The Bostaurus Settlement; Pit Stop!

Buck would lead the newcomers on into the heart of the Bostaurus Settlement, past many cowpokes of many types. Many of them looked onto the newcomers with warm, welcoming eyes, though some of them found the two of them rather strange looking; possibly because they were the ones that hadn't ever seen their kind before, wherein many of the older ones probably had, since they dealt with the trade more often than the younger ones.

"This way!" he said, reaching a nice little log cabin house with a field beside it. This was the Wilde House.

El followed Buck pretty closely, taking in the land and the people, as they took in him and Tzita. He smiled at a few, waved to a couple others, before they had finally made it to where Buck was leading them. "This is a nice, welcoming community, Mr. Wilde." El complimented. Though he and Tzita were strangers, and were clearly an oddity, the people seemed rather accepting of seeing them. If that wasn't the case, then they, at least, looked upon them with curiosity instead of disdain and prejudice.

"And a comfortable looking home, as well."

"Huh, thanks a bunch!" he said said with a smile, opening the door to his nice, cozy log cabin. "Well uh, here we are and uh--"

"BIG BROOOO~!!!"

The moment he stepped through the door, he was glomped nearly to death by a lass looking relatively around the same age as he was, though much shorter, smaller horns, and a much more plush definition to her body, as well as black and white fur on her legs as opposed to his brown.


Buck, being startled, would try to pry her from his neck, "Gah! Milly, will you get a grip! I wasn't even gone that long! YEESH!!" He would push and yank his neck away until he fully had her pried off of him. "We have guests! Strange folk that I ain't never seen 'round here! They're real nice, and the lady's real cute, so behave!" He scolded her as an elder brother would, but also, sort of kiddily, himself, making it very clear that they were siblings.

"Visitors?" She said, eyeing them up and down before they could get inside, "Wow! Look! Their legs are all funny!!"

"MILDRED!!!" he yelled, snatching her up and bringing her inside, "Now that's real right rude of you! Haven't even let them inside yet! This is no way to treat these fine guests!" He would turn to Elliot and Tzita, nodding his head in apologies. "Eh, my apologies... She's a little rambunctious, herself. It's part of the Wilde family to be a little 'crazy' you could say. Heh heh." He would step aside and allow them to enter the door, "Come on in! Make yerself comfy!"

Milly: Yeah, then tell me why you got those funny legs!

Buck: MILLY!!! Don't make me get daddy on you... Best hush up.

Milly zipped her lips.

El laughed heartily, thoroughly entertained by Buck's sister, Milly, even if she had been a little rude. El was used to things like that. the princess was on the rambunctious side too, and could be clingy if he wasn't paying enough attention to avoid her grabby hands. Truthfully, Tzita was like that as well, even if she didn't see it herself. El did.

"What a charming younger sister you have there, Mr. Wilde." El said as he entered the home, with Tzita still on his back, and pulled the door shut behind him.

Buck laughed off the comment of El's with a wise crack at his sister, "Huh, ain't a lick of charm above her neck, s'what I've heard! Heh heh!" He was swiftly greeted by a butt from her head square in his back, before she huffed at him and spoke up, "Oh yeah!? Well you haven't even introduced me! Bet you're trynna be cool for that girlie, ain'tcha!?"

He would immediately turn around and snatch up her mouth, covering it with his hands before blushing himself, snorting and releasing steam like his blood were getting all hot at her comment; possibly from anger, possibly from embarrassment... Maybe a little of both?

"I told you to hush, Milly!! Geez! Don't you got NO manners!?" He would, after a moment or two, realize that their sibling rivalry needed to be put on hold for a moment, since she was right about them not being properly introduced.

Buck: Uh, if the lady's tired, you can just sit her right down there on my bunk there....

Milly: ... Wonder why...?

Buck: *kicks her in her leg on the sly*

Milly: OW!!! Bucky, that HURT!!

Buck: Uh, anywho... Don't mind her, she'd just... a Wilde. Hahahah. But uh, yeah, this here's Mildred, my younger sis I was goin' on about... She ain't too much younger'n I am, but still my li'l sis. And Mildred, this here's Elliot and... uh...

