Vel mistakenly believes she's going shopping with Neeva, only to realize too late that the Bandito has her eye on taking vegetables from backyard gardens.
Setting: Orange District, X113, February
Setting: Orange District, X113, February
Full Log
Velina
“You know, I didn’t think a farmer’s market was, like, your thing?” Velina finally brought up what was on her mind as the pair stepped off the tram into Orange. When Nee had invited her along, it had been a surprise, but she had readily agreed. After all, the best produce was in Orange. She’d tried to find any info on the event online, but she figured Nee just had a hookup she didn’t know about.
And it was nice to be out in Orange without any kind of agenda or appointment. With it still being chilly, she’d thrown on an orange flannel as they rode the tram, ready to blend in with the crowd in appropriate colors. Besides that, she had her new old dog in a sling across her chest, and a big satchel at her side to stuff as many early season fruits and veg and mushrooms and strange cheeses and cute crafts she could both afford and carry.
It was always a little strange to be back in the part of the island she grew up in. She wondered if it would ever stop having an affect on her.
She took a deep breath (the air always smelled amazing here, green and fresh and full of life), then turned to Nee. “Which way?”
Neeva K
"Yes, it is very good. I have already paid, so they said I can take whenever I like. You can have some, too." Neeva was dressed obnoxiously orange, with glasses to match her outfit. Being recognized would be difficult, but she made sure to wear something she normally wouldn't.
The dog was given a gentle pat, before she headed towards an area with rows of homes. "We will go this way. The dog does not bark, right?"
Just incase.
She had most of her hair tucked under her cap, but silver did stand out rather well. Along the way, she texted on her phone while glancing around.
Outfit
Velina
Already paid? That didn't sound like a farmer's market. Maybe they were going to one of those...pick a pumpkin places? It was not the season for picking pumpkins, of course, but, like, the general kind of place that let you pick pumpkins. Or strawberries. Or apples.
The old blind dog attempted to lick Neeva's hand by waving his tongue about out of his mouth, but otherwise was content in his sling. Silvery, unseeing eyes stared into space, but his large ears flicked about from time to time, taking it all in. This was his enrichment time; Vel didn't like to leave him cooped up at home or on the bar all the time just because he couldn't see.
"I don't think he barks? He can do, like, a little wheeze sometimes." Vel followed Nee along rows of houses, the place feeling alien in that she kept expecting to recognize something. And yet none of it came to her. Always bizarre when she came to Orange to not recall most of it, but maybe that was how green it was, how alive it was...
...Or maybe it was that she wasn't ever allowed outside of the house for long.
"So, like, what are we getting? Do I need to pay you back for my share?"
Neeva K
After being licked, Neeva patted him on the head again and likely didn't notice that Vel might have been skeptical, but surely, the dito could be trusted.
"Oh good, we do not want others to come over and try to take what is for us." She pressed a finger against her lips and continued, as she shoved her phone into the pocket of her shirt. "If you want to, I do not care. I am going to get us carrots, potatoes....and they might have some peppers."
Neeva shrugs, and headed for one of the backyards, looking for motion activated lights. When she was sure they would be fine, she'd climb over the fence. "Let me know if anyone walks by, do you want anything of the three specifically?"
Velina
Velina could be a little slow to realize she was lied to. A champion fibber herself, somehow she expected others to be better than her and to generally be telling the truth. And so she'd gone along with all of the inconsistencies in Neeva's story, willing to entertain the Bandito knew something she didn't.
But now Nee was climbing over the backyard fence in a residential area to get vegetables and asking Vel to be lookout, and that made it very difficult to be willfully ignorant of what was going on here.
"Nee, this isn't--!" Vel hissed, now suddenly invested in being quiet. "This isn't what you told me we were doing."
Neeva K
Her interest was in the carrots first, but she paused when Vel caught onto her ruse and she turned towards the other woman. "I am making a trade for the vegetables, so it is, in a way, what I told you what we were doing." Neeva replies, and she'd remove a bracelet to set on one of the garden decorations.
"The setting is just different. Do you not want the vegetables? They will not even mind." She continues on, quiet, but still in her usual monotone.
Velina
They will not even mind?! Vel had been out of Orange for a while, but she knew there were few transgressions worse than "trading" for food without asking.
