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THE THIRSTY MINNOW - LATE AFTERNOON
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Mirriam moseys on down the stairs after dropping off her empty satchels and coat, leaving the roo's travel-toned figure less obscured than during the day. She settles into a seat at the end of the bar, near the tables, laser focused on the cold water she'd ordered on getting back. She downs half of the tall glass before even settling onto the stool, sighing contentedly.
Nesseth yawns a bit as he steps into the Minnow, finally having gotten off of work. His duty of sitting behind Louma's desk and taking care of all the reports for the last while has left him feeling, weirdly, more tired than he would have been on a patrol. However, how much of that is his chronic tiredness as of late isn't something he's sure of, but he's at least confident that desk duty is boring. He beelines for the counter and orders himself a nice, cold drink to start the wrap-up for the afternoon.
Mirriam glances at the person who's approached the bar to her left, automatically greeting him in a chipper voice, "Oh hello Nesseth!" She pauses for a moment, blushing a bit as she wonders if she should've just snuck away from the tired looking lizard. Bit late now. "Still exhausted by scalin' those mountains of paper, cher?"
Nesseth looks around at almost the same moment his drink gets set in front of him, and he waves his free hand as he turns to face Mirriam. "Evening, Mirriam!" Despite his appearance, he at least seems to be pretty alert at the moment, "Mostly just bored dealing with piles of papers all saying almost the same thing over and over. There are only so many times one can read "nothing to report" before you start to tune out."
Mirriam chuckles, nodding a bit. "Suppose it takes someone as dull as Louma to put up with it, mmh? Er not sayin' you're as dull as she. Or anythin' like that." She takes a sip of her water, looking away for a moment.
Nesseth laughs a bit as he picks his drink up and goes to join Mirriam at her table. "Louma's more just a stick in the mud than outright dull, I'd say. She's got a sense of adventure, but she holds herself back a bit too much."
Mirriam scoffs, shrugging. "Still conf'scated a bag of mail. Illegal that. Just cause it smelled vaguely sulfurish. A shipment of sulfur-whatever for Hooktail! OH! Whatever happened to the weird ol' monkey? Haven't seen'm around the cafes lately, hadn't really thought t'ask anyone though."
Nesseth shrugs a little and shakes his head. "Last I'd heard, he'd gone with the last group of Explorers Guild members on an expedition. Haven't seen or heard from them in a while." He hums a bit, then shrugs again, "The Saurs and the frogfolk haven't seen them either as far as I've heard, so... no idea. I hope they're all okay, wherever they went off to."
Mirriam blinks, looking to her glass a bit more soberly. "O-oh... I ah, didn't know that. Wouldn'a spoken so light of 'im if I did. Yeah, hope they get back alright." She is silent for a few moments, looking to Nesseth after the pause. "You sleeping any better, vren?"
Nesseth doesn't seem to bothered by talking about the Explorers, since they're something of a trailblazers' guild anyway, and that's kind of their job. He smiles, but shrugs at the question. "Hard to say. Still got nightmares waking me up, but I can get back to sleep pretty readily most times. I still feel tired, though, even with enough sleep."
Mirriam pats his shoulder, shaking her head. "I hope ya get over whatever's gotcha off. You visit the doc like I ordered ya to?"
Nesseth nods. "Yeah, Plume thinks it's probably battle fatigue. They suggested something to help make me sleep easier without dreams, but... we both agreed that wasn't a good long-term solution." He pauses, then adds, "And they examined me the next morning. Nothing wrong physically, aside from the scarring on my arm and chest."
Mirriam chuckles quietly, giving him a bit of a sideways glance. "Yea, betcha got examined the evening before pretty good, hm~?"
Nesseth chuckles a little, blushing slightly under his scales. "Well... maybe. Went out for a nice dinner and such first, of course. First time in a while that Plume actually had a chance to really rest."
Mirriam sticks her tongue out at Nesseth before nodding. "Good, so 'least some rumors're true. Well I know you get the best care, you sly lizard." She looks back to her glass, humming.
Aelia steps down into the bar, yawning slightly as her hooves lightly hit upon the steps. She moves towards the bar, ordering her usual morning juice and, seeing the sunlight outside, sighs and gets a lunch salad as well. She politely nods to the other two, though doesn't quite intrude herself in the conversation.
Mirriam looks toward Aelia, politely waving at her as well before turning to Nesseth. She lowers her voice enough that she hopes Aelia can't hear, speaking to Nesseth. "See not there's a rumor I don' think is true. Some sayin' that gal's bein hid by some wolf lady. Only sneaks out when the wolf lady's not about. But like, that don' make sense, right?"
