Day off in Alne.

Today was really a day like any other in Alne, busy with a mix of relief for the coming weekend from at least some of the Landers, and a tentative energy that ran through the streets. Perhaps from the sports day just a little earlier in the week. Hawkers and peddlers sequested themselves along the sides of streets hoping to catch the eyes of the wealthy, though thankfully were kept well outside of the main pathways.

Lunaris was for the most part lounging around, browsing various shop stores and otherwise making a playful nuisance of herself, she had after all been working pretty hard for the rest of the week and figured that she deserved the free time to just enjoy the city. That, of course, meant trying to find the sweetest food around and something pretty and relatively shiny. It wasn't long until she was pulled in to a jewelry store and browsing over there 'wares, trying to get a better deal than was on offer with the best smile the cait sithe could manage.

Yeowang likewise finds herself in that jewelry store, looking over the wares with a critical eye. By reputation, she could probably buy a good chunk of the store outright, but she seems not to be buying, but sort of aggressively comparing and pricing. Judging the market. There are one or two pieces that have caught her eye, but jewelry is not a priority just now. On the other hand, she's told that some casters can put magic spells on jewelry, and that seems like a useful thing. But none of the items seem to catch her interest, though she examines a few critically, some even with a jeweler's loop, provided by the shopkeeper, who doesn't seem best pleased by her shopping habits.

"Hello," she calls to Lunaris as she spots her Alliance-mate. "How are things today? Looking for something specific, or just browsing?"

Toshiro is no stranger to Alne, to be sure. It was the gathering place for many adventurers of all sorts, which means its bar has some of the most interesting stories floating about. But today is different. Today the oversized Were Fang is looking about with a more professional perspective. He looks about with a curious look in his eye, lips curled into their usual smile that reveals just a glimpse of her jagged teeth. Of course, one can only be among the shops and stalls for so long before the temptation to browse finally takes hold.

His wanderings take him through various shops, specifically vendors selling articles of clothing and the sort. Eventually, this leads him to a certain jewelry shop where a certain Cait Sith is locked into some friendly bartering. His smile grows a bit at the sight, a hand resting on his hips as his gaze settles on the girl that stands nearly two feet shorter than himself. Golden eyes flick toward Yeowang as she speaks up, a soft hum escaping him before he pipes up with his own question. "You're a determined one, aren't you? But you know you can only barter so much with these Landers. Push too hard and they'll lock their prices on you."

"Come oooon, you can go just a bit lower, riiight?" There were some rather odd things that resulted when a character had a skill more as a result of ETO than they ever had in real life, and Lunaris' tactics for attempting to haggle was no different. Polite insistence appeared to be the name of the game and the Lander did look close to relenting, if only to get her to leave the shop well enough alone. Perhaps the most amusing thing was that the item wasn't exactly anything impressive nor pretty, simply rather shiny abalone that cast a rather nice rainbow hue that had been fashioned into an anklet.

The Cait Sithe soon jerks as she hears new voices, pulled out of her haggling contest with a wide grin as she waves to Yeowang, "Oh! Hey! Just browsing really, you know the whole shopping therapy thing? Figure I might as well do something that fits Grandeur, no? Even if just for pretty things. They're really good for hiding, you know?" Her voice a rather happy one, and she sounds more than ready to talk for a good few hours on the subject when her green eyes finally alight on Toshiro as he joins in, making her giggle and nod, "It's a good strategy you know! And it works so far, just practicing." Then after a moment she hops back a bit to give a small bow mostly to the latter, "I'm Lunaris, good to meet you! How have you both been on this lovely day?"

Yeowang nnods as Toshiro mentions the Landers digging in their heels on a price, but she says to Toshiro, "That's true, but it's generally worthwhile to talk them down as much as you can." Though it should be said that Yeowang has a bit of skill in that area and can generally get herself a discount that's worth the ten minutes of debate. She looks him over, puzzled, and asks, "/What/ exactly are you?"

To Lunaris, she nods slowly. "Shopping therapy? You need therapy for something?" Stranger and stranger. She doesn't see the world like others, of course, but she had quite a strange upbringing. "I hope you can find a good bargain?"

Toshiro can't help but laugh a bit to himself at the girl's tactics. "Oh I'm sure your methods work wonders here, even if they wouldn't in the real world." His gaze flicks over to Yeowing as his head bobs in a nod of agreement. "The trick is knowing when to stop pushing. I know I've seen a lot of folks get too greedy and end up missing out on a good deal." He speaks confidently on the matter, even if his in world qualifications don't quite match up to what Yeowang had established in this world. The question she asks next prompts a burst of laughter from the Were Fang, his smile growing into a toothy grin that fully reveals his dangerously sharp pearly whites.

"A pleasure to meet you two. I'm Toshiro. As for WHAT I am...That's a complicated question, don't you think? After all, I am many things to many people. So I suppose it depends on what you're looking for." A quick wink was tossed toward the taller of the two ladies, even if that height was still dwarfed by his ridiculous stature.

Whether it's due to wisdom, or because she now has a conversation to participate in, Lunaris quickly retrieves a couple of coins and places them on the counter giving the lander a rather polite nod before taking the anklet and tossing it up in her hand before catching it once again, the transaction apparently finalised. At least this one. Her eyes wander to almost literally anything that shines more than a rock, so basically everything. "You have to test these things. It's like crafting, you might just be doing it wrong and going through the menu, who's to tell?" She asks with a happy hum, now peering at a set of particularly deep blue earrings.

