...If Acsull didn't feel out of place among the humans already, there was no doubt he did now. A winged woman TOUCHED DOWN between them like a bird of prey swiping at its target, spreading both her arms and wings wide to either side to make herself a wall between herself and the old man! The Namekian recoiled both in shock of her unexpected (and completely undetectable) appearance... AS WELL as her implied accusation! 

"You gotta be kidding me." Acsull muttered, taking a step back! "...What did I even do...?"

In fact, the man the stranger had jumped between stumbled back out of sheer surprise, nearly tripping over a particularly large piece of debris! A fall such as that for a man of this age might have surely wounded something important! Acsull noticed, peaking through the ends of the woman's feathered appendages and reached out for the man... before realizing what he was doing and pulling back, a frustrated grimace crossing his face. Well, wasn't this just great? Perhaps his first true attempt at trying to be a guardian of this place and it was interrupted by someone who thought HE was the enemy. 

Was this fate? Or perhaps a test from the ancestors? Either way, it was a cruel trick, forcing Acsull to reign in his temper before he said or did something that could make this situation go even FURTHER off the rails!

"Calm down, miss." The old man beckoned, lightly resting his hand upon the woman's shoulder. "He is no brigand. In fact, he was just about to offer his help in cleaning up this mess."

"Yeah, I was." Acsull confirmed, nodding his head once. "...In fact, it's my mission to help where I can. I... am a protector, you see, a guardian." He placed his hand upon his chest as if to emphasize his point. "...And, for that matter, what are you? Humans don't possess wings... do they?" Acsull's eyes traced along the pair of wings this stranger sported, end-to-end, uncertain whether to be impressed with them... or disturbed. Mighty wings must they be to be able to carry something as large as a person as fast as they did. Unnatural attachments, perhaps? Acsull had heard humans sometimes liked to augment themselves through technology when they could not through more natural means. 

"So let us all calm down..." The old man beckoned, slowly lowering his arms as if to represent the tension decreasing! "Tell us... What is your name, stranger? My name is Genshi." He then looked over the girl's shoulder towards Acsull, a serious, perhaps even stern look that communicated but one thing: Follow my lead.

"...And I am Acsull." The namekian continued, forcing a small smile... which slowly became more natural as the conversation shifted away from potential threats!

"You see, my home had been ransacked and ruined by some ruffians just minutes ago and this kind fellow had offered his aid to me. Might I be able to count on your aid as well?"

WC: 503
TWC: 1080

Well if there was anything Kira had learned about moving to a big city without any friends, was that it was a rather boring life to be lived. Especially with his current state of unemployment and social life. He spent quite a bit of time exploring West City, but it wasn't really home. It was so much different than Orange City and that was right down to the people. Kira had tried to socialize, go out to bars, take part it clubs and other things but nothing was filling the desire he had. He didn't know exactly what to do and it was rather hard adapting to his current situation. With all of his friends, family and students losing their life to the Orange City disaster, Kira had found himself to be a lost soul.
Though there was something Kira had strongly believed in when having negative thoughts or feelings and the only way to counteract them was to do something good, to fight the negative with the positive and that's when he had set out.

He didn't really have a destination in mind or even know what he was going to do but as he flew he picked up an energy signature nearby and he just had a hunch he should check it out. Quickly he flew off in the direction and it didn't take him long before he saw black smoke rising from the location, it wasn't the type of smoke from bonfires, or a simple wood stove pumping smoke out a chimney, it was something else entirely. As he drew even closer his eyes had rested upon an elderly man, a.. green.. man and uh, an angel? Surely, it wasn't what he was expecting but maybe he could be of service, maybe he could do some good here, as it sure looked like they could use some kind of help.

It didn't take long for him to drop out of the sky, his boots touching down a meter or two away from the group. He would meet them with a warm, glowing smile on his face as he gave a little wave with his right hand and scratched the back of his head with his left. "Hi!" He said before bringing both of his hands down to his sides and looking around the place. "This place sure looks like it took a hard hit, Is there anything I can do to help out?"

It might've been strange to some, a stranger showing up without an introduction and immediately offering their assistance, but that's just how Kira was. He wasn't exactly here to make friends or get to know anybody, he just wanted to help out a community that looked like they needed it. He wasn't here for any kind of recognition or rewards, he just wanted to do the right thing and that was the end of it. Of course, if he had made some friends along the way, that would just be the bonus of it all but even that wasn't the goal.

If they didn't need any help, he really wasn't going to press the matter but he was game to do anything he could to help out! So long as their expectations or requests weren't anything unreasonable, he could see himself spending the day around here cleaning up! Given that he had just lost his home, it wasn't exactly difficult to relate to the situation here and the damage caused and though the situation was rough at first glance, it didn't seem near as bad as what happened at orange city. This place was fixable and the damage could be reversed with a little bit of time and some effort and if Kira could save these people from experience even a fraction of the pain he was going through, he'd do his absolute best.

