((Whoops))

(This is the IC bud...)

**Spring 1** The sun rolled over the horizon and gently kissed the friendly town. The rising of the sun had signaled that morning had come, and thus work shall be done. The weather currently was comforting, it wasn't hot, nor was it too cold, and on top of that the flowers were currently in bloom. It was such a lovely sight to see the wildlife in the spur of the moment. Don't get too comfortable though, the sun will quickly subside in the afternoon and will soon be replaced by clouds and a light drizzle of rain. ----- It had been another long night, and just as the sun seeped through the cracks in Clarience's window she let out a long groan. The young woman was tired, even though she had just gotten a full night of sleep. She lazily rose from her bed and grunted as she had realized it was morning. Lately work had been consisting of her resting in between painting and it was usually caused by the lack of people that had stopped by. There were some occasions where she actually needed to do work to pay for her rent, however after that the days were quite lax. She slipped out of bed and stretched her legs. Her lips smacked together, generating moisture since her mouth was rather dry from it gaping open in her sleep. Clarience peered through her curtains and huffed. 'Might as well get ready...' She threw on a fresh pair of clothes that consisted of a white sweater and a baggy pair of jeans. Her hair was sloppily gathered up in a ponytail and afterwards she then proceeded to start her daily routine of brushing her teeth and skipping breakfast to drag her paint supplies over to the river for a morning session of practically nothing. Her feet dragged along the dirt pathway as she sauntered through town with a bag of acrylic paints in one hand, and an empty white canvas in the other. It wasn't unusual to see her doing such, especially on a sunny morning such as this.

John woke up just like he always did, with a jerk and covered in a cold sweat. He had been having the same dream for two years now. He looked around the room as the sun began to rise. He sighed and rolled onto his back looking around. He knew that his son would be kicking his down down any minute now. He had a few minutes to himself. In fact he only got two. His son came barreling into the room yelling like a maniac. The kid was a handful at four years old. "Dad! Dad! Get up! We have chores and are heading into town today!" The boy yelled jumping on his father. John let him jump around until he wrapped his son in a hug to stop him. "Alright. We will go in today. I was thinking right now. Well when we are ready. "He said getting up and carrying his son to his room. "Get dressed buddy. We need to hurry. " He told the boy as he went to change up. He walked up to the front door in his usual white shirt and jeans. Once he and Owen were outside John got in his golf cart that was parked in front. He found that this was the easiest way to go around his property. He started the drive into town, kicking up dirt as he drove along. He went slowly into town looking around as he went. Owen was basically jumping in his seat.

Resting peacefully in his bed, Iago just wished he could sleep a bit more before having to actually wake up. It was kind of a bad habit of his to wake up some hours before everyone else in the town did and, since he couldn't go back to sleep after that, he just stayed in his bed until it was time for him to get up. He started moving around in his bed, changing positions in an attempt to find one comfortable enough for him to be able to go back to sleep again, without success. It was futile and stupid to try and fool himself anymore. He finally rose from his bed with a half dead look in his face. After a long yawn, he got out of bed and started on with his morning routine. Taking a shower, brushing his teeth and dressing up. It was lucky that there weren't any ladies around in his house, in which case he wouldn't be able to be as nonchalant with his daily routine as always, he did walk around his whole house in nothing but his underwear, after all. For his clothes, he chose a pair of black pants, a black sleeveless shirt and lastly, his white coat that stopped just a few centimeters before reaching the ground. **"Perfect! Now..."** He took the eyepatch he had near and put it on without major problems. He was already accustomed to it. All dressed up and ready to start the day, he decided to go out of his house for a bit to take in some nice, fresh air, maybe he could also go check on his fellow townspeople, there was bound to be something interesting along the way, after all and, just in case he encountered one of the town's scaredy cats, he put a single syringe still new. He set off to the center of the town with his hands in the coat's pockets and an impish smile on his face.

