[PRP][FIN] Morning in the vineyard (Maoszi + Coracias)

[Menelie]

Masozi had gratefully taken on the job of working the vineyard when his aunt had asked him to. He'd had a lot to work through, emotionally, and the physical labor helped him sweat it out, so to speak. He felt much more stable, now, even happy.

After a time he'd taken on the role of vineyard overseer, and did more supervising than working the soil. However, he did jump in with his laborers at least once a week. Getting his hands dirty was good for his soul.

For the last season or so, a new vineyard worker had been catching his eye. He didn't know much about her, other than that she'd traveled from another village, and that she was beautiful. There was something just...different and unique about her that drew his attention. Several times he almost got up the courage to approach her, but he always backed out at the last minute.

Today was a get-his-hands-dirty day. One of the harpies had come down with something and couldn't make it, so Masozi was filling in. His long-handled tool wasn't quite as effective as those sharp harpy talons, but it would do the job. The new girl was working the same row as him, only a short distance away. Was it her presence, or the morning sun making him sweat?

Daisicle

Hope I've set this up well enough lol

 

[Daisicle]

Coracias had been enjoying herself, toiling away as she fancied, in this village she'd recently come to call home. Well... it really wasn't all that recent anymore, was it? At least one season had passed, or perhaps it was just one season at this point, since the angel had decided to put down a temporary set of roots to learn what she could of the village's craft. It was something she often did. She was prone to whims and always striving to learn something new about the world - this trait of hers had lead to a unique skillset that was scarcely able to be replicated.

From her knowledge of trade and commerce to animal husbandry to herbalism - wherever she went, she grew ever more learned.

Koehaira was the latest of such exploits. She'd come to learn of it while assisting with Kekomura's trading caravan, and the sight of a new kind of agriculture and a new sort of craft fascinated her. While she hadn't ended her tour prematurely (by no small amount of self-restraint on her part), she'd left for the new land not long thereafter.

It hadn't taken much effort at all to find work toiling in the fields.

She brushed some sweat from her forehead, accidentally smudging dirt on her skin as she did so, as she checked the vines. Hmm... Were these coming out correctly? Her eyes glanced to her side, less hidden behind her bangs as normal due to the work, as she took note of her luck in having the overseer here with her today. She stood up, cracked her back, and then waved him over. She waited a few moments for him to close the distance before crouching down again and pointing at the plant. "Hey Masozi, are these coming along correctly?"

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

Masozi looked up at the motion. "Hm?"

He put a hand up to his forehead to shield his eyes from the acute angle of the sun, but it wasn't much use. He stuck the tool he was using into the dirt, letting it come down hard so it would stand straight up and he wouldn't have to bend over for it later. He strode over to where Coracias was, then crouched down next to her to examine the vines.

He touched the plant gently and looked at it from a few angles. "Mhm," he said affirmatively with a nod. "They look just fine. Nice work." He put his hands on his knees and stood up again, wiping the sweat from his own brow with a forearm.

Daisicle

 

[Daisicle]

She nodded in response to his before joining him in standing up, her arm crossed over her chest in order to stretch her shoulder and back some. She then rolled her arms in circles to get the joints moving before clasping her fingers together and pressing upwards, exhaling through her nose, before looking back over at Masozi and saying as loudly as necessary, "Is there anything else you need me to do before we head on back?"

Frankly, she had worked up an appetite to go along with the sweat glistening on her back - delicious food was in order... and maybe a beer if they were lucky to have any imported at the moment.

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

Masozi looked up at the heightening sun, then out over the field. "Mm, nah, I think that's a solid morning's work. The sun is getting too high to work comfortably for much longer, too." He cleared his throat, then raised his voice to address the rest of the fieldworkers. "Alright, folks, wrap up what you're doing and stash your tools. That'll do it for the morning. We'll pick it back up this afternoon after the sun starts to go down."

Turning back to Coracias, he continued, "Thanks for your hard work this morning." He was certainly looking forward to having a cool drink and a hearty meal. Masozi wondered if Coracias would fancy joining him at The Tangled Vine. "I, uh, was gonna head to the pub..." he trailed off and blushed.

