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SOUTH OF YZZAYT'S ABYSS - EARLY AFTERNOON
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Gareth plops himself down on small boulder near the edge of a natural basin, the remaining guards and Usid's riders having chosen the spot to pitch camp for the evening before continuing further towards Yzzayt's Prominence. He sighs a bit, glad to be off his feet for the moment, and he doffs his hat to wipe his brow. The water of the basin is calm, barely a ripple aside from the ones blown by wind, and understandably so since the basin is one that usually fills only during times of heavy rainfall, at least according to Usid and those with him. Either way, he finds the placid surface calming and quite enjoyable to just gaze at as it nearly perfectly reflects the sky above.
Sammi: Meanwhile, back in Respite, Sammi was bored, and lonely, facedown at the bottom of the waterfall, groaning. After perhaps twice as much of this as would be justifiable by any sane person, she decides she's going to go and look for 'somewhere' new, and heads out, down, and after a bit of travel in the deeper depths of the waterfall, starts to surface again, emerging out into the oasis "Ahhhh" It's so refreshing to be out in the sun, and away from the city! She looks around, before spotting Gareth "Oh! Hey!" She waves from the middle of the oasis "Gareth! You're here!"
Gareth blinks, noticing the ripples of something stirring just below the surface, out in the middle of the basin. He tilts his head, only to watch in bemusement as the familiar form of Sammi rises up into view. He raises a hand in greeting, waving back as his confusion slowly shifts to delight. He quickly pushes himself up to his feet and waves with a fair bit more energy than at first. "Sammi! I didn't think I'd run into ye out here! Talk about a pleasant surprise!"
Sammi swims out to shore, and climbs up, before giving him a somewhat damp hug! "Well! I was bored, and so I decided to go for a bit of a swim! I must have swam out to here. Pretty lucky, I think" She nod nods "Oh! Look though! I got new clothes! What do you think!" She takes a step back, and does a bit of a pose for him "You like? I hope you like it.."
Gareth gives Sammi a warm hug, clearly having been missing her company for the past while. He doesn't even care that the hug is damp, as the heat will just dry everything out sooner or later anyway. As the hug breaks, he looks Sammi up and down, curiously looking at her outfit. "That's a good look on ye, Sammi. Whoever worked on yer outfit matched it to ye really well!"
Sammi: "Oh! Well, I just kinda went to a shop, and bought it" She blushes a bit at the compliment, before settling back in against him "I'm glad you liked it" She also had missed her friend, and didn't feel the need to ask any questions, her usual chatty self being replaced by someone who just needed the emotional recharge of being next to a friend who didn't have something else on their mind.
Gareth chuckles and hugs Sammi again, definitely happy to see... well, his girlfriend, as Fiora would say. After a moment, he releases the hug and pats the rock beside him as he sits back down, his feet protesting a bit after the day's walk. "Well, the shop worked out well for ye, then. I hope ye don't mind sittin' on a rock... been on me feet the entire day, and standin' is gettin' a bit sore." He flashes Sammi a smile, "O' course, I could always get ye me pack to sit on, if ye want somethin' more comfortable."
Sammi: "Oh, sure!" She clearly misunderstands, or possibly perfectly understands, or most likely interprets his words in the way she wants, and instead wiggles a bit, moving her tail out of the way, and settles into his lap "I think this is much more comfortable than a rock" She settles herself against his chest, looking up at him "So! How has your day been?"
Gareth blinks in surprise as Sammi settles in on his lap, but he just chuckles and gently hugs her again, not really bothering to clear up the misunderstanding. "A bit borin', honestly. The good news is, we've got the folks that got captured before headin' back to Respite with some o' the guards. Bad news is that the rest o' us, meself included, have a lot o' walkin' left to do to the south, so those attacks don't happen again."
Sammi: "Oh, well. That's good" She sighs "Well, if you'll be keeping on there for a bit, there doesn't look like there's much water out there" She puts on her determined face "That just means we'll have to make sure to make the most of what we've got, right? Right!" She settles his hands around her waist a bit better "You're the hero, so. What should we do?"
Gareth nods. "Lots o' mountains out that way, but not a lot o' water, aye." He sighs a bit and smiles, "Anythin' in particular ye want to do, Sammi? Me mind's been kind o' occupied with all the fightin' and such out here, lately. Ye came all the way out here to see me, and ye've been stuck back at town fer the last few weeks. We'll do anythin' ye want to do to make up fer me bein' away fer so long!"
Sammi: "Well. I want to get your mind off all the bad stuff" She pokes his nose, turning to face him on his lap instead "Sure, I've been all bored, but that's not as bad as fighting, and bad stuff like that. You've been so nice.." She blushes again, though keeps eye contact "This time it's my turn to be doing stuff for you, okay?"