"No, I don't want any," Vel couldn't take food from Orange like this. All her food would be soaked in guilt and betrayal. It was bad enough she couldn't narc on Nee, either.
"Just, like, don't take it all, okay?" A long, descriptive string of Spanish swears ran through her head like a blasphemous mantra, but she couldn't voice it. She had to, instead, lean against the fence and try to look normal while being on lookout. Ohhhh, this sucked.
Neeva K
"Shame." Neeva said simply, adding more carrots to her bag and she'd go for the potatoes next. "Oh, do not worry, I will make sure that the faction with the many gardens will have stuff left over from me taking a small amount for the people living with me,"
Even with her monotone, a bit of amusement slipped in. She grabbed a couple peppers, just before walking over. "Okay, I am done. You can no longer panic over watching for me."
Velina
"That's not the point," Vel retorted, almost too quiet to hear. Of course she wanted Neeva and her friends to eat, and Orange had a lot of food. But the act of stealing from someone's backyard garden squeezed her heart uncomfortably.
A sound down the street made her freeze, and she forced herself to be as nonchalant as possible, to pull out her phone and flip open the first app she found--Stepbook--and flip through it idly. Normal, normal, normal. Have to look normal.
"Nee, I think someone is coming. So, um, like, get out quick or stay there. I don't know." Vel was not as practiced in the intricacies of a good getaway as she was in just putting on an act.
Neeva K
Neeva dismissed her first retort, but she wasn't someone who felt about stealing from strangers, and definitely not from UG. They had enough to get them by. At the sound, she glanced towards it and hoisted the bag over her shoulder. "Let's go back to the tram, but take another way to it, away from whoever that is."
She climbed over the fence and started walking, but made sure Vel didn't stray behind or panic if someone saw her. "Pretend you are showing me something on your phone as we go, so no one will pay attention to us."
March 14, 2024
Velina
She knew how to act casual, but she normally hadn't done anything actually wrong. Still, she had to suck it up, and do as Neeva suggested. She tapped a game app on her phone and offered it out to her bandito friend, the colors bright and loud as fruit with cute faces fell across the screen.
"So, like, the point of the game is you match the fruit against each other, but each match turns into a different fruit. The blueberry becomes a strawberry, becomes an orange, lemon, then this pink thing, I dunno, a grape? And--" Vel chattered, because it made her feel better, and also to make it more believable Nee would actually care what was on the screen. Every lie needed some truth.
As they started moving again, Vel refused to look behind her to see what the other person was doing, or if they were at all interested in them. Pluto, in his sling, sneezed, but otherwise stayed still.
Neeva K
Neeva eyed the game Vel was showing off to her and she nodded along, changing her tone to one that was...normal. Lacking that usual monotone, but she knew it was well known by now. "...I don't think grapes are pink." Perhaps it was something else! She adjusted her glasses, looking through her corner of her eye at anyone passing by.
"Okay, you've convinced me, I'll download it and share the benefits with you, looks like it could pass enough time when it's quiet in the office."
When they were past the person, she pressed a finger to the other woman's back to get her to walk faster, mindful of where she touched. With the lack of keeping her usual vibe passiveness down, she didn't want to risk Vel going through some, albeit minor, unwanted visions.
Velina
She took the phone back, but tapped at the little fruits to match them like that was what she had been doing all along. She was barely paying attention, though, and it was very clear she was going to get a horrid score on this run.
"I don't know what it is, like, maybe it's not really supposed to be a fruit, but, like, evoke fruit." Vel continued the strange conversation, focusing on it rather than the circumstances of their travel. When Nee touched her, though, she startled like a trod-on baby deer.
"Geez! Ah," and she let out a silly little laugh, "s-sorry, I just, uh, wasn't expecting that." Vel tried to cover for it, but it wasn't Nee's Vibe that had frightened her. In situations of high stress, her touch aversion always reared its ugly head. At least it was through fabric.
She picked up the pace, feeling like a liability and embarrassed that she was having such trouble with a simply loot-and-scoot. But she was feeling a lot of feelings she wasn't allowed to feel right now. Maybe she could be excused.
She took the turn to head towards the tram station, hoping they weren't going to hear footsteps on their tail.
Neeva K
"I see." Neeva stated as she took out her own phone and switched to camera, though she paused when Vel startled. Way to play it cool. "We're almost to the tram and at the other part to get home, so you can relax," She adjusted her glasses and glanced over her shoulder, but the person nearby seemed relatively harmless.
