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RESPITE TRAINING GROUNDS - EARLY AFTERNOON
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Cen finally put her sketchbook away again and turned to hoist that cabinet on her back once more.
Nesseth has been just chatting with Piper for the last while before she took her leave, not wanting to disturb Cen while she's busy sketching them. Once she starts packing up, though, he steps over to her with a friendly smile. "That was a pretty impressive spar you had with Piper, miss."
Cen: It was cerrtainly enjoyable. Not surre I would do well in a prroperr fight against her.
Nesseth hums and nods. "Yeah... she's a pretty solid wall unless you're as big as she is, or fight really dirty." He gestures at the cabinet on Cen's back, "You're no stranger to fighting, but also an artist. You're pretty varied, aren't you?"
Cen: is it not all one, that use is it to Trrain yourr body and not yourr mind? Orr vice verrsa. But tell me, Is therre a place wherre I can clean up, I feel I have dirrt in places I do not even acknowledge having.
Nesseth nods. "There are a few places, yeah. If you prefer simpler, the inns here in town usually have access to individual baths. The Thirsty Minnow is pretty popular. If you don't mind other places, there's a bathhouse with mixed baths, and a little extra gets you a private bath."
Cen: Bathhouse it is. I will check this minnow out laterrr, I will need a place to stay.
Nesseth smiles and nods. "Do you know where the bathhouse is, then? I could show you there, and then tell you where the Minnow is, if not."
Cen: I am rrrather new to town. I have no idea wherrre anything is aparrrt from this place.
Nesseth: "Then we can chat more while I show you to the bathhouse, then." He nods towards the exit of the training grounds, "So... new in town, hm?"
Cen: "Indeed, change of Scenerrry." She produces a berry from somewhere and feeds it to Calarin
>Nesseth chuckles and looks at the drakeling. "Adorable little fellow, there." He nods as he looks back at Cen as the two walk, "Well... if no one said it before, welcome to Respite Falls."
Cen: He is my Trrravel companion for some time now.. And I do think that Piperrr told me the same thing, only in herrr way. Thrrrough body language. it was quite invigorrrating.
Nesseth grins a bit. "Well, that was quite a welcome, in that case." He tilts his head a bit, "What's your companion's na..." He pauses, then dips his head a bit, "Actually... I'm Nesseth, one of the town's guards, and something of a ranger... and former Explorer. Could I ask you and your companion your names?"
Cen giggles "I am Cen, Cen Ilvanya, and this is Calarin
Nesseth smiles. "Good to meet you both, then, Cen." He reaches up a bit and pauses, then gives Cen a curious look, "Would Calarin mind if I pet him?"
Cen: He usually does not. but herrre, feed him a berrry and you'll be his best frrriend.. *he produces another berry from the pouch*
Nesseth blinks and accepts the berry, and then holds it up to Calarin. "Here you go!"
Cen: *The drakelings tongue flicks out, much like a chameleon's would, snatching the berry from the fingers and munching it, chirping happily* "Therrre you go, best frrriends now.. go ahead and pet him*
Nesseth chuckles as he reaches up and pets the shiny, seemingly metallic dragon with a few fingers. "He's adorable." He continues to pet Calarin for a bit, though he gives Cen a curious look again, "So you said you wanted a change of scenery, eh? Do you travel a lot?"
Cen blushes a bit "Not a lot no, rrrarrrely rrrealy.. I mean I liked to wanderrr but neverrr so farrr frrrom home..."
Nesseth hums and nods, understanding the wanderlust to pretty much any degree. "I can definitely understand. Can't really get much further than Respite Falls, I think, at least without just heading out into the wilderness."
Cen had been looking around, taking in the sights, she would look at things with wonder-filled eyes, everything seen as for the first time. "The bathhouse!" She exclaimed all excited when she spotted the building with it function in large letters on the front
Nesseth blinks and looks around, his hand dropping away from Calarin once he's had his fill of petting the little drakeling. "Oh yeah, here we are! It's a pretty big facility. Locker rooms for storing your things, and a choice between general baths and private baths."
