-insert name here-'s Place and Everywhere Else ~ Geezerville

[ThisEmptySoul]

{{I think this thread needs more walls of text.}}

Inside a small shop amidst the maze of buildings that is the Neriak Commons, a rather elegantly dressed dark elf woman prepares to close up for the day. She takes the most expensive items from the front displays and wraps them individually in cloth before gathering them into a box to take with her to her personal living quarters below, which were not much larger than the combined space of the shop and work area on the ground level. After finishing with her box of valuables, she locks the front door to the shop, strolls behind the front counter, and lowers a plank at the edge which extends the counter surface all the way to the wall, locking it in place. It isn't so much a deterrent to thieves as it is a habit to keep customers from trying to go up the stairs that were in the direct path of this gap in counter space. Anyone could just as well crawl under it or climb over it if they were determined, but the only one she ever had do that besides children was... him. stare

Narrowing her eyes as a fleeting thought of scolding him to get off of her counter passes, she shakes her head and sighs, her gaze wandering up the stairs before her. The room above the shop has been unused since her son left. Many times she has thought to convert it into storage space or perhaps rent it out, but she always decided in the end that she didn't need the space or the money. She was well enough off that she could move elsewhere and have a much larger place than Neriak had room for, but she felt no reason to leave. This is where she had spent so much of her life.

The woman holds the box of valuables closer as she peers up at the door on the other end of the staircase, a soft smile gracing her features. "Ssinjin deis, dalharuk", she says quietly, then continues on to the back of the shop, pushing aside a purple curtain which separates the shop from the work area where she crafts the jewelry she sells. After making sure all the various drawers are locked and tools are put away, she begins to make her way downstairs where she will lock the valuables in a safe and likely retire for the day not too long after.

She only makes it halfway down the stairs when she hears a faint sound coming from the front door. She stops in place to listen more closely and determines that it is someone trying to turn the doorknob. Assuming they would take the hint that the store is closed by the locked door, she decides to just continue down to her quarters. However, soon a different noise can be heard; whoever it was had begun to pick the lock. More annoyed than unnerved at this new development, she hurries down to lock the box away.

Upstairs in the shop, a hooded figure enters upon successfully unlocking the door, shutting and relocking it afterward. He takes a moment to glance around the immediate area first before approaching the front counter and banging on it with his fist.

"Oi! L'istnada! Lis! You've got a customer."

The woman downstairs scowls and groans, her head thudding against the top of the safe she had just finished locking her expensive pieces of jewelry in. Even more irritated at just who it is that decided to welcome himself in than she would have been if it had just been a common thief, she storms back up the stairs and into the shop, shoving the man's hand off of her counter.

"There are far better ways to get ussta attention than abusing ussta property, neantak Quortek. And take that waele hood off. It looks ridiculous!"

Before the man could respond, L'istnada had already grabbed the material hanging over his face and roughly flung it back. The woman's eyes grow wide as she finds his appearance is not quite what she had expected. While she had seen Tes with green hair at least once before, she was taken aback by his red within red eyes and eyebrow ring. After getting over the initial shock, she leans over the counter towards him, pointing at the piercing curiously.

"Terini'nestg... I had always thought you were mzilt too concerned with, as you say 'ruining your perfect face' to get such a thing."

Immediately upon finishing her statement, L'istnada very purposefully pokes his eyebrow right where it is pierced, causing him to wince and pull back.

"Dosib uoi'nota!" He reaches up and holds his hand over his eyebrow, hissing a bit. "Careful with that, will ya? I just got it stressed And for the record, I'm not Quortek stare "
The woman rolls her eyes. "Xas xas rolleyes I know you wish to go by this 'Tes' acronym you thought up rolleyes , jhal..."
"That's not it. I'm not him, alright? Kind of an odd story, really. I'm just here to pick up some stuff, then I'll be on my way. stare "

{{More to come later. I need to sleep.}}  

[damecharlie]

((-pushes the unpause button in frustration- WORK DAMMIT!! It was just gettin' good!!!! stressed scream ))  

[Kits Rose]

((*joins dame in trying to get the story started again*))  

[ThisEmptySoul]

"If you are not neantak Quortek, then who are you?" The man glares off to the side. "To make an odd story short, we'll just say I'm a clone. We've got our similarities, but we're different people so...."

