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THE BOUQUET ESTATE - AFTERNOON
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Jennica walks to near the gates, dressed in her usual overalls and a shirt as she lugs the sizable cooling generator - or rather, its' remains - in her hands. She's so very unsure about this, but Emmeline encouraged her to find help for the part she can not complete on her own, and this Teis girl had offered help... mayhap not with this issue directly, but Jennica did promise that she'd fix this...
Narrator: Jax, the wolf gate guard, notes Jennica arriving to the gates that he guards like the good gate guard that he is. "Hello, Miss." The sharp wolf greets politely. "Do you have business with The Bouquets?" He questions.
Jennica shies away slightly: "Oh, um. M-maybe?" She pauses: "T-teis said I could visit her lab if I needed help?" She doesn't quite look ready to bolt and abandon the whole idea, but... well yeah, she looks exactly like that.
Narrator: Jax takes a soft, subtle breath inward, sighing it out with equal disguise. Of course Teis has more visitors and of course he hasn't been informed in advance about them. Well, better ask the cat herself. "Very well." Jax nods. "If you'd be so kind as to wait here, I'll go collect her for you." Jax waits for Jennica to confirm that she is, before he leaves his little gate house and up to the estate. Two or so minutes later, he returns with Teis in tow. "Oh hey...Uh...Jennica!" Teis fumbles for Jennica's name briefly. She nods to Jax, the wolf promptly opening the gate to let Jennica inside, her eyes then focusing onto what Jennica has with her. "Jax said you wanted the lab, yeah?"
Jennica shifts the box of ex-generator in her arms and gives a shy smile: "U-um, yeah. I-if you have better tools than I do, for this... I'd, uh, appreciate." She gives the manor an appraising and slightly awed look, pausing in her talk: "Oh, wow."
Teis: "Yeah, yeah! Absolutely. So long as I can watch you work? Is that okay?" Teis questions, tilting her head for a brief moment. She turns briefly to follow Jennica's gaze to the manor, then ahems a little. "Ah! If you'd follow me, please." Teis instructs, beginning to walk.
Jennica blinks and starts "O-oh! Right." She follows Teis, still gazing at the grandeur she did not expect to see out here... or anywhere she's allowed to go, really.
Teis: Teis is quiet for a few moments, though eventually her curiosity can't wait long enough to get into the lab. "So, ah! What is that you have with you?" Teis questions.
Jennica frowns as she looks down into the box: "O-oh. I um... broke a f-friend's generator a-and I need to fix it. B-but I need a functional crystal that's bigger than what I have, and then charge it right..."
Teis: A broken generator? Teis' ears flick. Could it be? How often do various generators break? Better verify. "Oh yeah? Whose generator? What type of crystal? I, ah. I have mana crystals, but...I drained them all a couple of days ago I'm afraid..."
Jennica shifts her position with the box: "O-oh, this merchant by name of Bracvar. I kinda... messed up, a-and I gotta fix up my mess." She's repeating herself, clearly unsure what to do. "W-well, if you can help in any way, maybe there's something we can do... w-with your lab and all."
Teis: Teis' ears double-flick, her tail flaring up in indication of her contained rage. "So you're the person who broke fish-mans generator! Now Teis has no fish!" Teis tone strains, though she fights to keep her anger under control. Teis is already aware of how nervous Jennica can tend to get, and is planning on using Teis' lab to fix it, so scaring her off is objectively a bad idea if Teis wants more of Bracvar's fish. Teis takes a deep breath in. Calm. Calm calm calm...
Jennica steps back and shies away, looking aside: "U-um. S-sorry... I can go..."
Teis: "No! No no no." Teis' tail quickly lowers, her posture changing into a softer one as she stops, trying to usher Jennica to continue. "Please, if it means I get my beloved fish-man back, I will help you in any way you need. My lab is yours. Okay?" Teis approaches Jennica, placing her adorable little paw on Jennica's side, as high as she can reach, in support.
Jennica smiles hesitantly: "O-okay. L-let's do this. Um..." She looks around, unsure where to continue walking.
