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ERIKA'S GARDEN - AFTERNOON
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Erika is doing her rounds in her garden. She's happy. She's happy because she can now do her weeding and pruning with using way less teeth in the process thanks to Cavro's tools, even if they're nigh-impossible for her to swap out on her own.
Fiora walks into the garden, arms folded and head craned downward as she's been in thought for a bit now about this and can't make the decision for herself. Usually she wouldn't care what anyone thought about what she was doing, but since this is all for one person, or not-person? Or whatever her... cousin is right now, that's not important.
Erika looks up at the sounds of someone entering her garden. She watches with interest, not unlike the wild animal she very much looks like at the moment.
Fiora strolls along the path. She's not in her armor or anything. She glances around, "Erika?"
Erika calls out: "H-here!" She steps closer towards the sound, her strapped-on hoe making a small clinking noise on the ground as she moves.
Fiora blinks at the noise, then spots the tool on Erika's hoof. "Whoa, uh, hey Cuz. Fancy new hoof you got there. Thought it was one of those magitech limbs or something at first."
Erika giggles, shaking her head. "Not quite." She lifts the hoof in question: "Cavro made this, since I'm like this for... who knows how long, right? Gotta adapt."
Fiora hmphs, "Still gotta meet him. Thought you two were just friends and then I heard... eh, whatever." She forces a shrug, "But... I guess that's sorta kinda what I wanted to talk to you about, if that's alright. You being like this, and adapting and such."
Erika tilts her head, looking up at her cousin curiously: "Oh? What'cha got in mind?"
Fiora sighs, "You know they've got an expedition going out right? Heading out west to find that bear guard and the flowers you ate."
Erika nods as she starts working out the straps on her foreleg: "Mmhm?"
Erika looks up: "Wait."
Erika gives Fiora a scrutinizing look, her question obvious.
Fiora looks away at the obvious assumption. "Well, I mean, it's what I do! I hunt things. Can't trust these guards to know their face from a hole in the ground, let alone track down some rare flower." She slumps and looks back at Erika, "If I go, I can guarantee that the job gets done right, and give you the best chance, Erika!"
Erika nods. She is quiet for a moment as she thinks. Then, quietly: "Then, you better go...?"
Fiora nods, "Yeah... but I also don't wanna leave you alone. This is a frontier town, they know what they're doing, probably? And I came all this way to spend time, not go off on another hunt." She unfolds her arms "Didn't feel fair if I just decided what I should do without asking you."
Erika looks at Fiora, considering. She nods again. "I can't stop you. I mean... we just met and I wanna spend time with you, but..."
Fiora frowns, then pokes a thumb into her own chest, "I don't want you to give me permission, Erika. I do what I want, and no one tells me otherwise." She hesitates. "But this is about you, and what you want."
Erika tilts her head, confused: "So... you want me to tell you what to do, without telling you what to do?"
Fiora sighs in confusion, "Maybe? I don't..." She sighs. "I want to go so I can help you. But I want to stay so we can spend time together. I want to do both, but can't. So... I don't know."
Erika steps over to Fiora to nuzzle the giraffe on the shoulder, not offering an answer but offering comfort.
Fiora sighs, then hugs Erika gently. "Sorry, don't me to put this all on you. Like you aren't having enough issues without your stupid cousin coming to force you into making decisions I should be able to make for myself!"
Erika giggles: "Didn't you just say it's about what I want?"
Fiora nods, "Yeah, I guess I did say that." She grins, "So... what do you want?"
Erika looks aside: "...I don't know. I like super-appreciate you wanting to help, but I'd be stewing in my worry if you go." She looks back up: "...how badly do you actually think they'd need you?"
Fiora thinks. "I don't know. If they're anything like the guard back in Westport..." She shakes her head. "I don't know any of them. Do you trust them at all? I imagine you've had to talk to them after all this."
Erika nods: "I know Nesseth is one of the best, as is Louma. They're both pretty experienced." She giggles: "If they can keep from distracting each other, anyway."
Fiora raises an eyebrow. "Lovers or something?"
Erika blinks, then shakes her head: "No. Or I don't think they are. But they kind of jab at each other when they can, then pretend they aren't doing it. It's cute."
Fiora slowly grins, "Ah, okay, sounds familiar. But... you trust them, eh? Experienced, frontier-weathered, or whatever? If you say they're good, I'll accept that."
Erika nods slowly: "Yup. They're good."
Fiora sighs, "That makes me feel a little better." She scrunchies her snout, "Though I bet I could still take 'em."
Erika giggles: "Take them... dancing?"
Fiora shrugs, "If you wanna call it that, sure. I'd dance them into the dirt!"
Erika giggles at the mental image of Fiora creating some kind of dance-off with the swan snake and the lizard. Then giggles more.
Fiora giggles along, even if she's not completely sure what they're laughing at. "Guess that settles that then! I'll be here for you, cause you're the most important person in Respite."
Erika sobers slightly from the giggles at the praise: "M'not, but guess I am for you. I'll take it."
Fiora nods, "You are for me, yeah. You're the whole reason I came across an ocean! Usually people pay me a lot of money to do that. And usually the person I'm going to see isn't anywhere near as happy to see me."
Erika giggles: "I can imagine!"
Fiora: "A lot less hugging and a lot more punching." She thrusts out a fist into the air to demonstrate. "Which is fun and all, but eh, those people don't matter to me as anything but a big fat bounty. You, though... you're family."
Erika grins with a blush: "Aww. So you are you."
Fiora grins wide, "Th-thanks S-err... Cuz. I do want us to be close."
