Private The Slups A Nameday to Remember: Company of Strays

[FinnianBrightfur]

Finn glanced up anxiously at Korya -- the foxkit seemed to have bitten off a little more than he could chew. Trying to lend aide unprepared was a challenge, but what else could he do? Just watch her bleed?

"O-oh yeah! T-the noodles were really good!" he said emphatically, trying to help put the poor girl at ease. Felines did thrash their tails about so transparently when they were upset!

Meanwhile, crimson still trickled onto the cobblestone. Finn pressed his thumb a little more firmly into the cut, and the bleeding at least seemed to stop with the additional pressure. "Can you hold a finger on this?" he asked, and gently guided the feline to apply pressure for herself. "That'll be less ticklish. 've you ever wondered why you can't tickle yourself?" he pondered aloud. "Comes in handy, I guess!"

With the wound stabilized and his paws free, the foxkit seemed to relax a little. The chaos had subsided, and now he could be a little more productive. He stood and brushed himself off, before going to stir the boiling rag. "Thanks, Cricket... Yeah, you don't want a wet bandage... But you also don't want the wound getting infected. Y'see, when dirt gets in, it..."

Finn stopped, as he suddenly realized he didn't actually understand how infection happened. With a blush, he became aware of how shallow his understanding really was. Never the less, he continued the impromptu lesson in the style he learned from Arthur Barrett. "Well, I don't know. But you don't want dirt in it. And hot water is good for stopping that, I guess... Y'don't always have time to clean a wound, but if ya do, y' take it!"

"Err, this might sting a little..." Kneeling back down, Finn gave a slightly more firm scrub of the area. Fetching his knife from his waistband, Finn untucked his shirt and sheared off a few strips of his shirt tails -- one to pat the wound dry, and another to bind around her paw. He snugged the knot higher up, before fetching her moccasin again. "You'll need to wash this again in the morning, and change the bandage... ok? Can you put weight on your paw, now?"

 

[Korya]

"I tickled myself once," Korya said darkly, as she clamped her footpaw down tight. "Actually, you don't even need a wound to get an infection... When I first came to town, someone threw a chamberpot of ick on me... Apparently some beasts just chuck their toilets right out their window into the street?! I tried to wash it off but it was everywhere, ugh. I went for like two baths in the ocean even, I could still smell it... anyway not long after that my eyes started to hurt, and then later on I found out I had an infection..."

She paused briefly, head tilted.

"You're a much nicer doctor than that quack was." She quacked loudly and suddenly, from deep in her throat. "What's that you're cutting up? Better not be my good dish rag! Nah, I'm kitten you, you can use it, I'll get better ones next time I open up."

It felt snug. She gave it a few prods, pulling at the fabric with her claws, and it didn't give too easily. She nodded in approval and reached out to feel for the counter, leaning on it to pull herself up again, and shifted her weight around.

"I better not practice any kicks while I'm in the kitchen, hm... But, aye! Feels a lot better! I'd say you two have earned your noodles for sure! Now get out of my kitchen! I need to organize before I break something else."

She gave a loud, raucous laugh, her face split nearly in two with a grin that was meant for a much larger face. Fangs glistened in the dim green glow of her stall's lights.

"Oh, yes, my moccasin, please... thank you... Going to need to sew that up later too..."

 

[Cricket]

Once more Cricket had to stamp down on a flicker of self-consciousness as she watched Finn and Korya work. To her inexperienced eyes Finn was working with knowledge and skill– and he was a respected member of a big ship’s crew, to boot. This Korya was not only cool and funny, but seemed to take everything in her stride even when it went awry. That was nothing to say of her talents with cookery. She had her own stall, for ‘Gates sake! She might have several!

Then there was Cricket. What could she do? If anything, there was more she couldn’t manage as a reptile than anything else as wintertime attested. She must look such a…well, a child to them both. Hadn’t that been what she wanted, though? Why did she feel so utterly useless around them all of a sudden, then?

It was too late in the day for Cricket to succumb to existential misery: she shook her head and directed her sulk into fishing out the last of the dishrags. Korya’s laugh brought a smile to her snout, along with the thought that she’d earned her noodles. She hadn’t compared to Finn, but a generous offer was one she’d gladly take. It was testament to the quality of the food and opinion of the feline that Cricket resolved to pay in full next time.

“Yeah Finn, stealin’s my thing,” she snickered. “Not that I would from here! But, uh…” the following words felt so foreign, like those some of the uppity adults yapped: diplomacy, anathema, embargo. “…Thank you. Been really nice meetin’ you, Korya – your noodles’re the best food I’ve ever eaten!” Not the highest praise from a creature who eats insects, perhaps, but heartfelt nevertheless.

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

Funnily enough, Finn had the exact opposite assessment of Cricket. He looked like a bumbling fool that couldn't even bandage a simple wound without mistakes! But then again, he was very tired, and still rather numb from the shock of earlier. It was what it was. The bandage held, and Korya felt better -- that's all that mattered.

The sudden quack brought an unexpected smile to his face, and a burst of boyish laughter. He'd apparently never heard the insult before, and gave Cricket a curious look, as if he were wondering if she was quite... all there?

Anyway. Fetching a small broom, Finn brushed away the remaining glass shards to avoid a repeat performance, and helped put things back in order the best he could. As he worked, his ears perked with surprise at Cricket's admission of thievery -- but then again, urchins did need to eat.

Which reminded him of his remaining noodles. With the kitchen back in order, the fox stepped out into the street again. The rain had slowed down to a stop, and the moon peeked out from behind the clouds, casting gentle shadows on the street. Finn watched it quietly, before picking his bowl up, and attempting to finish the remainder in one big drink. The spice overpowered him though, and sent him into a coughing fit.

"G-gee(cough)heeze Cricket, how (cough cough, wheeze). How'd you manage to (hic)...? Finish?" he asked, his voice fading into a hoarse whisper. The initial wave of heat drove him away from the bowl, but now an onslaught of searing fire bore down on him. Fetching his tankard of ale, Finn upturned it, and drank for his very life.

 

[Korya]

Korya chuckled to herself as she set about re-acquainting with her makeshift kitchen space. Opening boxes, sniffing them, carefully - very carefully - tapping at the air to find the handles to her cookware. She set about making another serving of noodles. There was still ingredients left over, no sense letting them go to waste. Besides, that stinky little beast across the street might want some, too, whenever it was brave enough to come over. She wondered if the other two could smell it over the noodles and their ale.

"You know," she said, "that these noodles of mine are the best food I've ever eaten, too? And I've been to so many fancy dinners, I don't even want to think about. But these are what I ask for on my nameday. Oh, how I hated them, first time I tried them! Too hot. I cried. I drank gallons of water. And then I asked for seconds..."

Her tail swished, once, hit the side of the stall and curled back on itself, keeping out of the way.

"They're called 'drunk noodles' actually... because they're so hot, you'll get proper sozzled out of your gourd with how much you end up drinking! Ha! What say you, Cricket and Finnian, seconds? Going to rustle up a bowl of my own, and one extra as well... Should be just enough for four bowls."

She hushed herself as they continued to eat and she continued to cook. There was a tension in the air, she felt it through the foxkit's paws as he'd worked on her. It only felt thicker with the quiet stillness of the rain dying down. The wheezing across the street was, to Korya's sensitive ears, as loud as a cough in an empty lobby. But that wasn't what she was waiting for. There was something Finnian needed to say, a burden he was holding in. She hadn't been oblivious to him sobbing earlier when she'd cooked. She just hoped her silly antics had lightened his heart enough to give him a chance to shrug the rest of it off.