Meanwhile in "The Tree Sap" (The Name of Travis's Bar) Travis began to stir and wake, not from any sun entering his backroom (Not a window to be found within the small, dense smelly room he called home) but by several drops of water that dropped upon his face from the leaky pipes of his bar. He had no idea what the liquid was, all he knew was this leak was the perfect alarm clock to wake him before his competitors. (Especially his biggest, which just so happened to be right across from his bar.) "Ugh." Travis muttered to himself, "What day is it?". Suddenly a ray of light comes in to his room through a hole in his roof, making a flower sprout from a patch of dirt in his floor. One of the pet rats (Which he has named Bob) decides to chew it up as his breakfast. "Ah yes. It's the First of Spring. And you know what that means Bob." Travis tells the filthy rat, the rat just squeaks. "Of course! The annual drinking competition!" Travis happily declares as he gets on his "Nice Travis" clothes. "The one time where all these idiots gather around and drink till all but one passes out! A perfect opportunity to get the name of "THE TREE SAP!" into the minds of everyone in this town." He heads out toward his stock and begins rolling some barrels to the center of town. (A simple walk for him, thanks to his prime location of his business) Since there were not very many people around, he did a rare act and let Bob outside so he could use him as a marker and set up the tables, chairs, and alcohol barrels for the drinking competition. "And" Travis thought to himself "When these people starting fainting, the hero known as Travis Rollins will accompany the drunken ones back to their home, send them to bed. And steal their fortunes right under their noses! This will be a cinch, if this works, I may be able to retire before Winter." Travis chuckles to himself and he continues to set up shop. "Best of all, no one to steal my spotlight as head barkeep in this town." Travis happily muttered to himself.

Keita was up early this morning. She had agreed to help for the preparations of the new years festival for the town. This meant she had to place decorations and help put up stalls in the town square. As she set up a few tables, she couldn't help but feel like it would be much easier if they had the new years eve festival in the same place, not at the beach. It would save time and effort, but she can't really complain to the mayor about it, she doesn't have the courage. The morning was still kind of chilly, as winter had just ended, there was still piles of snow laying around. Slowly melting in the glow of the sun, leaving large piles of water. Flicking her hair, Keita saw the local doctor coming towards the square. "Hmm..." (Oh, what is he up to this time?) She waved her hand to him in hopes he would hopefully come over and say hello, maybe she could con him into helping with decorations. Keita smirked

Morning. Usually, mornings for her meant waking up to a shouting harpy of an aunt telling her to get her butt out of bed or she'd be turned into a toad for being lazy. Well, that was the usual until two years ago, and any training she had in getting up early had flown promptly out the window when she left. The witch known as Lucille Verity Prolux was still asleep as the sun began to rise on a new day. Well, if what she was doing could be called 'sleeping'. Currently, it looked as though she half fell out of her bed in the middle of the night. The back of her head was currently resting on the floor while the rest of her was still perched awkwardly on the bed. That is, until a bird began pecking at her window. She woke with a start, letting out a small squeal of terror in the process. **"No! Not the nachos! Anything but the nachos! I want to live!"** her upper body jerked upwards...or attempted to. Instead of sitting up, it looked like she was trying to do some type sit up on the edge of her bed. Unfortunately, gravity didn't let that happen for long. Her head hit the floor with a thud, causing a wave of pain through her entire body. Unfortunately, the force of gravity saw to it that the rest of her body came along with her this time. Her legs ended up on top of her as she looked up at the ceiling. **"Owwwwieeee..."** She whined, as she righted herself and rubbed the back of her head where a bruise was forming. Wait a minute...where was she? How'd she get here? Did the evil nacho people get her?! Oh wait...no, that's silly. Nacho people don't exist. Right, right, she was at an Inn in a quaint little town she had stumbled upon while travelling. She stood with a smile as she looked about the room she had rented. It was simple, with just the basic necessities. She wasn't one much for extravagant surroundings, unlike Auntie. Well, today was the first day of Spring, which meant it was a new year! She had only been in town for a few days, and she had spent most of the time indoors trying to get used to the place. Now that it was Spring, it would be a good idea to get a look around town and get to know people. She hoped they were friendly.... She threw on her usual attire which consisted of a black tanktop that looked like something out of some manga or fantasy novel, a short white cloak that hooked onto the tanktop with a blue sapphire gem, gloves, some almost ridiculously short shorts, and boots. Ah, can't forget her hat or bracelets either. And the most important thing? A small wand she used to perform magic tricks with. Yes, that's right, magic. Not just smoke and mirrors either. Magic. Conjuring fire out of nowhere and turning people into toads. That type of magic. Not that she would ever show anyone her talents...or that they would ever really believe her. In any case, now that she was fully dressed, she left the Inn with a cheery smile on her face as she headed for town square. That would be the best place to meet people and get to know them. After getting turned around a few times, she finally made it to the square, not surprised to see a few other people already there. She should probably introduce herself to them - they looked friendly. Even the one with the creepy eye patch.

