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TEIS' LAB - LATE AFTERNOON
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Narrator: In the aftermath of breaking more of Tarbin's curse, Teis has spent the next couple of hours taking down and containing the wards she'd set on her lab and otherwise returning it to a usable state. Though, taking them all down without the use of magic has proven itself to be a bit of a tedious endeavour. Not fun! With a triumphant sigh of relief, Teis finally leaves the lab, feeling exhausted. She's got a black, rune-laden metal box on a trolley. Contained as the wards are, their influence is still too great to risk leaving in the lab. To the estate's basement they shall go.
Enver is standing outside of the lab with a member of house staff escorting him. At the sight of Teis's cart, he steps aside, having gotten used to making space for such things in the marketplace. He gives Teis a small smile. "I hope this isn't a bad time... I needed to talk with you..."
Narrator: Enver may, very faintly, be able to feel the foreboding, cold nature of the wards contained inside, their influence not quite fully contained. Teis' seems tired at first, though is perked up in brief surprise at Enver. "O-oh! Hello." Teis then yawns. "Um. I mean, it's not-not a bad time. . ." Teis pauses, then yawns again, "Walk and talk?" Teis suggests, beginning to push off across the yard to the estate itself.
Enver nods a bit and starts walking with Teis. "Sure... uh... do you need any help with the cart?" He walks with his hands in his pockets, definitely a bit self-conscious about them at the moment."
Teis: "No. . .No. You. . .Probably don't want to touch it. And I'll be honest, I don't even trust myself with it. If, ah, the container is damaged, or I've somehow messed up the runes. . ." Teis yawns again. ". . .It's, ah. Yeah. Thanks for offering, though. So. What did you need to talk to me about?"
Enver walks along side of Teis. "Oh, uh... it's kind of a private thing, so it can wait until you've finished putting this stuff away. I have something to show you." He smiles at her. "It's nothing bad though, so don't worry..."
Teis: "I mean. . .The staff knows Sis's wishes to have our privacy be their utmost concern. But if you're still concerned, I guess waiting until we're back in my room is the best bet."
Enver just nods in assent. "Yeah... so uh... you been good? Haven't seen you around the market..."
Teis: "Yeah, yeah. I've been good. Just. . .Really busy this weekend, making sure to really prepare myself for Tarbin's curse. . .But putting this box away marks the end of this chapter, for now. Then it's back to a regular work week." Teis replies. "What about you? Everything been. . .Fine?"
Enver nods. "Yeah, ran into a friend I hadn't seen in a while, and the market is picking up again after the holiday, so more folks to drop coins in the cap..."
Teis: "Mm. I suppose holidays and the like are something you need to consider, right? Do you. . .Ah, budget? Save your money, for the quieter times?"
Enver nods. "I have been, yeah... and saving up for that apartment or whatever, like I said. The busy-ness before the holiday tends to make up for the slowdowns anyway."
Narrator: Soon, the pair enter the estate itself, Teis interacts with part of a wall in the foyer, the location highlighted by a small design which also serves to hide the seam of the recessed nature of the wall. Sliding the wall to the side, a dumbwaiter is revealed, which Teis loads the box into, then operates, closing the wall back up. Then, she carelessly leaves the now-empty trolley next to the wall, walking away. "There. Just, ah. Give me a minute to duck down to the basement and offload that. Wait for me outside my room, yes?"
Enver smiles. "I will, unless it moved since the last time I was here." He laughs just a bit before the pair part ways.
Teis: "And give up the balcony? Not a chance." Teis giggles in response. With that, she leaves. Several minutes later, Teis re-connects with Enver outisde of her room, swiftly letting him in and allowing him to enter before entering herself, closing the door behind her and quickly collapsing on her bed, face-down. She stretches out, as if to hug her bed. "Mmm. . .So good. . ." She muffles into her pillow, beginning to purr.
Enver smiles at the sight of the cat relaxing. "Yeah... your bed is really nice..." He joins her there, and gently strokes her back with a gloved hand.
Teis soon turns her head to one side, so she's able to breath easier. Using her feet, she slides off her footwear. She purrs a bit louder in response to the strokes. "So. . .What did you want to show me?" Teis questions, her eyes straining to look at Enver out from the very corner of her vision.
