[S/R] Girl, Interrupted

[Capsule]

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Capsule

Tonight, Capsule found herself perched upon a stool that was taller even than her. She swung her legs around in the air, the toes of her boots a few inches from the ground. There was a light haze of smoke in the room, a strong scent of hard liquor, and the faint sounds of lips smacking. Capsule timidly turned her head to glance at the snogging couple beside her. The two of them had been going at it when she arrived, and were still going strong. It made her really uncomfortable, but also kind of jealous. Some people just had all the luck. A part of her was bitter enough to wish failure upon their relationship.

The Enchanter sighed and redirected her eyes to the sleepy looking bartender. He was gray haired, tall and thin. His thinning hair was pulled back into a small ponytail, and an earring was hooked through one earlobe. This man was an Adventurer, which she had initially thought quite odd. Capsule had not ordered anything yet, but when she made eye contact with the man's piercing baby blues, she made a timid request for a glass of water. The bartender sneered at her order, but brought back a glass with a wedge of lemon. Capsule took a small sip, and after finding it to be okay, swallowed a larger amount.

One might ask why Capsule was even in a bar to begin with, and she would respond with "business." She had some business to conduct with a Monk by the name of Elkeid, based on a star. Capsule wasn't sure what the person could possibly want from her in a bar of all places, but she would be rewarded for taking on the task. Given the shady bar and the even shadier district it was in, she could only imagine a need for poison - maybe even corrosive poison.

Capsule was halfway through her drink, when something small and warm began tugging at her arm. She reflexively jerked it back, and spotted a small, black werecat standing beside her. He was surely a child. "What do you want, kid?" He shouldn't even be in here, though it was hard to tell the kids from the adults in their avatars.

"Um, are you Capsule? My mum wants to speak with you."

"Yes, I am, but I'm waiting on someone-"

"Elkeid, right? She's my mum!" The little werecat, Sorrel, flashed a small set of sharp teeth at her. "Come now, please!" He lowered his voice. "She doesn't like to be kept waiting."

So the Monk was a woman, eh? Capsule was somewhat relieved by that. She had an easier time dealing with women than men – usually, anyway. She took Sorrel’s small, outstretched hand, and allowed herself to be guided by the werecat to the back of the room. There were several tables scattered around the bar, a few of which were stationed in corners. The table Sorrel stopped at was just one of those, blocked on three sides by a booth. A tall, stately woman sat on one side, her hands neatly folded in her lap.

Sorrel moved to sit beside the woman, leaving Capsule to sit down on the other side of the booth. She nervously set her half empty glass on the table. There was something about this woman – her confidence was intimidating. "So, you’re Capsule," Elkeid stated. Her voice, though cool, seemed gentle. "I bet you’re wondering why I asked you to meet me here." Her eyes glinted but for a moment. Capsule suddenly had a bad feeling about this, but could not get her legs to cooperate with her mind’s demand to run.

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

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Capsule

'Someone put a hit out on me, didn't they?' That was all Capsule could think as she stared back at the tall(er) woman across from her. She had expected some acne riddled nerd, who had an unhealthy obsession with constellations, not this mature older woman. Then again, why would a huge star nerd skulk around in a bar like this? They surely would have invited her to an observatory or something, right? This woman, though… She was dressed like some gangster from a movie, in her black pinstripe suit and matching fedora. The little werecat next to her was wearing a matching suit. Were the two of them a part of the Londinium Mafia?

While Capsule was busy shaking like a leaf, Elkeid raised a hand to call for a waitress. The dour faced young woman that answered tucked her lit cigarette behind an ear to make room for her little notepad and pen. The fact that this bar had a waitress was another distraction that Capsule fell prey to. Was this normal? Her image of bars was that the customer would go up to the bar to ask for a drink, especially for dinky little places like these.

"Whatchu want?" Yes, this was definitely top notch service.

"The boy will have a root beer float, the girl a Shirley Temple, and I would like a mojito, please."

The waitress grunted and sauntered off without reading back their order. Capsule did not fancy having someone order off the menu for her, and did not drink alcohol. She was too afraid to protest though, for fear of angering her client, who had still not told her what she wanted. Capsule lowered her hands down to her lap, fingers curling towards the palms of her hands.

