It appeared that Taro had discovered a way to have Alwen reveal her secrets to him, regarding her ability to manipulate the inherent state of water that she used at least. It was needless to say that the information could prove useful if he ever found someone else who was of her clan, they would likely not expect his knowledge on the different powers they were capable of, and the fact alone that she had stated it was ANOTHER type only meant that she was able to create more than simply ruby suiton. Perhaps the entire focus on her jutsu would be to evoke feelings in the user, lethargy, apathy, hell.. depression would be quite a nasty one. Further thought on the matter would just be ruining the surprise though, so he decided to drop it from his mind and take up something which had a bit more impact at the moment.. Like what sort of food did she want? He looked around towards where her footsteps would be, watching her for a few seconds while they both walked back towards the bustling crowd that showed no signs of slowing down. War made quite a bit of money, and so it was only normal for so many people to go so far out of their way for it. Taro's eyes removed themselves from the girl and focused on the path ahead once more, and he thought for a moment on perhaps suggesting a seafood restaurant to the girl, that seemed the right course of action granted her dire love of the ocean right?

Lifting his hand up from his cloak, he brushed it through his damp hair once more before ruffling it around to try shake the excess moisture out from it. After a few seconds of that motion his hand would retreat into the warmth the cloak provided, speaking over his shoulder to the girl, or maybe she was even in front of him, he'd have difficulty telling considering she didn't tend to walk, but rather.. 'dance' from place to place? He wasn't really sure whether it qualified as dancing, but it certainly was some strange form of movement, and it did get her from point A to point B albeit with a lot more energy expended than a regular walk. He decided to speak on his decision, wagering that it was likely a good call on his part since he knew little about the girl other than she really loved the ocean, "How about we visit one of the seafood places around here? I'm going to imagine they'll be among the best, given the location." Of course he had no clue what else they could go for if that plan backfired, but he had hopes in it. His chips were dealt and now he'd reap the rewards.

While he walked along the stretch of sand, he kicked idly at any irregularly sized pebbles that happened to cross his path. There wasn't much for him to do, as he wasn't much of a talker after all. All he could really do is reflect on the fight that had just transpired, and whether or not he would be eating something that was produced from the sea today. The sun appeared to be setting, and it made him wonder how longer he had been walking for, time appeared to fly by when you're walking with someone who had horns.

[569 WC]

The siren followed the large guy as he walked on, a skip and spring in her step as she weaved in and out of the crowded streets. She watched the other guy with intent, trying to figure out if he was just doing this for the knowledge of her clan’s secrets. Of course, she wouldn’t tell the secrets. Would she tell him information? Yes, because she wasn’t a liar. Especially not with a bribe of food. But the secrets of the clan would remain a secret. She’d just tell him what she could do, perhaps give a demonstration. Not a harmful demonstration, but one to get the point and concept across without letting exactly what it does be known. It would all depend on what his foody bribe would be. And so, just like that, she continued to keep along with him, following him with one thing on her mind. Lunch. Or perhaps dinner. Probably lunch. Although it could have been dinner. She just had no sense of time. Either way, it’d be a meal fit for a very hungry person. That hungry person being Alwen.

Alwen’s eyes lit up at the suggestion that Taro had just made. Seafood? Oh, he must have mind reading powers! That makes perfect sense as to how he could work such a thing out! That, or he was able to figure out her personality and just how reliant on the sea she is. Although if they served fish, it’d be a massive no-go for her. Perking up and jumping next to him to suddenly walk alongside him, she responds with enthusiasm. “That sounds like a wonderfully, fantastically, great idea! But! We need to find a place that serves seafood without the fish! It makes me sad to see fishies die…” it was a stupid thing to be upset by, and honestly, if someone sat down with her and talked her out of such a stupid mind set she’d probably stop caring, but as nobody had done such a thing, she still refused to visit a place that served sushi. Her mind was very easily influenced like that. Very, very easily influenced. Like, literally, someone would just have to show her that fish eat other fish, and she’d be fine with it. Stupidity was a dangerous thing indeed. But, regardless, she was looking forward to eating and eating and eating. Fighting seemed to work up an appetite.

