[Infirmary] Zeltiva Puppet Theatre Part II (Satevis)

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock nodded and flashed Satevis a smile. "Oy, patience, 'at's me, mate," she said in complete seriousness. "Sounds good! Git 'er done, aye?" She liked the idea of a hammer made out of stars. Sounded like something you could forge worlds with. She looked over at his painting and nodded. "Aye," she said, using her brush to smooth out one little drip at the edge. "Easy peasy, aye?" They weren't painting anything complex, so it was hard to mess up much. She set the brushes down to let the backdrops dry, stretching out her injured leg. This consisted of her holding onto the arm supports of her crutches and extending her legs forward, the crutches supporting her weight fully as she extended her legs several times. Two weeks of barely using her legs was starting to make them feel sore. "'Elp me outta 'is 'ing fer a bit?" she asked Satevis, waving him over. She'd been riding the crutches around all day, and she needed to relax for a bit. And considering the stage work was almost done, she could certainly use a break. She was looking forward to being back on her feet soon. Riding the Automaton was fun, but it still slowed her down. It didn't have smooth enough motion to really compensate for human legs. Next time, she'd build something better than human legs. Stronger. Faster. Taller... (She wasn't exactly short, but she always felt like the men at work towered over her).

[Satevis]

"As soon as the paint dries," he promised, setting down his brush as well. He glanced back at how the children were doing. They seemed to be having fun, and from the sound of it, some of them had taken on different roles within the pantheon and were now using the paint to describe what was happening. "I'm Zulrav! See, look, here's lightning!" A streak of white paint went onto the board. "Oh, yeah? Well I'm Laviku and I'm cooler than you!" A splash of blue off in the corner. "I'm Morwen! See, here are my lights!" Greens and purples appeared on the board, painted with messy hands instead of with brushes. He shook his head, going over to help Tock out of her crutches. "They seem to be enjoying themselves," he said as he worked, helping support her until she was sitting on the ground. He sat down beside her. There wasn't much to do until the paint dried, so he decided taking a break might not be a bad idea. It was nice to see the children like this, considering this was what the puppet show was for in the first place. They seemed to have gotten back a little bit of their spark at being allowed to paint. He glanced at Tock, wondering if he should broach the subject of James now. He decided to test the waters first. "About your friend..." he said, idly picking up a blade of grass and twirling it between his fingers as he spoke. "I think I know what was wrong with him."

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock settled on the ground, leaning into Satevis and pulling his arm around her. It felt natural, given that they'd crossed the first line of intimacy, and it felt nice to have a man's arms around her. It wasn't something she was used to. He was warm, and strong, and smelled nice. Which made her stop and think about how she might smell. When was the last time she took a bath? She wasn't used to paying attention to such things. She spent so much time working and covered in sweat, grease, and grime, that she only bothered to worry about bathing when things got to a certain unavoidable level. Now she understood why most girls used perfume. She subtly sniffed herself, and didn't think it was anything noticeable. Hopefully. It was strange to find herself worrying about such things. But she got distracted from the thoughts soon enough when Satevis mentioned James. "Huh?" she asked, twisting around a bit to look up at him. "James? What about 'im? I didn't think ya knew each other...?" It seemed a bit strange for Satevis to have any idea what was wrong with her friend, when she herself didn't. She hadn't bothered to think about it after James had left. Tock wasn't the type to dwell on anything once it was out of her current frame of mind. She'd already forgotten her momentary worry about bathing, and was thinking ahead to what size brush would be best for painting stars.

[Satevis]

Satevis shifted a little closer as Tock as she pulled his arm around herself, pulling her closer. He felt slightly uncomfortable, not because of Tock, but because of the public venue they were in. His eyes drifted towards the children again, and he allowed himself to relax. They were busy with the backdrop, and wouldn't be paying attention to them any time soon. Besides, it had been a while since he'd allowed himself to relax. He'd been wound a little this past few weeks. He shook his head when Tock asked if he knew James, staring off into the distance as he tried to think of a way to broach the subject. "I don't," he said. "I don't think I've actually spoken to him. But...I might have a...hypothesis, if you will. Based on observations." He knew that despite her rough exterior, Tock had a scientific mind. If he could present his case in that way, he might have more luck. "...I think he likes you," he said, looking down at Tock and meeting her eyes. "...Really likes you. So this..." He gestured at the position they were in, not really having any word to use to define their relationship at this point, in either of the languages he knew. "...might have hurt his feelings somewhat. It's none of my business...but I just thought you should know."

