Like many human traditions Christmas weirded Marzel out, to focus on extravagance and items verse focusing on the things that should matter. Spending time with the people you cared about and showing them you cared all the time.
Human’s seemed to focus too much on the time and place, the excuse. Valentine’s Day. Mothers and Fathers day.
Of Course Marzel had done his research and determined that Colombia celebrated Christmas so he couldn’t exactly extend these thoughts to others outside of his sister. The previous benefit of dating Adella, he could explain this and she would understand to a point. Not truly as she grew up on land but enough.
It posed another question that rattled on in his brain since giving Simba a piece of his past. Was it worth it? Connecting with humans? Was it worth the risk? The time? The effort? When originally he had been planning all this time to go home. What if something happened while they were here?
The guilt only increased the more he thought about it.
But then he would escape to school and see the kids. He’d see the tree in the town. He’d see people laughing. He’d see Minnie doing her thing and yeah for a moment everything seemed worth it.
That’s why you found the man today in Whosit’s (which was also awkward considering the fact his ex’s sister worked here but there were other people and she couldn’t chase him out for just not loving Adella fast enough. He didn’t love Minnie either. Not right now at the very least.) But that’s why you found him in whosit’s searching the store. It felt better at the very least to find something that made him light up at the thought of her and not something impersonal.
Walking through the aisles Marzel looked through anything for a spark. There was a beautiful hair piece coated in green with a flower on top. Gorgeous but could she wear that at the hospital?
A cast iron pan? Which why in the world would it be here he didn’t know. But kitchen items seemed worse. Basic research cautioned him against household items and anything that could indicate he was telling her to get back in the kitchen.
The set of forks. Definitely a no go.
A pair of shoes, clear as the sky. Yet one had obviously been repaired and loved. It made you wonder what type of stories were told in those. But Marzel didn’t know Minnie’s shoe size and they didn’t seem like her style.
An brooch with an arrow head? And Arrow head really? Marzel sighed putting the item down.
The next item Marzel picked up he didn’t know what it was, gold in colour. It almost looked like a teapot but the spout was narrow and curled. The base was a base instead of the rounded piece he was used to but it did give him a thought considering just how much tea they drank together.
But then it all clicked together. At the bottom of the shelf lay a old recipe book with a cute little frog on the corner. It was fragile when Marzel picked it up but he thought about all the memories Minnie had with her parent’s cookbook and then all the memories that this one had too.
It had to be perfect.
But it ran into that same problem. Household items.
“Excuse me.” Marzel stopped the person next to him. It couldn’t hurt to ask. “Can I get your opinion? See I’m shopping for my girlfriend’s Christmas present. But I also have heard multiple times don’t buy your girlfriend anything that would indicate you want them to cook you something. So a cookbook for a first Christmas together. What do you think?”
Alternatively Titled: Can you feel the Love Tonight?
Once upon a time ships traveled the seas pillaging towns and cities. This was the golden age of piracy. Yet it was only golden by the standards of those on the ships that traveled the world. For the rest the 1700’s was a terrifying place to live in.
“Captain! Captain! We’re pulling into port and the offices are ready to meet us.” Barbara Roberts turned to her Quartermaster, her brunette hair flying in the wind with a smile that could blind anyone that looked while the sun was shining down on her.
Strange if you considered hygiene on a ship but Barbara was a woman of detail, or class, she wouldn’t willingly break a nail let alone let her teeth go to ruin.
“I’m not worried. They’ll let us in or we’ll blow up their port. Simple as that.” Barbie grinned turning back to the dock that awaited them. “We’re here solely to have a party, they can’t have a problem with that.”
Yet there were a lot of problems with that and the brunette that was hiding behind some barrel knew that. But she couldn’t voice it. She would be in even more trouble if she was found in her hiding spot. How she had survived without being found for the last week was a miracle in itself. Aurora wouldn’t be taking anymore chances this close to salvation.
Especially this close to Gracewood Manor. Aurora needed to make it on land. Please don’t send this ship away.
The closer they got the more Aurora waited for the sound of gunfire. When none appear she cautiously poked her head out to the line of officers all with their guns drawn.
“Calm down boys. I’m merely here for a visit. A restock of supplies. Maybe a drink or two. We won’t be destroying your town.” Barbie grinned looking over the officers herself leaning onto the railing while she played with her hair.