After finishing his work in setting up shop, Travis sends Bob back into the bar before anyone can truly associate the two together. "Ah. Now that's done. Let's see what else is there to see." Travis took a scan of the town center, currently the only thing that has caught his eye however is lovely singer that seems to hanging up some decorations. (And BOY does he like the view he has) So he slicks his hair back, checks his breath, and begins his persona of the kind, friendly, charismatic barkeep. Travis heads toward the woman, planning his plot to win her over. "Good Day, my fair lady." Travis begins. "I hope you pardon my interruption, but I could not help but take notice of your outstanding beauty. I am Travis Rollins, owner and barkeep for "The Tree Sap", and I am truly honored to make the acquaintance of such a stunning gem of an individual."

As he walked through town, he spotted the girl who sung at the bar from time to time. Well, at one of the bars anyway. She was waving at him and Iago returned the wave with a smile on his face. He decided to go to where she was and see if he could tease her for a bit, maybe also help her a bit. After all, it was the New Year festival that, of course, Iago hadn't forgotten... Or maybe he had, but seeing Keita working so earnestly reminded him of it. He started walking to where she was at his usual leisured pace and he saw another man approaching her. Travis was his name, if his memory served him right. He slicked his hair back when he started talking with Keita. He overheard a bit of Trevor's introduction to Keita, so he decided to follow up. **"Good afternoon to the two of you."** He said in a bit of a loud voice to announce his arrival. **"I hope I am not intruding upon your calm conversation in this fine day."** He was using a heavy accent and a really deep voice to emphazise the fact that he was making of fun of Trevor. **"Jokes aside, how are you two today? Is any of you feeling up for a shot?"** He said, in his normal voice tone and taking out the syringe inside his pocket.

Lucy had started to approach the duo of people, who recently became a trio when one of them came out of a building. She couldn't hear what was being said all that clearly as she approached, but it seemed like they were making friendly small talk. She wondered how exactly she should introduce herself. Should she go for the energetic and spunky approach, or the friendly quiet one? Maybe a mix? energetically quiet?...scratch that one. It might be a bit hard to be energetically quiet, so she settled on her normal friendly and somewhat loud greeting. **"Hellooo!~"** She cheerfully shouted as she approached the group of people, still some distance way. **"Sorry, I'm kinda new in town and I was-"** And that's when she saw it. The evil little pointy thing from the pits of the deepest parts of hell. She stopped mid sentence, her cheerful smile slowly turning into one of utter terror, little beads of cold sweat began to form on her forehead. What was this nice looking man doing with a tool of such unholy evil as a syringe? He...he couldn't be a _doctor_, could he? Those accursed infidels who practice the dark arts of science, could they? **"Uh...uhm..."** She tripped over her words as her mind tried to recollect itself and tried to pry her eyes off of the medical instrument. "**I-im kind of new in town and...and was wondering if...if any of you uhm...knew of..."** She couldn't take it any more. She couldn't take her eyes off of the instrument in front of her. **"knewofanyplaceIcouldgetabook!"** she rapidly squeaked out. She had meant to ask if there was any place she could get a good book - like a library, but that syringe...just completely threw her off.

Having woken a bit later than usual, Sophie scrambled to get breakfast made so that she could eat and get on with her usual chores. She'd spent the New Years Night reading a rather interesting book and the book decided it wanted to be read in it's entirety that night, so Sophie happily obliged. And now she was paying the price... As she finished putting the eggs on the pan, she turned and rubbed her tired eyes and began looking for Kiri. Before she knew it, she smelled the tall-tale signs of eggs being burnt and wheeled around to take the pan off of the burner. However, as she did so, the eggs went slide off of the pan and fell into Kiri's near by food bowl. Rather ironically, this is when the feline friend decided to make herself seen as she trotted over to see the new found contents of her food dish. Upon seeing the rather dark eggs, the cat turned a nose up at Sophie as if to say, "Really?" and then trotted away. The poor girl simply sighed, resigned to her fate and cleaned up Kiri's food disk, putting fresh cat food in there for her. Soon, she was back again and having her fill as Sophie cleaned and put away her failed attempt at a nice breakfast. Instead, she settled for cereal, hoping that it also wasn't an endeavor too difficult for her. A few minutes later, Sophie was sitting, staring at her empty bowl of cereal when she suddenly realized what all she still needed to get done. Quickly, she washed the bowl in the sink and put it away before making her way downstairs. First, she grabbed the broom and dustpan and began sweeping, making her way through the second floor, to the first, and then the front porch where she stayed for a few minutes, enjoying the view as she hummed a small tune her grandmother had taught her to raise her spirits.

