Tour of The Kingdom

Nuria stands at the edge of the spacious castle courtyard, looking at a broken piece of wall with an architect. The space had been damaged during what was now being called the Battle of Mother's Clensing. A rather large, burnt up boulder sat only a few feet away, a remnant soon to be removed. Even the trenches outside the walls of the city were being filled in, and the unfortunate victims of their enemy's cruelty given proper burial rites.

"Couldn't we just make it how it was before?" The Queen Chief asks the rather enthused architect. To which she gets an equally enthused answer about how the scar of battle should be immortalized in a beautiful piece of art. Nuria simply shook her head and laughed telling him to do it however he pleased.

"It might look less uniform, but he probably makes a good point about innovations. No reason the city walls can't look sterling and still ward off any fools away." From behind Nuria, a certain brown and white unicorn with long mane moved closer to observe the work as well. If she turned around, she'd see a very content Sugary that just spoke 'good morning' with a warm smile, also seemingly unsure how to greet her when to him she was the Queen/comrade/friend/lover of him.

Nuria looks back at Sugary and smiles. "Good morning, Mr. Market." She says, looking back at the architect who was already starting to draw something down in his sketchpad. She decided it best not to disturb him. "Fowler here was on the defensive line during the last battle." She says to the unicorn. "He takes his work very seriously."

"Good morning, Lady Nuria." Sugary would move a little bit closer still, but not too close, as he stood by Nuria's side while staring at the wall. "In that case, he has my thanks... Several times I was forced to take cover and switch places to keep from burning out everything I had too fast..." He then looked to the sky thoughtfully. "... Almost feels like it all didn't happen... Like any breather we get is just too much..." He sighed a bit and smiled at Nuria. "Sorry, didn't mean to be cryptic, guess I'm just still a bit tense... Well... Not THAT tense anymore." He was blushing a bit, looking at Nuria's face from the corner of his eye since she was one of the main causes for being able to take more of a load off and chill as things got back to normal. "By the way, is it time to run the errands yet? I didn't miss any, did I?"

Nuria giggles and gives Sugary a friendly punch on the shoulder. "I think some chores will do us well." She says, leaving the architect to his scribblings. "Im sure you haven't had much of a chance to take a look around our fair city either. I assure you, it's much nicer when it isn't under siege." She jokes, her tail flicking as she starts to walk towards the gate of the castle.

He flinched lightly at the hit, chuckling afterwards and feeling more loosened up for the day as he followed, his own tail flicking in unison. "Indeed I haven't, but if the food at the barracks and the previous party has been anything to go by, I'm sure I'll look forward the local cuisine at least. So many hearty and savory dishes!"

Nuria smiles and starts out the gate, the guard giving a quick salute as she exited with Sugary close behind her. The castle was separated from the rest of the city by a wide, stone road, through which some carts were pulled. Passersby payed their respects to the Queen Chief with hellos and greetings. "Where better to start than the beginning?" She says, looking at the expansive city before her.

She walks over to the start of the market district, which was by far one of the most crowded places they would go today. There were stalls, shops, hagglers, hecklers, criers, bakers, smiths, and almoat anything else you'd want to find.

"Oh! Your Highness! Your Highness!" A squeaky little voice calls out from the side. A shorter, sky blue kirin waves the two over, holding a bundle of assorted fruits in her claws.

Sugary nodded, as if Nuria's words were the wisest he ever heard. "Heh... Fair point. Hustle and bustle of the town it is. Been cooped up by the castle as is..." He looked at the faces left and right as best as he could, wanting to see the faces of those Nuria and her kin held very dear in day to day matters.

He then gave his attention to the incoming voice, smiling as he saw fruit and a foal to go with it. "Mm... Those look good." said he in a low voice as he stared at the basket.

Nuria approached just behind Sugary, much to the delight of the young kirin.

"Please, Your Highness! Please try some! I grew these ones myself!" She says giddily, offering Nuria a piece of very foreign looking fruit. Nuria takes it and sniffs it, then sinks her teeth into the flesh. The bite she takes nearly bursts into an explosion of sweet juices. She hums in delight with a mouthful of delicious fruit.

"It's so good~!" Nuria chirps with a smile, causing the young kirin to bounce with glee. "Sugary, try this!"

Sugary chuckled and moved closer to try the fruit for himself, also smelling it, and then biting down slowly. His cheeks grew rosey along with his smile. "Mmm~ Juicy and refreshing! This is perfect for dessert cakes and smoothies." He looked to the filly with a quizzical stare. "Are you selling these? I'm willing to buy some later if you stick around."

The young kirin beamed at Sugary, her eyes glimmering with happiness. "You mean it mister?! Oh yes yes yes!" She practically bounced with each word, earning a giggle from Nuria. The young kirin then hops off to her papa, chirping to him about how much the Queen Chief and the Hero Unicorn loved her fruit.

Nuria lets out a laugh and starts walking again. "Just about every month that young fledgling has something new for me to try."

