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PLUME'S CLINIC - MIDDAY
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Nesseth rests in the ward, having been told by Plume in no uncertain terms that it'd be better for him to stay at the clinic until he's able to walk under his own power. His arm and chest remain exposed, the burns needing the airflow to heal without irritation, though the surface of the burns look a bit better after Tarbin and Melia looked him over the previous day. It'll take a while before he fully heals, though, even if the scars remain.
Vix sways through the entrance to the ward, her face obscured by a basket stacked high with various baked goods. She meows in greeting. "Oh, Nesseth~~"
Nesseth lifts his head at the familiar voice, only to raise an eyebrow in confusion at the giant stack of baked goods that is apparently greeting him. "Uh... wow, Vix. Did you use all the flour in town or something? That's a lot of snacks..."
Vix sets the basket down on the table and peeks out from behind it. "Nope! I got some help from the other bakers to put together a big care package!"
Nesseth smiles as Vix's face comes into view. "All those baked goods, that's got to be for the entire ward, right?" His smile warms up a bit further, "It's really sweet of you, Vix."
Vix scratches her head. "Y-yeah, you can share if you wanna..."
Nesseth blinks, glancing at the (rather daunting) pile of baked goods. "...Wait... you're saying you meant for all of that to go to me?"
Vix hides back behind the pile. "No! M-maybe..."
Nesseth chuckles and grins at Vix, beckoning her a bit closer with his good hand. "I'll try my best to work through it, but I might need a bit of help if I want to enjoy it all."
Vix moves to Nesseth's side and holds his hand in hers. "Oh, you want me to feed you~?"
Nesseth gently pulls Vix closer and gives her a soft kiss on the lips. "I mean... I'm only down one arm for now." He chuckles and glances at his left arm for a moment, "But I won't say no to a little special treatment~"
Vix takes a bagel from the top of the stack and waves it in front of Nesseth's nose. "I think you deserve it~"
Nesseth chuckles quietly as he opens his mouth to accept a bite of the bagel, gently squeezing Vix's hand in appreciation of the gesture.
Vix hums and takes a bite from the other side of the bagel. "I'm so happy you're back safe~"
Nesseth hums warmly, the sweet snack being a very, very welcome change from the rations and wild game he'd been living off of for the past several weeks. He can't help but grin as he takes a moment to lick up a few crumbs clinging to the scales around his mouth. "And between you and Plume, I can't have asked for a better welcome home, dear~" He tilts his head a bit curiously, even as he takes another small nibble out of the bagel, now that his appetite is waking up again, "Were you holding up okay while I was away?"
Vix grins. "Yeah, for the most part. The last week was a little tough." Hey did you see all the festival stuff? I helped with that!"
Nesseth hums and nods. "Yeah, I caught a couple of looks at the stuff hanging around the main streets on my way here. It all looked really nice." He smiles at Vix, "So... when's the celebration starting?"
Vix: In a couple days. There's still some setup to be done. You'll be out of bed by then, right?"
Nesseth dips his head in response. "Hopefully. I think I just need rest to get back on my feet, right now. My arm and chest got the worst of it, and Tarbin and Melia have been trying to heal me a bit faster, while still tending to the rest of the wounded."
Vix looks over Nesseth's wounds. "Ooh...that looks painful...
Nesseth makes a noise of discontent as he takes a few seconds to lift his left arm up a bit, so he can look at the burns. "Honestly... it hurt way more when I first got them. Now, it's all just... kind of numb, unless I try moving my arm."
Vix hums and looks closer. "Of course, I'm mostly trying to figure out if we can still fool around. Maybe if I'm careful...?"
Nesseth carefully lifts his injured hand up and boops Vix on the nose, chuckling a bit. "It... hurts, but it's not too bad... We might need to be a bit more gentle with the cuddles, but I'm okay to fool around~"
Vix glances around. "Here...?"
Nesseth looks around a bit. "Uh... well, it's the medical ward, so, uh..." He tilts his head curiously at Vix, more wondering than uncertain, "If you don't mind waiting a little longer, we could take things somewhere a bit more private tomorrow, or...? I mean, I'm not opposed, just... not much concealing us except a fabric curtain or two."
Vix wiggles uncertainly. "It's very tempting..."
Nesseth quietly clears his throat, humming thoughtfully. "Well, if we... manage to stay quiet, we might be able to?" He smiles a bit awkwardly, "Though, if we want to avoid any surprises, might be best to wait for Plume, Tarbin and Melia to do their rounds one more time before getting into it."
Vix lowers her voice to a whisper and nods. "We really gonna do this~?"