L'istnada eyes him skeptically as he speaks, then suddenly cuts him off by reaching over and grabbing him firmly under the chin, observing as he gets that familiar eye twitch. "... the hell are you...?" "Venorsh!" She studies his facial features closely, turning his head to one side, then the other. With her free hand, she starts to reach toward his eye, but he backs away on instinct. Furrowing her brow, she grabs the collar of his shirt and pulls him back toward her, closer than he was standing originally. "Be still."

She reaches again toward his eye, pulling down his lower eyelid with her index finger and inspecting his sclera. "Look up." "tch... why?" "Either do as I say or I will remove your eye." Knowing full well from experience, or at least Tes' experience, that she is not bluffing, he rolls his eyes upward toward the ceiling while L'istnada continues to study him. "To the side." He groans, but does what she asks. The woman moves her finger around to pull at the corner of his eye, confirming the entire thing really is red. Satisfied, she releases him, standing straight behind the counter as if nothing had even happened.

"Alright... I believe you." "Yeah, I know you don't believe me, but... wait.. you said you -do- believe me?" He quirks an eyebrow at her. "Siyo. I believe you. Any illusionist would not have left you with such an obvious flaw. And as pitiful a being neantak Quortek is, he would not have shown himself here in such a poor disguise. I also sense something.... different about you. Something mzild sinister, like a true Teir'Dal." "um... thanks...? o_O; I mean, you're way off on that, but let's not go into that right now. stare "

"Ves well then. What is it that I should call you by and what are you here for?"

He reaches into one of his pockets and pulls out a small coin bag. "The name's Draa. Yes, I am well aware that's a number stare ... moving on... Tes asked me to come here to get some rings since I was going to be in 'the general area'." L'istnada scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Why am I not surprised that he would send an errand boy? rolleyes He is wanting some cheap silver things, I assume." She points to the displays that are still up. "You will find them over there stare "

Draa scratches the back of his neck and looks off to the side, suddenly feeling incredibly awkward. "er... actually... he was wanting something in platinum this time..." L'istnada eyes him sharply, wondering if he's joking. "Platinum? What for?" Draa just shrugs his shoulders and places the coin bag onto the counter. "Beats the hell out of me, but he wants rings for him and Ryzan." "For the both of them? Why could he have not sent dalharuk? He would be mzilt mzilt better at choosing and for such an expensive set of rings..." Suddenly, her eyes light up and she looks to Draa hopefully. "Could it be that it is to be a surprise for dalharuk? surprised " Draa takes a step back, feeling a bit creeped out. "Don't ask me. I'm just the 'errand boy', remember?"

L'istnada giggles and clasps her hands together, certain she has guessed correctly. "Lu'oh bronretla~! It is about time that he treat ussta dalharuk to something nice. I had just locked away ussta gold and platinum collection a moment ago, rilu'oh I will allow you to come down and browse through them to find what you are looking for. I will also have to determine your ring size..." "Whoa, wait a minute. This is for Tes and Ryzan, not me stressed "

"Xas xas, jhal I do not have Quortek's ring size."
"Why not? You've got Ryzan's, right?"
"R'zn is ussta dalharuk and also a frequent customer. Of course I would have his size. rolleyes "

Draa groans and glares off to the side. "Fine. Whatever. Let's just get this over with." stare

As L'istnada starts to walk over to the plank and unlock it, Draa simply climbs over the counter before she can even get there. Despite the harsh glare she gives him, he seems to believe he has done nothing wrong. The woman sighs and gestures toward the back of the store, letting Draa go ahead of her and following him down to her quarters.  

[ThisEmptySoul]

As Draa glances over the ring collection, he keeps looking over at L'istnada, hoping she would just tell him which rings to pick so he can buy them and leave, but she remains quiet, even seeming to grow annoyed at his obvious lack of interest in actually trying to pick any rings. After a while, she lets out an exasperated sigh, causing Draa to smirk inwardly thinking that meant she was going to break down and pick for him, but instead she got up and headed toward the kitchen.

