----------------------------------------------
XOCHI'S HOUSE - MORNING
----------------------------------------------
Nesseth makes his way to the front door of Xochi's house, feeling an odd sense of deja vu as he approaches the porch. As he comes to a stop and prepares to knock on the door, he almost reflexively glances behind him, half expecting Xochicoatl to land there, just as she did the last time he'd stopped by. He sighs a little when it doesn't happen, but he doesn't pause for much more than a moment before he knocks on the door and waits.
Xochi answers the door shortly, the somewhat-younger-than-before Coatl seeming in good spirits. "Ah! Nesseth! I had just finished breaking fast. What brings you here, hm?"
Nesseth smiles and dips his head. "Morning, Xochi. I just wanted to stop by, see how you've been doing since you got home from the clinic. Louma and I have been a bit on the busy end lately, so we haven't been able to drop by recently."
Xochi dips her head in response, motioning for Nesseth to enter if he wishes, "I have been doing quite well! Other than the trip to the clinic... it still feels as if I have only been gone a day, ah but the garden was quite overgrown. It does feel good that so many worried over me, though it makes me somewhat ashamed to have caused you all such grief."
Nesseth smiles a little more brightly as he takes the invitation to enter, though once he does, he turns to give Xochi a warm hug. "I'm glad to hear you've been getting back into the routine." He trails off as he breaks the hug and tilts his head when he steps back, "I bet the garden and Kira both are happy that you're back."
Xochi hugs back, wings included, before Nesseth steps back. She frowns slightly, "Yes, Kira was very worried. I did not mean to cause her such distress, nor you and Erika and Louma."
Nesseth hums quietly. "It resolved itself nicely, though." He pauses, then decides to just dive into the questions he'd been hoping to ask, "Or at least as well as we'd have hoped, anyway. Do you have free time at the moment, Xochi?"
Xochi chuckles, "I am retired, Nesseth. Though... with this sudden change to my body, perhaps I shall have to reconsider this. But for the moment, I have time to spare." She slithers towards her kitchen, getting out a few cups and motioning Nesseth towards a sitting area. "Care for some tea?"
Nesseth goes to take a seat and nods at Xochi. "That'd be nice, thank you." He takes a moment to order his thoughts, then continues, "Well, I was thinking about getting you caught up on some happenings recently that might catch your interest."
Xochi pours the already heated water into a cup, adding some of the tea leaves from her garden, and carries the cup to Nesseth before settling her coils down on the mat opposite his seat. She tilts her head slightly, "Oh? Well, I would be more than happy to hear what is happening, and however I may help you."
Nesseth accepts his cup and lets the tea leaves steep for a little while. "Well, thankfully, nothing too out of the ordinary that means you'd have to jump right in to help. You've seen a lot of the recent developments going up around the town's western side, and how the Saurs are integrating with us."
Xochi nods, "I have wandered that way, yes. Some of the saur were worried for my wellbeing too, but beyond that, ah, it is good to see such progress has been made."
Nesseth takes a sip of his tea once it's been steeping for a little while, and he takes a moment to enjoy the flavors. "They've been great ever since they started truly settling in. I think they're all realizing that the town is welcoming by and large."
Xochi takes a sip of her own tea as well, humming at the flavor. "This is all good news, yes. I had some fears of what might have happened in the time when I was gone... unfounded fears, I am happy to say."
Nesseth hums. "Mmh, there were a couple of slightly rough spots early on, with a few of the younger ones stealing from the marketplace, and a family or two that lost loved ones holding a huge grudge against Saurs that had nothing to do with the war, but it got solved quickly enough."
Xochi frowns slightly, staring down into her tea. "I know well enough that wars cause deep wounds, even generations later."
Nesseth nods at that. "That it can, but I think we've gotten through the worst of that stuff with the Saurs, this time."
Xochi takes a deep breath, contemplating. "I am glad. Our own history shows the damage that such wars can do if the hatred festers."
