Parassaulted

It's Alne.

Jazz hasn't really spent much time here in several months. After all, there's always some other horizon to chart and being here means not being out there, charting them. It's a distraction she prefers. Time here is time spent dwelling...

...not that she doesn't dwell excessively, anyway. She's seated on the rail of the bridge, having scrabbled up to take her place there, a parchment unfurled upon her lap, fingers blackened with charcoal for the sketch she was working on. She's not an artist, per say, but she's not wholley without talent. Undertraiend, certainly, and unrealized. Upon the parchment is drawn a single, barren tree.

Where the clouds allow them to peek though, the stars shine above - and, for a few moments and from the right angle, the tower is framed by the waning moon. As much as something that large can be, anyway. It's a lovely time, the quiet of night blanketing the world...

And Estelle is awake, as her feet carry her along the bridge. Not entirely unexpected, given her proclivities. "Hello, Jazz." she greets the Undine easily, as she moves to sit beside her, legs dangling. Her tails wrap around the railing for security, though. "It's a beautiful night, for all that it's cloudy." She tips her head back, silver eyes scanning the skies. Her hands clasp in her lap, as she basks in the moment.

"Foxy Loxy," says Jazz in greeting. She proceeds to make a few more marks on the tree. It is very, very, very dead, long slender brawnches weighted by ages, its trunk croooked and leaning.

"I suppose that it is," she agrees, a glance upwards. "Fascinating weather simulation we have here." Her tentacles braid into her hair.

"Mmm. I'm starting to hate this season, with all the storms and rain." Which they thankfully aren't dealing with now. "It's already a pain keeping my tails in proper order." The vixen's tone is light, though, for all the complaint in her words. She turns her head back down, looking over her friend's sketch.

"I didn't know you drew, though." Estelle comments, of the work, before she looks away. "You've got some talent, there."

"I don't," says Jazz.

"I can do some black and white land scapes *okay*, but they lack ... dimension. Just sort of flat. Maybe if I took the time, but.."

Jazz shrugs her shoulders, tentacles peeking out of her hair down her shoulders.

"I don't really notice the rain. Suspect it's an undine thing. And, honestly, ... that's Japan for us, right? Some things don't change." A wry look on her face. Then she sniffs.

"...who knew wet fox smelled like wet dog?"

"It's more than I have. Constellations don't hone such skills all that much, hm?" There's a wink at the downer Undine, as the vixen kicks her legs back and forth. "But even if it's flat, I think you do have a style, there."

The wet dog comment gets a pout, though. "Wet fur does tend to smell the same, yes. I'm trying to find the best oils to work into my fur to prevent it, but..." There's a sigh, and then a shrug. "But, yes. I might keep the parasol around for awhile, all the same."

She grasps said foci, and uses its tip to poke at Jazz. Carefully.

"Oh, I think you'd do well. Probably better than me drawing a particularly dead tree, but then, I suppose we're all dead branches these days, aren't we?" She makes another little drawing, another grasping branch, twisting drawn.

Then she is ... poked. She blinks. Looks up. Eyes the parasol. Eyes Estelle. Eyes her again.

The fox turns blinking silver eyes upon Jazz, as the undine looks back and forth between her and the parasol. It is an /entirely/ innocent look, as only a kitsune can pull off. The tilt of the ears just so, wide eyes shining a little, expression so pure butter wouldn't melt in her mouth... but her tails are twitching, in their wrap of the railing.

"Yes? Is something wrong, Jazz?" It carries over into Estelle's tone, too, as she cants her head.

Jazz does not look directly at Estelle again. Instead, without a word, she returns to her drawijng. THen, with a wave of her hand, there's a sprikle of rainwater pouring down on Estelle's ehad.

...beneath her parasol.

There's a splutter, at the sudden, localized rain. Estelle's ears pull flat... and then she shudders, and shakes herself out as rain falls into like that, forcing them to pop back up and lean forward, instead. A frown plays along her lips, silver eyes narrowing...

It is a look that promises Vengeance.

It leads to her murmuring under her breath, though 'Vulpecula', 'white socks', 'trickster', and 'misfortune' are more intelligible. There's no obvious effect, however, even as the fox settles down. "Rude." is all she directs towards the Undine.

... whose shoelaces are now tied together.

"Hm? Who poked *who* first?" says Jazz, without another word, casually. She does not notice the tie of her boots straps together. She will, inevitably, of course.

Then she's nodding a long. Sniff.

"Yep, still gotta work on that oil," she adds, casually.

"Poked you? Whatever are you talking about, Jazz, I surely didn't do anything of the sort!" There's a shake of Estelle's head, and a soft tut-tut, at such vile implications on her character. She does take the time to dispel the raincloud, though, through her own application of Water Artes. And shakes herself out a little, though /is/ careful not to spray water on the drawing... but not of it getting anywhere else.