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock frowned when Satevis said he'd been 'observing' James, wondering just what he could possibly be talking about. She looked up at him craning her neck around, watching him as he slowly worked his way around to an explanation. When he finally spit it out, she just stared at him for a moment, then her eyes widened. Oh. Ohhhh. "Oy," she said, rubbing a hand across her face. "Izzat it, aye?" she sighed. "'At stupid git. Why's 'e gotta get all pissy wit' me over it, aye? Ain't like he done ever made a move o' nothin'!" She crossed her arms, grumbling a bit. Sure, there had been a few 'almost-moments' with her and James. One night he had walked her home when she was drunk, and, well, she hadn't been feeling very ladylike. Then there had been the moment Satevis had walked in on... but damnit, if James had been interested in her, why hadn't he kissed her then? Or any of the other half dozen 'moments' they'd had? She sulked, leaning back against Satevis and staring at the ground. "Oy, Satey," she said, "ya ain't got nothin' ta worry 'bout 'ere, aye? I ain't 'at kinda girl. Not gonna be snoggin' on one bloke one night, 'en another the next, aye?" She patted his leg comfortingly. "Ain't done nothin' what ever 'appened 'tween me an' James, aye? We's jus' mates is all." If James was really acting all rude tonight because he was jealous, well, then she'd just have to have words with him. It was his own damn fault for pulling away the few times she'd been hanging on him. Hell, she'd practically offered herself to him one night, when she'd had WAY too much to drink. Which isn't to say she might not have regretted it the next morning... but the chance had been there, and he'd declined to so much as kiss her. So as far as she was concerned, he had no right to be jealous now. "I'll set 'im right," she said, "don'tcha worry none. Make sure the dang fool bludger ain't got no wrong ideas in 'is 'ead."

[Satevis]

"I'm not..." he said, sighing as she leaned closer to him. His arm shifted position across her shoulders, so that it was loosely curled around her. "Not worried, I mean. What happened last night..." He trailed off, staring off into the distance again as he thought about what he could say. They hadn't exactly discussed it, but then again, last night neither of them would have been thinking clearly enough for a proper conversation. "...we never really defined anything," he said, realizing that Tock would probably be expecting him to keep talking. "...It was rather...unexpected. Not bad, just...surprising. And it obviously changed something...but there's no way to tell what." He shook his head, realizing he wasn't making any sense. A small smile appeared on his face, mostly in amusement at himself. "I'm sorry," he said. "Common is not my first language, and it shows sometimes, especially in situations like this..." "But I'm not worried about James. So don't be too hard on him." He was surprised to find that it was true. He wasn't. He had been a bit at the beginning, but Tock had practically ignored James today...and towards the end, he had just ended up feeling bad for the poor man. It wasn't as if he expected this to happen either. If Tock had returned his attention, he might have felt differently, but it hadn't turned out that way. "I have to admit, though," he said. "I've never met anyone quite like you before."

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock listened to Satevis without fully following what he was saying. She didn't know what there was to 'define', though the way he stammered on about 'changes' and 'surprises' and the 'unexpected'... was rather cute. Before he finished working his way around the jumble of words, a sly smile had spread across her lips. 'E likes me, she thought. It was good to know. Not that she'd had any doubt. But there was a bit of a difference after seeing the way he was acting. This wasn't the way of a man who'd just had a good time and wanted to see how much further he could get. There was... something there. And whatever it was, it made her feel warm. She didn't care to define anything though. It was what it was, and she didn't figure it needed to be dwelled on or given any more thought. But since he was being so cute, she craned her neck up and pressed her lips against his, the contact lingering for a long moment. When she pulled away, she looked up at him, a mixture of amusement and affection in her brown eyes. "Mate," she said, "'ere AIN'T nobody quite like me, aye?" She laughed softly, nestling back into his embrace. Her hand slid up to his where he had his arm curled around her, and she intertwined her fingers into his. Yes, this felt nice. She might just be able to get used to it.

