Life in Gloomminster

---

Bonnie lifted herself groggily from the pages of the book she was reading: the Tome of Bargains of Existence. It being a slightly forbidden text with the tagline, "How to make forbidden entities work for you, and not against!" She blinked the sleep from her eyes and pulled herself unstuck from the pages of the textbook.

She glanced at her mobile Orbuculum. Her eyes opened wide in shock. It was almost noon, precisely a week till the first day of term. She was expecting multiple tenants to arrive in just a few hours. She bolted up, to the bathroom. The magic mirror greeted her. It was a fancy gift her mother had received from a rejected suitor before she'd married Bonnie's dad.

"Oh my god, you're alive. Barely. You look a mess, girl. Let me sort you out." He greeted her in his slightly effeminate and stereotypically gay voice. She scowled at him as he began his routine. He had a bit of lip to him, but he gave great style tips, so Bonnie wasn't really bothered.

She examined herself as he decided what treatment she needed. She'd passed out reading again. In her nightgown fortunately this time. Her massive mane of red hair was completely wild, knotted, and plastered to the side of her face. She reached for a comb and began briskly combing her hair. The mirror finally decided upon today's outfit and makeup. The corresponding drawers of the vanity counter shot out, one almost hitting Bonnie in the gut. She glared at the mirror as he gave a mischievous grin back.

The selection was light and accentuated her natural features, which the addition of some eyeliner. She approved and quickly applied it. Upon stepping over to the closet, it opened and the racks rapidly rearranged to present today's fit: a lightweight top that hugs her body tucked into a pair of loose light brown linen trousers, which are held up by a forest green sash around her waist acting as a splash of colour. Bonnie stands for a moment, pondering what to do with her hair, before finally reaching for a piece of olive green ribbon. She quickly tied her hair up in a loose undone ponytail, with the ribbon holding it in place.

She left her en-suite, examining her cluttered bedroom. She cleared off her desk from the night before. All the clutter, books and cups and other-such. She looked around her messy room quickly grabbing her satchel off a pile of books. Packing it with the essentials, and extra reading. Finally ready for the day she whipped down the long flight of spiral stairs. Stopped in the kitchen on the second floor to grab a pastry and a handful of nuts. Once she reached the bottom floor, the main portion of the bookshop she busied herself opening the place.

It was not a great ordeal, the old building carried the must of ancient texts, some vintage, and some truly arcane. The floor heaved with knowledge, and it felt like it. A cosy fire ever burning in the corner, keeping the room at a magically perfect temperature. The summer months were ending, and the chill of the autumn was closing in. Though the afternoons still warmed to streets, in the morning a light fog was beginning to form around the Sprontsides. The small shop floor was packed with books, massive cases spanning the walls, with a few inviting but well-worn armchairs strewn about amidst the bookshelves and tables stacked with numerous scrolls and tablets of exotic nature.

Bonnie set herself down at the large desk in the corner, piled up with books and a humongous antique mechanised cash register. Next to it were scattered the half-assembled clockwork remains of some kind of device she had been tinkering with. Alongside these objects was an opened and well-loved book on automatons and clockwork magics. Finally sat a small sealed glass jar containing a cluster of Kreteks, herbal cigarette-like joints.

She set herself down on her large purple armchair behind the desk, glancing at the clock. She idly began reading, waiting for customers. Or the tenants that should be coming any moment. She mentally went over the rooms, she was certain she'd cleared them all out. Except for maybe room 3- But she had no time to check, as a tall thin being opened the shop door, sounding off the little bell attached to it. He stepped into the shop, a customer.