"Would you like some wine?"
Draa glares off to the side and crosses his arms. "I don't drink stare "
The woman laughs, looking back at him over her shoulder.
"-You- do not drink or -Quortek- does not drink?"
"tch..." *eye twitch* "One glass and that's it stare "

L'istnada smirks, continuing to the kitchen to retrieve two glasses and a bottle of elven wine. Meanwhile, Draa proceeds to stare blankly at the jewelry collection on the table in front of him. Shortly, the woman returns and sets one of the glasses next to him before filling it with wine.

"Staring harder is naut going to help you any."
Draa grumbles and picks up the glass of wine, taking a small sip. The flavor is a lot different than he remembers; it seems more robust and smooth, causing his eyebrows to lift a bit. He pulls the glass back and smells it, wondering if she was trying to poison him or something. The woman merely giggles and pours a glass for herself.

"... the hell is this? o_O;"
"Do you mean to tell me you are so uncultured you cannot even appreciate the finest of wines?"
Draa peers into his glass skeptically.
"I carefully select my wines to be aged in a manner that has perfect balance. If it is not aged enough, it will be weak and lacking. Rilu'oh, if it is aged too mzilt then the alcohol will be too strong and overpower it."
Draa raises an eyebrow at L'istnada, sniffing his glass suspiciously again. She rolls her eyes and has a sip from her own glass.
"You know... if I didn't know any better, I would think you were coming on to me o_O;"
She glares at him and scoffs, taking another sip. Seeing she doesn't seem to find anything wrong with the wine, Draa reluctantly has another sip of his.

"... I think Ryzan would really like this... er.... not that I care or anything. ninja stressed "
L'istnada lifts her wrist to her chin and giggles.
"Ussta gi ussta~ So defensive wink "
She walks around to sit at the table opposite of Draa and sets her glass of wine down, folding her hands in front of herself.
"Tell me to'ryll one, lu'oh mzilt of Quortek's memories do you have?"
"All the way up to about last year I think. I didn't even know I was a clone at first. Why?"
"Is it possible that you have also developed feelings for ussta dalharuk?"
"Hell no! stressed That's all Tes. I think he must have gone crazy or hit is head too many times or something. rolleyes "
*giggles* "Ves well then. If that is what you choose to believe."

She looks down at the jewelry spread across the table.
"Do you remember when you previously came to me for wedding bands?"
"When -Tes- came to you. Not me. stare "
*sighs* "Xas xas. rolleyes Do you remember which rings dalharuk said he would like?"
"pft... no. Why would I remember something like that? stressed I'm not into jewelry and stuff stare "
L'istnada frowns with disappointment and takes her glass back up.
"Of course not. I should have expected as mzilt."

{{Conclusion later... sleep now.}}  

[ThisEmptySoul]

Looking back and forth between the rings and L'istnada, groaning inwardly at her change in expression, Draa caves and actually tries to think about the time Tes bought his and Ryzan's rings. He doesn't remember so much about the specific things that Ryzan said to him, but can definitely recall the things he pointed at. Browsing over the current ring selection, he picks out a few that have a similar look to what he remembered and separates them from the rest.

"He liked the ones with the trim-border-thing-whatever-it-is stare "
L'istnada smiles, looking over the rings that Draa isolated and confirming they do indeed look like something Ryzan would prefer.
"Are you.." "It's not my ring! stressed " *sighs* "Is -Quortek- wanting one of these rings I already have here or would he prefer something mzild personal?" "Jeez... when you put it that way... stare "

Draa mutters incoherently to himself, having caught that subtle change in tone L'istnada had when giving him the option of buying something in stock or having something custom made, her obviously favoring something custom. He sifts through the rings he'd already picked out and finds one of the more simply designed ones, handing it to her, making her scowl a bit. Draa rolls his eyes at her reaction.