Enver moves his hand up to rub at the back of Teis's head, scritching her gently. "So you remember that friend I mentioned before? The one that sort of vanished?"
Teis continues purring. Purr. "Yeaaaaah?" Teis purrs in response. "Oh, oh. Let me guess, he's the friend you ran into?"
Enver nods. "Yeah... and like, he was supposed to make a new hand for me, right? Well..." He moves his bad hand, still gloved, into Teis's view and wiggles all five fingers fluidly.
Teis blinks, staring at the hand for a moment. "I. . .Don't get i-Oooooooooooohigetit." Teis voices. "How does one. . .Just make a hand?" Teis now makes the effort to turn herself around, rolling onto her back and reaching her hands out for Enver's glove. . .
Enver lets Teis take his gloved hand. Once the glove is removed, Strix's handiwork (literally) is visible in all its odd glory, attached onto and into Enver's body as firmly as ever. "I don't know how. It's just... magitech I guess.." He wiggles the fingers again for Teis to see. "I mean, he made his own replacement arm... so he's had practice..."
Narrator: One of Teis' hands falls away with the glove, the other takes Enver's wrist delicately and begins rotating his hand as needed so her curious eyes can get a better look at the entirety of the hand itself. Her tired expression does it's best to reflect her curiosity, though it doesn't enough justice to what her mind is thinking. "Huh. . ." Teis yawns while saying. "I must. . .Meet this fellow." She licks her lips post-yawn.
Enver blushes a bit as Teis examines his hand. He closes the fingers into a fist and goes through all of the various movements he can think of. "Yeah... he's really smart... he's a bit secretive though, but I can ask if he'd like to meet you..."
Teis: "You should. . .Ah. Yes. Extra incentive that you do, or else I might have to cut off your hand to study it. . ." Teis jokes, though her low energy fails to convey her tone fully.
Enver eeps a bit at those words, his hand squeezing Teis's paw maybe a bit too tight. "That's... a joke, right? Just... I mean, I like you a lot, but you never know... Strix talked about maybe cutting it off at one point..."
Teis: "Yeah. . .Yeah that's a joke. Sorry, I'm. . .Pretty exhausted from what I had to do today. I would never use unethical or dangerous means of study on others."
Enver puts his glove back on once Teis is done looking. "I'm still learning to make the hand work fully, but I think i'm most of the way there..." He lies down next to Teis and hugs up against her. "So, can I do anything to help with the tiredness?"
Teis: "No, no. . .I'm just need rest. I, ah. I've had no mana for nearly four hours now. . .It's. . .A very tiring state of being. I should have all of it back after a good night's sleep. . .Or, well. . .Extended nap, as it's looking like it'll be." Teis purrs.
Enver takes the glove off his good hand and runs his fingers over Teis's side. "Do you want me to stay with you?"
Teis: "So long as you're careful not to disturb my catnap, I don't mind. Just, ah. Be warned, I'll be very cranky if you do."
Enver blushes a bit. "Well, I'd probably just be napping too, if that's OK. I just... You seem really tired... I'd like to make sure you're OK again before I go." He sits up, remembering to remove his shoes so that he doesn't have to keep dangling his feet off the end of the bed.
Teis: "I'm already fine, Enver. Don't worry, I took care of myself this time. . ." Teis reflexively and grumpily defends her actions. . .Even though Enver isn't aware of a 'last time'.
Enver gives a nod and lies down next to Teis again. "Of course. I'll just be here for warmth, then... You like warmth, right?" He hugs her gently after pulling up the blankets ideally.
Teis purrs. "Mm. Warmth is nice. . ." Teis quickly squirrels her way under the covers, curling up against Enver with her head on his chest.
Enver leans down and rests his chin on Teis's head, just holding her close as the pair quickly drift off to sleep together.
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BARRACKS - EVENING
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Louma is in her office uncommonly late, the soft light of typically unused lamps filtering under the door as she sits coiled behind her desk. She'd spent the afternoon and early evening talking with Fiora, Erika and Cavro, getting their story and making a lot of jotted notes. Now she's just poring over papers and ink, transposing everything into neat forms. She continues writing through a yawn, shaking her head slightly as the words 'magically grown mini jungle' are put to paper in her neat handwriting.
