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RESPITE MARKET - EARLY AFTERNOON
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Lorelei had found the Food Court, the spot where all the Eateries had congregated, right around some seating in an open area. Lorelei was eating a delightful soft bread, wrapped around a sausage, with a large array of toppings. She was slowly working her way through all the take-away stalls over time, and marking down each in her head. This one was going to get some high marks, her tail flickering pleasently as she bites down.
Xochi landed not too far Lorelei's table, seeking out something to eat for lunch as well, she gazes around the court, considering, when her eyes fall upon the pecular lizard which Nesseth had described to her. Thinking about it for a moment, she decides to indulge in curiosity before indulging her hunger, she waits politely for the lizard to finish eating before slithering around the tables towards Lorelei, "Excuse me, ah pardon, you are Lorelei, yes? I am a friend of Nesseth."
Lorelei: "Oh!" She looks up from her hotdog "Ah! Right. You know Nesseth. That would make you Xochi, right?" She holds out a hand "I am indeed Lorelei. Pleasure to make your acquaintance" She's friendly in tone, and seems non-pussed by the whole snake bit, and indeed grabs a nearby stool with her tail and swings it over to their table for her to sit on rather than a chair "Nesseth suggested we meet up, I think"
Xochi chuckles, taking a moment to curl around the stool to 'sit' on it. "I am Xochi, and he did yes. Ah, my, I must say you are very striking in appearance!"
Lorelei: "Why, thank you! You're not so bad yourself. Your wings are very pretty"
Xochi subtlely arcs the wings upwards and bows her head, "Thank you as well! I must admit... I have never seen a lizard such as you. Plumed such, but I admit that I was rather sheltered in my upbringing."
Lorelei: "Oh! Well, I was told that this might be a big deal for you, but, it's because I was half snake, half lizard" She giggles "I thought you were the same when I first saw you in town!"
Xochi coughs slightly, covering her mouth with the back of her hand politely, "Ah, yes! I didn't merely wish to say it aloud, in case it were considered rude... this is what Nesseth said as well. But no... my mother was a snake, but my father was like me, as was his father. Plumed and winged as such."
Lorelei: "Oh!" She smiles brightly "That's interesting. So, your lizard ancestor is further back or something then?"
Xochi hums, "This I do not know, but it intrigues me! The books all said my family was a race of 'chosen', with the first of our line born of a sacred feather... ah, the myth is rather presumptious in my mind, but as far as the lineage goes, the Coatl's were always the children of a coatl and a snake."
Lorelei: "Well, once feathers go into a bloodline, they seem to stick around. Maybe you are chosen? Feathers are one thing, but those are really, really pretty wings. They're pretty special!"
Xochi raises one wing around in front of her, gently running a hand along them, "I am rather proud of them. Flight is a precious gift. But claims that we were 'chosen' brought a good deal of misery. But then Nesseth mentioned you, and said that you were not even fully unique amongst your people?"
Lorelei: "Oh! Right. Yeah, any halfies have feathers. Some of them even have little wings, though none of them are as spectacular as yours!" She muses "Well, I don't know that much about your history. I look up a bit in the library, and..it's sad, a bit..but..hey! You're a good person, and pretty. Nothing takes that away, right?"
Xochi smiles, and bows her head again, "I try. It is simply history now, but somehow... it makes me happy to know that I was not unique. Not the last of 'my kind', simply the last of that legacy. But, ah! You are right. It is sad, but I have moved beyond that pain. This... is a lot to put upon you on our first meeting! Apologies!"
Lorelei: "Well, uh..." She blinks, and reaches over, and gives her a squeeze of a hand "Well..I don't know if it helps, but if you ever want to be somewhere that you're just..another person, just like everyone else, then I know an island you'll find relaxing"
Xochi chuckles, "I have that here in Respite, for the most part. Some know my past, but look beyond it. Others do not know, or care. But it is a promising idea. Something of a holiday, one day, perhaps."
Lorelei: "We'd love to have you! And hey~" She winks "Maybe someone would be willing to continue that legacy for you"
Xochi shakes her head, perhaps blushing a little beneath the scales, but it's hard to say! "Ah, Lorelei! Such a thought! But, I think that bird has already flown its cage. But I could keep an open mind."
Lorelei: "It's never too late! You could be just in a strange new place, and meet a new lizard..and that could be an opportunity, right there"
Xochi: "So forward!" She laughs through the slight embarrassment, "I said I would keep an open mind!"
