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JENNICA AND EMMELINE'S APARTMENT - LATE AFTERNOON
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Jennica is sitting on the windowsill of the two's second story place, looking at the marketplace and occasionally sighing. She excused herself for the afternoon, leaving Emmeline to tend for the business alone - something she feels extra not-great about. Next to her is a cup of tea long-forgotten and a half-eaten sandwich. How do you even summon the desire to eat after doing something so wrong?
Emmeline comes up the stairs and opens the door, looking tired but happy from a seemingly decent day of business. She looks over to where Jennica is sitting in the window and makes her way over. "Jenn? What's wrong?"
Jennica looks up at Emmeline, then back down at her legs, holding her hands over them a bit tighter: "N-nothing." A lie that she knows is a lie and knows that Emmeline knows it's a lie, even before she even says it.
Emmeline picks up the teacup and sandwich plate and busses them to the kitchen before returning, giving Jennica a minute to herself. She stops a bit away, taking a seat at the writing desk near the door. "I know about Bracvar's cart." She lets the words hang in the air for a moment before continuing. "We just need to get it fixed before his fish go bad. He and I both know it was an accident that you broke it."
Jennica winces at Emmeline's words, feeling her heart skip. When Emmeline continues, she looks up with moist eyes: "Y-yuh... m'buh? I-it was an... accident, y-yeah, but I'm such a dumb-dumb..."
Emmeline walks over and hugs Jenn close, pressing her bosom against her friend's head. "Yes, but you're a smart dumb-dumb, and you need to stop sulking and fix this thing rather than hiding from it. I know that you know how even if you don't have all the tools."
Jennica leans on her friend, sniffling. "Y-yeah." She belatedly giggles at the title she was just given: "...s-smart dumb-dumb?"
Emmeline leans down and kisses the top of the smaller cow's head. "Mmhm. If I can't stop you from calling yourself a dumb-dumb, I can at least amend the title."
Jennica sighs, looking down: "...f-fair. T-this is still going to make a dent in our business, isn't it?"
Emmeline sighs. "Don't worry about that for now. Right now, our friend needs his fish to not go bad. We can worry about how much it cost to fix later on." She releases the hug and looks into Jennica's eyes. "I know you can do this."ยจ
Jennica looks at Emmeline, her certainty wavering: "...b-but what if I don't know?"
Emmeline looks over at the not-insubstantial bookshelf that contains a lot of Jennica's magitech books. "Then you can find it."
Jennica sighs slightly, but there is an edge of hope to her voice nonetheless: "I... g-guess..."
Emmeline nods, smiling. "I guess so too. So, how do we make it more than a guess?"
Jennica stares at the bookshelf for a moment, before slowly getting up: "...I did have that one book on ice and water that I picked up just before we left... hmm..." Her mind clearly whirling with possibilities, trying to recall how the cooling tech looked before she broke it. She then pauses and turns to Emmeline: "...but how do I make something that big?"
Emmeline strokes her chin a bit, thinking. "Well, if you got a better look at what was broken, then you could figure out what needs replacing, right?"
Jennica nods, hesitating: "I would, b-but..." She trails off, the source of her hesitation pretty obvious.
Emmeline frowns. "Well, you owe him an apology either way. I can be with you for that if you want."
Jennica gives a weak smile to her friend: "W-would you. I'd, uh... a-appreciate."
Emmeline nods. "Of course." She walks over to Jennica and gives her another hug. "We'll talk to him tomorrow morning, all right?"
Jennica sighs, but leans into the hug anyway: "...f-fair. We'll do that." She doesn't sound entirely convinced, but fails to find an objection in her either.
Emmeline gives Jennica a soft squeeze. "Mmhm... now then, what's for dinner today?"
Jennica frowns for a second: "...d-didn't think about it much, but we did have something... I c-can figure something." She glances at the kitchen, sighing inwardly though at least she's only making food for herself and Emmeline.