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MAYBELLINE'S QUARTERS - LATE AFTERNOON
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Maybelline is standing on the step-stool in the bathroom, looking at her reflection, trying to... she doesn't know. She's never been one for makeup, doesn't own any dresses or date outfits. The best she's managed is a casual green top and a black mini-skirt, and a matching green ribbon she got from Vix in the market that afternoon, which she's been fiddling with for the past thirty minutes in nervous anticipation.
Louma slithers down the street, heading South from the Marketplace rather than from her home somewhere to the West. Her nerves show on her face and the uneven way her tail moves as she glides along. She has a small box in one hand, which she holds protectively against the goldenrod silk dress that crosses her chest. Well, dress might be stretching it, the garment is little more than a very long, wide sash strategically wrapped and tied around her body, done in a traditional pattern that covers things fine. She has a similarly colored ribbon tied neatly around her neck. She reaches the door to May's quarters, pausing for a calming breath before she raps her knuckles on the frame.
Maybelline eeps at the knock, nearly falling off the stool. She carefully hops down, limping over to her crutches first, then using them the rest of the way. She takes a deep breath then carefully opens the door. "Ahh! Louma!" She blushes looking at the beautiful golden dress, frowning "Shoot, I knew I'd be underdressed... you look... amazing."
Louma looks to May, smiling as the door opens. She blushes at the compliment, looking down at her own outfit then to May's. "Ah, not at all, this is a modest dress back home. You look..." She holds back a sigh "Incredible~". Her blush deepens as she realizes she's staring, "Oh! I um... I brought you a little gift. I had the bakery keep it warm." She holds out the small, flat pastry box, which contains one raspberry cookie. "I didn't know if you'd prefer that or flowers."
Maybelline shakes her head, "I just... I mean, I don't even own any date clothes, so I just threw this tog-" She pauses as she parses Louma's sentence, ears perking up as she takes the proffered box, "You got me a cookie? That's way better then flowers!" She cracks open the box and sniffs the warm fresh scent of the confection.
Louma giggles at May's reaction to the gift, her smile warm as she calms down greatly. "I'm glad you like it, I was worried. Never been very good at picking out gifts, but you said you liked the bakery." She crosses her hands in front of herself, unsure of what to do with them now that the box is gone. "I also checked a few places we can go to eat, or we can just go to the Minnow, if you'd prefer."
Maybelline is unsure if she should eat the cookie now, set it aside (and waste the freshness?). She pulls the cookie out of the box and carefully breaks it in half, "Well, first thing's first. It'd be rude of me to just it in front of you, so..." She offers half to Louma, but her courtesy only extends that far as she shoves her half into her mouth.
Louma takes the half cookie with mild surprise, giggling again before following May's lead by taking a couple bites to eat the tasty treat. "How courteous, thank you." She gives May a little bow, partly out of habit, partly disguising her expression at how sweet the cookie was. A little more than she'd usually have, but not bad by any means.
Maybelline hums happily, licking the crumbs off her fact, "Ah, they're as good as always!" She blinks, "Err, is what I'd probably say if I were a regular..." She laughs a little, then returns Louma's bow with an awkward lack of practice, "That uh, is to say thank you, Louma. As for our date... I mean, the Minnow is pretty safe, I suppose? But... this is my first date, so I'm up for something new, if it's alright with you that is. Whatever you're thinking, I'm down for."
Louma relaxes, thinking for a moment as she considers May. "Hm, perhaps the Minnow would be best? At least it's a familiar, comfortable place. I promise not to order any wine, though." She chuckles a little nervously, though she definitely doesn't intend on any drinking tonight. "One moment, though." She lowers herself to nearly eye-level with May, reaching to her and gently adjusting the green ribbon, her hands brushing lightly against May's fur. "There, perfect~"
Maybelline 's smile widens at Louma's touch, her ear twitching just a little. "Well, that makes two of us. So yeah, the Minnow sounds... perfect." She sets the empty box aside before she shifts in her crutches and pulls herself out of the house, closing the door behind her. "I even know the way!"