Nesseth waves at Aelia as well, then leans in a little to hear what Mirriam is saying, and he responds in a similar undertone. "Being hidden? What, like... kidnapping or something?" He steals a quick glance at Aelia for a moment, then shrugs, "She doesn't seem in distress or anything like that."
Aelia smiles at the two, then turns to sip her juice, not thinking much of their conversation. She seems a little worn down, but not altogether unhappy or in distress, for certain.
Mirriam nods, glancing at Aelia as well. "Yeah, s'what makes me think it's guff."
Nesseth hums in agreement. "Maybe they just... I don't know, eloped or something? Certainly better than kidnapping."
Mirriam shrugs. "Never seen'm together, but maybe?"
Aelia eyes the two next to her again while waiting on the salad. She's trying not to overhear things, but can't help but feel like she interrupted something. "Pardon me if I interrupted... I'll uh, I'll go back to my room once the barkeep brings out my salad."
Nesseth looks around and shakes his head with a smile. "Don't worry, miss, you're not interrupting or anything."
Mirriam sits upright when Aelia addresses them, shaking her head as well. "Don't be startled off by us conspiratin'! We're just suspicious is all!" She chuckles, pointing at Nesseth. "S'ok though, he's a Guard sittin' Captain, nothin' to worry 'bout."
Aelia blinks, then dips her head, "Oh, um, okay, sorry. Um... s-suspicious? Of me? Oh gosh..." She does suddenly look more than a little put-upon without even an accusation leveled against her, going a bit red faced under the imagined spotlight, "Um... well, I'm just a uh, a dancer, really. Nothing special. I'm Aelia, by the way."
Mirriam blinks, shaking her head a bit harder. "No no no, was a joke! like we're suspicious people, not suspicious o'you! Sorry, Aelia!" She chuckles nervously, glancing at Nesseth. "M'name's Mirriam, it's nice t'meet ya!"
Nesseth sighs a bit at Mirriam's floundering, but smiles reassuringly at Aelia. "And I'm Nesseth. Like Mirriam said, I'm a lieutenant of the town guard." He dips his head, "Good to meet you, Aelia."
Aelia laughs aloud in relief, possibly a little too loudly and a little too long. "Ha! G-good! Good! Nothing suspicious about me! So um, I guess... I guess I should keep an eye on you two then, r-right? That's just a joke. S-sorry."
Mirriam nudges Nesseth, muttering more to him. "'Nother eye on ya, stud." She grins at Aelia. "No need t'be sorry, mince my words sometimes!"
Nesseth sways a little at the nudge and shakes his head a little. He winds up smiling again after a short moment. "I would hope there's nothing suspicious about you, Aelia. If anything, the suspicious one out of the three of us would be Mirriam." He shoots Mirriam a cheeky grin as he says that.
Mirriam points at herself, giving him a shocked expression. "Y'say that like I- yeah okay maybe a bit."
Aelia continues to laugh nervously, but eases back down in her seat as the attention seems to be off of her, "You don't um... you don't seem all that suspicious?" She eyes Nesseth, "You're a Guard..." Then back to Mirriam, "Are you a um... a bounty hunter or a mercenary or something?"
Mirriam tries not to laugh as she takes a drink. "N-no! I don't look rough'n'tumble do I? Deliver mail and packs, vren. That's my stake in this place!" She tilts her head to look past Nesseth better. "So a dancer, emh? Like stage or fancy show or what?"
Nesseth leans back a little, scooting his chair a bit so all three can converse a bit more readily. "Mirriam's a courier, so all she's guilty of is being really good at fast deliveries." He tilts his head curiously, "You're a dancer, Aelia? That sounds neat."
Aelia listens intently, considering. But her expression drops at Mirriam's last question. "Like former, I suppose. It was stage. I'd like to do that again someday..."
Mirriam hums, looking to Nesseth. "Summer festival still get all done up right in the park? They had a stage the one year yeah?"
Nesseth hums and nods at Mirriam's question. "Yeah, mostly musical performances, but there have been a couple of folks taking part in small acting plays and the like recently."
Aelia nods, "I've watched them. A few times... trying to build up the courage to join, but my circumstances..." She trails off and looks away from the pair.
Mirriam perks up at the mention of circumstances, humming to herself. "Well, I do hop t'get a chance t'see ya up on stage! Fer now though, this bounty hunter needs t'get a scrubbin' in." She stands up from her seat, patting Nesseth on the shoulder as she steps past him. "Good afternoon'n all, you too. Nice t'meet you, Aelia!" She heads for the staircase without much more delay.
Nesseth waves at Mirriam as the roo takes her leave. "Have a good evening, Mirriam. Talk to you again soon, hopefully!"
