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RESPITE FALLS - PARK - EARLY AFTERNOON
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Maecy sits in the park in a two-tone dress with a button down top and skirt in a dark burgundy, a sunhat topping the ensemble as she rests on a bench overlooking the street, letting the stoat sit and people watch, drawing in her sketch book.
Melia is slowly wandering through the park, idly encouraging plant growth as she is lost in thought. She's not the only elemental in town, and in some way she supposes she knew that... not just that, but that she and the elemental at the forge might be in danger if the skunk gets encouraged again... As she walks through the grass behind Maecy, she does not really notice her at all.
Maecy hums, finishing another design as she just lets inspiration wash over her. She stops to take a moment to hold up her sketch, taking it in, then starts writing a few notes on the side, a little more rational thinking to supplement the somewhat fantastic design she let herself get carried away with. With a chuckle, she flips to a fresh new page and sits back to wait for inspiration to walk past.
Melia walks past Maecy, still not looking up as her mind is only somewhat where her body currently is. "How could I help more...? I need to..." she mutters to no one in particular, hair tail swishing lazily as she goes past the stoat.
Maecy frowns, overhearing the voice, but not wanting to get involved, he idly tilts her head towards the figure, "Gah! N-naked!" She quickly averts her gaze, "Sorry Ms! Sh-should you really be walking through the park naked like that?"
Melia blinks a few times and looks up, turning around to see Maecy: "Oh! Hi." She steps closer with a smile, before pausing as the question registers: "Oh. Right, wearing things, that could be a thing..."
Maecy has a hand covering her eyes, preventing her from recognizing this very particular sense of deja vu. "I could help you find an outfit, if you wanted?"
Melia tilts her head: "Oh! I guess if you want to, but there's no need? I can't really uh... keep clothes for very long, naturally."
Maecy blinks (behind her hand), then slowly parts the fingers of her paw to look again, "Wait... you can't keep clothes? Why can't... oh. It's you again?"
Melia blinks, looking at herself: "Yeah... pretty sure it's me?"
Maecy sighs, "So any clothes I try to get you to wear are just gonna fall off after you wear them? Right? Because you're some kind of... goo... thing?"
Melia blinks again, then giggles: "Goo. I like that. Goo, goo. Goo." She shakes her head: "But an elemental really, I guess. And clothes don't really uh stick with me after I shift."
Maecy blinks as well, slowly putting her hand down, shifting in the seat and motioning towards the Elemental to join her if she wishes, "Shift? Into the green cloudly stuff right? I remember that. Kinda hard to forget, really. YOu were... Melia, right?"
Melia puffs into said green cloudly stuff and appears next to Maecy with a bright smile: "Yup, that's me! And you're Maecy, that right?"
Maecy leans away slightly from the green cloud, still uncertain about it. But she ultimately smiles, nodding, "Maecy, yes. It's a neat trick, guessing it's an elemental thing? Not that I know anything about elementals, or elemental things."
Melia shrugs with a grin: "I don't either! Or, well, I do but not like all that much. But it's an elemental thing, we're not as... I suppose 'tangible' is the word?"
Maecy thinks, "So you're like, always that cloud? But you can make yourself look like a lizard? Or were you always a lizard?"
Melia raises a finger, then lowers it. "Ah... um. It's complicated? I didn't have a body of my own all that long ago, being tied to another being. Before that I had a body, but it like... it was me but wasn't me?"
Maecy shakes her head, "I have no idea what any of that means. I just meant, like, can you control the way you look?"
Melia tilts her head: "Sort of? It's not really what I've spent energy on, but... yeah, a bit?"
Maecy giggles, "So... and just humor me a little... if you can control this shifting, and changing what you look like... could you just, like, manifest clothes?"
Melia hums: "Maybe... clothes aren't really a part of you though, right?" She closes her eyes and focuses... but after a moment, she only manages to slightly change her features to be more mammalian in subtle ways without actually changing much at all. She gives Maecy a helpless shrug.
Maecy slumps slightly in defeat. "Aw. It would be a fashion designer's dream, you know? Having your own living clothes that just reshape themselves into whatever shape or color you could imagine?"
Melia tilts her head in confusion: "I suppose? I'm sorry I can't really help there, I focus my Flow elsewhere..."
Maecy nods, "Oh, it's quite alright." She pauses. "Flow? Is that about helping... whatever it is you were trying to help?"
Melia blinks again: "Oh! Well, not quite. Flow is just... how do I explain this... the nature, the life that is in all of us, in all living around us. It's kind of what I am, really."