Nesseth lets out a long sigh. "Yeah... yeah, it really isn't pretty when there's nothing done to alleviate things between folks." He pauses, then smiles a bit as he adjusts the topic a little, "So... yeah, things have been pretty calm on this end for the last little bit. How've you been doing since you got home?"
Xochi sips her tea, "Well. I have been trying to return to my routine, but with one slight variation." She unfolds her wings, raising them up to flap. "I do find myself wishing to fly, and such thoughts no longer seem quite so impossible. I have been cautious for the moment, but I have been keeping the wings excercised."
Nesseth chuckles as he takes a moment to admire Xochi's plumage. "Well, you've been given that gift, so you should use it whenever you feel like it. Now, you can fly around with Louma and Plume on your free time."
Xochi chuckles, lowering her wings back down, "We shall see! I certainly shall try. It doesn't seem quite right that just 'know' how to fly, but I do. So strange. But I suppose this was all quite strange."
Nesseth hums and nods. "Well... you probably "know" how to fly because Louma taught Xochicoatl how to fly while she was here. She's you, after all."
Xochi rubs her chin in thought, "Ahh, perhaps? It is rather strange to me, quite confusing. I don't remember any of what happened to this other me."
Nesseth shrugs. "I wish I could give a better explanation, but even trying to think through the one I just said makes my head hurt a bit."
Xochi hums, "Ah, mine as well. It is a gift, as you said, and I shall try not to question it too much."
Nesseth chuckles quietly. "Yeah, that seems to be the best thing to do in this case... Although..." He tilts his head a bit, "Speaking of, have you been experiencing anything out of the ordinary lately? Aside from being able to fly, unlike before, that is."
Xochi glances up, thinking. "I... do not think so? Nothing since I woke up in the clinic, no."
Nesseth nods, having thought that was going to be the case. "I was mostly just asking, because... well, the things with Xochicoatl might not be quite over with yet, even though you're back."
Xochi tilts her head again, "It... might not be over? Should I be concerned?"
Nesseth shakes his head in response. "I... don't think so?" He pauses to take a sip of his tea again, "It's probably best if I just start from the beginning on this one."
Xochi nods, settling in to listen to Nesseth's explanation.
Nesseth likewise gets comfortable in his seat. "So, when we were working with Xochicoatl to bring you back, we knew doing the ritual would mean she wouldn't be here in town anymore. We'd given her a few things to take with her back to the manor, to help her deal with the ensuing years. A few pictures, a carving, small things like that." He trails off for a moment, then resumes, "Just recently, a clutch sister of Louma's arrived in town. Now... just to double check... you're the last coatl currently, as far as you're aware, right?"
Xochi: "I am, yes. Last of the bloodline of pure-blooded Coatls." She pauses to consider. "That I am aware of, yes."
Nesseth nods, then continues the line of thought. "Well, as I said, Louma's clutch sister just arrived in town, and she apparently had an urge to move from Sarn to Aephix a few weeks ago. She's a lesser coatl like Louma, but with black feathers..." He looks over Xochi for a moment, "...And her wings are rainbow-patterned, which she swears up and down aren't how they originally were."
Xochi looks back at her own wings, spreading out the pinions slightly. "Rainbow-patterned. Like mine, you are suggesting? Or, that is to say, like the other me's wings?"
Nesseth nods. "Yeah. What's more, Leana, Louma's sister, has the things we gave to Xochicoatl... the pictures in particular, and I'm assuming the carving as well."
Xochi thinks for a moment on all of this information. "Leana... I was not even aware that Louma had a sister. How curious. Do you think there is anything that I am needed to do to help her?"
Nesseth shakes his head. "Not at the moment, I think. Aside from the change to her wings, and the urge to be here in Aephix, Louma says Leana is as she's always been. There's really nothing to help yet, as far as I know."
Xochi relaxes back against her coils, letting her wings settle back into place, "Ahh. It is a mystery, then. If there is anything I can do, simply let me know." She gives Nesseth a half-grin, "Can't have any pretenders to the throne, yes?"
