Biohuman

Zixin and Keng walked into the house Keng had been staying at with Elder Jyu\'so and Gorrum. Elder Jyu\'so and Gorrum were sitting at the table as hot tea poured. Jyu\'so and Gorrum looked up from their cups and acknowledged the two as they came in.

"Oh, it seems your back." Jyu\'so acknowledged.

"And it seems like you didn\'t go to the Gate." Gorrum added.

"I can\'t go to the Gate." Keng answered as he and Zixin pulled a chair to sit in. The two planted themselves in it as two teacups appeared before them. The teapot floated over and began to pour tea for the both of them.

"What brings you here, Zixin?" Jyu\'so asked.

"I just wanted to make sure Keng was doing alright, Elder." Zixin answered. He grabbed his tea as the teapot floated to the middle of the table and sat down. Zixin took a sip and winced. He could tell the tea had some… interesting properties in it. He looked over at Keng. "You shouldn\'t hold your own Soul bead like that. It\'s dangerous. People assume if you have one out, you\'re either crazy or you\'ve stolen it. We had too many close encounters that resulted in Foxes trying to hunt for their bead/orb. If you lose it, you can\'t progress with the souls you gather."

Keng nodded as he set the teacup down. He was just shocked that he could finally pull the soul orb out. He didn\'t expect it to happen. He just did the clawing motion because he wanted to feel something and he did. Keng let out a yawn as he rubbed his eyes. The suns were slowly getting to their highest points and he was starting to feel tired. He hadn\'t done much other than train and eat, so he started napping around this time because of his \'slow\' life.

"Mmm, I won\'t do that again." Keng told them. "I\'ll be more careful. And I won\'t try to run away. You don\'t have to warn me about any of that. Even if I did, there\'s this pesky mark on me. It keeps on buzzing at me." He proceeded to point at his right shoulder blade. It had been bugging him ever since he was here.

"Mmm, your ears are good." Jyu\'so complimented him. "I was wondering why you came back so quick."

"I can\'t go anywhere anyways. I got two and a half years before I need to leave."

"Two and a half years?" Gorrum raised his eyebrow. "Where\'d you get that number?"

"The soul orb told me."

"The soul orb?" Gorrum raised his eyebrow.

"You got access to the soul orb?" Zixin turned to Keng. Keng nodded. "I thought Lee Seng had access to it. How\'d you get it?"

"I dunno." Keng shrugged. "It just appeared. It wasn\'t like that when I first got here."

"And it told you your time limit?" Gorrum asked. Keng nodded. He hadn\'t felt the soul orb in weeks and now it was with him. He oddly felt empty with it still.

"It told me the time I have left before I have to go, so…" Keng cleared his throat and straightened himself. He looked at Elder Jyu\'so and Gorrum with resolve. "Teach me everything you can before I have to go. I\'ll try my best and I\'ll do anything."

"Anything?" Jyu\'so raised an eyebrow. Keng nodded. The two stared at each other for awhile until Jyu\'so looked over at Zixin. "Zixin."

"Yes, sir?" Zixin answered.

"Could you take the Silver child to a tailor? He\'s been wearing the same clothes for weeks. Get him something more comfortable… Something fit for someone who\'s going off-world in the future." Jyu\'so instructed. Zixin nodded and looked over at Keng. Keng was sniffing his clothes.

"A weekly set would probably do." Zixin commented. Jyu\'so nodded.

"Meet me at the North gate in three hours." Gorrum looked over at Keng. "We\'ll depart for the Saviors Tomb after that. Our training will start when we depart. I\'ll gather supplies for our journey."

"Alright." Keng nodded.

"Anything else we should do for him?" Zixin asked as they all stood up. Jyu\'so glanced at the daggers sticking out of Keng\'s pockets.

"Get him some weapons. A belt for those daggers. You don\'t want to lose those, little one." Jyu\'so pointed at the daggers. "Make sure you do well to keep them on you always. You wield a god weapon. Do your best to care for it with the utmost respect. Lady Hydran\'s shifting trident weapon hasn\'t been used in centuries."

