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RESPITE TRAINING GROUNDS - AFTERNOON
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Piper wanders through the gate, carrying nothing with her and sporting a rather loose fitting set of simple cotton clothes, which are rather light on the coverage side. Suffice to say the croc hasn't been enjoying the hot weather very much, usually spending whole days floating around in the waterfall pools. She can't ignore keeping in shape, though, and is now making her weekly visit to the training grounds to hunt for a sparring partner.
Nesseth is currently in the training grounds, "sparring" against a training dummy with a hefty-looking training spear. He doesn't seem to be doing more than just exercising at the moment, however, from the way he's similarly dressed in rather light clothing, and doesn't seem to be going out of his way to gain any sort of advantage against his 'attacker'.
Piper heads to the water barrel immediately, dipping a towel into it and rubbing the water over her scaly head with a sigh. As she cools off from simply walking in, the croc looks about and observes the others using the grounds. She settles on watching Nesseth for the time being, tilting her head a bit at his movements. "Hum."
Nesseth keeps his movements measured, but there's still a certain flow to his steps that shows he's not unfamiliar to active fighting outside of simple guard duty. That said, he's also pretty obviously not fully accustomed to fighting specifically with a spear. He doesn't realize he has an audience until he finally decides to take a short break to catch his breath, and looks over at the side of the grounds to see Piper watching. "Oh, uh... hey there, Piper."
Piper nods at Nesseth when he acknowledges her, taking a couple steps in his general direction. "Good technique. Let dummy live? Or practice control, maybe." She shrugs. "Maybe need practice. How is Nesseth?"
Nesseth stretches a bit as he smiles at Piper. "I've been alright, mostly just trying to keep in shape and get some more practice in. How've you been as of late?"
Piper grunts, shaking her head a bit. "Hot. Too hot, aye? Glad for falls." She reaches out both hands, offering a damp towel in one, and to take the heavy spear with the other. "Guard been busy lately?"
Nesseth passes Piper the spear and accepts the towel in turn, with which he takes some time to wipe his head and neck down to cool off before folding the still-damp cloth up and setting it on his head. "Thanks, Piper, really appreciated... Guard duty's been pretty slow lately, but I guess a lot of things will feel slow now that it's back to normal, more or less."
Piper chuckles her three notes, taking the spear and turning it over in her hands like a light stick, examining the length of the tool. "Familiar weight and shape. Something snake captain had made?" She waggles the practice weapon a bit, humming. "Normal. Moving enemy in is normal?" She asks this while holding the weapon up, eyeing down the length along the slight curvature in the handle.
Nesseth tilts his head a bit. "Yeah, I think that one's based off of a spear the Snake military tends to prefer. I'm not sure I can really get used to the weight, but a little variety never hurts." He shrugs, "Not really, but the war was over the moment their Whisperer died. With their home gone, well... where else could they go with so many people?"
Piper hums, drawing the spear back along a supporting palm before turning it and sticking the butt end down into the dirt, holding the head of the spear against her shoulder in close mock to a relaxed guard pose. "Ship to an island with nothing. Just clothes on back." She chuckles three dry notes, looking to Nesseth. "Worked out fine for crocs." She grins at him, shrugging. "Respite, so generous. Inspiring."
Nesseth chuckles a little, smiling. "We're all out here together, we might as well try to make sure everyone is as comfortable as possible. Especially since the only other options are to either try and brave the wilderness... which is pretty rough going, or head back to wherever they came from."
Piper puts a bit of weight on the spear, sinking it a few inches into the dirt with a little twist, until the soil stops giving way. "Agreeable. Wilderness can't be so dangerous. Nothing I've seen. What is out there?"
Nesseth hums a bit. "Aside from the sand gators and similar? Not much, but there's more to survival in the wilderness than just dealing with wild animals. Not many people know how to do things like you and I, when it comes to useful skills away from town. Not many can hunt or fish, nor can a lot of folks fashion shelter or even start a fire by hand, or tie good ropes and treat injuries. Some folks can do one or two of those things, but only a few can do all of those to some degree."
Piper blinks at Nesseth, tilting her head. "'You or me'? Am flattered. No survival skills. Not outside surviving fight." It's true, she'd never learned any of that sort of thing. Really, Piper can kill an animal if she needs to eat, and is hardy enough to survive a cool night without shelter, but anything extended or more complicated would leave her stumped for a while.
Nesseth blinks in turn, clearly surprised. "Huh... really? Could have fooled me from how routinely you went out towards the desert early on... I figured you were pretty good at the whole survival thing." He shrugs, "Ah, well... The thing is, a lot of the Saurs are like the folks around Respite. Crafters, weavers, merchants, the sort of people we know wouldn't be able to last very long in the wilderness without some kind of help."
Piper laughs three notes, shaking her head a little. "Sunning somewhere quiet. Nice flat stones, South maybe an hour. No water, but winter was bearable." She grins, looking him over. "You survivalist? Impressive. Many skills in small package." Relatively.
Nesseth laughs with a grin. "A hunter by trade. I do guard duty stuff as a more stable source of income, though." He nods at Piper, "You're still able to range out further than most, I think, without supplies. Sunning does sound nice... when it's not this hot, anyway."
Piper mrphs, taking up her towel in reaction to him acknowledging the heat and wiping more cool water over her scales. "Yes. Perhaps could. Slow to hunger, easy advantage." She drapes the wet towel onto her shoulder, letting go of the now freestanding spear to set her hands on her hips. "Other talents?"
