Tour of Myon

[Lyhoko Leaci]

These foods are taking awhile to think up... Anything related to the food will come up in the main update -- just Misa here.

As they enter the restaurant, Misa looks around at the design and says, "Ah, this is better. More natural."

After ordering, the talk turns to pants.

"Oh, and by the way, I noticed you look uncomfortable in shorts - don't worry, they look good on you."

"Oh, thank you, thanks a lot… it’s just, trousers are really uncommon among regular people where we come from. Only people who work dangerously wear them."

"It is the women that wear pants in the Ancaron Empire," Misa says. "The men wear skirts or dresses of some sort, though pant-like clothing can be worn under that if its cold. The culture here is... different."

Shortly after this, the conversation shifts back to the piuftagen. [pjuftagen]

[Lyhoko Leaci]

Current conditions: Temp: 72F/22C, Humidity: 70%, Sky: mostly sunny
Inside conditions (restaurant): Temp: 72F/22C, Humidity: 70%

Foods:

Pluftagen [ˈpluftagɛn]: A squarish purple fruit, normally quite juicy and sweet.

Akanen [ˈʔakanɛn]: A root, the roots are commonly short (3-5 inches long) and branch, forming multiple tubers from a single stem.

Lcepän [ˈʟɛpen]: The leaves of the lcepän plant, they are large and commonly form multiple leaves from a single bud, which often fold up.

Moïc Salad [ˈmoʔai̯ʧ]: A salad consisting of a bed of lcepän, along with sliced akanen, sliced keurats, pluftagugügen, lasëm seeds, and shaal cheese. Salad dressing is normally added.

Keurats [ˈkɛɚ̯əts]: Carrots, but not the common orange kind, they normally have a purple root, sometimes yellow.

Pluftagugügen [ˈpluftaguˈgjugɛn]: Small pluftagen, roughly the size of cherry tomatoes.

Lasëm Seeds [ˈlasim]: Seeds of the Lasëm plant, similar in size to sunflower seeds. Commonly used to produce oil, as well.

Shaal Cheese [ʃaʟ]: A hard, white, aged, crumbly cheese, normally with a slightly sharp taste, commonly used in salads.

Goröm-style Gutarxa Steak [goɹou̯m]: Grilled gutarxa steak, from the upper leg and thigh region, and sprinkled with var and ncem spices, then cooked until medium or well done, depending on preference.

Fried Akanen: Akanen fried in lasëm oil. Low in saturated fat.

Röüns Kunöno [ˈɹou̯ʔjuns ˈkunou̯no]: A hard wheat bread, with melted shiirti cheese on top.

Shiirti Cheese [ˈʃiːɹtɪ]: A semi-soft white cheese, unaged, commonly cut into slices and/or melted.

South Adesre Cheese Platter: A mix of soŋka, deezurt, jhaan, and montur cheeses, cut into cubes.

Soŋka Cheese [sɔŋkə]: A semi-hard yellowish cheese with a moderately mild taste, commonly with small holes.

Deezurt Cheese [ˈdeːzɚt]: A soft white cheese, commonly aged in thin wheels, with an edible rind and a sharp taste.

Jhaan Cheese [ʤan]: A semi-soft yellowish cheese with a moderately sharp taste.

Montur Cheese [ˈmɔntɚ]: A semi-hard whitish cheese with a smooth texture and a mild taste.

Galesfe Fish Stew: A stew consisting of various local fish, most commonly dhum and fhul, as well as added seasonings.
(Ah, that makes more sense than a "Soup Stew")

Dhum [duːm]: A smaller river fish, vaugely similar to perch.

Fhul [fuːl]: A larger ocean fish, somewhat similar to salmon.

Lcepän Salad: A salad consisting of mainly lcepän, with lce beans. Rarely eaten by itself, usually has other additions, or is simply a side dish.

Lce Beans [ʟɛ]: The seeds of the lcepän plant, they are small round and black, with a similar texture to peas.

Kaj [kaʤ]: A moderately sized round, fleshy, red fruit. Plural form is kajen.

Bread: Normally wheat, rye, or gris; occasionally barley, oat, hhen or mara.

Gris [gɹɪs]: A wheat-like plant native to Maiyan.

Hhen [hɛːn]: A rice-like plant native to Maiyan. (the <en> is not a plural marker)

Mara [ˈmaɹa]: A plant vaguely similar to corn/maize, native to Maiyan.

Note to self: Do not do food descriptions while hungry.

If it ends in <en>, it is likely plural, singular form lacks the <en>.