When Vel moved faster, so did she, and she gestured to the waiting area. "Almost there."
A cheery comment, and she smoothed out her very UG-style vest, holding the bag of vegetables to her chest. "Then when we get there, we can do whatever you want, better games before we sleep." Not that she intended to stay where Vel lived, but playing it off as fun plans helped make them seem casual, right?
Velina
"I'm, like, fine," Vel said back. It was a very familiar lie. Comfortable.
She stepped until the tram waiting area and latched onto the kind of conversation Neeva offered, that of games, to keep things light and her mind off their transgression.
"Oh, I, like, just got a new farm sim, where it's, you know, the pretty usual kind of grow crops and raise animals and decorate your house stuff, except it's all kind of casually occult? Like, it's the same wholesome content you expect, but everything is a weird eldritch creature or cultist or monster and they all say vaguely unsettling things." Hopefully Nee didn't mind her ear being chattered off while they waited for the tram, because that's what she, and anyone else in the waiting area, was getting.
"There's another where everything moves to the beat and you have to stay on it, too, jumping from square to square to avoid attacks and hit monsters. And, like, one where you play with friends to build the level and fill it with traps then race to the end, but we might need some more friends for that..."
Neeva K
"Okay."
Neeva wasn't about to press, but she didn't really make an effort to bother with feelings, especially since Vel seemed upset about the theft and the Dito wasn't going to relate.
"Oh, that is interesting. I usually just play RPGs or shooters, but I will watch you play." She said with a nod, paying no mind to anyone else who was hanging around, waiting for the tram. "The monsters sound interesting, though." Maybe it'd make it more appealing.
"I have a lot of friends, they might join for that last one, if you want them around to try."
Velina
It was good Neeva didn't press, because Vel wasn't going to get into it in the tram station of Orange. They'd talk about it after they were somewhere safer. Maybe. Nee didn't really seem the type to care that Vel was upset about being duped into this.
God, she should have known better.
"Yeah, you can invite over some people. I can, like, make dinner or something." She could have made a better dinner if they were actually going to a farmer's market, but oh well. She had what she needed to make decent fare without resorting to the stolen vegetables.
Which was, well, a little stupid on her part, but she couldn't shake the ick from being formerly Orange.
"Just depends on the number of friends, I guess." She stepped onto the tram as it arrived, sliding into a seat. Pluto's nose and ears worked overtime to understand the change in their situation and elevation, so she gave him a little headrub. It was soothing.
Neeva K
Neeva adjusted her glasses, pressing them further up onto her nose. "Okay, I'll message them after." She intended to keep the vegetables, but she was likely going to try to use them for something, if she truly stayed at Vel's home.
"How many would you be comfortable with?"
When the tram came, Neeva would hop on after Vel did and she stood off to the side. Normally, she would've sat down, but she decided to be more vigilant regarding keeping an eye on people. So far so good, though.
Velina
"Um...you, me, and, like, I don't know. I guess two or four more to make it even for games?" Vel had to think about it, because she couldn't remember what was in her fridge, but that sounded right. They might have to trade off on four player games, but that could be fun, regardless.
As the tram started moving Vel relaxed more. They were basically in the clearso long as no masked-vigilante UG in a kilt recognized her and Neeva, probably and would be back in RD, soon. If the tram car had been empty, Vel might have even started interrogating Nee right there.
"Who all are you thinking?" was what she asked instead.
Neeva K
"Two or four." Neeva did have to think of who she'd bring, though Marc was definitely the first choice. She clutched one of the bars to keep herself on her feet and stared forward, keeping her attention off Vel for the moment.
"There's a few people." She glanced around the tram car, and since it seemed relatively empty, she relaxed a bit, "I'll tell you when we get off." Just incase!
"We don't have to do it tonight, since you got upset."
Velina
"I didn't get upset," Vel said immediately, defensively. How dare Neeva diagnose the issue correctly. "I just didn't expect you to lie to me."
Neeva K
Neeva leaned into the pole, when Vel got defensive. "You are upset. People do not talk like that when they are fine." She pointed out, reverting back to her deadpan manner now that they were in the clear. "No one expects honesty from Banditos." Who would blame them?
