Walking The Beat (LE, River)

[Ali ibn Farid]

Ali greeted the stranger with a smile and a firm nod. "Not at all, friend. My name is Ali, and this is Arash. At your service."

He straightened, doing his best to look official. "Do you need assistance? Are you... lost perhaps?" He gave the other man a curious look; what had he been up to?

[Faruq Al-Farhan]

He gave the man a tired smile. "Oh, I've had the good fortune to meet Sayyid Arash before. This gentle soul sometimes accompanies me when providing services for the unfortunate", he says nodding towards Arash. "I just didn't remember you also did guard duty, rafiq."

He then points at the riverside by moving his head. "Also... not really lost, but thanks for the offer, sayyid. I was just taking the chance to breathe some cooler air, clear my head a bit, as it were. It does seem to be a quiet, pleasant evening, isn't it?"

[Ali ibn Farid]

Ali's stern guard expression brightened noticeably as Faruq spoke. It was always a pleasure to meet charitable folk.

"We were just remarking on that, actually." Ali nodded towards Arash. "Quiet is good for passerbys, but I wondered if as guards we should be looking for more." He shrugged with a smile. "But I suppose it's better to be thankful for a quiet evening than to regret an exciting one.

He nodded back to Faruq. "Have you been enjoying the festival, friend?"

[Faruq Al-Farhan]

Ali's stern guard expression brightened noticeably as Faruq spoke. It was always a pleasure to meet charitable folk.

"We were just remarking on that, actually." Ali nodded towards Arash. "Quiet is good for passerbys, but I wondered if as guards we should be looking for more." He shrugged with a smile. "But I suppose it's better to be thankful for a quiet evening than to regret an exciting one.

He nodded back to Faruq. "Have you been enjoying the festival, friend?"

The man nodded, calmly. "Well... I'm not sure looking for trouble would help cause less of it, really. I think I'd rather be thankful, in your place. But then, of course, I'm no guard..."

He then looks a bit curious at Ali. "Festival? You mean... the contest? I didn't know it had started yet - was there anything to be seen today?"

[Ali ibn Farid]

"Well... sort of." Ali said, shrugging. "The contest itself hasn't started. But people are in a festive mood. A competition is as good a reason as any to celebrate a bit, eh?"

He shrugged again. "I had the strangest encounter with a young woman earlier tonight. And then there's the Ra'Shari caravan..." He smiled. "If you want quiet, that's fine, but if you want excitement, it can be found. Just... hopefully not our kind of excitement." He gave a vague wave, encompassing himself and Arash.

[Faruq Al-Farhan]

"Well... sort of." Ali said, shrugging. "The contest itself hasn't started. But people are in a festive mood. A competition is as good a reason as any to celebrate a bit, eh?"

He shrugged again. "I had the strangest encounter with a young woman earlier tonight. And then there's the Ra'Shari caravan..." He smiled. "If you want quiet, that's fine, but if you want excitement, it can be found. Just... hopefully not our kind of excitement." He gave a vague wave, encompassing himself and Arash.

"Oh, the Ra'Shari, of course... which Caravan is in town again? The one with the Fortune-tellers?" He seemed thoughtful for a while. "It can't be the Entertainers, right? That'd be almost suspicious, paired with a festival like that."

[Ali ibn Farid]

Ali's eyebrows went up. "It is the Entertainers, in fact. But doesn't that make sense? Surely the Entertainers are drawn to entertainment..."

Smiling wryly, Ali made another vague gesture. "I say that, but I actually know little of the Ra'Shari. I spoke to one earlier this evening. They're quite welcoming of visitors to their caravan, or so I gathered."

[Faruq Al-Farhan]

Ali's eyebrows went up. "It is the Entertainers, in fact. But doesn't that make sense? Surely the Entertainers are drawn to entertainment..."

Smiling wryly, Ali made another vague gesture. "I say that, but I actually know little of the Ra'Shari. I spoke to one earlier this evening. They're quite welcoming of visitors to their caravan, or so I gathered."

"Well, I suppose it does. Just... I find it a bit of an odd coincidence, but perhaps you're right".

He shrugs. "Well... I can't say I know much about them either. Been to their caravans a few times, but... I suppose that much noise and excitement make me a bit uneasy. Not sure why. But... they seem like good folk. Try to eke their living one way or another... much like most of us, eh?"

[Ali ibn Farid]

"They are." Ali nodded firmly. "In my experience, if you give someone a chance, they won't disappoint you."

He hesitated a moment, then shrugged. "Not every time, of course. But often enough."

A moment, and he gave Faruq a sympathetic look. "Not comfortable with noise and excitement, eh? Were you born here?" He waved a hand vaguely around.

[Faruq Al-Farhan]

Faruq laughed - it was a sincere laugh, in fact, but it also let something very much like tiredness show.

"I was, in fact. Born and raised here. Always in poor neighbourhoods, always seeing much work, much noise, and.... some fun, I guess. Still, the sort of noise and excitement to be found there is... different, I guess."

He shrugged, smiled with the corner of his mouth. "But it's much as we were saying... perhaps I should give it another chance. I tend to like quieter places, when possible at least, but maybe I should try and find my way among music and dancing again at some point."

He looked at the riverside again.

"Oh... I hope I'm not disturbing your rounds too much? I can walk by you folks while we talk if you don't mind."