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RESPITE MARKETPLACE - EARLY AFTERNOON
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Emmeline settles into the booth after lunch and a morning of dealing with more paperwork. She's a little concerned when a very quiet Jennica immediately excuses herself for her own lunch, but doesn't think too much of it as she sets about prettying up the display shelves.
Bracvar has spent much of the morning out of his stall, instead taking the first hour to tightly pack every blanket he could muster up around his cargo, most of them his own, though some generous souls who don't mind washing out the smell gave him a few extras to use. After that, noon approached and he wasn't sure what his next step would be. He figures that asking Emmeline if she knows the culprit is a safe bet, but hesitates to poke at that bridge. An hour of asking around about magitech containment glass leads the wandering crab almost directly to Emmeline's stall.
Emmeline looks up as Bracvar approaches and gives him a friendly wave. "Ah, afternoon neighbour! How are you doing on this thankfully sunny day?"
Bracvar hums, looking down at his shadow, then back toward his barely-shaded cart. he hums again before turning back to Emmeline with a slightly concerned tone to his voice. "Ah, well I've had better starts to my day, but yer right, at least it's pleasant enough. Course, could've used the clouds fer once."
Emmeline cocks her head and looks over at the cart. "Ah... but don't you have... a thing to keep the ice and fish frozen?"
Bracvar nods, crossing his arms. He'd already spent enough of the morning angry, he'd burnt most of that emotion out already. "Aye, I do. A rather wonderful little cold generator. Unfortunately, a miscreant of a sort broke the damn thing on me. I don't want to assume, but perhap yeh know her? A bovi lass much like yerself. Shorter, though."
Emmeline frowns a bit, thinking. "Well, Jenn was watching the stall this morning so maybe she saw some--" She trails off. "Damn it... was this cow various shades of brown by any chance? Blonde-is hair?"
Bracvar nods, tilting his head slightly. A biting tone undercuts his next word, though he works it out before continuing. "Yeah. That she was. Scuttled over to my cart teh start the day and found her under that tarp, fondling the cold gen."
Emmeline cocks her head, thinking. "Well, if it was Jenn, she was probably just curious about it..." She frowns more. "She wouldn't intentionally break or steal anything though."
Bracvar uncrosses his arms, setting his hands on his hips as he looks a bit aside; "Strange habit of snooping fer someone not inter thieving." He turns back to her, sighing slightly. "That generator's the only thing what keeps my stock salable. That's my profit. Not that there will be any teh speak of, after I get round to repairing it."
Emmeline gets a stern look on her face. "Well, if Jennica broke it, she might be able to fix it. She's pretty handy with that stuff. What was it that broke?"
Bracvar shrugs, giving a nod after a slight pause. "That'd be acceptable. The leaded glass chamber fer the mana crystal, keeps the er... I don't know the technical words off my head. Makes suction, in the open air it loses charge in minutes. In the chamber the thing stays charged fer weeks."
Emmeline pulls out a piece of paper and a pencil and jots down what Brac said. "Right. Got it. I'll ask her about it... and if it was her, we'll make it right for you. I promise."
Bracvar watches Emmeline, tapping a finger on his hip before nodding to what she said. "Aye, we'll see. If she can make a part like that, yeh might have a new business angle fer yerselves." He'd ordinarily laugh with the suggestion, but can't really bring it out. He's got a deep itching doubt that the trinket crafter will have the needed skill. "Let me know, and have a good afternoon otherwise, miss Emmeline." He gives her a curt nod, turning to make his way back toward his cart.
Emmeline nods to Brac with a smile. "You too. I'll recommend you to any fish-eating types too... maybe you can sell more than usual." She turns to look around her stall, seeing signs that Jenn hadn't spent much time out front today. She gives a sigh to herself. "What am I going to do with you, Jennica?"
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WATERFALL - LATE AFTERNOON
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Sammi was out of the water for a change, by the 'shore', and was practicing. She tends to get latched unto ideas, and when the idea of becoming a guard was presented. Well, that was what she latched unto. Though..she wasn't doing all the swords. It turns out that you end up being more of a danger to yourself than anyone else. So she was told by some guy at the training grounds anyway, and instead, she had been given a spear. Which also makes sense! It's a much better aquatic weapon. She was praciticing her thrusting technique, trying to hit a target that was the other side of a metal ring. The goal being to hit the target, without touching the sides of the ring. She was doing..okay. The downside of being a mass of calamari rather than a normal person is a certain lack of muscle mass.
