New to Town

Uther wiped sweat from his brow as he walked through the desert of Velarune, known as Sabulum, in search of a place to hopefully stay once he reached the town. He adjusted the cowl over the lower half of his face then reached back and quickly tied his red hair back into a messy bun in order to try and cool himself off a little bit. He walked a little farther then blinked his green eyes when he saw buildings in front of him, making sure that it wasn’t a mirage he was seeing.

Letting out a relieved huff, Uther picked up his pace then carefully made his way through the town, keeping his gaze low as he passed by some Equos, several of whom he heard muttering quietly to one another as he passed by them. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he paused at several inns to ask about a vacancy only to be turned away and told that they were full from travelers being in town and he wasn’t sure if that was the truth or if they were saying that because he was a human.

He wasn’t stupid; he knew enough of the past between the Ignis equos and the Hemanus; the name for the humans in Velarune, and he knew that many of the Equos were still very wary of Hemanus, even though they hadn’t started anything...to his knowledge at least. Uther was so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn’t realized that he was about to knock into someone until he crashed right into them, sending the two of them toppling to the ground.

“Hey! Watch it, two-legs.” a female voice huffed. Green eyes narrowing, Uther looked up and met the dark blue eyes of a female Deerling equos who looked just as irritated as he did.

“I could say the same to you.” Uther grumbled. Carefully shifting up to his feet, Uther dusted himself off then held a hand out to the equos, albeit reluctantly. Eyeing his hand suspiciously, the female equos hesitantly took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet and she grumbled out a thanks in return.

“You don’t know of anywhere I could stay until I find a place of my own, do you?” Uther questioned.

“Why?” the equos asked.

“So I can have a place to live, obviously and so I can find work and I’m not sleeping on the streets,” Uther huffed, “What’s your name anyhow?”

“I’m Idalia. And what kind of job would you be looking for?” Idalia asked curiously, her ears flickering slightly.

“Any kind of job involving art. I’m an artist.” Uther commented, reaching up to tug the cowl down off his face in order to cool off a bit and so he could be heard a little better because he was pretty sure that his voice was slightly muffled.

“I’m an artist as well. I also have an extra room in my home that you could stay in until you find a place of your own.” Idalia said.

“I’ll pay you rent then once I get a job.” Uther said.

“Nonsense. You can help me by buying food and any needed supplies,” Idalia countered, “Come with me. I’ll show you around the town so you don’t get lost and I’ll also point out some of the best eateries and merchants to buy from.”