Time for some Nori after all the Makinori. As Nori is the more open and energetic of the two, winning her approval is the fastest way to get in touch with Maki too. That said, there are plenty of opportunities to meet Maki on her own. Nori can't sit still long enough to often enjoy the calm of the hot springs (she washes in a rush at home instead and gets back to whatever she wanted to do). If she actually goes there it's mostly to have long conversations with Maki that are all too easy to listen in to from the other side of the classic wooden separator between the 2 baths. That's giving me the idea for a Location Chart so here goes. [Hot Springs] taken care of.

[Forge]
Knows the old forgemaster and he likes how she applies the lessons he idly shares with anyone who would listen. Most people only come for the arsenal after all. He lets her borrow material liberally and sometimes looks over her shoulder and yells at her when she gets unorthodox. Is usually right about it.
Spends quite some time around here when she's working on a project or restocking after a hunt. Good opportunity to run into her, and if you are inclined to chat about materials and the problems they solve she can hold a great conversation and give a fresh perspective on things.

[Library]
A favorite. Prone to referencing multiple books and old scrolls at once while scribbling frantically in her notebook. They don't let her borrow that many, so she will run around from shelf to shelf and be a nuisance to the more sensitive types trying to focus. The pile of scriptures she will inevitably leave when running to the laboratory or forge hasn't endeared her to the staff either. She makes up for this with encyclopedic knowledge of what to find where. Need to research a particular monster? She's sure to point you to at least one obscure field journal you would have missed otherwise.
You can catch her alone here more often than elsewhere. She's also prone to staying very, very late even if she is too tired to be productive. A great opportunity to chat about something that's not work.

[Alchemy]
Usually more of a hang-out than the other places. She gets along very well with the old hag behind the counter because she donates rare ingredients she finds while out on the hunt and helps the hag with mundane chores to turn her brain off whenever necessary. Note that mundane means preparing ingredients, chopping them just right, distilling an extract for just the right amount of time and so on, not brushing the floor. Maki gets annoyed she does repetitive chores here, not at home, but to Nori it's just engaging enough to not trail off.
Sometimes watched the store too when the hag's out. Great opportunity for interaction with unlikely candidates.

[Market]
An indirect supplier but Nori has no concept for haggling and profit. Luckily Maki was raised in part to be a great housekeeper to some noble husband (yuck) at some point and can navigate it better. When here it's usually with Maki, who will have her mouthful either talking her out of buying shiny trinkets (which supposedly serve some purpose in some unlikely scenario) or chewing some stall food she couldn't deter Nori from buying. Best to either keep her away from here or bring a lot of patience.

[Healing]
She's hardy and doesn't really go looking for help, instead choosing to cook up her own remedies or simply waiting it out (see skills). Not likely to ever be found here unless Maki is hurt, in which case she will probably pass out at her bedside and not be open to conversation. May go on rants about how x plant is better than what they use in big healing.

[Training]
Training's always been something Maki was better at. After her grandfather's passing Nori isn't all too motivated to do the drills that never quite suited her. She's of the opinion that staying in motion and honing your skills in the field beats dry practice. Also a bit of a refuge to Maki she respects. Can't be sitting on top of each other 24/7 after all.

[Fortune]
Not something that interests the problem-oriented Nori in the slightest.

[Scavenging]
Hunting is of use to the community. It sustains it, feeds people and keeps the monsters far enough from the village to allow for a haven. The gratitude of the locals is not eggsstatic, as it's just a part of life, but steadily expressed. The cheap Inn rooms all over town are mirrored by many places offering cheap, nourishing meals. One of those places is owned by an old man who likes to cook what he calls "Ramen", a delicacy he claims to know from otherworldly dreams of a strange world. Nori is a loyal customer and has a deal with him: his sons get to collect larger/less interesting kill and keep the meat while she gets a discount for herself and all of her friends and a free transport on the parts that don't go into soup.