Cen: "prrrivate? why?" *she looked a little confused at that concept*
Nesseth shrugs. "Some folks just like to enjoy a good soak in peace and quiet, or with just a couple of folks instead of whoever happens to be around the general baths."
Cen: "We always bathe togetherrr, to sit in a tub alone seems.. borrring."
Nesseth nods in agreement. "It kind of is, yeah." He tilts his head a bit, "Then, given that, want some company, or did you just want some directions to the Minnow?"
Cen: Company is fine, if you have time that is, you can give me the dirrrections in the bath, orrr show me, which everrr is most convenient." She heads in and looks at Nesseth "You know the ways of this place, why don't you orrrderrr and I pay yes?"
Nesseth shrugs and smiles as he follows Cen into the bathhouse. "Sure, that works for me." He approaches the front counter with the feline and makes a quick reservation for a general bath for two.
Cen produces some coins "hmm at this rate I will need to find some employment soon." *She does not seem overly worried about any of it though*
Nesseth gestures at the cabinet Cen is carrying while he waits for the receptionist to accept the payment and let them through. "One good thing about this town is that there are a lot of opportunities for that in all kinds of fields."
Cen nods, then looks about at the receptionist gives the customary where-to-find-what, then heads in to the locker room with her towels. Storing the cabinet was more of a challenge since it did not fit any locker, so she just placed it against as wall out of the way.
Nesseth accepts his own towels and goes to the men's lockers. Given he didn't have much more than just some regular clothing on, it doesn't take him long at all to store his things and make his way back out. He patiently waits, once he's done.
Cen comes out with her towel over her shoulders. When she seels Nesseth she tilts her head for a moment, takes it off the shoulder and wraps it around her hips like he had.
Nesseth blinks at Cen as she steps out of the locker room with her towel over her shoulder, then shrugs as he goes to remove his own towel... only to blink and tie it back around his waist again as she does the same. "Oh, you're from somewhere that doesn't mind nudity as well?"
Cen: "We bathe togetherrr, what is the rrreasons to hid one's forrrm beforrrehand?" *she did not mind adapting to local customs though. One thing became clear quite quickly, she had quite a few piercings on her body. Rings in her ears, bar through her eyebrow and each nipple, there was even a glint of metal between her legs before the towel covered it*
Nesseth nods. "Fair enough. For me, it's just kind of force of habit after living around those sorts of customs for a good while. We're honestly pretty lax here." He turns a bit and gestures at a nearby bath, though he keeps his eyes on Cen, just curiously taking in the various piercings, "Anyway, that's the bath we're using."
Cen slides her towel off and steps in to the water. A content sigh escapes her lips
Nesseth removes his own towel and likewise slips into the bath. It's a little hard to see in the bath's slightly lower light, but there's a pretty sizable and jagged scar tracing from his left pectoral all the way down his left arm. He hums appreciatively as the warmth quickly seeps into his scales. "A nice, hot bath, first thing in the morning... I can't argue with that."
Cen starts to wash, getting the bits of dirt off that were the result of the sparring, then she soaked, letting the heat do its magic on the bruises she got from it. "not quite the Firrrst thing this Morrrning, but prrrobably morrre apprrreciated now than beforrre the sparrring"
Nesseth hums with an amused smile while he starts to scrub his scales a bit, mostly just polishing them up. "That was a lot of activity at the sparring grounds earlier, yeah. I have to say, though, I'm definitely curious about sparring with you one day after seeing you take Piper on like that."
Cen: That should not be a prrroblem, I do like to spend an hourrr orrr two each day to worrrk on my body.
Nesseth: "If you don't mind me saying, it definitely shows. You're really fit... and those moves during the match were amazing to watch."