Keita felt uneasy, she'd never seen seen this guy before... Strange that he felt it necessary to come up and introduce himself to her. Apparently he was a local bartender, infact he was the owner of the revival bar next to the one she worked at. Keita frowned. She looked at him. Then gestured a small hello with a tiny wave and confused face. The doctor joined in the conversation, with his usual teasing tone and boisterous voice he said a hearty hello. ... Then asked if anybody wanted a shot. Keita giggled. She shook her head. (No thank you) Keita gestured towards the tables, pretending to flex like a muscular being than pointing to the two boys. (You boys' look rather strong, could you lend a hand?) Keita Smiled.

Estelle rolled out of her bed, hitting the floor with a whack. "Ow" her muffled voice said against the floor. Another all nighter writing on her deadline, but she had submitted it and it was on its way to publishing. She blindly reached out to her bedside table to take her thick glasses, placing them on her face, taking in her surroundings. The place reeked of frustration and days without coming out of her attic. She drew back the curtains she had closed whenever she was writing, and squinted as the light filled the room, and looked out to the lush green town. She sighed, she was going to have to close these curtains soon to finish on the grand finale for her series, which required to be 2 times thicker than all her other novels, and required two new people for the end to start off the next series, which would also be another week or ten stuffed in her attic. Of course, she had to head out today to stack up on a months supply of food, and inspiration for her novels. She figured for the last novel the two would be in a beach setting, and planned to get a better perspective from sunset rather than midday. Estelle was moved to this quiet town to focus on her work, even though she still struggled with meeting the deadlines she deemed always out to get her, but every time she published a work she got two days to recover before she went up to the attic, enough to prepare and get proper inspiration. She stumbled into the bathroom and showered for a good while before getting out, her hair still messy and disorganized as ever. She pulled into her usual clothes, and didn't notice she put in mismatching socks before stumbling downstairs to the lobby of the inn. She never really got the know the residents well because of her days in the attic, and she didn't even know if her novels were sold here. She hoped not, she didn't really want to be pulled in as the source of such steamy BL fantasies, though she loved to write them. The town was definitely quieter than her small apartment in the city, and she liked that, but the one thing she did not like was the abundance of farm animals and animals in general. Animals had never gotten along with her and she had never gotten along with animals. They all pushed her into things or over things, and this had forced her into a downright fear of any form of living thing that wasn't human. "Morning" she sleepily mumbled to herself, stumbling outside to get a breath of fresh air.

Travis could already tell that Patchy would be trouble. He may not be on to his scheme, but he's mocking his attitude, and that means either annoyance or trouble. Not only that, but he got a giggle out of the girl. Considering the syringe he pulled out, he must be a doctor of some kind. Travis let his mind calculator start working. (Inside the inner mind of Travis Rollins) "Doctor=Money, Hitting on Woman=Single, Single=No one is at his house, Empty House=Easy to Loot. By the money theory, this means that Patchy is going to make a generous donation to me." Travis smirked, coincidentally at the same time the silent girl finished her charades, judging by the last motions (A point to the tables, muscle flexing, and pointing at us) she wanted he and Patchy to do some kind of chore for her. "I believe I understand, you want us to grab some of these heavy ornaments and place them like you are doing now? Not a problem at all!" Just then, another female entered, Travis believed he had made the correct choice, since so many beautiful women seemed to have resided in this one area. He decided to "Help" her as well. He turned to Patchy. "Excuse me good sir. I feel awful for leaving a responsibility I had promised no less than 30 seconds ago, however the girl seems to be in a bit of a fix. I'll return to this task as soon as she seems calmer. But I would love to continue a conversation with you. Ta-ta" Travis excused himself and walked toward the woman who looked quite a bit like a witch. "Ok, so the woman's insane" he thought to himself, "However, that's a nice looking gem connecting her coat, and the coat doesn't look that bad either. I think I'll make a quick pick-up before I move onto Patchy." Travis approached the witchy girl more cautiously than he did the other one. Seeing her appear more nervous. "Hello there," Travis began. "I apologize if anything my newly discovered acquaintances or I have done scared you." Travis motioned to the kegs and table. "I happen to be new here as well, Let's try this again over a drink. Hello, my name is Travis Rollins, the owner and barkeep of "The Tree Sap" the extraordinary new bar that's sponsoring this year's drinking contest. May I please ask your name?"