Nesseth shrugs a bit after a moment of consideration. "I'm a good marksman, but I figure that kind of goes with being a hunter. Uh... I can cook pretty well, regardless of if it's a stovetop or a campfire."
Piper nods a bit, seemingly impressed. "Hum. Ay, many talent. Can't cook. Bows too flimsy. Not great at throwing." She chuckles her three notes, her stance relaxing a little as the coolness from the towel seeps through her scales. "Am good at two things."
Nesseth gives Piper a bit of a curious look, made all the sillier from the folded towel resting on top of his head. "What are those two things?"
Piper clenches her fist, flexing a bit to add emphasis to her first answer; "Fighting and-" and she opens her fingers, but pauses a moment, this is the wrong lizard after all "-and um... Can't tell the other." She's blushing, which barely shows on her black-scaled snout, but does show a bit on her white chest scales.
Nesseth hums a bit and nods. "I could see the fighting thing, sure... you could probably snap me in half like a twig with those muscles." He gives the croc a bit of a wry smirk, "Something a bit more private for the other, huh?"
Piper clears her throat, looking aside. "A bit. Just something for ah... Scales. Not public, though." She's looking toward a group of guards, thankfully... Hopefully out of earshot.
Nesseth seems amused for some reason, and he nods again as he lowers his voice to preserve Piper's dignity. "Some kind of scale-care thing, then? Nothing to be shy about, wanting to look good."
Piper nods after a moment. "Sure. Close enough."
Nesseth chuckles. "An answer like that is just going to make me more curious... But hey, if you like what you're skilled at, right?"
Piper blinks, looking to Nesseth. Her eyes travel up his arms and along his neck, humming. "Could show you. In secret." She chuckles. "Is more interesting with another."
Nesseth hums a bit, holding an arm out to the side a little when he sees Piper's eyes tracking along it, and he likewise looks at the limb. "I wouldn't mind seeing what you've got in mind, and I've not really got anything planned for the rest of the day."
Piper grins, nodding. Anything to take her mind off the heat. "Need something. Where's your home? Will meet there." She pauses, "Unless my room easier? At Minnow."
Nesseth shrugs with a smile. "Either way. My place is pretty easy to find, and it does have a good bit of space if you need it. Otherwise, if you're more comfortable at the Minnow, we can meet up there."
Piper hums, scratching her chin for a moment. "Room is pretty small. Yours it is." She nods, giving the spear a light tug that dislodges it from the dirt. She turns toward the weapons racks, finding the place to stash the spear. "So directions?"
Nesseth smiles and nods as he follows Piper over to the weapon rack, while also taking the time to remove the now-dry towel from his head. "It's easy enough to find. If you need a bit of time to prepare, you can get to my place from the Minnow by..." He starts to explain the route from the Minnow to his place, which is pretty straightforward and primarily along the main roads through town by and large.
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NESSETH'S HOUSE - FORWARD AN HOUR
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Piper approaches from the Minnow's direction, toting a bag under her arm and an air of anticipation. As much as she's had fun painting Rhask, and other than herself, the croc has had no variety in subjects. Despite Rhask letting people who ask know, nobody not already friendly with the croc seems to want to approach her. She's a little glad for it, considering she's never been fond of the 'soft' image some folks associate with her hobby. She knocks softly (for her) on the front door, and adjusts the bag a bit.
Nesseth answers the door after a few seconds, having been spending the last half hour or so just kind of tending to household chores and tidying up in general. He smiles upon seeing Piper and then steps back to offer entry. "Hey there, Piper. Welcome to my place! Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, I've just been cleaning up a little here and there."
Piper looks down at Nesseth as he opens the door, giving a little bow that turns into her ducking under the doorframe. Her tail swishes a bit as she looks around, setting the bag down on the dining table with a muffled clunk. "Not bad for guard. City council helps pay?" She notices the amount of furniture and the size of Nesseth's table, as well as how diversely stocked his kitchen seems to be. "Host guests often, ay?"
Nesseth chuckles and nods as he shuts the door and follows after Piper. "They help pay for some of it. Not quite as much as they do for guard captains, though." He nods with a happy little smile, "Guests, yeah, and my partners when they stop by to visit."
Piper nods, lifting one of Nesseth's dining chairs and setting it down away from the table. "Guests and partners, ay. Sit down, please." She pauses as she starts opening the bag, the fabric slipping down and revealing the inornate box within. "They wont be... Today, right?"
Nesseth goes to take a seat while shaking his head. "Probably not, I don't think. The only one who tends to stop by unannounced is Vix." He tilts his head a bit upon seeing the box contained within the bag.
Piper nods, undoing the straps on the box as Nesseth takes his seat, but stepping away from it to walk around the lizard instead. "Ay. Well, hope that one is lizard." She chuckles, "They'll understand." She takes Nesseth's hand, peering closely at his scales. "Healthy. Still eat Orelan cooking often?"
Nesseth chuckles as he lets Piper examine the scales on his hand and arm. "Yeah, I try to keep up with my Orelan dishes, though I've been mixing in some foods from other places as of late."
Piper nods, grinning. "Spices are more than flavor. Good for scales." She pushes the sleeve on his right arm up to his shoulder, shaking her head. "Shirt off, please." She straightens up, waiting for Nesseth's response.