Capsule recalled Duke dropping a letter on her head while she was out in the atrium - Elkeid's letter, in fact. She was expecting the usual; people looking for healing items or innovative potions, like her potion of water breathing. When she had seen no clear request for a potion, her mind thought of research or some other query on her craft. That was not what she read, though. The letter consisted of a single paragraph.

Capsule,

I see that you are one of the top crafters in your field (and overall, really). I have no one else to turn to, and as such desire your assistance. I prefer to make arrangements in person, rather than corresponding via letters. If it is alright with you, I would like to meet up in Hog's Head, down on Crouch End. Please let me know if that is acceptable to you, and the times you are free, if so.

- Elkeid

The following corresponding letters just involved some basic information of each other (class and levels, that sort of thing), but it had never occurred to Cap to ask Elk about their gender. It seemed so irrelevant, but she knew better now. She knew better. Oh god, how she knew.

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

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Good Time

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Capsule

Capsule just wanted to bite the bullet and ask the woman what she was after, yet her mouth was still refusing to cooperate. Elkeid, evidently unperturbed by Capsule's nervousness, took out a pipe and a small box that contained tobacco. Soon the air around her was hazy with a steady stream of smoke, and that all too familiar smell of burning tobacco. Capsule wrinkled her nose at the unpleasant smell. What was it with people and smoking? Why did they continue to indulge in a vice that polluted their lungs.

After what felt like ages, the huffy waitress returned and set their drinks in front of them. Sorrel squealed and dragged his root beer float closer to himself, while Elkeid took a break from the horrid little pipe to take a sip of her alcoholic beverage. Capsule peeked down at the liquid in her glass, and after giving the contents a curious little sniff, brought it to her lips. Elkeid was paying, and it would be rude to not drink.

Much to Capsule's relief, the Shirley Temple lacked the bitter taste of alcohol. All she could taste was ginger ale and some soda, as well as another ingredient she could not identify. Feeling a bit more at ease now, Capsule took longer sips from her glass, until it was less than halfway empty. Nervous she may be, but at least her mouth was properly lubricated.

The sound of knuckles cracking across the table made her mouth want to dry up, though. "I believe we can get to business now. Do you agree, Capsule?"

'Woman, just come out with it already.' Rather than blurting that out like a fool, Capsule nodded. "I would very much like to know what you want from me." She just wanted to go home and crawl under her bed, damn it. Bars were no fun for this redhead.

"I'll cut right to the chase, then. I need you to research henna powder, Capsule. I am unsure of how to research tattoos otherwise, as I would likely need to consult a scribe for ink."

"Henna… powder?" What the hell was that, and where could she find the plants for it?

"Yes. Henna powder is derived from the mignonette tree, and has many uses. It can be used as a dye for hair, clothes, and even the skin. The ancient Egyptians used it for cosmetic purposes - the uses are endless. I imagine that Courtesans and non-Courtesans alike could benefit from its uses." She lightly tapped a nail against the tabletop. "The only problem is its acquisition and preparation. That is a job for a Pharmacist, is it not?"

Capsule slowly nodded. "It is, though I'm not sure where I would find this tree." She was at an absolute loss.

The Monk fumbled with a piece of paper and a pencil for a moment, and then slid the finished product towards Capsule. On it was the crude drawing of a tall shrub. "Normally this plant is grown in parts of Asia and Africa, but this world isn't very similar to our own. Take Sarum, for example. It's resembles a more mountainous land, when it's supposed to be flat plain. So a plant that normally thrives in high temperatures could exist in places it probably shouldn't. As for the location, I trust that you will be able to think of something. Rest assured that you will be well compensated if you succeed."

It was a bit much to ask her to track down this so called plant and research the dye, too, but Capsule could hardly turn the request down. Researching dye? Come on! No one had done that yet, nor could she recall seeing any mention of it on the public research boards. If someone was, they were being mighty secretive about it, but… But it would be wise of her to do so before someone else could. Being able to dye whatever was surely a marketable commodity. ’That could be you, Capsule.’

The Enchanter took a long draught from her cup, gently slamming it down once she had drained it dry. "I’ll do it." Why the hell not? She was always open to new and fun research ideas. "...Oh. Just one thing." The Monk raised a quizzical brow back at her, but did not voice her acknowledgement. "Er... Why a bar, of all places?"

