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THE THIRSTY MINNOW - EARLY EVENING
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Gareth yawns a bit as he steps into the Minnow from the street, having spent a large chunk of the day out by the bay continuing to work on his house. The last time he'd stopped by Sammi's waterfall, she didn't seem to be around, so he's been largely unoccupied as of late outside of working on his own little house, and helping Brunilda and Fiora repair theirs. After a long day of work, however, he makes his way over to the counter to get himself a well-earned drink and hearty meal.
Annika was inside, already starting her meal. She often came down here after her work day ended, but before it was time to pick up Oliver from his minders. Just a little time to unwind, and relax. "Oh, Hey Gareth" She gives him a small wave from her table "Keeping well?" She was dressed neatly, a long skirt, and a matching blouse, both a gentle naturey green, her only 'jewellery' being a few ribbons tied into the end of her tails.
Gareth hums and looks around as he waits for his order to arrive, only to smile and wave in turn when he sees Annika. "Oh, evenin', Annika. Aye, I've been doin' well enough. How've ye been?"
Annika: "Working away. You know how it is. Enjoying everything having calmed down after all that nastiness recently. How about yourself?"
Gareth nods. "Aye, it's nice to be back to calmer things fer a while. Hopefully Oliver's been handlin' things alright since all this started, at least?" He nods at Annika, "And hopefully ye've been recoverin' alright as well, since ye were in the thick o' things with Victoria."
Annika: "Yeah" She nods back to him "Oliver is fine..He was a bit clingy when I first got back, I think someone was telling him a bit too much about what was going on out there, but he's settled down now, and yeah" She rubs her ear gently "Me and Victoria made a good team, so it made sense to keep things together when everyone needed people working together"
Gareth smiles at that. "Aye, folks tend to work better with others they're familiar with, faster reactions and better confidence, things like that. Glad to hear Oliver's okay, too." He pauses, then tilts his head, "Speakin' o' Victoria, how's she doin'? Seen her around here and there since this all wrapped up, but never really had a chance to chat or anythin' since the Prominence."
Annika: "Oh! She's doing pretty good! We've stayed friends after the whole deal" She coughs "Good Friends" It's very embarrassing honestly to be talking about stuff like that! Her in a relationship! Silly to think! Did Victoria ever even say they were dating? Better not to say too much until she's sure... "I think she's back doing guard stuff again?"
Gareth thinks for a few moments, then nods. "Mmh, I think so, aye. All the guards have been busy gettin' back into the routine o' things. Best as I can tell from the trainin' ground chatter, folks are rotatin' vacation time to rest up a bit."
Annika: "Victoria has been uh..resting a bit, around my place" Ahem "I think it's because my bed is softer...y'know, I made a point to invest in the most expensive I could afford" She pauses briefly
Annika considers what she just said
Annika quietly goes bright red, hoping he didn't notice
Gareth notices Annika's blush before he really responds, so, deciding to spare her the embarrassment, he simply nods. "Good to hear ye've been helpin' her unwind a bit. Lass needs some good rest and relaxation... ye both do since ye were in the Prominence before that dragon woke up."
Annika: "Yeah, Victoria bolted before that quite happened, and I went after her" She sighs "She was in a bit of rough shape, but I was able to be there for her, and thankfully...that was enough"
Gareth hums a bit. "That sort o' thing, it's hard to get all the way through. Ye both got out safe, though, so that's the main thing, aye? And now with all that business done, things can get back to somethin' more normal again."
Annika: "Uh.." She considers "Yeah, though with everything that's gone on, I don't even know what normal means anymore..." She flicks her tails "This wasn't normal for a long time, and then..well, me and Victoria being...friends wasn't normal..but that's feeling normal?" She shrugs "Well, so long as everyone is happy?"
Gareth nods slowly. "Aye, if fightin' goes on fer long enough, it's hard to know what 'normal' used to be. Some folks can bounce back from that faster than others, but ye just need to support each other all the same."
