Will never forget[private with Ebonique]

[AarinsRitsuka]

Ethan looked at Rafi and nodded as he started to follow him in the direction he pointed too. He turned his head slightly to listen to him while paying attention to what was a head of him. It interested him to hear that the town had a giant oak tree in the middle of it. He wondered how giant it could be? Ethan knew he would find out when they got there.

When the naga started talking again he looked over at him and listened once more. It made him smile a bit as he watched his hand for a few moment until he started to pay attention to what he was saying. He glanced up at him for a few moments and nodded "Interesting....though even though it won't cut down does the city ever have to trim the branches if they get too long?"

[Ebonique]

Rafi smiled at Ethan's curious and intelligent question. "I'm afraid not. The branches themselves, just like the tree's trunk, are unable to be cut. It's never been a problem for the village, though. Especially not for Ania," he told his human friend as they began to travel uphill. The path continued, but the hill was a little on the steep side. Extra effort had to be made in order to walk up it. Rafi didn't seem to be having any trouble, though.

"I say not for Ania because her home is built around the tree. It serves as a sort of, well, protection for her clinic and inn... the branches are so thick that rain can hardly get through them. Yet, at the same time, the limbs never abstruct the sunshine... It's really quite unique," the naga told his companion, giving him a kind smile. "I think you'll find the sight of it very interesting."

They were soon approaching the top of the hill.

[AarinsRitsuka]

Ethan continued to follow him as his question was answered. It seemed like the tree was very important for the village and he was glad for it. That meant that the people could get better. Though his thoughts stopped as he tried walking up the steep hill, he doesn’t remember the last time he had to put so much effort into walking. Though he saw they were almost to the top of the hill and it made him smile “So it was a good thing that those people didn’t find a way to cut it down. The tree seems to be very useful and I can’t wait to say it” he said in a huff as he tripped slightly. It made him start to think he was definitely out of shape to be doing such things “How much further is it?” he asked a bit out of breath.

[Ebonique]

The naga kept an eye on his human friend. It struck him as odd when the boy's breathing grew so heavy from walking up the hill. Sure, it wa steep, but it wasn't giving him any problems. Rafi smiled when Ethan asked how much further did they have to travel. "Not far," he said as they reached the hill's top. "The village is just down there."

Sure enough, it was true. The village lay at the foot at the tall hill. The dirt path on which they had walked to make it to the peek had become it a set of long stone stairs that would take one directly to the town gates.

From their high up position, everything in quaint little city could easily be seen. Stonewall homes and streets, shops and markets, a large and very lush park area, and of course, the oak tree. It stood majestically above it all, watching down on the village like a protector.

"Well... that's it. Lone Oak Village," Rafi said then, gazing at his companion. He reached out to grasp Ethan's hand again. "Come, we're almost there."

[AarinsRitsuka]

Ethan was glad that it wasn't too much further. He didn't think he ever walked up a hill this steep before. Then again the area he had lived in didn't have many hills to begin with and nothing like this. Ethan made a note to himself that if he ever got back home he would take up exercising some more. So with a slight huff Ethan continued his way up the hill and groan slightly as he took that last step to the top. When he looked up he gave a look of awe.

The place he was looking was something that reminded him of a movie or even a book. It really was a rather nice looking place and from were he stood he could definitely see the giant oak tree that was in the middle. Ethan wondered what it would be like when he got closer to the big tree. He wanted to just stand and stare at it a little bit long until he felt Rafi grasp his hand. The blond looked at him and nodded "At least going down hill is easier than going up" he said with a chuckle.

[Ebonique]

Rafi gave Ethan's hand a gentle squeeze as the two of them headed down the long, stone staircase towards the village. He chuckled when his companion commented about the easier time they would have traveling down hill. "Yes, and the stairs make it a little safer, to some degree. Before these were built, this slope was actually rather slippery," the naga explained as they walked together. "Especially when it rained."

It took another twenty minutes before they arrived at the bottom of the hill. Rafi turned to look to his frend. "You okay? The hill wasn't too tiring for you, was it?" he asked, wondering how tired the poor boy was. "It's not long now. The village gates are just over there."

It was true. Around the town stood a large, greystone wall. It resembled the ones from medieval times. It even had a drawbride. Though the massive chains that were there to lift were old and worn. They didn't seem to have been used very often, suggesting that enterance to the city was hardly never closed off.

[AarinsRitsuka]

Ethan gave a smile and chuckle himself when he heard that "I suppose no one wants to get hurt by simply going down the slope. That wouldn't be good" he said as they continued to walk together. He was actually kind of enjoying it, even the hand holding part. The naga's hand was surprisingly smooth and a bit soft to him. When he heard the question if he was tired he shook his head "No I'm not. It seems I just needed a small break after walking up that hill. I'm fine now" he said in a reassuring tone.

