a heart of light

A New Chapter || Howiri feat Maddy

Howl grinned. It always pleased him when his new employees experienced the magic of the store for the first time. When he’d introduced the system to Maddy, she’d been thoroughly charmed by it for a whole week, gushing at every opportunity. And though the Great Wizard Howl Pendragon knew that he was, indeed, great, he was not immune to praise.

He was, also, a good book shop owner and manager, so he had answers to Kairi’s questions.

“Ah yes — if that is the case, we can always put an order in! Now that’s a little more traditionally done.” He led the girls back to the front desk and logged into the computer. “We use this web portal here to keep track of customer requests. Maddy, would you care to explain the system?”

“Yup! So, if we get one customer ask for a specific book that we don’t have in stock, we can always put a single order in. We get their name and contact info and when the book arrives, we reach out!” She grinned. “There’s also sometimes when we get a few different people asking for the same book. That’s why we keep this list —” She pulled up a spreadsheet. “When we get more than ten requests, Howl gets notified and then they decide whether to put in a bulk order.”

“Now there’s occasions where the customer requests a very rare book that’s not in the system,” said Howl. “If the option to order it doesn’t come up, write the title down still. We have some antique and rare book contacts we go through, but that’s a job for management.” He winked here. “Any questions?”

@destinyscharms

#searipples #thread — ❝ a new chapter ❞#❝ of vanity and wizardry ❞ — howl #❝ of wonder and optimism ❞ — madellaine

Kairi nodded her head, trying to absorb as much of the info as she could now. It'd be soooo embarrassing if she forgot something like this on her first day. Or even her third day! Luckily, this part seemed pretty straightforward too.

So, keep track of all book requests in the spreadsheet.

The spreadsheet itself didn't look too complicated to work through, and asking others for their contacts wasn't all that hard for her either. What a relief. She looked back to the other two once their explanations had been made.

"That all makes sense to me!" She'll write it down later just in case, anyways. "But, uh, how do you do restocking or just returning books to their rightful spot here...?" If everything was organised via vibes, how would you know where to put a book. Was it another magic thing?

ֹ ₊ 𐙚 @oh-heartlessman ᝰ.ᐟ⊹ ࣪ ˖

Lobby Liaison # [Karp]

"Portobello," April said. "But we only call him by his government name when he's in trouble. I'm April von Drake." This was said with all the flourish that a hotel heiress's name should be said. April assumed, unless proven otherwise, that everyone knew who she was.

"Oh, I mean, it depends. Swynlake can be so boring. Unless you're into like history or the outdoors." April, certainly, was not.

@destinyscharms

#searipples #thread — ❝ lobby liaison ❞#❝ of storms and comparisons ❞ — april

While the dog’s name wasn’t really familiar to Kairi, April’s seemed to spark some familiarity within her. Maybe she heard someone say that name before…? The hotel was big so it was definitely a possibility! Something to check later, then.

But back to what April was saying. Maybe this place really was her calling—history kind of interested her but what she cared about more was the outdoors part. That’d make it perfect for exploration, right?

“Ooo, gotcha! Let’s say I’m into both, where’d you recommend I go?”

ֹ ₊ 𐙚 @april-von-drake ᝰ.ᐟ⊹ ࣪ ˖

Oh Toby, or not To Be - Open

"Er-" Basil started to say as the woman took some of her sandwich. "Toby wait!" He blurted, holding out a hand.

The dog sniffed at the sandwich with interest, his tail wagging and hind legs barely staying on the floor as he strained to try and get to the sandwich while also obeying his master's order not to touch it. A soft little whine of longing came out of his mouth as the dog opened and closed his mouth softly.

"Sorry, but what's in that?" Basil asked, with an apologetic smile. "There are just lots of things it's not a good idea for a dog to have."

He did not like to be fussy like that, and no doubt would have crammed it into his own mouth without a second thought, but Toby... well, that was a different matter.

@destinyscharms

#searipples #thread — ❝ oh toby or not to be ❞#❝ of detectives and bravery ❞ — basil

Ahh, she did have reason to worry! With his sudden interruption, she quickly moved her hand out of the way of Toby's sight and behind her. Kairi looked up at the other, humming.

"Oh—it's nothing to apologise for! The sandwich has, uhhh... lettuce, tomatoes and I think some chicken? No sauces or anything, my grandma was worried I'd spill it on the ride over here and all. Are all those safe?"

She neglected to mention the bread itself. Mostly because it was regular white bread, that had to be safe, right? Right? Wow, I need to learn more about dogs.

Maybe she could get a book on them later... Or, at least, once she's done some unpacking for today.