Nesseth chuckles and grins back. "Funny thing is, Louma thought Leana would make for a good court jester for you, and I thought Louma would be the jester instead. We both agreed you'd be the proper ascendant to the throne."
Xochi chuckles, "Considering how things have gone since my arrival, I do believe I'm the only one qualified to be the Fool." She shakes her head, "The truth is, there is no more throne, nor anyone to properly ascend to it any longer."
Nesseth hums and nods. "Well, if there was a throne, and if you were serious about claiming it, anyway." He sighs as he looks at his tea for a moment, "But... yeah, that's probably the only odd development as of late. Louma's sister seems to carry Xochicoatl's spirit, now."
Xochi sets her teacup down and folds her hands in front of her. "I have no more interest in that any longer." She closes her eyes, "I feel a bit responsible for this... I shall have to try to meet Leana perhaps, or if something of concern occurs, I ask that you or Louma keep me informed of it."
Nesseth nods and smiles. "Of course, Xochi. For Leana's part, she doesn't seem to mind at all, since the urge to come to Aephix coincided with a good reason for her to leave Sarn. She's a nice person, from what I learned while talking to her, and something of an artist, too, from what Louma's told me."
Xochi bows her head, "Good. I am... reconsidering how I have thought of things in the past, and looking for new ways to move forward. But I would still feel quite awful if my actions brought others to harm in such a way."
Nesseth: "If you want to find her, it shouldn't be too hard. I'm not exactly sure where she's staying at the moment, but she's not hard to spot in a crowd. Just look for someone like Louma, but with black feathers... and coatl-patterned wings."
Xochi hisses out a laugh to herself, "Ah, but that could be anyone! Ah, I shall keep at least one eye open, Nesseth."
Nesseth chuckles in turn, grinning as he runs with the joke. "I'll be sure to let you know if I hear where Leana's staying. That should help narrow down the numerous rainbow-winged folks we've been seeing as of late."
Xochi nods, "There have been quite a few, but we shall manage." She lifts her tea again, finishing off the remnants. "Would you like a refill?"
Nesseth glances down at his almost-empty cup, then nods as he slides it forward just a touch. "Oh, yes, please!" He settles back in his seat again as he lets Xochi do her thing, "That's more or less where things stand, now. Thankfully nowhere near as chaotic as some months back."
Xochi slithers forward to take Nesseth's cup, taking it to the counter where she refills both cups, returning it while listening to Nesseth talk through the more mundane events and aimless gossip of the recent past.
----------------------------------------------
AIRSHIP LANDING SITE OUTSIDE OF RESPITE FALLS - EARLY AFTERNOON
----------------------------------------------
Shirley is on the exterior of her airship at the moment, busy checking on various bits and pieces as she does her best to confirm the ship didn't sustain any minor dings or damage from the landing at Respite a few days back without a proper landing site. Now that she's got one set up in a field, she's whiling away the time double and triple-checking everything until her airship's inspection certification comes in.
Prachi wanders towards the ship, having been curious about it since it landed, but needed to wait for a change before she could really come here. If she doesn't want more people know, she needs to get more consistent about things. The bactrian camel, as usual, is possibly or probably wearing something hidden under all that fur, not that it makes much of a difference. Seeing Shirley, she gives a wave and a big smile.
Shirley notices Prachi approaching and waves in turn from her perch on top of the ship. "Afternoon there, Prachi! How have you been?"
Prachi shrugs as she walks closer, admiring the ship: "Pretty good. I see you're doing pretty well too since we last saw."
Shirley grins as she adjusts her position a bit and just sits down with her legs dangling off the side of the ship. "Yeah, much better now that my airship is almost back to proper glory. I'm actually just waiting for the inspection certification to arrive before I can start offering rides to and from Bairnell. Given time, I can replace enough parts to make the trip back to Vamas."
Prachi grins, crossing her arms: "That sounds pretty darn neat, honestly. Making a name for yourself, eh?" The camel gives the ship another approving look-over.
