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THE THIRSTY MINNOW - AFTERNOON
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Scilla wanders into the bar from upstairs, for a change not covered in mud and actually looking half-decent... for her, anyway. Her mop of a hair is still a mess, her fur a frazzle and her overalls only mostly clean. Still, the genet is in a good mood as she bounces over to the bar to order a drink.
Strix decided to come into the bar. She's still exploring life as a Kitty, and was dressed in a small purple blouse, and matching skirt. She comes up to the bar alongside Scilla, and orders..a glass of milk. Apparently "Milk" is a great mammal drink. The concept used to be kinda weird to Strix as a reptile...but now? It had a certain appeal.
Scilla gives Strix a smile, then a double-take as she takes in the kitty's looks. "Hey uh... hi?"
Strix: "Oh! Hey!" She smiles "Don't worry! I get that a lot. I don't mind" She bobs her head "Strix. For now. I dunno. Maybe I'm not a Strix anymore..."
Scilla tilts her head: "Sounds familiar... but probably not." She shrugs and lifts her glass: "What's it mean being a Strix?"
Robin is already sitting at the bar, just idly enjoying a warm cider and some walnuts. He's picked out a better outfit to contrast the decor or this tavern, sporting a slightly loose fitting white blouse and a puffy black shin-length skirt with white trim. He looks toward Scilla and Strix as they greet eachother, taking pause at Strix's look. "Yeah, that's a good question. What even is a Strix?"
Strix: "Well, I don't know really" She ponders that "I..uh.." She gestures to herself "This is all a bit new, so..I'm still adjusting" She takes the milk, and sniffs at it, smiling as it smells good, and takes a sip! It tastes good too. She's distracted briefly exploring the taste "I was a Strix before, and that was me..and I'm still me..but..maybe not the same?"
Scilla blinks: "That makes almost no sense." She muses: "Being something else before... how?"
Robin hums, tilting his head a bit. "No sense is an understatement. Were you cursed or something? Looks like you got thrown into a magical blender with a pile of gears and crystals."
Strix: "Ah...Sorta?" She answers Robin "There was an accident with a generator. Then..well, I ended up like this. I don't think it's a curse, because I sorta feel like I'm better off now? I was super stressed all the time before hand"
Scilla considers this, then shrugs: "Accidents with generators do tend to do that stuff." She blinks, recalling her earlier conversation with Maybelline. Humming into her drink, she continues: "Though it's better to not be all stressed out. I'm definitely no fun to be around when I'm like that."
Robin hums again, nodding a bit. "Not so good with magic stuff, myself, but still gonna claim that in the 'correct' category. So more of a boon than a curse. Hum."
Strix: "You were close enough, yeah..." She nods to Robin "So, the idea would be that if I took a different name, then that would put the old life behind me...which maybe might be nice? Still, it seems like a big step" She sips her milk again "You know....this is really quite good"
Scilla shrugs: "Taking on a new name can... uh... can definitely be a thing." She glances aside, then shakes her head: "Leaving stuff behind."
Robin looks from Strix to Scilla. "Uh-huh. I mean, if you really feel your name doesn't fit who you are any more, sure. Strix does sound ah... Kobold-y. A lot of one or two-syllable, but complex names in their culture."
Strix: "Ah..well, I was a kobold" She's a little surprised someone knew that "So that makes sense"
Scilla shrugs: "It can be complicated, that stuff. Or complex. Or... kobold? Huh."
Robin chuckles, tilting his head back to finish off his cider. "Wasn't a guess, but that's a big change! From kobold to cat... Is this a regular thing in this town?"
Scilla looks at Robin: "Search me, I just kinda arrived myself."
Robin sets his glass down, looking to Scilla. "Same same, had to come rescue a colleague from... Not even sure what. Loneliness? She didn't seem too lonely when I caught up with her though. Name's Robin, by the by."
Scilla grins toothily: "Scilla! I'm just here to swing my hammer to make things right. Mostly tools and generators, it seems."
Strix: "If I had a coin every time someone's race abruptly changed...I'd have two coins. Which isn't much, but its weird it happened twice"
Scilla blinks into her drink: "Huh. That much?"
