Second Try [DerLampman]

@"Paradox" yes it is ye goddamn classist

"I'd ask if you were okay but obviously you're not so I'm not going to ask," Eph declared. She said it matter-of-factly, as though she knew. She didn't, but she could guess.

She gripped the hat on Adelene's head and adjusted it a bit, tilting it mildly to the side. While she sat on the floor, her tail carefully dragged her to Adelene's side from in front of her, and she threw an arm around her neck, drawing her close. "What's wrong? You can tell me anything - as long as it isn't illegal because I am legally obligated to turn you in if that's the case."

@"Paradox"

"Yeah. The picnic. Kiiiinda blacked out in the middle of it, so all I know is I messed up. Still sorry about that," Eph mumbled. It really wasn't like her to just up and go full-on blackout drunk, but as she always said, 'you are always you, and what you do is always your deed.'

Adelene's touch was comforting, and somehow nostalgic. "You know, my ma used to do that patting thing. Mostly when she sent me away from the basement, but I kinda miss it. Course, pa was crap at it, since he didn't really gave hands and or move, so... you just tell me if I should shut up, okay? Okay."

Eph let the soft leather sink into her head, which she rested on Adelene's shoulders with a sigh. Her eyes widened with an idea, but she would have to be subtle with it. She couldn't afford to be too pushy.

"Kinda wish we met without that whole fiasco with capital Eph thing though. Really. Much chaos was had that day. Think I lost my hat even... oh, and speaking of hats, I have a lot, and I'm sure a lot of them would fit you so well. Like so freaking well."

@"Paradox" yes you are

As Adelene curled up against her, Eph began to regret not bringing along a blanket. Seriously, it would have been the best feeling to be this comfortable under a blanket. Her tail couldn't even flail around in as she was too relaxed. Instead, it just lay there on the floor unmoving.

"Stories. Crap. Now I have to be interesting - uh, hang on. Trying to be interesting." Eph snapped her fingers repeatedly with a light chuckle accompanying her rhythmic snapping.

"I - well, I make clothes so I get a lot of hats. Like everything I'm wearing right now. It's handmade. Or clawmade. Whichever. Cause department stores don't usually have a 'clothes for lizards' aisle." Eph tipped her hat and messed around with it a bit, transferring it back to Adelene's head. It was a subtle struggle for hat control that mattered to no one but Eph at the moment.

"Right. Interesting. I had to be interesting - uh, so, my pa's a tree, my dead ma's a witch. And my roommate-slash-sister-of-sorts had an argument once cause we needed a heater, and then some things happened and I ended up fighting my pa. It was... uh... weird."

Eph cleared her throat. "Hey, pa, we need some wood for the heater, can we cut a bit of you off? No? Fiiiiine. You gave ma wood for her room and you won't even give me like just a branch..."

@"Paradox" fye ye wan be loik tha be tha wae thaen

The laughter made Eph straighten up, staring at Adelene with false hostility and disdain on her face. She kept this facade up for a good while, and then smiled. "Sitcom material right there, actually. Just needs a catchy title like... nope, I got nothing."

When Adelene kept on laughing, Eph chuckled and threw her back to the ground, lying down. She lay with her head on her folded arms, and threw her companion a sidelong look. "You're going to end up sounding like me if you don't stop, you know."

It took a few more moments for Adelene to stop laughing, and when she did, her words made Eph excited. There weren't many people she knew and or could consider friends, and even fewer that would ask to visit. Then again, her actual home was far.

Scrunching her face in thought, Eph mused out loud. "My house... it's way in the forest, so... well, I do have a dorm room, but it's tiny and most of my better clothes are at home..."

All of a sudden, her face fell and her mood seemingly soured. Eph went straight into a squinting soliloquy, now staring straight above. "And then you're going to rip my clothes. Hmm. I should probably consider costs of repairs if I let you visit. And you're going to be ripping them while you're wearing them, not when I am, so I should probably take that into account. Well, as long as it isn't some compulsion to rip clothes, it'd probably be fine, because I could probably stop you from destroying them, but in the case that I can't, I'd probably have to get a new job, cause I can't sell clothes online if I don't have any clothes to sell and if it happens while I have no money saved up..."

@"Paradox"

Eph hardly paid attention, still a bit lost in her thoughts. "...reminds me, I need to figure out how to work metal so I can make that accurate lizard armor I was sketching out the other day. Probably have a lot of interlocking segments for the tail. Maybe a spine design, but the vertebrae probably have to be shortened. Dirty white enamel paint, rough, probably would work..."

She snapped out of it when Adelene began setting up to take a nap. It was very comfortable currently, yes, but still, she preferred to be awake until night.

Eph lay down beside Adelene, her head resting on a propped-up arm. She lay along her side, her tail listlessly swaying, not even bothering to go upright. "If you want to sleep... go sleep. It's just - well, you'd wake up at my place wearing something else entirely. I may not look like it but I grew up in the forest. Motha natya med me strong, mon."