Phynnia, finally awake, sits up from her slumber. She has a night mask on, always wearing one no matter what she does. She yawns and looks beside her, Areya sitting on the bedside table. "Hello, Areya. How are you this morning?" she says while fixing a bit of her hair. Areya Smiles and nods, saying nothing but what's on her mind. "That's good, I'm glad you're doing well this morning.". Phynnia understands, using her weak but effective magic to communicate. She looks at the clock beside Areya and nods slightly. "My my, almost 8 hours of sleep. Just a little bit more would've been nice," she stretches mid sentence, making a noise and a sigh, "but that's not happening now. We have to get up and get ready for our new day at this new place." Areya jumps off the bedside table and follows Phynnia to the bathroom. She has to assist her in making sure she remembers everything

Phynnia walks in, thinking of her daily morning routine. She never goes off track, it could end up horribly if she does. "Alright, so first we need a shower. We must stay nice and clean." She turns on the faucet, waiting for it to get lukewarm. The showers here are not the best, but at least it's something. Areya is not fond of showers because it gets in between her joints and cracks, but she washes herself anyway for Phynnia's sake. After they had an...okay shower, the go to the sink. Phynnia's toothbrush looked untouched, even though she used it everyday and night. Areya doesn't really have anything to brush, but she does anyway. Her toothbrush looks a little more worn than Phynnia's, but it's not a bother.

After a few more steps, including hair being brushed, They get dressed up. They only have a few spare clothes, but they are washed regularly. They get dressed and smile at each other. "Are you ready, Areya?" Phynnia ask while tying her last boot lace. She wore a white tattered shirt, black overall shorts, and black boots. Areya nodded, sporting her greenish dress and a shoulder cape. She wore brown slippers as well, as it's the only thing she could retrieve from home. Phynnia stood up and opened the door. She looked back and motioned Areya to go first. She does, and walks lightly out the door. Phynnia follows, her walk a little more heavier.

Their favourite first place to hang out in the morning is a small little cafe nearby their little stay-in. They don't have much, but this cafe is wonders to them. It's mostly for Phynnia, but Areya likes to look and smell all the food and drinks. They walk in and sit down for a while. The smell of coffee and bread fills their senses and makes them relax. They sit down at their usual spot, somewhere near the food so that Areya can look and watch the cafe workers do their thing. They indulge themselves, slipping off into what they're going to do at the University, and what adventures they'd find themselves in. During the conversation, they thought that it would be best to go to the bookstore on the first day. It might not be the best impression, but they don't mind what others think as long as they have each other.

---

---

Spry footsteps skipped across the cobble roads, followed by the heavy clunks of much heavier marching behind. Every now and then, the lighter footsteps would stop as the woman paused to admire a shop, monument, or particularly interesting-looking stranger. The young woman with white hair tied in a ponytail, wide eyes framed by wider round glasses, a devilish grin, and a slender frame wandered through the crowds, carrying a leather satchel. Behind her were two animate statues carrying several rather hefty-looking boxes labeled “STUFF” and “MORE STUFF”. One statue was made of marble, with a tall, knight-like frame, its sculpted grooves mimicking the plates of armor. The other was some sort of terracotta-like brute, built with a wide bulky frame. And each had a simple face etched into their material, two dots, and a curve—smiley faces.

This trio was none other than Minerva Yoon and two of her magically animated creations. And she had just arrived in the city.

“By the gods, this really is Gloomminister! It’s just as I imagined. What do you two think? Should be a magnificent place for you two to run around, ay?”

The two statues nodded their heads and made grunting noises that sounded like grinding stone, and Min laughed, clapping her hands together.

Min (it was just much quicker to say than Minerrrrrvaa Yoon~) was full of excitement, taking in the new landscape. Growing up in Linkhaven, she was accustomed to the bustle of merchants and tourists, but something here just felt different. Gloomminister felt brighter, more magical, imbued with the glow of progress as the university of her dreams towered on the horizon. But she couldn’t head to class just yet, she needed a place to stay. After hours of aimless meandering, Min remembered that she could, in fact, use navigational tools. Activating a directional charm on her mobile Orbuculum, a few sparkly arrows pointed her toward a charming storefront. Cunningham’s Bookstore.

Min burst through the door with a smile and held it open for her creations to step in after her. They were a bit big but lowered their heads to fit under the door. Min glanced around, putting her hand on a dusty tome sitting on a shelf, then tracing a little star in the dust. She took a deep breath of that old book odor and smiled even more.

“Excellent! It smells authentically ancient in here! Must have some real magic, book magic! Hahaha, wonderful.”

