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RESPITE BARRACKS - MID-AFTERNOON
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Nesseth yawns widely, his arms stretching high into the air as he exits the barracks, another long day of work behind Louma's desk complete. He drops his arms and finishes the yawn a few seconds later, feeling marginally more refreshed for the moment after that as he considers where he should go for some food... the Minnow, or straight home. He looks around a bit as he thinks, trying to decide.
Mirriam spots Nesseth as he leaves the barracks, the roo free of her mail satchels but still dressed in her uniform. She looks about the street for a moment before she gets up from the bench she'd been resting on, waving to Nesseth. "Afternoon, cher! Patrollin' the old office again, hm?"
Nesseth spots Mirriam waving at him as his tracking gaze sweeps towards the bench. He blinks, then waves with a smile as he makes his way over. "Oh, hey there, Mirriam. Yeah, still waiting on Louma to come back from her vacation. She should be back at work soon, though."
Mirriam tsks, shaking her head a bit. "Can't believe the nerve of her, eh? Jus' leavin' ya on your own ta run the entire guard. Should giv'er a good whippin' when she gets back, cher. Y'know, really humiliate 'er. In public." She giggles. "I mean beat'er in the sparrin' ring, of course."
Nesseth chuckles and shakes his head a bit. "Much as I like the idea of that, I might need to wait until I'm better rested. Last thing I need is to lose the match because I fell asleep mid-swing or something." He grins, "But I'm thankfully not running the entire guard. One small blessing, since I work with the other captains."
Mirriam frowns, stepping a bit closer to Nesseth. "Still haven't been sleeping well, Ness? I thought you said yer doctor had something you could use ta help?"
Nesseth chuckles again, still smiling. "Well, they suggested some medications, but neither of us really wanted to go that route. I don't need to get reliant on that stuff, even if it'd help in the short term."
Mirriam sighs, shaking her head. "Ya got more logic in ya head with those years, mh?" She crosses her arms. "Wish I had better advice for ya, cher, but trouble sleepin' aint in my range of experience."
Nesseth shrugs a little. "Not that much more logic than what I had before, I think. Being part of the guard does change up a bit of perspective, I guess though." He pauses, then shoots Mirriam a dubious smile, "...And, wait, weren't you the one keeping me up late just hanging out in the past, anyway?"
Mirriam laughs, setting her hand on her hip. "Yea, but that ain't trouble sleepin', that was time well spent! Much like a coupl'a weeks ago, very delib'rate time spent not tryin' ta sleep." She grins at him briefly with a blush, before clearing her throat and glancing away.
Nesseth gives Mirriam a knowing grin in turn. "Ahh, so deliberate or not is the difference, hm? Fair enough. Hanging out, however we do that, is always good fun with you, after all."
Mirriam smiles, looking back to Nesseth. "Yeah, you too, vren. Sorry I've been kinda flaky. What with ya busy here, and me tryin' ta settle back in, can't find a place ta live outside the Minnow, all that fun."
Nesseth smiles and shakes his head. "It's fine, Mirriam. I was a little worried you were avoiding me or something, but yeah... I guess I've been super busy lately." He pauses, then gives her a curious look. "You're having trouble getting a space in town? Haven't the construction workers been busy building up stuff for all the new folks?"
Mirriam shifts her weight a bit when Nesseth mentions avoiding him, but moves on to the other topic right away. "Mh, yea but I don't want to toss out that much money right away. Plus folks that were here 'fore me deserve the first pick, y'know?"
Nesseth shrugs, noting the shifting of position Mirriam does as he talks. "Mmh, maybe? Still, having your own place would make things a lot easier, right? Might as well try and reserve a plot for yourself before all the good ones are taken up."
Mirriam chuckles quietly, shrugging. "Far as i seen, all the good ones are taken... Or too pricey." She rubs her arm, looking down for a moment. "I ah... Only brought my own savings from home. Didn' wanna burden Pa, eh? Thought it'd still be somewhat free pickin' out this way but ya all spread the farms out right quick!"
Nesseth hums and nods. "Yeah... the farms grew out of the town pretty fast once folks really started settling in a bit more over the last few years. Folks figured out that the short rainy season is still good enough to get some good crops going out on the plains." He pauses, "How's your savings holding up, then? Hopefully renting that room at the Minnow isn't killing you."
Mirriam shakes her head, relaxing a bit the longer they stay on this topic. "No. If I weren't spending anything at the market, would actually be makin' a good livin'. Keepin' ahead of my tab, fasure. Lotsa folks 'round here too busy to drop stuff off all across town."
