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RESPITE FALLS SIDE STREET - MID-AFTERNOON
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Nesseth wanders down the lane as he reads a slip of paper that was left on the dining table back at his place. On the paper is a set of directions from Vix. He pauses upon coming up to the front door of the house indicated, and knocks while tucking the paper away in a pocket.
Narrator: Some commotion can be heard inside the house, like a stack of things toppling over and a startled cat.
Nesseth blinks and tilts his head curiously, though he waits patiently at the door for someone to answer.
Vix opens the door a few moments later, looking particularly unkempt. "Hey, Ness! I was just uh...tidying up. Hope you don't mind a little mess..."
Nesseth smiles when Vix comes into view. "Hey there, Vix, I got your note." He chuckles and shakes his head, "I don't mind a mess at all, though... I hope I didn't surprise you or anything. It sounded like something fell over in there."
Vix glances over her shoulder. "Just a stack of...stuff. Let's call it merchandise. Here, come on in!" She opens the door wider, revealing a living room that looks like a tornado just blew through it.
Nesseth chuckles a bit and nods, sneaking a little kiss on Vix's nose as he steps through the doorway. As he redirects his attention to the room at large, however, he slows to a stop. "Uh... wow. I'm guessing you store all of your store's merchandise right here, then?"
Vix scratches her head and laughs nervously. "Haha...yeah. It was all stacked up nice and neat until a few moments ago. Like those." She points to a couple more intact stacks of miscellaneous items. A couple of them are taller than her.
Nesseth looks over at the stacks nearby and nods. "Ahh, okay. Did you want a bit of help cleaning the other piles up? It's kind of my fault they fell over in the first place."
Vix nods as she picks up an empty oil lamp from the floor and sets it on top of another pile. "Yeah, feel free to help. And it's not your fault, you know. I just tripped on the way to the door." She gestures at various tripping hazards strewn about.
Nesseth stoops over and starts helping Vix pick up the stuff scattered around, starting with a couple of older-looking books. He also starts nudging potential obstacles aside so Vix won't have to worry as much about tripping. "Well, either way, I'll help you out since I'm here. I hope you didn't get hurt tripping, though."
Vix giggles. "I'm all good! Thanks for the concern, though~"
Nesseth smiles as he works to balance a newly-restored stack of stuff. "Of course. I'd hate to see my favorite feline get hurt, after all."
Vix works alongside Nesseth to tidy the living room, slowly working up an appetite. "By the way, did you bring any snacks~?"
Nesseth nods as he and Vix work through the scattered bits of merchandise, getting it all orderly again. "A few, yeah. I figured I'd bring along a couple of your favorites."
Vix licks her lips. "Oooh, nice! Let's finish up so we can chow down!"
Nesseth grins as he hefts a box of materials and scoots it somewhere a bit less in the way. "You got it, Vix. Not much more to go until it's all clean, anyway."
Vix: Well, that's just this room. Er...you don't have to help me clean my whole house, though!
Nesseth blinks, looking over at Vix from one of the stacks of stuff. "Oh, you've, uh... got more stuff stored in the other rooms?"
Vix scratches her head. "I mean, I have to have a good stock of merch, right?"
Nesseth: Well... yeah, I figure a merchant would keep a good stock. I guess I'm just surprised you've got enough stock to fill multiple rooms.
Vix: I uh...might be overdoing it a little, maybe. That's why I'm always crashing at your place, or out in town
Nesseth chuckles a bit and reaches over to give Vix a light scratch behind her ears. "I just figured you really liked sleeping on my couch."
Vix purrs. "Well, there is that. It can get lonely here..."
Nesseth takes a moment to make sure the last bits of stuff are stacked up securely. "I'm glad I can keep you company whenever I've got the time."
Vix flops onto the couch once the floor is clear of stuff. "Now that you know this place, you can come over whenever. As long as you don't mind a mess, that is~"
Nesseth laughs a bit as he takes a seat beside Vix, though he removes his pack first and sets it down. "It's a nice place, if maybe just a little cluttered, but like I said, I don't mind a mess."
Vix stretches her arms and lets out a squeak as her joints pop. "Ah...so, let's see those snacks, eh~?"
