Return of the Emblem Chapter Six: Enemies Abound

[Snowy_One]

Worming her way through the crowd paid off at last as Robin managed to reach the gathered orbs. For a moment, she simply stood there, looking at the giant stone balls, a smile on her face. She wished she could approach them to etch a prayer onto them, but she did not know how to write in common and writing in skotian would quickly give herself away as a non-native... if her clothing and overall appearance had not already done that. Then, a thought crossed her mind, she could get someone to write a prayer upon the stones for her! She turned about, looking to Raquel's cart, determined to write a prayer upon the stone.

[Dark Sage]

Raquel wanted to go find an inn and everyone apparently had to be there before sunset. This made sense though he wondered how they were going to deal with the fallen in the inn, though Raquel appeared to have an idea of how to handle it.

He glanced at Atsuko, feeling a bit of admiration at her devotion to her duty. He hadn't caught much of her fighting during the battle to aid her and her friends, but she seemed somewhat skilled and lucky, given how she was able to survive a battle with the fallen. Stoic too, as she seemed to handle the deaths of her comrades at least somewhat well.

Well in any case, Domovoi thought to himself, it would be a good idea to head to the inn with the others. Perhaps he could finally ask John or Veronika for a sparring session later.

"I'll go along with you," he informed Raquel.

[Zsword]

Shadrak

Shadrak smiled at Raquel and nodded at her idea. "I'd accompany you, but I'd like to keep Atsuko and Siv company." He said, stepping inside the Carriage with the aforementioned parties. He gave the two of them a pleasant smile and wave, taking a seat nearby. "Hmm, kinda odd, I know they don't participate in the Ascension in Kigen, at least, they didn't when I lived there... but I have to wonder, do the Fallen take part in it?" He asked the two... though the question was obviously directed toward Siv.

Zelatus.

Zel smiled at the group... an inn wouldn't be bad, neither would going to the festival in the meantime... but it would be disgraceful to not take someone with him... he scanned the party to find someone to ask. After he made his mark, he guided Sliep over to the blue armored Pegasus rider, who wasn't to far from the carriage, and gave her a polite bow. "Evening madam, would you care to join me at the Ascension festival?" He inquired.

Krystal

Krystal huffed and crossed her arms... these people must be crazy to think a rock was just going to... SAIL into the air like some sort of... thing. She hovered over to Raquel. "I'd happily accompany you if you'd like." She said to her, trying to fore a smile through her grumpy mood.

[Phoenix]

Raquel

"They'll have to take that up with Atsuko." Raquel replied to Gytha. "For the past few days now, Atsuko's only taken a break from guarding Siv to handle the necessities ... and she's not even taking care in that ..."

And then Domovoi and Krystal offered to come along. "I'm taking the wagon with anyway so I guess that means Atsuko and Siv are coming too ... sort of, but they need to stay in the back obviously. And nobody mention anything about Siv, alright?" I know it's just common sense but I feel like I have to say it. I also need to ask the innkeeper how to care for someone who's essentially in a coma. I doubt he knows anything but it's worth a try. Axel's in horrible shape and there's nothing else we can do for him while on the move like this.

Atsuko and Siv

"Why are you asking her anything while she's still gagged?" Atsuko asked Shadrak while gesturing to Siv. Siv had been doing some fancy tongue work already and had nearly rotated the gag's not around to her mouth. Once it was there, she loosened it with some careful chewing and prodding. Loose enough to move from her mouth, she pushed it down and out of the way. <"I don't know much Common, remember? Speak Kigenese. What's the festival?">

<"What the-?!"> Atsuko exclaimed. Shocking the evil Kigenese mercenary was pretty satisfying so Siv couldn't help but smile a bit for once ... even though she knew the next cloth the mercenary tied around her face would be by far the tightest.

[Snowy_One]

Moving back against the crowd proved to be oddly easier for Robin than moving forwards and closer to the stones. Most likely because the majority of people were headed in a direction generally closer to them than away from them, making Robin's choice to return to the cart easier than moving towards the stones. As she moved she couldn't help but feel that the large amount of time she spent weaving between trees every day helped as well, but soon she was free of the thickest crowds and had the carriage in sight.