Teis: Teis sighs in relief. Phew. She nod-nods, leading the way once more. Soon, the pair are at the lab, and Teis pulls out a key to undo the lock, letting them inside. Most of Teis' current projects are still safely contained away, though two are out on the benches - her ant farms and her disassembled soda water maker...Which includes Jennica's disassembled water purifier.
Jennica walks in after Teis, admiring the room as she does. She sets up the generator on the ground, oof'ing at the effort: "Unnh. H-heavier than most things I build..." She trails off, looking around the lab: "O-oh wow. You have all this?"
Teis: "Yeah. Sis, ah, well, Sis is trying to expand the family business, and well, she got me this lab to do my work in. I cherish it greatly!" Teis smiles. "But, ah. Here. Let me start...Unlocking things for you. Um, I'd tell you to put on PPE, but, ah, well, it only really comes in me-size, if you get me, so...Just ah, try to be careful." Teis begins to move around the lab, unlocking all the equipment and reagents.
Jennica looks at Teis go, recognizing most of the equipment even if her own are... much, much smaller in scale and power. Her trinket-crafting needs are relatively small, but she can't quite stop the pang of jealousy as she looks over all this. Her eyes settle on the water purifier finally and she squints at it: "...h-huh..."
Teis: "Hm?" Teis voices in response, continuing to go about opening up the lab for use, not looking over for the moment.
Jennica steps closer to the purifier's remains: "T-that's my craft, isn't it?"
Teis: Teis now looks over to Jennica, to understand the context. "Oh! Yeah. Um. Sis should've spoken to you about that already. Has she not? I'm, ah, surprised." Teis replies. "I used it in conjunction with a second part of my own design to make her a soda-water maker, since she's missed it since we moved out here. Sis wants me to blueprint it for mass production, so she needs to talk to you about licensing your design."
Jennica stares at the remains of her work, feeling her heart sink a bit. She only belatedly registers the latter part: "...mass production? Huh." Her expression is definitely conflicted at this. Kind of awesome, but still using her things not in the way she intended or wanted... Emmeline would know what to say.
Teis: Teis returns to unlocking the lab, not fully detecting the mood Jennica is projecting. "Yeah. I kind of, just do my own thing, and if Sis sees something she thinks would be marketable, she asks me to optimize the design for production by others. It's, ah. The first thing Sis has liked since we moved out, which is good...She's been very worried that our business out here will fail, so I'm glad to have finally produced something that has put her at ease." Teis finishes up preparing the lab, moving on from the topic. "A'ight. Lab's ready. You're...Ah. You're the lead! I'll... Assist? Huh. Feels weird saying that in my own lab..."
Jennica is holding one of the pieces of her water purifier in her hand, before dropping it back down, slowly moving her attention to the actual reason she came here. She steps back to pick up the generator and lifts it to a nearby table, starting to inspect the damage somewhat absently: "I'm... I think I just need to have the main source replaced somehow, the rest I already fixed mostly... m-maybe not the best since I usually work a lot smaller." She glances at the purifier's remains, frowning slightly.
Teis: "Would any of our mana crystals be suitable? If so...You're, ah. Welcome to use one, though I'll have to tell Sis. Normally she'd want to charge you like any other customer purchasing one, but in your case, I think she'd consider it a gesture of goodwill probably?" Teis shrugs. "If that won't work, then if you're trained in using mana lenses, you're welcome to use a set..." Teis suggests. "If not, I can simply tell you what I see."
Jennica considers this, then nods slowly: "I t-think that would work... I can not use mana lenses, but I d-don't really need them either I guess. They uh, sorta, mess with my eyesight." She shrugs, glancing at Teis: "Mana crystal might do if it's... strong enough. Need to generate a lot of cooling..."
Teis: "They're plenty strong. Back in Sarn, our family's crystals power all manner of household magitech devices. They're just not fully charged right now, as I drained them all for another project two days ago, but they recover their charge naturally over time. I'd say they're probably 30% charged? Two days rest...Though I guess there are a lot of them concentrated in this area...If only my mana condenser was finished..."
