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Despite Ilusia still being a rather strange land to her, and the sudden shift from almost-exclusively using Romudan to having none whatsoever being rather jarring, it wasn't too hard to find things that were still familiar. The docks were instantly familiar; the smell of the sea, the creaking of the ships, and the banter of fishermen; the people and the boats may be in stark contrast, but the spirit was the same. Maybe it was simply some early-onset homesickness coupled with a little culture-shock, but Junko found herself in the docks, with no real objective in mind. School was done with for now, and she was no expected at the library today. A perfect opportunity to wander and explore, and to proper familiarize herself with the sights, sounds and people of her current home. Her Adonean-styled clothes felt a bit more familiar now, a jacket and cap keeping the worst of the sea breeze at bay. Junko took a deep intake of the salty air. Despite spending far too long on a ship to get here, there was something about a port that appealed on some basic level.

This appeal, however, had not taught Junko that approaching gruff-looking fishermen was not, perhaps, the wisest thing for a young woman to do. She stopped her leisurely stroll to peer at the red-haired beastman with some interest. Most of the other ships were either empty, or had already set sail. Clearly, this person was not overly busy; if he had intended to fish, he would have cast off port by now. And if he was delivering his daily haul, there wouldn't be a distinct lack of any fish. Besides, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
"Hello." It was simple and cheerful, but accented and carefully spoken. A local, Junko clearly was not, if her appearance was not enough of a hint. Her father had taught her that you could get a long way in life by being friendly and outgoing, and it was not hard to offer a small but genuine smile. "Were you not very lucky today, or have you not gone out yet?" It may have been a little slow, but Junko was quite proud of that sentence. Despite the fact that she had mentally rehearsed it a couple times before the attempt at small talk.

So, the fisherman was a little gruff. Junko couldn't honestly say she was at all surprised. If anything, she'd say that fishermen seemed to be pretty similar no matter where you went. They tended to be gruff, somewhat solitary folk, but often had a good story or two up their sleeve, if you could weasel it out of them. If nothing else, it was a chance to talk to people that weren't her classmates or her teacher. As interesting as the library was, it wasn't exactly the best place to converse with others.

Despite the fact that she was relatively comfortable with talking to a stranger, and he was polite enough to not point or stare, Junko found herself fidgeting beneath his gaze, a hand coming up to tug at the hair hiding the right-hand side of her face. It was a habit she wished she could break, but years had ingrained the response into her, and it would take a monumental force of will to stop now. When she spoke again, however, her voice did not falter.
"I have not been in Ilusia long. I wanted to..." A pause, Junko tugging at her hair in thought. "To sightsee." That was the word, right? It made sense to her, being a compound of the noun and verb. Well, if the fisherman's face scrunched up in confusion, she would just try something else. "I often visited the docks back at my home, so it is interesting." Didn't sound quite right to her ear, but it would have to do.

So she wouldn't be staring too intently at him, Junko took a moment to look over his vessel. Not some grand vessel, but it did have that unmistakable feeling of a ship with a humble and simple purpose. It was something Junko could appreciate, if not articulate. "I am sorry if I am bothering you. My name is Junko Ishibashi." She started to bow, then hesitated. The Adonean custom was to shake hands, and physical contact was not Junko's favourite thing in the world. Still, she bit the bullet, and offered a scarred hand with a smile. "A pleasure to meet you."

After extracting her hand from the rather firm handshake, Junko rubbed at it. Still didn't feel quite right, even six years on, and she could only wonder what other people made of the leathery skin. Well, fishermen tended to have coarse, calloused hands, anyway, so maybe he wouldn't even be able to tell. Not being ashamed of her scars and her past was one thing. Being proud of them was leagues away, and, in her experience, it was better when they were never allowed to enter into the equation at all.

Talking to strangers at the docks would have surely earned her an earful from her father, and it would not haven been the first time that Junko was lectured on being too trusting of strange men. But the docks were a public place, and Asgard was meant to be a peaceful, quiet town. And, besides, if worst came to worst, she could always aim a low kick at Donovan, and run away whilst yelling. It wasn't a graceful plan, but it was a plan.

