Wandering About

The wind tugged at the cloaked figure that stood before a large ruin of some sort, dark eyes peering up at it from the shadows of the hood upon its head. The figure underneath remained quiet studying the first piece of structure it had found in this vast land of sand and heated winds. The figure would stand still for a few seconds before shifting in the sands to move around the ruin to see if maybe there was a way further in or perhaps something on the other side that could give hints as to what sort of civilization once built these ruins.

It certainly didn't look like anything it had encountered before in its travels of the world, so maybe it was a new find it could add to its book it was currently documenting everything in or maybe more information that could be added to something it had already discovered. Continuing the slow walk around the structure curious eyes would continue their search for precious clues.

This was so pointless. Why had he bothered again? It wasn't like he even really needed that piece of junk, and now he was stuck at some unpleasant, windy old place. Seriously, some days he was so done with this. He didn't want to be here, but it was a little too late to be regretting his whole existence at this point.

The messy haired man would sigh as he stealthily made his way to the top of the structure he had been wandering about for the last brief chunk of time, taking a look around the area from his new high vantage point. Well, this wasn't getting any better. Up here, the wind only served to make his hair fly about more, and was just a general pain. And hello, there appeared to be a stranger nearby too. Not the person he had originally been looking for either. Why would anyone be at this dump right now...?

The figure would continue to explore around the ruin, eyes locking onto faded glyphs and other markings it couldn't quite make out. It was about halfway to what appeared to be an entrance that the figure would come to a halt as a presence was felt.

Cat like ears would twitch under the hood as the figure slowly turned its gaze upward, the sun causing shadows to fall over its upper face. Looking up the being would eventually spot a person at the top of the structure. Narrowing eyes in the shade of the hood, the figure would be quiet for a few seconds before speaking a single word. "Hello," it would say in a voice that while soft easily carried on the wind.

Black eyes would wordlessly study the person that seemed to have noticed him now. Maybe he should have stayed away from an open space where he could be seen, but it was a bit late to ponder that now. Sighing to himself quietly, he'd simply wave a hand at the person leisurely, choosing to not address them verbally just yet.

Well he got a wave so that was good. At least the person above seemed to understand, but maybe not want to talk considering no words came out of their mouth. Watching the figure for a bit longer, the cloaked figure would eventually look down deciding not to say anything else for now as it looked around the ruin once more and upon spotting the opening that could lead further into it, began to once again move towards it.

Well, he wasn't exactly known to be a man of many words. It was highly unnecessary in most cases, and it suited him just fine. What was this person trying to do here though? This place hardly seemed like a sightseeing spot. Deserted structures like this could easily be dangerous. There had to be a reason why it ended up abandoned like this, and it might not have been a pleasant one. It was hardly wise to just wander inside alone like that.

...not that he particularly cared as to what would happen to some random stranger. It wasn't his problem, after all. He was, however, already here and kind of bored since his original task was beyond his reach now. The only thing to do was to take some interest in what was happening in his vicinity. Scaling down the structure, he'd land himself close beside the entrance, leaning against the surrounding wall, with his arms crossed over his chest. Now that the wind wasn't messing with him as much, he probably looked like just some odd scruffy guy, though he hardly seemed to care. Nor was he making a move to say anything even now.

He continue to move towards the entrance pausing as he heard movement. Tilting his head upward, the figure would watch as the other came down the structure and eventually landed by the entrance. It was a move that amused the figure causing a small smile to cross his face. "Oh? Come to join me on my exploring of this ruin?" he would ask the silent man as he casually flicked his tail behind him.

There would be silence for a while longer, as black eyes flatly gazed at the other person, before the man closed his eyes briefly. "I don't care about an old abandoned place that could crumble onto my head at any moment. I'm just watching you.", he'd answer, his voice on the deeper end, and somewhat rasped. Well, whatever his intentions were, they didn't seem to have a lot to do with the ruins.

The hooded figure would tilt his head at the other as he considered the words before smiling softly as he shook his head. "It is true the ruin can collapse, but I am willing to take a risk to see what is inside. As for watching me. What is so entertaining about that?"