"Why not?"

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

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Capsule

And that was how Capsule ended up leaving for Sarum the following morning. Well… not Sarum exactly, but along that area. She was headed towards the old quarry caverns, to be specific. Elkeid had suggested that there were several areas from which one might find this mignonette, and outside the caverns was just one of the few successful spots. It was warm and a rather humid, especially in the summer, so it was definitely an ideal spot. Had this been winter, though, Capsule would have been out of luck. Video game logic or not, these plants did not thrive in cold weather.

Capsule scooted around on her skateboard for what felt like ages through the city, the squid plushie around her shoulders loaded with a few potions. Her magic bag contained the essential supplies, like her Pharmacist tools and some food for the trip. Skateboarding the entire way got tiring before she had even gotten a little than halfway, so she flagged down a passing cart for a ride. The Lander leading the grumpy mule was going the same way, though his eyes were set on Avon.

Avon was apparently a newly discovered area, one of many she had yet to seek out and explore. Hell, she had not even set foot on Windsor Castle property yet, despite the allure of taming a goat butler calling out to her. She was going to have to visit that place someday, if she ever wanted to achieve her goal - maybe. Dobby had become a dear friend and loyal servant, so it would pain her to have to free him. He wasn't like Fiver; the golem might want to return to his old gang.

The back of the Lander's cart was laden with an assortment of home grown goods, most of them being cabbages. Fiver, lover of everything green (which was not a creative color!), would have had a fit if he was here, but no - the little rabbit was in Avarice's guild home, safe and snug in the atrium with his new mate, Virthuril. The two of them were getting along famously, and already they had a sizeable burrow scratched out below its dirt floor. Capsule picked up a cabbage, turning it about in her fingers as she contemplated stealing it.

Back when she was poor and still looting stands for spare scraps of food, Capsule would not have batted an eye at tucking as many of these cabbages into her bag. She was surprisingly wealthy now, having scrounged and saved whatever gold came her way. The gold had therefore grown to a rather decent amount, partly due to a combination of bank interest and braving the stock market. The success with the latter was all thanks to a crafty Lander accountant, who somehow knew which stocks to buy, and which to not. She had no idea what to do with her mass fortune, of course, as other than some skill skins recently released, there was nothing else that caught her fancy.

When the Lander came to a stop just outside the dirt road that led to the quarry, Capsule tucked the cabbage back into its sack, and scampered down onto the ground. The road seemed to stretch out for miles ahead of her, the outer fringes of it littered with dead or dying grass. A chill went down her spine as she gazed at the quarry's steep shelves of rock. Skulking around them were a few spiders, presumably those who were late to go to sleep or looking for the last meal before turning in for the day. The skin on the Enchanter’s back prickled with sweat and fear as a particularly large Digger Tarantula burrowed into the ground. This was all far too spoopy for this poor redhead, but alas.

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

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Capsule

Capsule edged her way around the still lingering spiders. Some were retiring, like the Digger Tarantula from before, but others were snapping their… mandibles? She took this as an aggressive sign, especially when the spiders found and fell upon small animals scampering around in the dirt. That poor squirrel, for example, did not stand a chance. She definitely did not want to end up like it, either.

"What did that shrub bush thing look like again?" She peeked at Elkeid's drawing of it, suddenly wishing she had stopped by the library to do a bit of research on her own. Though, how likely was it that the Landers or anyone else had taken note of the mignonette plant? Surely they would have beaten her to the punch if they knew what the plant was capable of. She had certainly not seen any mention of dyes specifically made by Pharmacists, either.

The few spiders that were still out greatly unnerved her, but they seemed to sense how much higher leveled she was in comparison to them, and did not dare to bother her. That was all and well, for Capsule had a neat new staff with which to bludgeon things with - and maybe casts some wicked dark majicks. Her Sanguine Rose also restored health points, which was just the bees knees.

She took a good long look of the plant drawing, and then stuffed it into her pocket and went to work. There were plenty of plants out in this area, most of which were shrubby in appearance. None of them were what she was looking for, though. Capsule rubbed her chin in thought as she stopped near one which very well could have been a mignonette. It looked just like Elk's picture, and more of the plants were even clustered together nearby.

