((When do you sleep? :D)) Dempsey leaned her head back against the edge of the pool and let out a long sigh, the rolled her head to face Lucia and offered a smile. "This place is great. there are nicer ones, but they're pretty far from home, and they cost a lot more. just so you know in the future, you can pay extra and an attendant will bring you all kinds of stuff... scented oil, soap, shampoo, all that good stuff. My home here in Terra isn't all that nice, so this is where I come to relax. there's a few massage parlors around too, but I don't think I like the thought of strangers doing stuff like that. It just seems.. I don't know... too personal?" She shrugged and straightened her head to look forward across the pool at nothing in particular, she decided that this was a place safe enough to resume her gentle prodding, and tried to learn a little bit more about the dark haired woman. "So you said earlier that you were frustrated by people who only played TS to run quests and level up. i'll admit that I'm a little bit guilty of that myself. I came here because in TS i can be anything, and do anything... I can have all the things that are just simply out of my reach in the other world." Her choice of language was deliberate, and she called it the other world instead of 'the real world' for a very specific reason. Through their conversation from earlier she surmised that Lucia also shared a bit of disdain for life outside Terraspehere, and she hoped that in time she would recognize Dempsey as a kindred spirit of sorts. For now she continued, still doing her best to tread lightly. "I love the excitement of it all just as much as I enjoy the simpler moments like these, two new friends enjoying a conversation and just feeling relaxed and comfortable too. I'm sure you've guessed by now, but I don't have a whole lot going for me in the other world. I'm perfectly content to spend my time here, with excitement, and adventure, and new friends, good food, laughter, pain.... everything about this world entices me in one way or another. " The relaxed atmosphere and considerable amount she'd had to drink made her ramble, and she'd lost track of the point she originally intended to make. "anyway, I'm sorry for prying into your other life earlier, and that was rude of me. I just get so excited at the prospect of meeting new people, new adventures, more excitement... all of that. I wasn't trying to dig up anything painful for you."
Lucia replied with a musing hum hearing Dempsey explain about the bath house. It definitely wasn't the type of place Lucia would frequent. She was okay with rivers or lakes, but it was a nice change of pace, certainly it was something she'd try more often. Though the thought of massage parlors was a piquing interest, after all, if she could become one of the people who worked there, wouldn't her life be a bit more interesting? "Ho? Is that so, that does sound pretty nice, but I don't know how I'd feel about people touching me either. Now if it was me touching other people-- That I might not be so opposed to~" She answered with a hum, her gaze drifting giving Dempsey a sidelong glance when she mentioned massaging other people. Though Dempsey mentioned her being annoyed with people grinding, Lucia knew almost immediately this girl probably misunderstood. Lucia didn't come to this game to 'abandon' her home world as if being spirited away, whether better or worse, she joined so she could fabricate a fake life, complete with a new identity in the real world. Act like a professional gamer, act like her life was meaningful, play as if her life had meaning; Different from trying to fit into this fantasy world as someone who took it all in and became dazzled by it, Lucia wanted to dazzle it instead. "No, you don't have to worry. I was only frustrated because it takes work for me to keep up with them mm? My skills are all very powerful and efficient, but slow and steady. It's troublesome to keep up with those dashing like madmen from one mob to the other." Lucia sighed in answer with a coy grin from Dempsey's adorable misunderstanding. Though when Dempsey continued to go on about reality, Lucia's expression grew noticeably wooden again. With a smile that wasn't quite a smile, she nodded back in understanding, maintaining silence for a short while. She understood Dempsey's feelings and desires, the struggles of the real world, she could feel that in her voice. There wasn't pity or sympathy, even any kind of frustration in Lucia's heart though-- Only envy. How bad could life be for anyone who could be noticed? To have something that made people think of you, 'feel' something for you. It made her sigh internally, a vague longing in her heart as she shook her head back. "No, I can't say it causes me pain. Not like some others at least. Truly, while it does bother me, it's not something that's hurtful." She admitted, rather then pain, profound hate was what she felt, a deep and rousing hatred, black and red at the same time, it was a sickening disdain that she felt for her real self. It was only hard to talk about because of how terrible it made her sound, how she knew it would change the way people noticed or thought about her. "It's hard to talk about because it reflects badly on me though. My 'struggles' aren't really the same as others', at least, probably not your's." She admitted with a gentle smile filled with a touch of reassurance. "I wouldn't want to hurt this lovely image you have of me-- Certainly I wouldn't want to do anything that would damage our friendship... So... It's hard to describe it in a positive light." She answered, but the more she tried to describe it the harder the words became to find, eloquence was easily lost when she thought about her reality, her facade was always stressed when she felt that hate bubble forth.
