The Glittering Garnet Cafe

[Mee]

Jayla is sitting at the counter petting Ember while she waits.

And Ber'ri, after a weirdly long pause that took like a month or so, it felt like, comes back with the food!!
"Here you go! S-sorry about that."

"Ahh, thank you! Really! I don't need anything more for now, but, I'll see when I'm done!" Roxanne gives Sally a grateful smile in return, happily sipping at her extremely sweet and chocolatey coffee. It really was doing her so much good already.

Assuming Sally steps away- there always seems to be things and other customers going on in the garnet to deal with after all- Roxanne will turn to her meal with enthusiasm. She's not the tidiest of eaters, unfortunately, but at least its clear she enjoys it! As the meal goes on she lightens up noticeably, slowly rising up out of her slump. The caffeine is a big help too- she still looks tired, but she's no longer on the verge of just passing out at the table.

Sally did hop skip away! Always always more customers!

Howeverrrrrrrr! There is eventually a bit of a break! And Sally comes back out, to check up on her newest friend!
Give Roxanne a bit of time to nom nom, and then come out to say hi again!
"How you doing?" She asks after dragoning draconically over to her table. "You certainly look more alive! Do you need a refill? I will gladly get you a second coffee on the house?"

[Meowmai]

Even as she perks up, Roxanne is a little bit too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice Sally's approach until she's right there. "Oh, uh, thank you! I mean, I don't need one, but I'll gladly take you up on the offer!" The harpy smiled warmly back. "Doing better for sure though." She looks around a little, now better able to take in the cozy décor. "Do you run the place, then? Or just work here? Seems a nice place to work either way."

[Shadowcaller]

A certain dragon scholar gently opens up the door and lets herself inside the shop.
But she's not here for the actual coffee which is just throws a casual glance around the room.
No, she's here for one of the baristas. One that was supposedly a dragon.

Of course, as they were in a humanoid form most of the time it might be difficult to find them right away.
So she should probably ask someone. "Excuse me?" She inquires while approaching the closest employee that didn't seem to be occupied by something.

[Mee]

Even as she perks up, Roxanne is a little bit too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice Sally's approach until she's right there. "Oh, uh, thank you! I mean, I don't need one, but I'll gladly take you up on the offer!" The harpy smiled warmly back. "Doing better for sure though." She looks around a little, now better able to take in the cozy décor. "Do you run the place, then? Or just work here? Seems a nice place to work either way."

A Tired Borb

"Nonsense! Well. I mean. Not- not- n-not *nonsense*, but I would be delighted to get you a refill! You looked so tired. I'm happy to help~" While Sally gathers up the mug, she nods a few times. "Yup yup! Run, own, and work here! Alongside my wife, who you may have seen wandering around as a smoll foxxo -- do feel free to pat her head she loves that, but make sure to ask first! --, and Ber'ri, who needed a part time job to do alongside college work. And who that flatbread is named after!" Sally nods at whatever may remain of Roxanne's little pizza pal. "But thank you~! We all try our best to make sure it's as welcoming as possible!"

A certain dragon scholar gently opens up the door and lets herself inside the shop.
But she's not here for the actual coffee which is just throws a casual glance around the room.
No, she's here for one of the baristas. One that was supposedly a dragon.

Of course, as they were in a humanoid form most of the time it might be difficult to find them right away.
So she should probably ask someone. "Excuse me?" She inquires while approaching the closest employee that didn't seem to be occupied by something.

Double Dragons

Truly, it was just a single look around the room that was required to notice who the dragon was. Sally is behind the counter, near 8 feet tall, covered in fine, sooth scales, has a thick, draconic tail behind her that's nearly as long as she is tall, cute little horns, and. . . well she stands out like a sore thumb, in a cute, fun, pink sort of way.

Ambrosia may have been overscoping the difficulty in finding the humanoid dragon.
"Hi hello! Welcome!" Sally practically chirps, happily and bubbly-y, smiling at the newcomer. "What can I get for you~?"

