[PRP] Visiting Hours (Fala x Na)

[Eight]

Old age?! Na'ima gasped and stared at her sister with a look of horror and offense. "Old age?!" Already she was more excitable than Na'ima was known for. "I'll show you old age, you little brat," she threatened as she reached out for Falair, attempting to pull the younger mare to her again while rolling to one side off the chaise and trying to pin her down on the floor. It was very unlike Na'ima if one did not know the Na'ima of the past, before Salbei broke through her wall of seriousness.

Rumors of..? Oh. Oh, Falair. Na'ima grinned, letting out a delighted laugh. "Falair, I am so proud. I would hate to be subject to whatever it is you did to their supplies." She rose to her feet with a chuckle, straightening herself out and collecting her pipe. The contents were properly disposed of, the pipe itself was put away. "Lead the way, dear." One revenge had been dished out. There was still one more that Falair was owed.  

[Yayoi]

Falair couldn't help a squeal as Na'ima pulled her to the floor. She laughed with a wide grin. "And yet still so spry." Now she cackled. Na wasn't terribly older than her, a few years, but she could still tease her about it. The reaction though was a little surprising. Falair could sense a change in her sister. A light hearted feeling that was rare of Na'ima.

But it made her happy to see this way.

As she rose to her feet, she brushed off her puffy pants and sleeves before wrapping her leather apron about her waist. She eagerly grabbed her hat and plopped it on her head. "Well I had to keep myself occupied somehow." The mare thumbed the side of her nose. "Though I'm sad to say that some of them didn't enjoy the lovely shade of blue."

She turned to the door, giving pause as she looked about the room as if expecting something before she turned the knob and stepped out into the hallway. "It is not too far and should hopefully not be too crowded this time of day."

Eight

 

[Eight]

"Yes, still spry. And I always will be. I am not a creaky old woman, little sister, you will do well to remember that." Tsking, Na'ima set her pipe down on an end table and followed Falair to the door.

She smiled. "Blue, hm? Interesting effect. How did you do it? A dye of some kind that reacts to temperature changes? Water?" Now she wanted to know all about what Falair had been up to, especially if it meant mischief against those of Halloween. However, when Falair stopped at the door and looked around she stopped as well. Her brow raised, and as she pulled her veil up again her eyes became the only visible part of her face once more. "Good, I look forward to this."

It wasn't until they were alone in the elevator that Na'ima finally spoke up again, looking curiously to her sister as she did. "You hesitated as we left. Is everything all right?"

Yayoi

 

[Yayoi]

Falair waggled a slender finger at her sister while making a tsking noise. "I never called you a creaky old woman. You came to that conclusion by yourself. Besides, if you are old than what does that make me? We are only a few years apart."

She placed her hands inside the pockets of her apron. "To be honest I was unsure it would even work." Falair wouldn't mention that the blue reaction wasn't even the effect she was going for. The Alchemist wasn't even sure how she had done it in the first place. Such as it was. "Ah ah, but yes. Exactly. A dye. It starts off as a clear powder then when added to water has a time delay reaction so it doesn't instantly turn the skin blue." Perfect cover.

Rocking on her heels a couple of times, she cocked her head slightly. The beads woven in her blue hair clicking together. "Oh, yes. I was just making sure that Reject wasn't going to make a made dash for the door. He's grown tired of being cooped up in the apartment. The Halloweiners don't enjoy his company much. Perhaps he'll be happier once we move and he can putter about in freedom."

Eight

 

[Eight]

Na'ima looked fondly to her sister beside her, reaching out to toy with soft blue hair. She was no fool, but she wouldn't be calling Falair's bluff. She would let her have this. "I am very proud of you, sister," she told her earnestly, smiling behind her veil. "When we return to the tower, together you and I will create things that will make the world regret thinking they could ever break us." Delicate fingers followed Falair's jaw until she was able to give her a playful tap under her chin. If a war was coming she was going to make sure Falair was well prepared.

The elevator stopped at the bottom and Na'ima held an arm out for Falair to exit first, quickly following behind her to catch up to her side. "Mm, yes. You are quite good with Reject, aren't you," she mused aloud as they walked out of the building, moving to link arms with her sister while she strolled.

