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RESPITE FALLS - WESTERN WALL - EARLY EVENING
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Xochi flaps her wings to come to a landing upon the top of the wall, having been out flying to the west for some time today, pushing her wings and herself a bit more than usual. She takes a moment to collect herself, catching her breath and coiling back upon herself.
Nesseth sighs a bit as he goes about an evening patrol on the wall, mostly just glad for the quiet evening as he thinks on a few things on his mind. He slowly approaches the spot where Xochi landed, but he's gazing out towards the west still.]
Xochi gathers herself back up, then glances over towards the lizard as he steps closer, "Good evening, Nesseth. Forgive the intrusion, I flew out quite a bit today."
Nesseth hums, his head swinging around in surprise when he hears a familiar voice. He smiles when he spots Xochi a little ways along the wall, and waves as he approaches. "Evening, Xochi. Giving your wings a good bit of exercise, hm?"]
Xochi nods, extending the wings out and folding them back in with a bow, "Indeed. I was going slowly to ensure I was truly capable, but I have recently attempted made an investment in myself to try new things." She muses a moment, chuckling to herself.
Nesseth grins a bit as he comes to a stop next to Xochi. "Trying new things is always good to expand horizons a bit. How strong are your wings now?"]
Xochi glances back, stretching out one wing to shake the plumeage, "They feel quite strong. As strong as they have since I... 'woke' again. It has simply been a matter of building the courage to use them. Now, it feels as though I have always had them."
Nesseth looks at Xochi's wings with a smile. "I'm glad to hear you've been enjoying them so much. I always felt kind of sad seeing your wings before, considering why they were like that in the first place."]
Xochi sighs, "It... was a good source of pain for me as well, though... I buried it." She glances away out west, smiling slightly. "I think it is better now, though. Not buried any longer. Not completely gone, either, but... Better."
Nesseth nods as he looks to the west as well. "After what you had to deal with, the pain won't vanish entirely, I figure, but the whole thing will at least be an experience, rather than a burden on your mind and body."]
Xochi nods, "The ritual which Sammi helped me with went wrong... but the purpose of it was to aide me in living without regrets. In the end... it did succeed in this, even if not in quite the way we intended."
Nesseth hums quietly. "I'm just glad we were able to pull you out of trouble... and that you were still able to get something positive out of that whole thing."
Xochi chuckles, "It is like a bad nightmare now, vivid but fading in the daylight. I appreciate everything you and the others did for me." She shakes her head, "But ah, enough of that. How have you been, Nesseth?"
Nesseth looks back towards Xochi with a soft smile. "I've been... pretty well, all told. The usual ups and downs, but things haven't been bad." He chuckles, "Been meeting some interesting folks recently, too."
Xochi chuckles, "It would seem the town is expanding, yes. Newcomers of all kinds, I imagine."
Nesseth nods again. "Yeah, and I've even been seeing a couple of folks from Orela coming into town, too."
Xochi frowns slightly at the mention of Orela, glancing back towards Nesseth with a cautious eye, "Do you think it is something to be concerned about? I know I have been more open about my wings and my presence here, if not my identity. Do you think it will cause problems?"
Nesseth shakes his head. "I don't think so, no... In fact..." He pauses, then looks over at Xochi again, "Well, one of the folks I met from Orela the other day... she's probably someone you'd want to meet for a number of reasons."
Xochi hums curiously, "Oh? That is... curiously said, Nesseth. What number of reasons might I have, hm?"
Nesseth gestures towards Xochi's wings. "Well, for one... she's already spotted you around town, but didn't want to bother you at the time... and she seemed to think you were my daughter for some reason, which I obviously corrected pretty quickly." He quirks up a smile at that, "But... well, the other reason is that... she kind of represents something that's been on both our minds for a really long time."
Xochi rubs her chin, "Daughter? Quite a misconception, yes. The rest... continues to intrigue, yes. What is her name, hm?"
Nesseth chuckles. "Lorelei. She's from an island called Aleria, which... truth be told, I never heard of before I'd spoken with her. But apparently, it's a settlement founded by Snakes and Lizards... long enough ago for at least two generations to be born there. I'm guessing 50 years ago, if not a bit further back than that."
Xochi raises an eyebrow, "Snakes and Lizards... founded after the war? That is quite curious indeed."
Nesseth hums and nods. "That's not even half of it... Would you believe that she's a half-Snake, half-Lizard?"
Xochi chuckles quietly, "Would I have predicted it? Perhaps not... but I have seen enough here that I could perhaps believe it, yes. I had not believed it possible, though."
Nesseth shakes his head. "Neither did I." He sighs a little, "But, that's still not the strangest bit about meeting her, though. She's a half-Snake, half-Lizard, but... she has colorful plumage... like a Coatl... and she says it's a pretty normal development in mixed species offspring in Aleria."