Jennica tilts her head, looking at Teis: "Mana condenser? What uh... what specifically is that? I mean, I sort of get it but..." she trails off, giving a curious smile.
Teis: "Oh, uh. We had them back at The Academy. Marvelous machines, but they're either so big or they're so expensive that they're only really useful in industrial applications. But, ah, short version is that they're able to take a constant supply of mana and pretty much stuff it in whatever object they want, though, ah, objects actually designed to house mana is recommended, for...Well, making sure there aren't any explosions." Teis flicks her tail. "I'm, ah. Well, getting a big one imported here is basically impossible, and getting a smaller one is too expensive, even for us...So I've been trying to make my own. The, uh..." Teis clears her throat. "The first prototype exploded."
Jennica nods slowly, recalling some of her own less-than-successful experiments: "...oh. That, that sort of thing happens." She offers a sympathetic smile: "I'm sure you will manage to make it right." She turns to the generator's remains: "So I guess we need to wait for the mana crystals to be back up before we can really do much..."
Teis: "Weeeellllll..." Teis sheepishly voices, averting her gaze. "There's...Something I can do to charge one manually. But, ah...It requires using my own mana to do so. And, uh. Well that kind of muffins?"
Jennica considers, glancing at Teis: "Y-you don't need to do that f-for my mistake. I c-can wait, and take the blame as I should."
Teis: "I mean...How about a trade?" Teis looks back to Jennica. "I charge a crystal for you, you help me optimize your water purifier?" Teis suggests.
Jennica frowns, glancing at the remains of her work: "I-I... I'm not sure..." She sighs, swallowing deep and taking a breath: "W-wasn't r-really y-yours to b-b-break down..." She attempts to summon her anger, her intimidation, but it's not really working despite the considerable size difference between the two.
Teis: Teis tilts her head. "What do you mean? I bought it."
Jennica hesitates, almost backing up on her own argument: "B-but not to make more w-with it like that."
Teis: "Well. I haven't reproduced it yet. Nor would I, or Sis, without her working out an agreement with you first. Neither of us are intellectual thieves." But for very different reasons!
Jennica frowns, unsure of her own argument now: "I-is that how it works...?" She's out of her depth, but something about this does not feel right.
Teis: "Admittedly, this is Sis's area of expertise. I really shouldn't be the one discussing business with you, just incase I say something stupid." Teis admits. "But if you're worried about your design being stolen, that isn't what is happening here."
Jennica looks at the remains of her design that's being used: "O-oh. G-guess that's okay then..." Everything in her posture says she's not okay with this, but the fight is out of her just as quickly as it arrived.
Teis: Teis skews her lip a bit, noting the posture conflicting with the words. "...Do you want to talk to her? I can take you to her right now." Teis questions.
Jennica shakes her head rapidly. "N-no. W-we can c-continue later."
Teis: Teis nods. "Very well." Then pauses, looking at the generator sadly, the means to her fish... "So...Are we done, then?"
Jennica looks at the generator, then nods: "Y-yeah. Um. I want to talk with Emmeline about this. S-sorry."
Teis: Teis takes an unsatisfying deep breath, sighing it out disappointingly. "Noted. In which case, I need to escort you from the grounds."
Jennica blinks, then nods again: "O-oh. Right." She glances at the generator's remains, then at the remains of her water purifier, not sure if she should say anything at all. Maybe not.
Teis: Teis sort of...Stands there. In the awkward silence. Waiting for Jennica to pick up her stuff. Eventually, though, "...Do you need help carrying the generator out?" Teis offers.
Jennica blinks: "O-oh! Sorry. Got drifted off there... sorry." She picks up the generator, not really thinking much of its' weight right now.
Teis: With that, Teis nods, and begins to lead Jennica out of the estate. She remains silent unless spoken to, mostly because awkward.
Jennica follows Teis out of the estate, not sure what to agree onto or what to do now. But maybe Emmeline knows...?
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RESPITE GENERATOR - MID-AFTERNOON
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Maybelline is going about her usual business for the day, making general records of the Generator output, especially with the recent adjustments to the power grid made to accomodate the Bouquet Residence. She just needs to ensure that the change in power direction doesn't cause any kind of fluctations or problems, but so far everything seems optimal.