[Shadowcaller]

Double Dragons

Well, one shouldn't make assumptions.
That's what Ambrosia thinks as she spots Sally.
Or more accurately, she spots Sally's chest.
It... was actually difficult to see anything else even as she politely attempted to make eye-contact. Feeling increasingly awkward as the closer the barista got to her, the less she could actually see of her.

"Ah, actually, I was looking for a dragon who I wanted to interview. I'm a researcher, or scholar if you will." This conversation was going to be difficult to have.

[Meowmai]

A Tired Borb

"Nonsense! Well. I mean. Not- not- n-not *nonsense*, but I would be delighted to get you a refill! You looked so tired. I'm happy to help~" While Sally gathers up the mug, she nods a few times. "Yup yup! Run, own, and work here! Alongside my wife, who you may have seen wandering around as a smoll foxxo -- do feel free to pat her head she loves that, but make sure to ask first! --, and Ber'ri, who needed a part time job to do alongside college work. And who that flatbread is named after!" Sally nods at whatever may remain of Roxanne's little pizza pal. "But thank you~! We all try our best to make sure it's as welcoming as possible!"

A Tired Borb

Roxanne smiles. "Don't think I've noticed any foxes yet, but I have been rather tired. I'll be sure to keep an eye out!" There's not much left of the Ber'ri Special- it seems Roxanne had been hungrier than she thought. Still, that was good though! Meant it was tasty. "Well, you've done a very good job of that, Can't imagine a more welcoming café. It's a lot nicer than the starkness of my lab! Need to personalize that place up a little."

[Mee]

Double Dragons

Well, one shouldn't make assumptions.
That's what Ambrosia thinks as she spots Sally.
Or more accurately, she spots Sally's chest.
It... was actually difficult to see anything else even as she politely attempted to make eye-contact. Feeling increasingly awkward as the closer the barista got to her, the less she could actually see of her.

"Ah, actually, I was looking for a dragon who I wanted to interview. I'm a researcher, or scholar if you will." This conversation was going to be difficult to have.

Silly Dragons

"Oh! Hello! That sounds super fun! Can you tell me about the dragon you're wanting to interview?" Sally asks, eyes wide and full of wonder. This was neat! Interviews were fun -- as long as they weren't happening to her ha ha -- and she definitely knew a couple dragons around here! "I can definitely try to direct you the right way!"

A Tired Borb

Roxanne smiles. "Don't think I've noticed any foxes yet, but I have been rather tired. I'll be sure to keep an eye out!" There's not much left of the Ber'ri Special- it seems Roxanne had been hungrier than she thought. Still, that was good though! Meant it was tasty. "Well, you've done a very good job of that, Can't imagine a more welcoming café. It's a lot nicer than the starkness of my lab! Need to personalize that place up a little."

Honk Shoo Borb

"Naaahhhhh, not a worry! You looked so dang tired. I shouldn't be puttin' more expectations on you! You should be resting!" Sally nod nods several times, but then blushes and beams a somewhat doofy mostly *adorable* smile at that complement.
"Awwwww well thank you!!! But the welcoming- .. . ness . . . itude? Of here would be *nothing* without folks coming by!! So thank *you* for letting us take some weight off your shoulders!

Oh oh oh and if you need help personalizing places, I've found that like. Posters are great! They're super fun and shiny and neat and usually super pretty and-" and Sally does not spare a thought for that Roxanne didn't ask for *help* personalizing it, just needed time to *do* so. "-and I just really like 'em so definitely suggest those if you've space on your walls!"

[Shadowcaller]

Double Dragons

"Erm, yes. Her name is Sally. Sally... Mander." Her name was apparently a pun. Not that she would judge her for that. Was just rather unusual for a dragon which was why she had gotten curious about her in the first place.

[Felandria]

Felandria does seem a little taken aback.

Wow.

Honestly, I’m amazed you were able to forgive that, I don’t know if I could.

I’ve still not been able to forgive certain people, granted, none of them killed me, but they’ve definitely done a good job of ruining things.

Don’t suppose you’ve seen my mom down there, by the way?