Gareth makes his way up along the path leading to the waterfall, searching for Sammi to let her know about his impending trip. His ears flick a bit when he hears the sounds of scuffling, and the dull thuds of something that sounds almost like a training dummy being hit... He tilts his head a little, raising an eyebrow as he turns the last corner around the trees and finds Sammi practicing. He takes a few seconds to take in what he's seeing, his expression clearing into a small smile as he just watches, not wanting to interrupt for the moment.
Sammi eventually takes a break after she is able to make a clean strike maybe two times in three. She stretches out with a yawn, before flumping down on the grass, which points her head at where Gareth was "Oh! Hey!" She raises a tentacle to wave at him "How are things?"
Gareth raises a hand in greeting as Sammi flops down to take a break, then smiles as he steps over towards the ring. "Hey there, Sammi. It's goin' well enough fer meself, and I hope things have been good for ye, too." He looks over at the training dummy for a moment, "Guessin' yer putting yer all into becomin' a town guard, hm?"
Sammi: "Uh..well, if I want to do something, I gotta be able to use like..one weapon. Even if I don't really like using them" She rolls back to her feet, invigorated again "I've got the voice bit down, and the whole 'presence'..like..you know, when Ms Louma looks all spooky and you just want to do what she says without her saying anything?"
Gareth chuckles, nodding a bit. "Aye, that I do. When a guard is gettin' stern, most everyone knows to listen, because that means they're maybe a few seconds from just tossin' folks into jail for a day." He nods at the spear Sammi's been practicing with, "And I doubt ye'd have to really use the spear if ye don't want to. Most times, just bein' present is enough to stop trouble."
Sammi: "Well, I still want to know how to use it" She fidgets, just a little "You really like sparring, and so..well, I wanted to be able to do that too" She's utterly oblivious to certain things to a nigh unbelievable degree, but there are limits even to her cluelessness. The being immiscible to human emotion had, in fact, picked up on the UST between him and Lianne. "And there was an old man at the grounds who said that 'the only people who use more than one sword are dancers and posers'. He was an old man, so he must be right!
Gareth blinks, then smiles a bit more warmly at Sammi. "Aye, sparrin' is fun, and... well, if ye want to learn so ye can spar with me like that, then I'd be happy to help ye figure this out." He lets out a bit of a laugh after a moment, "As fer usin' more than one weapon... that old man's mostly right. Ye get really comfortable with one, and maybe practice with a second just in case. It's why I've got this cutlass and these pistols." He pats a hand against each weapon in turn as he talks.
Sammi: "Well, right now, I'm learning how to poke, then I'll decide how many pointy bits I want on it" She puts the spear in her bag (try not to think about that too much..) "But I want to wait until I'm good before I show off! Maybe we could do something else until then?"
Gareth nods as he goes to take a seat on the ground next to Sammi. "Fair enough, lass. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise of whenever we have our first spar. Whenever ye think yer ready, just let me know." He hums thoughtfully, "As fer somethin' else... sure, if ye've got ideas, I'm happy to hear them. Though, uh... I might need to hold off on doin' anythin' fer a couple o' weeks or so soon. I actually came up here to let ye know."
Sammi: "Hmm?" She tilts her head curiously "Why? What's up?"
Gareth: Remember that bounty me huntin' partner and I went on a few weeks back? I've got somethin' to take back to the folks up Sarn that gave us the bounty, so I'm plannin' to be headin' that way fer a couple o' weeks or so.
Sammi: "Oh.." She says, a little quietly "Um.." She pokes her fingers together "I..don't suppose I could go?"
Gareth blinks, then grins. "If ye want to, sure! I was goin' to ask, but I wasn't too sure after seein' ye practicin' so hard fer becomin' a guard. But, if ye don't mind delayin' yer trainin' fer a short bit, I'd love to have ye along!"
Sammi: "What's better training than practical!" She claps her hands together "Oh, and I could practice my Loumaing!"
