Callista stood in front of Thaddius's stall, shuffling through her bag. The clink of coins attracted her attention and a paw quickly snagged them, pulling out what remained of her stash. She had a good bit left, between her savings from the dungeon and her regular bounties to upkeep her time in Scorpio, she tossed 10 coins on the stall. They'd haggled the price already - she thought it was perfectly fair! Thaddius was behind the counter rustling through a crate. He pulled out what he'd been looking for and set them on the counter for Callista to take.

She fully opened the cover of her satchel and began to arrange her purchases - a stack of parchments rolled together and tied with twine, a couple of longer scrolls, a thin, flat piece of wood, and a collection of charcoal pencils that went into a side pouch, so as not to rub off on the paper.

"Thanks, Thaddius. I won't be around here for a while, so take care of yourself and stuff." She stood up taller as she flipped the top of her satchel shut and smiled. She'd come to be fond of the shopkeeper, and he'd always sold her good stuff. She'd definitely be recommending his business elsewhere.

Once they'd said their goodbyes, Callista turned away to find a place to sit herself near the exit of Scorpio. She carefully pulled out one of the paper pieces and set it on the board. With one of the pencils, she began to sketch.

Callista had, on occasion, drawn. Not often, mind, but occasional boredom had led her to tossing a quick dye together to draw images on cave walls and wood pieces. They were never things that lasted, but it was something to amuse herself. And something she enjoyed. Now, she marked down something she wanted to remember.

The tavern, imposing at the end of the street. The market stall, the small, cozy space and the cobblestone street. A doodle of Bartholomew and a mug of beer. All the things that made it Scorpio. Once it was done, she looked at it for a moment and then decided she was satisfied, rolling it up again and stashing it back in her back, separate from the rest.

She then took out a longer scroll and made a small marking on it near the center - the small curved shape of Scorpio with a note next to it - oh yes, she'd learned how to write. One of the many inn's patrons had the knowledge and had shared it with her for a price.

With her work done, it was all stashed back into her bag and she stood, brushing off her legs. She didn't feel the need to explore Scorpio anymore then she already had. And there were many more adventures waiting ahead of her. She turned and exited through the entrance, excited to get her journey underway.

*Exit

More coin for more meals. Capitalism. Work is exchanged for food and goods, the food is consumed, and then it's back to work. Lichen was started to think it'd be easier to skip the middle man and just hunt their own food again; but it brought joy, especially to Aurelle. And, she had to begrudgingly admit, the food was good.

Aurelle had purchased her a set of bags that slung over her back. Each pouch hung at either of her sides, connected over her back with a strap. Lichen couldn't exactly reach the pouches herself, but that's why she had a friend who had hands and thumbs.

"Whole rats and dinosaur shanks," Lichen puffed, "I can't imagine what Bartholomew could be making with all this. What were the others?" She furrows her brows, not that her companion would be able to see her confusion.

"And where are we going?" Lichen remembers to ask, tilting her head to and fro as she tries to hone in on her companion's location, feelers extending into the air without any real direction.

She'd still refused to speak to Bartholomew, naturally, so she hadn't been filled in on the details of this job yet, that if Aurelle had already been or not herself. Still, it would be nice to be out of Orion for a while, it was a nice place but wasn't exactly full of lush surrounds and fresh air; not like other places.

@Aurelle]]>

More coin for more meals. Capitalism. Work is exchanged for food and goods, the food is consumed, and then it's back to work. Lichen was started to think it'd be easier to skip the middle man and just hunt their own food again; but it brought joy, especially to Aurelle. And, she had to begrudgingly admit, the food was good.

Aurelle had purchased her a set of bags that slung over her back. Each pouch hung at either of her sides, connected over her back with a strap. Lichen couldn't exactly reach the pouches herself, but that's why she had a friend who had hands and thumbs.

"Whole rats and dinosaur shanks," Lichen puffed, "I can't imagine what Bartholomew could be making with all this. What were the others?" She furrows her brows, not that her companion would be able to see her confusion.

"And where are we going?" Lichen remembers to ask, tilting her head to and fro as she tries to hone in on her companion's location, feelers extending into the air without any real direction.

She'd still refused to speak to Bartholomew, naturally, so she hadn't been filled in on the details of this job yet, that if Aurelle had already been or not herself. Still, it would be nice to be out of Orion for a while, it was a nice place but wasn't exactly full of lush surrounds and fresh air; not like other places.

