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THE THIRSTY MINNOW - EARLY EVENING
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Pinna relaxes at a corner table, sitting across from her now empty but still gigantic mechanical suit. She sips a beer from a glass that's almost half as tall as she is.
Gareth comes into the bar after a few minutes, dressed in his usual outfit, though it looks relatively new again after having been tailored back into good condition after his trek with the guards to the west. He passes by the table Pinna is sitting at, missing both the mouse and her suit due to his blind eye as he makes his way over to the counter to order himself a drink.
Pinna glances up at the rough-looking guest as she sips her drink. Now who could that be?
Gareth is definitely a regular at the Minnow at this point, with how readily the bartender gets his preferred drink ready the moment he places his order. He looks around casually as he waits, his blinded eye a pretty stark white against the fur on his face.
Pinna smiles and waves!
Gareth blinks upon seeing the mouse waving at him, and waves back with a cheery smile of his own. "Evenin', there."
Pinna: Hey, have a seat over here, big guy!
Gareth looks over to the side as the sound of a mug sliding along the bar's top catches his attention. He catches it, then stands up and makes his way over to the corner table. "Sure, if yer friend here doesn't mind me joinin'." He nods at the hulking chassis sitting opposite Pinna.
Pinna chuckles. "Nah, he doesn't mind. He's doin' his own thing tonight."
Gareth nods at Pinna, then takes a seat. "Then, don't mind if I do." He grins a bit across the table at Pinna, "Name's Gareth, ma'am. Thanks fer the invite."
Pinna holds out her tiny hand for a handshake. "I'm Pinna. Nice to meet you!"
Gareth reaches over and gently takes Pinna's hand, giving it a soft shake that probably belies the strength his appearance would suggest. "A pleasure to meet ye, lass!" He looks to the side, at the cloaked person next to him, "And yer friend here?"
Pinna sets her drink down. "Oh, uh gimme a sec." She walks over to her companion and disappears under its cloak. A moment later, it moves and holds out its hand for a handshake. "I'm Pinna!"
Gareth raises an eyebrow as he watches Pinna slide under the cloak, only for the suit to come alive. He blinks in bemusement, then goes to grasp its hand, only realizing as his fingers close around it for a shake that the construct is entirely made of metal. "Uh... wow... I, er... wasn't expectin' somethin' like that."
Pinna peeks out from behind the cloak, smiling. "Heh, good reaction. I always like surprisin' folks~"
Gareth looks at Pinna, then up at the construct's 'face', then back down again, clearly at a bit of a loss for words for a moment. He manages to get his wits back about him again, though. "So... what is this thing? Never seen anythin' like this before... in all the time I've been sailin' the seas in the past."
Pinna waves the construct's hand. "This here is new technology! Just a little magitech exosuit prototype for heavy lifting and construction. They're only for mice like me though, so far."
Gareth frowns thoughtfully. "New prototype, eh? I'm surprised they're lettin' folks take it this far out fer work, if it's still a prototype." He nods at Pinna, "So, yer in the construction business, I take it?"
Pinna climbs back out of the suit and sits on its lap. "Yeah, you're not wrong about that. This is kind of a big field test for my company too. They got a contract out here to build a bunch of new houses, and of course we can't bring the usual heavy machines all the way out here."
Gareth perks up a bit. "Oh, so yer here to help the Saurs build up some homes? Good, they could use some proper housin' now that they're here. Some o' the farms that yer caravan passed by could probably do with some touchin' up, too, come to think."
Pinna pats the construct's metal arm. "Huh, I haven't tried farmwork with this, but I bet I could handle it."
Gareth hums and nods. "Aye, ye and yer friends in the construction team won't be lackin' fer work while yer all here, at least."
Pinna leans back and grins. "Gotta say, the town's pretty nice, too. It's nice to get away from the city..."
Gareth smiles at that. "It's a cozy little town, aye. Usually pretty peaceful, and the folks that live here are all pretty friendly, too."
Pinna sips from her giant beer mug. "So what's your deal? You some kinda pirate?"