Gareth hums curiously, an eyebrow raising a bit. "Yer... 'Loumaing'? Is that the whole 'intimidatin', scary presence' thing ye said she could do?" He chuckles after a moment, "Ye can get some practice in, certainly, but I doubt we'll be fightin' anyone unless things go bad up that way."
Sammi: "Yeah! It's hard to do, because I'm not nearly snakey enough, but I think I'll get it eventually!"
Gareth smiles. "It's all in the presentation, Sammi. When we get to Sarn, ye should see the chill the researchers will get when they see me walkin' in. Maybe seein' it like that will help."
Sammi: "Ooh, you should be chilling too?" She considers this, and considers Gareth a moment, and gives him a 'chilly look'. He's been around Sammi enough to have built up a tolerance for her 'tricks', so he only gets a little bit colder from the whole thing "..wait, isn't Sarn a really warm place? Wouldn't giving them a chill be a good thing?"
Gareth does catch a slight chill indeed from the look, but doesn't seem all that bothered by it aside from his fur maybe standing a little on end. He shakes his head after a moment. "It's... kind o' temperate. Part o' the continent is snowy, while the other half is a bit greener. We're headin' to Glaushire, which is... maybe a bit cold, but still pretty green, this time o' year. Orela's the warm place, but still not quite as warm as Aephix."
Sammi: "Maybe a Hot look?" She thinks on this "No, Dad said that I had to be a classy lady, and never flash my tentacles like that..Oh, it'll be fun regardless, exploring a new place!"
Gareth chuckles a bit, nodding. "Aye, yer Papa's right. Ye usually reserve the hot looks fer, uh..." He pauses for a really short moment, then clears his throat, "And aye, I thought ye'd might enjoy seein' Glaushire. It's much different from Respite Falls or Bairnell's Folly. It'll be a fun trip, I'm sure."
Sammi: "Oh? Ohhh..." She nods "Right! That's right.." She clears her throat a little, and gives a certain..look, and a little hip wiggle, before she winks. Well, it's enough to 'raise temperatures'. On the bright side, it does mean that Sammi is learning how to pick up on signs!
Gareth notices the wiggle and the wink, and the effect is about as expected. He can't help but blush just a touch beneath his fur, and his temperature does rise slightly! "Uh... exactly, Sammi. That sort o' look. Best reserved fer... the ones ye really like."
Sammi: "I did!" She smiles, and nods, before moving on "Papa said that that sort of thing shouldn't be used unless you don't think it needs to be used" which was really confusing, but I think I get it! He's smart! Sooo..Glaushire?"
Gareth takes a moment to scratch at the collar of his jacket, then nods, though the blush remains a little stubbornly upon his cheeks for the moment. "Aye, Glaushire. I think it's the main city o' Sarn, and home o' one o' the biggest magitech universities established so far. I've only been there a few times meself, but it's quite an amazin' place to see."
Sammi seems to enjoy seeing that blush there, and, well..there might be an equal blush there, but its hard to tell, considering her skin colour "Ooh, I bet they'd love to see my presents! I should bring one!"
Gareth nods towards Sammi's bag. "I'm sure ye've got some fun things fer them in there, aye. Just, uh... don't let them take the bag, though. They're researchers, and sometimes that research can accidentally break things. It'd be a shame fer yer bag to get damaged."
Sammi: "Okay! That makes sense!" She nods, patting the bag "I'll keep it safe! Don't worry!"
Gareth nods again, smiling. "Good! So, I'm not plannin' on headin' out fer a little while yet, maybe a week or so, so ye've got time to do things around town before we leave." He tilts his head, "Ye said ye wanted to do somethin' aside from sparrin'?"
Sammi: "Um..well..I hadn't anything really in mind...well.." She blushes again. That one was visible, her skin was turning pink.
Gareth gestures lightly at Sammi, only to tilt his head upon seeing the blush. "Hm? Go on, lass, I'm listenin'."
Sammi: "Ah..um..you know what!" Somehow, at the bottom of the waterfall, there was a fire "Oh look! My Cooler is on fire! I..uh..should look into that!"
Gareth redirects his attention towards the water, noticing the fire in... the water...? Regardless, he quickly pushes himself up onto his feet, definitely distracted. "Woah! We should get that thing put out before ye lose anythin'!"