It was good to see Keita smiling like that. Another girl approahced them, seemingly quite frightened at Iago's needle. He smiled as a new opportunity to tease someone arose. **"Books, huh? That's good and all, but how about I give you a shot first? You do seem awfully unwell. Don't worry, I know well how to handle this."** He played a bit with the syringe in his hand and then turned to face her and pointed at his eyepatch. **"An accident like this won't happen again, non non."** He said and then smiled at the witch. However, the newcomer seemed like someone shady to him, after all, he did try to shake off the chore good little Keita had asked them to do. He seemed like someone who was just hitting on women nonstop. Well, it was Iago's (self appointed) job to also help people like that correct their ways. **"Don't worry, Keita, I will help you with whatever you need. I have enough muscles to compensate for both of us."** He smiled kindly at Keita and did the same motion Keita did. **"Also, new girl! If you want some books, you can go ask the girl over there!"** Iago shouted a bit and pointed at the sleepy Estelle. **"She writes books! I'm sure she can point you to the library, or can lend you one of her books if you'd like. They are perfect for ladies your age, after all."** He said and smirked a bit. **"Well, time to work."** He put the syringe on its cover again and stuffed it into his pocket. He rolled up the sleeves of his lab coat and went to where the tables were, lifting one of them, though it wasn't what you'd call easy, but he'd manage. **"Where do you want them, dear?"** He asked Keita.

**"Mmm cake.."**. Drools formed quickly on Juliet's pillow. A little bird chirped cheerfully from the dressing mirror across her bedroom. Apparently Juliet fell asleep without shutting the window first. The little bird then flew and perched on Juliet's forehead, staring curiously at the girl smiling with her eyes shut tightly beneath it's feet. Juliet slowly opened her eyes, she felt something strange on her forehead. **"Ughh.. wha.. cake? Is that y- OH GOD"** Both of them, Juliet and the bird, were startled at each other. Juliet sat right away on her bed with her hair as a hot mess, and the bird flew back to the dressing mirror. Juliet looked at the bird and smiled, **"Oh I'm sorry to scare you, little one. Thanks for waking me up!"**. Juliet then jumped energetically out of the bed and took a bath. Finished bathing, she went back to her room with towels wrapping her body and hair. She put on her favorite jeans shorts, plain white T-shirt, plaid shirt as a jacket, and a pair of black dock boots. She woke up too late to open the store, so she decided to let it be and take a walk around the village instead. She needs much wind to dry her hair anyway, so she opened the door and headed out. **"I'm out, Bob."** She said as she walked past the sleeping cat near the cash register. Bob flicked his tail gently as a sign that he heard her, then continued to sleep soundly on the register desk. The spring breeze gently caress her cheeks, and slowly blows the dampness out of her hair. The almost-noon morning was pleasant. A perfect weather to meet and talk with people. It was almost a festival day, so the town square is where she was heading right away. There must be people gathering there to decorate the area or something. Perfect place to socialize while helping people around. And she was right. A small bunch of people was gathering at the town square. Juliet hyped up a little and trotted to approach the group. **"Hello, townsfolk! How are you guys today?"** She chirped from quite a distance, loud enough for the people to hear. She walked towards the group, but quickly spotted something shiny on one of the guys' hands. It looked menacing, made her stop her steps right behind the nervous-looking girl. Her bright smile was gone right away. **"What is that? I mean- uh.. I know its a syringe.. But.. uh.. Can you put it away? Um.. Please?"** Her voice shaken, couldn't take her eyes away from the evil thing.