Gareth laughs a bit and shakes his head. "Former pirate, lass. Bounty hunter, nowadays, with me partner. The two o' us are takin' a bit o' a break right now, though, since me partner's still recoverin' from the last fights we'd gotten involved in."
Pinna 's eyes widen. "Oooh, badass! You're a badass!"
Gareth chuckles, but doesn't deny Pinna's statement. "Eh... it's a job, and I figure I've got the skills fer it, so I might as well, ye know? Ye should meet me partner, too. Fiora's her name."
Pinna grins. "You'll have to introduce me." She leans forward with her elbows on the table. "Hey...you like to arm wrestle?"
Gareth smiles and nods. "Sure, if I can catch her around town, I'll try and get somethin' set up." He tilts his head at the question, "As fer arm wrestlin'... well, sure. Fiora and I get up to that pretty often."
Pinna chuckles. "Wanna test your strength against this big guy? None of my crew can beat me~"
Gareth takes a few seconds to size up Pinna and her suit. After a few seconds of consideration, he nods and grins. "Hmm... Sure, why not? I break even with Fiora, and she's a giant o' a giraffe in her armor."
Pinna grins big and climbs back into the pilot seat, adjusting the cloak so it's no longer obscuring her. "Alright! Let's go for it~"
Gareth gets up and shifts to the other side of the table again, occupying Pinna's vacated seat as he props his arm up on the table by the elbow. He grins, clearly ready for a good challenge as he eyes the suit's 'face'. "This should be a good bit o' fun. Maybe I'll give ye a better showin' than yer friends in the construction team."
Pinna leans forward and sets her mechanical right arm on the table with a thud and grips Gareth's hand. The construct's head tilts slightly in what could read as amusement. "Alright, on your signal."
Gareth takes a few moments to adjust himself in response to the automaton's grip, then nods. "Then... on the count o' three?"
Pinna nods mechanically as she adjusts a few setting from within.
Gareth hums, then starts to count down. "Then... one... two..." He pauses for a short moment, "And three!"
Pinna holds fast against Gareth's initial push, her metal arm unflinching as she pushes back equally. "Heh...not bad~"
Gareth hums thoughtfully, the amount of strength behind his initial push being a bit less than what he uses against Fiora, his expression barely shifting despite the strength required. When he realizes he's not making any headway, he applies a little more force. "Bounty huntin' and a past o' piracy. Plenty o' strength needed."
Pinna chuckles as she pushes the throttle, increasing the power to her arm to bring it back to center. "Hmhm, but how do you stack up to the newest technological marvel~?"
Gareth feels himself losing the bit of ground he'd just gained, and pushes himself a little harder to compensate. "No idea, but I want to find out, at least."
Pinna pushes her strength by one more notch. Her suit hisses as it vents a bit of steam. "Gotta say...you've already got my crew beat."
Gareth blinks and gives the suit a curious look, content to just keep things at a deadlock for the moment. He's not going to admit it, but he's already exerting about as much force as he does when he's properly arm wrestling Fiora... "I... really, now? Maybe I should match yer friends fer fun one day, see how they do."
Pinna gives her strength another boost. "I've still got a few more notches to go, buddy." She also glances at a big switch labelled "Heavy"
Gareth hums in discontent as he feels himself losing the tug of war for the moment, then pushes himself to go a bit harder as he slowly forces things back to the center again, now turning his wrist a little to gain a leverage advantage since he's certain he won't win by strength alone. "Well, things aren't over yet, lass. Still got... a good bit o' strength to go."
Pinna 's suit starts to shake as she pushes her strength setting to the limit. "Whew...Let's see how much that is~!"
Gareth 's stoic expression starts to shift to a bit of a snarl as he tenses his arm further, now feeling like he's trying to arm wrestle a brick wall for as firm as the suit's holding against his (slightly strained) efforts. "Nngh... that suit's... somethin' else, lass..."
Pinna blinks, surprised that her opponent is still holding firm. "Whoa, you're somethin' else too!" She glances at the Heavy switch again.