At the question of why therapy she peeks back up, moving her arms back behind her back, "You know, the whole war thing. Got to keep your morale up so that you can give some proper help, right? Can't be getting all dour about the whole thing, too much to be doing! Haru pretty much said so too. I don't understand him, but.." She gives a shrug, a solid heft, "Pleasure to meet you too Toshiro! You sound like a merchant of some sort? Talking about all the deals." Then glancing between the pair and giving a small blink, "Pretty sure he's just tall."

Yeowang hasn't established any particular bargaining qualification, and while she considers herself skilled in that area, she doesn't assume that's she's anywhere near the pinnacle. She eyes Toshiro as he evades her question, and snorts derisively. "I'm not looking /for/ anything," she says flatly. "I was simply curious what your subspecies was, as I am not a marine biologist and am not famiiar with the various taxa of sea creatures, and so what I was requesting information on what sort of were fang you were."

To Lunaris, she agrees, "He is also quite tall, yes." As to the war and morale, she can only shrug. "Morale is important," she agrees, but reluctantly. "I am more used to dealing with employee morale than war morale, so I suppose I can't offer any opinions on that. Paid leave and employee discounts aren't really applicable to war morale."

Toshiro lets his grin fade back into his usual soft smile as he watches Yeowang, his energy deflating a bit as he shrugs his shoulders at her. "Ah. Sorry about that. Was just looking to start up a bit of banter. But if you want the direct answer, I'm what's called a Cetus. Some kind of...big sea monster thing. Something like a mix between a shark and sea snake, as far as I can tell." His previous enthusiasm is replaced with a somewhat more professional matter of fact tone as the question is properly addressed, though the curious glint in his eye still remains. "Also yes. Very tall. I get that a lot."

The jewelry is ignored for the moment in favor of the two women who are now his partners in conversation, even if there are a few pieces that he has his eyes on. "You would be surprised. Your employees may be suffering from the effects of this war as well, as we all are. Anything you do to help ease their burdens with regard to their work helps them to cope with the other pressures of the world. How else are they going to engage in..." His words trail off for a moment, smile growing once more into a teasing grin as his eyes settle on Lunaris. "Shopping therapy." His eyes remained focused on the fox, head tilting slightly to one side as he finally considers her previous question. "Here? Not yet. I'm still seeking out my role in this world. My business experience comes from my life back home, so it may not all apply here."

Lunaris tilts her head at the rather flat tone, as if trying to figure out where it came from though chooses to not add to that line of conversation, she has enough time fitting in as it was. "A shark and sea snake.. Sounds like some dinosaurs! Ever see-- Read about those? Horrible teeth, was meant to be one in Loch Ness.. Ple-Plei-thasaur? Something like that," tapping her chin thoughtfully before realising it wasn't going to come to her no matter how much she tried to summon up the name. "I wonder one of the servers actually have dinosaurs.."

Either way the agreement to Toshiro's tallness gets a giggle and she nods in rather good humour, seeming for a moment to try and figure out how they measure up, quite literally. "Yes! War and business have a lot in common I think. But, uh. I'm not expert. And shopping therapy helps a lot, last time I went out to get coffee, was pretty lovely," the Cait Sithe says cheerily, before getting quite curious about the were-fang, "Oh! Knowing stuff can help, I mean, half of this place is experimenting and doing things the proper way seems to help as long as you've got the skills too. So you're probably better off than most. It's a handy ability to have!"

Yeowang arches a brow as Toshiro explains what he is. "Ah, I see." That seems to be the answer she was looking for. She nods about very rall. She's tall, herself, for a human woman, particularly in this game, which seems to have an extra large share of short women, but Toshiro dwarfs her. As to any employees she has, she says, "The Ninetails bank is doing a good wartimee business. Everyone needs money during a war. But I was thinking of businesses back in the real world. The Ninetails Bank has much different issues than I am generally required to deal with." Which implies that like Toshiro, her business experience also comes from her RL.

The discussion of aquatic dinosaurs is over her head, though she does say, "There /are/ Leviathans in the open ocean between the servers." Just knowing that is enough for her. She nods about knowing stuff, though she says, "There are limits. The game holds you back, if your skill level exceeds what it thinks you ought to have. I spent quite some time failing to work around that."

Toshiro chuckles a bit at Lunaris and her enthusiasm, a finger extending to scratch at his chin. "Horrible teeth? A bit rude to say in present company don't you think?" His lips pull back in another toothy grin, revealing rows of razor sharp and 'horrible' teeth clearly designed for ripping the flesh from prey. "But your friend here is right. There are definitely that sort monster out there. I've heard many stories from the Lander sailors." Of course that sort of chatter is far less interesting than the business talk that slowly works its way into their conversation. He nods in agreement with the both of them, his a hand gesturing as he flicks through some menus. "Indeed. No matter how good of a deal you offer a Lander, it seems they prefer doing business with folks who have the proper skills. But having proper know how is still useful in other ways, of course. Like organizing fellow players and knowing how to properly run a business."

A soft hum rumbles out from his throat as he takes a moment to glance between the two before speaking again. "It sounds like you two are both at least somewhat involved in this war with the Palace Lands, yes? I would be curious to hear your thoughts on it. It certainly seems to be a popular topic of conversation these days."

