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THE THIRSTY MINNOW - EVENING
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Mirriam wanders into the Minnow for the first time in years, looking around slowly. Instead of her uniform, she's wearing... Her uniform, minus the jacket and suspenders. She's clearly cleaned up a bit, but the dark green pants would be familiar, and the white flax shirt is clean, but nothing particularly special. She sits at a table along the East wall, watching the door for anyone she recognizes.
Erika walks into the bar a moment after the roo, looking carefully around with a smile. The okapi is well more dressed than usual, sporting a slightly glittery purple top and nearly-matching blueis-purple long skirt, topped with a purple flower in her long black mane. She's definitely dressed up for a reason... and upon spotting that reason, makes a beeline towards her with a grin and a wave: "Mirriam! Hi!"
Mirriam waves to Erika, hesitating for a moment, though she's beaming when she steps around the table to give Erika a quick hug. "Oh wow, Erika! What is that outfit? It's so pretty! I feel like I should've bought something new to wear!" She steps back, taking a look to appreciate Erika's outfit.
Erika returns the hug, then blushes just slightly although her smile is bright as ever: "I uh, just something I put together? Or okay, I bought the top today but had the skirt from before and never really used it but I thought it would be fun for tonight and I reckon this is a good reason as any or none... oooor something like that."
Mirriam chuckles, nodding as she looks back up to Erika's face. "Well yeah! I guess? I didn't know I was worth the extra effort, vren." She giggles, blushing a bit at the idea of Erika's apparent opinion of her. "Well, next time I'll make sure to dress up a bit more, ya?" She gestures at the table, sliding onto the seat with another chuckle.
Erika laughs as she sits down: "Unless we meet at the bathhouse again, in which case it's dressing down event once more." She pauses: "Okay, so we're probably gonna get permabanned if we do that again, but it's the idea that counts." She blushes at said idea, but keeps grinning.
Mirriam blushes brighter at Erika just out-and-out bringing that up right away, though she can't help but grin. She's not embarrassed by the event, far from it in fact. "I mean, they built those privacy dividers for a reason, right? Just have to plan ahead and pay a little extra~"
Erika laughs at that, shaking her head: "I don't know if I have that much extra on me. I get... or used to get, anyway, discounts for all the herbs I bring in." She pauses, then grins again and shrugs.
Mirriam sticks out her tongue, giggling. "Lucky! They'd probably never have offered this roo a discount! Certainly not now... But yeah, not exactly rich from delivering mail and mail accessories." She sighs, but shrugs. "Still, isn't nobody can do it as good as me n'kin!"
Erika giggles, waving her hand: "We can find other such places..." She then slightly shakes her head before looking up at Mirriam: "A-and don't worry, you look good in any clothes... or lack thereof."
Mirriam chuckles, waving her hand dismissively. "Well, any clothes look good on me, really hon." She stifles a snicker at the played up confidence. "I suppose it depends on where the three of us are comfortable, ya? And allowed... I'd hate to cost Nesseth his commission over such a thing!"
Erika shrugs with a grin: "His commission is made of something... well, something really durable. In fact, it's possibly some unknown material science hasn't discovered yet. He's survived this long, right?"
Mirriam blinks, tilting her head a little before she laughs. "His pay, love! I mean his job!" She can't help but giggle for a minute after figuring it out. "But hyea, he's got some... Durability, mh?"
Erika giggles with just a bit of a blush: "Yyyyep. He's... all strong and beefy."
Mirriam giggles, giving Erika a look. "Well, so are we, to be fair!"
Erika nods, looking back at Mirriam: "We-eelll. Maybe? Sortakindapossibly? I guess my plants don't take care of themselves..."
Nesseth comes wandering into the Minnow, cleaned up decently well but still wearing an outfit that's functional more than dress-y. He takes just a few seconds the look around, spotting Erika and Mirriam towards the eastern side of the main room, but instead makes his way over to the counter for the time being to get himself a drink.
Mirriam spots Nesseth after he's started toward the bar, tapping on the table. "Speak of the incubus, he's just walked in. I guess we might've summoned him, cher." Her eyes follow Nesseth to the bar, before she turns back to Erika.
Erika turns to look and gives Nesseth a happy wave, before turning back to Mirriam with a giggle: "Summoned him? C'mon, I don't think we're qualified for that sort of magic."
