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RESPITE FALLS MARKETPLACE - AFTERNOON
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Louma has had a day. Reports flooded in suddenly as runners came to the barracks to tell about the explosion and short-lived column of smoke coming from South of Respite. Short enough that the smoke was well gone by the time Louma could pull away to take a look for herself. Knowing Nesseth had the day off for a hunt wasn't reassuring, but after flying out far enough to spot the pair heading back with no apparent serious injuries, Louma's opted to let them walk the rest of the way for making her worry. Now, she slithers through the marketplace, still in her guard uniform and evidently ever so slightly agitated. She finds herself slithering up to Jennica and Emmeline's stall, idly glancing over the trinkets and charms.
Jennica is tinkering with a trinket, taking a breather from making sense of the 'seemingly simple' cooling system that Bracvar has. She only belatedly notices Louma, getting up: "O-oh! Hi!"
Louma seems almost surprised that someone is tending the stall, looking up from the trinkets to Jennica. "Ah, good afternoon miss... Jennica? Mm apologies, don't mean to be distracted." She glances toward Jennica's current project.
Louma: "Or distracting, either."
Jennica smiles just a bit hesitantly: "O-oh. It's no problem, it's why I am here." She giggles nervously: "A-anything you see that you like?"
Louma hums, looking from Jennica's project to her, then to the things populating the stall. "Honestly I hadn't been looking closely, though these bracelets are charming..." The term is used vaguely. Sure they are loose bracelets to Louma, but she's looking at things that a certain stoat might be able to wear around the neck instead.
Jennica gives a smile and a noncommittal shrug: "They're kinda cute, even if I say so myself." The cow leans close to the table to inspect closer the things she has created.
Louma nods, picking one out of the group with a helix design, giggling quietly to herself as she pokes a hanging pink gemstone. "Hm, I recall you put some magic into your work, right?" She looks past the bracelet to Jennica.
Jennica blinks: "O-oh, um, I do. Sorta. I just... make them, and I guess magic is it what it's called?" she looks at the trinket in Louma's hands: "That one makes it seem colder around you than it is. S-some folks like that."
Louma hums, tilting her head slightly before she slips the bracelet on. It takes her a few moments, but she does feel a chill crawling up her tail. She takes it off before it drives her to shudder, chuckling quietly. "It certainly does!" She carefully hangs it back in it's place, still perusing. "It's nice to have someone with such an interesting talent here. I hope Respite is treating you well in turn."
Jennica wrings her fingers around her other wrist: "O-oh, it's been just nice... E-emmeline's enjoyed the company a lot." She looks aside. "It's been nice", she reiterates.
Louma glances toward Jennica, nodding. "Nice is nice. I was hoping your stay here would start out a little better than just nice, though." She lifts another bracelet, on a simpler looking chain, with a dark crystal suspended in the middle of a metal flower. "Anything that can be helped?"
Jennica looks at Louma, then down, shaking her head: "O-oh, maybe not. Everything I have done is my own mistake." She pauses, mentally backpedaling a bit: "B-by which I mean no mistakes. Um. At all. Almost. ...sort of?"
Louma tilts her head slightly, looking from the bracelet to Jennica. "Oh, well it doesn't look like you got hurt, it couldn't have been so bad?"
Jennica bliks, nodding: "Oh, it wasn't. I mean, I didn't. It was all good." She takes a breath: "Not hurt, everything got right, fixing it."
Louma nods, smiling at Jennica. "That's good, I'm glad whatever didn't happen is taken care of. What does this one do, Jennica?" She holds up the charm in question.
Jennica tilts her head at the charm, distracted for the moment: "O-oh, it just... I'm pretty sure it improves your luck. Probably?"
Louma blinks, chuckling quietly. "That sounds very challenging to test." She looks closer at the charm before hanging it back in place, turning to some more knick-knack type trinkets. "As long as nobody was robbed or in danger, I suppose there's nothing gained from prying further, anyways."
Jennica tilts her head: "What do you mean? I d-don't think we have been robbed."
