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THE THIRSTY MINNOW - EVENING
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Jennica peeks into the bar from the door, then makes her way in once she notes it's not too busy right now. The bovine is dressed in her usual overalls, not really looking for company so much as just a bit of calm with a drink after a busy day at the marketplace. She gets herself a pint and sits down at a table far enough from anyone else.
Aerdrid enters the Minnow not too long after Jennica, having just gotten out of work at the various construction projects in the Saurian area of town. He's looking a little dusty from the work, but he just seems like he needs a good meal and a nice cold drink of some manner as he makes his way to the bar counter and takes a seat.
Jennica looks up at Aerdrid, then belatedly realizes she has something of his. "Oh. H-hey! Aerdrid, r-right? Over here."
Aerdrid starts a bit as he waits for his order, not having been expecting to get addressed by name. He looks around, then waves at Jennica before he stands up and goes to join her, trusting that the food will arrive wherever he's sitting. "Ah, evening, Jennica. I hope the day was a nice one for you?"
Jennica smiles timidly as the tall 'dactyl joins her. "O-oh, it was okay. Mostly." She stares for a couple of seconds, before she hastily digs up Aerdrid's bracer from her overall's pockets and shows it to him: "I uh still have this. Sorry."
Aerdrid chuckles as Jennica pulls out the bracelet and presents it to him. "As long as you were able to draw inspiration from it, there's no reason to say sorry. Was it as helpful as I hoped it'd be for you?"
Jennica blinks: "Oh! Yes uh it was actually! F-found the form for my creation pretty quickly. A-and for couple more besides."
Aerdrid smiles at that. "Wonderful to hear. If you still want to use it for inspiration, though, you're welcome to hold onto it for a bit longer. I can see you treat it with care."
Jennica blinks again: "Buh? I can't. It's yours?" The cow looks confused, unsure if this is where she expected this to go.
Aerdrid tilts his head. "Oh, of course, but if you still think you can draw inspiration from it, you may as well get more use out of it. Unless you're pretty sure you're done with it?"
Jennica looks at the bracer still in her palm, then offers it to Aerdrid. "Probably done. B-but thank you."
Aerdrid smiles as he accepts the bracelet and slips it back onto his arm. "Then... thank you for returning it, Jennica. You're welcome to borrow it again in the future id you need more inspiration."
Jennica looks at the bracer, then at the table next to it: "Well... m-maybe. I couldn't impose..." Something else is bothering the cow, but she seems hesitant to broach the topic.
Aerdrid notes Jennica's attitude and tilts his head again. "You've something on your mind. You're welcome to tell me, if it's something to do with the bracelet."
Jennica glances aside. "I-it's nothing." She then sighs and looks back up: "O-or it is something. I don't know. I haven't really... was thinking on our last time talking, and it's..." She waves a hand: "...the war stuff and all, d-don't know what to think."
Aerdrid hums quietly as he considers the thought. "Ah... yes, all of that. What about it did you want to know about?"
Jennica looks aside: "Well, like... I d-don't know what it was like, a-and I don't want to know that, not really, it's just..." She looks at Aerdrid: "H-how are you holding up, after all that?"
Aerdrid shrugs a little. "It took some time, but I have begun to move through all of that, I think. I've made my peace with everything that happened during that time... and my part in it." He looks at Jennica curiously, "How about you?"
Jennica nods, taking a sip of her drink as she ponders. "M-mostly, I think. Emmeline's safe, i-it's over and... probably won't happen again, right?"
Aerdrid shakes his head, though he leans back enough for the waiter to bring his food and drink over, which he wastes no time in starting on, at least in part. "There should be no repeat of the war, now that many of us are here in Respite. Without a Whisperer whispering lies into our ears about a false god... we can do what we all feel is right."
Jennica nods again, sighing in something of a relief: "It was so scary... I didn't really know what was going on, a-and I felt so helpless... I d-don't want to feel that ever again."
Aerdrid sighs quietly, nodding in understanding. "For us, there was much more anger, because we all believed what the Whisperer told us of Respite Falls at the time. I... would not want to go through that again, if at all possible. Especially everything that happened as a result."