"I was talking about Nessie, not you! I wonder though," Lunaris muses, glancing off in a direction in what could be assumed a flashback, though was more the result of her knowing something was far away but not exactly where, "If the other servers have those things. Not that it matters too much. Rather cute critters rather than Dino's! Taming a monster is so much effort they may as well be cute right? Like wyverns!" She easily matches the grin, her teeth much more human than the were-fangs, though her canines were certainly elongated to points giving an almost vampiric look, but slightly more on the animalistic side. "Oh yes, I've heard of them! Not sure you could tame those though. Can't say I've ever felt willing enough to try. Less pain or not, can you imagine being eaten?" Shudders, very, very much shudders run through her, apparently trying to imagine it.

"Sure! There are limits without the skill but that's like glass half full. There are some benefits of knowing how to run a business even without the skill, some things you can get around. It's why we can.. apparently.. Make things like electricity. Despite magic being far more interesting." The Cait Sithe shakes her head as she lets out an amused laugh, barely resisting the urge to give a demonstration in the shop, though gets a bit more serious at the war question. "It's.. Not a good thing. Mind controlling people. Forcing them to fight. I can't wait until it's over," a hand wave before continuing, "I'll be doing what I can to speed that up. Advise anyone else does too, whether funding or fighting.."

Yeowang nods to Toshiro about the usefulness of business skills. "I find it's quite useful for organizing several of the tasks I've undertaken," she agrees. As to the war, she nods grimly. "I suppose I am involved as deeply as anyone in the New World Alliance. The Palace Landers have seized two of our outposts and have waged an unjust war on this server. They've stolen a city from its rightful rulers, and I'm not sure how any Yamato players can claim /not/ to be involved? The Palace Landers will certainly /involve/ you, with their mind-control crowns, if they catch you, whether you want to be involved or not, so as far as that goes, everyone /ought/ to be involved. It's foolish to sit out."

"Who can say what other servers have? The Palace Lands seem to have more chimerical type monsters," the term for a creature made of a mix of two different creatures. "But who knows what other differences are? They had a very different history with players, I know that." She shrugs about magic being more interesting. "Confusing, more like," she insists. But she nods about doing what she can to hasten the end of the war. "As am I," she agrees.

Toshiro hums softly with their words, his ever shifting smile settling into something soft and warm as they discuss the severity of the war. His arms fold across his chest in a moment of quiet contemplation, nodding slowly before finally speaking up himself. "I saw it myself not too long ago. Another player like us stuck being controlled by the Palace Landers. It's...pretty messed up, this whole thing. But it's good to hear that you two are so deeply involved." He glances toward Yeowang, giving her a simple shrug. "Not everyone's got the means or skills to fight in the war. Some people are scared, and I'd say they've got every right to be. Even if death aint permanent here, the risk of losing memories is too much for a lot of people. Though I guess memories of the real world aren't worth much to you New World Alliance folks, huh?" The corner of his lips rises for a brief moment to flash her a teasing look, with his tone of voice reflecting the same.

"But it's funny you mention electricity. Because the thing about magic is that it's something this world is already familiar with. If you want to have a chance against the invading army, you want to bring stuff to the table they've never even imagined, don't you think? Like, imagine going back to the feudal era with a machine gun. Sure, they can still kill you with swords and bows. But the fear of that unknown and powerful weapon would be a valuable asset. And we'll need every advantage we can get." A soft sigh escapes him as he looks back toward whatever vague direction Lunaris turned toward a few moments ago, only lingering for a moment before returning his attention to the ladies. "Unfortunately, I don't have the knowledge or skills to help with that kind of stuff. So I'm probably better off focusing on the magical side of things."

Lunaris shakes her head at Toshiro's mention of people not fighting in the war and gives a smaller smile this time, it was one of the few things she properly seemed serious about, "No, everyone should fight. Just not necessarily physically. There's a lot of aid in just making sure the cities still run and behind the scenes work that's no more dangerous than not doing anything at all. And memories wont mean much if they win and we all get crowned. Bit pointless at that point, no?" She asks with a tilt of her head and a rather slow blink, "We have so much more to lose than memories, free will. And we can very much die. That's the worst bit about the crowns, Palace Landers forced to fight and fight and fight, perhaps even friends and others, and eventually they die. Permanently." With that she rubs the bridge of her nose, taking a moment to center herself before switching back to lighter topics.

"There will be a lot of differences over the server, technology, myths, and conflict, it's interesting!" The Cait Sithe replies with a happy flicker of her tail, darting to examine the prices of a fairly pretty butterfly broach, "And you're thinking about it wrong Toshiro! Anything will surprise them because either way we are inventing things that never existed. Technology we recognise is dangerous, 'cause it might not work the same and we may assume, causing dangerous issues. Who knows? But yes! With you on the magical side. Handler by trade here."

Yeowang nods as Toshiro mentions not everyone having the means to fight, and being scared, but she says, "The Palace Landers don't care about that, either, so it behooves us all to put our fear begind us and fight as best we may." Putting your head in the sand just puts your ass up at the right height to get kicked, though she would put it in more delicate language. As far as memories of the real world being valuable, she says, "Not everyone in New World is pleased to be 'stuck in a game' as you say, but I don't think we're stuck, as such. I believe we're copies of our characters being run on a private server, as more interesting NPcs for the actual player. If we were still connected to the game, my father would have /bought the company/ and I would have been disconnected by day two. He would not accept me spending two years of my life insensate in a game. He would not accept a week," she laughs.

