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XOCHI'S HOME - DAWN
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Xochi emerges out from the door to greet the day. Her movements are slow, almost stiff, as she waits for the first light from the sun to reach out and grant her its blessing.
Kira lands on the roof of the house, unseen by Xochi. She doesn't see the snake below as she moves quietly toward the crevice that leads into the attic where she dwells.
Xochi hums quietly as the first rays of the day land upon her, the warmth of the sun giving her strength. "Ahh."
Kira similarly watches the sunrise, spreading her wings out to catch the morning warmth. She gives a quiet little pleased hum as she squints her eyes against the brightness.
Xochi glances down at her side as the light grows. She lets out a sigh, closing her eyes, then begins to move back towards the door, her morning ritual complete, or at least as complete as she will allow herself.
Kira similarly turns to go into her little nook, but her movements knock her lantern over, sending it clattering across the roof and then down to the ground below. She gives a little gasp, chasing after the lantern but not quick enough to catch up to it.
Xochi looks up at the clattering noise, spotting the wayward lantern as it careens off the edge. Pushing up with her tail, the snake extends herself upward, catching the lantern with a strangely smooth motion before lowering herself back down to her usual height. "Hmm? Now, where are you from?" She ponders aloud to the lantern.
Kira appears at the edge of the roof, peering down. "Oh! You caught it!" She gives a happy squeak before fluttering down and hovering roughly in place in front of Xochi. "Thank you, my friend."
Xochi peers up once again, and watches as Kira flies down before her, "Ah! The lamp lighter, Kira. So this is yours?" She offers the lantern carefully, "What brings you to here, hm? Following me?" She laughs to herself at that last line.
Kira takes the lantern and hugs it close against herself. "What? No... I didn't know you were walking by. I was just watching the sun put the moon to sleep before I went to sleep myself..."
Xochi hums in understanding, "As was I watching the sun spread its warmth... but I was not moving by this place." She motions towards the door. "This is my residence. You live nearby?"
Kira blinks. "It is?" She looks up towards the roof. "I live above. There is a little nook that's mine... I though the house below was empty..."
Xochi chuckles, "It was empty, until I arrived. Most difficult for me obtain it from oversea. But now that I've arrived, I am living there, of course."
Kira frowns a bit. "Ah... well... may I continue to live in the nook? I don't think it can even be accessed from inside the house." She flutters down to the ground, hugging her lantern close still.
Xochi tilts her head, "By what means would you not continue?" She shakes her head, "I'm sorry, Kira, I'm not sure I understand. If it is your home, why would you need to ask my permission?"
Kira blinks. "Well if it's yours, then the whole house is yours, isn't it?" She flutters up and perches on a porch railing. "I don't own it. You do."
Xochi considers this, then shrugs, "Ownership is... new to me. Well, if it is my decision, my home, then I have no reason to say no."
Kira nods. "It's not a moth's place to own many things, or a place... at least, so it seems to me..." She smiles at Xochi. "Thank you. I will do my best to not disturb you with my comings and goings..."
Xochi waves her hand, "Ah, it is of no concern. I am used to living in a much busier household, with many comings and goings."
Kira smiles. "Ah, but still, I move late at night and early in the day. I don't want to distrurb your sleep." She flits around, taking a better look at the outside of the house now that she knows that her friend lives there.
Xochi smiles, watching Kira, "The hardest part of my move is going from living with many, to living alone. It makes me happy that I am not quite so alone."
Kira flits back to Xochi. "Ah, that's good then, but I don't think you would fit into my nook..."
Xochi glances back at her lengthy tail, then chuckles, lifting the end of it up between the two and wiggling it. "You are likely right."
Kira laughs. "I will have to visit you in the main house, then..."
Xochi bows her head as her tail lowers back down to the ground, "You will be welcomed anytime, Kira. My home is your home, as they say." She laughs once again at her own joke.
Kira giggles in return, though she lets out a little yawn. "Yes, but I am very tired now, friend. I hope it's not rude to excuse myself for sleep..."
Xochi shakes her head, "Of course not. I shall see you around, I am sure!"
Kira flits off back to the roof. "Thank you, Xochi. I'll see you later..."
Xochi waves to the moth, "Sleep well, friend!"
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ERIKA'S GARDEN - AFTERNOON
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Erika is sitting with Cavro on a picnic blanket situated somewhere inbetween all her plants. She's currently idly cleaning up her tools while mostly just leaning close to the badger she loves and has rather obviously no plans of moving anywhere anytime soon.
