Fallen Star

Chapter Seven: tour of the town

Uriel stepped out of the carriage and onto the old cobblestone street. The smell of the unfamiliar and the familiar filled his nose, still having no memory to connect anything to.

"Here we are," said Princess Carra as she followed Uriel out of the carriage and stepped to his side. Uriel turned to the large plump white princess, her warm smile greeted his gaze before turning back to the market place before him.

Wolves of many colors and sizes converged at and around the large open market, the chatter of deals being made and conversations of 'hellos' and recent events filled the loud city courtyard. Rows of colorful tents were filled with food and wares that Uriel didn't recognize, making him feel more alien than he did before. 

He also realized that nobody took notice of them at first. He concluded that the princess has come here many times before, that is, until the crowd noticed him.

The wolf people one by one slowly came to a stop, staring right at him. Soon the booming market place quieted down until it was just a whisper. Uriel's nerves felt like it was unraveling. This was a repeat of the meeting of the royalty but strangely much worse. He scanned over the crowd as the large eyes of the people looked at him with a wide range of emotions. From bewilderment to fear, to surprise all the way to wonderment.

"Come Uriel, and ignore the commoners. They are harmless, they just have never seen a person like you before," Carra reassured Uriel as she placed her large hand on his back. Pushing him forward before the two entered the market.

Luckily for Uriel the crowd did turn relatively back to normal. That is, except for a small group who followed the two as they went around shopping. 

The group was entirely made up of female wolves, ages from teenagers to the elderly, or what he thought was their age range. Because of their fluffy fur it was hard to determine their exact age except from their heights. 

They seemed entranced by the little alien, following him like a pack of lost large puppies. Uriel would occasionally glance back at the group before turning back to Carra. It was an odd sensation for Uriel, and an odd predicament to be in. He could see in their eyes the same thing he saw when he first arrived here. Those smoldering sultry eyes bore into his body making him shiver. 

As Carra kept going from booth to booth Uriel began to lag behind, being distracted by the odd wares and trinkets. And with that he made his first mistake. Soon he was surrounded by very grabby claws.

"Oh, what a cutie," said a dark gray wolfess softly, readjusting her round glasses. Uriel nearly jumped by the large paw placed on his shoulder. He quickly looked around and saw a wall of large wolfess all around him.

"And he smells so divine," said an older woman in a maid outfit. 

"Is this the alien they had been speaking about?" Called out another wolfess, a red one in a brown gown, grabbing his hand and examined it. "He's much cuter than I thought."

Uriel didn't know what to do. All of these women kept prodding and poking him while oddly complimenting him. He tried to push them away but they were surprisingly strong.

"Ah-hum!" 

A loud authoritative cough suddenly came from beyond the ring of wolfess, getting everyone's attention. The group of female wolves slowly turned to see an unhappy princess, bearing her sharp teeth at the nosy woman. Quickly the group disbursed, leaving Uriel all by himself. 

"Try to stay close to me dear Uriel. There are far worse crowds here than praying socialites," huffed Carra. Uriel quickly went to Carra's side. She then put her hand on his shoulder and turned to the group of wolfess, squinting her eyes angrily as a sence of ownership came over her. The remaining woman took the and scattered into the crowd, pretending nothing happened.

~

Things were beginning to calm down as Carra and Uriel left the marketplace and into the town proper. People were still staring, especially the woman, but not as much as before. 

The streets here were more developed as the cobblestone streets transformed into concrete ones. Even the buildings turned from old wood and plaster to stone and mortar. Still the roads was worn by many years of many claws walking over for many generations. The stores became more high end, windows filled with ornate clothes and dress, otherworldly cosmetics and finally elaborate jewelry. 

Passing by one of these stores something glittery flashed, catching Uriel's eye. He turned to see a window filled with necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings made of silver and gold, rubies and sapphires. Instinctively his hand went to his chest and tried to grab something that was clearly not there. He then turns to the princess still clutching a non existing object.

"Princess Carra, did I have something around my neck when I was found?"

Carra stop, but didn't immediately turn around to face me, taking a moment to think. 

"I don't know," she said, turning to him with a soft smile.

"I think im missing something, something important." Uriel looks down.

"I…can check," Carra said with a bit of hesitation. The scientists was still studying that crystal and would take some time until they feel satisfied with their investigation. But maybe she can pull some strings. Carra then surprises herself, why was she willing to do something like that for this alien? Finding out what that necklace was important but she looks down at him and smiles. He is so cute her thoughts distracting her. I guess giving him the necklace will probably help find out what it is for, she rationalizes to herself. 

"Thank you," Uriel smiled. Carra could have sworn that her heart skipped a beat.

"Um, come, there are still much to show you," Carra coughed, spinning around quickly. 

~

After a bit of shopping the rest of the day was just Princess Carra and Uriel touring the small city. Carra walked around the center of the city, showing off the large statue of the warrior wolf holding her two shields. The white marble statue standing high over a gorgeous water fountain that seems to sparkle as her's two golden shields glisten under the warm sun.

Soon Carra and Uriel visited a couple of districts where Uriel's teachers will be soon working.

Yasmin was to become the head of the local church. The cathedral was grand and tall, depicting great battles of legend of old, carved into the stone walls, teaching morals and values to live by. The inside was no less grand, decorated by stained glass windows and tapestries. Same as the outside these told the story of past battles, each depicting a different hero.

They eventually passed Ethena soon to be workplace, the local library. Just like every thing in this city it looked old but grand. The blue marble columns held a large dome and its red wood door looked imposing. They don't have much time to explore the building but Carra said it was quite marvelous inside.

Eventually they traveled to the out skiers of the city, coming to a old red stone barracks. Here, Cerra explained, Mirra would train Uriel and the future recruits. The building was not too fancy and looked worn and old, like it has gone through some battle or two. It looked like the Colosseum where Uriel fought in but much less grand and looked much more older, like this was one of the first. 

With the tour coming to the end Carra and Uriel went back to the chateau to have dinner with the rest of the teachers, Uriel being amazing my the beauty of the city.