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THE THIRSTY MINNOW - EVENING
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Louma slithers through the doors of the familiar tavern, though she's not been to visit in just over a month. She pauses as the door closes, scanning the room with more than double the guests it'd have a year before. She sighs quietly, starting to make her way across to the bar while still looking about.
Nesseth is sitting at the end of the counter, having decided on taking a little time to himself for the start of his 'second' vacation. The extra sleep he's been getting seems to have been helping a bit, with the bags under his eyes being less pronounced though still present due to the recurring nightmares. He's currently got nothing more than a small, now empty plate and a giant glass of ice water in front of him, and is currently staring off into space in contemplation about something or other... or just staring off into space in general.
Louma perks up a bit when she spots who she was kind of hoping to find here, picking up her pace as she moves to meet up with Nesseth. Clearing her throat, she nods to him. "Evening. Would you mind if I join you, Nesseth?"
Nesseth looks around upon hearing someone clearing their throat, only to smile a bit and nod at the open space next to him. "Evening, Louma. Feel free if you like. I'm just resting at the moment."
Louma chuckles, settling to the side of her lieutenant and waving the barkeep down for a glass of cider. "That is good to hear. It's just the beginning of your vacation, a lot of rest ahead of you I hope. But you know what? The next time you want a vacation, perhaps even a permanent one, go ahead and swap my ink well out again." She's got a hint of a smile, clearly not that annoyed.
Nesseth waits for a moment, before letting an amused grin slip through, not that he was trying to really conceal it in the first place. "You didn't like my aesthetic changes to your office? Not even the clock shifted just a foot to the side, or the inbox and outbox being reversed?"
Louma pauses, thinking about that for a few moments. "I did move the clock back but ah... Hm." She shakes her head. "Most of it doesn't bother, but it took a full day to realize why I couldn't dip my quill half the time."
Nesseth chuckles, still grinning. "A shame I was already on vacation at that point. It'd have been fun watching you trying to write before you figured it out." He sighs a little dramatically, clearly feeling a fair bit better since he's been getting a lot of rest the past couple of days without any extra stress, "Ahh well, I'll just have to live without seeing that bit of silliness in person."
Louma nudges his shoulder, chuckling. "And I will likely never fall for it again. Shame you wasted that shot." She nods as she receives her drink, sipping at it for a moment. "You seem to be in better spirits, my friend."
Nesseth hums quietly, nodding at that as his grin slides into a more at-ease smile. "At the very least, I'm feeling a lot less stress now that I've got nothing to worry about other than my partners' well-being for the next while."
Louma hums with a questioning note. "So Plume and Vix are officially co-partnering with you? I'm glad you've had that much support out of the workplace, at least." She lifts her cider to sip at it again.
Nesseth tilts his head at the question. "Well, we're not married yet or anything, but it's about as smooth as can be. They support each other as much as they support me, and Erika fits right in as well, so... it's worked out well for all of us."
Louma blinks, lowering her glass. "Erika too? I thought she was dating that Cavro fellow? Or no... They did end that, didn't they?" She giggles, glancing at Nesseth. "Are you planning to co-opt every single lady in Respite, or are you happy with three?"
Nesseth shrugs with a sheepish smile. "It, uh... yeah, the two broke up a good while back, but things kind of happened while you were away. There's probably a minor report of it somewhere in the stacks of paperwork." He clears his throat, blushing just a touch under his scales, "But I swear it just kind of happens. I'm more than happy being with Vix, Plume and Erika."
Louma narrows her eyes slightly with a humph. "I see. I was going to skim through the summaries I was absent for anyhow. I suppose I will run across it soon enough, you sure you don't want to let me know yourself? I assume you've seen whatever is written, anyhow."
Nesseth shakes his head a bit. "Nothing concerning. Just a... minor disturbance at the bathhouse that involved, me, Erika and a good friend of ours that just came back from Sarn not too long ago." He pauses, then gives Louma a curious look, "In fact, I think you know her? Mirriam, the kangaroo? She's back."
Louma lets out a long drawn breath, turning slowly away from Nesseth. "Ah. I see. Yes." She clears her throat after a moment. "Complaint of excessive indecency; a trio who agreed to cease and apologized in exchange for identity protection, were not caught in the act but were made known to be engaging in loud sexual acts within the public baths. Filed by a staff member who noted that they were the only ones in the public bath area at the time." She turns with a slightly disappointed look to Nesseth, though amusement is rooted in her voice. "So that was you, Erika, and Mirriam?" She pauses, the amusement gone in a moment. "Wait, isn't that kangaroo in her teens? ...How long ago did she leave?"
Nesseth blinks and shakes his head, a slightly offended look on his face as the teasing banter grinds to a halt. "What? No, she's only a couple of years younger than me. She's been up at Sarn for several years." He throws Louma a flat look, "I'm not like that, Louma. Come on."
Louma shakes her head, giving him an apologetic look. "Right, just... I don't know her that well, but I thought she was in her teens when we met. Considering that meeting was me tossing her out of the Minnow. It has been some time since then, though. Sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you of anything like that, just looking out for you."
Nesseth sighs a bit. "I appreciate it, but I know Mirriam a bit better since we used to hang out a bit here and there before she moved back to Sarn."
Louma pats his shoulder. "Well... I think you know her very well after that incident. Why did she come back, anyhow? Was there not enough mail in Sarn for the delivery girl?"
Nesseth shrugs a little. "She said it was too dull up that way. What with Respite still growing when she left, she wanted to be where things were more exciting." He pauses, pretty clearly thinking about recent events involving the Saurs, "She at least managed to avoid the biggest bits of excitement with her timing."
Louma hums, sipping her cider again before responding to that. "I suppose we should envy her for that, just a little bit." She stares at the cider swirling in the glass for a little bit, sighing.
Nesseth hums, nodding as he takes a moment to drink some of his water. "She did wind up getting stuck in Bairnell for a bit, but that's better than what could have happened."
Louma nods slowly, setting her cup down. "That was for the best, after all. You know, Maybelline has been just... Incredible. She had been patient and supportive through those sleepless nights. Without her, I think I'd have quit. I seriously might have turned away from Respite and moved on to Bairnell or farther. I hope that Vix and Plume and Erika have been the same for you, Nesseth, but... I know May doesn't really understand. At a certain level, maybe, considering what she also went through, but what happened with the generator is it's own beast." She looks to him, faintly smiling. "I'm sorry that we took off when we did, but I'm here to talk with. I could use it once in a while, even if the nights are easier now."
Nesseth hums quietly, then gives Louma a grateful look. "Well, in that case... if you've got time, maybe we can chat a bit now? It's been nice with Erika, Vix and Plume, but none of them went through the stuff we did against the Saurs. Though... I'm also really glad they didn't have to."
Louma nods, straightening up and tapping her glass to order a refill. "I'd be happy to, Nesseth. Plenty of time on my platter this evening, as well."
Nesseth nods with a small smile. "Thanks. I might be feeling better physically, but... nightmares and whatnot still, you know?" He sighs a bit and gets to talking with Louma about some of the things that have been plaguing him in his dreams for the past several weeks, and she likewise chats about things she's been dealing with.