The offer was considered for a moment. She would be kicking and running away the instant he wanted to 'show her the cabin' or some such nonsense, but the deck seemed safe enough. She nodded, expressing her thanks simply before clambering into the boat.
"Is this an Ilusian boat?" It was designed a fair bit differently than she was used to. The sail, the hull, the deck; there were definite similarities, but Romuda was quite far removed from the rest of Adonea, so differences were inevitable. Even something as simple as a bed took some getting used to. Junko wandered back and forth for a moment, getting a feel for the vessel. The ocean was a simple thing, but Junko did have an appreciation for it. Not enough to want to become a fisherman or sailor, but enough to appreciate a good vessel and a day out on the sea. "Most of the Adonean ships I have seen have been bigger. They, ah... ship things, so they are larger. First time really looking at one of the fishing boats." She knew it was grammatically correct, but it still sounded odd to say that ships shipped things. Junko had apparently finished her preliminary examination of the vessel, and turned back to Donovan. "Are you from Ilusia, Mister Durden?" A question borne of pure curiosity, despite the politeness tacked onto the end.

Junko listened intently. While not hanging off of every word, she was taking an active interest in what the beastman had to say for himself. If she had learned nothing else, it was that everyone had a story to tell. Maybe not one so dramatic or traumatic as hers, but a story nonetheless. In her mind, it was a healthy worldview, to see individuals in and amongst the teeming masses of people. Or maybe that was just her.

"Volos..." Junko tried the word out, seeing if it would jog her memory. By her expression, it was clear that her memory was coming up largely blank. "I do not know that place well. I think I have heard of it, though." Was that where the beastmen tended to dwell? It would be an interesting place to visit, if that was the case, but she wasn't sure how welcome a human girl would be. It could be fine, or it could be a massive social taboo. Well, she still had the 'I'm a foreigner, I don't know what the customs are' card to play, but that only worked for so long and up to a certain point.

"If you do not mind me asking, Mi-Donovan... what is Volos like? There is much about Ilusia that I do not know." She caught herself, if barely. If that was how people wanted to be referred to, she would oblige. Though she didn't think she would be getting away with forcing people to call her Ishibashi-san. Ah well, the sacrifices one made when adapting to another culture were numerous.

It wasn't hard to sense that his hometown was something of a sore subject for Donovan, so the change in subject was probably a very good idea. Not that Junko wasn't curious, but she knew far better than to stick her nose where it truly didn't belong. If Donovan wanted to talk about it, he would, and in his own time. Volos didn't really sound like the best place for someone like her to visit, but she had seen precious little of Ilusia, or anywhere really, so if the opportunity arose, she would probably investigate.

”You are correct. I only arrived recently. For school.” School was more the excuse than the actual reason, but it was a plausible one. Get some experience out in the world before setting down the path of adulthood. ”I am from Romuda. So I am sorry if my Common is a little...” Despite trailing off, it was clear that Junko had finished the thought. If Volos was a sore subject for Donovan, she supposed she would just have to talk about her own place of origin. ”Ilusia is quite different. Not bad, but certainly different. I didn't move around that much when I was younger, so it has been good to see more of the world.” How much more of the world would she want to see? While the idea of settling down into a stable life and routine was attractive, there was a definite appeal in roaming the world, at least for a while. Well, she still had a little time to work things out, but graduation loomed ever closer.

As for the reason why she hadn't gone out into the world sooner, Donovan would simply have to mirror her understanding, or make an educated guess. She may have healed, but the scars had not, and likely would not, fade. It seemed impossible that Donovan had not at least noticed them, even though he had been polite enough not to stare or comment. ”Romuda is... I do not know where to start. In some ways, it is similar. The ocean is there, and many people make their living from the sea. But the buildings, the food, the people and the language are all very different. Have you travelled much outside of Ilusia, Donovan? I have only really been in Romuda and Ilusia.” Starting a lecture about life in Romuda could be completely unwanted, so it was better to tread of safe ground.