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OLDHAMMER SMITHY - NOONISH
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Erika swings by the door to the smithy, grinning. She's holding a basket in her arms: "I'm heeere! And I bring lunch!"
Cavro drops his hammer when Erika calls out on arriving, fumbling to catch it and knocking over the piece of iron he had apparently been working very slowly on, considering it was lukewarm at best. He pops his head up over the anvil and grins at Erika, waving the hammer over his head. "Hi Erika!"
Erika waves, smiling wide: "Hey, you." She steps over and leans to give the badger a soft nuzzle on the forehead: "Miss me?"
Cavro blushes when she nuzzles him, almost giggling. "How could I? You you you never left my mind!" He bends to pick up the cold iron bar, setting it next to the forge instead. "What did you bring to to to eat?"
Erika gives Cavro's snout a kiss, blushing herself, before setting the basket aside: "Oh just a load of some simple sandwiches with a bit of my own herb stuff."
Cavro blushes brightly, getting a bit lightheaded. In a bit of a daze, he totters away from Erika and drags two chairs over to the empty table near the doors. "Th th that sound wonderful~"
Erika giggles, stepping over: "Naw, wonderful is what... you are." She blinks: "Uhm... Cavro... we're good, right?"
Cavro scratches at his snout for a moment as he sits down, his head clearing as he calms down. "Uh... Hm? What do do you mean?"
Erika is still standing as her brain is whirring: "We're like... us. And, friends, right? But... also... um...." She steps over to her chair, but doesn't sit down: "...more?"
Cavro stares at her and thinks for a few moments, then stands up on the chair near her, kissing her on the cheek before hugging her tight. "Yes, if it it it makes you happy, absolutely."
Erika grins with a blush: "It... it r-really does. I just... was so afraid that, uh... you'd not want to."
Cavro pulls back from her, shaking his head. "The thought terrifies and exhilarates me at the same time, but right now, being with you is the best thing I can think about."
Erika nods, taking Cavro's hand in her own: "...s-sounds about right." She smiles, looking at him: "I... I want to be with you... a-as more than a friend, but also as a friend. Both."
Cavro chuckles nervously, squeezing her hand and staring into her eyes, his heart racing. "Let let let's uhm sit down, my heart is is is going to explode if we keep this up..."
Erika blinks, then smiles: "Y-yeah. Uh. Let's." She fails to make a move towards sitting down until Cavro lets go of her hand, though.
Cavro lets go of her with a little "oh!", grinning nervously as he plops down on his chair. He scratches at his snout out of habit, still shivering slightly.
Erika sits down with slightly more force than she intends to, her gaze never quite leaving the badger. She stares at him for a moment before going 'oh' and actually taking note of the basket she brought in, starting to take out some simple wrapped sandwiches.
Cavro nervously laughs again, not meaning anything by it. He tries to keep his gaze off Erika to calm down, but can't quite manage to keep his eyes off of her, grasping her hand instead of the sandwich she's holding.
Erika also grasps Cavro's hand instead of the sandwich, looking at him instead of the food. "Uh... um." She pauses, trying to think of something eloquent to say. "Hi."
Cavro not really thinking clearly at the moment responds with "Hi." as well. He blinks for a second, then leans in and kisses Erika properly.
Erika blushes at the kiss, but belatedly and passionately responds to it with her own.
Cavro lingers, pulling away reluctantly only because his heart is hammering away. "I I I feel much better about this now~"
Erika blinks a bit dumbly, her eyes wide as she stares: "I... I think... do too. Um."
Cavro giggles, squeezing her hand again. "So lunch?"
Erika melts into a smile: "...yeah, you sound good. I mean lunch sounds good. I mean food?"
Cavro smiles for a moment, but hides his snout and blushes brightly as the implication of her words sets in. "Yes yes food for for for now!"
Erika blinks again a bit stupidly as her brain makes the connection: "Oh um yes. Sandwiches. I brought those." She picks up a sandwich and stares at it for a moment before realizing to unwrap it from the paper.
Cavro digs into the paper of the other sandwich, his hunger pretty well gone already as his hands shakily open the paper. He manages to take a single bite and moans into the bread.
Erika tilts her head, still blushing: "...that good?"
Cavro nods emphatically, resisting a second bite while he finishes his mouthful. "What did you use? It's delicious!"
Erika blinks, thinking: "Um, nothing special. I think?"
Cavro shakes his head. "You said something from your your your garden, right?"
Erika nods, looking at her own sandwich: "Yeah but... like just some vineweed and night lettuce... nothing special."
Cavro savors his second bite before speaking again. "Hm, maybe it's because you grew and made it..."
