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RESPITE MARKET SQUARE - LATE AFTERNOON
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Strix had shoes! She was learning how they work, and was right now at a bench, slowly examining the laces, and tying them all together. After some looking through the selections, she had opted for ankle boots, because they were practical, good for work and stuff, and therefore wouldn't interfere with any 'fashion trip' that she had planned at another time. See, these weren't about looking cute (and trying to do so around Maybelline), so it was all good!
Melia wanders nearby, in her usual clothes-less glory. Granted, a lot of the marketplace frequenters have started to get used to the elemental's naked nature. Being almost adorably clueless about it has helped endear her to the locals... as well as being one of the prime healers during the conflict still fresh on everyone's minds. Still, this means that Melia mostly avoids extra attention, beyond what a slightly glowing green lizard elemental attracts at any rate. She notices Strix and smiles and waves: "Hi!"
Strix finally figures out the loopy loop, and comes up, satisfied and kicking her legs gently, looking at how they swing back and forth, before Melia grabs her attention "Oh! Hi there!" She waves back "How are you doing?" She points down "Look! Boots!" Or are they booties? Strix still feels like she should hold back on leaning too much into 'cute'. May might freak out more..but who doesn't want to be cute? It's a thinker to be sure.
Melia tilts her head, looking at the boots, then down at her own clawed feet, then at Strix with a smile: "Oh, doing just fine! I don't think we've met before, so, well, hi!"
Strix: "I don't think so? But I've a terrible memory for people, and I was a kobold until recently, so its possible" She sticks out a paw "Strix" She pauses, doesn't quite fit now, but lets keep rolling with it, as much continuity as possible, right? "Happy to meet you anyway"
Melia takes the offered paw and gives it a brief shake, although she seems unsure of the gesture. "I'm Melia! I haven't ever been a kobold, so wouldn't know."
Strix: "Oh, I...think it's not something I recommend. People are rather mean. People are waaaay nicer to me now, even though I'm not really 'standard' like I am either" She smiles brightly "You probably understand right?" She's clearly non-standard as well.
Melia tilts her head, her sizable frills swaying as her head does: "Ooh, it's never nice when people are mean. I try to not have them be that, but I only succeed some of the time. But I gotta keep trying. It's much nicer when people are nice." She nods sagely.
Strix: "Yeah, It's not, but it might be selfish to say, I sort of prefer it when I don't have to try, and people are nice from the start"
Melia hums, then nods: "Yup, that definitely sounds better. I dunno, people are nice to me usually, though I have only been like me for pretty short time honestly. People were mostly nice to Tarbin though when I was inside him?" The elemental looks like she's about to walk down a memory lane that only makes sense to her...
Strix: "Oh, you've had a change too?" She tilts her head gently "I don't suppose you've got an advice about working through the change between the two uh..stages of existance?"
Melia tilts her head: "Does being like... physical, and before that, incorporeal, sort of count? And before that, sort of someone else. I guess that would count as a change of sorts, too."
Strix: "Oh, I think that all counts? I was a kobold and..organic? Before. I think I was the same person, but people are worried I might not be" She pauses "I feel I'm the same, but at the same time, I feel that things are very different. It's sort of confusing"
Melia shrugs: "Life is confusing. And I'm pretty sure I'm qualified to say that, Flow is sort of my thing."
Strix: "So, what's the advice?"
Melia hums, then shrugs: "Take life as it kinda gets to you? I mean, you mostly only get what's gonna happen to you, and like... I've only had a body to call my own, not anchored to anything, for a short kind of while? But what I've done is just explore, hug people, find fun."
Strix: "Yeah, that's what I've been doing, but I'm more worried about..well, how do I relate it all to how things were before?"
Melia: "I don't really know. You're still like, you, yeah?"
Strix: "Well, I feel like I am, but ..I'm very different physically, which has got to change how I think too!"
Melia sighs a bit, shaking her head: "I'm even sort of less good to talk about that. Physically speaking, I wasn't before earlier this year." She gives a soft smile: "It's an elemental thing."
