----------------------------------------------
RESPITE MARKETPLACE - MIDDAY
----------------------------------------------
Nesseth wanders the marketplace, having taken a little time to take care of essential chores like stocking food in the pantry of his house, as well as generally trying to keep some semblance of normalcy going despite the ongoing thing involving Xochicoatl. At the moment, he walks along the stalls, just idly browsing and chatting with the stall owners.
Mia was at her stall as usual, testing another name "Mia's Mechanarium'. She wasn't sure about that one, but it did alliterate, which was important! Right now she was focused on a new invention, hunched over her table while she used a welder on a ..something. Goggles down over her eyes. She was dressed in a short skirt, with a sleeveless blouse. Sparks weren't really a problem when they landed on her 'skin' after all.
Nesseth walks along, the sound of a welder drawing his attention as it gets louder. He tilts his head curiously when he sees a familiar tech-cat working on something, and decides to go and say hi. Before he can say anything, though, he looks up at the sign and notes the different name. "Mia's... Mechanarium? Huh..."
Mia looks up from her work, putting it aside "Oh..Hey Ness. Yeah, I've been trying to think of a good name. It's been going..uh..well, I'll get one that's good eventually!"
Nesseth smiles and waves once Stri-- Mia notices him. "Hey there, Mia. It rolls off the tongue pretty well, I'd say." He tilts his head again, "So... decided to change up your name to fit your new appearance? Mia's got a nice ring to it."
Mia was about to gently correct him..and then he gets it right straight away! Well that makes it much more straightforward "Ah, yeah. I thought that if this" She gestures to herself "Was what I was gonna be, I may as well own it instead of trying to be something that I'm not anymore"
Nesseth hums and nods. "Make sense. Last time we spoke, you looked like you were already pretty comfortable with the changes, so I can understand wanting to switch up the name, too." He tilts his head curiously, "Any particular reason for going with 'Mia', or did it just sound like a good fit?"
Mia: "Well, it just..sounds right" She's just a bit bashful about the whole thing "It's just got an M sound, and it's short..and well, once I thought of it, it just felt like a 'Me' name"
Nesseth chuckles quietly, smiling. "Then it sounds like you hit on the name that fits you best now, with the changes. Like I said, it's got a nice ring to it."
Mia: "Thanks!" She smiles in return "And you're looking really good, and particularly bipedal today!"
Nesseth grins. "Thanks! It's really nice being back on two legs again and being able to do stuff like normal. It was... interesting being a lizard, but... not being able to even so much as open a book to read was really boring." He gestures at the thing Mia was busy welding a minute ago, "What was that you were working on, by the way?"
Mia: "Oh, there's a problem with power sourcing for all the crashed airships that have come about recently, and I'm trying something" She takes the thing she was working on, and takes an apple, and puts it on top. The gadget looked to be a small platform, with a few coils of wires around it. "Okay, power outlet is there" She points to a small little glowing dial "And..." She flicks a switch, and the apple shimmers, going ashy for a moment, before returning to 'normal'. It flickers a few times like that before it seems to go still "So! This one draws energy from intermolucular vitalic disintegration, then reintegrates them with a process that costs slightly less energy than is release with the first system. This gives you a net gain in a cycle. You let that fire up, and once you hit about..ooh..300 DRC per second, it shouldn't be noticiable" The needle on the outlet bar is barely moving "Sadly, apples don't give out much energy, and I need a few safety checks before I move up to person testing. You really want to be sure on your safety stuff when step one is 'distintigrate you'. No matter how much you assure them it's only for a moment"
Nesseth nods at the mention of airships, having caught wind of the most recent incident in the chatter around the barracks, as well as updates he'd been getting as a Lieutenant. However, as Mia starts to demonstrate the idea she came up with, the concepts and workings of the machine start to very quickly fly over his head. At the very least, he's heard enough of Strix's processes both directly and through May that he can sort of piece together an explanation in his head. "So you're saying that... you can use just about anything for energy production with that?"
Mia: "Well, no. It only works with living things. The theory is a bit vague, and not well documented, but the testing I've done seems to suggest it only works for living, organic items. So, I can't test it on myself, because..well" She sighs "For the purposes of this, I don't count" That one stung a bit to learn.
Mia: "And the higher a life form it is, the more you get"
Nesseth tilts his head at the detail about organic items. "Huh... that's an interesting distinction. Does the machine work off of Nature magic or something, then? The only thing I can see different about you is that you're metal instead of scales... and, well... a cat, and not a kobold."