Gareth can't help but chuckle again as he holds Sammi's determined gaze. "Well, not goin' to lie, just seein' ye is already brightenin' me week a lot. Especially bein' able to hug ye again." He then gives Sammi another warm hug, "Might be a bit borin', but... just spendin' time with ye is plenty fer me, right now."
Sammi: "Well..if it's boring..then I should do something unexpected, right? Spontaneous" She tries to think of something that would be unexpected, and looking at Gareth, considering his face, she decides that what would be most unlike her would be a kiss. On the lips, rather a passionate one too! Sammi really commits to something once she's decided on it!
Gareth smiles and is about to respond when Sammi leans in for the kiss, which indeed catches him well off-guard. He startles, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise, but he pretty quickly starts to lean back into the kiss once the initial shock and surprise wears off. He quietly hums into the kiss after a moment.
Sammi hadn't really made any plans for what was going to happen after this, but Gareth seemed to be enjoying it, so she was going to follow his lead on this one, and hum back, a little uncertain. Still, she liked this kissing thing, and continues to lean, the little head tentacles adding a hug around Gareth's shoulders slowly, and carefully as she does.
Gareth holds the kiss for a few more seconds, pretty clearly enjoying the surprise... and the passion. However, he does still need to breathe, so he eventually has to resurface just to make sure he doesn't pass out. He's certainly blushing, but it's probably rather hard to see beneath his coat, as he smiles at Sammi. "Well... that was definitely spontaneous, lass... not to mention really, really nice."
Sammi: "Oh, well" She blushes herself, not out of breath from the kiss itself (The side benefit of both having gills, and a shaky grasp of air based respiratory systems) "I really liked it too, I'd wanted to make sure that if we were doing the boyfriend girlfriend thing, that we did all the things that they did.." She gets a bit uncertain for a moment "Uh..we are doing that whole...boyfriend, girlfriend thing, right?"
Gareth leans in and gives Sammi a soft kiss on the cheek, then chuckles. "Pretty sure we agreed to make it official when we were back in Sarn, durin' that date at the museum. Me answer hasn't changed, lass, even if we didn't really have a lot o' time to do much when we got back to Aephix."
Sammi: "Oh, well.." She blushes "Yeah, I suppose..but..I wasn't sure if it counted if it happened outside the country" She smiles brightly "But if it does! Then that's great!" She gives him a second hug, and a kiss on the cheek "I'm glad. May is so happy with Louma" She blushes again "Though..um.." She coughs "Probably not something we could get to here..." May's been rubbing off on Sammi a bit. But not as much as May rubs off on Louma! Heyo!!
Gareth chuckles. "It counts anywhere, but I'll say it again in every country if I need to. We're doin' the boyfriend girlfriend thing together, for real." He tilts his head a bit, curious, the question forming on his tongue before it clicks in his head, "What's not somethin' we could... ah. Well... not too hard to get privacy out here. Just takes a bit o' walkin', really..."
Sammi: "Yes! Privacy" She's reminded that that's an important facet of that, and nods in agreement fervantly "But, you know a place? Uh..I'm meant to be reluctant, I think..." She pokes her fingers together "That's what I read anyway, but..I feel like that might be kinda weird too? Like, uh..you're interested, and I'm interested, and uh..well, if you know a spot, maybe we give it a go, and see what it's like?"
Gareth hums thoughtfully, now actually taking a proper look around the basin, at least as best as he can from his seat on the rock with Sammi on his lap. He spots a likely spot a bit of a ways away, but also gets an idea at the same moment. He does, however, gesture at the spot in question. "Well... how about over there? If ye want, I could go and get me tent and other belongin's, and we can get comfortable fer the evenin'."
Sammi: "That sounds great actually! If you're not going anywhere tonight, I don't have to leave until at least the morning" She giggles again "I'm happy to take your lead on this, the bushes do uh..well, that actually sounds appropriate, right?" She's kiiinda nervous/excited, and just a general mixed bag of feelings. This is totally uncharted territory for her, and that feeling of just not knowing is what she's exploring.
Gareth chuckles at Sammi getting a bit flustered. She certainly looks adorable like that. "The bushes would work, but if we're makin' a night o' things, we'll want to be a bit more comfortable." He looks around at the camp as folks continue to get things set up, "As fer not goin' anywhere... we're all settlin' in fer the evenin', so we've got plenty o' time tonight."
Sammi nods again "Yeah..uh..I suppose, it's better to be comfortable. Do you share your tent? We could just use that, right?"
Gareth nods. "Me tent is me own. It's big enough fer both o' us, but me sleepin' bag is a bit on the small end fer two, so we'll just have to cozy up nice and snug together once we feel like sleepin', I think."
