A bit more relaxed, Niko took stock of his surroundings. "now where could that young buck have run off to" he said aloud rubbing his hands through his beard in a slow stroking fashion. A habit, he somehow knew, common among the elders and one the younger bucks often satirized.
A small smirk crossed his face as he continued the simple, relaxing motion "When they're elders themselves and have beards of their own, then they'll understand the simple pleasures"
Niko paused, blinking slightly as he brough his hand from his face
"Not sure where that thought came from" He shook his head slightly to clear his head, ears bobbing in the air
"Strange. The mental changes aren't normally...this deep."
He'd learned from previous ventures that the longer one stays, the more secondary changes take hold - further physical alterations, instincts, and thoughts one picks up as the world more precisely fits you into your bespoke role. Still. It normally took far longer for him to slip that deeply into the mindset of his new self.
In previous visits, when he'd taken on the role of village scholar, he'd often felt a certain distance upon first arriving. Satyrs -and thus far he'd always been a satyr - had a certain....headspace the realm needed time to foster. Even among the comparatively serious elders like himself, the satyr mind was known to be frivolous, relaxed and notably...forward when it came to physical touch. While Niko liked to think he was fun loving as a human, satyrs often went far beyond the fun a professor was used to. The wine flowed. Music filled the air. And light hearted -yet often bawdy - jokes peppered conversation. Not to mention that it came to touch, satyrs were essentially Nikos' opposite. Again, he was no prude- for instance just days before he'd finally arranged a date with a fellow professor, Katie a flautist from the music studies department. He'd been eyeing her since he joined the faculty and the two had really hit it off. While his expectations didn't go much further than the standard Greek dinner he liked to prepare for all his dates, something of a personal specialty. Katie, however, was more than happy to extend dinner... into breakfast. Beyond romance, however, he was never the 'touchy' type. He hated hugs, and his friends often joked that barely even tolerated a simple slap on the shoulder. He definitely wasn't the touchy type with men. As a human, he was straight as a board. Satyrs, however, tended to prefer things on the more...masculine end of the spectrum. With such contrasts, true change naturally took time.
In his experience, it didn't take too long to start feeling relatively at home on two hooves, or to start feeling inhibitions melt and desires shift. But falling into a deeper head space like that...usually that required at least a day of changes and he knew from experience - once one's train of thought was in full satyr mode , the risk of losing oneself was high. The last time he'd ventured inside, he'd almost overstayed his welcome. Now even as a human, his goatee remains.
He didn't know why the changes took root so quickly - maybe it was his age - but he was going to have to make quick work of finding this young buck. Now where to start?
"Elder! Elder Katsaros!" Niko turned to see a young buck with flowing auburn hair matched by thick almost burgundy legs. "Lukas" Niko thought, the name coming to him from somewhere new in his mind. The buck had recently been appoint to serve as scribe for the elder council, a position highly prized among bucks after finishing their schooling. It took a sharp mind to serve the elders, and most couldn't make that cut. Niko's eyes briefly lingered on the boy's glossy locks before admiring his broad shoulders.
He paused, shaking his head once more to clear his mind. My desires are already shifting. Got to keep things in check. Refocusing, he smiled lightly as his tail twitched "What is it, my young buck?"
"Pan's hooves, I'm glad I found you." Lukas held out a thick scroll "The fishing tallies for the month, Elder."
"Fishing tallies?" Niko replied, grabbing the scroll and taking in the neatly structured lines of roman numerals.
"From the docks elder, just as you asked"
"The docks?" Niko asked, looking up from the parchment.
"Well of course" the buck looked a bit confused "You are the elder of the docks...."
Niko felt the information sink in, foreign at first but then...natural. Of course. Each elder took leadership of one facet of their village, and he was assigned the docks in honor of his years manning the phishing boats. Scanning the numerals on the scroll, suddenly the figures started to make more sense. As a professor he knew how to read such numerals, but never was the clunky format 'natural' to a mind tuned to arabic numbers. Suddenly, that history seemed to fall away as his eyes quickly danced across the figures, taking in their meaning and understanding their full context.
The village had been well fed this month, the oceans were fruitful as always.
"Thank you Lukas, good work." he said, clasping his hand on the buck's shoulder. His hand lingered, taking in the youthful strength. Admiring the trim muscles.
"Bahhh," he said suddenly, taking a small step back from Lukas, "By Pan I have to get it together" he said as he shook his head again. "The pull of this world is so strong this time. Enticing me. As if it wants me to stay."
"Elder?" Lukas asked, a look of concern in his eyes "Is something wrong?"
"No. No young buck. I'm fine" Niko replied Is it because I've come through too many times? Last time I almost lost my self...does the world want to finish the job?
"erm....One more thing elder. Your new apprentice. He'll be waiting for you at the docks, he already has a reel and tackle so no need to gather supplies." Lukas replied, resorting quickly to business in his uncertainty over his Elder's strange words.
Niko's ears perked up. "A reel?" Andrew.
"Yes elder, Andreios eager to learn your trade."
"Thank you Lukas, you're dismissed"
As the buck trotted away Niko smiled. " Well at least I've located the boy. Now the real challenge will be figuring out if he's too far gone or if there is a fleck of wet paint yet on him still." Flicking his tail, Niko turned and slowly trotted towards the docks, hardly noticing his innate sense of balance on two hooves.