That's when he realized he'd never actually gotten the girl's name or anything, since she was on El's back the entire time and hadn't really been speaking up.

Buck: And what's your name, little miss? You ain't said much...

Milly: See? Don't even know her name... Real smooth, Bucky. *returns kick*

El stretched his arms, after Tzita slipped from his grip, until he heard a satisfied cracking of his bones. He wasn't really tired, pe rsay, with carrying her, but he had been holding her for the majority of their trip. He needed to stretch or he felt like he'd be sore.

"It's very nice to meet you, Lady Mildred." El said with a bow of his head. He was still a knight.

He scratched the back of his head nervously, chuckling just the same, "Heh heh, well yeah, right this way... Miss... Tzita?" Her name felt funny on his tongue. He wasn't used to something so exotic. His room wasn't too far into the house; everyone had their own, but the house itself was relatively small. When they walked further in, they would be able to see the kitchen, attached to it being an expanse where a table and some chairs were, as well as a cozy looking fireplace was. There was no upper level and there were 5 rooms for each of the members of the household, with the Kitchin-Living Room being the largest and only open space. He would quickly open the door to his room and allow her to take her rest as she wished.

Mildred, on the other hand, would curtsy politely, "And you, Elliot! Tzita!" She seemed really fascinated by the two of them, as was obvious from her tail flicking every which way. She would grab El's hands and drag him to the table further in, where they could talk. "Come right on here and have a sit down! I wanna know about a mighty fine creature like you!"

"MILLY!!!" Buck cried, immediately walking over to she and Elliot, "Why must you be so rude to him?! Ain't even offered him none to drink, or even asked if he was tired or hungry or nothin'! You act like you ain't got no home trainin'!" He would immediately turn to Elliot and smile crooked, a little embarrassed again about his sister. "Ehhh, don't mind her none... You ain't gotta talk to her iff'n ya don't wanna. I'll tell 'er ta vamoose, iff'n ya like. Give her da boot!" He nudged her with his knee, to let her know that he was serious about it all.

Buck: You tired? Hungry? Thirsty? Talk to me, friend!

Milly: No, talk to me~! I wanna know! Puh-leeeeaaaase?!

Buck: Milly, give the man some air! Yeesh!

Again, El let out a hearty laugh, holding a hand up to halt Buck on his offer to boot his sister. It would be terribly unchivalrous to allow something like that to happen, especially when he was the one imposing on this lady's wonderful home, and he was quite enjoying her energy. He didn't mind speaking with her, since he wasn't as tired as his companion claimed to be.

"It's fine, Mr. Wilde, I'd hate to see such a youthful young lady extracted from the conversation before she has the chance to say something meaningful. I'd dare say that I'd enjoy speaking with her much more than sitting alone while Lady L'sia rests."

El finally rested the hand that he'd held up on top of the Mildred's, who was still holding his other one, and gave her the his most warm, genuine and chivalrous smile. He found her spunkiness genuinely cute, and welcomed it as a bit of a contrast from Tzita. He figured if he accepted her offer for conversation then she wouldn't need to worry about her brother trying to kick her out of the house.

"Huh, if ya say so..." he said with a smirk, "... But I don't see why ANYONE would wanna talk to a dumb cow like--"

He was swiftly cut off by a punch in his gut by his sister, as if on instinct, without taking her awestruck eyes off of Elliot for a moment. "Really?! For true?! I knew Bucky was just being a louse!" Buck cringed for a moment, since he not only wasn't prepared, but the strength that she had was surprisingly explosive, as was natural for a Bostaurus to have. Even with their strong bodies, a hit from one of them was something to behold. "Gah... Dangit, Milly..." he said, holding his stomach.

Milly: Aw, hush! You're a boy, ain'tcha? Supposedta take hits like that!

He groaned a bit, rubbing his abdomen a bit, "... Ya know what...? Fine. I'mma just go let Ma and Pa know we got comp'ny. Where they got to?"

Milly: They outside workin' the field, like YOU should be doin', don'tcha think?

