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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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 Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 4:47 pm
Yaeli was a... strange environment, to be sure, but the longer Lucijah stayed the more she came to like it for all its ... quirks. Then again, she wasn't stupid enough to miss the fact that it clearly been a place to Banish People for a reason. The land was treacherous in ways she never could have predicted, with the underground springs and the craggy rocks. But... it was as if someone had peered at the island from afar, saw the ominous mists and the volcano, and decided... yes. Yes, that is a terrible place to live.
Not so! There was a plethora of things to gather and eat, annoying but useful moss, and ... less people than you'd expect.
People just didn't come to Yael for a vacation, even with the advent of the airships and travel.
It hadn't been long since they returned to Yael. They couldn't take over Ai's old home, so they'd had to build a new one - and their results had been... mixed. It ends up, as handy as Lucijah could be, she just... wasn't used to how things were in Yaeli. The wood was harder, and even with the similar humidity everything decayed so much faster here!
And that blasted moss-- argh! Lucijah grumpily tossed down the wood she'd been trying to light their fire with, glaring at it, jaw set.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 11:21 am
The jungles of Jauhar were teaming with a life that seemed to permeate even the darkest night. Everywhere one looked there was color and to some that might have been comforting. A sign of godly intervention, even, but Ai knew better. Divine inspiration came in the form of rending life from a wasteland. Ripping it's very soul from the ground by force and creating societies atop a treacherous, steaming hellhole was by very definition a miracle.
It was horrific, it was terrifying and ominous.
It was home.
In a way, that is.
Creating a house to hold them was proving a challenge. Ai wasn't a carpenter nor did she care very much to change that and since she didn't exactly have friends the structures entire framework rested on the two of them. She knew enough to build off the jungle floor, though that was much the same as it was in Jauhar, to allow for ventilation and to prevent rot. Ai had also tried to make a thatched circular structure with a conical roof so that air could escape, but...well...it was one thing to know what you wanted and to actually be able to build it.
Her antennae flicked toward the extra noise and Ai turned to look at Lucijah.
"Take a walk. It's no use if you break it."
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 12:50 pm
(2/10) Lucijah exhaled sharply through her nose, turning her head to glower and pout at the other woman. Considering the fact they'd only been here a few weeks, having the frame in place was decent enough progress - but it was difficult to feel pleased with it when she woke up damp from the mists, and uncomfortable. She instead pushed herself to stand, and took the opportunity to grab Ai around the middle, pressing her face into her shoulderblades to, hopefully, smother herself.
"You're no use if I break you." She grumbled back, just short of a whine, squeezing a bit. After their kiss, Lucijah had become more and more handsy with her new partner. And, if Ai allowed it, all the better, right?
"At this rate I might have to go try and work so we can hire someone."
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 12:12 pm
The sound of movement wasn't enough to break Ai's concentration, but the feeling of arms around her was. It was still incredibly odd to have someone act so casually around her and as per usual the alkidike stilled. It took her a moment to 'warm up', but during that time she didn't pull away. If anything the warm of Lucijah burrowing her face into her flesh was enough to bring out a little smile and a sharp chortle.
"Check the chest first. We might have enough to hire someone to at least build a roof." She made a nod toward a rather large, horribly heavy chest near the back of the room. It was large enough for a grown earthling to crawl inside and filled to the brim with valuables. Ai had never had any use for it so once she gathered the things she wanted from her enemies she stowed the rest away. She suspected Fiya must have added to it over the years because it hadn't seemed that heavy when she left.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 1:34 pm
(3/10) Lucijah pulled back from her embrace, squinting almost accusingly at Ai. She knew about the chest, of course, but hadn't thought to push her boundaries by looking inside it. With the almost flippant permission though, she separated from Ai and got up to stalk over to the chest, squatting down to tug open the lid.
And, almost instantly, snapped it shut again, stunned. "... At least a roof?" She whispered, peering down at the chest again. "You don't- how..." Her thoughts turned to the 'prizes' she knew Ai to take, and immediately grimaced. "Never mind. I don't wanna know."
Because it was normal to realize your lover had a chest full of most likely dead peoples' treasures and gold. It was... bad that she felt so relieved, wasn't it?