"They are just vegetables."
Velina
"So I should have just, like, expected you were lying to me?" Vel was not going to self-interrogate about how she, herself, was often a liar. "I mean, you knew I wouldn't like what we were actually going to do."
Just vegetables. "If it was 'just vegetables' you wouldn't have to take them like that." She sighed, frustrated. "It feels bad! That's people's food they were growing in their own yard."
Neeva K
"I thought you would have realized it. I said we were going to UG territory....to a market, do you think they would not have picked up on anything if it was the truth?" She asked, wrapping her arms around the pole.
"There are not many people with silver hair, as far as I know." Atleast not in UG.
"Every faction takes from each other all the time, I do not think they would care if they had to do the same."
Velina
"Somebody should care..." Vel sighed, though Nee was right. Orange would readily take from RD if they had something nice and worth taking. It still felt wrong.
"Have you thought about, like, growing your own garden? It takes a lot of work." Vel didn't want to let it go. Not yet.
Neeva K
Neeva shrugged, relaxing. Such was life!
"I have a herb garden, but that is all I am happy with having because I can bring it all inside at night." Everything was good and safe, and she doubted people would really care to steal something like that.
"I do not have a yard big enough or a large amount of soil to make anything bigger."
Velina
"What about on a rooftop? We can get soil." Vel was being pushy, she knew, but she didn't like that Nee took her stealing anymore than she liked that the stealing was probably necessary. "And aren't there a lot of people who stay with you that could help?"
Neeva K
"I have a normal house, I do not own a big building to plant atop of. I do not know why you think that would be an option." Neeva commented, waving the bag around. "They help take care of the house and their own space, and that is all I want from them,"
If they wanted to make a garden somehow...great! But, Neeva wasn't about to expect it from them.
Velina
"What if we, like, asked Gianni to make us space for a community garden? Do you think it'd work?" Vel hated being told no over and over, though she expected another rejection. After all, with her three or four different jobs (the lines blurred frequently between them), it wasn't like she had time to take care of a garden.
Neeva K
"I do not think he likes people like me, so I am not going to ask him anything."
Something about it seemed to strangely annoy Neeva, just a bit. "He will probably expect something anyway, in return, I am fine doing what I do. You do not have to come next time." Neeva reassured her, assuming that was the main issue.
Velina
"Gianni is really nice, though...?" Vel liked Gianni. Sure, when he visited the Luxe he wasn't looking to tip the dancers, but he also wasn't looking at the dancers, so that was alright. He did so much for RD, too! He was always fixing or rebuilding something, with the help of some bots and other citizens of RD like Dwight.
"But, look... I'm not good at this kind of thing, like, I know that. And I don't like it. But if it's that or you go alone..." Vel fidgeted. "I don't like the idea of that, either."
Neeva K
"Probably to Squares." Neeva wouldn't expect much else, everyone for their own Faction, just as it should be. She sat down finally, checking through the vegetables and she looked momentarily happen with her selection. It'd be good for a few dishes.
"Oh, I am fine, I have done this so many times before. I can just ask Marc next time, we work together really well."
Velina
"If you're sure..." Of course, more she felt guilty for not being more helpful.
"I did mean it. If you want to invite people over for games and dinner and stuff." Vel shrugged, causing Pluto to grumble. She soothed him with another scratch behind the ears. "I don't have a client until pretty late tonight, so, I'm free."
Neeva K
"Yes, I will be fine." She reached over to pat her on the arm, quickly.
"You could also come to my house, cook a stew or two with me." Neeva offers, as she digs out her phone and sends a text out. "We have games there, too, lots of snacks. I have many bags of chips that one of my friends leaves for me a lot."
Velina
"Yeah, that sounds fine. If we stop at the Luxe, I can get a few more things to add to it. I made bread last night; it's only missing, like, the butt end." Vel was in total defeat mode and she just wanted to put the whole issue behind her. Better she just move on and pretend it never happened.
"Do you want any, like, sourdough starter? Mine's growing like a monster."
Neeva K
"It is up to you, I do not mind." Bread would be nice, something to help keep people happy and full. She hugged the bag to her stomach, considering the offer. "Okay, I can make you something to take home, we have a lot for me to make cakes and stuff with." Her household was never without, but baking promised all sorts of special treats.