---

Word Count: 640
Power Level: 1,670

Thankfully forgiven, Rhapsody's spirits were quickly lifted as Acsull explained his understanding. With an even brighter smile than before, she would be quick to accept Acsull's handshake; taking a subconscious note of the strange texture of his skin. She had only ever met humans and mammalian zoanthropes before, so with the air cleared between them, Rhapsody now found herself becoming interested in the green stranger. She wondered if he was perhaps a zoanthrope as well, but of a race she'd never encountered; a fish perhaps... was that even possible? The desire to ask him built up greatly, however considering the initial misunderstanding, Rhapsody was hesitant to potentially make the situation uncomfortable yet again.

Acsull had just begun questioning what to do next regarding the reconstruction of the old mans house, when he found himself interrupted by the arrival of another traveling the mountainside. A spiky haired man with a rather robust build; he'd taken in the situation quickly and was already on the move to offer his assistance.

"It's nice to meet you!" Rhapsody would say excitedly as she quickly gave the new individual a curtsy while the old man introduce the three to this new arrival.

As the old man spoke of a budding friendship however, Rhapsody's ears would perk up; with Acsull's agreement on the matter, be it sarcastic or otherwise, Rhapsody's eyes would widen enthusiastically as a smile stretched across her face. She'd worried before that she had insulted Acsull, and even with his words of forgiveness, she wondered if she should tread carefully. Now however, Acsull had proven that he was more than willing to consider those he met as close as friends, regardless of whether he even knew them ore not; at least, this was Rhapsody's understanding!

"Do you speak true!?" Rhapsody would exclaim, rushing before Acsull and staring up at him with bright wide eyes, "You consider me a friend even after my rudeness!?" She would question momentarily, "Oh, thank you very much! I would very much like to cal you my friend as well!" She'd finish excitedly as her tail swayed happily beneath her dress, before she would suddenly attempt to rush the green man into as firm a hug as she could muster.

It wasn't as though Rhapsody was the easily distractable type, she simply took great care when it came to establishing positive relations. The turning of her left ear as the old man spoke would be a minor indication of her ability to pay attention in spite of her actions. She was more than ready to receive instruction, and her experience in gathering the necessary materials would hopefully be well received. As well, with such a hearty group, restoring the old man's home would have likely been a simple task; though in the background, the question remained, would repairing the home be enough? Vandals had taken to destroying the home once already and had made their escape; once the abode was restored, how long would it remain safe??

"What the-!?" Acsull gasped as the Rhapsody LUNGED for him, the Namekian recoiling quickly... but not quick enough! Her arms would latch around him, squeezing him tight, the Namekian's arms shooting up in shock as he stared down at her! Was this an attack of some sort!? Had she been playing nice all along!? 

...No. She really was just trying to give him a hug! Acsull blinked, his face contorting with discomfort and uncertainty as he stood there, frozen, embraced by the woman. What was he supposed to do in this situation, shove her off? Let her detach in her own time, try to remind her that they had more important things to do? A hundred possible ways this could go down arched through the Namekian's mind, each one growing more desperate and frustrated than the last! It wasn't like hugs were ALIEN to him as a form of affection. In fact, at this point, Acsull considered such a thing to be the universal sign of affection. It was just... he REALLY didn't know this woman. His "declaration" of friendship was merely a figure of speech, trying to play off the, seemingly, jokey comment of the old man! ...And yet, it appeared that he had made the mistake of assuming such humor was universally recognized as well. 

"Alright... Hrm... Enough." Acsull grunted, placing a hand on Rhapsody's shoulder and pushing, gently trying to put some distance between them. "Let us focus, alright?"

Genshi would chuckle a little louder, seemingly enjoying the antics of the youth, before turning to Kira and flashing a warm, but tired smile.

"Thank you, my boy. The first thing we need to do is clear out the rubble here... We can't very-well build on what's left if there's wreckage covering it."

"Yes... uhm... Indeed." Acsull would sputter, still trying to recover from the SURPRISE HUG! If he had managed to gently push himself apart from Rhapsody, Acsull would quickly make his way for the rubble, doing his best to keep his back to everyone to hide to deep purple blush flashing across his face! ...Truly, Acsull was out of his element...

WC: 365
TWC: 1906

As he witnessed the hug Kira couldn't help but give a rather blank stare, it had caught him by surprise and the green mans reaction was rather entertaining. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't used to this kind of thing and Rhapsody would even call him out on it which just made the moment seem a little bit funnier that it was initially, though Kira would keep a straight face and not let his amusement show. He wasn't that type of guy and he wouldn't tease or make fun of Acsull. Maybe if they got better acquainted, he'd do it afterwards in a more private situation. One where it was just the two of them. He was clearly a decent person, given the fact that he was here offering his assistance, maybe there could be a friendship there? Maybe between all of them? 

