I'm a little less than sold

ira

Perhaps some would call it mean, finding amusement in messing with the Platers. However, in her opinion, the Platers were screwing their lives over so much as it is it seems only fair that they become the source of amusement sometimes. Saints know the Drenchers could use something to laugh at every once in a while.

"Though it'd be nice too if Platers weren't allowed to visit it. Give us something they're not involved in for once." She shakes her head with a quiet chuckle, looking briefly at Uldren when he suggests the eel might think it's going to be fed, then back to the eel. "Sorry, lil' worm-dog. Got nothing for you." She withdraws her hand, just in case the eel has the ability to jump up like a fish out of water to snap her her fingers believing she's holding some food.

She tilts her head a bit to the side and looks back to Uldren when he speaks again, nodding slowly. "Probably eat a lot. And like, they'd probably be really sad as pets. At least in an apartment. Would only fit a small tank or something and that seems like a miserable life for them... Hopefully these will be let out again once they're done collecting those bugs." She looks a bit thoughtful for a second. "Never really considered pets. Was too busy trying to take care of myself as a kid and well... Didn't really get less busy with that. Bet it's like having a kid that never grows up."

So you can drag me through hell if it meant I could hold your hand

Uldren

Some people would probably call it mean, but to Uldren if they knew just how awful the Platers continued to treat their fellow city dwellers, it would likely change their opinions quick and fast. So he’s content trying to sleaze them out of things, taking more of their money for less quality goods quite easily without remorse. And he’s gotten quite decent at it on Neon Alley.

Uldren hums a soft laugh of agreement though, humming a “yeah, would be.” to her initial response before he watches her withdraw her hand, Uldren watching as the eel starts to slip back under, eyeing them curiously through the bits of mu d they swim through.

He looks back up at her fully when she looks back to him, however, ignoring the eels for the moment to listen. “I think they’re s’posed to get released once they’re healthy enough from the beetles gettin’ taken from them, right?” He doesn’t know if the eels in the pools here right now are the same ones that went in when they made these pools – having no marker to tell whether they are or aren’t.

“My family always had birds of some kind.” It made sense, though, he came from a family of miners and jewelers, and oftentimes canaries were coveted for checking the mines for their safety. His family always kept other kinds of birds around since then, but there was something nice about listening to their sounds, watching them talk and play and fly around the rooms.

I wanna get stuck between your teeth like cotton candy
So you remember me, darling

ira

She nods slowly and throws another brief glance at the eels in the pool they are at. "I saw some notice about them needing help capturing more, so maybe they do release them and take in new once the bugs have been collected." She really can't see any other reasons for the scientists to keep the eels around, so surely they are let out again. It's an idea she's going to stick with, at least.

"Birds seem nice. You can actually find a fair few of them out in the Tangles and such sometimes." She says with a soft smile and stands back up to walk around to the next pool to take a look at the eels over there as well. "Sometimes when I'm out there, I like to just sit and listen to them for a while. It can be quite nice if your day's been extra shitty and you just need a break. Never been able to get close to one, though. They seem very shy."

She kneels down by the next pool and again gains the attention of a few of the eels, they too probably curious if she's got any food. "Though pets are probably some maybe perhaps-idea for the far future anyway. You'll have to settle for trying to keep me fed and healthy instead." She adds with a small laugh and looks from the eels over to Uldren again with a teasing spark in her eyes.

Currently there are just too many other things anyway; Her moving in, getting back to being overly busy with her jobs and those medical bills that need to be dealt with preferably before next Drenak comes around. Besides, if she ever felt like actually wanting a pet, she has no idea what it would be to begin with.

So you can drag me through hell if it meant I could hold your hand

Uldren

“Makes the most sense.” He also can’t imagine why they would want to keep the eels as well – what good did it do to keep them once they knew they would survive without the beetle? So it’s with a quiet agreement that Uldren believes the same, that they’ve been released and are catching more all in the hopes of clearing up the sickness.

But he talks about birds, however, and he watches as she stands and moves to another pool, Uldren standing and meandering to a different one, looking across the pools at her when she speaks again. “They can be nice. Sometimes they wanna bite your fingers off.” He flashes her an amused smile. “I’ll letcha meet the family birds if we ever get through this lockdown shit.” Birds she could hold, pet their feathers, inspect up close.

Humming a laugh, Uldren’s attention remains on the eels beneath the pools that he stands by, spotting the way they weave in and out of the mud and around the basket of plants they’d made. “Speakin’ of, figure out what you’re hungry for?” He asks, looking up and over at her now that he’s scanned the pool there to ensure they’re healthy, too.

I wanna get stuck between your teeth like cotton candy
So you remember me, darling

ira

The eels that came over to check for food soon wiggle their way down into the mud again once it's clear they will not get fed. Ira looks as they move around, then chuckles and turns her attention back to Uldren, her smile brightening when he mentions the family birds. "I'd like that. As long as they won't bite my fingers off." She wiggles said fingers at him and stands back up with a small stretch, rolling her shoulder slowly.

As for food, she changes the movement of her shoulders into an unhelpful shrug, but seems to be thinking it over for a moment. For being someone who works with serving food and drinks all day and night normally, she's horrible at coming up with food for herself. Perhaps she just doesn't want to think of anything that the diner is serving, and then her options usually got narrowed down to whatever fast-food one could get from the stalls. More often than not, she just ends up with a snack if she's by herself.