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 1:41 pm
If the action would have been visible in the least Ai might have rolled her eyes. How very like Lucijah to get huffy when it suited her and brat up just as quickly as she'd been affectionate.
Shaking her head, the alkidike went back to using a saw to cut pieces of wood for a new table. She couldn't see the shifter's reactions, but she heard the sound of the chest shutting. For a moment she paused then shook her head and went back to work. "Is it not enough?" They bartered in Zinris and even with Ai's travels she still didn't quite understand the concept of coin. Judging how much something was worth in comparison to little bits of metal...It just seemed stupid and counter productive.
"If we need more I can take another job on the docks." She'd done it in Oba for a brief period of time and could do it again here. She wouldn't like it, but...well, Lucijah bitched less if she was happy and Ai wanted her happy.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 1:48 pm
(4/10) Unbelievable. Lucijah huffed out a quiet laugh, shaking her head as she stood again. She'd been just about ready to tell Ai just how much she had saved away... when the alkidike made such an easy suggestion. She blinked, then felt her expression soften, fondness pulling her back to Ai's side - although, now that she was back at work, she kept her hands to herself.
"You don't have to go and do that, Ai." She reassured, patting her on one muscular shoulder. "... I think you might be the richest person in the settlement, easily. We could probably build a place with... as many rooms as we wanted!" Not that either of them would know what to do with that much space. Her own little hovel back home had just been that open room in the tree house.
"... At the very least, we could get someone to show us how it's done, save money that way."
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 1:55 pm
Fifteen years worth of gold and jewels had accumulated in a chest whose edifice happened to carry the crest of a once pleasant Zenan house. Of course Ai had no idea about any of that; she'd plucked that scratched up mess off years ago.
The richest? How destitute were most earthlings if one chest filled with useless rocks could topple their economy?
"How many rooms do you want?" Straightening up, she settled the newly finished table onto it's legs and looked at Lucijah. Initially she hadn't really thought about it; all Ai had cared about was someplace dry, safe and comfortable for them. A one room shack would have sufficed for a while, but now that there were options...
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 2:12 pm
(5/10) How-- oh. Lucijah stepped back to give Ai room, looking at the table, impressed. Ai had more patience than she did for most of this work - as useful as the 'elevator' at her old treehouse had been, much of Lucijah's craftsmanship hadn't been refined. And without all the vines, she wasn't sure how exactly to build everything.
Feeling useless was a terrible feeling, really. And considering how much their early relationship had been built off Lucijah being useful... it was difficult not to feel a bit worried.
And now Ai was, apparently, very rich off her murderous bounties--
"A no-leak roof? Nice place to sleep? Maybe one of those brick ovens somewhere..." Lucijah trailed off. She didn't need much more room, personally, but... what if they needed more space? For family? Not... like Ai's kid would move in, from what she understood she had her own place to be. And Lucijah's family definitely wouldn't be coming to stay, not in a million years-
But she still found herself wanting to suggest another room. Just... in case. "Maybe an extra room. To grow into, or something."
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 3:57 pm
The table was far from 'decorative', but it was enough for the two of them and an occasionally appearance from Fiya. Her daughter hadn't taken to things well, but Ai surmised it was more the abrupt appearance of someone new and not the fact that person happened to be an earthling. She didn't expect to see much of the girl, but what she did see of her the alkidike wanted to be civil.
"A brick oven? Aisha preserve me, as soon as you find out there's coin..." She snorted and crossed her arms, but there was also a smirk there. "Room to grow..." Ai murmured. Standing there, side by side with Lucijah and looking about the space she could almost imagine it as a home.
There were...implications there, even if Lucijah didn't mean it that way and it caused Ai's expression to drop.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2022 2:23 pm
(6/10) The raised eyebrow look Lucijah shot Ai could only be described as intentionally innocent, lips twitching into a guilty (but not too guilty) smile. She couldn't help it - it was something she'd seen in Oba that had been AMAZING, and she could only think of all the years as a youngling she'd had to scramble down out of her parents' tree house, set up a camp fire, start it--
Of course, Lucijah wasn't quite inspecting Ai's face, so she didn't quite notice the moment that perhaps unintended suggestion hit her. Instead, she moved to the table, leaning her hands on it - then jumping, leaning ALL of her weight on it.