Drinks:

Beer and ale... I think I'll just use the Myonian names to potentially reduce confusion: Biir and iilen. They normally use ground ivy as a bittering agent instead of hops, and is normally made using barley or gris, with wheat and hhen being relatively common as well.

Biir [biːɹ]: Biir is usually bottom fermented.

Iilen [ˈiːʟɛn]: Iilen are normally top fermented.

Lii/Lhë [liː]: Produced similarly to wine, normally made from pluftagen. Normally has a purple color.

Suu/Sshu [sːuː]: A drink made from the sshu plant, similar to tea.

Deund [ˈdɛʔund]: A wheat based type of iilen, one of the most widespread wheat iilen.

I think I just increased the amount of Myonian foods by an order of magnitude...

------------------------------------------------

As everyone looked over the menus, Yoshe asked Lyhoko "Em, [ljo:ko], what is this one called?" With mild embarrassment, she added, "I can not read..."

Lyhoko looked at the item in question. "That would be moïc salad. You could just point to item you want as well, as long as it is clear what you are pointing at."

"Do they do double dishes here?" Andala asks.

"You can get a larger portion and share it, if that is what you want."

"Is this one gutarka, Liyōko?" he asks, pointing at the correct word. "I think I'm getting faster at your script already."

"Yes, that is gutarxa."

"[lə’jo:kɤ], your beer, is it top or bottom fermented? I prefer top fermented ones, wheat one. Is there any brew you can recommend?"

Lyhoko thinks for a couple of seconds on this. "The biir is bottom fermented, the iilen are top fermented. Deund I know is wheat, though I personally am not very familiar with the various types."

Soon the waiter, a male zuke, arrived to take everyone's order.

"I will have this one - is it just called gepen salad? Or does this say 'with'...something? And can I get a bruhtagen ['bɾuhtagɛn] by itself?"

"Lcepän salad by itself is just the lcepän and lce beans, that one has kajen along with it. And the singular is pluftag, do you just want one?"

Lyhoko ordered baked fhul, along with water to drink. Misa, meanwhile, ordered röüns kunöno, a (beef) steak, a plain lcepän salad as a side dish, some rye bread, and milk to drink, getting a slightly odd look from the waiter for the surprisingly large order. Once the waiter has collected everyone's order, he heads back to a door in the side of the main room, which presumably leads to the kitchen.

[MisterBernie]

As the discussion of trousers continues, Saba Aspur says: "Is there a reason not to wear trousers, or is it just the fashion? I read somewhere that one people on Orbi, I forget who, said women shouldn't show their legs even through trousers, because it was considered too sexual. I don't think we ever had such a thing in Visuhi - we have a hot climate, and since we are an archipelago and the sea is never far away, there's simply no point in wearing too many clothes. I would be more comfortable without this." (…)"Yes, I do mean that, thank you. But who are the mountainfolk, Andala, to make your husband such a delightful colour?"

Htalui’s eyes widen at this. "Really? What an odd way of thinking… the only way Andala could be considered too sexual was if she sat here absolutely naked. And even then, in a very hot summer, it would rather be thought too unclean. " With a sly grin, he adds: "So you’d be welcome to walk around just in shorts in Baranxtu."
Andala cocks her head in agreement. "The no trousers thing is… this is hard to explain. They just never have been common with us. People from colder areas wear them, but we’ve had… an interesting history with some of them, so maybe that also leads to the bad associations. Or maybe our men just love to let the air circulate."

Misa adds in on this: "It is the women that wear pants in the Ancaron Empire," Misa says. "The men wear skirts or dresses of some sort, though pant-like clothing can be worn under that if its cold. The culture here is... different."

"We do have trouser-like clothes for cold weather, too, yes, " Htalui says. "But then you wear a long robe or skirt anyways, so there you go."
Andala remembers the last question on Saba Aspur’s part. "Oh, and as for the mountain folk, the latuþēmirīa [‘lɑ:tuθɛmɪry̆ɐ], they’re a kind of fai-" before remembering their present company and deciding to switch to a more neutral term, just to be safe, "folk and children’s tale being. Mischievous spirits, and yes, some of them are said to wear trousers. As for Htalui’s blush… well, I’ll put it in a polite way, the things they do to humans in the children’s tales – steal milk and bread, poison wells, bewitch livestock and land, steal impolite and unruly children - and the things they do in other folk tales are very, very different." She wags her eyebrows at the last part.