She peeked around, spotting a woman with a beautiful mess of iron-colored hair at the counter helping a tall, thin customer. The woman must be Bonnie Cunningham. Min took a deep breath as she was about to meet her… landlord? Possible friend? Fellow Gloomminister denizen? She had to make a good impression!

With that thought Minerva Yoon confidently began to walk toward the counter, and promptly stubbed her toe on a shelf, stumbled, and toppled into a pile of books. With a yelp for help, her two statues slowly placed the boxes on the floor and trundled over to help their creator to her feet. Min frantically took their help, then began to stack the books back in the order they were before being toppled.

“So, so, SO sorry about that! I am incredibly sorry about that.” She looked bashfully in the direction of the shopkeep, hoping that she was possibly too occupied with the customer to notice Min's dreadful entrance.

Her first day in Gloomminister was off to a wonderful start.

---

---

To say Kaito's morning started off chaotic would be an understatement. He woke up to his youngest sibling jumping onto his bed practically begging him not to leave today. Kaito, being the oldest of 11, had quite a big age gap between himself and his youngest sister. Fourteen years to be exact, and she had spent the last week trying to rally the rest of her siblings behind her to convince Kaito that he didn't need to move out. That they would all respect his privacy and quiet time while he was going to the University. Kaito had to practically pry the young female harpy off of him, something that was just as painful as it sounded seeing as she had decided to latch on with her talons.

"You know I can't live at home forever, plus I will still be in town, it's not like you won't see me ever again." He attempted to reason with her as he finally got her to release her talons from his leg. She seemed to only pout and storm off leaving Kaito to make sure she didn't scratch his leg too badly. After examining his leg he headed down the stairs off his home where his mother had already finished preparing breakfast. Most of it had already been inhaled by the rest of the family but his mother had been sure to save some for him.

"Thanks Ma." He said, kissing her on the cheek and taking the plate from her. "I have to head out soon to go meet with my Landlord." He seemed to get excited at the thought of having a place of his own no matter how small. It would be the first time in his life, he would be totally on his own. He was excited to enjoy the silence of it all, though even more so to meet the others who were also moving in. His mother seemed to pick up on this. "Just don't forget that we are close by, make sure you come visit." Kaito nodded to her with food in his mouth.

After practically shoveling his food in his mouth he moved to head out the front door but stopped when his hand touched the handle, looking down at himself he sighed. "I should probably show up in actual cloths. First impressions and all that." He mumbled to himself and headed back to his room, which was mostly packed, to dig out a simple black kilt. He had no intentions of putting on a shirt. They were a separate issue, even with the proper extra holes they restricted his wings and he hated them. At least the kilt would cover his lower half while providing enough space for his tail to be comfortable. Despite the fact that there were ways to make clothing that was...more comfortable for his kind than conventional clothing, the options still paled in comparison to his current choice.

From here he decided that rather than going back down the stairs he would simply yell his goodbyes from his room and opt to use the window as his point of exit. He intended to fly to Cunningham's Bookstore anyway and it was easier to start flying from a height anyway.

It was a short flight from his family home to the bookstore and he managed to find himself a clear area to land nearby. Upon landing Kaito made sure to smooth everything down, kilt, windblown hair, feathers and all. After which he walked up to the door of the shop and entered just in time to witness a stack of books go toppling to the floor. Kaito was quick to head in the direction of the books and assist the person who was already in the process of picking them up, a decently tall human woman flanked by statue like beings? Were they Gargoyles? No they couldn't be. Shaking the thought out of his head to look at the female with a gentle smile.

"Hey it happens, sometimes with these wings if things are too crowded I am like a bull in a china shop." He shoved his thumb in the direction of a wing that despite being tucked rather tightly to his body still jutted out enough that one could see how they might become an issue. "Let me help you, the more hands the faster things get done." He hoped she didn't think his offer to help was rude.

