----------------------------------------------
RESPITE MARKETPLACE - LATE MORNING
----------------------------------------------
Mia was doing up her stall, adding a little bit of flare. Previously it had been rather drab, not really trying to attract attention. Now she's got some proper color on the banner, and a new name "Mia's Magitech Market". She steps back to admire her work, tail flicking happily behind her. Satisfied kitty.
Vix is taking a break from her stall to walk around the market. One stall catches her eye in particular, and she stops to admire it. "Hmmm...wasn't this the kobold's stall?"
Mia: "Oh!" She turns around, and nods "Ah..yes! It was , or it is?" She taps her feet a bit "Uh, tenses are weird. I'm Strix. I just had a bit of a magical accident and now..well" She flicks her tail "I'm like this now, and I'm kinda trying to really go forward with it?"
Vix blinks at the cat. "Really? W-wow! Nice to meet you again, in that case!"
Mia: "Yeah" She grins a little, rubbing the back of ears gently "I even went with Mia, instead of Strix, it just sort of fits me, I think, but the one bit I'm not sure about is..well..the cat stuff? I don't really know how to act like a cat properly" She looks to Vix "Could you help with that?"
Vix rubs her chin. "Acting like a cat...? I haven't really thought about it before..."
Mia: "I mean, I am one now, but I've sort of come late to it? I don't want to like..make people like you ashamed to share catdom with me"
Mia: "Even if I'm a bit..techier than a normal cat" She's made of metal!
Vix chuckles. "Well uh, alright, I can give you some tips to catdom. Let's hear your meow."
Mia: "Oh, right" She takes a step back, and lets out a decent enough meow. There's a bit of reverb there from the techy nature of her body.
Vix nods in approval. "Nice. That's mostly for expressing yourself, or telling someone you're hungry. Can you purr?"
Mia: "Oh, right, I can't really control that one, It sorta just happens on its own when I'm happy about something"
Vix nods. "Yep, that's normal. A lot of folks like how it sounds." She blinks. "Oh! you should be able to climb things better than before. You might like being up high."
Mia: "Hmm. I've not really thought about that up to now..." She pauses "I can take a break" She skips over, and puts down a little sign "Away. No Touching!" She fiddles with something, and everything glows slightly ominously "That should keep everything safe!" Turning on her heel, she faces Vix "Alright. What should we climb?"
Vix points to a nearby alley. "There's usually a good crate stack over there that'll help us get up on the roofs. Let's go!"
Mia: "Okay then!" Mia nods, and follows out "Right, so..how do you even climb up like that? I don't really have claws anymore..."
Vix flexes her hands, revealing her claws. "You sure?"
Mia: "Wait..how did you.." She studies Vix's hand, and the motion, and tries it out a few times, when..with a very gentle metally 'shink' sound, they emerge! "Ooooh" She practices retracting them ,and extending them, and doing it quietly, clearly enamoured with this new discovery
Vix tilts her head at the sound Hers don't do that... "Your toes should have them, too. Makes climbing a cinch!"
Mia: "Oh!" She looks down "But I like my shoes..."
Vix giggles. "It's best for summertime. too cold for it now~"
Mia: "Right..Right" She looks up "So, I should be able to climb up now" She scampers athletically up the boxes, and makes the climb up to the top of the room. She's a natural! Not nearly as good as Vix would be, but not putting the cat climbing skills to shame either! Quite graceful.
Vix climbs up after Mia, using the natural moves she's practiced all her life. "Not bad, not bad. Do be careful with those claws, though."
Mia: "Well, I had claws as a kobold, but.." She tests them with the tip of her finger "Okay, yeah these are way sharper and..." She wiggles off her boots, and with a curl of her toes, the claws there pop out as expected. She stretches out her long foot paws, before testing those claws "Pretty sharp as well! I can see what you mean. They could hurt someone"
Vix nods. "They're pretty good for self defense...and if you feel like getting kinky."
Mia: "Kinky?" She seems a little confused about the proposition. As a kobold, Strix had been seemingly utterly outside that sort of thing "Ah, well, I'm still not really sure how to go about that sort of thing...uh, not that I'm not curious"
Vix finds a good place to sit down on the roof. "Oh! Well, uh...if you find someone you like and you want to get closer to them, you can uh..." She blushes. "It's...hard to explain..."
Mia: "Yeah, that's what everyone keeps telling me" She sits down too "But, there's all these rules that nobody will explain. There's loads of people I'm friends with, but I'm pretty sure I can't ask all of them"
Vix taps her chin. "Why not read some romance novels? They should give you a good idea of how the social part works."
Mia: "Ah, I don't have any. Would you have any suggestions?"
Vix: Ahh, I don't read them often, either. Sometimes I hear ladies talk about them in the market, though. Maybe you can ask your customers?
Mia: "I suppose? I could go to the library, see what the lbrarian can do to help"
Mia: "But..I dunno, maybe you could help introduce me to some people? Let me know who might be interested"
Vix tilts her head. "Interested in...you?"
Mia: "Well, yeah, who would be interested in me in that sort of way. I don't really know how to tell, and I'm fairly sure just outright asking everyone would be weird"
Vix chuckles. "I see...if someone interests you, try becoming friends with them first. That way, you still have a friend if they turn you down."
Mia: "Okay, that does make sense, but..what if they're already friends, and you're just rather seeing them in a new way?" She ponders "There's a couple like that, but I know those people are already 'taken', and on top of that, I know that guys and girls are different, and I don't really know what I might prefer? It's all very new"
Vix leans back a bit and looks at the sky in thought. "Well...if you trust them, just be honest with them. That'll usually go well."
Mia: "Well, I don't know if I prefer guys or girls..but..uh, if we're being honest...do you want to help me test one of those?"
Vix blinks and blushes. "U-um...I mean if you wanna go on a couple dates and uh...try some things..." She gulps. "S-sure!"
Mia: "Ah.." She giggles nervously "I mean, we're friends anyway, right? I don't see why we can't have dinner, even if it turns out I'm more into guys in that way"
Vix lightly hugs Mia. "Then I suppose I'll need to teach you how to give a tongue bath later~"
Mia gives her a squeeze back "I don't know what that is, but I'm eager to find out!"
Vix chuckles. "Trust me, the tongue is very important for both cat things and romance things."
Mia sticks her tongue out gently "So...do I just..." She goes to lick Vix, on the nose.
Vix giggles and meows. "Hehe...not bad~" She licks Mia on the cheek and follows up with a light smooch.
Mia starts purring softly as she returns the smooch. "Well, I'm learning from the best~"
Vix smiles and nuzzles Mia. "It's been a while. We'd better get back to our stalls. Meet up later~?"
Mia: "That sounds like a great plan" She had gotten a bit lost in the moment "Don't want to leave it too long.."
Vix gets up and offers a hand to Mia. "Here, I'll help you get down. It can be a little tricky."
Mia takes her hand "Okay, I can't just jump down? Cats land on their feet, right?"
Vix leads Mia back to where they climbed up. "Sorta, but you gotta be careful not to land on anything unstable."
Mia: "Okay, so..just the ground?" She sits down on the edge of the room, and lands on the street, stumbling, before catching herself on all fours. She gives a thumbs up when she does "I'm good!"
Vix hops down a bit lighter, using the same crates she used to ascend. "Not bad, but you want to tuck and roll when you jump all the way down like that. Softens the impact! We can practice more later."
Mia: "Right" She nods, stretching herself out instinctively, before starting towards the stall again "Thanks for all your help! I really appreciate it"
Vix hugs Mia one more time before they part ways. "Happy to help. Take care!"
Mia hugs back! Then heads back to her stall, more upbeat than before