A stranger in a strange land

A bright light flashed into his eyes forcing Kuna to wake up and look around where he was. The last thing he had remembered was the conversation he had with Izuya about a lot of things before being ported into some strange world. In the back of the blonds mind he was wondering when he would need to get something such as a flux capacitor to get back, or if he had been merely playing around with his perception of time. "I know one thing though. I am going to try and get one good punch on him." He said from the splitting headache he was experiencing as he picked himself off the alley floor and looked around rustic scenery around him. "Yeaaaah, so going to punch him for this." He mumbled to himself once again as he stumbled out of the alley and into a scene that was out of the middle ages. The blond's mind went into overdrive as he quickly dropped back into the reality safety of the alleyway. He raked a hand through his hair as he contemplated what he was going to do next.

I had entered the village with the thought to see how the people were doing this evening. Everything seemed to be running rather smoothly for the growth of this village. Tucking a strand of silvered hair back behind an ear, I stop and watch those peasants walk around me, some murmuring endearments and bowing as they passed. Some waving from the houses and saying, "Good evening, Priestess" I would smile and nod my head in return. Rebuilding was hard work, but they were good strong people. The sun was slowly setting on the horizon as I glanced about me at all the activity. I wore the silver dress today, showing off the tribal tattoo on my shoulder, a butterfly with a long trailing tail, with stars caught upon and entangled in the tail. I waved back to a few of the woman and politely declined the offers of dinner. I would most likely dine back at the temple or the underground keep. Domen would surely be back soon. On my other arm, opposite the tattoo, would reside the silver armband that was my status symbol. The symbol that stated 'High Priestess. Don't mess with me' I was tired, but joyfully so, I had been able to heal the injured and revive some of the dead back to health. I was drained, but I was happy to help so many.

Kuna slinked back into the shadow's of the alleyway his mind working furiously in overdrive to try and make sense of the situation he had been dumped into. A low growl emanated from his throat upon the realization that there wasn't much he could do particularly at that moment. The blond certainly did not want to go out in the clothing he had on right at the moment because it most certainly put up a big neon sign saying he wasn't from around here. He turned around hopefully that the alleyway would turn towards a less populated street, but a few yards away showed that it was an dead end. "So much for that minimal hope." He whispered to himself before shooting his head out the alleyway to get another look at the street. (Can't stay here forever either.) He would say as a wagon started moving past the entrance of the alleyway. He would take his chance and slip out using the wagon as a shield from one half of the street. Out the back he could see blanket was hanging on precariously, but an errant jostle had knocked it too the ground. Kuna looked around suspiciously before bending over to pick it up and draping it over his form, so he wouldn't stand out so much amongst the rest of these strange peoples.

A shadow loomed over the street and roar made a few people jump out of the way as the rather massive, demonic winged tiger settled itself down at the end of the street. One young woman stood clutching her chest for a moment until the tiger stretched out his body and laid in there in the middle of the street, his mouth opening in a yawn. the young woman turned and slapped his muzzle with a dish cloth before retreating back inside. So Kaelas was around today. "Kaelas," I called as the tiger looked my direction. "You do know you cannot nap in the middle of a busy village." Kaelas tilted his head and closed his eyes. slowly his head drifted down to his front paws. "Dumb animal" I muttered to myself as I watched a wagon roll me. The villagers, use to Kaelas' way of doing things, figured out a way to move around him and continued on their way. Looking around I noticed that the crowd was thinning and a man stood off to one side wrapped in blanket of all things. These villagers were strange indeed. It must be that they were use to the rather large beastie. Shaking my head, I turned and looked down the other side of the street. Hakim was not in sight so it must be the end of the day. Time to return if the cat decided to wake up.

The blanket certainly helped keeping him somewhat covered up, but it seemed that he would not be getting away so easily. A huge winged tiger swept down and landed in the middle of the street causing a minor disturbance amongst the populace, but Kuna nearly had his heart jump out of his throat, and he stumbled back letting the blanket hang loose for a moment showing off the strange clothes that he was wearing. Kuna looked around before closing it right back up. He watched the creature for a bit more time and especially the woman who seemed to interact with the animal without reservation. Kuna would hurriedly bend his head down and attempted to mingle in amongst the crowd.

There was a movement from my side as the man in the blanket moved past with his head down. I blinked as I caught movement under the blanket. Why in the world was he wearing a blanket anyways. Turning towards him, my feet carry me swiftly to his side as I smile. "Are you that cold tonight, good sir?" The smile lit up my features and softened my silver eyes. Perhaps he was not hiding anything but it sure seemed like he was hiding something. Most people do not go around wearing blankets and hunkering down underneath one. They usually only did that when they were hiding something. but until I found out, I would be nice. Kaelas' ear flicked and he looked up at the young man and licked his lips. I blinked and my eyes narrowed at the cat. "Ignore Kaelas, he likes to be dramatic."