Cen: That gives you an advantage overrr me in ourrr sparrring match.. you have seen some of my moves. *She chuckled softly and once more, she did not seem overly concerned by those words or that prospect*
Nesseth chuckles. "Maybe, but just to even the playing field again, I prefer ranged combat, so my hand-to-hand skills are a lot less... brutally efficient than Piper's."
Cen: I had some trrraining with the bow, but morrre style than anything else. Things get in the way." *She grinned a bit* "At least everrr since I starrrted to fill out a bit"
Nesseth smiles in turn. "I can see that, yeah. Have you ever tried using a crossbow instead? They handle differently from a regular bow, but there's a lot less interference from... being shapely."
Cen: a Crrrossbow? *she shakes her head as she tries to invicion a cross shaped bow and gets a little confused on how that could possibly work*
Nesseth nods at the question. "Yeah, they're more compact than a regular bow and hit just as hard. I could show you mine at the range one day, if you'd like to try it out."
Cen nods after a moment's thought, she could still not fathom what it would be but was happy enough to be shown one. "What is it you do when not guarrrding us?"
Nesseth thoughtfully scrubs his scarred arm for a moment while considering the question. "When I've got time off, I tend to prefer hunting out in the hills and mountains, or spending time helping some of my partners with their own things." He chuckles after a moment of further thought, "I also enjoy cooking whenever the opportunity arises."
Cen: I like to draw and paint, and all that comes with it.
Nesseth hums with a smile at Cen. "I saw you sketching right after your sparring match with Piper. I'll admit I'm curious to see what kinds of works you do." He tilts his head again, "I'm guessing it's something you've done for a while, considering that cabinet you carry around?"
Cen: Since as long as I can rrrememberrr. It used to be a satchel with some vellum or Parrrchment and some charrrcoal, but well, I discoverrred colourrrs, and paints, and as my collection grrrew, so did my satchel, to a bag, to a backpack and now the cabinet. It is heavier than a backpack, but hey.. keeps me fit, and prrrotects much morrre.
Nesseth nods, though he seems a bit surprised at just how much stuff gets hauled around in the cabinet. "So you're transporting pretty much an entire artist studio's worth of materials in there? You've got a strong back to be lugging all of that around all the time."
Cen: I never know where the road takes me, and what I see, what I want to capture and with which medium to do so.. so yes, it is just best to have it all with me.
Nesseth nods again. "That makes sense... it's always good to be prepared for just about anything while out and about. I guess I just never thought that sort of 'survival' mindset would apply to the arts, too."
Cen: Everrr thought of letting yourrr body be a canvas?
Nesseth perks up a bit. "I have, actually! Do you do scale painting on top of all the other mediums you work with?"
Cen: I can no doubt
Nesseth tilts his head. "Never tried it before? If you like, you can practice on me." He smiles, "Wouldn't be the first time I've been a canvas for creativity."
Cen: when it comes to painting scales should be easy, inking them possibly not so much, but I might have a way. I can do it with furrr afterrr all, the prrrocess needs to be adapted some no doubt but I can see it worrrking similarrrly.
Nesseth nods along. "Sounds like you've got some good plans brewing in your head. If you've got the inspiration and need a canvas..." He hitches up another smile, "I'm your volunteer, I'd say."
Cen: well I doubt you want something morrre perrrmanent rrright away.. but.. do you shed?
Nesseth blinks and nods. "I do, but not very often." He raises an eyebrow, "Permanent? So you're a tattooist on top of a sketch artist, painter and such?"
Cen: it is another form of painting yes, but I'd welcome some old scales of yours if you have them, to see if I can modify my technique to become semi permanent on scales. Not sure I can get it to stay through a shedding, but who knows.
Nesseth nods as he lifts his left arm and shows the scar, and the scales that still grow along the edges of it. "Sure, I'll probably be able to get you some scales quickly enough. These ones along the edges tend to fall off a bit faster than elsewhere."
Cen: that is quite the scarrr you have therrre, seen much fighting lately?
