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THE THIRSTY MINNOW - AFTERNOON
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Louma is coiled up at a table near the front window, simply enjoying a glass of hot cider while she watches the folks milling about in the street. The guard captain hadn't made the trip home yet, still dressed in her uniform top and wearing a slightly more casual version of her stiff expression. Which slips almost every time she goes to enjoy a sip of the delicious drink in front of her.
Rhask has been idly working in a corner of the Minnow's common room for a while. The only indication as to her presence is the gentle clicking of knitting needles and the subtle flash of metal as they reflect the light from the nearby wall sconce. The table she's sitting at has a small plate of food off to one side, but is otherwise dominated by a pile of cozy-looking material perfect for cold weather wear.
Louma hums after another draught of her cider, sighing lightly to herself as she looks around to the knitting lizard a few tables away. She had been stealing glances toward her since settling down, her curiosity building slowly. Finally, she tilts her head slightly and speaks up. "Pardon me, miss. I don't mean to interrupt, but I must ask what you're making over there."
Rhask stops knitting and lets out a little 'eep!' at being addressed unexpectedly. She looks around for a moment, then zeroes in on Louma, whom she tilts her head at. "Oh, um... you aren't interrupting, miss. I'm just, er... knitting sweaters in the style from the town I'm from." She pauses for a moment, then lifts up the garment she's working on so Louma can get a better look at it, "I got the idea while chatting with... another Snake-lady some time back."
Louma looks at the sweater, picking up her drink and moving to the table next to Rhask's, as to not disturb her layout. She nods, smiling as she examines the garment better from the closer spot. "Well, that certainly does look comfortable. I don't recall seeing many things in that style though, where are you from?"
Rhask is smiling rather proudly as she lowers the garment again, careful to not get it too close to her food. "I'm from Vamas. The, uh... more northeastern side of it, I think. It's usually cold enough that we wear this kind of clothing all the time, even when it starts warming up a bit in the Summer time."
Louma ahhs, nodding, then pausing for a few moments. "I didn't realize there were many lizards living in such a cold climate. This must be quite the change for you! Even now, we're still warmer than a typical Vamas summer, aren't we?" She takes a quick glance at Rhask's outfit, chuckling lightly. "I'm a little surprised you're still dressed so, in that case."
Rhask hums and shakes her head a bit. "It's... not too bad, really. If I stay indoors during the day, the heat doesn't bother me much, and at night the desert air is cool enough that it almost reminds me of home sometimes." She glances down at her own outfit for a moment, then smiles awkwardly, "And, ah... I just don't feel right not wearing these."
Louma nods, plucking at her own uniform top. "It took a while to get used to this, for me. I still prefer much lighter things when not on duty, so I completely understand the feeling, even if we're on opposite sides of the scales." She chuckles quietly to herself, forgetting momentarily to be 'proper'. A habit that's slipping more and more.
Rhask giggles a little as she looks at Louma's uniform. "Are you sure you prefer lighter weight things? You might be cozy during the night wearing one of these, you know." She sets down the garment she's been working on and grabs hold of one of the completed sweaters folded nearby, which she then passes to Louma, "Here, take a look!"
Louma blinks, taking hold of the sweater and giving it a few testing feels. "It really is quite soft, you're right. Sweaters aren't really much good for me, unfortunately." She gives Rhask an apologetic look. "Almost anything I wear bunches my feathers up after a while." She gives the sweater another look and feel, humming lightly. "If you could make something for a snakes tail, however..."
Emmeline walks into the bar, popping out of the booth for a very late lunch. Several last minute custom orders (with an attached premium) have been the focus of the day, outside of dealing with walk-up customers. The cow looks harried, but still is in good spirits as she takes a seat at the bar and orders herself a big bowl of stew and a mug of smallbeer.
Rhask tilts her head curiously, her eyes moving down from Louma's face towards her long tail. "Hmm... something for a Snake tail? Maybe, if I had enough materials for however long the Snake wants it to be." She pauses, thinking, "It might even be easier to make than a regular sweater, just because... well... no arm holes."
Louma quietly giggles, nodding. "I would happily accept it. Of course, can't cover my entire tail, that would be a lot and make it impossible to move. Perhaps just something for here to... here?" She raises herself up off the coiled up tail, indicating a stretch of scales that she never slithers on about four feet long, as well as a couple inches overlap to the feathers where her body transitions.
Emmeline turns her attention to the conversation the other two are having, listening curiously. After a few moments she turns around to get a look at the sweaters in question. "Oh, I recognize that style. Traders would bring some down to the highlands from time to time. I had one when I was about 10 or so. Very comfy."