Louma chuckles softly, blushing at May's compliment again. She carefully matches May's pace, a brief image of the swan sweeping her up and carrying her to the bar briefly flashing in her mind, which she shakes away. "I'll follow your lead, then." She takes a deep breath, looking toward the generator building and smiling. "How is everything going in there?"
Maybelline smiles, her pace isn't so bad, having gotten used to the crutches now. "It's going really well. The base is all set-up now, and overall we're right on schedule." She smirks. "If I designed it right, the best part is it'll all build right into the main generator, and end up being a bit of a redundancy system. Barring future explosions, which I also hope to build a few failsafes for."
Louma nods, looking at May as she talks with a smile. "That's a great idea, and I'm glad you sound so confident. I'm sure everything will work out fine in the end." She looks ahead, "It's still beyond me, I'll have to get you to teach me a few things as we go."
Maybelline nods, smiling up at Louma, "That'd be my pleasure! I uh, I mean I'm no teacher, but I understand the stuff well enough to explain it. Brun picked up on it all well enough, but she's also reading every book I own twice over." She chuckles, "I just... enjoy my work, you know?"
Louma giggles. "It shows! Your enthusiasm is... Attractive." She blushes under her feathers, nervously preening her already smoothed feathers. "I mean... So many people come to Respite that are escaping something, or seeking something, but... So few seem to have an obvious passion for anything, myself included." She sighs, speaking softly. "Well... Maybe it's just me they don't open up around?"
Maybelline chuckles, "Well, I thought I was escaping any hopes for a successful career. Figured I'd be miserable here. I had big dreams..." She shakes her head, "But this town's grown on me. ...that... and there's something to be said for nearly dying that makes you reprioritize what you want out of life."
Louma nods, smiling again. "Mhm, you're right of course. Either make the best of what you have, or cast it aside and seek something better. No point in dwelling the the past... Even if dwelling in the past a few nights ago is what brought me to be walking beside you right now." She laughs quietly to herself.
Maybelline sticks her tongue out at Louma, then laughs, "I just figured you'd gotten your head on straight after you sobered up and realized you could do better, I guess we'll see if that ends up being something to make the best of eventually." Her expression sobers for a moment, "For my part... I'll do my best, but uh, this is all new to me so... just let me know if I'm doing something wrong."
Louma giggles, nodding. May's not wrong, even if she had missed Louma's indirect meaning. "Don't worry, you've done fine so far." She puts on her over-sweet teasing voice, playfully frowning at May, though her eyes betray her ploy. "The crooked bow was going to drive me away, but you'll only make that mistake once, hmm?" She laughs softly, gently touching May's shoulder.
Maybelline raises an eyebrow at first, but slowly grins, reaching a hand up towards the ribbon. "Well, we'll see. I think if you want a girl who's not crooked, you'll have to look elsewhere..." She blinks, catching her own double meaning there, and blushing, "Uh, that is to say... I mean..."
Louma laughs, "Oh? If you're crooked, we're going to start some interesting rumors. That's okay, we can keep this a secret, just hide in my coils if someone nosy comes around the Minnow."
Maybelline blushes for entirely other reasons, glancing back down along Louma's length. "O-oh! That... I... well, not... nothing criminal." At another time she might have taken offense at the implication of stoats being criminals, but right now she's too flustered by a various assault of other thoughts. "I uh, don't think anyone is gonna be shocked by the rumors of what I'm into by now..."
Louma blinks, catching May's meaning with a light blush, but also a soft laugh. "I didn't think you were, Maybelline. And if you're involved with me, nobody that's been here longer that four years would be surprised." She wants to give the stoat a reassuring hug, but the Minnow's sign pokes out from around the corner ahead, and she figures it can wait until it wont interrupt their little journey.
Maybelline giggles a little nervously, "Guess there's that, then. Might have to ask about your reputation, then?" She smiles as they approach the Minnow. "But uh, I guess we're here..." She almost sounds sad, but her smile isn't phased. She was definitely enjoying just walking and talking.
Louma moves to slither closer to May as they approach the busier street outside the Minnow, unsure if the stoat's had trouble crossing crowds with her crutches. "Mhm, just across the way. It looks pretty busy right now, doesn't it?"