Erika looks at Cavro, finding her blush again: "Me? But I'm just... um. I guess?"
Cavro: "Wonderful? Yes, you are~" He leans against her as he continues his delicious lunch.
Erika blushes brighter, almost choking on her sandwich she had finally taken a bite of: "Eh-uhm bwuh? Me?"
Cavro nods, accidentally nuzzling against her side by doing so. "Absolutely, in too many ways to to to list, Erika."
Erika stammers a bit into her sandwich, before finding a clue of a thought in there somewhere: "...list them f-for me, though?"
Cavro blushes, taking a few moments to gather his thoughts. "You're generous, and kind, and always such a bright light in in in anybody's day. And you're so clever about plants and nature, and adventurous. You're fascinating and everything about you is is is exciting to me."
Erika blushes brighter with each word, and while she attempts to say something, her mouth just refuses to cooperate and she ends up just staring at Cavro kind of slack-jawed: "Eauhm. Buh. R-really?"
Cavro finishes his last bite of food and gives her a one-arm hug around the waist. "Mhm, wonderful, in one word~"
Erika swallows and kind of just leans into the hug, her comprehension apparently gone out for coffee.
Cavro chuckles slightly, feeling somewhat sleepy from the rush of emotions and the sandwich. He begins purring lightly against Erika as his eyelids droop.
Erika leans on Cavro, her mind going very fast to several nowheres in particular. She just ends up holding him close for the moment.
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OUTSIDE THE GATE OF RESPITE FALLS - CARAVAN - MID-AFTERNOON
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Xochi sits upon a seat in her carriage, having broken camp not far outside the city with the intent of a final short burst of travel, and then bearing them through the gate, a passing inspection they've all been assured. She waits patiently now, a growing sense of accomplishment in her, that her new life is just beyond this final crawl.
Nesseth stands guard at the gate leading into town, his sharp eyes carefully scanning the land around the approaching caravan. He keeps his crossbow unslung and at the ready, just in case a wild creature gets any bold ideas in its head and tries to approach the caravan wagons.
Xochi watches as each wagon is summarily waved through, with little more than a cursory inspection. As her carriage approaches, she simply waits with hands folded upon the base of her tail, the rest curled up beneath her.
Nesseth notices Xochi on one of the remaining wagons as it trundles closer to the entrance. He hails the driver with a motion of his free arm, then points them over to the side of the street for a quick, closer inspection.
Xochi glances up as the wagon suddenly halts, then diverts aside from the others. She narrows her eyes at the lizard, motioning them aside, and can't help but cross her arms, tongue flickering with annoyance.
Nesseth waits as the wagon moves off to the side, then hops down and lets the other gate guard clear the rest of the wagons solo. He approaches the wagon Xochi is on, his eyes scanning the entirety of the wagon, then he calls to the driver. "Hey there, Albert, good to see you again. Don't worry, just the usual random search; I won't take more than a couple minutes."
Xochi hisses quietly, glaring at Nesseth at the words 'random'
Nesseth nods once the driver gives his consent to the wagon search, then moves around to the rear and climbs up, where he begins to shift boxes and sacks around a bit, just examining somewhat casually for anything that might seem out of the ordinary. He doesn't open any containers that are sealed, though, and doesn't touch anything that's unmarked, since those are likely personal effects for passengers. As promised, the search doesn't take much more than a minute or two before he jumps back down and moves back to the front. At this point, however, he looks straight to Xochi and, with all the air of a guard who's asked the question way too often, asks, "Sorry about the wait, ma'am, but one last thing I need to ask. Has the driver asked you to conceal anything in your personal effects, or have they been asked in turn to conceal anything for other unknown parties?"
Xochi 's tongue flicks out a few times as she levels her gaze towards the lizard, her tone kept level in response to Nesseth's flat questioning, but her eyes meet his with a bit of fire in them. "No. I have nothing to conceal, either of my own, or at behest of others.'
Nesseth nods, unflinchingly meeting Xochi's fiery gaze with his own sharp eyes. "And, just to confirm, none of your effects, nor that of any of the wagons you've been riding in, have gone missing at any point in the journey from Bairnell, yes?
Xochi hmphs. "The belongings have not moved from my sight."
Nesseth nods and steps back, still keeping his voice in that carefully controlled deadpan tone. "Thank you, ma'am. Welcome to Respite Falls, and may you find the rest you seek out here." He leans over to the side and waves the driver on, "You're clear to go, Albert. All clear!"
Xochi sits back into her seat as she takes a deep breath. "Quite."
Nesseth turns to watch as the wagon continues on its way deeper into the town, then sighs and shakes his head as he walks back to his post, muttering to himself as he goes. "Tch... great, another snake..."