---

The travel from his hometown and here was at least a few hours of biking, and thus he would need to already be up before sunrise. And Ornager would be up before sunrise, to the minute. He took his time taking a nice shower, grinding and cleaning his teeth, putting on the best set of orange plaid shirt, khaki pants and brown gilet that he set out the day before, double checking the suitcase he had prepared, along with a small treated wooden box on top of it, compact with mechanical tools that he could not live without. With a brief goodbye said to his parents, the large beaver slugged the two items he had out of the house and marched towards a tricycle, and indeed it is a tricycle. Sturdily handcrafted almost entirely out of wood except for the chains, tires and wires, with a large basket in front suitable for any bulky personal cargo he had, which would be the two baggage, along with a pump he just casually yanked from the back of the house. His parents already had a spare.

With it, the beaver embarked on his journey. It was quite long, but he was well-built for long journeys. As long as he had his bottle of water with him, a song to hum down the country road, time flew quite fast. Soon, Gloomminster came into sight, neared and finally engulfed the beaver as he strolled along the road, passing by the shops and houses. He saw the lodge he was supposed to stay in, but passed by that to head into a cafe parking lot instead. After making sure that his preciously built tricycle was securely fastened, he slugged his baggage out of the cargo basket and headed inside.

The door opened to a ring of a bell, and emerged a large furry silhouette, a large flat tail slightly skidding off the floor. His lips opened to reveal four long teeth in the middle, as he raised a finger to catch the attention of a cafe worker. "Fur' one please." He spoke, having quite a distinct accent. One cafe worker approached the beaver slightly nervously, which towered over the small lad, who asked if he shook his head, to which Ornager shook his head with a firm "Nai."

The cafe worker looked over it a bit and directed the beaver to sit down at a table nearby. He dragged the luggage over before plopping down on the seat, the tail tucked between his legs, seeing as the chair could not fit putting it behind him. "A gulp of water fur' me. Thank ya." He ordered from a waitress, before inclining back on his chair, having a look at everyone around him. There's a certain lot of personality around, of different kind. The beaver saw two elves sitting close by him. He did log the peculiarity of their physical appearances, as one had what looked like sews on her lips, and the other had eye-covers, but Ornager greeted them the same as he would any other. "Heyo, how's yur mornin' been?" He said, a friendly smile that let the two long upper teeth jutting out, looking a little goofy, as he waved at both of them with a two-fingered salute.

@AriiBird

Bonnie looked up at the gaunt man facing her. She greeted him with a smile, "Hello, sir! How can I help you today?" Her eyes twinkled with genuine friendliness, not just a plastered on customer service smile. She genuinely loved her job and enjoyed helping people find the texts they required.

He retorted in a quiet voice, with a polite smile stretching his lips slightly. "Morn'n miss. You can ackshully. It's my daughter's birthday, she's 13. An aspiring necromancer. Very good actually. Do you have anything like that I could get her?" His slight small transformed into a beam of fatherly pride as he recounted his offspring's talents.

Bonnie grinned back, getting to her feet as she tapped her lip with her index finger.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.

"Think I have just the scroll, love. It's a classic and a good price!" She bounced on her feet as she spoke. She began rifling through a cabinet on her desk. She was like that long enough for a girl accompanied by her entourage of statues to enter the shop. And also long enough for her to stumble over a huge stack of books.

The crashing brought her out of the deep concentration she was in. She looked up, gazing upon the poor young woman coming crashing down. She rushed over, trying to help her up as yet another being walked in and began helping her. 5 entities and herself now occupied the small shop, it was beginning to get busy! And she'd only been open a couple of minutes.

She busied herself picking the books back up as she sang out, "Are you alright my lovely? I am so sorry about that dear. It's alright, really. Happens to the best of us." The three quickly finished stacking the towering pile of books and an ornate scroll case caught her eye, just behind the offending pile. "Be right with you." She uttered to the new entries into the shop as she snatched the case off the shelf and rushed back to the desk.

She handed the man the decorated case. He felt it, switching it between his palms, taking the ream of paper out of the leather tube. The papyrus was thin and yellowed, the calligraphy a rich dark brown, almost black. The atmosphere of ancient knowledge almost radiated off of the text. He looked back up at her, "Yeahh, I this'll do jus' right. She'll be well pleased. 'Ow much?"