She nods at what Lunaris says about different ways to help. "That's the thing we need to keep in mind. A soldier in the field has quite a complicated logistics chain behind him, and that's actually one of the things that I will hopefully be able to streamline. Medieval armies have simple logistic chains compared to modern forces, but even the need for food and clean water is a need that must be fulfilled so that an army can be at its best. On the other hand, here on our home territory, we have a much shorter and easier supply chain."

Toshiro raises his brows as Yeowang speaks, lids drooping ever so slightly over his bright yellow eyes. "Huh. Interesting theory." Is all he seems to have to say on the topic before quickly moving on to the next. "Whatever the case, you all seem to have a much more romantic view of what the word 'fighting' means. To me, fighting is to actively engage in the conflict. So I'll agree on the point that everyone should be contributing in some way. Just don't expect everyone to be dedicating their whole lives to this. While some of you have been out fighting and conditioning yourself for this stuff, not everyone here has that in them. Most of us are just normal people, at the end of the day."

Another hum escapes him as they talk more of magic, technology and logistics. "The laws of physics seem like they're pretty well replicated here. So long as everything's properly tested, there's not much reason to avoid re-inventing stuff here. Using the systems this world has in place is good and all, but it isn't designed with modern technology in mind. So if we can get it to work, it'd be a huge advantage. But don't get me wrong, I think we need to use every advantage we can get. I don't see why we can't develop tech and magical stuff at the same time."

"Would hardly call it romantic, just practical. Like medics, they are helping to fight even if they're just healing the people on our side, no-one can deny that. The person manufacturing potions for those doing actual stabbing is just the same," Lunaris retorts, then takes a moment to look both confused and rather impressed at Yeowang's belief. She almost looks to want to prod at that idea, but really having no better explanation herself, decides that'd be doing so would just be mean. Everyone coped somehow. "And I'm not a 'conditioned' fighter either, found out about this.. A couple of weeks ago? Too low level to fight, but I'll be helping behind the scenes. As most everyone should."

With that she nods solidly at Yeowang's take on the war, fully in agreement on that particular aspect, before diving into the technology conversation with a wide grin, apparently more of a geek than her current character is, "Oh, never said that. Just that magic is more fun! And we do need to be careful. Like.." Taking a moment the Cait Sithe muses, eyes flickering as she calls various things up, "Yes physics seems to work similarly, but technology may have more vulnerabilities here.. I mean Goddesses literally exist, who can say what other things we'll run into.. All making new odd things available. Anyway! Yes to going for every advantage. We just need to be aware!"

Yeowang shrugs as Toshiro comments on her theory and Lunaris boggles. It's a guess of course, at this point, there's no way to really know. Not for players. "My only evidence for this is the way the graphics seemed to improve with this patch. Although it may be better to say that the computer's limits regarding our perception are the key. Computers can only compare so far with human perception, but if we're all programs, then the computer's detail level exactly matches our perception, and we view this as full immersion. Though it's still a guess at this point. The logic makes sense, though, to me."

As far as engagement level, and skill level, she says, "As long as everyone's working towards our end goal, a fisherman is as important as a warrior, and too few of either will cause a problem. But I think your skill level is on a par with any of ours. If we've been playing endgame content a bit longer, that may be a small edge, but it's not something you should feel would disqualify you. In some of the figths against the Palace Landers, we were all of us overwhelmed, and felt like new characters." On the subject of invention, she says, "I will leave that to those who find it interesting."

Toshiro continues nodding along with the two of them, paying little mind to the fact that they are having this in depth conversation in the middle of a jewelry store of all places. He at the very least seems to be somewhat comfortable in the environment. "Yes, yes. So long as people aren't just sitting on their asses drinking their lives away, right? Even with the war going on, the world keeps on turning and there continues to be more work that needs done. Be it on the frontlines or here in town. But I can tell you from experience that there's still a large gap between players like us and those who have no business fighting in the war. We may not be as involved in this 'end game content' you speak of, but there's some people who have no business fighting this sort of threat. Not yet, anyway." His attention turns toward the shop's window to look outside at the various pedestrians going about their business. Folks of all shapes and sizes, adorned in varying qualities of equipment.

"I'll admit, this whole magic system is interesting. I may not have been doing much with my time in the game so far, but I've spent a fair amount of time fiddling with the way it works. I'm curious to see what it's capable of. Perhaps eventually I'll find time to meet with some of the more experienced players to discuss the matter and learn more about it. There's a lot of potential to be found there, it seems."

"I haven't any idea to poke holes in other's assumptions! For all we know it's a totally different world, we're copies or we're still just in the game. Left here because they can't figure out how to get us out," Lunaris replies with perhaps a bit too much cheer, very much in the camp of 'no point thinking about it until there's some evidence'. "But yeah, that bit certainly makes sense. As for the war, if you're talking frontlines, sure. But anyone can be a farmer to make sure siege tactics don't work. Fighting requires.. Certain things I probably don't have. Would just end up crowned and making things worse." A dour thought to be sure, but it was pure honesty, and apparently some she didn't mind talking about in a jewelry shop even if the owner was giving the lot of them strange looks.

