The Arrival of the New Season[Hatot/Trista]

[Hatot]

oocI decided to shorten the tour to a place by place post, instead of an entire tier at once. Mainly for dialog's sake Hatot gave a simple nod, smiling slightly as he began making his way the downward path, leading Trista into the second Tier. He first stopped at a large white building, overlooking a large cliff within Riverfall. The building itself had women coming and going from within. Hatot’s hand slowly motioned towards it. “This is Godiva’s Refuge.” Hatot said before stepping to the side so that Trista could look over it more easily. “The Refuge is primarily for women who come to Riverfall. Whether they be travelers or others rescued from Slavers, as the Akalak often form raiding parties to free those captured by despicable individuals who employ such a trade. Many women who frequent Riverfall often stay here, their first week of room and board given free.” Hatot then paused, waiting specifically to see if Trista had any further questions regarding the Refuge, considering she, herself, was female. It would likely be a place she may be interested in staying should her visit to Riverfall turn out to be longer than a day or two.

[Trista]

"The first few days are free?" Something about the concept made her give a small smile. The Akalak were so interested in women that they'd set up a hotel with a free incentive to stay there. Not that she would impugn their generosity, but more and more, Riverfall was seeming to be a place where a woman could live something of a pampered life if she so chose.

It was, she thought, actually something worth asking Hatot about. "It seems to me that the Akalak are very conscientious about their female visitors," she said, choosing her words carefully to avoid giving offense. "What is life like for the women who live in the city?"

She was curious to see how he would answer. Certainly he seemed chivalrous enough -- giving her a spur-of-the-moment tour and all -- and she imagined he would have an excellent response.

[Hatot]

Hatot cupped his hands behind his back for a moment, pondering on how best to answer her question. “They are treated well, but I will be honest over the matter so you don‘t hear an opinionated view from someone who is not an Akalak.” Hatot said looking around the city. “If you didn’t know before coming here, you will have undoubtedly noticed that there are no Akalak women. There is a simple reason for this: Only Akalak males are born when a child is conceived between an Akalak and a female of another race.” Hatot then looked back to Trista. “Women are generally treated very well in the hopes that they will accept to bear an Akalak in return for the extra hospitality.” Hatot explained. “So there is a reason behind it, but that reason is the continuation of our people. Ensuring that our race doesn’t die out.” “Women who don’t wish to bear an Akalak child will still be treated well of course, but they would have to find a means of income to meet any living expenses they would have while living here.” Hatot then finally said. “Overall, I would imagine though that it would be easier for a woman settle in her than a male who is not Akalak.”

[Trista]

Trista hadn't been expecting quite that level of disarming honesty, and she had to stop for a few moments to process what she had heard. She knew about the Akalak's peculiar reproduction, and so that was no surprise. But...that they would freely admit being willing to essentially pay women of other races to take part in it, that surprised her. It struck her as a sort of prostitution, except that the sex in this case was, at least in theory, simply a means to an end. But then again...what else were the Akalak supposed to do?

The rest of it made sense. Any woman might eventually change her mind about the whole bearing a child thing; even if not, at least her presence would do no harm to the community. But men from outside would be competing for the most precious resources of the community, and it wouldn't surprise her that that would be a difficult situation. It occurred to her to wonder if a man who already had a partner would find assimilation easier, but she didn't think it good manners to ask.

The Akvatari nodded. "This makes sense." Again, a small pause. "Are there any other Akvatari here? I haven't seen any, and few people here seem to have either, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything." She fluttered her wings, willing to follow along to whatever the next stop on the tour was.

[Hatot]

Hatot shook his head for a short moment. “I don’t believe I have seen any other Akvatari here.” Hatot replied as he began leading her down the road, looking idly around as if to check again in regards to her question. “Though admittedly, I don’t spend a great deal of time within the city walls myself, so I could have just been missing them.” Hatot continued leading Trista down the road a bit further until finally stopping in front of a large stone building. The stonework itself had a certain glimmer to it as it reflected the sun’s light in an small array of colors due to the materials used. Stained glass windows lined the walls of the building as mixtures of red and blue housed art of scrolls and text in the Akalak language. The large wooden door at the center of the building had the name of the structure etched across it’s surface, a fair number of Konti, Akalak and humans alike walking in and out through it. “Valkalah Academy. This building houses a large number of texts and books, as well as teachers for those who wish to expand on their knowledge of the lands.” Hatot explained as he motioned towards the building. “It is open to all within the city, and is a great place of learning.”