Mia: "Well, I got the idea from one of the Nature elemental. So possibly. I'm not terribly happy with this one. I understand roughly what's going on, but I don't have a solid theory behind it. Just the experimental evidence I've made. The math checks out. My tests back up what my math predicts..but..you're getting something for nothing it feels like, and there's always a hidden cost, y'know?"
Nesseth hums thoughtfully. "I guess? Kind of like how burning wood for energy, you can't get the wood back afterwards? Or... I guess if there was a way to make unlimited energy, someone somewhere would have found it by now..." He sighs a little and shakes his head with a sheepish smile, "Sorry, Mia, science isn't my strongest suit. I think I get what you're saying, but you're the smarter of the two of us by far."
Mia: "Yeah. I might keep looking at it. If only try and work out why the process works differently for me, or at least, seeing if there's a different reason other than the obvious one" She smiles a little sadly "Though, maybe I should just..own it? I'm not really..well. I'm still a person, but..just not like everyone else in a way that's pretty important" There's another pause "I still want to eat, and spend time with people, and do all that romance stuff if I can find someone, and even act like what I'm doing counts as sleeping at night, but it's all sort of just..faking, in way? I don't think I need to do it. I just do it because that's what everyone else does?"
Nesseth hums and nods. "Mmh, figuring it out would be extra knowledge at least, right? Maybe it won't be useful straight away, but there's bound to be an application or two down the line somewhere." He shrugs with a soft smile, "You're still you. That explanation you gave just now may have gone over my head a bit, but that's the sort of explanation I'm familiar with from when we used to chat before the change. The way I see it, eating and sleeping might not be completely necessary for you anymore, but they're still things to enjoy. Companionship and romance, though? Scales and flesh, or metal... a person's got to have company no matter what."
Mia: "I might be still me, but" She sighs "I don't know. I'm always someone that's handled change, and just..rolled with it, and I'm struggling a bit now, and I keep being asked if I'm still me, and I have to say yes, because that's the answer I'm being asked to give..but" She stops herself spiralling, and focuses "I just suppose I'm afraid that I won't be able to relate to people as well. May still won't quite look at me the same way, and she's really, really trying her best, but..I might be the same person, but it's still a big change..and it's..it's just hard"
Nesseth leans against the counter a little, watching in concern before Mia stops herself from spiraling down a rabbit hole. "You're still you, and you've changed a bit, sure, but we all change over time, and sometimes significantly, right? It's not like you went from being a magitech savant to... I don't know, being only interested in pottery glazing or something." He sighs a bit, "Probably not the best of comparisons, but, still. May's trying her best, you're trying your best... it's a new normal, but if you need help relating to others, you've got a lot of close friends to talk to all the same. I might not be as close to you as May, but I'm happy to talk if you need to, Mia."
Mia: "Yeah, thanks..but..well, maybe I could be interest in pottery glazing!" She grins "I bet I could glaze pots really well if I wanted to. I do get what you mean though. I still have to work out what the new normal is, and what that means and stuff. I've been getting some coaching from Vix on the personal relations stuff, and the uh..well, the catgirl stuff. So that's been fun, and I suppose, if what I'm doing is faking, and I'm a fake..well, if I do it long enough that nobody call the difference, and I can't tell the difference, that's the same as being real, right?"
Nesseth smiles a bit at the mention of Vix. "Oh? She's been helping you figure some things out? She's really good at doing cat things, and personal relations stuff as well." He shrugs a bit, "I don't know about if you're faking things, since it's all sincere and with feeling, but..." He pauses, then reaches out across the counter to boop Mia on the nose, like he would Vix, "You're not a fake. You're as real as anyone else. If you were fake, we wouldn't really be standing here debating if you were fake or real, I'm pretty sure."
Mia: "Well, no. If I was fake and I thought that worrying about being fake would make me seem real, that's what I'd do, right?" She smiles softly "Thanks though. I know I'm being silly on some level, but I'll work through it. Vix is helping a lot, in a weird way. I'm getting a lot of feelings about..well, people that I've never had before, and they feel really peopley, more than when I was flesh and blood, so that helps" She ponders
Mia: "Still trying to explore that more though"
Nesseth tilts his head curiously as he withdraws his finger from booping Mia on the nose. "Peopley sort of feelings for... people? I'm guessing like... romantic thoughts, if Vix is the one helping a lot?" He taps his chin, thinking back a little, "Oh, that's right! You mentioned you had a lot more time to think and take your time, back at the clinic, since you were less nervous about a lot of things."
