potential mishap.
" Woah hold hold on now, this one is with me. " Aldrich stepped between the drivers and Raen, throwing an arm around his shoulders and laughing though Raen could tell that even his friend was tense. It didn't help that the drivers looked disdainfully at Aldrich, only pulling back when a loud voice boomed from behind them.
" Stand down, a friend of a friend should be treated properly gentlemen. " Surprisingly enough the one to speak up was the regal looking minotaur from before, coming down with Hala in tow. She only gave a questioning look at Raen before they were all ushered back to the expensive tents with the other elites.
Entering took Raen's breath away at the ridiculous spectacle before him. Though the minotaur who helped might be the highest ranking member of society, each and every individual was clearly from a ridiculously high class. Men wore suits of silk or some other expensive looking material, often adorned with superb weapons that glistened and shone all on their own. The women were like gemstones, radiantly beautiful and wearing finery that he had only seen in movies on his own home world. To call them the elite did not do the crowd justice, no these people would be rulers one day if not already.
The minotaur smirked at seeing Raen's gaze and eventually seated himself in a chair that might as well have been a hand carved throne for its size and appearance. Raen could only marvel for a few moments longer before realizing he was indeed portraying the image of a country bumpkin. Aldrich clapped a hand on his shoulder and gave a knowing wink while Hala seated herself next to the minotaur. The beastman leaned forward and spoke, a few of the other elites turning out of curiosity to see what was going on. " So then Aldrich, is this one of your members? No offense but he doesn't look like much. "
Aldrich only grinned and shook Raen's shoulder before motioning in the general direction of the crowd from which they had originally come with. " Well we are only human after all but I can promise they are all excellently trained. As I said before, we come from a small village but one which is home to the famous Flaming Waves Juin. He made sure that we were of exceptional quality and Raen here is no exception. "
It took all of Raen's strength to keep from glaring at Aldrich, first and foremost for the blatant lie and second for the fact that not even Juin had told him about being famous. That would explain how Aldrich managed to not have himself thrown out by the guards. As for Hala, the minotaur kept throwing her obvious looks so perhaps she would have been fine. Either way, all Raen could do was rub the back of his head as if slightly embarrassed while trying to think of how he could slink away.
" Hmm well then perhaps your friend here would care to demonstrate? Raen was it? " The minotaur started to rise and reached behind his seat as he did so to pull out a massive axe. At two and a half meters or perhaps a little over, he already cut an imposing figure but Raen was more worried at the numerous runes carved into the weapon than anything else. He had already seen what those runes could do thanks to the wooden weapons he had practiced with, just what sort of effect would they have on a real one? Thankfully Aldrich was quick to try and squash the idea of a match, carefully positioning himself between Raen and the minotaur.
" Ah well unfortunately though we had a great teacher it does not change that our village was rather poor. The only weapons we have are practice arms, I don't quite think they would stand up to a real weapon Bhromir." Aldrich was all smiles and even Hala was leaning forward as if ready to interject. Raen on the other hand was watching Bhromir and noticed that the beast man didn't seem bothered by this fact. Actually...it looked more like he was making a spectacle as his loud voice carried through the tents and now had many of the elite crowd watching them.
" Training weapons you say? Hmm we might have a few toys laying around...Tell you what, you wanted to talk about working together and if you lot are really as strong as you say then I see no reason not to make the strongest possible team now before we even Awaken. But I'm going to need proof...Raen would you be so kind as to run back to your things and fetch Aldrich's practice gear? He speaks in such a way that I have to assume he is your leader and therefore the strongest. " Bhromir grinned at this, the image of the beastman playing between friendly and malicious now though only the other elites and Raen could see beyond the friendly charade.
Raen looked to Aldrich who seemed more than surprised at this sudden change but turned to wave Raen off. Hala had also settled back down, her lack of words even now making Raen question what was really going on. Just who was this Bhromir? It wasn't important enough to ponder at the moment, so Raen carefully excused himself and hurried down to the lesser crowd, beelining for their cart. So lost was he in trying to figure out why he was getting such a bad feeling about the situation that he didn't see the hooded female from before. Raen ran right into the back of her, causing the female to stumble forward and twist awkwardly to catch herself, causing the hood to shake free.
When the hood slipped off it revealed quite the startling image. First off the woman was extraordinarily beautiful and seemed quite exotic, another moment all he needed to find out why. A massive ear sat at the top of her head, rounded and adorned with two silver piercings near its top. That alone made it evident that she wasn't human as did here caramel toned skin that bore darker spots which disappeared down her neck though did not reach her face. Her silvery hair was also quite wild, rising up from the center of her head like a mohawk before it curled to the left and splashed over her face. It hid her other inhuman ear from view and one of her eyes, springing up against both sides of her neck with its volume and length. As for the one eye he could see, it was a vibrant shade of orange, giving her a smoldering gaze.
" You're...a demi human. '' Raen said quietly, more of a voiced thought than anything else. The woman hurriedly covered herself back up and growled in the back of her throat, clearly upset over her secret being discovered. She was just about to say something before Raen laughed and held up his hands, quick to try and diffuse the situation. " I'm sorry, it's actually the first time I have met one. I wasn't meaning to be rude. My name is Raen, and yours? " He wanted to be quick about returning before something else could happen with Bhromir but he was also genuinely curious now about the woman before him.
The woman stared at Raen for a few tense seconds in silence, likely trying to get a read on him. Raen knew that most people treated Demi humans as worthless but he didn't care one way or another. Eventually she seemed to deflate, her voice holding onto the faintest hint of an accent that matched her wild beauty quite nicely. " Vyral, and yes I am a demi human... "