Buck rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whatever. Just... Don't make our guests uncomfortable or nothin. And uh, Elliot, if she start prying too much, just tell her to shut her fat mouth, or come get me out back." He would then start off toward the back door, which was just beside the kitchen, leading out to the back yard where they had their own personal field, in order to let his parents know of the two newcomers.

Meanwhile, Mildred continued to gaze at him with glittering eyes, tail flicking every which way, like she was beaming with excitement... as was shown all over her face. "Now that he's outta the way... Why don'tcha tell me somethin' about yourself! And those fine legs ya got there! I ain't seen nothin' like them nowhere!! Why do ya have em?! What are ya where ya got em?! They're real purdy, iff'n ya ask me~!"

Being lost in her own thoughts and her own fatigue (though she barely did much of anything), Tzita would start to doze off, thinking about things like the Virgo, the Ankh, Elliot and what the Pisces told them in the Zodiac Dwelling.

(You can just skip me for a while and I'll come back in whenever I get ready.)

El nodded his head at Buck's instructions and sent the man off with that. He didn't ssuspect that Mildred would pry deeply enough for him to have the seek out assistance or quiet her. There was a such thing as secrecy and if there was anything that he wasn't comfortable sharing then he wouldn't share it. Besides, it seemed like Mildred was only interested in his legs, more than anything else anyway.

"Well thank you, Lady Mildred, that's very kind of you to say. As I told your brother previously, I am a human and we all have legs just like these. We aren't exactly native to this region, as I can tell, but where I came from we are the majority. Does that answer your question, Lady Mildred?"

"Yeah..." she said that, but she was still kind of confused about what a human was, in particular. They looked like creatures that were similar to her, but their legs were different, for whatever reason. "... Now that I look, though..." she continued on, speculating him a bit further, "... You ain't got no horns, neither! Barely got any fur on ya... Save for yer hair on yer head..." She was a little curious as to what humans were all about, though. "... So, Uh... How'sabout yer lady friend? What's the deal with you two? Where y'all come from?" She was secretly wondering if they were a couple, and her nose would twitch a bit.

Even as she said that, El could see that she wasn't completely happy with his explanation and he gave her an apologetic smile. He just wasn't entirely sure how to explain it in a way that would make sense to her, or any of the cow people for that matter. Still he did smile and touch a hand to his head, "Well, no I don't have horns or much fur, but I must say, Lady Mildred, I find your horns and legs to be quite adorable and, if I'm not overstepping, I like how the white and black of your fur brings out the muted colors of your clothing and makes your eyes sparkle delightfully. I'm sure you have many gentlemen trying to suit your fancy." He nodded his head 2ith no doubt, paying her back to her lovely compliments earlier. It was only right to do so, and everything he said was true.

He ran a couple of his fingers through his hair, before cupping his hands together and resting them on the table along with his muscular forearms. "Ah me and Lady L'sia are travel companions, you see. We come from one of the other landmasses of these world, Valparaiso, and we're looking for the Scared Zodiac beasts. Have you heard of them at all, Lady Mildred? Seen anything strange around, besides myself and my friend of course?" He finished with a playful laugh.

"Why, shucks, go on~!" she said coyly at his comments, turning her head away as she blushed, "You'll turn me redder'n'a beetroot, you keep talk like that~!" She would rub her knees together and twitch her nose again, tail flicking every which way, "Lotta the blockheads 'round here are real fatheads, like my big brother, iff'n ya ask me! But you're a nice feller, if I do say so myself~! Both ta look at and ta talk to~!" He was so thoughtful and noticing of her features, which is something that the others didn't really do too much... Unless it was her breasts. She had some of the largest in the town, as she developed well and at a young age, making her one of the most attractive, so he was definitely right about it. She could produce a lot of milk, and that revered in 'wife' material for a settlement like this, where milk was their main means of produce and nourishment.