[Ironsmith]

"I'm not sure we would." Exsracy replies. "Not everyone who dies ends up down there. And the ones who do aren't usually long for that world, unless they happen to be both good with people and absolutely ruthless."

"Euphoria made it longer than either of us. If any of us would have met your mother..." Melody starts.

"...I wouldn't know if I had." Euphoria mutters. She decides not to mention the likely activities that would have occurred between them if they had met; no matter how bad their relationship was, Felandria likely didn't want to hear about that.

"...You know, it sounded an awful lot like there was a story there." Exstacy prompts. "And come on, we just told you about murder in our background, a little childhood trauma seems like a fair exchange."

[Mee]

Double Dragons

"Erm, yes. Her name is Sally. Sally... Mander." Her name was apparently a pun. Not that she would judge her for that. Was just rather unusual for a dragon which was why she had gotten curious about her in the first place.

Double Dragons

Sally giggles just a bit at the name. She couldn't help herself. The joke made her happy.
"Yusss! That's me! In the flesh!" She beams a smile that lights the room a bit, leaning down to rest on her elbows, happily and comfortably, her tail swish swoshing behind her, and doofy grin refusing to dislodge.
"What can I do for ya~?"

[Shadowcaller]

Double Dragons

Oh.

"...I wanted to conduct an interview with you, miss Mander." The scholar remarks after just a moment of pause.

Sally seemed to be one of the more unusual dragons she would interview. But really, besides her choice of profession this made a lot of sense. Many dragons strove to be impressive regardless of their form and Sally certainly was that.
"Off-hours of course. I'm sure you have, ah, a lot of customers to attend to."

[Mee]

Double Dragons

Oh.

"...I wanted to conduct an interview with you, miss Mander." The scholar remarks after just a moment of pause.

Sally seemed to be one of the more unusual dragons she would interview. But really, besides her choice of profession this made a lot of sense. Many dragons strove to be impressive regardless of their form and Sally certainly was that.
"Off-hours of course. I'm sure you have, ah, a lot of customers to attend to."

Double Dragons

"Hemk yeah! Okee!" Sally beams another smile, standing up excitedly and nodding her head and . . .
Goodness the ripple effect those actions have.

"Welllll. I think I have some now if you wanna? Would you like a drink to go with it? On the house! My treat! What would you like?"

[Shadowcaller]

Ambrosia was sure that there were scholars would be keen to study those ripple effects and how they were physically possible, but she was here the dragon.
Even if they happened to be attached to said dragon.

"Right now? Well, if you're sure miss Mander I-" She clears her voice. "Do you have omija-cha tea? Otherwise ginger tea is fine."

[Terumitsu]

Double Dragons


It would be a question for those same scholars as to someone who shared many.... 'Similarities' to the dragoness proprietor as to how someone of such stature could just appear like that and Alva wasn't about to divulge those secrets. Besides it was Sally who was getting the interview! But those tall ears had perked up at the name of the tea and hardly a moment would pass before she would chime in with "Ooooh, Five-Flavor tea? Do you want that with peach juice too? I looooove doing that!" she said with a beaming grin and that same sort of bouncy... Energy as the dragon beside her, already plucking the jar of dried berries out from under the counter. If anyone ever took a peek back there, one would likely be as surprised by the amount of room here as they would be by the sheer selection available. Space-making magics were fun like that!

Secret menu items aside, Alva would gently pat Sally on the shoulder and say: "You go ahead and I'll take care of things for a bit. I'll bring it by the table once it's brewed. Added strawberries as usual, right?" she asked her pink companion with an added little wink of knowing. There would also be a little extra honey as she knew Sally loved that sweet and tart mix.

[Mee]

Ambrosia was sure that there were scholars would be keen to study those ripple effects and how they were physically possible, but she was here the dragon.
Even if they happened to be attached to said dragon.

"Right now? Well, if you're sure miss Mander I-" She clears her voice. "Do you have omija-cha tea? Otherwise ginger tea is fine."

