Welcome to Gaia! ::

Several days after Nita's conversation with Newt, she finally got the time to make a serious survey of the cafeteria. First and foremost, she found Delia and asked her, very politely, for the loan of a tea-kettle. Nothing fancy, and one that hopefully wouldn't be missed, since Nita had no intention of returning it. Nita smiled and thanked the cafeteria lady and went to eat her dinner of bamboo, fruit, and nuts.

She chose a table in the corner, eating rather absently as she mentally inspected the various corners. Perhaps the donation- and recycling-center should be situated near the main entrance. Out of the way, but close enough to the trash cans that the other villagers might remember to recycle instead of throwing away their bottles and cans...

Nita was jerked out of her ruminations when Marshall spoke. Nearly inhaling a bamboo leaf, she coughed, waving her paws to indicate that she was okay. After a moment of hacking, Nita sipped her drink to soothe her throat. "Hey Marshall," she finally managed. "Sorry 'bout that; surprised me."

The red panda grinned sheepishly. "Have a seat? I haven't seen you for a while..." They had both changed since their last meeting, although she supposed they were recognizable enough.

Nita shrugged slightly, her thoughts still mostly on her plans. "I've been okay," she said automatically. And really, now that most of her drama with Lauren was over (or being avoided), she probably did average out to 'okay.'

"Starting to work on a project of sorts," she elaborated. "And you?" Nita glanced at Marshall, acknowledging his changes. Apparently he hadn't escaped the penguin-pudge, just as she had acquired her own.

Well, that was a bit of a non sequitur.

"Oh, really?" she asked, keeping her voice nonchalant. Nita wondered how recently that would have been, anyway. It had been a bit over a week since she'd seen him last, under less than pleasant circumstances.

Nita snickered. "I... pretty much knew that," she said, grinning. It was pretty obvious, really, even if people didn't know about their latest set of interactions. "But I won't tell him you said anything."

She nodded around a mouthful of bamboo leaves. After a moment of chewing, Nita continued, "Yeah, I've been past a few times. Looks like it's coming along well. I'm impressed. Are you one of the guys working on it then?"

Nita winced and glanced apologetically at Marshall's flipper-hands. "Ahh, that sucks. How'd you break your arm?" Apparently it was healed by now, since there was no cast.

She leaned back in her chair, shifting her tail slightly so she wasn't squishing it. Maybe she'd take a walk past the construction site later; Gaius might be interested in her and Newt's project.

"Ouch," said Nita sympathetically. "At least it wasn't intentional. I've met Oz a few times, and it's not like he'd do something like that on purpose." She shook her head, specifically not mentioning the first time she'd really met Oz-- during that disastrous game of Truth or Dare.

"Welllll... I'm starting to work on a new project. It was Newt's idea, really, so I'm helping. Um, basically, we want to start up a donation center. So like, since a lot of people have stuff they can't really use anymore, they can donate it, and if anyone can use it, they're free to take it. For example, I've got a bunch of old clothing that doesn't fit anymore, but it might work for someone, even if they just need it for scraps."

Nita finally stopped to take a breath and realized she'd been babbling. "So, uh, yeah. It's still in the planning stages." Since they were in a rather public place (complete with cameras), she didn't mention the other part of the plan- that Newt would inherit most of the plastic and metal for his own devices.