Shirley waves Prachi over towards the gangplank that leads up from the ground to the deck. "Come aboard and I can give you a little tour, if you like. You're not carrying anything large this time, so I'm thinking the equipment's safe." She grins jokingly as she slips herself off of the spot she'd been sitting at and drops to the deck several feet below.
Prachi giggles with a blush as she makes her way up: "Hey, I try to be careful! It's just easier said than done when you're this big."
Shirley shrugs a bit as Prachi joins her on the deck. "I mean, I suppose it was the wood's fault the first time, hm? Sometimes, our best efforts just aren't a match for nature doing what nature does best."
Prachi shrugs: "Well, I do what I can. Also, yes. Chaos is inherent in most systems, so the best we can do is try and rein it in."
Shirley smiles as she nods over at the entrance to the ship's interior, where all the equipment governing the ship's movement is located. "Then, since you say that, I think you might appreciate how my partner and I have managed to reign in the chaos, as you say."
Prachi smiles: "Thought you'd never ask. I want to see what you have been up to."
Shirley laughs and leads the way into the ship proper. "Then right this way, Prachi. Mind the doorway, though, we don't want to catch the top of your head."
Prachi laughs as she leans down more than a bit to make her way in: "Oof, you can say that again. The curse of being this tall." Still, she makes her way in after Shirley. Not like a mere doorway would stop her curiosity.
Shirley immediately directs Prachi's attention up a bit as she enters the ship. "Well, first things first, we've got some wiring tucked away up in the corners of the hallways and such to move power around the ship from the main engine. Being this high up, it gets a little too windy occasionally for lanterns and candles to work. The engine is always running when the ship is flying, so we might as well route some power to provide good lighting everywhere."
Prachi nods in appreciation: "That's pretty smart way to do it. The engine probably gives off more than enough for that quite naturally."
Shirley hums in agreement of the assessment as the two walk through the hall and into a room. "More or less. Steam generation on a good system can produce more power than one really needs, especially something of this size." She taps a finger against a large hunk of machinery, "And this thing helps make sure we can make long journeys. It captures the steam once it's through the system, cools it down, and collects the water for recycling back into the boilers. It's not as automated as I would like, but we make do for the time being with daily manual cycling."
Prachi nods, considering this: "How many passengers would you think you can ferry around, should that become your business?"
Shirley tilts her head in thought. "Assuming they have a reasonable amount of luggage? The ship can handle upwards of about 15 passengers at a time. Food supplies and maintenance gear fill the rest of the space."
Prachi raises an eyebrow: "That's pretty impressive. And I imagine more as you hone down on the space usage... assuming your proverbial passengers aren't as big as I am, anyway."
Shirley gives a bit of an uncertain shrug. "Well, maybe not with this ship in particular. It's not a full ship, since Robin and I got it only partially completed. If it was a complete ship with my tech added on, then it might carry more and for longer." She lightly pats the machinery with a hand, clearly fond of the creation, "As it stands, though, it's either 15 between here and Bairnell or a maximum of 5 from here to any other continent."
Prachi shrugs with a smile: "Still, I'd say you've done well. I could maybe, maybe build the engine you're using given time, but all this... aeronautics stuff is beyond me."
Shirley tilts her head curiously, perking up a little as she leads the way back out of the room and down the hall. "Oh, you've some engineering knowledge? I take it you're a hobbyist that learned by tinkering, like me?"
Prachi nods: "Some formal training, mostly informal ie. 'the hard way' kind of learning."
Shirley chuckles. "The best way to learn, I think. Make mistakes, then learn to not make them again." She scoffs a little, "Some things are better learned hands-on than through bloody books and expensive classes."
Prachi smirks: "Got to have at least a bit of explosions and mud in your background before you can call yourself any kind of engineer."
Shirley gives Prachi a bit of a look at the mention of mud, but seems to brush it off as she continues to lead the way into another room. "That reminds me of another tinkerer I met a couple of months back. You wouldn't happen to know Scilla, would you? Poor girl fell right into a puddle of mud after banging her head against a machine that refused to work with her for the better part of the day."