Sammi: "Yeah, I'm sure we'll work something out" She nods again, before giving him another hug "I'm just glad I'm able to give you something nice to focus on" She moves over his arms, smoothing down his fur "You're all...stressied out"
Gareth hums in agreement, nodding as Sammi manages to make his fur sit better than he's gotten it to in over a month with just a couple of pats. "It's been a rough month, really. I'm no stranger to battle and travelin', but I don't think I've been away from a ship or town fer this long in decades. A couple o' days o' just... restin' and relaxin' would be really nice after all this. Soakin' in the waterfall pool, or floatin' about in the bay... just not worryin' about much o' anythin', ye know?"
Sammi pokes his nose "Well, I know this one!" She recalls the line "Well, for tonight~ Let me make sure there's only one thing you're thinking abou" She can't quite finish it without giggling at how cheesy it is "But really! We can go off, relax. Maybe rent a boat or something fun like that. All sorts"
Gareth starts to grin more and more as Sammi breaks into giggles, her cheer definitely a bit infectious, no matter the circumstances. "That sounds really nice, aye. Somethin' fer us to think about over the next while until I get back to Respite." He winks at Sammi, "But don't ye worry, lass, I'll be thinkin' about nothin' but ye all night tonight~"
Sammi: "That sounds great" She sighs, stretching out "So...do you want to get to it now, or is there anything else that needs to be prepared?"
Gareth shakes his head a bit as he releases Sammi from his embrace, letting her stand up. "Nah, I just need to grab me things from just over there." He points a thumb over his shoulder at a small pile of what looks like canvas rolls and packs, "Shouldn't take too long to get the tent set up over where we were lookin', too. Ye came all this way, so I'm goin' to spend as much time as I can with ye before ye need to head back."
Sammi: "Right! I can help with the tent, lend a hand, and a few tentacles too" She wiggles the head tentacles "There's no fingers, but like..they can get grappy and stuff"
Gareth smiles as he stands up and stretches out a bit. "Sounds like a plan, then. It doesn't take much to set up, but extra limbs make work go by faster." He turns and heads over to the pile, "Give me a sec, and we can get things set up fer us."
Sammi follows behind a few paces, leaving him to do his thing, but not wanting to get too far away at the same time.
Gareth hefts up his pack onto his back, which seems to be mostly just his bedroll, some preserved foodstuffs, camping gear and materials to load his pistols. Without much effort at all, he picks up his tent and hoists it onto his shoulder for easier transport. He smiles at Sammi as he turns back around, and offers her his hand as he starts to walk back towards the basin's shore again.
Sammi smiles back, and follows along happily. She didn't quite understand the importance of both the tent, and the private spot, but she's fairly sure that it will be explained later. In detail.
Gareth leads the way over to the spot the two talked about and he gets the tent set up quite fast thanks to Sammi's help. Once the two get settled in for the evening, he does indeed give a demonstration on what Sammi's curious about. In a fair bit of detail.
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MAY'S HOUSE - LATE AFTERNOON
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Vix lays stretched out across May's roof tiles, absorbing the waning rays of sunlight into her dark fur. She yawns, feeling particularly lifeless.
Maybelline is walking back home from work, after a short detour to the market. Louma's working a little late, trying to catch up on all the time away, even if that just means more paperwork, but it does give May a little extra time after work to cook up something special. Though, as she reaches their house, she does spot the familiar figure lounging on the roof. "Vix?"
Vix stirs from her blob-like state to look down at the homeowner. She waves lazily. "Heya, May. Fancy seeing you here."
Maybelline smiles slightly, waving back before pointing towards the door, "Uh, this is where I live now. It's Louma's house. Well, our house now. Guess you've always seen me at the Generator, huh?"
Vix sticks out her tongue. "Nah, of course I know you live here. That's why it's so cozy."
Maybelline chuckles, "Cozier inside, I think. The sun comes in through the west window and Louma likes to lounge in it. You uh... you want to come in? I don't want to interrupt your nap but..."
Vix smiles and gracefully slides off the roof, kicking up a little dust as she lands. "Of course~. I was hoping you might ask~"
Maybelline pulls out her key and opens the door, pushing it open for Vix. "You're always welcome to come over, Vix! I was gonna cook up something for dinner, Louma's running late tonight, but it can wait."
Vix perks up a little. "Oh, I can help! I love cooking!"
Maybelline leads Vix on towards the kitchen, then, setting the bags down and setting about unfolding the extra steps and such she and Louma installed to help her reach the counter. "I've been getting better at it, but I'm always down for some help. I'm just doing some Orelan recipes I got from Nesseth, in fact..." she stops, cringing. "Uh... sorry. I didn't mean to um... err... How you holding up?"
Vix sighs a little. "Don't worry about it. I'm always thinkin' about him anyways."