Louma looks over to the new voice, nodding slightly. "They are very soft, yes."
Rhask eyes the stretch of tail Louma indicates, then nods. "I think I could make something for that pretty easily, yes. Shouldn't take too much of the materials either, and it'd be finished pretty fast, too." She jumps slightly as Emmeline speaks up, only to perk up after a moment, "Ohh, are you from Vamas too, miss?"
Emmeline picks up her mug of smallbeer and walks over to get a closer look. "Indeed. Right smack near the middle of the whole thing in the highlands. Much prefer the weather here though. So much warmer and drier..." She gives a nod to Louma. "Captain." She turns to the lizard. "We haven't met, I don't think? I'm Emmeline. My friend and I run a little booth in the market."
Louma nods to Emmeline in turn, carefully folding and setting the sweater back down. "Miss Emmeline. a good afternoon to you." She also turns back to the lizard, waiting to her her introduction.
Rhask smiles, actually seeming rather comfortable aside from the initial surprise of being talked to earlier, by both of the others. "I'm Rhask! I'm from the more northeastern side of Vamas, a lot more snowy than anywhere else. The warmth isn't bad, but I like how crisp the night air is, especially right now."
Louma nods, smiling. "It is nice to meet you, miss Rhask. I am Louma, of Orela. Almost as warm, but much more humid than Respite has been."
Emmeline nods to Rhask. "Nice to meet another fellow Vamasian. Seems there's quite a few of us in town." She reaches out a hand to stroke on of the finished sweaters. "Really fine work. You're very skilled."
Rhask blushes beneath her scales as a bit of a sheepish smile touches her lips. "Ah... thank you, miss Emmeline. And it's good to meet you too, miss Louma-- er... Captain Louma?" She gives Louma a curious look for a moment, "I, uh... I've just been doing this sort of thing since I was a little Lizard."
Louma nods. "Guard captain, yes. Do you plan on selling clothing as a job, then?"
Emmeline goes back to the bar to fetch her stew bowl before coming back and taking a seat across from Louma. "Sorry, just on a late lunch break..." She settles into her food, still listening to the other two's conversation.
Rhask nods after a moment. "Well, I wasn't sure what I was going to do to pay for things, but... after talking with miss... Xochi, I think her name was... and a nice cat named, uh... miss Vix, I think... They made this seem like a nice idea, and it's been working out well so far."
Louma blinks, smiling. "Ah, when you said you spoke with another snake, I had a feeling it might have been miss Xochi, yes. It could work out well for you, no other Vamasian style clothiers in Respite so far, outside of the occasional imports. At least, none that I know of." She turns a look toward Emmeline.
Emmeline smiles. "Well, if you ever need a place to sell them, we can probably spare some counter space. Of course, we'd want you there to take orders and such..." She looks to Louma. "Not that I've seen, no. At least not the warmer items."
Rhask smiles happily at Emmeline's offer. "Oh, wow, that'd be amazingly generous, miss Emmeline! If I can make enough, I could pay for my part of the shared space, since I know whatever space I take up is less space for your goods."
Emmeline shakes her head. "Ah, well we don't really use all our space, there's a lot of decoration, so it's no problem at all."
Louma nods, taking another drink from her cider before it starts to cool too much. "That's what I thought. You'll have a good market for such clothes for the next couple months, at least, as we are heading towards what little winter Respite gets."
Annika peeks through the door, before pushing her way in. The young fox lady was dressed in a simple green dress, stopped just below her knee. Behind her waved a trio of tails, each with a little coloured ribbon tied around them. She wore a simple pair of shoes, and a light pair of gloves over her hands. She smiles politely to those gathered, before ordered a meal, and a small drink. Waiting to be served.
Rhask casts a look at her garments, gazing thoughtfully at them. "Hm... if it's only for a few months, I don't think I'd be able to make enough to keep me comfortable until next year's winter... I don't know if I can work with other materials, but... maybe I could adapt some designs to other clothing?"
Emmeline notices the tri-tailed fox and gives her a little wave. She doesn't say anything, though, since her mouth is full of stew.
Louma spots Annika as she enters, glancing towards her before nearly doing a double-take. She seems... Fluffier than the last time the captain remembers seeing her. She doesn't speak up about it in current company, though, not wanting to be rude.
Annika: "Hey Louma!" Annika raises paw cheerfully "How is everything? And..ah! I don't think I've met either of you?" She gives a bright smile to the other two. Well, at least she seems friendly still, a bit more confident, if anything.