"Excuse me? Raquel?" she asked as she approached it from behind, receiving no response. "Excuse me, Miss Raquel?" she called again as she stepped around to the front. However, instead of the merchant girl sitting at the front of the cart, a large and bearded man sat, covered in simple farmers clothing with a straw hat and a heavy scowl on his face. Behind him, within the cart, Robin could make out a family of young children. Defiantly not Raquel.

"Sorry." she said simply, raising her hands in apology as she backed off before looking about the street. Though she had not been taking note of how the town looked beforehand, she did not recognize anything at all upon the street. She had gotten separated and lost. The crowd had turned her about and put her down the wrong street without even thinking. Robin quickly looked up, taking note of the suns position and using it to get her bearings. Though she was lost she was far from helpless.

[Acacia Sgt]

''Once we get moving, stay close to the wagon.'' John told Gil, who grunted in reply. If they could find an inn to stay it'd be better to leave him there. The place was already crowded as it was.

[Phoenix]

Looking For Vacancy

Enough people were coming along it looked like, so Raquel returned to the driver's seat and took up the reins again. Once the large wagon was on the move again, Raquel kept a careful eye out as they rode into the village. Most of the activity was happening around the outskirts and along the roads, so once they were in town, things calmed down and they found themselves with a lot more leg room, though there were an alarming number of people on the roofs of all the buildings in sight. Not everyone had a flying mount, so it was the next best view one could guess.

Pulling in front of the inn they stayed at the last time, Raquel brought the wagon to a halt, and then carefully got down and faced the entrance. "Hmm ... I wonder if I keep coming here in my travels if I'll get a preferred rate or something nice like that." she said quietly to herself, only half serious. She walked off into the inn and whoever followed followed, but when she reached the innkeeper's desk, she grimaced at the sight of the innkeeper, because he grimaced at her first. That was a tell tale sign that he was preparing to deliver some bad news. Before she even managed to get close, he spoke up saying "We're outta rooms, Miss. I'm sorry."

"Dang." she muttered quietly. "Thanks anyway ..." she said as she turned to leave. Once outside, she set her eyes on the inn across the street. She looked both ways before bolting across the street. She found herself slightly fatigued by the time she reached the door though. How could I be this out of shape ... ugh. She went inside and approached the reception desk. No one was there at first but the innkeeper's wife stepped out with a smile on her face. Raquel didn't react. That smile could have been anything. "Excuse me, Ma'am. Are there any rooms available? I need about ... ... all of them."

"I'm sorry, Dear but things get hectic around the festival. Most people coming in out of town just sleep in their carts if the inns are full. You look like a noble's daughter though, so I'm sure you've got more than just a little old cart to sleep in." the woman said still smiling brightly.

Well I'm not stuck with a cart, but a wagon's not much better, even my father's huge customized one won't fit all of us ... or even half of us if we're talking about sleeping comfortably ... using the broadest possible definition of 'comfortably'. I'm not sure how Amon and Nadya do it ... "Well I guess I'll have to try somewhere else then ..."

"Oh don't bother, Deary. It's at the point where we're all getting so much business that everyone that owns and runs an inn is exceedingly happy. Roger, from down the street was jumping with joy last I saw him. Said his inn would be full for a week and he didn't even have to drop his prices or make any special offers so it's a real cash cow right now."

"The one across the street didn't seem so happy to see me ..." Raquel muttered.

"Probably had to turn down one too many customers. Some people are just greedy like that, you know? Wants to have his cake and eat it too."

Please don't say cake ... "Well, I guess I'll get going then. I need to see what we're going to do about this since apparently every room in town is already claimed."

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Deary."

"Don't let the clothes fool you." Raquel replied with a smile as she turned to leave. "I'm not a noble or anything. I just got a great deal on the materials."

"Ahh, a seamstress. That's marvelous work. I wish my son could work a needle and thread like that.~ If you find the time, maybe you could stop by and give him a pointer or two?"

"Well, we're passing through so it's not likely I'll have time but ... I guess if I ever pass through again?"

The woman nodded happily. "That'd be great. I'll even give you a discount on your room for the trouble."

"Wow that's, generous. Thank you. Well, I should be going now. Take care." Raquel replied.

"Enjoy the festival and safe travels to you!"