ֹ ₊ 𐙚 @basil-of-benbow ᝰ.ᐟ⊹ ࣪ ˖

Lobby Liaison # [Karp]

April followed Porty at a leisurely pace. He rarely got into too much trouble. Well, that wasn't necessarily true, but April wasn't worried about it! The worst that could happen was he got himself lost. And April knew the hotel like the back of her hand, so it didn't matter much.

And, see! She was right! Porty had just found a new friend. What a ham.

"Hi!" April said, all bright smiles as she strolled over to the girl and her dog. "Sorry about that, Porty loves making new friends." She, however, made no move to remove the dog from jumping on the other girl.

[also realized i forgot to add porty's descrip so here it is!]

@destinyscharms

#searipples #thread — ❝ lobby liaison ❞#❝ of storms and comparisons ❞ — april

"Hey!! No worries, he seems pretty sweet. Is that his name? 'Porty'?"

She matched the other's smile with one of her own. 'Porty' stayed seemingly close to Kairi and it didn't seem like the other was gonna do much about it. Which meant! Nothing wrong with spending some more time with the little guy! She giggled a bit as she did so.

"My name's Kairi! Good to meet both of you. Are you familiar with," she gestured around, "anything in town? I'm new so I was planning on going out to look around. Got any recs?"

Maybe that was even why the little guy came her way. Could sense the desire to go go go out? If he was an outdoorsy kinda pup.

ֹ ₊ 𐙚 @april-von-drake ᝰ.ᐟ⊹ ࣪ ˖

A New Chapter || Howiri feat Maddy

Maddy giggled.

“That was probably one of my first questions too,” she said. “It’s exciting to work in a bookstore isn’t it?”

“Might be a good time for a tour,” said Howl. “Though, of course, in honor of the previous owner… there really isn’t a set organizational system.” They waved their hand. “It’s more vibes based than anything. I have, however, added a rather complicated charm that lets our staff find books if they know the name. So should a customer have a specific request… let’s say I’m looking for Great Expectations —”

He felt a little tug already, but turned to Maddy.

“Can you find it for me?”

“Oh yes —” She led the trio through the maze of shelves, then plucked out Great Expectations — which was not near classic literature or other Dickens novels, but instead on a shelf dedicated to other plucky orphans. “Ta-da!”

“Would you like to try?” Howl asked Kairi. “Basically, if you have a title, you’ll feel drawn to where it is. The key, however, is knowing the title.”

@destinyscharms

#searipples #thread — ❝ a new chapter ❞#❝ of vanity and wizardry ❞ — howl #❝ of wonder and optimism ❞ — madellaine

Her smile growing in some confidence, Kairi nodded. At least it wasn't a completely unique situation...? Sure, she could go with that! As Howl spoke, she returned her gaze to him. A vibes-based system, huh? Guess I should start learning what those 'vibes' actually are.

The display of magic was unlike anything she'd seen before (the library back home didn't exactly have a charm that could just guide you to a book!) but it was exciting! Her eyes sparkled at the offer, nodding enthusiastically. "Yes! I would!"

Unfortunately, this kind of magic wasn't the same as whatever she felt some time ago. It wasn't like she'd ever dreamt of this, after all. Maybe she could start? C'mon brain, you can work with me there, right??

"A title... hm, hm! Oh, what about—er, Sense and Sensibility?"

They probably had a few Jane Austen books lying around, right? She was kiiiind of banking on that with her very small collection of books back in the hotel. A tug pulled at her very self, a guide forward. Excitement bright in her expression, she let the magic guide her until—here it is!

Quickly, she pulled it out, showing it to the other two. "Wow! That was fun—so, uhm, what happens if a cusotomer asks for a specific book but it's not here?"

ֹ ₊ 𐙚 @oh-heartlessman ᝰ.ᐟ⊹ ࣪ ˖

Lobby Liaison # [Karp]

@destinyscharms

April had come to move some of her stuff in from the dorms to her suite that she would be sharing with her sisters this summer. Her pup was following at her heels as she directed a few bellhops up to their new rooms.

She was sitting in one of the plush chairs in the lobby, Porty in her lap, scrolling through her Instagram. To be honest, she’d gotten a little distracted from actually doing any moving…

And then the dog jumped out of her lap and made a beeline across the lobby.

“Porty!” April gasped, standing up. “Portobello! What are you doing?” He was sniffing around some girl, a guest probably, that she didn’t recognize.

[outfit]

#searipples #thread — ❝ lobby liaison ❞#❝ of storms and comparisons ❞ — april

Unpacking was… well, it could be worse! She’d been chipping away at it day by day since arriving here. Mostly because there was just—so much to see, y’know? She couldn’t stay cooped up in here alllll day long. Well, maybe with a book to read. Gran did say to grab some recs for her while she was here…

Anyways! Point was, Kairi had finished the chip of unpacking for today. A box of some of her clothes and other essentials. She wasn’t quite running low but better to get that out of the way than make a mess of things when she did, eventually, run out. With everything neatly put away, she was perfectly set to go out and explore some more.