@Aurelle]]> https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12637 Sun, 31 May 2026 04:20:10 -0500 https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12637

Ever since an unfortunate implosion involving her magic, Aurelle had been much more aware of just how dirty everything was. She wouldn't call herself a clean-freak or anything, but there was definitely something a little disconcerting about just how much microbial life was kicking around where you'd least expect it.

Politely, she'd offered to help clean the Roaring Hearth for Bartholomew, and he'd offered her coins if she did a good job. And oh, did Aurelle like incentive. In another life, where food was plentiful, she'd have done it completely for free-- but coins bought food, and Aurelle liked easy food.

She took a bucket and a mop, and something called 'soap,' which to her surprise (for as long as she could sense such, of course) seemed to kill most of the bacterium thriving in the floors. She'd have liked to do the same thing for the tables and chairs, but Bartholomew told her that a little wipe down of the tables with a rag would do while the tavern was busy, and they could be washed properly at a later date.

Fair enough.

Magic flaring through her fingers, Aurelle's ears were twitching as she focused intently on her task at hand, wielding the mop to the floor as she scrubbed at the wood vigorously. It felt quite nice to clean, she found-- it wasn't quite bounty hunting with Lichen, but it's certainly do.

Especially if she got potatoes by the end of it.

The trip back wasn't too bad.

She was more worried about Lichen, who she could hear was up on her hindlegs, plodding along carefully on cankles and hope. But, they returned without incident and soon enough, they handed in their bounties and got some coins back for their effort.

Which meant, it was time. Aurelle handed back some of their reward in exchange for food. They got their table and Aurelle brought their plates over. For Lichen, she was served roasted bones, cut in half, with the marrow thick and gelatin-like inside, seasoned with herbs. On the side, some carrot and broccoli. For Aurelle, roasted venison, with roast potatoes and carrot. She'd also gotten them some juice-- in a bowl for Lichen, and in a cup for her.

When Aurelle sat, she got a good sniff at her own plate. She was definitely drooling the most she'd ever drooled. "It smells really good," she told Lichen. "What do you think of yours?"
@Lichen]]>

The trip back wasn't too bad.

She was more worried about Lichen, who she could hear was up on her hindlegs, plodding along carefully on cankles and hope. But, they returned without incident and soon enough, they handed in their bounties and got some coins back for their effort.

Which meant, it was time. Aurelle handed back some of their reward in exchange for food. They got their table and Aurelle brought their plates over. For Lichen, she was served roasted bones, cut in half, with the marrow thick and gelatin-like inside, seasoned with herbs. On the side, some carrot and broccoli. For Aurelle, roasted venison, with roast potatoes and carrot. She'd also gotten them some juice-- in a bowl for Lichen, and in a cup for her.

When Aurelle sat, she got a good sniff at her own plate. She was definitely drooling the most she'd ever drooled. "It smells really good," she told Lichen. "What do you think of yours?"
@Lichen]]> https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12623 Thu, 28 May 2026 11:14:35 -0500 https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12623

Lichen keeps her head low, tongue flickering to follow those mouth-watering smells of hot food. It had to be close, it was almost all around her now and getting harder and harder to distinguish where it was strongest. They had to be close, surely. She'd managed to push her way through a something that swung open when she pressed her nose against it, and it was much warmer here. Yet the smell were all-encompassing and getting harder and harder to tell apart.

What she couldn't see was that she'd stuck her head under the bounty board, upon lifting it suddenly a loud 'WHACK' sounded. A dull pain throbbed as she, this time much more carefully, extracted her head from underneath the board. Slowly up righting herself, gingerly, as if she expected to be in a tiny tunnel; open surprise crossed her features when she found she could stand up fully. "Can you tell where anything is? It's too smelly." Lichen complains loudly.

It only then occurs to her, she may have been so absorbed in her hunt to find the source of the smell, she hadn't told Aurelle where she'd headed -- not that Aurelle couldn't manage on her own, but it was simply polite to not just wander away from someone who couldn't see, at least without saying something. "Aurelle? Auureelle? Did I leave you behind? Aurelle? Auurreelle?"

Needless to say, Lichen simply stands stock still, calling loudly. And would likely continue to until the call was answered.
@Aurelle]]>

Lichen keeps her head low, tongue flickering to follow those mouth-watering smells of hot food. It had to be close, it was almost all around her now and getting harder and harder to distinguish where it was strongest. They had to be close, surely. She'd managed to push her way through a something that swung open when she pressed her nose against it, and it was much warmer here. Yet the smell were all-encompassing and getting harder and harder to tell apart.