Nesseth smiles and winks at Vix as he replies similarly quietly. "If you really want to, Vix. We've not seen each other for... what, a month and a half? Just a little something to whet our appetite for later, and as thanks for the warm welcome back~"
Vix leans in and gives Nesseth a long kiss. "Alright, it's a plan~"
Nesseth hums warmly into the kiss and grins as it breaks. "But, for now... let's have a few more of those snacks while we wait for the opportunity~"
Vix pulls a jar of jam from the basket and licks her lips. "Ah, of course~"
Nesseth whistles a bit, impressed at how much Vix brought along in the basket. "Wow, almost a full picnic in there, huh~? Good food like this will help me recover faster~"
Vix giggles as she loads up a slice of rye with jam. "We can store up plenty of energy for then~"
Nesseth leans up a little to see what else might be hiding in the basket of goodies, though he smirks as he looks over at Vix for a moment. "A bit of a snack, followed by a bit of a snack~"
Vix continues sharing snacks with Nesseth, coyly awaiting their opportunity for a private moment~
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RESPITE BARRACKS - MID-AFTERNOON
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Louma has been at it since she'd arrived back with the remaining people, first spending two days locked up in the small 'banquet hall' next to the barracks with the rest of the Guard leadership, as well as the town leader, and a rotating panel of guards, citizens and saurs (with several guards present). An exhausting exchange of information that saw enormous amounts of records created ranging from event reports to papers identifying each new saur resident, and records of the deceased and missing. Truthfully, sitting in her office rather than the spacious hall is a mixed feeling for her, as she'd already filed everything normally under her responsibility, just stuck in the smaller room going over the normal reports that came in during those two days.
Gareth strides along, looking pretty much the same as he always has, though his outfit is looking perhaps a little in need of tailoring again after the battle at the Prominence and the trip back to Respite. He nods at the various guards he passes by in the barracks on his way to his destination, a new, unspoken and mutual trust forged in battle having arisen between Gareth and many of the guards he'd fought alongside. It isn't long, however, before he moves from the main part of the barracks to Louma's office and knocks on the door.
Louma sighs quietly to herself, not looking up from her current work when she calls out. "It's open, but do not make wind please." She'd already suffered that twice today, what with the triple-stacks just begging to take off.
Gareth carefully opens the door a bit and leans in to take a look at the situation. Once it's clear he's not going to send a bunch of paperwork flying, he opens the door enough for him to step in and shuts it behind him. "Afternoon, Louma. I was hopin' ye were still here. If ye've a moment o' time, I was wonderin' if ye might be willin' to discuss somethin'."
Louma looks up at Gareth and blinks, leaning back from her paperwork and crossing her arms. "Oh, now they are just letting you wander around here whenever you like?" She grins after a moment, shrugging. "What seems to be on your mind, Gareth?"
Gareth grins in turn as he goes to take a seat opposite of Louma. "What can I say? I guess I made a hell o' an impression on yer guards out there." He settles in on the seat and takes a moment to reach into his overcoat. "Eh... nothin' all too important, really. Just wanted to give ye the bill fer services rendered, as well as compensation fer the injuries Fiora got from her duel with Dyvrisse." He holds out a rolled up parchment sheet as he finishes talking.
Louma hums, her expression falling a bit as she eyes the bill in question, not reaching out for it immediately. "You are... Charging us a fee for volunteering to rescue prisoners of war." Her eyes dart back to Gareth's face with a grunt. After a moment, she finally reaches out to accept the paper, "Well, let's see your demands then."
Gareth smiles a bit. "I had a personal stake in it, true, but the injuries we'd taken in the course o' things do cut into our livelihood a fair bit. I'm sure ye'll find that to be more than a fair askin' price."
Narrator: The parchment is a pretty simple ledger page, detailing costs for mercenary services, training, compensation for injuries, as well as a myriad other miscellaneous charges that range from things as simple as "material costs" to other, more niche (and probably frivolous) charges such as "long-term disability". The total at the bottom, written rather boldly: ~300,000 gold.
Louma unfolds the bill, reading across it and getting about halfway down before her eye is drawn to the final number, feeling like her heart's just paused for a moment as her gaze drifts from the page up to Gareth's smiling face in what feels like forever. There is a loud thud next to her as the end of her tail hits the side of the desk, bringing her mind back to the moment. "Three-three-THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND?! This isn't a bill! This is beyond reasonable! A similar bounty would be what, sixty-thousand! Five times higher!? Are you insane?" Her body's been matching her voice, rising and spreading with the volume of her rant, knocking a few papers to the floor and blocking the window behind her from casting light into the room.
Gareth 's grin seems to grow bigger as Louma's rant continues, and indeed he even begins to laugh rather heartily as the lesser coatl's dander rises. His laughter is such that, by the time she's up and yelling, he's already short of breath and wiping a tear of mirth from his good eye. "Ahh, now that was a thing o' beauty, Louma! I don't think I've ever seen a captain lose it quite that much ever before!" He continues to laugh, clapping his hands together once out of amusement before reaching into his coat to draw out another parchment, holding it out for Louma to take, "Here. These are the actual charges."
