"Reminds me of what someone told me. Who needs clothes when the most of the best things in life is best done without it? I mean who doesn't like a good massage or bath?" Malaya then leafed through the man's wardrobe and let out a hmmm. Simple and sufficient. He could sense the discomfort he implicitly made the other feel with his 'shirt guy' comment. "But you know... If I were to live in your world as well, I'd be a shirt guy as well. I take it that these cotton based tops come cheaper by the dozen?"

Then he saw a collared shirt with a vibrant color and took it out, "Can I borrow? I feel lazy... Sorry to feel so at home and just taking your things out for a wear..." The spirit was rather embarrassed. He practically walked in the brunet's life and was so homey with the circumstances. He was almost tempted to ask if Joseph was truly fine with it or was just playing along.

"Well...I might pass on the massage. Last time someone talked me into that I got handed over to a masseuse who treated it like some kind of one sided fight."He joked, adding with a sheepish grin. "Uh, yeah there was a sale, and I thought they looked ok, so I picked up some. Yard work is hard on shirts so..." He stepped forward to size up the shirt and look Malaya over again, pondering how it would look on the Engkanto. "Better you than me, I'll probably look better on you."
It was odd really, Malaya just sort of...grew on a body. It was sort of like having a college roommate, only with a whole lot less alcohol or getting locked out of the room for a...conjugal visit.
"You adapt pretty quick." He noted. "Not that thats a bad thing..."

The engkanto made a face of sympathy and ouch at the one sided fight comment. He could just imagine how painful it must have been. Massages were meant to help the muscles relax. Not to subject them to stress for future fighting. Slipping on the shirt, he had to lift out his ponytail and allowed it to fall freely on his back.

"Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment. Besides, I have to thank you for that, Muse. You've been quite a generous host."

Malaya smiled as he fixed the collar and dusted the lower torso area, "There we go. All set now."

"Not...normaly." He admitted. "I've been known to be pretty antisocial. Guess you caught me on a good day.Or, maybe you're just good at making me relax....I mean...anythings possible. I mean I certainly wouldn't figure I'd be this ok with finding out there was someone living in my tree if you asked me yesterday." he laughed. "Let alone having that person critique my wardrobe for fashion faux pas."

Malaya nodded, "Same goes here. It's a good thing we somehow managed to treat this rather easily. Had it been otherwise, things would have been better."

Now that he thought about it, they seemed to have gotten along quite easily. Perhaps their having found something in common help facilitate their getting to know yous?

What be the case, he was thankful for the run of events now. "I wouldn't have it any other way now." The engkanto smiled warmly as he closed the cabinet and took a little stroll to get a familiar feel of the sandals.

"Definitely good because I have absolutely no idea how I'd go about getting your tree back where it came from if you didn't like it. But I guess we can worry about how you might want to handle that down the road since we're not at each others throats yet. In the mean time we can maybe figure out some food for this bachelor pad, huh?"

True enough. If the human had not been such a hospitable host, the engkanto would have let out his fury of being sent to a place would be deemed even worse than being back home where life was mundane and frivolous. "I'd like to think I will manage well somehow," he replied as he followed Muse to where they were off to, "I'm highly adaptable and I catch on quick. I'm eager to learn and if need be, I can work. Though I might have to study a little to get used to your human traditions and all. I might end up doing something taboo for your kind and is perfectly normal to ours."

Malaya had undone his low ponytail and was now braiding his hair as they walked. "I wouldn't want to embarrass my especially good natured host now."

"Oh don't worry, you think I've never made a fool of myself?" Muse laughed, shaking his head. "I think we all have, at least once in our lives. It's just the way things are. But while you're adapting, help me out here. What do you like to eat? I mean do you do the vegetarian or vegan thing? I'm not going to get assailed in the middle of the night for keeping chicken in the freezer?" He joked, taking out his keys and spinning them like an gun slingers weapon.

"Well I like having a nice balanced meal of fruits, vegetables...greens and some meat. They're best served fresh after all." The engkanto soon started sharing the niceties of freshly served food as that was how they had their food. Always fresh. Though he mused out loud how it would be to have a not too fresh cooked meat. "Does it taste any different?"

Malaya blinked at the terms vegetarian and vegan. He had no idea what those meant. "Chicken...is good though. I like having them in my salad as extras and such. Other than that, they're quite tasty. Though they can be quite pests when alive. But then they have their use despite so..."

He was done with his braid now. "Though...I have another question: when humans kill an animal or a plant, do they replace it or simply kill as they please for their own survival?"