He'd give the other a side eye. "Couldn't care less either way. I doubt there's gold inside." Unless whatever was inside that place was actually of good value or such, he didn't see it as particularly important. That said, it was highly unlikely no one has been here before, and thus people must have already gone through the insides of it at some point. Most likely, there'd be a lot of dust in there right now, even if something cool was there in the past. "You're a stranger wandering out in such a remote place. Keeping an eye on you seems like a good idea."

"There may not be anything there, but I won't know until I go in there. Material things are nice, but I am going in for knowledge more so than anything else. That is treasure enough for me," he would say as he watched the other watch him. He was aware this could be a dead end. An empty tomb and waste of time, but even so he wanted to go in and see with his own eyes what was inside. "Oh? Worried about me are you?" the hooded figure would ask as he gave the other a smirk, showing that what he said was not something to take seriously.

He'd just raise a brow slightly. "Are you some kind of historian? I don't see why would such knowledge be important otherwise. Most people have absolutely no use for such." Old places like this were forgotten for a reason after all. Sooner or later, they'd just crumble away into dust, considering that no one was attending to them. Pushing off of the wall slightly, he'd give the other a faint grunt in response. "It's only natural to watch your back. I could leave, but I also can't be bothered with trekking through deserted lands again right now."

"No. I am honestly just a traveler, or a storyteller to be precise, with high interest in old things. Besides, these places make for good things to add to the stories I tell to others and knowing what they are all about gives the story a boost should one share an interest in old things like me. So it is not as useless as it seems." It was true some people saw ruins as just that ruins, but for the hooded figure and some others they were treasure troves whether they held literal treasure or not.

"Ah well I appreciate you doing that," the figure would say and then tilting his head ask. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

All the other would get was a somewhat unimpressed glance. "You could make up a story about a ruin that doesn't even exist and the effect would be similar. Most of these places have pretty much the same vibe anyway." Honestly, would one even be able to tell the difference between a true story and a made up one? It really wasn't hard to come up with ideas of what a place like this is like, and make it believable enough.

"What.", he'd state flatly at first, not really getting what the other was implying. He had just said he was watching his back around a stranger and was too lazy to leave instead. What was there to appreciate in that? He wasn't doing the person a favor with that, unless he was missing something. He wouldn't bother to elaborate further however, sticking his hands into his pockets at the question posed, his expression turning slightly exasperated. "I was chasing after some idiot that tried to steal from me to give him a lesson, but ended up way off track. I really shouldn't have bothered."

"I would argue that each place is unique and add flavor. And it's true I can make up story which I do at times; however, most of the stories are about my travels. I like to share and others like to listen, so it works out." After all, he had met many that would share back their tales too. It was always a fun exchange.

As for what followed, the cloaked figure would rub the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "Ah. Misunderstood. Forget what I said," he would say before letting his hand fall back to his side. Apparently, his mind wasn't paying to close attention otherwise he would've understood earlier that the other meant his own back. Hmm. He'd have to watch for that. Pass that though, it seemed the other sought another, but had gotten off track and ended up here. "Well you certainly have come to a place that is way off the beaten track. Perhaps you can catch the thief later on...provided you haven't given up on it yet."

Well, especially newer things, but it couldn't be denied that spreading tales about cool buildings from the past could inspire people to build more shit themselves, or at least see it as a great thing. Frankly, he would have preferred if people left natural areas the way they were, but that was obviously a futile wish.

"I do not believe that is possible, but I can pretend I didn't hear you.", he'd state in a deadpan tone. After all, he couldn't just make himself forget on spot. Some of these phrases were so odd. He'd make a low 'tch' sound. "Can't be bothered. I didn't put a tracker on the guy. Only the devil knows where he is at this point, and I refuse to waste my time searching practically everywhere."

"Hmm. I suppose you don't value history much then. It is true these buildings aren't the healthiest for the earth, but at the same time there is alot to be learned from these ruins, so in my eyes at least it is treasure."

Not everyone would agree of course, but hey to each their own. Besides it wasn't like nature didn't claim back what was rightfully its own. In the end it all balanced out.

"Anything is possible. You just have to put your mind to it or do that. Pretend until you believe you really didn't hear me. It is all up to the mind after all." Supposedly if you said something over and over, it became truth after a while. As for that last part..."Ah well. There goes that idea then."

