Naoki + Mako Beania Immigration

“So, love.. Haha, it’s still so new to say..” Mako mumbled, quickly getting flustered at the use of her new soulmate’s new nickname. Naoki simply gave her a comforting pat and a smile, showing that he understood where she was coming from, and gave her a nod to continue. “Uh, now that we’re soulmated… I heard that some cultures do what’s called a ‘honey moon’.” Naoki gave Mako a funny look at the mention of such a word. “Uh, it’s not a food, even though it sounds like it! It’s actually like…Well, it’s a vacation a couple goes on when they get married, which is basically the same as being soulmated. They go to celebrate the union between two beings who…love each other” Mako explained, blushing at saying she loved Naoki. Even though they had been in love for some time now, and were newly soulmated, Mako was still shy as ever when it came to certain things, and she could get easily flustered when talking about what she was feeling. Luckily it wasn’t as hard for her to do around Naoki as it was with other people, but she still got a cute blush on her cheeks and started using “uh” and “um” a lot. Naoki, who couldn’t say a peep due to his muteness, seemed to enjoy her cute stumbles and blushing. He found her incredibly adorable and her personality was so endearing. It was also a good match in that they were both fairly quiet kryptoxes who enjoyed silence as well as the pursuit of knowledge and academia. He quickly nodded his head at her suggestion, and signed out B-E-A-N-I-A? Mako grinned and nodded as well.

“Yeah. I like that! I’ve always wanted to take home a time bean and add a time tree to my garden” Mako said, flashing a teasing smile at her soulmate, who couldn’t, for the life of him, grow anything. She had to tend to the plants outside because he couldn’t figure out how to take care of a plant without making a mess or killing it.

‘WE GO WHEN?’

Time found the two kryptoxes in beania soon enough, both eager to visit the queen and see what Beania had in store for them.

“Naoki! I’m so excited! We’re going to meet Queen Psium! Are you excited?” Mako exclaimed, looking over at Naoki. He happily nodded and started signing. ‘I’M EXCITED. HOW-ARE-YOU? YOU READY MEET *name sign for Queen Psium*’ He said, before slyly smirking ‘I KNOW YOU SHY SCARED QUIET SMALL CUTE SHARK’ Naoki teased, causing Mako to huff in a playful way. “Ok I am NOT that scared! I can talk to a queen! I’ve been to prince sandal’s gardens before! It’s not my first time meeting royalty!” She pointed out stubbornly.  Naoki silently laughed at that.

‘HE *name sign for Prince Sandal* , SHE *name sign for Queen Psium* NOT SAME. YOU MY SHY CUTE SWEETHEART’

Mako just laughed and pushed Naoki slightly at his teasing. “Oh just shut up. I can do this, ok?”

Naoki only smiled and signed two M’s with the claws overlapping his thumb claw spread out and curved, smacking them together like a shark chomping. That was Mako’s name sign. Then he signed “LOVE YOU”

“But seriously though... I can do this...Right?”

Naoki doubled over in laughter before giving Mako a big hug.

Eventually they did get to the castle, where Naoki proudly marched up to the guard and started signing at him.

‘HI. YOU UNDERSTAND SIGN LANGUAGE ? ? WE HERE NOW MEET Q-U-E-E-N P-S-I-U-M’

The guard looked utterly lost, and he even turned to the bean next to him, about to open his mouth to ask if the other knew sign language, but the other guard simply shrugged and shook his head. Naoki rolled his eyes and mimed putting a crown on his head, then signed the queen’s name sign, and then he signed MEET, and acted out meeting someone with his claws, then finishing with waving happily at the guards. That, they seemed to understand and they perked up.

“We’re here to meet with the queen” Mako whispered shyly as she approached the group.

“Right this way! The queen is still seeing visitors right now, so I’ll show you to her.” The first guard said, before turning on his heel and marching inside. Inside, there was a large open area finely decorated with a warm and homey feeling to it. The whole castle felt warm and open, which was quite contrary to the size and magnitude of it. One would expect a castle to feel empty and even perhaps foreboding, but the queen took great pride in making her castle open and welcome to all who entered.  The windows were open, as they always were as long as the days were not too cold, and a slight breeze fluttered the drapes as it flitted through the open windows and down the halls of the castle.

Naoki and Mako passed by each area looking around with wonder at the beauty of it all, and occasionally Naoki would see some contraption or beania exclusive thing, and he would excitedly tap Mako on the shoulder and point it out to her. She herself wasn’t as interested in the machines or contraptions, but it made her smile to see Naoki so excited about something, so she dutifully indulged him and focused on his signing as he occasionally tried to explain what something was or what it did, and in some cases, what he thought it was and what he thought it might do.  Mako herself was awed by all the plants adorning the castle. It was by no means a jungle, but there were several potted plants she noticed that looked lively and beautiful.