Dempsey smiled, and all it took was that tiny bit of encouragement to spurn her into motion. she wet her lips almost nervously, then scooted over to close the already negligible distance between the two and rested her head on Lucia's shoulder. As Lucia described her struggles with her particular skill set compared to a lot of other players in the game, she chimed in "You know what they say though. 'what is chaos for the fly is common for the spider'. I really see a lot of potential in you, and your skill set. I think you and I could go a long way if we worked together, but I'll talk about that more later. i didn't lure you here with nervous flirting and big doe eyes to proposition we group up for a quest. Maybe a little grinding later though" she punctuated her last sentence with a soft giggle and a sidelong wink, then fell silent again as Lucia continued speaking. She noticed the other woman's face become strained and emotionless again as she brought up her other self, and this time Dempsey choose not to remark, instead taking her friends hand under the water and giving it a gentle but reassuring squeeze. she figured that if she was ever going to put a crack in that shell, now would be the time. Having failed a that, she took solace in the silver lining that the bewitching woman remained as earnest as ever about friendship, and wishing Dempsey see her in a positive light. She knew the woman didn't want her pity, so she had none to give, and instead opted to change the subject all together, while still keeping Lucia engaged in casual conversation. "Well then, Miss Lucia. What do you do in a normal day in game? Do you keep a home or a camp anywhere? Where do you usually go to quest? I usually stick to Adecus when I'm out in the field, and I actually have a half decent little place in the tunnels under the city. There's just this big empty room. I think it was part of a drainage system originally, but now it's bone dry. I just have a fire pit and abed roll down there, but it's dry, safe, and mostly clean... though there's a funny smell to the place that I cant get rid of. i like it though. It's quiet, and I usually meditate for a bit every night before I call it a day and turn in." Her little home wasn't much, but she secretly hoped Lucia would take an interest, and perhaps even invited herself over one of these days. It would be nice to curl up with her on a bed roll in the silent and cloistered privacy of her humble dwelling with nothing but the crackle and soft light of a camp fire to disturb them. The bath house was nice, and she was quite enjoying herself at the time but there were to many people and too much going on around for her to be able to truly relax and enjoy the moment. As she talked, she idly ran a fingertip up and down the small of Lucas back, impressed by the softness of her skin, and the tone muscle beneath. When she finished her little monologue, she raised her head and looked at Lucia with an interested smile, waiting for her to reply
Lucia only laughed, a warm and loud laugh at Dempsey's words and insight into her potential. Lucia again felt this girl was getting the wrong idea a little; Lucia's skill set was slow, certainly, that was why those speedy running type of hunters bothered her. Her skill set however, ensured very few her level could compete with her properly, her abilities had a venomous and vicious cruelty to them that would make some cry out in frustration about how unfair it was. She'd invested a lot into researching her particular style, and it was because of that she was so amused by Dempsey's effort to console her. "I think we could too, I don't see the harm in working together either, I'm not so silly as to assume this has all been for the sake of completing a hard quest for you." She answered, her hand stretching out, slender fingers walking along Dempsey's back from shoulder to shoulder before sliding her hand down under the woman's arm to pull her in closer to her side. "Though I am a little choosy in who my main partners are... You wouldn't mind being put to the test, right?" When she asked Lucia's face was close, close enough for Dempsey to taste her breath on her lips and feel the warmth of it against her face. Lucia didn't seem bothered though, as if she had no shame pulling Dempsey in was natural to her. Feeling Dempsey squeezing her hand though, Lucia could only wear a small gentle smile. "It's not really something that's so hard to figure out or hear." Lucia admitted, Dempsey seemed to think it was something tragic Lucia simply didn't want to share. She couldn't help wondering what this girl thought her life was like outside in the real world. "I just don't like myself; the real me. Such a sad and isolated thing--" She started, using 'thing' to refer to herself, the word dripped with a lofty disdain and hate as she continued. "--My life isn't really that hard, no real tragedy, nothing people would feel bad for anyway. Though it's not good, it's not terrible. I'm... 