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RESPITE FALLS - A BIT AFTER MIDNIGHT
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Erika is walking slowly near the South wall. Normally, she'd walk outside to make sense of her thoughts, but even in her slightly insomniac state she can tell it'd be a bad idea to go out into the darkness. Instead, after a bit she stops at a bench sitting under a rudimentary, slightly flickering street lamp, sighing a bit as she sits down. "...why...?" she mutters to herself as she leans back, staring at the stars above.
Maybelline walks along the street, her night a mix of overthinking and tinkering with the generator to trying to keep from thinking about how hard friendships are. Right now, she just needs some coffee, resulting in her walking through the dark towards the Thirsty Minnow.
Erika notices the stoat walking past and gives a small smile despite her less-than-cheery mood: "Hey there."
Maybelline starts, noticing the figure sitting in the lamplight, sitting alone on a bench. May hestitates, then lifts a hand to give a tiny wave, "Uh, hey."
Erika attempts to straighten up as she takes in the stoat's looks: "Can't sleep either, hmm? I'm Erika, by the way."
Maybelline shrugs, "I don't sleep much on any night, no. And uh, I'm May."
Erika tilts her head, a bit puzzled: "You don't sleep much on any night? I mean, I guess that can be a thing..."
Maybelline scratches her head, "Well, I don't sleep much at all, day or night. Got to much on my mind."
Erika nods, sighing a bit as she wilts slightly on her seat: "...I can understand that feeling, right now, very well." She mutters a bit under her breath: "...stupid okapi..."
Maybelline tilts her head, "Stupid...?" She sighs, "You uh... want to go get a coffee or just... uh..." She hesitates, clearly a bit uncomfortable, "Need a bit of company?"
Erika blinks and manages an almost-convincing smile: "Oh! Sorry. I'm usually more cheery. And... company would not be the worstest, right now."
Maybelline walks over and clambors up onto the bench next to Erika. "Well then, guess you've got some company then."
Erika smiles a tiny bit brighter now: "You don't really have to... but thank you, May." She then lets out a sigh: "Is a stupid thing anyway, that bothers me."
Maybelline nods, sitting a little awkwardly, as it's clear she's not comfortable here, but is trying. "Well, I'm not trying to brag, but I'm a smart stoat. I can try to help, maybe?"
Erika gives a small smile as she glances at the stoat. "Perhaps." She looks up as she gathers her thoughts: "I am a bit lost, and it's... it's silly. So very silly. I've never... I mean, I'm in my thirties, but I have never, not really... felt this. Been... in love, if that's what this is."
Maybelline listens nodding along, until she hears that last line, then her ears drop back, a sinking feeling in her stomach. "Like a crush, eh? Guess we're both out in the middle of the night for similar reasons then..."
Erika blinks from her semi-lost train of thought, then looks at the stoat in slight surprise: "Oh? I guess... that can happen. Huh."
Maybelline forces a chuckle, "Hope it's not the same person, eh? That'd be... awkward." Her attempt at a joke falls flat and she slumps.
Erika blanches slightly at the thought, but makes herself admit it out loud to herself: "I... I t-think I have a crush on Cavro."
Maybelline nods, "I... have no idea who that is. I'm still sorta new in town."
Erika blinks, and really honestly tries to hide her relief and almost succeeds: "Oh. He's the smith, took over my Dad's smithy few years ago." She gives a bit of a sheepish grin: "I'm sorry. Usually I'm pretty good at greeting new folks, but, uh..."
Maybelline waves a hand off dismissively, "It's fine. I keep to myself pretty well. Still getting used to all this change in my life and all that..."
Erika leans back a bit, looking at the much smaller being next to her: "I can imagine. So, uh... what do you do here, in town?"
Maybelline fiddles with her hands a little, then points up at the light, "I'm the new generator engineer. Keeping the lights on, as it were."
Erika blinks: "Oh! I didn't know we had a new one. Welcome!" She gives a genuinely bright smile: "I'm happy that someone's here to do that, I don't understand the firstest thing about that stuff."
Maybelline looks up at Erika and smiles, "Well, thanks for that. It's still a lot to cope with for me, but... at least I know what I'm doing when it comes to my job. If I wasn't here, going out to clear my head, I'd be there working on it some more."
Erika nods slowly, her smile waning ever-so-slightly: "And if I wasn't trying to make sense of... stuff, I'd be sleeping so I could do my usual garden rounds in the morning."
Maybelline clasps her hands in front of her, staring down. "Yeah... well... it's not easy. That 'stuff', I mean."
Erika nods, looking down as well though glancing at Maybelline: "Yeah... I've known Cavro all my life. He's my best friend. How do I... say things, without ruining everything?"
Maybelline frowns. "I... don't know. I only just met Annika, so what's there to ruin? If she ends up hating me, well..." She trails off, slumping a little deeper. "The only advice I've gotten so far is to take my time, and not try to rush into a relationship, but I don't think that applies in your case."