Cavro leans against Erika, purring lightly. A bundle of notes and drawings rests on the blanket next to him, and just at the edge of the tiny clearing rest the materials he'd brought along with him. The badger hoped to find some quiet and focus to work here. The fool.
Erika leans over Cavro: "So... what's this project about, then?"
Cavro picks up the papers, flipping through the first few pages. "This is the the the new generator that May's working on, there's a lot of big parts that I I I have to make by casting them." He pulls out a page showing a large section of curved metal. "Like this."
Erika looks at the page: "Oh. Right, that was a thing." She gives Cavro's cheek a kiss: "A big undertaking. I'm proud of you."
Cavro chuckles as he's kissed, blushing slightly. "Yes, it's quite a lot." He puts the pages away, leaning back on his hands and looking around at the peaceful mini forest. "I I I can't focus on it at the smithy though. Too much to be done in there."
Erika giggles: "Poor badger is all overworked again. What should we do to distract him?~"
Cavro laughs with a little snort, grinning as he playfully shimmies a few inches away. "Don't you you you dare, I came here to to to focus!"
Erika shies back, though only for a second: "Aww. But I wanted to distract, I mean, help focus you." She blushes a bit, but her grin is pretty unmistakably mischievous.
Cavro chuckles, "How do do do you plan on doing that, when you're the greatest distraction that I refuse to to to avoid?"
Erika pokes at Cavro's side with her hand and attempts a bit of a tickle: "Oh I dunno, I'll find a way~."
Cavro automatically flinches away from the tickle, giggling. He leans in and tries to get revenge with a tickle under her ribs.
Erika giggles, attempting to feebly dodge the tickles: "N-no fair!"
Cavro takes advantage of the window, quickly moving behind Erika and attacking both sides with tickly fingers. "This is what you you you get!"
Erika laughs helplessly, unable to dodge so much as just falling backwards onto Cavro: "Eeep!"
Cavro squeaks, falling back with Erika. After a moment, he wraps his arms around her, purring quietly.
Erika giggles for a moment more, then as she quiets down, just leans aside enough to be able to kiss Cavro on the cheek: "Love you, I think~."
Cavro blinks, returning the kiss wholeheartedly. "I love you too, no think about it." His fingertips subconsciously trace lines along her abdomen as he snuggles his snout against Erika's neck.
Erika 's fingers rather consciously find their way around Cavro's arms and body. "My little strong badger~." She giggles a bit at the title she gave Cavro back when both of them were but kids, and that the title has now acquired an entirely different meaning than just lifting bigger rocks than Erika could.
Cavro smiles at the old nickname, kissing her neck in response. His face is hot with a blush that keeps him from saying anything as his fingers grow bold along the top edge of Erika's loincloth.
Erika leans onto Cavro, and would completely be purring if okapis were capable of such a thing. Instead she just sort of hums and melts into his embrace.
Cavro nuzzles against her neck, purring as one hand finds Erika's thigh, the other sliding up towards her chest. "Well you you you win, I I I'm very... hem... distracted now..." He blushes hotly at the not even remotely vague admission, although the way they're lying, she likely already knows it.
Erika giggles, though the giggle is a bit subdued just cause she's rather very focused on the badger in front of her. Her hands find their way under his shirt: "Distracted...? I guess~."
Cavro stares up into Erika's eyes, purring against her touch. "Best distraction." He mumbles, entranced by the view above him.
Erika leans onto Cavro, then somewhat unceremoniously tackles him onto the picnic blanket, primal desires overriding any rational part saying otherwise. The two find themselves tumbling onto each other and things getting pretty naughty indeed as a tasteful curtain descends around the mini-jungle.
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THIRSTY MINNOW - EVENING
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Louma is sitting at the bar, resting on her coiled up tail and poking away at a thick stew, dressed in a simple long cotton shirt which would be a dress on anyone not 20' long. She turns her spoon over, hungry, but still sore from her embarrassing encounter with Nesseth.
Damina enters the bar with just the right amount of lack of subtlety. She makes her way to the counter and orders whatever, looking very excited for whatever reason.
Louma turns to see Damina approach the bar near her. She looks down at her stew and sets her spoon down with a sigh. "Good evening, you seem chipper."