Mirriam nods with a sigh. "Shame, that. Though I bet there's a few 'round Respite that might be on the cusp of it."
Erika shrugs: "Possibly? I have no idea, my knowledge of magic... kinda isn't. And if I had any, it's probably in Melia now."
Nesseth smiles and waves back at Erika when he sees her waving, but seems content to stay sitting at the counter unless the two invite him over. If it's a date, he doesn't want to interrupt, after all.
Mirriam hums, tilting her head a little. "Melia..? Don't know that I've met her yet..."
Erika blinks: "Oh, right." She hums, trying to figure out how to sum it out: "She's this elemental who was summoned as a sort of shadow-y copy of me while me and Cavro were summoned miles and way miles south, she sorta looked like exact copy of me and was like... me, but like actually wasn't. Eventually people sorta found that out and made a ritual to save her or uproot her and it sort of backfired and she went into Tarbin and it got all complicated, two people and one body and I'm not eeentirely sure what all happened after that but she's like a nature elemental now that is... not in Tarbin as I met her last alone again and she's happy and not confused and... she's fun, but confusing and has a tendency to make these random tangents that make no sense? Like, who does that?"
Mirriam listens intently, piecing together other side bits of rumors with Erika's information to get a full picture, humming. "That is... Weird as all hell. And she's just living around town now?" She turns toward the bar. "Nesseth? Y'lot didn't arrest and banish a spooky elemental?"
Erika shrugs: "I don't know where she lives, just met her this once as she came to look around my garden. And she's not... too spooky I guess?"
Nesseth looks over at Mirriam, tilting his head at the question. "A spooky elemental? No, the only elemental I've dealt with so far is Melia. No arrests or banishing or anything like that."
Mirriam hums, giggling. "So far? Plan on making a habit of it, cher?"
Erika gives Nesseth a look: "Nothing on the other one at the forge then, yet? I guess I didn't make my way there either... Cavro's all concerned about it, though."
Mirriam turns to look at Erika, chuckling a bit. "A joke, right? I mean... There were some whispers about Melia. There's really is another one?"
Erika shrugs: "Far as I know, it's still in there, the one that sorta-replaced Cavro."
Nesseth nods at Mirriam's question as he gets up from the counter stool and makes his way over to the table, drink in hand. "Yeah, there are two. Melia was the one we focused on first, since she was making Erika's garden grow like crazy and it was threatening to overtake neighboring houses. We were supposed to deal with Cavro's double way earlier, but... then the whole thing with the Saurs happened." He tilts his head with a smile, "Mind if I join you two?"
Mirriam scoots over to the seat next to the wall, patting the one she'd been occupying. "Sure~"
Erika gives Nesseth an inviting grin: "Like we'd just leave you there, all alone and miserable."
Nesseth blushes a bit under his scales at the looks he gets from the two, but happily takes a seat in the offered spot. "Thanks~"
Mirriam giggles, eyes on Nesseth, before returning to the conversation. "Oh so... There has been a lot of drama here since I left, hmm? I wasn't 'specting to come back to such excitement!"
Erika shrugs with a grin: "I mean, all drama is relative... but yes. In a nutshell, lotsa crazy has happened this past year or so." She briefly considers talking about the time she spent as a feral okapi, but files that away as a not-happy topic for sometime later.
Nesseth chuckles and nods a bit. "Yeah... it's been a pretty crazy year and a half, really. It all kind of started with the town's weather shield finally giving out, from what I remember." He sighs and smiles at Erika and Mirriam both, "And the rest of the chaos just sort of followed."
Mirriam huffs, shaking her head. "Oh, the thing finally gave up after Tavon fled town? Surprised it lasted so long!"
Erika nods: "Yeah, it did fail pretty hard... as did the whole generator after that. Made a boom, hurt couple of folks quite bad."
Nesseth hums. "Mmh, unfortunately, one of the folks that got caught up in it was the new engineer. She was out of action for a bit, but when she got back on her feet, she put in some hefty work making that generator better than ever."
Mirriam frowns a little. "Well that ain't so good... Looks to be alright now though! I mean, it fended off a dragon!"
Erika nodnods: "Yup, Maybelline does a great job with all that... she slightly overworks honestly, but she does good."