Nesseth comes to the door of Louma's office, having heard from the scouts that Erika and Cavro have been found, entirely by chance, courtesy of one of the bounty hunters that has been hanging around town as of late. After a moment, he knocks on the door, then waits.
Louma grunts. This isn't the first interruption she's had tonight. Thrice already folks have wandered by wondering who was in the office so late. She lets the person wait until she's done her sentence, then looks toward the door. "Come in."
Nesseth opens the door and peeks in, smiling a bit upon seeing Louma at her desk. "Evening, Captain. Just wanted to stop by and check in, since I'd heard that Erika and Cavro have been found."
Louma starts to give him a look on the uttering of him checking in, but nods with a hum when he finishes. "Yes, they're back. Brunilda's bounty hunting friend ran into them SouthEast of town. Among some other things. Wearing nothing but mud and the fur on their bodies. Not that that's much less than Erika usually wears, I suppose."
Nesseth chuckles a bit as he steps into the office and shuts the door behind him. "Yeah, I guess that's... what, like five strips of cloth, tops? Still, I'm glad they're back safe and sound. But I guess that still does leave the fact that the others are still in Erika's garden and Cavro's forge, though."
Louma leans back onto her coil, using the end of her tail to push the guest chair out from the other side of her desk. "So you can confirm that at least one of those... Dopplegangers was in town when they got back? Or any time after? The pair that I met are sleeping in the officer's bunk tonight, just in case."
Nesseth sighs as he moves to take a seat in the offered chair. "Yeah, the forge is still burning as bright as ever. I don't dare get too close to the garden at the moment, though, so I can't say anything about that." He pauses, then amends, "Actually... Tarbin's mentioned that the being in Erika's garden is still there since I last spoke with him."
Louma nods, pausing. "Er... Tarbin? Is that someone- OH The lizard from the shipwreck, yes? You've enlisted his help then?" She shrugs after a moment. "Well, it's your investigation after all. So they are still in the two places, keeping on as if nothing strange is happening. You've looked into Cavro's doppelganger yourself then, I take it?"
Nesseth nods. "Yeah, and I can confirm that the being at the forge is similar to the one in the garden. That is... unless the real Cavro is able to grab near-molten metal bare-handed without even a flinch, anyway."
Louma hesitates, looking down at her notes before letting out a sigh. Under her breath, she hisses. "This is going to need a larger folder..." She closes her eyes, rubbing the top of her bill near them. "Alright... Well I haven't had much chance to read anything you've submitted through more than once. Any idea what the nature of these two replacements in? Where did they come from?"
Nesseth shrugs a bit. "I can't say for sure where they came from, but... Tarbin also mentioned that the being in Erika's garden is... highly magical. I don't really get what he was saying, but, uh... something like a really high affinity for nature or something like that. If I had to guess, the one in the forge is something similar, just... fire... I guess, instead of nature?"
Louma blinks, shaking her head slowly. "Do... Dopplegangers usually have elemental affinities? I thought that was the realm of well... Elementals. In stories, at least."
Nesseth shrugs again. "Can't say either way. I'm just going with doppelgangers because... well, they look like Erika and Cavro, and the two real ones vanished for a while, so..."
Louma nods. "Fair enough, it's not that it really matters." She leans over the papers, quickly adding a few scratches to her jotted notes. She continues talking while writing. "So we need to figure a way to tell who the real one is and who the false one is. It sounds like Tarbin can do that for us, if you trust him. Once we're sure on that, destroy the doppelgangers, get Erika and Cavro settled back into their homes if they want, and everything goes back to normal? Sounds easy enough from this point."
Nesseth nods. "Tarbin can tell Erika apart from her doppelganger, yes. I'm not completely certain about Cavro, but... considering that one never leaves the forge, it shouldn't be too hard." He gives Louma a curious look, however, "And... destroy, hm? You sure?"