Prachi gyerks a bit at that, but mostly gathers herself: "Eerrr, yeah. Uh. We have met. She's, uh... nice."
Shirley nods. "She seems like it, yeah." She leads the way into another, larger room near the back middle of the ship and grins as she turns to present the heart of her design, "Anyway, here's the main engine and boilers for my steam system. It's entirely clean, since it uses magitech heating elements to boil the water instead of coal, which also saves space on the heaters."
Prachi lets out a small sigh of relief at the change of topic, then actually starts to admire the engine itself: "Okay, actually not sure I could even build this. Or at least, not with the magitech part, that stuff's out of my reach." She pauses. "Pun intended."
Shirley walks over to the central unit and rests a hand against the metal exterior. "It's something I've spent a long time planning out. It all started off from me working on scale models to see what concepts worked and what concepts didn't, and then expanding on the ones that did. Ultimately, I wound up at this design as one of the most efficient ones." She chuckles, "And the magitech part is just a heating element I purchased off of some merchant in Bairnell. I didn't come up with it myself."
Prachi nods in appreciation: "Still, it's a very slick design. I can see this working on a bigger scale too, if needed."
Shirley hums as she gives the unit a loving pat. "Potentially. More power would mean faster travel, but the larger unit means I'd need a larger ship. That might very well be my project once I get back to Vamas."
Prachi smiles: "It's good to have such projects. Me, I don't know what if any grander goal I have."
Shirley tilts her head as she looks over at Prachi. "No pet projects you want to try and tinker with, or anything, even in your off time?"
Prachi shrugs, glancing aside: "Nothing's sparked as of yet. Filling my time with just fixing stuff and helping construction... something will come up, but I don't know what it is, yet."
Shirley nods a bit at that. "I know that feeling quite well, I think. Unless I have an idea that pops into my head as soon as I finish a project, I sometimes spend time just fiddling aimlessly."
Prachi nods: "Juggle hammers and hit stuff until something comes up, yeah." She gives a small smile: "But I'm still new to Respite. There's gotta be some niche, just waiting to be found or invented."
Shirley smiles. "Then it's good you do odd jobs around town. It should give you a good feel for what folks need still, hm?" She chuckles, "Maybe you could even poke at Scilla a bit to see if the two of you could collaborate on something. Robin and I work together because it makes things far easier for both of us."
Prachi chuckles with just a bit of a nervous edge: "Y-yeah, maybe we could. We are of, uh, similar minds I think..."
Shirley nods at that and steps away from the machinery in the room. "It definitely sounds that way, really. Anyway, just food for thought."
Prachi hums: "It is something to think about..." She shakes her head: "Ah well, for later. No ideas right now means it's not currently my problem either."
Shirley chuckles as she leads the way out of the room and onwards in the tour. "Who knows? Maybe this tour will give you an idea or two. I'm happy to help if there are any engineering ideas you might want to bounce off of others."
Prachi nods with a small grin: "I appreciate that. Never been all that much of an ideas girl so much as I can figure out how stuff works, if that makes sense."
Shirley smiles in turn. "Ambition is all you need when it comes to tinkering, as I'm sure you already know. You get an idea, you try to see if it works. If it doesn't work, tweak it until it does!"
Prachi giggles: "Well, trying and failing, then trying again, that part I know how to do. Just need to know where to direct it."
Shirley hums easily as she leads the way through a few rooms clearly meant for storage of various things, including barrels of water for the boilers. "And that's the challenge, really. Once you have a direction, though, just stick with it until you've taken the idea as far as you can."
Prachi nods as she follows Shirley, ducking at doorframes as she goes: "Yep, that's both the hard part and the fun part. Well, fun once I know."