Nesseth lets Piper do her thing, only to nod and start working to remove his shirt at her request. He's certainly not shy about showing off himself if asked, as he quickly removes the shirt and sets it aside. "Yeah, they help my scales really nicely, the good flavoring is really just a bonus." He takes a moment to idly scratch at his left shoulder, just at the edge of where his scales give way to an old scar.
Piper walks a bit around Nesseth, pausing at his left side. "Oh. Hm." She lifts his arm gently, examining the scarring and the scales surrounding it. "Shame, too deep to shed away?"
Nesseth lets Piper get a closer look at his scarred arm. He nods at the question. "Yeah, unfortunately. It was a lot larger when I'd first gotten it, but Plume, Melia and Tarbin weren't quite able to get all of it to heal away. Something about electrical burns just heal poorly, I think they said."
Piper tilts her head a bit, humming. "Electrical? Interesting story?" She releases his left arm, scratching her chin as she steps around behind Nesseth, past his right arm and toward the table with her box.
Nesseth shrugs as he settles back into the chair again. "Sort of? It was during the war against the Saurs that I got it, around the time the guards arrived at the Prominence, way out to the west. Their leader had a penchant for electrical magic, for some reason... and I wound up getting hit more than once for a bunch of reasons."
Piper nods along, opening the box to reveal an assortment of paints and brushes, as well as similar accessories. She first pulls a glass cube out of the box, taking it up by it's hooked string. "Don't look." She hangs the box off an already lit ceiling light, flipping the magitech light on for a brighter, near daylight illumination. "So battle scars, not accidental. Hrm."
Nesseth obeys the warning and averts his eyes from the cube, only to blink at the bright light that emanates from the cube. "Huh... I guess a strong light would make sense for a painter..." He nods again as he gets back on track with the conversation, "Battle scars, yeah. Still pretty accidental in that I didn't really mean to get them, anyway. I'm just glad they don't hurt anymore."
Piper grins a bit, moving back to Nesseth's left arm. "I see. Mark of honor. Glad they're painless." She squats next to him, looking over the arm again. "Yes, painter. Nice patterns. Paint patterns, if you allow." She chuckles, "Add art to handsome lizard."
Nesseth smiles at Piper and gestures with his free hand. "It'd be a shame to go all this way and then just turn down the offer, so... feel free to get creative, Piper. I'd love to see what you come up with, painting scales when they're not really in top shape."
Piper nods, smiling a bit. She takes up a brush, eying his scales for a few more moments before selecting a deep brown and beginning on the back of his left hand, blotting a number of scales out with the dark shade. "Top shape or not, all same. Patterns tell tales, real or not." She chuckles three notes. "Or just make pretty shapes."
Nesseth chuckles in turn as he does his best to sit still as Piper begins to paint. "It's a nice skill to have, that sort of creativity. I bet every person's scale patterning is different enough that no two people would end up with the same piece of art on them."
Vix peeks through the window from outside Nesseth's front door, then knocks as she notices unfamiliar company. She meows at the door for good measure.
Piper shrugs. "Could, if lazy. Ignore patterns,, could draw same thing." She tilts his arm as she works, making a vague shape with the dark paint and taking a few moments to consider it before adding the same color in seemingly random places along his arm and starting on his chest. She freezes slightly at the meow, eyes looking up to Nesseth. "...Did you meow?"
Nesseth blinks, then turns in his seat a bit to look towards the front door, doing his best to not jostle his arm or chest at all. "Me? Uh... no, I think that's Vix, actually."
Vix meows again, waiting for an invitation or denial
Nesseth looks back at Piper with an awkward smile. "Uh... should I go and tell her to come back later, or...? You don't need to worry about her talking about your hobby if you want it to stay quiet."
Piper sighs quietly. "Okay. Well... Not my home. She's normally welcome." Piper thinks for a moment, then stands. "No. Don't smear." She turns and heads for the door, opening it for Vix. "'Lo."
Nesseth nods at Piper as she stands up to answer the door. He takes the time to admire the paints Piper's already put onto his scales, though it's very clearly just the first color, it's all impressive to him just how steady she can keep her hand for such delicate work. He calls out from his spot near the dining table. "Hey there, Vix!"
Vix blinks and looks up at the woman at the door, who is almost three feet taller than her. "Ah! Um...I brought snacks!" She holds up a basket.
Piper blinks at Vix, tilting her head a bit. "I see. Don't dip in paint. Not edible." She chuckles quietly, with a slightly nervous edge to it as she heads back toward Nesseth. "Snacks. No crumbs on paint, please." She stoops next to Nesseth, looking over her work so far.
Nesseth blinks and smiles up at Piper as she moves back next to the chair again, then holds his arm out for her to resume. "Might be something to enjoy after the paint's dried, then."
Vix creeps inside and closes the door, then finds a seat from which to watch the process. "I'll just put this on the table, then." She sniffs the air, catching the pungent paint vapors. "Whew, should I open a window?"
Piper hums, shrugging. "Not painting right arm today." She glances that way. "Yet." She looks over to Vix, then at the paints. "Can smell them? Keen nose... Or I've forgotten. Just oil base, some pigments are spices though."
Vix chuckles. "Ah, I'm just not used to it. Should be fine if it's natural stuff."