Gareth lets out a huff as he adjusts his grip a little, still striving (and admittedly slowly failing) to overcome the suit. "Tends to happen... when yer partner's a 7-foot tall giraffe in full plate armor... and loves arm wrestlin'..."
Pinna grins as she sees herself gaining ground, but she also hears a concerning clank from her suit's shoulder. A little red warning light starts to blink as she begins to lose power again. "Ah! Cmon, hang in there..."
Gareth is definitely starting to lose ground as his strength begins to flag. He braces a bit more firmly as he puts everything he can into these next several seconds, like he would when he really wants to beat Fiora in a match. "G-gghn... come on, damn it..."
Pinna panics a little as she starts to lose ground again. She reaches over and flips the switch, shifting her suit into heavy lifting mode. Additional braces engage to support the metal joints, and the power output to her arm suddenly multiplies!
Gareth grits his teeth as he feels his slow return to the center stop cold. He has maybe a moment to process this before he finds himself careening sideways, his hand pressing flat against the table as the sudden surge of strength from the suit nearly unseats him. "W-wha-- aagh!"
Pinna squeaks and quickly switches her suit back to normal mode, releasing Gareth's hand from her vice grip. "Ah! I didn't hurt you, did I?"
Gareth manages to regain his balance once Pinna releases his hand, and he sits back up straight again. He spends a few seconds just flexing his fingers to work out the tension, then shakes his head as he starts to stretch out his arm. "Nah... I'm okay, lass. Might be a little sore later, but won't be any different from other stuff."
Pinna pushes aside the cloak and smiles from the pilot seat. "You actually had me maxed out. I had to switch to heavy duty or else I woulda damaged the arm." She points to the warning light, which is still blinking.
Gareth tilts his head curiously as he looks up from his arm towards Pinna. "I did, eh? Heh, well, guess I can say I held me own against that suit o' yers. Hopefully I didn't damage anythin'. That's me partner's job, most o' the time."
Pinna moves the arm experimentally, humming as she notes the response. "Hmm, feels a bit off. I'll get a look at it before work tomorrow." She grins. "Still, though, nice arm you got on ya!"
Gareth chuckles as he gives his arm another stretch. "Thank ye kindly, Pinna. Sorry if I knocked yer suit's calibrations off, though." He nods at the suit, "That's an impressive piece o' work."
Pinna playfully flexes her suit's "biceps". Credit goes to R&D for all that. They're great folks!"
Gareth tilts his head curiously. "R&D? Ye mean the scientists out o' the main Sarn magitech institute?"
Pinna nods. "They've got a few side branches focused on industrial equipment. The new stuff doesn't even explode anymore!"
Gareth hums thoughtfully as he continues to shake the tension out of his arm and hand. "Well, good to hear they're makin' some good progress on stuff like that. Makes lives easier all around, aye?"
Pinna gives a thumbs up. "I haven't exploded yet!"
Gareth chuckles and gives Pinna a thumbs up in turn. "Aye, not explodin' is always a good thing."
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LAKESIDE - LATE EVENING
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Maxime slowly pulled herself off the ground, groaning, and trying to get her barings. The feline took a moment, before she stood up, taking her longsword which had arrived next to her, and slipped the blade to where it should be at her back, the black and gold weapon settling there. "What the hell?" She flexes her fingers, before taking a breath "What am I even doing here?" Well, nothing more for it. She starts her way out, towards the more built up parts of the city that she can see. Maybe things would make more sense there? "This has to be a trick..right?"
Baldwin is at his station at the gate, having been chosen to pull an evening shift due to the guards being a little short-staffed at the moment from all the vacations that are still ongoing. As he leans against the railing a bit, his spear propped up next to him, he gazes out at the stretch of land outside of the wall, his eyes only barely adjusted to the torchlight.
Maxime was approaching the walls, heading towards the gate. She had a vague idea of what was going on, like a dream half remembered. So, the idea was to just walk in, and act like she deserved to be there, because she did, right? Trying to focus on what she knew, or remembered or just the simple idea of..well, what was real or not...Regardless of her innner turmoils, she was heading into the city, through the gate.