Nesseth chuckles again. "Well... luckily, she might overwork sometimes, but at least she's getting a good break, now. Last I heard, May and Louma both left for Sarn a few days ago for a good vacation together."
Mirriam grins, glancing at Nesseth. "Oh yes, that is a juicy bit of gossip. No word on when the vulture left the picture, so musta been some time back, but now the stiff captain is dating a stoat girl? Never would have pegged her to swing both ways!"
Erika looks down with a confused smile, twirling her hand idly on the table: "...never would have pegged me for that, either..."
Mirriam gives Erika a grin, shrugging. "Oh? When did you find out~?"
Nesseth smirks a bit at Erika. "Guess it took a couple of really good friends to help with that one, hm?" He chuckles as he lightly taps Erika's ankle below the table, "Sometimes, things just happen, and we discover new things."
Erika looks at Nesseth with a grin, before turning to Mirriam and giving her a thoroughly saucy, yet slightly demure look: "What indeed~."
Mirriam blinks at Erika, blushing brightly after a moment. "That was your first time with a girl?! Oh!" She realizes she's speaking a little loudly, tough thankfully not shouting. "Er... Sorry- it was though?"
Erika blushes brightly, then nods quietly.
Nesseth grins at Erika in turn, then chuckles at the look she gives to Mirriam, only to laugh a bit more at Mirriam's surprise. He occupies himself for the moment by taking a sip of his drink.
Mirriam stammers for a moment, chuckling quietly. "Oh-oh... Mine too... I just... How do you know... You know, you are? By one time?"
Erika gives a blushing shrug and smile: "I... m-maybe I don't, but it did feel... so right, you know? Or at least..." She gives Mirriam the warmest smile she has in her arsenal: "...I wanna try."
Mirriam hesitates, blushing brighter under her fur and glancing at Nesseth, then back to Erika. "Ah... That's good for you! Who ah... Who... With?"
Erika blinks, looking between Mirriam and Nesseth: "I uh..." She pauses, before pointing to Nesseth: "You." Then another pause and she points to Mirriam: "...and you. Maybe you more. A tiny bit more. Possibly."
Mirriam hums, tilting her head a little. "More than Nesseth, hmm? I ah... Didn't really do much in the baths there, you sure it's not just the handsome lizard 'side me you're hot for?"
Nesseth continues to sip his drink, watching Erika and Mirriam with curiosity over the rim of his mug. He's not really going to comment just yet, though. Better to let the two talk, and see what pops up.
Erika looks at Nesseth, then back to Mirriam. She then slowly nods: "Well, I like you. Or always liked you, Mirriam, but something in there... I dunno, sparked. Well, maybe with both of actually. I don't know?"
Mirriam giggles nervously, shaking her head ever so slightly. "You're not sayin' what I think y'are, are you? Just... Just nod, kay cher?"
Nesseth sets his mug down and just watches the two women chat with a slightly raised eyebrow, his gaze wandering toward each in turn as they talk. Yeah... definitely territory that he should probably stay quiet in for the moment.
Erika is quiet for a second or two... then shakes her head with a blushing smile. She's saying exactly what she's saying.
Mirriam holds up a hand, palm out, shaking her head. "Mmm-mm, no. Don't I ah... Shit. See that's not... I can't. I mean I like you, close enough to a sister without makin' it weird, and that was fun but not ah... N-Nesseth let me out please..."
Erika tilts her head, her heart sinking but her smile not waning... not yet, anyway. She looks between Mirriam and Nesseth, curious. "What are you saying...?"
Nesseth blinks and tilts his head, but obliges as he adjusts himself and slips out of the seat, giving Mirriam an open path out. He doesn't budge away from the table though. "Uh... Mirriam? What's up?"
Mirriam slides over the unoccupied seat, pausing at the edge of it to answer them. "I just need some air... I um... I'm sorry Erika, for th'mixed signals or what. Y'are hot and all and I don't wanna ruin what we got but please fall for someone else, I can't love ya back like that..." She hesitates, giving Erika a sad look before sliding off the chair and stepping away from the table for a bit of space.
Erika looks at Mirriam, her smile vanishing as the words sink in. She doesn't really have any words of objection, since it was all her desiring something that isn't there. She looks at Mirriam, her heart sinking, then just gives Nesseth a saddened, defeated smile.