Sugary was heart-warmed that the filly took such a liking to his offer and left, leaving him to keep on with Nuria to see the sights and do what needed to be done before making a purchase of fruit later. "Every month with something new? I'd like to see how she manages to go about that far on her own then. She sounds like quite the little wanderer... Does that mean it's not normal for Kirin to wander away as much?"

Nuria nodded to Sugary. "Not normally. As a warrior culture, we don't tend to mix well with others." She says. She takes a look back at the castle. It wasn't as tall as other castles. Instead it sat low, like a hunter in waiting. Fitting for the kirin lifestyle. "Some will go out and experience the world on their own. And of course we have out ambassadors and merchants for trade, but other than that, we tend to focus on our home lives."

She looks back to the unicorn and smiles awkwardly. "It's difficult though. Even our relationship with Equestria is tainted with an age old grudge."

Sugary licked his lips again at the flavor still lingering, smiling curiously at the castle and Nuria afterwards. "... Considering it was Equestria that helped us with some backup by actually picking a side at the last minute, maybe they deserve a grace period to make amends...? With things settling down, now might be a good time... Or is that old grudge so great as to prevent it? I'd like to hear of it sometime, as well as your feelings on the matter, Lady Nuria."

Nuria chuckles and continues walking. "I say grudge, but it's more of a light feud now." She says. "It's a story that dates back all the way to Pre-Equestria, when our ancestors splintered off from their leader, Commander Hurricane. How scared they must have been, to leave their homeland in search of safety from that never ending winter..."

He hummed lightly in thought, recalling the old tale as best as he could. "Not a happy past either way I presume... Well, back to the present!" He beamed. "Where shall we head off to next in this warrior nation for the errands? A place for food? Cloth? Gear? Pottery? Fang and claw sharpening?" He kept a straight face at the last one still, being quite earnestly serious.

Nuria laughed at Sugary again. "You card." She says, giving him a nudge. "Well I do happen to need knew sheets~." She says, giving Sugary a wink and strolling into a linen shop. The shop was marked with tapestries and curtains. Various pieces of cloth lined the walls and shelves. An older kirin female gives Nuria a short bow, and simply waits patiently as she starts to browse.

"Hey! I wasn't kidding! Seen some pretty good filing work before you know; Sharpening dull claws can be good business if you're in the right region." He smirked, both at her reaction and the reminder of why new sheets were needed, and so he followed into the shop to have a look for himself to admire the local quality and craftsmanship. "... I think I might just get a few for my airship as well. Lots of nice warm colors here..." He felt there was a bit of a tropical flavor with the objects on display, and it gave him a sense of comfort in the shop.

Nuria looked around at the selections, wondering which she should choose. And also which would fit her bed. "You have an airship?" She asks curiously, taking her claws and sorting through a stack of fabrics. "I was thinking of having some made. They would supplement our military quite nicely."

Sugary kept browsing slowly, having picked one shower curtain so far for himself and still looking between fabrics. "Good call, they can be quite multi-purpose. Do make sure to favor stability over speed in designs though, no thrill of speed is worth having strong winds knock you down on a whim... As for my own, I had to dock it elsewhere a while ago in another town to avoid being spotted on my way here. I left it to someone else to care for in the meantime, but I'll be back for it eventually once things are decidedly back to normal... Ah, here we are!" Another set of fabric, and he would be making his way to the cashier while waiting on Nuria.

"You might be surprised at what's considered normal around here." Nuria quips, grabbing a set of purple linens and bringing them to the cashier as well. The elderly kirin simply writes down the price on a small form and gives it to Nuria. "Thank you, misses Straw." The Queen Chief says as the cashier bags their items. "Where to now?"

Sugary chuckles softly at Nuria while giving his things over for bagging. "Well, I'll follow you as much as you want me to so I'll learn... Buuut if you're asking me where we should go next..." He closed his eyes as he sat, crossing his forelegs in thought. He then opened one eye and shared his suggestion. "... Would you happen to have musical groups playing in the town by any chance?"

Nuria knew exactly the place to go if Sugary wanted music. She gave the bag to her gentlepony escort and gestured to the door. "I know just the place." She says. "There's a concert in the Colosseum today! Raw Iron is playing." She heads out the door and starts down the road again. The Colosseum would be easy to find, as it was the largest structure in the entire city! The huge stone walls curved out of sight and dwarfed the city around it. It was clear that the kirin loved their sports.

Sugary had no trouble carrying the purchased items, and he rather looked forward to the show that was to come. "A Colosseum gig, eh? And Raw Iron... Is that a band or the performer? Cause it's an awesome name for a rockstar!" Already he had images in his head of what to expect, the sight of the location itself only filling him with more ideas about what he'd see and hear.

"They're a group that uses all metal instruments." Nuria says. "They're very good. They've done a few tours in Zebrica and Camelu." Nuria leads through the massive gates of the Colosseum, one of the guards giving Sugary a pat on the back as the two of them passed. She walked up a huge flight of stairs, all the way to the top, arriving at a sizeable balcony with a set of seats with a perfect view down in the performance.

The music would have been heard far out of the Colosseum, the clang of metal in a rhythmic pattern, brass horns blasting notes into the roaring crowd.