**"A-accident?"** She gulped as the man with the eye patch threatened her with the syringe. Her eyes went wide as her mind started to go on overdrive. Accident? What kind of accident? Numerous possibilities raced through her head as her state of panic spiraled almost out of control. There was no doubt about it. This man was an evil scientist! No, even worse, he was an evil robot mad genius scientist! That eye-patch was obviously covering up a robotic eye that was being used to gather Intel on the village! He wanted to turn everyone into his robotic slaves!...well, now was not the time to start being a hero. By now she had taken a few steps back from the evil robot doctor and his syringe of doom. She had since stopped listening to him and whatever else he might be saying. Thankfully, another one of the people that had been around started talking to her, bringing her out of her spiraling state of panic. He had introduced himself as Travis Rollins. Apparently he ran a bar here in town and was just now opening it up, and he offered her a drink so they could talk. Well, she didn't drink - Auntie had been sure to drive one thing into her thick skull, and it was that alcohol impaired judgment and made people do stupid things even if she wasn't so great at practicing what she preached. Well, she could at least introduce herself. **"Uhm...uhm...I'm Lucilla. Lucilla Verity Proulx. Er, but please, just Lucy will do."** She quietly replied to Travis, prying her eyes away from the evil robot doctor. A witch was supposed to introduce herself by her full name after all, even if she didn't particularly like it. **"And sorry, but, uhm, I don't drink, but thank you for the offer. Y-you wouldn't happen to know where the library is, would you?"** She then noticed the other girl who had come up behind her. She seemed nervous and asked the nefarious doctor roboto to put away the syringe.

Estelle looked up, blinking a little to register what was happening. **"Hm...? Scare me...? I wouldn't believe so..."** Estelle rubbed her eyes and then looked down at what she was wearing. Her eyes widened as she tugged at the outfit. Where did she even get these clothes? Well, no matter. It was comfortable to wear, and that was all that mattered. **"Hm... A drink? I guess I'll have milk, if you have any of that?"** Estelle didn't really like alcohol. It blocked the thought process for her and it made her sound like an idiot. **"My name's Estelle. Estelle Jacaranda."** She introduced herself with a light nod. This was a rather active start to the morning, she had no idea so many people were moving in already. Had someone already knew who she was. She was kind of fearful now, She didn't want to get weird looks and awkward silence like whenever she visited her family. **"Well... Actually I don't really have the faintest idea where the Library is... But if you want to borrow I novel I wouldn't mind at all..."** Estelle mumbled, taking off her hat and gripping it in embarrassment. Her lack of social interaction over the last writing spree hadn't done much to her social skills but made them worse.

Travis, since his writer forget that there are two women in this RP that look like witches, decided to respond to both. He started with the one who wished to be named "Lucy". He had no idea where the library was so he couldn't lead her there, nor did she wish to get drunk at that moment. So he couldn't swipe the gem or coat. So he decided to pass her off to someone else. "Ah, an incredible name. But "Lucy" it is. I'm sorry Lucy, but I've been so focused on my work that I only the few businesses within the center of town. So I think it'd be best if you spoke to Miss "Estelle". But I do hope you visit "The Tree Sap", while we are not offering non-alcoholic bevarages at this event, we do stock in non-alcoholic bevarages. We also are incredibly open to monthly costumes parties." The last line obviously hinting at her outfit. "It's been very nice getting to meet you, and I hope you have an amazing New Years Day. Ta-Ta" He then focused on the woman named "Estelle". A quick glance at outward appearances told Travis the following: 1. This woman is not his taste. 2. She has exquisite clothing that would make a pretty penny to some buyers. 3. From context clues, she's a writer, probably working at the Inn. (Since he had held some writers in his past Inn) 4. Those glasses, hat, and feather pen are probably the most reachable objects of value for him. Especially the feather, it trumped the quills the other pretentious authors that past through his life. His little brain began working on a plan. "Ah, Estelle, a grand name. My mother's name was Estelle." Travis began. "I don't having any milk on me at the moment. But I can easily fix up a glass in "The Tree Sap". I'll only be a few moments." Travis motioned Lucy and Estelle to each other. "While I'm gone, why don't you two introduce yourselves? I think you two have a lot in common. And I don't mean just your unique fashion taste. Ta-ta" He smiled a hearty smile and ran back into "The Tree Sap".