“She’s just in here.” Said one of the guards, coming to a stop at the royal grand hall. It was where queen psium would greet the newcomers for a few hours each day, and just as they were approaching it, another griffian, a fellow kryptox, exited the room, nodding politely to his fellow kryptoxes.  The pair nodded back with smiles, and then entered the room. Naoki was the first to make his way toward the queen, confident and friendly. He made his introductions and was pleasantly surprised when the queen signed right back to him!  Of course a queen would know multiple languages, especially if she had the fingers to actually sign!  

Mako was next, and she shyly presented the queen with her gift, a book about Fluffia’s plant life. She hoped it was something the queen would enjoy in her library. As she was explaining this to the queen, she didn’t realize that Naoki had gotten distracted and wandered off. Obviously something had jogged his interest and he was completely distracted. He slipped out of the room with ease and wandered down a hallway until he found the source of his distraction.

Inside one of the rooms in the hallway, Naoki found a bagbean with grey and white fur and blue hair. His glasses were two different colors, with swirls in them, and he was busy working on adding various liquids from different vials onto a star bean.  The bean looked up when he heard Naoki enter, and he almost dropped the beaker he had in his hand. He looked a bit frazzled, but happy to see someone that could potentially help him.

“Oh, hello there! I’m assuming you’re here visiting the queen? My name’s Bert. I’m in need of assistance. Would you be willing to help me?” He asked the excited looking kryptox.

Naoki grinned and nodded enthusiastically. ‘MY NAME N-A-O-K-I. NICE MEET YOU’ He signed.  Unlike the queen, Bert didn’t know sign language, and simply stared at the kryptox with an expression between confusion and mortification.

“O-oh… Um… That’s sign language, right? I didn’t realize you were deaf! Oh you can’t hear me apologize… Uh, um…” Bert apologized, frantically searching for a pen and paper. When he did, he quickly scribbled down a note to the kryptox, too focused on his embarrassment and trying to find a way to communicate to see naoki shake his head, or his silent laughter.

‘Hello! I’m Bert. It’s nice to meet you. I’m guessing you are here to meet the queen as a newcomer to our continent? I could really use some help if you’re up to it!’ he wrote, before embarrassedly thrusting the note towards Naoki, who took it, read it over, and then held his hand out for the pen. When it was handed to him, he quickly scribbled a response.

“Hello Bert. I’m Naoki, and I’m mute. I can hear you, and since you don’t understand sign language, I’m more than happy to write down what I want to say. I’m also more than happy to help out in your pursuits of science. As a tinkerer and self-proclaimed engineer, I always wish to help others in their intellectual pursuits. What is it that you wish for me to help you with” Naoki wrote down, smugly handing back the note. He started to snicker slightly when he noticed how red Bert’s cheeks were getting upon realizing that Naoki had heard his awkward babbling. Of course, Bert willed himself to get back to science, glad to have someone help.

“Well, it’s a small thing, really, but I could absolutely use the help. You wouldn’t happen to have a fool bean and hollow bean, would you? I’m doing experiments on these beans, and even though they’re native to beania, I simply don’t have the time to leave my lab and get them. Plus, I have a few experiments going on that I absolutely cannot leave unattended!” Bert explained, pointing out said experiments.  He seemed disappointed when Naoki shook his head and held out his scarf paws, showing he had nothing with him.  Of course, after a few seconds of deliberation and the resulting awkward silence, his eyes lit up with an idea.

“Oh, wait, actually, if you could find Fabian for me, I’m sure he’d have one of each! I don’t have much at the moment, but I…Ah!” Bert grabbed what looked like an old doctor’s bag from the corner of the room. “Perhaps he could find some use for this? A friend of mine dropped this off about a week ago, thinking I could use it, but to be honest, I can’t find a use for it. It doesn’t have the proper cushioning to carry anything fragile, like a vial, and it’s too small to carry anything large… Oh! Anyways…” Bart wrote down a note that simply said “Fool Bean x1” and “Hollow Bean x1” and handed the bag to Naoki.

Naoki, meanwhile, went wide eyed and reached out eagerly for the bag. Once he had it, he turned it over in his claws and examined it. With an excited look, he looked up at Bert and clutched it to his chest, a questioning look on his face. This caused the bean to look a little confused.

“Uh, I mean, if you want it, you can have it, as long as you find some way to get me those beans I asked for. I don’t really care how you get the beans…Well, as long as you don’t steal them from someone”

Naoki only gave him a thumbs up before quickly heading off back the way he came.