Double Dragons


It would be a question for those same scholars as to someone who shared many.... 'Similarities' to the dragoness proprietor as to how someone of such stature could just appear like that and Alva wasn't about to divulge those secrets. Besides it was Sally who was getting the interview! But those tall ears had perked up at the name of the tea and hardly a moment would pass before she would chime in with "Ooooh, Five-Flavor tea? Do you want that with peach juice too? I looooove doing that!" she said with a beaming grin and that same sort of bouncy... Energy as the dragon beside her, already plucking the jar of dried berries out from under the counter. If anyone ever took a peek back there, one would likely be as surprised by the amount of room here as they would be by the sheer selection available. Space-making magics were fun like that!

Secret menu items aside, Alva would gently pat Sally on the shoulder and say: "You go ahead and I'll take care of things for a bit. I'll bring it by the table once it's brewed. Added strawberries as usual, right?" she asked her pink companion with an added little wink of knowing. There would also be a little extra honey as she knew Sally loved that sweet and tart mix.

Double Dragons

"Oh thanks sweetie~!" Sally beams again at her wife, smiling another smile at her specifically. "Yeah! If you'd be willin' to keep an eye on the fort, I've got an interview!! Appreciate youuuuu~" The excitement and bubbliness that Sally says this last bit is nearly infectious, as she turns back to Ambrosia.
"Heck yeah! We got time!! Alva'll bring the tea out in just a few. Do you wanna pick a table?"

[Shadowcaller]

Double Dragons

Ambrosia tilts her head as she's approached by another, similarly built, woman. She was starting to sense a theme here.

"Er, as long as you use schisandra in it I certainly wouldn't mind some peach juice on the side." It seemed like these two knew one another quite well.
She looks to Sally again. "Well, it's your shop, miss. You would know the best place where we can speak undisturbed, right?"

[Terumitsu]

Double Dragons

The theme was obviously being full of happiness and love! Clearly anyone could see that those here were full to bursting with it!

Alva let Ambrosia see the dark red color of the dried magnolia vine berries so that she could confirm they were exactly what was being asked for. Well.. maybe not 'dried' anymore as they had been steeping overnight as was the proper way to make this kind of tea. "I read somewhere that they also used the fruit to make ink and clothes dye for royalty! Such a useful plant, no?" she said, a surprisingly dexterous tail flicking over to grab a strainer over which she began to pour.. A lot more ruby tea out of the small-ish jar than seemed to be in there initially into a small serving kettle. "I will have it out to you shortly and I hope you both enjoy!"

And Alva would gently let her wife take the lead in the rest here as it was, after all, Ambrosia asking after Sally. So it would be just a few minutes after a seat was found that Alva would be carrying to them a platter with that kettle as well as two glasses, one with sliced strawberries arranged like a little flower bloom at the base. Atop it as well was a round tin of fresh (as of this morning), florally shaped, and very colorful rice pastries which were not so sweet as to overpower the tea but just enough to be a delightful pairing to it. "And here is some honey for extra sweetness and peach juice if it meets your fancy! Enjooooy!" Alva would say, gently giving Sally a warm smile just for her and a soft squeeze of her shoulder before sauntering back to take care of the counter.... But Ambrosia might notice that the curious fox would often have at least one ear twisted towards this table. Clearly she was the curious sort but wouldn't step in further unless asked for!

And refills on that kettle or the pastries would always be given the moment they were asked for!

[Mee]

Double Dragons

Ambrosia tilts her head as she's approached by another, similarly built, woman. She was starting to sense a theme here.

"Er, as long as you use schisandra in it I certainly wouldn't mind some peach juice on the side." It seemed like these two knew one another quite well.
She looks to Sally again. "Well, it's your shop, miss. You would know the best place where we can speak undisturbed, right?"

"Oh, it seems to be nice and quiet now, we could just find a table wherever! Unless you would like, we have some couches by the fireplace?" Well, truthfully, they have *one* couch. And with how absolutely enormous Sally is, it would be more of a cozy love seat than a *couch* . . .
"So wherever works best for youuuu~!"

Double Dragons

The theme was obviously being full of happiness and love! Clearly anyone could see that those here were full to bursting with it!