--

When the time comes to order, Andala and Htalui order a large South Adrese Cheese Platter with some assorted cuts of bread as starters. Andala stays with the Galesfe Fish Stew¹ with a small [‘ɣɛːpən] salad, and decides to try the [‘dɛːjund]. Htalui takes the Goroum-style gutarxa steak, medium, with fried akanen and at the last moment adds that he wants some [ˈʃiːrtɪ] sprinkled on top. And a large pitcher of whole milk.

--
¹Soup Stew sounds like it contains a lot of mystery meat. This is why I should learn to double check before hitting submit.

[Christopher Schröder]

Lillia decides on the Golom-stal Goutalca Stay [gœulœum stɑ:l gutalkɑ: ste:], or however it happens to be said, when the time comes to order, and a South Adeslay Cheese Platter [adɛzle:] and some Siou [siu] with plenty of sugar on the side if there isn't any on the table. At the last moment, she also asks for a Plouftaguen ["pluf.ta'gɛ:n].

She does not say anything about wearing trousers or skirts, but takes what appear to be copious notes on the practice of other cultures (the thought of the existence of which is quite novel to her) for her travelogue.

'Are we allowed to take what we do not finish back with us?' she asks just after the food is ordered.

[Astraios]

The waiter arrives, and says, "Lcepän salad by itself is just the lcepän and lce beans, that one has kajen along with it. And the singular is pluftag, do you just want one?"

"Good, the salad with kajen ['kaʤɛn], then. And yes, sorry. One pluftag."

Back to the conversation about trousers, and Htaluy says: "Really? What an odd way of thinking... the only way Andala could be considered too sexual was if she sat here absolutely naked. And even then, in a very hot summer, it would rather be thought too unclean. So you'd be welcome to walk around just in shorts in Baranxtu."

At his grin, Saba Aspur decides that Htaluy has been flirting with him, and sits back in his chair, returning the grin. Rather enjoying the idea, he barely notices what Andala has added, only hearing the last sentence "...maybe our men just love to let the air circulate."

He replies: "Well, let's ask one." He catches Htaluy's gaze and says with a face so straight it's impossible not to read innuendo into it: "Do you like to let it circulate freely, Htaluy? And I'm sure you could find me plenty of excuses to walk around in less than shorts."

Misa adds: "It is the women that wear pants in the Ancaron Empire. The men wear skirts or dresses of some sort, though pant-like clothing can be worn under that if its cold. The culture here is... different."

"Both men and women in Visuhi wear shorts, though they tend to be of a different style. Skirts are reserved for formal wear for both sexes—women's skirts are longer than men's. And neither sex wears tops often at all," replies Saba Aspur to her.

Then Andala answers one of Saba Aspur's previous questions. "Oh, and as for the mountain folk, the latuþēmirīa, they're a kind of fai-, folk and children's tale being. Mischievous spirits, and yes, some of them are said to wear trousers. As for Htalui's blush... well, I'll put it in a polite way, the things they do to humans in the children's tales - steal milk and bread, poison wells, bewitch livestock and land, steal impolite and unruly children - and the things they do in other folk talkes are very, very different."

Saba Aspur's grin has steadily been growing wider all through Andala's explanation, and when she wags her eyebrows suggestively at the last part, he breaks out into peals of laughter. "Oh, Htaluy," he says once he's caught his breath, leaning forwards slightly and looking straight into his eyes again. "You must tell me one of these tales! It always excites me to hear stories from different cultures."

[Lyhoko Leaci]

Inside conditions (restaurant): Temp: 72F/22C, Humidity: 70%

------------------------------------------------

"Are we allowed to take what we do not finish back with us?" Lillia asks.

"Yes"

"Both men and women in Visuhi wear shorts, though they tend to be of a different style. Skirts are reserved for formal wear for both sexes—women's skirts are longer than men's. And neither sex wears tops often at all," Saba Aspur says to Misa.

"Length of the skirt or pants doesn't matter that much, formal wear is usually longer, but for regular clothing, and in some cases for formal wear, temperature is a major factor in the length... or simply how many layers one wears." Misa replies

"Oh, and as for the mountain folk, the latuþēmirīa, they're a kind of fai-, folk and children's tale being. Mischievous spirits, and yes, some of them are said to wear trousers. As for Htalui's blush... well, I'll put it in a polite way, the things they do to humans in the children's tales - steal milk and bread, poison wells, bewitch livestock and land, steal impolite and unruly children - and the things they do in other folk talkes are very, very different."

Misa stares at Saba Aspur for a couple seconds as he breaks out in laughter. "E, how different, exactly?"

The drinks are brought out right after the waiter enters the kitchen, and after a couple minutes the appetizers (bread, cheese) are also brought out.

