She doesn't recognise that tree.
She's been here before, she's not that far from the estate, this isn't some unknown place. She must've taken a wrong turn, of course, but where? She should probably just try to retrace her steps, Jaol will be incredibly mad at her...
And then they're at Cloudshear! The ley-island is a desert beneath an unbelievably blue sky and orange sun, with the city itself built into the sides towering cliffs carved by enormous rivers that thunder off the edge of the world in roaring waterfalls. The city clusters closest to the ley-port; wind shears across the top of the cliffs, leaving only the canyons protected from the scouring sand. It's survivable, but no one wants to live up there.
Tetsuma pauses long enough to ask if Dayo wants to tag along, then sets out for the top of the canyon to run.
He very quickly finds the winds annoying, and drops down into an uninhabited canyon to explore at a slightly slower pace.
He's back within an hour and a half, excess energy mostly worked through and now very much hungry.
Lunch?
Tetsuma's mostly interested in getting street food from a stand while they wander around the city, but there's also taverns with proper food. (At Sarati's suggestion he exchanges some of his ryou for the local currency).
He's not picky, street food's fine. He holds Tetsuma's hand while they walk.
Eeee! Tetsuma really likes being on a date with Dayo!
Street food is mostly random things wrapped in sweet buns. The city's on the small side, but it's still fairly active. There's a distinct downtown, with small, stately homes over various shops. There's bridges between different sides of the canyon, and the street is built at a slant so the whole thing is essentially a ramp between levels, though there's also ladders and narrow stairs cutting across. The city's fairly brightly colored - red-orange roofs and whitewashed walls with flowers in a riot of colors in planters, cobblestones in shades of brown and orange formed into patterns, painted window shutters, and most people dressed in stiff cloth that's been heavily embroidered.
Tetsuma's favorite we're-definitely-stopping-here is probably a fancy tea shop. They can rest from the heat of the day inside, and he buys a variety of flavors and a small, pretty ceramic teapot and cups for later. There's also a confectioner's that sells treats made with what's apparently frozen goat's milk or just ice flavored with fruit or herbs, which Tetsuma mostly finds weird.
Tetsuma is so cute.
Dayo isn't really a very buy-things kind of person. He finds lots of things very interesting and very pretty but is mostly okay to just look at them. And also keep an eye for anything that catches Tetsuma's eye because he needs to reciprocate that gift.
Tetsuma mostly is focusing on finding quiet little places. Partially for kisses, partially because crowds. So not a city person.
His eye is very caught by a white blouse embroidered with colorful flowers and vines and little birds, though unlike the tea set he doesn't promptly buy it for himself. Mostly because he's trying to be Responsible, and is used to not accumulating stuff. (Random foods and the tea set are the only things he buys; the food here's like nothing back home, to his delight.)
Yeah okay so Dayo will go over there and not even pretend he's not purchasing that for Tetsuma.
Eeeee! Tetsuma is very delighted, and slips the blouse on over his kosode, then kisses his rather wonderful boyfriend.
"Oh, yeah. Though we might want to ask Sarati if she knows whether the style of dress is similar where we're going. Or the clothier might know."
"Probably the clothier - I'm not actually sure where the captain is, we'd have to wait to meet her at the inn."
The clothier does, in fact, know the typical fashion of their destination (Chennet), and even has something similar enough in stock - plain blouses and brightly woven skirts (the two islands trade enough that Chennet mostly just uses Cloudshear's fabrics or homespun, but they're far less fond of embroidery, she informs them). They won't pass for peasants, but the fabric is fine for castle servants - she clearly assumes they're looking to apply for a position there.
She also enjoys chattering, and if not interrupted, talks at length about traders from Chennet who've come through, her opinion of the castle's lord (low; she recommends staying out of his way as new workers - her second cousin worked as a maid there for a time and got fired after what she assures them was really a minor mistake), the one time she visited Chennet on business, the meanings of the different patterns in embroidery, Dayo's necklace ("You've come through past Thyls, then? I like their jewelry, but can't stand the lack of a sun..."), or anything that comes to mind.
Tetsuma makes some effort to steer topics towards mission-useful information, though the clothier's volunteering a lot of it on her own. Which is mostly secondhand gossip type stuff, but is at least giving him an increasingly clear idea of where to start looking once they get to Chennet.
(The clothier is clearly having fun chatting with Dayo, too.)
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