Bonnie beamed back, "Hmm, normally I'd ask 70 silvers, but I'm one to support aspiring magicians. You can have it for 50. Cash or card?" The man happily pulled out his wallet, pulling out 5 notes. She processed them through the vintage till the ding sounded throughout the shop as the cash draw shot out. The tall man returned the scroll to its case and left the shop with a jaunty step out into the pleasant afternoon.

She turned round to the quartet of new entries to the shop. Looking at the luggage in the pair of goliaths' great hands she looked at the small girl and brightly began, "Hello! I'm guessing you're one of my new tenants! I'm Bonnie. Cunningham. I'll show you round the place in just a moment. The ground floor is the shop. This shop." Lastly she looked at the other being, a harpy from what she could tell, "Are you a tenant as well, or looking to buy something?"
@LostDestiny@scrawls

They looked over from their conversation and see the small beaver man waving at them. They paused for a moment before Areya waves back with another grin, with Phynnia sheepishly waving back after her. Areya looks at Phynnia and motions her to speak. She does, and she slowly goes "Hello, We are doing well. I hope you're doing well too..? I hope you are doing well too." Areya taps her and slightly bounces in her seat. Phynnia makes a face and says "She thinks you are very fluffy." she points to her little companion.

They got up and walked over to the counter, to examine the little beaver more. They looked at each other and then back at him and introduced themselves. "My name is Phynnia and this is Areya. We're here until we have to go to our new rooms near our University. What is your name?" she makes a little grin.

@Conscripts

---

---

A lanky-winged man approached her and began to chat and help her with the books, which Minerva was graciously thankful for. “Thank you! That’s kind of you to help. Moving days just get me a bit flustered.”

Minerva looked at the tall, avian fellow, admiring his wings. She’d met many a harpy in Linkhaven, but she’d always be fascinated to see their wings and the ways they moved. “I like your wings! They look incredibly fly. Pun intended. Unless that’s offensive, in which I deeply apologize, as I mean fly as in cool, and cool as in… cool!” Suddenly, Min’s eyes lit up and she began to rummage within her satchel. Every now and then, an object would slip out, and one of her golems would catch it, and place it back in the bag while Min continued to look. Min clearly seemed to be the type of person who would change in an instant from being chatty to being contemplative. “I don’t mean to be rude at all, but your wings just reminded me of this…”

From inside her bag, she pulled out a simple origami crane, that suddenly fluttered to life and jumped off her fingertips. It flapped its wings and took the air, weaving around Min, the statues, then circling around the harpy. “It’s a little creation of mine I made on the train ride. Not at all sentient, but it is quite great at mimicking life.” The paper bird fluttered and tried to land on the harpy’s shoulder.

Meanwhile, Min noticed that the owner of the shop herself had come over to help. “Oh thank you! I am quite alright, I am so sorry about the books.” As Bonnie introduced herself, Min nodded and gave a half-bow, then reached out to eagerly shake Bonnie's hands. “Delighted to meet you, Ms. Cunningham! I am in fact one of the new tenants. Minerva Yoon, at your service, but most call me Min. And behind me at my service are my two… children? Creations? Friends?” Min scratched her chin a spent a moment pondering this dilemma.

“Well, the tall marble princely-looking statue is Abbott, and the stout terracotta lad is Costello! They’ve been charmed to help me fix things up, and I’m sure that they’d be willing to help carry things around this cozy shop of yours if you’d ever need help.” Abbott and Costello both solemnly bow at Bonnie, then lifted up Min’s boxes to demonstrate their strength. The two statues tossed the hefty boxes up in the air with a bit of a twirl, as if on cue, then caught them without anything spilling out. Min watched this and laughed.

“Obviously, they can be more coordinated than my clumsy self… But nevertheless, I am excited to be here!”

Amelia lowers her hairbrush and carefully gazes at her reflection, folding her ears as she looks left and right, then nods ever so slightly.

"It'll have to do," she says to her reflection, which rudely stuck out its tongue, making her giggle. She slips the brush inside a burlap sack and ties it shut.

Next to the bag was her bright, yellow raincoat, which she put on carefully over her folded wings with just a slight rustle, and checked to make sure she was wearing her shoes.

