Semi-Urban Explorations (D2,MM,OPEN)

[Ares Pax]

Ares listened and walked along. "It's... nice. I haven't visited or even known about this place." He felt himself slowly relax, in a strange way. It was unusual.

[Corvin Zell]

Corvin grunted again. "Yeah. It is nice. Nice to know there's something like this, anyway."

He looked around, scowling; but, then, that was his normal expression. For a moment, it looked like he was about to speak, but shook his head. "Well. Probably about time we head back. I'll take you the long way, though. It loops around." He began to lead the group away from the lake, onward in the direction they'd been heading.

[Zizzy Roosh]

"You know, that mud is probably really good for your skin." She looked at the swampy water with a broad smile before following off after Corvin.

"Hey, another lizard!"

[Taime Jorel]

Taime follows along, looking at the lake as they go. At Zizzy's comment, he says "Why would you put mud on your skin?"

[Zizzy Roosh]

Zizzy laughed, a gentle and pleasant sound. "Because it's full of minerals, good for soaking up oils and toning the skin. It can cure some skin ailments. Grandma used to do the best mudbaths."

[Taime Jorel]

Taime scratched his head, pondering that one. "Why would you want your skin toned? Is it like muscle tone?"

[Zizzy Roosh]

Zizzy shrugged. "It's a good question Taime. Like, why do you wear your hair like that? Oh, and what does hair feel like anyway? I mean, it's just keratin, right? It's not really usefully for anything, is it?"

[Taime Jorel]

Taime stopped in his tracks, totally amazed. "You're...right. It is just a strange sort of protein on my head. But...it matters to me."

He looks at her, jogging a little to catch back up. "My people...tend to have longer hair. Especially the men. So wearing it long makes me feel connected to them, even though they are far away."

Putting his hands in his hair, he removed the hair tie, allowing it to spill around his face as he felt it, trying to figure out how to describe it. "As for what it feels like...soft but somehow firm? Stringy in an odd way. Spiky at the ends, but not in an unpleasant way."

He shrugs, brushing the hair to one side of his face. "Its hard to describe."

[Zizzy Roosh]

She gave him an encouraging smile. "Well, I found it interesting so thanks for trying. Mikkians don't have hair you see. Our ancestors didn't evolve keratin filaments. We do have this hyper-diversity thing going on though."

As they walked she gestured around them. "It sounds like your hair, to you, is like this swamp forest, to the Ithorians."

[Eir]

Eir glanced back at Zizzy and Taime, screwing up her nose. This miniature jungle wasn't like that, it wasn't just here to look a certain way, at least that was her opinion, and she flicked her own hair with it's dyed tips.

[Corvin Zell]

Corvin grunted, announcing his entrance into the conversation. "Some things need to be experienced to be really understood." He jerked his head back. "That's kinda how I felt about this place."

The path, such as it was, began winding back around. It seemed to be entirely empty of people, just like the first part had been.

[Taime Jorel]

Putting his hair back up, he ponders those words. "Do your head coverings have a similar meaning to you? And you likely have a point. We all want to feel some piece of home, I suspect. Or something that's comforting at least."