Menelie:
It was a beautiful afternoon and Miriam was finishing up her rounds for the day. She'd had a satisfying midday meal at home and only a few letters and parcels to deliver. Most of their mail came from the City, but occasionally someone would get something from another village. Looked like a couple things for the inn and tavern, a letter for Coracias, and some kinda salesy thing for Cosme. Not too difficult an afternoon.
She walked down the main street of Koehaira, a paper-wrapped package on her hip, headed for the tavern. Her cream-colored lovebird, Libi, followed in the air above her and chirped merrily. Libi liked to come with her on her rounds, and would sit patiently on her shoulder or head if she stopped to talk. @Tartara
Tartara:
The next stop on her list of places - Koehaira. An endearing little village on a river and only a day trip away from her family. Wellspring had said they would start thinking of moving in together.
Which of course meant start looking at houses. Now.
As she walked through the streets, it was obvious to any she was out of her depth. A poor little country girl gawking at all the different shops. It was due to her eyes darting about that she caught sight of a darling -possibly delicious - bird. Unlike the birds she was accustomed to, this one appeared to be following a pae...a pae who had a tail. Like hers?
Not even her parents had tails like her and her siblings! Before she knew it the ombre Wilwarin started to chase after the pae and her bird towards the tavern, hoping to not lose them in the throng of pae.
Menelie:
As Miriam stepped inside, Libi landed on her head but suddenly kept hopping about, flapping her wings and peeping. "What's gotten into you?" asked Miriam, putting a hand up to try to calm the bird. "Hey Eniko I've got a package and a couple letters for you," she called, then just left them on the bar anyway. It was after the midday rush and there was like...no on in here. "C'mon Libs, let's go." She turned around, stepped out the door, and nearly crashed into another girl. "Oh s**t, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. Libi continued to freak out. "You okay?"
She hadn't seen this sunset-colored girl around before. Maybe she was new in town. "Hey, I haven't seen you arohmyguardians you have a tail." Miriam couldn't help but stare. Nobody else she'd met before, ever, had a tail, except for her and Xalia. A quick glance up confirmed that--yep--she had ears too. Miriam's tail began to swish back and forth excitedly. She had a flood of questions that she was able to bite back. "I haven't seen you around before. Can I get you a drink?" She motioned backward with her thumb to the tavern.
Tartara:
Yes! She hadn't lost her! She was going into a store that looked bigger than the other stores.
Or were they houses?
Didn't matter. Keep her focus on the prize. She was almost at the door when she almost slammed right into another body. "Ah!" The girl yelped, quickly hopping back. "I'm sorry! I was in a hurry and I didn't see..." IT WAS HER IT WAS HER! Aurelia's eyes widened slightly even as the other pae exclaimed about her own tail. She noticed!
Well. How could she not notice, the Wilwarins tail was swishing quickly herself. Both of their tails were swishing! "I-I'm not from here. I'm looking for home new. I mean a new home. I mean yes, I'd love a drink!" Thank the Guardians what kind of luck did she strike? Someone who looked like her!
Menelie:
Miriam opened the tavern door back up and held it open for the other girl. "Looks like we can sit wherever we want," she quipped at the empty room. She took a seat in a chair that had a slat opening where her tail could come through. Libi, having successfully alerted her to the other wolf girl, perched on Miriam's shoulder and snuggled down, resting.
"Um, I'm Miriam," she said as the other girl got settled.
Tartara:
She quickly nodded in agreement, following along to the table. Aurelia quickly spied Miriam's tail through the hole technique and replicated it. The bird -once thought delicious- was almost entirely forgotten in her hyper focus on the other pae. "I'm Aurelia. Sorry, can I want to address the boulder in the room? Your tail. And ears. They're like mine but mine aren't like my parents. Is that common over here?" Maybe there was a whole grouping of wolf pae over here!
Menelie:
"No," gushed Miriam, leaning forward. "I've never seen it before either, it's just me and my sister Xalia, and our moms don't have it either!" She was thankful that Aurelia had brought up their features first, she wouldn't have known how to do it without being awkward.
Tartara:
Aurelia was always the sort to push blindly ahead when confronted by a complicated situation she didn't know how to navigate. It served her pretty well so far thankfully. Her eyes widened at Miriams admission. "That's exactly the same as us! My brothers have it too! I thought we were just a crazy fluke." But...if there were others like them, maybe it wasn't.