She barely manages to suppress a squee at the mention of investigating magic, "You better invite me if you do! Love investigating the magic here, and I'm a really good elemental mage, mostly a summoner, but my water magic is pretty good. What kind of things have you been looking into with it? Found anything fun?" Was the Cait Sithe swooning about the magic of all things? "So much potential, need to poke all of it. Haru seems really knowledgeable about enchanting if you know him?"

Yeowang nods in agreement with Toshiro about players making themselves useful, though as to some with no business fighting in the war, she shrugs. "I haven't met any that weern't fit to serve, except by temperament or intellectual disability." As far as endgame content, she tells Toshiro, "You're here now, so consider youself involved." If Lunaris says she doesn't want to be involved, Yeowang can't make her, but her expression is disappointed for a moment.

She shrugs about the magic system, she hasn't even tried to do anything with it, except a couple hail mary attempts during various duties when hitting things was not working. The store clerk, occasionally on the verge of ushering us out, is fixed by a look from Yeowang and cools his heels.

Toshiro laughs a bit as he responds to Yeowang. "Well I certainly have. I'm telling you, some of us aren't fit for battle. It's a miracle that I'm anywhere close to being useful with that sort of thing." His eyes linger on her for a few moments as she eyes the clerk, his own gaze flicking between the two of them as he waits to see what happens. When it becomes clear that she won the battle of merchants, he lets out a soft whistle and tosses her a quick wink of acknowledgement. Then, he turns his attention back toward the excitable Cait Sith. "Ah, a fellow dabbler in water magic, are you? That's what I've been messing with myself." He takes a moment to straighten his clothes out, looking just a bit prideful as the topic shifts toward his magical exploits.

"I've actually been working on developing a new curse, which utilizes the properties of both dark and water magic. But the methods I'm using requires some skill in enchanting, so I'm not sure if it would be much use to you." A gloved finger reaches up to tap at his chin in thought as he eyes Lunaris. "But if you're a fellow student, we should certainly keep in touch. I would be happy to share my discoveries and developments should you be willing to do the same."

Spotting the disappointed look from Yeowang, Lunaris lets out a soft giggle and shakes her head, "I didn't say I wasn't going to fight. Just gonna do it cleverly. Being more careful with my words since Haru chewed me out 'cause he though I was going to launch myself into the frontlines of the Palace Lands solo. Or something. I have no idea." She really did not get that man, and the fact was far too clear on her voice. The proceeding look between Yeowang and the clerk make the Cait Sithe smirk just a little, "Everyone digs in, and certainly going to do everything I can!"

To Toshiro she nods enthusiastically, then lets out a little gasp as she realises something and pulls out what looks like a rather well illustrated card, covered in purple and pink sigils, "This is what I made recently, not really water magic, but kind of!" With that she focuses, the magic array starting to glow and soon the image oozes out an inky substance that slowly twists and wraps around the Cait Sithe's hand, starting to drip down before she gives the card a shake and it simply vanishes. "Just finished it today! And of course I'd be willing to share discoveries, though.. Haven't any skill in dark magic myself. Unfortunately. Just the four elements."

Yeowang's opinion of Lunaris is no longer disappointment, and she nods gravely as she explains. "We are /all/ holding ourselves ready, Alliance leadership will issue the call to battle, none of us can accomplish anything alone." She arches a brow at Toshiro, and she will have to take his word at players that aren't fit for battle. At his acknowledgement of her victory in the battle of wills, she says simply, "She also owes me money. People are polite to their bankers." The Lander looks wildly uncomfortable at that, but puts on her best face and says nothing.

The talk of magic techniques goes way over Yeowang's head, and she will tune that part out, taking the opportunity to speak quietly with the Lander.

Toshiro raises his brows at the strange, inky card being presented to him. His smile grows a bit as he gives her a nod of acknowledgement, clearly impressed by her creation. "Not bad! I'll have to show off my stuff once I figure it out. I'm mostly interested in dark and water magic myself, but I've got some skills in pretty much everything but light magic. So I'd be curious to see what sort of stuff you come up with. Maybe we can teach each other a thing or two." As he speaks, he starts to gesture a bit with his hands. It's obvious he's navigating his menus, with his goal made obvious to both of the women as they each receive friend requests.

"The same goes to you, my newfound buddy in business. Though I suspect there's not much I could teach you about business in this world, it's good to keep in contact. I'd also be curious to learn more about your real life experiences, assuming you're comfortable talking about those sorts of things." His eyes fall to Yeowang once he closes his menus, his relaxed features radiating a gentle warmth. "I understand if you would rather keep things private, though. Especially since it sounds like you're such an important woman."

"Exactly," Lunaris agrees with Yeowang, happy with the agreed point of view on such an important topic, "Reach out if you need help with anything war related, wouldn't call myself a fighter.. Besides magic and handling animal and monster I can't do too much else. At least skills wise. But sometimes things need dumb labour." With her cheery offer on the table her eyes blink back to the Were Fang then cracks into a genuine smile at the friends request, accepting it without a second thought, "Oh! And I'm good at negotiating.. That's not so much a thing I know in theory though!"

