Well now, this is confusing. [Road to Rathess]

That honest confusion from such a lovely young woman made Akara laugh - softly, so as not to seem rude for it. It was even sort of a giggle. Kwatyl shifted slightly in his gi, a motion that the Lawgiver took to mean disinterest or, perhaps finally, rest. That the spirit trusted him enough to sleep in such a way was flattering, and appreciated, for it allowed him to speak candidly and about things that were not about the serpent's plight. He flashed Kirasath an understanding smile, clasping his hands behind his back as they walked. An old habit.

"Where I am from, the roles of men and women are very different. Legally, culturally different. As they are practically everywhere, I am sure you know." He began with an easy smile. "You, especially, as I believe you are quite obviously from the West." The trail turned here, transitioning from packed soil to old, tightly-lain stone, leading them over an old and beautiful wooden bridge straddling a babbling stream filled with fish.

Ahead of them lay the many old, worn steps that would carry them up to the temple-like manor. A challenging climb only in appearance; the incline was gradual and gentle. "As we come of age, we can choose to live under the expectations of the other sex, which is what I've done. We are known as 'dereth', and aside from wearing a specific sash to mark our status..." Akara motioned to the bright, flowing sash tired around his waist - it wasn't grey, but he wasn't in Chiaroscuro, and that detail was not important. "...We live our lives as such. Had I remained in Chiaroscuro, I would have been expected to take a wife, cultivate an active and physically demanding lifestyle, and so on."

As they crossed the bridge, Akara spread his hands slightly, almost shrugging. "The sexual politics of Chiaroscuro are distant and essentially arcane unimportance, especially this far away - So I do not bring it up often, or make a large issue of it should my desires cause discomfort." He promised. Men were men and women were women all over Creation - and most places didn't offer young people a single chance to choose a different side. Many were uncomfortable with the idea entirely, others had such a climate that Akara likely wouldn't have seen the point of identifying as male had he been born there. "I think of myself as a young man, not a woman. But if this makes you uncomfortable, feel free to disregard it and call me 'miss'in lieu of simply 'Akara'. It is by no means a condition of our continuing acquaintance." He assured the blue-haired woman, as he had assured many before.

If Kira was embarrassed by her profound change in demeanour, Akara was just as much so. Not that he didn't mind a lovely woman on his arm at all - he surely didn't - but her sudden deference wasn't something he was used to dealing with. Just as Akara's gender identity was incompatible with Coral values, willingly giving away anything - especially respect - was similarly alien to most of the South. Besides, he hardly knew this woman.

"Chiaruscuro." Akara corrected gently. "Truth be told, compared to some of them? We would look burly and masculine by comparison." He laughed, glad for an opportunity to keep the mood light. He gave Kira's hand a light pat, somewhat unsure how to handle such a thing, then offered a smile. Clearly the lack of sleep and food was finally beginning to tax his cognitive functions. "But you needn't defer to me, Kirasath - You offered to help me, for which I am thankful; I'd like the honor of cultivating a friendship between the two of us, and friendship is rooted in mutual respect, is it not?"

Besides. She carried a sword that, by it's care, was as old as it was beloved, and was on the wrong side of the world, unphased by strange women and talking spirit-snake-birds. It didn't take a detective's eye to tell that she was no ordinary woman, although it absolutely helped. She was an interesting enigma, to say the least. "If being your equal is mutually exclusive with being a man, I'd rather you consider me the former - all things considered. Thooough... That may complicate my plans to invite you for a romantic meal once we've resolved this situation."

Akara offered a cheeky smile. It was one thing to be professional with the people you worked for. It was another to be professional with the people you worked WITH. Akara had a great deal of experience with the first, but pretty girls had a way of ruining the second. At this rate, he would develop a reputation for being a ladies' man - something he didn't much mind.

Sun and stars, did Coral women jump around a bit. Or maybe it was just this one. "Well, it would be terribly rude of me to not honor your beliefs as you humor mine." Akara mused warmly, keeping his eyes focused forward. Kirasath was, after all, an exceptionally pretty thing, and it was hard to deny such a pretty thing when it was resting a head on your shoulder. Arm holding had come pretty quickly after introductions, more quickly than Akara was used to, but it wasn't unpleasant. He seemed to have a way of pulling in lovely women, and Akara did not mind that talent at all.

He was a Lawgiver first, and a man second - but an excitable, genial young man with a love of living life. Maybe that was why he was so pulled toward duty in the East.