Erika smiles as brightly as her differently configured jaw allows: "Well, we certainly are close right now!" She nuzzles at her cousin's shoulder, having grown somewhat accustomed of showing affection in such a way. Curse that badger and those glorious neckrubs though.
Fiora gives Erika a hug, leaning into the nuzzle, "Well, yeah! Of course. I loved getting your letters... you've always been special to me."
Erika giggles: "It was always fun writing them! You're like... almost, anyway, my only link to outside. If that makes sense."
Fiora chuckles, "Guess this town is pretty remote." She pauses, "You've never been outside Respite? Or like, you've been outside, sure, but not like... you ever been to Bairnell's? Guessing you've never been across the sea at all."
Erika shakes her head, hesitating for a moment: "Uhm, no. Bairnell's once or twice. But never been on a boat. Is that bad?"
Fiora shrugs, "No, not bad. It's a big wide world, cuz! There's a ton to see and do all over." She glances upwards, thinking. "I've seen and done a lot. Been across Sarn and down into Orela. This is my first time on Aephix, but I feel like I know all about it because of your letters."
Erika smiles a bit: "Well I uh do write a lot." She looks at her hooves: "...well, except right now. Uh."
Fiora grins, "Well... until they fix that, the best part is you don't need to write to me. Since I'm right here!"
Erika giggles: "True! Didn't think of that."
Fiora: "I mean, I wasn't gonna write you while I was here. That'd be kinda weird, right? I could just come talk to you directly and tell you all my stories! I miiiight not have told you everything about what I do for a living, but I guess I just didn't know how you'd react to that. Was better to tell you about the places I'd seen over the people I'd punched." She frowns, "Most of them aren't worth talking about anyways."
Erika smirks: "Sounds fair enough to me. And I don't need to know all that, though of course I'm like... well, way too curious if you judge by where I am right now." She frowns a bit, not sure how to feel about that last bit.
Fiora shakes her head, "Nah, I'm an open book! Got tons of stories, and more then happy to tell you anything and everything! Though Gareth says I embellish too much."
Erika tilts her head: "Embellish?" She squints a bit: "You saying it's not all true?" Her tone is not exactly serious, though.
Fiora gasps, "Nuh-uh! It's all true! Gareth just doesn't know how to tell stories properly! He used to be a pirate! They spend all their time out at sea, and there is literally nothing else to do out at sea but tell stories, so you'd think he'd be better at it!"
Erika giggles at Fiora's reaction: "So a given amount of 'true' you can pull on your country cousin, mmm?"
Fiora looks back at Erika, then giggles in return, "Yeah, something like that. I mean, I promise you everything I tell you happened. It just... maybe didn't happen exactly how I remember it."
Erika sticks her tongue out: "Fair enough." She scrapes at the ground: "I don't really have a lot to tell, well, besides blunders like this."
Fiora laughs, "Nahh, you've got the opposite stories! I've got action and adventure and exotic locales! But you've got the closer to home stuff... like your little friend, Cavro. I keep hearing you two aren't just friends anymore, and that's news to me. I wanna hear how you too decided to become a couple. I want to hear about the time you've spent here. Probably seems boring to you, but... it's important to me."
Erika nods, laying down on the ground: "Well - unf - we just... I dunno, been friends always? And I and him - we - sorta started thinkin' this spring that we might be more? I can't really explain it well, it just sorta happened."
Fiora glances down, then lowers herself to the ground, sitting besides Erika and crossing her legs. She smiles, "Just sorta happened? That's... adorable."
Erika giggles a bit nervously: "W-well, I dunno. We love each other, sort of always have, so... what's the line where it's 'more', you know?"
Fiora shrugs, "I don't! Beats me, Cuz. I'm not the love type. I still haven't gotten a chance to meet him yet." She frowns, "Cause if he ends up hurting you I'm gonna visit a world a pain on him."
Erika looks at Fiora, slightly aghast: "You wouldn't! He's the nicest ever, just reacted a bit hotly to my change!"
Fiora narrows her eyes a moment, then nods, "Alright... if you say so."
Erika nods sharply: "Yes! I don't wanna you go charging at him. Least without reason."
Fiora snorts, "I wasn't going to! ...without reason. But I promise, no hurting Cavro!" Quietly she adds "Without a reason."
Erika flicks her ear at Fiora's last bit, but nods: "Good. He's good, he'd never hurt me."
Fiora relaxes after a minute and smiles. "Sorry, I'm just... sorry." She shakes her head and laughs. "So yeah! If you're happy together, that's the important thing!"
Erika nods: "Yup, that we are. Even with... this."
Fiora nods. "Good. Guess so long as he's there for you no matter what, I can't really complain about him. You've been writing about him for years, I just... guess I want the best for you, that's all."
Erika turns to look at Fiora: "I... appreciate that. Besides Mom and Dad of course, and Cavro, no one's ever really said that to me."
Fiora hmphs. "Well, like I said... family. I take that seriously and... you're the closest I've got, really."
Erika nods with a smile: "Well... I'm certainly family now."
Fiora nods, her hand idly picking at the grass beneath them, but there's a sad smile across her face. "Thank you, Erika..."
Erika smiles brightly: "Anytime. We're here now. I'm glad you're with me, help keep me, uh, sane or something."
Fiora snorts out a laugh, "I might not be your best bet for sanity! But I'll do my best!"
Erika giggles: "Good enough for me!"
Fiora laughs, broken out of her sudden gloom, "Right! Now okay, tell me a story about you and Cavro when you were little. I gotta know how this all started! Then I'll tell you the story about Sarn or something? Maybe that time I broke into one of the upper manors and ended up having to dive from the third story into a swimming pool to escape..."
Erika looks at Fiora curiously: "This I gotta hear..."