Daisicle

 

[Daisicle]

An almost smug grin creeped onto Cora's lips as work was officially paused for the midday; it seemed to be a work-life balance bit of tradition for the fieldhands in this village that she, for one, appreciated. It gave her plenty of time to enjoy a leisurely lunch and complete chores or errands for the day while the sun was still out and, most importantly, others' at their shops.

She slicked back her wet bangs to the top of her head, now fully out of eyes' way, as she gave Masozi a thumbs up. "Well, it ain't my specialty, but I reckon I'm picking it up pretty quickly. Bet my old teachers would be proud if they were around to see it." She was sure they would be... Not that she'd ever be afforded the opportunity to ask again. Shame, really...

Her grin turned decidedly more devious as she bent over to allow her to peer upwards at him. "Are you asking for some company over lunch overseer~?" She purposefully used his job title rather than his name to emphasize her next bit of teasing, "Are you allowed to single out just one of us workers to spend personal time with? Not that I particularly mind." She would really hate for either of them to get into trouble for doing so.

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

Masozi suddenly blushed deeply and found his mouth as dry as a clay fragment. "I, uh, that's not what, nn, hhh..." he stammered, placing one hand on his cheek and running another through his hair. Awkward as it was, Coracias was right. It was completely inappropriate for him to even imply he was asking her to join him, unless he was extending the invitation to the rest of the crew. He wasn't sure what he'd been thinking. Only that he hadn't been thinking. He'd been distracted by her easygoing charm and beauty and let himself forget his position for one crucial moment.

"I'msosorry," Masozi blurted out, shaking his head. He gathered up his tools quickly and went to hurry off, possibly to die of embarrassment.

Daisicle

 

[Daisicle]

Cora's smile never even twitched as she continued to look up at him, taking no small degree of delight in watching how his facial expressions changed as he went through his internal monologues.

Good Guardians, how fun!

She straightened back up and waved with a bright smile as she yelled out, "See ya later Masozi~!" as he disappeared into the distance. She waited until he was fully out of view before crossing her arms, sighing, and then bursting out into laughter. He was a funny one, that's for sure. Hard to believe he had kids... and grandkids actually. Made her curious about what their mother must have been like, as she clearly was no longer around.

Her stomach growled in protest to this delay, prompting her to shrug off her inner monologue and head on over to the local pub... if one could really call something that rarely had beer one of those. The wine was good and all, but there was just something about a crisp ale after some honest-to-Guardians work that it just couldn't hit. As Cora entered, her eyes wandered to see if, on some off-chance that he hadn't changed his destination, the shy ol' bossman was around.

Bingo~

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

Masozi had taken up residence at a table in the back where he was, at present, sulking into a glass of red. What an idiot he was. With the benefit of hindsight it'd become clear that Coracias had been joking with him, perhaps even flirting. And he'd gotten flustered and run off. What a coward he was. Would he even have remembered how to flirt back, had the idea occurred to him? It had been....quite some time.

And then she'd walked in. Of course. And there was that mischievous smile...

Masozi took a deep sip of his wine and nodded in her direction. Better late than never, he supposed.

Daisicle

 

[Daisicle]

Her eyes seemed to light up as she waved and helped herself to come company. "Hey boss, fancy running into you here! What're the odds?" They were pretty good, given his personality. "What's got you looking so down in the Dragnid? Why, I didn't think work was that hard this morning? You might need to come by more often if it's getting you this bent out of shape this quickly."

She turned and raised her arm to catch the attention of the worker on duty as she yelled out,

"Got any beer today~?"



Their waitress today, a unique sprite of the name Enikő, glanced over to the barhand/cook and, upon him shaking his head, she in turn did the same to the angel before her. "Not today, I'm afraid. It seems we are still awaiting our import to come in. The caravan appears to have hit a snag of sorts while en route."