Once they got to their stop, she headed out of the tram. "Lead the way?" A visit to the Luxe, and then her home, she was keen on getting the stews started.
“You know, I didn’t think a farmer’s market was, like, your thing?” Velina finally brought up what was on her mind as the pair stepped off the tram into Orange. When Nee had invited her along, it had been a surprise, but she had readily agreed. After all, the best produce was in Orange. She’d tried to find any info on the event online, but she figured Nee just had a hookup she didn’t know about.
And it was nice to be out in Orange without any kind of agenda or appointment. With it still being chilly, she’d thrown on an orange flannel as they rode the tram, ready to blend in with the crowd in appropriate colors. Besides that, she had her new old dog in a sling across her chest, and a big satchel at her side to stuff as many early season fruits and veg and mushrooms and strange cheeses and cute crafts she could both afford and carry.
It was always a little strange to be back in the part of the island she grew up in. She wondered if it would ever stop having an affect on her.
She took a deep breath (the air always smelled amazing here, green and fresh and full of life), then turned to Nee. “Which way?”
Neeva K
"Yes, it is very good. I have already paid, so they said I can take whenever I like. You can have some, too." Neeva was dressed obnoxiously orange, with glasses to match her outfit. Being recognized would be difficult, but she made sure to wear something she normally wouldn't.
The dog was given a gentle pat, before she headed towards an area with rows of homes. "We will go this way. The dog does not bark, right?"
Just incase.
She had most of her hair tucked under her cap, but silver did stand out rather well. Along the way, she texted on her phone while glancing around.
Outfit
Velina
Already paid? That didn't sound like a farmer's market. Maybe they were going to one of those...pick a pumpkin places? It was not the season for picking pumpkins, of course, but, like, the general kind of place that let you pick pumpkins. Or strawberries. Or apples.
The old blind dog attempted to lick Neeva's hand by waving his tongue about out of his mouth, but otherwise was content in his sling. Silvery, unseeing eyes stared into space, but his large ears flicked about from time to time, taking it all in. This was his enrichment time; Vel didn't like to leave him cooped up at home or on the bar all the time just because he couldn't see.
"I don't think he barks? He can do, like, a little wheeze sometimes." Vel followed Nee along rows of houses, the place feeling alien in that she kept expecting to recognize something. And yet none of it came to her. Always bizarre when she came to Orange to not recall most of it, but maybe that was how green it was, how alive it was...
...Or maybe it was that she wasn't ever allowed outside of the house for long.
"So, like, what are we getting? Do I need to pay you back for my share?"
Neeva K
After being licked, Neeva patted him on the head again and likely didn't notice that Vel might have been skeptical, but surely, the dito could be trusted.
"Oh good, we do not want others to come over and try to take what is for us." She pressed a finger against her lips and continued, as she shoved her phone into the pocket of her shirt. "If you want to, I do not care. I am going to get us carrots, potatoes....and they might have some peppers."
Neeva shrugs, and headed for one of the backyards, looking for motion activated lights. When she was sure they would be fine, she'd climb over the fence. "Let me know if anyone walks by, do you want anything of the three specifically?"
Velina
Velina could be a little slow to realize she was lied to. A champion fibber herself, somehow she expected others to be better than her and to generally be telling the truth. And so she'd gone along with all of the inconsistencies in Neeva's story, willing to entertain the Bandito knew something she didn't.
But now Nee was climbing over the backyard fence in a residential area to get vegetables and asking Vel to be lookout, and that made it very difficult to be willfully ignorant of what was going on here.
"Nee, this isn't--!" Vel hissed, now suddenly invested in being quiet. "This isn't what you told me we were doing."
Neeva K
Her interest was in the carrots first, but she paused when Vel caught onto her ruse and she turned towards the other woman. "I am making a trade for the vegetables, so it is, in a way, what I told you what we were doing." Neeva replies, and she'd remove a bracelet to set on one of the garden decorations.
"The setting is just different. Do you not want the vegetables? They will not even mind." She continues on, quiet, but still in her usual monotone.
Velina
They will not even mind?! Vel had been out of Orange for a while, but she knew there were few transgressions worse than "trading" for food without asking.
"No, I don't want any," Vel couldn't take food from Orange like this. All her food would be soaked in guilt and betrayal. It was bad enough she couldn't narc on Nee, either.
