MRDRHAWK

Nyx hadn’t known about those two before, and now that she did, she wasn’t sure if she felt like a third wheel to Nattie and Viry or not. Especially since the alleged Aly seemed to pop into the conversation too. Technically, that probably made her a fourth wheel, but by then she was really losing the idea of it and instead focused on Aly. Now she remembered… she hadn’t gotten her name before, but she was the lizard girl that kinda scared her. Those were some sharp looking teeth, y’know! ”Huh. A’ight, then.” Nyx nodded, almost as if she wanted to make like a tree and get the hell out of there, but stopped herself just short. “Wonder if anyone’ll get somethin’ fer me fer m’birthday… s’comin up pretty soon, I think.” June was close enough, right? Probably? Eh, she was preaching to the choir with her present company, probably.

“Honestly, sounds like that one’s right up Yuyu’s alley.” Tanya couldn’t help but think that Yuria would really like this group, as she stretched her arms as she heard out Renais’ description. “She’d love a new batch of those adventure books to read, she’s always been big into them. Our family encourages it, too; gets her pumped up to take to the road one of those days.” Huh. Maybe she’d already set off on her own little adventure and they’d end up running into her along the way. “Carnelia… gonna hafta remember that. Really, thanks a bunch for this. Bet you’d have a lot more in common with Yuyu than just a few books.” She gave Renais a playful little wink, though she resisted the urge to give her a nudge too.

Nyx had a lot more questions than answers in mind at the moment. The explanation that Nattie provided was simple enough, that much she knew, but it only opened up several more avenues to figure out. So, naturally, she thought long and hard about what question to ask next, and eloquently put it as best as she could. ”Th’fuck’s an Aly, and why’s there two of ‘em now?” Brilliant. Truly erudite of you, Nyx. Her daughter would be proud. Tanya raised an eyebrow at Renais’ demeanour. Specifically, how it didn’t feel like she quite bought what she was saying, or perhaps bought into it a bit too much. She almost wanted to pay her head again, but judging from how she seemed to turn away from it, Tanya thought better of that idea. ”I guess, although that kinda leaves us high n’ dry.” Although once Renais mentioned books, Tanya leapt on the chance for a topic change. “Oh, what kinda book are ya reading? My little sister’s a big reader, so sometimes I try and get some recommendations together from people I meet on my travels to give her whenever I make it back home.” She’d also have to introduce the Tigers to Yuria one of these days. Maybe Maxim, too, if he and dad sorted out their little spat before they met up again.

Helpful! Tanya still didn’t get much of what was going on, but from the sounds of it, things had gotten themselves sorted out decently enough. So, she simply shrugged her shoulders and flicked her tail, patting Renais on the head as a sort of reassurance. She got the sense the little healer had been a bit distraught by everything going on. ”Ah, well, at least it all worked out. I think? May as well just hang out here for the time being, especially if the other little one’s scared of you or… something.” Very helpful, Tanya! Really cool of you to potentially make it worse. “Uh, not that I’d have any idea why she’d be frightened by you, of course. You’re not exactly the scary type.” Nyx, meanwhile, had been enjoying a nice little nap in the other wagon, generally blissfully unaware of the commotion that had been occurring just outside. Alas, the voices of the others became too close, loud and frequent to ignore, so the archer grumpily picked herself up and poked her head out of the wagon. ”Oi, oi, oi, ye can’t let a lady get a good beauty nap in? Wha’s all th’fuss over, aye?” She grumpily inquired, fully hoping she could get an answer and then people would disperse, in an effort to be nice to the poor drunk going through a likely withdrawal. Though if she kept getting woken up like this, she’d be driven back to the bottle before long anyways.

Tanya’s eyebrows seemed permanently fixed on a different height than intended, especially after the pale girl came barrelling out of the wagon to cling onto Aly. She couldn’t help but let out a whistle as she was impressed with the jump, but found herself quickly losing the thread here. Something about being developed…? Tanya was confused. ”Uh, so, we’re all okay then, right? Because I’ll admit, I have no goddamn idea what’s going on.” Smooth, Tanya. Real smooth. She leaned over towards Renais and nudged her gently on the shoulder. “Hey, you understanding any of this? Because I’m lost, sad to say.” She whispered to the group healer.

