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ELIZABETH'S 'MANOR' - AFTERNOON
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Elizabeth sighs a bit as she sits down on her sleeping mattress, admiring her and Annika's handiwork for today - a set of not-pretty, but functional table and chairs in her space. She wipes a bit of sweat from her forehead, but finds herself smiling anyway. At least a bit.
Annika was also smiling, though looking a bit less sweaty. "Well, I think this was a pretty good job" She pushes the table gently, and it doesn't wobble! "Once we get a nice tablecloth on the table, and a bit of paint on the chairs, I think they'll look really pretty!" She tries one of the chairs, sitting into it "Next up...uh..the bed, maybe?"
Elizabeth chuckles softly, glancing at the mattress that's been the severe downgrade of her sleeping conditions: "...yeah, probably." She sighs with a wry smile: "Of all the things to miss from Glaushire, I didn't think coming here that my bed would be among them."
Annika: "Well, a comfy bed makes everything in life easier! Once I got myself a nice soft bed of my own, I know I wasn't nearly as grumpy...soo, make it yourself, or buy one? I'd say if there was one thing you were gonna buy made by a really good woodworker, it'd be a bed"
Elizabeth nods, musing on this: "You're probably right." She looks at the table that indeed does not wobble: "If the table is a bit off, my back isn't going to kill me as a result. But a bed... think I'll invest on a professional on that."
Annika nods "And a new Mattress too. Maybe one of those feathery ones? I don't really know your budget..do you know any feathery folk that could help?" She muses "Mr. Shaw does feathers, so I know where you could buy them either.."
Elizabeth hmmh's a bit: "Sadly, my budget is less than I'd really... want to admit." She looks at Annika: "I am... glad for your help, at least. It's still so... weird, for me."
Annika: "Weird? How so? Just that you're in a new city?" She tilts her head gently towards Elizabeth
Elizabeth frowns a bit, considering this: "No, just... folks wanting to help an old crone like me at all, without some scheme behind it."
Annika: "Oh..well..people just..help each other, no? Mr. Shaw helped me, I'm helping you. I help Oliver..and..I was taught to especially help older folks. Is..is that not a thing where you grew up?"
Elizabeth shakes her head slightly: "...not as much. Or perhaps I was just blind to it."
Annika: "Well! It's here now. Hopefully it will just be mundane after a while" She giggles softly at the 'joke' "But..one thing I was sorta curious about..couldn't you just make this stuff with magic? You're magical right? That's how that works..."
Elizabeth blinks, then looks at Annika: "Well... it doesn't, really." She lifts her hand, floating a couple of runes around her hand: "I can alter things that exist already, but... I can't really create anything."
Annika: "Oh.." She seems just a little disappointed "Oh..right..it's..uh..'Rule of Equality'..or..something?..You need to give up something for everything you get.."
Elizabeth leans back onto her hands on the mattress: "That's... loosely speaking, the gist of it. I need something to work with to make anything, and even then I couldn't make a table or a bed without a lot of practice in shaping the wood, much like a carpenter would need to."
Annika: "Still...it's something that's super cool. Mama used to be able to do little tricks, like..she could make dust go away. She said she'd teach me when I was old enough.." There's a soft sigh, before she gets her mind off the topic "So..like...to make a table, you'd already need to be able to make a table the 'normal' way?"
Elizabeth smiles a bit: "Well... magic does allow you some shortcuts." She lifts her hand, causing a small swirly pattern to appear on one of the table's legs, smoothing it up.
Annika stares at it, wide eyed "Ooooh...." She is impressed the appropriate amount. "You could do all the decorating like that!"
Elizabeth nods, unable to stop herself from smirking a bit: "I do plan on that." She looks aside to the suitcase still containing all her beautiful dresses: "...I need to find different pastimes than I've had, anyway."
Annika: "...I bet people would love it you ..like..used this to make ornaments! You could do it on lamps, so that the lights make pretty little shapes or something" She looks over to the suitcase "So pretty..." She cooes softly, her bushy tail wiggling gently.
Elizabeth glances at the fox, raising an eyebrow: "Would you... want to see them?" She can't entirely hide her excitement at showing off her dresses again.
Annika: "Yes!" She coughs, embarrassed "yes"
Elizabeth chuckles softly, then gets up from her sitting position, groaning as her body protests the issue somewhat more than it once upon a time did. She steps over to her suitcase, picking up the first on the pile, an airy yellow summer dress with still a definite air of 'class' to it. "I got this on the Fashion Faire few years ago, had it made on commission on the day." She holds the dress against her body, smiling at some memory about it.
Annika: "Oooh. It's so pretty!" She looks it over "You had it made specially for you? That's so neat!"
Elizabeth nods, thinking about the day: "Yes... I didn't really have a goal that day, so... kind of took all of one dressmaker's day."
Annika: "Well, it's really nice! Are all you dresses specially made?"
