Private Finished A Breather in the Brush

Ebbie definitely noticed that Remi had relaxed quite a bit while they were talking and seemed to be growing more comfortable. Body language was an important thing for any fae to learn and note when they were talking to someone. It reveals threats and knowing how someone is feeling could be used as leverage. While her people were not quite as devious and malicious as some fae, they still thought and worked in similar ways.

However to Ebbie the relaxation wasn't really something to use in this case. It was just something that made her happy to see. They had both agreed to being friends and Ebbie absolutely meant it. There was no further gain to be sought other than just enjoying the fact that she had made a solid friend.

Of course i'm right Remi. "I don't like to lie," she chuckled. "Though concealing some of your emotions from those you do not trust is not unwise." She was being light-hearted about it but the truth was there were plenty of people who wouldn't hesitate to use Remi's affection against her.

Wait wait wait. I can't always think that way. Giving her advice to protect herself is fine and the right thing to do as a friend but making her paranoid would be wrong. She is not fae and shouldn't have to suffer the same problems that plague me here socially.

Much like the butterflies fluttering in Remi's stomach, Ebbie's very real versions were also fluttering drunkenly as they discussed Ebbie's partner. "Liri is quite attractive," she nodded and then smiled at the multiple meanings that word held. The other spriggan was beautiful, yes, but her empathic bond to nature meant that plantlife was physically drawn to her too. "I would consider most of my partners to have been beautiful in their own various ways. As for the difficulty with cultures clashing, I don't know that I have very many answers for how to handle that. You can see that i'm out here in the woods and not there in town." She wasn't entirely sure how she was helping Remi but they were both out in nature and not having any weird conflicts so perhaps that was what she meant.

Ebbie allowed Remi's hand to touch her shoulder without complaint and several butterflies even shifted out of her way. Her shoulders were protected on the outermost layer by thick but flexible living wood. Like everything else about her true form it gave off the distinct feeling of something alive. Something that could be dangerous if it had to be but otherwise just wanted to be nurtured and protected.

They continued walking through the woods and Ebbie used one of her vines to gently move one of the branches out of their way, allowing it to return to its position unharmed when they passed.

"Fire and earth making plants grow hmm? Like a brush fire clearing out the area for new growth then. It isn't that I would necessarily dislike those attuned to the element of fire or things of that nature. It is the active flames themselves that bother me so as long as they are under control and not burning things near me it should be manageable. I would appreciate the knowledge on how to determine the elements your people are linked to, but you do seem to have visible hints of your elements on your bodies."

Ebbie seemed to be paying very careful attention to how Remi was describing her people. There were actually a few reasons for her interest in the subject. One of them, obviously, was that Remi was her friend so wanting to know more about her, her family and her people came naturally. However Ebbie was still fae so an opportunity to learn how to tell which elements a particular oricenta was linked to was quite valuable. Knowing more about people made dealing with them easier.

It was honestly a little frustrating at first as Remi struggled to explain things clearly. She had started with the colors but since each category had too many exceptions most of what she had been sharing held little or no real value so someone from outside the oricenta.

Actually the whole series of vague descriptions and contradictions funnily enough reminded Ebbie of the way some of her people described things from Underhill. A few of them had gone to see what it was like and it seemed that when they tried to explain it things didn't come out right. Things that sort of made sense to those who had been there easily got confused or lost in trying to describe them to others.

Ebbie was about to stop Remi. To tell her that she wasn't being as clear as she needed to be when she finally started talking about the horns and eyes. It seemed like that subject was a little easier to make sense of.

As Remi showed off her eyes and horns Ebbie leaned in to get a better look. The closer look revealed that Remi's they did indeed looked like bright, shiny gems that glistened and rippled ever so slightly as if tiny waves were flowing through their surfaces.

There was no question, her they were beautiful.

"That was more than enough to be very useful to me Remi. Not being easily explained just makes things generally more interesting." Ebbie didn't seem to be annoyed or bored. She was just happy to be there talking to a friend.

Unfortunately the potential value of this information also meant that Ebbie was going to be slightly in debt to Remi until she could return the favor. The debt wasn't something the spriggan was choosing to enforce. It was part of her very being and it would compel her to agree to a minor request if need be to balance things out.

In the spirit of friendship Ebbie decided it was time to take a bit of a risk. In some ways it would also be a test of how Remi was going to treat her as a friend. "Remi, I was serious about the information being useful. Is there something I can do or tell you to return the favor?" If she said there was no need to repay her or declined to come up with something Ebbie would let the subject drop but the debt would still remain. She would just have to think of something on her own.

Other than her being serious about returning the favor Ebbie had continued to be happy and enjoying the conversation. "I would enjoy meeting more of your friends. I don't know what you mean by relaxing at stores but I am curious enough to find out. Just so we're clear though, I am aware that I am not quite so easy to talk to for everyone. Being fae makes me come across as rude and temperamental sometimes."

Ebbie definitely noticed the large smile on Remi's face after she had explained how much she valued the information she had been given. Apparently being interested in the oricenta people and praising Remi was enough to bring a lot of happiness to her. Ebbie was finding it easier to be friendly to Remi the more they talked.

She did notice Remi hesitating when she was asked to name a favor in return for the one she had just done for Ebbie. Hesitation wasn't necessarily a bad thing in this case. It meant that she was thinking about her response and it also meant that she wasn't going to try to just wave off the debt. That would have been rude, though Ebbie probably would have let her new friend slide a little on that type of thing.

It's just a small thing.

It was so surprisingly fae-like it was almost funny.

Ebbie was fairly proud with the request Remi gave. It wasn't necessarily worded the best but it was clear she was trying to respect the debt. And Remi was apparently going to use the opportunity to learn more information she could use to make their friendship stronger. Ebbie was happy to answer her. She probably would have done so even if she wasn't being compelled.