Enver approaches the generator with a little bit of hesitancy, still not sure about having someone he doesn't know look at his new hand. However, it was recommended by the town doctor, and despite no side effects yet beyond some soreness, it still seems like a good idea. Finally gathering up his courage, he reaches out and knocks politely on the door.
Maybelline perks up, setting down her notes on a table before she walks over to the side door. The white stoat is in her typical blue work uniform, safety goggles draped down around her neck. She opens the door and smiles up at Enver, "Yes? How can I help you today?"
Enver is dressed in his casual clothes today, rather than his performance gear. He doffs his cap and gives a little bow. "Ah, afternoon ma'am. Are you Maybelline? Dr. Plume said I should come see you. I think they were going to tell you? Oh, um... I'm Enver..."
Maybelline gives Enver a fairly warm smile, "I'm Maybelline, yes. I seem to remember, this was about a prosethetic, right? It's not my expertise but I can always take a look."
Enver nods to May's question. "Yes, but it's uh... a bit complicated. Can we talk inside?" He looks around a bit, not nervous per se, but definitely cautious.
Maybelline steps back and motions Enver inside, "Of course! I don't have much in the way of comfort, but there's a table and a few chairs in the side room over there."
Enver steps inside, taking his hat off and looking around. He's definitely a bit awed by the generator and the whole setup here. "Wow... this place is kind of amazing."
Maybelline straightens up slightly with pride, even if the words are a bit dismissive, "It's nothing comapred to the big ones in Sarn, or probably the ones in Orela, but we worked hard to get her up and running. She's come along quite nicely."
Enver smiles as he walks through the room. "Oh, sure... just never seen one quite like this. Saw a few big ones getting built when my dad was working on them back in Sarn."
Maybelline 's grin widens as she seems to grow a bit excited, "Ahh, you've seen them then? Your Dad worked on them? I interned at the Mark VI in Policaster!"
Enver sighs. "Well, pipework... it's all some folks think us slinky types are good for, right?" He makes his way over to the door next to the side room and leans against the wall. "But uh, yeah, we can talk about that later, right?"
Maybelline chuckles, and steps over to open the door, leading Enver into her old 'house' which is something of a break room now. A few scattered blueprints and models are in states of half-completion, things May has been tinkering with over lunch. "Oh yeah, right! Sorry uh, honestly this was my passion, so it all gets me a bit excited. But first things first, Plume said it was your hand?"
Enver follows May in and takes a seat at the table. "Yeah... I was born with only, like, half of my right hand, but I have this friend and he just made me one that I can move and stuff, but well... it's uh... I guess a bit unorthodox for magitech?" He begins taking off his leather gloves, the left hand first and then the right hand, revealing the magitech hand including its circulation tubes and all. He just rests his hands on the table and waits for a reaction.
Maybelline sits forward, blinking at the hand. "That... Is..." She pauses. "Very high quality. Where... did you get this?" She raises an eyebrow at Enver, already suspecting the answer.
Enver nervously taps his fingers on the the tabletop, his prosthetic hand twitching faster than his real hand can. "Uh... a friend. He's a private sort of guy..."
Maybelline lifts a finger to silence Enver. "Right. No, say no more. I think I know. ...I'm glad he's still out there then." She smiles and reaches into a pocket of her jumpsuit and pulls out a few tools. "So, any issues with the hand, or just want me to double check his work? ...As much of it as I'll be able to understand, at least."
Enver cocks his head. "You know him?" After a moment, he shakes his head in answer to May's question. "No... just getting used to it still. And things are sore, but the doctor says that's normal for having the tubes put in... But like, it's uh.. not what I expected and he sort of just... sprung it on me. I hadn't seen him in a long time and so I didn't want to make him wait..."
Maybelline nods, taking the tools and poking carefully at the hand. "Well, that's sorta... about right. You should have seen the last generator he worked on... took months to get the smell of ham out of there."