Nesseth shakes his head as he looks at his arm for a few second before he rests it against the edge of the bath again. "Nah, this is kind of old now. It's a bit of a long story, but if you want to hear it, I can tell you."
Cen: I have no wherrre betterrr to go rrright now.. *she leans back as bit as well and stretches one of her shapely legs out for a bit* "hmmmm I could surrre do with the attentions of my cousin, she had ways to relax muscles after training"
Nesseth hums and leans back a bit as well, relaxing into the warm waters as well, though his eyes track towards Cen's leg breaks the water's surface for a few moments. "Your cousin's a masseuse? That sounds really nice." He sighs a bit, "Anyway... yeah, I got this thing something like... a year and a half ago. The town got caught in a war against some Aephix natives... and their leader had command over electricity-based magic."
Cen nodded and started to rub the leg a bit, still listening intently.
Nesseth reaches up and idly scratches at the part of the scar that's on his shoulder. "We were honestly pretty fine overall all the way up until we finally encountered their leader. I was part of a group that went to meet the leader to try and negotiate a proper peace, led by one of my good friends who hoped she could persuade them to end things peacefully." He sighs, "That didn't happen."
Cen stops for a moment looking up "Oh no, what did happen?"
Nesseth shakes his head. "Their leader wasn't having any of it. Thankfully, we all managed to get out, but he was slinging magic all over the place. He hit me more than once, but I definitely preferred that all of it hit me than anyone else."
Cen nodded, then started the massage again on the other leg. "So not peace, and only you got hurrrt?"
Nesseth grimaces. "No, there were a lot of other injuries during that fight. I think I just wound up catching the worst of it out of everyone that survived. The medics said I was a stiff breeze away from dying on the way back from the west."
Cen: so not everrryone surrrvived?
Nesseth shakes his head again. "Not everyone, no. Everyone that went in to meet the Saurian leader survived, but there were more than a few losses during the full span of the war." He sighs quietly, "And a lot of the Saurs got caught up in it, too."
Cen: And did yourrr parrtnerrrs comforrrt you and nurrrse you back to health?
Nesseth nods and manages a small smile at that. "They did, yeah, especially once I healed up enough to actually move about a bit... Though, some of the more psychological stuff..." He reaches a hand up and taps the side of his head, "You know, nightmares, things like that... I got through that thanks to my friends that were fighting alongside me. Shared experiences and such."
Cen: I can imagine yes.
Nesseth gestures towards his scarred arm again after remaining quiet for a short second or two. "So... yeah, that's kind of the long and short of how I got scarred like this. It took a while, but I'm pretty much back to normal again."
Cen: I bet yourrr parrrtnerrrs are uqually happy.
Nesseth hums. "Mmh, you'd be right, Cen. I seriously consider myself lucky having them in my life for a lot of reasons... one of which is that they're fine with me having multiple partners in the first place."
Cen: Ah, so by yourrr worrrds, that is not norrrmal herrre?
Nesseth tilts his head a bit, then shakes it. "Multiple partners? No, not normally. A lot of folks here are monogamous. Best as I can tell, my partners and I are kind of the only folks in a somewhat open relationship here in Respite."
Cen: Seems odd
Cen stretched out lazily as the hot water had done its work on the tightness of her muscles, now it was just bathing for the pure joy of it
Nesseth gives Cen a curious look. "I'm guessing where you're from, multiple partners is normal?"
Cen nodded "you may have a favorrrite dish, but eating the same food everrry day gets borrring verrry fast. Varrriety is the spice of life.
Nesseth blinks at the analogy, then laughs again with a bit of a smile. "Heh, when you put it that way, that does make for an interesting thought angle."
Cen: The senses need to be stimulated, new sights, new smells, new touches and sounds..
Nesseth hums thoughtfully and quietly mutters to himself for a moment. "A different sort of take on the Explorer's Guild idea..." He glances over at Cen again, "I'm guessing part of your reason for coming here was to stimulate your senses further?"