Sammi: "Y..yeah! Ah! It's been really nice talking to you! We should talk soon again, with everyone going! Make plans!" She dives in, to uh..'put out her fires'
Gareth nods and starts striding towards the water's edge, only to come up short as Sammi swims off towards the fire. "Wait... a... fire...?" He pauses, shuts his eyes and takes a moment to pinch the bridge of his nose before giving his head a shake. When he looks again, the fire's gone. He stares at the water for a few seconds, then chuckles to himself in bemusement as he turns to leave, "Well... that was somethin'..."
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THE THIRSTY MINNOW - EVENING
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Jennica is sitting at a table, her hands busy with a small ball of tech that occasionally emits a small gust of magic-infused smoke. She frowns at the ball, not entirely happy with it just yet so she keeps on fiddling with it. Not like she wants to show back at the marketplace for any length of time longer than to not make Emmeline worry, right now...
Maybelline pushes open the door to the Minnow, stepping inside with a plan to get a drink and a late dinner before heading home. She pauses when she sees the smoke rising up from one of the tables, taking a wise circle around it to get a better view of whatever the source of it is. "Careful there, um, Ms?"
Jennica pauses in her fiddling (and smoke-causing), blinking as she looks up: "O-oh. Hey. I'm careful. Just, this metal isn't as perfect for this as I thought..." She frowns at the small ball of tech in her hands.
Maybelline frowns, stepping closer, "Sub-standard materials, or just incompatible? What kind of power source are you using there? Most crystals work fine with any metal as long as they're properly suspended... that's a pretty small orb though, so you're probably not using a typical matrix layout?"
Jennica nods, staring at the ball: "I wanted to have a proper firestarter, but the alloy I got keeps wanting to bend in the heat even before any fire begins..." She glances at the Barkeep with a grin: "...n-not that I'd start one here anyway, just want to get the principle correct."
Maybelline giggles, "I just made one like that for my girlfriend, believe it or not. I didn't use an orb though, did a flat standing design." She lifts her hands up in measurement, giving a general idea of the size and shape of it, as if she were giving measurements of a fish she caught as she comes closer to the table. "Oh uh, Maybelline, by the way. Want some company?"
Jennica looks up (or down, really) at the stoat, smiling: "Jennica. C-company is good, I think."
Maybelline grins, pulling herself up into the opposite seat and waving to the barkeep for a drink (And a booster seat). She stands on the seat while she waits and glances down at the orb. "Well certainly looks well made. You do it all yourself, I'm guessing?"
Jennica looks at the ball, nodding slowly: "W-well, I hunt down the metal from various scrap pieces mostly, but I put it together myself. A-and the magic is all mine, of course."
Maybelline hums, "Aw, like, yours yours? I'm a bit jealous of that. I've got plenty of know-how when it comes to building, but no magic of my own. I have to rely on whatever pre-charged crystals or power cells I can find or buy for when I want to do a project like that. The fire starter was a companion project I did along with a water purifier, simple stuff, but I was given the magitech cells."
Jennica looks at Maybelline with a note of understanding and pity: "Aww, that's no fun... I-I've always been able to use magic, but only to enchant things to work."
Maybelline shrugs a bit, sighing, "Some folks have it, some don't... I... don't. But I can make up for that with knowledge and understanding of the principles that make the tech work when magic is supplied. As well as proper application of the magic to ensure it does work. But that's all simple (well, some not so simple) schooling back in Sarn."
Narrator: Another disappointing della-less day, a drained Teis disappointedly drifts directly into the drinkery. With a heavy sigh, she orders a drink, overhearing the conversation at the table while she waits. Curious enough, as well as trying to find her own spark back, once she has her fruity beverage of choice, Teis walks to the table. "Um. May. . .I join in?" Teis questions, rather quietly, her tone reflecting her low energy state.
Jennica nods, giving a small smile: "W-well, if it helps I'm jealous of you having gone to school for it." She blinks at the cat arriving, smiling more: "O-oh. Hey, Teis. Y-yeah, you can join."
Maybelline glances at the cat and smiles, "Oh, you know each other? Um... you know me already? Do I have a reputation or something? I mean uh, hi, sure! I don't mind if you join."