'Normal'." She murmured her last words with an icy hatred, thinking about herself, the frigidity of her harsh gaze was intense enough to make people shiver, the warm water did little to guard from the coldness of her hate as it came through the cracks of her facade. In reality-- As her true self, Yuan didn't experience 'hate' with intense anger and fury. The more it bubbled to the surface, the frostier it got; Cold, distant and harsh, both judgmental and merciless. For a while her frosty gaze was enough to cut deeply, but after a while, her expression cramped, a vague guilt came over her and that iciness receded back through the cracks, draining out of her warm and gentle facade once more. A wry smile on her face when she finally found her calm once more. "I don't have anything to be upset or bothered by-- that's why I can't really say my reality pains or hurts me. But, even so-- Even so I envy people who have something they can treasure, or even those people who struggle. 'Special' comes so easily to them while I have to struggle and work and escape from that place to find something that can make 'me' me." Lucia admitted with a heavy burdened sigh. Even people who were going to die were people Lucia envied, at least hey could burn out in their own way-- Yuan though, her real self, was unfortunately destined to rot for the remainder of her boring life until something equally uninteresting took even that from her. Lucia waited for those words to sink into Dempsey, for the strange twisted tragedy of Lucia's 'normal life' to be unraveled. She didn't expect the woman to understand how average could make her feel so utterly worthless and invalid, she didn't expect anyone to, in fact, her struggle with averageness was perhaps the only thing that did truly make her even a little special in reality... But other people wouldn't know-- wouldn't care. Nobody pursued average, or scorned i enough for there to be validation. Once they did sink in though, Lucia would raise a finger to the woman's lips, trying to silently hush her with a sweet smile. Whether Dempsey found her idiotic for her struggles or had some measure of sympathy or understanding even, Lucia wouldn't have it. That part of her she wanted destroyed would not infect this perfect world of her's where she was special-- She wouldn't have that unwanted unsightly side of herself spoiling her safe space. "You asked me about my living arrangements." She spoke, changing topics slowly drawing her finger back when she saw Dempsey wouldn't continue on with that line of talk. "I wander, from place to place. I have a large loot bag I use as shelter. With Archery I string it up into the canopies to make a tree house when I move. It's a very nice home I think, vagrancy might not be pretty but it's such an exciting lifestyle." She admitted, her quests varied, and her living arrangements changed regularly. One minute she'd be one place, another heading to another place, she moved very rapidly but that kept things interesting. "Maybe we should show each other around after, hm?" She asked, inviting herself along as Dempsey wished.
Though Dempsey could easily overpower Lucia physically, she was putty in the raven haired womans hands, delighting at her touch, and shifting her seat slightly to accommodate the arm around her torso. She laid her own hand and forearm over top Lucias, then brushed her lips softly against her neck whispering 'I love a challenge. What kind of test did you have in mind?' she lingers for half a second then draws back with a deep breath and a smile, and changes the subject before she gets carried away; "I.. yeah. I was.. I was thinking of having a hammock and rain fly commissioned. It would be nicer than sleeping on the ground for sure, and easier to carry than a tent." She listened in silence for several moments as Llucia described her real life plight, and took a moment to digest it all. she had some thoughts on the matter, but decided that this wasn't the time or place, and from her position here as a fellow adventurer gave her almost no leverage to speak otherwise. She decided that it was far to early to get into the specifics of her own plight, and wanted instead to keep the captivating woman talking. The closeness was enthralling, both physically and internationally. Others may boggle at the simple satisfaction she felt just having an intimate conversation with another human being, but again, that was something she'd get into later. She spend all morning trying to shake off the dark emotions that her earlier argument had stirred, and she wasn't ready to go back to that place. All she knew is that her escape from reality had taken on a wonderful new facet in the form of the woman holding her in her arm and pouring velvet soft words into her ear. She reached out, and wound her own arm around Lucia, resting her hand on her thigh and letting lose a soft and contented sigh, then whispered "We're going to start getting all pruny if we stay in here any longer sweetie. lets get washed up real quick and get out of here, hmm?" As she finished her statement, she actually focused on washing for the first time since getting into the bath, searching for a bar of soap and going to work on herself, taking a pause from time to time to put on a bit of a performance for Lucia, doing the whole "naked, soapy, and wet" bit to the best of her somewhat clumsy ability. when she was done, she offered the soap to Lucia , remarking "Or, you know.. I could do it for you. If you want, I mean." and followed through with a slight flush to her face and her usual awkward but charming smile.
