Being on dry land came as a relief to Eshalu. It was a pleasant return to comfortable stability after days spent on a ghastly, over-engineered giant human kayak. Still, the island felt like something was fundamentally amiss. Perhaps the air was heavier, more saline and warmer than that of her homeland. Perhaps it was the objectionable scent of unwashed human bodies and their particular make of crude leather and impure, smelted metal. She listened to the gaudily-dressed man, only half catching the sense of his speech. The human tongue remained new to her, and she struggled to follow each word. At least Aeryn had spoken slowly. And clearly.<br/><br/>Eshalu looked around her, instinctively scanning her surroundings. She felt it alien not to have the vast, serried ranks of tall conifers of her homeland. It made her feel vulnerable. Of course, she would never admit it, nor betray it with her actions. Human dominance displays had been in full swing since the artificial interruption of her morning rest by the blaring of cacophonous brass instruments. That was of little practical concern and she had noticed that human sleep required uninterrupted loss of consciousness, something which would be unthinkable for a hunter in the wild.<br/><br/>She decided that the best strategy at this stage would be subtlety. Avoid the would-be human alpha males and stay close to those she knew.<br/><br/>She pulled the hood of her tawny cloak over her head. A deft, unobtrusive motion. She thought it unwise to draw undue attention to her pointed ears and sharp features. Her spear was slung over her back, its ornate point sheathed in a leather scabbard, but she always kept her left hand on her curved shortsword.<br/><br/>Another precaution. Just in case the dominance displays got out of hand.<br/><br/>Once she decided she was comfortable with her surroundings, Eshalu turned to<strong>Aeryn</strong>- the only human she had almost learned to trust: "What does this man want? His speech is unclear. And, if we are to remain in this place, must we do so in these stinking shacks of rotting wood?"<br/><br/>Building with dead, chopped wood. Humans would never learn.