Teis gives a small, thankful smile, taking a chair. "Hello again, Jennica. Thank you." She turns to Maybelline. "Yeah. You're the generator operator. I was told to expect you to visit my lab at some point." Teis replies.
Jennica blinks, realizing she's supposed to be doing something in a social situation like this. "O-oh. Uh. Teis, this is May...belline? That was your name, right?" She blinks again, catching onto what he cat said: "Generator operator?"
Maybelline nods, "Maybelline, but just May is fine, sure." She nods to Teis as the pieces fit together, "You must be Rondelethia's lab tech? Yes, I'm supposed to come over soon to do the maintenance check-up and possibly an upgrade on the lines for your power needs."
Teis nods to Jennica, looking to Maybelline. "A pleasure, May." Teis visibly winces at the mention of Della's name, as well as her given title. She expected to be called 'Sister' not 'Lab Tech'. Her smile falters. Does this mean something even worse between herself and Della? Teis' mind jumps to the worst conclusion. She fights to maintain her positive expression, smiling again, though faded. She nods. "Yes. I'm her Sister. Please, though. Don't let me interrupt things here. I found myself engaged in the conversation the two of you were already having, and, well, frankly would like to hear more." And allow Teis to focus on something other than herself.
Jennica looks at Teis, then shrugs as she motions at the inert ball of soft metal next to her hands on the table: "Was just trying to make some fire without all the smoke, but the alloy doesn't want to behave."
Maybelline nods, "Oh, she mentioned her sister was there but..." She glances at the cat, thinking back to the bunny, then shakes her head, "Well, nevermind that! Good to meet you!" She looks down at Jennica's potential fire starter and nods. "Seems the magic source doesn't want to move as expected through the alloy. But is the flaw in the alloy, or in the path set for the magic, is my question?"
Jennica makes a small motion with her hand, causing the magitech ball to sputter a small cloud of smoke once more. She frowns at it, not that it helps.
Teis, in the meantime, sips from her drink, as well as reaches into her pocket for her lesser magitech lenses. She flips them on, staring at the device, both to study it's magical flow and to see where it might be faltering.
Maybelline nods, waving away the smoke as it drifts nearby, "I think the magic is flowing into the alloy and burning it instead of actually starting a flame as expected. If we could route the magic away from the exterior it might work a lot better without having to replace the plating."
Jennica shifts the scrapmetal ball in her hands, thinking on May's words: "...maybe...?"
Teis looks deeply at the device, following the magical lines of the device, leaning in slightly. "I can confirm that. Activity in the Amber band building up, flowing back amongst itself not unlike turbulent water. Once there is enough energy to jump the gap into the alloy, that's when it discharges and the smoke follows."
Jennica nods, humming. She then sighs, dropping the device aside: "Will need to hammer it into form then. Can't really do it here..."
Maybelline reaches down towards the ball, gradually nudging it on the table, "Could try to rewire it. The... Amber band, hm? That might be a problem actually. If something is causing it to build up, we can remove the restraints, but that would make it release too much power, wouldn't it?"
Teis: "Likely? That sort of flow is useful in a number of applications. . ." Teis replies, clicking her fingers to demonstrate, a ball of fire forming in her palm. "But obviously here, it's causing issues, and it needs to be more well controlled." She moves that fire to her fingertip, where it forms a jet of fire, not unlike a bunsen burner. She then waves her finger and hand around a few times, snuffing the fire out.
Maybelline hmphs, smiling awkwardly at Jennica, "So your problem is a little bit on the materials side, a little bit on the magical side..."
Jennica looks at Teis' finger in slight awe before turning back to glance at her ball of trouble: "...w-what it needs I think is a bit of rethinking, but you're on the right track." She smiles: "I-it's nice to have someone else see what I'm doing."
Maybelline sits down as the barkeep brings her booster seat at least, along with a cup of warm tea. "Ahh. Oh, and you're both magic users... hmmh." She's not jealous... except yes she is.
Jennica gives Maybelline a bit of a shrug: "You still see what I'm doing, i-if that makes sense."
Teis smiles, happy to feel useful to someone. "I'm glad we could be of assistance, Jennica. If you ever need my expertise, or just the tools in my lab, you're welcome to come to the Estate. Mana Lenses make a lot of problems like this much easier to diagnose, though I respect that not everyone may have access to them." Translation: They're expensive. "You mentioned you went to a school earlier, yes?" Teis turns to May. "In Sarn? What was it? I went to The Arcane Academy of Kiroth."