The table wiggled, but it remained firm, and the earthling let out a 'woop' of success, turning back to Ai with a broad, stupid grin. "Well look at you! Forget hiring a professional-- I think you've got this handled. And me being here would just be in the way andddd--" She took an exaggerated step away, ready for Ai to object - not that she didn't want her to, if anything it was just FUN now to try to rile Ai up. You know, now that most of the stabbing tendencies were calmed down (for the most part).
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2022 3:01 pm
For a brief moment Ai was snapped out of her reverie and stepped forward, ready for her table to break. Goddess, why was she doing that did she want it to break-?!
But it didn't and Lucijah was...stupidly perfect. There was just something about her that burned under Ai's skin like burrowing insects, but instead of leaving an ache it left warmth. She just confused the Aishan to the point of madness most days and right now...she just didn't know how to respond other than a grin of her own.
Instead of letting Lucijah get away, Ai rushed forward and snatched the earthling up around the waist. Without really thinking about it too much Ai swung her around and plopped Lucijah down on the table top. "A table won't keep you dry, but it can do other things." She leaned forward and nipped the top of Lucijah's ear. "We'll need a roof if we're in a mind to grow. A roof, a bassinet..."
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2022 3:34 pm
(7/10) Just as expected, Ai lunged at her and Lucijah let out a shriek, tossing her head back to laugh, helplessly, as she was plonked down on the table - though the laughter cut off into a strangled noise at the innuendo, and almost pointed n** to her ear.
Her arms slipped casually around Ai's middle again, tucking her fingers under one of the twine pieces that held her belt in place. "Right. Roof and a... ??" Lucijah blinked, trailing off for a moment, blinking at the Aishan.
Then, her words from before caught up to her, and - flustered probably was an understatement. She liked kids, fine enough - she'd been frankly a bit obsessed with that hybrid baby they'd found, back in Oba. They freaked her out, to a point, but she liked them, and definitely felt - protective.
And it wasn't as if the thought hadn't crossed her mind, brief and insane though it had seemed, when she remembered that Aishan's could just - do that.
... It wasn't like if they dabbled with the idea it would happen tomorrow, they still had a house to build, and it could take months, longer even. "You're crazy, you know that?" She pointed out, smiling, eyeing her like she'd put the moon in the sky herself.
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2022 3:46 pm
Ai kept a hand casually hooked on Lucijah's belt just above her hip with the palm stretching out over her backside. The other briefly passed over the shifter's hair under the guise of moving downy locks away from the other woman's face, but in reality Ai had a thinly veiled curiosity with the earthlings hair. It was still a uniquely strange experience for her; like seeing an albino radaku in the wild.
"That's what you were talking about, wasn't it? A daughter?" She had one already, but this time it would be different. This time she wouldn't be a teenager with a motherless orphan to fend for. No, this time it would be her own offspring and...one she'd sworn to slaughter on sight barely half a lifetime ago.
"Says the shifter who moved in with a woman who swore to wear her guts like fine jewelry," Ai murmured with a lopsided grin.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2022 3:54 pm
(8/10) Wh-- again, Lucijah felt winded by the topic. She'd maybe alluded to it, if anything - but Ai, like everything else she turned her mind to, jumped into it with a determined focus, blunt and to the point, leaving very little wiggle room. She'd thought she'd be more opposed, if she was honest - considering how she'd sneered at that kid from way back when. How... only months ago, she'd been on the brink of exterminating her niece.
It was a lot - overwhelming, in thinking that with her Ai might actually consider it. "Well, yeah." She admitted, leaning her head back to enjoy the brushing touch of Ai's fingers in her hair.
Then, Ai just grinned at her, and her stomach twisted pleasantly, reminding her just how much she adored this woman. Silly grins were still so new to see on her face, but she loved it, and so she did the first thing her stupid brain could think of and kissed her - just a sound smooch before she leaned back enough to grin back at her.
"You'd really think about it, some day? I mean -- unless you're... talking about adopting again... ? Sh-- did I get it wrong?"
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