Xochi thinks on this for a moment, then slowly begins to laugh. She begins to laugh quite loudly, bending over as she seems overtaken by some fey humor. "Ahhh. Ahhahahahaha. Ha! Incredible!"
Nesseth can't help but smile as he watches Xochi laughing quite raucously, since it's a sight he's never really seen before from her. He eventually ends up laughing a bit as well, her amusement apparently a little infectious.
Xochi reaches out a hand to Nesseth's shoulder, steadying herself as she recovers, "Ah, that is... strange news. Quite strange indeed. A sign, perhaps? I think so."
Nesseth 's own laughter dies off after a bit, and he tilts his head. "A sign? What do you think a sign of?"
Xochi sighs, lowering her arm, "Ahh, that I was correct? But also... perhaps, that I am not the end of a line, as I feared. It's a strange feeling, yes."
Nesseth hums quietly. "If Lorelei's correct, then Coatl wings and the various bits of plumage you've got are just one of a bunch of different variations..." He lifts his hands up to either side of his head and wiggles his fingers a bit, "She's got kind of a crest of big feathers, and a bunch of feathers on her tail... which really looks like a Snake's tail. What are the chances that the Coatl line is just... a heritage of Snake and Lizard blood mixed together, across all that time?"
Xochi continues to chuckle, shaking her head, "'Chosen of the Gods'... Ha... Perhaps it would make all too much sense. Ah, but such a waste if true, that for all those years my ancestors held such a grip upon this 'sacred lineage'..."
Nesseth sighs again and sags slightly. "All that time our two races spent literally at each others' throats over this and that... And yet, we were supposed to be closer than anyone suspected, even with all the things you and I knew individually before this."
Xochi sighs, "Perhaps... This... changes nothing, but changes much. If true, it brings me some peace of mind that I am not 'the last' Coatl, for whatever that word even means now. Ahh... such a curious thing, truely."
Nesseth shrugs a bit. "Maybe... maybe it just means that Snakes and Lizards are going to ultimately get along together just fine, for what our... somewhat recent history might have been?" He shakes his head, "I don't know, but... if this isn't just some weird fever dream, maybe you don't have anything to fear of being 'found out' anymore?"
Xochi nods slightly, "Perhaps. Hah. How it would torment the Red King if it were true, that a 'pure blood' Coatl is simply the result of a lizard and snake crossbreeding... But for a future where our kinds finally find some peace together... yes."
Nesseth loosely crosses his arms with another sigh. "It's a weird feeling, like you said... But I think you should talk to her, if you get the chance. She's cheerful and chatty... and she's pretty well surprised to hear about what happened between our two races way back then."
Xochi smiles at Nesseth, seemingly back to herself, "I shall, if I see her. Or if she sees me. Tell her to feel free to approach me, if she wishes to."
Nesseth hums and nods, though he gives Xochi another kind smile. "I'll do that when I see her next around town, assuming she doesn't run into you first." He reaches over and gives Xochi a gentle pat on the shoulder, "Sorry to drop so much stuff on you like that, but... it's been rattling around in my head for a while, and, well... we've always been better at figuring these sorts of things out together than not."
Xochi takes a deep breath, looking up at the night sky as the stars slowly begin to appear. "It's quite a lot... quite a lot to think about, this is certain."
Nesseth likewise looks up towards the stars again, only to let out another quiet chuckle as a thought occurs to him. "It's a lot, but... you know... now that I think about it, I can see a little sense to it, in a way. Remember our last couple of conversations up here on the walls?"
Xochi looks back over at Nesseth, "Hmm? I do, yes... do you mean wondering how our ancestors would feel, lookng down upon us now?"
Nesseth looks over at Xochi with a sort of half-smile. "Heh... yeah. I remember you mentioned that you felt like our ancestors approved of the friendship we have, back then. Kind of makes a fair bit more sense, now, doesn't it? We're not really starting something new with our friendship. We're just... getting back to how things used to be, sort of."
Xochi chuckles, looking back to the stars, "Ah, yes. Perhaps this is so. That, at least, is a comforting thought amidst the confusion."
Nesseth nods as he lets his hand drop back down to his side again. "Well... the good news is that, as confusing as it might be... we've a ready source of information in Lorelei. We can also just work together solving this, like we did previous things."
Xochi laughs quietly, "Ahh! Another mystery for us to solve yes? They do seem to accumulate rather quickly around Respite..."
Nesseth chuckles quietly. "Another mystery, yeah. At least this one isn't quite as mysterious as others we've had to ponder."
Xochi hums, growing quiet for a moment to give the two a peaceful moment as the sun sets and the stars come out in full, before they resume a peaceful talk about more idle gossip around town, letting the weightier linger in the back of their minds for now.