Nesseth chuckles. "I'll bet. The larger the town gets, the more they'll need speedy couriers with good legs." He glances down at Mirriam's legs for a moment, then smiles as he shifts his eyes back up, "And, though I might be biased, you're one of the best couriers, I think."
Mirriam blushes as he looks down, shifting just enough that the fabric of her pants tightens around her muscly legs. "Oh, thought ya were gonna be surprisin'ly forward what with that hungry look'a yours." She giggles, shrugging at the compliment. "I know it, family's the best land couriers on Sarn. Proven. Like actually, wit' races and ev'rythin'."
Nesseth smirks at Mirriam, only to get thrown off a little by the latter part of her statement. "...There are courier races in Sarn? Huh... I must have missed them when I passed through before coming here way back when..." He laughs a little after a moment and grins again, "And, I mean... that aside, I could always be more forward, if you want."
Mirriam continues blushing, smiling at him before glancing away. "Yer fun, Ness, an' trust me I'd love ta take ya up on that, but I don' wanna make things hard fer ya and Erika..."
Nesseth hums curiously. "Making things hard for me and Erika? How so?"
Mirriam tilts her head, looking to Nesseth. "Well with that whole thing at the Minnow after we all fucked at the bath house, Ness. She got all..." She makes a meaningless, but somehow still exaggerated gesture with her arms, "Feelin' lovey or whatever. It's good she probably realized it was for you, not me. I don't want ta get her upset with ya if we keep foolin' about."
Nesseth hums at that, nodding in thought. "Mmh, I can see where you're coming from, there." He shakes his head a bit with a smile, "But... I don't think Erika will mind with the occasional bit of fooling around. She's already understanding of the thing with Vix and Plume, after all."
Mirriam crosses her arms, humming. "Suppose that's true, but ain't neither of them broke her heart, either..." She sighs, glancing Southward. "S'pose I should stop cowerin' and go talk ta her."
Nesseth follows Mirriam's gaze to the south, then glances back at her. "You've not talked with Erika since then, I take it?"
Mirriam looks to the ground, sitting on the armrest of the bench. "Nah... Not really out of avoiding her... Alright a little bit. I ain't good at that stuff, cher. I tried tellin' myself ta go to her garden 'n talk. The one time I was on the street and 'bout to, I caught yer tail goin' inta the alley an' just kept walkin'. It's been gettin' on so long now, I don't know what I'd say. Or what she'll say."
Nesseth moves over next to Mirriam and gives her a one-armed hug around the shoulders. "Honestly...? Just try and talk with her like you would normally. Yeah, you two had a thing at the bathhouse with me, and there was a misunderstanding, but... you two want to stay friends, so that doesn't have to change."
Mirriam leans against Nesseth, wrapping her arms around his waist and pushing her cheek against his chest. She sighs, nodding a little. "Yea... Would be nice ta have both of ya back." She chuckles after a minute of enjoying the hug. "Then I don't gotta worry, and can help ya sleep like a log whenever ya need it."
Nesseth wraps his other arm around Mirriam and hugs her close with a smile. "Well, the last hurdle for that would just be to talk with Erika, hm? Tell you what, then... you go and talk to Erika when you can, get all that resolved, and I'll treat you to dinner, your choice of place. How's that sound?"
Mirriam blinks up at Nesseth , giggling. "Well if there's gonna be food involved, how can I say no, cher?" She sighs, giving him a squeeze. "Yer so good at helpin' everyone. I hate that I can't really give ya any help back fer what'cha goin'though..."
Nesseth shrugs a bit, continuing to hug the roo. "I just help how I can, is all. Some things, I know I can't help with as much as I want to." He sighs a little, "Much like this stuff is... something I'll have to figure out myself, I think."
Mirriam releases Nesseth from the hug, standing up with a sigh. "Ya are a thick-scaled adventurer, after all." She leans forward to give him a kiss on the end of his snout. "Take care, yeah? I'm gonna go find me an okapi ta apologize to."
Nesseth releases Mirriam from his hug as she stands up. He smiles at the kiss on his snout. "I'll do my best, Mirriam. You do the same, alright? And once you've hashed things out with Erika, let me know how it all went, hm?"
Mirriam nods, smiling warmly at him. "I will~ Thank ya, Nesseth. Yer good people." She turns to walk by him, heading in the general direction of Erika's place. Knowing he's probably turned to watch her go, the roo doesn't spare any sway in her step.
Nesseth is indeed watching Mirriam as she walks by, and also spares a moment to tease the tip of his tail against her calf as she passes. He's certainly appreciative of the movements she's showing off, and simply smiles, happy to know that a couple of old friends are going to (hopefully) reconcile soon.