Alva let Ambrosia see the dark red color of the dried magnolia vine berries so that she could confirm they were exactly what was being asked for. Well.. maybe not 'dried' anymore as they had been steeping overnight as was the proper way to make this kind of tea. "I read somewhere that they also used the fruit to make ink and clothes dye for royalty! Such a useful plant, no?" she said, a surprisingly dexterous tail flicking over to grab a strainer over which she began to pour.. A lot more ruby tea out of the small-ish jar than seemed to be in there initially into a small serving kettle. "I will have it out to you shortly and I hope you both enjoy!"

And Alva would gently let her wife take the lead in the rest here as it was, after all, Ambrosia asking after Sally. So it would be just a few minutes after a seat was found that Alva would be carrying to them a platter with that kettle as well as two glasses, one with sliced strawberries arranged like a little flower bloom at the base. Atop it as well was a round tin of fresh (as of this morning), florally shaped, and very colorful rice pastries which were not so sweet as to overpower the tea but just enough to be a delightful pairing to it. "And here is some honey for extra sweetness and peach juice if it meets your fancy! Enjooooy!" Alva would say, gently giving Sally a warm smile just for her and a soft squeeze of her shoulder before sauntering back to take care of the counter.... But Ambrosia might notice that the curious fox would often have at least one ear twisted towards this table. Clearly she was the curious sort but wouldn't step in further unless asked for!

And refills on that kettle or the pastries would always be given the moment they were asked for!

"Thank you so muuuuuuuuch~!!! Love youuuuuu~!!" Sally beams at Alva, as she delivers the drinks, but otherwise wants to do well in this interview and focuses all ~most~ of her attention to Ambrosia! Wherever they wound up. Though on the couch could lead to her wiggling a bit to get comfy and goodness, that closeness. . .
It's somethin' else entirely.

[Shadowcaller]

Double Dragons

Ambrosia watches Alva use her tail to pour the tea with fascination. Having spent a lot of time training doing all sort of tricks with her own tails she felt a moment of sadness that she couldn't share that kind of experience with Alva. Or let her share her own experience with her. Not while in this body.

But some sacrifices had to be made.

"Thank you. Nicely done." She tells Alva with a smile once her tea has been poured up.
Then she turns her attention back to Sally.
The large woman's question making her briefly scan the room. "...and a table would be fine, Mrs Mander." Ambrosia remarks after coming to the conclusion that doing a scholarly study wouldn't be ideal with so little space. Not to mention other distractions.

[Meowmai]

Honk Shoo Borb

"Naaahhhhh, not a worry! You looked so dang tired. I shouldn't be puttin' more expectations on you! You should be resting!" Sally nod nods several times, but then blushes and beams a somewhat doofy mostly *adorable* smile at that complement.
"Awwwww well thank you!!! But the welcoming- .. . ness . . . itude? Of here would be *nothing* without folks coming by!! So thank *you* for letting us take some weight off your shoulders!

Oh oh oh and if you need help personalizing places, I've found that like. Posters are great! They're super fun and shiny and neat and usually super pretty and-" and Sally does not spare a thought for that Roxanne didn't ask for *help* personalizing it, just needed time to *do* so. "-and I just really like 'em so definitely suggest those if you've space on your walls!"

Eepy Birb

Roxanne smiles back, glad to see that she was at least able to return some of those good vibes this place had brought her back to the person responsible for them. "Posters sound nice," the harpy nodded along, not exactly minding the unasked for help, "And now that I think of it, a few of my better research photos might not look that out-of-place up on the wall." Roxanne seems to be pondering this.

[Mee]

Double Dragons

Ambrosia watches Alva use her tail to pour the tea with fascination. Having spent a lot of time training doing all sort of tricks with her own tails she felt a moment of sadness that she couldn't share that kind of experience with Alva. Or let her share her own experience with her. Not while in this body.

But some sacrifices had to be made.

"Thank you. Nicely done." She tells Alva with a smile once her tea has been poured up.
Then she turns her attention back to Sally.
The large woman's question making her briefly scan the room. "...and a table would be fine, Mrs Mander." Ambrosia remarks after coming to the conclusion that doing a scholarly study wouldn't be ideal with so little space. Not to mention other distractions.