Nesseth nods and leans over to dig through his pack. It takes a few seconds, but he begins to extract several wax paper-wrapped pieces of food, including a few of Vix's favorites, just as he'd said. "Here we go. Got a bunch to choose from, so feel free to nibble!"
Vix hums as she selects a solid-looking strip of jerky. "Oho, don't mind if I do~"
Nesseth passes the jerky to Vix and sets the rest on a nearby end table. "By all means, Vix, enjoy~" He smiles after a moment, "Also... I heard you've been really complimentary of my cooking. I didn't think I was anything all that impressive."
Vix hums as she chews on the jerky. "I can't be the only one saying that, right? What about Doc?"
Nesseth chuckles. "Plume enjoys whenever I bring food over for them after work, so... I guess you aren't the only one upselling my abilities when asked."
Vix: Mmhm, told ya~
Nesseth grins. "I'm really lucky to have you and Plume in my life."
Vix: Aww...likewise~
Nesseth chuckles. "So, I'm guessing you're not quite so intimidated by Plume anymore?"
Vix munches thoughtfully. "It's still a bit awkward to talk to them. I dunno why..."
Nesseth lightly wraps an arm around Vix's shoulders and gives her a soft, one-armed hug as she munches on the jerky. "Well, I'm glad you're not scared of them anymore."
Vix chuckles. "Yeah, makin' progress. They seem pretty interested in my new carvings and stuff at my booth."
Nesseth smiles. "Heh, that's good. You're pretty skilled at carving, you know." He chuckles as he slides the necklace out from under his shirt, showing Vix the two pendants on the chain, one from her and one from Plume.
Vix blushes under her dark fur. "That's where all the good luck comes from~"
Nesseth laughs a bit. "They just reinforce the luck, maybe. Remember, I met you both a while before I got these from you two."
Vix: Mm, fair enough...
Vix continues to munch thoughtfully
Nesseth gives Vix another soft hug. "Who knows, maybe black cats and crows are actually good luck charms."
Vix smirks. "I'll bring ya nothing but fortune if you keep me fed~"
Nesseth smirks in turn. "Well, you already know you're always welcome to pop by for food~"
Vix grabs another piece of jerky and snuggles closer to Nesseth. "Ya know...I didn't really have any plans for after you got here. Any uh...questions about my house?"
Nesseth hums thoughtfully as he just hugs Vix close, though he leaves her arms free so she can enjoy the snacks. "Hmm... well, business must have been really good for you over the years. It's a pretty nice place you've got."
Vix: Hmm, I wouldn't call it especially nice. It definitely came with its own share of problems, and I haven't really decorated much.
Nesseth tilts his head. "Problems? What kind of problems?"
Vix shrugs. "Leaky roof, lotsa bugs...it took a bit of patching."
Nesseth looks around at the room they're currently in. "Really? I'd say you did a good job of fixing it all up. It all must have set you back a little, though, I bet."
Vix flexes her claws. "I can deal with bugs. As for the roof, I found some metal scraps to nail up there.
Nesseth hums. "Mmh, that'd save some time, yeah. I'm guessing that's enough to keep things dry during the rainy seasons, since you've been storing all your goods here for a while."
Vix gestures toward a bucket of what looks like plaster, with a flat metal tool atop it. "I'm not the best roofer, but I've got what I need if I need to patch the patch."
Nesseth looks over at the bucket, then nods. "Heh... you've got way more experience patching a roof than I do, I can say that much."
Vix sticks out her tongue. "I bet I could sucker you into doing it for me next time~"
Nesseth chuckles, smirking. "I mean... I could help if you need it, sure. Just don't blame me if there's still a leak afterwards."
Vix giggles. "Then I know who to call next time it rains~"
Nesseth gives Vix a gentle hug. "Shouldn't be that long from now, if I'm not mistaken. Rainy season's not that far off."
Vix leans into Nesseth after he hugs her. "But now you get why I prefer to hang out at your place, right~?"
Nesseth hums a bit and rests his chin against the top of Vix's head. "Mmh, it's maybe a bit more cozy, I guess."
Vix You don't seem to mind, though
Nesseth smiles. "Of course not, Vix. Like I said, you cleaned this place up nicely, wares storage aside."