"...Oh boy. you would ask the tough questions right off the bat, wouldn't you?" Muse considered, his keys jingling as he caught them in his palm to stop the spinning.
"I don't think it tastes any different, or I wouldn't really expect it to. I grew up pretty far off the farm so I'm used to picking things up at the market. Um. The second part? Thats a pretty touchy issue. There's a lot of people saying these days that all we really do is take, but, you know, we're not like a bunch of mindless rabbits or something, eating and breeding. A self sustaining culture, even one thats gotten as far as we've gotten, is smart enough to know you've got to put back what you take out. If you want there to be enough wood next time, you've got to plant some this time. If you want there to be another chicken for dinner, there's got to be more chickens. So I don't think we're really as bad as some of us think we are. Does that make sense? I mean I'm kind of biased. I've got a certain degree of faith in my own kind." He offered, as they headed for the car.
It was a mixed animal, his car, since it had to be both relatively efficient in these times of rising fuel costs, but also able to take the roads in case of snow, mud, or some other emergency, but it certainly wasn't tripped out to go tearing across the country side without both vehicle and driver ending up miserable. It wasn't, as he jokingly called the tricked out, jacked up, super tall and super sized trucks he sometimes called. A 'compensation-mobile.'.

He stuck out his tongue at him, "Well I happen to be a very inquisitive creature so watch out! But don't worry... I'll drop my voice to a whisper if I know I'll embarrass you in public." Then he put his clasped fist over his chest as a 'I promise' gesture.

The engkanto listened attentively, taking in every word and pause the human had about the topic. Though he frowned slightly at the idea of cutting down trees and planting another set for later supply of lumber.

Malaya nodded, "Yes it did... Somewhat."

He smiled at him as he allowed the information to sink in slowly. This was new information he found. Interesting. So there was still some hope after all.

"Um. Yeah...tree thing. Sorry." Muse cleared his throat and looked away trying not to focus on the wooden components of the house, which weren't inconsiderable in number. How old were most of them? He wasn't really sure...although it added a certain awkwardness to the situation.
"Sorry, if you hadn't popped out of the tree like you did I'd never guess...you know? You just look...uh. Normal."

Malaya smiled, trying to reassure him that it was fine, "Don't worry! I'm still in my moment of adjustment so I have yet to realize all that. I mean... Who was that---He said something about survival of the fittest. Quite an interesting theory. I suppose it applies as well. Please, don't feel so awkward. It'll only make me feel worse as it is..."

The engkanto then went up to Muse and placed his hands on his hips, giving him a knowing look, "Now...now. There's really no need to be all awkward you do realize."

He really didn't want the human to feel bad about anything that he wasn't directly responsible for now.

"That..." he noted, stopping to tip his head at Malaya and then making a sudden move to try and teasingly prod him lightly in the stomach. "Is Charles Darwin. Studied on the Galapagos islands. He developed his theory based on how different a lot of the species were there to their less isolated counterparts."
He still felt a little awkward, but teasing helped. "See, I know a few things. You need to get a palm-pilot or something to download books on."

He chuckled lightly at the tease and looked at the human through his bangs with eyes reflecting amusement and glee. So far, Joseph provided such a delightful companionship that he had never experienced. It was wonderful really. Being simply himself and all, Malaya could not help but be thankful for how things were. Inside the former forest dweller chuckled and realized he had been thanking Bathala in his heart so many times in such a short time. Would his God be so bothered by his repeated accounts of gratitude? He hoped not.

"Ah yes...Charles Darwin. It's one of the very few books I managed to get. Galapagos... His work on the animals were quite extensive and interesting. It still exists right? The island he worked on?" The engkanto looked back on the days he used to read the text or what was left of it in his library, fantasizing about the animals of the study. They must have been very large... massive. "Palm...pilot?"

He repeated the human's last words with an obvious unfamiliarity, "So there's a modern device that allows you to store books on the palm of your hand?" After saying so, he allowed it to sink in and then let out a sound of awe, "Amazing!"

"Of course it still exists, I've never been, but I think people still study there. It's always caused a lot of conflict, a lot of people don't think that idea can cohabit with the idea of there being any kind of god. Of course then again, I guess that sort of thing really comes down to people having opinions. As long as we're allowed to have different opinions, there's going to be people who argue about something." He grinned, shrugging. "...A Palm pilot is kind of like a tiny, limited computer. You can store information in them, and a lot of people use them to keep notes, and download digital books. They've also got a dedicated sort of computer thats just for e-books. I think it can hold about eighteen of them or so. They're called palm pilots because they're big enough to pretty much hold in your hand, I forget what the other kind is called."

Malaya listened on the description of the Palm Pilot with awe. Amazing... If they had that back at home, then it would save so much space having to store volume after volume of books and you could bring it anywhere you wanted to! Dictionaries...grammar books---even the legends and mythos would all fit in the palm of your hand! Such an amazing invention.

Though he would have to admit that having the physical book with covers and all was still such a status symbol.
It brought a sense of prestige and the smell of new or aged paper was something that was something no doubt he would end up missing in the long run.

"I see... What a nice invention!," the engkanto exclaimed rather excitedly. "It sounds really convenient. Do you have one?"

