escordvi | closed 🌠⚡ little of your time, little of your heart

[As promised back in the Abyss, they were not going to let a whole month go by without at least speaking. With Tifa busy with the bar and Eustace doing whatever Eustace does, it was hard to find a time to actually meet for that drink. As it happens, though, she got somewhat lucky with managing to snag this new drink that everyone is talking about when the Naughtilust was close enough to Eltrut that it didn't take nearly a week to get there.

And it's her lucky day, because it is the day that she and Eustace finally were able to meet. She tells him to come straight aboard and head to the bar where she'll be waiting, serving some customers and pouring some ale when he arrives.]

You made it!

[She calls out to him, waving over her shoulder and looking far more excited to see him than she means to. Perhaps to mask the little flutter her heart does.]

I saved you a seat.

[She motions to the bar stool at the counter as the couple take their tankards of ale to go find their own table.]

[The timing does work out well as he had been in the area to handle a few requests that he managed to take on. A year into this world, and he's adjusted fairly well with his mercenary style living. Of course...not all requests are created equal, nor are they..."fulfilling."

When he arrives, he'll look a bit worn and just a little ruffled. But he'll also have a rather large sack slung over his shoulder and just wave to her from just outside the bar.]

Dropping this off in the kitchens first.

[Her eyes go wide at the sight of it, and they follow him as he moves.]

What... is that?

[It is a very large sack, and he is looking a bit worse for wear. Moreso than usual... But she doesn't follow him since she trusts he already knows where the kitchen is, given that this isn't the first time he's gone down there. But just in case—]

You know the way, right?

[There's a nod in confirmation to her second question before answering her first—]

Turkeys.

[She bumps her knee into the back of the counter when she decides to go after him, because that is not the answer that she was expecting. She was content to wait for him at the bar, but now curiosity has gotten the better of her. That, and she sees a feather stuck to the back of his cloak that tells her there is a story behind this... whole thing.]

Turkeys? As in more than one?

[She catches up to him easily, jogging up behind to look at the sack with caution.]

Does this have anything to do with the feathers on you?

[He glances back at her with some surprise. Didn't she have to run the bar...?]

Somewhat. I just came from dealing with the turkeys mentioned on the board.

The ones in here have already been prepared.

[Defeathered and all.]

[Don't worry about it. The bar will be fine!

Tifa's eyes widen even further, this time with understanding as they come to the stairs leading below deck.]

Ah. That. Just how many "these ones" are there?

Three. Thought you could use them, but if you don't I can take them. I just need to have them stored regardless while I'm here.

[Three... She stares at the sack again. Yeah, that looks about right.]

Well, sure. I could feed the whole crew with just one. Maybe two.

[Once they enter the kitchen, she reaches over and plucks one of the small feathers free from his cloak and waves it around.]

Must've been pretty bad, if they gave you a run for your money.

[Just...a somewhat haggard look.]

More like monsters... Some kind of mutation happened to make them more aggressive. But they said the meat is safe to eat.

[Well, that's concerning, and the safety of the meat would have been her next question...]

Turkeys are already pretty mean...

[Another feather before she's making room in the freezer for him.

...

.... Will they even fit?]

Did you at least manage to take care of them all?

[He'll leave out they had teeth.]

For the area I was assigned to, yes.

[He'll set the sack down and start pulling out the haul, which is one whole turkey wrapped in butcher paper, and then pre-cut pieces also bundled up.]

I assumed you wouldn't want several whole turkeys, so I had them slice them in pieces. Kept one whole just in case.

[Well... at least she's on Eltrut and not Nogard and doesn't need to worry about killer turkeys. Or the chickens that are apparently running rampant on Elah... which she is about to bring up when he unwraps the whole thing.]

Oh, you even went and got it cut?

[... That's oddly thoughtful of him.]

Take some for yourself, but I'll take whatever you don't think you can eat off your hands. God knows Zack and Cloud could eat that whole one on their own.

They offered and thought it would be easier to carry and store this way.

[Just an idle shrug as he helps stuff the meat in the fridge.]

I'll take my share later.

[And once that's all in, he'll just roll his shoulders a bit.]

[Her brows furrow with concern, but her lips curl into a sheepish grin as she shoves the smaller slices into the freezer for now.]

You look like you could use that drink. ... And some good food.

...Hate to admit it, but you're not wrong.

[And he'll find yet another feather on him.

...]

I'll wash up first.

The bathroom's just down the hall.

[She'll take that feather from him so that she can flick it and the others that she found into the garbage.]

I'll get some food on the go for you. How do you feel about a steak? It's on special today and I've got some extra cuts that I wanna use up before the end of the day.

Fine with me.

[He'll find one last feather on him...

....

And then just sticks it haphazardly in her hair as he passes.]

[The gesture surprises her and makes her shrink back, the motion making the feather tumble right in front of her face as she turns to watch him walk away. She catches it in her hand, the small thing that it is, and—]

You dropped one!

[—she feels a strange flutter in her chest before she closes her hand around it and carries it with her upstairs.

And when he returns, she'll already be working on grilling his steak behind the counter, with a glass of whiskey set in the stool she saved for him.]

[He doesn't answer, instead just continues to walk out of the kitchen and down the hall to the bathroom. Strangely, he's been through here enough times that he feels more familiar with it now. He had already memorized the layout when he first visited, so this sense of familiarity it...different. A feeling that returns when after he washes himself and finds those remaining feathers, he knows where he can leave his cloak so he can go up to the bar without it. He could have left his holster, but he still feels more comfortable having it with him.

So when he reaches the bar, he'll notice that familiar of glass of whiskey and a small amused huff of air escapes him as he walks over and slides onto the stool.]

[His missing cloak does not escape her notice, and when she turns around to greet him, she can only smile to herself instead. To think that he would be comfortable enough to do that...]

You manage to find all the feathers?

Somehow.

[And he'll take that drink to take a slow sip, savoring the taste that he definitely needed after that arduous task before looking at her more questioningly.]

So what do you need?

... Huh?

[She tilts her head at him, genuinely confused.]

What do you mean? Didn't you just come back from a job?

[And now he stares at her confused.]

Didn't you contact me to come here?

[He may have misinterpreted her message—]

Yes?

[And now she's trying her best to bite back a smile, and she has to turn back to the grill to hide it.]

... Did you think that I was asking you here for a job or something?

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