"I suppose I could use a bite to eat - but I'll worry about that after we visit the shrine and help Kwatyl out." Akara compromised, brushing his volumes of curly black hair casually over his shoulder. Yes, he was hungry. And badly in need of a nap. But a Solar was nothing if not a hardy creature, and capable of going the extra mile if fate or duty demanded it of them. In this case, Akara demanded it of himself. The dereth stole a brief glance at the woman on his arm, smiled faintly, and gradually acclimated to the idea that she was perfectly comfortable acting like they'd been 'courting' for some time and hadn't simply just met. Western customs were strange. "If I confessed that I've been allowed the use of the guest house while seeing to this task, would it lay within your skillset to help me prepare a meal?" He asked cheerfully. Thaumaturges sometimes required time to handle spiritual matters - mortal and Terrestrial Thaumaturges, in any case - and as the families taking up residence in the home understood that Akara had come from abroad to aid them, they'd put the young Dereth up in an essentially abandoned guest house while he saw to the task. He did not mind. While the families intended for him to simply drive Kwatyl off - sometime that would have been the easy work of an afternoon for Akara, or nearly any Solar - trying to find a win-win solution took a bit more time. "While I wouldn't mind thanking you for your help with a proper someplace-nice supper, I would feel bad leaving this matter to it's own ends while I traipsed through Chaing-Dav with a beautiful stranger." The apology was softened with flattery, but the core idea was still there. Until the duty he'd promised to attend had been settled, there was little room for deviance from Akara's task.

"It would also afford me the honor of learning more about you, Kirasath." He added cordially, beaming as they scaled the worn stone steps together. "A subject of study I cannot wait to apply myself to, if I'm to be honest. I hope you will not think less of me for being so forward - but you seem to carry the glow of essence about you. Are you, perhaps a child of the water, as your hair and grace implies?"

Oh, yes. It was a very serious matter - that the woman may or not be a Dragon-Blooded, or something more exotic. Akara had his suspicions, but nothing to found them on yet. While the East had lately been a hotbed for Solar activity, one couldn't assume that every talented young woman they met had been blessed by the sun. Even if they WERE a talented swordswoman from the west, with blue hair. Akara allowed a tiny, private smile as his deductions ran their course - a Dragon-Blooded would rarely deign to hide what they were from somebody they were so determined to get comfortable with, and a Dragon-Blooded would be unlikely to be caught dead with only a mundane (albeit lovely) blade on their hip. It was possible that Kirasath was simply a child of the waves with the poor fortune to look like a woman that the Guild was paying a princely sum to obtain. It was possible that Kirasath was simply a singularly talented mortal woman or one with an interesting heritage that made her able to float nimbly up walls and have experiences that made the presence of an onerous spirit not even be odd enough to remark on. But betting money was becoming safer, as Akara drew his conclusions based on what he'd observed.

After all, he'd been something of a detective long before Exaltation. It was also a large part of his job to locate other Solars and draw them into the support network if they wished. With a faint smile, Akara turned his head enough to favor the woman on his arm with a friendly nuzzle. "Showing you mine may beguile you, regardless." Serious things on his mind, but none too serious to engage in a little recreational flirting.

Thanks to the recent bits of sabotage/haunting on the part of the tiny serpent curled up in Akara's clothing, the estate was blissfully empty. Those who had remained while Akara saw to his task were inside, or making use of the busy day to run errands in Chiang-Dav, which meant that they could cross the lovely stone plaza without being bothered. In the middle of it sat a small pavillion with a tall pagoda roof. Under that roof, it was open to the air, with a raised platform in the middle carrying a proud statue of a winged serpent amidst bowls for offering and incense. Although the shine had been recently cleaned, (presumably by Akara himself) it was clearly in a state of mild disrepair - weather worn and aged. The roof, at least, still carried the faded multi-colour array of the small god it had been made to honor. In age, it's splendor was diminished. Centuries ago it must have been a dazzling sight.

Akara smoothly scaled the two steps up into the shrine proper, kneeling before the statue once Kira released his arm. Prayer was not something as terribly important in Chiaroscuro as it was in other parts of the world. Even so, Akara had developed a fondness for the activity, as he had with meditation. It was peaceful and serene, a hefty bargaining chip in his work, and a way to support beings he wished to support. After all, Akara was an Eclipse - given to ordering the Gods, brokering deals, and issuing ultimatums. That he was also willing to pay his respects and do the job of a lowly priest? That was a powerful bargaining chip, and Akara was nothing if not flexible with his pride.

The dereth smoothly lifted and lit two incense sticks, giving each a small spin to spread the acrid, but sweet smell about the air around them. Glancing to Kira, Akara delicately handed one over, before setting his own into the bowl before him and sitting back on his heels, back straight. Focusing his mind - cutting through the fatigue and discomfort of three days of attention to a being that needn't sleep or rest and had gone decades without so much as interaction - Akara prostrated himself before the shrine in silent prayer to Kwatyl, Winged Serpent of the Feathered Sword, a largely unimportant house spirit in an unimportant corner of the world.