"Oh! I am sorry I did not mean to frighten you. I was just observing and I heard the girl questioning if this is Ogun and I felt inclined to answer!" The hooded figure politely explained himself.
Kaida ducked behind Firion, even though her horns did not sense any shred of malicious intent, something about this mysterious person's curiosity towards them seemed scary.
His ears twitched a bit, but then he responded, "Thank you for informing us, but my wife is shy around people and I do not wish to make her stressed, so we will excuse ourselves now."
"No trouble at all! I wish you both well while you observe the beautiful cultures of Junai! I hope when we meet again I will not come off as frightening! Take care!" He cheerfully replied as he excused himself.
He quickly asked Kaida, "Did your horns sense anything peculiar about that fellow?"
"He seemed, very curious, but I still feel uneasy, maybe its because we couldn't see his face?" She suggested.
Maybe they were just being paranoid, but in a place like this where everyone is very outgoing and social and this person's attire being covered from head to toe did not add up.
Maybe Jaheim or Alima could shed some light on the subject, but he and Kaida resolved not to let it overwhelm their day.
As they walked away from the statue Firion glanced back and could no longer see the hooded figure anywhere, for some reason, his voice sounded eerily familiar to him.
Out of clear sight, the hooded figure was actually hiding behind the Ogun statue.
He chuckled to himself. ("Okay maybe the cloaked idea was probably too intimidating, but eventually he's gonna find out who I am. Nafula also warned me not to act malicious or she is gonna cut out apricot pudding out of supper for a month.")
Suddenly he was heckled by onlookers. "Hey you hooded creep! We're watching you!"
The hooded figure quickly surmises that others were probably thinking the same thing.
Meanwhile Firion suggested to Kaida that they go look at the local farms in the northern most part of the Taraji. He was informed by Jaheim, while they were in the man's bathhouse, of the various species of saurian bred by locals and that they had all kinds for everyone to see!
As they walked farther away from the main area of the town, it soon became obvious why saurian are praised for their wonder and beauty in Junai.
The couple quickly spotted the flying saurian, like the one named Sky that belonged to Emani, hovering all over the place! Some of them even had riders on their backs! Mostly likely rangers or perhaps shepherds keeping an eye on the farms.
Kaida spotted a farm full of the three horn variant like Lola casually grazing in the fields. There were even a few babies walking around with their moms! She couldn't help but marvel at how cute they looked!
"Firion look at how small they are! They're so tiny compared to their mommies!" She said with a glee.
He smiled and wondered. "I wonder if farmer's let anyone near them. Some animals get stressed when strangers approach their babies."
"It just depends on the sow, some are more tempered than others!" Alima chimed in.
Kaida lit up to see her friend! "Your back Alima! Thank you for the cocoa earlier! Me and Firion loved it!"
"Glad to hear it! Hot cocoa is the best during the cold months! Jaheim is still busy at his uncle's house. Lola has been sleeping heavily since yesterday, so his uncle is very worried about her. Apparently he is looking to start breeding her instead." She explained.
Firion pressed on the matter. "So is that gonna hinder future patrols for the two of you?"
Alima leaned on the wooden fence and had a serene expression as she looked past the horizon.
"Me and Jaheim love being rangers, however, only so many can take on this role at a time. We have been thinking that maybe its time to assume a less risky life." She replied. "Also before we met you two yesterday, I have been having sickness spells in the morning. I also had a few last night."
Firion looked at her and knew what she could insinuating. "Alima are you with a child?"
Suddenly Kaida lit up again as she looked at her, her expression seem to confirm the suspicions.
"I was not for sure when I was patrolling the desert. But after we got back yesterday I went to see one of the local midwives, she thinks I might be 4-6 weeks along. Jaheim looked so happy last night! But he was also crushed when I told him that it may be time for us to forgo our position as rangers." She further explained.
"Its understandable to want to settle for something safer. You need to consider your future family." Firion said as he agreed with her worries.
Kaida also chimed in. "Look at what happen to your friend Emani. Besides Acro, I think other dangerous saurian probably still roam around here, you two need to stay safe for your child."
"Ah! Speaking of Emani, I went by their household, since his wife is my aunt, she told me that he is gonna give up his ranger status as well. Apparently he was very depressed by it. But Acro severed a nerve in his thigh, so he's walking around with a limp now." She revealed to the two.
From there she explained tonight there was gonna be a huge gathering by the local canteen, a place where locals can get a warm meal. Apparently they're making a winter soup from Acro's heart since its rich with many nutrients and everyone is expected to be there, including Emani and his family! But she and Jaheim were still on the fence about eating Acro's meat.
"You two loved him a lot, but we met a stall owner selling eggs who was very happy he died." Kaida told her.
She knew exactly who they were talking about. "You must talking about the old deva Asante. When Acro still lived with us he got out and killed a bunch of his pop-pops, which is a avian-like saurian."
She guiltily admitted that she and Jaheim did foolish things to protect him despite how destructive he was, but in the end he had to be put down regardless of how they felt.
"So would you two like to come back to my place? I'll show you around the farms then we can head over." Alima offered.