The siren's call of magic was too much and the compliment earned a very proud look as the card is once again tucked away, "Making a whole deck, each card's going to be one of my summons. That was an ink slime, found it in the tower! Likes eating things like books, nasty habit." A slow nod at the assessment, truly she was knowledgeable on such matters, "Dark and Light aren't my skills, and most of my magic tends to be towards summoning, but! Capturing and Dark seem to kind of intersect. At least in the way I do it. So sure we could learn plenty from each other! Or at least theorise and come up with ideas.. Both sound fun!"

Yeowang will accept Toshiro's friend request, though she nods about keeping her RL position private. "There is not much to talk about," she explains." Which is to say, there's not much she will explain. "I'm not Japanese, I simply came here for college." This implies she was part of a wealthy family, if that part was not clear before. "This game was intended as a way for me to visit my boyfriend, who was still back in our home country. Well, when I logged on, and found this server was isolated and we couldn't log out, at which point there was nothing to do but play the game and make the best of things."

She smiles to Lunaris, and says, "Don't be so quick to put yourself down. Events will fall out as they will, but just being involved sets you above those that don't make an effort."

Toshiro lets his smile fade a bit, brows furrowing as he listens to Yeowang's story. "Ah, I see. That's a real shame, all that. But hey, at least this whole Palace Lands things taught us the servers aren't as isolated as we thought, right? Who knows? There may be a way for you to at least get into contact with your man. So don't give up hope on that front just yet." A long arm reaches over to gently nudge her shoulder, his smile regaining its previous strength as he attempts to encourage her. "Even if you are just a couple digital copies." He caps his comment off with a wink, his tone just as teasing as before.

Lunaris's magic talk gets a soft hum from the oversized sea creature, head tilting slightly to one side. "Can't say I know much about summoning. Maybe your magical circles don't overlap as much as I thought...Whatever the case, I'm sure there's plenty we can learn from each other despite that. Even if we can't use the spells ourselves, learning what's possible with magic and what can be done is still useful."

"Then all the more reason we should find a way to move across the servers, assuming he's not in Pal.." Lunaris tilts her head and blinks as realisation dawns on her, "Actually, do we know how to get to the Palace Lands? Guess I've just assumed we do since they're invading. Anyway, not important! Sorry to hear about that, it sounds really tough. But if you ever want to go out and just have a coffee or something just let me know. It's not much but.." The mention of putting herself down earns an almost echoing laugh of amusement that turns into a wicked grin, "People keep saying that, I'm not, just being upfront! We do have skill limitations here, I'm only skilled in those fields, and can only bend other things so far!"

Then Toshiro's comment garners another round of giggling, "Now that's putting things down fast! Any good summoner knows they need to rely on magic too to keep people guessing and to buff Monsters. I still use conventional magic, lightningstep hasn't let me down yet." Though with that she peers out the window and lets out a sigh, letting the energy of her excitement drop by a good fraction, "Time for me to be heading out, things to sort. Lovely meeting you and seeing you again! Keep in touch!"

Yeowang nods to Toshiro and says coolly, "It's unfortunate, but it is what it is. I have not met him yet, nor heard from him, and this is the name he'd know me by, and the face, so I can only think he's been crowned by the Palace Landers or killed entirely, or never made it into the game, which given his outside life is entirely possible. /If/ he was crowned, I'll find him and free him eventually, and if not, I will continue to do what I've been doing." She gives Toshiro a flat look, she does not seem to need cheering up.

She smirks to Lunaris, and says, "Yes, we know how to get there. I spent as much time there as anyone from Yamato, in fact." She makes a small moue of distaste at the mention of coffee. "'Or something' would be fine," she replies.

Toshiro continues to smile in the face of Yeo's flat expression, giving her a quick nod. "I see you've got more motivation than most to see this war come to an end. No need to get so emotional about it, though." His words are accompanied by a soft laugh that trails off into a sigh, seemingly satisfied entertaining himself if no one else. "Nothing to worry about when we don't know the situation though, right? Just gotta keep on trudging through it all." Eyes then turn to Lunaris, who was radiating the exact opposite energy as the other woman. Which only seemed to amuse the Were Fang more. "Good to know! Maybe we'll be able to teach each other some useful tricks after all. Just gotta wait for our developments to overlap, right?"

His eyes flick toward the door as she announces her departure, a hand rising to give a friendly wave. "Oh you'll be hearing from me plenty. Don't be a stranger, and stay safe out there." Toshiro's attention then turns to Yeowang, his hands moving to rest on his hips. "What about you? I see you're not a huge fan of coffee, but did you wanna grab a bite and talk business? Or do you have places to be?"

Yeowang nods about motivation to end the war. "There's a company of Palace Lands mercenaries that owe me gold, too. They will not be pleased to see me." As to her stoic expression, and Toshiro's ribbing, she simply says, "If you are used to seeing women with their heart on their sleeve, I will have to disappoint you." But as far as food and business, she asks, "What sort of business do you have in mind?"

Toshiro shakes his head at her, bending at the waist a bit to lower himself a touch closer to her level. "Oh not at all. I'm used to women who keep their hearts locked up in cages. Luckily, I'm quite fond of hunting for keys." His smirk grows a bit, as teasing as ever as his eyes search her features. Her question has him looking back out the window again, spending a brief moment in thought. "Well I wasn't thinking /business/ business. Was more just talking about general chatting. But if you want to talk shop, I'd be curious to hear what kind of business you're running. Sounds like a lot of gold goes through you. Which is something I happen to be quite familiar with."