Capsule squatted down in front of one of the plants, and took out her kukri. She carefully sawed through the stems of the plant, and pulled it free from the ground. This first bundle was shoved into a burlap sack she kept in her inventory just for these occasions, and repeated the process several more times until her bag was absolutely bulging with the stuff. She also made sure to store a few of the seeds into her pocket, and even fully uprooted one plant to replant in the guild’s atrium. If the little fellow did not thrive in the garden, then she could look elsewhere to plant the seeds – or just set up a special area with a heating lamp or something.

The gathering of the plants was a lot easier than she had expected, though she still needed a way to get home. Walking was always an option, though skateboarding would have been fun, too. Summoning Dobby was also an option, but riding a golem for that long usually resulted in saddle soreness. She would rather not have to worry about a sore crotch when she got home, so walking it was.

Very few people or carts passed by her, and none of them wanted to stop when she timidly raised a hand out to them. Some of the Adventurers were low leveled rude peeps, how made obscene gestures and swore at her. Capsule was more baffled than offended, though, which might have been for the best. She shuffled on and on, watching the morning slowly fade into early afternoon. It was a long, but peaceful trek.

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

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Don't Move

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Capsule

Once home in the guild house, Capsule made a beeline to her office. It was afternoon by now, but the castle was mostly silent, bar the odd creak or groan. Aranea was likely busy, doing what hermit crab monsters did best, and the servants may have been out on the town, purchasing supplies or running errands. It was normally this quiet, anyway, so it wasn't that much of a big deal. She did kind of wish that people would show their faces more often, to make the castle livelier. Oh well. Perhaps it was time to start recruiting - yeah right.

She sat down in her office chair and made herself comfortable for a few minutes, just casually taking out bits and pieces of the plant, and leaving the fully uprooted one to the side for later. A shovel and the patience to dig would be needed before she could properly deal with that. For now, she just wanted to sort things out and get the finished product back to Elkeid.

Capsule assumed that the henna powder would be easy to make, especially for a Pharmacist like her. The only problem would be the whole grinding bit; she was used to dealing with tougher plants, like ginger or other roots. As hard as they could be, they were much easier to grind because of the friction. Leaves were… well, they required more friction and what not. It was not hard to achieve, but it could be a bit frustrating at times.

She pulled off a bunch of leaves and scattered them around in the bowl of her mortar. As far as she knew, she only needed the leaves, and not the twigs or other excess debris. Those were just unnecessary fillers. She ended up spending an extra minute to pick out the pieces that did not belong, and tossed those into a growing pile to the side.

With that done and out of the way, Capsule picked up her pestle and began grinding and pounding the leaves into dust. It would have been better if she had waited for them to dry up first, but that process would take at least a week to complete, and that was a week she did not have time for. The sooner she got this strange woman's request done, the sooner she could return to her own research queue.

It took a little longer than usual, but by the time she was done, Capsule had a bowl of finely grounded mignonette leaves. Now she just had to… should she work on turning it into paste? She wasn't sure how henna powder worked, after all, though if there was no reason for her to actually wet it yet… Better yet, she could just sample a small bit of it. How? She honestly was not sure. It worked like dye, though, so she just needed to make sure it stained, right? Considering how this plant worked, on the skin would be the easiest - or make the most sense, rather.

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

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Don't Move

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Capsule

Capsule pulled out some notes she had scribbled before leaving Elk and Sorrel at the bar. These were all instructions from Elkeid, who apparently had some experience dealing with henna. It would not surprise the Enchanter if the Monk had had her hands dyed with henna. In fact… Capsule's cheeks tinged with red as she imagined the older woman with intricate designs staining her hands and the small of her back. She was rather attractive and well formed, which intimidated the slender and tomboyish redhead. Maybe she should have chosen an avatar that did not resemble herself too much? It made her feel inferior.

'Get it together, Capsule,' she thought as she stopped herself from peeking down into her shirt, at the small mosquito bumps she called "breasts". Of course, this would be the price she had to pay for staying true to herself… Years later and she still could not get over her shortcomings. Capsule pouted, glad that no one else was in the room to see. Fiver would have found the matter all too confusing, and would ask questions she did not want to answer. 'Stupid Elkeid and her dumb sweater puppies…' Perhaps she should put the henna on hold for now, and focus on something to increase breast size?