Robin chuckles, "Oh so you're a tinkerer crafter type? My colleague is, too. I'm not so much, not a creative bone in this body. But I help test and analyze."
Strix: "I do tech stuff too. Tech and magic together..." She giggles, just a little "Which makes how I look sorta work"
Scilla shrugs, glancing at Strix: "I don't really create much, but things are always broken... if it's made of metal or wants to be made of metal though, I can probably jury-rig it to work better."
Shirley comes into the Minnow, now looking something close to how she used to back in Vamas, with her toolbelt strapped on nice and snug over her work clothes (a set of denim coveralls over some more simple clothing than what she got from Rhask) and some tools hanging from various holsters. Though she's been sporting some signs of her "arrival" on Aephix, along with the cast, she's been doing her best to get back into the swing of things now that Robin has joined her in town.
Robin glances between Scilla and Strix. "Y... You're not going to hit poor Strix with your hammer, are you?"
Strix: "I don't think I want to be nailed..."
Scilla blinks: "I wouldn't do that! Well, unless you want me to. But probably not?"
Strix: "Why would I want to get nailed by you?" She asks, pretty reasonably. She's a bit caught up in the discussion, and hasn't noticed Shirley yet.
Scilla shrugs: "I don't know! People want the weirdest crap sometimes! There was this camelid type once that was completely weird with her demands."
Robin almost chokes on a walnut at the comments, waving to Shirley as she comes in. "Geh... Oh, speak of the devils, she's here now! Hullo Shirley, out for a wander?"
Shirley walks towards the counter, overhearing the group nearby as she makes an order while walking over, only to trail off when she hears... something. She looks at the group with a raised eyebrow. "Who's nailing what now? Surprised you're all open about talking about that sort of thing right in the common room." She blinks, then looks at Robin, "Bit of a snack and a wander, yeah. Same for you?"
Scilla blinks and swings around in her seat, smiling upon seeing Shirley: "Oh hey Shirley! And we're not talking about nailing in the... well that sense, we're talking hammers! Obviously."
Strix: "Wait..there's another meaning?"
Robin nods at Shirley. "Mostly, they have delicious walnuts here." He looks from Shirley to Scilla. "Ah, you've met? Saves an introduction!"
Shirley chuckles and waves her good hand as she goes to join the group. "Mmh, the other meaning's a bit more crude, but it's slang for fooling around, having sex, you know? But, uh..." She looks around again, "I guess with so many tech-focused people here, I should have expected the proper sort of nailing."
Scilla giggles a bit at Shirley's wording despite her insistence just seconds ago. "Hehe. Proper nailing."
Strix: "Oh! Right" She pauses "I've been meaning to try that out ever since the accident too, as it happens. I'm still working out the proper protocols of asking"
Shirley smirks at Scilla, glad that someone caught the joke, only for Strix's comment to make her blink. "The... proper protocol for asking? And... accident? What accident?"
Strix: "Uh..Magical Accident, I used to be a kobold, and..well, at lot less girly, and less interested in the whole sex thing"
Scilla waves her hand: "Being girly is overrated." She shifts her round rear on her chair: "An' best way to avoid magical accidents is not to dwell into such things. Not that I have."
Shirley winces a little. "Ouch... I've heard tell that those sorts of accidents can be very nasty. For what it's worth, I'm glad you came out alive, if... er... physically changed. Much better than the alternative, anyway."
Scilla hums: "Kinda still sucks, that sort of thing."
Strix: "Oh yes! The last really bad one blew my arm off, I replaced it with a mechanical one, so. Really..I'm used to being part tech. Just maybe not this tech" She smiles a little "Oh! I've been having a lot of fun being girly though"
Shirley tilts her head as she looks at Strix's intact arms, nodding along with Scilla's comment. "Yeah, accidents aren't much fun when they happen. Still... it looks like your arms are intact now, so..." She blinks again, "Wait... you built yourself a mechanical prosthetic?"
Scilla blinks at this: "A mechanical what... oh wow. That'd be neat to see!"
Shirley nods eagerly at Scilla. "A fully operational mechanical limb!"