"If you keep making that face at me, you're going to turn into an old hag before you know it stare That's just a base. I... er.. Tes stressed would want you to put some kind of design in the middle there, kind of like..." He searches through the rings again, carelessly tossing the ones he wasn't quite looking for to the side. "... like this one."
He picks up a ring that has a swirl pattern carved into it, handing it to L'istnada so she can have a better look at it.

"Actually... I... stressed Tes... might just go with that one if you've got another around here somewhere."

L'istnada inspects the second ring and smiles, shaking her head.
"I am afraid I do not have another, jhal I can make one tomorrow."
She turns the ring a few times in her hand, studying the design.
"For dalharuk, I believe I can even improve upon it if you are willing to wait. When was Quortek wanting these rings? Was there a special occasion he wanted to present them at?"
"I don't think he plans that far ahead. But if I had to guess, I would say as long as it's before the new year..."
"That should be sufficient."

She sets the sample rings to the side and begins to wrap the others to be put away once more, speaking to Draa without looking up from her task.
"I will allow you to stay in dalharuk's room upstairs while you wait, so long as you stay out of sight."
"er.... um... thanks but no thanks. Staying in Ry's room would be kind of... weird..."
L'istnada bursts into laughter, causing Draa to look at her oddly and move his chair back a bit.
"It is not as if Quortek has never been in there before rolleyes And if you are anything like him, I am sure you would have stayed in there anyway regardless of whether I allowed it or not."
"...." His eye twitches and he crosses his arms stubbornly, glaring off to the side. "Well, it would have been a lot less awkward if you had let me think that you didn't know I was there stare "
The woman waves him off and continues putting the jewelry away.

Over the next few weeks, when she was not dealing with customers or filling orders with stricter time constraints, L'istnada worked on designing Tes' and Ryzan's new rings, having to remake them multiple times before they are designed to her satisfaction. In the meantime, because Draa was complaining about having nothing to do, she put him to work picking pockets to gather materials for her jewelry like she had once done to Tes when he was a child... though she was much more pleased with the job that Tes had done than Draa. stare

With the rings completed, she wraps them in a small silk bag and hands them to Draa along with a few platinum pieces to compensate him for his work and a bottle of wine from her personal collection.

"The wine is best kept at just below room temperature. Please do try not to expose it to too mzilt weather before it gets to dalharuk."
"Yeah yeah... sure rolleyes "
Draa places the bottle into a bag with clothes and nothing else, hiding the rings away in an inside pocket on his vest to make them less likely to be stolen on his way out of the city. He and L'istnada then say their farewells and he heads out to return to Geezerville.  

[Cuwen]

Amy had been busy the past few days taking care of her kittens. Yes, she was calling them her kittens now. The mother had never come back to claim her babies. Amy tried not to think about that too often because she was pretty sure what had to have happened to make a mother not come back for her babies, and it broke her heart every time she thought about it.

She wished she could call them her and Karrie's kittens, but he was still against keeping them at the house. So, Amy had listened to his wishes. She grabbed her overnight bag, grabbed some things for Thistle, picked up the kittens, and went to stay at her house. She didn't know how long she'd stay over there. Good thing she could transfigure outfits.

Thistle was still peeved, and even more so now that she couldn't be around Velcore and Karrie. She had to deal with the annoying kittens and be away from her family. She almost wished she had never saved those little fleabags in the first place!

Right now, though, she wasn't doing too badly. Amy had started decorating the house and putting up a Christmas tree. Thistle had enjoyed helping when they did it back home, so she was finding herself enjoying this as well. Even the garden fairies were helping.

Both Thistle and Amy had been worried when they appeared in the house, having flown under the crack in the front door, but they indicated that they wouldn't let loose any fairy dust while they were inside. They were glad to have Amy and Thistle back, and there were new kittens as well! The fairies loved baby animals. They had even brought their own babies into the house with them. These were the babies that had been created during the previous breeding season, the one where Amy and Thistle first stayed with Karrie and Velcore.

The house was filled with activity now. The kittens loved playing with all the different bows and ribbons around the house. When one would start getting cranky, either Amy or the fairies would take care of them. Thistle was even having fun with the fairies. A few were trying to help teach Thistle how to fly. If they could use their fairy dust, they could have caused her to float, but they didn't dare do that. They didn't want to make Amy sick.

