Passport Even for Foreigners

The smell of fish, sea and damp wood filled the air, as the Au Ra walked into the town. The sun was just coming up, with him having travelled through the night to reach Hargeon. Normally he would have used the veil of night to have some rest, but he couldn't bring himself to fall asleep. The morning rays broke through the heavy clouds, faintly illuminating the streets that were busy, despite the early hours.

Ships being loaded with all manners of cargo, bakeries baking their scary-looking local delicacies, even some cafés were being opened, in case anybody needed a shot of their morning coffee. As the man left the docks, he neared a what seemed a more residential and gathering areas. The architecture in general was plain, but had that certain sailor charm to it. The man yawned, making his eyes water. Only then he realised that he was indeed up the whole night and the whole previous day. The excitement of getting to Hargeon was most likely wearing off.

He passed a few houses, before he noticed a crowd of people tightly surrounding something or someone. His interest piqued, naturally, he decided to investigate. Thankfully to his height, he quickly saw what the commotion was about. A table was set up in a gathering area of the city with a number of people - officials, it seemed, seated behind it. There were also signs saying something about a Fiorian passport. The man tilted his head in confusion. He managed to get into the country without one. Was it that much of a problem to get out?

The man walked around the crowd to reach the official who was sitting near one of the edges of the table. Some of the individuals within the crowd gave him looks, but he didn't mind. He was just going to ask a question, after all. The official was a woman that seemed to be absorbed in preparing the paperwork that she would need in just a little bit. "Good morning. Excuse me." Thane would speak up, to get her attention. She didn't show any kind of response, but he pressed on. "Do even foreigners need a passport from Fiore to be able to travel outwards?" He asked, a woman next to him muttering under her breath that she thought it was a good question. The official didn't bother looking up from her work preparation. "Yes, you have to have a passport. That's how it works. If you want one, then get into the line." She replied, somewhat rudely. Thane nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you. I will do just that." He thanked her and made his way back to the end of the crowd.

The people seemed pleased that the giant went back into the queue, instead of cutting in front of them. While it may have a been a distant, fleeting thought in his head, he was not going to be unnecessarily rude. Thane took his place in the queue, not knowing how long the wait would take. However, after not too long and the line barely moving, his eyes slowly closed as he had his arms crossed on his chest. And fell asleep from exhaustion.

Thane wouldn't wake until he felt a hand on his arm. His eyes shot wide open and he shook his head. The sun was high up in the sky, signalling that quite a bit of time had passed. Then the realisation hit him - he fell asleep while waiting. He adjusted his pose as he heard a low chuckle. The man looked down to see an other man. "Hello. Pardon the intrusion. I saw you talk to Sophia this morning." He said as he motioned with his head in Sophia's general direction. "We are on a break right now, but when I hadn't see you at the table until now, I wondered what happened." The man explained, making Thane crack a smile. "Thank you for the concern. And waking me up." The Au Ra would thank the man, who motioned Thane to follow him. "I'll sort out your paperwork. Come with." Thane would hesitantly follow. "Didn't you just say you were on a break?" He would ask, warily. "Yes. But I imagine that you've already been standing there for a long while." The other man would reply as he sat down behind the table. Thane stopped in front of it, waiting for the man to finish sorting through the mountain of papers. It made Thane feel slightly intimidated. Paperwork did not belong in the context of tribal upbringing. "Thank you for doing this for me." Thane would thank the man, who just waved him off. "Think nothing of it. Just pass on the good deed." The man would reply and then started the passport procedure.

The official was really easygoing and managed to explain everything in a way that even somebody like Thane understood it with little to no problem. The procedure only took a handful of minutes and after that he was walking away with a passport of his own. With a final thank you and a wave to the official, Thane left the ever growing crowd.