Culture shock

Bisento sat awkwardly at the table as Machiko and Ikebukuro clanged beer cans together. 

"Nothing beats a cold one after a jam," Machiko grinned as she chugged down the can. 

"This is a beer, yes? It has far stronger taste than what I'm used to," Ikebukuro smiled.

"That's cuz it's made from home-grown wheat here."

"You grow wheat here?"

"Never saw the east side? We got whole farmland for miles. And guess who fought for it? Me. Lousy old fossil of a man didn't believe in self-sustainability, just puffing his stomach with wagyu from Kansai. Thanks to me, we convinced the neighboring city to cede us farmland, and now we got the best farm system in the country." 

Bisento's gaze narrowed. "You got farms on the east side? Where is that?"

"Wanna see the cows moo? We'll blast off in the limo!" Machiko grinned as she wearily rose and began stumbling towards the exit. 

"Madam, you need to sober up first," a servant glared as she caught Machiko before she fell over.

"Huh? Why? I'm riding in the back so what's the issue?" 

"You can't give a tour if you're slurring your speech."

"I'll sober up on the drive over." 

"My apologies, but the mistress will need to rest for a bit. Should you require more edibles, request it via the intercom to the right," the servant nodded as she began escorting Machiko to a nearby couch. 

Once the two were gone, Bisento slammed her fist down on the table. "Damn! We were so close to learning of where their food source is!" she fumed telepathically. 

"Why are you so gung ho? I told you before it would likely take a year to take over this town and it's hardly been a day," Ikebukuro telepathically responded back as she grabbed a piece of sushi from the platter before her. 

"You think I can put up with this for another Ule!? Sister, they're casting spells on you!"

"The jam session? That was just good music, music fitting for a warlord tribe like us."

"It was repulsive! The lute plays a more desirable sound, and that's the tool of docile elves." 

"Perhaps that's just your opinion. If I were to call Kirikatta or Winona, I'd bet they'd share my opinion."

"That wild asswad would agree with you just to piss me off." 

"Then ask Winona." 

Bisento closed her eyes and shook her head. "She's too much a fanatic over those papers that she found one day." 

"Quite a few of our kin are, but I have no issue with it. That reminds me, we haven't had contact with her or Kirikatta since we first set forth into this city." 

"Shall I track them down?" 

"No, a simple message will do," Ikebukuro nodded as she pulled out a sack of acorns from her pocket. 

Bisento nodded and rose, scooping out some of the acorns into her hand before heading to the window and tossing the acorns out. The acorns then began flying through the air on their own, presumably searching for other elves in the area. 

"I threw out 5 just in case others have wandered nearby." 

"That should suffice. I imagine some might come looking for us assuming Winona didn't send official word back." 

"She's reliable in that sense." 

...

"Any word from the others?" Ikebukuro telepathically asked Bisento. 

"Just Kirikatta, and it was a typical "I'm doing whatever I want, so don't bother me" response," Bisento telepathically replied. 

"Nothing from Winona? Odd, she'd at least respond, even if she was in the middle of a hunt." 

"One of the other seeds ended up flying off to the north. I guess someone walked into range, but no idea who it is." 

Ikebukuro nodded and returned her focus to Machiko. 

"My apologies for the delay. Normally I can handle a beer, but I guess I was so exhausted I let myself get too hammered," Machiko nervously smiled. 

"Oh no fault of yours at all. That jam session we had was quite exhilarating. I never knew swinging my hair around like that while strumming out pure majesty would feel so... so..." 

"Empowering?"

"Yeah. It was like all worry and responsibility was gone. If I could only spend my days doing just that." 

"Hahaha! Welcome to the kingdom of rock. But yeah, you headbanging with that long white hair was pure badassery. You've got the makings of a rock queen, heck, you already look the part with the denim dress n' sneakers." 

"Oh really? I never really thought much about these clothes when I got them. Do I really look that good?" 

"Sure do, sister. Bisento looks good in the school uniform too. Not exactly my style, but in pure fashion sense, it looks good." 

"These clothes were nothing more than trophy- Mmph!?" 

"Bisento, we don't talk about that," Ikebukuro warned telepathically as she covered Bisento's mouth with her hand. 

"Hmm? What was that?" Machiko asked. 

"Oh nothing, she was just going to go on a tangent on how she won these clothes in a competition for hunting the most wild animals." 

"Ah, I see. I don't mind it." 

"Sadly I do. Bisento's a horrible storyteller, like, "I shot arrow, skinned the fox, snapped the bone in half, saw a trail of rabbit poop", it's bad." 

Machiko nervously nodded. "Still, it's a shame Bisento doesn't seem to enjoy rock as much as you do. She'd probably look just as majestic if she whipped her hair like you did."

"Our hair isn't for whipping. It's a symbol of our pride. The longer and more braided, the more revered a warrior you are," Bisento glared. 

"Ah, my apologies if I offended you. I'm not very familiar at all with elf culture aside from what little you've shared with me about it." 

"Don't sweat it. She's always the stiff n' serious type. But with all this praise for our hair, gotta ask why you don't have long hair if you like swinging it around so much," Ikebukuro smiled. 

Machiko let out a chuckle as she ran her hand through her hair. "Oh there are days I wish I could have hair long enough to swing, but these days, I like it short n' sweet. Even get it shaved clean every so often  and girl, nothing feels more empowering than rocking out with a shiny bald head." 

Bisento let out a laugh. "You shave your head? Are you serious?" 

"Yup, eyebrows too. Sometimes I even get it waxed if I'm feeling bold." 

"Wow, that's the most amusing thing I've heard. In our culture, a shaved head is a symbol of humiliation, oppression, ridicule. An elf who betrays their people will often find themselves in this fate before being sold off to slavery to live the rest of their days degraded, assuming their crimes aren't severe enough to warrant immediate death." 

"I see. A bald head can symbolize many things. To some it's oppression, others it's empowerment and strength, maybe even beauty." 

"Beauty!? That's a good joke. A bald elf looks no better than a filthy goblin or orc." 

A smirk appeared on Machiko's face. "Then mind if I get a quick makeover before the farm? It's on the way." 

"No, I'd-"

"Sure, go right ahead," Ikebukuro interjected. 

Bisento's eyes widened in shock as Machiko smiled and contacted the driver via the intercom. "Reginald, we're taking a detour. Take me to Senorita's, I'm in the mood to do something with my hair."