After staring at the air in thought for several seconds, she shakes her head and looks back to Uldren. "Could go for anything, really. Something lighter, maybe... Dunno, you might be more starved than I am." She runs her fingers through her hair and gives him a bit of an apologetic smile. "I do know of a decent place not far from here that got mixes of grilled meats and veg with flatbread. Usually quite spicy, though, but they've got a few milder options if that's not your thing."

So you can drag me through hell if it meant I could hold your hand

Uldren

Uldren makes a small playful wince appear on his face, inhaling sharp enough that his teeth nearly whistle with the sound. “Well I can’t guarantee that.” He teases her, breaking into a laugh that wheezes out of him as he shakes his head. He moves away from the pool he stands beside, moving toward the side she’s on, stepping up beside her again as the offer of food airs between them.

“Oooh,” he begins, before looping his arm around her shoulders to guide her out of the bathhouse, assuming that they’re done now – also precisely on time for his stomach to growl and nearly echo in the empty space. “Don’t mind a little spice, it sounds good. Lead the way,” he murmurs gently, flashing her a brighter smile. At the very least, the spice will warm him up from how cold it was outside as well as maybe soothe his throat enough to not be as terrible feeling.

I wanna get stuck between your teeth like cotton candy
So you remember me, darling

ira

She gives Uldren's reaction an amused look and makes a mental note for herself to be very careful about her fingers if she ever gets the chance to hold any birds. As for the eels, she's satisfied that they look happy (from what she can judge, at least) and it doesn't seem like she'll have to file a formal complaint about animal cruelty to some Plate office that will just ignore it anyway, so she follows Uldren out of the bathhouse.

The sound of his stomach has her laugh softly and she narrows her eyes playfully at him. "I better hurry then, before you devour me instead." She teases and leans in to press a kiss to his cheek, then hugs her arm around him and takes the lead down the street.

It is indeed not far away, just a few minutes walk before they come to the place she has in mind. There are some seats outside, despite the weather, but Ira takes them inside to the warmth. "No take away today." She announces with a wave to one of the staff that greets them with a friendly smile and she picks up a menu before heading further in, spying a free table over in the corner and she pulls Uldren with her to it.

"I think most of these are bound to clear up your sinuses and some won't burn your throat in the process either." She says with a chuckle as she sits down and offers Uldren the menu. Most of the options seem to indeed be of various levels of spicy, but the few mild options got a sad smiley printed next to them and a very happy smiley next to the extra fiery ones.

So you can drag me through hell if it meant I could hold your hand

Uldren

He leans slightly into the kiss she presses against his cheek, chuckling as his arm tightens around her shoulders in a light squeeze. “Now you’re getting it.” He winks, letting her lead the way as he walks beside her. He spends the time looking at the sides of the streets, trying to gain an idea of where they are because he’s sure he’ll want to find his way back here one day when before he knows it they’ve reached the restaurant.

Uldren’s more than content to go inside the building, however, to get out of the damp and cold, and watches as she interacts with the staff – not unlike how he’d done it with the place closer to his place. And he’s certainly content to let her lead him to the empty table in the corner, easily sitting down at the table and eyes the menu she gives him.

He snorts at the smiley faces, however, and sets the menu down to look at her with a look that seems to scream really? But he returns to pouring over the menu. “What’re you gonna get?” He asks curiously, trying to gauge what kind of things she enjoyed here (maybe he’d be able to pick it up as a surprise one day, who knows?)

I wanna get stuck between your teeth like cotton candy
So you remember me, darling

ira

After having give him the menu, she watches Uldren as if she's just waiting for any kind of reaction and when he gives her that look, her lips press together for a second before she fails to keep herself from smiling broadly. She leans in closer to keep her voice down. "The owner got offended by people "wanting food without flavour", but put those options in because people asked for it." Chuckling, she sits back a bit again to let him look.

"I usually get the one with centi in red pepper sauce. It's... A bit above medium in spicy, I'd say." She leans forward again to point it out on the menu. "Though I'm thinking of getting this one today. It's a bit milder and very good too." She points out an option that is a mix of grilled vegetables and fried fruits of different kinds with green peppers.

The staff that greeted them comes over to check and Ira orders them some (guaranteed boiled clean and chilled) water and some sweetened ice tea that she usually gets, giving Uldren some more time to look through the menu after what he'd like. "They sometimes got a couple of crayfish options, but maybe it's seasonal. And I've heard fishing's been quite bad because of the algae." She offers, remembering that Uldren seems to like it and looks back to him with her head a bit to the side.

So you can drag me through hell if it meant I could hold your hand

Uldren

Uldren settles with a soft laugh at the answer Ira gives, reading him perfectly well enough to be able to tell that his question certainly involves the frowny and smiley faces. “Huh.” He decides, before his attention is brought back down to the menu, reading off the options while he listens to her own favorite, attention drifting to the one that she’d likely pick for today.

Both of them look good, and he’s still undecided when the staff comes to check on them – and he offers Ira a soft smile of thanks as she orders the drinks for the two of them, giving him enough time to read through everything and make his choice. “Hmmm..” He trails off, setting the menu down before sitting back in his chair. “Think I’ll try your usual, actually.” It should be warm enough to warm up his bones and hopefully keep his throat soothed.

Luckily, the staff returns with their drinks and they’re able to order, before he happily downs a bit of the cool and fresh (and importantly clean) water. “Y’know, I think a crayfish ‘n rice with a red pepper sauce would be good. Maybe it’ll be an option when the algae’s cleared up?” He asks contemplatively, tilting his head toward her.

I wanna get stuck between your teeth like cotton candy
So you remember me, darling