"It's hardly about the value of it. Although I would say it's way more beneficial for people to look towards their future than dwell on what has already been. The world isn't going to just regress back in time and require you to have knowledge of old ways of living to survive. It's of no practical use. It's always the same old anyway. People have always tried to do pretty much the same things. The only difference was the availability of resources and knowledge, which was limited in older times, forcing people to use roundabout ways. So basically imagine current society without a lot of the innovations that are seen as normal these days, and you've already got a good image of what went on throughout history. Not that knowing in detail seems to benefit anyone. People could have all of the history laid out in front of their eyes, and they would still go and repeat the same mistakes and bad choices, create wars and whatnot.", he'd look towards the ruin briefly, his composure giving an oddly uninterested vibe, despite how much he was commenting on the matter. "Most less sentient species don't give a damn about their history, or that of the world. They just live the life they currently have. Why would you say people try so hard to dig things up? Even though they don't even make the effort to at least learn from it properly. They just invite themselves into places, simply because they can. No real respect towards things that should perhaps remain at rest, instead of being treated like fun exhibitions and sightseeing spots. You lot like to meddle." Honestly, people would make grabby hands at anything that caught their interest, casually disregarding the fact that they may have no idea what they're truly dealing with, and whether it's really okay for them to do so.

In any case, he'd offer the other a bit of a wry smile. "The mind is certainly a powerful weapon. However, unless one has the power of hypnosis or such, it's not truly possible to wipe one's own memory on purpose. You can tell yourself all you want, but if a memory is clear enough, you'd hardly be able to change that for real." Regardless, he would blink at the guy lazily. "Why are you concerning yourself with my problem anyway?"

"Perhaps, but I would like to say we like to learn and you cannot learn if you leave things buried. Besides it is not like we are trying to relive the past, but rather preserve it so younger generations can view and learn about it too. If we left it all buried it would be forgotten and to be frank I do not think we would be better off without it. I think a lot of innovation comes from looking at the past and learning from it versus this striving forward without looking back. It makes our futures richer in my opinion," the cloaked figure would say as he tilted his head at the other. He didn't see anything wrong with curiosity or trying to preserve something from the past to pass knowledge down and learn from it. To him that held value.

"It is said if you repeat something long enough it will become the truth in the mind, overwriting what is there. True it may not be fully forgotten, but the thought would be changed." He would pause to shift a bit in his spot as the sun continued to beam down on the pair of them. "Not so much concerned as just a little curious about is all. I meant not to meddle in anything that is of personal nature to you."

"I think there's plenty things people can learn without needing to go dig up old skeletons. And I'm not sure how you're planning to innovate better by finding out that in the past people used things that are obsolete now anyway. If it's from a moral standpoint, then a ruin won't help you much either.", he'd pause with a slight huff. "Regardless, my point is mostly that many rudely trespass into places without knowing what they are, just to grab a few interesting things they saw to put them in museums or such. You can only speculate about many parts of history. You don't know how it truly was without having lived in that time. Nor can you know what a very old building was created for to begin with." Cue in people raiding tombs, and places that were meant to be sacred in some way or form, sticking their noses into everything.

"I'm afraid that if I let myself be manipulated by my own self that easily, I'd have to call myself a dumbass, so I'll pass on this." No offense, but that made it sound like it was far too easy to change people's minds on a whim, and the chaos that would come from such would never be a good thing. The man would shrug with a low grumble. "It's not. Some little thief is just a blip on my radar in the end, in all honesty."

"Well you can learn from their technologies and make something better," the figure would say before tilting his head. "Well, perhaps you can move forward without it. It would depend on the person eyeing it. And well I am not trying to dig up treasures, but document what is here and what I think on it. I don't see an issue with people collecting to share with others either. You say we rudely trespass, but is it not in the our nature to be curious about things we find around us?" Seriously, outside of those that came with malicious intent, was it really wrong to do what he or others did to spread knowledge and history, even if it was just speculation?

That aside, the hooded figure would just chuckle at the next statement. "Fair enough," he would say before humming at the last part. "Ah I see. Not so important. Just important enough to get you out here." The figure would look over at the other with a light smile playing upon his lips.