Nesseth grins at Vix and Piper. "Would make sense why I'm used to the smell, then, if they use some spices. I've worked with them in food for a long while, so I barely even notice the scent nowadays."
Piper nods, cleaning the dark paint off the brush. "Should wear off, like something left on counter." She looks to Vix. "Piper. Good to meet you."
Vix grins back. "Likewise. I'm Vix!"
Nesseth is sure to keep his arm carefully away from brushing against anything that could smear the paints before they have a chance to dry. "Heh, told you Vix was the one that drops by just about whenever." He tosses Vix a cheeky little wink at the comment.
Piper hums, catching the wink. "Wonder why." She tilts her head a bit, opting to pick a shimmery blue, like ocean water, and starting to dot it in alongside the dark painted scales. "What does Vix do?"
Vix: Oh, I run a sundries and crafts stall at the marketplace. My stock is different all the time!
Piper nods, letting Nesseth's arm down and setting to fill in the blue along the left side of his chest. "Paints? Always want restock, and new pigments."
Nesseth shifts a little to ensure Piper has enough space to work, but otherwise doesn't move. "Might not be too hard to get the materials to mix your paints, if not the paints themselves."
Vix: Yeah sometimes I pick some wild herbs and stuff. I dunno what kind of spices you'd need for the paint though.
Piper nods, pulling back from Nesseth to get an overall look at her work so far. It doesn't really represent anything at the moment, but she has the image in her mind's eye and nods at the progress. "Oh. Anything that stains badly. Flowers and clays, too." She looks to Vix. "You have many talents, too?"
Vix hums. "Ahh, maybe. I like to try new stuff all the time and folks tell me I'm good at them after a while. Like cooking!"
Piper chuckles her quiet notes, looking from Vix to Nesseth. "Foraging and cooking. Many skills in common, ay?" She cleans the brush, already done with the darker blue and starting to mix a lighter blue in an empty jar lid.
Nesseth chuckles and nods. "More than a few skills in common, yeah. How about you, Piper? How long have you been doing scale painting?"
Vix catches herself admiring Nesseth's body, and allows herself to continue staring
Piper shrugs, dipping her brush in the paint. "15 years, least. Mostly on myself." The lighter blue seems to get more realestate on Nesseth's arm than the darker. A jagged set of lines starts to take form as more colors come together.
Nesseth 's eyebrows rise up in surprise, not really noticing Vix staring at him as he continues to look at the pattern coming into being on his arm and chest. "15...? Well, that's quite a long time. No wonder you're so good at these kinds of intricate patterns."
Vix hums. "Are you doin' uh...full-body?"
Piper blushes under her scales, shrugging a bit. "The patterns are yours. Just see them." Piper pauses with her brush near Nesseth's chest, glancing toward Vix. "Hmm?"
Nesseth likewise hums as he looks over at Vix. "Hm?"
Vix blushes. "Are you going to uh...paint the rest of him too?"
Piper looks from Vix back to Nesseth. "Er... I don't know? Didn't look at tail or leg scales." She shrugs, giving Nesseth a look. "Do you want? Have all day."
Nesseth glances between Vix and Piper, then shrugs in turn. "Er... I did say I don't have anything planned for the rest of the day, so... if you're inspired, I guess?"
Piper shrugs, standing up and taking a step back from Nesseth. "Go ahead." She points at him with a half-joking threat. "Don't. Smear."
Vix leans forward and grins. "I'll certainly enjoy it~"
Nesseth nods as he stands up and grins at Piper's (probably) joking comment as he starts to disrobe further, though he does pause partway through removing his pants. "And, unfortunately, I don't have any sort of scarring on my legs like I do my arm. Just normal scales all the way down."
Piper shrugs, tilting her head a bit and getting an idea of his contours already. "Hm. Some could work in, ay. Maybe." She tilts her head the other way. "Maybe not today."
Nesseth finishes wiggling out of his pants and underclothes and sets them aside as well, only to let Piper look his scales over further. "It's a lot of scales, yeah. Whatever pace you want to work at, I'd say. Things around town have been pretty peaceful lately."
Vix giggles. "It's nice that it's quiet. Too hot though..."
Vix stares intently at Nesseth and blushes
Piper nods in agreement to Vix, catching her look. "It has been hot. Seem intrigued. See a pattern to paint?"
Vix: Oop...as long as you're asking, his thighs and butt have always had a pretty shape to them~
Nesseth sighs a bit. "Vix might be seeing less patterns and more general eye candy."
Vix blinks. "There's a difference? I thought she was following musculature!"
Piper turns back to Nesseth, looking over his thighs. "They do. Good muscle tone. Nice running lines. Even spacing. Easy to pattern." She shrugs. "Have specific shapes in mind. Could paint patterns after, but be separate."
Nesseth chuckles at Vix. "Musculature, but scales don't always follow that. It's all in the creativity~"
Vix: Hmm...I should take a closer look at your ah...patterns later~
Piper shrugs. "Fifty-fifty. Going to stay standing?" She readies her brush with a white paint, not seeming to mind whether he sits or not.
Nesseth smiles at Piper and shrugs. "You're the artist, so I'll follow whichever way you'd prefer." He shoots Vix a bit of a look, "And no teasing me during this, Vix."
Vix sticks out her tongue. "I'll just look respectfully~"
Piper takes Nesseth's left wrist as she glances at Vix, seeming to slip out of her professional focus for the moment. "Oh. I see. I am only working on this arm." She chuckles her three notes. "Tease away." She looks to Nesseth. "No moving this arm."
