----------------------------------------------
THE THIRSTY MINNOW - AFTERNOON
----------------------------------------------
Xochi is settled in at the one table from which the barkeep has recently just removed all the chairs. She holds a cup of tea in her hands, enjoying the feeling of the warmth as she has just finished eating her lunch, and is 'sitting' upon her coiled length, pondering.
Louma lands around the corner from the Minnow, shaking her wings out before folding them in and entering the tavern. She swings the door shut with the end of her tail, immediately noticing Xochi sitting alone. She hesitates for a moment before she angles towards her table. "Good afternoon, Xochi. How does the day find you?" She offers a slight bow and a friendly smile.
Xochi smiles in return and bows her head, "Ah, Louma. The day has found me well, I am hoping it finds you quite well also?"
Louma nods, glancing at the empty dishes on the table. "I'm doing well enough, other than having to scale a mountain of paper and ink. Would I be interrupting your day to join you?"
Xochi shakes her head, "You would not. My apologies that are already forced to climb a mountain, after you just climbed a mountain." She snickers to herself, "My own day is quite uninterruptible. I am simply thinking through a puzzle of sorts."
Louma chuckles at the joke, settling in at the side of the table and coiling her tail around herself. "A puzzle, hmm? Of what, if I may ask?"
Xochi sips her tea, then sets the cup down. "I am seeking a creature which walks on six legs. I met a curious being in the water, one who called herself Sammi. She has given me a curious offer, to seek some ingredients to aid her in some magical ritual."
Louma tilts her head slightly, thinking. "A creature with six legs? Many insects have six legs... Hold on though, what sort of ritual is she planning?"
Xochi tilts her head, "You know, I am... not entirely sure. She seemed very enthusiastic about it, and that it might be a way for me to see more of the world. She said I could think on this, and she would see what she could find as well. Seek the 'nails of one who has walked on six legs', this is what she said."
Louma hums, leaning back into her coil and stroking her chin. "Nails? So probably not an insect. Perhaps you should seek her out and ask a few more questions, though? I wouldn't want to find you caught up in something regrettable."
Xochi frowns, then shakes her head, "I would not wish to hurt others with my actions either. That... that is much of the reason I came here, afterall."
Louma smiles, nodding. "I know, I'm just a little wary about the minimal information." She pauses, glancing about as she leans forward to rest her elbows on the table and lowers her voice. "If you ever feel that you are no longer at risk of being searched for, you have plenty of freedom to explore growing out of your own back."
Xochi glances down, eyes sliding down towards where her wings would be if not hidden beneath her illusions. "Well... yes. Though that is perhaps less freedom then you may believe. I have never... explored that option. I am not sure I could now."
Louma nods sadly, sighing. "I understand, I just consider it such a waste to have such a wonderful gift and never getting to experience it. I'm sorry, Xochi, you didn't deserve such."
Xochi shakes her head, "It's not your place to be sorry." She takes a deep breath and thinks for a moment. "I... wish I could learn, perhaps, if I ever knew I would not be seen, or pursued... to live without that fear. I am... indeed, afraid. About much, though I do my best to move forward."
Louma smiles, relaxing back to her coil again. "Perhaps someday." She flags down the barkeep for a tankard of water.
Xochi smiles slowly, bowing her head to the barkeep as he drops off Louma's water. "Doctor Plume has been aiding me, at a least. They will not atrophy... any further, at least." She sighs. "It is the way of things. I do not think of it as suffering. It is simply... my fate. I know what my bloodline has done."
Louma shakes her head. "I'm glad you have been receiving help from the doctor, at least. They have been proving to be very skilled and knowledgeable. Plume is working on the cure for Erika and two others, in fact, and had results with their first attempt." She looks aside. "Not complete results, but at least a positive one."
Xochi nods, "This is good to hear. I have spoken with Erika since her transformation, and Kira has kept me updated of what she hears as well. A flower of disturbing qualities, yes? It may not impact one such as I with so much difficulty, I wonder? Slithering does not change much, but the transformation from two legs to four must be quite awkward."
Louma nods, looking down toward her chest. "I have tried not to think of how such a thing would affect someone such as myself or Doctor Plume. We would like to keep the nature of the threat in the mountains relatively quiet, though." She looks to Xochi again. "In case someone would think of a foul use for such an effect."
Xochi: "Ah... of course. I shall be quiet in that regard then... I can see the danger."
Louma smiles at Xochi, nodding into a grateful bow. "Thank you. On a happier topic related to flowers, how has your gardening been going?"
Xochi claps her hands, "Oh! It is going very well! They are beginning to grow quite nicely, though none have grown high enough to bloom just yet."
Louma grins at Xochi's excitement. "That's fantastic! I'm glad that the climate hasn't provided too much of an issue for you yet."
Xochi nods, "Yes! Erika herself helped me with that issue, and aided me in choosing plants that would thrive with a novice hand. It has been very good for me, I think."
Louma nods, taking a drink from her tankard. "She would never admit it, but that girl has a miraculous instinct for nurturing plants. Are you growing anything edible?"
Xochi chuckles, "Not yet? I suppose I could eat some of the flowers, but I would rather look at them! Though Kira might disagree with my assessment of taste."
Louma chuckles quietly. "I would bet she's really looking forward to your plants reaching bloom."
Xochi: "I believe she is. We enjoy spending time in the garden, when our time together overlaps. She has spoken a few times of wishing to do more now. I believe she has spoken to you about this?"