Nesseth watches Mirriam step away to get some space, then sighs a little and looks back at Erika. He gives her a soft, sympathetic smile in turn. "It was... worth a shot, at least. I'm sorry it didn't go like you were hoping, though..."
Erika leans on her hands, sighing: "Yeah... I don't even know what I was hoping. Probably something dumb."
Nesseth hums quietly and slips back into his seat again, though he does cast a short, curious glance in the direction Mirriam went. "Not really dumb to want someone to love, cliché as that might sound."
Erika glances towards the door: "...I want to run after her, but that's probably the worst idea right now." She gives a small, defeated shrug: "...yeah. So that... happened."
Mirriam makes her way to the door, casting a look toward the table with Nesseth and Erika before she sighs quietly to herself and steps outside. The roo moves out of the way of the door, leaning against the wall, the lamp outside casting her shadow onto the glass. "Great. Good stuff, Miri. Break a heart a week in. Dumb. Dumb dumb dumb..."
Nesseth shrugs a little. "It'd probably only be bad depending on what you'd tell her." He tilts his head curiously, "If you try to repair things... maybe not so bad? Of course... might also be smarter to just... let things cool until tomorrow or something."
Erika sighs with a nod: "Maybe the best. She knows where to find me, anyway." She lowers her voice, letting some hurt inch in: "...I'm too damn forward, aren't I?"
Nesseth shakes his head a little. "Nah... sometimes, the forwardness is really nice. I think... it was just mixed signals, like Mirriam said. Even if you were a bit more coy or... however else, I get the sense that she'd have said no."
Erika looks at Nesseth: "...you think so?" She sighs: "Probably. Just... hoping too much, then." She leans on the table, all air of levity long vanished from the okapi.
Nesseth nods a bit and slowly stands up, then makes his way over to Erika's side of the table. "Yeah... call it a hunch, but... that answer from Mirriam sounded a bit too definitive for a different approach to give a different answer." He tilts his head a bit, "...Mind if I sit on this side with you? You... look like you need a hug."
Erika scoots aside to give Nesseth space, giving him a warm if unsure smile: "S-sure." She sniffs: "Hug good."
Nesseth carefully takes a seat beside Erika and smiles a bit, though it's clear he's still feeling bad about the okapi's current low mood. After a few moments, he leans to the side, slips an arm around her shoulders and gives her a warm, companionable hug. "My turn to make sure you're okay."
Erika hugs Nesseth, leaning on him for support: "I-it's... w-well, not okay but... well, not okay." She gives a deep, shuddering sigh. "T-thank you, though."
Nesseth hums as he just lets Erika lean against him. "It won't feel good for a bit... That sort of thing never does." He gives Erika's shoulders a gentle squeeze, "But you two are at least still good friends, so that's something to look forward to, even if... you know... it couldn't have been something more."
Erika gives a feeble, noncommittal shrug at that. "Y-yeah... maybe."
Nesseth isn't too sure how to respond to that, but instead just continues to support Erika, hugging her for as long as she needs or wants it right now, knowing she's not exactly in a good spot.
Mirriam shakes her head, silently beating herself up over her reaction as she watches the streetlamp flickering. She takes a few minutes to calm down and gather her thoughts, taking a breath. Her shadow turns away, vanishing from the glass for a few seconds before the kangaroo enters the Minnow again. As she approaches the table, she catches the last bit of conversation. "Not maybe, if y'can forgive me, Erika." She steps up to the table, giving a sad smile. "Sorry, I was too blunt and didn't mean to lead ya on, cher. I ain't going to abandon you though, hm? Not my style."
Erika looks up, her eyes well and moist by now: "M-Mirriam?" She takes a breath to gather herself: "Y-yeah. It's... I don't know. I just..." She waves her hand, words failing her right now, although 'hasty fool okapi' come to her mind. She refrains from actually berating herself more.
Nesseth looks around upon hearing Mirriam's voice again. He falls silent again, knowing it's something that the two need to hash out with each other, but he nods towards the seat again, silently welcoming the kangaroo to take a seat if she's intent on talking it out.
Mirriam hesitates to sit, but does so on Nesseth's signal. "I get it. I'm here for you, and so is Nesseth obviously. Nobody's gonna leave you to figure it out on your own. We'll do anything ya need, even if you just want me to leave I'll do it."