Louma smiles back at Annika on being greeted, waving as she responds. "Hello miss Annika, you're looking sharp and bright today. How um... Have you been doing?"
Rhask seems to startle a little bit as she looks up, but less than when Louma and Emmeline both called to her. She raises a hand and waves back at the fox. "I don't think we've met, miss, no... uh... I'm Rhask!" She inexplicably finds her eyes drawn to the three tails swishing about behind Annika as she talks.
Emmeline cocks her head at Annika. "We've met, Annika. Don't you remember asking me and Jennica about your gem? We run the little stall in the corner of the market?"
Louma tilts her head at Emmeline's words, looking at Annika a little closer. "Gem?"
Annika: "Ah yes Silly me!" She smiles again, nodding "Just a bit forgetful at times, but other than that, everything is going well. Work is brisk, and Olly is doing well in school" She wiggles her tails to Rhask, since she seemed to be appreciating them "Nice to meet you Rhask. Annika, at your service" She was a little distracted right now, so that question about the gem slipped by her.
Emmeline smiles at Annika. "No worries, dear. As long as you're doing all right." She returns to her stew, knowing that every moment away from the booth is a chance for disaster.
Annika: "Actually! One moment, I need to answer ah..call of nature shall we say!"
Rhask catches herself staring at Annika's tails, only pulling her eyes away just as the fox gets up again and steps away. "Ah... oh, I'm sorry, miss Annika... I, er... well, I'll just wait to apologize when she gets back..." She clears her throat and gives Emmeline and Louma a curious look, "Uh... those tails... is that normal for foxes here in Respite?"
Louma also turns back to her cider, giving Emmeline a glance. Asking around to artificers about a gem, and having thrice the tail as when they'd last met up. There were certainly questions bouncing in Louma's head right now, but perhaps they could wait for the moment.
Emmeline looks over to Rhask. "She's the only one I know of, but I think I once heard about foxes in the far east somewhere having multiple tails. Maybe she's from out there?"
Louma shakes her head slightly, turning to Emmeline. "She had but one tail not too long ago, actually, but perhaps it's best to ask her about the reason for more."
Emmeline remembers, of course, that Annika only had two tails when she visited the cows' booth in the market, but she's not about to go talking about the cursed gem or bits of Annika's private business without the fox's permission. She finishes up the last of her stew and looks over to Louma. "I suppose, yes."
Rhask perks up a little at Emmeline's comment, but furrows her brow a little upon hearing Louma, seeming perhaps a little put out about something. "Hm... so not normal..."
Louma smiles slightly at Rhask, giving a noncommitting shrug. "Of course, I could be wrong and it's something foxes from where she is go through. I can say her tails look exquisitely soft though. She must take great care of them."
Emmeline stands to take her dish and mug up to the bar. "I hate to leave in the middle of things, but I have to get back to work. Good meeting you both again. Please give my apologies to Annika." With that, she drops off her dishes, pays for her meal, and heads out.
Rhask hums. "Mmh... they did look pretty soft. Almost like some of the thicker clothing we make back home in Vamas, even."
Louma nods to Emmeline, rising slightly to give her a polite bow. "Enjoy your day, miss Emmeline." She turns back to Rhask, chuckling lightly. "I've always wanted to see Vamas, especially the snow, though of course I'm so used to hot climates I think I'd be terribly uncomfortable there."
Rhask waves at Emmeline as she departs. "Have a good afternoon, miss Emmeline. I'll be sure to stop by your stall tomorrow some time to see about sharing the space." She sighs a little and settles back into her seat as she redirects her attention to Louma, "For folks not used to it, they tend to grumble a lot about the cold, especially if they don't dress properly for it."
Louma chuckles, nodding. "True. Snakes would need special outfits, though, to be able to move. Something warm all around, and with good grip on the bottom. I suppose I could cheat a little by flying, though." She gives Rhask a quick wink, shaking her wings ever so slightly.
Rhask 's eyes look over Louma's wings for a moment and giggles in response, nodding. "True, but your wings would get tired eventually, right? A full tail cover with... maybe something like modified snowshoes would work? Keep you above the snow while letting you move forward without getting stuck..."
Louma nods, sipping her cider as the thoughts of even cooler weather settle in. "True. It would be an interesting experience, but I think my duties here are a little too important to take such a trip." She looks over Rhask's sweater again. "I would bet you could come up with something fitting, though.
Rhask looks around at her own tail, which is currently curled beside her, partially hidden beneath the pile of finished garments. "Well, it wouldn't be too hard for me to test, using my own tail as a guide, but... no snow here in Aephix, as far as I can tell."