Robin resigns himself to listening to the conversation and munching on his walnuts, not having much to input and not being terribly good at interjecting in a crowd to begin with.
Strix: "Yeah!" She nods quickly "It was pretty fancy. Less fancy than this" She wiggles her mechanical..everything "But this doesn't really count, since it was chaos magic (I think), rather than something I made, but..uh..I worked on it for years, and it was pretty close to the same as my flesh and blood arm"
Scilla frowns: "Honestly that's all mildly making me queasy, but if you're happy and it's like... all fine, it's good, yeah?"
Shirley hums with interest. "I should compare notes with you the next time we get a chance, Strix." She pauses, "Er... that is, did you decide on the whole naming thing yet?"
Strix: "Oh! We could..and..it's fine. The body seems to basically work like a fleshy one, just with tech and magic, and..the name..well. I haven't really. I'd need a -better- name, if that makes sense"
Scilla sticks her tongue out: "At least you need to get a better name than my full name."
Shirley chuckles and nods. "I think I get it, yeah." She tilts her head at Scilla, "...What is your full name, Scilla? I don't think I caught it the last time we spoke."
Scilla blinks, realizing she wonderfully spoke herself into this. "D-damnit. Okay, but that knowledge don't leave this table, yeah?" She looks at the others, frowning slightly.
Strix: "Oh! Of course not!"
Shirley smiles. "Don't worry, Scilla. It'll stay right here."
Shirley looks over at Robin. "Right?"
Robin looks to Shirley. "Uh... Right."
Scilla looks at the others for a moment more, before sighing in defeat: "Priscilla Rainbow Waveshine."
Strix: "Oh! That's a really pretty name!"
Shirley hums in agreement. "That's a nice name!"
Scilla blushes, frowning: "N-no it's not. It's not."
Strix: "Well, I suppose it's your opinion that matters, but I see nothing wrong with it"
Shirley shrugs. "I mean, it's a bit of a mouthful to say all at once, but sounds nice. Of course, your choice if you want to be called Scilla, Scilla."
Scilla sinks into her seat, not sure if she'd have just preferred laughter: "I-I guess. A-and yeah, just, uh, Scilla."
Shirley smiles. "Then Scilla it is!"
Strix: "Yup! Scilla" Strix agrees with a nod
Scilla gives the table a blushing smile. Eventually she even manages to look up and give the same smile to her companions.
Strix: "So...any suggestions for me? I don't really know any cute names"
Shirley hums thoughtfully as she looks at Strix. "Name ideas for you? Hmm..."
Scilla shrugs, still blushing: "I dunno. N-not sure what's cute, really." Definitely not her. She refuses to be cute.
Shirley tilts her head curiously. "Anything in particular you're looking for in a name? Or just... something that folks think sounds cute?"
Strix: "I dunno..something that..fits? I feel like I'll know when I hear it"
Scilla nods, taking a sip of her drink in an attempt to fade her blush: "I suppose that makes sense."
Shirley scratches her head in thought, then nods. "Well, a few names pop to mind, though it's mostly names I remember from folks around Vamas." She starts to list them, "Mia... Camilla... Amber, on account of your eyes... Robi-- no wait, that one's taken... Vixen, maybe... uh..."
Strix: "Hmm.." She ponders "I think it should be something shortish? I mean, kobold names were always short and snappy, I that feels right, still"
Scilla hums: "Blue, red, green... or I guess those are just colors. I'm bad at this."
Shirley hums again. "Mmh... so... one or two syllables?" She tilts her head at Scilla and Robin, "Any ideas, you two? I'm trying to remember what else I might have heard before..."
Strix: "Uh...you can discuss it for a bit? I gotta go..." There's a pause "I'm meant to use a Euphamism here, soooo, Vent some coolant" She exits!
Scilla blinks at Strix. Several times. "Ooookay. Sure, we can... do that." She looks at Shirley and Robin, shrugging.
Shirley waves at Strix as she gets up to leave. "Sure thing, Strix! We'll be here when you get back, and we might even have an idea or two, too!" She chuckles and smiles at Robin and Scilla both.
Scilla shakes her head slightly, then turns to Shirley: "So what's it been that you've been planning lately?" They continue talking for quite a while, about nothing and everything, just wasting off the evening.