“Surely you’ll let us dock?” Her voice rang and Aurora watched each of the officers take a deep breath. Shifting in their britches.
“We can not!” One voice rang out. The boy was on the shorter side compared to everyone. He stood off to the side. No one of rank but he stood tall despite his gun shaking as he pointed at him.
“Officer Oliver stand down.” The Captain by his stripes stepped forward. “Miss what’s your name?”
“Barbara Roberts. You can surely look me up by my name couldn’t you? Find my wanted poster. I’m a woman of my word. We’ll be gone by the morning. Just give us time to do that won’t you Captain?”
“Captain Percy Goldthwait, Ms Barbara. We can offer our port to you only to buy supplies and set up by morning. We will not allow anything else. And if we see anything you will be arrested.” Percy stated ordering his men to drop their guns. Oliver being the last.
Poking her head up Aurora tried to get his attention he was the only one that could possibly help her. She just needed to get off this ship. She needed to find him.
“Of course, We’ll follow your rules while we’re here I promise.” Barbie spoke crossing her fingers behind her back.
“Alright men and women. Tie us in and lets go.” Barbara called being the first to disembark without looking back at her crew. Instead just running her fingers over the Captain’s collar. “Show me around why don’t you? What’s with the big house over there?”
Percy followed her finger, it looking like hearts were swirling around his head. “Gracewood Manor. There will be a ball there tonight. Invitation only though.”
“Oh but of course.” Barbara whispered.
Again Aurora tried to get Oliver’s attention, but the officer watched Barbara and his captain rushing off to follow them leaving Aurora to collapse back. She wouldn’t be able to leave until everyone quieted down.
Oliver had lost sight of the pirate and his Captain too quickly even running after them. Leaving him away from the boat and the other men. Which he was going to get majorly in trouble for!
Sprinting back to the boat Oliver barely dodged a young couple in the middle of the Square.
“Marzel, I know you’re waiting. I know she was someone you cared about but you’ve only recently met her.”
“It was enough Melody. One meeting and my heart was stolen.” Marzel mused holding his hand to his chest as if it would leap out and he would need to catch it before it fluttered away.
Melody on the other hand felt like hers would sink to the floor. All those times as children together. All the village ladies teasing them how they would get together and marry. It was all falling apart because of one woman.
“We haven’t heard from her ship, she should have been back by now.”
“We have until the Ball, Melody.”
“No you need to make the decision to move on or you’ll hang over her your entire length. Make the decision. Marry me.” Melody stepped infront of him glancing around to make sure no one else heard those words.
A woman proposing? It was unheard of.
And by Marzel’s expression unwarranted and unheard of.
“No Melody. You’re my best friend and I care about you but I can’t, I won’t. I’m sorry.” Marzel turned away walking from Melody, This time the girl held onto her chest. Not because her heart would flutter away but because it would drop to her feet.
Turning on her heel Melody moved to walk home pausing at a store window, the gown on display such gorgeous lace that would drape around any woman beautifully.
The seamstress stepped into the window pulling the gown down leaving Melody to stare at the empty space.
The dress was brought over to a young girl standing in front of a mirror as they dressed her. A woman’s wedding day was meant to be grand. She was meant to be stunning. To render her fiance speechless.
Ashlee was sure she could do all of those things.
But the girl had imagined adventure and love. She had wished for it in her journals and with her nannies. Daring to dream but everyone in the house found it endearing.
Even now Ashlee swished the gown around wishing and hoping for the future she wanted not the one that would be her demise of staying at home all day while he potentially never returned.
“What is your fiance like?” Peri questioned taking her measurements unable to ask the girl to not move. Not from her standing.
“I don’t know I haven’t met him.”
“You haven’t?”
“We will meet tonight. At the ball at Gracewood Manor.” Peri’s hand froze at her work before she continued to work.
“I heard many young couples will be meeting their and it will be an excellent place to meet someone if you have not.”
“Perhaps.” Ashlee stated. “I’d rather not, but to each their own.”
“Ms Peri. I’m afraid you’re running late. The madam at Gracewood Manor needs an alteration and she refuses to have anyone make the change other than you.”
“The ball will start in just a few hours. And I’m with a client.”
