Dancing Fox Inn XIII- Luck Costs Extra

[Deathkeeper]

Mist waves a hand.
"Yeah, twenty generations is plenty of time. That's like, centuries. I'll think of a name in the morning, though. I'm tired." he says, shaking his head. It's a wonderful gift. Well, more of a wonderful reward. But he can't really think of any names at the moment.

[Recaiden]

"Okay, but don't leave it too long."
"Anyway, I won't keep you. Just let me finish this drink, and you go rest." Mei offers.

[Earl of Purple]

Prumathe arrives, ready for his date. He looks around, to see if she's here... No, she isn't. Hopefully she's just fashionably late.

Prumathe is a young man, probably about nineteen. He's not athletic, not really- he's got a muscular physique, but it's a working body, not a show body. He's got dark skin and thick curly hair, green eyes. He's wearing nice clothes, dressed smart but not formal, with dark combat trousers and a white shirt, buttoned most of the way up, and a pair of Chelsea boots. He's carrying a small satchel, with which to put things- like a wallet, so he can pay.

[bc56]

Sekhmet arrives only a little bit after Prumathe. "Hi! Uh, sorry I'm late." She had a little trouble finding the place, but she made it. The Tiefling looks about two years Prumathe's junior. She has straight, black hair, pulled into a ponytail, dark red skin, and horns that curve back over her head like a gazelle's. A pointed, devilish tail pokes out from behind her. She's wearing a white blouse, a grey pencil skirt, and a pair of black flat shoes. She has a black handbag as well, and the handle of a carved wooden wand pokes out of its opening.

[Earl of Purple]

Prumathe's not very good at keeping his eyes steady when Sekhmet approaches, but he keeps them on her face when he speaks to her. "No, that's not a problem Sekhmet. You look stunning. I've got this table here for us." He'll pull a chair out for her, and then sit down himself. "I saw your wand, just about. Do you think something like that would help me?" He's still a bit nervous, since he's not had a date for quite a long time, and not with a girl he found as pretty.

[bc56]

Stunning? Her? Sekhmet blushes, not that it's easily noticed with her skin tone. "Thanks, Prumathe.' She sits, straightening her skirt and politely crossing her legs. "I, uh, I don't know." She pulls the wand from her purse, a branch of some hard wood, with a handle carved in one end and the other end tapered to a point, marked by arcane glyphs burned into its surface "It's different for, uh, everyone. Back at home, I had some books about it, but not, uh, anymore."

[Earl of Purple]

"Yes, I know magic's different for everyone. Every world, too, come to that. My homeworld doesn't have magic, I'm pretty sure. I crossed over when I was about ten, got rescued by an orphanage. They got me my place with Pontius. He doesn't use wands, and he's taught me all I know of magic. He doesn't use a wand, but... He's quite limited. He's a genius at animating things, don't get me wrong. I've been there for a few years now, and he's better than anyone else at creating golems, but he's the worst at literally everything else. You're a better illusionist, I'm a better self-enhancer, and so on for everyone." He doesn't know exactly how long he's been there, because time's weird in Nexus (and I can't decide).

Self-enhancer sounds interesting, though.

[bc56]

Sekhmet nods. "Where I'm from, it's, uh, all about shapes and colors. The uh, shape of your magic determines what sort of focus works best for you, I think, and the color makes certain magic easier or harder." This isn't technically her area of expertise. Her education covered many things briefly, and magic theory was not something she learned in detail. "I guess I could try to teach you a bit of, uh, what I know, if you, uh teach me some of what you know."

[Earl of Purple]

Shapes and colours sounds interesting, for certain. "How do you find out what shape and colour somebody's soul is?" Because that'd probably let them know if he can learn Sekhmet's magic. "My magic, apart from the craefting Pontius teaches, isn't flashy or showy. It boosts my body, letting me be stronger, or faster, increasing how fast I heal or hardening my skin. That kind of thing. Done right, people can hardly tell I'm using it, which is most of the point." It doesn't heal as well as divine magic, though. It just speeds up natural healing, so fatal wounds that need surgery still need surgery. It does speed up recovery times after the surgery, though.

[bc56]

"It's, uh, complicated. I was tested when I was, uh, ten." Sekhmet doesn't remember the entire process. "It has to do with strong emotions, I think." She listens to Prumathe's explanation of his own magic. "That's, uh, interesting. I can't do anything like that." Not that she hasn't tried, but such magic is not her forte.

[Earl of Purple]

"I can't do illusions, so we're even there, Sekhmet." Although he's never tried them, since he's never met an illusionist before. It wasn't encouraged in the orphanage, because of the tricky deceitfulness of the magic would have cause problems. "I'm going to get some drinks. You want anything?" He'll start to stand up, unless he's stopped.

[Devixer]

A woman walks into the inn, but very, very slowly, quickly casting her gaze to each corner of the room. She almost looks like she's afraid to enter, but once she realizes nobody's really paying her any mind, she breathes out a sigh of relief, and quickly sits at a table near a back corner, where she can see everything.

She's quite tall, with perhaps too-pale skin, and long brown hair worn in a ponytail. She's wearing tight jeans and a blouse, with a light jacket over everything. She shrinks into her seat, trying to make sure as few people see her as possible.