Once outside and near the wagon again, Raquel's shoulders dropped as she sighed heavily. "We're all washed up. I'm just going to come out and say it. We'd need a miracle to find even one room at this point, let alone the ten or so we'd need to bed everyone. I guess we'll just have to find a nice place to set up for the night ... and I need to go purchase a few extra bedrolls. They'll definitely be on sale at a time like this." she explained to those present.

Gabbie's Observations Continue

After Raquel and the others left to find an inn in town. Gabbie mounted up on Ringo again and took off keeping to very low altitude while she circled around the outskirts of Urden. Safety wasn't a major concern of hers. There had been something she wanted to try for years and now she finally had the chance to do so ... of course it meant risking her wish but she didn't really believe in that stuff anyway. She did it mostly for fun. This time she planned to get her wish written down a different way and so she kept an eye on the massive rocks and tried to find one that would be easy to not only get to later, but also had some space left on it. Waiting in line was not her thing, and this would be loads more fun.

Amon: Out and About

The others went off to find rooms, and Amon wandered around aimlessly for awhile. Eventually he made his way toward one of the smaller less crowded rocks and looked on its surface to see a lot of hand writing, both good and bad. Some of the writings were on parchment that were fastened to the rock. Others were painted on. The majority of everything written down on these rocks however was written with chalk sticks, which explained why a little girl suddenly handed him a pink colored one the moment she was done writing on the rock. Was he next in line without even knowing it?

"There's still some room left, Mister Nomad!" the girl said cheerily. "Write! Write!"

"Naddy, quit pestering the boy." a woman's voice came. She quickly scooped up the girl and addressed Amon. "Take your time. I know how much the pressure goes up when it's finally your turn.~" she said with a smile.

Yeah, no kidding. I wasn't ready for this ... "Uh-thanks, Ma'am." he said nervously.

"I know! You can pray for what to pray for ... and then in the fall, you'll know what to write that time!" the girl suggested.

"Now, Naddy, it would be even better to just let him think it over for a minute. Then he'll have another prayer in the fall." the mother commented.

"Or! Or! You can pray for your own country. Nomadland!"

"Oh, Naddy ..."

No point in correcting people every time they think I'm a nomad. It's kind of not worth the effort and no one really cares anyway. "Well, what did you pray for?" Amon asked, letting his curiosity get the best of him.

"For daddy to come home from the war." she said with a bright smile.

"Yes that was my prayer too." the mother added, also smiling.

"Hmm ..."

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

Veronika sighed at the news. "We'll just have to make do, I suppose. Camping outside here can't be any worse than what we've done before...just might have been nice to sleep in a real bed for once. We'll probably have other campers nearby too if the inn is booked up, hopefully the festivities will stop by a reasonable hour so we can get some sleep," she said, frowning a bit.

Nadya

"There isn't a 'Nomadland' kid, wouldn't make much sense callin' 'em nomads if they stayed in one place and lived in fancy houses like y'all do," Nadya said to the child from behind Amon. "He doesn't need to be prayin' to Nature for us anyway, he has his palace and sand goddess and all that," she added afterwards.

[Phoenix]

Raquel

"Yeah, a bed definitely would have been nice. I've been using my old bedroll so much lately and on such lousy terrain that a hole is almost worn into it." I hope we don't end up competing for decent camping spots. Though, I guess if we really need to, we can just camp a ways from the village anyway and have a slight head start tomorrow morning ... hmm ...

Amon

Amon flinched, not realizing he had been followed. "If there's no Nomadland, then pray for one! Call it Nomadia or--or Nomaskotia, or Nomium!" Naddy suggested, all in quick succession.

"Pardon her, she doesn't know what the word 'nomad' really means." the mother explained. "Though you live in a palace? That's impressive." she added addressing Amon this time.

"You live in a palace?! Coooool ..." the little girl exclaimed.

Well ... here we go ... "Uh, yeah. It's not a big deal. I'm just a bit of an errand boy ... sort of." he explained as vaguely as he could.

"Are you the sand goddess, lady?" Naddy asked Nadya. "Can I pray to you too?" she added, assuming Amon made his prayers to the sand goddess.