Mia: "Uh..yeah. I'm still trying stuff out there, and seeing what I like. It's been a lot of tongue stuff at first" She licks Nesseth's finger as it withdraws "And..well, it makes me feel alive, and sort of warm and tingly in nice ways. I don't want to say anything about my preferences until I've tried out everything though"
Nesseth chuckles at the lick, the sensation being rather familiar. "Yeah, from what Vix told me, cats do tend to use their tongues for a lot of tasks... and other things." He nods, "Still at that point of wanting to experiment a lot, eh? I can understand that."
Mia: "Well. I've always learned with experimentation, so..why stop now?" She gives a small meow, that she's been practicing "And..it helps with all the..other worries"
Nesseth smiles. "A lot of things on the romance side tend to be discovered through experimentation, yeah, and with it being a new avenue of things for you to learn about, it'd occupy your attention a fair bit." He flexes his frills a little at the meow, "Sounds like you're getting the hang of the meows, too!"
Mia: "It does! The stuff with Vix is fun, but..well, there's so many other options that Vix just isn't..well, equipped for. I'm curious to explore those once I find someone"
Mia does take note of the frills. Frills are neat.
Nesseth chuckles at that and nods. "Yeah... Vix definitely knows her stuff, but there's only so much any one person can do with their bodies. Different species, different capabilities and all that." He pauses, then nods again, "I could offer to help you figure things out if you want."
Mia: "She does, and I think some of that stuff got explained." There's a pause "Just so we're clear, we're both talking about..like..intimate stuff with you putting your genitals in me, right?"
Nesseth blinks at Mia's question, then slowly shrugs as the bluntness almost visibly stuns him. "Uh... I mean, if that's what you're talking about? All that talk about experimentation and such, I didn't want to just assume." He shrugs, "Either way, intimate or not, if there's some way I can help, let me know, and I'll do what I can to help out."
Mia: "Ah! That was too blunt. Sorry, still learning about when you're allowed to be direct, but..uh, yes! That's what I mean. We're good friends, and you're well..you're really attractive, and I've been looking for a guy to try that stuff with!" She brightens up "Uh...so. Are you doing anything now?"
Nesseth smiles awkwardly and waves away the apology after a moment. "Oh, uh... no, no worries, Mia, it's fine. It just caught me off-guard is all." He tilts his head for a moment, but pats at the bag strapped to his shoulder after a moment, "Right... now? Just finishing up some errands in the marketplace."
Mia: "Oh, right.Well then maybe we should.." She flicks her ears. Cats have excellent hearing! "...Have some lunch after that, and see what happens them?" She smiles softly "And..uh..half an hour should be enough for you, right?"
Nesseth tilts his head a bit, thinking for a moment, "A half-hour? Yeah, I think that should be enough time for me to drop things off and meet back up for some lunch, sure." He smiles, "Any place in particular that you'd like to eat at, Mia?"
Mia opens her mouth, not actually knowing "Uh..there's that food courtyard up the North of the Marketplace. We could go there, and see what's there. Make the decision there"
Nesseth nods, knowing the spot. "Oh, that's a good spot. There are a few good stands up that way that serve all kinds of things." He smiles a bit more brightly, "So, half an hour, then?"
Mia: "Yeah!" She nods, and scoots off to get ready.
----------------------------------------------
RESPITE FOOD COURT - EARLY AFTERNOON
----------------------------------------------
Mia had arrived at the food court at about the right time. She had went home, and after some brief consideration had gotten changed. She was dressed in a sleeveless blouse which was keeping fairly tight to her body, along with a short skirt, and stockings. She had read somewhere about the concept of the 'thigh gap', and this seemed like an excellent opportunity to explore this concept in an active field test. She waves to Nesseth when she sees him, and approachs the lizard "Hey! Just needed to clear up a few things at home. Glad you could make it!"
Nesseth likewise shows up at the food court at just about the right time, having taken the time since they met earlier to offload his purchases in the pantry and change into something a bit more fitting for the occasion than his usual day-to-day wear. He waves in turn when he sees Mia, and makes his way over to her. "Hey there, Mia! I'm not going to pass up on food and good company."