Vix hums. "I don't suppose you want to see the rest of it?"
Nesseth: "I'd like to, if you're offering to give a little tour."
Vix stands herself up from the couch and dusts herself off. "There's not much, but let me show you around!"
Nesseth releases Vix from his hug and nods as he stands up as well. "Alrighty, lead on!"
Vix carefully weaves around a few stacks of merchandise to arrive at a messy kitchen. There's a light dusting of flour over everything and a few dirty dishes. "Ehe...here's the kitchen. Been experimenting with recipes in here, but it's hard to keep clean."
Nesseth carefully follows Vix through the house, making sure his tail doesn't accidentally nudge anything over. He tilts his head as he gets a look at the kitchen, as well as the flour on just about every surface. "Still working on coming up with stuff to expand your shop's inventory, hm?"
Vix grins proudly. "Yep, and making good progress too!"
Nesseth chuckles, smiling in turn. "I'll have to try out some of the stuff you cook up. I'm betting it's all tasty stuff."
Vix digs through her pantry and produces a jar of cookies. "It's mostly cookies. They tend to stay fresh!"
Nesseth perks up a bit. "Ooh, cookies are good. They last a while as long as you keep their storage nice and dry!"
Vix opens the jar and holds it up to Nesseth. "Here ya go~"
Nesseth smiles and dips his hand into the jar, snagging a cookie for him to nibble on. "Thank you, Vix, don't mind if I do~"
Vix takes an oat cookie for herself before putting the jar away. "Let's move on..."
Nesseth sneaks a little kiss on Vix's cheek before he takes a nibble out of the cookie and hums at the flavorful treat. "Mmh, this is good."
Vix giggles as she leads them to another room, nibbling on the cookie along the way. "And this...is the study? I think? It came with all these shelves, so obviously...I used them for storage."
Nesseth looks around a bit, nodding at the shelves arrayed around the place. "Yeah, looks like whoever was here before wanted to stock up on books or something. Still, makes for some good storage for smaller things, I bet."
Vix blinks as she notices a shiny capacitor sitting on one of the shelves. "Ah crap, forgot to give that one to May..."
Nesseth tilts his head. "Oh, May was asking for a capacitor for the generator? I could drop it off over there, if you like."
Vix picks up the capacitor and hands it to Nesseth. "Er, if you would. Thanks."
Nesseth nods and stows the capacitor in a pocket on his vest. "Sure thing, Vix. Not a problem."
Vix lightly hugs Nesseth and steps back into the hall to continue the tour. "Bath's over there, nothing special. So that just leaves the bedroom..."
Nesseth looks over at the bathroom as the two walk by the doorway. "Looks to be in pretty good condition, all told." He chuckles and smiles at Vix as he continues to follow her, "It's a nice place."
Vix opens the door to the bedroom, revealing an assortment of smaller storage piles, plenty of clothes strewn about, and a sad-looking wooden bedframe covered in claw marks. "Really? I dunno..."
Nesseth hums curiously, looking around at the rather messy bedroom. "Okay, well... could do with a bit of cleaning, sure, but... I've seen worse by a pretty wide margin." He eyes the claw marks on the bedframe, "Guessing those marks are from you?"
Vix bashfully hides her claws behind her back. "Y-yeah...Keeps me from clawing up every wooden surface in town."
Nesseth chuckles. "Okay, that's fair. I doubt folks would be too happy about that."
Vix sits on the mattress, which lets out a small squeak. "The bed's a bit smaller than yours, but...wanna try it out?"
Nesseth can't help but smirk as he approaches the bed and takes a seat next to Vix. "If you've an idea for testing it out, sure."
Vix wiggles a bit. "I think we had snuggling on the agenda, after snacks and a tour~?"
Nesseth nods and slips an arm around Vix again, pulling her gently against his side. "Yeah, I think I recall something similar. Snuggles it is, then~"
Vix kisses Nesseth on the cheek as she snuggles closer. "And then...whatever's next~"
Nesseth tilts his head and gives Vix a little nuzzle as he hugs her close. "Whatever might come up next. I'm sure we'll have a few ideas~"
Vix hums and kisses Nesseth again as they cozily plan out the rest of the day~