Annika: "That's the idea at least" She rubs her fingers through her hair thoughtfully "What about you and uh.." She clicks her fingers "Sammi, was it?"
Gareth hums quietly. "We've been doin' alright, though I've not seen her recently. Last I'd heard, she was plannin' to do that ritual with Xochi not that long ago, so I'm guessin' they might still be workin' on that somewhere away from the waterfall pond."
Annika: "Oh. That would be good for Xochi I think. They must be gone off somewhere, since I don't think I've seen Xochi around either. Hope it goes well for them though!"
Gareth nods in agreement. "Aye, it seemed to be somethin' pretty important fer Xochi. If it's somethin' magic, it'll probably take a little while, still."
Annika: "I couldn't tell you. It seems everyone has magic that works differently. Like..mine just sorta works without any prep" She wiggles a finger in the air, and a muffin appears "I couldn't imagine how I'd do a ritual type thing"
Gareth shrugs as he looks over at the muffin, only to get momentarily distracted by the appearance of his own food and drink. "Neither can I. I had magic fer a little bit, but the owner o' the magic got it back the other day. Even then, I didn't understand magic any better than before."
Annika: "For me it's sort of like a muscle, if you pull it one way you get something, pull it another you get..a muffin" She puts it on the table in front of her, and picks at it "A very average muffin, sadly"
Gareth chuckles as he looks over at the muffin in front of Annika again. "Average, maybe, but still a muffin pulled out o' thin air by magic. Even if I had that magic still, I wouldn't be any closer to figurin' out how it worked."
Annika: "Oh, I leave that to the Librarians. They'd tell you about it, with lots of big words. I'm going to stick to working out how to get chocolate chips into the muffin"
Gareth smiles as he starts in on his meal. "That'll be quite a tasty thing to figure out, I'm sure. Just need to be careful ye don't overindulge once ye do figure it out. Fudge stomachaches aren't any fun, speakin' after seein' Fiora complainin' about one once a while back."
Annika: "Oh, well, I think it should be fine. Since..I need the energy to make the muffin, right? I can't gain weight by eating muffins I make myself"
Annika: "..I don't think?"
Gareth blinks at that bit of information. "...Huh. Might be somethin' worth figurin' out, in that case? Carefully, o' course."
Annika: "Maybe? I'd have to wait until I have muffins I want to eat more than one of..."
Gareth chuckles again. "Fair enough. I can't imagine the plain muffins are all too appetizin'. Needs a little somethin' extra in them, aye?"
Annika: "That's the idea..."
Gareth hums as he takes a sip of his drink. "Well... if ye figure it out, best try to avoid lettin' Fiora catch wind o' it. Lass loves fudge, especially the stuff from Sarn. She'd never let ye have a moment fer yerself, I think."
Annika: "Hmm...Fudge" She focuses...and ..another muffin poofs into existance, abet one in the shape of a block of fudge. She tries some "Ehhhh"
Annika: "Okay, I..think that I need to work on that more, my food creation is locked to muffins" She stretches idly "I should get going. See you around later?"
Gareth reaches over and curiously taps the fudge-muffin with a nail, chuckling when he realizes what it's supposed to be. He looks up at Annika with a smile and a nod. "Aye, it's gettin' a little late. I'll be seein' ye around some time, Annika. If ye run into Victoria, tell her I said hi, hm?" He gives her a bit of a salute with his mug, "Have a good evenin'!"
Annika: "Will do!" She nods "Feel free to try the snacks I left, they're safe..they just don't taste great"
Narrator: The fudge muffin tastes..well, somewhere between fudge, and muffin. it's a poor mix.
Gareth hums as he nibbles on the muffin once Annika departs. The taste is... honestly far better than what he's occasionally had to deal with on ships in the past, though the texture is definitely throwing his taste buds for a loop. On the right track, just... not there yet. He shrugs after a moment and polishes off the rest of the muffin while continuing with his meal.