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THE THIRSTY MINNOW - EVENING
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Leana is coiled next to a table, dressed in her usual fancy white dress-wrap and gloves, the black swan-snake having prissied up her rainbow feathers even more. And trying to forget she needs to paint a picture of... herself, for her sister. She takes a sip of her wine and shrugs. Some commission will come her way sooner or later.
Lorelei sidles in, carefully wrapping her tail around her to close the door without catching it. She looks around, before she spots Leana, and scoots over "Oooh! I love what you've done with your plumage? Is that a special oil you've got on it?" She's super forthright, just coming right out with the flattery.
Leana blinks at the newcomer: "Oh. Hello. And uh, well, noooot directly. But sort of." She gathers herself: "I am Leana. Who do I have the pleasure to be complimenting me right away?"
Lorelei: "Lorelei. I just got here, and..uh..sorry if I'm too forward. I'm kinda still getting used to how things are done around here. Is it not okay to just say how nice people look?"
Leana tilts her head: "It is fine, just... perhaps surprising. People here are more forward than in Sarn, though, so I believe you are fine." She chuckles: "I don't know which is better, really."
Lorelei: "Well, if you're uncomfortable, I can stop. Otherwise...." She leaves the sentence hanging
Leana laughs softly: "If you want to compliment my looks, by all means, go ahead. I know I'm gorgeous."
Lorelei: "Oh! You are!" She settles into a seat "I know back home you'd be the envy of everyone" She wiggles her own colourful feathers "The more colours the better, and you're a walking rainbow!"
Leana takes a sip of her wine: "Back home, hmm? I guess you're from somewhere with less colours, as it were?" She lifts a wing and looks at the rainbow wingtips: "These kinda came by an accident, but not one I mind much." Probably. There might be some parts of that deal the swan-snake doesn't quite think are great.
Lorelei: "Oh! Not at all. Our Island has loads of colourful lizards, and Snakes, and Halfs" She nods "Well, half lizard, half snake. I've never met someone like yourself. It's a great mix though!" She nods "Remixing two great things together"
Leana laughs at that: "Oh dear, indeed." She smiles amusedly: "It's... well actually I don't know all that much about it, but yeah, was born like this, sans the rainbow feathers."
Lorelei: "Oh. How did you get those then?" She leans in "You've got to tell me your secrets~"
Leana smiles: "I suppose it's not much of a secret to keep. Far as I am able to tell... some kind of young spirit of a Coatl Princess smacked onto me after something or other having gone wrong here, kinda woke up with these feathers and a desire to fly to Respite one day." She shrugs her wings: "Doesn't make any sense, yet here I am."
Lorelei: "Oh, I'm sure it does make sense. You had a spiritual awakening! Coatl's are super cool too. I was always so jealous of my neighbour. Always wanted to be able to fly like her..."
Leana blinks as she takes a sip of her wine: "Huh. Well, flying is... practical, I admit that much."
Lorelei sighs "It certainly is..." She briefly starts daydreaming, before snapping out of it "Oh, sorry. Well. However it came about, it suits you a lot"
Leana smiles: "Thank you. You do look rather beautiful yourself. Would make for a good model for a painting."
Lorelei smiles brightly at the compliment "Oh, is that an offer?"
Leana starts to nod... then pauses, then nods again with a smile: "...I guess I could say it is, really. Something to do for a bit."
Lorelei: "Well. How could I turn someone's artistic instincts?" She flicks her tail behind her "I would be flattered to accept such a wonderful offer"
Leana smiles, leaning back: "I don't usually do something this rash, but... admittedly I have been pretty bored lately. So, why not?"
Lorelei claps her hands together brightly "Oh, I'm only too happy to bring more fun to this place. It's got its charms, but there does need to be a bit more fun times" She muses "Though, this is fairly small town. You know Nesseth? He's lovely too"
Leana blinks: "Oh. Yes I do, in fact. He is nice." And doesn't look too bad. "He sort of introduced me to this town, actually."
Lorelei: "Ah! He sort of did the same to me. He is, indeed, very pretty! That jawline..." She sighs "Do you know if he's taken?"
Leana is about to say something, then stops. "I... I actually do not. Though if someone that pretty is alone, it is a travesty."
Lorelei: "Oh. You've not asked?" She ponders "Well, we should sort that out. If you don't take him, I will~" She winks
Leana hums: "Suppose that is a deal I can work with. Let us find out to solve this."
Lorelei: "Until then, what style of portraits do you do?"