[Double Dragons]

"Yes thank youuuuuuuuuuuu~!" Sally beamed yet again at the foxxo.
"Okeedoke! If you want to pick a table then, it seems to be super quiet, so we've the run of the place! May I suggest one by the window? It's always so nice and snowy outside." And it's true! The Cafe seems quite quiet in this particular scene, and the options ranged from 'somewhere in the middle of the room', to the nice solid wall on one side, to against the windows on the other side, to near the fireplace, if Ambrosia would prefer somewhere a bit warmer than by the window, which was doing its best to keep the snowy outside out.

But presumably, fairly easily a table is chosen! And Sally *fwump*'s down across from Ambrosia, the motion causing tidal surges of motion, but with a happy grin. "So what's up?" She asks, sipping of her own drink.

Eepy Birb

Roxanne smiles back, glad to see that she was at least able to return some of those good vibes this place had brought her back to the person responsible for them. "Posters sound nice," the harpy nodded along, not exactly minding the unasked for help, "And now that I think of it, a few of my better research photos might not look that out-of-place up on the wall." Roxanne seems to be pondering this.

Eepy Borb

"OoooOooOoOoh." Sally's eyes go *really* wide! The emerald green / blue hues practically literally sparkling in the light. "What do you research? That sounds fun!!!" The curiosity gets the best of Sally, and just can't stop herself wanting to ask questionsssss her new borb friend was so cool?!

[Shadowcaller]

[Double Dragons]

"Sure, the window seems fine." Ambrosia didn't really favor one option over the other so what Sally suggested seemed as good as any.

As much as she understood wanting to appear impressive Sally certainly didn't seem like the type that flaunted her assets. In fact, she seemed to act completely oblivious of how different she looked from everyone else.

And perhaps that's what made her so happy.

Ambrosia pretends to be clearing her voice as to not her attention to be drawn what was going on above her.
"Well..." She then starts. "Let's start with why you choose to appear as a humanoid, miss Mander. Furthermore, how is it that you're able to do this?" She gestures at the dragon.

[Mee]

[Double Dragons]

"Sure, the window seems fine." Ambrosia didn't really favor one option over the other so what Sally suggested seemed as good as any.

As much as she understood wanting to appear impressive Sally certainly didn't seem like the type that flaunted her assets. In fact, she seemed to act completely oblivious of how different she looked from everyone else.

And perhaps that's what made her so happy.

Ambrosia pretends to be clearing her voice as to not her attention to be drawn what was going on above her.
"Well..." She then starts. "Let's start with why you choose to appear as a humanoid, miss Mander. Furthermore, how is it that you're able to do this?" She gestures at the dragon.

[Double Dragons]

"Yayyyyyy~" Truthfully, Sally loves the windows. They let her look out at all that fresh, white, pure, un-jumped-in-by-a-dragon-yet snow . . . Oh wait yeah they're doing an interview!

"Oh no are you okay?" Sally asks, after that cough. "We probably have some cough drops around here somewhere if you need 'em!" Another beaming smile of happiness and just . . . very few complex thoughts behind her eyes. Her new friend may be sick, and she wants to help!!!!
"Oh! Of course! Um um.
. . .
Wellllllll. Being human-y means I have thumbs. Which is *really* helpful for running the coffee machines here. And opening doors. Also I can reach things on the top shelves! I struggle even to get to the countertops as a dragon! So I guess . . . convenience? A lot of stuffs around here seems to be built for humans so . . ." A tectonic shrug from the dragon, before she sips her drink again. "And how? Ummmm. Iiiiii . . . . .


. . .

I don't actually know." She admits with a deep red blush taking over her cheeks. She even looks down slightly and giggles a little bit, rubbing the back of her neck. "I just . . . kinda woke up like this? I took like a *really* long nap." In the like, 10+ years range, hibernation. "And when I woke up . . . bam. Leggies! Thumbs! And then just kinda hop back and forth by just . . . remembering what being a dragon was like. Then remember what being a person is like.