However, when he mentioned something about the 'Sacred Beasts,' she drew a blank really fast. "Ummmm... I dunno anything about a 'Sacred Beast'..." That is, until she thought a little bit more deeply on the matter and remembered her gramps talking a little bit about it. "... Uhhh... Maybe Gramps might know... I think..." She was kinda deterred from that sort of thought, since she didn't really listen to all of his folk tales. She wasn't too privy of em, in the first place. But she definitely was interested in knowing more about El and this Tzita girl. "You can ask him when he gets in... Or maybe Pa might know... But until then, what about you and your 'companion?' You two an item?"

El listened intently, and nodded his head. He didn't immediately suspect that she would know anything, or that she would be interested in asking questions about that either, so he allowed the subject to be dropped for now. She veered towards more girly topics, while El had been trying to conduct a small amount of business.

He looked off to his side for a bit, towards the room where Tzita was resting, before coming back to face Mildred, "An item? I don't follow. Are you asking if we're involved?" While the manner of speech didn't differ that much between worlds, his and Tzita's, there were phrases and things that he had never heard of and wouldn't understand. Given the context, however, he figured Mildred was interested in knowing if him and Tzita were in a romantic relationship. It that was case, then the answer was definitely 'no.' It wasn't that he wasn't interested in Tzita in that sense, on the contrary he was, but that they hadn't known each other for but a couple of days. The attraction could be purely physical, though El felt deep inside, somewhere, that it could be much more than that. He'd rather they remain casual and friendly though, for now.

"Yeah... You know..." she leaned over the table a bit, lowering her lids slyly and curling her lips into a subtle smile, "... Like, are you two a couple, or somethin...? Cuz ya know, I know a mighty fine girl that might be inter--"

At that moment, the back door would open up and through it would come Buck and a figure taller than even he was, probably about 7 or 8 feet, and boasting many physical traits of a man, but with facial features that were more bull than anything. He was of a greater physical build than Buck himself, and the door was large enough to accommodate such a hulking man-bull.


He didn't say much, but Buck gave Mildred a certain glare as if he knew what she was doing, and she would quickly straighten up as if she had been upright the entire time. "O-Oh, hey daddy!!" she said with a slight stutter, "Y'all here ta meet our guests?!"

Buck: Yeah, if you ain't got too friendly with him first...

Mildred: SHUT UP, BUCK!!

The great bull-man walked further into the house, his beady eyes looking more like those of a cow than a human, yet still retained focus like that of a man. He stared intently at the young man sitting at his table, snorting a bit. "... You are this 'Elliot' my young Buck has told me about, then?" He didn't seem bothered by their bickering, as though he was very much used to it at this point, but was more concerned about Elliot's form. "... Hrm... And what of the other one? My son told me there were two of ya... But I only see one."

Buck would immediately speak up on behalf of the missing party, "Uhm, she got real tired from her trip, so was real polite and let her go rest on my bed in my room... Tryna be as hospitable as possible, dad!"

Mildred rolled here eyes and snorted herself, muttering something under her breath, "... Huh, don't THAT sound realm charming, huh...?" She placed an elbow on the table and rested her chin upon her palm with a disgruntled face, as though her fun had been ruined. She blew up the hair from her face.

"Hrhm..." their father snorted gruffly, crossing his arms, "... Well, if the lady was tired, I reckon a nice rest is only right proper... But to you, young man, I welcome you into my humble home. My name's Joseph. You can call me Joe iff'n ya figure. My wife and father are out at the market, and they should be home soon... Y'all traveling far?"

El was more, or less, immune to Mildred's attempted advances, or at least that's how he would appear. He'd been traveling with Tzita only a few days, but she made much the same kind of advances, even if playfully, and El had experience in ignoring the wiles of a female. He laughed a bit, before getting an eyeful of the man-bull that had entered the home with Buck. Judging by his size, mannerisms and general authority over Buck and Mildred, El could have guessed this man was the father.

El stood, shorter than the man-bull by a foot and some inches, and held a hand out. "Well it Mr. Joseph, it's an honor to be welcomed into your home. I've seen nothing but good things, you clearly care deeply for your land." El could see it since he was a farmer too, or used to be at the very least. He had wanted to pay the compliment to Buck, but chose to save it for the actual man of the house.