“It’s alright. You can not turn down the madam of Gracewood manor. Your assistant can finish the measurements. I’ll be heading to the ball soon enough anyway.” Ashlee offered ushering the blonde away.
“Yes of course. Thank you Ma’am.”
Grabbing armfuls of the material and her kits Peri rushed into the carriage stepping in without assistance and being jostled the entire way.
“Excuse me could you slow down?” Peri questioned but heard no response back. Of course not. How could they listen to her. Just a small town seamstress.
The trip up to the manor was quick. Quicker than if Peri had to travel by foot. Yet as she stepped out she was ushered through the halls only catching one glimpse of the young master of the house.
Nuka watched as Peri was ushered through the halls until she disappeared from his sight only then did he focus back on the musician in front of him. “I do not mind whichever you decide to play. As long as our guests may dance to it, you are free to choose.” Nuka commanded, waving of O’Malley.
The musician stepped back bowing at the young master heading to the ballroom.
Nuka stepped forward to follow Peri, before he could make even the second step he was pulled back to his room to formally dress for the event. He could be meeting his own fiancee tonight.
With his butler working hard, Nuka was dressed in no time. By the time he stepped out of his room the manor was lit by candle light. Music slipped out of the ballroom as Nuka moved to greet his guests.
“Welcome Ms. Tommassian. I hope you enjoy your evening.”
The young girl offered Nuka a smile to be polite, giving him a curtsy before moving in with her parents.
“There he is. The young man’s name is Oliver Twiste. He’s from a well off family and has become an officer. He’s expecting to rise through the rank very quickly.”
Ashlee’s father called Oliver over and the young man scrambled forward. Taking Ashlee’s hand to lay a kiss to it.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Ashlee.”
“It’s Ms. Tommassian.”
Oliver mentally took a step back before nodding. “My apologies Miss.”
Ashlee sighed. “Just ask me to dance already.”
Oliver nodded asking her and taking her hand to pull her onto the dance floor.
“It’s -”
“Don’t speak.” Ashlee commanded as they twirled around the dance floor.
“But-”
“No, I don’t want to marry you and if you want to marry someone just because your parents told you too. You’re a fool.”
Swallowing harshly Oliver looked away from his fiancee because at the end of the day she was already his fiancee. Their parents had made the match.
“Look you might be unhappy-”
“I said not to speak-”
“No you listen to me. I get ordered enough by my captain. You’re just going to have to suck it up because we are to be married. Deal with it.”
Neither party looked at each other as they dance, teeth clenched at one another to avoid saying another word. Yet their parents off to the side swooned at the young couple and many more as everyone joined the dance.
Couples littered the floor dancing, twirling around while servants stood around waiting to be needed. Or attempted to escape like one seamstress who had been stuck for too long by the madam. Peeking in to the ball Peri listening to the music from her place hidden away from any prying eyes.
He played beautifully watching all the couple dancing a longing in his own eyes. Ones that Peri imagined matched her own.
But she had to leave before she was spotted.
“Peri?”
Peri twisted around staring up at Nuka with a small gasp. “My apologies I know it’s invitation only I was just listening to the music. I’ll be on my way.” Peri started to move heading toward the stairs to the second, she could escape from the servants exit, she had multiple times before.
“Wait Peri.”
Peri wouldn’t wait rushing forward a couple guests that had made their way up to the balcony started to look.
With all eyes on her Peri pulled open a curtain to escape behind stopping suddenly at the man and woman making out against the railing.
“Captain?” Nuka questioned stepping behind Peri. Percy spun around eyes wide as he knocked Barbara back and off the railing. Everyone wincing as she fell into the bushes below. She’d be okay, Enough affairs had left that way.
But the scream that rang out definitely meant something went wrong.
“Captain you have a wife and a young child at home.”
“And she’s a pirate?” Peri supplied recognizing the face from a wanted poster in town.
“And she’s a pirate. Should I be concerned just who you’re allowing in town and in turn my home.”
“No Mr. Blackwell. It’s nothing like that. Please don’t tell my wife.”
“No I’m afraid I will be telling her. Afterall your wife was expected here too. Now go check on her and make sure she’s not dead. Do your job.”