Aelia waves as well, "Oh um, nice to meet you too, Ms Mirriam!" She turns back to Nesseth with a strange look on her face, "I thought she said she was a courier, not a bounty hunter?"
Nesseth shrugs as he turns back to talk with Aelia. "She's just joking around. She's a courier, and you'll see her running all over town pretty much every morning." He chuckles, "She just has a slightly odd sense of humor."
Aelia pauses, then laughs again, a bit more sincerely at least, "Oh. I see. I'm not used to that kind of humor I guess. Back home, everyone was always so... serious."
Nesseth tilts his head a bit. "Back home? I'm guessing you're not from Orela, in that case." He shakes his head, "Or at least, not from anywhere in Orela that I'm familiar with."
Aelia shakes her head. "Um, no... I'm from Sarn. Glaushire to be exact. Things were a lot different there than here."
Nesseth perks up a bit. "Oh! The main city, hm? I've only been there a couple of times, but yeah... I remember how serious folks tended to be around that place."
Aelia nods, "The main city, in the upper district. I performed there, and it was... it got tense." She reaches up to cross her chest and rub her shoulder. "No real room for errors. Guess that's sorta why I ended up in Respite!"
Nesseth hums, nodding. "Well, if there's one thing going for Respite, we're generally much more relaxed about things. Everyone makes mistakes, after all."
Aelia sips her juice. "That is kind of nice to hear. In a weird way. Things were really tense here when I showed up too. But everyone's bounced back and rallied. It's kinda inspiring. I'm doing my best to... well, do my best."
Nesseth sighs a bit. "Yeah... if I'm not mistaken, you were with the caravan that got attacked on the way into town, with that bounty hunter, Gareth, and a few others. Glad to say that the town's a lot more relaxed than first impressions might have shown at that time."
Aelia nods. "I don't uh... I don't remember much after that whole incident. But I got settled in pretty quickly." She's a little evasive, afterall, it wasn't exactly 'her' who arrived in town after that attack. "I'm mostly doing odd jobs around town now. I can't really hold down any kind of permanent position... so uh... that's why I've not volunteered to help with the stage plays in the market."
Nesseth tilts his head curiously. "Some difficulties, I'm guessing? We're always looking for folks to help out however they can, of course." He hums quietly, nodding, "Well... hopefully you're able to get back into what you enjoy doing. Wouldn't want to waste that talent, right?"
Aelia chuckles, blushing slightly, "You flatter me! You've never even seen me perform! I dream of building a theater here in Respite, maybe. If I could find those kinds of funds."
Nesseth shrugs and smiles. "I mean... you're a dedicated dancer with experience performing in front of Sarn's nobility... so you've got to have a fair bit of talent, I figure." He thinks for a few moments, then shrugs, "For funding... you might be able to arrange something with the folks that oversee the town? Probably would help to get a few folks interested in the idea, too, just to have a bunch of performers ready for it, too."
Aelia: "I've asked around to both... but one big contributor would really be able to pull the whole thing together. Until I find someone with those means, I'm just managing, day to day." She bows her head again, "And you are most complementary, thank you."
Narrator: The two continue to exchange some pleasantries as Aelia's food is delivered, and they eventually part ways.
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OUTSKIRTS OF RESPITE FALLS - DUSK
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Elizabeth walks slowly into the brush outside of the Southern walls, having been warned to take care of herself by the guard. She definitely did not look even as confident as she looked going by... which is to say, not confident at all. But something - namely, her magic - pulls her here tonight. 'There's got to be a presence here... very strong...', she murmurs to herself.
Melia is drifting around and beyond the treeline, her glow of magic - of being, really - shining brightly to any magic-sensitive skunk that would happen be walking by. The elemental is in a cheery mood, having spent the entire day just making this particular copse of woods 'better', whatever that actually means.
Elizabeth pauses as she sees the green glowy... being. That... whatever that is, that can't be her magic? And yet, the pull is as obvious as it is irresistible to the former witch. "H... hello, there.", she finally calls out after stepping near the treeline.
Melia pauses in her glowy frolicking, manifesting in her actual lizard form in front of Elizabeth: "Oh! Hi there! Can I hug you? Cause I like hugs, and you look very huggable!" Without actually waiting for answer, the elemental gives the skunk lady a surprisingly warm and tender hug, before letting go just as quickly and smiling brightly.
Elizabeth blinks several times at this, any objection to this invasion of personal space dying at the sheer audacity of it for a moment. She stares at the... lizard? For several seconds before gathering herself: "Wait the... what did... you can't just do that!"
Melia grins: "But I just did, and no take-backsies!" She giggles: "So hi. What brings you here? Not many wander outside the walls without some kind of hunting-y purpose. I tell you, that spotty cat is mean..." She looks aside, then back to Elizabeth, grinning once more.
