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Thulani had almost sighed in exasperation when he'd not only received a letter, but a letterwoman to stay over a few days to boot with actually no notice. Now, he wasn't the busiest pae around - those from the country tended not to be - but even so...

Even so...

No, he still couldn't say no, especially not with Blush looking at him with such expectations. It seemed she was still holding onto those teenaged fantasies past adulthood; how long would it be until she grew out of them? While it was rather cute, it might wear out those who weren't used to such antics. "Yeah, Venus' parties have always been pretty wild. I haven't been in a few years..." he trailed off a bit as memories of spending time together with Aquarius flashed, before offering a smile. "Well, glad ta hear you're doin' swell after somethin' like that." Though thankfully something else of hers hadn't swelled after the fact.

"'ortense? Yeah, I'm pretty sure we met back when I was a kid or somethin'... Man how long ago even was that? You'd have to point her out ta me in the crowd for me to notice her though, it's been so long." Though if she did, in fact, frequent this particular market, chances were that they'd probably passed each other more than a few times in the past. With a bit of a shrug, he gently moved to brush off her embrace, lest others get the wrong idea.

You know how they say that men can sometimes be rather unobservant? Well this tended to hold true to Thulani. If Blush hadn't practically jerked him backwards with the way she about stopped in the middle of the walkway, he certainly would have continued on his way. Instead, he glanced down to make eye contact with what appeared to be a rather hungry Blush.

Oh fine fine. She just got here, she could have a snack. Honestly, she could have probably guessed she'd get spoiled the moment she arrived. Perhaps it was even part of Ducky's grand scheme of things.

He kinda shrugged her off as he went to go talk to a vendor of smoked poultry on a stick. Thulani knew where he was sourcing the meat, so he was also sure that it'd be a quality product. After exchanging some coin of his own and receiving the food item, he turned back around just in time to see the new adult embraced by another. Wow, guess it really did happen the moment you took your eyes off a kid. That said, the new girl did seem awfully familiar...

"Hortense? Speak of the Dragnid."

Oh yup, here we go again. If there was one part of Hortense's personality that Thulani tended to forget about when it'd be a while since they'd last seen each other (so, like, years at this point), it was her affection for her own voice. Kind of a bad habit, really, but it also made it easy to tell what her mood was. "Ta be fair, you ain't also said hi ta me--" he managed to quip in before she was off again.

As Blush was getting feeling back in her arms, Thulani quietly extended the poultry on a stick he'd procured for her. He'd already bought it, at least she could eat it while Hortense continued to tell them about her life, day, and anything else on the mind.

As she talked, he quietly nodded along.

The angel offered Blush a small smile as she took the food before returning his attention back to Hortense. Really, the way she continued on and on, it'd probably surprise those walking around the three of them that'd it'd been several years since they'd last spoken. Actually... had Blush actually ever spoken with Hortense before?

Eh, no matter.

"Ya sound like ya really like this Jekyll guy; when ya plannin' on bringin' him home for ya ma to meet? I'm sure it'd make her real happy." And Hortense would probably be safe from any talk of having kids of her own... for now at least. There was a bit of a pained nuance to his smile at the questions towards himself as he tried to keep up the happy facade through it all. Honestly, it was probably good enough that someone who hadn't seen him in quite a while, like Hortense, wouldn't even notice. He'd kept it up for so long after all. "Thing's are going fine I reckon. No... ah.. Nah, I don't think I got anything goin' on with any girls these days," a non-trivial part of him might have just broken to voice that statement out loud like that, but even if his tone slightly quivered, Hortense would probably not notice. "Ma's fine, though I never did get why ya call her 'grandma' rather than 'auntie' or something. As ya can see, yer ma sent yer sister up here so she could get some time to herself er somethin'. I bet ya the pair of them are gossipin up a storm right now." With a mind to keep the conversation going and decidedly away from any topics of his love life, or recent lack thereof, he motioned down. "What ya got left ta get for the evenin? We can walk 'n talk."

Hortense did have a point, but Thulani could hardly imagine Ducky coming up to a place as busy as this, especially with everything to do at the farm. Sure, his family could probably cover for her in that time, but wouldn't she just panic? And would she be able to find her way around.

Unbeknownst to the angel, there were a pair of raks who's stated behind and we're probably being equal parts useful and annoying to Ducky.

Thulani joined in laughing at Hortense's impression of his dad; it wasn't half bad! "I bet thatd make her real happy, though the twins might be sad ta hear you're happy with your boyfriend," he returns have seriously, half jokingly.

He glanced over at Blush with a touch of confusion. "Didja need ta go somewhere? If you're tired we can head on back ta my place instead so ya can rest up..." He glanced back at Hortense, "She just got up here for tha first time not two hours ago."

Thulani naturally laughed back at Hortense's joke, more than a little relived that he'd managed to redirect the conversation. He raised an eye at Blush's next comment, wondering who these two new names were. Had she finally made friends with some of nearish by farms? But he didn't think anyone had kids with those names... Weird that his mom hadn't sent him any notice of it either. Guess he'd be on the lookout next time he was back.

The sibling bickering largely went on without any interruption by him - he wanted the pair to enjoy themselves a bit longer.

"Ya, we all thought they'd grow outta it - or at least one of em would - but they still rattle on about which one ya like best. Think they mighta turned it to some sort of competition." How very like them. He paused for a moment before offering directions to his place. It was a bit off the beaten path, but could generally be considered to be within the Craftsman District. "It ain't wide, but it's got two levels that go pretty deep. The bottom is the workshop where k sell stuff or take orders, and tha top floor is where I live. If ya been in the area, ya might recognize it as that one with a winged cow on the sign." Considering it was a one-man affair, and he needed to go away from the storefront often to work or purchase supplies, he didn't tend to get much traffic. "I'd love ta come visit if'n ya tell me where abouts you at. I think Blush is here for a few days, so maybe tomorrow or the day after ta give us all time ta prepare?" He glanced over at Blush, curious if that idea was fine with her as well.

"You know they'd be all up in a fuss if you pull somethin like that," he was able to quip out before the talking resumed.

Once again, Thulani nodded along with Hortense's ramblings, offering an "Alrighty," or an "Aight," as appropriate. So she lived up that's way, huh? Guess they actually lived pretty close to one another. To Blush, he offered a shrug. "Nah, not really. I ain't got enuf business ta worry about something like that..." He trailed off for as they passed by a particular flower store - she had also worked near here, hadnt she? Small city. "...Though you'll see soon enuf, won't cha? I thought you was gonna just stay at my place til ya left." He did have a small guest room for just the occasion, but it was generally unoccupied as of late. "Or did ya ma give you a room n board allowance as well?"