Misa began to eat her food, and quite quickly at that, though the eating remained more or less neat.

The main meal arrives a couple minutes after that.

At least Misa's eating habits are better than the last time he was on a tour...

[MisterBernie]

With a face so innocent it struck Htalui as rather seducing, Saba Aspur bounced one of Andala’s comments back at him. "Do you like to let it circulate freely, Htaluy? And I'm sure you could find me plenty of excuses to walk around in less than shorts."

Htalui tries to copy the innocent look, but cannot help but let a smirk flicker over his lips. "It is so much more comfortable, and convenient, unless it’s far below freezing – does it never get too cold where you come from? And I’m sure I could find good reasons, as long as we make sure you won’t distract traffic." He raises his eyebrows while speaking the last half-sentence.


After Andala has elaborated a bit on the mountain folk, Saba Aspur takes the opportunity to fix Htalui with an intense gaze. "Oh, Htaluy," he says once he's caught his breath, leaning forwards slightly and looking straight into his eyes again. "You must tell me one of these tales! It always excites me to hear stories from different cultures."

Misa, meanwhile, interjects: "E, how different, exactly?"

Andala cuts Htalui off before he can start: "Well, they have sex with them."

Htalui fakes a disappointed, disapproving stare. "Now, that lacked the poetry and titillation of the actual stories."

"I think, Mr Storyteller, that stories of that sort might want to wait until after we’ve eaten."

[Astraios]

As the food is being brought out, Saba Aspur watches with no small amount of self-satisfaction as Htaluy's attempt at an innocent look is foiled by his smirk. "It is so much more comfortable, and convenient, unless it's far below freezing – does it never get too cold where you come from? And I'm sure I could find good reasons, as long as we make sure you won't distract traffic."

"The air temperature in Visuhi is not normally that cold. It can get chilly during a storm, but only so cold that all you need is something to keep the wind off your skin. The best place to be when there's a storm, though, is outside in a heated pool. Have you done that before? You can wear so few clothes, in such awful weather, but still be so warm. It's quite popular all over the islands, actually. It means you can have fun outside even with the chill and the rain."

Then he turns to Andala, saying "Oh, and 'distracting traffic'?" He glances back at Htaluy innocently. "Is your husband always so clever with his tongue?"


Misa asks about the stories of the mountain folk, with no hint of coyness, "E, how different, exactly?"

Saba Aspur bites his lip to keep back a laugh at her expense, and then hides his smirk at Andala and Htaluy's little exchange in his salad. Tasting one of the red fruits, he exclaims, "Ho-cām ['hɔ'ʧa:m]!" He moans in bliss, closing his eyes for a moment. "Mmm! These kajen things taste so good. Are they common here, Liyōko? I will want to eat them every day."

[Lyhoko Leaci]

Inside conditions (restaurant): Temp: 72F/22C, Humidity: 70%

------------------------------------------------

In response to Misa's question, Andala replies before Htalui could say anything. "Well, they have sex with them."

"Oh," Misa replies, showing no noticeable reaction at this.

Htalui fakes a disappointed, disapproving stare. "Now, that lacked the poetry and titillation of the actual stories."

"I think, Mr Storyteller, that stories of that sort might want to wait until after we’ve eaten."

"Yes, that might be a good idea," Lyhoko says.

"Ho-cām ['hɔ'ʧa:m]!" Saba Aspur exclaims. "Mmm! These kajen things taste so good. Are they common here, Liyōko? I will want to eat them every day."

"Yes, most foods can easily be found in different parts of the country, the main exception would be regional foods, such as þa [θə]."

[Christopher Schröder]

All through much of the above, Lillia is alternately bothered and perplexed, and fails to suppress an absolutely aghast reaction to the mention of the word "sex", at which she writes something in her notes she is careful not to let anybody else see. She otherwise eats in silence and continues to make odd notes about things she sees, and finishes her food and looks rather disappointed that there is not more, though says nothing about it.

[MisterBernie]

"Is your husband always so clever with his tongue?"
Andala nearly chokes on her bread with deezurt. "Um, it really really depends on his conversation partner. Give him a good offering, and he goes for it." She cocks her head slightly. "Yeees, that sounds about right."


At Lillia's reaction, Htalui turns to Andala and mumbles "['bɑ:rɑŋþɐʃ xo: ɑ'jɑ:ŋə mø:]"
She nods solemnly. "[mø: ... rim:'u ɑ'ɲø:ɣemuʃ 'hɑ:ŋɐ]" With a glance at Saba Aspur, however, she adds, "['rɒ:sɐ 'kɒ:nən:ə 'ŋɑ:ləðɯ]."

