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She lives for others (Action/Video)
[A gentle, inviting voice with just a pinch of sadness makes its way to the comms. A woman on a crummy couch is sitting there, with cats milling around in the background. The lines on her face seem to come from either the ravages of time, or sorrow. Possibly both.]
"Hello, everyone. You've probably never heard of me; I mean, I've never really been invited to any parties or anything. Oh, um, anyway, I'm Natalie. Ever since that scare with the ghosts, I've been a little afraid of leaving the house. My husband moved on some time ago, and it's been...difficult without him. I still have my cats, of course." She weakly smiled as one leaped over her lap.
"Oh, sorry about the sob story. Anyway, I thought of meeting people through the newspaper, but it looks like they've stopped making deliveries. We were very private people, my husband and I. No children, and we didn't do much entertaining. I guess it's been kind of lonely, now that that's gone." She sniffed, wiping her nose.
"So, if anyone would like some company, I'd really appreciate it. It's not much," she said, gesturing to her dilapidated surroundings. "but it's home."
[ooc: here begins the Empress plot. You can respond in the main comment body, or visit her house in a comment left below.]
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Too bad the compost bin was just her regular garbage writ large. It's said that pigs will eat almost anything, making them nature's natural disposals. Unfortunatley, Natalie didn't have any pigs. She had cats. Thus, predictably, the compost bin wasn't in much better shape. But the scenery was, if not better, different. The decay of her home had become more organic, and wilting vegetables and half-made raised beds hailed Porrim's arrival.
"Good to see you too. Oh, could you water the plants while you're out? There's a hose hanging on a tree." At least she had running water.
"It must be hard, being an alien girl all alone in the world. Are you all alone? Take it from me, things are much easier with a man around the house." *Self-deprecating laughter* "I bet you can tell."
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"Why is it hanging from the tree, exactly?"
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"Yes, in a lot of ways. So you're single, then?" Not too much of a surprise, given her looks, but her personality was nice enough.
"Oh, don't be silly." The handle was sitting on a nail embedded into the base of a tree, not in a branch. "I make sure my cats never go up trees, as a rule. I'm not Tarzan, ha."
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She decided she'd try to get Klaus' opinion before doing anything with that. It seemed like she'd be here for awhile anyway, or at least, she'd be making some additional trips.
She returned to the trash can and dumped out its contents into the barrel, washed it out with the hose, and then returned back inside.
"'Still' single implies that longterm partnership is an assumed end goal, but no, I don't currently have any of my quadrants filled up. I do have a few potentials, however."
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"You have such a...unique way of talking. Are you saying you're not looking to settle down? Every young woman should get married. Don't knock it till you've tried it."
Minus another year for casting aspersions on monogamy.
"Oh? You're interested in a boy? Tell me about him."
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"What is 'married?'" she asked, not enthusiastically. She was automatically defensive of people criticizing her lifestyle. It was a Thing that people Did, and she was Not a Fan. After all, she hadn't 'knocked' anything, except to explain that it was Not For Everyone.
"I don't think I'd want to name any names with things as in flux as they are," Porrim said. At least not with miss judgemental judgmentpants here. Besides, you never share information with a self-proclaimed gossip. You don't gossip a gossiper. "Did you hear about the match making store though? The owner is getting a new assistant. Couldn't handle running two businesses on her own. Decided to hire someone when trying to get people to work for free didn't pan out."
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Porrim's lack of enthusiasm was promptly discarded.
"Haha, you're serious? I keep forgetting you're an alien. But you keep reminding me..." She finished, somewhere between amused and put-upon.
"Well, marriage is when a man and a woman who love each other very much decide to live together, and share their lives. There are bumpy patches, every now and again, but as long as they try, it's usually very happy. I know mine was. Women...well, normal women, anyway, spend a lot of time thinking about dream weddings. But it is so fulfilling; I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Which is why I can't help but feel a little sorry for women like who you're talking about. I knew a lot of them like that, back in the day. A-type personalities, they're called. always so busy, running around. But in the long run, you know, what do they have? No husband, no grandchildren to look after. Just stuff. It's very sad.
That's why I'm usually so stubborn about it, heh heh. I wouldn't want to see any girl have to be all alone like that. So come on, just tell me already. I can keep a secret; it'll just be between us girls."
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"We have matespriteships and Kismesissitudes somewhat similar to that, although living together is not a requirement. There are a lot fewer requirements in general in Troll relationships, like gender for instance. It doens't have to be a man and a woman with trolls. Your way sounds rather boring and overregulated, really."
Okay, yeah did this broom grow? It wasn't this long a second ago. Porrim had a good sense of space - it was her aspect, after all, and it didn't seem like the place was bigger... she just felt smaller. She ignored Natalie's last question and instead asked one of her own.
"Are you feeling anything strange? Disorientation?"
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Boring! And after that heartfelt speech, too. Five years for being so callous.
Despite her romantic pleadings missing by a mile, Natalie was worried about her guest.
"No, not really. Oh, no, it's not the cats, is it? I thought for sure I showed them when I made the invitation. Are trolls allergic to cats? I'm sorry, I don't know what gets to...um, troll allergies? You said troll, right?"
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"No, it's not - it's not allergies..." But she felt a lot less sure about everything than she had a moment ago. "...do you think I might be allergic to cats? I should go then..."
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Go? As in, leave? That'll never do.
Natalie tried to usher Porrim to the backyard. "Let's get you some fresh air, that ought to help. I'll get some Benadryl; that'll clear it up, if it's allergies."
Benadryl had drowsiness as a side effect. Unfortunate, but it was all she had on hand.
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That may be, but the proper response is "no, thank you". Natalie just wants to help, after all. -1 for rebuffing her generosity.
"They've always worked for me. But all right, I suppose you know best. It's probably just the heat; the house can get a bit stuffy. The weather's nice and shady today, so you won't even have to use sunscreen. My skin was pretty pale back then too."
Once she'd had her way and gotten them both outside, she looked around, looking far too contented considering the state of her garden. "Ah, this is nice. How about you? Feeling any better?"
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"Much better, thank you."
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Natalie, despite her selfishness, had enough sensitivity to tell when people weren't being totally straight with her. But then, she had just enough politeness to not push too hard.
"Well, that's good. Let me know if there's"—she was cut off by the sound of a cat screeching.
"They're at it again. Excuse me."
Porrim had won her solitude at last. But for how much longer?
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