Nesseth also slowly lifts his hand off of Erika's shoulder, just to see if she wants to sit up straight again, not that he minds her leaning against him at all. Either way, he stays quiet and just listens to the two.
Erika shakes her head: "No... don't leave." She leans on Nesseth's shoulder and stares at the table, confused and not really knowing what to: "...I don't know what to say. That... Eh... h-happened. I did that... and you...?" She looks at Mirriam questioningly, before looking back down, unable to find any answers to her queries inside.
Nesseth can't help but smile just a little as he sets his hand back against Erika's shoulder and continues to lightly hug her.
Mirriam sighs, nodding. "I know, it's my fault, cher. Sorry." She leans on the table, giving Erika a reassuring smile. "Still, you're you. Setback like this isn't gonna keep you down, if I recall. 'Sides, you're cuddling up to the handsomest lizard in Respite right now. Tha's not a bad consolation, hm?"
Erika gives Mirriam a lopsided smile: "I g-guess. Sorry." She sighs, leaning on Nesseth some more as she looks at him: "...y-you are pretty handsome, but... n-not a consolation prize. T-that's not fair of me."
Mirriam shakes her head. "Never be sorry for what your heart wants."
Nesseth blushes just a little under his scales at Mirriam's comment, but doesn't really say anything. But when Erika comments, he tilts his head and gives her a curious look. "I mean... you were angling for Mirriam, and I can understand that I might not have been... heh, first choice, as, uh... strange as that might sound, now that I'm saying it..."
Erika sighs and lets go of Nesseth: "I d-don't know what I want anymore. Both of you, neither of you... something. My head is a mess right now."
Nesseth hums and gently releases Erika from his embrace. "Well... it might be worth taking the night to sleep on it, and see how you feel in the morning, hm? You can find us around town pretty easily any time of the day." He shakes his head a little, "Trying to figure it out right this moment might just frustrate you."
Mirriam sighs, looking down at the table. "Sorry. I'm here for good, as far as I see. Nesseth's right though, sleep might help you sort it. Sorry."
Erika lets out a deep sigh, then starts getting up: "...y-yeah. I just wanna... something. Nothing." She shakes her head, motioning Nesseth that she wants past, though her smile is pretty weak right now.
Nesseth nods and slips out of the seat again to let Erika through. He offers her a hand up once he's standing. "If you want, I'll come by tomorrow some time to see if you're feeling better."
Erika takes the offered hand as she gets up: "Y-yeah... p-probably. S-sleep in... if I can, then it's tomorrow Erika's problem." She gives Mirriam the tiniest of wistful looks, then looks away just as fast.
Mirriam gives Erika a sad smile as she edges her way out of the seat, nodding. "Take care, Erika."
Nesseth hums as he helps Erika up, only to give her a soft, brief hug again before stepping back to give her space. "Have a good night, Erika. I'll stop by a bit later in the morning, then, so you can get some good sleep."
Erika gives both Mirriam and Nesseth a soft, tired smile and a nod, before wiping her eyes a bit: "Y-yeah... t-talk to you b-both later, if this makes any more sense then." She turns to go, wanting be out before either of the two see more of her flood of tears. Dumb okapi. Burned again.
Nesseth watches Erika head off, knowing she's feeling pretty bad at the moment. Once she leaves, he sighs sadly and shakes his head a bit, then turns towards Mirriam. "Poor thing... How about you, Mirriam? You okay?"
Mirriam watches Erika go, leaning back in her seat and covering her face with both hands. "Not at all. I screwed that up... I was just so stunned, should have let her down way easier than I did."
Nesseth hums and takes his seat again. "Mmh... maybe. I don't think it'd have hit her any easier, though. Only thing now is to just... give her some space for a little, I think."
Mirriam slumps in her seat, nodding as she drops her hands. "Yeah, a good idea, you're right. I'll keep my distance for a bit. So glad you were here, Ness. I have no idea how that would have gone otherwise."
Nesseth sighs and dips his head a bit as he reaches over and pats Mirriam on the arm. "Honestly, I maybe kind of planned it as a silly thing with Erika earlier in the day when I ran into her clothes shopping. If it was an actual date, I was just going to be nearby so I could get juicy details to tease you with later. If it wasn't, well... a friendly hangout, right?" He grimaces a little, "I just... didn't think it'd go like this."