Maecy blinks, "Oh! You're a... Flow. Elemental. Thing. I don't really get it... I'm just a city girl with big dreams of fashion."
Melia shrugs with a smile: "I don't know anything about any of that, in turn."
Maecy giggles. "I just like making people look and feel like something more. For us slightly more physical folks, without a flow or any kind of shifting, it's a way for us to change ourselves, reinvent ourselves, and express ourselves."
Melia smiles: "It sounds exciting! Doing good in a different way, yes?"
Maecy blushes, "Oh, I suppose? It's just something I love doing and folks seem to love what I do."
Melia shrugs again: "I don't know, but sounds like you're doing good."
Maecy nods, closing her sketch book to set it down on her lap. "I am, thank you! I hope you're doing well with your... flow? Thing?"
Melia nods... then pauses. "Well, uh... mostly, I think? It's a bit of a mess right now in the forge..."
Maecy glances around, unsure what she might mean by 'in the forge'. "You... work at a smith? That kind of forge? Should I ask? I don't mean to pry?"
Melia blinks: "Oh! No I don't, but a friend of mine does, another elemental... we were sorta created from same origin probably so it makes us like siblings, sort of? He needs help to figure stuff out right now."
Maecy sighs, "And I'm guessing he's naked too..." She blinks, then shakes her head, "S-sorry! Priorities, I know. I don't know if I can offer much help, other then what my parents told my sister and I growing up, 'Find your passion. Put your mind to it and you can do anything. Don't be like your sister, she's a nerd'. You know, all that kinda supporty parent stuff."
Melia blinks again, then giggles: "I suppose some of that works. Probably?"
Maecy giggles, "Ultimately, just... so long as you're not hurting anyone, do what you like? I got lucky to get this far in my career."
Melia shakes her head quickly: "I could never hurt anyone! N-not what I do or even can do."
Maecy waves her hand, "Well, I would hope not! I wasn't accusing you of it, just... I don't know. A lot of people in bigger cities are willing to hurt or ignore others pain in order to get ahead. Daddy always wanted us to be better than that, my sister and I."
Melia nodnods: "Yeah, many people willing to cause hurt... one witch tried to get to me, drain me of my energy."
Maecy sighs, "Yeah... I... energy? I mean, I don't get that, but, it's not right for anyone to want to hurt or drain you or anyone else."
Melia sighs with a smile: "No, it's not." She lifts her hand, swirling a bit of green energy haphazardly in the air: "I do my best, heal everyone I can, help the rest if they need it."
Maecy gives Melia a thumbs up. "Then you're better than most. Better than me, certainly. I just design pretty clothes, and hope to bring a little bit of happiness to folks."
Melia smiles: "Happiness is important." She gives Maecy soft hug.
Maecy eeps at the sudden hug, especially from the still naked elemental, but does lean into it after a moment, "Heh, ah, thanks. I uh, do my best?"
Melia lets go of the hug and grins: "I hope we all do! I mean, I know we all don't, but most folks want to be and do good."
Maecy nods, situating herself back on the bench, "Yeah, I think so?" She pauses, to think, then sighs, "Just gotta be careful with that attitude. Don't let the skunks of the world sneak up on you. That was about one skunk in particular, there's plenty of nice skunks too. Also, they're not actually sneaking up on you. I mean, not right now anyways. I guess I can't speak for them. And I'm sure they had their own reasons and such. Not... not everyone who does bad things do it just to be bad. It can be... complicated. I'm probably saying way too much. Sorry."
Melia blinks, then giggles: "It's fine. I mean, I constantly talk too much and too often and about too many things, right? But you're right, gotta be careful about skunks, right?"
Maecy sighs, "Well, one at least, I suppose. Don't give all skunks a bad rap cause of one. If I told you there were a lot of stoats who've done bad things, you wouldn't think worse of me, would you?"
Melia tilts her head: "No, that's not how it works."
Maecy nods, "Right! That's... that's all I'm saying." She reaches over carefully and pats Melia on the side supportively. "But you'll be fine. Good luck with the whole forge thing, with your brother, was it?"
Melia nods slowly, but then smiles brightly: "Yeah, I think I will find the way." She gives Maecy another hug before vanishing and reappearing on the path some distance away: "I gotta go! Take care and good luck with the clothes fashion stuff!"
Maecy smiles, giving Melia a wave before reopening her sketch book and beginning to draw again, finding a bit of inspiration coming to mind from the somewhat strange talk with the elemental.