The Spirit of Inquiry

With how much they were tied up while inside the castle, it was a little wonder that Taori and Alpinia wanted to go out and have a walk every now and then. While most political figures may have worried about traveling the streets without any sort of guard with them, Taori remained among the strongest of the Saiyans, and so, honestly, anything that he'd have any trouble dealing with would have bulldozed over even his best guards in just a few moments. There wasn't much point in parading themselves around with a whole legion of Saiyans at their front and rear.

Plus, the fresh air was much easier to enjoy without a bunch of guardsmen breathing down their necks. And, in the spirit of relaxation, the pair had left their lavish capes back in their rooms.

"Do you think that sausage stand is still in business near the tower?" Alpinia asked, and Taori shrugged. "I don't see why they'd have gone out of business. It was the best one in the city." "Well, you know how restaurants are - they come as quickly as they go." Taori snorted. "I should pass some legislation that makes it illegal for any of our favorite places to close down." "Oh, would you? That'd make things so much easier," Alpinia replied with a giggle.

If only it were so easy. It was worth checking out, though, the pair decided as they made their way towards the center of the town. The crowd began to thin out a bit, and as Taori looked up and saw some unpleasant clouds forming in the sky, it was easy to see why not too many people were out for a walk. "Hmm, I hope they have umbrellas over the picnic tables," he commented. And hopefully it wouldn't begin to rain until after they had gotten their food.

He lowered his gaze, and then spotted a rather... Unusually dressed man. He was a Saiyan, but his clothes... They reminded Taori of all the Earthling clothes Ward had shown him. And he also appeared to be entirely lost in thought as he gazed up at a nearby citadel. Well, Taori might as well warn him about the rain.

"Might want to take your gazing around inside, friend," he suggested as he and Alpinia walked near him. "Looks like rain." Taori assumed this must have been one of those Earthling Saiyan tourists who came to Sadala to see their 'culture' every so often. They usually annoyed him, but he had no reason to act aggressive towards this one. Not yet, anyway.

Well, wasn't this guy formal! The stranger acted rather politely to Taori's warning of the weather, which he supposed matched the man's whole youth pastor look he had going for him. He was surprised to hear, though, that the man was actually from Sadala, as he commented it had been quite a while since his last visit to home.

"Oh, how long has it been since your last visit?" Alpinia asked him out of curiosity. She had been away from Sadala for a few years herself, with only occasional visits up until Taori had taken the throne. Now that she lived in the big city again, she found the reacclimation process to be a bit cumbersome, but she felt she was getting along alright. Having a legion of servants and soldiers that wanted to do literally nothing else but please her was helping.

"Sadala has seen some changes in the last few months," Taori added, "Though it's not all too different from how it was when I was younger. At least, as far as I can tell." He recalled his younger days of endless training interspersed with occasional boozing with war buddies and visits to Alpinia's manor. It had certainly been a, er, wild time in his life. Actually, pretty much any time in his life had been wild in its own ways. He may have settled own and taken a political position now, but that didn't mean things were any less hectic.

"Rain?" he asked, as the stranger made some oddly distant comments and questions about the weather. "Well, it's wet. Is the rain different wherever you've been at?" Taori had never been to another planet before, so he was unsure how different the climates and weather might be on a place like Namek or Earth. It couldn't be that different, right? "Either way, I think it'll be starting up soon," Alpinia chimed in, "So, why don't we get a move? We're going to eat lunch, would you like to join us?" she then offered up to the stranger. "I'm Alpinia, and this is my husband, Taori."

Taori thought it was slightly strange to be asking a complete stranger to come eat with them, but he wasn't one to step on Alpinia's toes when she was just trying to be friendly, so he let it slide.

Taori didn't know what 'terra firma' was, but he just nodded along as the man spoke about what must have been some sort of harrowing experience for him. Something was certainly troubling him, but Taori didn't think it was the smartest idea to suddenly ask this stranger to start dredging up the personal details about something he clearly wasn't too happy to remember. He did, at the very least, seem to remember what rain was. So, that was good. "Where are you from, then?" Taori asked, figuring it was a simple enough question. He guessed Earth, since that seemed to be the most popular destination for Saiyans who didn't align themselves with Vegeta, but there were still other planets out there.

Regardless of the man's answer to the question, it didn't take particularly long for the three of them to arrive at the food stand they'd been heading towards, and, much to Alpinia's delight, she found that they had added a section with tables and large umbrellas that would shield from any rain. "Ah, perfect!" she exclaimed as they approached the man working the front.

"Don't worry about it," Taori urged the man as he stated he feared encroaching on Taori and Alpinia's personal time. "We get plenty of time together to ourselves. It's not like this is the last time we'll ever eat lunch together." He then approached the man at the stand, who looked up and seemed stunned for a moment at the people who were standing in front of him. "Y-Your highnesses!" he exclaimed, and fell quickly into a salute. "Ah, don't worry about formalities, we're just customers," Taori insisted, though the man still looked uneasy in his presence.

Alpinia went right on ahead with her order, anyway. "Can I get a double dragon dog with mustard and onions? No ketchup!" she ordered. "And I'll have the same," Taori stated. Alpinia glanced back at the stranger who was with them, and asked, "Oh, and what do you want? I got it."