"Just, like, don't take it all, okay?" A long, descriptive string of Spanish swears ran through her head like a blasphemous mantra, but she couldn't voice it. She had to, instead, lean against the fence and try to look normal while being on lookout. Ohhhh, this sucked.
Neeva K
"Shame." Neeva said simply, adding more carrots to her bag and she'd go for the potatoes next. "Oh, do not worry, I will make sure that the faction with the many gardens will have stuff left over from me taking a small amount for the people living with me,"
Even with her monotone, a bit of amusement slipped in. She grabbed a couple peppers, just before walking over. "Okay, I am done. You can no longer panic over watching for me."
Velina
"That's not the point," Vel retorted, almost too quiet to hear. Of course she wanted Neeva and her friends to eat, and Orange had a lot of food. But the act of stealing from someone's backyard garden squeezed her heart uncomfortably.
A sound down the street made her freeze, and she forced herself to be as nonchalant as possible, to pull out her phone and flip open the first app she found--Stepbook--and flip through it idly. Normal, normal, normal. Have to look normal.
"Nee, I think someone is coming. So, um, like, get out quick or stay there. I don't know." Vel was not as practiced in the intricacies of a good getaway as she was in just putting on an act.
Neeva K
Neeva dismissed her first retort, but she wasn't someone who felt about stealing from strangers, and definitely not from UG. They had enough to get them by. At the sound, she glanced towards it and hoisted the bag over her shoulder. "Let's go back to the tram, but take another way to it, away from whoever that is."
She climbed over the fence and started walking, but made sure Vel didn't stray behind or panic if someone saw her. "Pretend you are showing me something on your phone as we go, so no one will pay attention to us."
March 14, 2024
Velina
She knew how to act casual, but she normally hadn't done anything actually wrong. Still, she had to suck it up, and do as Neeva suggested. She tapped a game app on her phone and offered it out to her bandito friend, the colors bright and loud as fruit with cute faces fell across the screen.
"So, like, the point of the game is you match the fruit against each other, but each match turns into a different fruit. The blueberry becomes a strawberry, becomes an orange, lemon, then this pink thing, I dunno, a grape? And--" Vel chattered, because it made her feel better, and also to make it more believable Nee would actually care what was on the screen. Every lie needed some truth.
As they started moving again, Vel refused to look behind her to see what the other person was doing, or if they were at all interested in them. Pluto, in his sling, sneezed, but otherwise stayed still.
Neeva K
Neeva eyed the game Vel was showing off to her and she nodded along, changing her tone to one that was...normal. Lacking that usual monotone, but she knew it was well known by now. "...I don't think grapes are pink." Perhaps it was something else! She adjusted her glasses, looking through her corner of her eye at anyone passing by.
"Okay, you've convinced me, I'll download it and share the benefits with you, looks like it could pass enough time when it's quiet in the office."
When they were past the person, she pressed a finger to the other woman's back to get her to walk faster, mindful of where she touched. With the lack of keeping her usual vibe passiveness down, she didn't want to risk Vel going through some, albeit minor, unwanted visions.
Velina
She took the phone back, but tapped at the little fruits to match them like that was what she had been doing all along. She was barely paying attention, though, and it was very clear she was going to get a horrid score on this run.
"I don't know what it is, like, maybe it's not really supposed to be a fruit, but, like, evoke fruit." Vel continued the strange conversation, focusing on it rather than the circumstances of their travel. When Nee touched her, though, she startled like a trod-on baby deer.
"Geez! Ah," and she let out a silly little laugh, "s-sorry, I just, uh, wasn't expecting that." Vel tried to cover for it, but it wasn't Nee's Vibe that had frightened her. In situations of high stress, her touch aversion always reared its ugly head. At least it was through fabric.
She picked up the pace, feeling like a liability and embarrassed that she was having such trouble with a simply loot-and-scoot. But she was feeling a lot of feelings she wasn't allowed to feel right now. Maybe she could be excused.
She took the turn to head towards the tram station, hoping they weren't going to hear footsteps on their tail.
Neeva K
"I see." Neeva stated as she took out her own phone and switched to camera, though she paused when Vel startled. Way to play it cool. "We're almost to the tram and at the other part to get home, so you can relax," She adjusted her glasses and glanced over her shoulder, but the person nearby seemed relatively harmless.