Cen blushes a bit again "not rrreally, it was not verrry planned you see, but now that I am herrre, it is what I will do."
Nesseth nods a little as he listens to Cen. "Not a planned trip, hm...? So you're just trying to make the best of the situation."
Cen: what else is therrre to do? *She sounded rather chipper about it, it was all new things and new opportunities to her, as if she did not linger much on not being home among friends and family*
Nesseth smiles a bit. "Fair enough, yeah." He thinks for a moment, then nods a bit, "So... if you're intending to be in town for a while, there's a lot of things to see and do. I also do want to spar with you when we get an opportunity one day. At the same time, if you're looking to enjoy new sensations, well..."
Cen: Well?
Nesseth shrugs a bit. "I wouldn't mind being one of the ones to help you along on that one, if you like."
Cen splashes some water over her head and sighs again "what do you mean Nesseth?"
Nesseth hums a bit, then just decides to put it out there. "You pretty much implied that you're fine with fooling around here and there as part of the experience of seeing new places. I'm just suggesting if you're interested, we could. That said, if not, there are also a plethora of other things to do besides, what with the scale painting, sparring, crossbow practice, and so on and so forth."
Cen stretches her leg again, rubbing it against his inner thigh for a moment "that is a nice offerrr, and I will considerrr it, but just because we do have multiple Parrrtnerrrs, we choose them with carrre. I'd like to know you better, know yourrr parrrtners.. after all, they would be sharrring you with me."
Nesseth chuckles a bit at the touch. "Of course. I figure I'd just put it out there. I think you'd like interacting with my partners, since they're all very sweet in their own ways." He smiles again, "But for the time being, we just get to hang out and learn more about one another."
Cen: and sparrr and shoot that bow of yourrrs.. *she winks and smiles*
Nesseth nods, his smile shifting to a grin as he winks back. "Exactly. There's a lot we can do." He pauses, then continues, "I'm admittedly still really curious as to where you learned to fight like you do."
Cen: my fatherrr taught us.
Nesseth dips his head. "He's an impressive fighter. I'm already feeling like it's going to be great fun testing myself against you."
Cen: being confined to that rrring was a challenge, but fatherrr taught us to rrrise to challenges.
Nesseth lets the tips of his fingers play against the water's surface for a few moments while remembering the last time he tried sparring against his 'big cousin'. "You did an admirable job of staying in the ring against Piper, considering the closer quarters plays to her advantage."
Cen: She drrrew the fight out, she had me thrrree times beforrre I actually lost.
Nesseth chuckles. "Even your first potential loss was a bit longer than one of my more recent spars against her. She just tosses us lighter folks around like nothing half the time."
Cen chuckles "She is forrrmidably strrrong, and fasterrr than I expected.
Nesseth nods in agreement. "She's one of the strongest people I know, and alarmingly fast... but only in bursts, I've noticed." He lifts a hand into the air above the water and wiggles his fingers a bit for emphasis, "She's also quite dexterous when it comes to finer manipulation, even though she opts to just punch things really hard. You're lucky she didn't try to grab you by your tail."
Cen: she managed to grrrab me by my ankle afterrr a kick even.. did not expect that.
Nesseth: "She has pretty crazy reaction speeds during sparring matches, definitely. I do wonder if she's just fighting on straight instinct during most matches."
Cen: instincts are honed during training.
Nesseth runs a hand against his frills for a moment. "If she sharpens her instincts any more, she could probably open her own martial arts school."
Cen: Therre is an idea.
Nesseth chuckles at the idea. "We should suggest it the next time we see her."
Cen: Wherrre would I find the Minnow?
Nesseth takes a quick moment or two to tell Cen the path from the bathhouse to the Minnow. It's easy enough to find by the directions he gives. "The Minnow's got some good food in general, buuuuut... you could pop by here and there and I'm likely to have food cooked up, too."
Cen: And wherre do I find you