Erika nods, musing: "Yeah... but even if you've just met her, you don't want to ruin anything, right?"
Maybelline shakes her head, "Not at all, no. I want... well, I want to be her friend, even if there's no other chemistry there. Guess you've got the same worry, but just, more about how to keep a friend no matter what happens."
Erika looks at Maybelline and smiles: "Reckon I do. It's hard, and whenever I see him I just... can't bring myself to say anything."
Maybelline nods, tapping her hands together on her lap. "Sorry I can't actually help. I'm kinda hopeless. Never even had friends before, now I'm thinking I start a relationship? Feel like I'm just fooling myself... but I still want to try, you know?"
Erika smiles: "I think I do. I mean, I've never been in a relationship either, not really... just been doing my thing in this town all my life."
Maybelline: Gardening, you said? You're a gardener?
Erika nods, brightening a bit: "Gardener, herbalist, what-have-you. I took over my Mom's garden, or as Cavro calls it 'jungle in my backyard'." She gives a small chuckle: "I do know my greenery, I suppose."
Maybelline smiles up at Erika, "It's good to have passion for something, and to be able to make a living off it too."
Erika shrugs slightly: "I do what I can. And love what I do. So... yeah."
Maybelline nods, "I... I feel a lot better when I've got my hands in something technical. The smell of the grease, knowing where everything fits and how to make it work. Every problem has a solution, it's just a matter of knowing how it all works, and how it all fits together. Perfectly sane and logical... not like people."
Erika gives Maybelline a look: "I... suppose so. Plants are more fidgety. Trial and error to figure how to make them grow, it is."
Maybelline glances back down, "I was never much good with plants."
Erika shrugs a bit: "Most aren't. But I also can't make any sense of any tech, with or without magic in it."
Maybelline nods, "Different strokes and all that. Magic stuff doesn't make a lick of sense to me either."
Erika chuckles softly: "Fair enough." She stifles a bit of a yawn: "It's late... or so late it's early, soon."
Maybelline nods again, fighting off the echo of a yawn herself, "Well... I doubt I was all that much help. But uh, good to meet you, Erika?"
Erika gives a wry smile: "Not sure I was of any help either, but... it's still nice to talk." She offers her hand to the stoat: "I imagine we will see again, anyway."
Maybelline hesitates a moment, then extends her small hand to meet Erika's. "I uh, well, yeah. I'll be around for awhile, for sure."
Erika smiles as she shakes May's hand briefly, before getting up: "I can only imagine the amount of work that old generator thing is." She looks at the stoat: "And good luck with... Annika, was it?"
Maybelline nods, a hint of a blush on her face as smiles, "Uh yeah, Annika. And good luck with... Corvo?"
Erika smiles with a nod: "Cavro... and yeah. Gotta figure something out." She pauses, frowning: "...whatever that is."
Maybelline frowns a moment, "Right, Cavro. And... Erika, right? Yeah. Guess we'll both have to figure stuff out. If you ever want to talk again, I'm living in the quarters built on the side of the generator so uh, feel free to stop by?"
Erika smiles, then points down a street-corner from them: "And I take care of the only... um, 'crowded' garden in town over there by the South wall, so same goes to you, May."
Maybelline 's smile brightens, "Alright then. Good luck, Erika!"
Erika gives Maybelline a small wave, before starting to head towards her home: "Good luck to you too, May."
Maybelline watches the okapi go, then takes a deep breath and hops off the bench, resuming her quest for evening coffee.
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NESSETH'S HOUSE - LATE AFTERNOON
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Nesseth steps through the front door of his house, having just finished carting a couple of hunting kills to the butcher with Damina. He sighs a little, glad to be home again after a day out, as he hangs up his satchel and crossbow on their respective hooks on the wall. "Well, that was a good hunt. The butcher should have our stuff ready within a day or two."
Damina walks in, taking a quick look and finding somewhere to sit. She takes a seat on the couch pretty fast once she spots it. "Should be some pretty good stuff. Wonder what it'll taste like..."
Nesseth yawns a bit as he stretches his arms and makes his way to the kitchen to get a couple of drinks. "It'll probably be pretty savory, and the meat will likely cook up nicely."
Damina 's mouth waters thinking about it. "Mmmhhh... I'm hungry already..." She rests her crossbow in the couch next to her, still wondering what to do with it. "I swear, one day I'll figure out how you work..."
Nesseth returns a few minutes later, carrying a tray holding a pitcher of chilled water and a pot of tea, plus the glasses and cups necessary to drink them. He sets the tray down on the table and pours out some drinks. "Hopefully they're able to get the meat prepared quickly, then. Did you want some tea or water, by the way?"
Damina thinks about it for a moment. "Hmm... I actually haven't tried tea that much. Sure, I'll try that."
Nesseth nods and slides a cup of hot tea over to Damina. "I can add some sugar or milk if you want, but here's what the tea's like by itself."