After hearing so much about it, he wanted to be able to see one.

"I...don't. I used to, but I kept loosing it, so I took all my stuff off it and gave it to a friend. They use it all the time for their business stuff so it worked out.I can show you some pictures online when we get back though?" He offered as they made their way to the car, gesturing to the vehicle with his keys. "Think you're about ready to roll? Seatbelt rules apply of course."
He didn't really want to know what would happen if they got into an accident, just too many questions about it were unanswered, especially if Malaya was as old as he said he was, which made it pretty much next to impossible, he thought, for him to be as biologically human as he looked. At least he didn't seem to be a gung ho Vegan or vegetarian, that could have made the shopping trip into an headache.

"Alright. And mind you, I have excellent memory. I'll sure to remind you when we get back."

Malaya nodded, curiously regarding the piece of safety equipment with no obvious experience about them. When he made them click together, he let go afraid it would snap his fingers. He undid it again and then let out a knowing "Aaah..." then snapped them back together now with more confidence. The engkanto was a quick learner.

"So this is to keep people in place?," He looked around and saw that the other seats had them as well, "Just in case something happens?"

This time he tried his bubbling excitement as much as he could. Too many new things. It was too much even. But he could not help but ask and want to find out. Joseph was his link to this new reality he had stepped in.

"Yeah, the general idea is to keep you from being launched through the windshield if we hit something, like another car, or, out here deer are a risk. They apparently just kind of jump on out in front of people without much regard to the fact the car out-masses them by quite a bit. You'd probably have a hell of a bruise from the seatbelt, but it's better than skidding on concrete at fifty miles per hour after getting blasted through a pane of glass." It was an ugly image, but he couldn't think of a better way to underline the importance of the belts. Too many stories about people leaving them off under the theory that nothing could happen to -them-. "There are air bags too, but only up front, so the belts are pretty important." He sat down and pulled his own belt over, latching it and putting the keys in the ignition, though he waited for the Engkanto to become settled before starting the car.

Malaya nodded, somewhat fascinated with how technology had improved through the years. Then again the last time he had a real interaction with things was back in the 1800s and the Bathala only knew what year it was now. He had to find out without asking. There had to be a way. Heck, the clothes were so different looking now.

He wondered how the air bags looked like and where they were kept when not in use. Whatever they were, the engkanto hoped he didn't have to encounter or have to depend on them. Although he was more resilient than humans, they still encountered pains and injury after all. So taking safety precautions were still taken.

Flipping his braid over his chest, he braced himself and looked at the driver, nodding. "I'm ready when you are, Joseph. I'm quite excited how this thing goes too. Looks nifty."

Muse grinned, turning over the engine as Malaya braced himself. The car started with an growl and roar, which started the radio playing as he'd last left it. A muted mix of music he'd burned for the drive. "Great, I guess we're ready then." He noted, looking back over his shoulder to pull out of the driveway. It gave him an faint start of excitement to think about it again, weird how having someone along who'd never done this sort of thing made even just going out to stock the refrigerator feel vaguely like some kind of adventure he'd never done before.
"Crazy. I do this all the time and It still feels like I'm doing it for the first time..." He admitted as he looked around, then pulled onto the dusty road. It seemed like the ideal day for a drive even, bright and sunny, and everything green and fresh.

"But that's where you're wrong," continued the engkanto as he fiddled with his braid, "This is your first time having a person of my variety as you go to buy some supplies, isn't it?"

Malaya then turned to him, playfully sticking out his tongue and chuckled, allowing himself to laugh. "And no, it isn't crazy at all... Not at all. Enjoy it while it lasts though, I'd say."

He stretched his limbs a little and relaxed against the passenger seat. Mhmm. Even the seats were ergonomically friendly to a given extent. Nice.

"Thats true, actually." He admitted, thoughtfully, grinning as Malaya stretched out languidly in the seat. You comfortable over there or should we send for the dancing girls and people with fans and grapes?" He added, jokingly, as they drove. "You're right though, it does rather make it a new experience. But what about you? Whats on your mind?"

Malaya made a face and shook his head, laughing slightly. "I know you're hospitable but thank you. You don't have to go out of your way---though a marching band sounds nice." He laughed again, enjoying that the human did hold true to his word of teasing him.

The engkanto looked out the window and watched the scenery that they passed by and was mostly in awe. The geography of the place was just so plain different. The trees were different. The rocks were of a strange mixture of colors as well. He would bet his braid they were of a dissimilar composition back home ---somewhat.

Though he wondered if those trees were also home to his kind but this locality or were just empty barks of living greenery. "On my mind...," he trailed off as he turned to the human, "Well. Wherever I ended up in, I can say it's a totally different place. Even your air feels colder. The vegetation is different as well. I feel like I was transported half across the world into some place totally foreign to me. But I am not scared---not anymore."