forum berries and bread rolls (1x1closed)

Started January 16, 2023 by @IcarusFightsTheSun book

tune

Sounds good

dom comes back into town after not being able to afford an inn room for the past month 'i'm running low money, maybe i should get a real job? no no, am i going crazy i'll stop doing odd jobs the day the world ends' they think. as it walks over to the bulletin board in town square, one of the posters catches their eye "IN NEED OF A LAB ASSISTANT. PAYMENT IS NEGOTIABLE."
'hmmm negotiable? sounds like money to me.' they think as they tear the poster off and go to the address listed on the paper.

Ash sighed as she wiped her brow. Most people wouldn't think of alchemy as physical labor but it really depended on the materials that were being used. She didn't mind really, she often found the work rewarding and had a fair amount of pride in her work. But it was getting to the point where the isolation of her work was getting to be a little too much.

She wasn't sure how many people would be interested in her advertisement but she was determined to work it out, one way or another.

standing in front of the lab, dom wasn't really sure what to expect 'well only one way to find out' they thought sighing heavily. they knocked. waited a minute. knocked again then shouted "hey is anyone here? i'm here for the job!"

Ash looked up at the knock and set down her tools. “Calm down. I’m coming.” she called back at the second impatient knock and ended up opening the door in her stained apron and gloves. She almost looked more comparable to a blacksmith than an alchemist. “Yes? Can I help you?”

"oh..um sorry, am i in the wrong place?", dom holds out the poster "do you know where this is? I'm looking for the lab and i think i got turned around." dom says looking up at the girl, she was pretty to say the least, 'woah' they think, then dom starts blushing a little embarrassed.

Ash’s eyes widened at the sight of the poster and shook her head. “Oh, no. That's me.” she assured, opening the door more and stepping to the side. “Please, come in.”

"oh ok. well, really glad i wasn't lost then" they say stepping inside they were hit by a whirlwind of thoughts, 'wow did i just get invited into a cute girls house? That's good right? wait stop NO bad dom, you were literally hired to be here! hang on is this even a house? do i even know what a lab is? holy crap i don't! is this where I say something?' as they thought this they were growing increasingly redder by the second. "so wha- what exactly am i supposed to do here?" they said trying to hide their face, 'dammit why did i have to start stuttering, that sounded stupid'

“So am I. And I am glad that you answered my advertisement.” Ash smiled. “I wasn't sure if anyone would be interested. Are… Are you alright?” she asked, noticing how quickly the dwarf was getting nervous. “Oh, well… If you are willing to work with me, I could use an extra set of hands with gathering ingredients and processing them. Do you have any experience with alchemy?”

dom clears their throat ahem "yeah yeah i'm fine, great actually. but…about the alchemy..well, um i don't …really..know what that is. exactly." dom says sheepishly.

Ash nodded at the answer. “That's alright. Not many people know exactly what it is.” she admitted. “Can you perhaps recognize certain plants? That's something I work with quite a lot to make medical products.”

dom lets out a heavy sigh of relief 'at least it isn't common knowledge' it thinks, " yeah i know all about that kind of stuff!" they say excitedly, "what do you need, i know basically everything about the woods." they say proudly

“Wonderful!” she smiled. “My name is Ash. What is your name?”

"hmm. oh yeah im dom, i mean uh Dommity Thornbrush. nice to meet you ash." they say with a big grin on their face. "well should we go then?"

“Dommity. That's a nice name. It's nice to meet you too.” Ash smiled back, holding out her hand before realizing that she was still wearing her gloves. “Oh! I'm sorry.” she giggled and quickly took the protective cloth off.

dom looks confused at her hand, then up at her and just holds their hand out about half way and doesn't really know what to do.

Ash was a little surprised when Dommity didn't understand the gesture but gently took his hand, once her glove was off, and gave it a friendly shake.

they flinched a little when ash took their hand 'umm. what's she doing, is this normal thing?' "what are you doing?" she says at the same time, "shouldn't we leave before it gets dark?"

Ash bit her lip to keep from giggling at the question as she let go of their hand. “It's a handshake. A gesture most people often make when they met someone or reach an agreement.” she explained, though she was a little confused why Dommity was not familiar with the action. “Actually, I live here so I do not have to leave… But if you have someplace to stay for the night, then yes, now would be a good time to head out.” she agreed. “We can discuss details tomorrow.”

dommity starts blushing furiously from head to toe "oh-OH yeah i knew wh-what you were doing i just thought we were leaving tonight! th-that's all!" they said hurriedly 'ah i look like an idiot' they think rushing to the door 'well i guess it's another day camping, might as scout for useful herbs then' "um bye ash it was nice meeting!" they call back already out the door.

“Nice to meet you too.” Ash calls back, a little bewildered by Dommity’s actions. But it was cute to see them blush like that… I didn't even know that dwarves could blush that way. she giggled at the thought before she started to clean up her workspace for the night.

waking up at first light 'i wonder if ash is awake yet? i might as well wait for her' dom thinks. they head over to the lab knock softly on the door exactly three times, 'hmm, maybe she's a heavy sleeper. I guess i'll wait here then.' it thinks impatiently.

it sits on the steps and within 5 minutes of waiting, they fall asleep.

Ash wasn't that much of an early riser and barely heard the knock as most of her customers know her usual hours.

When she finally did wake up and start her day, it had been a few more hours since the possibly dreamed knocking.

dom wakes up disoriented, not knowing where they were or how long they've been out. they get up a knock on the door three times again 'yeeesh i hope it isn't too late.' dom thinks a bit worried.

Ash looks up and makes her way over to answer the door. “Oh, Dommity. You're early.” she smiles pleasantly in surprise. “Come in. Would you like something to drink?”

it yawns and stretches "yeah sorry about that, you don't have to get me anything. and what time is it?" they say walking in. "oh and by the way, what exactly are we looking for?"

“Oh, it's alright.” Ash assured. “Uhh… I think that it's half past eight. Maybe nine. Are you sure? I already have some tea made.” she offered. “As far as plants, you mean? Mostly those with remedial properties. Even minor ones. But we can talk about that later.”