Lorelei: "Really? I thought I was being obtuse" She giggles "Back home, if we like someone, we just say it. I know that it's a bit less direct here, should I wind it back even more?"
Xochi lets her laughter die into a sigh, "Ah, no, you are likely fine! I am just... old-fashioned."
Lorelei: "Even old fashioned values are valid" She pats Xochi's hand "You do what makes you comfortable, yeah?"
Xochi glances to her hand, then turns it to take Lorelei's. "Thank you. You too, are a good person, Lorelei. I hope you find whatever makes you feel comfortable and welcome here in Respite."
Lorelei: "Thank you for your wishes too" She smiles back "And I hope you find whatever you're looking for in life"
Xochi nods, "I have, and yet it always finds new ways to surprise me. Are you seeking anything in particular in town, or just looking to start a new life?"
Lorelei: "Oh. I don't know. I'm just on holiday right now, but, well, maybe I'll hang out around here a bit longer"
Xochi grins, "Ah! Quite fun! I do recommend visiting the falls if you have not visited them already. They are truly breathtaking."
Lorelei: "Oh! I'll add that to the list. Thanks for the tip"
Xochi: "I can share a few more, and perhaps you can tell me more about your home, yes?" The two continue to chit chat, as Xochi basks in the feeling that she's found some strange long lost sister, or at least a good friend.
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RESPITE PARK - NOONISH
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Jennica is sitting at a park bench, idly fidgeting at a trinket though more so just lost in her thoughts than actually crafting. The cow is dressed in her usual overalls, sitting slightly awkwardly sideways on the bench due to her stiff scaly tail.
Aerdrid makes his way through the park, looking perhaps more than a little worn down since Jennica last saw him, though he's still taken the time to dress well for his job. He walks with a little bit of a shuffle in his step, and it's pretty clear he's been better as he makes his way along the path.
Jennica looks up as she notices the pterodactyl from the corner of her eye. She starts to give him a wave, but then pauses as she notices his shuffle. "O-oh. Maybe I shouldn't..." She hesitates, unsure.
Aerdrid happens to glance to the side as Jennica starts to wave, making the gesture all the more noticeable to him, and he looks over at Jennica properly, only to smile a bit and wave back before he turns to walk her way. "Hello, Jennica."
Jennica smiles timidly: "H-hi, Aerdrid. You look um... good?" She knows it's a lie soon as she says it. "Well um... except kinda n-not?" She steps closer, still keeping her weak smile.
Aerdrid hums a bit as he considers his current state. "Hm... well, no, not particularly good. I just feel... so exhausted as of late."
Jennica frowns, then nods at the bench near them: "Well um... m-maybe rest helps?"
Aerdrid nods in thanks and goes to take a seat on the bench, though he sort of just gracelessly plops himself down for a few moments before getting more comfortable. "Perhaps... but even with all the sleep I've been getting lately, I still feel... so tired."
Jennica frowns some more as she sits down next to Aerdrid: "...any particular like, cause? You've been pretty energetic when I've usually seen you." She pauses. "Eerr, not that you're not allowed to be tired. T-that's not what I mean."
Aerdrid spends a few seconds thinking, then shakes his head. "Nothing that would immediately come to mind, no. Work hasn't been anything out of the ordinary..."
Jennica hesitates, then puts her hand upon Aerdrid's: "I guess we all just have those... sort of times."
Aerdrid glances down at Jennica's hand, but doesn't do much to react to it, other than a small nod of his head. In truth, he knows why he's so tired, but... "I suppose so."
Jennica is quiet for a moment as she looks at him. "I... w-well, I don't really know, but... well, it's okay to be down."
Aerdrid hums quietly. "Of course. I felt as much during my trip to the west, after my release." He sighs a bit as he trails off, then quietly mutters mostly to himself, "...So why are these all coming back now...?"
Jennica shrugs weakly: "Sometimes it just happens. You end up thinking on your past, and all the worst mistakes and embarrassments, and it just kind of awfully spirals and you think everyone is laughting at you and everything just feels the worst... and you sort of want to dig a hole and stay in there."
Aerdrid blinks and looks over at Jennica, her words somehow hitting not quite on what's bothering him, but close enough. "Mmh... not quite, but... something close to that."
Jennica blushes a bit, but nods: "O-oh. Sorry. So..." She wants to ask, but doesn't quite dare as she glances at the pterodactyl.