With a smile, Htalui starts on the steak, and remains silent for now, preferring to enjoy his meal. Only after a while he remembers what Saba Aspur had asked earlier. He cuts of a piece of gutarxa and holds it up. "Say, you wanted to try the [‘gu:tɑrxɐ]... I suggest you do it now before I eat it all by myself. It is quite delicious."

[Astraios]

"Yes, most foods can easily be found in different parts of the country, the main exception would be regional foods, such as þa [θə]," says Liyōko.

"That's a relief. I'll be sorry to leave Miyon, not least because it's illegal to bring agricultural produce back to Orbi. What is ['t̪ə]? Is it local to this area, or somewhere else?"


Liliya's horrified look at the word "sex", and the secretive scribbling in her notebook, set Saba Aspur off into another fit of laughter, which he pretends is directed at Andala's reaction to his innuendo. "Um, it really really depends on his conversation partner. Give him a good offering, and he goes for it. Yeees, that sounds about right," she says.

"I'll certainly keep that in mind," he replies with a grin, going back to his kajen.

Htaluy turns and mumbles something to his wife in their own language, and as she replies Saba Aspur sees her glance at him from the corner of his eyes. He looks up, flashes her a smile that holds the obvious question, but decides it's nothing to be too concerned about. Then realizing how hungry he is, he returns to eating with gusto and soon the salad is all but gone.

Htaluy's voice breaks into his train of thought, and he looks up to see him holding out a chunk of his steak. "Say, you wanted to try the ['gu:tɑrxɐ]... I suggest you do it now before I eat it all by myself. It is quite delicious."

"Oh, I completely forgot about that - thank you. If it tastes anywhere near as good as the kajen, you can be sure I'll enjoy it." He lifts up his almost empty plate, and holds it out to receive the meat, his eyes not once wandering from Htaluy's face even as he lowers his plate back down to the table. Breaking the look, he picks up his own knife, and slices his pluftag in two. "And you wanted to try this." He picks one half up carefully, using a napkin so as not to squidge the purple juice out onto everyone. "Here," he says, and holding it out he raises one eyebrow almost imperceptibly. "Taste it, and be assured you can take more if you find it pleasing enough."

---

Saba Aspur may not be that interested in what Htalui and Andala said, but I certainly am! I promise not to tell SA if it's a secret from him.

[Christopher Schröder]

Upon seeing Saba Aspoua enter a fit of laughter, Lillia realises it is at her, and so he soon after feels a very unpleasant chill come over him for a moment and then fade, though she appears to do nothing but finish writing and put her book away. She then asks for more Goutarca, and says 'I don't mind having to pay for it if there's only so much we're allowed as part of the tour.'

She then says something like [tɑ'kɛːn ʑiːʀ kœu'sʲia mɛ'sʲiœ] to Saba. It is difficult to tell whether that is something playful or something serious.

[Lyhoko Leaci]

Current conditions: Temp: 74F/23C, Humidity: 65%, Sky: mostly sunny
Inside conditions (restaurant): Temp: 72F/22C, Humidity: 70%

to have sex with = knooen

Lot of other languages here now!

------------------------------------------------

"That's a relief. I'll be sorry to leave Miyon, not least because it's illegal to bring agricultural produce back to Orbi. What is ['t̪ə]? Is it local to this area, or somewhere else?"

"It's a specially prepared fish dish, and its local to the Gulf of Granur region, in the northern part of the country, as well as in Glump, so its not that common in this part of the country."

Shortly after Saba Aspur laughs at Lillia's reactions to the word "knooen", (see initial note) Misa scratches her head, and then goes back to eating.

"I don't mind having to pay for it if there's only so much we're allowed as part of the tour." Lillia says, in relation to wanting more gutarxa.

"If you want more now, you will have to wait longer, as more would need to be cooked."

After Lillia's foreign sentence to Saba Aspur, Misa says, to no one in particular, [ˈkwan an sɪˈtəkuvˈdaɔ̯təˈdaɔ̯daɔ̯].

Not long after this, Misa finishes her food.

[Astraios]

Looks like we'll have to join in with the languages game too.

---

As he finishes laughing, Saba Aspur feels a sudden chill. He shivers and rubs a hand over the back of his neck, saying to himself, [ah'tam tap'ma:ŋ na'disa]*.

A few moments later, Liliya says something to him in her own language, so he replies, [ɔmbɔ:kiŋ'a:j | lilijaj'mas mani'ʧaŋ].


He finishes his salad, and tries the piece of gutarka steak and the half-pluftag that he still has. "You were right, Htaluy, the gutarka tastes very good."