Enver blinks. "Huh... ham... yeah.. that sounds like Strix all right." He holds the hand as still as he can while May examines it." He then leans in close and whispers. "I know how to find him if you want to see him."
Maybelline tilts her head, lifting her tools for a moment, "...I... I've been worried about him. It would be good to see him again, if he's alright with that."
Enver continues to speak softly. "Well, if he wants to see you, he'll show himself. Just visit his place after dark." He then straightens up a bit. "Right so.. uh... what's so unique about this hand anyway? I don't know enough to see what's different..."
Maybelline sets herself back to work. "I've seen Strix's arm before, and I imagine he built this similarly. Well... for one... your blood. It's definitely using it as a power source. Which... isn't bad on this scale... though probably does require a bit more energy input into it."
Enver flexes the fingers on the prosthetic. "More power? Like, my power or something else?" He stares at the hand, still a bit weirded out whenever he sees surges of his blood through one of the tubes. "Like, should I be eating more? Or like what? I've never owned a piece of magitech before... or been one, I guess?"
Maybelline traces a one of the tubes carefully with her tools, tapping at the connection point into the hand. She tightens a few screws (which honestly don't need much tightening, but why not?) "Food might be enough... Most magitech stuff runs on a power source, like a crystal or a mana battery of some kind. This is... pretty obviously not doing that." She blinks examining the intricate fingers, "How much control do you have?"
Enver wiggles the fingers. "Uh... a good amount. I can do most of what the other hand can do now. Still learning them, sometimes they do stuff that real fingers can't do, like..." He picks stares at the hand and flexes the pinky finger of the prosthetic twisting it in toward the palm. It then keeps twisting, farther in until it's turned around backwards, and then back to normal, apparently having full 360-degree rotation. "Uh, like that..."
Maybelline cringes at the sight, a bit disturbing despite the mechanical nature of the hand. "Ew... well... that's normal for a prosthetic... mostly. Just don't do that if it's causing the mechanisms any strain. If you hear a grinding or experience resistance, best not to push it. And you'll probably need to know how to properly clean it."
Enver blinks. "Oh, yeah... um... I've tried to keep it out of water and stuff... used a brush to get out dirt..."
Maybelline chuckles, "Sounds like you're already ahead of me then. That's good. I can give you a couple tools to help with that too. It's an impressive piece of work, and fairly unique. Strix's work is... complicated."
Enver nods a bit. "Yeah, I think so. I mean... yeah." He smiles a bit. "I guess I just sort of trusted him with this because well, his arm and all... so he understands." He wiggles the fingers on his prosthetic in a much more normal way. "Still probably the best idea to keep it covered in public, right?"
Maybelline gently removes her tools from the hand and sits back. She sighs, "Yeah... probably, if you can keep it covered... might be for the best? I don't think your trust is misplaced at all, and I can't imagine Strix would give you something intentionally dangerous." She frowns, "But apparently his work attracts a bit of dangerous attention."
Enver nods. "I'll keep wearing the gloves, then..." He proceeds to put said gloves on again. "Can I come back if I have more questions? I would ask Strix, but you know how he is..."
Maybelline chuckles, "I do. And of course! You're always welcome to stop by. I maintain normal business hours and part of my job is helping the town upkeep any magitech issues they encounter."
Enver stands up and gives a little bow. "Well, thank you kindly again. I can come back tomorrow for the cleaning tools so you don't have to rush to find them now, if you like? And if you ever want to chat, you can find me performing in the marketplace."
Maybelline gives Enver a thumbs up. "I'll get together the tools and can show you how they work tomorrow then. And I'll try to take some time to see your performance too. I don't get out of the Generator as much as I probably should."
Enver laughs. "Yeah, fair enough." He looks around. "And uh... if you ever need helps with pipes and stuff, I do know my way around them..." He then makes his way out.
Maybelline follows Enver out to ensure he gets out, chuckling a bit as she considers his new hand, and what has become of Strix as well.