He listened to the woman not liking that he had been drawn into a conversation like this since it meant he would need to speak, which would show his alien dialect. *Crap, I have to answer, and I was hoping to avoid influencing the past too much.* Kuna thought to himself as he raised his head and his blue eyes met her silver eyes. *Keep a calm face.* The blond thought to himself as he said "Yes Ma'am, I have a weak constitution." He would say hoping his short answer would not give away his dialect too much that he was from the future. "Are you sure the tiger isn't going to try and eat me?" Kuna asked giving a nervous look at the animal.

I broke into a smile at his question. His words sounded odd. Much like Jyn and Seiki had sounded. So I wrapped my arm into the crook of his elbow and started to walk towards the tiger. "Oh yes, he is rather tame. You must not be from around here. Everyone here knows of Kaelas and his strangeness. You see, the Lord and Master of this land also lays claim to the beastie. I would ask where you are from but.." my voice lowers to a husky whisper in his ear, "When might be a better question. Do you not think?"

It seemed that a lot of his caution was unfounded, but at the same time raised a series of questions in his mind about a whole variety of issues. "I'd say both would be important questions, but when being slightly more important." He would say back making a glance back at the tiger and wondering if he said the wrong thing too the woman. There was not really he could really do in this situation if the woman chose to pressure him for answers that he doubt didn't have. "So, I guess I should ask both then where and when am I?" Kuna asked.

A soft chuckle followed his question and I noticed Kaelas flick his ear towards us as if listening to our conversation. The Massive beast could certainly swallow him whole if the tiger so choose to do so. But at this moment, he was more interested in sleeping. "Lazy cat" I muttered looking at him fondly. Then I turned my attention back to the man beside me. "Well you are in the village, empire, domain, known as Domenance. And if you are from Sai City, you are about 300-500 years in the past. We were never truly certain. But I am of the opinion of roughly 300 years. I would not go about speaking of such, since those around here will think you are a demon or worse, a little touched in the head." I continued to lead him, with my arm tucked into his elbow as we moved towards the tiger, slowly strolling. I pointed up to towards the structures of the building. "We are still building this empire, but here is a nice place to eat. You look like you might be hungry and this way we can talk." With that, I would lead him into the small building. There were a few long tables where food was being served and workers were sitting talking of the day's work and rumors of course. At their enterance, the noise died away as eyes turned towards the two of them. A bright smile from me and a wave to a rather large dark skinned man in the corner, had all of them resuming their meal. I would lead him to a table, that quickly cleared of people as I sat down to one side. "Now you look like you have questions. First off, yes I can get you back to your time." All of this was said in whispers so as not to alert the rest of the folks around, but someone was bound to hear and scurry off to tell someone else. I was sure of it.

Kuna gauged her responses she gave, and he was nervous with her looping her arm around his. He listened to her information quickly assimilating it in his mind, while in the back of his mind he was in controlled panic mode. "So, I got sent three hundred years into the past." He glanced back over too the tiger as they passed the beast "I will take your advice, but I am pretty sure that I stick out anyways." The blond looked down too his blanket "Well, less inconspicuous." Kuna said with a touch of wryness. He would get lead into the restaurant, with the noise immediately ceasing at their entrance. Kuna just listened to the silence as he was guided too the table. "I would guess the next logical question would be what position of authority you might be in given the way that the people react around you." He would say looking across the interior of the building and assessing things.

The sound of laughter and talking could now be heard about us as I answered his question, "I am Kazakura, High Priestess of the Temple of Time. That would be why everyone stops, not because of you." With a sigh I look around and then back to the young man sitting across from me, "The people are use to me bringing strange things along with me. Since I travel from place to place. But if you want to look a little more like this time period, I would suggest we get you some clothing. Not at all that hard to do, second we have to figure out what to do with you until we can get you home." With that said, I motion to a young serving girl who brings two bowls of stew to the table. "What do you wish to drink,....?" I was looking for his name and waiting for him to interject it. I was sure someone as watching me and might even have the attitude of running off to tell Lord Domen that I was dining with another man. Not that Lord Domen would care a whit for that kind of thing. Well it would seem like intimate dining with the way I had walked in with my arm lopped into his.

"Inoue Kuna and I will just have some water." He would say looking back over too Kazekura. Kuna would mull over what he was told while picking up one of the utensils and examining it. "I have to thank you for the generosity that you are showing, and with what you have said being true. There is a whole host of questions to be asked, but I will temper my curiosity. I think being able to survive will be enough." He would say looking around before settling his attention on the high priestess. "I guess you have dealt with a few people who have popped up around here before my time?" He would ask as looked over and stew before dipping the spoon into it and pulling out the first bit of the hearty soup. The boy kept a neutral face while taking the first few bites.

His mind was clearing up and he was starting to get back into the groove of things. "Odd that there would be so many people showing up." He would say listening to the rest of what she said. Kuna mulled it all over as the waitress came to deliver their drinks "Time magic, what is that?" He asked calling back in his mind all of the instances which Izuya used odd abilities around him. Magic would certainly be an explanation for how he could accomplish his tricks, and he could certainly accept its existence given all that he had seen. There he would stop and contemplate if he should head back too the future or wait and learn what he could about the past. "I think I will stay for awhile, but I would like to be shown the way back if possible." Kuna would say hoping that his request wouldn't be too egregious.