Aerdrid goes quiet for a second, but simply looks at Jennica with that same, exhausted expression. "...How did you deal with things during the war?"
Jennica blinks, then hums with a bit of a frown: "...besides crafting in misguided anger?" She sighs. "M-mostly kind of d-doing nothing, hoping something would change, d-distracting myself..."
Aerdrid hums quietly, nodding along. "I thought I'd put my thoughts to rest on everything that happened during that time, but memories are coming forward unbidden now, and I don't know why."
Jennica hums, then tilts her head: "Has... has anything happened, or changed, since we last spoke? Something bring them up?"
Aerdrid shakes his head. "Nothing springs to mind, no. I have simply been working with the construction people since we last spoke."
Jennica nods, going silent... then her gaze wanders to the bracelet and something clicks in her mind. Her eyes widen. "Oh. O-oh d-dangit. I'm s-so sorry..."
Aerdrid looks curiously around at Jennica. "Sorry? What for?"
Jennica looks at Aerdrid, ashamed: "S... t-that... I thought nothing happened, but... one of the trinkets I was working with when inspired by your bracelet, it..." She shakes her head: "I was working with a sadness relief trinket and the overflow..." She looks at Aerdrid's bracelet, then looks away.
Aerdrid gazes oddly at Jennica, then glances at his bracelet, then back at her. "...Er... that can happen?"
Jennica winces: "I d-didn't think it could all t-that easily, but... I'm sorry."
Aerdrid lifts the arm with the bracelet, and holds it out to Jennica. "Then... is there a way to undo that, if it's affecting this bracelet?"
Jennica thinks for a second, then nods: "R-removing the bracelet would ease some of it, I think. But... a more permanent way I think would be... well it would be hard, but working through the sadness it has caused?" She gives a weak, apologetic smile.
Aerdrid looks at the bracelet, then takes a moment to pull it free, which does seem to lift a weight off of him, though not completely. "But this sadness... it's memories I've already put to rest a while back."
Jennica nods slowly: "I need to... disenchant it. But I..." She hesitates, trying to figure out the situation herself: "I think we need to work together, in a way so I can remove the magical part of it while you work through... w-well, all that, again." She sighs. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
Aerdrid hums quietly. "Work through all of that... again." He sighs as he passes Jennica his bracelet, "Then it would seem my penance isn't complete, yet. So be it."
Jennica takes the bracelet and stares at it for a moment. "Curses be that removing an enchantment like mine would be so much more difficult... I-I have not really done it much, t-though I do know what to do... in theory, at least."
Aerdrid thinks, then nods again as he sort of stares at the ground in front of the bench. "Then... we'll do what we must to fix this."
Jennica glances around the park: "We'll need... s-somewhere quiet. We k-kind of both need to focus on removing this, I'm sure."
Aerdrid hums and stands up after a second or so. "How quiet do we need, and for how long?"
Jennica pauses, belatedly getting up herself: "M... m-maybe an hour, a-and just with no one else. S-should be able to do... it."
Aerdrid blinks, then nods again as he seems to ease a little again. "Ah... so not much time, then? I see... well... you know more than I about this, so I shall follow your lead."
Jennica hums: "Yes, um..." She glances around, unsure. "I uh... where might we find such a spot?"
Aerdrid similarly glances around, but ends up shrugging. "I... would not know, I'm afraid. I don't come to the park very often, and usually find some peace and quiet up in the air."
Jennica frowns: "Well, I can't fly, so..." She pauses, then brightens up. "...I did hear about the waterfall being p-pretty quiet, though. Maybe we could try there?"
Aerdrid tilts his head at the suggestion, then nods. "We could, yes. It might be a nice place to enjoy, too, as I've heard others talking about it on occasion."
Jennica nods: "S-so have I." She refrains from mentioning the context of what she has heard. "S-so, uh... yeah. I'm sorry."
Aerdrid shakes his head a bit and smiles slightly at Jennica, probably the first time he's smiled in a day or two since the bracelet began affecting him. "You didn't know, so I can't say you have to apologize for anything."
Jennica gives back a weak smile: "Y-yeah, I guess... s-still feel bad." She shakes her head and to her credit at least attempts to look resolute: "I will f-fix this."
Aerdrid nods. "The effort is appreciated all the same, Jennica, so... thank you."
Jennica smiles back as they start to walk: "L-let's just hope this works..."