---

*Since it's an idiom which I think is fun, this literally means "somebody plucked at my shadow", and it's the equivalent to having someone "walk over one's grave" in English.

[MisterBernie]

Htalui's and Andala's conversation was rather simple.

Htalui: "We're not in Baranxtu [anymore, Toto]."
Andala: "No... we really are in foreign territory. But [at least] the cute one wants you."

Htalui observes the others with a bit of curiosity, and given Lillia and Saba Aspur's interplay is suddenly overcome with a bit of dread, wondering whether there is something to those stories, after all. He makes a mental note to try not to annoy her too badly.
He then concentrates on his meal, and the pluftag he was offered. "It's... not bad at all! Although the sweetness is a bit at odds with the meat..." He notices some moistness on his chin and quickly dabs it away with a napkin. "And a mess to eat!" He smiles a smile with slightly purple teeth at Saba.

As the meal draws to a close, Htalui leans back with a look of contentment on his face. "That was quite excellent!" He pats his stomach. "But it brings me back to the trouser problem... I feel like exploding now."
Andala similarly rubs her stomach. "I think I could do with a nice, relaxing lie on the beach now. But swimming will have to wait for a bit... say, [lə’jo:kɤ], how strong are the currents of the sea here?"

[Christopher Schröder]

Lillia is rather surprised to hear Saba Aspoua respond to her with something she doesn't understand at all, though she doesn't show it and doesn't answer right away. Instead, she snickers a bit and taps one of her fingers on the table, though it appears to be more a tic than anything else, and no further chills are felt. She then appears to begin studying Joschai [ʒœu'ʃeː] with some interest, and writes several notes on the small person she has apparently missed this whole time. The little person is about a foot shorter than her, which she finds quite a novelty, as she is quite short by the standards of her own world.

From the notebook falls a photograph of her with a very large, cheery young man, which she hastily picks up and puts away. She looks rather fondly at the picture before putting it back into the notebook and resuming her note-taking.

Then talk of the beach comes about.

'Are oceans salty on this planet?' Lillia asks, 'and are there any dangerous things swimming about in them we ought to know about?' She is poised with her pen and ready to write such things down.

[Lyhoko Leaci]

Current conditions: Temp: 74F/23C, Humidity: 65%, Sky: mostly sunny
Inside conditions (restaurant): Temp: 72F/22C, Humidity: 70%

------------------------------------------------

Once everyone was done eating, Lyhoko dealt with the paying of the meal and then came back.

"I think I could do with a nice, relaxing lie on the beach now. But swimming will have to wait for a bit... say, [lə’jo:kɤ], how strong are the currents of the sea here?"

"Here, the currents aren't very strong, though they are up by where the Yanar river enters the ocean," Lyhoko replied.

"Are oceans salty on this planet?" Lillia asks, "and are there any dangerous things swimming about in them we ought to know about?"

Misa suddenly coughs.

"Yes, the oceans are salty. There isn't anything dangerous around here, there are barriers in the water around the swimming area. There is the ðhärojen, [ˈðeːɹoʤɛn] (that's singular, by the way, plural is ðhärojenen) but it normally lives in the warmer waters in the Sünva Ocean near the equator, and they also like wide open waters away from the coast. They normally stay in the water, but they can fly somewhat."

"Before we go to the beach, we will first take a boat ride around the area, to give our food time to digest before swimming, if you want to do that."

[ˈlanəˈzɪkəˈmːuk] Misa said, half to herself.

[ˈlanəˈtəzɪˈkantəˈnakran] Lyhoko suddenly said, surprising Misa.

[zɪˈpotkoɾ]?

[zɪˈpotkoɾ].

After this, she led them out the front door of the restaurant, onto the boardwalk. A small, 6 legged lizard looking thing scurried across the boardwalk and up a post at the disturbance. Aside from the lizard, several other people were walking around on the boardwalk, but it wasn't too crowded... now. Most of the people were zukes, or at least appeared to be so, with humans making up most of the rest, though the occasionally gaxika (the short, furry people) and zhevinowati (like the greeter in the restaurant) were visible. Up to the north the beach was visible, as well as a seawall farther in the distance, marking the northern edge of the beach. Meanwhile, where the restaurant was located, the boardwalk simply directly bordered the ocean, and occasionally a wave would crash against the posts holding the boardwalk up, sending a bit of spray up onto the ocean side of the boardwalk. Down to the south, the boardwalk continued for a ways, before reaching an area where there were a grouping of docks, with several boats docked. Additionally, a roughly 3 foot tall black-gray creature sat on one of the posts, apparently resting, looking a bit like a furry gargoyle. It ignored the people walking by.