[Deathkeeper]

Mist nods to Mei.
”Don’t forget to stop by sometime, Mei. I always have time for friends.”

And then he starts to head out-
But he feels like there’s something calling him to make something he said foreshadowing. Almost like-
A customer!

Mist turns on a dime to see the new lady.
”Evening, Miss. It’s a little late and I just got back from a crazy adventure but the bar is always open. Can I...get...you...” he squints.
”I know you. I definitely know you. Why do I think that? I’m terribly sorry if I’ve forgotten.”

[Devixer]

The new lady looks at Mist, and her eyes widen a moment. "Oh, hi Mi- sir. I don't think we've met? I'm sorry, I haven't really been around in the Nexus for... a long time."

Though she claims not to know Mist, there's something about her voice that almost sounds... familiar?

[bc56]

"Just, uh, water for me." Sekhmet relaxes a little when Prumathe gets up. So far it's going well, she thinks. She pulls out a menu to see what food is available.

[Deathkeeper]

Mist cracks a wide, vulpine grin.
”No, no, you can’t hide that slip from me! I know you from somewhere, it’s okay you can tell me.” he says teasingly.
“Maybe she’s one of your old loves you claim you didn’t have while we were gone, dear.” says a large doe wearing a bow passing behind him.
”Moooom! Not around friends or customers!” Mist groans.

[Devixer]

The woman's eyes are downcast, and she looks towards the floor. "I'd... really rather not..." she mumbles, fidgeting with her plain brown purse. "I was a much worse person back then, and not a very good friend either."

"Especially since I disappeared without telling you or anyone..."

[Deathkeeper]

Mist looks serious, and sits down across from her in the booth with his hands folded.
”I assure you, I have never had a bad friend. Only good ones. Who might, sometime or another, have made a mistake or two. But never a bad friend.”

[Devixer]

The woman lets out a long sigh. "I'm not getting out of this, am I..." she looks up at Mist. "My name's Aimi now."

[Deathkeeper]

Mist gives Aimi a gentle smile.
”It’s nice to see you again, Aimi. Now, how about you help me with something?”
He points to a little yellow star out the window that wasn’t there yesterday, or even an hour ago.
”That’s my new lucky star, and I need a name for it. I have twenty generations who are going to look up at it and it needs a cool name.” Because nothing says “I forgive you for any perceived slights” like naming a celestial body.

[Devixer]

"Lucky star? That's a thing?" Aimi looks out the window at the little star, then back down at Mist. "Well, if you're sure," she said, thinking for a few moment. "How about Kresh? I don't know, I'm just naming random names."

[Earl of Purple]

Prumathe goes, to grab a glass of water for Sekhmet and some pineapple juice for himself. There's not much a queue, so he's not gone long. "Here you go, one glass of water for you. I've got pineapple juice." I'm not sure if Sekhmet knows what a pineapple is; they might not be available on her world. Or at least, not on her continent if it's a temperate one. "Their pineapple juice is really nice. What's on the menu?"

[Deathkeeper]

"Yeah, I played the flute for some weird magic thing that gave me horrible visions and then the dragon goddess who asked me to do it paid me with a magic star."
He blinks and shakes his head.
"You know my whole YEAR has been super normal after the wedding thing and you just happened to come on the day where I had news that sounds super weird out of context."

[Devixer]

Aimi blinks. "You got married?" She remains stunned for a few moments, then chuckled, before warmly smiling at Mist. "That's wonderful! Congratulations. I'm just sad that I missed it."
This much genuine happiness from Aimi has to be a surprise for Mist, along with everything else about her.
"I still don't think there's such thing as a normal year, around here. I've gotten more used to it, though."

[bc56]

"Thank you." Sekhmet takes the water graciously. She hands the menu to Prumathe. "I don't, uh, know. What do you recommend?" Most of the foods on the menu are completely foreign to her. "And, uh, what's a pineapple?"

[Earl of Purple]

"The barbeque ribs are nice. I don't really eat here often, so I've not tried everything on the menu." And then he's asked about pineapples! "They're a big fruit, spiky yellow with big spiky green leaves coming out the top. Would you like to try the juice? It's sweet, but quite acidic. Not as sour as a lemon or citrus fruit." He'll offer it to Sekhmet, pushing the glass of orange-yellow juice to her.

[Deathkeeper]

Mist seems proud and a little embarrassed, showing Aimi his ring.
"Yeah, uh, you remember Leah, right? Sunglasses, tiger from the waist down? Quiet? We got married a while ago, last year. It was fun. I'll get you pictures, maybe." Mist doesn't want to say that she'd been invited, but hadn't been able to be found.

[Devixer]

"I kinda do," Aimi said. "It was a long time ago, and, well... a lot's happened, if you couldn't tell," she said. "I'd love to see those pictures whenever you can share them."

[bc56]

Sekhmet gingerly takes a sip of the pineapple juice. "Oh! It's good!" She is rather surprised by the flavor. It's not like anything she's had before. "I, uh, I guess I'll try the ribs." She doesn't know what barbecue is either. It hasn't been invented in her homeworld yet.

[Deathkeeper]

"Well, yeah, sure. So...what have you been up to, then?" Mist asks Aimi. Clearly she's been up to something for the last year. It's been a while since she left and Naku got herself a different job. Mist doesn't see her that often but they keep in touch from time to time.