Gaia. (6)

Nura was already walking out of the hotel entrance and Relovan knew it was all a lost cause. He followed the Chief, only to find a car there waiting for the both of them. They got in, and the driver drove off without either man saying a world. Clearly, Nura had already decided where they were going to eat, and Relovan just went along with it due to the fact that this was his first visit. Despite having called for a car, it turned out that the place Nura had chosen to eat in wasn't all that far. They were dropped off at the steakhouse, and went in. The doors in Gaia were all huge, due to the city being a melting pot and there being a plethora of large races that called the city home. The décor illustrated this as well, and the two men were shown to a table that catered both for Nura's massive body, and Relovan's normal one. They placed their orders, and Relovan figured that if he was going to get any questions in, it would have to be before the food arrived.

"So Chief…"

"You will be appearing before the Commission the day after tomorrow. I believe that you are only scheduled to give your testimony once, as there is surveillance footage, and cross examining is not going to take place."

"No, I know all Chief – I too read my own summons. I was going to ask what is going to happen after the Hearings. Like, what exactly Phase Two or whatever you want to call it is."

"Well, that is all dependent on how things go in the Council Chambers. Essentially, what I have in mind is—"

Nura was interrupted by the waiter bringing the first round of food to the table, which drew a glare from Relovan. Nura, for some unknown reason, was not being coy and was just about to tell Relovan what exactly he had planned, but the arrival of the food signaled the end of that. The waiter had no idea why he was being glared at, but he jumped back all the same. Chief Nura promptly began to tear through his food, and Relovan sighed a touch. He shrugged, looked at his own food that had been brought along with Nura's, and began to eat as well. Conversation was a non-factor as the two ate, with the Chief sounding like a creature from the bowels of the NetherVoid as he ate. The food kept coming, and Relovan ate a surprisingly large amount of food before he sat back in his seat and nursed his glass of water. Nura kept going though, and it didn't seem like he was ever going to stop. He eventually did though and after settling the bill, Nura dragged Relovan out of the restaurant and started walking in what Relovan thought was a random direction.

"Where exactly are we going, Chief?"

"…Gateway IS the shopping District after all, so we're going to browse."

"What? Chief, how many times do I have to say, we are not on vacation?!"

"Lawman, I have seen the clothes you wear."

"Yeah, and? We still aren't on – wait a minute. What's wrong with my clothes?

"There's nothing wrong with them per se, it's just there's very little right with them either."

"Excuse me?"

"Look, your clothes are old and faded, Lawman. There are all manner of clothing stores and boutiques in and around here. Even if you aren't going to buy anything, just browse, okay? That hat you like to wear is clearly from the Death Squad days, so there's no changing that, but stone washed jeans and over washed jeans are two different things. This is an order from your superior!"

Relovan stared at Nura incredulously while slowly shaking his head, before turning around and walking in the direction of large, shiny signs and display windows.

"I hope Squishy pops out from where you least expect it and finds you." Relovan grumbled as he walked down the street.

"I HEARD THAT!" Nura boomed as he stared at Relovan, who just ignored him.

"…hmph. I hope Squishy finds HIM instead." Nura grumbled himself, before finding a large enough bench to sit down on.

Time flowed rather quickly for the Chief, who seemed to just be enjoying being where he was. After a few hours, he got up and decided to go look for Relovan.

"It's been long enough; he must have found a few things – even if he wasn't looking in earnest." Nura mused to himself as he walked.

As the Adonian stomped his way down the street, a breeze suddenly kicked up and a sweet, floral scent caused Nura to stop and sniff the air. The longer the breeze blew, the stronger and more prominent the scent became, and in turn, the louder and more pronounced the sniffing became. Nura began to walk in the direction the smell was coming from, his eyes large as he shook his head ever so slightly in disbelief.

"This can't be." Nura said to himself as he walked quicker and quicker. "Is she really here?"

Even though the Chief was speaking to himself, it was as if somebody heard the question and answered it for him as Nura walked around a corner and was met by the sight of a rather large entourage. A group of at least ten women, all dressed in tan coloured robes covered in elaborate designs, all stood in a formation, as if surrounding somebody. They were all slightly hunched over in one way or another, and they all appeared to be holding something in one of their hands. What they were in fact holding were bits of clothing that were part of the same outfit. They were indeed standing and walking in formation around somebody, with the women holding the overhangs and excess material belonging to that person's outfit. Much like the other women, she was wearing a robe that was a similar colour and was also covered in beautiful embroidered designs. The main difference however was that her robe was absolutely massive, and almost unnecessarily so. The team of women surrounded her in order to prevent all of the hanging and extra bits of the robe from touching the ground. From the sleeves, to a particularly long train, to even her headdress, everything was long enough to touch the ground – hence the team of women to help prevent that. Despite being almost completely covered by her clothes, the woman's face was visible, and she was absolutely beautiful. Her skin was bronze, and her makeup, while minimal, complimented her skin tone perfectly. A black cloth, which was also adorned with the same patterns and designs as her robes, was wrapped rather tightly around her head, covering her eyes completely and her hair, which was elaborately integrated with her headdress, was very long and pale gold in colour. She was walking along looking particularly disinterested as an armed, older woman – likely her bodyguard – was talking to her about something with a very scary facial expression. The young woman suddenly stopped and her face changed direction, immediately settling in Nura's path. Her mouth opened wide and she shook her head ever so slightly.

"Is that really you?!" She asked as everybody stopped what they were doing and looked in the direction she was facing. "Uncle Nurunuru?!"

"…how many times have I asked you to stop calling me that, Princess Nkanyezi?" Nura said as he began to approach the group of women.

The sound of wooden sandals clacking on the ground, coupled with the concerned cries of 'Princess' and 'watch out', 'where are you going?' made for quite the interesting mix of ambient sounds. Nura, realising that the Princess running towards him while dressed that way was a recipe for disaster, quickly stomped towards her before she could break through the women just in front of her. By the time she did, he was already right in front of her, and the Princess leapt into the air and embraced the giant police chief.

"Nurururururururururuuuu!"

The Princess was cackling as she said this and nuzzled the Chief, before letting him go and stepping back. She had the biggest smile on her face, and looked as though she wanted to jump in for another hug. Nura, sensing this, spread his arms wide and smiled broadly, as if waiting for her to leap in, but then the older woman stepped in, standing in front of Princess Nkanyezi and in between her and the Chief.

"Princess, please refrain from behaving in a manner that is unbecoming of your position." The woman scolded.

"Seriously, you old crone? The Princess and I haven't seen each other in many years, yet you felt it necessary to interrupt our reunion?"

"Silence, Adonian." The woman snapped. "You weren't worthy to touch the Princess back when she was younger, and you are still unqualified."

Nura grinned as he looked at the woman, before clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked all at once.

"Clearly, you wish to die, woman."