What she couldn't see was that she'd stuck her head under the bounty board, upon lifting it suddenly a loud 'WHACK' sounded. A dull pain throbbed as she, this time much more carefully, extracted her head from underneath the board. Slowly up righting herself, gingerly, as if she expected to be in a tiny tunnel; open surprise crossed her features when she found she could stand up fully. "Can you tell where anything is? It's too smelly." Lichen complains loudly.

It only then occurs to her, she may have been so absorbed in her hunt to find the source of the smell, she hadn't told Aurelle where she'd headed -- not that Aurelle couldn't manage on her own, but it was simply polite to not just wander away from someone who couldn't see, at least without saying something. "Aurelle? Auureelle? Did I leave you behind? Aurelle? Auurreelle?"

Needless to say, Lichen simply stands stock still, calling loudly. And would likely continue to until the call was answered.
@Aurelle]]> https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12606 Thu, 21 May 2026 22:06:22 -0500 https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12606 Peak humiliation ritual: ordering a drink at the tavern and reaching in your satchel to find that you don't have any money left.

Amesemi was still thirsty when she left the tavern, her tail flicking with frustration. She had been quite lazy the last few cycles, she supposed: all she was really doing was sitting in her nest lounging around with her valuables (which were not sufficient currency for food and drink, she'd learned), wandering around or eating out instead of hunting for herself. She was... out of practice with being a functional member of society, she supposed.

So, it was time to be of value to other people.

The great creature turned and moved to the bounty board instead, putting a hand to her chin as she frowned contemplatively. There were a few posters left-- the caves had seemed quite quiet as of late, so she supposed there must have been less gembound going back and forth for supplies. They wanted fruit, peppers, bones, grains, firewood and fish.

Amesemi didn't know where one would acquire pepper or grains, so she struck those out of her mind. Fruit and firewood, though... that should be easy enough. She should be able to, in theory, find those in the same place. Centaurus was quite lush, last time she checked-- maybe Pegasus or Cepheus, too, if she wandered far enough. Eridanus was lush, too, but something about that particular room had icked her out lately.

Bones and fish should be easy, too. Amesemi didn't have any bones fresh, but prey was everywhere and fish lived wherever there was water.

The sphinx rubbed her eyes, frowning. She'd be in for some significant travel either way, it seemed.]]> Peak humiliation ritual: ordering a drink at the tavern and reaching in your satchel to find that you don't have any money left.

Amesemi was still thirsty when she left the tavern, her tail flicking with frustration. She had been quite lazy the last few cycles, she supposed: all she was really doing was sitting in her nest lounging around with her valuables (which were not sufficient currency for food and drink, she'd learned), wandering around or eating out instead of hunting for herself. She was... out of practice with being a functional member of society, she supposed.

So, it was time to be of value to other people.

The great creature turned and moved to the bounty board instead, putting a hand to her chin as she frowned contemplatively. There were a few posters left-- the caves had seemed quite quiet as of late, so she supposed there must have been less gembound going back and forth for supplies. They wanted fruit, peppers, bones, grains, firewood and fish.

Amesemi didn't know where one would acquire pepper or grains, so she struck those out of her mind. Fruit and firewood, though... that should be easy enough. She should be able to, in theory, find those in the same place. Centaurus was quite lush, last time she checked-- maybe Pegasus or Cepheus, too, if she wandered far enough. Eridanus was lush, too, but something about that particular room had icked her out lately.

Bones and fish should be easy, too. Amesemi didn't have any bones fresh, but prey was everywhere and fish lived wherever there was water.

The sphinx rubbed her eyes, frowning. She'd be in for some significant travel either way, it seemed.]]> https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12604 Thu, 21 May 2026 10:18:13 -0500 https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12604 .vargastable {background: #00000A url("https://i.imgur.com/YEI9htF.png") no-repeat center bottom; text-align: justify; font-size: 13px; border: 5px double #bcfd3b; border-radius: 0px; padding: 20px 0px 400px 0px; width: 600px; margin: auto;} .vargastable {color: #5a5b8f;} .vargastable>p thk {font-style: italic; color: #744ba2; text-shadow: 0px 0px 8px #9F4BA2;} .vargastable>p spk {font-weight: bold; color: #bcfd3b; text-shadow: 0px 0px 8px #B4E100;} .vargastable>p {padding: 0px 40px 0px 40px;}