Lucia chuckled gingerly back, seeing how the woman reacted to such closeness so easily. It was a delight, Lucia herself did enjoy closeness as well. Hearing her question what kind of test though, Lucia's fingertips at her side gently slid along the girl's skin softly with gentle swipes. The playful tickling motion continuing as she spoke. "Nothing too dangerous, I do like to have a commanding presence, so we'll see~" She tried to tease, as if this were a part of the test, after all, Lucia did try to be the dominant force, it was where all the spotlight was in a relationship most of the time. Hearing Dempsey's thoughts on the hammock, Lucia nodded, her own was rather well equipped, since it doubled as her adventurer's bag for looting, it was rather large, capable of carrying a variety of things. It wasn't meant to be worn on the back, but to be carried by a mount or in a carriage making it's size appropriate. When stretched properly, the bag could be used as a canopy to protect from the rain, her fire could be hung from the various straps, her needs were met through the pockets and contents easily enough. It was her ideal house in a lot of ways, the vagrant lifestyle might not be glamorous but it was certainly fascinating. Lucia could continue to talk and talk, but seeing Dempsey grow concerned about getting pruny, Lucia wouldn't fight it. Instead she waited for Dempsey to finish with the soap, a coy grin on her face as she waited patiently for the woman to hand it over. Hearing her shy offer though, Lucia lifted a hand to her head softly stroking her hair with a sweet grin. "Remember what I said about massages?" She teased playfully, others touching her was discomforting after all, but touching others was absolutely pleasant and delightful she thought. With soap in hand though, she lifted a slender leg from the water, starting from the bottom up, working her way up to her arms discreetly making sure not to show anything unsightly as she continued. Her frame glistening from the water the sheen of the soap only making it more alluring. By the end, she swung her head down gently to moisten and wash her hair before softly whipping it back up. It caused a childish splash of water as it swung backwards, but it was an action that punctuated her efforts very well. "There, all done..." She spoke with a sly grin, her usually wavy hair slinging to her back and chest, slicked down and straightened by the weight of the water as she turned. "It was nice, but I suppose it is getting late. Did you want to stay at my place? Or would you rather I go to yours." She tried to tease flicking the access water from her arms as she pulled the towel up and with a swift motion wrapped her long wavy hair up in a tight mound to dry.
She surrendered the soap with an exaggerated pout, then set about the task of finishing her grooming with the thought of Lucias words and fingertips tracing over her skin still fresh in her mind. She lifted herself onto the stone landing that she'd been leaning against this whole time, and sat watching with unabashed fascination as Lucia bathed, her eyes fixated on tone flesh, perfectly placed curves, and the hypnotic motions of someone who had clearly and fairly beaten Dempsey at her own game. By the time Lucia was wrapping her hair, Dempsey found herself biting down softly on her bottom lip and slowly drawing her fingertip back and forth along the line of her collarbone as her tail slowly swayed back and forth to some internal rythym, completely transfixed by the display. As Lucias words broke her own spell over the Felis woman, she blinked twice and her ears twitched sharply, genuinely startled at how fixated she had been just a moment before. It was then too, that she remembered to start breathing again, and inhaled sharply and began stammering and scrambling for words, as was becoming the custom for conversation between the two women. "I uh... Your place sounds great. I'm dying to see this hammock contraption of yours. Maybe it'll give me some ideas for the one I'll have made for myself someday. I do need something a little more manageable though." She saw this as another chance to be accommodating and selfless, and perhaps even garner a bit more favor with Lucia. "Besides, my place is kind of... Sparse. I'm sure you'd be more comfortable sleeping in your own bed tonight, and I'll manage somehow. I haven't actually slept outdoors since my first night here, and that was huddled under a bridge. I hate to admit it, but I'm kind of a city girl, even in a high fantasy world like this where a hand operated water pump is considered cutting edge technology. I hate cold baths, and I can't cook for myself to save my life, so I don't know how I'd do on my own in the wilderness for more than a few days." In her previous rush to avoid an awkward scene in the changing room, she'd forgotten to bring a towel with her, and so she found herself sheepishly retreating to the dressing room still mostly dripping wet and with a steady stream of water draining from the thick white fur of her tail. Once there, she hastily dried herself and dressed, reclaiming the almost empty bottle of wine, draining the remainder of the contents, and set the empty bottle on the floor beside a large basket designated for soiled towels. She realized that her weapons, armor, and what-have-yous that she usually kept with her when she left town were still at home, but she figured she could live without them for one night. Lucia was armed, and she still had her feet and fists which formed the foundation of both her offensive and defensive prowess. Besides that, leaving the city walls in street clothes would make her look courageous and trusting in the eyes of her companion. With a resolute nod, she gave herself a quick look over before turning to Lucia with a nod that communicated that she was ready to depart.