Percy ran off without a look back everyone watching now. Nuka how pulled the curtains and held out his hand before Peri could run off.
“Peri would you stop running?”
“I’m not supposed to be here. I’m so sorry your Mother requested I work on her gown. It’s finished and I should head out.”
Nuka’s arm still extended over the curtain forcing Peri to stay where she was.
“You could be welcomed here. Peri, Marry me.”
The question wasn’t out of the blue, they had seen one another since Peri started working at the shop. Joked around when Peri came to fit his mother and drop off gowns but that didn’t mean she could marry the wealthiest family in this town.
“I’m sorry Nuka. I’m not right for this. Please move on.” Peri ducked under his arm and ran for the door. Nuka right behind her passing another couple.
“Would you like to dance?” Marzel questioned holding out his hand to Melody. Both clad in their best they barely paid attention to a seamstress or the young master of the house chasing after her.
The music was so loud no one else had even noticed the scream from the balcony and ignored the Captain of the officers running out either.
Melody only had eyes for Marzel though her heart had already been broken for today.
“Of course.” Melody took Marzel’s hand as they swept onto the dance floor passing a young couple that wouldn’t even look at one another.
The two of them couldn’t help but laugh. “Arranged marriage.” They agreed at the same time.
“I’m sorry Melody you’re right. You’ve been right this entire time. I’m been waiting for someone that won’t come back.”
Melody nodded though she ducked her head in embarrassment. She had asked him to marry her without a second thought.
“Melody Oceana would you marry me?” Marzel questioned smiling down at her. Pulling a ring out of his pocket Melody eagerly pulled it on. Reaching up to kiss his cheek.
“Of course.”
Aurora had struggled to get off the ship but when she had she wished she hadn’t. The ball had already begun and she looked like she hadn’t showered in a couple weeks. Which she hadn’t. Storming into the seamstress shop Aurora grabbed water from the back cleaning up the best she could before putting on a dress that was too loose but at least she’d be dressed. She hadn’t imagine running up to the manor would lead her to watch the Captain of the ship she stowed away on would be falling from a balcony.
Rushing over Aurora held out a hand to help her out of the bush.
“Oh it’s the stowaway I was wondering when you’d get off my ship.”
“You knew?”
“Of course I knew.” Barbara hissed pushing the girl away. “Now my leg hurts so walk away unless you want me to kill you.”
“Step away young miss. I’ll look after this pirate.”
Aurora glanced up to see the Captain with his collar all messed up and the lipstick matching Barbara’s it didn’t take long for Aurora to put everything together taking the warning and running far away.
She didn’t want any part of that.
Slipping into the manor Aurora avoided everyone that would want to see her or force her to introduce herself to the crowd.
He’d be here, he had to.
The music lulled but Aurora barely paid any attention her eyes locked on Marzel as he slipped her engagement ring onto Melody’s finger.
She was too late. After everything she had gotten back too late.
Pressing herself against the wall Aurora hid away from everyone’s eyes as tears blurred her vision.
“Excuse me. Are you alright?” A man asked offering a handkerchief to her.
“This is much too beautiful night to cry. I should know I’ve been playing the music for all these lovely couples.”
“My- He was my fiance, just proposed to someone else.”
“Well he’s obviously the fool for choosing anyone other than you. Come let’s get some fresh air.” O’Malley offered Aurora his arm and the girl accepted it throwing one glance back to the happy couple.
Stepping outside Aurora and O’Malley paused and turned hard to the right, spotting Nuka and Peri kissing in the moonlight.
“Did you love him?”
“I did.”
“Could you move on?”
“I’ll have to.”
“Don’t worry it gets easier with time.” O’Malley supplied. “But until then having a shoulder to lean on helps and I’m currently unattached compared to all of these couples.”
“Well that’s good because I’m currently unattached too. Love has only been a liability to me.” Looking up at the man Aurora smiled at his smile. “Perhaps there’s more than just a romantic love. And maybe I’ve just stumbled upon it.”
Aurora wasn’t sleeping well. She could attribute this to many things and she did, tucked away in her desk sat all the new fact she had.
A Vampire’s influence on the town.
Swynlake’s own magical nature.
Nightmares. For some reason Aurora couldn’t sleep through the night.
The fact someone had plugged in a glade plugin in a PrideU classroom and that had given her a headache.
