*TINKLE*
"Well...damn."
Once again, Paws found herself knee-deep in shattered pieces of wind crystals. Her tail flicked in annoyance, and she yelped slightly as the snapping motion put the tender end right into a pile of sharp remains. Casting an eye at the workers calmly going about their business despite the repeated failures she'd been having, she stuck out her tongue at Terude-Harude. He pointedly eyed the mess around her, not saying a word, and she began to sweep together the mess, taking care not to have any of the ends jab her above her new Baron's Cuffs.
"I always wondered, considering the vast amount of natural things we can synthesize and break down again, why nobody's every figured out how to synth all these little shards back together into something, y'know, useful."
The Mithra in the corner purred slightly at that observation; nevermind the fact she'd never paid attention to Paws before recently. Now that she was an Apprentice in the guild, Hauh Colphioh smiled whenever she visited the guild and encouraged her to turn in crafts whenever she was there. Now, she turned to the disgruntled feline, and said:
"Wouldn't that be making a crystal out of a crystal? That doesn't make a lot of sense."
Paws just flicked her ear to acknowledge the logical comment, and continued to tidy up her workspace. She stowed her precious compass in the loose part of her Bounding Boots, patting it to make sure it had tucked itself into the pocket she'd sewn herself into the lining. A wise crafter had told her as a younger Mithra that when one faces the north, she would be sure to learn much more than facing the south. Finally disposing of the last bit of torn insect wings, she got up to leave, but the tarutaru who ran the guild frowned at her as she got up.
"What's the matter now, Ponono? Did I accidentally kick another spare bone chip under your table?" asked Paws.
"No," came the voice awash with laughter, "You have a bird feather sticking out of your armour...just like that taru." She pointed towards the Mithra's back.
As she curled her torso around to try to spot the offending feather, a blonde Hume opened the door of the guild, walked straight up to Paws and plucked the offending plumage off a spot near her rump. She brought the feather around to tickle her on the nose, evoking a mewl of distress and flailing mittens.
"Noooo, not the nose! Anything but the nose! Nanako, please stop thaaaatttt!"
Nanako grinned cheekily and graciously handed the feather back to its owner. Waste not, want not was a common saying of Paws' aunt, and she tucked the extra feather into her crafting pouch without thinking about it, scowling mightily all the while. Her task being done, she turned back to her Hume companion, who was paying no mind to her little sulk.
"Come on. I'll buy you some Mithkabobs, and we'll go walk somewhere and talk." Nanako suggested tactfully, which perked the ears of all the Mithras in the room, but Paws' ears the most.
"Sure. I need to store this bag with my moogle, so we'll meet at the Leviathan's, okay?"
The two women parted briefly while Paws trudged up the hill, past the Manustery, meowing loudly as she entered her Mog House to alert her white-furred caretaker she was entering.
"Kupo! Kupo! How did crafting go today?"
Paws just rolled her eyes and tossed him her crafting satchel. He took that as answer enough, and stored it in the large Cabinet she'd bought to hold her crafting endeavours. He returned loaded down with a cape, as well as her current sword and shield; his wings rapidly beat as he tried to support all of it. Paws smiled as she picked up the cape dragging on the floor, rubbing the surface that was both oddly soft, yet durable and hardy against attacks at the same time. Inside was a small signature, and it made her smile looking at it, remembering the day it was gifted to her; guess it was worth killing all those Dhalmels after all. She then strapped the studded shield onto her arm, and buckled the swordbelt around her waist, pulling out the blade to check for any imperfections. She sheathed it and beamed at her little moogle, giving him a scritch behind the big red ball that bobbled over his forehead.
"I dunno what I'd do if you didn't take such good care of my armour for me. I know even when I have to go to Jeuno and stay in one of those Rent-a-rooms, you'll show up and help me out."
The moogle blushed profusely at the fulsome praise and twirled around happily. Paws gave him one more pat and then headed out the door, waving as Nanako jogged up, a delicious-smelling basket strapped to her back.
The two set off across the grasslands of the Sarutabaruta, meeting the occasional aggressive Yagudo and beating the birdmen down, as well as spotting a few crawlers in hopes to find some of the rare silken threads they produce. Finally, the two made it to a nice vantage point overlooking the saruta flatlands, killed or scared off the few remaining Yagudo and Goblins in the area, then laid down on their backs, munching on their mithkabobs.
Paws nudged her Hume friend between bites, an evil grin on her face "Cock meat."
Nanako just snorted before shooting back. "Boner panties."
And the two spent the afternoon relaxing and watching the clouds. Sometimes, no words need to be spoken.