Oh and dragon me can't talk! That's another reason to hang out like this most of the time!! I like talking!"

[Shadowcaller]

[Double Dragons]

Ambrosia raises her hand. "I'm fine. It's nothing." She insists with a smile before Sally starts answering her question.

She takes up her tome and spreads it on the table before her. Her pen starting to write down the dragons answer on its own while Ambrosia is giving Sally her full attention.
"There's certainly a lot of advantages to the humanoid form as it seems a lot of the technology around here has been made for it in mind." And she was smaller as a dragon? So probably quite young and wanting to compensate she... well, that.

Sally's sudden pause, followed by her blush, was not something she had expected though. Neither was her answer. Since it shot down her new theory right away. "Ah... how long a nap and under what circumstances did you take it? Since I can't help but to note that your humanoid form is unique in many ways. In fact, I haven't meet anyone that looks like you and I've interviewed a lot of dragons." A beat. "I mean that as a compliment of course."

[Mee]

[Double Dragons]

Ambrosia raises her hand. "I'm fine. It's nothing." She insists with a smile before Sally starts answering her question.

She takes up her tome and spreads it on the table before her. Her pen starting to write down the dragons answer on its own while Ambrosia is giving Sally her full attention.
"There's certainly a lot of advantages to the humanoid form as it seems a lot of the technology around here has been made for it in mind." And she was smaller as a dragon? So probably quite young and wanting to compensate she... well, that.

Sally's sudden pause, followed by her blush, was not something she had expected though. Neither was her answer. Since it shot down her new theory right away. "Ah... how long a nap and under what circumstances did you take it? Since I can't help but to note that your humanoid form is unique in many ways. In fact, I haven't meet anyone that looks like you and I've interviewed a lot of dragons." A beat. "I mean that as a compliment of course."

[Double Dragons]

"Ooooooohhhhhh. You have really pretty handwriting!" Sally complements, just having a genuinely good time in simply watching Ambrosia just . . . write. The rhythmic motion of the pen, the way it left ink on a page, smooth and nice, it was a simple joy, but a delightful one.

"Yeah! Yeah you get it! Everything around here seems to be made for the ol' fingies." She nodded a few times, looking at her own slender, pink hued digits. What silly little thing, fingies! And how their simple existence molded the course of . . . so many things!

"Oh! The nap. Um. Um.
Wellllllllllllllll." She blushes a bit, scratching the back of her neck. "I- I lit HALO on fire. A little bit. I was trying to cook a frozen pizza and I didn't know about the plastic wrap. Or the cardboard box. And I thought you needed to turn the oven on max to make it work. But it was resolved quickly! So I kinda just uh. Ran away a little bit and hid in the freezer with my hoard. And fell asleep all curled up with it. You know how that goes. Aaaaaand then I woke up. I didn't exactly have a concept of time, but from the folks that I talked to, it was probably a good . . . 10? 12 years long a nap?

But also thank you!!! Yeah I haven't seen many people like me either! This color of pink isn't very common at all that I've seen :o" Y-yes. Yes Sally. That is exactly what she meant by 'unique in many ways'.

[Shadowcaller]

[Double Dragons]

It's not the neatest handwriting as she's paying Sally more attention than the letters she's scrawling. A lot of it written in short-hand which will make it barely eligible. Though Sally might not even notice this as she's looking at it upside down.

"Oh." The scholar shakes her head, seemingly a bit amused by the common on her writing. "This this is just the scrawl. It'll look much neater once I'll rewrite it. But thank you."

She then listens as Sally explains the 'nap'. All the ten, perhaps twelve, years of it.

Needless to say, Ambrosia looks a bit perturbed by this information. Not just the event itself but Sally's reaction to it. She acted as if she had just overslept one morning. Not missed out on more than a decade of her life.
Was it really even true or had someone been playing a prank on her?

"...can someone else confirm this? Since that's a lot of time to be sleeping. And you just woke up able to assume your current appearance?" What could have happened to her? And why hadn't anyone woken her up in all that time? Perhaps she lacked people close to her before that time. Since that might also explain why she seemed so unconcerned about it.