Yeowang bows to the shopkeeper, and will leave the shop with Toshiro, then, letting him lead the way to whatever destination he has in mind. "My heart is not locked in a cage, it is free and flies in the breeze, with my Jae Gu. You will therefore find no key however you might search, and you would try my patience dearly in the attempt," she says as they walk. "But as to what business, I own the Ninetails Bank," Yamato's only lending bank - the others are all the medieval 'we store your money for a fee' type banks. "I also run the Red Chain," which is basically a Red Cross type organization, the chain is the appropriate ingame holy symbol. "I am currently putting together a plan to streamline both organizations, as well as some of our war supply warehouses by instituting a Deming-like management philosophy."

Toshiro pays little mind to the shopkeeper as they head out onto the streets. His posture straightens as they go, his hands sliding into his pockets as he lets out another laugh. "You're reading into things too much, my friend. I know better than to make moves on a woman whose heart clearly belongs to another. No matter how beautiful or interesting she may be." He shrugs, keeping his eyes focused on the road ahead as they make their way toward their destination. "The heart I'm referring to here is less about love and more about getting to know someone. The real them that they may keep locked up for one reason or another. You know. Friendship and all that good stuff."

His eyes turn toward her as she describes her business, letting out a soft hum as she goes. "Interesting. And you lend money to Landers as well as players? What sort of interest rates do you charge on these things? I assume you're at least a bit more ethical than the banks back home.."

Yeowang lets the beautiful and interesting comment pass unchallenged. She knows what she is. As far as getting to know someone, she says, "I am as I appear to be. It confuses the schemers and the forthright people are never entirely sure. As far as friendship, I am fine with that, as long as that's all you seek. I'm a bit more interested in business relationships, to be honest, as I have an interest in maintaining such things." She nods about lending to Landers as well as players, and says, "In fact more to Landers than players. Players, that I've found, are poor risks. They either make grandiose plans that don't pan out, or else have no intention of paying back what they've borrowed." This is where the MMA experience comes in handy. "More ethical? I'm not sure how you'd define that," she says simply. "There's no prime rate, nor competition, so our rates are simply derived in relation to demand. If fewer people want to borrow, we'll lower the rate a bit. If most of our money is loaned out, we raise the rates so we don't loan out more than we have. Credit's not a thing yet, so we can't play with those tricks without running afoul of too many people. Some of the nobles pay off my clerks to keep an eye on my business dealings, I believe, so I have to be aboveboard."

Toshiro lets out another laugh as she expresses a disinterest in friendships, but still gives her a nod of agreement. "Oh, I think I'm going to like you. But don't worry about me seeking anything more than that. I've got absolutely no interest in starting up any romantic relationships or flings in this world for a number of reasons. You've got nothing to fear from me, that much I can promise." He speaks casually on the matter, seeming dismissive of the whole thought entirely. But of course that tone quickly changes as they shift the topic toward the wonderful world of money lending.

"I see...That does make a lot of sense, doesn't it? No credit, no competition...You're free to simply run your business without worries. And the fact that, assuming you're being honest, you aren't taking advantage of that to gouge the simple and ignorant Landers is impressive." His eyes turn to look toward the approaching bar, his trajectory shifting to lean them toward it. "Money lenders hold a lot of power where I come from. Money on its own opens a lot of doors, but when you openly offer it out and allow people to become indebted to you? There's a lot that can be done with that. And yet you? You keep it professional, don't you?"

Yeowang lets the subject of friendships drop, then, and comments on the credit. "We have our own integrity to consider. But since we are basically making free money, we do not need to charge exorbitant interest. Landers have gotten along since time immemorial without loans, so the real trick was convincing them it wasn't a scam. But now that we have a few on board, or more than a few, we do have some power. Money opens doors where I'm from as well, it does that everywhere," she agrees. "But yes, I am keeping it professional. While making a profit, of course. This would all be foolish if I did not cut myself in. After all, it's my creation and I put it together from scratch, with no help from anyone. I think it gives me more right to the profit."

Toshiro continues nodding along, a hand reaching up to rub at his chin. "All by yourself, huh? That's mighty impressive. I'd definitely say that earns you the lion's share of the profits." He turns to look at the woman, once again examining her features for a moment. "I'm going to be dipping my toes into the business world as well before too long. Ever hear of a little town called Eas? Once the war's over, the place is gonna be filling up with Landers and players alike. Gonna be quite the opportunity. Best of all, the lady in charge of the place would kill before she let any crooked stuff take place. The perfect place for an honest person to set up business."

His steps come to a stop outside of the bar as he turns to face her, hands moving to rest comfortably upon his hips. "What's your opinion on having an incentive program? Set it up so that people who need money to make the move over to this growing town can get special interest rates on the loan? We'll be giving them work, so they'll definitely have enough to pay it off. It'd also be a good way to get your foot in a fresh economy with a lot of support making sure it'll succeed."

Yeowang arches a brow at Toshiro, and smirks wryly. "I know who Baroness Wake is, and she knows me. We /already have/ that deal for her land deal to attract Landers. Who do you think proposed it to her?" She smirks at the rest of the offer, which of course she's familiar with as she really did propose it to Wake some weeks back. "It won't be a loan, per se, since they won't be paying it back, though it'll come out of taxes she levies on them. That was our original plan, at least. If she's got you involved now, she may have made some changes, as we haven't signed anything yet."