Mia: "Right!" She nods "So, do you have any particular preference for what you want to get? There's plenty of choice here. I'm still not really great at the picking new foods out, so maybe you should pick first?"
Nesseth hums thoughtfully as he looks around at the food stands arrayed around the court, though he does find his eyes curiously wandering back to Mia every so often. "Sure, let's see... uh... Oh! I hear that stall's got some good Orelan-Sarnian fusion dishes." He trails off as he looks back at Mia while pointing at the stall in question, "Heh... sorry, just admiring the outfit a bit. That's a cute one on you."
Mia: "Oh!" Mia doesn't have a heart to flutter, but still. The praise feels good! It's a new feeling "Well. I'm trying out different looks, and I wouldn't do this for work, but for dates, this works I think!" She smiles "Is it the thigh gap thing? I've read a lot about that. I'm trying to find what the ideal spacing is..and.." She blinks, and pulls herself out of a science spiral "Yes. Fusion. That sounds good! We can try that"
Nesseth tilts his head curiously as his eyes wander down towards Mia's legs at the mention of this 'thigh gap' concept. He winds up looking for... perhaps a touch too long, but smiles and nods. "It's definitely eye-catching, on top of the outfit itself. I hope you don't mind my eyes wandering a little on accident while we eat." He nods towards the stall and offers Mia a hand, "Speaking of eating, let's go and place our orders. I can cover the costs."
Mia takes Nesseth's hand, and nods "Oh! Right. That's fine! I understand that's the custom" She gives a smile "Oh, and your eyes can wander. It's sort of a new and weird feeling, but I think I might like it? Someone not being able to resist looking at me. I've dressed to be 'alluring'" She says it like she's quoting. Which she is. "You can pick something out. I've not looked into that sort of food, so I don't know what I might like, but we're both carnivores, so probably similar tastes"
Nesseth nods as the two draw up the stand and he starts to look over the food on the menu. "Then, I'll not worry about any wandering looks. Let's see what we've got here..." He trails off for a moment, then gestures at a 'mini-variety' dish of sorts, "Oh hey, that works. Two smaller portions of a couple of different foods. Sounds perfect for figuring out what you might like to eat!"
Mia: "Okay" She nods "That sounds like a good plan" She peers at the dish "Yeah, I think I can get behind that plan" Since 'wandering eyes' were now okay, her own eyes wander over the lizard, taking it all in, and trying to establish in her head if it appeals to her. She may get lost in that mental rabbit hole...
Nesseth nods with a smile and goes to place the order for himself and Mia, as well as paying for the meals. He doesn't notice her watching him as he goes about things, or he does and doesn't mind the gaze. Once the payment is doled out, he turns towards Mia, then gestures at a nearby table. "Let's go and make ourselves comfortable. They'll deliver the food once it's ready." He pauses, then chuckles when he notes her staring, "Curious about something?"
Mia snaps out of it "Oh! Sorry, I got a bit distracted with my thoughts. There's a lot of focus on people's likes based on gender, so I'm deciding how I feel about that sort of thing. You're very nice to look at it, so that's solid evidence in that direction!" She moves to the table, and sits down "But, I need more information!" She grins "Which you're helping with, so I'm super grateful there"
Nesseth chuckles as he sits down opposite of Mia. "Well, like I said, I'm happy to help, so if there's something you want to know, feel free to ask. I'll try to answer what I can as best as I can." He blinks, then leans back just a touch to move out of the way as one of the workers at the food stall brings out a couple of glasses of water for the two, "Oh, right, I also ordered a couple of sodas for us to go with the food, Mia."
Mia: "Oh right. Lubrication. Yes" She nods a couple of times, before taking a sip of water "You'll sort of have to guide me through it, but I get the jist of it. We sit here and talk about our pasts and interests and stuff for a bit, then we head somewhere, and we see if we want to do more"
Nesseth hums as he likewise takes a drink of water. He sighs and nods as he sets the glass back down. "Yeah, that's about the long and short of it, overall. It's kind of best to let it happen naturally, of course, but chit-chat over food and drink, see if there's any particular interest, and... well, if the mood goes that way, maybe see about doing more later." He smiles and shrugs slightly, "So... since we're already on the topic, other than magitech inventing, what else do you like to do?"
Mia: "Well. That's sort of something I'm working on. I don't really have any other hobbies. Anytime that I pick something up, I just use the same sort of mentality, but..I'm trying new things. Trying to read fiction books, and" She has the good graces to be a bit bashful about .."Well, some books of the more erotic nature" She's learning! She knows that's something you're not meant to just come out and say.
