13733/Birthdays on a Boat part II: Neapolitan Nonsense!

Birthdays on a Boat part II: Neapolitan Nonsense!
Date of Scene:	18 August 2021
Location:	Pompeii
Synopsis:	Pondering Pompeii, Past and Present. And home is where you find it.
Cast of Characters:	Jax Miller, Kit Killovarras

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Jax Miller has posed:
    Ah, where to begin when seeing the Mediterranean? The French Riviera is probably a good start, and then one can do worse than going via Monaco and St. Tropez. From there it's a short hop to Genoa, Livorno, Elba, Monte Christo and all that splendor of the Ligurian Sea. Then a day trip to Florence, and down the coast of Toscany, with a brief stop in Ostia for another day trip to Rome. Sea, sun, and culture. So much culture, in fact, that a few days of just loafing about in the water were called for.

    Fishing trips in the tender boat with Gregor, jet skiing around a semi-deserted anchorage, opportunities for those who want to to swim, to dive...

    And so on, to Naples. Ah, Naples, a haven of culture and antiquity, with its crowded harbor, classic Italian and Neapolitan splendor, and rogues around every corner to gull the unwary tourist. From the busy harbor of Naples to the more pleasant anchorage of the Sorento yacht marina, and thus we find ourselves in the vicinity of that popular tourist city, just north and east of the promontory of Piano di Sorrento, and to the gates of Pompeii.

    And as could be expected, Jax has dressed for the occasion, in a loose T-shirt and a pair of camo green cargo shorts. No shoes, no socks, not even the slightest attempt to disguise who or what he is. A t-shirt, in fact, with the picture of a goofy looking cartoon horse and the text 'Eremum transii vectus sine nomine equo' underneath.

    Because when in Pompeii, you pun in Latin.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Meanwhile, following along with the feline is an equally strange sight and one who is equally, trying not to give a damn about covering up what he looks like. No shoes, no socks, this is the general comfortable style for the Aardwolf, though the shorts and a tank top that he's currently wearing would be as far from his normal attire as he could get without being naked.

Kit visibly looks a little more uncomfortable than Jax, keeping his stance and his body smaller as he typically would, but given his clothing this also emphasizes the fact that he's TRYING not to be intimidating. "This feels remarkably weird...." he murmurs, just barely loud enough to be heard by someone with heightened senses.

Any attention he gets, be it being stared at or being approached would get the very large creature to act very obviously shy, though he also tries not to be rude about it. Even if he's far outside his comfort zone, he's still all smiles to those around him.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "What's strange about it?" And for his part, Jax whispers that as he comes to walk next to his friend, the very picture of a relaxed cat out for a stroll. It just so happens that this stroll is taking him through one of the most famous sites of antiquity, where it's a struggle to be noticed by all the tourists busily taking pictures of everything they can see.

    And that's just in the Forum! Imagine what these tourists will do when they realise they're out of storage and they still have three quarters of the ancient city to explore.

    But, inevitably, as been the case wherever they've gone, some tourists /do/ notice, and amid the by now familiar cry of 'Gattino!' half a dozen kids run towards the mutant pair... a few even shouting 'Cucciolo!', a word that has started to come up more frequently as Kit has shed more of his usual disguise.

    Jax kneels down and gives the kids an inviting smile, showing their exasperated parents that he doesn't mind their rambunctious enthusiasm.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
"Not used to people seeing me..." Kit murmurs in response and though he is taking in the sights around him, he also very obviously keeps an eye on the people around him.

When the kids come running up, there's a split second where the fur along his spine fluffs ever so slightly, but it goes down immediately, an almost practiced response to a natural one for the slightly startled creature. Likewise, he crouches down, offering a smile to any of the kids who approach him, being very mindful not to flash his teeth in the process.

Kit is very used to being terrifying to most people, to the point that every movement he makes seems to have been trained to make him as nonthreatening as possible, so while a positive response to his presence isn't something he minds, he's still very careful about how he moves.

Jax Miller has posed:
    The next few minutes are... well, familiar. Pictures are being taken, poses need to be assumed, and by the time the half dozen have snapped a few pictures each, others have noticed the group and more pictures are taken, more poses are required... The novelty seems to wear off after about half an hour, after which Jax and Kit are on their own again. The whole time it seemed like Jax was having the time of his life (what cat doesn't like to be the center of attention?), but when the photo opportunity seems to be over, he casually saunters away down the Via delle Scuole, one of the lesser visited streets of the old city that eventually turns left into the Vicolo della Regina, and so on to the Teatro Grande. Less people on this route than the more popular northern end of the ruins...

    "You get used to it..."