Once her hair was properly tied up to dry in the towel, Lucia glanced towards Dempsey, a coy smile on her face as she nodded back, the dazed girl was adorable, but Lucia had ways to sink her claws in deeper. Hearing her question about her sleeping tent though, Lucia did think it was a little innovative, she had a bag made for loot but figured out alternative purposes for it. When Dempsey continued to stammer, Lucia swayed a little closer, shaking her head, letting Dempsey get her thoughts out, Lucia lifted a hand to the girl's chest. "For me, it's more about what I sleep on instead of where I sleep. I'm sure we can think of something when we get there though." She spoke giving the girl a soft pat that may not be entirely appropriate. Despite that possibility, Lucia exuded an air of confidence and immunity, as if no matter what she did there wouldn't be any backlash or consequence. I was only when she talked about real life that she hesitated or felt shame. "As for my place, I carry it around with me everywhere, just for ease of access. I'm not exactly the outdoors type either, but with a bit of research it's not so bad." Lucia explained as she began pulling her things back on. When she began to explain what her home was, she pulled open the bag that hung on the back of her waist folding the top back to reveal a myriad of different arrows as well as a cloth roll that was the home she was talking about. Folded up it didn't look like much, but the second part of that valuable home of Lucia's came in the form of the bizarre arrows next to it that had loops instead of fletching. It was a complicated thing, but it suited Lucia who wanted to be special more then anything else. As for hot baths, it was something Lucia didn't mind at all either. A cold bath in a river was still nice in a world without disease or infection, there was nothing to fear from the river water. Taking a swim, brushing up was easy enough for the woman who found swimming to be fun even if she wasn't an expert. Though when she was well dressed once more, her hair still wrapped up, she gave it a soft shake in the towel before discarding it with a sharp flick unraveling it with jerking gesture. Her hair fell, messily but it's wavy texture and silky glow from being wet made it nice all the same. Finally finished and looking as dazzling as she was when they first met, Lucia grinned holding out an arm to Dempsey. "Just don't forget to dress though okay? I might get a little jealous~" She tried to tease, beckoning for Dempsey who was coming out of her daze with a warm grin, waiting patiently for the girl to finish before walking with her out the door. Again, seizing her hand, she walked hand in hand with the woman, through town, looking at sights, as if on a trip. Maybe even idle conversation here or there, more date questions, silly things, but Lucia was trying to guide her to a good place, one where she could set up her home. It became more obvious as they left the town little by little, not too far as to be in trouble, but not so close as to be hassled either.