“Naoki, there you are!” came Mako’s voice as he approached the royal greeting area. Naoki excitedly held up the bag and the note, and then using his scarf paws, he started signing.

‘I MEET BEAN HIS NAME B-E-R-T. HE ASK-ME ‘YOU HELP-ME GET ITEMS ??’. HE GIVE-ME BAG I SAY YES. NEED SEARCH FIND BEAN F-A-B-I-A-N EXCHANGE’ he explained rapidly, pointing at the note.  Luckily Mako had known Naoki long enough to be able to keep up with his excited signing, and playfully rolled her eyes.

“Ok, we’ll go find this Fabian. Lucky for you, I’ve got a few things from fluffia I can trade so you can keep your bag. But darling, do you really need it?” She asked, looking at the dull looking bag.

‘YES! LOVE-IT’ Naoki signed, before clutching it to his chest again, causing Mako to laugh.

“All right then, love. Let’s find this Fabian, then. Obviously it means a lot to you.” She said sweetly grabbing Naoki’s actual paw and holding it as they set off in search of Fabian.

The pair made their way  through the castle until they found a guard standing watch. Naoki gently nudged Mako, and she meekly approached him.

“U-uh. Hello sir. My name is Mako, and this is Naoki. We were wondering if you, uh…If you knew where we might find Fabian? We were sent to find him and exchange some items with him… for…” Mako trailed off, before looking at Naoki. “Who are we helping, again?” She whispered.

Naoki simply signed B-E-R-T. Giving her a playful grin.

“Oh, yes, we’re helping Bert. Or, uh, more specificially… My soulmate is, but I’m here to help, since he can’t speak, and we haven’t had much luck with beans who know sign language just yet…” Mako explained, looking down uncomfortablly. “Uh! Th-that is to say…I didn’t mean- I wasn’t trying to insinuate that you wouldn’t know sign language, but it’s… Uh… It’s not a super common language and not many griffians know it, but it’s a very important language, and…and…Oh I’m rambling…I’m so sorry!”

Mako blushed as she realized she wasn’t making much sense and talking too much, and leaned in to the touch when she felt Naoki’s arm and scarf paw wrap around her shoulders in a comforting move. He rested his chin over her shoulder and gave the guard a smile.

The guard only cracked a small smile, before pointing down the hall.

“Last I saw, Fabian was headed to the royal library” He explained, causing Mako to light up excitedly.

“Royal library!?” She exclaimed quietly, before looking back at the guard “Thank you!”

The pair headed off, with Naoki rubbing Mako’s back with one paw in a proud and comforting manner. He gave her a small peck on the cheek before they got to the library, and like a true gentleman, he opened the door for her. Inside, the library was bigger than anything the two of them had seen, and Mako was so excited, her eyes were wide and darting all over the place.

“It’s beautiful!” She exclaimed, rushing further into the library. She wandered down the aisles, brushing her paw against the books as she went, until she turned down another aisle and saw a brown bean with a large floppy hat on.

“Oh, excuse me. I’m looking for a bean named Fabian. Would that be you? Or… Would you happen to know where I can find him?” She asked quietly. The bean looked up from the books he was looking through and offered the kryptox a smile.

“That’s me! Why were you looking for me, though?” He asked, tilting his head ever so slightly in curiosity.

“Oh um…” Mako dug around in a pocket in her scarf and pulled out a tamer fruit and a fool fruit. “I’m on a mission to find a fool bean and a hollow bean. I can offer these in exchange, if they’re to your liking?”

Fabian grabbed the two offerings gently and gave them a thorough look over, before using his other paw to open up a pouch and pull out two beans, seemingly knowing which one was wich from feel alone, and he held them out to Mako.

“Yeah, I can use these. Here you go!” He said, pocketing the fruits as Mako took the beans.

“Thank you!” She said happily. “It was nice meeting you, Fabian. By the way, my name is Mako. My soulmate, Naoki, should be around here somewhere…”

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, dear. Now, I’m sure Bert will be wanting you to deliver those beans as soon as possible…” Fabian said, a knowing twinkle in his eyes.

Mako was surprised that Fabian would know that, but didn’t want to press for answers on how exactly he knew, so she headed to the exit, grabbing Naoki along the way, and insistinig he lead the way to Bert’s lab, since she had no idea where it could be.

Eventually the pair found their way back to Bert’s lab, where Naoki excitedly presented the beans to Bert, and then proudly introduced his soulmate.

“The bag is yours, Naoki. And now I must bid you goodbye. I’ve got to get started on these experiments right away! Thank you once again!”

Naoki and mako happily left the castle, both happy with their little mini adventure. It was a good introduction to the continent and its inhabitants.