[Campsite]
Her favorite place in general. Nothing like resting sore muscles after an exciting day out hunting and marching. She has a knack for finding cozy spots that are save yet atmospheric, often offering a great view. There's also no way Maki isn't around in camp. No matter the ingredients, camp food always tastes better than anything in town! At least in the moment.
Nori is always upbeat and usually not in one of her planning binges in camp. Great opportunity for a more relaxed conversation involving more than just someone she's bumped into. Generally a bonding experience no matter who is involved as she turns her attention and energy towards the company.
Watching the flames after conversations make way for the contemplative silence under a starry sky is the closest she will ever get to meditation.

[Map(Wilderness)]
Home! Her style of hunting is driven and she plays to win. Where some other hunters take their time with prey Nori always gives her all to end a fight as decisively as possible - which usually boils down to expertly supporting Maki and whoever else she may be hunting with and keeping the monster too busy to launch a truly devestating strike. While it would be possible to direct her energy towards a different objective than the kill her desire to end things in a massive, thundering finale clashes with any approach that bides time and waits for the right moment.

[Teleport(Townsquare)]
A place to traverse. Don't expect her to stay for a conversation unless you are going in the same direction or it's urgent enough to overwrite subroutine must read books or whatever her deal is at the moment.

[Babble Book(Safe outskirts of town)]
Lovely place to relax in a safe environment yet still be away from town. You wouldn't catch Nori here outside of travelling to the FUN parts of the wilds. Unless someone organizes a picknic and Maki wants to larp as a commoner and drags her along.

[Diner]
Restaurants are more Maki's thing and always a test of table manners to Nori. She enjoys the food but wouldn't go here ever without Maki. Wouldn't be quite as welcome without the refined company either, though growing up around a noble household rubbed off despite her natural inclination to forget what's proper.
Depending on the establishment an opportunity to sit with people they (not here without Maki) wouldn't usually run into.

[Bar]
Now we're talking! Despite Maki's parents never giving their blessing her friend's fascination with "how the commoners do it" draws them here sometimes and Nori does not mind. She doesn't handle alcohol well at all but that hasn't stopped her the few times she tried and wont stop her in the future. Not a usual hang out but an occasional way to let loose. Who she runs into here depends entirely on the clientele and as is often the case everything looks very different to everyone involved under the influence.

[Hot Springs]
See introduction.

[Festival]
Posh people things. Boring. One of the few things she forces herself to do because Maki loves it and letting her go alone wouldn't be proper. As she will be bored yet trying to make it work it is a prime opportunity to catch her interest in a more full-minded way than elsewhere.

[Club]
Another place she can shine with her slightly unhinged way of thinking and unique problem solving. The more grounded perspectives and strategies help her refine her plans into something that actually works and may inspire the others to reach higher than they would dare without seeing it work for someone else.
One of the places she frequents without Maki unless they are really hammering out a plan together. Seeing both of them here usually means something serious is at the horizon, like the Culling.

[Bounty]
The ditz usually works with what she has and doesn't often come up with blanks to be filled by other people. If she reads about how a certain party of old took down a certain monster using a certain composition of members she may reconsider. Usually not bored enough to go look for work when she can just make her own, but maybe someone will bring a bounty to her attention one day that mends well with a plan she's already..hatching?

[Gambling]
Doesn't interest her at all. If she hears of odds pertaining to Maki and her she will not care in the least unless they evaluate one of them lower than the other, which slightly offends regardless which way the scales are tipped. Maki's success is her responsibility after all.

[Underground]
If she needs something, she needs it. Not really afraid or discerning enough to stay away from the lower strata as the distance between her best friend and her makes Nori extrapolate that all people are basically just people at the core anyway. The traits that make her a pain at the market, not haggling and going straight for things that interest her, turn into vague positives here. Doesn't really have the sense to be hush-hush about things and would probably go "OH HI NAME DIDN'T EXPECT TO SEE YOU HERE" in the middle of a drug deal if the occasion arose.

[Accomodation (Maki's Estate)]
Her parents' estate, rather. Nori's influence on it has been uprooting some flowerbeds and planting more useful herbs and shrubs instead, which she maintains just enough to keep alive and get results from. She'd do more homesteading if there wasn't the risk of Maki's parents coming around to check on their daughter (and just maybe the other girl they raised through her teens. Not like their cold, aristocrating demeanor discriminates much)

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Pub: 26 Apr 2023 15:36 UTC

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