Lancelot’s memories that swam in her head. Either giving her nightmares or exhausting her to point she was falling asleep more often than not. Class was a struggle lately to the point that Aurora had to use her accommodations and sit down with her professors to figure how she could finish the semester.
Tiana was tired even more around the house and Aurora was trying to help her which wouldn’t normally be a problem but it was an added thing.
But in the end of it Aurora was lead to believe there was one key element that it all led down to. The curse that ran through her blood. The curse that marked her skin right above her heart. The more magic Aurora exerted. The more she saw throughout the day the more it drained her. Mentally and physically.
For her sleep was more then a necessity it was her life line.
But for all of Aurora’s knowledge in plants and herbs there was a limit to her knowledge. Like which ones works together. Many of the books she would resort to were from her little cottage with her master. A person that Aurora refused to call if not to worry her.
The last thing this town needed was Aurora’s master coming to town in a whirlwind. If there was a major reason Aurora was so calm was because her master had been so out there. It lead to Aurora making another list of known sorcerers.
Reza - Board Member - Dagger as a wand - Speciality unknown - Young Daughter
Su - Young apprentice - Aurora’s apprentice - and while Aurora would love to mix knowledge with her it wouldn’t be appropriate.
TIng-Ting - Speciality Ying Yang - Kind woman - Su’s older sister - Probably could help her but that might lead to a discussion of the curse and Aurora didn’t quite feel ready to let that spill.
Mei - Hera’s apprentice - Love witch in training - again apprentice and a connection that Aurora didn’t want to burn
Hera - Board Member - Master in her craft - Had her own garden -familiar with herbs and was willing to share information the last time they spoke.
Imelda - Unknown - Storm Magic - Owns a shop - Never met
Eilonwny - Young sorceress of light - PrideU - Fellow Knight - but just a child learning her own skills.
She shredded this list after. Having made it on her own recycled paper she was able to plant it in a pot she could regift come Christmas. We couldn’t have someone finding out information that didn’t belong to them.
But overall it really was barely a question on who would be the best bet for Aurora to seek out.
Cheralynne “Hera” Zephyr.
The trip to her house wasn’t long nor was it different. She had come prepared books of her own research, potions that she had started to come up with but knew she was missing one ingredient, perhaps a reagent.
Lolly was even feeling the strain, whining at Aurora’s side as they walked and Aurora faltered for a moment. If the pup had it her way Aurora probably wouldn’t be leaving the house but she needed this, she needed to figure out a potion that would either knock her out completely or would at least force her to stop dreaming.
Knocking on Hera’s door Aurora was pleasantly surprised by Mei. “Hello, is Hera in? I don’t want to interrupt your lesson if you two are working on something.” Aurora forced her voice to contain that pep that most people were used to hearing. That tinge that communicated her confidence and her spark. Even if she was too tired for any of that.
But at least if she could leave the woman a message- which really Aurora should have called ahead. This just showed how tired Aurora was if she could make lists but completely forget the major part of checking to see if someone would be home.
Labor: Barrel stands up for himself against someone.
Barrel’s favorite class was biology. It was maybe his only favorite class. He liked it a lot, because out of all the things he thought he might be able to do wit his life, studying animals was the big one. If he could be a vet, that would be very good, or maybe even a zookeeper because the idea of being a zookeeper sounded very exciting. If he got to make sure big cats were fed and safe! Wow that would be good!
But he knew those things required lots of being good in school, so he wasn’t sure if he wanted to do those things, not because he didn’t want to do school, but because he wasn’t good at English or history. He was okay in math actually. But science was his favorite. It was math, but you did things with the math.
He thought sometimes about maybe working in a pet store which would also be good for him. But today was one of those days where he let himself daydream a bit. In his day dream he was the lionkeeper at a zoo that focused on conservation and he got to see the lions every day and he also did talks at the zoo where he talked to little Barrels around the world about how important it was to save lions. Except, maybe a lionkeeper was too limiting. Maybe he could be a tigerkeeper too. And also jaguar keeper. He liked that idea a lot. Multiple big cats.