Nesseth doesn't seem all too thrown off at all from the comment, now that he's learning a bit more about how Mia ticks when it comes to chit-chat. "That's the fun part, I'd say. You've got so many different things you can try, just to see if what you decide to try is fun!" He chuckles again and tilts his head, "And romance novels, hm? I could probably recommend a couple of different series if those are catching your interest."
Mia: "Well. I won't know until I try it, right?" She nods back "And sure! If you like it, then I should read them too.If we're going to be partnering, then it's important to know what the other likes"
Nesseth hums in agreement. "I'm pretty sure I've got copies of them at home, so I can loan them to you if you like. They're pretty good reads, I think!" He pauses, thinking, then smiles. "Oh yeah, and reading aside, cooking is pretty fun, too. Mostly because... well, you can eat what you make, and there's really no wrong way to go about it aside from burning it."
Mia: "Oh..cooking!" She nods "I could see myself doing that. You get to change things up, make different dishes, see what works" She considers "I'll add that to the list. I don't want to just talk about me though. What about you? What do you do for hobbies, because..well, I don't really know much about you at all"
Nesseth smiles. "Me? Well, I like to read in my free time. I only just got a library membership after not having time to do that before, so my bookshelves are a bit more stocked now. I love to cook, as well, which is why I'm in the marketplace so often, restocking the pantry and such. Hunting... archery... spending time with the folks I especially care about... I'm definitely not wanting for things to do, most of the time."
Mia: "All of that sounds like a lot of fun actually" She hmms "Maybe not the weapon and fighting stuff. Never been my thing, and it's sorta my one rule that I won't make anything dangerous on purpose" Accidentially dangerous stuff? Sure "Well, if I'm learning to cook, and you cook, and I bet you have friends that cook, some day we could have a little party where we all make stuff that we cook! That could be fun" The food arrives at some point during this, which provides ample distraction! Mia won't be one to eat and talk much
Nesseth nods, smiling easily. "Oh yeah, I can understand that. The hunting is just to help supply the town, but it's still not exactly safe. There are probably other things I do that I'm forgetting at the moment, but it'll pop up, I'm sure." He slowly nods, then nods a bit more eagerly at the idea of a cooking party, "Aside from myself, I know Vix and May can both cook, so we could probably make a get-together of it! And-- oh, here's the food!"
Mia gets through the food fairly quickly. She seems to enjoy all of it, but focuses mostly on the meat, and anything spicy or with a strong flavour to it. Once she's done "I'm still not quite sure how food 'works' with me. There's no 'waste products', so its doing something, I think"
Nesseth tilts his head curiously as he does spend a bit of time watching Mia work her way through her food. Once he's done, he takes a moment to wipe his mouth. "Hm... if I knew anything about magitech, I could probably make suggestions, but... I wonder..." He taps his own plate with a finger, "You seemed to really get into the spicy foods. Did you always like things spicy?"
Mia: "Well, Before I just sort of ate because you have to eat. Focused mostly on high calorie density and cheap food. Didn't really have room in my brain for anything that wasn't just.." She motions, trying to explain the process "Making something else to get an idea of my head, or something to make me that little bit safer. I honestly couldn't tell you what I liked before hand"
Nesseth hums and nods. "Oh, okay, just kind of... did what you could to get it out of the way. I think I get it. Maybe you've just got some really, really efficient digestion?" He smiles after a moment, "But how'd you like the food just now, though? Was it good?"
Mia: "I did! The beef was the best part, but..you're right. I like the stronger flavours. The more that there's there the taste, the more I like it, I think" She smiles back "and the digestion? I can't really say. I'm not able to look inside myself to find out, and I don't really want to risk damaging my own body ..even if I am curious"
Nesseth 's smile grows a little awkward, if only for a moment. "Oh yeah, let's, uh... not go accidentally damaging things we might not be able to fix. Maybe you'll be able to figure it out one day without risking anything." He perks up, though, "But hey, if flavorful is what you like, I can definitely do that while cooking!"
Mia: "Right!" She nods in return again "It's what I'll focus on myself as well"
Nesseth continues to have a really nice chat with Mia for the next little while at the food court, talking about this and that (mostly food interests and other things that come to mind) before they decide to continue the... date science-ing somewhere a bit more comfortable together.