Louma chuckles, shrugging. "I wouldn't want you to go through the trouble if there's no market for it. On that topic though, you could still make smaller things for the warmer seasons, no? Bags, or household items. Your patterning is beautiful, perhaps even curtains and hanging accents?"
Rhask blinks, tilting her head at Louma's suggestions. "Bags and other things...? I didn't think to do something like that, actually... I might need to use more durable materials, but if my sweaters sell well enough, I could get more kinds of stuff to work with."
Louma finishes off her cider, nodding. "There are all kinds of vendors that come and go regularly, perhaps some may be open to a deal." She offers a warm smile to Rhask, "I just want folks like you to be happy and successful here in Respite."
Rhask smiles and nods. "Yes, I might even be able to see if mister Bracvar knows anyone that could supply me with materials from Orela. I'm sure the cloth I could get from there is more suited to hot environments than what I get from Vamas."
Louma hums at the mention of Bracvar, shrugging. "I must admit he does seem to have quite a few contacts over that way. And yes, much of the clothing there is made from silks and cotton, all meant to allow air flow while protecting from the sun."
Rhask nods and nudges at the pile of garments with a hand. "And most of the clothing from Vamas is made from thicker wools to insulate from the cold. Hopefully I make enough with the sweaters to let me experiment with materials from Orela..."
Louma: "I do look forward to what you can do, honestly. The idea of Vamasian fashion in Orelan materials certainly piques interest." She glances out the window at the folks passing by, considering heading out now that she's finished her cider.
Rhask nods again, still gazing thoughtfully at the clothes she's already knitted. "That's why I want to experiment with Orelan materials first... thinner, lighter materials would sit differently, so designs might have to be altered to look similar."
Louma looks to Rhask again, giving her a reassuring smile. "Only one way to find out. I'm too curious to not find out what you can do, so I'll even fund your experiment up to... Say... 75 gold? That should fetch you a few bolts of Orelan cotton, I think."
Rhask quickly swings her head back around to look at Louma in surprise. "I... you'd do that? I'll have to make sure I do my best with it, then! Everyone here in Respite's so generous, thank you, miss Louma!"
Annika returns back "Ah, sorry about that!" She smiles reassuringly, picking up her meal now that its been presented to her, and settling down with it "Just when I was settling to speak to people. Rhask was it? Lovely to meet you"
Louma shrugs, chuckling. "I live very lightly and have a partner living with me who does the same, it's no trouble." She uncoils slowly, preparing to head out. "I will see you later, though. And you as well, miss Annika." She turns to the three-tailed fox. "I certainly want to catch up with you."
Rhask eeps as Annika takes a seat again, having almost forgotten amidst the conversation that she'd stepped away to begin with. She collects herself after a moment, though, and waves at Louma. "Then I'll see you again soon, miss Louma!" She picks up her knitting needles again and resumes her work on the current garment after figuring out where she'd left off, "And it's good to meet you as well, miss Annika. I hope my knitting won't disturb you while you eat."
Annika: "Oh, of course! Catching up is always something we should try to do" She bobs her head to the both of them "And not worry, I've done some knitting myself from time to time. The sounds actually relaxing in a way"
Louma nods to each, eyes lingering on Annika for a moment longer than usual before she turns and slithers out of the Minnow, taking off once she's in a clear spot of the street and heading for home.
Rhask smiles and starts to knit, her needles clicking against each other in a slowly quickening pace as she gets back into the rhythm once more. "I'm glad to hear that, miss Annika. I, uh... do apologize if I end up getting distracted, though. I focus really hard while knitting sometimes."
Annika: "No problem. I'll just focus on my meal. Here is you want any discussion, of course"
Rhask chuckles and nods with a smile. "Of course, if anything comes to mind! I wouldn't want to disturb your meal, though, so maybe after you're finished eating, unless you've got anything you need to do afterwards."
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CITY WALLS - LATE EVENING
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Annika had finished for the day, and was making her way home. The walls were an convenient way to get most of the way home without worrying about traffic or crowds. However, in this exact moment, Annika was taking a moment to enjoy the sunset, tails waving gently behind her as she did. She was dressed the same as she had been earlier, Green dress, with little ribbons adorning her tails.
Victoria walks on her patrol, her tail swishing lazily behind her. Wall duty is not her favourite, exactly, since nothing ever really happens. The leopard is dressed in her usual very light clothing, showing off most of her colorful and spotty fur. She notices the fox and walks near to her: "Don't see that many tails too often. New here?"