Lorelei: "I want to know what I should be wearing~"
Leana shrugs: "Since I'm not really doing a commission or anything, just whatever goes well with your body. I flow pretty freely, though I try to be accurate."
Lorelei: "Well. I imagine if you need an accurate look at my body, I know what I'll need to wear" She nods "I understand perfectly"
Leana is unsure what to make of that statement, but shrugs with a smile: "Whatever you want to do, yeah."
Lorelei: "Lovely! I can't wait to be immortalized in art"
Leana smiles: "I can at least appreciate an appreciation to my art, if nothing else."
Lorelei would start to plan the details of when and where this would go down.
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THE THIRSTY MINNOW - EVENING
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Daedelus stumbles in off the street, almost looking like he'd thrown into the door and just went with it. The muscular ibex manages to catch himself against a post before his massive horns could crash into anything and cause some damage. Those ridged horns go back from the top of his head in a grand curve that almost reaches back to his armpits, their tips protected under simple spherical brass caps. He turns his head to yell back at whoever sent him this way. "Fuck's sake, my guy, learn to take a compliment."
Baldwin follows into the bar some seconds later, having seen the shove during his approach from outside. He glances around, his ice blue eyes settling on each person nearby one at a time, only to tilt his head at the ibex. He's just gotten off-duty from work, but is still dressed in most of his guard uniform. "Uh... everything alright, sir? Looked like there was a scuffle just now outside."
Victoria in contrast was still 'on duty', and in her uniform. She stepped inside the bar, and didn't say anything, since Baldwin was handling the matter. She just leaned on the wall just inside the door, scowling. That's the right approach, right?
Daedelus straightens up against the post before letting it go and turning to the new voice. "Huh? No, nothing to worry about. Friendly disagreement, that's all." He dusts himself off and quickly recognizes that he's back in the tavern. He reaches a black-furred hand into one of the pockets of his seacoat and fishes out a couple of coins and slaps them down on the bar. "Ale... grog... rum... just somethin' to make me feel good," he directs the barkeep. He finds the nearest barstool, and sits down on it, clearly still reeling a bit from being tossed into the door. He finally takes a good look at Baldwin and blinks again. "Oh.. sorry, didn't see you were a guard there. No, nothing to report or pursue." He gratefully accepts a large mug of of ale and takes a deep swig from it, though he's careful to pull back his braided goat beard beforehand.
Baldwin looks over at Victoria and nods, glad to see that another guard is on duty at the moment, before he makes his way over to the counter to get himself a drink. "Well, if you're sure." He turns around to look at the two, separate they may be, "I'm just about off-duty for the day, but if you have any troubles, Victoria could be of some help in official capacity."
Victoria looks up at her name being called out, and scowls. Professionally, idly drumming her claws on the wall as she does so. While perhaps it's not her natural inclinations to be so abrasive, she has to admit it's sort of fun, and besides, it makes life so much easier for her in so many ways! Maybe she'll try it out a bit whenever she finally gets to Fox again.
Daedelus drinks down about half the pint in a single go before setting it down and turning to face both this handsome gazelle and the quiet leopard. His rich lapis blue eyes linger for a while on Baldwin, though, the caprine's horizonal pupiled eyes almost magnetic in this moment. He waves a hand in Victoria's direction dismissively. "I'm fine, like I said." He turns to face Baldwin, a broad smile on his face. "What I could do with is some company... need some information on someone who lives around here." He picks up and drains his mug in another long drink. "Two more!", he calls, buying a pint for Baldwin unbidden.
Baldwin tilts his head a bit at the ibex's gaze, taking a moment to glance over at Victoria again before he nods at Daedalus. "Searching for someone, hm? You a bounty hunter or something, or just looking for a lost relative?"
Victoria shrugs back in return, and relaxes slightly. He doesn't seem to be making more trouble! After a few more moments, she would head back out to patrol.
Daedelus: "No and nope... just heard there was a starmapper somewhere near this town. Something about a tower in the mountains?" He picks up his fresh mug but then sets it down again as the alcohol from the first drink steadies his nerves a bit. "Sorry, here I go asking you a buncha questions about town and I'm not even polite enough to introduce myself first? Nah, that's not me..." He wipes the condensation off of his hand onto his linen halfshirt, which Baldwin would notice is stretched quick tightly across the goat's sizeable pecs. He offers out the hand. "Name's Daedalus, but all my friends call me Dae."