Nesseth blinks at Piper, then sighs and nods. "I'll keep still, but... you do realize what you've just given her permission to do... right?"
Piper shrugs. "Easy as keeping conversation."
Vix giggles. "No worries, I'll save that for later~"
Piper uses the white to highlight the core of some shapes, and the edges of others, smoothing some of the jagged shapes into swirling waves of electric blues. "Shame. Show while working. Not unappreciated." Her tone is flat, distracted.
Vix blushes. "Ah! W-well...it would make him squirm quite a bit..."
Piper chuckles, taking a moment to adjust Nesseth's arm. "Must be good then. Can't overpower me."
Nesseth chuckles a little, though he's quite happily watching Piper work the colors of the paints together, his arm moving at her urging with ease. "Well, I've been restrained a time or two before now, but I can definitely sit still well enough, I like to think."
Vix laughs awkwardly. "You got a special someone, Piper?"
Piper blushes a bit, shrugging. "Ox at Minnow for a while. Beef. Supportive, kind, strong." She glances toward Vix, but doesn't list any other aspects of him.
Nesseth thinks for a few moments, the name ringing a faint bell from reports that he'd gone over during an earlier timeframe. "Beef... an Ox? Sounds familiar... wasn't he one of the ones that came along with the guard escort from the Silver-Talons some months back?"
Piper nods, turning back to her work. "Yes, that caravan. Was there, too."
Vix smirks. "Heh, I figured you would like big beefy guys."
Nesseth chuckles as well. "So he decided to stick around town after meeting you, hm?"
Piper looks between the two of them, smiling. "Ay. Wanted to help." She leans back from Nesseth to clean her brush. "More came over time." She clears her throat, preparing some yellow paint.
Nesseth hums, nodding as he takes the opportunity to examine the paints that adorn his scales so far. "Keeping each other covered during a surprise attack is a pretty strong way to start a relationship, especially since it sounds like you both prefer helping others around town more than seeking fights and such."
Vix starts watching Piper's process more than Nesseth's body. "Pretty neat hobby you got here..."
Piper stares at her paints for a long moment, before looking over to Vix. "Ay, enjoy it. You paint?" Anything to get them to step a away from the topic of the caravan attack, and nothing else.
Vix scratches her head. "Ah, not much. Mostly I do some whittled woodcarvings and draw designs on them."
Nesseth blinks, then grins as he lifts his free hand to tap at the necklace still hanging around his neck, which has the Silver-Talon crest and a hand-carved wooden charm hanging next to one another. "Oh yeah, Vix was the one that crafted this a while back!"
Piper looks at Nesseth's necklace, nodding in affirmation. "A good carving. Met Florian yet? Also carver. New in town. Victoria's brother."
Nesseth tilts his head. "Florian? I think I've heard tell of someone that looks a lot like Victoria being in town as of late. That's her brother, then?"
Vix nods. "Sometimes I chat with other crafters at the market. Might have met him."
Piper nods, setting her brush down as she looks over he work. "He is, ay. Hm. Done, I think." She backs up a bit for a better look at the somewhat abstract lightning pattern surrounding his scar, cast from a dark figure on Nesseth's hand, the scar catching most of the 'lightning' from reaching Nesseth's heart.
Nesseth holds his arm out a bit and lets the light catch the colors of the paint. He examines all of the details with open interest as he carefully turns his arm this way and that to see how the details play out. "That was amazingly quick... but I definitely like the results." He looks up at Vix with a smile and prompts her, "What do you think?"
Piper shrugs a bit, blushing at the compliment. "Few colors, one arm. Near hour. Besides..." She glances towards Vix. "Someone else might want attention."
Vix lightly applauds. "W-wow, that looks really cool!"
RF-Discord:
Vix opens up the basket on the table, revealing an assortment of baked and fried goods. "You wanna stay around for snacks?"
Piper laughs three notes, nodding at Nesseth. She looks over to Vix, peering into the basket. "Ah. Pastries? Prefer meat, myself."
Nesseth chuckles and grins. "I could always try and whip up something quick for us to snack on in addition to the pastries, too." He grins as he continues to admire the art on his arm, "And I'm pretty good at cooking with one hand, too!"
Vix: We've got some jerky too!"
Piper cleans her brush off, closing the box back up. "Convinced me, I will stay." She looks at Vix, "Cooks without pants, with one hand? More talents."
Vix tilts her head. "How'd you know I do it too?"
Piper blinks. "Was asking about Nesseth. But fair enough."
Nesseth blinks, then laughs a bit. "Well... normally, I cook with clothes on, but... nothing wrong with cooking with just an apron on."
Vix sticks her tongue out at Piper and offers her some jerky. "You should try it!"
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THE THIRSTY MINNOW - EVENING
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Annika saunters into the bar, the kitsune dressed just a bit more... loose, than she is perhaps usually known for. This might have something to do with the fact that the one embodying her is in fact her girlfriend Victoria, someone far more known for either dressing for sexy or not dressing at all. Short story and long body swap later, the two (mostly) act publicly as each other, to various levels of success.
Annika orders a drink as she sits down, smiling as she looks around the bar, just seeing where this evening goes.