Her mother wasn't sure where to start. She had told her daughter about not praying to just any old god, but she also was pretty certain Nadya was no sand goddess. She supposed they could correct her daughter again while she thought on the goddess thing. Hmm, sand goddess? Could that be that desert nation to the south? A lot of people don't believe there's a goddess ruling that land, and I can't say I believe much differently. You'd think a goddess would prefer to keep her people someplace ... nicer ... though I guess that's why it's the term 'sand' goddess, heehee.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"You could buy a new bedroll you know, Weyland certainly pays well enough. Though I suppose I'm not much better, I haven't bought anything except for necessities for quite some time. The boat to Sergio Port wasn't exactly cheap," she added. And so far, being in Ursium doesn't seem to have given me any results...urgh when we get to Weyland I'm asking him about the organization. No more fighting demons or experiments unless we have to.

Nadya

Nadya snorted at the little girl's comment about her being the sand goddess. "If I were the sand goddess, what would I be doin' hangin' around here when I have lots of faithful servants like Amon here waiting for me back home?" she said, leaning forward and ruffling Amon's hair a bit. "You can pray to me, or the sand goddess or whoever you want as far as I'm concerned, though your ma might say different," she said to the little girl. Nomadia huh? Guess there could be worse names...

[Rothene]

Ranyin had slipped away from the group at some point in their search for a place to stay. He did not mind not getting the best room, which would be the only point of sticking with the group for now. He weighed his chances of spending the night with Gytha, which was slim to none to his pleasure. Confident that he would get a place to stay anyway if the group found one, he rushed to rocks with ink in bowl.

After evading some irritating advances by young men who mistaken him for some exotic kigenese maiden on his journey to the rocks, he started writing his wish in caligraphy as gracefully as he could, at which point he noticed a girl harrassing Amon with Nadya presumably making the situation not much better. Finished with his wish, Ranyin approached the duo and asked cheekily, "Hey, what did the two of you wish for?"

[Phoenix]

Raquel

"Oh I can afford one alright, but we're getting really close to the point where I'll have to start tying things to the roof and the sides of the wagon just to save riding space. Right now I just want to buy a few more bedrolls for the people who need them. Until mine tears I think I'll be fine. It wouldn't be too hard to fix either so even after it tears I could still use it for awhile, I just don't want to look like a bum ..." Raquel replied as they got going again. Leaving the wagon where it was for now worked best since she could return to it with her purchases in a few minutes.

Amon

"Mommy, can I pray to the sand goddess ... and this not sand goddess lady?"

Holding in a burst of laughter, the woman replied saying "I think not. Mother Nature and Mother Mercy can handle this year's prayer's I'm sure."

I wish she'd stop being so insensitive, that's what I wish for ... "Uh, we haven't gotten there just yet." Amon answered to Ranyin when he came by.

"You're up next, so make sure it's gooood. Really good!" Naddy spoke up again.

Well now the pressure's on. Plus, everyone's going to see whatever it is I write down, so it'll hardly be a private wish or ... prayer .... Amon worried as he stood there with the chalk.

[Acacia Sgt]

'As I thought.' John thought after hearing the news. 'Finding an inn with room to spare would be hard to. Well, not that I mind if we have to camp again.' He shrugged. 'Now if it can only be somewhere more quiet...'

Edited August 23, 2011 by Acacia Sgt

[Snowy_One]

Looking up at the sun, watching the shadows on the ground, it didn't take Robin long at all to figure out that she had accidentally been turned to the southwest of where the group had entered in. "<Raquel probably went to the inn.>" she muttered to herself under her breath, trying to keep her words from being noticed. "<So it is likely that that is where she expects there to be a meeting point. I don't think there will be enough space there though with all the travelers, so she probably won't get enough rooms or stable-lodging. We have wyverns and flying ponies in our group and they will need a place to land, so she will probably head out to the field surrounding the town to let them hunt and eat grass. If I can spot commander Domo's wyvern tonight, I'll be fine.>" she concluded before looking down at the shadows on the ground again. Markets tended to be along trade roads, and if she was in the southwest, it was likely that she would find the markets along the north-south roads. Entering the crowds once again, she tried her best to head in that direction, expecting at least one of the party members to attempt to shop, letting there be a easy meetup.

[Mercakete]

"I'll find ye later, then. Time t' enjoy th' festival!" Gytha cheered before heading off to see what she could see. A bit of wandering later brought her to where a small crowd had gathered. Curious, she walked over to see what the commotion was about. The noisy crowd was gathered around an open space where two men were facing off, each eyeing the other, seatching for an opening. Then, with a quick yell, one charged the other and grabbed him. Locked in combat, each man pushed against the other's shoulders or chest with all his might. Finally, one broke away. Immediately, they were circling each other again, entirely focussed on each other.