Strix: "Oh" They rub the back of their head "I just don't know how much I should worry about this. May seems super worried about it"
Melia shrugs: "I don't worry all that much, usually. Though I guess since that witch got exiled, haven't had anything to worry about."
Strix: "Oh? Was there some witch that was giving you a hard time then?"
Melia nodnods: "Yuh, there was this lady... forget her name, but she said she supposedly accidentally created me and another elemental, and wanted to like drain that power back... we put a stop to it, and last I hear the Guard did not want her sort around so they told her to leave."
Strix: "Oh, well. That's probably for the best. I..suppose people from Sarn would be interested in.." She gestures at herself "But I'm far enough away I don't think it'll be a problem"
Melia shrugs: "Possibly? Don't know Sarn. Or anywhere else beyond like, just around here."
Strix: "That's fair" She hmms "I'm just wondering, how much do I lean into this..new version of myself" She ponders "I just don't know"
Melia lifts a hand to her chin: "I would think leaning on yourself would be tricky." She attempts this, swaying to the side for a bit before almost losing her balance. "I can't do it, at least."
Strix: "It's ah..just a figure of speech, I more mean, should I try to be more like I was?"
Melia shrugs: "Do you want to?"
Strix: "I don't know. I don't think so, but that might be just because of what happened to me. If that makes sense"
Melia: "As much as sense as many other things around here, I guess. I mean, people keep insisting I should put some clothes on, but refuse to tell me why."
Strix: "It's a cultural thing. Mammals get very weird about boobs, it seems"
Melia blinks, and looks down her slightly-curved-at-best chest: "Huh. I don't even have any. I wonder if I should have?" She focuses for a moment, and seems to blur for a few seconds. The elemental now sports a pair of completely pointless elemental-lizardy mammalian mammaries. "Huh."
Strix: "Huh" She pauses "They look odd on a lizard" She might not what they do very clearly, but she knows about lizards, and their general lack of boobs "I think if you have them, people will want you to wear clothes more, but..it's not all bad. Lots of clothes are very pretty, and you can change them around, so you look different each day. There's this thing called 'fashion' too. Which is what clothes look good together" Strix has been researching
Melia nods, then looks down her boobs... then shakes her head, blurs from sight again and is once again flat-chested. "That's weird, but... eh, I dunno. More I learn the less I know, you know?"
Strix: "I..don't understand that at all actually, the more I learn, the more I know for me. How about when May is going and we're doing the fashion, you come along? You can try on pretty clothes too! It could be fun? I sort of..girls trip?"
Melia tilts her head, then shrugs: "Suppose I can? Clothes don't really, uh, stick to me but I can try?"
Strix: "Oh? What's wrong with them? Maybe I can help. I'm good at problem solving"
Melia pauses, then gives an odd smile. She then puffs into a cloud of green glittery smoke, before appearing on the other side of Strix. "If I do that, which I kinda habitually do, anything that's not me doesn't really come with me." She smiles lopsidedly.
Strix: "Oooh" She cooes "So, you would need to make clothing that poofs alongside you?" She ponders, ponders, ponders "..I dunno. It sounds really hard to do, but I bet I could do it if I really tried"
Melia tilts her head: "You could?" She blinks, not really having considered the possibility: "Umm... well, I guess it might be possible? I don't really know the extent of my own abilities yet."
Strix: "Well, you'd need to make some clothing think it was you...You're like..magic, in some way? Made of Magic. So you'd just want to make the magic that you are sync up with the magic in the clothes that you're wearing"
Melia nods... then looks up: "Clothes can have magic?"
Strix: "Anything can have magic!" She bounces brightly "Or at least, you can make anything magic! I'm sort of magic even"
Melia nods, hums... then feels her Flow towards Strix, getting a feel of this statement. She blinks as her magic touches Strix's: "Oh. Definitely. You're like... actually quite weird magic, to me."
Strix: "I'm..uh.." She shrugs "I think like..technology sort of? But still me. I checked" She taps her head "All squishy still inside my head. I was worried it'd be like..tech up in there"
Melia probes with her magic for a moment more without it getting too intrusive, then withdraws. "You're like... both. There are bits in you I could heal, and parts I wouldn't know what to do with."