Louma raises her gaze from the paper, looking to Nesseth with her own curious look. "Yes, destroy. Why wouldn't they be? Unless you have a good reason to let magical creations that look and sound like citizens of Respite wander around." She straightens up, stretching a bit as the day slowly catches up on her.
Nesseth shakes his head. "Well, no, I guess I just wasn't expecting you to be that blunt about it. I'll go and talk to Xochi and Tarbin tomorrow, and we'll see what we can come up with to deal with the doubles, then."
Louma hums. "Blunt? Maybe a little. I'm just hoping we can push through some of this strange stuff and get back to where we were a year ago." She considers their relationships, correcting herself. "Well perhaps a few months ago at the latest."
Nesseth chuckles quietly. "Back before any of this started up, hm? It kind of does seem like everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong for a bit."
Louma sighs, nodding. "And yet a lot of good things have happened, too. Can't really say I actually want to go any distance back. Whichever way you decide to go, deal with the doppelgangers, find out who or what created them in the first place if you can."
Nesseth nods again. "If I can, I will. If there's a reason for all of this, we'll make sure whoever is responsible answers for it."
Louma leans back onto her coil, relaxing as she looks toward the clock near the door. She grimaces, stretching her fingers for a bit. "I trust you, you're the one who has looked closest into this whole affair after all. And if it comes to a decision that you don't want to make-" She turns her eyes back to Nesseth. "-Come back to me, I'll make it."
Nesseth snorts in amusement as he gives Louma a bit of a wry smile. "We'll see what comes of it, Louma. But you know if I have to hunt something, I'll do it. Though, depending on what they're capable of, I won't say no to some good backup." The smile slides after a moment, though, showing that the bravado might be, at least in some small part, not completely genuine in this case.
Louma catches Nesseth's shift in expression, sighing lightly. "I know. Just don't do something you'll regret, even if it might be the best thing. If you can't, because of who they look like..." She shakes her head. "If it even comes to that."
Nesseth hums quietly. "I'll have to talk with Xochi and Tarbin before we make any decisions, anyway. Heh... Cavro might even be able to get an assistant out of his double."
Louma scoffs, but there's a joking lilt behind her words, "Oh good, two badgers that can't produce an Orelan spear."
Nesseth shakes his head, his smile coming back a bit. "I dunno about that. The being working the forge right now is pretty good at the craft, even if no one can read their order notes."
Louma chuckles. "Can't be worse than guard reports." She pauses. "You said it was able to pick up red hot steel? But it has fur like Cavro's, doesn't it?"
Nesseth nods. "Hotter than red, actually, but yes. What's more, when he put the steel down, none of his fur was burned, and the heat didn't seem to bother him at all."
Louma: "And neither of you drew attention to this feat? Just did it and moved on?"
Nesseth gives Louma a look. "They didn't mention anything, and I was already in the middle of the current investigation. Much as I like heat, I'd rather not get an up-close look at the forge if I made him panic with my questions, if you get what I mean."
Louma nods, smiling at Nesseth. "Pretty clever, I have to admit." She lets out a sigh. "How long until you think you'll approach them? So I can give Erika and Cavro an idea of timeline?"
Nesseth shrugs again. "Depends on how quickly I can find Xochi and Tarbin and come up with a plan. Though... if I had to take a guess... minimum, a week or so?"
Louma nods. "Alright, be careful about it, there's no need to rush." She pauses, glancing at the clock again before leaning to cork her inkwell. "Anything else we need to discuss?"
Nesseth shakes his head as he stands and stretches. "Nothing that won't keep until tomorrow, at least. I know you already got the report about that bit of action out near the desert the other day, but I'll wait to give you the details so I don't keep you away from home longer."
Louma chuckles, giving him a nod as she uncoils. "I look forward to it." She stifles a laugh as she starts slithering around the desk. "Very much so."
Nesseth chuckles in turn as he pushes the chair back into place and makes his way to the door. "It was quite an adventure, to say the least. I'll see you in the morning, then, Louma."
Louma nods, turning out the lamps on her desk, most of the light coming in from the lain hall instead as the two of them leave the room. She's careful to lock the door behind her before heading out into the night air with Nesseth. "Have a good night Nesseth. A lot of excitement in the future, I think."