Some fairies were also helping with the decorations. Even though Amy was very sad because she was away from home and her family, she found herself being quite happy for the time being, just like Thistle was. It was hard to be around this much magic and activity and NOT be happy. It was like a freaking magic wonderland inside her house. She HAD to get Kits over here. She'd LOVE it! And maybe Blossom, too. She could translate. She'd love being around the garden fairies, too.

Amy took out her phone in the middle of decorating the tree and texted Kits.

Amy's text to Kits

Kits! You've GOT to come over to my house! The one my mother gave me. You'll love it and have so much fun!! Bring any animals you want to, too. Can you bring Blossom, too?

 

[Kits Rose]

*finally realizes her phone had a dead battery and plugs it in, finding a message from Amy when it turns back on. She sends a response*

text from Kits to Amy

Sure, I'll be over in a little while.

I wonder why she's not at Karrie's... Oh well, I'll ask when I get there. *goes to round up animals who want to go*  

[Cuwen]

Amy was still putting up more decorations with the fairies and Thistle when her phone went off. It was Kits' ring tone. She opened it with a huge smile on her face. When she read the message, she quickly started typing a response.

Amy's text to Kits

Great! I'll start getting some snacks ready!

Amy rushed into the kitchen and started making some no-bake cookies. "Kits is coming over, everyone! Fairies, do you think you could start getting some snacks ready for the animals, please? For all different kinds."

The fairies responded by zooming into the kitchen and magically making different types of treats appear on the table and on the floor. There were cookies, jellos, cat n**, dog biscuits, peanut butter bars, bird seed, fruit salads, watermelon, fizzy orange drinks, cinnamon buns, light mint ice cream... just about anything a person or animal could ask for.

Amy turned from the counter with a bowl in her hands and gasped as she looked at the now-covered kitchen.

"Oh my...."  

[Kits Rose]

*walks up to Amy's door, followed by Smok, Gwee, Gin, and her newest kitten. Making sure everyone is still with her, goes up and knocks on the door*  

[Cuwen]

Before Amy could get to the door, some of the fairies blinked over to the front door and used their magic to open it.  

[Kits Rose]

Eh? *looks around, not seeing anybody at first* Oh, hello... sweatdrop *walks inside, closing the door behind her animals*

*Gwee flies around, greeting the fairies*

*squeaks loudly, calling for Thistle*  

[Cuwen]

The fairies started flying around Kits, three or four of them, and started to lightly touch and play with her hair.

Thistle heard Smok's squeak and instantly grew excited. Her tail started flicking and she tried to look over toward the door from the middle of the pile of ribbons she was in. She couldn't see very well, so she started squeaking, too.

Amy heard all of this commotion and stuck her head out of the kitchen. It looked like a zoo in her house! But it actually was quite comforting to her.

When Amy saw Kits, she smiled brightly and called out to her. "Kits!! I'm so glad you all could make it! Isn't this amazing?!"  

[Kits Rose]

*ears flick around, irritated by the fairies* You have the fairies inside? Aren't you worried about the fairy dust they're spreading around?

*dives into the squeaking pile of ribbons, landing on Thistle's back*

*Gin and Jack pad around the living room, sniffing at random objects*  

[Cuwen]

The fairies giggled at Kits and left her alone... for the time being. They went back to the Christmas tree and started hanging more ornaments.

Thistle squeaked excitedly when Smok pounced into the ribbons and then squeaked again when she saw that he was normal size again. She nuzzled him and then started rolling around in the ribbons with him. She could play with him again now that he was back to his normal size!

The kittens started to mewl from their location by the Christmas tree, startled by all the sudden commotion.

Amy smiled brightly over at Kits. "Yes they are inside! They promised they wouldn't spread any fairy dust around while they were inside, and I really needed help with the decorations, so I let them in!"

When Amy started to hear the mewling, her eyes widened in excitement and she started to carefully step over various animals, fairies, and ornaments to try and get to the tree.

"Oh, Kits! You have to see them! They're so adorable!"