She scooped some of the fresh powder into an empty test tube, and paused to skim through Elk's notes again. For maximum effect, she had to mix the powder with lemon juice before applying it to the skin, and then leave the henna mixture onto the skin for a few hours. The longer the mixture stayed "glued" on, the darker the stain would be, which in turn would increase how long the stain stayed. For best results, the mixture should stay on overnight - yeah right. Capsule was just going to test it and then ship it off. As long as she could get it to stain a little, she considered it to be good to go.

Retrieving some lemon juice meant going aaaaaaall the way downstairs, which Capsule was a little too lazy to do at the moment. So instead of going down and to the kitchen, she ducked into the atrium to seek out a lemon tree. The tree had been around for as long as she could remember, and was still laden with fruit. The servants had collected and turned most of the lemons into ingredients or even lemonade, though Capsule typically left them alone in favor of other sour things.

A fresh lemon was plucked and shoved into her pocket. She half expected to see Fiver and his mate hopping about, but the bunnies were either too busy nibbling or frolicking underground to notice her. Ever since Fiver had become smitten with the doe, he rarely followed his mistress around anymore. It was kind of lonely, but she was happy for him. What she was not happy about was the fact that everyone but her seemed to be pairing off - okay, that was a little bit of an exaggeration. It was just Caer, Kumori, and now her rabbits. She would be hard pressed to name any other couples.

Still, it did nothing to improve her mood. While she was not too concerned with getting involved in a relationship (and even if she was, who was there to choose from?), in her experience, couples from a group of friends tended to splinter off - oh, who was she trying to fool? She didn't have a group of friends in the real world, and she hesitated to call anyone here a "friend". They were more like quest buddies, and her guild was virtually dead.

Capsule paused outside of her office, and gave a long, deep sigh of frustration. Was this honestly any different from how things normally went before she got stuck in this game? Even when the gang had been around, she often ended up wandering off on her own. Guild or no guild, she was very much the outlier of the group. That was partly the reason she had switched from Courier to Animal Trainer - to not feel lonely anymore.

With a heavy heart, Capsule stepped into her office and dropped down into her office chair. She sat there for the next few minutes, not doing much aside from dejectedly staring at her desk top. Finally, when she could not take it any longer, she placed the lemon on her desk, and neatly sliced it in half. Moping around would get her nowhere.

She neatly dissected the lemon, carefully flicking the seeds to the side as she separated it into small segments. After that, Capsule reached for another vial and one by one squeezed the juice out of the segments into it. She halfheartedly swished the juice around, and then poured it into the test tube that contained the powder. The henna powder swiftly soaked up the juice, forming a thick liquid when she stirred both together. When she had reached a consistency that she could work with, Capsule set the vial down in its stand, and searched for a tool to help transform the glob into some sort of masterpiece.

What she found was a very thin tool, like the sort nurses used to inflict a tiny cut and suction up a drop of blood. It was just lying around in her desk, and might actually have been a piece of broken glass, but it worked for what she had in mind. Capsule glanced at the vial of henna, and gingerly dipped the end of the glass into the mixture. Now, she was no artist, but she did not need to be to test this stuff.

She stretched her arm out in front of her, and lowered the glass down to her skin. With as much neatness as she could muster, Capsule sketched in the outline of a rabbit’s head, and even added a little dab for a tail. She went over this outline a few more times, until the lines were thick and well formed. Care had to be taken to avoid scratching herself with the glass, though there was one mishap that almost broke the skin. When it was all over, she had a rather crude tattoo on her arm, one that would hopefully look much better when the outer layer of henna dried and fell off.

coded by benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

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Cognitive Dissonance

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Capsule

Unable to do much else with her arm laden with paste, Capsule found herself alone with her thoughts. She slowly rose from her chair, and forced herself to walk over to where her small couch sat in the corner. When not busy conducting research, Capsule would flop down on the old, but comfortable cough, and flip through novels or newspapers. Sometimes she would play her music box, just to make the experience relaxing and easy. Today, however, she just wanted to lie down and stare up at the ceiling.