402

Taro had no idea where he was heading as he moved through the crowds, his eyes open for any vibrant distraction hanging from a building that would indicate a restaurant of at least some variety while he started to plan ahead. The girl spoke about feeling down when fish met their demise, and Taro couldn't help but laugh at what she said. It made no sense to him that she was so depressed about the mortality of fish, especially given the presence of sharks in the ocean, when she had been so nonchalant about the deaths of sailors in the sea. She truly seemed to have an obsession with sea-life at least, but Taro couldn't care enough to challenge it directly yet, after all, he hadn't been faced with an actual scenario regarding it and he didn't want to potentially start an argument with the girl. "Yeah, okay." Taro said after his brief chuckle, continuing to scour the crowds for somewhere that could serve decent food. Although, truth be told, Taro had no idea of how they were going to find a seafood restaurant that contained no fish, especially when they were in such close proximity to the best fishing spots in the nation. Perhaps she'd simply turn a blind eye to people who were potentially eating cod, at least that is what Taro would hope for.

It soon hit the man that he was looking for the wrong thing entirely. While he had been looking at buildings, he should have been patrolling the stalls instead. Alwen was not the sort of person to sit down in one spot for long periods of time, and she'd likely want to move around somewhere while eating, at least from what Taro knew about her character. His head turned towards the side to look towards the barrier between the ocean and the pavement, deciding that that area would likely be the best for their needs. After a while of diverting himself from the main area of the streets towards the barrier, he caught sight of a moderately sized stall, with what appeared to be a red fish swimming across a field of blue as the logo covering the sides of the wooden stall. Now, that logo would likely give the girl warning bells, but Taro would press on with hopes that she'd simply ignore it, looking towards the sign above the stall that confirmed his suspicions, 'Uncle Goro's Seafood' the name was simple enough, and that made the male content. The faint smell of sizzling fish would some invade the senses of the pair, and Taro would look down towards the girl for a moment, pausing to see how she was taking it in. He didn't exactly want to force her to go to a place she'd feel uncomfortable at.

[468+569=1037]

Alwen followed the big guy, finding it rather amusing how he was seemingly walking around in circles, unsure of what he was doing or where he was going. She huffed her cheeks out upon his laughter at her distaste of dying fish, legitimately not understanding what was so amusing about it. He quickly dismissed it though as he laughter stopped, Alwen rolling her eyes and continuing to follow along. Dying fish was a serious matter damn it! As they passed people eating fish, Alwen seemed completely oblivious to it. She disliked the concept of eating fish, and stuff such as that… But she had no idea what fish looked like when cooked and prepared. It was rather contradictory and stupid, but, well, that’s Alwen for you. So, following Taro, the big man of the hour, Alwen simply concluded that he was amusing to follow around. His lack of knowledge regarding Kirigakure become more and more apparent as she spent time around him. He was like a lost tourist, one who needed a guide. Although thinking about it, she never found out why he’s in Kirigakure. Perhaps he was a tourist? She shrugged the thought out of her head, deciding she just didn’t care enough to find out.

Eventually, it seemed to Alwen that Taro had figured out what he was doing, at the very least partially. She followed him again, ducking and weaving in-between people as they walked by. It seemed a location had caught his eye, or maybe both eyes, and with a resolute nod, Alwen concluded he’d figured out a place to eat. A stall with the imagery of a fish swimming. A red fish. Was it a salmon? Salmon were cool. Being an idiot, Alwen simply concluded that this meant the stall sold food that was healthy for fish to eat. Upon stepping closer, a thick smell permeated her nose, causing an almost animalistic nose twitch from Alwen as she tried to figure out what the cause of the smell was. She put a hand to her temple, as if trying to will her mind to understand something. Of course, this didn’t work, so instead she simply shrugged and walked with Taro towards the stand. Licking her lips, she rubbed her hands together. It was time for her to get some nice seaweed. In what form they did it here, she didn’t know. But she was having her some nice and healthy, or perhaps unhealthy, seaweed from the seafood place.