Toshiro lets out a laugh, completely caught off guard by her existing involvement. A hand rises to wave toward her as he laughs, as if asking her to hold on for a moment while he recovers. "Of COURSE you're already partnered up. Two women like you? I don't think I can imagine a more terrifying force." A hand reaches up to wipe a tear from his eye, lips still pulled back into an amused grin. "Don't be mistaken though. I'm not officially involved in anything just yet. This was just me expressing my own idea that I cooked up. But it seems that great minds think alike, huh?" He gives her a gentle nudge on the shoulder. "But don't worry. I'm sure your deal is already in tact. Didn't mean to go stepping on any toes or anything. Just trying to be helpful." He shrugs it off before extending an arm toward the bar. "Now, what do you say we grab a bite and a drink and see what other great idea's we've both already had?"

Yeowang nods about going in to grab a bite, and will enter the bar with Toshiro once he's recovered enough to proceed. "It's similar to the settlement grants in the United States as they were expanding westward. She supplies land, I supply coin, they supply labor, and everyone gets something out of it." She will make her way to an open table and seat herself, calling for tea. "Welcome to Baroness Wake's schemes," she says. "Hopefully you will be able to help her manage things. What was it you said your area of expertise was, in game?"

Toshiro sets himself down across from her, ordering a glass of whatever booze they have available. "It's a good plan, to be sure. Just a shame I wasn't the first one to come up with it." He leans forward, resting his arms on the table that is definitely just a tiiiiny bit too small for him. But he at least seems used to it. "In game I'm a number of things. Enchanter, doctor, negotiator...I've got a lot of directions I could specialize in. But I intend to work on developing my mercantile skill before too long. I intend to be doing a lot of business, whatever that may be. At this rate I'll probably end up being whatever Olympus and Eas needs me to be. So it's all up in the air for the moment."

Yeowang nods slowly, thoughtfully as our drinks arrive. She sips her tea, orders whatever they have for supper, after ensuring that it's real food, not menu food. She's not sure how the Landers make menu food without a menu, but they did in the first days of players stranded ingame en masse. But she's got enough coin to pay the premium for actual food and always dows.

She hrms as Toshiro describes himself, and says, "It sounds like you're a Jack of All Trades," she says, her tone neutral. "Eas probably does need it's own financial manager, with Wake expanding her franchise, so to speak. She has ambitions beyond a barony, to be sure, and will need her own chancellor of the exchequer for that. She is assembling quite the team down there, of course, and while I would have been pleased to have helped her out, I have my own duties and projects, and of course NWA ..." She seems less than thrilled by that. "Well, enough said about that."

Toshiro nods slowly as he takes his drink, raising it toward the lander who delivered it before going to take a small drink himself. "I'd definitely be open to playing the financial manager, if she was willing to trust me to do so. But I would need to develop my in game skills first before I could properly fill such a role." He shrugs, gently tapping his fingers against the table's surface. "A shame you aren't available for the job. But it sounds as if you have a lot on your plate as it is. But perhaps you might be able to provide me a bit of aid in developing my own ability to do so?"

"Oh, I had assumed Wake would ask me to be her financial manager," Yeowang says. "But if she has tapped you, that's fine, as I say, I have a lot to do on my own. But I can certainly help you get started." She nods. "And better she has someone from Olympus, I think. My Alliance is not well-managed, and heaven knows what I will have to do when things go south. This whole fiasco with the Palace Lands is a case in point of bad planning. No one bothered to do any information gathering on the background political situation there. I have almost no influence in the Alliance, either. The big, loud types get all the attention, and generally treat the Alliance members as hangers on, when they can be bothered. Shiruba is all right, I've moved into a position as her assistant, but she's in a strange mood, with tracking down these gnolls, so not any direction coming from her."

Toshiro lets out a low whistle, leaning back in his seat as she shares this information. "Goodness. Sounds like the NWA is having difficult times indeed. A shame you aren't able to do more for it with your current situation." He crosses his arms, pressing his lips together in thought. "...Have you considered moving to an alliance that is more suited to your needs? You certainly seem like someone who would be pleased to leave this world if the option was allowed, but still want to make a home for yourself here. And as I'm not ACTUALLY the financial manager of anything, that position is still open. Maybe the real solution is for you to make the move and take up the position yourself. It would definitely be an excellent opportunity for you."

Yeowang sighs at the offer to jump Alliances, and she says, "Well, NWA has its problems, but I'm not so flighty as to jump ship without making an effort." Though she did switch guilds within NWA. "I am still trying to help them keep their act together, and Haru has been making an effort to organize things, such as they are. It's a thankless job, but he's making an effort at it, which I'll admit was more than I did. I'm not sure it's helping, but he hasn't given up yet, and it /could/ work, so I will stay with them, for the time being."

Toshiro takes another drink, still nodding along. "Ah. Well I've met Haru, and he definitely seems like he's up to the task. Maybe consider offering him your support. Help him build the NWA into something better, you know? It's tough to lead, but it's much easier to support while following. I'm sure you could shape things to be less in favor of the loud and lean more toward the wise." He raises his drink toward her, lips curled into a warm but sympathetic smile. "Now what do you say we cut the business chatter and try to relax a bit? Definitely sounds like you need it."