[Jester’s transition from brief melancholy back to mischievous laughter is a welcome one. He settles a bit more easily against the counter at the sound of it, and after a moment, he pries the package of raisins open as well.]
You thought so? I wasn’t so sure about the colour.
[The black looked a bit severe on him, he thought. And the horns were a little inconvenient to deal with. He smiles wryly.]
I wonder if I’ll ever stop being surprised by a transformation and needing to get entire outfits tailored. But I suppose I could endure having the ears again.
It was very striking. But you like nice the normal way too, don't worry, Liem. [She giggles into a bite of danish.] But getting new outfits is half the fun! I love shopping...
[Her tail sneaks up behind him stealthily as she speaks, and then the spade taps him on the opposite shoulder.]
I'm glad you like the shriveled up old grapes I brought you.
[He flicks his eyes over his shoulder to glance back at the offending tail, and his wry expression warms slightly with amusement.]
Though I do like shopping. I confess that isn’t exactly a hardship.
[It’s more the requirement of doing emergency shopping while wearing ill-fitting clothes that he objects to. After the first transformation, however, expanding his wardrobe for subsequent experiences can actually be quite stimulating.]
What an uncharitable way to describe dried fruit. Did you, perhaps, get tired of such fare during your many travels?
[Jester gasps as something occurs to her, and she bounces a little on the balls of her feet, still leaning over the counter.]
Oh! Liem! We should go shopping together. I'm, like, suuuper good at picking out clothes for people!
[She pulls a face, now, her shoulders slumping and her head falling back in exasperation.]
My gods, you have no idea. One time we were walking through this huge underground worm tunnel for like, a week, and once my pastries ran out all we had to eat was whatever weird dried stuff Caduceus had with him, and these little boba balls that tasted like nothing at all.
[He gives her a sidelong glance as he fishes a raisin out of the package and pops it into his mouth. Admittedly, raisins are a little sweeter even than he really prefers, but they are still strongly preferable to the candies he’s had the exciting opportunity to sample since arriving in this world. And at the moment, he’s mostly occupied with the prospect of what Jester might see fit to persuade him into if they went clothes shopping together. Her sense of fashion is different on every level from anything he’s personally used to.
Wait, actually, there is one other thing that occupies his attention.]
And you brought pastries with you on an underground expedition?
Well, yeah. I pick stuff out for my friends all the time, some of them just don't really care that much, you know? So it's like a fun challenge for me to find something that really suits someone!
[She props her chin in her hand, nibbling at her present-day pastry almost reverently, as if the pain of a pastry-less past has come back to haunt her.]
Well, yeah, of course. I always try to keep some on me. Actually—
[She reaches into the pocket of her dress, and pulls out a third of a stale, crumbling Snickerdoodle cookie.] Ha! Forgot that was in there!
[Hmmm, yeah, that pocket cookie doesn’t look like it’s in especially great shape. Liem gives it a long-lidded glance and a considering hum.]
They just don’t seem like the best pocket food. Though I admit to not being especially swayed by the prospect of “weird dried stuff” and flavourless boba balls.
[It’s things like this that make him glad he doesn’t need to eat! Actually, it’s a lot of things that make Liem glad he doesn’t need to eat. He highly recommends the eating-optional lifestyle.]
We can go shopping at some point. It’s been months since I went clothes shopping with someone else.
[Liem is with Jester at least partially until she gets to… bacon. Like, not dried strips of meat, but actual strips of cooked bacon? In one’s pockets? He can’t even pretend to agree with that, and just shakes his head in faint, helpless disapproval as he fishes a second raisin from the package. The rest he shuts away and sits on the counter for later.]
Have I introduced you to my downstairs sitting room? It’s where I ended up putting the statuette you left me.
[He straightens and pushes away from the edge of the counter.]
I don’t know that I have any books that are good for reading from with company, unless you have an interest in poetry.
[Which… maybe she does? It’s not outside the realm of possibility.]