Louma nods, bending to peer at a cute raccoon statue. "That's good, it means my guards are all doing their job!"
Jennica blinks, leaning back: "O-oh. Right." She looks at the statue, mildly confused: "What uh... I mean uh, what should I expect, here? R-robbers a-and the like?"
Louma shakes her head, drawing back from the stall a bit and humming. "I would hope not, but just be as alert as you would anywhere else I suppose." She looks to Jennica, giving her a reassuring smile. "And of course if anything does happen, we're here to help."
Jennica smiles just a bit nervously: "O-oh. Right. Careful, that's what we are." She pauses: "Or Emmeline is, anyway..."
Louma tilts her head slightly, humming. "I don't mean to accuse, but are you sure you're alright? You seem a little nervous."
Jennica blinks again: "N-nervous? Why would I be nervous? I have no reason to be nervous. A-at all."
Louma nods slowly. "Of course not."
Jennica taps her fingers together: "Just, uh, new stuff. Getting used to it." Nevermind that they've been here for a while now...
Louma: "Getting used to... This little town? I didn't think there would be too much to get used to, outside of the weather."
Jennica looks aside: "W-well, uh, no." She sighs, lowering her voice: "Y-you're like a high-ranking guard, right? C-can you keep a secret?"
Louma nods to both things, leaning closer over the stall. "Sure, you're safe to tell me anything."
Jennica sighs again, then leans close: "I, uh, I... I t-think my partner, Emmeline, I... l-lovh... r-really love her. B-but i-it's hard to say..." she trails off, blushing and feeling extremely awkward. for even saying that much..
Louma blinks a couple times before blushing. "Oh... Oh! Ah... Not the kind of secret I expected when you asked if I... Hm." She clears her throat, nodding as she glances behind the stall where she'd spotted Emmeline working previously. "It... Can be hard to say. To them, I mean."
Jennica blushes, looking down: "S-sorry. It's just, um... sorry." She looks away, definitely feeling awkward for saying anything.
Louma shakes her head, drawing back a bit from her lean. "Don't be, I understand wanting to get the feelings out in some way." She hums, looking again from Jennica toward Em's spot. "She has no idea?"
Jennica rapidly shakes her head: "N-no! A-and I um... not sure I wanna..." She glances around the stall, making her hesitation clear: "...d-do. Anything."
Louma gives that reassuring smile again, nodding once. "Alright, no need to rush things after all."
Jennica gives a small smile: "Y-yeah. S-sorry. For, uh, springing this on you."
Louma chuckles quietly, shrugging. "Well, I am duty-bound to help, I suppose." She pauses, turning back to the trinkets with another quiet giggle. "Certainly not the type of charm I was expecting when I picked out your stall, though."
Jennica blushes brightly: "U-uhm. Sorry. Just, uh, said it. P-please do not say anything to Emmeline?"
Louma shakes her head slightly, eyes flitting back to Jennica. "Of course not, unless one of your charms influences truth." She picks up the adorable raccoon trinket she had been looking at, tilting it in her hands to look at the detail. "Like this one?"
Jennica blinks, looking at the trinket: "O-oh, no. It just sort of... i-it's a weird one, but like if you look at a trash can, you might find something useful? I-I really have not tested it..."
Louma blinks before stifling a laugh. "How intriguingly specific! I... Can't not buy it, with that hanging over head." She pulls her coin pouch out, preparing to count out the cost.
Jennica blinks, then blinks again, then starts: "O-oh! It's like uh..." She glances around for the sign: "...t-think it was twelve? Sounds about right, yes?"
Louma looks around, seeing the price tag and nodding. She sets 15 down on the counter, as the tag says, and nods. "If I start finding useful things in the trash, I'll make sure you know it works." She pauses, leaning a little closer. "And have patience, if the chance comes, you'll know when to take it."
Jennica blinks, then smiles with a blush: "O-oh. I will. T-thank you." She glances around the stall, some part of her wishing Emmeline was here and some part really wishing she isn't.