Maybelline nods, pausing as she looks both ways. "Yeah. Guess everythings closing up and everyone's heading home, huh? Hope it's not too busy."
Louma nods, looking toward the bar. The pair garner a number of glances from passers-by, considering they're clearly dressed a little beyond casual. Louma sighs, stretching her wings behind her and putting a hand on May's shoulder. The action with her wings is to force people to stop so they don't step on her tail. "Shall we?"
Maybelline glances up at the impressive display and nods, smiling. She turns back as the traffic pauses for Louma, and takes advantage to begin hobbling across on her crutches. "Heh. You could probably just fly over them all, eh? If you didn't have to wait on me. I'm usually just good at moving through crowds fast and unnoticed."
Louma chuckles, smiling at May. "I could, but I like being down here with you. On that note, though... Once you're healed up, perhaps you could join me up there?" She folds her wings back with a slight shake as they clear the street, making sure her tail's safely out of the way. She pushes the Minnow's door open with a slight bow.
Maybelline heads through the door and turns back to smile at the courtesy, "Ah, thank you..." She pauses to think on the idea of flight, as this hasn't even crossed her mind, "I uh, up there? You mean... flying? That'd be... I don't even know! I definitely would be willing to give it a try though. I could be the first flying stoat in my family, I'd bet."
Louma chuckles, following May inside, closing the door via her tail. "It's not for everyone, I admit, but you can just let go of every worry drifting through the air. Freedom, even from gravity.~" She looks about, her eyes lingering on a small table as her preference, but turning to May. "Where shall we sit?"
Maybelline shrugs, "I usually just sit at the bar so the Barkeep and keep my coffee topped off. But we should probably do a table. I mean, what's the point of a date if we can't talk face-to-face, right?"
Louma nods. "Yes, I agree." She heads to the table she'd spotted, taking one of the chairs aside and coiling up comfortably in it's place with a satisfied hum. May's not wrong, Louma does tend to avoid slithering about, and she pats some dust off of the scales in front of her.
Maybelline sets her crutches aside at the door and limps after Louma to the table. She detours only to grab a small cushion, tossing it up onto the chair across from Louma before clamboring up onto it, the cushion giving her a little extra height to see over the table.
Louma stifles a giggle as May does her thing, watching her. She feels a flutter in her chest, blushing slightly. "I guess they just don't make seats good enough for either of us."
Maybelline chuckles, "Ah, can't please everyone." She looks up and notices Louma's blush, causing her to blush in turn, "Ah uh... I'm used to it by now. Spent my whole life this small. Used to be even smaller... I would think it would be harder for you."
Louma leans on the table. "I suppose. There's been a few times I had to buy meals for people after knocking their tables over. Dragged a chair out of Hooktail's clinic once, too. I admit, I can't imagine being short, fairly certain I was born as long as you are tall."
Maybelline laughs, "Guess we're both just used to ourselves. I'm fine with what I am, short or no. I sometimes wish other folks were more considerate, but I've never really wished I were taller." She laughs, I remember this little lizard I went to the University with. Was a kind of little gecko? I don't know exactly, but he built himself a real makeshift set of prosthetic legs. Basically stilts. They always seemed silly to me."
Louma laughs, leaning back into her coils. "Oh wow, I wish I could have seen that! Maybe we can recreate it, make some stilts for Nesseth, perhaps? Did they actually help him do well in class?"
Maybelline giggles and shakes her head, "I mean, they were about as awkward for him as the crutches are for me. He got good enough with them by the end of the semester that he could walk normally without a problem, but still couldn't run or jump or anything else. I don't think the extra height impressed any of the professors either."
Louma nods, still chuckling slightly at the mental image. "I imagine being small is helpful for your job, sometimes, too. For me, being large, able to fly, even just using my wings to intimidate. All advantages, and might have had a lot of influence on my promotion, which is ironic when you think about it. I spend most of my time behind a desk now." She shakes her head, but laughs at the silliness of it. "Orders are orders, I suppose."
