deernet | [VIDEO | un: inkmetal]

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[VIDEO | un: inkmetal]

[It's disgustingly hot and humid and even with most of her hair pulled up and twisted back away from her face, she's got curly tendrils hanging down and a light sheen on her forehead. Ugh. But at least she's back to finding things to keep herself busy.]

My chair is open at Ursula's again, if anyone is looking for regular tattoos or some runework. Want anything more intricate let's talk and we'll see what I need and what deal works for you.

[Best way to act like nothing is wrong is to go right back to what she was doing before, right? Right.]

Catching up on the insane shit y'all love to get up to, but what little changes, a lot stays the same, doesn't it? Like how I still don't know who most of you asses are. Keeping track of the coming and goings ain't easy. Anyone keeping a list?

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Ugh, what?! Super salty and sweet?! No! Just...what?

[Luz takes the rag and is already noting where Saeri hadn't started yet and gets to work. This was actually strangely relaxing, working at a task while talking. It gave Luz some focus].

I'm probably not the best to ask. Took a month to stay in, like I said. Something new happens every month, so I might be a little behind! We did lose some people though. Varian and Fern, if you knew them. I was living with them in the house, and they went back to the sea.

[Luz was still trying to cope with that, because it was still a lot and not having the boys around was an ache that didn't go away].

Right? Ugh.

[Saeri gives an exaggerated shudder.]

I've heard of those two. Varian and I talked a bit when I first got to Deerington. Short, quirky alchemist. Sorry that you lost your housemates. Are you living alone, then?

Salty can only work if you balance it properly.

[Luz understood salt with savory, even with sweet, like caramel, but overabundance of salty with sweet was just horrible in her mind]!

That's him all right! We had the tattoo together, actually!

Thank you, and no! We sort of adopted two kids close to my age into our fold, Luca and Ahiru, and we also have a new housemate, Zib. Know any of them?

Yeah. I remember.

[And her memories from when she was here before feel so recent and yet so far away. It's almost worst than last time and she gained even more memories in a shorter amount of time. Maybe it's because of squid-time.

Once she finished with the ladder, she moved on to the hanging bowls, having to remove them and dust them and everything inside of them before putting them back. Time consuming with one hand, but she's found trying to not scratch up or dent what she's dusting with her metal hand isn't that easy.]

I don't know any of those people though. At least you've got friends to hang with. Just don't get up to too much trouble with them. [A little smirk.]

[Luz sighed]. It feels weird that he's not here though. Now I feel like my tattoo is half finished even though it's not, and the Bond that we shared feels severed, you know? Like I'm missing something in me.

[It was a bad feeling, one that Luz had honestly been trying to work on that whole month she stayed home. It was important to try and regroup with herself and feel like she was recovering from some of that pain].

Do you need me to do those bowls? It'll probably be faster that way and you can concentrate on something else!

And who knows, maybe you'll meet them around sometime soon! Or, you might meet someone completely new!

[Saeri knew exactly how Luz felt. The same way she feels right now with a broken bond split three ways. She hates that she feels disconnected unable to sense the Soulcarver as she had been able to for weeks. She hates even more than she can't feel Romero. For very different reasons.]

It will fade, give it time. The benefit of those types of bonds is absence does make the reverb less noticeable.

[She doesn't comment about "meeting someone new" because she's seen how that goes. Either they leave or she does. Instead she keeps the conversation on something else.]

You okay with getting all of them down? There's a stool over there for you to reach, but be careful with the ones full of crystals. Those were a bitch to find.

[It was Varian that hurt the most, since it was a tattoo AND a Bond that they had shared, and Luz missed her big brother very badly. But she knew that he and Fern were together, wherever they were, so she wouldn't be too angry, just wistful].

Maybe. I think I'm still dealing with mine.

I can fly up, remember? But I think I'll use the stool, probably easier that way,

Ooh, really? Got to see those! And clean them, of course.

[Saeri decides to let that go. To let Luz not have to keep stewing in it. Better to focus on the fun, things. Better to not think about who is lost and if they will ever come back.]

No flying inside the carriage house. There's too much for you to bang into.

[She laughs.]

And yeah the crystals are great for shaping into charms and rune-jewelry.

[Luz was still sad about it, but she knew that getting past it was something the both of them would have wanted. The last thing they'd hate is knowing their little sister was suffering because of them.

They'd want her to live, so Luz would, despite how hard it felt].

I guess that includes no bird form either, huh?

Yeah. Actually, I think I might want one soon. For, well, my girlfriend.

No birds. [Saeri shakes a finger back toward her, not looking at her as she's still dusting and shining the shelves by the love seat.]

Already looking at jewelry though? You girls must be deep already. Cute.

I just thought I'd throw that out there. I can't talk as a bird anyway, so I actually don't really do that these days.