All the other children were still in their beds when she creeped out into the hallway with her bag, only Ms. Stanley in her robe was waiting for her by the door.

"Sun's not even up yet, pet," the house mother said, sipping her tea. "Sure you're not peckish? I can get Henry to drive you over if you'd like."
"He'd just have to clean it afterward," Mia replied, a hint of blue highlighting her cheeks. "I can walk there in time."
"Best you be careful then, pet," Ms. Stanley sniffs, dropping two mandarin oranges into her hand before opening the front door for her. "Lots of dangerous people still about."
"None as dangerous as me," Mia sighs ruefully as she slips out into the chilled air.

The early morning train pulled into the station at six twenty-three A.M., fortunately it had only a few riders in her car. Fortunately, she didn't have to share a seat with anyone, everyone too groggy. Picking up her burlap sap, she got out of the car and headed towards the city map on the station wall, noting where the station was and her new loggings.

"This should be fun," Mia smiled wanly as she picked up her burlap sack.

The shop door was open as two big cases were just inside the door as large figures were helping up another girl from a pile of books. Part of Mia just wanted to dive in and start reading, but she needed to get her boarding room sorted out first.

---

_{Cunningham Bookstore
Interactions: @scrawls @PerfectThought}

---

Kaito nodded in agreement when the female in front of him said moving day made her nervous. He understood, his family had to move into bigger and bigger homes through the years to accommodate the number of them, though eventually her parents finally managed to save enough to buy their own place and add additions to it through the years so it had been a while since Kaito had done any sort of moving.

He let out a chuckle when she said his wings looked “fly”. “No no, not offensive at all. Thank you, people usually just yell at me for flying too close to their homes or businesses so the compliment is appreciated.” Kaito chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He supposed people around town had seen him and his family enough that the beauty of their feathers no longer seemed to matter. He would occasionally get a compliment from a small child but the adults were generally unfazed unless they were from out of town.

His attention was quickly brought to the paper crane that started to flutter around him eventually trying to land on his shoulder. He was decently distracted by the creation that when Bonnie asked him a question it took him a moment to register what she said.

“Oh yes! Kaito Aster. Sorry I intended on moving my stuff in later since I live in town.” He reached his hand out for Bonnie to shake with a big smile to accompany it, not bothering to explain why he was moving into one of her rooms if he already lived in town. “I don’t have anything cool to offer like big statues but if you ever need something from a high spot I am your guy.” He chuckled a little, clearly amused with himself at least. “Anyway, super excited to get settled in here as well.” His big dumb grin had not left his face since he had entered the shop and he saw no way in the near future that it would stop, unless his face started to hurt he supposed, but that usually took a while.

Bonnie the large bay windows adorning the front of the shop, catching sight of a slight girl in a yellow mac. Another entrant to the shop it would seem Bonnie thought, as she entered the premises, setting off the little bell affixed to the top of the door.

She responded to Min's greeting in turn, half-bowing and taking her hand in between both of hers, shaking them enthusiastically. "Pleasure to meet you, Min. Please, call me Bonnie." She gazed up at Abbott and Costello greeting them as well, "Hello, lovelies. Aren't you both impressive?" She grinned fascinated by the pair, and was interested as they showed off their capabilities. Clearly, they had some degree of personality. Evidently, she was conversing with an impressive artificer.

She turned to the harpy, as the subject of conversation turned to his magnificent wings. "Pleasure to meet you. Lovely to have another local about to show the newcomers' 'round town." She chuckled, smiling at him warmly. She finished the conversation with, "Let me just help this lovely girl and I'll get you two settled in."

She turned gently to the timid seeming girl that had just come in, lugging around two cases of her own. She greeted her with, "I presume you're also a tenant. Name's Bonnie, a pleasure to meet you." She stuck out her right hand in a friendly manner. "Presuming my beliefs are correct, shall I help you with your luggage? And why don't I show you lot around?"

"Hello," Mia told Bonnie, her burlap bag over her shoulder, glancing down at the offered hand. It wouldn't do to poison her... landlord?

"Forgive me, I don't... shake hands," she managed, looking up. "No offense. My skin... reacts badly, to touch."