Damina sees the snake that she hasn't met before. "Ah, hello. I don't think I should be telling you but, I got these new knives, see."
Louma blinks at Damina. "Why wouldn't you want to talk about something you're excited about?"
Damina glances around a bit. "No idea. Just a hunch. Anyway, might I know who you are? Consider that highly unlikely considering I haven't lived here long..."
Louma shrugs, pushing her stew back across the bar, extending a hand toward Damina. "My name's Louma, and yours?"
Damina takes the hand, leaning her head forward a bit. "Damina Kalem. I do whatever around here. Mostly guard duty."
Louma smiles softly. "Ah, you're a guard? I haven't seen you around before. You mentioned you're new in town, how long have you been here?"
Damina shrugs. "Ah, I lost count. A couple of months?"
Louma nods. "That makes sense, then. I was away for about that long." She leans closer to Damina. "Do you have those knives on you? I'd like to see them if they've got you so excited."
Damina raises her hand. "One moment." She reaches around and quickly retrieves one. It looks like a punching dagger of some kind. "Got another just like it, hehe."
Louma peers at the weapon, cooing quietly. "Oh my, that's beautiful. Did you get them from a vendor in the marketplace?"
Damina yawns a bit. "Ah, they're custom. Got 'em from a smithy. Dunno why but I was compelled to ask for some particular details on them." She turns the dagger around to show the design engraved on the flat part, which resembles an ornate eye of providence...
Louma nods, leaning over to see the details better. "Ooh, yes! That's fantastic. I never considered getting a weapon made for myself. Haven't met a smith around town that can make an Orelan serpent spear that feels right. They're always just...off. I'm sure you know what I mean."
Damina nods. "Just can't match the real thing, huh?"
Louma sighs, setting her elbow on the table and chin on that hand, looking at Damina. "Nope. Probably the only thing I miss about home. Trained with that weapon for eight years, and then I left it behind to come here."
Damina: "Oh, that's no good! You shoulda kept it with you! Never know when you need a... authentic, long, stabby stick."
Louma chuckles softly, looking at Damina's new weapon again. "Well, it's more of a wistful want than anything else." She puts a hand to her hidden injury, flinching slightly at the touch. "Besides, maybe I'm not in the right shape for it any more."
Damina picks up on Louma's flinch. "Oh, you don't look so good. What happened?"
Louma grumbles for a moment. "I slipped up in a fight with a certain lizard guard. Got away with far less dignity than I thought I had, unfortunately. It's okay though, the way he was favoring his shoulder, I think I got him good first."
Damina puts two and two together. "So... Nesseth beat you up?"
Louma chuckles. "My ego more than my body."
Damina turns away to hide a chuckle. "Oh, that's just... snkkkkkk..."
Louma gives an exaggerated indignant look. "What?"
Damina quickly changes the subject. "Speaking of Nesseth, can't wait to show him these knives. He's gonna love them!"
Louma glances down at the blade again. "Oh probably. I mean, he favors his crossbow, but you should see him cut up a hay bale. That peppy lizard can be scary."
Damina nods. "Haven't seen him use blades before, that must be interesting to watch."
Louma nods as well. "Indeed. Mentioning it, I'd like to see how good you are sometime. I like to know how effective my guards are."
Damina thinks about it. "Sometime soon maybe... I don't mind showing off my skills. Been working on them for a couple of years, they gotta be useful for something, right?"
Louma nods, her demeanor taking on a slightly more official air. "Excellent, I expect to see you at the training ground first thing in the morning, then. Light patrol armor, if you please."
Damina tilts her head quizzically. "Where do I get that?"
Louma blinks. "What do you mean? Have you been doing duty without a uniform?"
Damina shrugs. "Never got one. Just been using this heavy coat, which... worked so far?"
Louma sighs. "Well..." She looks Damina up and down. "There may be a uniform your size at the barracks, we can meet there in the morning instead. I'm sure we can find one that'll look great on you."
Damina looks down at her feet. "That might be useful."
Louma sighs, taking her eyes off Damina. "Shame you've joined the ranks." She chuckles, motioning for her cold stew to be swapped for a glass of wine that may agree with her appetite better.
Damina sits awkwardly before just shrugging. "I suppose we'll just have to see what happens."
Louma nods, turning to her drink. "That we will." She sets a few coins on the counter to pay for both the drink and stew, before turning back to Damina to discuss the minor goings on around town.