When Vel moved faster, so did she, and she gestured to the waiting area. "Almost there."
A cheery comment, and she smoothed out her very UG-style vest, holding the bag of vegetables to her chest. "Then when we get there, we can do whatever you want, better games before we sleep." Not that she intended to stay where Vel lived, but playing it off as fun plans helped make them seem casual, right?
Velina
"I'm, like, fine," Vel said back. It was a very familiar lie. Comfortable.
She stepped until the tram waiting area and latched onto the kind of conversation Neeva offered, that of games, to keep things light and her mind off their transgression.
"Oh, I, like, just got a new farm sim, where it's, you know, the pretty usual kind of grow crops and raise animals and decorate your house stuff, except it's all kind of casually occult? Like, it's the same wholesome content you expect, but everything is a weird eldritch creature or cultist or monster and they all say vaguely unsettling things." Hopefully Nee didn't mind her ear being chattered off while they waited for the tram, because that's what she, and anyone else in the waiting area, was getting.
"There's another where everything moves to the beat and you have to stay on it, too, jumping from square to square to avoid attacks and hit monsters. And, like, one where you play with friends to build the level and fill it with traps then race to the end, but we might need some more friends for that..."
Neeva K
"Okay."
Neeva wasn't about to press, but she didn't really make an effort to bother with feelings, especially since Vel seemed upset about the theft and the Dito wasn't going to relate.
"Oh, that is interesting. I usually just play RPGs or shooters, but I will watch you play." She said with a nod, paying no mind to anyone else who was hanging around, waiting for the tram. "The monsters sound interesting, though." Maybe it'd make it more appealing.
"I have a lot of friends, they might join for that last one, if you want them around to try."
Velina
It was good Neeva didn't press, because Vel wasn't going to get into it in the tram station of Orange. They'd talk about it after they were somewhere safer. Maybe. Nee didn't really seem the type to care that Vel was upset about being duped into this.
God, she should have known better.
"Yeah, you can invite over some people. I can, like, make dinner or something." She could have made a better dinner if they were actually going to a farmer's market, but oh well. She had what she needed to make decent fare without resorting to the stolen vegetables.
Which was, well, a little stupid on her part, but she couldn't shake the ick from being formerly Orange.
"Just depends on the number of friends, I guess." She stepped onto the tram as it arrived, sliding into a seat. Pluto's nose and ears worked overtime to understand the change in their situation and elevation, so she gave him a little headrub. It was soothing.
Neeva K
Neeva adjusted her glasses, pressing them further up onto her nose. "Okay, I'll message them after." She intended to keep the vegetables, but she was likely going to try to use them for something, if she truly stayed at Vel's home.
"How many would you be comfortable with?"
When the tram came, Neeva would hop on after Vel did and she stood off to the side. Normally, she would've sat down, but she decided to be more vigilant regarding keeping an eye on people. So far so good, though.
Velina
"Um...you, me, and, like, I don't know. I guess two or four more to make it even for games?" Vel had to think about it, because she couldn't remember what was in her fridge, but that sounded right. They might have to trade off on four player games, but that could be fun, regardless.
As the tram started moving Vel relaxed more. They were basically in the clear
"Who all are you thinking?" was what she asked instead.
Neeva K
"Two or four." Neeva did have to think of who she'd bring, though Marc was definitely the first choice. She clutched one of the bars to keep herself on her feet and stared forward, keeping her attention off Vel for the moment.
"There's a few people." She glanced around the tram car, and since it seemed relatively empty, she relaxed a bit, "I'll tell you when we get off." Just incase!
"We don't have to do it tonight, since you got upset."
Velina
"I didn't get upset," Vel said immediately, defensively. How dare Neeva diagnose the issue correctly. "I just didn't expect you to lie to me."
Neeva K
Neeva leaned into the pole, when Vel got defensive. "You are upset. People do not talk like that when they are fine." She pointed out, reverting back to her deadpan manner now that they were in the clear. "No one expects honesty from Banditos." Who would blame them?
"They are just vegetables."
Velina
"So I should have just, like, expected you were lying to me?" Vel was not going to self-interrogate about how she, herself, was often a liar. "I mean, you knew I wouldn't like what we were actually going to do."