Or perhaps it was just another one of those anomalies that seemed to occur in the nexus on a semi-regular basis.

[Mee]

[Double Dragons]

It's not the neatest handwriting as she's paying Sally more attention than the letters she's scrawling. A lot of it written in short-hand which will make it barely eligible. Though Sally might not even notice this as she's looking at it upside down.

"Oh." The scholar shakes her head, seemingly a bit amused by the common on her writing. "This this is just the scrawl. It'll look much neater once I'll rewrite it. But thank you."

She then listens as Sally explains the 'nap'. All the ten, perhaps twelve, years of it.

Needless to say, Ambrosia looks a bit perturbed by this information. Not just the event itself but Sally's reaction to it. She acted as if she had just overslept one morning. Not missed out on more than a decade of her life.
Was it really even true or had someone been playing a prank on her?

"...can someone else confirm this? Since that's a lot of time to be sleeping. And you just woke up able to assume your current appearance?" What could have happened to her? And why hadn't anyone woken her up in all that time? Perhaps she lacked people close to her before that time. Since that might also explain why she seemed so unconcerned about it.

Or perhaps it was just another one of those anomalies that seemed to occur in the nexus on a semi-regular basis.

[Double Dragons]

It may not be the neatest handwriting, but Sally's -- the only one she could truly compare it to -- was, uh, . . .
Even *she* can't make it out some days.

"I'm so excited to see it rewritten then!!! That'll be so prettyyyyy!" She beams another happy smile, totally not even reading into Ambrosia looking a bit perturbed. Reading expressions?
Sally?
Never.
"Can someone else confirm it? Ummmmmm. I mean. Maybe. But I've never met anyone that had been *around* back then . . ." Sally nibbles at her lower lip in thought. "But Looking at the calendar, it's about right. So if the calendars are wrong, I could be wrong, but I've yet to find somebody that could corrob- cor- corporat- c- . . . agree with me on this one.

Plus!" she chirped again with a nod, "Dragons sometimes hibernate for hundreds of years in the stories, right? That wouldn't have been more than a li'l nap!" But from what she's saying, and even what she's *not* saying, if she hasn't been able to find anybody from back then . . .
Maybe the suspicion of just not having people that were close to her at the time was probably very true.

"But yup! Just woke up! Time had passed, and *bam*! Able to look like this! I will be the first to admit I have no idea how it works :D"

[Shadowcaller]

[Double Dragons]

Ambrosia had certainly not heard that sort of compliment about her handwriting before.

She was getting the impression that Sally was easily excitable.

"I've heard of that yes. So that part makes sense if its common among your kin. However, something more unusual must have happened during your sleep then." Though she had as much of an idea as Sally of what it could be. "But... erm, moving on. What kind of dragon would you describe yourself as, Sally? Is your kin normally as small as you are or are you just young?" As much as Sally could be described as 'small' in any sense.

[Meowmai]

Eepy Borb

"OoooOooOoOoh." Sally's eyes go *really* wide! The emerald green / blue hues practically literally sparkling in the light. "What do you research? That sounds fun!!!" The curiosity gets the best of Sally, and just can't stop herself wanting to ask questionsssss her new borb friend was so cool?!

Meepy Borb

Roxanne, blinks, not expecting that level of excitement or interest to grow so suddenly. But then she leans in. Not everyday you hear someone actually interested to hear about your work. "Well, it's maybe not the most respected field of biology, but, I'm a cryptozoologist! Which... well, it's sorta complicated here, cus what even is a cryptid when basically everything can be real? But it's fascinating, right? The line between biology, myth and folklore. When does an creature become normal? What even defines that!?" The harpy leans in closer. "I've got whole lines of theories about what defines them, y'know, sometimes I start to think we create them through belief. And the biology is all over the place. Just think what we could do if we learned how they worked! The scientific advancement!"

The harpy, so tired and dour before, launches full force into this ramble, completely unaware that she might even be rambling.