"We\'ll grab something else for you after the tailor is finished with your outfits. IF that\'s all, we\'ll take our leave then." Zixin bowed. Keng bowed at Elder Jyu\'so and Gorrum before they both walked out of the home. The bustle of Dat\'e grew to its loudest. People were roaming around and the smell of food danced in the air. "Ah, we should grab something to eat before we head to the tailor."

"Won\'t the tailor take long?" Keng asked his older brother. Zixin shook his head.

"You have a lot of knowledge based on human ways, my dear little brother." Zixin patted  Keng. "Just wait to you see Fox spirits who are well-versed in the way of weaving energy and cloth together. It won\'t take long. Let\'s eat, alright?"

"O-okay… What do you want to eat?"

"Have you tried everything there is to try here?" Zixin asked.

"Mm, I\'ve tried the traditional foods. Elder Jyu\'so and Gorrum have been craving it for the last week, so that\'s all I\'ve been eating. I would like something a little more… meaty." Keng told Zixin. Zixin nodded and thought as they made thier way to the square. IT was bustling with people and pop-up shops.

"Meat it is then." Zixin nodded. "I know just the place. Let\'s go to that stall over there." Zixin pointed to the right. A stall with barely no people caught Keng\'s attention. The lady was grilling meat on sticks.

"Shish kebabs?"

"Mmmhm! A little bit of Earth made its way to Dat\'e. Even though this place might be very traditional, some foods can\'t be ignored. Let\'s grab as much as you want, alright?"  The two walked to the stall as the lady turned and smiled at Zixin.

"Ah, Zixin! You\'ve come back for more?" The Lady greeted him with a nod. She looked at Keng and gave him a bow as well. Keng and Zixin returned her greeting with a bow. "How much should I make for you two?"

"We\'ll take two large buckets." Zixin lifted up two fingers. She nodded and her four tails began to move in different directions as she pulled off some kebabs. Keng watched in amazement as the lady cooked away. A few minutes later, she turned around with two large buckets and set them on the stand.

"That\'ll be 45 pieces." The lady told them. Zixin materialized 45 silver pieces and handed it off to her. "Thank you." She pocketed it as Zixin grabbed both buckets and handed one over to Keng.

"Thanks, Geisha. I\'ll come back for more later." Zixin waved.

"I\'ll be waiting. See ya, dears." Geisha waved. Keng followed Zixin through the Village Square. They passed diagonally going towards the direction of Lady Vix\'I\'s tower, but entered the right area of the Village. They came upon a quaint shop with a hung sign above it.

Bo\'ra\'s Tailor Shop

"We\'re here." Zixin announced with his mouth half-full.

"Bo\'ra\'s Tailor Shop?" Keng read aloud after swallowing the kebab. He had managed to eat a couple while Zixin had already plowed through half of his.

"Come." Zixin opened the door and motioned for Keng to step in. The shop smelled of fabrics and a woman\'s hum was heard. The shop was filled with mannequins showing off different clothes on sale and there was a section of clothes on hangers. Different fabrics were on show on the other wall.

"Hello! Hello!" A woman\'s voice called out. She walked out of the back door covered with beads. The woman pushed past. She had red hair and was wearing a black and red kimono with black short shorts and wooden sandals. She looked at Zixin and her happy demeanor immediately soured. "Oh, it\'s you. What\'re you doing here? Gonna ruin my stuff, again?"

"Come on, Bo\'ra. It was an accident." Zixin told her. They watched her fold her arms. She didn\'t let her eyes move away from Zixin.

"Get out! I don\'t want you anywhere near my merchandise!" Her hair lit up in spectral flame, scattering behind her like it was moving on its own.

"Come on, Bo! I come with a brother! A brother! He needs your touch!" Zixin motioned at Keng. Keng gulped as she looked at him. He could hear the immense amount of energy radiating off of her.

"Bo\'ra, stop it." Zixin could tell the immense energy was used to scare him but he was too used to it. Keng, on the other hand, hadn\'t ever experienced such a thing and was clearly feeling the level difference. "You\'re scaring the kid."