Xochi sighs as the wagon heads into town, past the gate. "Their hate follows me, even here. Hmph."
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MARKETPLACE - MEANWHILE
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Elizabeth steps down from her carriage with her one piece of luggage. She looks at the small town's marketplace, frowning a bit. "It's... smaller..." she mutters, largely to herself. She's still stubbornly wearing her burgundy travel dress, although it's definitely taken some scuffs along the way.
Yengrisk walks through the marketplace with an unusual energy. The caravan trip was nice, but it's even better being back to what's quickly becoming a home.
Elizabeth looks at the passing yak, having been somewhat curious about them and their... strangely positive attitude throughout the trip. She's not sure what to make of them, that's for sure.
Yengrisk looks about, at last noticing Elizabeth. They grin and wave eagerly, approaching the skunk at a pace that couldn't quite be called a run, but definitely isn't the careless amble of a stranger.
Elizabeth blinks at the yak coming at her, not entirely certain if she should dive for cover or yell for help. She steels herself and does neither though, just looking at the yak a bit questioningly.
Yengrisk crouches just a bit and extends their arms to attempt to catch Elizabeth in a generous, shaggy hug. "Hi, skunk lady! From the caravan, yes?"
Elizabeth doesn't have the wherewithal to dodge a hug of all things: "Ungh! I... yes that's me. Elizabeth." The skunk lady is definitely out of her element in multiple ways in a rapid succession.
Strix, meanwhile-ingly, was having a 'spirited discussion' with a merchant "Strix is unhappy. Strix bought metal rods" Which he is waving around "Strix find metal in rods not copper. Strix find different metal! Strix then struck by lightning! Last part not merchant's fault, but make Strix more angry. Strix apologize for extra anger, but.." He holds up a finger, and checks his 'notes' "Strix demand Strix talk to Manager" He screws up his brow at that...but that's what the book said, and while he's against booklearning in the engineering field, outside of it he's happy to follow the wisdom of the words.
Yengrisk sets Elizabeth back down, smiling still. "Elizabeth, yes! Did you enjoy the trip into town?"
Elizabeth blinks as she attempts to straighten herself and her dress: "...-well, it was uneventful. Which is good."
Elizabeth glances towards Strix's discussion, not sure what to think of that either.
Yengrisk nods softly. "Good, yes. Yak has been along with much less peaceful caravans in the past, this one was much better."
Elizabeth frowns slightly, but nods: "So... so I heard."
Yengrisk nods again, glancing for a moment at the commotion coming from the wee lizard. "No bandits, no monsters, not even a cart stuck in mud. So it was good, yes."
Elizabeth nods slowly as she looks about the marketplace before turning back to the yak: "I am glad. Not that I would be of much... help, there.... anyway." She doesn't sound entirely convinced of her own words, or she's just distracted.
Nora wanders around the marketplace with a frown, as not a lot of shopkeepers interested in what she needs at the moment.
Strix continues to argue back and forth "Strix happy to prove Strix" He rummages in his bag, and pulls out a small box, which he screws the rod into "If Rod proper Copper, machine will make Lightning into box, and power. If Rod not proper Copper, Machine will explode and marketplace" The situation quickly devolves after that, but it seems like the merchant is much more eager to give a refund/new rod now "Strix glad merchant able to help. Strix hopes that next time Strix will not need to try blow marketplace up" He starts to pack away again, now with a refund!
Yengrisk tilts their head a bit, curiously. "So yak wonders, what brings skunk to this place? The edge of the world, yes?"
Elizabeth is quiet for the briefest of moments, before smiling: "A fresh start. Hopefully finding a 'home' here. A new beginning, if you will."
Yengrisk grins. "Yak thinks that is a good reason, yes!"
Elizabeth shrugs absently: "Remains to be seen. I have not yet seen the place I bought here..."
Yengrisk tilts their head a bit. "Skunk has bought a place? Planning ahead, yes?"
Elizabeth nods firmly: "It always pays to plan ahead."
Strix moves on to one of the sellers of more esoteric items, pushing past the duo of Yengrisk and Elizabeth as he does so. There's some mumbling that could be an apology, or just the running commentry that ambiently follows Strix around as he does so. However when he's gone to have his 'debate' with the mage-trader, there's a small orb left on the ground between them, with lots of little etchings around the surface. It's magic, clearly, and by now Strix is conveniently out of earshot.
Elizabeth steps back as Strix pushes past her: "Excuse me!" She frowns sharply at the kobold, but doesn't follow after. Huffing, she turns back towards Yengrisk, and notices the orb. "Hmm...?"