Yayoi

 

[Yayoi]

Na was proud of her.

She couldn't help but smile at her sister's words. Even though she had her moments and had often, to herself, chosen a road that led her astray. Na was still proud of her. It made her chest tighten for a moment. She linked arms with Na, leaning her head lightly against her sister's shoulder.

But when Na'ima spoke of making the world regret she bit her tongue. Hate and revenge were a hard thing for her to swallow.

Back on the topic of Reject, she let out a small sigh. "I've come to accept the fact that he's probably not ever going to die. But...well he had become a bit useful I guess. At least he tries anyhow to be." Besides, the pink blob of whatever he was had kept her company since the island had been destroyed.

He kept her sane.

Eight

 

[Eight]

She was so precious. Na'ima tilted her head to rest it against her sister's, humming a soft song while petting one of Falair's arms. She had missed her, missed this, if only their parents could still be around for moments like this as well. Na'ima frowned behind the safety of her veil and turned to press a kiss to her sister's head despite the cloth separating them, then turned her head to look ahead of them while they walked.

"Have you perhaps tried to tame and train other creatures?"

Yayoi

 

[Yayoi]

The song that Na'ima hummed brought back memories. They almost seemed to have been a life time ago but Falair knew better. It was easy to forget and displace time when you didn't want to remember parts of it. The loss of their parents was something she tried not to linger on. Though when she was alone the thoughts would creep into the mare's mind.

But now was not a time for those.

"I've considered it, but the people here are a little uptight about their critters. You tend to get black listed from the shops that sell them when you ask which they think would be more resilient to parasitic spores or survive an infusion of liquid metal." Falair rolled her eyes. "I'll have to go out into the wild and trap one or two. Though it's kind of a grab bag on what exactly I would get."

Eight

 

[Eight]

Na'ima's smile was wistful behind her veil, a hint of that feeling reaching her voice. "What if, perhaps, that is your calling and you have simply not given it a chance?" She hesitated, looking Falair's way before looking ahead once more. Was that delicate enough? With anyone else she would have simply told them to stop with alchemy and potion making before they killed themselves or someone else, that it wasn't their calling, that they just sucked at it. She cleared her throat, looking away.

"Everything has changed. Our titles and roles, all of it. Everyone is now on equal footing, no one's position is higher than another's..for example, I can no longer be a Sage..." She hesitated again, her smile falling. She remembered being a Sage, of course. Attaining that rank had been one of the proudest moments of her lifetime. She had worked so hard for it, to reach that inner circle and be more than a simple alchemist in the outer circle. "Sages are now those who excel in taming creatures, and that is certainly not where my interests have ever lied. They are diplomats, that kind of thing."

She was frowning again, her gaze lowering slightly. Na'ima didn't need to see where she was going, she trusted Falair knew the directions as this had been her suggestion anyway. "It is upsetting..but there is nothing to be done, I suppose, unless I wish to change my entire life's work simply to be able to call myself that which I rightfully earned." A shrug. "Even if it means I must be expected to work in groups again. Falair, I do not work in groups. You know this." Na'ima huffed and shook her head, her own way of pouting without being completely childish about it. It didn't sit right with her, she definitely didn't like this change.

Yayoi

 

[Yayoi]

To be honest Falair had never wavered in her desire to be an Alchemist. Changing her role in the clan had never even been a thought entertained. All she could remember for the longest time was that goal. Even when she failed time and again, even the tiniest of successes is what kept her going. Whether or not the end result was what she had been going for.

But Na'ima's mention of role changes gave her pause as she listened. Now that she thought about it more. Her brain processing this new information. Falair was far from being a diplomat but she had had no problem dealing with and taming creatures. Of course, Reject was a special case. He'd never survive on his own.

Her sister's huff brought her out of that space in her head. Falair pet her sister's arm fondly with a smile. "Even if no one's position is higher than another's you can still head your own group. They need leaders after all otherwise nothing would ever get done." Falair's walk slowed as they began to approach the bath house. "Though once I am back at the tower I may look into this Sage business."