Elizabeth looks at the pile, musing: "Well... most of them are. To some degree. They're largely creations of my husband's company that I just modeled." She sighs a bit at the thought, but shakes it off. The two spend quite some time talking about dresses and memories associated.
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DOC PLUME'S MEDICAL PRACTICE - LATE AFTERNOON
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Nesseth lands lightly in the land after having skipped across the rooftops as best as he can, wanting to get over to Plume's place quickly. He sighs as he takes a moment to dust off his pants a bit, then makes his way up to the front door. He knocks, then opens the door and peeks in. "Plume?"
Doc Plume is sitting at their desk, just reading through a newspaper of some sort while they wait to close the clinic for the day. At the sound of the knock and Nesseth's voice, they set it down and stand, walking over with a happy stride until they notice the look on Nesseth's face. "What's wrong?"
Nesseth steps inside and shuts the door behind him. As Plume approaches, he sighs and shakes his head as he moves forward for a hug. "Mmh... nothing. I just... had an illuminating talk with some folks about five minutes ago."
Doc Plume hugs back and wraps her wings around Nesseth, doing their best to be a comforting presence. "What was it about and why does it have you so agitated?"
Nesseth just continues to hug Plume with an embrace that's just a touch tighter than normal. "Because I learned how my... grudges, I guess, can cause all kinds of problems..."
Doc Plume kisses Nesseth's cheek softly and rubs a hand soothingly over his neck and up to the ridges on his head. "Ah.. were you and Louma getting into it again?"
Nesseth hums softly, nodding a bit. "Worse than before, this time. There was a bit of a... confrontation that I was only partially privy to, but I was on alert due to one of the people involved being a Snake Louma instructed us to be aware of."
Doc Plume blinks. "A snake? Xochi?"
Nesseth shakes his head. "No, another one. According to Louma, she got news from Bracvar that another snake was on his way to Respite, to 'hunt down' a specific target. We had reason to believe it was Louma, not Xochi."
Doc Plume shakes her head. "Oh... it's because Xochi is... who she is, right?" They let out a little sigh as they fold their wings onto their back and step back. "If someone is hunting her, I should probably tell you all what I know..."
Nesseth blinks and stares at Plume a bit. "Wait... you know what Xochi is, too? How?"
Doc Plume blinks. "How do YOU know?"
Nesseth: "Louma told me during our argument, but I'll get to that in a bit."
Doc Plume walks over to the door and locks it, turning the sign in it over to the "Ring bell in case of emergency" side before moving back to Nesseth. "She came to me about her wings. Had had them bound and hidden for weeks... I did what I could to clean them up and offer suggestions for hiding them more healthily..."
Nesseth glances towards the door, then nods as he lowers his voice a bit. "Then... yeah, I know she's a coatl. That other Snake, the one Louma warned us about... he's one of the royal family's guards. I guess... probably the last." He shakes his head, "But... anyway... I'll try to walk you through the stuff leading up to the argument."
Doc Plume leans in and kisses Nesseth's cheek. "Upstairs... less chance of any curious ears hearing us there." They disengage and head up the stairs to their apartment.
Nesseth hums and smiles a bit at the kiss, but still seems a bit agitated and uncertain about things as he follows his partner up the stairs.
Doc Plume is in the kitchen putting on the kettle when Nesseth gets up the stairs. "I did tell Louma that I thought Xochi was hiding something before, but I didn't want to betray her trust until you told me someone was after her."
Nesseth nods. "Well, not after her anymore, best as I can tell, and according to Louma. Still, she said that it's best that Xochi's secret stays a secret, lest things back home in Orela get... messy."
Doc Plume nods. "Not my business to tell anyone else. I mean, if it's not a guard issue anymore, I have nothing to worry about that I can't handle myself." They transfer the boiling water into the teapot before getting the rest of the service for two out on the tray and carrying it all to the small table. They take a seat and sigh. "Xochi deserves a right to be happy, though. She didn't do anything to deserve being used as a pawn in political games."
Nesseth nods. "She just seems to want to live quietly, away from all that stuff back home. I can see why, now that I know she's... well, that." He sighs a bit and goes to take a seat beside Plume, "Anyway... I happened to be on patrol earlier, and towards the tail end of it, I saw the Snake Louma warned us about. Problem was, it looked like he was tailing Louma."
Doc Plume pours the tea into the porcelain teacups and nods. "I see... you said he's not a problem anymore, though?"
Nesseth nods. "Yeah, but I obviously didn't know that at the time. Thinking he was going to try something funny, I tailed him in turn, all the way to Xochi's new place."
Doc Plume cocks their head. "And he's not on my table, so he either surrendered or was killed, then..."
Nesseth shakes his head again. "Neither, actually. Turns out, Louma, Xochi and Aktzin, the other Snake, had a nice, long talk together. I was thinking something was going to happen, so I got comfortable on the roof of Xochi's house, as overwatch... Just in case."
Doc Plume sips at their tea and ponders this. "Well, I'm happy to not have to deal with anyone injured after a guard incident for a change..."