Dempsey followed behind Lucia, taking in the sights and sounds of the forest. It wasn't terribly late yet, but she knew from limited experience that they had to be getting close to their destination if they were going to set up camp before it got dark. She just assumed the woman knew where she was going, and chose to just enjoy the sights and sounds of the springtime forest instead of worrying too much about where they were going. Town was close enough that worst case scenario, they could just retreat back to the city should things not go well. the sky was clear enough that she didn't think it would rain tonight, but one could never tell with those sorts of things. true to form, Dempsey couldn't remain idle for long, and began to stray from the path from time to time to inspect whatever this or that that happened to take her interest, but every time she did so, she would invariably return to Lucias side, and take her hand again. After a few rounds of this, she simply fell silent and wrapped herself around Lucias arm as they walked further into the forest. she made a point of pressing the other woman's arm firmly against her breast and smiled up at her innocently. After a few moments of near silence, interrupted only by the sounds of branches blown gently in the wind and the sound of birds in the distance, Dempsey let out a soft sigh and spoke. 'Hey Lucia... I wanted to think you for today, before I forgot. By now I get the impression that you're not doing this entirely from the kindness of your heart, but I've still had a much better day today than I thought I was going to." She paused for a moment, not entirely sure if being so forward so soon was the way to go. "I promise I'll get my place cleaned up so we can do this there next time, and you'll have a proper bed to sleep in at least. I feel like I should do something special for you a thanks" She smiled and returned to her silent state, still cradling the woman's arm and swaying her tail energetically. By this point, she had a certain image in her mind of what would transpire later in the evening, and the possibility excited her. Even if her fantasies didn't come to pass, she would be happy just spending the night talking to Lucia and curling up next to her to sleep. It was a sweet image that made her smile brightly, and even purr softly. She immediately became self conscious and worked to suppress the reaction to her own imagination though, and glanced up and sidelong at Lucia with a sheepish grin.
Lucia only chuckled a little when Dempsey commented on Lucia not doing this from the kindness of her heart. It was true, in a sense, but again, it also wasn't, it was unique and complicated in that type of way, the uniqueness made Lucia's heart warm, and her gaze soft and inviting. "Don't be silly, of course I'm doing this from the kindness in my heart. Even if you might doubt me, I can only assure you that Psuedo Kindness is still kindness." Lucia explained with a sweet smile, whether or not Dempsey would understand the difference though is a different story. One was kindness for the sake of kindness, the other was selfish kindness, for satisfaction, for relief, for Lucia it happened to be for attention... but it was still kindness wasn't it? This was what she tried to explain. Finally coming to a stop, Lucia gave her bag a soft shake, slipping it out of the other bag revealing it to be of monsterous size and depth. It was as if it were something out of the comic books or cartoon shows, an out of the world cheesy adventurer's bag you might expect some dastardly villain to use to haul a vault's worth of gold in. It was easily large enough to contain a bathroom! "Don't worry don't worry. If you want to do something special, why not hang out with me often? No-- Even being my pillow for a while would be nice." Lucia explained with a soft tone, modesty once more coming through, not wanting Dempsey to go out of her way. Even adding playful offers like being her pillow in case Dempsey felt obligated to thank her properly. While she spoke though, Lucia would begin stringing her bag, from three corners a rope was tied, arrows with hooks for fletching threaded. It was a short process, not even a few minutes before her preparations were ready. Pulling the black bow from her back, she shot the three arrows up, first the one with the ropes tied and strung, then the second and third one that were threaded. She grinned, making a loosely hanging trangle that hung down to the ground before stepping down into the bag, sliding her bow away, into the larger bag's pockets along with her cumbersome waist bag, she gestured for Dempsey to follow her into the bag before handing her the untied end of the rope. "Now pull-- pull hard, like you're trying not to let me go~" She teased playfully waiting for Dempsey to pull them up. Pulling would take them higher into the air, three corners hanging the bag up in the shape of a triangle, but whether or not Dempsey would be able to pull them all up along with Lucia's tools was another story. Normally Lucia pulled it up then climbed in afterwards, but with Dempsey doing the labor, Lucia wasn't worried about stressing hersefl.