Florian makes his way into the Minnow not too long later, looking slightly perturbed as his continued search for his sister yields no results. No one seems to think she's missing, and she's indeed been doing her duties, but she keeps eluding him time and time again somehow. He does, however, spot Annika at the bar, and decides to just cut to the chase and ask someone close to her. "Uh, excuse me... You're Annika, right? Do you have a moment?"
Annika turns around and blinks, staring for a long second at the last person she imagined she'd be seeing. After a way too long pause for finding words, she nods: "Uh. Yes. Yes, I am. And I do." For possibly the first time in her life in Respite, she starts mentally pondering escape routes.
Florian nods and sighs, glad to finally have a lead directly tying to Victoria. "Oh, good. Well, I've heard from some of the other guards that you're close with Victoria. I'm her brother, Florian... not sure if you've heard of me from her, but... well... I'm sure the resemblance speaks for itself." He pauses, letting Annika get a look at his general appearance before continuing, "Anyway... do you happen to know where she is?"
Annika opens her mouth, then closes it. How to answer this one, even? "I er, yeah... you could say I am p-pretty close to her. She's currently." Pause. "Er, probably on wall patrol now?" The fox takes a sip of her wine, berating herself for not thinking this situation might come up.
Florian tilts his head, then shakes it. "I thought she might have been there, but... no, her captain told me her schedule, and it sounds like she was on-duty earlier in the day." He hums a bit and manages a small smile at Annika, "Well, I guess that's neither here nor there, anyway. I was just wondering if you could pass her a message from me."
Annika gives a nervous smile, tails twitching: "I think I can manage that. What is on your mind?"
Florian 's smile shifts to something more awkward. "If you can catch her when she's not acting weird and all... wild, maybe just tell her to find her brother, because he really wants to know why she tried clawing his face off not that long ago."
Annika blinks several times, putting her wine glass down. She did what? "I uh... pardon me? Wild? Clawing your face? What happened?"
Florian shrugs. "I don't know! I was just enjoying an early morning walk outside of the walls one morning last month, and she came stalking out of the bushes on all fours, growling all angry at me for no reason. She wound up chasing me all the way from outside of the town to the Minnow, and I'm pretty sure if she caught me, she was going to rip my face off, or try to."
Annika gets a cold feeling in her stomach, having a really good idea now what happened despite having no conscious memory of it. "Uhh... t-that sounds p-pretty wild, indeed." She pauses again, words failing her for a good long moment. "I am sorry that I- that it happened."
Florian sighs and shrugs again, the whole thing being a (thankfully) faded memory right now. "Thanks, but it's in the past. I managed to get away without getting hurt, so it's not like she has to find out I'm a giant mess or something because of it." He gives Annika a bit of a flat look, "I just... want to find out why. Like, that whole wild animal thing."
Annika hesitates for a second, then nods. "W-well... I have some insight to it." She gathers her words for a second, really trying to not trip up as she explains. "I... she can not really control it. After an unfortunate exposure to a flower whose pollen makes one go feral... she got a lot of it for a long time. Every now and then, especially if strong hunting instincts are involved, she changes." The fox looks very sullen at this.
Florian listens to Annika, only for his brow to furrow as he listens more and more, a frown creasing his features as the explanation goes on. "So all of this is... because of a flower? Does she just go completely bonkers sometimes? Because it's like she wasn't even there. No recognition of me at all..."
Annika winces: "Yeah it's... we're working on solutions, but haven't reached anything that fully stops it. We uh... suspect there's something else besides just the flower by now. Something innate." She sighs, then takes a sip of her wine.
Florian gives Annika a dubious look. "So you're saying that my sister routinely loses her mind and turns into a wild cat when she goes off and does her hunting thing? All because of a flower?" He heaves a sigh, "If the doctor here can't figure it out, I'm going to have to see if I can get her back to Vamas for a proper, full examination and cure..."
Annika blinks: "Uh... are you sure that much is necessary? She is - she is dealing just well with it. Mostly."
Florian gives Annika a flat look. "She's my sister, so of course it'd be necessary. I want to see her better, and not routinely going ballistic to the point she doesn't even recognize her own brother."
Annika taps the table nervously: "I uh... I can see that. It's hum... um." Pause. "Just make sure s-she wants that too. I d-definitely wouldn't want anyone just... springing this on me."
Florian shrugs. "If she can prove she's getting a handle on it, then sure, I'll reconsider. If she's that likely to attack me, what if it was someone that didn't have as good reflexes as I do, that day?" He shakes his head, "I don't need my sister vanishing on me again because of..."
Annika winces: "...some random transformation incident? Y-yeah, that'd be really awkward..." She taps her fingers together.
Florian eyes Annika. "She didn't tell you, then?"
Annika blinks: "Tell me what? O-oh. Yeah, no."
Florian shakes his head. "Not my place to tell you, then. But just tell her that her brother doesn't want a repeat of last time, up to and including her vanishing from town without a peep."
Annika gives a slightly nervous smile: "I will let her know. Avoid future awkward situations like this."
Florian nods, still frowning. "And while you're at it, tell her to stop hiding from her brother."
Annika nods: "Ah heh. I will, for sure. That's not really ideal, is it?"
Florian hums discontentedly. "No, it really isn't. Especially when I'm trying to find out why she wanted to rip my face off."
Annika gives a weak shrug. "It can be hard to control, what she has." She nods: "I will let her know all of this."
Florian nods after a moment. "Please do. Sooner the better, if you can."