Menelie:
"Same here!" exclaimed Miriam, nodding enthusiastically. When Eniko came over, Miriam put in an order for two glasses of white wine and a plate of nuts and dried fruits to share. She was very curious about their similarities and differences, but would "comparing notes" be too much? "What brings you to Koehaira?" she started.
Tartara:
It was a little disappointing that there wasn't a whole clan waiting here of wolf pae, but she certainly felt fortunate to find one who also had a sibling with it as well. That would mean it was possible for there to be even more. What did it all mean?
Bringing her back to the topic which had her there in the first place, her tail began to give a little wag at the thought of Wellspring. "Well, actually I currently live in Loka Nei. But my boyfriend..." A warm blush spread on her face. "Doesn't, and we want to live together. So of course we need to move, and honestly I don't know a thing about building a house. So we're looking at villages." She fairly gushed, feeling like she gave half her life's story. She felt an instant connection, probably due to their unusual circumstances, didn't quite want to part with Miriam yet... "Oh! Maybe you could show or tell me the highlights of here?"
Menelie:
Boyfriend! Miriam couldn't help but be a little jealous. "Lucky you!" she exclaimed, wrinkling her nose in a smile. "I'm related to pretty much every guy here, so the opportunities have been, uh, slim." She made a sideways face before continuing. "Hey, after we finish our drink why don't I show you around? I'm the courier so I know just about every place and everybody."
Their wine and snack came, and Miriam chatted to Aurelia about the main points of Koehaira--namely the grape growing and wine production. After they finished, Miriam paid and waved goodbye to Eniko.
Tartara:
"Tell me about it. I live in a house in the middle of the jungle with my parents and 2 brothers." Aurelia winced sympathetically, she loved her family but when that was it within a days journey any direction...it was rough. "I met my boyfriend at a party. For how anti social he is, he attended them every year. Rather funny now that I think of it." Maybe...he was actually trying to see her?
That would be really cute of him.
The Wilwarin was happy to chat about the village while snacking and -carefully- drinking her wine. Already got drunk once before and made some questionable decisions, didn't want to do that again. And when it was time to actually see the town, her tail wagged excitedly. "So besides the tavern, what do you guys do for fun around here?"
Menelie:
Miriam walked with Aurelia and chatted with her, pointing out various buildings of interest (grocer, post office, winery, Kasmai's glassblowing studio) and also the houses which were dotted around in between public buildings, mentioning who lived there and how she was related to them. "For fun?" she repeated with a nervous laugh. "Well, I like to curl up with a good book, but that's not everyone's idea of fun." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Most folks do something for work that has to do with the grapes growing or making wine, and so most people alternate working and a day off. That's what I do. I figure people can wait a day for their mail, right? Anyway, everyone does something a little different for work, so everyone does something a little different for fun. But I know on the last day of the week it's pretty common for people to gather in the square and dance and play music and stuff." She shrugged. "Not very sophisticated, but it's fun."
Tartara:
The village was lovely, but a bit far from her parents and from the water, which was a problem for Wellspring. There were interesting buildings, but aside from the weekly town square dance there wasn't much for wolf girl who loved the social limelight. "Certainly feels like a laid back life."
But there was Miriam. But she couldn't inconvenience Wellspring just to be closer to someone similar to herself. She clasped her hands behind her back, looking shyly to the pae beside her. "Sooo...Miriam...I have to talk it over with Wellspring first to decide where me move. But if we didn't move here, and I came by anyway to visit. Would you...want to hang out with me?" The wolf looked like a puppy as she looked with big amethyst eyes.
Menelie:
Miriam shrugged. "It ebbs and flows," she responded. "Sometimes things are super busy, other times not so much. But I think a slower experience is what my mothers were hoping for when they started this place." She smiled warmly.
At Aurelia's next question, her tail wagged in response. "Of course!" she gushed. "And even if here isn't right for you I hope you find somewhere nearby!"
Tartara:
This village certainly fulfilled a niche, for those pae looking for a slower paced life. And their wine was delicious. "I think it's amazing that they built this up!" That took a lot of dedication and time and planning, she didn't even know where to begin in creating a village.
"Really?! I would love that!" Her ears perked and tail wagging right along with Miriams. "I only have brothers, I don't have any gal pals. I'm really happy to have met you!"