She scanned the surrounding forest out of habit, having been taken by surprise one too many times to not be a little paranoid when she was outside city walls. Not that inside the city walls were any safer if one took a wrong turn, but she she was apparently very good at turning down the right dark alley at the right time, as was evidenced by the presence of the smoldering beauty who was busy setting up her strange lodgings. Some sort of a suspended tent by the looks of it. When Lucia told her that it was quite large, she had no idea she meant something of this scale, and had envisioned the two huddled together in a tent barely adequate for a single inhabitant, hung high over the trees. The basic design was similar to what Dempsey had in mind on a conceptual level, but the scale was several times larger than the humble hammock, rain fly, and safety line she had envisioned. Sleeping in the canopy of the forest was much safer than conventional camping for the simple reason that very seldom did anyone or anything bother to look up. A bit of camouflage and careful placement would do the rest to conceal the shelter she pictured in her mind. She watched with interest as the arrows struck their mark one by one, and she spent no small amount of time appreciating the other woman's posture and form as she drew and loosed one arrow after another, marveling at how she managed to make the simplest things look as if she were preforming an elaborately choreographed dance that reminded her of the kata and and stretching exercises she did every morning before beginning the more physical aspects of her work-out routine. She followed Lucia into the slumping shelter and waited expectantly, at this point she would not be surprised if the tent simply rose off the ground under it's own power and floated to the tree tops. This was not the case though, and Lucia handed her the end of a rope with the instructions to hoist them and the entire structure manually, along with a sweet smile and sparkling eyes that Dempsey was quickly learning were hard to resist, let alone deny. She produced a pair of basic hand wraps that she'd tucked away in a pants pocket this morning after concluding her jog, and began preparing for the task ahead. She could easily lift Lucia by herself, and she figured that with the mechanical advantage provided by the network of ropes and arrows, she'd easily be able to manage their combined weight. The unknown in play here was the weight of literally everything Lucia owned, and the shelter as well. She knew the risks involved with over-exerting herself in an ordinary situation, and also factored in the danger of a long fall down should she falter mid way. In the back of her mind a small voice pleaded to do the sensible thing and raise the tent from the ground, then climb to it with Lucia on her back, but common sense and logic held little flame to the opportunity to further impress Lucia. Having wrapped her hands to protect them from the coarse rope and give her a much better grip, she began pulling, lifting the tent slowly but surely off the ground. her motions became rhythmical and timed with her breathing, and after a few moments she became confident that she could manage this. A smile spread across her lips as she worked, and here and there a bead of sweat appeared on her forehead, until finally she had hoisted the odd structure to it's full height. Now that they were all set, she stopped and pondered what she was supposed to do with the rope now. "So uh, Do I tie this off somewhere or... uh... what?"
Lucia only contently nodded, waiting to be hoisted up. Normally she would just climb up herself, but Dempsey was proud of her physical strength so giving the girl a chance to impress her wasn't so bad. While Dempsey was pulling, that one bead of sweat made Lucia smile as she lifted a hand to wipe it gently. As if she were a caring supporter watching her significant other struggling to fix or build something, she gently encouraged Dempsey with soft help of wiping her forehead or kind words. It was only when they made it to the maximum height that Lucia finally gave Dempsey the softest of pushes, enough to position the rope near a tree before stabbing her last hooked arrow down to latch onto the end. Twisting it in as well as she could, she softly sighed giving Dempsey a small nod. If the woman let go, the shelter would jerk suddenly dropping only an inch as the rope grew taunt, but afterwards remained steady. Unlike a normal hammock the triangle shape of the floor didn't suck people towards the center easily, it allowed them at least a little space. Lucia only nodded back contented though with the condition of her home as she gestured at the bag's insides. "This is my home." She welcomed, and with a soft gesture unlatched the bag's flap to open it up revealing the sky and the leaves above. If it were raining she would have kept it closed, but in the nice empty air there was no need for it to grow stuffy. "When I want to cook, I can just hang a lamp off of the flap, for water, I keep some spares locked away in smaller bags. It's nice isn't it?" She said with a soft grin, she displayed her home happily, wondering what Dempsey thought. "Do you think it's nice? I put a lot of effort into it, though it's not as luxurious as I always dreamed-- I'll definitely work my way towards something nicer, maybe when I get more popular, when more people come to my side." She said with a vibrant sharpness in her gaze that looked towards the future with high hopes.
Dempsey releases the rope and flaps her tired arms to loosen them and get some more blood flowing to them, then has an excited look around. The shelter was so novel that she spent several moments poking around and inspecting before turning back to Lucia with a bright smile. "This is great! I love it!" She rushed to the open flap and stands on her toes, trying her best to poke her head out of the opening with her tail swinging back and forth excitedly. She regretted getting all sweaty again so soon after her bath, but it had to be done, she supposed. she took her shirt by the waistline and lifted it to wipe her face, then turned back to Lucia with her usual bright eyes and smile. "So, what did you want to do for the rest of the night? It's too early to go to bed, and I want to do something fun first anyway!" She was well aware that the innocent statement could be taken several different ways, and a playful smirk crossed her lips as she finished her thought. She was feeling a bit bolder in such a private setting, but didn't want to assume anything along those lines would happen either, so for now she simply let her friend take the lead, and decided to follow along obediently. At this point, It was still too soon to make any assumptions. She followed her previous statement with one equally innocuous, but much less open for misinterpretation. "Also, I hate to be so brash, but do you have anything to eat here? I should have bought something while we were still in town, but... well..." she reddened a bit and averted her eyes "i was thinking about something else." With that, Dempsey sat cross-legged on the floor. she pulled her sandals off and set them by the doorway, looking up at Lucia with a hopeful and sheepish expression. "what did you mean when you said you wanted more people to join you? Are you starting a guild or something?"