[Astraios]

"The cute one"? I'm sure he'd be very flattered.

---

"It's... not bad at all! Although the sweetness is a bit at odds with the meat... And a mess to eat!" says Htaluy, quickly wiping away a bit of juice from his chin, and smiling with purple-stained teeth. Saba Aspur hides another laugh in his drink, swilling it around his own teeth in an attempt to make sure they are not purple too. Then he says, "Yes, it is messy. We have a saying back home - a messy meal means happy eaters. I think it's quite true."


From Liliya's notebook falls a picture which Saba Aspur sees before she picks it up. "Who is that, Liliya?" he asks, curious at her fond look.


"That was quite excellent!" exclaims Htaluy after a little, leaning back in his seat. "But it brings me back to the trouser problem... I feel like exploding now."

Saba Aspur replies, "I agree. The salad was bigger than I'm used to for this time of day, but it was very good. And you can loosen your trousers at the beach, I'm sure."

Liyōko pays, then replies to Liliya, "There is the ðhärojen, but it normally lives in the warmer waters in the Sünva Ocean near the equator, and they also like wide open waters away from the coast. They normally stay in the water, but they can fly somewhat."

"How big are these dherojen ['ðɛrɔʤɛn]?" asks Saba Aspur. "I've never heard of an animal large enough to be dangerous that can swim as well as fly."


"Before we go to the beach, we will first take a boat ride around the area, to give our food time to digest before swimming, if you want to do that," she adds.

"That sounds fun," says Saba Aspur, as Liyōko and Misa speak together.


The group follows Liyōko out of the restaurant and onto the boardwalk, where Saba Aspur watches, wishing he had got his camera out in time, as a lizard with too many legs scuttles across their path. Occasionally a wave breaks on the posts of the boardwalk on the side where he is walking, and he holds out an arm to feel the spray. It's a little colder than the sea around Visuhi, but not cold enough to prevent him from swimming later on. A little way along, he sees a furry creature sitting very still on a post, and he takes out his camera with his dry hand, to take its picture. "What sort of animal is that?" he asks their guide.

[MisterBernie]

Aye. As the dictionary says, kānen - beautiful, pretty, lovely, handsome, cute

---

"Here, the currents aren't very strong, though they are up by where the Yanar river enters the ocean," Lyhoko replied.

"Oh, good," Andala replies. "We've only been to the sea once - our last holiday, in fact - and the currents there were quite a surprise!"


"Before we go to the beach, we will first take a boat ride around the area, to give our food time to digest before swimming, if you want to do that," she adds.

Htalui and Andala nod, still a bit in a post-food coma. "Sounds good... let's just walk slowly, okay?" Andala adds.


The couple remains relatively silent on their stroll along the boardwalk, taking in the view and sights, and enjoying the sun's warmth. However, they wouldn't have noticed the short creature sitting on one of the posts hadn't it been for Saba asking Lyhoko: "What sort of animal is that?"

[Christopher Schröder]

"Yes, the oceans are salty. There isn't anything dangerous around here, there are barriers in the water around the swimming area. There is the the logen, [ˈðeː lœuʒɛːn], but it normally lives in the warmer waters in the Sünva Ocean near the equator, and they also like wide open waters away from the coast. They normally stay in the water, but they can fly somewhat."

Lillia writes that down, and asks 'What does a the logen look like?'

----

"Who is that, Liliya?" Saba Aspoua asks, curious at her fond look.

'My husband... his name is Albert [al'bɛːʀ],' she answers.

[Lyhoko Leaci]

Current conditions: Temp: 74F/23C, Humidity: 65%, Sky: mostly sunny

------------------------------------------------

"How big are these dherojen ['ðɛrɔʤɛn]?" asks Saba Aspur. "I've never heard of an animal large enough to be dangerous that can swim as well as fly."

"What does a the logen look like?" Lillia asks.

"They are roughly 19 to 20 kesan long and have a similar wingspan, I am just about 2 and a half kesan tall for comparison. They are a dark greenish blue on top and whitish on bottom, and are covered in scales, though they also have some hair on the top of their head and extending down their spine. The end of their tail splits into two separate tails, like the tail of zukes, some other related animals can use this like a club by making a sort of fist with it, though ðhärojenen normally just bite, not that that is much better. Like zukes and gaxikaen, they have biological jet propulsion, though because in ðhärojenen, it is adapted to serve as underwater propulsion, they are not very good at flying in the air, and only can sustain flight at around 10 kesan above the surface of the water."