Baldwin notices the approaching feline and calls out to them, taking note of the gear they're carrying. As he calls out, he stands up a bit straighter, a move that at least gets the others a bit more alert if not necessarily ready for trouble. "Ho there, traveler! Good evening to you!"
Maxime looks up, startled, staring a moment at Baldwin. There's that little muscle twitch, like she was about to for a weapon, before she forces herself to relax "I just want to come in. I've travelled a long way" She sighs "A very long way to go...Hopefully I can get inside, and perhaps get some food" She nods "Yeah, food sounds really good right now. I've not eaten in so, so long"
Baldwin tilts his head curiously, noticing both the strange little twitch as well as the feline's general demeanor. "Did you lose your way while following with the most recent caravan, miss?" He deftly hops down from the platform and lands a little ways away from Maxime, "Lucky thing you followed the trail all the way through the forest. It's a long walk by foot."
Maxime: "I just saw where the city was, and headed towards that" She nods "I got left behind, yeah. I overslept" That's not a huge amount away from the truth "Is there any trouble then? I've been outside for quite a while now.."
Baldwin shakes his head a bit. "No, no trouble since the caravans were allowed to start moving again recently. I'll have to make a note, though... if you went missing, no one in the caravan reported it." He tilts his head curiously, "Could I get your name, miss? Just need that before you can be on your way, I think."
Maxime: "Oh right, it's" She hasn't used her name in so long, she's almost forgotten ".Maxime. I..uh..Yeah. No real second name, if that's something you look for"
Baldwin chuckles a bit. "Nothing out of the ordinary, really. Well, I'll just give you the quick version of the welcome, Maxime." He clears his throat, "Welcome to Respite Falls. If you're looking for food and lodgings, I'd recommend the Thirsty Minnow, which you can find just off of the caravan staging grounds along the main road in." He gestures down the lane leading deeper into the town from the gate, "And, while I doubt you'd do anything like that, we've a good guard presence, so don't cause any trouble. No matter who you are, cause trouble and you'll get thrown in jail."
Maxime: "Oh. I'm not here to cause trouble. Don't worry about that" She nods along to his words, before stepping forward "Thank you for your time. I think I'll take that offer up for the Thirsty Minnow" She adjusts the hair behind her, settling it better "Oh, I never got your name...."
Baldwin smiles kindly, offering a hand to shake. "Baldwin, Respite guard, at your service."
Maxime: "Baldwin" She nods, looking at the hand for a long moment, before reaching out and shaking it, her hand a little cold and clammy "Pleased to meet you" She attempts a smile, and manages..a rather awkward one, before her expression fades back to neutral "..Thank you for your help. I think I'll be going now. Perhaps we'll meet again?"
Baldwin doesn't seem too put off by the feeling of Maxime's hand, since she's been traveling for a while. "Likewise, Maxime. If you need anything, I'm usually easy enough to find on patrol around town. You can always ask one of the other guards to point me out, too." He dips his head, "Have a good evening, and welcome to Respite Falls again!"
Maxime: "I'll try my best anyway" She points herself into the city, towards the Minnow. Food. That's what she needs now....
Baldwin waves as he turns to take his spot back up on the gate platform. Once he's back on the platform, he turns to look at Maxime's retreating form, his eyes lingering on the rather ornate longsword strapped to her back. "Hm... probably another bounty hunter or something..."
Maxime would eventually reach the Minnow, to order herself a meal. She pauses, and considers she's going to have to pay..but..Ahh, yes. She reaches into a somewhat familiar looking bag to some, and pulls out a few coins, in order to pay.
Aelia is sitting at the bar eating at salad, poking at it with her fork in one hand, and a small, weather-beaten book in the other. She's still not gotten anything resembling a job, she certainly has attended the marketplace play of the fall of Prominence a few times, marveling at the acting and special effects.