Nooo, you haven't! I'd love to see where my masterpiece is on display.
[She says this with a straight face somehow, passing her deception check despite the fact that she definitely took a detour into that room on her way out last time. She just had one tiny little task to complete before she left. Remarkable, considering how thoroughly worn-out she was, but she found the energy somehow!]
Poetry is pretty okay. Especially if it's about something exciting, like pirates or fairies or romance!
[Does any of the poetry he has on his shelves qualify as exciting? He’s not convinced that it does, although some of it is certainly about romance. Perhaps that will be enough for Jester to award it the vaunted position of “pretty okay.” But he interrupts his own musing to voice a somewhat dry query.]
Is it your masterpiece? I thought you said you were drowning in statuettes just like it.
[This may be an exaggeration. To be fair, that conversation happened months ago.]
But I can fetch some books, certainly. It will only take me a moment.
[Liem aims a wry smile her way as he steps away to make his way upstairs. Isn’t it fascinating to learn about the laws of faraway places? The version of Nicodranas that she claims exists sounds like a rather colourful place.]
I’ll be right back, then.
[True to his word, his trip upstairs scarcely takes more than a few moments. He spends just a short while considering the books in his study before selecting a small collection and returning back downstairs with them tucked carefully under one arm. In his other hand, cradled with deliberate gentleness, is what appears to be an elaborate golden pocket mirror.]
I thought I might bring my memirror too, just in case we wanted to make use of it.
[While Liem is gone, Jester makes up a big plate full of snacks, including some things for him to nibble on should the fancy strike him. When Liem returns, she's got the plate in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. The item in his hand piques her interest, and she comes closer with her tail swishing in curiosity.]
[Even a couple days after his arrival, Liem does still feel a little out of sorts, particularly when he has quiet moments to consider the things that he’s lived and the possibilities that the future might hold for him. Despite his usual preference to be a good host for friends visiting his home, he finds himself quietly relieved that Jester has volunteered to see to her own snack needs.]
It displays memories.
[He clicks it open, tilting the mirror to briefly display its reflective surface before closing it once again.]
It can be a little inexact, and the images don’t come with sound, but it’s still useful for showing things from home. Shall we?
[It’s just a short trip downstairs and through an opened door to his downstairs sitting room, which features a lot of open space and is decorated in cool forest shades of grey, bronze, and green. Cushions, bean bags, and a generously-large floor couch are interspersed with a few strategically placed shelves and low tables. One long wall is covered with a design reminiscent of a dim, misty forest, while its opposite wall features a wide, sleek television.]
[Jester's mouth falls into a little o as he shows her the compact, her eyes darting up to Liem's as it closes again.]
That's so cool! Good idea, Liem. [She's thinking of memories to show to Liem as he leads her to his sitting room, only broken from her thinking when she enters and sees the set-up.]
[Liem is pleased to see that his guess proved correct, and Jester is onboard with the introduction of the memirror into the afternoon’s activities. He ushers her into the downstairs sitting room with a satisfied air, glancing around as he looks for a likely spot to lay down his books.]
Thank you. I spent quite a bit of time setting everything up to my liking.
[Although he is by no means an interior designer, Liem has always had a certain awareness of the people and the spaces around him, noting everything from general positions to minor details. As it turns out, that kind of awareness is a boon when designing an entire room from scratch.]
I don’t use this room much, unless Konoha is visiting. It’s meant to be more comfortable for people of… less usual configurations.
[She sets down her goodies on the nearest surface, head whipping every which way as Liem explains how the room came to be the way it is. What follows is a Bugs Bunny-style montage of Jester inspecting every part of the room, lifting things up to look beneath them, bouncing on cushions as if to test their springiness, leaning in close to the image of the forest along the wall to inspect it for brush strokes.]
It's really comfy in here! I bet Konoha was so happy to have a nice place to hang out in your house.