She smiled. "That wasn't really specific but I can start with my favorite color. Which is definitely green. I'm not sure whether it is related to the green energy that glows out from within me or because I am so linked to nature or some other reason though. Something else about me is that I really enjoy the music that comes from string instruments. Other types of music can be enjoyable too but they just don't have the same feeling to me. The more acoustic the instrument the better as far as my taste goes."

Ebbie waited for her words to sink in for a moment. They were not extremely valuable in her mind necessarily but the point was they had to be worth something to Remi and she apparently did want to know more about what Ebbie liked. It wasn't quite enough though, as she could still feel the compulsion tingling at her mind. That was fair. The information Remi had given would help greatly if she had to have more dealings with the oricenta and, based on her interactions with Remi, she planned to.

She flexed her vines and ran them lightly through the branches of a few trees. "Hobbies? I don't know how much they count but I can tell you a few things I like to do out here in the woods. I really enjoy climbing through the branches of the trees with my vines when i'm not walking. Sometimes I imagine what it's like to actually fly around like one of my butterflies. It's silly but sometimes I pretend that's what is happening when i'm alone swinging around on my vines." Now she was getting to things that had some significant meaning to them. What she was relaying was actually pretty embarrassing and if Ebbie had skin her cheeks would have been blushing. She was describing something a child might do and she was an adult. Nervously she opened her mouth to try saying something a little less embarrassing to help move on. "I also like to lay out on a sunny day and just enjoy the warmth of the sun or sit somewhere very quietly and watch the animals run around and the plants blow in the breeze. So many people in the city forget how beautiful things like that are."

Ebbie was finished repaying the debt and she visibly relaxed. She was very glad she hadn't been asked directly to reveal her weaknesses or anything else that dangerous. She would have of course followed through but then her friendship with Remi probably would have soured very quickly.

"Clothes shopping could be fun. I tend to wear things that reveal a lot of my glamoured skin to make it easier to take in light but it would be fun to try some new clothes on to see how they feel and look. I could go with you to bakeries and stores like that but I do not really eat that way." She was a bit puzzled by the mention of the massage chairs. Was that something she would like? She honestly had no idea. "The chairs sound interesting. I'm not sure if they would have the same effect on me and I kind of want to find out what they feel like. I don't want to fall asleep in public though. My glamour sometimes fails when i'm unconscious and that would get messy and embarrassing."

Remi didn't seem overly excited at the information she had learned from Ebbie. In fact if Ebbie hadn't noticed the growing smile on Remi's face, before she had managed to rein herself in and hide her excitement again, she might have been concerned that the answers had not been what Remi was looking to learn.

Ebbie on the other hand did not try too hard to restrain her own excitement. Her butterflies flitted happily about as Remi mentioned she knew how to play the violin and cello. Those were wonderful instruments. The guitar was fine too but it sounded like Remi was more familiar with playing the others. "I would very much enjoy hearing you play one of your instruments. Out here in the woods or even somewhere else. Climbing together is a fun idea too but you are probably right about the trees." She was seeing her own imaginary scene of Remi accidentally hurting a tree and she really didn't want to feel that kind of anger and pain directed towards her new friend.

Ebbie didn't even seem to notice that Remi hadn't mentioned lying out in the sun. It definitely wasn't for everyone and realistically speaking there was no reason Remi even had to address any of the things Ebbie had just shared. It was information for her to choose to use or not at her own discretion.

Again Remi's excitement seemed to peek through as the topic of shopping came up. Ebbie had only been shopping very briefly to pick up the clothing she needed to be in her glamoured form. Her closet was not exactly full and she wasn't really all that used to picking out clothing anyway. It would be fun to go shopping with other people though. "Good. Then you should be a great person to go clothes shopping with. I've heard that if you go with friends it can be fun even if you don't buy a lot of things. Which would be fortunate given my budget." Ebbie thought about the massage chairs again. "I'm not sure how effective the chairs will be since I don't actually have flesh or muscles, but it would be appreciated if you helped make sure I didn't fall asleep in public."

The part about being in contact was a bit of a problem. Ebbie didn't have a phone since she didn't know how to use one and carrying too many items was annoying because she had to carry them when she switched forms. Not to mention a phone kept out in the weather and at night would probably not have lasted very long. Really there were only a couple options to go with. "You could leave a note at my dorm room. My assigned roommate should keep the note safe until I return to check things and or get a change of clothes from the room. Otherwise I am at the school for *lists off a few classes, their times and locations* if you need to find me."

Ebbie also didn't have anything to take notes with on her. She hadn't exactly expected to make a new friend out there in the woods that day. The inconvenience of getting messages between her and Remi was something to seriously consider. More than likely she was going to have to save up for and learn how to use a phone if she was going to be more social with people.

She listened carefully to Remi's directions and committed them to memory as much as she could. It was probably going to be worth the trip to try to find it later just to make sure she could if she ever needed to. It being in the woods was very convenient and as long as it wasn't cold enough to start damaging her plant material she would probably be fine visiting there.

Ebbie nodded as the directions were finished. "I should be able to find your home if I need to contact you or your family. I hope it won't be too long until we can spend time together again."

Remi seemed to be unhappy about returning to her home, leaving the company of Ebbie, or something else that Ebbie was unaware of. There was nothing she could do to comfort her however. Remi needed to go. "Go home then. I've mostly enjoyed this time, my new friend, but you do not need to stay here with me." Ebbie didn't seem upset at all. While she didn't necessarily want Remi to leave she did sort of want to go back to being by herself for a little bit so she could think about her new friendship.