Maybelline nods. "I uh... was going to make pork buns, and I guess caravan traffic from Bairnell is growing pretty steady again, so I got fresh ingredients." She sighs, "I guess I've been a bit selfish of late, huh? You were there for me when Louma was gone, but I've been pretty focused on her since she got back. I... I've not talked to you since, or even to Plume all that much beyond helping them check in on Louma."
Vix leans against the counter. "I've been trying to keep myself busy, but I guess I'm starting to lose my motivation."
Maybelline stands on one of the extra steps to start unpacking the groceries she bought. "Can only bake so much bread, I guess? I... I know that feeling."
Vix hums. "Party's all ready for when they get back. That only took a couple days..."
Maybelline smiles, "Party, eh? Well, that'll be nice. I didn't even think that far ahead, other than... cleaning the house. What kind of party?"
Vix: I arranged for a big feast at the bar with drinks and local entertainers and stuff. It's gonna be great!
Maybelline blinks. "Oh wow. So not just for you and Nesseth, eh? They're gonna deserve it. You've already been way more productive than I was without Louma."
Vix: Ahh, well...I guess that's how I do things. Plume and some others helped me set up, too.
Maybelline chuckles. "Oh, sure. Though I wouldn't have been surprised if you said you'd done it all yourself either." She pushes a few of the ingredients down the counter. "Here, want to roll the dough out for me while I cut the pork?"
Vix picks up the rolling pin and spins it a couple of times before smiling at May. "Sure thing~"
Maybelline smirks at the display, then turns to start to cut the pork loin. "Thanks, Vix." She works for a moment, then shakes her head. "I'll admit... I don't know how you and Plume do it. I uh... I'm a bit of a jealous type I guess. I don't think I could share Louma like you two share Nesseth."
Vix blinks and pauses for a moment. "Well uh...it took us a while to work it out. I'm not really the super possessive type, you know?"
Maybelline blushes a bit in embarrassment, "Uh, sorry. That was a bit blunt of me, wasn't it? I just... I dunno. It's kinda weird to someone from Sarn, that's all. Not that I'm not unhappy for you all, if you make it work, and are all happy."
Vix chuckles. "I've never really been much for tradition. I'm really just going with the flow most of the time."
Maybelline: "I could probably stand to be better at that... I like having a plan, following it step-by-step. Works for my work, and for cooking recipes. And... okay I guess none of my life plans have worked out like I planned, but I'm not unhappy with where I ended up."
Vix hums, getting lost in thought as she rolls out the dough. "No plans here. Head's empty~"
Maybelline giggles, using the knife to slide the sliced pork into a bowl, where she starts adding spices. "Don't know if I believe that. No plans, though? I don't think I could live like that. Guess it'd be easier to relax."
Vix blinks and stops rolling the dough, noticing that it's now paper-thin. "Er...whoops. Guess I can fold it over."
Maybelline glances over, then shrugs, "Err, yeah. Should be fine. There's a cutter over there, if you want to make the dough balls." She starts mixing the meat to spread the seasonings and sauce, "...You're a good friend, Vix. I... I owe you a ton, for all you've done for me. If you ever need to just... come over and talk... or not talk... I'm here."
Vix smiles as she gets to work cutting the dough. "Thanks, May. I'll do the same for you, alright?"
Maybelline nods, "Of course. Though I've done a fair share of that already. We've... all got friends who left to go stop this whole mess... Nesseth, Annika, Brunilda..." She sighs. "I really have been pretty selfish focusing just on Louma, haven't I?"
Vix shakes her head. "Nah, I don't think so. It can be overwhelming to worry over everyone."
Maybelline laughs a bit awkwardly, "Maybe I'm just burnt out on worry right now. I... I'm pretty sure they'll all be fine. None of them are doing this alone."
Vix chuckles. "Safety in numbers~"
Maybelline nods, "And I'm sure we'll get word back any day now."
Vix works quietly for a minute, rolling the pork into the dough and pinching the tops closed.
Maybelline gets the stove running while Vix finishes up the buns, then helps set them onto a tray and moves them into the stove to cook. "Ahh. A job well done. Now we just have to wait."
Vix gives May as surprise hug as she closes the oven.
Maybelline eeps in surprise, but manages to hug Vix back. "A-aww... thanks, Vix."
Vix purrs as she maybe holds the embrace for a little too long
Maybelline pats Vix on the back gently and lets the hug continue, not really having any problem with it.
Vix starts to feel a little awkward after a minute and pulls away from the hug. "Thanks, uh...for the hug..."
Maybelline releases Vix and laughs quietly, "No problem. It seemed like you needed it."
Vix glances back towards the living room. "Could we like...share a blanket while we wait for the oven or something?"
Maybelline blinks, then nods slowly. "Sure, Vix. I'll go grab one, and we can get um... cozy."
Vix bounces over to May's couch with a giggle. "Yay~"
Maybelline gives a half-smile towards Vix as she shakes her head, going to fetch a blanket and join the cat on the couch.