"This a wrestlin' match?" Gytha asked one of the onlookers.

"Sure as the sun rises! My bet's on Greenknuckle. He's the one with the white hair -- the older one with a beard rather than stubble -- and he only fights in springtime for some reason. He's up against Bullhorn. That's the one with the brown hair over there, of course. He's last Ascension's champion. If you want to place a bet, you'd better get to it! ... Oh, but you're probably here trying to find someone, aren't you? Not a whole lot of women who approve of this little competition we have... My wife calls it boorish," the villager replied, his mood shifting from the excitement of the gamble to the reality of his wife's thoughts on the whole thing.

"Is it just wrestlin'? Ye called it fightn' just now," Gytha further inquired.

Somewhat confused, the man responded, "No, not really... The participents can choose whatever sort of combat they want to challenge the current champion, which is whoever wins the last fight. The weapons rack is over there."

"HAHARR!" Gytha laughed her cheer, thrusting her fist into the air in glee and startling the villager she'd been questioing. "Where do I sign up? This should be fun!"

"Uh... Just challenge whoever wins when this fight's done... I think they'll let you have a go..." At this point, the villager was just answering as best he could.

"Aye, aye!" the mariner cheered as she went back to watching the fight, hand on the grip of her hilt already.

Strange woman... the villager thought as he returned his gaze to the brawl too.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Judging by the innkeeper's reaction to you, you seem to be more easily mistaken for a noble than a bum," Veronika responded to Raquel, smiling a bit. "Did you really make that garment yourself? You could probably make a living as a seamstress if you wanted, though I'm not sure if your father would approve. Er, I mean...sorry," she added, quickly attempting to rectify the blunder. Mentioning her father isn't very tactful while he's still missing...

Nadya

"I'm waitin' behind Amon, he's been takin' a shoreman's hour to write down his wish, must not have anythin' he wants. What about you Ranyin? Didya wish to be taller?" she asked him, smirking a bit.

[Zsword]

Shadrak chuckled. "<Oh yes, my bad. It is the Ascension Festival. Where we humans carve giant boulders that magicaly fly into the sky... for... some... reason...>" he said to Siv with a smile. Man it sounds silly tell you see it...

[Rothene]

"Taller...I knew I forgot to wish for something!" said Ranyin out loud, then looking at his surroundings who were no doubt surprised by his sudden outburst spoke in a softer tone, his cheeks turning slightly red, "Rather, I actually wished to be able to fly more."

[Acacia Sgt]

'I guess it's just more waiting for now.' John thought. 'Maybe now is my chance to go over to the rocks, although...' He looked over at the crowds. 'When Raquel comes back we may be moving elsewhere to spend the night. If I'm not back before I may have to search for them. And with this many people...' He shook his head. 'Nah, I should probably stay here. One more I miss, no big deal.'

His eyes now focused on the wagon. 'Hm, right, she has to remain inside at all times while in here. I guess paying a small visit won't hurt.'

[Phoenix]

Raquel

"Well, a lot of the people I end up doing business with have really sharp eyes. It's why I have to keep not only my outfit, but my wagon, horses, and even my bedroll in good condition ... that or keep it out of sight. If you're wearing a really nice outfit but everything else you own looks like crap, other merchants will start to suspect that you're only pretending to be financially well off and then it becomes harder to deal with them on the same level, because one; they think you're lying to them right from the get-go, and two; because you're not as well off as you seem, a lot of them will only make their version of a good deal, not yours. Anything about you that comes across the wrong way can take all the negotiating power right out of your hands, so I try to be careful about that." she explained thoroughly.

When her father came up again, she lowered her head just a little. She could tell Veronika wasn't bringing it up to bring her down though, so she shook her head saying "It's okay. I think he wouldn't mind me doing this compared to some other things I could be doing." Then she stopped to think about something else that wasn't as good. "Though ... he really won't approve of what I've been doing lately ... taking on a big bad organization no one seems to know anything about ... turning our father daughter business into a straight arms dealership to do it. It's not what he had in mind. I just started shifting to weapons and battle equipment after we left Sergio. That's really all I can sell to you guys ..." she explained with a grimace. "I was trying to save the business and rescue him, but in a way it's already dead ..."