Elizabeth attempts to follow the collision of trains of thought, but then just shakes her head (and quickly dusts off some green... stuff, from her dress): "...well, to be clear..." She lifts her hands, pawing her magic slightly towards Melia and is suddenly very, very certain: "...well. You ARE my magic, aren't you."
Melia blinks several times in turn: "...nooo, I'm not? I'm nature. And like, elemental and stuff. Probably. Although I don't wear pants." She looks down at herself as though to double-check this fact. "So I'm not like the others, not quite?"
Elizabeth pauses again: "...what."
Melia nodnods: "So I obviously can't be your magic. I manifested as a copy of this herbalist around here, Erika? She's sorta nice, if a bit scatterbrained and it turns out while I thought I was her, I really wasn't and it kinda got to an ugly point and... long story?"
Elizabeth looks at Melia evenly: "...try me. I'm an old lady, time is what I have."
Melia blinks: "Oh! Okay. Although you don't look old I guess, but I don't like know all these conventions about stuff so maybe you are? But anyway yeah, few friend-folks around did this ritual thing to sever me from the garden, and it sort of worked but sort of didn't and I ended up residing in Tarbin - he's nice - for a while til we went our separate ways because of another mess-up with the Flow..."
Elizabeth starts to object a bit, but stops herself when she realizes the elemental is just taking a deep breath.
Melia continues: "...and while it wasn't like the bestes outcome as I can't really go into him anymore, I guess I can appreciate him not liking being penetrated by me and stuff. So now I'm my own elemental, making my own way in the world... or at least Respite, don't really know all that much about the world, but one step at a time, you know?"
Elizabeth just stares at the lizard elemental for a bit, trying to find where to go from here. "But you... you ARE my magic. Made of it. I can feel it. Tug at it..." She does just that, a pull that Melia most certainly feels, making the elemental squeak.
Melia stares at Elizabeth: "...wait, so if you... if you made me... why?! I was aimless, and thought I was someone else!" The elemental is suddenly a lot less giggly.
Elizabeth pauses and takes a step back as she notes the branches of the surrounding trees bending ever-so-slightly towards her. Better choose her next words carefully. "I... wait. I did not create you! But you are my magic..." She pauses, frowns and finally facepalms: "That damn generator."
Melia blinks as her hostility dies down: "Wait what? What's a generator to do with all of this?"
Elizabeth sighs deeply as she recounts her tale: "I helped to charge the town's current generator with my magic. I... overstepped my abilities, and the thing sort of blew into my face. I heard recently that my magic sort of... scattered around." She pauses, looking at Melia studiously: "When did you... appear?"
Melia tilts her head, frills swaying as she does: "I didn't. I was... well, wasn't, Erika, like? So I have her memories, sorta? But like I'm not her obviously, I'm way better looking even without pants, not that she really wears any."
Elizabeth swallows a frustrated sigh before continuing: "So you do not recall... great. I will just have to trust my suspicion then. I created you, even if it wasn't consciously to any degree."
Melia frowns and lets out a small growl: "So it was you... so, what now?"
Elizabeth looks around. "Now... now I take your magic, which is really my magic, back." She lifts her hands, dark purple glow surrounding and almost obscuring them before said glowy mist reaches out towards Melia.
Melia reacts with a pained yelp as the first tendril of Elizabeth's magic reaches her. Part of the magic does feel like it wants to flow to the skunk... but a far greater part does not, and lashes out, forcing the purple mist out from near the elemental.
Elizabeth is tripped by a root underneath her, interrupting her flow and making her reach flow back into herself, severing the attempted to connection. As she looks up, the skunk feels genuine fear for the first time since she left Glaushire that one night.
Melia glows bright green, the foliage, brush and branches around the pair growing thicker and more lively by the second: "You can't! You won't! Get out!" Her voice is broken and torn, no small of amount of pain within right now.
Elizabeth stares: "But... but you..." She gathers her wits slightly more, frowning: "You're mine! Made by me, and the magic is mine!"
Melia narrows her glowing, bright eyes: "Not anymore."
Elizabeth finds herself very roughly 'delivered' outside the thicket by tree branches that don't really care if the skunk gets hurt, while the elemental vanishes from sight soon as Elizabeth is not looking. She finds herself on her back in the grass, staring into the thicket that has turned impenetrable.
Elizabeth stares for a long while, processing what just happened. Eventually she gets up, though not without a considerable amount of pain as a reminder of her actions. This... was not as easy as she thought. 'That elemental is powerful,' she muses to no one in particular as she limps her way back to town...