[Satevis]

Satevis was not experienced with being at a loss for words. He had always considered language a tool, something was meant to be manipulated in order to convey meaning. Words might change, syntax might change, but in the end, with enough skill someone could translate a meaning from one language to the next. It could convey knowledge across peoples and cultures. It was why he remembered studying Common as Taras, because Common was the language spoken by the rest of the world, and the boy who had grown to be Taras and later fell to become Satevis had not wanted to be denied any knowledge, or any way to interpret it. But he was quickly finding that his language skills were inadequate. Because he couldn't find the words to say what he wanted to say in Common, and he couldn't bring them to mind in Shiber either. So he decided to wait. The words would come eventually. For now, this would do. As she kissed him, he turned so that he was facing her, pulling her a little bit closer towards him. He leaned in slightly, forgetting their public venue. He didn't forget for long, though, as he felt something warm and wet land on the side of his face. Satevis frowned, pulling away from her and putting a hand to his cheek. His fingers came away bright green. A group of three boys stood in front of them, paint brushes in their hands. They looked to be between the ages of six to eight. Satevis glanced at Tock and noticed a diagonal line of yellow paint across her face and arm, as if one of the children had flicked a paint brush at her. "Hey, no gross stuff!" one of the kids demanded. The other children in the background started giggling.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock jumped when the tender moment was interrupted, turning to look at the kids that were flinging paint. "Oy, ya little biters!" she shouted, reaching out to try to grab one. They ran, giggling, but didn't get far. Tock pulled out Grippy, and extended it until she snagged one by the seat of his pants, pulling him back in. He squealed and squirmed, but couldn't free himself. Once he was within reach, she snatched the paintbrush from his hands and dabbed it on his face. "Oy, 'ow's at, huh?" she asked. The kid squealed and laughed, then fled when she finally released him. "Oy, 'ose buggers," Tock said, shaking her head and leaning back into Satevis again. She re-sheathed Grippy, and looked up at Satevis. Then, overcome by the sudden urge, she reached up and dabbed the paintbrush onto his chin, giving him a little goatee. She snorted, her nose scrunching up cutely. This started a paint fight, and before long all the kids were covered in colorful splatters, looking like victims of the Gods' war. The adults eventually had to come in and pull them apart. Smirking, Tock looked up at Satevis and said, "Oy, we should get 'ose backdrops finished. I done need a bath now..." She dabbed her fingers in the yellow on her cheek, wiping it off on her sleeve.

[Satevis]

Satevis couldn't help it. At the sight of Tock, dragging the ringleader back towards her with Grippy and painting on his face, he laughed. It was probably the first time she would have seen him laugh outright. He had chuckled a few times, sure, but Satevis had always considered himself in control of his emotions--all of them. With Tock, however, it seemed like that control was starting to fade a little. And it had honestly been a while since he had felt like laughing... He shook his head, watching as the child ran off, and obligingly shifted closer to Tock as she tried to return to her earlier position. He looked away from her, watching as the children huddled together in a group and started whispering amongst themselves, laughing and occasionally looking in her direction. The Ethaefal blinked in surprise as he felt a brush suddenly touch his chin, and he looked down to see Tock, an amused expression on her face. Unfortunately, the children noticed too, and that sparked an all-out paint fight. The fight went on for a little while before the adults stepped in and separated them, beginning to herd the group of children back towards the infirmary for baths. He nodded as Tock mentioned that they should finish the backdrops, looking down as she tried to wipe some of the yellow paint off of herself. "I agree," he said, nodding. And then suddenly, before she could start trying to get to her feet, he trailed some of the green paint still on his fingers across her face, his smile turning slightly mischievous. "I believe the word in Common is 'payback'," he said with a small laugh as he helped Tock back to her feet. He walked over to one of the black boards to check them. The first one that they had painted was completely dry, so he dipped the tip of one of the smaller paint brushes in white paint, deciding that he could start with that one. On the right side of the board, he began trying to put together Tock's hammer constellation. He wasn't much of an artist, but he had spent most of the term staring at vague shapes in the sky and drawing them for students, so he was able to replicate the same style. He worked carefully, not wanting to make any mistakes and ruin their hard work. Satevis made some white dots bigger and brighter than the others, attempting to replicate the varying brightness of stars in the night sky. Finally, he was done, having created a shape that was vaguely hammer-like. Satevis sat back on his heels for a moment, turning the board around so that he could start on the left side. "There's your hammer," he said to Tock as he worked. "And on this side..." He started to add the familiar dots that made up the scorpion. Scorpius was one of the zodiac signs, so he had been asked about them quite a few times this term by curious students. He knew nothing of astrology, but enough astronomy, and after grading what seemed like countless star charts, he had almost committed the basic constellations to memory. "Scorpius," he said quietly. "A member of the zodiac. The brightest star in this constellation is called Antares..." He added the star at the base of what represented the scorpion's tail, making its dot a little bigger than the others. "The people of Eyktol knew it by another name. Satevis, the Watcher of the West."