Tanya raised an eyebrow as soon as Renais came… almost sulking out of the wagon. Walking over to the young cleric and ruffling her hair, she thought about peeking into the wagon, over Renais’ head and shoulders, but decided against it. Might be better to let Gean handle this herself. Still… ”Hey, so, what’s going on in there? Did you guys find something in there?” Sounded more like a someone, but Tanya wasn’t about to get all technical here. “And are you sure Gean is okay on her own in there? Because I only heard the two of you.”

The quiet that Tanya was enjoying was pierced through by a shriek, though not one that sounded like it came from one of the Tigers. Groaning, she hopped off of her makeshift perch and exited the wagon, trying and failing to see what all the fuss was about. Huh. Weird. She also heard Gean and Renais sounding oddly frantic for the two of them, so naturally Tanya was a little curious now. ”You guys sound like you’re having fun in here.” Tanya teased, her tail swishing behind her as she began to saunter over towards the other wagon. She idly wondered what could get them so excited, but really, there was only one way to find out. Even if her ears started to wiggle a bit more than she was generally comfortable with.

Nyx never did like riding in big wagons like these. Part of it was due to a past she would very much like to forget, but the other part was because she generally got wagonsick from all the bouncing coupled with her usual inebriation. Only… she wasn’t actually drunk for a change, which was an incredibly weird feeling, but not a bad one per se. So, at the very least, she wasn’t throwing up all over her new suit, which she still hadn’t really changed out of aside from cleaning it - or herself - since she’d gotten it. Kind of defeated the purpose of getting fancy clothes if she wore them all the time, but whatever. People liked it, and it made Nyx feel powerful like she hadn’t since her old crime days, so that was fine with her. Tanya was happy to be travelling again, although the fact that she was now with a group was… odd. Not a bad odd, mind, but still. She had some considering to do about a great many things swirling in her head. Of her family, and how her little brother and sister were doing, and if Papa was getting into anything particularly dangerous. Of her present goal, to do some real lasting damage to the Clouded and monster trafficking ring that ran rampant through Hecatia and beyond. And, perhaps most vexingly, of a certain brunette with a penchant for books and a lot more strength than she’d expected. Which was why Tanya was perched atop some box or another in the back of one of the Iron Tigers’ wagons, glancing over said brunette’s shoulder at the book she was reading. Maybe if she could muster up the drive to ask what the book was called, it may have been something to recommend to Yuria whenever she’d ended up back at the Maldolche estate.

Nyx couldn’t help but roll her eyes fondly at Gean as the big dragon rolled into the clothes store - looking for some thread, apparently? Huh. Here, she figured he’d be after some fancy new duds like the rest of them were. Although she couldn’t help but crack a smile at the way he looked at Gean and Rennie, which definitely gave Nyx something to tease her erstwhile daughter about. ”Oi, Moonie, m’gonna wait outside wit’ Gean. When ye lot’re done in here, just come find us, aye?” Nyx said to Miria, before strutting out of the store without a reply. She had to admit, now that she was walking around in it; the suit just felt right on her. Maybe she’d wear it all the time, rather than just as a fancy thing. ”’ey, Gean, y’sure ye don’ wanna help yer man find ‘imself somethin’ nice in there? Big lad looks like he could use a shirt, fer one.” Nyx couldn’t help but tease Gean when she came out of the store, though it was clear there was no bite to her bark. “Thanks fer helpin’ me wit th’ boots, by the by. Although somethin’ tells me dis suit’s gonna get a lil’ more mileage outta me.”

Eighty, huh? Not an insignificant amount to be sure, but still nothing Nyx couldn’t stomach. She dropped the gold onto the counter and turned around, but not before ruffling Miria’s hair. She seemed so happy with that dress, and Nyx couldn’t help but share a bit of joy too. ”Awright, that’s us taken care of. Gean, yer good t’go.” Nyx called out to the seafolk, who seemed mesmerized by the sight of their little cleric in her own new clothes. Nyx couldn’t help the whistle that came from her lips at the sight, both of their cleric all gussied up and at Gean practically stunned by it. ”Maybe we shoulda gotcha somethin’ t’charm th’ lil’ cleric, aye Gean?” Nyx whispered teasingly to her erstwhile daughter, lightly nudging her as she did. “Gotta admit, Rennie, ye clean up nice. Yer gon’ make someone real happy later~” Finally, after a few minutes, Tanya had found the sort of dress she was looking for - a long black one with a high neckline, that’d look great with a necklace. She’d wondered if Yuria would like the one she picked out for her, too - a predominantly purple-and-white number with a double layered back. Twirling around as she strode from the change room, Tanya belatedly recalled that she’d left her coin purse back at the arena, and really hoped that the couple at the counter would be understanding if she asked them to hold onto the dresses until she could run back and retrieve her coin. It’d suck if she couldn’t get these dresses because of something like that! Of course, it’d also suck if she couldn’t even make it back to the arena, which was looking like an increasingly risky prospect, given that all the people in the clothes store were dressed up, and evidently dressed to kill - kill her with cuteness, that is. Tanya coughed a couple times and simply stashed the dresses somewhere relatively hidden, but still readily accessible to her - she needed to slip back to the arena, and fast.