Annika grins as she lifts her hand to her chest: "I promise, or my name isn't Annika!"
Florian nods. "I'll know one way or another soon enough, I think. Not that I don't trust you'll do what you can as Vee's partner." He pauses, then fixes Annika with a look, "I can trust you... right?"
Annika nods: "For sure. I know Victoria better than anyone in this town."
Florian eyes Annika for several seconds, his gaze locked onto the fox's eyes. He nods after another lingering silence. "I'll hold you to that, then. Thank you."
Annika smiles: "You can hold me onto that, brother." She lets out a hiss as she looks aside. "Er. Florian."
Florian blinks, then furrows his brow again. "Brother?"
Annika shrugs with a smile: "Slip of the tongue. Don't worry about it."
Florian stares at Annika suspiciously for a few seconds. "Odd slip of the tongue..." He shakes his head, "I swear, you better not be my sister trying to pull a fast one on me..."
Annika grins: "I assure you, I am not!" Pulling a fast one would imply planning. This definitely wasn't planned...
Florian hums, his expression easing. "Right, well... sorry for disturbing your evening, Annika. I should let you get back to your drinks."
Annika shrugs: "I don't mind talking to any friend or sibling of Victoria. But take care, and I will find your sister for you."
Florian nods as he places an order with the barkeeper, then stretches as he stands up. "Maybe a little later on, once I've had some time to think on what you've told me, we can chat a bit more. But for now, I think I'm going to grab a corner booth and just... carve a bit while having dinner."
Annika smiles and nods: "Fair enough. We can talk later." She takes a sip of her wine, trying to hold in her sigh of relief until Florian is out of earshot.
Florian goes and takes up an empty corner booth and quickly opens up his case of tools, where he extracts some small, half-finished projects, and resumes work on them. From the expression on his face, he's not especially paying attention to his work, but his hands move with the accuracy of a skilled craftsman.
Annika watches Florian every now and then for a while, but soon excuses herself to find... Victoria. Sort of.
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RESPITE WALL - EVENING
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Narrator: "Victoria" was doing her normal patrols of the wall, looking out to ensure that everything was safe and well, idly pulling one leg up behind her to stretch it out. She had gotten rather "used" to the updated set-up of herself and 'Annika's' lives, which is not to say that she wasn't looking for a return to form, but she wasn't too uncomfortable. She does miss the extra fluffy tails though!
Gareth stalks along the walls, seeking a certain leopard. He keeps to the shadows, his voluminous clothing doing wonders to mask the sounds of his movement as he searches for Victoria, who he knows is on an evening patrol at the moment. He figures, since he's been away for some months and was known to be away from town, now would be an ideal time for him to attempt to sneak up on the leopard as part of their little game. He doesn't want Victoria to get too complacent, after all, as that might make the snarky leopard lose her edge, which wouldn't be good for... well, it'd probably be good for a fair few folks that have to deal with her daily... but he nonetheless forges onward in his search.
Victoria was mostly focusing on the outside of the wall, so she wasn't quite paying as much attention on the 'inside', so perhaps Gareth has a chance to properly get the drop of Victoria! Right now she's turning away to do a patrol of the wall, and is facing away from where Gareth is coming from, after briefly glancing in his direction, and seemingly not really noting him. After all, he's okay to be here, right?
Gareth spots Victoria a little ways along the wall, her back facing towards him. He grins to himself as he moves, his longer stride and faster (though still quiet) steps allowing him to catch up to the leopard without much effort about ten yards down the patrol route. He draws up behind the leopard, intending to put a little scare into her for a laugh as he reaches to grab her by the shoulder, as is his usual method of surprising her whenever he manages to get the drop on her.
Victoria may not be quite as sharp when it comes to being jumped on, but /Annika/ has always been sharp when it comes to someone putting a hand to her, so once Gareth actually grabs her by the shoulder, Victoria very quickly around, grabbing at Gareth's hand on her shoulder to twist it, while the other hand goes for her dagger. Of course, when Annika learned this, it was with a relatively feeble fox body, not a much more toned leopard one, and using a small fruit dagger, rather than a much more violent one that is at her side right now....
Gareth is about to properly announce his presence as his hand lands on Victoria's shoulder, only for an unexpected grab on his wrist to catch him off-guard. It takes more than a little self-restraint to react automatically from years past, but he manages to make it clear who it is even as he's pulled into an awkward sort of half-bow by the wrist. "Got ye, Victo-- w-woah, woah! Oi, OI! It's me, Gareth, ye daft leopard!"
Victoria: "Ah..Yes" She releases the hand, and puts back the dagger "Sorry. Gareth" She recovers briefly, remembering to scowl "Well! It's your fault for sneaking up on me. If I hadn't tried to stab you, you'd be giving me grief right now!"
Gareth rises back up, massaging his wrist once he gets control of it again. He grimaces a little from Victoria exploiting the pressure point there, the weird mix of numbness and pain fading quickly now that the pressure is gone. Moments later, he shoots the leopard a look. "Gods, what's got yer dander up so much, lass? I know I was gone fer a couple o' months, but yer jumpier than I remember."
