Kita walked about, placidly staring at the ground. Her hand flew to her fighting position whenever she heard a twig snap. Kita’s eyes scanned the area, fighting the urge to go and run about with her horses. She was expecting a customer today… But they hadn’t showed up.
Kita ran her hands through her hair. The fifteen-year-old girl was stressed. Too many humans had gotten on her nerves, and the blood had scared the horses- Oh, she didn’t kill them, never. All she did was scratch them… deeply… so that they’d leave. But for the record, Kita could put up with humans- as long as they were mature and nice to her.
Kita grinned as her wolf licked her on the leg. She petted it, responding, as she heard a small sound of footsteps.
She watched the area- and a rabbit dashed out of the bush. She caught it and held it up, saying softly, “Now you’re scared… I’ll let you go. Though you do look tasty...”
The rabbit twitched, and she released it to bounce into the bushes. Then, she saw someone walking down the gravelly path…
“Hey! You! You a customer?”
(ooc: sorry, shortness =P I'm usually longer.)

“Me?”

Drake looked down the rocky, barren, path to see a young girl screaming at him. She wasn’t the type of young girl he was used to seeing—she wasn’t bedecked in silk and ribbons, nor was giggling and telling coy jokes to her friends. No, this girl was rugged and free, an Untamed. Despite all his years of travel, Drake had never met an Untamed in his life. They were considered strange creatures, most of all for their hate of the human race. It had been Untamed brutality that had utterly destroyed most Human attempts to live in the Highlands. Drake was wary of going much closer, but he really couldn’t run away. It was just a girl—and she had noticed him anyways.

With a slight smile plastered upon his face, Drake continued to step down the path, the young girl becoming more vivid in his site. She certainly wasn’t very old—the same age as his own Julia, perhaps. He repressed the need to shudder, for Drake hoped that this girl was the farthest from his own daughter, whose mannerisms quickly got on his nerve. Honestly, Drake needed nothing. But it didn’t hurt to be polite.

“Well…yes, yes, I suppose I am here to buy something.”

Kita looked at the man, and cocked her head. He looked strange- not from the Highlands, definitely. He was not like her family- he wasn’t looking about for food, or holding a spear. Kita was confused, but shrugged inwardly. He was a paying customer. “I sell herbs, for healing, dyes, and various things. I can also get you a slight healing balm- for bruises, or sprains.”
Kita grinned. Her hazel eyes showed a hint of suspicion, as her hand nearly tried to go into its fighting stance. She’d been trained- that wasn’t changed now. But her wolf glared at him, then relaxed. Kita took that as a good sign, and relaxed herself- the wolf was usually right about people. If it didn’t like someone, she wouldn’t like them much either.
The wolf hung around her feet like a cat, rubbing on her legs, and staring at the man. “So… anything special you need? Flowers for a girl? I have some that only grow in the Highlands… Usually, humans can’t pick them. And also usually, I don’t sell to humans. But… Wolf likes you. So you must be okay.” She spoke, rapidly. Kita was happy that day- a calf had been born a week earlier, and was getting to eating grass- with much encouragement from Kita. The little thing was quiet and shy so far, but was a female, and therefore useful to her other than for stud.
The simple girl thought about this man. He may have been the king of Serdia- but she didn’t know that… He was just another human to her. But he was different somehow, in a way she couldn’t place. “So… My name’s Kita. Nakita Sholu. You are?”
Kita literally had no idea about the man’s heritage. And no matter who he was… Kita was an Untamed, and he was human. So she didn’t really care either way, unless he proved interesting. Which he was starting to be, considering Wolf’s reaction.

“Drake, Drake Rlugia.”

He smiled warmly at the young girl and her wolf. For such a young girl, she was certainly independent. She made a living selling medicines and he caught no site of any parents or other relatives. It was certainly surprising, but also rather depressing. It was hard to imagine youth outside of the White Palace, living and making ends meet. The children he knew were only concerned with the present; they didn’t have to worry about money, or food, for down the line they would inherit the vast fortunes of his parents.

He frowned. Not because the young Untamed had caused him any problems, but simply the state which the world was end. For someone who had been absent from traveling for so many years, the squalor and poverty outside his own home was startling. Although Drake didn’t need anything, he was determined to purchase something from this girl, if not to help her along.