Well, that was certainly… a reaction from Gean. Honestly, Nyx hadn’t expected it to be such a big hit, but taking it in at the large mirror she had access to, she could definitely see the appeal. Maybe the suit was an even better idea than she thought! ”Well, shit, if yer givin’ me that kinda endorsement, who’m I t’shoot it down?” Nyx grinned as she strutted over, ruffling Gean’s hair. It was a nice feeling, really - maybe she’d have to make this a more permanent fit. Nothing like kicking ass in a sharp suit. “Aight, s’pose I gotta pay fer our shit, then we can get outta here, aye?” Speaking of, Nyx then turned her attention to the counter, putting the shorts and long boots she’d grabbed earlier on the counter. “So, these, th’ suit, an’ the fit Gean over there’s got on.” She said to the man at the counter, sticking a thumb back in Gean’s direction as she mentioned the seafolk. Turning back to the others -mostly Rennie & Moonie - Nyx shouted, “Oi, if ye wanna get goin’ soon, ye best come n’ join me up ‘ere. M’only payin fer me n’ Gean, the rest of ye gotta shell fer yeselves!”

Nyx muttered something under her breath, but before she could snark back at her sassy lost child, her eyes fell upon… something interesting. It was a black, two-piece suit, which, surprisingly, seemed to be sized for a woman - even one as well built as Nyx was. She thought about it, long and hard, and shrugged, grabbing it from its’ place and strutting into the changing room. Honestly, Nyx was never big on dresses anyways. Hell, she wasn’t even much for dressing up in any facet. But maybe getting this suit would feel a little better, even as she found it a little snug in the chest. Ah, she can leave a button or two undone, it’s fine. ”Well, shit, if yer all grabbin’ fancy clothes, might as well grab somethin’ fer me ‘fore we go.” Nyx said as she came back out of the changing room, clad in the suit with her usual dark shirt underneath - gotta keep something a little comfier on, after all!

Oops, Nyx thought she was being quiet. Admittedly, part of her disgruntlement was pettiness if nothing else; it tended to happen when she thought too much. Come to think of it, that was probably why she drank as much as she did, aside from the whole ‘loving her vices’ thing. ”Ah, y’don’ mean that. All them lads’ll be starin’ at ye rather than me, although I can’t really blame ‘em. I got a helluva daughter ‘ere, y’know.” Nyx snickered as she found herself perking up once again. Maybe she didn’t need the booze to keep those bad feelings at bay - maybe she just needed someone to drag her out of them instead. Wait. ”Oi! Y’ain’t allowed t’tease me so much until ye find someone yerself. Ain’t fair, lettin’ it be all one-sided n’shit.”

Tanya was only just barely recovering from the shock of the cute cat when she ended up blindsided by yet another cute girl - this one a dragon! Seriously, how many of them were there here?! And why was she going gaga over all of them, having only barely met a few of them? Seriously, it was just absurd. Well, she supposed pretty begot pretty, and thus Tanya set back to her initial goal of finding a killer dress for herself. Maybe she could turn a few heads with a knockout outfit. Besides, she wanted to find something for Yuria, too… maybe something similar to Miria’s current outfit? Something told Tanya that her & Yuria would get along great if they ever met up. Huh, seemed like all the Tigers found Lani’s outfit to be a hit. Nyx wasn’t too surprised, really; a lot of the girls in the group had their charms. She figured she had hers, too, but it might have just been the tits. Almost definitely. And she wasn’t even the biggest in the bunch! Damn Nattie, outclassing her in every facet. ”Ah, fuck, think me mood’s gone halfway t’shit now.” Nyx grumbled quietly off in the corner, really wishing she had a drink in hand right about now. Or maybe that’d just make things worse; knowing how hard she could go, then she’d be grouchy and have a headache to make things worse. Really, she had half a mind to just go back to the inn and sleep for the rest of their time in Eibar, but that wouldn’t be fair to Gean.