The couch gave a soft squeak as she lowered herself down onto it. She vaguely recalled the way the dust (before this room was tidied up) would rise and float through the air. It did not do that now, of course; her couch had been thoroughly cleaned, and was thus deprived of dust and grime. She kept it clean, too, despite rarely having visitors or clients in her office. Some people, notably the slobs, would see such a gesture as useless. Capsule saw it as a necessity. She was no excessive cleaner or germaphobe, but cleaning gave her things to do, and kept her life from spiraling out of control into a lazy stupor.

At home, she preoccupied herself with her books and gaming. It could get very boring and lonely at times, but even at work she felt lonely. Being surrounded by people was fine and dandy and all, but did nothing for her when she felt excluded from their activities. Even if she had dared to go that extra mile, the customers would go back to their business, and as a courier, whatever interactions she had with them to begin with was short lived. It seemed even harder to make friends at work, though she supposed that was due to most of her coworkers being much older. Most of them treated her like a kid, though there was one who had wanted to be more than friends.

Capsule shivered in disgust and rolled over onto her other shoulder. Hans was so… he was creepy. He was the kind of guy that needed to take a class on sexual harassment, though all that had taught him to do was be sneakier with his advances. Capsule was one of his key targets - she was quiet, made little waves, and most importantly: timid. She was too embarrassed to complain to human resources about his behavior, such as: butt grabbing, inappropriate hip touching, and that one time where Hans suggested that she sit on his lap. And being seated in an empty room when he walked in… ugh! It was the absolute worse. Hans was a whopping 6'2, in stark contrast to Capsule's 5'2. She truly hated being at crotch level with that man.

Just thinking about life in the real world, and how it compared to life here made Capsule wonder why anyone would ever go back. Sure, she missed her family and online friends, but she had a shitty job, an even shittier apartment, and complete lack of a social life. At least here she had respect, a nicer place than she could ever afford elsewhere, and the gold to make all of that happen. It was a depressing thought, but why should she be glad for this world to return her to the real world? If possible, she would certainly stick around if suddenly given the option. So what if she was living in a fantasy world? At least she was someone here.

At some point during all of her moping, Capsule fell asleep. It was still a bit of a ways from evening, but after the stress of the day and her time spent travelling, a well-deserved nap was in order. Unlike her usually short naps, however, Capsule's slumber lengthened and deepened until late in the evening. She dreamed of nothing in particular, and certainly could not remember the bits and pieces when she awoke from her slumber.

Waking up so late was rather disappointing, and meant that she would have to stay up for the rest of the night to keep her sleep schedule on track, but that soon became number two on her priority list. It had been the last thing on her mind, but now that she was awake, Capsule could feel the odd prickling of dried henna on her arm. Alarmed, she looked down to check on its status. Somehow she had managed to not rub any of it off, though little parts of it had chipped off in her sleep.

Capsule poked and prodded the stuff with her finger. It was pretty much rock hard by now, so she assumed that it was safe to peel it off - which she did. The Enchanter winced and muttered "ow" under her breath as tiny hairs were ripped out along with the henna paste. It was very much like pulling off very dry bits of mud from your skin, though mud rarely left orangish stains. The orange stain would allegedly darken to a brownish tint later, but the fact that it had left a mark at all was satisfactory in Capsule's eyes. That meant that the goop was good to go, and Elk could take her share of the henna.

She rolled off of the couch and stumbled around in the dark room, before summoning her Magic Light. It had one of those new skins applied to it, so that it resembled a ball of floating soot. The little Desue Blob yawned along with her, while hovering just above her desk. Capsule used this light to scribble out a quick note to Elkeid, and bundled it and a vial of the henna into a small sack. Still yawning and rubbing her eyes, Capsule left her quiet office to step out into the even quieter hallway, and made her way towards the atrium.

It was a bit nosier out here, what with the many bug variants chirping or rustling about. There was also the occasional bird cry, probably from the pigeons she kept pinned up near one of the large windows. The pigeons softly cooed and ruffled their feathers as she reached into the pen. One or two were brave enough to fly out, but they would be back. The carrier pigeons were smart enough to know that work was expected of them. Capsule tied the small sack to the leg of one of the pigeons, and gingerly lifted it out. The pigeon remained still until a small port in the window was opened, and then spread its wings and swooped out and down into the night. With her work done, Capsule made her way to her room to lie down and peruse her reading materials.

coded by benetnasch of ET