Annika: "Me?" She shakes her head "Not at all! I've been here a good few months, and even before that, I grew up not too far from the city" The tails flick about as she considers them "The tails are new though. They kinda came in fairly recently. Don't really know why" She clasps her hands together, abet they were still gloved.
Victoria glances behind her, towards Mean Peak, before turning back to Annika: "Reckon I can see that. Lotsa magic out there that's hard to grasp and harder to make sense of." She holds her hands on her hips, clearly sizing the fox up just out of habit.
Annika was relaxed, and casual, and not a threat. Absolutely no threat. Gosh Victoria, why are you sizing up someone non-threatening? "Oh, I suppose it could be magical?" She rubs her hand against the back of her palm, thoughtfully "I feel fine, so I don't really think it's much of a problem. They're kinda pretty, no?" She flicks all three again.
Victoria looks at the tails and chuckles, maybe relaxing a bit. She smiles toothily: "Very pretty, certainly. Lots of hassle when you're doing anything, I imagine."
Annika: "At first they kinda get tangled with each other, but these days I find it no worse than just the one. I can control them all equally well anyway" She giggles, just a little "I spend more time in the shower, at least, so that's one downside"
Victoria tilts her head, giving a soft laugh as she swishes her own singular tail self-consciously: "There's no end of ways those would get in the way on a hunt."
Annika: "Luckily, I'm a delivery girl, not a hunter, so I don't need to worry about that sort of thing"
Victoria: "Fair enough. I guess you don't need to care about how visible you are." For a brief second the leopard seems self-conscious about that, but it quickly vanishes.
Annika: "Oh, I suppose not! Though I find having a delivery sachet makes me invisible in a sort of a way. Probably not the way you think of!" She smiles again, leaning against the wall, her tails used as a sort of backrest "I imagine I could work something out, switch to something that doesn't make them quite so fluffy...which would be kinda a shame"
Victoria leans on the wall as well with one hand, grinning toothily: "Nothing wrong with being fluffy. I have plenty courtesy of my Dad's side of the family." She looks towards the sunset: "Bitch to keep myself clean, but it's what I got."
Annika: "It's all down to the soap you use. It's taken ages to find something that's nice. There's a lovely lemongrass one I use now. I get it in the market. You should try it, if you get the chance"
Victoria chuckles wryly: "I'll keep it in mind." It's rather obvious she has no intention of doing so.
Annika: "Your loss!" Annika, is, Victoria would be reminded, no threat, actually quite nice! "I agree its a lot of effort, but, looking presentable and shiny is part of the job for me, so I have to look the part, that's my excuse anyway."
Annika is off duty at this point, but is still kept her self well presented, even outside her uniform.
Victoria shrugs, looking over Annika who certainly is leaps and bounds more clean than the scruffy leopard: "You do you, I reckon. The birds I hunt don't really care, and I scare pickpockets better if I'm not overly shiny." If there's a tinge of jealousy in her voice, Annika's probably imagining it.
Annika: "Well, I would put the time in regardless, I think" She considers Victoria "There's nobody I'm really showing off for, nothing wrong with looking nice, just because you want to" There's a small tap of the lower lip "Tell you what. If we meet up in the market tomorrow, or next time you're free, I can take you to a place, get you all pretty'd up, and we can see if you like it! Think of it as..I dunno. My way of helping out the community"
Victoria raises a surprised eyebrow and is just a touch taken aback: "Huh? I... hum. I guess I do like looking, well, stunning... of sorts..." She trails off for a second, before nodding at the fox: "Sure, why not, if you're offering. Could be interesting - if boring."
Annika claps her hands together once "It'll be fun for me at least!" She stands back up, tails bouncing again "Hmm" Annika gives her own assessing look "I suppose Greens and browns? You don't strike me as the pink type..."
Victoria gives Annika an odd look: "Maybe. Haven't really paid any thought to it. Though I like reds." The leopard is getting a slightly unsure feeling of what she just agreed to, but has no intention of backing out.
Annika: "Great! I think it'll be fun!" She was turning to go "Oh! Names. Of course. Annika, pleased to meet you" She does a little curtsey
Victoria blinks, then chuckles as she nods at the fox: "Victoria. Reckon neither of us is hard to see in a crowd. I'll see you tomorrow, then..."
Annika: "Yup! Look forward to it! Seeya then!" She waves, and turns to go, and indeed, leaves. Though, once she leaves, finally, that little bump of trouble would form, though why would it be happening here? There's nobody threatening around..right?
Victoria looks at Annika go, definitely not sure what she agreed to or why... but then just shrugs and continues her patrol. That just happened, she mostly muses.