"Actually, we're not sure, exactly where it is we're going. We're being led by this thing here." El said, pulling out his half of the ankh that he and Tzita were suppose to share. They were suppose to be looking for the Virgo spirit, or heading to some sort of shrine that the Pisces spirit had told them about. El had forgotten what the shrine was called though. "We're looking for the Sacred Zodiac Beast, Virgo."

Joseph extended his hand out to meet with the young man, shaking it firmly, though with a grip that could have crushed his hand if squeezed too tightly. His hand was massive, nearly dwarfing El's own, but not by too much. Just enough where his entire hand could have wrapped completely around El's. "The pleasure's mine, young man," he mentioned in a gruff tone, which seemed to just be his natural manner of speech, "... I hope my two young'n's ain't gave y'all no trouble... They're a handful... Got the same spirit I had in my youth." He chuckled to himself, and the two of them would kinda laugh at the same time, before he would palm both of their heads and rub them at the same time. The man-bull was quite the sight to behold, and probably terrifying at first sight, but he was clearly a calm, patient and loving man...beast.

When El pulled out the Ankh, though, he would gaze upon it with a certain intent of which he couldn't quite pinpoint; he was drawn to it mysteriously, as though it had some sort of power over him. When he looked into it, he could feel the presence of something inside of it that stirred something within him... A sort of primal urge that he usually only felt when he was going off into battle. He began to snort heavily, mesmerized and rather entranced, and seeing things in his mind that he couldn't quite recall from his own memory, yet felt familiar to him, like he knew it all along. "Hrrrmph!!" he snorted loudly, shaking his head, huffing a bit, "Hrmm!! I don't know what it is about that, but it... It... Hrrrrph!!!" he shook his head again, turning away from it and over to the sink.

Buck: Uh... Pa? Y'alright there?

Milly: Yeh, what's wrong?

Joseph stood at the sink for a moment, trying to slow his breathing. He saw many green pastures in his eyes, but also, somehow, he saw the red of bloodshed. He turned on the water and would cup his hand in order to splash his face with it, which would quickly snap him out of it, and with another shake of his head and huff of his nose, he would say to El, "Hrmm... Put that thing away. Something about it... I don't know what it is, but it makes me feel... Odd..." He couldn't even seem to answer the question that was posed to him due to whatever had come over him from looking into that thing.

Buck crossed his arms, cocking his head to the side, "Uhhh, maybe you just been out workin' too hard, huh? Why don'tcha go rest up and wait until Ma and Gramps get home?"

Joseph: ... I wanted to meet the other one first... Seems only right... 'Sides, I ain't worked too hard. Just enough, like you shoulda been, Buck.

Buck smiled and chuckled nervously, "Heh... Well, all the more reason why you should take it easy an' let me deal with our guests, eh?!"

Mildred smiled, muttering under her breath, though within earshot of Buck, "Betcha just wanna deal with that missy in yer room there, huh...?"

Buck: Shut yer trap, Milly...

Milly grinned.

El went ahead and put the Ankh away, seeing that it was visibly upsetting the large man-beast. If it was making him break out into cold sweats just from seeing it, then El would be careful not to pull it out in the presence of any more cowpeople, assuming that they would react in much the same regard. When Tzita woke up from her slumber, he'd have to warn her about it. She was wearing hers around her neck.

"Sorry about that Sir, maybe you should take your son's advice and rest." El advised, folding his arms across his chest and nodding his head. "My companion was rather tired, and though I wouldn't want to impose for too long, she doesn't seem to be waking up anytime soon."

Joseph, after calming down, shook his head once more, mooing a little bit through a groan, before finally returning fully to his senses. "Mighty nice of you to be so considerate, young man," he said, finally moving over to the table, "... But with all due respect, ain't no need to rest if ya ain't tired. I ain't a lazy bull, nor am I one to turn tail at the first sign of trouble. That ain't no way for a proud feller ta be." It was in the nature of these down-to-earth type people to be a bit stubborn about their ways, especially the older ones. The children seemed much more open and flexible to such thoughts, but he was set in his ways, and rarely ever gave in once he had a decision, even if it meant having to run head first into it. He was confident enough in himself and his strength to be able to blow through.