Or so she’d thought but…

For the second time in the time she’d came here, a dog ran up to her. Ooo, was it always this frequent? Smiling, she waved down at the lil guy.

“Hey there! Looks like you’re up and ready to go,” she began, only just hearing someone shouting from across the lobby. Glancing over there she found a girl she didn’t know. She hummed, tilting her head ever so slightly. “Oh, is she your owner? Better get you back to her, huh?”

Or I can wave her over? What would be better… eh, couldn’t hurt to try!

And so, Kairi waved at the other, a silent question in her eyes. One that maybe didn’t reach the other with their distance.

ֹ ₊ 𐙚 @april-von-drake ᝰ.ᐟ⊹ ࣪ ˖

First Contact || Open

Charlie could not "see" by any medical standard. If Charlie lost his other contact, he would be considered legally blind. Technically, having lost one contact was enough to decree him as such. No one should let Charlie operate heavy machinery right now.

But he could tell something was coming directly at his eye. Instinctively, he leaned away, like the stranger was going to poke his eye out.

"Sorry," said Charlie automatically. He blinked, grimacing at the irritation. His eyes were welling with tears at this stage. "You said uh, the right side?"

He reached for his right side, but it was the opposite of what Kairi meant-- since she was referring to her right side.

@destinyscharms

#searipples #thread — ❝ first contact ❞#❝ of intelligence and impulsivity ❞ — chicken little

When the other leaned away, Kairi quickly retracted her hand herself. Right, yeah, bad idea. Whoops. She smiled, shaking her head. “No worries! And ye—uh, no?”

She stared, owlishly, at the other. Were he able to see, he’d probably be able to see the gears turning in her head. Like a strike of lightning, she had her lightbulb moment. Ahahaha… whoops…

“Ack—no, I meant, uh, my right! It’d be your left? Probably?”

For once in this interaction, she was glad he couldn’t see her for she had to pull out the good old hands method. Yep, this was her right and… she turned her hands slightly around, his left!

“You able to find it now?”

ֹ ₊ 𐙚 @the-little-prophet ᝰ.ᐟ⊹ ࣪ ˖

Oh Toby, or not To Be - Open

Well, Basil couldn't argue that Toby was hardly the most unwelcome of guests (who could truly be unhappy to see his adorable little face and his good manners, which had finally been restored and the dog was now sat obediently, tail sweeping over the pavement as he stared unblinkingly at the food in the woman's hands).

"Yes, that would probably cover it," Basil laughed awkwardly, ruffling Toby's ears before he shook his head at the dog. "You'd think he never got fed at home, honestly," he joked. "Carrying on like this, Toby, come on mate, have some respect!"

Toby was still staring at the food.

"Sorry about him." Basil sighed, reaching into his pocket to see if he had some treats that he could use to bribe the dog into behaving instead.

@destinyscharms

#searipples #thread — ❝ oh toby or not to be ❞#❝ of detectives and bravery ❞ — basil

As she waited for his reply, Toby seemed to have been reminded of the niceties of society—another point to his charm! Her smile widened some by it, resisting the very strong urge to pet him. The woes of accidentally dropping something blocking her whimsy.

Oh—so he could have some! Her expression turned bright. “Pfff, maybe he just has a taste for something new!”

Though the other rummaged around for something to appease the little guy, Kairi crouched down and took off a piece of her sandwich. “Here you are! Lemme know your critiques, ‘kay? Gran’s pretty good at adjusting to new clientele!”

Even as she did so, her eyes flickered back up at the owner. The contents of the sandwich were clear as day so if there was any time to get her to back out… Hopefully, I’m just being overly cautious…

ֹ ₊ 𐙚 @basil-of-benbow ᝰ.ᐟ⊹ ࣪ ˖

A New Chapter || Howiri feat Maddy

“Ah Maddy!” Howl clapped his hands together. “Just the person I wanted to see.”

Not that they were surprised — it was Maddy’s shift after all. And he’d purposefully scheduled it around the same time as the new employee’s training. Madellaine was a very friendly girl and also quite good at her job.

“I’d like to introduce you to our newest employee — Kairi.” They gestured to the new book seller. “We’ll be doing her training today and I’d like you to assist.”

“Oh cool!” Maddy grinned and held out her hand. “I’m Madellaine. Or Maddy if you like! It’s nice to meet you. Did you just move here?”

@destinyscharms

#searipples #thread — ❝ a new chapter ❞#❝ of vanity and wizardry ❞ — howl #❝ of wonder and optimism ❞ — madellaine

Getting a job in this town wasn’t half as hard as she’d thought it might be. Then again, it wasn’t exactly hard to find someone in need of help back home either. Still, every workplace was different, mostly the same but different in specific ways that made Kairi’s mind spin half the time.