Victoria just keeps up the mild grump, but softens a little. Trying to sound out the vibe. She knows they're friends, but Victoria never gave a detailed account of how exactly they got along. "You got too close is all. I can't just rely on it being you. You've been gone for months, just like you said"
Victoria: "Besides, I'm not jumpy. You can tell by how unstabbed you are"
Gareth grunts as he continues to massage his wrist, but lets the moment pass before much longer. "Eh... fair enough, I guess. Still, I kind o' get the sense that I'd have gotten stabbed if I didn't say anythin' at all. More aggressive a reaction than the last... what, five or six times I got the jump on ye?"
Victoria: "Well, I can't be snarling at everyone that gets within two feet of me. Captain really gets annoyed at me when I do that. Anyone that puts a paw to me is still fair game though, and I don't think it counts as getting the jump on me, if you're the one getting stabbed"
Gareth gives his hand a shake to get the last bit of feeling back into it and rolls his eyes. "Always with the excuses, aye, Victoria? Every time I manage to surprise ye when yer not payin' attention." He grins at the leopard, "If we wanted to argue gettin' a jump on each other, a proper ambush wouldn't have been with a hand, anyway."
Victoria: "And a proper response wouldn't have stopped at your throat" She responds, attempting the smallest smile. Damnit, she really doesn't know how Victoria actually interacts with people she likes that aren't her, and that's not a good basis. "But yes, maybe I should pay attention behind me, but then how else would we have these talks?"
Gareth laughs a bit, the comment seeming to at least hit about the right mark to the wolf. "Aye, and if anyone would have been in any fit state to take their attacker with them, it's ye, lass." He shakes his head in amusement, "I doubt learnin' to watch yer back closely would stop ye from tryin' to sneak up on me at every opportunity outside o' the walls, though."
Victoria: "I do that all the time anyway. You just don't even notice it mostly. I don't feel the need to announce it every time I get the drop on you"
Gareth chuckles and nudges Victoria on the shoulder. "Then yer forgettin' the reason we even started this whole thing up, lass. Guess I can't go away fer too long if yer goin' to start goin' soft like that without me keepin' ye on yer toes."
Victoria nudges back "How does your wrist feel about my softness?" There's a pause "I've been learning ways to stop people that doesn't do as much damage to someone. Good for guard duty if you don't leave blood everywhere, y'know?"
Gareth smirks a bit. "Ye've got a good grip on the technique, I'll admit. I'm surprised yer finally listenin' to yer superiors about all o' the roughness, though. Last I heard before I left, ye were just rollin' yer eyes at them wantin' ye to ease up."
Victoria rolls her eyes "Well, I'm not meant to leave people bleeding, but you're not bleeding right now..and besides, you can keep twisting past the point where I stopped"
Gareth hums and nods. "Ye could have gone about maybe a quarter turn further before ye broke somethin', aye. Wouldn't have been the first wrist I've broken, both fer meself and others." He dips his head, "But fair point all the same, lass. Anyway... how've ye been the last couple o' months since I was in town?"
Victoria: "Oh, it's been" Utterly crazy since she suddenly is a leopard "Okay. Me and Annika are getting along well, work has been doing fine. What about you?"
Gareth nods with an easy smile. "Good to hear, lass, good to hear. Glad to know things have been calmin' down a good bit since some months back, aye?" He grins again after a moment, "As fer me, I've been doin' well. Spent some time out towards Orela, gettin' a few trade contracts set up, and just travelin' about with Sammi, enjoyin' the sights together with her."
Victoria: "That's good to hear. Thing will settle back with you now that you're home? Want to know if I should bother tracking you down after work..."
Gareth chuckles. "Heh, personal trips out beyond Aephix should be kind o' routine, but not too often. Now that I'm back, I've got to spend some time gettin' the contracts in order and such. Got to see to Fiora trainin' up a couple o' new hires fer the boat guards, too." He shrugs with a smile, "I should be around town fer the next couple o' months, at least, if not longer."
Victoria: "Well. I'll just have to check you've not gotten soft being away from me for that long in that case"
Gareth lets out an amused huff. "Yer welcome to try, as always, Victoria. Ye'll see this old wolf's not gone all too soft at all, now that he's back on the seas again."
Victoria: "I look forward to proving that you're quite wrong on that. If you've just not gotten worse, that's not gonna be enough to keep up"
Gareth: "Well, at least the time spent away hasn't dulled yer tongue any. Just remember, lass, the more ye talk yerself up, the better yer goin' to have to do to match it!"
Victoria: "Of course! Would not have it any other way"
Gareth nods happily. "Good, good. Should be good fun seein' how things go again, now that the town's been calmin' down." He pauses a bit and looks westward, towards the lights marking new houses built beyond the walls, "How've things been with them, speakin' o'? No trouble, I'm hopin'?"
Victoria: "What? Uh.." She shakes her head "No, No more trouble than usual"
Gareth hums and nods again. "That's good to know, too. Been a little while, so I'm kind o' out o' the loop on smaller details about the town's goin's on as o' late." He tilts his head a bit when he sees a weird sort of 'ripple' flow through the town as another short brownout rolls by, "...And that's definitely new."
Victoria rubs her ear softly "Yeah. I wonder what's going on there. May runs the generator, right?"
Gareth nods. "Aye, she does. Hopefully whatever is goin' on in there isn't causin' too much trouble fer her."
Victoria: "I'm sure she has it well in hand, right?"
Gareth nods again in agreement. "She's a good engineer. Louma's told me more than once how diligent she is about workin' around that generator o' hers, so I'm sure she's workin' hard on gettin' it solved."