Aegean, huh? Tanya would have to remember that one for later. She certainly liked what she saw from Gean, that much was clear, and the way she interacted with Miria reminded Tanya of her own little sister. Ah, Yuria… she wondered if maybe the littlest cat of her family would be interested in any of these dresses. ”You talking about the pink one? Because I’m pretty sure she left to go find that Tio person and show her the dress she picked out for her.” Tanya chimed in, hoping it wasn’t too presumptuous of her. Hey, it helped! She was answering the question! “Honestly, I hope it goes well for her, she seems like the kinda girl who really- OH MY GOD WHO IS THAT.” Tanya’s full sentence died in her throat as she had to cover her face up to hide the growing red hue on her cheeks. Apparently, because whatever God was up there had decided she hadn’t suffered enough today, another cat girl came out from the changing rooms, wearing a striking dress that brought out all of her best features - at least, Tanya thought so, anyways. She only hoped she wasn’t so loud that the whole store could hear.

Tanya heard the new voice chime in, and nearly fell over herself at the sight of the seafolk girl. Hot damn! What is it about Miria and her friends that brings out all the cute girls?! Trying and failing to hide the rapid rush of red to her cheeks, she tried a different approach - namely, just actually talking to the girl. ”O-oh, yeah! We’re good here, all good. Totally. Uh, wow, that looks really good on you, I gotta say.” Smooth, girl. Smooth. “Ah, hell, where’s my manners today? Name’s Tanya. Good to meet ya.” Especially because she was cute as hell. Tanya always did like the kind of person that could kick her ass, and even if she was taller than the seafolk girl, she definitely fit the bill. Tanya just had to hope she wasn’t going to be made to foot the bill instead. Her coin purse might not be able to handle it.

Tanya only vaguely registered Renais leaving, and waved her off, leaving her to do what she came to - evidently, she was the one interested in this Tio person. Meanwhile, Miria was flashing a small but bright smile, and Tanya couldn’t help but smile back - infectious to a fault, it seemed. ”Well, it still takes guts to do something like that. Pretty tough for a lil’ mouse.” Tanya beamed, her tail flicking behind her. She was genuinely impressed with the smaller girl, even if it was glazed over with her typical flirting. Whoops, Nyx was letting things slip out of her control. Although, given that Miria seemed to be squeaking around… wait, was that Nattie? No, couldn’t be; her chest was way smaller than the Tiger, and it made Nyx feel a little better about herself. Weird, but hey, whatever got her up in the morning. ”Y’sure ye got everything? Might not get another chance t’grab some clothes, n’we jus’ got a pretty good payout from dealing wit dem Crows.” Nyx inquired, making sure to keep the last part quiet just in case there were ears she didn’t want hearing about their conquest of the former featherheaded inmates running the asylum.

Tanya couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped from her lips, both at Miria’s embarrassment and Renais’s reaction to the whole thing. “Cute. Both of ya are just too cute.” Then, Tanya ruffled Miria’s hair, but with a gentle touch. “Relax, lil’ mouse. I ain’t the type of cat to chew ya up.” Clearing her throat, Tanya briefly waved her hand in front of Renais’ face to make sure she hadn’t passed out on her feet before continuing. “Wouldn’t have expected you to be able to bring that lady down. And that’s impressive, at least to me. Cute and courageous in equal measure… how could anyone resist that kinda charm?” She finished, with her cheeks slowly turning red as she spoke.

Tanya blinked once, then twice, then thrice. That was… not expected. This little mouse, able to bring down a hardened mercenary, and looking no worse for wear for it? She seemed stunned at first, but that stunned face soon twisted into a grin, teeth baring as she leaned in closer to Miria. ”Oh, I like you.” Well, that probably wasn’t expected! “Yeah, it’s a bit of a pain for me, but I think I found something a lot more interesting than that oversized birdbrain - a cute lil’ mouse.” Oh, dear. She was interested now, and heaven help any mouse caught in the eyes of this cat. Not that she was mean or anything, just a bit… much. Nyx snorted, a sort of conceding of the point. Hey, she couldn’t help but show off, with the guns she had! Not that it helped people hold interest in her, although maybe it had something to do with all the booze. Whatever, their loss. Then Gean let out a surprising display of cheer, and Nyx laughed. Not a mean spirited one, mind; rather, it was one sharing in her daughter’s joy in the little things. “Whatcha need them pockets fer, anyways? Y’need a spot to put all yer love letters, Gean~?”