[Liem smiles as he watches Jester scurry around the room, inspecting the contents of shelves and testing out seating options. The Traveller’s statuette observes the space from atop a shelf along one of the walls. Liem placed it so it would have a good view of the room, including the television, for what that might be worth. Everything in the space smells quite fresh, having been newly cleaned after his return—since not only was it a little bit dusty after a couple weeks of disuse, but he and Konoha absolutely had sex in here.]
She was, yes. I finished it toward the end of last year, so it was like an early Brumfast gift.
[Liem settles onto the broad floor couch, placing the books and the memirror down on an end table and crossing his legs in front of him.]
I think, if I was ever going to throw a party of my own, this might be a good space to use. The atmosphere is a little less formal than the upstairs sitting room, and the TV might be useful—although, the kitchen and the nearest powder room are both upstairs.
[His mention of a party has her standing in the middle of the space with her arms out wide, turning in a slow circle.] This would be perfect for dancing if you pushed a few things around!
[She comes over, then, and flops down next to Liem in a fluttering of skirts and a ringing of bells.] Do you know how to dance? Like, a waltz?
[Liem watches her turn about in the centre of the space, trying to imagine the room with its floor clear for dancing. It’s not, he thinks, large enough to safely accommodate a dancing jinba, but for two-legged guests it would probably be fine.]
I know some dances. I can’t claim any level of real mastery, but I know enough to not disgrace myself at parties. Would you like to see?
[Again he reaches for the memirror, holding it invitingly in one hand as he glances next to him.]
[She sits with one leg straight and the other folded beneath her, leaving room for her tail to rest neatly across her lap. She tries to picture Liem dancing, and she can almost see it— but then he points out that doesn't have to just imagine it, and Jester nods eagerly, leaning over to get a better look at the mirror.]
Ooh, yes, please show me. How does this thing work?
All you have to do is hold it, and think of a memory.
[Liem opens the little mirror so its reflective surface is clearly visible, and tilts it so that it’s pointing at Jester. As he holds the mirror, the view in the glass changes from a reflection of their faces to a large, ostentatious ballroom filled with extravagantly-costumed people. As they watch, the silent partygoers all heed some unheard call and pair off in order to flock onto the dance floor in an orderly waltz.
Although Liem himself isn’t visible in his memory, his dance partner clearly is: a very tall, severe-looking older woman, wearing a small mask that leaves the old scar on her face prominently visible. By the scowl on her face, she has no particular love for her dance partner.]
It lacks a little without sound, but it’s still quite the useful little item.
Ah, that’s Baroness Voinum. That was the second night of the jubilee, so she’d actually warmed some to me by then. You should have seen her when we first met; when I introduced myself, she looked at me like I was something stuck to her boot.
[He says this with what seems to be pleasant nostalgia, regarding the view in the mirror as the dancers step and twirl around the ballroom floor. As the waltz progresses, the pairs of dancers circle each other and maneuver in what appears to be an elaborate, well-ordered effort to maneuver each other to the edge of the dance floor and off of it altogether.]
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You thought so? I wasn’t so sure about the colour.
[The black looked a bit severe on him, he thought. And the horns were a little inconvenient to deal with. He smiles wryly.]
I wonder if I’ll ever stop being surprised by a transformation and needing to get entire outfits tailored. But I suppose I could endure having the ears again.
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[Her tail sneaks up behind him stealthily as she speaks, and then the spade taps him on the opposite shoulder.]
I'm glad you like the shriveled up old grapes I brought you.
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[He flicks his eyes over his shoulder to glance back at the offending tail, and his wry expression warms slightly with amusement.]
Though I do like shopping. I confess that isn’t exactly a hardship.
[It’s more the requirement of doing emergency shopping while wearing ill-fitting clothes that he objects to. After the first transformation, however, expanding his wardrobe for subsequent experiences can actually be quite stimulating.]
What an uncharitable way to describe dried fruit. Did you, perhaps, get tired of such fare during your many travels?
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Oh! Liem! We should go shopping together. I'm, like, suuuper good at picking out clothes for people!