Louma nods, smiling at Jennica. "I've got a little more to look around for today, but I'll check in another time. Enjoy the rest of your day, Jennica, and thank you for the trinket!"
Jennica smiles at Louma: "Y-yeah, I will. Thank you. S-sorry?" She shakes her head: "I will see you again."
Louma turns and heads on her way through the marketplace, tucking the little statue away into her uniform as she continues on in a better mood than before.
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RESPITE FALLS - MID-AFTERNOON
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Nesseth wanders out from the local leatherworks shop, having cut a deal with the proprietor upon having delivered one-and-a-half large raptors for butchery and crafting materials. Smiling to himself as he makes a mental note to tell Vix about the transaction, he starts making his way back down the street, heading in the direction of the Minnow.
Narrator: Shortly after stepping out into the alley, Nesseth bumps into Teis! Or rather, Teis literally bumps into Nesseth. Bonk! "Affhh!" Teis exclaims through a mouth full of baked goods. "Neeh-feeth!!" She startles, quickly getting to work chewing and swallowing the contents of her over-stuffed gob.
Nesseth blinks and stumbles backwards a bit upon bumping into whoever it is. He apologizes as he comes to a stop, only to blink again and look down upon being addressed. "Oh, sorry about that, Teis... You okay?"
Teis: "Tife fein." Teis replies, then swallows her food. "Teis just... Surprised!" Teis shifts a bit nervously, with a smile. "Ah! How are you? I haven't seen you for a while. Um."
Nesseth chuckles a bit, letting Teis take a few seconds to finish the bite of food she'd been chewing on. "I've been alright, so far. Just got back from a hunt outside of the walls. How've you been, though? Things okay with you and your sister, now?"
Teis nods. "Yeah... I ended up talking to her, and, ah. Things are good? Better. Things are better. I think I need to prove to her that things are good, but, I'm doing that." Teis nods. "But, ah. She... " Teis pauses, "... I shouldn't be talking about our relationship with others."
Nesseth nods a bit. "I had a feeling that might have gotten her a little angry that it was something someone like me... that is, someone outside of the family, knew about. Still, I hope it works out for you two."
Teis nods. She looks as if she wants to talk about it more, though is clearly biting her tongue, and perhaps more literally, biting the lower corner of her lip. She's silent for a moment, before finally, "Ah!" She perks up, "So. You said you hunt, yes? Why? How'd it go? What'd you hunt? Do guards do that often? Or just you?"
Nesseth doesn't seem to be expecting Teis to talk about her family if she doesn't want to, or chooses not to. Instead, he smiles and nods. "A few of the guards are hunters and trackers. It went pretty well, since I was helping a friend gather some plants from out near the desert. We, uh... ran into some wild raptors, though."
Teis: "Wait. There are raptors out here? That seems dangerous." Teis tilts her head. "What, uh. How'd that go? I mean, you LOOK fine. But you could just be a raptor now! Is your vision based on movement?"
Nesseth laughs a bit and shakes his head. "I mean, I do rely on my eyes to see where I'm going, sure. But while I might be covered in scales, have sharp teeth and eat meat, no, I'm not a wild raptor." He flashes Teis an amused grin, "As for dangerous... the ones that attacked us didn't plan out their ambush too well, thankfully. Plus, we were ready for trouble, just in case."
Teis: "Poor raptors." Teis pouts. "Wonder if Della'd let me have one as a pet... " Teis idly thinks. "You think it'd let me ride it?"
Nesseth raises an eyebrow, then shrugs slowly. "I mean... if you were able to tame one, maybe...? I can't say I've run into any that are... you know, calm enough for that sort of thing, though."
Teis: "Phooey." Teis unconvincingly complains, mock-kicking the dirt. "So, ah. Um. Seems like everything is good, then?"
Nesseth nods. "Yeah, we got out of it with just a couple of scrapes, nothing bad. Other than that, it's been pretty calm."
Teis nods. "Good, good. Ah, so why plants? Are they special, or something? I'm ah, curious if there are any alchemical properties to the plants around here?"