Just vegetables. "If it was 'just vegetables' you wouldn't have to take them like that." She sighed, frustrated. "It feels bad! That's people's food they were growing in their own yard."
Neeva K
"I thought you would have realized it. I said we were going to UG territory....to a market, do you think they would not have picked up on anything if it was the truth?" She asked, wrapping her arms around the pole.
"There are not many people with silver hair, as far as I know." Atleast not in UG.
"Every faction takes from each other all the time, I do not think they would care if they had to do the same."
Velina
"Somebody should care..." Vel sighed, though Nee was right. Orange would readily take from RD if they had something nice and worth taking. It still felt wrong.
"Have you thought about, like, growing your own garden? It takes a lot of work." Vel didn't want to let it go. Not yet.
Neeva K
Neeva shrugged, relaxing. Such was life!
"I have a herb garden, but that is all I am happy with having because I can bring it all inside at night." Everything was good and safe, and she doubted people would really care to steal something like that.
"I do not have a yard big enough or a large amount of soil to make anything bigger."
Velina
"What about on a rooftop? We can get soil." Vel was being pushy, she knew, but she didn't like that Nee took her stealing anymore than she liked that the stealing was probably necessary. "And aren't there a lot of people who stay with you that could help?"
Neeva K
"I have a normal house, I do not own a big building to plant atop of. I do not know why you think that would be an option." Neeva commented, waving the bag around. "They help take care of the house and their own space, and that is all I want from them,"
If they wanted to make a garden somehow...great! But, Neeva wasn't about to expect it from them.
Velina
"What if we, like, asked Gianni to make us space for a community garden? Do you think it'd work?" Vel hated being told no over and over, though she expected another rejection. After all, with her three or four different jobs (the lines blurred frequently between them), it wasn't like she had time to take care of a garden.
Neeva K
"I do not think he likes people like me, so I am not going to ask him anything."
Something about it seemed to strangely annoy Neeva, just a bit. "He will probably expect something anyway, in return, I am fine doing what I do. You do not have to come next time." Neeva reassured her, assuming that was the main issue.
Velina
"Gianni is really nice, though...?" Vel liked Gianni. Sure, when he visited the Luxe he wasn't looking to tip the dancers, but he also wasn't looking at the dancers, so that was alright. He did so much for RD, too! He was always fixing or rebuilding something, with the help of some bots and other citizens of RD like Dwight.
"But, look... I'm not good at this kind of thing, like, I know that. And I don't like it. But if it's that or you go alone..." Vel fidgeted. "I don't like the idea of that, either."
Neeva K
"Probably to Squares." Neeva wouldn't expect much else, everyone for their own Faction, just as it should be. She sat down finally, checking through the vegetables and she looked momentarily happen with her selection. It'd be good for a few dishes.
"Oh, I am fine, I have done this so many times before. I can just ask Marc next time, we work together really well."
Velina
"If you're sure..." Of course, more she felt guilty for not being more helpful.
"I did mean it. If you want to invite people over for games and dinner and stuff." Vel shrugged, causing Pluto to grumble. She soothed him with another scratch behind the ears. "I don't have a client until pretty late tonight, so, I'm free."
Neeva K
"Yes, I will be fine." She reached over to pat her on the arm, quickly.
"You could also come to my house, cook a stew or two with me." Neeva offers, as she digs out her phone and sends a text out. "We have games there, too, lots of snacks. I have many bags of chips that one of my friends leaves for me a lot."
Velina
"Yeah, that sounds fine. If we stop at the Luxe, I can get a few more things to add to it. I made bread last night; it's only missing, like, the butt end." Vel was in total defeat mode and she just wanted to put the whole issue behind her. Better she just move on and pretend it never happened.
"Do you want any, like, sourdough starter? Mine's growing like a monster."
Neeva K
"It is up to you, I do not mind." Bread would be nice, something to help keep people happy and full. She hugged the bag to her stomach, considering the offer. "Okay, I can make you something to take home, we have a lot for me to make cakes and stuff with." Her household was never without, but baking promised all sorts of special treats.
Once they got to their stop, she headed out of the tram. "Lead the way?" A visit to the Luxe, and then her home, she was keen on getting the stews started.
Moderators: AJ_89 Steven (played by Robo-Craig) QnQ Hide Miyagawa (played by Monoclejack) Chroma (played by lewsey)
