Open Finished There's something out there

Not being the type of person to hold a grudge, Maarab shrugged off the apology. He had reacted more to being caught off guard anyway. He did not feel the need to add anything more.

What Umiko was saying left Maarab looking bewildered. He glanced between his phone and Umiko with a furrowed brow and did not manage to type more than a word before erasing when he finally did start typing again. Eventually he did write something, still with a confused expression. "I do not know what to say. Is using people not what a leader does. The ones in charge direct."

Maarab frowned. "He is not my leader now. That changed things."

The first half of Umiko's explanation cleared things up a bit for Maarab. They did seem to have a difference of opinion on how leaders acted, but still it was not as conflicting as it had seemed at first. He shrugged returning to a more neutral expression, done with that part of their conversation.

The second part had him looking confused again. "You said you had a master. Is that not the same thing." Maarab frowned down at the bar, shaking his head at not being bossed around, but otherwise lost in thought. He typed, "Losing leadership. It was not a good thing. " The tension was back and his grin was gone. These thoughts he'd hoped to be distracted from.

Maarab was getting impatient with this conversation. Everything was reminding him how different this island was. He laughed softly to himself at how out of his depth he'd put himself in returning. He did type, "I have to live here now. I think I am not part of the community yet. It is so different here. "

Then he turned, wandering back over to the jukebox. This was a faster paced tune, something about staying alive. Maarab had been focused on Umiko and had not noticed what exactly the person who changed the song had done.

Looking back at Umiko before he continued typing, Maarab asked, "How does this instrument work." It may have been an obvious subject change, but it had been music that brought them to this bar in the first place.

Maarab nodded. It seemed simple enough, and he had been taught about the money in cultural classes. But after putting in some quarters he just shook his head, laughing at the variety. "There would not be a thing like this at home."

Not wanting to waste money, Maarab scrolled through the options. Even the option to pick a song from a random genre was like reading a language he did not know. And he was not sure what he wanted in the first place, to listen to music, keep talking, or dance. Finally he went and picked techno, since he thought it was one Umiko had mentioned earlier.

When he heard the song, he typed. "It sounds like a phone trying to make music." Maarab listened, unsure if he liked it or not. "I went to a ball here . It was much slower than I am used to. Less like fighting. The dance was enjoyable." The grin Maarab gave at that was almost a genuine smile.

His own memory, one of the few pleasant ones he had that did not involve violence, left Maarab calmer than only a moment before. He gave Umiko a closer look then, considering the friendly stranger with his gaze. He smirked, casually leaning against a wall.

" I have never had someone dance for me. Never danced alone either. " The techno music was still playing. Maarab listened to it for a little longer, but the robotic singing was putting him back on edge. "This music seems wrong for it. Any suggestions."