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Kit doesn't seem to mind playing the part of a big doggo for pictures, nor does he seem to mind the poses requested, so long as he's not asked to pick anyone up. It's after the photo shoot ends that the side-effects rear their head though.

When they're out of visual range of the groups who had wanted pictures taken, Kit lets out a weird, shaky sigh and rubs at his left arm, almost looking like a druggy needing their next fix for a moment. He's trembling too, though it would take a keen eye to see it through his fur or with how he holds himself. "I hope you're right..." he murmurs, then starts quietly humming a tune. He keeps his voice quiet, too quiet for the normal hearing range. The melody seems to help him calm down relatively quickly, but it's something he seems to have to do after every minor encounter with other tourists.

All the same though, he doesn't seem to be minding the trip, so long as he gets time to hum to himself every so often.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "You hafta understand..." Jax begins, as he strolls in a very specific direction, leaving the beaten path for a moment onto a triangular forum, shaded by trees, where he takes a moment to just stand and... breathe. "... I've been doing this trip, or something like it, practically every year. Ever since I can remember, we've been just coming to this part of the world to relax. And as far back as I can remember, there's been tourists snapping pictures of me."

    For someone who delights in being the center of attention, that's starting to sound suspiciously like an old gripe.

    "I even got sent to acting classes to learn how to deal with a crowd. Grandpa's idea, that was. It helped. But it gets a bit much after a while, doesn't it?" And he gives Kit a wink that is surprisingly knowing. "C'mon, I wanna show you something."

    And then it's off the small forum, going north for a short while and then around the corner on a larger, but less traveled street, dominated on the south by the large Teatro Grande. But he ignores that magnificent structure, and its smaller twin, for a more unassuming building close by... well, unassuming compared to the theater.

    It's a temple in what almost looks like an Egyptian style... and, given the hieroglyphics, is dedicated to Isis. "Most tourists just walk past this. I thought you'd appreciate it."

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Theres a half-hearted chuckle from Kit as he listens to what Jax is saying, giving a little smile as he muses, "Imagine what it would be like if your family chose the exact opposite for you? Locked you away and sheltered you from the outside world." Then he gives the feline a glance and admits, "The pictures here? They're the first time I've ever let someone keep an image of me, save for a few paintings in my families compound, but those were made when I was a lot younger."

The grand structure they move past gets a glance and a bit of a study, but when he sees the place they're aiming for? Kit's ears suddenly perk up and he gets this weird half-smile. For the moment, he forgets about his stance, forgets about the people around them and approaches the building, letting himself stand his full height to get a better view. "You were right..." he says, his voice trailing off for a moment.

He's lost in his own little world for a moment, tail swaying ever so slightly as he gets as close a look as he'd be allowed to, studying the hieroglyphs, his eyes tracing over them, all the while the fingers of his left hand are tracing similar symbols in the air. "I wasn't taught much about any religion in particular as a kid," he explains, his voice a little more than just a whisper, though not by much. "But, Isis is one of the ones I know quite well.. Mother has an altar with a moon disk cradled in solid gold in our living room.. we even had a giant sycamore on the grounds of our compound.."

Jax Miller has posed:
    A look passes between Jax and Kit, as if the feline mutant had wondered that exact thing for a long time, and had never fully realised the implications of seclusion rather than full liberty, until meeting his fellow mutant. They are polar opposites, and yet...

    "Y'know, for me it's easy not to be homesick. All I hafta do is turn on the TV and watch the Football. I can even see my dad play. It's not that easy for everyone."

    And the rest is silence, as Jax stands only just on the top step of the stairway leading from the street to the front of the temple, watching the white marble slabs with the intricate inscriptions he can't read, hands behind his back. "And this temple has been here for so long. So long that people forgot about it until they dug it back up. Good things always get rediscovered, no matter how deep they're buried."

Kit Killovarras has posed:
There are a few moments where he's studying the markings that it almost looks like the aardwolf is about to cry, but he just gives a sigh and a smile, his lips moving through something or other as he reads through everything he can.

As he reads over some of the hieroglyphs a visible crackling energy can be seen across his back, the purple energy mimicking some of the markings on the walls and more than once, a pattern ripples through his fur, resembling a hawk in flight. The connection Kit would have with this place might be something more than anyone would have fully known, including him.

"I do get homesick from time to time, though my family send me things on occasion to help minimize it. I guess, I'm sort of lucky in that fact too." he says after a few minutes of silent studying. Then he turns his head and gives Jax a glance and a smile. "Thank you..."