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THE THIRSTY MINNOW - A FEW HOURS LATER
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Scilla is still sitting at the table, her company having long left for other pursuits. The genet though, she's scribbling over a set of clearly-written generator schematics, making her own less-than-clear notes on them. She's looking still just as disheveled as ever, but as usual that doesn't seem to bother her.
Aelia walks into the bar from the street, the deer wearing her scarf and light 'winter' clothes. They might not hold up in Sarn's winter, but in Respite it's quite enough to keep the chill down. She heads to the bar and orders some tea, letting out a quiet sigh.
Scilla glances at Aelia and gives her a smile, though she almost instantly returns to focusing on her scribbles of clearly important schematics. And her half-consumed beer, that's important too.
Aelia gets her tea from the barkeep, blowing on it gently before finding a seat nearby Scilla. She waves back, not wanting to bother the genet as she watches curiously.
Scilla scribbles for another moment, before looking up: "Oh. Hey there? Sorry, was just busy." She at least tries to be sociable of sorts.
Aelia holds up a hand, "Oh! Oh no, sorry! I didn't want to interrupt, I was just curious, I suppose?"
Scilla shrugs, leaning back on her chair: "Wasn't really doing anything that I can't finish later. Probably spend too much time inside my head anyway, that's what my friend once told me. So uh, hi. I'm Scilla, doing the fixer-mechanic thing here."
Aelia: "Oh! Gosh! That's neat! I'm Aelia, um, not... doing much? Unemployed... trying to find something, but mostly I'm a dancer."
Scilla shifts her rear on the chair, swishing her tail: "Well, I sure ain't, so good that someone's doing that I guess? I can't dance to save my life, really."
Aelia giggles, bringing up her tea. "Well, I hope you never have to! I hope I never have to either!"
Scilla giggles, waving Aelia over: "I could use some company. Probably good for my sanity." She takes a sip: "So yeah, in Respite to fix stuff cause there's always stuff to fix, really. Probably don't need to dance when sharpening a saw, anyway."
Aelia slides out of her seat and joins Scilla at her table, smiling. "Sounds dangerous! I just dance to make people smile, but uh... I've been in kind of a creative rut lately for... well, a lot of reasons. I just like to watch some of the performers in the market, now."
Scilla tilts her head: "Don't think I've seen any, but I guess I spend a lot of time out there and not really at the marketplace." She hums: "I don't really make people smile, 'cept when they like what I already do, fixing stuff."
Aelia shrugs, "If I had something broken, it'd probably make me smile to see it fixed. But I dunno, standing on stage, hearing folks of all sorts applaud and cheer... it's sorta... It's pretty great. Don't know if I'll ever get to feel that again."
Scilla imagines that, and shudders: "Yeah... not my thing. Don't want the attention. Less people care for me, the better."
Aelia giggles again, covering her mouth politely, "I guess I understand that nowadays too. Feels like I've not wanted to do much other than hide away and hope to keep my head down, but still..." She trails off, growing a bit quiet. "Oh uh, but you still want the company, right? I don't wanna bother you..."
Scilla frowns for a second, then nods with a smile: "Oh, uhm, yeah. I do. It's just... too much attention is not my thing. I like talking to people, but like this-" she motions between her and Aelia: "-one on one, mostly."
Aelia nods and takes a sip of her tea. "I get that. I like a bit of quiet time, myself. And the wrong kind of attention... w-well, obviously don't want any of that."
Scilla hums, nodding: "Yup, there's that. Not that I'm probably anything of interest to anyone, a muddy genet fixing pipes and saws and hammers."
Aelia tilts her head. "You seem plenty interesting to me, but I'm just a dancer." She points towards the blueprints, "What were you working on anyways?"
Scilla blinks, then looks down before looking back to Aelia: "Oh, nothing much. Just figuring out the best way to get your bog standard farm steam generator to work a bit better. Seems there's an awful lot of those small things around here, so might as well get more familiar with them."
Aelia blinks back, clearly already lost. "Oh um. Is that the kind of power that runs here?"