And so! Here she was, all ready to get some training done. With a smile, she waved at the other. “Nice to meet you too, Maddy! My name’s Kairi—moved in some days ago. Thought I might get a headstart with a summer job before my first year at uni, y’know?”

Sounded like a good decision. Better than sitting around, bored out of her mind, at the very least! Her eyes roamed around the shop with a familiar kind of curiosity.

“Got a favourite kind of book to recommend ‘round here?” she blurted out before she could quite stop herself. A somewhat sheepish laugh escaped her as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Sorry—er, where’ll we start with the training?”

ֹ ₊ 𐙚 @oh-heartlessman ᝰ.ᐟ⊹ ࣪ ˖

First Contact || Open

The person he'd turned too was very blurry as Charlie squinted with his good-ish eye. Or. Charlie did not have "good" eyes, but his contact had not slipped from the right like it had from the left.

Though his right was starting to feel itchy too. Why did he even bother with contacts, seriously?

Charlie curled his fingers into fists so he would stop rubbing and then looked up like the person instructed. "Uh, like-like this-- I can pull on my eyelid--"

Charlie did so, to try to expose more of the whites of his eye.

@destinyscharms

#searipples #thread — ❝ first contact ❞#❝ of intelligence and impulsivity ❞ — chicken little

Honestly, this reminded her a little bit of when a friend tried contacts for, like, a month before giving up and going back to regular glasses. This was a pretty common scene in school, so she had a pretty good idea of what she was looking for. Even if extremely tired by her arrival here.

With a nod, Kairi took as good of a look as she could. Where… oh! Here! That little thing over there seemed very contact-like. Contact-shaped, even.

“I think I see it! It’s, like—near the bottom of the right side of your eye.”

Without really thinking about it, she pointed to the area on her eye (could he even see that? Uhhh, she hoped so).

ֹ ₊ 𐙚 @the-little-prophet ᝰ.ᐟ⊹ ࣪ ˖

First Contact || Open

It had been a long...er.

If Charlie were going to accurately describe the time that had passed since he last slept well, he'd have to do so mathematically--something like 6h ≤ Δt ≤ 6h+x, where x here represented the mysterious jump-forward he experienced while passing over the Atlantic Ocean, EST bleeding out behind him. He had jolted back to life (hyperbole?) in Heathrow Airport, feeling like he hadn't slept for years. If only he could solve for X to figure out exactly how many.

... And this was why he needed coffee! And if there was one thing Hatter's had...it was coffee. They also had queues, and Charlie had stumbled into an impressively long one. He rubbed tiredly at his left eye, then felt a pinch that made him squint, blink, and then blink even more rapidly.

Stupid contacts!

Charlie squinted and rubbed and then squeaked as everything went blurry. "Agh, I'm so sorry--" he turned to the person behind him. "I think my contact's gone under my eyelid, can you-- can you look?"

[outfit]

#searipples #thread — ❝ first contact ❞#❝ of intelligence and impulsivity ❞ — chicken little

Getting some coffee after getting here sounded like a very wise, very not bad idea. Honestly, anything to keep her awake enough to unpack. This place—Mad Hatter’s Tea Shoppe—was the closest one she could find and so! Here she was. Apparently, it was pretty popular too.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people here for coffee… Gran would be so surprised! I’ll snag a photo once I’ve gotten my order. If I remember t—huh?

Returned to reality from her thoughts by the guy in front of her turning around, she tilted her head. Was there something he needed? The daze of being up for way too long seemed to slow down any processing of his words. For a few seconds, at least. All the more reason to get that coffee. And a sweet treat, if she could help it…

“Oh! Yeah, sure, no worries. Try looking up at the very fun, very pretty sky above for a sec and I’ll see if anything’s there!”

ֹ ₊ 𐙚 @the-little-prophet ᝰ.ᐟ⊹ ࣪ ˖

Oh Toby, or not To Be - Open

[Outfit]

"Toby?!" Basil called, breaking into a light jog with a caustic sigh as he strained his eyes to try and spot where the dog had got to this time. "Oh come on buddy," he chastised, mostly to himself. He should have seen the warning signs, when Toby suddenly started sniffing and staring off into the distance like that. He'd got a scent of something. Exactly what, Basil would have to find him to know.

"There you are!" He cried, seeing the dog pawing at someone's leg rudely. "Toby! Sit! Stop that-" He ran over, slipping the leash back onto the dog's collar.

"I'm terribly sorry," he said, shaking his head as he looked up at the person apologetically. "He got a scent of something and then just was off-"

What had Toby caught the smell of, Basil wondered, as he looked up.