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SARN MARKET - MID-AFTERNOON
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Sammi had 'dressed up' for her trip. She was wearing a simple pair of pants, alongside a jacket with a tall collar, and a cap, and had wound some bead decorations along her head-things, which overall gave her a much less stand-out impression. Obviously, it wouldn't stand up to scrutiny, but she less jumped out as odd to the casual glance, and she may be doing some subtle little 'thingsthemindcannotfathom' style stuff to ensure that nobody looked too closely "So! This is the big city! It's so big! and..um..cityish!"
Gareth walks with Sammi, wearing his usual set of pirate-ish clothing. The rather flashy garb is definitely eye-catching enough (as well as intimidating enough) that no one is likely to look too closely at either of them beyond a quick glance or two at best, for fear of drawing the ire of the scarred wolf. At the moment, however, he's smiling rather easily. "Aye, this is Glaushire, the center of Sarn technology and study. Makes fer a nice tourist spot too, what with all the merchants comin' and goin' every day, there's plenty to see and do."
Sammi: "Ooh! We should the touristy things" She takes out a guide to the place "Like, museums, um..oh! and souvenirs! Do you know anywhere you want to go? I've never really done anything like this, where do people usually start?"
Gareth hums thoughtfully as he leans to the side to get a look at the guide Sammi has. "Hmm... we could check out one o' the museums they have nearby. Always interestin' to see what those smart folks dig up for fish up from ages past. We could even grab a couple o' souvenirs while we're there, though... I'm not sure how well their things handle bein' underwater."
Sammi: "I'm sure it'll be fine! I can make a little out of water part of my underwater if I needs be!" She angles the map to show him. There's plenty of places to visit "How about..uh....Hmm..there's a tech museum! Maybe we could pick something up for May? Since she helped out and all that"
Gareth nods at the idea, seeming intrigued at the angle. "That's a really good idea, lass. I didn't think to grab somethin' extra fer her as thanks." He pauses, then laughs a bit to himself and shakes his head, "Figured a cut o' the bounty would have done the trick, but money isn't everything, aye?"
Sammi: "Oh yeah! The money! Well..things are shinier than coins. Anyone can have coins after all!" She points the road away "So, it's this way! I wonder what it's all like..I don't really know May. What do you think she'll like?"
Gareth rubs his chin with a finger as he walks down the lane with Sammi. "Someone like her... if I had to guess, with the know-how she has in her head, a book or two might make fer a nice gift. Maybe a book about somethin' magitech... nah, she probably owns all o' those ones by now. I don't know, we'll see what we can find."
Sammi: "Right! I'm sure we'll find something great!" She starts ambling off in the direction of the museum "Maybe a little tech thingy! Something she can put on her desk. That might be fun!"
Gareth chuckles and nods again. "Ahh, like those things I usually saw in offices and such? The things on their desks? She might get a kick out o' that, fer sure. Good idea!"
Sammi: "Yeah! The little things that wiggle by themselves!" The museum was busy enough, with a small queue to get in. Sammi takes her place in line patiently. "Soo many people, isn't there?"
Gareth glances around at the people coming and going on their afternoon errands as he sidles into line with Sammi. "Aye, it's quite a busy afternoon here. Museum should be pretty quiet inside, though, and we can take our time fer the most part."
Sammi: "Yeah!" The queueing is fast enough, and soon Sammi is paying her way in, and wanders into the museum, however, when Gareth goes to go in, he would be stopped by the security "Weapons?" He asks gruffly
Gareth gives the security guard a short, flat look before glancing down at his pistols and sword, all fully within view. "Ye blind or somethin', friend? I don't see a scarred eye on ye." He waits for a moment for at least a bit of a laugh, but sighs when nothing seems to be forthcoming, and starts to divest himself of his gear, "Fine, fine. Figured I'd get a smile out o' ye or somethin', at least. Here."
Sammi: The weapons are placed in a cloakroom, and he's given a ticket to pick them up afterwards "I'm not paid to smile" Sammi wouldn't be spotted when he came in. Perhaps she's wandered a little bit further in? Sammi is pretty flakey, though it's a little odd that she wouldn't wait up at all....