Strix: "It's..something like that, yeah" She shrugs "It's very weird"
Melia smiles warmly: "Well, I can help you try to figure out the bits of the weird I'm able. And even if not, we can do clothes-stuff anyway?"
Strix: "Sounds like a great plan!" She claps her hands together happily
Melia giggles: "Excellent! We can figure out details when we get there." She looks around: "So, when do we go?"
Strix: "Uh, Not right now" She says embarrassed "Probably in a day or two?"
Melia nodnods with a smile: "I will find you! Or May. Or both!" She pauses, blinking: "Err, who's May?"
Strix: "Maybelline. She's a good friend of mine, and very clever!"
Melia: "Oh! Maybe she can help figure out this clothes-magic thing too, then? I'm not clever, but I like knowing clever people."
Strix: "Maybe she can!" She nods "She's super clever"
Melia smiles brightly: "Ooh, great. Also, just fun meeting new people. Like you!" She poofs into a cloud, only to appear hugging Strix half a second later.
Strix hugs back! Hugs are fun, she's finding out.
Melia giggles and lets go of the hug, then steps back: "Well, I will find you later then, Strix! Was nice meeting you."
Strix: "Good to meet you too!" She lets go as well, and starts back to the Ward. Since technically she's still a patient.
Melia starts back towards a direction picked at random, towards her next social encounter or just talking with plants somewhere. Who can tell?
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OUTSIDE THE CLINIC - LATE EVENING
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Erika is outside on the grass, laying down as she's staring at the stars above. The okapi's been a bit 'away' today compared to her usual cheeriness, something Nesseth has undoubtedly noticed. She idly munches on clump of grass, then sighs.
Nesseth rests on Erika's back, since it's the warmest spot at the moment. He's been lounging with her for the last while, after having spent most of the day lounging on Plume's desk while they worked. At the moment, Plume was just finishing up getting the storeroom in order, so he'd opted to join Erika for a bit. "That's a bit of a sigh. What's up?"
Erika glances at Nesseth: "Am I taking this too easily? Like, I get this feeling that... am I too okay with this? Should we worry more?"
Nesseth shrugs a little after taking a moment or two to ponder the question. "What is there to worry about, though? We're safely back in town, Plume's working on the cure, we got what we went out to Mean Peak for in the first place... It's just inconvenient for us."
Erika sighs, nodding: "I know. But after talking with May and Strix, it's like... this nagging feeling that I should be freaking out. Which kind of freaks me out, the fact that I'm not freaking out. I'm... I'm okay with this, dreams and all it scares me, Nesseth."
Nesseth hums quietly as he shifts his position. "Everyone reacts differently to the same things, dear. Look, this is my first time winding up like... well, this. I'm mostly just resigned to being stuck in this form for a few days." He tilts his head curiously, "Besides... didn't you freak out the first time you changed?"
Erika nods and looks aside: "...I did. Couldn't speak this well, couldn't do anything, hid in my garden. None of it really helped, honestly."
Nesseth flops a little more comfortably on Erika's back. "So you know that, and maybe that's why you're not freaking out? You're fretting about it a lot, so it's not 'okay', of course. You might just be like me right now: resigned to just waiting until we get back to normal."
Erika sighs, then finds a bit of smile in her voice: "Yeah... probably. Yeah." She turns to nuzzle Nesseth's side: "Thank you."
Nesseth uses his long tail and lightly strokes the side of Erika's face for a moment. "Always here for you, you know that."
Erika nuzzles some more: "Mm, I know. Wish I could hug you right now, but this will have to do."
Nesseth chuckles. "Well, we can always save the hugs for when we get back to normal. It'll just be a few days from now, give or take."
Erika hums: "I know. Or like half a day more for me, probably wanna make sure it first works proper for you and all that."
Nesseth shrugs a bit. "No idea. Plume made the stuff before, so if they follow the same procedure, it should work again, right?"
Erika nods: "Unless we came across a different branch of the same flower or something, everything should go fine."
Nesseth smiles. "We'll find out. What are the chances of a different branch of the flower being found in the same area as the original?"
Erika gives a low chuckle: "Anything is possible when it comes to botany."