413 + 402 = 815

Seeing that there had been no objection upon seeing the stall, Taro simply figured that it was a signal to go ahead, that it would be fine to eat at this.. quaint establishment. As he neared the stall, the scent of frying fish continued to grow more potent. Shifting one thumb from the warmth of his cloak towards his lips, he dragged it across the flesh roughly before going to lean onto the stall. However, this action earned a gaze of disappointment from the shopkeep operating there, after all, there was a chance that his weight would simply break the stall, ruining the man's career and likely giving Taro an unfavorable bath in scalding oil. Standing up fully before he could risk that catastrophe, he forced himself to stand up straight, looking sideways towards Alwen, giving her a curt nod as if signalling for her to order first. While this went down, he'd take the time to do what he naturally did; he appraised the man in front of him. He appeared to be short in height, a mere 5'7", with a scraggly grey beard, and a green bandana partially hiding the messy mop of thinning hair that adorned his scalp. He still seemed to be working some working bib, which indicated to Taro that he likely caught the produce himself. Fresh food is always best, after all. His eyes drifted towards the hands of the worker, taking note of how leathery they seemed to be, alongside the calluses that seemed to be exposed on varying parts of them. The next part of the appraisal moved towards his triceps, noting the rather above average size, and Taro was rather impressed. He was a simple worker, but he didn't slack when it came to physical exercise, although to be fair to him that was likely because being ill prepared on a boat would likely reward you with death in these waters. Something the strange girl would likely be amused by.

His hand meanwhile fiddled with the pouch, tied with string around his belt, removing it from his person before opening it up to pick at the ryo inside. He was unsure on how much he should take for this meal, but he pulled out the worth of twenty ryo for now, embracing the coldness of the metal against his warm flesh. Once the girl was finished ordering, Taro would speak out towards the male himself to order his own. Of course, it may have appeared that he was being gentlemanly, but rather he was simply ordering last so that his food wouldn't be cold when he decided to eat it. It was all about the tactics, that's what ran through his head even when he wasn't in the midst of battle. "Three.." Taro paused for a moment, chancing a glance at Alwen before he continued on anyway, "Salmon fillets please. With that out of the way, he'd turn to Alwen, deciding to try and distract her like an operator, "So, what's it like in Kirigakure? I mean.. What was it like before the war?" He continued to absent mindedly play with the ryo in his hand, shuffling it around like a child.

[533+1037=1570WC]

Alwen watched as, from her perspective, Taro leant on the stall, and then instantly stood up again. A quick change of pace apparently. He then nodded towards Alwen. Was he trying to play it off cool? No, wait! He was expecting her to be the first to order, duh. With a nod herself, Alwen exhaled slightly, before speaking up, counting on her fingers for a moment. One finger. Two fingers. Seven fingers. With a grin, she concluded seven was the right number, holding her hands up to the man and declaring with a degree of childish pride. “Seven portions of Seaweed wraps please!” If Taro asked, she’d use the excuse that it was to regain the energy she’d lost from using so much chakra. Realistically, it was just that Alwen was surprisingly gluttonous for how small she was. But specifics, right? Besides, he was silly enough to agree to her demand for food. It’d be a good, important lesson. Don’t trust Alwen when she mentions food. It’s a bad idea if you like to keep your mission pay.

Having made her order, the sea witch proceeded to watch as Taro began to get his money out and make his own order. Salmon… Wait, salmon? That’s a fish right? In fact, that’s a red fish right? She began to think about it, startled at the sudden mention. Although this thought process was quickly stopped by him speaking up and asking a question. It seemed Taro was curious about Kirigakure. Was he thinking about moving to Kiri? Because if so he might want to get over his discomfort with the water. It seemed kind of counterproductive. With a shrug, she decided to give as best an answer as she could. Not that she had a very good way of answering, after all, it’s not like she knew whether her life was typical or not. Horns kind of change your life, because people are judgemental assholes. Moving her hands in gestures, as if over-exaggerating or aiding her explanation, she spoke. “Hm… Life in Kiri… Well, first thing I guess, is it’s… Hmm… Efficient. No prisoners. No teams. You work. You learn. You grow. Self-reliance is the key to survival, to excelling. Or at least for me anyways. You grow up, you get out into the world of the shinobi, and Kirigakure is the place to make you excel.” She sighed, shrugging once again, before giggling slightly and speaking up once more. “You have to bear in mind though, horns don’t exactly make people think you as normal. So, take my explanation with a pinch of salt. A salty pinch.” She nodded, adding the last bit of emphasis and repetitiveness just because she could. After all, this was Alwen. She had time to wait while the food was being prepared, and honestly, being weird was her thing.

473 + 815 = 1288