The embrace was rather quick and the work would start immediately after. Rhapsody had made a point to tell Kira that he appeared strong and he couldn't help but smile lightly. It wasn't very often somebody said things like that to him. Kira always tried to remain humble but he had to admit that it was nice that somebody had commented, it was nice having the hard work he put in noticed by those around him. Though after her kind words, she had a rather simple request for him and he'd nod his head without any hesitation. "I can't see that being much of a problem, I'll get started!" 

With that being said Kira would start immediately and head over to the huge pile of debris and start working away at it. With his incredible amount of strength it didn't take much to break it into smaller pieces, it didn't matter whether it be concrete or wood, with a simple punch or chop from his hands he'd break it with ease. Though as he worked away, he couldn't help but bring up a little big of small talk and given that he had a rather curious nature, he wanted to get to know them a little bit better and his first big question was about their heritage, what exactly were they?

"So.. I really don't want this to sound like bad or anything but uh.. I've never seen a large green man or a.. winged woman before? So like, What are the two of you?" Kira would say this loud enough for the both of them to hear. Maybe it was the fact that he was young, but he really didn't think this was an inappropriate thing to ask but he was concerned about the way he worded it. The last thing he wanted to do was offend anybody, that wasn't his intention. He didn't like causing people harm, physically, emotionally, it didn't matter what it was. He wanted to be peoples positive reinforcement, their support if they needed it. All he could do was hope that they'd be cool with it, after all it was purely innocent curiosity.

---

Word Count: 503
Total Word Count: 1,645

Kira had accepted the request Rhapsody had made, and so the three were off to work! While Kira took to breaking up the larger debris into more manageable parts, Rhapsody had quickly take to flight and began moving the smaller pieces away from the foundation. She would pile them a short distance away, keeping things as well organized as she could by separating metals and woods; as well as by keeping completely worthless bits separate from the less damaged parts that could still potentially see use in the reconstruction of the building. The best part was find the doors to the house; while the doors had been broken into segmented pieces, they could still be used with some repair at least as a temporary measure until new doors were procured!

As they worked, Kira would speak up; he was clearly a bit awkward in his question, but Rhapsody didn't hold it against him. Since leaving her village, she'd found herself asking a great deal of questions as well, and considering she'd never met another like herself before either, it only seemed natural to be curious. Unfortunately for Kira, there was no better answer for Rhapsody to give; the only one who knew of her origin was the Grand Elder of her village, and she'd never been curious enough to ask about it.

"Hehe, it doesn't sound bad or anything!" Rhapsody would answer, stopping in midair as she carried broken sections of a dresser, "But as you can see-" She'd continue, doing a quick pirouette in the air and finishing the spin with a wink, "I'm a girl!" She'd state matter of factly with a slight bit of a mischievous tone to her voice as she gave a light laugh.

She certainly knew what exactly Kira was trying to ask, but she didn't consider herself much different than anyone else. Humans all typically looked about the same with their lack of fur and small ears on the sides of their heads; while Zoanthropes seemed much more distinctive due to the many different animals their genetics pulled from. Rhapsody found herself somewhere in between; she lacked fur and had a mostly human appearance, but had distinctive features that were surely pulled from animal genetics. Small fangs, cat-like ears and a tail, as well as wings from some kind of massive bird. Her features didn't exactly mesh together all too normally, even for a Zoanthrope, but it was an appearance she'd had all her life growing up; coupled with the kind disposition of those back in her village, and Rhapsody had been left never caring to question her appearance until recently.

Before Rhapsody could enjoy any further casual banter with Kira however, Acsull would suddenly snap at the two of them, suggesting they focus on their work. The sudden shout would catch Rhapsody off guard, causing her to flinch; her ears would fold back as she adopted an apologetic demeanor, even as a minor curiosity tugged at her as to why Acsull had suddenly become so upset.

"I'm sorry..." She would respond meekly to Acsull, hoping not to infuriate her new friend once again before turn back towards Kira, "We can talk later Kira." She'd say, forcing a smile before rushing to return back to her task.

It was a strange feeling to be yell at and scolded in such a manner for simply conversing, but it showed just how different Acsull's upbringing must have been compared to her own. It was rare that any ever had what people would call a "bad day" back in her village, but even when they did, hardly anyone ever showed such aggression. Building a new home or repairing an old one was always akin to a community get together, and to be working in silence felt utterly alien to Rhapsody. Acsull had a point however, and Rhapsody neither wanted to upset him or the old man with something as small as conversation; she would return her focus solely on the task of removing the debris from the plot of land, moving now at a much quicker pace so as to finish up in a timely manner.