Damina picks it up, takes a sip, and near-instantly gags at the taste. "ACK-"
Nesseth chuckles as he nudges a small sugar bowl and a cup of milk over. "Here, you can add these to taste. It'll help sweeten it up a bit."
Damina takes a moment to regain herself. "Ah, ah, yeah, that... that would help..." A few seconds later and she's slowly adding stuff to her tea. Confident with what she's done, Damina takes yet another sip, and this time she doesn't choke on it.
Nesseth nods as he makes his own cup of tea, already knowing how he likes it after having spent a lot of time learning by way of watching Plume. "I'd offer coffee, but seeing as it's already later in the afternoon, I doubt either of us wants to stay up really late."
Damina: "Yeah, it's probably best I don't stay up all night. I've just been constantly going to sleep at horrendous times lately."
Nesseth hums. "Mmh, yeah, I can see it being a good idea to get back to a regular schedule if you can. What's been keeping you up as of late?"
Damina struggles to come up with an answer to that question.
Damina: "I just... I don't know. Can't pinpoint it."
Nesseth nods again. "Nothing to do with that person you said was following you, though?"
Damina shakes her head. "No, not that."
Nesseth dips his head. "Good to hear. I've not found anyone that's matched your description of the person yet, nor anyone that's seen them around as of late. So that's one good thing for you.
Damina just sorta dips her head, staring at the ground. Her crossbow is making noises again.
Nesseth raises an eyebrow as he looks towards Damina's crossbow. "Is that... making noises, now?"
Damina looks up and glances over. "Yeah, turns out the things alive. Not like you could tell by looking at it, heh... "
Nesseth 's brow furrows a little as he continues to look at the crossbow. "It's... alive. So... how do you keep it alive, then...?"
Damina shrugs. "It eats, I think. Likes your jerky a lot, though."
Nesseth tilts his head in confusion, though he seems a little pleased at the news even as he scratches his head. "So you feed the crossbow jerky. I... never thought I'd hear that phrase in my lifetime, or... ever, really. I'm glad it likes the jerky, though?"
Damina: [[The crossbow wiggles its tusks in response.]]
Nesseth notices the crossbow's tusks wiggling a bit. "Huh... so if that thing's alive, then... what, are the bolts like a defense mechanism or something...?"
Damina wobbles her head a bit. "Not sure, really. I'm still fairly certain this thing's magical in some nature but..."
Nesseth shrugs a little. "I mean... obviously it's magical. I don't think the Explorers Guild has seen anything like a living crossbow before..."
Damina chuckles a bit. "Either way, it's grown on me a bit."
Nesseth smirks a little. "I guess you weren't expecting your weapon to also be a pet, then?"
Damina: "Ah, you could say that..."
Nesseth smiles, obviously joking a little. "I just hope that it hasn't literally been growing on you as of late."
Damina brushes that idea off. "Pfff, nah. Firmly detached. Hell, I bet you could launch it too."
Nesseth shrugs as he takes a sip of his tea. "Probably, if it's not magically linked to you, anyway. Though, from what you've told me before, I doubt it'd work for you if there was a magical link, considering how you got it."
Damina looks it over. "Nope. As far as I can tell, it's just a highly unusual weapon."
Nesseth laughs a bit. "Highly unusual is putting it lightly, I'd say. I'm pretty sure that thing is entirely unique."
Damina: "Makes me wonder if any more like it would ever be made..."
Nesseth shakes his head a bit. "I can't say for sure. The only way to know how to make something no one's seen before is through taking it apart and learning from it." He gestures at the crossbow, "And if that thing's actually alive, taking it apart is probably out of the question."
Damina twitches her head a bit. "All things considered... I'm actually getting a bit tired. Is it, uh, alright, if I stay the night?"
Nesseth blinks and tilts his head a bit. "Oh? Sure, if you don't mind crashing on the sofa. I've got some spare pillows and an extra blanket." He stands up with a bit of a stretch, "I'll go and grab them for you."
Damina nods. "Yeah, that's fine. Thanks!"
Nesseth steps into his bedroom for a short bit, then comes back out with a big blanket and a soft-looking pillow, which he leaves stacked on the sofa next to Damina. He smiles and nods towards the kitchen. "You're welcome to poke around in the kitchen if you want some snacks overnight." He gestures back to the hallway, "And the bathroom's on the right, across from the bedroom door."
Damina takes one look at the blanket and immediately wraps herself with it. "Gotcha, gotcha."
Nesseth chuckles as Damina wraps herself up in the blanket. "Well, if you're gonna get some sleep, I'll just clean up some things in the kitchen and then get some rest, myself. If you wake up first in the morning, feel free to wash up in the bathroom and have some breakfast. Or if you wait until I wake up, I can cook us both something to eat."
Damina hums to herself in the mess of big blanket that she's in.
Nesseth picks up his tea cup and makes his way to the kitchen to clean up for the night, leaving the tray on the table in the event Damina gets thirsty overnight. Once that's done, he wanders back through the living room and bids Damina good night as he makes his way into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him.