“Well…I’m actually just traveling through. I’m hoping to see all of Zelpha, or rather to see it’s most important sites. So…I’m definitely going to need medicine of some sort. It’s dangerous to travel anywhere without proper gear and items. What can you recommend to me?”

He smiled warmly as he recalled her mention of flowers.

“It’s silly of me, but I actually have a wife and two daughters back home. It might be nice to send them some flowers. What kind are they? I have lots of plants at my home…but if you say humans can’t touch these, perhaps it’s another breed to brighten my gardens.”

Kita smiled. She heard him introduce himself- Drake. Drake Rlugia.- and she thought. “Isn’t Drake the name of the Serdian king? Did your parents name you after him?” She’d never heard of the Rlugia part, but Kita didn’t listen much to human civilization.

Her wolf looked at Drake, and then pawed at the ground, making a small dent. No real reason for it- just because the wolf could, it did. Kita watched it, fascinated with the eccentricities of her companion.

The wolf helped Kita in many ways- decreased her hatred for some humans, and increased it for others. In this case, he fascinated her- a man with a king’s name! But Nakita Sholu was primitive in a way- she didn’t have a clue that this was the king. It wouldn’t matter anyway.

She saw him scowl, and Kita cocked her head again. She shrugged, however, and said, “Come on, I’ll show you the flowers I have. For medicines, I suggest a few of the more potent ones. You’d need to rip them up- if you eat a whole leaf, you can get sick. Not enough to kill, but enough to make you easy pickings for a bandit.”

The wolf trotted off, likely to find some prey more interesting than the curious human. Kita watched it go, then kept walking. One of the horses was drinking from the stream, and the cows chewed their cud. A few horses looked at the man walking past, and went back to what they were doing- running about, chasing one another, or eating.

Kita smiled. “The flowers would be fine to send away, as long as you can dry them. Oh, and the part about humans not picking the flowers? I meant that humans usually don’t get far in the Highlands, and they don’t usually go to pick flowers. But I do have them. I got seeds and planted them a while ago. You can have some seeds, because Wolf likes you.” Her voice picked up, talking faster for no apparent reason. “The flowers are called- well… I have a few kinds. I know a bit about them, but I know more of the herbs.”

It was not very often that Drake met people who did not know him (at least from appearance). It was thus surprising—but in a good way, that Kita did not know he was. Biting his lip slightly in a manner quite similar to his wife, he struggled with the thought of revealing who he was truly was. It seemed dishonest, but Drake feared a backlash for revealing his royal paternity—people always treated him differently when they knew of his true origins.

“Yes, I’m named after the King of Serdio,” He said in a very subtle lie. “We share the same birthday, so my parents thought I should be named after him. I’m from Serdio, but I can’t say I’ve ever met the man.”

The fact he was lying caused Drake to beam brightly on the inside. It had been twenty-three years since he had been free from the prisons of formality and rank. Although Drake was capable (and often) carried a majestic air about him, he was actually quite modest. Drake would’ve been happy to have been normal, yet nevertheless accepted his rank and worked to the best of his ability to fill that role. Despite all this, Drake was glad for those times when he could flee from that position of vast responsibility.

Hands tucked into the pockets of his jade green robes, Drake followed the young Kita without a fuss. Although she was Untamed, she broke many of the stereotypes Drake had grew up learning. She was not a stupid, barbaric, or remotely uncivilized. True, she was different from the people he knew, but there was nothing about her that suggested idiocy or a person that was slow to understand.

“That’s very true…the humans that visit the Highlands often have very different ideas in mind, and they usually aren’t here to pick flowers.”

Kita nodded absently as the man- Drake- answered. She kept walking, until reaching a plot of land by her house, with a fence made of sharpened sticks. She opened a makeshift gate and showed Drake the flower garden. “Well, here are the flowers. I grow most of the herbs here, too.”

She pointed to a flower whose petals were heavy with a type of pollen. It was definitely a… different flower. Its stem seemed to drape over, from the weight of the flower. She grinned. “This is a hybrid I accidentally created myself; it’s been popular lately with a few younger Untamed who seem to use it for different purposes every time. Its properties are a mystery so far.”

Letting Drake take a look before moving on, Kita showed him another flower- this time a lily, with bright teal petals that had a green tinge at the edges. Their stems were long and tall, forest green. “This one is your Highland Lily; grows best in shady areas. It’s common in the Highlands, but doesn’t grow anywhere else.”