Nesseth hums in agreement. "Anyway... while up on overwatch, I listened in on the conversation, just in case the hostilities started off verbal. That was the point where I learned about Xochi's status as the last of the Snake royal bloodline. The actual last one, unlike what folks thought about the King and the Prince."
Doc Plume nods a little. "Well, until she tells the town otherwise, she's just a normal snake for all anyone should know."
Nesseth sighs a bit. "And after I spoke with Xochi one-on-one about a week ago, I agree." He pauses for a moment again, "And... after the three had their talk, Aktzin left, and Xochi went inside her house. Louma spotted me and we started talking."
Doc Plume adds a bit more milk to their tea as they ponder this. "So... what does this mean to you, with everything between your people and theirs?"
Nesseth shrugs a bit. "To me, it doesn't mean much, since I believe Xochi's being sincere. But, during my talk with Louma, things got to a point where I was extraordinarily upset with Louma trying to pull the wool over my eyes."
Doc Plume nods. "But not mad with me for hiding it too?"
Nesseth: I didn't know you knew anything about the matter, but you also didn't deny it after I had evidence. Louma... tried to deny it after I heard the conversation, but...
Doc Plume shakes their head and sighs. "That's unfortunate..." They sip their tea and look at Nesseth. "I don't want to keep things from you, but my patients are entitled to their privacy..."
Nesseth nods. "Which is standard practice, you've told me, I know." He sighs again as he laces his fingers together on his lap and stares at them, "But, well... Louma said she didn't tell me despite me being in a position to make her life easier because she knew how deep my... animosity against Snakes goes, and she wasn't sure how I'd react."
Doc Plume sets down their tea and walks around the table to stand behind Nesseth. They gently run their hands over his shoulders and neck, giving the beginnings of a makeshift massage. "Well, she's not here, so maybe don't worry about that right now..."
Nesseth 's shoulders slowly relax in Plume's touch, some tension melting away just from their warm fingers pressing against him. "Well... I'm not worried about her. We managed to sort things out a bit... or at least I hope we did. But..." He shakes his head, "I didn't think my dislike was that bad until Louma made me see it."
Doc Plume thinks on this a bit as their fingers move the back of Nesseth's neck. "Well, it's something you can start to work on, then. Back in Westport, there were some doctors who wouldn't see anyone who was too big or too small. It was kind of disgusting..."
Nesseth shakes his head a bit. "I'm not that bad yet, at least... I'll guard anyone that lives here, regardless of who they are, but..." He looks up and around at Plume, a bit of a worried expression on his face, "I jumped to the worst conclusions before Louma explained it all."
Doc Plume slides their hands down onto Nesseth's chest and hugs him gently, kissing him softly on the cheek. "Right, but you weren't going to hurt anyone over a misunderstanding or anything.
Nesseth sighs and allows his eyes to drift shut as he leans into the hug. "I was prepared to, if they actually were planning something... The last thing anyone needs is another war..."
Doc Plume squeezes gently before pulling back to resume the massage, after sneaking a quick sip of tea. "Right, but that's not happening. So you can let go of that anger... some of it anyway."
Nesseth nods. "I wish it was that easy... I already know if something like this comes up again, I'm gonna have to catch myself before it gets bad."
Doc Plume rubs Nesseth's shoulders and neck more. "Well, now you'll be more wary, right?"
Nesseth hums softly. "Mmh... I'll have to try. I don't want to end up widening the rift that's already there."
Doc Plume rests their beak on top of Nesseth's head. "Well, I'll do my best to keep you from spiralling..."
Nesseth 's frills flex a little as he continues to slowly relax into Plume's embrace. "You do wonders at helping me calm down from just about anything... Like right now, even..."
Doc Plume stops rubbing at Nesseth's shoulders and just hugs him against their chest. "Well, that's part of my job as your partner, right?"
Nesseth chuckles quietly as he lifts a hand and rests it against one of Plume's. "Yeah... but honestly? You just being here is enough, sometimes. Just... y'know, being a comforting presence."
Doc Plume squeezes Nesseth's hand in theirs as they wrap their wings around him gently. "Well, you do the same for me when I'm worrying over a patient..."
Nesseth smiles a little more warmly. "Fair enough... I think we just balance each other nicely."
Doc Plume giggles a bit. "That we do." They disengage from Nesseth and drain the last of their tea. "So... what should we do with the rest of the afternoon?"
Nesseth hums thoughtfully. "Hmm... I'm not sure. The sun's already getting a bit low, so we can't really go for a walk to the waterfall." He shrugs and shakes his head, "I've got energy to burn still, after all that, but..."
Doc Plume grins at Nesseth's answer. "Hmm.. so do I." They laugh a bit and turn to walk over to their bed. "I'm sure we can figure something out..."
Nesseth watches Plume wandering towards their bed, then chuckles again as he stands up and follows. "Yeah... yeah, I'm sure we can think of something to do. We always manage, right?"