Nesseth shrugs. "Mostly of the medicinal sort. So, I'd probably say yeah, some of the plants have alchemical properties, but I can't say which off-hand. There are a lot of plants that we still don't really know about here on Aephix, too."
Teis: "Hm. Who would you say is the expect on such matters around here then? Or at least point me in the direction of someone who might know or know of such an expert? Della'd be happy if we can cut down on import costs if I could substitute something locally instead."
Nesseth tilts his head. "On medicinal plants? Definitely Doctor Plume. For other plants... probably Erika. Though, uh... you know, the whole... doppelganger thing..."
Teis: "Erika?" Teis recognizes the name, though attempts to lie/hide the fact that she already knows that they're the doppelganger, "Uuuh... No? I don't know that? You never told me whom you suspected the doppleganger was. NESSETH! DO YOU KNOW? FESS UP!" Teis reverse uno-card.
Nesseth blinks and leans back a little, startled by the yell. After a moment, he collects himself and gives Teis a weird look. "Oh... didn't I say who it was when we were talking last time? Well, uh... yeah. The Erika that's in her garden right now is... not the real Erika. So far, I've not heard of any trouble from them, though, which is good."
Teis: "You told me! You proooommissed!" Teis accuses! Though she's only going on the offensive to cover up her own mannerisms and lies, so Nesseth is less likely to pick up on them. Teis knows that she's not a great liar, so this is the best strategy.
Nesseth crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow. "I told you I'd tell you once I knew for sure. So far, I've not heard back from anyone that's been helping me, so I can't say with certainty yet if she's actually a doppelganger or not, even if she's not acting like usual."
Teis: "But... You just said so! Right now! Not real!" Teis pouts, crossing her arms. "So do you or do you not know?"
Nesseth sighs. "That's just my personal thoughts, Teis... If you want to know if she's actually one or not, then assume we don't know yet. I think she's one, but one Lizard's thoughts don't amount to much without proof when it comes to laws."
Teis: "Okay, okay." Teis backs off, disarming her crossed arms and pouting lips. They are weapons to be used only in just circumstances! "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be mean. I'm just, ah. Excited."
Nesseth scratches at one of his frills. "Apparently, yeah... Just... try and be a little more patient, okay? I can't do much until I hear back from the folks helping me. I should... probably go and find them if I can."
Teis: "I, um. You're a good friend, Nesseth. Teis be patient for you." Teis sheepishly nods affirmatively.
Nesseth smiles at the nod. "Thank you, Teis. I'll be sure to let you know as soon as we get anything definitive. I'm reasonably certain, but I still need actual evidence, first."
Teis nod-nods. Nod. Then silence, aheming a little. "Ah... Teis let you go then? Has work to do anyway. But it's been nice talking!"
Nesseth nods again. "Sure, I don't want to keep you away from your lab for too long. But, uh... before we go, could you tell me where Tarbin went? I'd heard from your sister that he'd left the estate a bit ago. I need to talk to him about something."
Teis: "Oh, Tarbin? He... Said he wanted to go sleep with nature. He, ah. Hasn't particularly told me where he went specifically, but... I guess check out spots that might be... Nature-y. But, he's also coming back to the estate tomorrow for further work on his curse, so you could always catch up with him then."
Nesseth perks up a bit, glad to hear the information. "Oh! Okay, I guess I'll stop by tomorrow, then? About what time will he be showing up?"
Teis: "We'll be getting things rolling probably just after midday. So. I guess come earlier if you want to talk to him while he's coherent. These things are... Pretty painful, for him, mostly." Teis explains.
Nesseth cringes a little at the inferred painful proceedings. "Uh... sure. Probably easiest for me to talk with him when he's... you know, not half-unconscious... Uh... so late morning or so, then?"
Teis nods. "Yeah. That sounds good. See you then, Nesseth!" Teis waves, biting back into her baked goods.
Nesseth waves at Teis as the two turn to leave and go about the rest of their afternoon. "See you tomorrow, Teis. Have a good day!"