Yengrisk eeps with a surprisingly high pitched squeak, as the pair are pushed past.
Nora steps closer, listening to this conversation unfold. Someone with the money to already have a house here. Figures.
Elizabeth looks at the orb for a moment, her curiosity winning. Her claws spark and wisp slightly with dark purple magic as she feels the orb before taking it in her hand. "...It's magical."
Yengrisk ooooos at Elizabeth's display and at the orb itself. "What does it do? Can skunk tell, yes?"
Narrator: Thankfully, this orb doesn't activate when merely touched. It does have an 'on' button though.
Elizabeth looks the orb over, frowning slightly at the singular button: "...I do not know. Dare I try?" She then does a quick mental count of the things she even has left to lose, and presses the button with a wry smile.
Yengrisk winces a bit, wary of whatever the magical device might be.
Narrator: When turned on, the orb starts drawing in 'power', which is a very nebulous term, mostly based on what Strix was thinking at the time, but in this case was mostly electrical, but with a little bit of heat. These weren't that strong, and didn't really effect the bodies natural electricity..it did however, start taking in magic like nobodies business. It was Strix's failsafe orb if something went wrong in the generator, so he'd tuned it fairly highly. Fortunately, there was a little 'wind-up' time as it drew in a small amount at first, so..if magic draining was particularly dangerous, there was time to get rid of it.
Narrator: Notably, as it drew in, it would start to spin, and it was the 'spinning' that made it draw magic in, as a feedback loop.
Elizabeth lets out a yelp as she feels her magic being drained, dropping the orb more out of surprise than it hurting her. "What the-?"
Yengrisk starts, and backs away from the thing, feeling a weird tugging from it themself as well. "What is this, yes?"
Elizabeth steps away from the orb, giving the same sharp frown to it as she did to its' owner a moment ago: "...it's draining magic. Why?"
Narrator: The orb floats in the air now, lazily spinning as it draws magic in, thankfully not being near any major sources of energy to empower it. It's incredibly in-efficient, so so long as nobody tries interacting with it..it should be okay.
Nora tries not to act too much like an eavesdropper but still steps closer. “Draining... magic?”
Yengrisk shakes their head a bit in confusion. "Yak is not sure. Yak does not know enough about magic to make sense of this thing, yes? It spins like a toy, though."
Elizabeth just barely refrains from hissing very unlady-like at the thing, instead just taking another step back: "I do not like it. Do away with it, please."
Narrator: Well, as she stays where she is, the drain ticks up, and the orb spins a little faster, with the magic being taken and used to power the drain effect. Yengrisk could also feel -something- being pulled from him, and..if Nora has an potential, there's some intangible -something- being taken too.
Strix is finishing off his trades in the other side of the market..but there's no major commotion yet...so he's not noticed.
Yengrisk starts to reach for the object in an attempt to stop it, but hesitates and pulls back. "Yak is not sure what is happening, but getting closer to that thing feels.. weird, yes?"
Nora steps further closer. “What’s weird?”
Elizabeth looks at the newcomer: "This orb is draining my magic. If you do not feel it, can you please take it away?" She's clearly starting to look a bit distressed at the thing.
Nora: Um... okay?
Nora steps forward and tries to grab the orb.
Narrator: Nora feels an odd tingling as it sucks at a few other incidental non-magic energies, but it doesn't appear to be doing too much more other than making her feel the smallest bit lethargic.
Nora: This thing was really hurting you that bad?
Elizabeth looks at the orb as though it's made of poison ivy, then at Nora, nodding.
Narrator: It's still trying to twist out of her hands as it continues its draining effect!
Yengrisk nods a bit. "Hurt, not really, but it was.. it is.. what is it doing? Yak does not understand."
Nora: I don’t know. It’s not bad, just... hard to hold onto.
Elizabeth takes another step back: "Just... do away with it. Something."
Narrator: As Elizabeth takes a step back, the twisting starts to lessen a little bit, not having anything to drain anymore.
Yengrisk points from a distance, also backing away a bit. "Try pushing the button again, yes?"
Nora mentally shrugs and hits the button.
Narrator: The orb stops. That was the off button.
Yengrisk sighs and lets go of a breath they didn't know they were holding.
Elizabeth visibly deflates in relief: "Thank you."
Nora: Well. That was weird.
Elizabeth frowns at the orb: "I definitely did not expect that, coming here."
Nora: Why did you have this thing if it hurts you that much?
Elizabeth shakes her head sharply: "Isn't mine. It was that kobold..." She glances around: "...wherever he went to."
Narrator: The 'kobold' is finished with his magic shopping and is now by the food stall.
