the horse, the lizard, and the tree

@"ReD"

"Mmm... ooooohh that's gooooood." Eph closed her eyes in satisfaction, groaning and throwing her head slightly. Apparently, her heightened sensitivity also applied to food. That, or maybe Lochlann was just a great cook, or maybe she was too accustomed to bland food. Whatever it was, she liked it, and liked it a lot. "No need for pepper... I think my tongue couldn't take it."

Her tongue probably could have taken it, but she preferred to have Lochlann dining with her instead of fixing her food at the moment, so she let it slide. "It's good, Lochlann. You learn this somewhere, or did you just figure it out on your own?"

All the while as she spoke, tasted, and groaned, her tail worked behind the scenes, sneaking a chair below his legs. When it was in position, she grinned and said, "This is breakfast for both of us - sit down and eat too! I can feed myself." Her tail then pushed the chair into the back of Lochlann's knees to force him into sitting down.

She let her tail relax and instead picked up a fork with her right claw, skewering a small bit of omelette with it and feeding it to Lochlann. "Here's a bit of thanks. Say aah or whatever it is you say when you eat. Then maybe you tell me what was on your mind that had you walking all the way here, so I know who or what to be thankful of."

@"ReD"

"Someone had to teach me to cook but once I got the basics I learned that everything becomes breakfast food once it's seasoned and shoved in some eggs."

"Lucky... I had to pick up everything on my own cause, well, let's just say my ma was a complicated lady and my pa's, uh, a tree. Yeah, seems about right."

Eph just looked at Lochlann eating for a few moments, ignoring her own food. Her mental alarms were coming back to full function now that she'd settled down, and they were going haywire in the weirdest way possible. She kept thinking he was dangerous, but not in a particularly violent manner, and at the same time he struck her as a mostly innocent and harmless man. It was interesting, to say the least, finding someone she couldn't read into in the slightest. Also interesting was his staring at her legs. That particular bit was the flattering sort of interesting.

With her fork back in her own food, Eph began to eat, measuring her bites and taking her time. The food was good, the company was good, and this was frankly shaping up to be the most enjoyable shedding season she had thus far. A coy grin formed on her lips after she swallowed some more egg, pondering his words.

"You ever know something is so wrong but want to do it anyway? That's very... actually, I'm sensing a bit of something behind those words. Something sly. Especially when your eyes are just a little bit on the wandering side. Liking what you see, Lochlann?" The advantage of having a tail made itself evident as she rested an elbow on the table and rested her head on one palm. Her legs crossed - while Eph didn't particularly mind and actually somewhat enjoyed the attention, she wasn't going to make it that easy for him. Then her tail stretched out from below Lochlann, pushing his chin up with its tip. "How about you finish breakfast first before you go getting all the eye candy for dessert?"

@"ReD"

"Huh. Okay, that's reaaaaally nice to know, but seriously, let's eat first. I haven't eaten anything in twelve hours." Eph was done testing the waters - one of her many suspicions were right. There was definitely something below those words. Some subtext that may or may not result in a rearrangement of those letters.

Even with her hunger gnawing at her, she took her time with the food, only one-fourth of the way through it. The air grew a bit warmer as the sun rose up, and the general warmth of the scene - both literal and Lochlann's friendly presence - only made her more comfortable and less guarded. She didn't care much for keeping Lochlann's eyes on hers though. No, she'd prefer to let the first person to set eyes on her like this to enjoy the view. Slowly, her tail slid down from his chin, to his throat, then to his stomach, and pushed off lightly. "Enjoy the view, Lochlann. Bit unfair on your part to, um, inspect me while I'm in a bathrobe and you're in all of that, but I'll take what I can get."

Then something crossed her mind again. "Speaking of dessert. You think you can whip up something sweet? I love sweets. There's probably more stuff there in the fridge you can use. I think. I don't remember actually."

@"ReD"

Eph almost jumped with a squeal of delight. "Almost" being the keyword - she made a motion to jump, but the sudden movement made her exposed skin brush against the soft wool and she was interrupted by her nerves shooting bottled lightning through her spine. While most of the skin shed was around her frontal area, she forgot that there were some spots where her scales had fallen off on her back. The squeal of delight still issued from her lips, though it sounded... different.

"I love meringues though! Number four on my list. From the top down, it's pudding, flan, donuts, and meringue. Oh, fair warning... I'm crap with food mostly, but I have pret-ty high standards when it's sweet stuff. I'm not a good cook, but I love to eat out, especially when sweets come in. Nothing - and I mean nothing - quite beats the feel of syrup trickling down your lips and throat." She leaned over enthusiastically, licking her lips, her robe coming a bit more loose. She didn't even notice it and kept twirling her fingers with her eyes closed. Nor did she notice her wording getting a bit more awkward.

"Hmm. Something to pass the time... there's not much to do here except maybe each other or walking around. And I, uh... even if I want to finish getting all my scales off, I can't exactly ask you to just sit here while I peel myself, or ask you to peel me..."

@"ReD"

Eph bolted upright, and bit her lip to stop the gasps from escaping. Okay, that was some pretty foul play, she thought. Things had to be intentional at this point. They probably were even before that, but now the game was on for both of them, not just him. She whipped her tail on the floor for that cracking sound, and watched Lochlann do his magic. Well, not actual magic.

And then he offered to teach her some of that said magic. How could a girl like her possibly refuse? She grinned and gently wrapped her tail around one of Lochlann's legs. "Teach me your magic then, mister magic. Sure would be nice to know one thing I can have to kick my mood back up on rainy days."

The running water seemed to wash away Eph's reservations, and she developed a sly grin as she leaned over some more, now aware of her clothing's... indisposition, and paying it no heed.

"Oh, they just come off with a bit of rubbing. Warm water helps, but it's not necessary as long as you gently tease them off. But... I couldn't possibly ask you to do that, now, could I?"