Maxime: Maxine took her meal, a fairly simple stew, back to her table. She took a smell of it, before starting to dig into it with the spoon. She was tidy, but was eating it like she hadn't eaten anything in a week, and that this was the best thing ever...and while the stew was perfectly competant, it..well, it wasn't /that/ good.
Aelia smiles at the cat as she gets her stew, nodding her head before turning back to her book. As she finishes her salad, she pulls out a bookmark and slips it between the pages, then waves to the newcomer, waiting for her to finish up her stew. "Pardon me, don't think I've seen you here! I'm Aelia!"
Maxime: "Oh" Maxime twitches at the surprise, before again forcing herself to relax "Oh. Uh..Hello there" She pauses her eating "I'm Maxime.." She thinks there's meant to be small talk here, but she'll be damned if she knows what that small talk might be
Aelia laughs awkwardly, "Oh, just let me know if I'm being too nosy! I uh, oh golly, sorry!"
Maxime: "Oh, it's nothing like that, I just..uh..not really used to talking to people is all..."
Aelia nods, cringing a little, "Sorry, sorry! I'm not... really either? Well, not really good at it. I try though. Um... lived here long? I'm still sorta new in town. Arrived during the war... not a great time really, but things are calming down now."
Maxime: "I..um..y'know. I'm new here, I..just got here really. I've been away for so long.." She closes her eyes, like there's some real bad stuff there, before she takes a breath "I just want to take it easy now, relax..get something to eat...Try to spend time just..on myself, y'know?"
Aelia gives a sympathetic smile, "Right! Well, uh... I'll leave you to that. I definitely know what that feels like, just wanting to be yourself... alone with yourself... hmm." She turns back to the bar, and lifts up her book again. Then, she glances back, "Uh, but if you do want to talk, well, here I am!" She forces a laugh then opens the book.
Maxime: "Ah..." She pauses, awkwardly, and goes back to her meal After another few minutes "Well..um..what is there to do around here?"
Aelia chuckles, "Not a lot, sadly. I mean, there's plenty to do! But if you're looking to relax, there's the waterfall, and there's a small troupe that puts on a play in the market for the kids. I'm trying to build up the courage to join them, myself."
Maxime: "The one outside the town?" She shakes her head "No! I mean..No..I've been, it..ah..it didn't agree with me, but..um..the plays.." She winces again "No..um..maybe not that either..Uh..I'm sure there's other stuff though"
Aelia shrugs, "There's some cute little restaurants, and a couple clothing stores... this is kind of a frontier town though. Lots of folks just trying to get by. Especially with all the recent hardships."
Maxime: "Yeah.." She didn't know about the hardships, or at least the ones being talked about, except..a vague memory, of..some sort of attack..It's all so confusing. She closes her eyes, and surpresses all that "I..well, hopefully I can find something. I'm just..so tired"
Aelia nods, "It's a long trip to get here... and exhausting. This is an inn and tavern, so they got rooms upstairs too." She hums, "You do seem..." She shakes her head, "Ah, well, I'm still sorta looking for what to do too."
Maxime: "I've..been through a lot" She sighs, and rubs her head "I..might not really know how to relax, if I'm being honest"
Aelia frowns, hesitating, "Oh... well... I kinda understand... but I probably don't. I've had a lot of stress and weirdness lately, but I'm doing my best to cope. If there's anything I can do to help, I'll do my best!"
Maxime shakes her head "I..if I don't know what to do, I don't think I should expect anyone else to either" She finishes her meal, before getting up, and rolling her shoulders a little "..Thank you Aelia..but..I ..think I want to head out, take a walk..try to..work some stuff out, okay?"
Aelia hesitates, about to rise, then sits back in her seat, "Yeah. I hope you find something, Maxime."
Maxime: "I..hope so two" With that, she departs out, with a certain sadness about her.
Narrator: It would take a little to sink in, but..the way she moved, the little subtle physical movements, they were also very similar to Sammi, perhaps a little bit different to account for different joints fitting together, but overall? Nigh identical...