[o] [SE] never think before I jump

Noe

It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
At teatime, everybody agrees

It was time, and Noe was positively vibrating with excitement.

She'd received her very first commission as an engineer, and it was from Stormbreak's very own Dragoons. If Koa had had anything to do with it, he hadn't said anything to her - and she wasn't going to ask. For the first time in her young adult life, she had something to do that was entirely her own responsibility, and she was determined not to mess it up.

The Dragoons, apparently, were in need of a new training course, and they'd asked Noe to help them complete it. She'd spent all night drawing up plans and ideas, and she'd arrived at the Dragon's Nest early this morning to go over the plans with the soldier who'd been assigned to that particular task. With her plans approved and the materials available, now all that remained was to actually... build the course.

As an engineer, she was perfectly content drawing up plans, but it was rare that she had done actual physical labor to see those plans to fruition. She'd arrived at the Nest in a pair of heavy work pants and a jacket with many pockets, a tool belt slung around her petite frame. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and Mika was in her customary place around Noe's neck. They were ready to get started... but where to begin?

I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

He wasn't in Stormbreak very often anymore, but he still had deliveries to make to and from the city in the clouds, and friends who lived there. He'd hoped to kill two birds with one stone today, making a delivery to the Dragoons and stopping in to see Koa while he was at it, but the dazzlingly handsome young commander wasn't in his office and so after the packages had been deposited with the quartermaster Tal had gone hunting.

His hunting had landed him in a part of the Dragon's Nest he'd never seen before, but Boreal had been resolute that there was something here. She'd had her nose to the ground for the past ten minutes, leading him through the towers and courtyards of the Dragoons' headquarters, snuffling along as her human trotted along behind her. "Any sign o'Pip yet, girl?" he called to her, but her response was a confusing jumble of scent and images and feelings that were mostly confusion and eager curiosity.

The dragon stopped abruptly a few feet away from a young woman who looked oddly familiar, though Tal would wager they'd never met before. The burly, blunt-muzzled companion cocked her head at her and then whuffed again in confused delight, before pacing boldly forward to try and shove her head under the woman's hand for scritches. Tal groaned and made a move to try and grab her to drag her back, but she shook her wings to keep him off, chortling merrily. "Sorry 'bout that. Dunno why she gets like this sometimes-- Boreal, stop botherin' her! Can't y'see she's busy doin'... uh..." He blinked, stopping to really look her over for the first time, and his expression turned perplexed. "What are y'doin', anyways?"

Noe

It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
At teatime, everybody agrees

Noe had just decided how to begin when a commotion had her head snapping up just in time to see a dragon barreling towards her. The girl barely had time to blink before it was shoving its head under her hand, clearly begging for pets, and she reacted without thinking by providing the requested scritches. Mika, ever the jealous creature, slithered out from her place around Noe's neck and down the girl's arm, hissing impatiently at the dragon. She didn't mind sharing, but she wanted to establish that this was her human, and any affection the dragon received was solely because Mika allowed it. Never mind that she was tiny and the dragon was huge; the little mata mata had always been fearless.

A man appeared a moment later and tried to drag the dragon away, but the creature chortled merrily and continued straining for Noe's still-outstretched hand. She smothered a laugh at the battle between man and beast; Mika raised her head, weaving it back and forth with interest as she observed. "Oh, it's fine. My brother's dragon has a mind of her own, too. It doesn't bother me." Then, looking around at the materials scattered around her and the plans laid out, she said, "I'm building a new training course for the Dragoons. I'm an engineer," she added proudly.

I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

Boreal leaned happily into the scratches, and Mika's appearance did nothing to dissuade her. She rumbled happily and tilted her head beneath the woman's hand to give the mata mata an attempted lick with her broad tongue. She was more than willing to include the other companion in the attention! Tal, of course, could fend for himself, and she set all four feet to the ground as if velcroed there so that his attempts to pull her away failed spectacularly until he managed to get an arm around her chest and tug her back a couple of feet.

"Yeah? Well... sorry, anyways. She's really taken with you," the courier admitted, more than a little puzzled. Sure, Boreal tended to like everyone at first, but she was rarely this opportunistic. Something about the young woman was familiar to her, apparently, from the confusing tangle of emotions and scent-images he was getting through their bond. But he finally pulled his attention away from his companion to see the piles of materials and the blueprints laid out and he wrinkled his nose in surprise. "Oh, wow. That sounds like a big project! I'm just a courier, but I'm prob'ly th'best one in all Caido," he not-so-humble-bragged, releasing his dragon so he could stick out his hand to the young woman. "Talyson Seawright, owner o' Seawright's Delivery Service. But y'can call me Tal."

He glanced around again, brow furrowing. "So, uh... where's your crew?"

