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THE THIRSTY MINNOW - MORNING
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Ninell sits at the counter, enjoying a nice, warm meal as he continues to keep his station in Respite according to the orders he'd gotten out of Eukune a bit ago. As it stands, though, he has nothing of particular concern on his schedule, so he's out of his armor and instead just wearing some of his usual clothing.
Phoebe wanders down into the bar a bit tiredly, rubbing her eyes. She's dressed in simple clothing, looking through some notes left by Aelia, unnecessarily, but still appreciated. She prepares to get a table and some breakfast when she notices Ninell, blushing beneath her fur. "Oh! Uh, morning, Ninell! Fancy seeing you here!" She twitches, immediately wanting to facepalm.
Ninell hums curiously and turns towards the familiar voice. He smiles warmly upon seeing Phoebe. "Oh, good morning, Phoebe! Seems like Aelia is taking her turn to rest." He nods at the seat beside him, "Care to join me for breakfast?"
Phoebe nods a little too eagerly, slipping into a seat and staring at Ninell, "Oh! Thank you! I'd be joined to honor you... Honored... to join you..." She sighs, still finding herself flustered around him. "You don't make this easy on me, do you? I just woke up, and here you are."
Ninell leans to the side and gives Phoebe a warm hug with his free arm, then goes back to eating his breakfast. "I suppose I could always go elsewhere for breakfast if you do not need me distracting you." He flashes her a little smile, as he's clearly joking.
Phoebe hmphs, but leans into the hug until Ninell goes back to eating. She nods to the barkeep to order something for herself as well before setting down Aelia's notes. "Maybe I like being distracted by you."
Ninell chuckles as he lets his long tail wrap a little around Phoebe's. "Then I think I shall continue to take my breakfasts here." He smiles again, but nods at the papers, "But, what might those be? Notes and such from Aelia?"
Phoebe chuckles, still blushing, "As much as they help, yeah... I literally watched her write these last night. Still... the effort's... appreciated, I guess. It's mostly a lot of notes about her dance lessons. Guess I have to go to the store she rented out and put up closed signs. Maybe I'll just hang out in case folks walk in? I can take names or something."
Ninell nods. "It would not be a bad idea. Since you and Aelia do not know when you two will swap, it will be good to let others know when Aelia is unavailable, and to note who stopped by so Aelia can continue her lessons when you two switch back."
Phoebe chuckles wryly, "Guess I'm her secretary? I can deal with it. I mean... at least it's a job. Though I guess I'm paying myself. Gonna have to figure out what to say that other dragon guy..." She gives Ninell a sidelong glance.
Ninell raises an eyebrow. "Ah, you mean Calgwen? I could also tell him for you, if you would prefer."
Phoebe nods, "I'd take a briefing on him if you have one. Should I be worried?"
Ninell shakes his head. "No, he is a gentleman. He already knows that Aelia has something that occasionally comes up that prevents her from consistently hosting her classes, but not specifically why."
Phoebe hums, "I'll probably have to talk to him if he comes back in and wants to talk to Aelia... ugh, what a pain. Guessing you clued him in on her issues, even if you didn't tell him why she couldn't be around all the time, so you must think he's decent enough."
Ninell nods. "Mmh, he is, as best as I can tell, a good man. Of course, if you speak to him and he gives you any issues, you are welcome to seek me out for assistance."
Phoebe smirks, "If he gives me that big a hassle, I have the knives the elemental made. But it's probably fine. Honestly, I'm more concerned with those two others... or... one other. I don't know. Scilla."
Ninell tilts his head. "Scilla? Is that one of Aelia's students or something? What makes you more concerned about them?"
Phoebe rubs her chin as she leans back in her seat. "She was 'supposed' to be. She even scheduled an appointment. And then this big camel shows up instead, 'Prachi'. Aelia was just excited to have a walk-in, and disappointed that the scheduled lady didn't show. But... I'm not so sure. She was acting awfully weird about it all. Showing up at the time of the appointment too..."
Ninell gives Phoebe a curious look. "Odd. Then, do you think this 'Prachi' might have something to do with Scilla? When you say strange, what do you mean?"
Phoebe shrugs slightly, "Hard to say... but I might try to find her. Maybe it's just cause of my condition with Aelia but... something seems off about those two. Maybe it's none of my business... but maybe it's something like this curse."
Ninell hums and nods. "Perhaps, and I suppose you could search into things if you believe it to be the case. Though, first things first may be to get the dance studio in order."
Phoebe nods. "If you want. I know you're just waiting to hear from your home." She glances away, deflating a little. "But yeah, dance studio first."
Ninell smiles softly. "Besides, we do not have to be at the dance studio all day with nothing to do. We could get the studio set up first, and then investigate things together."
Phoebe tilts her head and smiles back. "Well, a good plan, I'd say." She pauses, thinking a moment. "You told Aelia... you wanted to try to make this work. The three of us... do you really think... that's possible?"