Gareth accepts the ticket and sighs again as he steps through to the main lobby of the museum. That minor annoyance dealt with, he looks around curiously, wondering where Sammi went off to...
Narrator: In one of the side rooms, leaning up against the wall was a small fox lady, dressed up in a rather elaborate armoured suit, emblazoned with the symbol of Sarn City "Gareth, yes?" She speaks up, chirpily, pushing off the wall to a standing position "I've been trying to track you down! Do you know how hard it is to get a bead on you? Slippery, Slippery" She claps her hands together "Good news! We had a look at that device you dropped off, and we're very interested"
Gareth hums curiously as he's addressed while walking past one of the side rooms as he sets off in search of Sammi. He raises an eyebrow as he comes to a stop and looks over at the person calling to him. "I'm Gareth, aye. And... you might be...?"
Teya: "Inquisitor Teya! I'm the one that makes sure Sarn's tech stays with Sarn, and has little chats with anyone that risks that!" She approaches "So!" She claps her hands together "Are you going to answer the question that we both know I'm going to ask, or are we going to play a silly little game, where you pretend not to understand what I'm asking?"
Teya: "Oh! and your girlfriend is fine! She's been distracted quite well! Nobody wants to deal with someone like that thing"
Gareth hmphs and crosses his arms a bit as he fixes the 'inquisitor' with a bit of a look. "First, a question for ye, then. How did you distract her? If it's a good answer, I'll see if I know what question yer goin' to ask."
Teya: "Oh. We just arranged for a bit lightshow to move off in another direction. She's not exactly the brightest sort, you know" She starts idly polishing a bit of her armour, before tucking her legs under her, leaving her hovering in the air "Anyway. She's safe, and she's fine, and since we're being nice, I won't even bother doing that thing were I imply a threat! I just want to know why you brought that device to us" She gives a smile with zero humour "We cool? We cool"
Gareth squints a little at Teya, then sighs and unfolds his arms, instead resting his fists against his hips. "Fine, good enough, I guess. Why did I bring that device to ye and yer colleagues? Simple, there was a bounty on a magitech thief. Thief left before I got there, but left some o' the stolen goods behind."
Teya: "See?" She puts out her hand "This is just the thing! We're having a nice conversation, and you just have to go and lie! Why do you do that?" She makes a bit show of pinching her brow, and acting frustrated "We took what you gave us, and opened it up..and then we compared it to the device we had originally ...and they're clearly made by different people. Come on now. We do our research"
Teya: "So!" She perks up again, and leans forward "Lets start this again, except this time you tell the truth!"
Gareth continues to give Teya a flat look, though one of his eyebrows arches in incredulity. "Ma'am, do I look like someone that has even the faintest idea about how magitech works? Yer so smart, how do ye think someone like meself could put together a machine like that?" He lifts a hand, palm out, forestalling any objection, "And before ye try the 'someone else could have made it' angle, that thief was probably the smartest one in that backwater town."
Teya: "Am I willing to believe you're just a dump merc? Yeah, sure! Why not? But..regardless, the person that made what you gave us, is not the person that made the first one..and the first one was bought in as you say 'that backwater town'" She taps her chin thoughtfully, in a mocking fashion "So, what do you suggest I do? I'm all ears for suggestions. Clearly you're not going to bring me that thief, but I can't really go back to my bosses with a tomato, now can I?"
Gareth snorts in amusement. "Sure you could. Fer all I know, approachin' me in that get-up, ye want to reneg on the deal after that giant o' a Croc caught yer colleagues tryin' to pull a fast one on honest work." He laughs a bit, "And 'bought', hm? I thought ye issued the bounty fer stolen tech."
Teya: "Well yes. The tech was purchased by a trader in Respite, and then we discovered it in one of our inspections. See, after a thief steals a thing, they generally sell it on afterwards. It's called 'fencing'" She sighs, idly drifting in the air "But no, I'm not going to try and take back the money. I don't care about the money, if you were smart enough to trick the administrator, that's really on us, isn't it? So! Instead. I'm just being nice, really! Just letting you know, that we..that I know" She tilts her head "Now, I really do must be going.." She seems to be looking over Gareth's shoulder "Honestly..attention span of a dull spoon..."