Maybelline nods, having always had trouble with mana lenses, for as useful as they could be to even a non-magical user, "Oh, yes. I attended The Glaushire University and interned at the Policaster Mark VI ICEE Generator to complete my certification."
Jennica smiles at Teis, then turns to look at the two in curiosity. She quietly muses, mostly to herself: "...must have been awesome to go to a school for this..."
Teis smiles. "Oh, cool! Sadly, I'm too young for college or an internship or whatever. I'm having to do my coursework for The Academy remotely while I'm here. I kind of miss it, actually. All the equipment. . ." Teis swoons inside of her own mind. She clears her throat to bring herself back to reality. "Honestly, Jennica. You've done very well without school. Muffins, I didn't even get into the Academy until I was 15. Before then, everything I knew was entirely self taught." Teis ums and errs briefly, realizing that this might not actually be good condolences for Jennica. "Ah. . .Sorry." She sheepishly sighs. "I didn't mean to rub my. . .Good luck into your face. I was just. . .Excited." Teis mumbles, turning away, embarrassed and guilty.
Jennica winces slightly at the first half of Teis' words, but at least attempts to find her smile for second: "I-it's fine." She looks aside and sighs quietly.
Maybelline glances at Jennica, "I uh... guess I'm a bit older there. My parents scraped together the money to get me into the University. Took a lot out of them, and I worked hard... usually. Fought to keep my place there the whole time. The actual education and access to stuff was great though. But I'd have never had a chance at the Arcane Academy, there's not a magical bone in my body." She chuckles.
Teis fidgets a little. She does eventually return her attention back to the table, though only at her drink, which she sips at sheepishly.
Jennica idly rolls the lopsided magitech device on the table, making a rattling noise. "It... it is what it is. I just...dunno, do what I do, and it at times works?"
Maybelline glances between the two, feeling a bit awkward, "You two okay?"
Teis: "Yeah. . .Yeah I'm fine. I mean, not really. . ." Teis replies, sighing, eyes lost in her idle swirling of her drink. "I just, it's as I said. I get carried away sometimes. You won't believe me, but I've known first hand how hard life is, so I don't like to. . .Flaunt my good fortune infront of others." Teis mumbles.
Jennica shrugs: "Never known fortune, but I live. I'm here."
Maybelline lets out a long sigh, "I've not known much for fortune either. But I don't hold it against those who have. I mean, unless they're assholes about it. You don't strike me as much of an asshole so far."
Jennica nods in agreement, smiling at Teis.
Teis' ears perk up suddenly. Language! She drifts her gaze up to the pair, smiling. "I'm glad. I try not to be." The smile vanishes, and she stares back to the glass. ". . .Just wish I could tell Della that." She sighs again, though refuses to let the conversation steer into her melancholy. She looks back up yet again, perking up, though it's fake. "So! Any other projects you're working on, Jennica?"
Jennica blinks at the sudden change in conversation: "O-oh. N-nothing special. Just whatever occurs to me, wherever my magic wants to bend. C-currently trying to figure out cold storage devices..." She trails off, images of a big angry crab filling her mind.
Maybelline frowns just a bit, but sits back in her seat and sips her tea deciding to just roll with the shift and not push anyone's buttons. She chuckles softly, "So, you deal with a lot of hots and colds then, eh? Making fire and making ice?"
Jennica gives a small smile: "Y-yeah... something like that. W-well, not really. Just whatever seems necessary..."
Teis: "Oh? You mean like that drink chiller?" Teis enquires. "What, you super-sizing it, or something?"
Jennica frowns, shaking her head: "It... I'm not sure I can..."
Maybelline grins, "It's pretty important to find your uh... voice, as it were with this kind of stuff. Make your own JennicaShinies that you can be proud of. I still struggle with making MayShinies of my own."
Jennica blinks in confusion: "...'JennicaShinies'?"
Maybelline shrugs, "Something another friend used to say. He was an engineer. You two would have liked him, I'd wager, but he's... out of town right now."