Jennica looks aside, blushing: "I-I am n-not proud of the a-anger either... I almost d-did pretty dumb things because of it... crafted horrible things." She frowns: "D-destroyed them afterwards. T-thankfully none ever saw use..."
Aerdrid hums, nodding softly as he listens while digging into his meal. "I'm glad you don't have to be burdened with such a thing. I did terrible things during the war, and while I have made peace with it all, it doesn't erase the fact that I did those things."
Jennica lets out a breath as she looks at Aerdrid: "How do you... I'm not sure I could live with myself if my trinkets had d-done something." She pauses and winces: "S-sorry. P-probably an awful thing to say."
Aerdrid makes a sound of acknowledgement as he takes a sip of his drink. Once he sets his glass back down, he answers. "I just accept that there is no means to change what has already happened... and I do what I can to create, instead of destroy. It is why I help with building houses in town, now."
Jennica smiles: "Y-yeah... move on if you are able to." She sighs: "S-sorry for bringing it up on you, w-we can talk about something else..."
Aerdrid shakes his head a bit. "There is nothing wrong with talking about what might be on one's mind. Better to speak of it and heal than not."
Jennica nods: "...I probably spend too much time inside my head, y-yeah. Em says I do, at least."
Aerdrid can't help but be a little amused, and he quietly chuckles for a moment. "One's head is a good spot to visit on occasion... but not always."
Jennica blinks, then giggles: "...p-pretty good way to put it." The cow seems to finally relax somewhat. "S-so... construction? Much bigger things than what I make, for sure."
Aerdrid hums and nods. "It takes a lot of effort to build a house, but the people from Sarn are amazing with how quickly they can build them. I am learning what I can, since I have the ability after... er... after building up my strength building a shrine out of stone near the Prominence."
Jennica tilts her head: "A shrine? What would you do that f... oh. Probably a dumb question, isn't that." She blushes and smiles a bit sheepishly.
Aerdrid smiles a little at Jennica's curiosity. "Well, no, curiosity is understandable... But to answer the question, after I was freed from captivity, I flew out to the Prominence to see for myself what happened." His smile falls away as he lets out a sigh, "The sight of what Yzzayt did was worse than I could imagine. I didn't know what else I could do, so I spent some weeks out there building something to honor those that didn't escape... and the fallen from the war itself. Part of it was just to do something, and another part was... for my own penance, I think."
Jennica considers this as she looks at Aerdrid: "...o-oh. That's a lot of work." She pauses: "...it's pretty far, isn't it. Though I would like to see it one day."
Aerdrid nods. "The Prominence is far to the west of here... almost to the sea. It would be quite a long trip to make, but... not an impossible one." He gets a little more contemplative as he examines his hands, seeing very faint scuffs and scrapes from his time out there that only he really can see, "And it was a lot of work, but all of that and more still would not balance what happened."
Jennica nods in understanding: "I-it's going to take time... a-and maybe forgiving yourself eventually, if you can. Helping those you wronged."
Aerdrid lets his eyes drift shut for a few moments, just thinking rather deeply before he nods. "That's why I do what I do now. I don't know if full forgiveness is something I can achieve, as a number of those I've wronged are no longer around... But I can at least do something good, still, as little as it might amount to."
Jennica hums, looking aside: "Building homes is not... it's not nothing."
Aerdrid nods. "It's not, but it hardly makes up for what I've destroyed, I feel. Given time, I might reach a point that I think I have made some progress, though."
Jennica smiles: "...w-well, let's hope so. P-progress is hard, but worth pursuing."
Aerdrid smiles a little again. "I hope so." He falls silent for a few moments before he shifts the topic to something a bit more enjoyable, "So... what sorts of inspiration did you draw from my bracelet? I'd like to hear more about what you create."
Jennica blinks, gathering herself: "Well, one of the things I crafted was this anti-sadness aura... it sort of creates this effect where..." and the cow is explaining her craft, the earlier topic forgotten for now. The pair end up talking over food and drink for a while before parting ways.