Jax Miller has posed:
    By the time Kit looks back, Jax is standing on that top step, the very picture of a photogenic explorer... looking off slightly into the distance, wind ruffling his fur, the sun striking highlights that seems to just add to the whole vision, having adopted a posture of studied nonchalance. You don't look that relaxed and nonchalant by simply being relaxed and nonchalant... "Things are just things, man. Stuff never takes the place of family." And then he turns his head and wink again. "Trust me on that one."

    And then he's off, heading east again. "Next thing is a bit of a walk, nothing as nice as this, but... it always gets to me when I visit. C'mon."

Kit Killovarras has posed:
"I know," Kit says with a little chuckle at the comment of things never replacing family. "I spent the last sixteen years with no one but family though, so I think they're just trying to make it so I don't get too homesick before I've had my chance to see the world."

That picturesque pose Jax decided to pull just gets a little laugh from the Aardwolf and he shakes his head with a smile. "So, acting classes, huh?" he says, a playful hint to his words. "That actually explains a lot."

When Jax mentions a new place though, he just gives a nod and falls into stride near the feline, though this time he doesn't quite lower himself the same as he did, or rather, not as much. He still makes himself smaller, but at least now he's at least the same size visibly as the feline, if not a tiny bit taller.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "It's all in the presentation, man." Jax confides to Kit with another grin, which despite the amount of teeth he shows nevertheless contrives to look friendly. "Try it, it'll change your life. Mister Rasputin at the school runs an amazing drama class, sign up when you can, you won't regret it."

    The odd thing about Pompeii, the utterly bizarre thing about it, is that it doesn't look all that different from Napels once you've seen both. Granted, all the buildings in Pompeii have been cut off at first floor level and practically none of the buildings have anything resembling a roof, but the layout, the structure of the streets... it feels as if this city could have been abandoned years ago, not centuries.

    And the next point of interest Jax is taking Kit to seems to be at the far eastern edge of the excavated part of the city, a truly impressive structure that looks a lot like, and probably is, an amphitheater.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Drama class, those are two words that get an almost nervous laugh from Kit and a very quick, "No, I'm good." and even a visible shiver for a moment before he explains, "I'm fairly sure I'll never be comfortable having much attention on me. Besides, it's just... Not me." there's a little shrug with that last statement too.

When they arrive at their destination, Kit tilts his head a little and looks around, one ear perking up a little while the other folds out to one side.

Jax Miller has posed:
    At this hour of the day, most of the tourists are still following the official tour and are up north, slowly making their way around the city, and the amphitheater is almost deserted except for a few actual students or scholars poking around. Confidently, Jax leads the way through a rusted gate that looks entirely authentic, and into a long darkened tunnel that leads, unsurprisingly, to the center of the theater, so very much like the more famous Flavian Amphitheater, that most people know better as the Collosseum.

    With one difference aside from the size or the state of preservation... the center of this ring is strewn with gravel rather than sand.

    But to stand in the middle of it is a humbling experience, with the stands on all sides soaring up, confining that wide open space with an air of... expectation? History?

    Bloodshed?

    "Funny thing, this place. Everyone looks at it, takes pictures of it, and they never think about what happened in here. Not a lot anyway."

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Kit keeps up with Jax, looking around a little with every step and when they leave the tunnel, at the center of the ampitheater? Kit just takes a look around and visibly shrinks himself down a little, though his ears are still perked up. Maybe he's getting a better look around?

"Most people don't think that much about history, mostly because they don't want to. It's one thing to look at a structure or a place and see the beauty in it, it's another entirely to try and imagine what it might have been used for."

Jax Miller has posed:
    "A few dozen people, knowing each other, standing in here hemmed in by a thousand or more people in the stands all screaming at them to get on with it, to keep going, to... whatever, y'know?" Jax muses, his eyes faraway again. Slowly turning around on the spot, he lifts his arms like a victor of old, gazing up at the stands. "Like a football match. Think about it, the atmosphere..."

    Twitch of his right ear, and his arms lower down again, as if he's reluctantly returning to the present.

    "Glory, victory, fame. It all costs more than people think. And they only ever remember the glory, they forget the rest."

    Then he smiles again and slaps Kit on the shoulder, leading the way out. "C'mon. Gotta show you something that'll really blow your mind." Pause. Grin. "An ancient take-away fast food place."

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Now why did Jax have to mention food? Especially to an Aardwolf who never stops eating? The mention of take-away actually gets Kit's stomach to growl a bit and he just winces a little and mutters, "Damn you..." with a little chuckle. The slap on the shoulder actually gets a little surprised yelp, but it also gets a response of the feline nearly being tackled to boot! Or rather, pounced at and MAYBE his fur getting ruffled a little, the aardwolf wouldn't full on tackle anyone unless it was an enemy. "You had to mention food.. didn't you?"