Baldwin nods with a smile and reaches out to shake Daedalus' hand. Though he's of a slim build, he's got a strong grip thanks to his time spent handling bows. "Good to meet you, Daedalus. I'm Baldwin, one of the town guards. A scout, specifically." He pauses, tilting his head a little at the description of the starmapper, then perks up, "Oh! You might be looking for Dorri. She's an astronomer and lives up in her observatory a ways out from town."
Daedelus squeezes Baldwin's hand back, but not in any sort of macho way, just enough to express the pleasure in the greeting. "Ah, I'm just a sailor, going wherever the seas take me. Seem to have a bit of a knack for star navigation, though. Wouldn't have a clue where it came from. And a scout ya say? You must've seen some things, then!" He snorts at his own joke for a moment before the answer to his question arrives and he gets a big grin across his soft black lips. "Oh! Good to know." He fishes a folded piece of paper and stub of pencil out of another pocket of his coat and scrawls down 'DORY - OBSERVTRE' before stowing them away again and patting the pocket to make sure they're secure.
Baldwin nods his head towards the door his long, graceful horns pointing the way a bit more obviously. "It's a bit of a trip out to the mountains in the north, but there's a dedicated path through the foothills. It's usually pretty safe, but if you want to head out that way with someone watching your back..." He chuckles as he looks over Daedalus' well-built physique for a moment, "...Not that I think you'd run into trouble, of course, but you can always ask for a guard escort just to be sure."
Daedelus pushes one of the pints of ale on the bar toward Baldwin. "Drink," he says. It's not really a question, but it's not exactly a command. More of a desire spoken. In any case, he's focused on his mug while Baldwin's eyes look over his lightly shaggy black-haired form. In some places where the light hits it just right, his body shines almost the same blue as his eyes. He sets down his mug again and his smile can be seen to widen. "Of course... sounds like an invitation, though. When would you be available for something like that, then?"
Baldwin accepts the drink with a grin and takes a hearty quaff before setting it back on the counter to continue the conversation. "Thanks, Daedalus, much appreciated." He shrugs at the question, however, still smiling, "You'd have to arrange it with one of my superiors. Either Lieutenant Nesseth, or you can speak to Captain Louma. Both should be able to get it set up for you. If you need me to come along specifically, you could just let them know that, too."
Daedelus just nods along to the instructions, getting the gist of them. When Baldwin reaches for the drink again, however, Dae reaches out with his three-fingered hand to stay him for a moment. "Please... just call me Dae." His hand lingers there for a moment as his eyes scan the antelope's face for any sign or hint that he's doing something wrong... or something right.
Baldwin pauses and tilts his head again at Daedalus, only to chuckle and nod. "Sure, Dae. So, I have to say, I'm kind of curious. You look kind of far from port, dressed like that. Guessing you're here to get some star charts from Dorri for the ship you serve on?"
Daedelus leaves hand there just a moment long before taking his own quaff of ale. "Something like that. As I said, I seem to have a knack for reading those charts and even..." He sets down his mug and does some motions in front of himself with his hand while muttering under his breath. There's then a glow a soft starry glow hovering over his hand. It's actually a string of small lights which is easily recognizable as the Hound's Tail, one of the brightest constellations in the night sky. In the light of the tiny stars, it's somehow easier to notice the small white spots in his coat, which seem to reflect the light more than they should. He then opens his pinched fingers and the magic vanishes.
Baldwin gives Daedalus a curious look as he leans a bit to see what the ibex is doing. He blinks when he spots the soft glow of magic hovering over his hand, as he just sort of takes in the spectacle on display. He recognizes the constellation, and glances curiously up at Daedalus... though some part of him also just admiring the the light on the tips of his fur. "You're a mage, then? And that was the Hound's Tail, wasn't it?"
Daedelus blushes a bit and rubs at the back of his head with his hand. "Hound's Tail, yeah... and I can do the one thing. I think magic is more than doing the one thing. But it's useful. I make the stars and then I can... uh..." He tries to think of how to explain what he does. "Like if it's cloudy at night, I can make them hang where they would go so we can still navigate with them... And no, I have no clue where it came from. I can just sort of... do it." He's still blushing as he turns back to face Baldwin as he takes another drink. He's definitely not not overly admiring the Antelope's face and figure from behind his ale mug.
Baldwin hums quietly as he tracks Daedalus' hand back towards his face. "So kind of a good navigational thing whenever the weather turns sour, hm? No wonder you look like a sailor. That's like a perfect fit for an sort of vessel." He shrugs a bit. "As for knowing about magic... I don't have a lick of magic in me at all. Best as I can tell, no one really knows where they get magic from... they just kind of have it."