[Plus she had Eda's staff, so it wouldn't make much sense].

Well. She's really special. I want to get her something that shows her that.

[Saeri stops what she's doing, watching Luz a bit. She can't help the small smile on her face as she listens to Luz talk about her girlfriend. It's cute to hear her so enamored by someone.

So then she sets the cleaning supplies on the counter and pulls the dusting sock off her left stump before grabbing a towel to dust herself off.]

Then we should get started on making something real nice for her. Bring that basket over here.

[Luz couldn't help it: she was VERY enamored with her girlfriend and had mostly kept her existence to herself, since she'd been in the house for the last month. Did she want to shout to the heavens she found a girl just as nerdy as her, but also sweet and pretty? Of course. But she also knew she would run the risk of being THAT couple, so she was trying to be respectful about it.

To an extent].

Sure! What did you have in mind? I'll help you with whatever you need!

[Saeri grabs her liner sock, puts it on her left stub and then picks up her prosthetic and attaches it. She can feel as it sticks into place with the runes she etched inside to make it harder to remove. She moves the fingers around to calibrate them, making sure they react properly.]

More like what do you have in mind. It's your girlfriend and your gift. Tell me what you think she needs and what you want the gift to mean.

[Luz watched her, fascinated. It reminded her of Varian of course, as he was missing his leg, and that was something of a calming feeling she hadn't expected. It was still cool to watch, but once she answered back, it left Luz thinking quite a lot].

Well, she's opening a book shop, and I want it to be great. It would be awesome if I got her something pertaining to that, that let her know I want nothing but good things to happen once it opens and we have all of our stuff together.

[Luz knew she could curse, she just didn't want to].

[She starts looking through the basket of crystals as Luz speaks, looking at the different colors and shapes and gradients.]

Something for or about her shop that encourages bounty and prosperity... So a good luck charm. I could carve one of the crystals into a bracelet or necklace charm. What would you want it to look like?

[Luz looked with her, curious if Saeri already had a bead on what she's want].

That sounds perfect! Now that...that is a good question.

[She thought about this a moment, then smiled].

Can you do an otter holding hands with a hedgehog?

[Saeri has to actually think about that for a moment.]

Oh. You know...that would be a challenge. [She smirks a bit.] I like it. I haven't carved something like that in years. And I know exactly what runes to put on it.

[She pushes the basket back toward Luz.]

Pick a crystal. A big one. Gives me more room to cut.

[Luz brightened. She knew she was probably asking a lot, but to get conformation that it would be done made her pretty happy].

What do you need for payment? I'll work it out on layaway if you need!

[Luz was just like that].

Ooh, you got it!

[Luz picked out a larger blue quartz crystal]. Will this work?

[She takes the crystal out of Luz's hand, feels the heft of it and looks over the colors.] Cute. The blues will look nice with the carving.

Layaway? I'm not a Walmart. This isn't a commission, it's a late birthday gift. I'm sure I missed one or fourteen.

I thought so too! Plus, those colors work well with her too!

[Luz turned red]. R-right! Sorry! Just as well though, since I got corrupted the month of my birthday anyway. Talk about bad timing. Probably would have a quinceañera at some point, but that's come and gone.

[Saeri barely even remembers when her birthday is going to be besides counting down the time until she was Legal. But it was different for other people. She liked making their birthdays count.]

See? All the more reason for me to catch up. I'll test out the carving on a different piece of crystal before I cut into this one, but I know it's going to look great. Gonna blow your girl away.

[She nudges are her with her elbow.]

[Luz is going to want to know her birthday eventually! Her birthday did matter to her, but the past few years had been so crazy that she'd let it go, since it really couldn't be helped].

You're a lifesaver and people really need to be doing you favors! You will tell me if you ever need one, right?

[Luz is blushing here, because of course she was still a girl fumbling around with her first relationship and still can't believe it's happening].

["Favors" are things Saeri only ever holds over people who make her think she should be holding them over them. She knows the value of having someone in your debt, but also knows that thinking about it that way makes her skin crawl. It makes her think of her mother and--nope. Not even going there. Just going to push that to the side.]

What are friends for, Luzi-lu? I wasn't even a wingwoman to help you get a girl, I have to help ensure success of this relationship somehow. I have a reputation to uphold.

[A reputation that is completely unknown here, but whatever.]

[Luz had not known this but DID want to make sure that Saeri was paid what she was owed. She did such great work, Luz wanted to be clear she respected and admired her friend for all that she did].

Look, as long as you help me make her even happier, that's calling us square. She's...oh man, I can't just act like I can say what she is, but she's amazing and smart and I still can't believe we just...vibed. But if you help me, I promise, I'll do whatever I can to repay the favor.

I'd like to add that I'm just glad you're back again.

[VIDEO | un: inkmetal]

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