[Trista]

The lack of other Akvatari wasn't really a surprise. Most of her people lived in Abura, of course, and those who left rarely went farther than the east coast. There were a few in Zeltiva, in Mura, even in Eyktol, but that was about as far as it went.

The place that Hatot led her to next was nicely kept, and she admired the architecture. The Academy paled in comparison to the University of Zeltiva and its Wright Memorial Library, but nonetheless, it was more than most cities had these days. If she decided to stay in Riverfall -- or to return -- it might be worth inquiring as to what classes were offered. If drawing was an option, she might even be able to teach.

"Have you done any studying there?" She wasn't sure how bookish of a fellow Hatot was, but the Akalak were a surprising people, and she was prepared to be surprised.

[Hatot]

Hatot slowly shook his head. “I studied a little bit of anatomy, but beyond that I confess that I haven’t spent much time within.” Hatot answered as he looked to Trista. “My life is a little…….complicated. Generally, it’s best I don’t spend too much time in the city save for when I train my students and visit a friend of mine.” “Though soon I plan to further such studies, as knowing the anatomy differences to the various races is beneficial to the practice of my Hand to Hand form.” Hatot further explained, his eyes expectant of a certain reaction he normally spotted in a woman’s eyes when he revealed such.

[Trista]

There was obviously more to the story than what Hatot was telling her, and it was equally obvious that it probably wasn't a good idea to ask for more details. She did think it a bit odd that he would be giving her a tour of the city if it wasn't a good idea for him to be here, but nothing untoward seemed to be happening at the moment, and so she elected not to press him on it.

The mention of hand to hand combat provoked less of a reaction than Hatot might have anticipated. After what she had seen of the city, Trista took it as axiomatic that every Akalak had training in some sort of combat, and unarmed was probably as good as any other. She herself knew almost nothing of any combat skill at all -- she could fly or swim away from most things, and that really was enough for her.

She had no other questions about this particular stop, and fluttered her wings, preparing to follow Hatot to wherever they were going next.

[Hatot]

Hatot gave a slow nod, moving onward through the second tier of Riverfall. Eventually, they settled in front of a large one story building not too far into the tier. No sound seemed to echo from the building itself unless the door was opened, and very few widows lined the walls, creating a certain sense of privacy for what went on inside. Hatot slowly rose his hand towards the building, looking back to Trista. “This is the City Administration Forum.” Hatot said plainly, once again letting his hand fall back to his side. “Generally all things political within Riverfall are handled within, and it is where the Council of Elders meet to discuss important issues. Aside from employment within the city, which the Labor Aid in the third tier handles, all other aspects of running the city are handled here.” Hatot then looked towards the building once again. “It’s here you would go if you likely looked to build something new in the city, structurally speaking anyhow. Whether it be a new home or business.” Hatot commented further. “As well, if there is a dispute that was deemed to important to be handled by contest within the Arena, then it is here which the matter will be presented.”

[Trista]

Politics, any kind of politics, held essentially no interest to Trista, and so there was a limit to how curious she was regarding this stop. However, one thing that Hatot said did raise a series of questions in her mind.

"A dispute? I don't think I'm following you, I'm sorry." The apologetic note in her voice was genuine. "What's the Arena, and how would one go about settling disputes in it? And, along the same lines, what kind of disputes are important enough to come here instead?"

"Disputes" in Abura were few and far between; the Council of Six that governed the city had little power, and exercised even less. An entire society of introspective individualists produced few power struggles, especially in a city with far more room than its inhabitants needed. As a result, Trista's upbringing hadn't really given her any firsthand experience in such matters.