Louma huffs, glaring at Gareth as he presents a different piece of paper, close to growling at him as she blushes in mild embarrassment and abating anger. She takes the second bill, but doesn't open it just yet. "Not remotely funny, Gareth. I should ignore this one and throw you in a cell for extortion."
Gareth grins innocently (or at least as innocently as an ex-pirate in full gear could) as he passes Louma the parchment. "Ye sure about that, Louma? I found that damned hilarious, meself." He laughs again and gestures at the parchment, "Take a look at it before ye decide if ye want to throw me in the brig or not."
Louma hums, unfolding the second parchment with a glare over the page at Gareth before dropping her gaze to read over it. Really, she skips down the list to the final number immediately.
Narrator: The ledger list is a lot shorter this time, maybe one or two entries at most for "injuries sustained" and "gear maintenance". At the total line, the charge is ~500 gold. Below that, however, is a note, curled from being rolled up with the ledger sheet, but clearly a Vamas bank note, good for 200 gold.
Gareth nods. "Ye folks need to help the Saurs and others settle back into town, aye? Ye and the guards can use that however ye need to. It's pulled straight from me account back in Vamas, so any merchant should accept it." He pauses, smirking, "And don't worry about payin' the charges immediately. Fiora and I aren't goin' anywhere any time soon, anyway."
Louma blinks, looking back up from the page after examining the bank note, her body relaxing back to mostly-rested. "I see. We-we'll make sure this gets taken care of." She sighs, rubbing her forehead. "That really was not funny, you've gone and given me a pounding headache."
Gareth sighs a bit, at least attempting to look contrite as he stands up to grab the papers that Louma swept off the table in her fit of ire. The expression might be slightly ruined by the corners of his mouth quirking up. "Ahh... I'm sorry, Louma. I should have figured ye had a lot o' paperwork to deal with. If ye like, I could make a quick run over to the clinic and grab somethin' fer that? No charge, promise." He grins.
Louma chuckles quietly, nodding in appreciation to the offer and him fetching the papers. "I already have some from Plume to deal with the stress of... All this. Hopefully the paperwork is going to slow down a bit, but I should probably break for the day."
Gareth chuckles as he takes a few moments to get the papers stacked nicely, tapping the lot against the desk to make sure they're all even, then sets him aside for Louma to put back wherever they're supposed to go. "Sounds like ye might need a good soak in the bathhouse after all o' the work ye've put in today."
Louma sighs, leaning back and rubbing her temples again. "Yeah... That actually sounds good. I haven't been since my own return." She gives him a bit of a look. "Though is that a bit of mocking there? Because I've been sitting in an office all day?"
Gareth gives Louma a flat look. "Louma, are ye forgettin' I used to be a quartermaster? Even if I didn't have to keep records like all this, it was still a right pain in the arse keepin' track o' everythin' comin' in and goin' out o' the ship's hold. Thinkin' hard is still workin' as hard as, if not more than, takin' part in combat."
Louma lets out a 'tsk', shrugging. "I don't know, it still seems like a rather digging comment to me. I might have to defend my honor after that one, in the arena."
Gareth smirks after a moment. "Is that a challenge I hear? Ye sure a fight won't make that headache worse?" He shakes his head, still smirking, "It won't be a good win if ye lose because o' the headache."
Louma holds up a hand, shaking her head. "Consider it an invitation for a future event, Gareth." She grins, tilting her head a bit. "Though if I win with the headache, what would that say about your skills?"
Gareth shrugs. "I could make excuses and say I'm still exhausted from the fight out at the Prominence, on top o' the walk back..." He smiles, "Or I can just admit ye beat me. Last I recall, we were pretty even with those sparrin' weapons."
Louma feels her grin slip into a slightly more sinister smile. "True, though I've had a month to nudge our talented quartermaster into getting your gift properly replicated in wood."
Gareth seems intrigued at that bit of news. "So they've been able to get the hooks just so without snappin', hm? Well, now... that's an interestin' development." He nods towards the door, "Care to fill me in on some o' the details on the way over to the bathhouse, then? Sooner we get ye there, the sooner yer headache goes away, I think."
Louma chuckles, shrugging as she uncoils and stretches a little, making her way around the desk. "That sounds good to me. Will you be joining me in the baths, then? I wouldn't mind the company."
Gareth shrugs and nods. "If ye want the company, sure. It'll feel nice to soak there again after bein' away fer some weeks."
Louma waits on Gareth to step out of the office, seeing as she'll be a tripping hazard if she tries to lead the way. "I think they are going to become quite popular with everyone returning. There might be a business opportunity in opening a competing house."
Gareth chuckles as he leads the way out of the office. "Could be, fer sure. Add the Saurs into the potential customers, and the bathhouse might even wind up gettin' too crowded durin' busier hours."