Cora promptly pouted at the negative. She clicked her tongue before sighing,

"Get me some of that Fauny cider then? I know y'all should have some of that. Aaaaand..."

she paused before glancing over at Masozi's very empty side of the table, smirking lightly, and then turning back around all smiley-like,

"Let's get a meze going please - I'm thinking some olives, cured meats, cheese, bread and salted oil, tabbouleh, grapes of course... OH! If you got any dates in from Montague too, that'd be divine as dessert~"



Enikő nodded as she mentally took note of each of the items being ordered - while she didn't have the sort of memory this particular patron prided herself on, she was practiced enough in short-term skills that she no longer needed to rely on anything to take notes. That said, did they have any dates still...? It had been a while since their last order... No, they had some preserved in honey in the back. Sure, it might have been her adoptive parent's personal reserve, but what use was squirreling that away when they could make money off it of it now. Surely he wouldn't notice a third or half of his jar going missing... or if he did, he couldn't complain when he saw the money they'd bring in for it. With a pleasant smile perfectly hiding her plots, she made an 'OK sign' before turning around to relay the order.



She gave a big thumb-ups up in response to the worker's 'OK sign' before looking back at her new lunch buddy while positively beaming.

"Hope you had time to kill - I'd be real lonely if I had to eat all of that by myself."

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

Nothing could have prepared Masozi for Coracias' next move. She plunked down at his table and...ordered more than enough food for two. Was she actually going to eat with him after he'd made an absolute a** of himself earlier?

Better not foul this up.

He managed a weak smile and drained his glass, then raised it to the bartender, signaling for another. "Well," he said, using all of his available composure, "All of that goes great with a red." Then he winced slightly and blushed. Really? Was that the best he had?

Masozi cleared his throat and angled his body toward her. Taking a deep breath, emboldened slightly by good wine on an empty stomach, he made an open-handed gesture. "Look, I, uh, I originally asked as a polite gesture, but, uh.....I would like to get to know you better."

Daisicle

 

[Daisicle]

Why yes, Cora had every intention of joining him for a meal. A nice, leisurely meal. She grinned back at him as she watched him strengthen his resolve before failing to hold back a snort at his stupid comeback. Really? With a red? How smooth.

She leaned back in her chair to look over and accept her cider from the waitress before glancing back at him. She'd figured as much from the original question but, obviously, had decided she'd rather entertain herself with his reactions instead. This got her curious about what exactly he, in turn, was curious about. "Well, I'm game. What'd'you want to know then?" Though, now that she reflected on it a bit more, while she'd been friendly with the locals ever since she'd arrived, she'd made it a point to keep all of her relationships superficial. It was probably a nasty habit she'd picked up some time ago - easier to move on later like that.

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

"Thanks," said Masozi to the bartender, who'd brought him another glass and taken the old one away. He took a sip and made a pleased face before continuing.

"Well," he began, shifting his body so he was angled more toward Coracias. It was always getting started with a conversation that was the hard part. He was finding it easier to talk to her now, since they were already talking. "Where did you live before you came here? That seems like a good place to start. What was it like? What made you decide to come here?"

Daisicle

 

[Daisicle]

He wanted to know her hometown... not quite, it seemed. Just the last place. Simple enough of a question - although that also made it kind of boring. She shrugged with a somewhat disinterested face before sipping on her drink again.

"Kekomura. It's a village similar to this one in a lot of ways, but on the other side of the island. They specialize in herbs, and you wouldn't believe the number of them they are able to grow. It's quite a bit more humid, and the elevation is quite a bit lower. Hmm..." She took another second as she mused on the second part. "I was passing through with their trading caravan when I looked around and thought, 'Whoah, the wines and cultivation here seemed interesting and something I'd never seen before,' and I'd already learned what I'd aimed to learn there, soooooo I'd begun growing a bit bored of the place... and, well..." she shrugged nonchalantly and took another sip, "...here I am I guess."



Enikő took this natural pause in the conversation as her cue to begin bringing out the food that had been ordered. She took great care to lay them out in an appealing way between the two.



Her eyes lit up as the food she'd ordered began to be laid down in front of them before staring straight at Masozi, silently coercing his next move.

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

Masozi nodded along as Coracias spoke. He'd never been to Kekomura himself, but they traded frequently with the herbalist village. "Do you have family still there, then?" he inquired, then: "Oh, wow," as the food arrived. Everything looked delicious, and he especially had his eye on those cured meats after the morning's labor.

"This all looks delightful," he commented. "I've never had tabbouleh before, though, what's in it?" Masozi didn't consider himself a picky eater, but neither was he particularly adventurous. He'd eat what was set before him, but typically he wouldn't go out of his way to try something new.

Daisicle