Daedelus brings the hand back down and drums his fingers on the bar. "I heard that the starmapper had some, maybe... but I guess we'll see when I visit her. Maybe she can help me make sense of it... I don't even know how I know what to do to make it happen." He looks at Baldwin again after staring at his own hand for a bit. "So, guy like you, in the guard. I bet you're pretty popular..."
Baldwin nods as he listens to Daedalus. "I heard much the same from a couple of folks who spent time around her observatory some time last year. She has some kind of magic going for her, but never really showed it off." He pauses, then laughs, "Me? Popular? Heh, I just keep my head down and do my job as a sergeant. Less hassles that way compared to others that get all the weird assignments for standing out."
Daedelus cocks his head at that answer. He snorts a bit in disbelief. "Well, work, sure, but you gotta have a wife or girlfriend, right? Pretty good catch.."
Baldwin shakes his head, though it doesn't seem to bother him any as he takes another hearty sip of his drink. "Nah, I've not really gone looking for anyone like that. Toyed with the idea, but then that'd mean getting a place of my own, and all the stuff that goes with it, you know?"
Daedelus feels his heartrate begin to rise at that revelation. "Oh? Yeah I get you. I mean, it's not like I could keep up anything steady when I barely know what port I'll be in in a month... doesn't mean you can't some fun with folks though, blow off some steam." He leans in a bit. "So you got any nice girls who do that for you?"
Baldwin chuckles, though this time there's a slight edge to it compared to before. "Heh, I wish, but no... Kind of have a hard time of it what with Lieutenant Nes-- er..." He coughs a bit, occupying himself awkwardly with his drink for a moment, "I shouldn't talk crap about him behind his back... Anyway, no, no one to blow steam off with."
Daedelus has heard this story before, so he leans in and rests his hand atop Baldwin's own. "Lieutenant stealing all the pretty girls from under your nose? That's not very nice." His locks his gaze with Baldwin, figuring that now might be the best time to shoot his shot. "You ever think that maybe you're chasing the wrong folks? The wrong gender maybe?"
Baldwin chuckles again. "He's got a habit of knowing exactly what to say to make folks fall for him. I mean, I can't fault him since he tends to be one of the first folks to really get to meet and greet others." He shrugs with a little bit of a sigh, "And, well... now that you mention it, I'm not unfamiliar with trying both ends of things. Just never really stuck it out with anyone."
Daedelus laughs at that. "Well... not so sure about the sticking it out part, but I'm happy to stick it with you, if you wanna." At that he leans in close enough that his horns clack quietly against the gazelle's and his eyes gaze deeply into those seemingly oblivious ice blue pools. "Whadda ya say, sexyhorns?"
Baldwin blinks in surprise as he feels Daedalus' horns bump against his own, only for his cheeks to flush at the proposition. "Er... w-what, you and me? Tonight? Like... n-now?" His earlier ease vanishes in an instant amidst nervous stuttering, only for a shaky laugh to escape from him... though he doesn't make any moves to pull away, "H-heh... you come on strong, d-don't you?"
Daedelus reaches out and takes Baldwin's hands in his, squeezing them softly as he smirks but doesn't laugh. "...well yeah, I do... but I was tryin' to be kind of subtle for a change and you just didn't get it... So it looks like I'm gonna have to be a bit more..." He leans in and presses his lips against the gazelle's as he breathes in the other male's scent. He only holds the kiss for a few seconds, but in that time, he can already feel Baldwin's lips getting warmer and more yielding and even a bit wet. He then pulls back to resume the locked gaze. "... explicit."
Baldwin blinks again as Daedalus takes his hands, and he's in the middle of responding when he's pulled into the kiss. "H-heh, well, it's been years since I've done anything a-and I guess I'm just r-rust--mmph! Mm--mmph~...
Daedelus leans back a bit and drains the rest of his ale. "You guess you're what now? Tasty? I agree. I'd like to taste more of you." He finishes the last of his ale and stands up before offering Baldwin a hand off his own stool. "So you in or you out? I ain't got time for your waffling."
Baldwin stumbles over his words some more, only to knock back the last of his drink and stand up as well, feeling... maybe just a little embarrassed at how public that kiss was. He follows after Daedalus, though, still pretty well flustered. "Er... s-sure, why not? Could go and, uh... blow off some steam, sure."