Eight

 

[Eight]

"Ugh, groups." Na'ima shook her head. She hated working in groups. Hated it. She veered off that topic, not wanting to think about it. Instead she straightened as the bath house came into view. Finally, she was looking forward to this!

"Good, I am glad. It does not hurt to consider. And in the meantime we will see about your alchemy work, and what we can do with that." She stopped at the door of the bath house and opened it for Falair, gesturing for the younger mare to enter first.

Yayoi

 

[Yayoi]

Falair laughed with a little sigh. Same ol' Na'ima. She gave her sister's arm another reassuring pat. "It won't be too bad I'm sure. And I'll be there to help you out too sooooo...." But that was something for later. Right now Falair had little concern over jobs and such. Now was time for her and Na.

But all in all she was glad her sister would be helping her. There were still things in alchemy she wouldn't mind dabbling in, even if she was no longer primarily an Alchemist.

She entered the bath house, moving past the counter where a lady demon offered them a basket of bath items which she quickly refused. Handing a few bits of Halloween currency to the demon before she made her way down a long hall way. "Its a slow day today so we should have privacy in the baths towards the back of the establishment."

Eight

 

[Eight]

"Good, it will give us quiet to catch up, hm?" Na'ima paid no mind to the demon behind the counter, her entire focus on her sister instead. These Halloween denizens were beneath her, unworthy of even a first glance let alone a second.

"Tell me more about this shop of yours, dearest."

Yayoi

 

[Yayoi]

It wasn't that long of a walk down the hallway. The building had this weird thing about it. It was small but the rooms inside were rather expansive. Falair had often wondered how this was accomplished but never really put much effort into finding out. They probably would have kicked her out under suspicion of being a pervert trying to peek at people.

That would've been an awkward conversation.

As she entered the last doorway on the left, a mist hung in the air as warm water flowed into a large pool. The water was a jade green color and the smell of incense was heavy. This was actually Falair's favorite room in the bath house. It reminded her the most of the springs she used to visit in the past.

Moving towards a small table pushed up against the wall, she emptied out a small ceramic bowl that had soaps and other thingies in it before pulling her own out of her leather apron and placing them in it. "Oh, its nothing super special. The people of this town tend to be pretty gullible if you can spin a good story." She grinned before walking to the edge of the pool and settling the small bowl into the water, it bobbed around until settling on the water's surface. "Carve a little idol out of wood, claim it is some sacred totem of a clan of mystics that brings about good fortune and they just eat it right up. Or put some oil with a few rose petals in a pretty jar, tell a young ghoul it will bring her love in three days and you can get a whole gaggle of ghoul's buying them left and right. Its kind of sad really."

As she moved back to the table, Falair removed her face mask and hat. Settling them into a small pile before pulling the orange jeweled clip in her hair out to let the rest of her shoulder length blue hair tumble loosely against her shoulders.

Eight

 

[Eight]

Ah, now that was a lovely sight. Na'ima hummed with her approval as she walked to the water's edge, admiring it for a few moments before she turned away to approach the table with her sister. Her veils were removed first, each one delicately placed on the table with the utmost care and love, especially the long white one. She chuckled at Falair's words. "Ah, yes. Salbei has a young filly he holds a certain amount of admiration for. She was once so desperate for love I gave her a long list of ingredients for a truth serum, but most of them were completely unnecessary and entirely for my gain. Lovely, no? It is almost depressing that they fell for things like that, instead of doing the proper research to see you are scamming them." Na'ima reached out to put a hand at the back of Falair's neck and gently pull her close, pressing her lips to the mare's head in a sweet kiss. "I am very proud of you. But now you will no longer need to do any of this, since you are coming home with me, after all. You will want for nothing, dear sister."

Her clothes were removed and folded carefully, then set with her scarves and veils. And then finally she began to gather up her hair, tying and pinning it in place until nearly every strand was atop her head secured from getting terribly wet. She stepped away from the table to enter the water, immediately letting out a sigh of relief until she was shoulder deep in it and sitting relaxed against one of the walls. Lovely.

"Those young things, so obsessed with love. Did I ever tell you I once attended one of Amityville's proms they hold for their students each year? Mmur and a Conquest horseman named Jing escorted me."

Yayoi