"I'm glad~ It's good that you like it, I'd be happy to have you here more often." She offered with a coy smile, though she was clearly pleased that Dempsey was happy. Though when she saw hte girl lifting her shirt up, Lucia couldn't help reaching a hand out towards her at the same time, a sly smirk on her face as well when she asked about something fun. Lucia reached out for Dempsey's shirt she was using to wipe her face. Trying to give it a soft tug to take it from her if Dempsey didn't fight her too much for it, she'd continue with a smooth tone. "I can think of a few fun things, but we'll see one step at a time. For now, food right?" Lucia asked, leaning back to sift through the inner pockets of her large bag, looking for her food to give Dempsey. Sifting through somethings she finally retrieved some salted meat, a nice jerky, though it wasn't star quality it was home-y and simple. Though when asked about wanting more people to join, Lucia's smile grew softer, a little sheepish even, as if a little shy of her feelings. She brought a hand to her own cheek, averting her gaze feeling a little embarrassed as she handed Dempsey the meat. "No, nothing so official. I'd thought only of having people who... cared about me-- Loved me. Then we'd come together and maybe find a nice house that can fit all of us comfortably, instead of a small bed, maybe a gathering of blankets so everyone has enough room." Lucia confessed her ideal with the coquettish expression of an innocent and pure maiden in love. Despite how much she teased and poked at Dempsey in sly and mature ways, she spoke words that were sweet and innocent as she continued. "I really... Really hope to find them-- People who want me, need me. People who would think I'm special; irreplaceable even. It would be so-- So perfect." She murmured with a longing sigh, a vague melancholy touching her gaze as she thought about that ideal that would be so hard to bring to fruition. In modern times you wouldn't find people who came together with such a pure and affectionate love. These kinds of things just didn't happen in society now a days, but thinking about it brought a faint pink color to her cheeks... Dreams weren't meant to be easily achievable.
She relinquished and lifted her arms, allowing her shirt to be lifted up and off her body. In all honesty, she'd been considering taking it off herself, but didn't want to be too forward. To push the envelope a bit further, she tugged at the drawstring that secured her pants, and the dropped a few inches, revealing the uppermost flair of her hips. In the front, the very tip of a neatly trimmed and snowy white landing strip could be seen, and from behind a pair of dimples just above her butt were exposed. If not for her tail the entire garment would be heaped on the floor at her ancles. She offered a smile as she turned to face Lucia, but decided that was enough for right now. She took the proffered slab of jerky in both hands and tore off a chink with her teeth, chewing happily and listening to Lucia speak with wide, attentive eyes. She probably looked silly, standing there half naked and munching on a snack while staring vacantly at Lucia, but he was comfortable enough with the woman by now not to notice. Still not entirely realizing Lucias intentions she remarks instead on her own slight misinterpretation instead. "That sounds beautiful.. It would be nice to have a big house with all your friends living together. I'm sure you'll have no problem finding them either. You're so sweet, and kind, and beautiful too. I don't think you give yourself as much credit as you deserve. I'm sure it'll happen for you someday, and I can help if you want me too. I don't have a lot of friends here yet, but when i do I'll introduce them all to you" She pops the remainders of her dried morsel into her mouth and takes Lucias hand in both her own, giving it a long squeeze. She wants to move closer, but remembers Lucias repeatedly stated aversion to being touched, and instead lifts her hand to her lips and plants a little kiss on the tip of her finger. "I want to be there with you when it happens. maybe tomorrow we can go look for a place to rent. something little to start off with, you know? Personally, i'm tired of living in a cozied up hole in the ground. You wouldnt believe how much of a pain it is hauling firewood down there every night."