"If yer friend there is so tired, y'all can stay and rest up here iff'n ya like. Maybe stay for dinner. My wife should be home with my father soon enough..." he'd say, finally sitting down at the table. "Bucky, Milly; Go fix us some cold water ta drink. Ain't right for a travelin' man to be thirsty, comin' from over the hills."

Buck&Milly: Yessir! *grabs some cups from the pantry, turns on the faucet*

Joseph: I am interested in where ya got that little trinket from, though... It got some... Strange power I ain't never seen before... But it made me feel like I knew it somehow... You mind tellin' me 'bout it?

El smiled at Joseph adamant nature, it reminded him a lot of his uncle before he passed away. Usually the older you are, the more set in your ways you are, so he could understand Joseph insisting he didn't need rest. El wouldn't press the issue any, the man-bull seemed just fine now that the physical Ankh was out of the equation.

"Oh not at all. As I've said we're looking for the sacred beast Virgo. We're originally from Valparaiso and, there, we rested at the Zodiac Dwelling. I don't know a lot about it myself, all this kinda flew over my head, but when he woke we were greeted by the Pisces spirit who explained that the Zodiac beast of old, who once lived in that dwelling before flying to the winds, are all beginning to reemerge. Valparaiso is in dire straights and I think returning the beast to their homes will replenish the land. At least enough for me to plow a field or too and get those people there on the right track."

El took a pause there before continuing. "The Ankh was given to us by the Pisces spirit and it's suppose to lead us to where we need to go to find each spirit."

Joseph, Buck and Mildred listened to the tale in depth as the two kids would bring water to both men sitting down, and also having two tall glasses of milk for themselves, which they'd gathered during the man's detailed explanation of his endeavor. Though the kids remained quiet, they were actually rather fascinated with all of these things that they'd never before heard of, or even thought really existed. It all sounded kinda fantastical to them, but apparently it was true, and that made it all the more interesting.

Milly: Woooow! That doohickey was given to you by a spirit?! That's real cool!

Joseph grunted, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest again, before closing his eyes and contemplating what he'd just heard. He sat thoughtfully for a moment or two, before grunting again, "... Well now! Seems like y'all been through a lot. Sounds to me like y'all need some help." He tapped his hoof on the ground a bit, smiling and opening his eyes, "Weeeeell, I ain't gonna make ya do nothin' y'all ain't wanting to. You are guests, after all. But if ya need ta stay the night, or take some supplies, the Wilde house is certainly open to ya. I'm sure my wife wouldn't mind, since y'all come from so far off and prolly got far ta go." He scratched his head a bit, placing his elbow on his table as he tried to think. It seemed like his thoughts were a little bit strained about some of the things that were explained. "I ain't real good about them whole 'spirits' and whatnot. Can't really right wrap my head 'round that sorta thing. Wish I could help ya out with it, but the best I can do is take ya to the market, or even offer some of the stuff we got here for ya. Feel free to leave whenever y'all are ready, be it today or tomorrow."

Buck: Heh, I wouldn't mind hangin' out witcha, Elliot! Maybe I could show ya 'round the town or--

Milly: NO, I WANNA DO IT, BUCKY!! Y'all interrupted me before I could really get ta talkin' with him. Go talk to that girlie! I bet yer more innerested in her, anyhow! *sticks tongue out*

Buck, blushing, "DANGIT, MILLY!!"

Joseph: Now, settle down, y'all. Ain't polite to our guest here, y'all bickerin and carrying on...

Buck&Milly: Yessir...

Joseph: 'Sides. Ain't y'all's decision ta make. That's up to Mr. Elliot here what he wishin' ta do. He might not even be here longer than supper, iff'n that's when he wanna leave.

It was clear that Joseph, in his age, had gotten more of a level head than when he was a younger Wilde, where he was more or less just like his kids, and his headstrong nature was more than prominent. The years had taught him not to be so feisty, but it was surely still there in him.