"Go on ask already, I'm surprised it wasn't the first thing that came into topic..." Nerni stated, nudging him to say what's on his mind.
"I know as much as I want right now... I dread hearing more..."
She raised an eyebrow "I thought you believed in her? What I said was yesterday was just the impression I got... I could be wrong, she could have just been tired or wishing to get out of the office as quickly as possible, to get some fresh air."
"I do, but I'm just not arrogant enough to assume that I know her well enough to believe, without a single doubt, that she would be anything close to fine after being stuck with a reaper like Mildred for over 3 weeks." he admitted bitterly,
"So what? Arrogance has nothing to do with this, if you believe in her then don't let yourself falter, and for heavens sake pull yourself together man..." Nerni scowled, knowing it was the only way to get him out that funk he was slowly driving himself deeper into. "and if she was effected by it, we will cross that bridge when we get to it."
Theo slowly nodded, looking up at Nerni, "you're right... " he muttered, running his hand through his hair "I've been letting my doubts eat away at me for far too long"
"Of course I am, I'm good like that~" she teased playfully, nudging him
A honest smile pulling at the corner of his lips, his hand slipping inside his robe, gently brushing his fingertips across the the petals of the flower.
Nerni tilted her head "What you got there Ted?" she inquired curiously,
Theo gently pulled the rose from within his robes...
"Is someone trying to be sweet?" she teased, assuming that he had brought it to gift to Veronica, her intrigue double when she realised that it was a silver petalled rose... a extremely rare flower "you must really feel for her if you went looking for one of them, they are so rare they are practically mythological"
"No, no, Veronica left it for me..." Theo corrected thoughtfully,
Nerni chuckled lightly "Well we know who wears the pants in this relationship" she gibed with a playful grin.
He simply brushed off her last comment "You said it's very rare?"
"Yes, due to the fact that it is incredibly difficult plant to sustain, that is if you can get it to grow in the first place, hence why the growers often cling onto the blooms, only selling them if they are in dire need of the mass amount of money the flower brings in" Nerni justified thoughtfully "well that is unless you are blessed by the mythical green lady"
Theo raised an eyebrow "green lady?" he questioned
"An old myth, there is many versions of it, along with as many names for this being, but the original tells of a fallen star, transformed into a being whose tears brought about the first forest of the land. The earth, being so glad for the gift of life, welcomed the star into it's bosom, creating a beautiful form for her out of the finest foliage, in turn nourishing her with everything she could ever need. Wondering the earth, she spread her gift, leaving lush vegetation wherever her robes brushed the dry earth, bringing life to everything she touch, creating spirits to aid her and the plant life to flourish. It was said that she transformed the entire land into a vast paradise..." Nerni humoured him, giving him the cliff notes version of the green lady's myth.
Theo soaked up the information willingly, his curiosity getting the better of him "What was said to have happened to her?" he questioned, leaning in lightly.
"She was said to have disappeared, most say that she used up all her power and was reduced to the size of a leaf... it becomes rather shady from there on" She continued, slightly bemused at how he sat leant forward in his seat, genuinely interested in the sketchily constructed myths of old.
The sound of the door licking shut, catching the pairs attention, both of which landed on the new comer, a darkly dressed Veronica carrying a tray filled with cups of steaming tea, milk, sugar and spoons. Having over heard the last part of the conversation, she offered another explanation to the shady nature of the myth "That is what you get from myths made up by a giggling idiot and his damn deviantly sneaky boyfriend... designed purely for their ongoing quest to find more imaginative ways to entertain themselves"
"I always doubt the levity of that myth"
"Ah but isn't that what you, Lothrikis*(1) are best know for, your rationality?" Veronica inquired sliding the tea tray on the coffee table, sitting down opposite Nerni, a chair over from Theo.
Nerni gave her a questioning glance "you know what I am? I can tell your not a ordinary reaper but still I'm surprised you figure it out so quickly" she admitted thoughtfully
"I can easily recognise any child of the earth*(2), and it didn't take much to deduce what species you were after seeing you shove that man mountain that was guarding my office door"
Nerni chuckled "maybe I was a little hasty in my action..." she mused good humouredly, before looking over Veronica, sipping the tea the other female had brought her "just what are you?"
"Funny, you need to ask that, since you seemed to quite knowledgeable about me mere moments ago..." Veronica mused taking a long sip of her own tea,
Nearly choking on her tea, she jolted into a upright position, staring at Veronica with wide eyes "you're shitting me, your the actual green lady?" she exclaimed, looking increasingly sceptical by the moment.
"Well apart from the fact that term is incorrect, green lady comes from the male equivalent, the green man, a gargoyle or carving used as a guardian in many cultures... which has only been around for fifteen hundred years at most." she stated simply, looking deep into her tea "but otherwise yes, I guess I'm the main inspiration for the myth"
"Oh and fifteen hundred years is barely a blink of the eye, isn't it?" Nerni retorted sarcastically
Veronica shrugged "it's not that long a stretch of time really..." she murmured
"yea but we are not all a gazillion years old like you are!" Nerni grumbled putting a hand on her hip...
"I'm not a gazillion years old!" Veronica retorted with a sigh
"Sorry, you're only a nine trillion, nine hundred and ninety nine million, nine hundred and ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety four years young"
Veronica rolled her eyes, before looking over at Theo, surprised by his uncharacteristic vote of silence, "Not going to through your two sense in, Theo? Interjecting a strange little comment to perplex as you venture forward towards amusing yourself?"
"Why would I waste my breath on saying something that you will merely disregard like everything else I have said?" He stated sharply, not really registering what he was saying until it had past his lips...
Veronica flinched lightly, but recovered quickly... "Very well..." she breathed, ignoring the light sting that accompanied his words, before turning to Nerni "so what's first, boss?"
"there is a small pile of paperwork, could you have that completed by eleven, there is a staff meeting scheduled at quarter past, when I intend to give you a proper introduction to the company" Nerni replied with a friendly but authority tone.
Veronica simply nodded, getting to her feet and taking the remainder of her tea over to her desk and setting to work without another word.
The moment Veronica's attention was away from the other two, Nerni proceeded to cast Theo a look that clearly posed the question 'what was that all about?'.
Theo replied with a pained and lost look, despairingly putting his head in his hands...
"What am I going to do with you?" she breathed just loud enough for him to hearing, shaking her head as she placed an reassuring hand on her his shoulder, before scribbling a note on a bit of spare parchment slipping it between his fingers "her address, go see her later, and I suggest you bake something nice to take along"
Theo slowly lowered his hands, looking at the paper, giving Nerni a soft smile "thanks" he mouthed before taking his leave.
Nerni's eyes followed him out, the sad little glance that Veronica gave him, when she thought no one was looking, didn't escape her notice... in fact the little gesture brought a little smile back to her lips.
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Argh... this chapter was a real nightmare to do... I have no idea why but I just couldn't seem to fit things together neatly enough...
So what do you think dearest readers?
A/N:
*(1)Lothrikis are a forest/ lower mountain dwelling humanoid species, that more often then not live and travel in medium sized tribes. They well known to be very strong, intelligent, fiercely loyal and ration creatures.
*(2)Child of the Earth, meaning a natural that evolved from the wilderness, not brought into being or cursed by a divine entity like the Reapers, Werewolves (or Vampires for that matter).