Ninell nods. "I do. Perhaps not easily, but I do feel we could make it work. Of course... it depends on Aelia and how she feels about things."
Phoebe nods. "I... I've said it before, but I do like you. I... I see what Aelia sees, and hear what she hears, but I don't know what she's thinking. I think she'd be a fool to let you go, if you're willing to do this much for us time and time again."
Ninell hums in agreement. "Mmhm, and you know I like you quite a bit as well, Phoebe. Maybe it might be worthwhile asking her what she thinks? It could simply be between you two, after all, but I do not want Aelia to think she has to do something she might not want to be involved in."
Phoebe nods, "I... don't either, I suppose. Gah... so damn complicated. I... I admit, I was feeling pretty damn jealous when you two were dancing. Feels like the kinds of moments that I'm just not allowed to have."
Ninell blinks, then smiles. "Well... if that is the case, we could perhaps enjoy some dancing ourselves once we get the studio settled." He sets his fork down and turns a little to face Phoebe better, "You should get to enjoy what Aelia does, after all."
Phoebe starts, "Bwa? Me? Dance? Oh, I don't... I'm not... two left paws and all, right? I'm not built for... or, that is to say, I'm not the type who really... err... I don't..." She runs out of steam, trying to make some kind of excuse, instead just looking down embarrased.
Ninell simply leans against the counter a bit as he listens to Phoebe tripping over herself, smiling all the while. "If you felt jealous, what better way to solve it than by dancing with you, dear? Besides, I do not know any Sarnian dances, so I could perhaps teach you one of Eukune's dances instead?"
Phoebe stammers a little longer, then simply nods, "I uh... I mean, it's your funeral. So, uh... yeah. Yeah, why not?"
Ninell laughs quietly. "I do not think I am in danger of dying if we dance, Phoebe. You will pick up the moves quickly enough, I believe."
Phoebe shrugs, laughing just a little in turn, "I don't know. I'm pretty dangerous. You'll have to watch yourself, or you might find yourself on your back with me on top of you." Her face falls as she realizes what she's said, and she puts her hands on the side of her head, "Because I might trip while dancing. Gods..."
Ninell can't help but chuckle some more at Phoebe's verbal tripping as he pats her on the shoulder. "Either way, I would not be upset to find myself in such a position. It simply means that we can spend more time practicing our dancing together."
Phoebe takes a moment to keep her head together and nods, "Well... not so bad a result then." She starts to eat her breakfast as the barkeep delivers her some bacon and eggs, still sparing Ninell a few glances now and then.
Ninell hums warmly and turns to finish up his own meal. He does glance over at Phoebe with a smile every so often, though. "I will say, though... it is good to see you again, Phoebe."
Phoebe smiles at Ninell between bites, "It's good to be back. There's... something awful about being able to watch all of this, without being able to interact, to taste or touch or smell..." She pauses, "Guess Aelia got the better side of the curse. She's just gonna wake up like she had a long nap."
Ninell tilts his head curiously at that. "Wait... so you can see through Aelia's eyes, but you cannot experience her other senses, even though you are 'awake'?"
Phoebe shakes her head, pointing up at her eyes, "I can see," and then to her ears, "And hear. Otherwise... it's like... I dunno. Nothing. It's not warm or cold. I don't really get a sense of her, or of myself. I can't really sleep like that, but it's just dark when her eyes are close, so time just sorta passes." She looks down at the bacon on her plate. "It's why I savor these moments so much. Why I'm fighting to stay alive."
Ninell leans over and gives Phoebe a peck on the cheek, just to give her another thing to savor. "And this is part of why I want to help you two out so much. I may have inadvertently gotten involved, but I still wish to help, all the same."
Phoebe blinks, lifting her hand up towards her cheek. "...better than the bacon, that's for sure..."
Ninell chuckles. "Though perhaps a little less nourishing than the bacon."
Phoebe shakes her head just a little, "I dunno... feels like something I was kinda starving for too." She slumps a little, chuckling, "So damn sappy..."
Ninell smiles. "Nothing wrong with being sappy, Phoebe, and I suppose it would be fitting to say that I am more than happy to give you the affection you want."
Phoebe blushes, lowering her hand to stare down at her plate again, but she can't help but smile, trying to her the tears welling up in her eyes, tail wagging behind her. "I'll take it all, then, Ninell. Thank you. Thank you."
Ninell leans to the side and gives Phoebe another soft, one-armed hug. "And we can start with a little dancing, once you finish breakfast."
Phoebe leans back, this time extending an arm to return the hug. She knew Ninell hadn't left, but she's still not used to the affection, the honest and open affection. She turns back to eat her breakfast, but leaves one hand upon Ninell as if afraid he'll fade away if she loses contact. She moves her other hand to finish eating, all the while riding the emotional high.