food
[It's only natural for Ithaqua to be curious of the various food on display... and while he did try some of the savoury meals, he's had more of the desserts thus far. But one half of the table is dedicated to what's clearly a single culture's dishes. Why is that so important?

He wanders over with a plate of a slice of decadent chocolate cake, peering at the plates full of... eggs cut in half, soft-boiled judging from the gooey yolks... but?]

Why do these eggs smell strange? [Because they're ajitsuke tamago. But he doesn't know that, of course.]

drinking (cw: irresponsible consumption of alcohol)
[Technically, he's old enough. Technically, he's made his own drinks out of curiosity, and and it's not unheard of for adults to drink in the coldest nights of the year to keep warm. He's done it himself, in a dark corner away from his mother even though she wasn't in a position to watch him. But drinking when it's not a necessity? Just... because you want to? That's something Ithaqua has never done before, and colour him curious.

He has a flute of champagne between his fingers, and he might not admit it, but he's feeling it, as evidenced by the giggles as he passes people by, stilts clicking on the marble floor. If someone else has alcohol in hand, he'll make a beeline for them and tilt his head to the side like a little owl.]

What are you drinking?

dancing
[Who would even be brave enough to dance with someone this obnoxiously tall? Even if his height is artificially enhanced with the presence of stilts... who would even dare? Those things might as well be weapons that were somehow allowed into the castle.

Not that they stop Ithaqua from trying to dance, or asking people to dance. He just has to... bend over quite a bit to offer his hand.]

Feel like dancing? Heheh!

There, I've cleared the spot already. [Ithaqua places his free hand on his hip. Indeed, there are deep, thick lines in the ground that have blocked off the patch Tatara has already mentioned, plus a litte bit more. He sets his axe against the nearest tree and steps onto the future garden patch that he'll be maintaining for the foreseeable future, already poking little holes into the ground with his stilts.

It's not the method he chooses to work with the ground though. He's just testing how it gives way.] First we till the ground, add more fertile soil, and then plant. If you've not found tools, use your magic.

[In fact, Ithaqua has done a lot of the work already. He has managed to source some topsoil and mulch, and even got some seeds and seedlings. Why does he need assistance again? He might as well share the rewards of having completed this task with someone else... Even if the reward really isn't what he's after.

Tatara's request is just an excuse for him to make a garden. This way, none of the annoyances in the manor can bother him about him working with plants and dirt, or when he's squirreling away seeds from the fruits and vegetables they cut up in the kitchen for meals.]

[Ithaqua is very, very at home in the dark as his companion for this mission will find-- not even because of the lantern on his axe, the light it gives is barely enough to illuminate Ithaqua's odd, inhuman silhouette. But he just moves easily, taking lines smoothly around obstacles and wholly unafraid of the darker areas of the capital, as if he can see in the dark. At least it's not difficult to keep up with him in his dark clothing, with that lantern.]

Hm, hmm, hm~ A good night to go hunting. A shame we're in the city, and not in the forest.

[He can't hunt any of the humans in here. Sigh.]

Ohhh? Are these what you're so afraid of? [He acts like he's not staring down a pack of eyes glaring at them from the darkness between the trees, reflecting the light from the lantern dangling from his axe.] These are just wolves. As long as you skirt their territory and do not make eye contact, you've nothing to be afraid of.

Or... Hmm, hmm~ These ones have developed a taste for human flesh, perhaps.

[He sounds far too cavalier for this situation-- in truth, he's not afraid. A little concerned that he has to fight animals that are just trying to protect their home from interlopers. But then the beasts he coined as wolves step out from behind the trees, he sees that they actually are not. They may look like wolves, but are larger, bulkier. And, with this proximity, bearing some sort of magic.]

Oh~ Not wolves, apparently. Heheh.

[And still, Ithaqua is not afraid.]