"What sort of animal is that?" Saba Aspur says, referring to the animal sitting on the post.

"That's a gurþkrugüg, [ˈguɹθkɹugjug], a close relative as the gaxika, though not sapient, or at least it doesn't seem to be. They can be taught to talk, though don't expect any major conversations, plus their mouth isn't designed the same way and can't make some of the sounds that others can."

As they walk past it, it wakes up, makes a noise that sounds like [ˈʣaba], and then launches itself into the air with a phunt noise, and then uses its wings to stay in the air, at least until it lands on the roof of one of the buildings along the boardwalk. They continue over to the area where the docks are, along the way what seems to be a whole family of the dark yellow 6 legged lizards suddenly darts across the boardwalk, before climbing over each other to get into a hiding spot. They head down one of the docks, before Lyhoko talks to a human by one of the boats, which has a flat deck with around 15 other people already on it, and a sun shade in the middle of the deck. After a bit, the other person nods, and they walk up onto the boat. There are seats along the edge, and some more in the middle of the rear of the boat, where the others were standing. The other person, apparently the captain, closed a gate on the side of the boat where they entered, before heading up to the front of the boat and disappearing into a small cabin, while a zuke with long, dark green hair unties a rope holding the boat to the dock, then comes back and sits down in a chair on the back wall of the cabin. The boat begins to pull away from the dock and towards the open ocean, the only sounds being people talking and the waves lapping on the sides of the boat. Another 6 legged lizard, this one reddish and roughly 2 feet/1 kesa long, twice as long as the dark yellow ones, sits sunning itself on the railing of the boat.

The zuke with the green hair then says, "Good day, my name is Curya Acahhë, [ʧuɹja aʧaçiː] and I will be your guide during this trip."

[Astraios]

How very sweet of Andala.

---

Liyōko describes the dherojen's size and Saba Aspur's eyes widen. When she gets to the part about jet propulsion, he murmurs, "Fascinating," and makes a mental note to look it up when they get back to the hotel.


"I'll never be able to pronounce that name right. ['guklugjuk]?" The animal flaps heavily off to land on a building on the other side of the boardwalk, and the group continues on down. Saba Aspur has his camera ready this time as several more of the yellow lizards flash across the boardwalk, diving for cover.

They reach a certain boat and Liyōko stops to talk with a person standing by it. Then they board, and Saba Aspur takes one of the seats along the boat's edge. The captain and someone else go into the cabin, and the boat starts moving without a sound. He sees another lizard, red this time and bigger, on the railing. "There are lots of lizards here," he comments to no one in particular.

Then the other person in the cabin says, "Good day, my name is Curya Acahhë, and I will be your guide during this trip."

[Astraios]

Pokes all round.

---

The boat moves very slowly for a while, and Saba Aspur looks down over the side at the water.

[Lyhoko Leaci]

Current conditions: Temp: 74F/23C, Humidity: 65%, Sky: occasional clouds

And I've ended up going on an 8 hour car trip for an internship. Not sure where everyone else is.

------------------------------------------------

"I'll never be able to pronounce that name right. ['guklugjuk]?"

"[ˈguɹθkɹugjug], or you could just call it a dwarf skewer."

The reddish lizard suddenly jumps off of the boat and into the water as the boat pulls away from the dock, it apparently is a good swimmer as it can be seen paddling along back to the dock, before climbing up a post. The boat continues out into the water, as they get farther out more of the coastline becomes visible to either direction. Off to the south, the boardwalk continues for quite aways, with several beaches mixed in, off to the north there is the other beach, with a simple wall along the coastline beyond it, which connects to the seawall sticking out into the water. As they travel farther out they could then see beyond the seawall, where there were the islands around the mouth of the Yanar River, with the two towers on them, and a port area between the seawall and the islands. Back directly at the shore a starship enclosure is also visible.

"The coastal development along the ocean here is only on the south side of the city, it extends quite a ways down to the south from here." Curya said. "Just to the north of here is the port and the naval base, with the naval base being on the south side, just behind the seawall. Inland from there is one of the major industrial regions of the city, as well as a landing site for heavy cargo starships, as well as part of the local space force base. Meanwhile, off to the--"

She looked up and suddenly stopped talking as a massive starship appeared as it passed though a cloud, steadily getting lower and lower as it headed towards the coast from out to sea. It was dark and not very fancy looking, and numerous pods were visible along the sides. Here, have a picture. It was completely silent as it slowly made its way down.

"And it appears that one of the heavy cargo starships is coming in to land."