Nesseth shrugs again. "Then we'll just have to see when Plume finishes making the cure. Can't do much else but wait, really."
Erika gives a soft sigh, then turns her head to look at the lizard again: "Yeah. I know. I just... fret, I guess. It's easy to stay up and cheery when with others, but... I admit, this has been draining on me."
Nesseth nods. "It's rough, especially since this trip was the first one you'd gotten to do in months, and now we're stuck in town again for a bit. Just need to figure out something relaxing for you to do once we're back to normal, hm?"
Erika pauses, then giggles: "I wonder if they'd let us back at the bathhouse again?"
Nesseth smirks at Erika. "I don't see why not... as long as we opt for a private bath instead of the public ones."
Erika giggle-snorts: "Probably a good idea! I wouldn't want a permanent ban!"
Nesseth nods with a smile. "Then we'll go and have a nice soak at the bathhouse together once we're back to normal!"
Erika gives Nesseth's frills a lenghty lick: "And right now, I just soak you~."
Nesseth tilts his head a bit involuntarily as Erika's long tongue drags over his frills. "H-hey, that's not fair. You've got so much tongue, and I'm way smaller than normal!"
Erika giggles: "So what's you going to do about it~?"
Nesseth wiggles a bit. "Not much I can do right now. But you wait until I'm back to normal, and I'll get you back for everything you do~"
Erika stops her licking for now. "Well, I sure would hope so. Wouldn't want this to be entirely one-sided."
Nesseth sticks his own (decidedly smaller) tongue out for a few seconds. "It's anything but one-sided, trust me. I just know when I'm beaten for the time being."
Erika giggles: "So you're not a sore loser. Good to know."
Nesseth scoots forward and teasingly nibbles on the back of Erika's neck. "In this case, I'm just outmatched, that's all~"
Erika giggles some more, slightly shaking her shoulders as the nibbles tickle: "Mm! Let's hope everything works fine so we can get back to... things."
Nesseth finishes teasing Erika's neck, then nods as he settles back down between her shoulder blades. "So we can get back to our usual routine, yeah. Maybe make some plans for another trip out in a few months or something, too."
Erika hhrm's: "Hopefully without this happening again. Plume will never let us forget even this time, let alone if we make this a habit."
Nesseth lets out a quiet laugh. "Yeah... yeah. Maybe if we go next time, we can map out locations with those flowers, so folks can avoid them?"
Erika blinks: "Not... actually all that bad an idea. Though I'm awful with maps, I'm gonna need you for some of that."
Nesseth smiles. "Well, I wasn't suggesting you go alone. You've got to admit, mishap aside, our trip out that way was pretty fun~"
Erika sighs, but relents: "Well, I can't go denying that, now can I? It was way too much fun."
Nesseth nods. "Plenty of things to see, explore and do up that way, still."
Erika giggles: "That mountain hasn't seen the last of us, that's for sure."
Nesseth: "Exactly! No way that mountain's going to beat us. We'll just keep coming back."
Erika snorts: "Seems so. Are we stubborn or what?"
Nesseth nods sagely. "Pretty stubborn, I'd say. It's more fun than just going 'well, the mountain won, guess we need to go elsewhere!'."
Erika giggles, imagining the mountain cheering victory.
Nesseth hums warmly and settles comfortably on Erika's back. "We'll be back on our feet before too long. Once we are, we can unwind a bit, then think of another trip out that way for the future."
Erika sighs softly, leaning her head onto the ground: "You are so right. I'm thankful you're with me, else I'd have gone completely crazy."
Nesseth nods a little. "Glad to do what I can to keep you feeling okay, dear. Feeling better?"
Erika hums a bit tiredly: "Oodles better, love. Thank you."
Nesseth teasingly nudges his snout against Erika's neck. "Getting sleepy, hm? Want me to run and see if Plume can get you a blanket?"
Erika gives a tired mm'ing reply that is probably a 'yes'.
Nesseth does his best approximation of a kiss on Erika's neck, then hops down onto the grass. He makes his way back up the porch, then wiggles through the opening Plume's been leaving for him since the change. It doesn't take long before Erika's got a cozy blanket draped over her back for the night.