Mirriam hesitates, looking at Nesseth. "Oh. Y-you encouraged her? Ah. I... Don't know how to feel about that. I mean... I know I sent a lot of poor signals in hindsight. The bath house thing was kind of a freak catalyst, I guess?"
Nesseth shakes his head. "No, no... I didn't encourage her. I just helped her find a dress, and figured I'd have a little fun of my own depending on how things went." He looks towards the door for a moment, "She was pretty well convinced by the time I'd ran into her earlier today."
Nesseth sighs a bit and idly scratches at his frills, before smoothing his hand over the membrane. "Mostly just meant I planned to be present here, that's all."
Mirriam sighs a bit of relief. "Ah, alright. I ah... Fuck I need a drink. Keep! Barkeep? Wine please!" She turns away from the table to call to the barkeep, turning back to Nesseth and muttering. "Lots of wine."
Nesseth raises an eyebrow, but doesn't comment as he grabs his own mug and takes another drink. "But yeah... as you said, might have been good that I was here..."
Mirriam nods at Nesseth, chuckling without humor. "Very much so. I... Haven't hurt how ya see me, have I, cher?"
Nesseth tilts his head at the question and shrugs in bemusement. "Me? No, not at all. Everyone's got their preferences."
Mirriam nods, accepting the bottle and glass brought to their table and pouring herself a generous portion of red wine. "Yep, and even after what happened at the bath, I know mine. We both had that experience. Heck, we shared it, but I can't imagine how she feels right now, vren. Confused and rejected at once... That poor okapi." She takes a draught from her glass, making a sour face. "Oh ugh... That's what wine tastes like?"
Nesseth chuckles a bit at the face Mirriam pulls. "Never had wine before?" He pauses, then sighs and shakes his head again as his expression shifts back to pensive, "She's definitely not feeling good at all... I really need to check in on her tomorrow to see how she's holding up."
Mirriam shakes her head, setting the glass down. "Never thought to try, was going t'share some with Erika tonight for fun. Gods, maybe a good thing we didn't start in before all this."
Nesseth hums in agreement. "Mmh... can't imagine how things would have gone if you two were buzzing a bit before things happened. Then, I'd have made sure you two stayed in my sight to make sure neither of you did something dumb out of regret."
Mirriam chuckles quietly, again with no humor behind it. "Nesseth, you're late, I'm already full of regrets. Not new, but also not familiar." She sighs, shaking her head. "I think she'll bounce back, I mean it's Erika after all."
Nesseth reaches across the table again and gently rests a hand on Mirriam's arm. "Then I hope you can forgive me for my missteps, Mirriam..." He nods a bit, though he's not too convinced, "She should, but... well, it'll be the second time she's had her heart broken in about six months. She'll bounce back, but it might take a while."
Mirriam tilts her head a bit, resting her other hand on top of Nesseth's. "Second time?"
Nesseth nods. "Yeah... you remember Cavro? The badger blacksmith? The two were dating for a while, but it didn't work out in the long run, and they wound up breaking up a bit before all that stuff with the Saurs started up."
Mirriam ahhs, nodding. "I'd heard they dated for a bit, but Erika didn't really say much about it. Never really picked up on anything about their breakup, either." She hums, shaking her head. "Hard to believe Cavro'd be unkind even in a breakup, but I tried dating'm either."
Nesseth shrugs a bit. "Not really sure what all happened, but they just kind of agreed to split up after a bit of an incident. I could say more, since I was involved, but... I think I'll let you get the details from Erika or Cavro if you want to know. Pretty sure it wasn't due to him being unkind, though."
Mirriam hums, shaking her head after a few moments. "None of my business. Makes sense why there's not much in the way of rumors there, though. Really weird that there's no word about Cavro's ghost thing, though. How has nobody noticed the Oldhammer blacksmith missing?"
Nesseth manages a bit of an awkward smile. "That's... uh... because the blacksmith teeeeechnically isn't missing. Cavro's double is still working the smithy."
Mirriam blinks, shaking her head slightly. "What. Like... okay, step back. How do these things work?"