Louma nods with a slight sigh. "She wants to learn how to fight, and to help the guard by going on patrol. It concerns me... She seems -hmm- frail. I would not want her to get hurt if something were to happen." She pauses, shrugging. "But the guard would not suffer from a flying patrolman like her."
Xochi sighs as well, lifting up her tea cup once more to take a sip. "That is concerning to me as well. She has been a most unexpected friend here in Respite, roommate in a home I assumed I would be alone in. I hold wishes that no harm comes to her as well."
Louma looks to Xochi for a moment, before focusing on her drink. "I don't want to tell someone not to do what they wish to do. I have discussed the risks with her and yet she persists in her desire. I told her I would bring it up with the other captains, but they are equally as indecisive. I think they see the same balance of benefit and risk as I."
Xochi hums a moment. "I suppose all one can do then is give her a chance?"
Louma nods, leaning back onto her coils again. "I'm going to ask her to speak with the other captains herself. I mean, Respite isn't terribly dangerous, after all."
Xochi chuckles, "Not that I have encountered! But Respite certainly seems to keep its secrets well hidden."
Louma smiles. "I'm glad for that. Secrets such as six legged creatures with nails that power rituals, apparently."
Xochi shifts upon her coils to lean back. "Yes, quite so." She hums. "I shall keep your caution in mind before I proceed with any magics, Louma. I can also promise this to you."
Louma chuckles. "I just hope you find what you're looking for safely."
Xochi smiles, "I suppose I do not even know what I am looking for. Both in the sense of a thing that walks on six legs, nor what the ritual might grant me. I seek no power, only... peace. But the world does fascinate me."
Louma tilts her head. "An intriguing riddle. How to see the world while remaining hidden."
Xochi lifts a hand and waves it, "I may know some illusions, but not with such skill that would help me with that."
Louma: "I'm sure you'll find your adventure yet, Xochi." She smiles, finishing her water before finishing her thought. "You're right about Respite having it's secrets, but all of Aephix has so many more. Perhaps you'll even make a discovery that we can name after you."
Xochi laughs, "That may be a legacy I would not mind having my name listed for within the history books. Xochi; discoverer of secrets and not... any of the alternatives, yes."
Louma laughs with Xochi, nodding. "It would be fun to make a mark like that in the world."
Xochi hums, "It seems a worthy aspiration! I shall hope that I live long enough to make it come true then. Ahhh... I have not felt like this since I was very small. So hopeful and... careless?"
Louma tilts her head, chuckling. "I would hope you'll be care-free, perhaps?"
Xochi blinks, "Ah! Yes! I meant care-free! Without burden, I meant."
Louma giggles to herself, before recalling where she is and straightening up a bit. "Well, perhaps burden yourself with a hired bodyguard or two, if you plan on heading out on an adventure beyond the walls."
Xochi shakes her head, "Not anytime soon, I fear. Or ever, is more likely. But we shall see what my friend Sammi is thinking and perhaps... who knows what the future shall hold, yes?"
Louma nods. "This Sammi... I don't think I've ever heard her name before, but you're thinking she has some powerful magic? What is she like?"
Xochi chuckles, "She seemed very excitable, but kind. She spoke of many unusual things that I have never read about, old ones and great old gods. I only know of the Sun and Moon gods, but I know many others believe different things." She reaches back into a bag and removes a small broach. "She gave me this. She said it was magic, and it might help keep me from unwanted eyes, though I cannot say what it does, if anything."
Louma looks at the broach as closely as she dares, then at Xochi to see if there's any notable change. "Hm. I suppose you'll have to figure out how to use it on your own, unless that magician lady ah... Oh yes, Elizabeth. Perhaps she may have some insight into it. I myself don't see anything different while you're holding it. I'll take your word on her nature, though."
Xochi nods, then slips the broach away. "I cannot say. It was a gift, and offered as a gesture of friendship. Perhaps it is worth asking Elizabeth. She and I arrived to Respite together, in fact! I have helped her clean her home, so I imagine she would be willing to help if I ask her."
Louma nods, relaxing a bit. "I may have been a little curt with her when we met. She did insert herself into a conversation Maybelline and I were having, though we were in public, outside the clinic." She sighs slightly, recalling a day that seems so long ago.
Xochi pauses. "I do not think I have met any Maybellines."
Louma sighs slightly. "The one I know is just about as magical as Elizabeth." She blushes as she speaks, apparently finding her empty tankard very interesting for a moment.
Xochi ahhs in understanding, though it's clear she's missing out on Louma's expression, "Ahh! If I meet them, then perhaps I can as them about this broach as well."
Louma chuckles a bit, calming herself. "Oh, she's more versed in magitech than magic, sorry. She's the town engineer, as well as my partner. Incredible at both things, of course."
Xochi does seem to recognize what Louma means this time, smiling warmly, "I see. I wish you both well, then. I know little of magic and less in magitech... and least in partners."
Louma smiles, bowing slightly. "Thank you, Xochi. What you may lack in partners, though, you've made up for in friendships, it seems. And you never know what lies on the horizon!"
Xochi bows her head in return, "I do not know, this is true. And I treasure the many new friendships I have made. Including yours. Thank you, Louma."
Louma and Xochi continue discussing the friendly relationships both have built in Respite, gradually shifting subjects as a couple hours pass in a blur for the two snakes nearly as far from homeland as they could be, and yet as close to home as they could want.