Teis: "Gizmos. Gadgets. Trinkets. Doo-hickies. Doo-dads. Knickknack. Widget. Thingy. Bauble. Kickshaw. Whatnot. Embellishment. Flumery. Thingamajig. Thingamabob. Bric-a-brac. Fandangle. Dingle-Dangle. Doobry. Whim-Wham. Chachka. Fallery. Gimmick. Wonder. Bygone. Marvel. Kickshaw. Flounce." Teis lists.
Jennica looks at Teis, then giggles as she keeps on going. "O-oh. Hehe. Righty."
Maybelline nods along with the list, "Yeah, he encouraged me to make something for myself. A MayShiny. Something I cared enough about even after it exploded, that I would learn from and build again. Better. Not-explodey. So, I guess I have the generator for that now. She's my pride and joy."
Teis frowns. "Must be nice. . .Della used to support me in pursuing various TeisShinies. Now she's just getting upset at me for not making money. . ."
Jennica looks at Teis, frowning along: "...that sucks."
Maybelline frowns as well, glancing at Teis, "Ahh... well, you know... sisters. They mean well, but..."
Teis: "I mean, I understand. Without the business. . ." Teis sighs. "But I just. She hasn't talked to me in over a week now. I don't know what to do. I love her, but. . ." Teis shakes her head rapidly. ". . .No. No, I didn't ask to sit here just to bring the two of you down with me."
Jennica shrugs slightly: "I d-don't mind." She offers Teis a warm smile. It's not like she really wants to talk about her OWN problems at the moment.
Maybelline shakes her head, "Sounds like you need to vent a bit, which is fine. I've been there too. Vent, get what you need to say off your chest, then when you're ready, go find your sister and talk to her yourself."
Teis sighs, lowering her head onto the table and clasping her ears with her paws. "I don't need to vent. I'm the one that messed up." She mumbles. "I pushed myself past my limits doing something for Tarbin and now Della won't talk to me. I think she's just come to accept that we're gonna fail out here. Nesseth said he'd talk to her about it but he hasn't been by yet." Teis grumbles. "And I don't know how to apologize to her. We've spoken about this same issue a hundred times. . .How do I speak to her about it again? I just have to prove to her that I can do something profitable. But I don't feel like doing anything when I feel so muffin bad about everything! I tried practicing my magic, I tried doing my coursework, I tried eating, I tried reading, I tried researching... I tried relaxing, I tried drinking, I've tried everything but I don't want to do anything! All I can think about is Della! That's why I wanted to sit here and listen to the two of you talk about Jennica's work!" Teis becomes huffy, scrunching her ears even harder between her claws, to the point where it might be concerning that she's possibly hurting herself. She closes her eyes as well. Stressed kitty.
Jennica opens her mouth to comment, but nothing of substance comes to her mind. "I uh... um."
Maybelline frowns, "Teis... it's alright. It'll be alright. I don't know what kind of fight or disagreement or whatever you had with your sister, but I'm sure she loves you no matter what." She glances at Jennica and gives her a short nod, "But you're right. We're all here to relax, we can change the subject to other projects and take your mind off of things for as long as you need. I do have a pretty neat expansion to the generator that I'm just starting to prepare, and I'm sure Jennica has made some interesting stuff with her magic."
Teis opens her eyes, relinquishing her hold on her ears juuust enough that it no longer hurts, looking hopeful to the change of topic. "Yes. Please." Teis somewhat pleads.
Jennica looks at Maybelline, smiling: "So uh... how does such a large-scale generator even work? I d-don't really know, but I'm curious..."
Maybelline smiles slowly, "Well, I've broken it up into phases... but the core piece to the ICEE Generator is the containment cell, which is basically just one of the small amplification arrays your find in most Magitech stuff on a much larger scale. A local mage helped charge it, but basic principle is... I've got a big containment cell filled with wild magic, and the generator creates power by tapping into that potential energy."
Teis slowly relaxes as the other two return to talking about not-stress. Eventually, she sits back up, sipping more from her drink.
Maybelline continues to explain the more mechanically oriented aspects of a magitech generator and her work in implementing the 'ambient magic' back-up as well as the primary containment and siphoning equipment and how it processes the magic into the cities primary power source, leading the extremely technical and nerdy conversation.