Nesseth hums thoughtfully. "Well.. I'm still not sure what all happened, but basically, one day, Erika and Cavro wound up waking up in the woods way off to the southeast of town. Thing was, they had doubles that were still in town. Looked like them, acted like them, everything."
Mirriam scrunches her face a little, trying to make sense of this information. "Okay yeah, so you told me there's a doppelganger of each, before. So... They are such good copies that... Cavro's is just still being Cavro? And Cavro ain't tried to kick Cavro out of the Oldhammer 'cause Cavro is Cavro and that isn't something Cavro would do? I think?"
Mirriam: "If that makes sense?"
Nesseth smiles awkwardly and slowly nods. "Uh... kiiiiiind of something like that? More that we've figured out they're elementals, and we've no idea how the one in the forge will react to learning about it all. The elemental that looked like Erika almost engulfed the houses around the garden in plant life before we figured out how to help her."
Mirriam blinks, the penny dropping. "Oh. OH! Yeah okay, that... Makes a lot more sense." She shakes her head, laughing somewhat harshly after a moment. "Well if you decide that seducing and accidentally making the elemental thing fall in love with someone is the solution, y'know where to find me."
Nesseth laughs a little and shakes his head. "Don't worry, Mirriam, I think the elemental's got her eyes on someone already. If you see a nude Lizard lady with big frills wandering around town looking super curious, that's her. She's super nice."
Mirriam manages a grin, shaking her head. "Sounds more like a match for you, stud. I mean the smithy one, though. Unless you're trying to suggest I can only manage t'make girls fall for me."
Nesseth chuckles at the grin. "Nah, she's already got her eyes on another Lizard. Those two were stuck with each other for a good while, so I'm not surprised." He smiles a bit in amusement, "As for the smith... well... I'll keep you posted on how things go once I get back to work investigating him."
Mirriam nods, managing to smile a little easier thanks to Nesseth's company. "If just for the intrigue, I'd appreciate that." She shakes her head a bit, pushing the cork back into her wine and laying out just enough coin to cover it.
Nesseth hums and smiles. "Should be interesting to see how the investigation goes. Assuming we handle things with the elemental in the forge better than we handled the one at Erika's garden, we should be resolving that rather fast."
Mirriam chuckles, shrugging. "I think I get a picture of things, if Erika's nearly junglefied Respite." She sighs, leaning on the table and watching Nesseth. "You've been real damn busy 'round here, from the word. How do you find time to relax? Especially with folks bothering you even when y'just wanna soak?"
Nesseth shrugs a bit at the question. "I just... spend time with folks close to me. Vix, Plume... you, Erika... Really, I find it easy to relax just spending time with others." He smiles a bit, "I get enough quiet time with my own thoughts while out hunting, after all. A couple of weeks at a time, once in a while."
Mirriam nods, her tail swaying slightly next to her. "I made the list? I'm honored, cher." She leans back in her seat, stretching a little. "I think I need a little quiet time. Just to think. But ah..." She gives him a smile. "If that doesn't work, will you be home tonight~?"
Nesseth nods at Mirriam, both her statement of needing quiet time and if he'll be home, and he returns the smile. "Yeah, I'll be home tonight. Don't really have anything planned other than just making sure my pantry's in order."
Mirriam smiles, nodding in response. "I'll try a shower and a rest, first, but thoughts to discuss or suppress might come up." She pushes up from the table, preparing to head to her room in the Minnow. "We'll see what works, I guess."
Nesseth nods as he likewise goes to stand up. "If you need to stop by for a chat, feel free. Hopefully you can get your thoughts in order, though, so you can relax and unwind." He steps forward and gives Mirriam a warm hug, "If you don't stop by, though, have a good night, Mirriam."
Mirriam returns the hug, giving him a quick kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, Nesseth. Have a good night, yourself." She smiles at him, turning to head upstairs with a little swish to her tail. She's hopeful that Erika can get her feelings sorted, knowing full well that her trying to get involved and help could have any myriad of results, positive or not.
Nesseth chuckles quietly, smiling at the kiss as he watches Mirriam heading upstairs, then sighs as he turns to head out of the Minnow and back home for the evening. Part of him shares Mirriam's optimism that Erika will be okay, but another part of him knows the okapi isn't in the best of places at the moment, on top of the stress she'd opened up to him about a few weeks ago.