[She pulls a face, now, her shoulders slumping and her head falling back in exasperation.]
My gods, you have no idea. One time we were walking through this huge underground worm tunnel for like, a week, and once my pastries ran out all we had to eat was whatever weird dried stuff Caduceus had with him, and these little boba balls that tasted like nothing at all.
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[He gives her a sidelong glance as he fishes a raisin out of the package and pops it into his mouth. Admittedly, raisins are a little sweeter even than he really prefers, but they are still strongly preferable to the candies he’s had the exciting opportunity to sample since arriving in this world. And at the moment, he’s mostly occupied with the prospect of what Jester might see fit to persuade him into if they went clothes shopping together. Her sense of fashion is different on every level from anything he’s personally used to.
Wait, actually, there is one other thing that occupies his attention.]
And you brought pastries with you on an underground expedition?
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[She props her chin in her hand, nibbling at her present-day pastry almost reverently, as if the pain of a pastry-less past has come back to haunt her.]
Well, yeah, of course. I always try to keep some on me. Actually—
[She reaches into the pocket of her dress, and pulls out a third of a stale, crumbling Snickerdoodle cookie.] Ha! Forgot that was in there!
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They just don’t seem like the best pocket food. Though I admit to not being especially swayed by the prospect of “weird dried stuff” and flavourless boba balls.
[It’s things like this that make him glad he doesn’t need to eat! Actually, it’s a lot of things that make Liem glad he doesn’t need to eat. He highly recommends the eating-optional lifestyle.]
We can go shopping at some point. It’s been months since I went clothes shopping with someone else.
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[Jester straightens up and pumps her fist.] Yessss. It'll be such a good time. But for now...
[She cocks her head at Liem questioningly.] What should we do? Want to find somewhere to sit, maybe read a book or something?
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Have I introduced you to my downstairs sitting room? It’s where I ended up putting the statuette you left me.
[He straightens and pushes away from the edge of the counter.]
I don’t know that I have any books that are good for reading from with company, unless you have an interest in poetry.
[Which… maybe she does? It’s not outside the realm of possibility.]
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[She says this with a straight face somehow, passing her deception check despite the fact that she definitely took a detour into that room on her way out last time. She just had one tiny little task to complete before she left. Remarkable, considering how thoroughly worn-out she was, but she found the energy somehow!]
Poetry is pretty okay. Especially if it's about something exciting, like pirates or fairies or romance!
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[Does any of the poetry he has on his shelves qualify as exciting? He’s not convinced that it does, although some of it is certainly about romance. Perhaps that will be enough for Jester to award it the vaunted position of “pretty okay.” But he interrupts his own musing to voice a somewhat dry query.]
Is it your masterpiece? I thought you said you were drowning in statuettes just like it.
[This may be an exaggeration. To be fair, that conversation happened months ago.]
But I can fetch some books, certainly. It will only take me a moment.
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[She seems perfectly happy with the plan, and nods decisively.]
And I'll make a snack plate while you do that! Reading without snacks is against the law in Nicodranas, actually.
[1000% a real and true fact!]
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[Liem aims a wry smile her way as he steps away to make his way upstairs. Isn’t it fascinating to learn about the laws of faraway places? The version of Nicodranas that she claims exists sounds like a rather colourful place.]
I’ll be right back, then.
[True to his word, his trip upstairs scarcely takes more than a few moments. He spends just a short while considering the books in his study before selecting a small collection and returning back downstairs with them tucked carefully under one arm. In his other hand, cradled with deliberate gentleness, is what appears to be an elaborate golden pocket mirror.]
I thought I might bring my memirror too, just in case we wanted to make use of it.
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Oh? What is it?
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It displays memories.
[He clicks it open, tilting the mirror to briefly display its reflective surface before closing it once again.]
It can be a little inexact, and the images don’t come with sound, but it’s still useful for showing things from home. Shall we?