Huh, so her name was Renais… cute name, for a cute girl. Tanya couldn’t help but smile at her, an almost infectious joy creeping up on her. Odd, given they were only talking for a couple minutes already, but maybe she missed having company on her journeys for a while. ”Yeah, I was gonna try n’ get some info from the Crows’ leader to try and bring some of her criminal connections to justice, but some elf lad and his mercs came and killed her already. Sucks, but not much I can do for it.” Tanya shrugged, though she had to admit it bothered her just a little bit. “Hey, maybe after this we should get ya a new skirt, then. Might as well treat yourself too, eh?” She added, lightly nudging Renais with her elbow. “And something for your other cute friend here… uh, shit, what’s her name?” She never mentioned it, but Tanya still wanted to know.

Tanya raised an eyebrow, very caught off guard by the expectations she’d vaguely had for the pair. She didn’t think the pink-haired cleric would be so bold, and her companion so mousey, but it just made her more intrigued by the duo. And, she had to admit as well, the dress she picked out after was pretty good. ”Huh. Yeah, guess that makes sense, you’d know her better than I do. You think she’d go for a dress that shows off so much leg, though? Some people are kinda against that sorta thing.” Tanya said thoughtfully, scratching her chin while her tail flitted and flicked behind her. “Bet you’d look pretty good in something like that, though.” Wait, shit, she forgot something! Something very important! “Oh, right, should probably introduce myself. Name’s Tanya; wandering knight, and temporary arena fighter. I was here for some other business, but, uh. Apparently some mercs came into town and made a mess of those plans, so I’m trying to figure out a backup.”

Tanya wasn’t finding a whole lot for dresses that she liked. Part of it was not wanting something too long, but then again, she was also a six-foot tall Clouded, so maybe she was just thinking too hard about the lengths of the dresses she was looking at? Probably. Evidently, she also wasn’t alone in the dress section either. Turning her head to see where the two voices were coming from, she ended up double-taking so hard she nearly tripped over her own tail in her haste to keep balanced. They were really frickin’ cute, the both of them, enough to disarm the taller Tanya. It sounded like they were working together to find a dress for someone named Tio… maybe she could help with that? Totally! She definitely wasn’t just looking for an excuse to mingle. ”Betcha this Tio would want something a bit brighter, y’know? Really help ‘em stand out.” Tanya chimed in, leaning in towards the pair, almost looming over them. That was kind of unavoidable, given their height differences, but still. “Besides, I think that dress would better fit one of you two. Might just be me thinking that one, though.”

Huh. Honestly it kinda took the fun out of things if Nyx couldn’t tease Gean for liking someone in turn, but she decided to just let it be. This wasn’t the right line of thinking for this day; they were just getting some clothes, there wasn’t much point in picking at it now. Just focus on the clothes - and, evidently, matching boots. ”Ah, m’sure one o’them’ll see yer womanly charms soon enough.” Nyx waved her hands nonchalantly, opening up the change room door with a flourish to show off her soon-to-be new shorts and boots. “Huh. Y’know, m’thinkin’ maybe I should get a new top t’match. Somethin’ wit no sleeves, to show off me arms.” She added, flexing and preening like the silliest mom in the world.

God dammit. ”Oi, y’can’t just… mrgr… awright, fine, s’mostly fer Syn. Hell, she’s th’only one here who’s anywhere near me age.” Nyx grumbled out, clearly much more defeated than before. Dammit, her daughter wasn’t supposed to just suss her out like that! Especially not in public, not knowing who might be lurking nearby! ”N’what, ye ain’t got anyone special in mind fer yerself? A gal like ye’s gotta catch more than a few eyes wit the Tigers.” Way to deflect like a champ, Nyx! Great job! She slid into the changing room to try on the shorts Gean had helped find, while still trying to banter a bit with her daughter. Huh. She really did just see Gean as a daughter, didn’t she? Nyx wondered if maybe Gean didn’t deserve a better mom, but that was getting too down for one day.

As usual, Gean barely even flinched at Nyx’s antics, subdued as they were today. It was honestly a blessing, what with Nyx trying to keep things tame for a change. Having someone more sensible that doesn’t get annoyed by these things easily was always helpful, especially when Nyx was… well, Nyx. ”Dunno, m’kinda likin’ the top I got. Maybe come back t’that one when we figure out th’rest.” Admittedly, Nyx hadn’t considered new boots, too, but it certainly made sense to grab some. Alas, she was really not sure about anything related to fashion. Syn would probably know better, but that kind of killed the point of the surprise new threads.