Gareth keeps his eyes on Teya, not daring to fall for any tricks as simple as a bit of misdirection. He gives the fox a humorless smile. "Nice, hm? Ye should try it fer real, one day. Ye make more friends that way than accusin' folks o' lyin' without proof aside from yer word and an attempt at bein' intimidatin'."
Teya: "Oh? I'm not trying to be scary! Have you seen me? I'm not exactly a big hulking wolf, now am I? It's far more effort than it's worth. I can only tell you cause, and effect. I'm going to find out how a floatation device made its way to a ratty little backwater town. Clearly I can't leave it to mercs. One is dead, and the other is now being useless. Anyway! That's all, such fun meeting you!" She was drifting away out the other side of the room, still looking over his shoulder.
Gareth rolls his eyes and sighs as Teya departs. He waits until she's out of sight and a ways away from him before he scratches the back of his head and turns around.
Sammi called out from behind Gareth "Oh! There you were! I found something super cool! You gotta see! Hey!...Wait..is this another one Gareth?"
Teya was indeed making her exit. She did not, it seems, want to be around Sammi for long.
Gareth blinks as he catches sight of Sammi standing not that far away from him. After a moment, he tilts his head in confusion, then shakes it. "Another one? Who, that fox girl that was just here? Nah, she just had some questions about that delivery I had to make."
Sammi: "Oh! That's okay then! I don't really want any more.." She bites her lip "I..don't really like the uh..is it weird to say competition? I keep thinking you'll like someone else more, and start hanging out with them more, and me less.."
Gareth blinks again, his expression shifting from confusion to sympathy. "I understand, lass. Don't ye worry... I like to spend as much time as I can with the folks I like, and the more I like them, the more time I spend with them." He hitches up a little smile, "And you, Sammi? I like ye the most."
Sammi: "Really?" She pauses shifting about on her heels "So..um..I was just thinking..and..I was reading some things about this..do..do you want to that whole..uh..girlfriendy..boyfriendy thing?" She coughs "Then this..uh..could be like a date, and stuff"
Gareth tilts his head again. "There are... books about this kind o' thing? Like... datin' and such?" He clears his throat, momentarily distracted, "But aye, we could make this into a date if ye like, Sammi! I kind o' figured we were movin' things that way fer a little bit, but it'll be nice to make it a little more 'official'."
Sammi: "Uh!..Yeah! Um..it took a while to get a good one! There were..uh.a lot of ones that didn't sound smart at all!" She brightens up "Okay! So..uh..datey things!" She turns around a bit flustered "Well! We can look at..ooh! The shiny lights! I thought they were great!"
Gareth chuckles and nods, smiling again as he starts to relax from that earlier encounter. "Well, why don't ye show me where they are? Sounds like quite a sight to see!"
Sammi: "Right then!" She tugs on his sleeve, pulling him to another section of the musuem, which indeed, has some sort of light show, with a large number of differently coloured beams of light. Sammi seems mildly entranced by how all the lights flicker over the room, which is otherwise rather dark. It is, to be fair, rather pretty. Probably some magitech involved somewhere.
Gareth follows alongside Sammi as she leads him to the lightshow further into the museum. As his eyes track the various beams as they move about, he can't help but be similarly entranced, being vaguely reminded of the auroras back in Northern Vamas during the winter seasons. As he stands there next to Sammi, he figures he might as well make the date a little more proper, and shifts a hand sideways to lightly grab hold of Sammi's hand.
Sammi pauses for a moment, looking up to him, before smiling, and settling in to him, the little tentacles that were her hair settling around him in return, relaxed. "This is nice.."
Gareth hums quietly, nodding as he glances at Sammi with a smile, then leans against her a bit in turn. "Aye... that it is, Sammi. Comin' here was a good suggestion..."
Sammi: "Yeah, I do have some good ideas sometimes" Sammi would relax with Gareth, and it would be a plesent afternoon, though, Gareth would be fairly sure that whatever had started here, wasn't over...but that's a problem for tomorrow.