Ethan continued to walk as he looked at the gates they came upon. Now it really did remind him of some movie or book because of the stone and draw bridge. It made him chuckle a bit "Wow" he simply said before looking to Rafi "Shall we go?"

[Ebonique]

Rafi didn't let on, but he enjoyed holding Ethan's hand, too. It was an interesting feeling, the human boy's hand. It was insanely soft. It didn't have claws, scales, fur, feathers, or fins. Rafi decided that he liked the feeling. Still, he hoped that he wasn't making Ethan uncomfortable by holding onto him this long. Perhaps he should give him an explanation.

"Alright, just wanted to make sure you weren't too winded," Rafi replied when his friend told him that he was alright. "Now, once we're inside the village, stay close to me, okay? These people have never seen a human before, so you'll more than like be stared at... No one should try and harm you, though, when they see that you're with me."

The naga offered the human a comforting smile. "Let's go," he confirmed before leading Ethan towards the drawbridge. There were four guards standing at attention at the front gates. The men, who also had animalistic features, saluted as Rafi and Ethan strode past them. They gave them no trouble with entering the village.

Beside the giant, stone walls, the town was alive with hustle and bustle. Up close, one could see that the structure of the quaint city was an interesting mixture of semi-modern and historic medieval. People were out shopping, browsing the market for food to buy, children were happy and at play in the more grassy areas, the elderly were chuckling and talking amongst themselves... it was a peaceful setting.

Just as Rafi predicted, they caught the eye of most people as they moved among the crowd. The villagers stared with confusion and wonderment as they saw a human for the first time. Of course, they weren't absolutely sure as to what Ethan was... they were mostly observing the fact that he had no animal-like features.

[AarinsRitsuka]

Ethan walked forward and gave a smile right back to Rafi. Even though it has been a short while the blond was starting to take a liking to the naga that he was holding hands with. In fact he did like holding his hand and he couldn’t really say why. Maybe it was because the man saved his life from who knows what and was helping him to try and get back home? That seemed like a logical reason but there could be another that he didn’t know about.

Pushing that thought to the side for now he kept close to the naga as they approached four guards at the gate. When they saluted to him it made him wonder how important Rafi was. The only reason he could think of someone to be saluted for is if they were of a high rank in the military or some really important person. He would have to ask later for now it got him curious as they walked past the men. Though when they got past the gates he smiled happily.

The place reminded him of some sort of medieval era village with a semi-modern touch to it. It was rather interesting to see, especially the people. There were so many different people, aside from the fact many resembled different animals like Rafi, the men from earlier and the guards they passed. It amazed him though he was right when he said they, he, would get stares. It made him feel a bit uncomfortable but he supposed that he was different from all of them. Walking in silence Ethan really didn’t know what to say at the moment for he couldn’t think of anything to say in the first place.

[Ebonique]

Scattered murmurs and whispers were beginning to sound from the townspeople as Rafi and Ethan made their way through the square. A few gave nervous waves and quiet greetings, while others remained silent and continued to stare. It didn't take long to pass through the market place. Once they had, the crowd merely went back to whatever they had previously been doing.

Rafi was leading Ethan passed a park area now. It was a large and grassy area filled with flowers. There was also a pond in the center of it.

Many young children were running around and playing in this area. They, unlike the adults, didn't stop what they were doing in order to look and stare at the passing duo. The kids seemed to care less about there being a human in their village.

Their moment of attracting no attention didn't last long, however. The pattering of small feet caught Rafi's ear and the naga looked ahead to see three children running towards Ethan and himself. From the looks of them, they were siblings, two boys and a girl. They were each around seven years old. Triplets, no doubt.

The boy leading their charge had green eyes and brown hair that was shoulder length and pulled back into a ponytail. On top of his head sat a pair of floppy dog ears, white in color, with brown spots. He also had a matching tail.

The second child, also a boy, had blue eyes and brown hair, which was cut short around his cheeks. He, too, had floppy dog ears and a tail the same color as his brother's.

The final sibling, a girl, had violet eyes and white hair that came to around her waist. She was the smallest of the three and seemed to be something of a tag-along. She also had puppy ears and a tail like the other two, but hers were brown in color and white spots.

The trio looked like a mini pack of trouble-makers. Rafi came to a stop as the puppies approached and a smile came to his face. He seemed to know these children. They came bouncing up to he and Ethan, yipping and panting, pawing at them and chattering like kids their ages usually did.

"Ooh! Rafi, Rafi! I found this huge bug! I catched it in a jar and I think I'm gonna keep it as a pet!" the boy with the ponytail said with a big grin.

"Bugs are so gross! Ugh! That's all you ever think about, Kodi, yucky things!" whined the girl, who was latched onto Rafi's free arm.

"They're just gross to you, Ali! We tried to get you to stay home, but you never listen," chimed in the other boy, who stood by Ethan's leg. He stuck his tongue out at his sister and she did the same in return.