Shirley chuckles again as she slows down in another room with a number of more mechanical pieces of machinery compared to the engineering marvels of the previous rooms. "Exactly. We're not tinkerers if we don't enjoy making things even if they don't work as intended." She gestures at the mechanical components, all tucked away behind a chest-height (though probably closer to waist-height for Prachi) railing and fence. "This part might catch your interest, too. All these gears and driveshafts are what transfers the power from the generators to the propellers, and lets us steer the ship."
Prachi smirks, then looks over the pile of gears: "Ooh, very nice." She goes quiet as the attempts to parse which bit does what, musing if she would be able to build similar should the need arise...
Shirley grins and leans a bit against the railing as Prachi admires the mechanisms. "That pulley system on the far end over there was actually something Robin came up with. In the event of a headwind that might be too strong for the materials we've got right now, we can immediately disengage part of the system so we don't shear the teeth of the gears."
Prachi nods, humming in appreciation: "You've definitely done a lot of good work here. Lots of iteration to get here too, I suspect."
Shirley nods in response. "It wasn't too bad when I was working out of my workshop in Westport, since I had everything I needed close at hand, and what I didn't have was available somewhere in the city. Thankfully, the system fits into this ship, too." She shrugs, "Really, the biggest challenge was using weaker metals for various parts compared to the steel I would have used back home."
Prachi hums: "Well, metals is something that's a bit more in my wheelhouse if you will... If you still need any, I could probably find some."
Shirley she tilts her head a bit at that. "Hmm... really, now? Well, if you happen to know anyone willing to cut a deal on good quality steel, that would be a boon, indeed. It would beat having to use softer metals for everything..."
Prachi nods: "I know how to work my way around a forge, and... probably know someone who knows where to dig for the raw ore. I might have a chance."
Shirley smiles at that. "If you do happen to know anyone, I'd love to hear about it once you know for sure. It would certainly make changing out the gears for better materials a lot easier on the budget that way, rather than buying the imported gears directly from Bairnell's Foothold."
Prachi nods again: "I can probably get back to you once I confirm it... it would also give me a bit of goal too."
Shirley chuckles. "Then, I'm glad to have a part in helping you along as a fellow tinkerer." She starts to make her way along again, now just about completing the loop of the interior of the ship, "I think that about covers it for everything inside the ship proper. The rest of the machinery is out behind the ship's aft section."
Prachi shrugs with a smile: "It's a very pretty ship, all in all."
Shirley seems quite happy with the compliment to her ship as she leads the way back up onto the deck again. "Thank you, Prachi. I'm glad you think so, since this design was kind of done on the fly after my old prototype's accident."
Prachi giggles: "As long as it wasn't literally 'on the fly'."
Shirley gives a bit of an awkward smile. "Well... let's just say the initial accident was an unintended crash landing in the ocean."
Prachi winces: "Well, glad you survived that, then. Sorry."
Shirley waves a hand a bit. "No need to apologize, really. The accident wasn't something I was able to account for, but I can say I'm happy the weather here is generally a lot calmer."
Prachi gives a lopsided smile: "If rather hot."
Shirley sighs and nods. "It's rather warm, yes... I do miss the snow a fair bit, even if it did cause my current predicament."
Prachi sighs: "Yeah... I miss the snow too. Or at least, some part of me does. It's nice here too though." She shrugs. "Eh, I'm here for now at least. Deal with what I got."
Shirley nods as she moves over to the railing of the deck and leans against it, just looking out across the distance between the ship and the town's walls. "Really all we can do, right now. We're here right now, so we may as well make the best of the situation."
Prachi smiles, nodding slowly: "...that's how one has to roll, yeah. One day at a time." Camel or genet, she'll make this work. Somehow.
Shirley shrugs a little. "Can't really rush things unless you've got all the parts in place already. Before that, rushing just means you'll spend more time waiting."
Prachi nods: "Pretty much." She looks over to the city: "Maybe something will come up."
Shirley hums. "Mmh, give it time. Something will come up eventually. Of course, that's only if you keep an eye out."
Prachi smiles: "Pretty much." The camel goes quiet as she muses a potential of new possibilities just out of current reach.