See, Barrel had an issue with the show Wade was currently watching which was about a man in Oklahoma who had a lot of big cats in facilities that were definitely not up to standard. Wade had cackled at him and then hit him upside the head when Barrel pointed that out and said how sad he was for the big cats. Wade called him a pussy. They were just lions. They were lucky they weren’t being shot and skinned and stuffed.
Barrel now was feeling kinda sad when he walked into biology, about to take his seat in his designated lab table, when he realized there was someone sitting at his lab table.
If this was any other class, he would just slump to the back. But Barrel specifically picked the front table here because he wanted to pay attention and he also wanted to impress the teacher somewhat. That was definitely a “pussy” thing as Wade would say, but if there was one key to helping Barrel achieve his dreams of being big cat keeper in a zoo focused on conservation, it was getting a good grade in biology and impressing the teacher.
The other problem, though, was that this girl sitting at his lab table was an Ashley.
It was Ashlee T. he knew, because Barrel tried to keep tabs on who they were so he could avoid them. He had Ashley A. for a lab once and he did most of the work. He’d never talked to Ashlee T. He should just go to a table in the back.
But he thought of the poor tigers in the Netflix show. He wanted to be the change.
He took a deep breath and turned on his heel, walking to the front of the class. He kept his eyes on the floor. He reached the table. He tapped it. Ashlee T. didn’t notice. He cleared his throat. He swallowed.
“Hi, Ashlee,” he said. “I think you’re in my regular seat. I need this seat because it helps me pay attention. We can swap maybe. I don’t have a seat yet but there’s a lot around in the back.”
With the new year in full swing it meant that there were only a few short months before the end of the Ashleys secondary reign. And Ashley A wasn’t quite ready for that to happen. Sure, she was starting to properly apply to universities like Oxford and Cambridge and the likes, but there was something so tragical about the end of the school year. It would be the first time since the Ashleys had come together that they might venture off in different directions. A thought she didn’t really like.
Which might explain to some degree why Ashley had been doing a fair amount of retail shopping. New blouses, new coats, new shoes, a specially designed handbag that would be delivered to her door. All the wonderful things that made Ashley A. just a bit happier. It was amazing. Her nervous energy was still there, but now that she’d gotten some shopping in, she felt like she could conquer the world again.
Ashley made her way back into town, stopping just once in front of Hatter’s. Ashley wasn’t much of a coffee person, but she did like a good tea every once in a while, and since she was spending much of the day treating herself, she figured it would be perfectly warranted to get herself one. A nice soothing jasmine tea in a quiet spot within the shop sounded just about right to Ashley. At least until the predictable sort of chaos started to unfold right in front of her eyes.
It was one of those moments that seemed like they ought to be in slow motion but then ended up happening rather rapidly. One minute a man was getting out of the queue and pulling his coffee with him, the next the coffee cup was sailing through the air and towards a familiar looking blond. Now, ordinarily Ashley might not have taken interest (or indeed might have laughed about it and gone on her merry way) but the fact of the matter was....surprisingly that Lena girl was actually well dressed for a change! Or at least she was until the coffee had come spilling all over her.
A fashion tragedy. That was what had just unfolded right in front of Ashley’s eyes. And sure one might say the actual temperature of the coffee and what that might do to a person was bad, but Ashley couldn’t help but be horribly sad for the clothes. That was a lovely blouse that some clumsy dimwitted buffoon had spilled all over. For a brief moment Ashley considered just dumping her own tea over that idiot’s head. But then well...his clothing was nothing to be desired. Really she’d be doing him a service if she trashed his clothes enough to force him to buy something new.
The blond let out a sigh, finding herself propelled forward, having grabbed a good amount of napkins (as well as her shopping bags) and made her way over to Lena. “Oh my god how clumsy can people get? Are you alright?” Ashley asked, not particularly concerned for the girl’s health but...well. It was sort of the decent thing to ask rather than to start off on offering to pay for her dry cleaning. As much as she wanted to do that, it was definitely not the first thing people expected.
“Here hang on, I’ll get you some ice. You’ll want something cool.” Ashley set her things down at the table near the girl, hurrying forward to the cashier (ignoring the queue waiting) to demand that ice. It was easy enough since everyone had witnessed the disaster spill, and Ashley twisted back around toward the girl. “Here. Ice first and then you’ll probably want to change out of that. Awful really. You looked really good in this one.”