Nora slips the orb into a pant pocket, though fitting awkwardly. “Doesn’t seem like something anyone should have.”
Elizabeth glances at Nora, then just nods. She gathers herself for a moment: "...anyway. I should be... off. Find where my new place even is..."
Nora: Yeah... good luck with that?
Elizabeth gives a small smile. "And you as well... whatever it is that you are up to, I guess."
Yengrisk shakes off the weirdness, and looks to Elizabeth. "That was magic you used, yes?"
Elizabeth turns to Yengrisk, then nods: "Yes. What about it?"
Yengrisk smiles. "Yak wants to learn magic! You know where yak could learn, yes?"
Nora turns to Elizabeth. “Well, um. Are you... a merchant or something? Like... a business owner?”
Elizabeth looks between the two, blinking at the questions. "I... do not know where you can learn magic, out here." She turns to Nora: "And no, I... I am retired, actually." Technically true on both accounts, too.
Yengrisk aws, a bit disappointed, but somehow not surprised. It is in line with all their previous inquiries, after all.
Nora looks deflated. “Oh. Well... alright, it’s not your fault.”
Elizabeth gives Yengrik a curious look, then turns to Nora: "...why do you ask?"
Nora: Well, I kinda... need to find a job in this town.
Yengrisk nods quietly. "It's alright, yak will keep looking. Yengrisk has another sort of teacher already, yes? Magic isn't going anywhere."
Elizabeth looks at them both, then shrugs: "Sorry, I just came to town. Can't help you." She turns to pick up her belongings before she has a chance to start considering spreading her already-thinning resources around.
Nora: Okay, no, that’s fair, I guess...
Elizabeth glances at Nora over her shoulder, pausing briefly before picking up her bag and starting to head towards the direction she thinks the Town Hall is. She could really use a hot bath and like three days of privacy right now...
Yengrisk scratches their shaggy chin a bit, and shrugs. "Hope skunk ends up liking it here, yes? Ah well."
Nora: Do you know her?
Yengrisk nods a bit, turning to Nora now. "Yak does, yes! Well, a little. Yak met skunk on the last caravan back into Respite Falls."
Nora: She’s rich enough to just buy a house, she sweats magic, apparently... now she’s retiring? Why retire *here?*
Yengrisk tilts a bit. "Skunk said 'a fresh start', yes? Can't get much more fresh than the frontier."
Nora: A bit too fresh, really. It’s not even ripe yet.
Yengrisk giggles. "True. Yak was hoping to find the frontiers of magical research on the actual frontier, but so far no luck, yes?"
Nora: I guess... I don’t anything about magic though... but that’s why I could pick that thing up, I guess. I’m special ‘cause I’m not special. Go me.
Yengrisk: Yak does not know much either, but must start somewhere, yes?
Nora: I suppose... seems hard to start though.
Yengrisk takes a moment to concentrate, their horns doing their customary glow as they use their magic to experimentally wiggle their glasses. It's.. only slightly harder to perform than expected. "Yak has a head start, yes? Yak can move objects, but isn't sure how it works or why."
Nora: I’ve never even tried.
Yengrisk nods softly. "Magic is definitely strange, yes? But there's plenty to be done without it, so..." They give a noncommittal shrug.
Nora: I’m just throwing out ideas? ... I just need to find something soon.
Nora: I don’t want to start rationing my tavern visits...
Yengrisk ahhs. "Goat lady needs something to do, yes? Maybe yak's other goat friend could use more help. We're rebuilding her observatory."
Nora: I can build stuff. I’m not... an expert or anything, but I can do it, why not?
Yengrisk smiles. "Good! If you meet friend Dorri, the markhor, tell her Yengrisk sent you, yes? Yak is sure we could do with the extra help." They tilt a bit. "Can't guarantee what sort of pay, though. That would be up to Dorri."
Nora: Enough to keep me sheltered and fed is good for now.
Yengrisk nodnods. "What should Yengrisk call new goat friend?"
Nora: You mean... my name?
Yengrisk giggles. "Yes, name! Yengrisk needs to know what to call goat friend, yes?"
Nora nods. “Nora. Nora Wrentill.”
Yengrisk smiles and crouches to give their customary hug. "It is good to meet Nora-Nora Wrenthill, yes! Yak has a new friend!"
Nora hurks a bit, not expecting the hug, then reciprocates lightly. “Y-yes? New friend?”
Yengrisk nods, standing back up in the process. "Yes! Nora-nora is yak's new friend, yes?"
Nora: Y-yes? Yes. Sure, why not.
Yengrisk smiles proudly, hands on hips. They genuinely seem to enjoy making friends.