Maybelline lifts her arms up and wiggles the fingers on her paws. "I definitely fit into places most folks can't. Nimble fingers too. Makes me great for this kind of work, and getting to problems that others would need to do a full take-apart to reach." She hums, "Ah, so you were too good at your job, and that's how you got promoted to Captain, eh? Makes sense, in a sad sorta way."
Louma nods, suddenly blushing as a thought about May's fingers blinks in her mind. She snaps back to attention a few seconds later, feeling her face burning under her feathers. "Ah.. Huh? Yes, I agree." She looks over at the bartender, who's approaching them for their order. "Um... I-I'm not ready to order yet, sorry."
Maybelline nods to the Barkeep, then turns her attention back to Louma, giving her a moment to get her head together before speaking up again, "You okay?"
Louma clears her throat, nodding. "Yeah! I mean yes, sorry. I'll have the sto-the stew! I'll have the stew! And a tankard of water, please." She giggles nervously, glancing towards May. "You?"
Maybelline blushes as she catches the slip, but can't keep the grin off her face. "Well, certainly sounds good to me. I'll have what she's having. With a coffee. My usual."
Louma notices the grin, burying her face in her hands. "I'm sorry!" She calms down somewhat, her face still feeling hot, but calm enough to relax into her coils again. "Well, I did say that I couldn't really blame the wine for the other night." She chuckles nervously.
Maybelline shrugs, "It's fine, really. I just... I've never had anyone look at me like that, or uh, think about me like that either. At best I was 'that stoat'. Usually folks don't even remember me though."
Louma shakes her head, controlling her breathing a bit better. "That's too bad for them, then."
Maybelline grins, "Well, I guess. You though... you leave an impression. There's no part of you that doesn't shout out how unique and amazing you are."
Louma blushes again, sinking a bit into her coils. "I... Amazing is a strong word. I just did what I was good at, and ran away from something I didn't want. You though. You strove for brilliance and achieved it, and came to a frontier town to help people that needed you."
Maybelline shakes her head sadly, "Can't say I did any of it for such altruistic reasons. I came to Respite because... because I overspecialized in a single field, one which was made obsolete overnight in the big cities. I came to Respite because I had to get a job, and this was the only place asking for an obsolete tech for an obsolete generator."
Louma feels her heart sink a little. "Ah, I didn't think about it that way. But your reasons in the past aren't important, it's what you do now that's important, right?" She chuckles suddenly, "Didn't we just talk about that, in fact?" She pauses, then partially uncoils and moves around to May's side of the table, hugging her.
Maybelline nods, then leans into the hug a little. "W-we did... yeah. Part of me just feels bad for coming here with such a bad attitude. But I still can't claim to be what I'm not, you know?"
Louma pulls back but doesn't release the hug, looking straight into May's eyes. "You wouldn't be. You're important to this town, to these people. Nobody else here can do what you're doing. Even Strix. Any other guard could look at paperwork and manage patrols."
Maybelline stares back, growing red in the face at the continued hug. She smiles, eyes watering a bit. "I'm doing my best. I'm... thank you, Louma."
Louma gives May a gentle squeeze before letting her go and returning to her spot across the table. She's slightly startled when the barkeep, who had been waiting for her to move, sets their bowls and drinks down. "Oh, thank you!"
Maybelline slowly turns back to the table, blinking at the sudden appearance of a bowl of stew. "Oh! Y-yes..." She sighs, "Already making a mess of things and we hadn't even gotten the food yet." She sniffles, then wipes her eyes and manages a chuckle, "I'm just no good at this whole dating thing."
Louma chuckles softly, ignoring her food and watching May. "You're doing fine. It's a heavy topic, that's all, we can discuss it at another time. Maybe on the second or third date." She winks at May with a cheeky smile, though her voice remained sincere and gentle.
Maybelline picks up a spoon, then visibly brightens, "Second... or third? Well, certainly, I mean... heavy stuff aside, I'm still having fun. I hope you are too."
Louma nods, picking up her own spoon. "I am." She smiles at May, finishing with "I'm having a wonderful time." before digging into her stew.
Maybelline grins wide as she starts eating her stew as well, glancing up from time to time at Louma as she can't help but feel a little giddy through the meal.