Kita went through all her flowers, explaining them to Drake. Her garden was populated heavily by flowers that had medicinal properties; or helped herbs grow. A few were there because she liked their looks. Nakita Sholu had one thing in common with city girls- she loved to look at her flower garden.
But a city girl would see the vast estate populated by carefully grown flowers, while Kita let hers fly about the place, randomly planting where it’d be best for them.

Kita’s hazel eyes looked at Drake then. “So, see anything you like? In not, I’ll just take you through the herbs I have. Or the potions, if you don’t care to get any of the herb seeds.”

“You created this flower yourself?” Drake asked with surprise. “Superb. Simply amazing.”

She was more than industrious, in Drake’s mind. She was also creative. None of his children ever came to him, stating they had created new hybrids of plants or solved complex problems, which plagued Zelpha. No, they were far more concerned with pleasure and indulgence. Shopping and chatting with friends were far more important than doing something worthwhile.

Drake could only smile as each flower was shown to him and explained. He found the Highland Lily the most beautiful out of all the plants she had in her garden. Despite this, all the flowers and plants had a certain air about them that made them each more wondrous than the last the Serdian King had seen. Although Kita’s garden wasn’t symmetric, or laid out by a high-paid architect, it had an earthy beauty about it that Drake could understand.

“All this is very interesting…I’m really not sure what I want to purchase. For sure, I’d like a couple bundles of the Highland Lilies…and seeds…well, let’s make this easier. I have 4000G to spend on things. What can you give me?”

Kita was finally done with the descriptions. She watched Drake as he looked at the different flowers, deciding. She waited patiently, and then heard him say, “You created this flower yourself? Superb. Simply amazing.”

Kita nearly blushed, but answered. “It was an accidental hybrid that turned out well. A lot of my flowers couldn’t adapt well to the soil, but this one takes to new soil like a human to money.”

She noticed the wolf doing his business in the garden again. “Hey! WOLF! I thought I said NOT TO DO THAT on the flowers! It’s fine in the garden… but not on top of my flowers!”

The wolf stared at her and resumed, while Kita sighed. “He never listens.” But she brightened quickly as she looked back at Drake. She heard him say something- and she answered. “I can give you a few seeds of each, and more of the Highland Lilies. If you do think you want to plant them, you’ll need rough soil, and with some rocks in it. That’s why they only grow here- the soil usually is messed up and not combed clean. They can’t anchor themselves in soft, fluffy soil- their roots don’t take, because they’re so small. “Other than the flowers, you’d probably want to get some of the herbs that Highlanders value; you can use them as bribes better than money if you plan to go to less civilized areas. Mind you, I’m not like most Untamed. I don’t attack humans on sight. You’d want to get some reddish clay, and mark your cheek with it- usually, humans aren’t allowed to wear it, so nobody will attack you. They’d think you’re an Untamed unless you smile with teeth showing- your canines aren’t sharp enough.”
Kita picked a few herbs, and put them in a leather pouch from her belt. “These are medicinal herbs- you can find them almost everywhere, but they’re not worth much for bartering. They don’t have names, but grind them together and it makes a paste to heal up bruises and cuts from the animals here.”
Her hands became busy again as she picked a large-leafed plant clean. “This plant is valuable, and easy to grow. If it gets the perfect combination of sun and shade. Its leaves are valuable- they cure almost any usual Highland ailment- bad coughs and poisons, even. A snake bite can be treated with this; at least, Highland snakes. I’m not sure about Serdian ones.”
She stopped talking, finally, realizing she’d been babbling. “Um… Sorry. I was rambling a little there. But I hope it helped.”

She had noticed that he didn’t ask her why she wasn’t a barbaric brute, like humans usually did. So Kita asked, “Why do you treat me like another human? I’m Untamed, and our races usually hate each other.”

Drake chuckled slightly as Kita reprimanded her Wolf for doing his business in her flowers. It wasn’t often that Drake was able to view the lives of what he termed ‘normal’ people. Thus, the excitement that surrounded Kita’s home was quite interesting to Drake. As she went into explanation of the various items he was prepared to buy, he listened intently.

It was all very interesting. Drake had not known that Red Clay kept the more rabid Untamed away from him, nor had he been aware that Herbs were far more valued as a currency rather than money. Drake made a mental note on everything that Kita told him, from the salves that miraculously cured bruises and cuts, to the leaves, which could cure away basic ailments, from bad coughs, to deadly venoms. When Kita began to apologize for all her rambling, Drake shook his head.

