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 Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 3:31 pm
White lies were no big deal. New entities gave them all the time. As such, Lori wasn't even marginally frustrated that she had lied.
"Well we could come up with one, if you'd like," he said, and headed for the pasta. He'd only make enough for her. He'd rather eat with Luca, himself. Maybe he'd eat some carrots. "Do you want butter or tomato sauce? Are you vegan, or...?" Because then butter was out, but the tomato sauce was vegan.
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 3:46 pm
"Okay," the nymph agreed. She gave Lori a small smile. "Help me find a name," she said.
She paused at the next question. "...Butter is fine," she said. "What's vegan? I don't want to eat anything that's been a living creature," she said. "Lucasii teased me."
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 3:55 pm
Lori nodded. "What kind of name do you think you'd want? Floral? Arboreal? Elvish? English?" He measured out the amount of pasta needed for one and started the water boiling.
"Vegan is no-animal-products. No milk from a cow, no cheese, things like that. What did he tease you about?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 4:07 pm
"I don't know," the nymph considered the question. "Floral, I suppose. Please don't call me anything ridiculous like Acorn or Oakley." She made a face.
"Oh. Well, as long as I'm not eating them," she said. Her expression darkened somewhat, and she crossed her arms. "Lucasii says I'm a cannibal!" She complained. "I'm not, you know. I wouldn't eat anything like that!"
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 4:19 pm
"I wouldn't think of it," Lori assured her, although he chuckled softly. "We know a fair number of nymphs ourselves. Toby has a friend named Holly, but Lily's Dari's cat's name."
As the water came to a boil he salted it and tossed in the uncooked pasta.
"No, of course not." Then he laughed again. "No, no! To be a cannibal you'd have to be evicting and eating other nymphs. You aren't a tree, not exactly, and even if you wanted to chew bark it wouldn't be cannibalism. Don't worry, I'm sure he was just teasing."
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 11:30 am
"Oh, good," the nymph seemed relieved. There was a nymph named Holly? "Is her tree at Toby's place?" She asked. She'd heard a great deal about Toby, but more about the alien who lived with him. "I told Lucasii to ask you out," she informed him. "He was all nervous! But now you're with him and you're both happy--so you should find me a good name. You owe me." She was smiling. "I'm glad you guys are happy."
"I wouldn't eat nymphs!" The nymph made a face and shook her head. "Is the pasta almost done?" She looked into the pan curiously.
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 11:49 am
"Oh, no. She lives out in Oregon, in one of the protected forests. She just sort of appeared during one of our cases. She's pretty quick-growing, but she's still only a kid." He laughed then and nodded. "We're not just together, we're engaged, so thank you for that."
When the nymph leaned to look in the pot he stepped away to get the butter so it wouldn't take forever to melt.
"Almost. It needs to get a little softer."
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 12:09 pm
Oregon? Where on earth was that? The nymph considered that for a moment. "She might as well live on another planet," she said. "I'm glad you two are engaged, then."
She watched the pasta for a moment before looking up at Lori. "Are there any nymphs around here?" She asked. She'd never met any. She didn't get out much, though. "What do we do after I eat?" She asked.
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 12:22 pm
Lori strained the pasta and Rosie trotted out, expectant. Lori gave her a cooled noodle and she slurped it and watched for more.
"No, just one," he said to the dog, and then to the nymph: "There are a few. Without big forests or anything I don't think many know each other outside of HQ. Do you think we could get you registered there?" It was up to her entirely as she was living in the human community already. She already had a file, there just wasn't much in it.
"I don't know. What do you want to do?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 12:40 pm
"It's hard to know people when you don't really go anywhere," the nymph nodded in understanding. There were some, though? "I suppose. What's all involved in getting registered?" She asked, looking to Lori. "Can I meet other nymphs?" She looked around and smiled at Rosie.
She reached to pet the dog. "Lucasii bought my tree about a hundred years ago. There weren't any other nymphs there, though. We could talk more."
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 12:57 pm
"Definitely," Lori agreed. He used a special spoon to get the pasta into a bowl (it was just a little too much, but maybe she'd need more calories anyway) and melted the butter in, then seasoning with some salt and pepper.
Rosie was happy to be pet. She wagged her tail and gave the nymph's hand a lick.
"You'd just come in for an interview, or else we could do it here. You could definitely meet some other nymphs if you wanted to. We have two on staff at HQ alone."
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 1:19 pm
"I like your dog," the nymph said, then, petting Rosie again. "I like most animals. Except squirrels. They're always climbing in my tree!" She wrinkled her nose. "Tearing up leaves and running about."
She paused and nodded. "Okay," she said. "I want to visit, then. I've never been too far away from my tree," she added, looking towards the window. "What's HQ like?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 1:26 pm
"She's a good girl," Lori said as he handed over the bowl of pasta, followed by a fork. Then it was back to business. "We might have to prune a branch or something, just in case you're one of the types that can't survive without their tree." Like Kevin, but in nymph form.
"It's basically a big office. There's some labs, a hospital, some recreational stuff and some entity housing. Entities are us. Anyone and anything inhuman."
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 1:47 pm
The nymph took the pasta and began to eat. She was a bit sloppy, but she didn't seem to care. She took one bite, and then another. She swallowed. "Alright," she agreed. "But not a big beach. Don't hurt my tree."
"I've never been in an office," she revealed, mouth full. She swallowed and quickly took another bite. "This is good!" A pause and she set the bowl aside. "What kind of recreational stuff?" She asked, curiously. "What's a--" she paused and listened.
"So we're entities. I don't want to move there."
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 1:55 pm
"No, of course not. Hurting your tree means hurting you." He led the nymph into the living room, because what was a little butter going to do to the couch anyway really, and sat down. Rosie waited on the floor until he patted his leg to jump up and settle into his lap. "There's a tennis court, a couple of pools, a playground. Just the usual stuff." He shook his head then. "People don't really choose to live there forever. They come when they need a place to go, and get out as soon as they can. It's like a halfway house for people who can't pass for human on the outside."
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