Noe

It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
At teatime, everybody agrees

Mika was fast enough to evade the dragon's friendly lick, and she hissed in a way that might have been either amusement or chastisement - even Noe couldn't discern which. Still, the little mata mata was eager to make a new friend, and she flew in circles around Boreal's head, trying to entice the dragon into a game of tag.

Meanwhile, Noe shrugged, smiling at the stranger's apology. She cocked her head as he introduced himself. For one, he was awfully cocky to claim the title of best courier in all Caido - although she made a mental note to try his services out next time she was in need - and for another, his name sounded... familiar. She was sure they hadn't met, but...

Dismissing the thought, Noe took the offered hand and shook firmly. "Noe Carpenter, owner of Carpenter Engineering Solutions," she said, putting on a confident front that she didn't feel. She might have started her own business, but she still felt like an imposter - even more so when Tal looked around for a crew that didn't exist. "Oh, uh... it's... well, it's just me," she admitted, glad she didn't blush easily. "I just started my business, so..." She shrugged, adding (perhaps a touch defensively), "It might take me longer, but I'll figure it out."

I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

Boreal was, traditionally, very easy to coax into play. Tal might say she was too easy to distract, but she was perfectly happy to wriggle free of his hold and bound after Mika, bouncing up to try and bump her nose against the mata mata's tail with a playful snort.

Leaving the companions to their game, Tal joined Noe at her blueprints, giving her hand a firm handshake. "Carpenter, huh? I know a couple o' Carpenters..." he mused, half to himself. It was a common enough name, after all. Each region had a handful of families going by it, even the ones whose ancestors had pursued a different line of work, and Tal shrugged it off. Maybe he could ask Koa about it later. Had the Dragoon ever mentioned a sister...?

But the scale of the project had piqued his interest and distracted him from his pondering. It seemed like a big undertaking for just one person, but at the young woman's stammering admission Tal felt an unfamiliar pang of kinship. Or at least relatability, which was almost as good, right? "Sure, an' we all start somewhere," he pointed out easily. A glance around showed his dragon safely distracted and he chewed his lip thoughtfully, brows drawing down in the classic Seawright Thinking Bitch Face as he took another look at the supplies and the blueprints. "Um. Look, I'm no professional, but... well, I'm a fair hand at buildin' stuff m'self." He cleared his throat and jammed his hands into his pockets, staring intently at the blueprints but trying to steal a glance at Noe's expression from the corner of his eye. "An' I just finished my deliveries for th'day so... I guess if y'need a hand or somethin'... I could help out for a bit?"

Noe

It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
At teatime, everybody agrees

The companions rushed off, eager to play, and Noe snorted a soft laugh at their shared enthusiasm. She turned her attention back to her blueprints, listening as Tal took in her name. For once, he didn't immediately jump to the conclusion that she was related to Koa, and it was almost a relief. She loved her brother, but sometimes she tired of being his forever shadow, and it was more than past time for her to stand on her own two feet - and to earn her own reputation.

Then Talyson was offering his help, and her gaze snapped up to rest firmly on the courier, her brows knitting together in confusion. "Why would you...?" She trailed off. Perhaps she shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. It would take her forever to build all this herself, and if he was offering... "I mean, if you have time, I wouldn't say no," she said after a heartbeat. "I was going to start with the basic structures." She gestured to the various pieces of wood laying nearby. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

He heard the doubt in her voice and his shoulders tensed. He sure as hail wasn't gonna stick around where he wasn't wanted! But Boreal had raced off with the Mata Mata and she obviously wasn't going to come back to him anytime soon. Shit was going to get real awkward in a couple of seconds--

But maybe Noe realized it, too, or maybe she was just desperate enough to take whoever happened by. Either way Tal found himself relaxing again and letting out a quiet huff of a breath that might have been either a sigh or a snort at his own foolishness. "Wouldn'tve offered if I'd minded," he pointed out wryly, leaning over the blueprints again and double checking her notes on the basic structures so he wouldn't fuck things up. "Let's get t'work."

This involved rolling up his sleeves and tying back his hair before he headed over to the wood pile and starting to pull out sections that were, he was relieved to see, already pre-cut. That would make the job a lot easier! "So what all's goin' in here? What kind o' trainin' do Dragoons do, anyways?" Probably a better question for Koa, but since his wingman wasn't here maybe the engineer could shed some light on their regimens.

Noe

It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
At teatime, everybody agrees

Noe watched Talyson prepare, then followed over to the wood pile, making her own selections and beginning to drag them to where they were meant to go. ”Oh, all kinds,” she told the courier. ”There’s strength training, with weights and things, and then there’s weapons training with whatever a person’s preferred weapons are - most choose swords, but I’ve seen a variety - but this is for speed and agility.” She dropped her log into place, then dusted off her hands and went to get another one.