“No, there isn’t any reason to apologize. It’s all very interesting, and helpful too. I wasn’t aware of some of these things until you explained them to me. If anything, I should be thanking you, because you’ve done me a great favor.”

And then Drake quieted as Kita made a rather stunning statement.

“Why do you treat me like another human? I’m Untamed, and our races usually hate each other.”

Drake was quiet.

“I grew up in a household of tolerance. I do not treat you as a human, but rather as a person. I was taught early in life that race is simply a genetic divide, and means nothing more. I am no better than you; we are both people and inhabitants of this world. While there are some Untamed that live…shall I say, ‘traditional’ lives? It is not how all are. You, for instance, are very creative and hard working.”

Kita cocked her head slightly. Drake was listening to her intently- apparently he hadn’t known much about the traditional Untamed? But Kita shrugged it off inwardly and listened as he spoke after she apologized. She smiled at him and said, “Thanks…”
A simple statement, but one that worked perfectly. Kita liked simple things- they were easy to understand. But complicated things were much more fun… they presented a challenge. Then Drake finished by thanking her, and Kita grinned. “It’s no problem. I don’t want paying customers chopped up by some random rabid thing.”

She’d just erupted randomly with words that seemed to stump Drake. He quieted for a few seconds, then spoke again. “I grew up in a household of tolerance. I do not treat you as a human, but rather as a person. I was taught early in life that race is simply a genetic divide, and means nothing more. I am no better than you; we are both people and inhabitants of this world. While there are some Untamed that live…shall I say, ‘traditional’ lives? It is not how all are. You, for instance, are very creative and hard working.”

She listened intently. It was new to Kita to have humans really speak to her like an equal. She was younger than him, and yet he spoke with the air that people did when they spoke to their peers. “A genetic divide… That’s a good analogy. And traditional- you mean how they attack and kill humans? Yep, that’s Untamed tradition for you.”

It is not how all are. You, for instance, are very creative and hard working.

Kita smiled. “Thanks. You seem pretty good yourself- for a human.” She said jokingly, and laughed. It was like a wilder laugh than humans have, hearty laughter, like a howl of a wolf, except with melody and happiness.

Kita did like this human. He was good, definitely. Kita could only hope he liked her company as well.

Drake smiled and chuckled slightly at her joke.

“Well, thanks. I have to say you’re the nicest Untamed I’ve ever met.”

The howl, that shriek which she emitted was one of such jubilance and happiness that Drake could only smile. This was the first time in ages that he had met and spoken to someone which he had enjoyed time with. Although Kita was far younger than him, she was astute for her age and the fact she could carry on a conversation with him was a bonus.

His amber eyes scanning the horizon slightly, Drake looked back at Kita, his smile and chuckle long replaced by a serious look of nonchalance. Drake was eager to scope out the lands of the Highlands—what better way to explore the land than to have an Untamed at his side?

“Do you often travel far from your home?” Drake asked. “I’m curious, because I’d like to travel further into the hinterlands…however, as we’ve stated, it is Untamed tradition to hunt down those, especially humans, who tread on their lands.”

Kita heard him chuckle, and she grinned. It was nice to make people laugh, in her opinion. Drake spoke, replying to her joke- “Well, thanks. I have to say you’re the nicest Untamed I’ve ever met.”

“Do you often travel far from your home? I’m curious, because I’d like to travel further into the hinterlands…however, as we’ve stated, it is Untamed tradition to hunt down those, especially humans, who tread on their lands.”

Kita looked at him, cocking her head. “I do whenever my family can take care of the shop. Why, do you want a guide? I’m up for it- I love traveling.” She said, then murmured to herself, “But I’d have to get someone to take care of the animals… Then again, the pigs eat anything, and the horses graze like the cows. If I just kept the gate to the barn open for them so they could eat whenever, that should work fine…”

She smiled again, and watched the horses. A large palomino mare with feet the size of dinner plates pranced around the pasture; then came up to the fence. She neighed, and Kita politely said, “Excuse me… The horses, you know. It’s their time for hay… Want to come and see them while I feed ‘em?”

To the horse, she said, “Hey there. It’s okay, I’m working on it… You’ll get fed, Rennas!”

The horse snorted at her, as Kita walked towards the small barn shed by her house. She looked back at Drake, and stopped to wait for his answer.