Simple Joys

[Erin Vivant]

"Is it supposed ta sting this much?" A man of significant age and an even more significant girth sat, prune-faced, at Erin's table. The caretaker fluttered around him, tending carefully to a series of bee stings along the tops of his arms, shoulders, and face. "Abandoned hive my foot." Her patient griped, pulling away as she attempted to pick out a stinger.

"Please, sit still." With a long, dramatic sigh, the man stopped fidgeting. Occupied for most of the afternoon with her troublesome patient, she'd just finished when she heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it." The man offered as he took his leave. "Ello, m’lady." He croaked, tipping his head in the woman’s direction. "She's all yers."

Stifling a sigh, she followed the old coot to the front of her hut. "Luxanna! I wasn’t expecting to see you today, though your presence is an incredibly pleasant surprise." Stepping aside to allow the other woman to come in, she smiled wide. “How are you, my dear?”


Luxanna Viera

[Luxanna Viera]

Luxanna prided herself in the kindships she made; she so adored meeting new, interesting people. But she adored even more, to take care of the ones she'd already made. Erin Vivant was one of those people. She both appreciated and took great pride in what the older woman did.

It sure wasn't easy in a world such as this where men were at the top of the food chain. The ones who brought the legacy onward. The ones in power.

Smiling at the man venturing through the doorway, Luxanna bowed her head. Her eyes lit up as she saw her dear old friend and offered the older woman a bright smile. "Erin," she greeted her once the man had left. She then walked through the doors and took a moment to look around; everything looked the same as the last time she'd been here. "I'm doing alright," she nodded as she turned. "I had the day off and figured I'd pay you a visit."

The young woman found great pleasure and peace being around Erin; she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it felt nice. Likely because of the other woman's kind nature.

[Erin Vivant]

Though Luxanna and Erin had been friends for years, it has been quite some time since the younger woman had visited her home. Things weren’t very different. The caretaker hadn’t the time nor the money to furnish her home with luxuries. Nevertheless, she tried to create a warm, cheerful environment. A vase of fresh flowers offered a vibrant burst of color to the poorly lit room, and she’d even sewn curtains for the windows.

“Well, I’m glad you did.” She replied, closing the door behind her. “Can I get you anything? I could brew a tea. I think I might even have an old summerwine hiding somewhere…” Without waiting for an answer she began to look for the bottle, rummaging through the shelves that lined her cottage walls. “Aha! Found it.” She hoisted the green glass jug up with a victorious grin.

“You’ll have to forgive me, I’m not nearly as lovely a host as you, but I’m sure we’ll manage. So, what will it be?”

[Luxanna Viera]

Luxanna was about to dismiss the older woman's offer, though quickly decided against it. Erin was simply trying to be nice and Luxanna wouldn't dare take that away from her. Instead, the young brunette offered her hostess a thankful smile.

Chuckling softly, Luxanna shook her head. "Don't be silly," she pressed, "You're a lovely hostess." She then took a moment to decide, her green eyes falling onto the wine and her nose wrinkling gently. She had never been one for the taste of wine. Or alcohol in general, for that matter. She supposed it was because she saw too much of it around here and had the pleasure of seeing what it did to people.

"Tea sounds lovely, unless it's too much of a trouble for you." That was, by far, the worst feeling Luxanna could imagine. After all, she had never taken kindly to the notion of troubling anyone, which ironically, she often did, given her natural curiosity towards everything around her.