"Hmph. See if I share any of the shampoos my research is leading into with you." She grumbles at the Undine, after that 'casual' comment.

Jazz doesn't really mind her raincloud being dispelled. Honestly, it was pretty minor, even if it was very cold and icy. Sort of like her!

She shields herself as she's tahaken off on, her face scrunching up adorably, "Ahh," she squawks. "That's gross." She doesn't sound perturbed, really. She's just making a show of it for Estelle's benefit.

"Oh, I'm sorry." comes the blasé response. "You kept comparing the smell to wet dog, so I thought I might try their drying technique. Perhaps I should've tuck to Air and Fire artes." She wiggles fingers at Jazz, though there's also a wink at the other woman. "Perhaps if you hadn't rained on my parade, though..."

There's a too-casual shrug, and a flash of a smile, there. "Oh well~."

"Like water bothers me anyway. One of the advantages of being an Undine, I guess." Jazz casts a glance over her shoulder down at the water. "...even if I don't much like it anyway." She considers a moment, then lets a gentle waft of steam wash over her, warming the air around her. It's an apology perhaps.

The waft of steam doesn't really dry her tails, but the warmth does help chase away a bit of the chill from the rain and wet cloth. There's a soft hum, at that. "I imagine it can make a warmth bath so much more relaxing. Just close your eyes and slip under the surface, basking in it." Estelle comments, going with the shift in subjects. "I've just got keen ears and a lovely style."

"Do you, now. Thenn what are you doing *here*?" remarks Jazz.

She places her hands together over the drawing she has, charcoal smearing across the page lightly when she does. It doesn't bother her any.

"Chatting with a friend beneath the night sky, even if I would prefer less clouds." The fox looks over, tipping her head just so and giving another wink towards the Undine. "Shining a little bit of starlight in your late night in the process." Her hands folds in her lap, ears flicking as she waits for the response. And she wiggles her nose, at the way the charcoal smears under Jazz's fingers.

"So you are," says Jazz.

Then she looks back down at the charcoal drawing and puts it inside her coat afte rrolling it back up. She lays her hands atop her skirt.

"Did you have a chance to take the residue to Uta?" She asks, finally, after a lengnthy, searching pause.

"I haven't yet, no." comes the easy response about the Uta matter. "I'll drop by at a more reasonable hour, and see what she thinks of it, and what she can glean about the creature from it." Estelle gives a light shrug, there. "If it has anything at all. It's just called 'acidic goo' in my Inventory." One of her tails unhooks from the rail, curling and flicking behind her. "I'll probably split the sample, and use some to test its reaction to various bases. If I can manage to gather or make them..."

"That's a good idea," agrees Jazz at the suggestion of splitting the sample. "Uta was talking about usinng the sample to prime a slime for further testing. I imagine that may not come without peril, but it's a good idea."

She consniders a moment, then turns to look at her. "It was good thinking to get it," she offers.

"Mmm... Unlike /somebody/," her tail prods Jazz lightly in the stomach, as Estelle gives her a Look, "I knew better than to touch it with my bare hands. I don't expect anything like it's ecology to come from it, but... every little bit will help." She shakes her head, and looks skyward once more. "Thank you, though."

"I only lost a littl -- oof-," Jazz is poked in the stomach by a tail and she bats it casually before inspecting her figners, "I only lost a *little* HP and then let go. Fairly sure Uta would be able to deal with it, anyway." She huffs once, dismissively, then adds, "I didn't have any tongs handy. Really ought to upgrade it and get myself an alchemy kit. I technically have the basics of the skills anyway." She sticks her tongue out in thought.

"Having more tools on hand is always better than not, with the Inventory ro manage things." Estelle agrees, neglecting to talk about how cute that 'oof' was. "I'd pick up a kit of nothing but such tools, if there was one around. Hm. Maybeb something to look into... 'the near-complete adventurer's toolkit'."

She shakes off the thought after a moment, tails swishing and unravelling from the railing. "But! I think it's about time I called it a night, if I do need to track down Uta in the morning. Thank you for the company, Jazz."

Jazz, of course, nods to Estelle. "Of course," she says, agreebly. "It was nice seeing you," she adds, without making any fuss over it. She waves her off. THere's solitude to enjoy, after all, once she's gone.

And enjoy it she will, at least until she decides it's time to mosey off on her own and instead eats bridge. FLUMNP.

There's a squawking sound that definitely was cute-sounding. Very anime. Very Jazz.

She lays on the ground for a moment, confused, and then utters, "Oh! That was a good one."