Amon

Amon grumbled quietly. Fine, I'll just write whatever it is in Rexian. That's one problem out of the way ... but what about the actual wish ...?

"Oooo flying is cool! Wish for flying!" Naddya cheered.

"Eheheh ... well if I ever want to go flying I'm sure Ga-I mean Wolfy would take me ... then again ... maybe she wouldn't ..."

Atsuko and Siv

Siv blinked at the explanation a few times. Then she shook her head. <"No rocks fly up into the sky in Corvus. That would be a waste of building materials.">

She then received another dubious glance from Atsuko. Before she knew it, another cloth was being tied around her mouth, this time, just as she suspected, it was very tight, too tight for her to get out of on her own it seemed, and very uncomfortable. Now looking to Shadrak the same way, she said <"What do you think you're doing? This demon isn't a person, and the less you treat it like one, the less likely it is to trick you into doing something stupid.">

[Zsword]

Shadrak rolled his eyes. "<it is a person. That's why I'm being so nice. Although I'll have to agree with the fact that I need to be warry of trickery, that is a very... sentient, trait.>" He said, stumbling for the word he was looking for a little. Really now... she clearly has human emotions, human pain, human logic... she's just young, lost, and confused...

[Acacia Sgt]

John approached the wagon, and climbed inside. ''Hi.'' He began. ''Am I interrupting something?'' He asked after seeing they were in conversation.

[Phoenix]

Shop

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"Well I've got what I came for. We can head back whenever ... though we should probably get going soon." Raquel said to Veronika, the rock signing coming to mind quickly as she glanced at the setting sun.

Wagon

<"You could very well be the most gullible person I've ever met."> Atsuko said, standing up just enough to draw her sword. <"Let me ask you something. How nice would you really be to this thing if it didn't carry a girl's face?"> she asked aiming her blade at Siv's nose. She obviously didn't plan on hurting Siv at the moment. She was tired, and her grip visibly weaker less steady than normal, but she was no stranger to minor theatrics with her sword.

[Zsword]

Shadrak chuckled, not fooled by Atsuko's little show. "<Just as nice as I am to any other human being who's been through and or going through a hard time.>" he said plainly, resting his elbows on his knees and his head on his hands, looking amuzed. "<Miss Atsuko, I assure you I don't plan anything that would put your mission at stake, if that's what has you so concerned.>"

[Snowy_One]

As Robin made her way to the market street, she looked on in wonder at the many objects that lay in stalls before her. Though she wasn't much of a shopper herself, many of the festival treats were things she had never seen before. Brightly colored treats for children, small baubles and trinkets with inscriptions in common on them that Robin managed to make out just enough at a glance to be worshiping the festival. Things she had never before seen in her life and would have loved to spend time looking at, if only there wasn't so many people in the street pushing about. She spotted, at last, a stall selling something she recognized. Dried beef jerky. She had had the treat before, but it wasn't exactly cheap. More often then not, when she had eaten dried meat, it was venison, not beef. Cattle is difficult to raise en-mass in rocky regions after all. She approached the stall.

"Ah! You there, madame, I can see by your garb you come from the far north. Border town with the barbarians I assume?" asked the merchant. A twitch went through her body as she kept her gaze low and ignored the insult. "How much for the dried beef?" she asked, pointing to the food. "Oh! You want the food? It is very good food, but I say, I can see the stone tools you carry on you. I can offer you a much better deal than those with something that will last much longer than a quick snack. Iron knives perhaps? I have a good friend who makes arrowheads out of iron, maybe one of those? Only five silver pieces!"

"How much for the dried beef?" asked Robin again, gritting her teeth in annoyance,

"Only about five copper coins, but honestly, it is a meal that you will eat, then it will be gone. Look here at this knife. Fine craftsmanship! Wonderful and it will last a lifetime! Why not buy this knife instead for only five silver? Or tell you what, since you are clearly not as well-off as others, I will give it to you at a discount price!"

"I do not want your beef anymore." With that, Robin walked away from the stall, very annoyed. She would need some better way to not stick out like a sore thumb, or at least be treated more normally for sure!