Arthur was slowly starting to get used to the role that he had been given. He had never fully realized exactly how much Woodrow Pride had to deal with when he was in this position. Sure, he had assumed the man had more work than the regular officer, but he hadn’t really registered just how many complaints and incidents and reports he would have to sift through.
It had only been a short time but Arthur was already a little tired. Nice as it was to have a secretary fielding his calls, he still felt as if he ought to be looking at everything that was out there. Which was why he was looking at a large pile of complaints and grievances despite the secretary being right there.
“Sheriff Pendragon, do you not want me to do my job?” The woman complained, and he did at least have the gall to look a little sheepish. “I apologize. I mean no offense with your efforts. I just feel that I should be doing more.” It had been quiet lately, but he still hadn’t figured out where that boy Sora’s money had disappeared (though it was rather a lost cause), and then there were issues with trying to get new hires. Arthur really ought to reach out to the high sheriff at some point. Maybe he’d make a note to himself to do that in the next few days.
“Alright. Here’s one that’s a little more persistent than the others. Perhaps you ought to try that,” the secretary pulled up a little slip of paper with the person’s details and just what had been going on. “Evidently some young lady’s been causing a lot of disruption near Mrs. Tweed’s place. She hopes you’ll take a look this evening while you’re on patrol.”
Arthur hummed, getting to his feet and started collecting his gear. Handcuffs, baton, everything he might need for a patrol around Swynlake. It didn’t take very long. “I guess I’ll be sure to stop by there first. Thank you.” He smiled at the secretary, and thankfully managed to get a smile back from her before the woman shooed him out of the station.
One of the best parts about patrolling was being able to Swynlake at different points in the day and appreciate the outdoors a little before he was called upon to support the town’s citizens. He had been cooped up in the office there for a bit too long recently, so the breath of fresh air was truly incredible. Arthur took a deep breath in and let it out again before he even began in the direction of Mrs. Tweed’s. There were all kinds of young people that liked to stir up a little bit of trouble, though it didn’t sound like it was anything too extreme.
As a courtesy, he went to Mrs. Tweed’s door first, knocking and making sure she knew that he was there and on the case. “Please Sheriff, I’ve had quite enough of the racket and fiddle faddle. Sometimes it sounds as if there are explosives out there. Explosives! Can you imagine?” Anthony nodded seriously, carefully scanning the area in question for any sign of a girl in question. “I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry madam. This should be the last time you hear someone pull a stunt like that.” That was the goal anyway. As long as the disruptive individual turned up at least.
Arthur stepped away from Mrs. Tweed’s doorstep, turning in the direction that the old woman had pointed him toward. It was strange really to see this sort of complaint come up again. But he had recently had to bring Waldo in again for a similar sort of concern, so perhaps it was just that time of year. In any case, it took Arthur a long moment until he was able to even spot the person that this complaint was about. But she fit the vague description he’d been given. That was something.
He let out a small sigh before he steeled himself, shoulders rolling back and his posture straightening as he made his way toward the young woman. “Hello. I have received several complaints from one of the homeowners here. You have been causing a ruckus, and reportedly a chance you have been setting something off in this neighborhood. While it is not illegal to shout on occasion, it is wrong to be so disruptive as to cause alarm for the inhabitants close by.”
Kanga was tired. Since Romeo had discovered who he truly was the house had been...tense. Awkward. It was hard to get a good word in before he rushed off to school, and after...well it just wasn’t a pleasant environment at home. Which meant that errands were now the new peace for Kanga, rather than being something she needed to get done so she could go home and spend time with her kid.
And it was a rather depressing thought that errands were more relaxing than her child, but she had really messed up. There really wasn’t much that Kanga felt could make this better other than time. Time and giving Roo some space. Hopefully this would allow him to calm down, and for them to have a proper conversation. This hadn’t been the way Kanga intended to reveal this to him. But, if she were honest too, she also hadn’t really planned on revealing his magic anytime soon. She had hoped to wait until he was 18 and really ready to make up his mind about things. Wasn’t that reasonable enough?
Kanga thought that it was, but the verdict was still out on that. In any case, neither of them could do well without food, so Kanga found her way over to the moon market, giving the store manager Jun a polite greeting before she made her way down the aisles. They had been eating a little lazily the last few days, but now she was ready to come up with something healthier and that would hopefully encourage her kid to work with her to make the meal. He’d always been helpful up until this point. And even if he was angry...he was a growing boy. His hunger might win out over his anger.