”Basically, it’ll be an obstacle course. These,” and she gestured to where she’d dropped the first piece of wood. ”Will be parallel to the ground for people to climb over or crawl under. Then there’ll be a wall a little bit that way with ropes for people to climb up, and then some rails for people to swing hand-over-hand…” She continued to explain her ideas as they worked, and by the time she’d completed her verbal obstacle course, the first few pieces of wood were in place, anchored and secure.

I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

Tal listened while they worked, lean muscles bunching as he hauled the logs to wherever Noe indicated. He snorted quietly at the description, though it was more in resigned amusement than anything else, and there was, perhaps, a touch of nostalgia in it. "Sounds like th'Deepfrost Shields' training grounds," he admitted. "An' th'sort o' stuff Halo's warden used t'come up with."

The title slipped out before he could stop it and he waited for the double punch of pain and anger but...

Mostly he just felt tired and too busy to linger on it, shaking his head as he dragged another large log over, lifting it onto the supports that Noe had erected. "I used t'do th'wall climb m'self." A revelation that came with a quirk of his resting frown towards a wry grin - at least for a moment. "Tryin' t'put on muscle. Guess it must've worked." He straightened up and cracked his back as the engineer secured the last log of the over-under course. Following her pointed finger, he took note of the location and went to grab the heavier studs they would need for framing up the climbing wall, leaving the lighter slats for Noe. "Have y'ever done one o' these yourself?"

Noe

It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
At teatime, everybody agrees

Noe cocked her head to the side as she considered that the Dragoons weren’t the only fighting force in Caido. Having grown up in Stormbreak, she often thought of them as the only ones worth knowing about, but she had to admit that the Deepfrost Shields were probably just as good.

They chatted as they worked, Noe raising a brow at the courier’s humblebrag. Looking him over quickly, she had to admit that he did have some muscle, more than she might have assumed given his occupation. Then she turned back to the piece of wood she was nailing in place. ”No,” she admitted. ”All this is more my brother’s thing than mine. I’m all about designing it, but running it?” She snorted as if to say, do I look like I enjoy running obstacle courses?

I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

Or, y'know, not so humblebrag. Tal caught Noe's glance and looked as smug as a cat with feathers on its chin as he hauled another stud over and set to anchoring it. While she handled the facing slats, he began hammering in the cross beams that would keep the whole thing steady and rock solid against the weight of big, burly soldiers hauling on the front side.

"Yeah, well, that's what I used t'think." He shrugged, grin falling back into a faint grimace. "But back afore th'skyships I had to run my routes th'old fashioned way. On th'ground an' over th'snow. Lotsa dangerous stuff in Caido, y'know? Ursur an' cultists an' cannibals back in th'day in Halo. Big fuckin' snakes an' lava wolves an' sea panthers an' shit t'th'west, an' landsharks an' big ass rats an' evil tree ladies t'th'east." He paused to wave in the mentioned directions with his hammer before knocking another nail in with a few precise raps. "So, bein' able t'defend yourself when you're travelin' is pretty important. 'Specially now, with all th'Void shit makin' it all ten times worse." He scowled fiercely and slammed another nail home with more force than necessary as if he could put it through the eye of a Family member.

Noe

It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
At teatime, everybody agrees

There certainly were dangerous things in Caido, now more so than ever, and Noe considered the courier’s words as she continued her work. Screwdriver in hand, she began to twist a screw into a particularly stubborn bit of wood, grumbling softly to herself as she tried to force the implement into place. ”I mean, when you put it like that…” She glanced over at Talyson. ”Sounds like you’ve seen a lot of shit. Have you ever thought about maybe… I dunno. Finding a different career path?”

For example, something that would allow him to stay in one place and out of the sights of so many dangerous creatures and people.

Still, that wasn’t really her concern, and she moved to drag a new post over and into place. Setting it just so, she grabbed a few more slats of wood and, replacing her screwdriver with a hammer, began to place them where they belonged.

I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

Tal snorted as he set the last crossbeam and then stood back to admire their work. "Sure," he agreed with a shrug. "But someone has t'deliver Caido's packages. An' I like doin' it, an' I'm good at it." And he had the gods more or less in his corner so... yeah. He wasn't too proud to run away from something bigger and nastier than he was as long as Sah wasn't there, with the combined drop in brain cells that usually happened when they got together and it had kept him alive so far. "An' yeah, I've seen a lot more things with teeth'n I ever wanted to... but I've seen some pretty amazin' shit, too. Sunset at th'Leap o' Faith turnin' th'waterfalls comin' out o' th'cliff t'fire an' liquid gold, an' auroras on th'Sea o' Glass that're a hundred times bigger an' brighter'n any rainbow." He ambled over to check the blueprints while Noe put the finishing touches on the climbing wall.

"So... Engineerin' Solutions, huh? Does that mean y'mostly do specialty projects instead o' houses?" He glanced over at her curiously before moving to grab some of the heavier support beams and heading for the site the monkey bars, or swinging rails, were supposed to go.