Scilla shrugs: "It's honestly a hodgepodge of things that work, using whatever people can to get power to do basic stuff... but, yeah, sorta?"
Aelia grins "Okay, neat! Seems like that's pretty useful and interesting to me, even if I don't get it."
Scilla giggles and waves her hand: "If it helps, all that dance stuff is way beyond me. I have at least two left feet."
Aelia giggles, "That's what everyone says, but with a bit of training, anyone can dance!"
Scilla sticks her tongue out: "Well, then, book me up for a lot of training."
Aelia perks up, "Oh! Do you want lessons? I could probably fit you in for that! Um, maybe! It might... I can't promise I can make the appointment if something... comes up. But we can try!"
Scilla blinks dumbly: "Dancing... you're not serious. I'm really awful, I really am." Yet, pointedly, the genet is not saying 'no', here...
Aelia nods, seemingly very excited by the prospect, "Like I said, that's what everyone says! But really, dancing is easy! And if you don't care about doing it professionally, then it's all for fun, isn't it?"
Scilla opens and closes her mouth a couple of times, but can not find a denial in her. "I eh... huh. I guess I could?"
Aelia giggles, "Worst that happens is you don't enjoy it, and then you're only losing a bit of time?"
Scilla starts to point at Aelia, but her finger wanes downward halfway her thought: "Well, then I... well, you have a point. Time is something I do have a lot, really."
Aelia nods, setting down her tea and folding her hands upon her lap. "Me too, I'm afraid. But this could be fun? I... I will warn you, I sometimes get called away, um, unexpectedly. If that happens, I'll make sure to have a friend um... let you know?"
Scilla nods, humming: "Sounds fair, I guess. I hope I won't get called away like that, but life does happen? Mostly I just plan on spending my daytime to fixing stuff and my evenings are free."
Aelia: "Well my evenings too! So maybe we can plan for meeting up and going through some of the basics? I think this could be a lot of fun!"
Scilla blinks and pauses, actually considering this... but finding a sort of smile in the end. "Yeah... maybe? I've never thought about such, but like... why not?"
Aelia claps her hands (albiet rather quietly and politely, not disturbing anyone else in the bar). "Ah, yay! This will be fun!"
Scilla finds herself smile despite the absurdity of the suggestion versus her usual lack of appeal to anyone: "I uh... yeah? Probably?"
Aelia giggles, "You might enjoy it! It's always good to try new things, right? I've certainly done quite a bit of new things this past year, and some of it was... awful." Her face falls, but only for a moment, "But a lot of it has been great!"
Scilla shrugs with a lopsided smile: "I'm always game for new stuff, heck that's why I am down here. Dancing's gonna be new, but... why not?"
Aelia pauses, "I wonder if anyone else would like lessons? Maybe this could solve my own problem too...?"
Scilla smiles: "Nothing wrong with a bit of entrepreneurism to find out, I'd think!" She pauses: "Well, not that I can offer all that much money for lessons... but..." She pauses again, then shrugs: "Aw what the heck. Let's try!"
Aelia shakes her head, "Oh, I won't charge anything! This is something new! For both of us! You learning to dance, and me teaching, at all!"
Scilla blinks, then smiles brightly and toothily: "Oh, in that case, you're on! Let's find if you have two or four left feet!"
Aelia giggles, "A potential to two left feet and one... left... teacher?"
Scilla waves her arms: "I have no idea! But I guess you got me eager to find out."
Aelia lifts her hands up as if she were going to bow, "Oh! Me too! If this doesn't go badly, then maybe I could rent out some space, put up a sign and hold classes on my schedule... without worrying about scheduling things without knowing when I'll be gone..."
Scilla blinks at the latter part: "...not knowing when you're gone? Sounds like your life is quite chaotic indeed."
Aelia stops, having not quite intended to say that part, "Oh, err... a little, y-yeah? It's... chaotic, that's for sure."
Scilla shrugs: "I can understand chaos. It's hard to predict stuff." She winks: "But I'll be there for lessons, I think."
Aelia giggles, "Okay, cool! Let's just... figure out when..."
Scilla grins: "Oh, like any day!" The two continue planning on exact timings of... dancing lessons, of all things.