She collected some fruit: apples, bananas, a couple of oranges and set them in her little cart, utterly focused on the items she knew that they didn’t have at home. They had some vegetables, but not enough to satisfy Kanga. She wanted to make a stir fry, and that meant a lot more vegetables than just salad. “Hmm....onions check...bok choy? Check. Hmm perhaps some green onions?” Kanga was muttering to herself now, but really it was important that she got everything she wanted in one trip. Nothing was more infuriating than going shopping only to come home and realize an ingredient she thought she had wasn’t actually there.
She made her way over toward the carrots, carefully studying the sizes and whether or not they looked fresh enough to suit her needs. Kanga went for the organic ones where she could, seeing as they were affordable, and didn’t waste plastic the way the pre-packaged baby carrots did. Kanga tried her best to buy something that would have less environmental impact. Even if it was so simple as a regular carrot and a baby carrot.
Just as she was putting the bunch of carrots into her cart, she overheard a man mumble something offensive. Now, ordinarily Kanga wouldn’t take much heed of a disgruntled man who didn’t like that she had been elected. If she hadn’t dealt with what she’d dealt with, if her son and her were perfectly content maybe she wouldn’t have been so quick to respond. But they weren’t content and she was more irritable, and so she found herself spinning around toward him, eyebrows shot up as she took a good look at him. “Excuse me? Do you have a prob- well I can see that you have a problem, but I can’t help but wonder why you’d be so rude as to bring it up in a grocery store. I was elected by the people in this town. So clearly they like what I have to say about keeping our citizens safe.”
Finn was starting to feel like his art was becoming too simple. Or at least, that he hadn’t drawn anything original in some time. It had gotten easy to draw his friends. To draw the people he knew even if he didn’t see them standing there right in front of him. In a way Finn had let himself become lazy. Lazy and comfortable with the same arched brows and jawlines and everything. It was uninspired. And though Finn didn’t want to try to find new subjects, he was starting to think that he had no choice in the matter.
So Finn was going to find himself a new subject to draw. Maybe even paint if he had the time for it. If he could just convince someone nice looking to pose for him for a while...everything would be great! Maybe he’d be able to improve his art again. The idea of approaching someone random was admittedly a little terrifying. Someone might just lose patience with him in the middle of him even making his request to do a drawing in the first place. They could yell at him! They could throw something at him! They could trash his sketchbook!
Admittedly only two out of three of these things had happened to him before, but Finn wasn’t all that eager to see his sketchbook destroyed as well. But he had to take the risk. He had to, or otherwise he’d feel stuck in the same artistic rut. It was a scary thought. Finn liked being able to create something, the feeling of making something new was almost magical in its own right. Being stuck was awful. Reaching out to a stranger? Just as awful. Who was he even going to try to talk to?
Finn debated over the right place to reach out to someone, and then decided to find himself a spot in Hatter’s. It was cozy, if anyone agreed to his request they could sit down and be comfortable, and all kinds of different people came in and out of the shop. Finn was bound to find someone who would suit his artistic endeavour!
In a way it was a little like window shopping. Or browsing through items, but instead it was people that could suit his art. Some were easy to disqualify. A tall bearded man with an irritable look on his face? Definitely not. Finn would only make that irritation grow. An exhausted looking nurse rushing for a fresh fix of coffee? Ruled out because there was no way the woman would have time for Finn’s drawing.
Finn spotted all kinds of interesting people on his quest for the right inspiration. The muse of the day in a way. He saw the new sheriff, greeting a few people in the shop as he got in line. He might not be so bad, but there was also something so intimidating about an official like that...Finn didn’t even want to try. And then he spotted them. Someone who looked friendly, not altogether too stressed out, and like they didn’t seem to be in a hurry to be somewhere. They were perfect!
He found himself stumbling to his feet, making his way over before he could question himself and his own logic. This was crazy. But Finn was going to speak now before he regretted letting an opportunity slip by. “Exc-c-cuse m-m-me? C-C-C-Could I pl-pl-please do a sk-sk-sk-sketch of y-y-you?”