"magic is a way of life. I can teach you magic if you are inclined to learn" I offer and then chuckle. "It will take some time to get to the portal and I will have to speak to the Lord of Domenance before I can travel all that way. "Not to mention, Domen might have an interest in this young man from the future. Perhaps he could use him in some way. Or make him stronger like he did with Akechi. "If you are finished, Then perhaps we can move towards the temple. It is getting rather late and you need a place to stay for the night. If you are like the others, you will not have the proper money to pay for things in this time." I dropped a few shinny on the table and stood up. With that I would exit the building and move towards the tiger, knowing he would follow. A warm bed and safety was always a good way to get people to follow to you. The tiger looked to me and I stepped onto his front leg, and with grace born of riding horses my whole life, I vaulted onto his back. If the young man known as Kuna came along, I would offer my hand to him and help him up behind me. There was no saddle, nothing but a simple harness that held my dual quivers and my bag. Kaelas stood up and stepped over a few of the smaller building. And then we were in the open fields, at a full lopping run towards the rather large and imposing temple at the edge of the cliffs.

Kuna listened to her as she talked about briefly about magic and the route to getting back too the future. He would give a slight nod of his head. The blond would get up and follow Kazekura out of the little eating establishment. He looked up towards the dimming sun and gave a little nod of his head. "Yes, getting a roof over my head would be most appreciated." He would say following her back too the tiger. His eyes widened a bit in surprise at seeing the priestess mounting the beast so easily or for that matter at all. There was a hesitance in his step, but he really did not have a choice in the matter. He would reach up to grasp her hand and with a lot less grace then her vault up onto Kaeles's back, where he proceeded to hold onto dear life.

And thus we approached the temple but soon veered off to the side. Turning my head back, I glanced over my shoulder at the young man behind me and spoke over the rushing wind. "Apparently, the Lord is not in today. So I'll take you to the Portal and show that to you. Hold on tight" I smiled brightly as Kaelas was moving towards the cliff and with a mighty leap he jumped from the edge of the cliff and was free falling down towards the water and just when one would think they were going to crash into the ocean, his massive wings unfurled and he caught himself. Soon he turned and began to lope across the waves flying along the coast line north. I looked back again to see if he had been frightened of that descent. "It'll take a few hours. So tell me how you came to be in this realm?"

He was hugging the back of the girl as tightly as he could since he had never ridden a horse before, let alone a tiger. He wondered if he should be grateful that the lord was not in residence at that time, but those thoughts left his mind soon enough when he heard her request to tell her about how he got stranded in the past."Let's see, I was having a normal day at high school when I encountered this boy We had a pleasant talk in the beginning since he looked like he would be fun to hang out with, despite his short attention span." He took in a deep breath "It wasn't until after school had ended that he showed his true nature by pulling me into some white, I don't know alternate dimension, where we discussed demons. He revealed himself a spirit like those we had talked about, then after a little more talking about friendship he dumped me here." He would say recounting his short time with Izuya.

I clucked in a tone that let him know I was listening and disapproving of this boy he was talking about. How could one claim to be a friend and then drop you into a place you did not know. Not a friend in any case, but I kept silent because I was not much of a talker. I believed that was one of the things that kept Domen and myself tolerant of each other, neither one of spoke to each other much. At the same time, it was our greatest flaw, since in those moments of silence, there was so much not said that sometimes I was unsure of what he might be thinking. As we flew along the coast, the winged tiger gracefully pumped his wings. Eventually we would make to the cove that held the portal to the past. Kaelas landed on the shore of the cove and I pointed as I slide off his back. "You just swim right down into the middle of the water there and you resurface on the other side. You can also return to this time by the same direction."

Kuna could hear the disapproval inherent in her voice, and he pretty much agreed with her in that respect too Izuya. "Yes, I agree with you." He said agreeing with her in disapproval. The blond quieted down though in respect for the last bit of silence they had before arriving at the apparent destination. "I would have thought a portal too the different reality would be more spectacular." He would say as he got off the tiger's back and strolled too the edge and looked down onto the blue ocean. "Guess though that appearances are rather deceiving." He would say with a little chuckle. "I got a question though if there is a connection between these two realms, wouldn't there be more traffic between the two?" He asked.

I chuckled at his assessment of the portal and shook my head. "If it was more.. spectacular, it would draw everyone into the past and well that would just be a bit over much. If you think about how well it is hidden it would be hard for someone to just stumble upon it from either side. But now that you know where it is. Would you like for me to take you back to Domenance or leave you here to return to your own time? OR I could take you to the main village if that is what you are looking to do. They have a wonderful temple there. IF you go there, I would suggest looking for a priestess by the name Seijin. She's is a dear friend of mine. Tell her that Kazakura sent you. When you tell her you are from the future, she will help you in whatever way you need." I would move back to Kaelas and remount. Whichever way he choose, I would either fly him over to the main village, back to domenance or leave him here. If we went to the main village I would not stay but long enough for him to dismount and point him in the direction of the main temple. Then with a wave, a smile, and the words "May the heavens grant you good luck" I would be off. If he choose to go to Domenance, I would settle him into the temple there.

-exit rp- Word count goes to Kuna (you get to total it up hun)