[It’s just a short trip downstairs and through an opened door to his downstairs sitting room, which features a lot of open space and is decorated in cool forest shades of grey, bronze, and green. Cushions, bean bags, and a generously-large floor couch are interspersed with a few strategically placed shelves and low tables. One long wall is covered with a design reminiscent of a dim, misty forest, while its opposite wall features a wide, sleek television.]
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[Jester's mouth falls into a little o as he shows her the compact, her eyes darting up to Liem's as it closes again.]
That's so cool! Good idea, Liem. [She's thinking of memories to show to Liem as he leads her to his sitting room, only broken from her thinking when she enters and sees the set-up.]
Ohhh, wow, it's so nice in here! The trees!!
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Thank you. I spent quite a bit of time setting everything up to my liking.
[Although he is by no means an interior designer, Liem has always had a certain awareness of the people and the spaces around him, noting everything from general positions to minor details. As it turns out, that kind of awareness is a boon when designing an entire room from scratch.]
I don’t use this room much, unless Konoha is visiting. It’s meant to be more comfortable for people of… less usual configurations.
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It's really comfy in here! I bet Konoha was so happy to have a nice place to hang out in your house.
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She was, yes. I finished it toward the end of last year, so it was like an early Brumfast gift.
[Liem settles onto the broad floor couch, placing the books and the memirror down on an end table and crossing his legs in front of him.]
I think, if I was ever going to throw a party of my own, this might be a good space to use. The atmosphere is a little less formal than the upstairs sitting room, and the TV might be useful—although, the kitchen and the nearest powder room are both upstairs.
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[His mention of a party has her standing in the middle of the space with her arms out wide, turning in a slow circle.] This would be perfect for dancing if you pushed a few things around!
[She comes over, then, and flops down next to Liem in a fluttering of skirts and a ringing of bells.] Do you know how to dance? Like, a waltz?
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[Liem watches her turn about in the centre of the space, trying to imagine the room with its floor clear for dancing. It’s not, he thinks, large enough to safely accommodate a dancing jinba, but for two-legged guests it would probably be fine.]
I know some dances. I can’t claim any level of real mastery, but I know enough to not disgrace myself at parties. Would you like to see?
[Again he reaches for the memirror, holding it invitingly in one hand as he glances next to him.]
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[She sits with one leg straight and the other folded beneath her, leaving room for her tail to rest neatly across her lap. She tries to picture Liem dancing, and she can almost see it— but then he points out that doesn't have to just imagine it, and Jester nods eagerly, leaning over to get a better look at the mirror.]
Ooh, yes, please show me. How does this thing work?
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[Liem opens the little mirror so its reflective surface is clearly visible, and tilts it so that it’s pointing at Jester. As he holds the mirror, the view in the glass changes from a reflection of their faces to a large, ostentatious ballroom filled with extravagantly-costumed people. As they watch, the silent partygoers all heed some unheard call and pair off in order to flock onto the dance floor in an orderly waltz.
Although Liem himself isn’t visible in his memory, his dance partner clearly is: a very tall, severe-looking older woman, wearing a small mask that leaves the old scar on her face prominently visible. By the scowl on her face, she has no particular love for her dance partner.]
It lacks a little without sound, but it’s still quite the useful little item.
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Wow! This is like Scrying but on a memory! And you don't have to burn a spell slot. Amazing!
[She sees Liem's dance partner, though, and blinks.] This lady doesn't seem like she's super excited about this, to be honest with you.
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Ah, that’s Baroness Voinum. That was the second night of the jubilee, so she’d actually warmed some to me by then. You should have seen her when we first met; when I introduced myself, she looked at me like I was something stuck to her boot.
[He says this with what seems to be pleasant nostalgia, regarding the view in the mirror as the dancers step and twirl around the ballroom floor. As the waltz progresses, the pairs of dancers circle each other and maneuver in what appears to be an elaborate, well-ordered effort to maneuver each other to the edge of the dance floor and off of it altogether.]
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