Or rather everyone else's hand reacted badly. Not that anyone's managed to drop dead, yet.

"And I wouldn't want to trouble you," she added, shaking the bag. "It's not that heavy. I'm Mia..., that is, Amelia Sutton. I wrote to you about something cheap, possibly in the attic?"

Attics were hot during the day, froze at night, but might have more room and convenient windows for night flights. Although she might have some competition for that....

---

Ornager returned the hospitality with that same smile, one noticeably effective at getting people to loosen up. "Why thank you ladies. I just had a nice lil' exercise from outer town, eating my mornin' chestnuts. It's all good!" He said, appreciative of the comment. It wasn't uncommon to hear, but it's nice nonetheless.

The waiter delivered the water he ordered as the two girls went over to the counter. The beaver requested a straw with him due to his teeth blocking him from sipping water from the cup properly, to which the cafe worker happily provided. Ornager sucked on the straw from the corner of his mouth instead. Hearing both girls introduced themselves as university attendants nearby, his ears perked up. "Phynnia, Areya. Me big big pleasure to meet ya both. My name's Ornager from Pine Glen Grove." He said. "And university nearby eh. Ya don't say it's Gloomminster, do ya? Cause I'm headin' there too, learnin' some magic." If both the girls were to ask if he was staying at Bonnie's, he'd give a grin and a 'Ya gotcha' thumbs up, as he sipped more water from his cup.

@AriiBird

---

Why did this city have to be so damn big?

Kyrus was a wizard in his own right. He held incredible power that some wizards vaguely understood in some areas, and yet there were others he couldn't even cast a cantrip in. Right now, he wished he could fly or summon some kind of spectral steed. He knew where he had to go, but in hindsight, Kyrus really shouldn't have overestimated his ability to get to places on foot in a timely manner. Even with a arcane-powered mechanical arm, carrying all of the stuff he owned was started to get somewhat heavy.

"Bookstore... Bookstore... Book- There it is. Finally." He muttered to himself as he finally spotted the damn place after walking for an hour. His directions were coming from a geometric pattern made of teal light, which floated in his mechanical hand. An arrow in the middle acted like a compass leading him to where he'd be staying. The door chimey-bell thing all bookstores probably had rang as a 6"2' tiefling walked in. Kyrus saw what looked like an entire parade rolling through the place. A harpy over there, a pair of... constructs? that-a-way, and a handful of other people. By the looks of things, he got their last.

"It's busy in here, isn't it?" He said, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.

Both girls looked a little shocked and then nodded. "Yeah, that's where we're headed. It seems we'll see you there as well. We must go now, before we become late." Phynnia spins on her heels and walks out, with Areya following behind but not without giving a little wave goodbye first.(@Conscripts)

Finally they arrived at the bookstore. As they walked in, the bell chime made a noise. Areya was amused by it and giggled. As they walked in further, moving around the tall, red man with horns(@Blizz), they started to admire the old and worn books that were on the shelves. They then began wandering around the store, looking at every title and book. There were big books, small books, books that were thin and thick. They didn't pay attention to anyone else that arrived before them, their awareness was minimal. They fiddled with some of the books, flipping through the pages and looking at what was inside them. Nothing they understood was inside, but it was still amusing to look.
"I guess we should go find where those bedrooms are." Phynnia said, holding Areya's hand. Areya nodded, and they both continued to wander the bookstore.

---

"Aight, see you around!" Ornager waved back casually as he savoured the rest of his drink. Once done, he took out his wallet and paid his drink, with a nice but modest tip for the nice waiter who was willing to accommodate him. Afterwards, he'd bring the two luggage with him back to the tricycle and headed out. @AriiBird

He wandered the area for a little while longer on his trike, enjoying the scenery and letting the wind caress his fur, before finally settling back to the bookstore where he also would be lodging at. He looked around for parking space but there wasn't one close by. It wasn't exactly convenient or nice of him to be asking the owner if he could keep the vehicle inside his dorm, but he couldn't leave it out in the open. Ultimately, Ornager decided to park the trike temporarily outside the door, leaving his luggage while he entered the store, or rather peek in from the door with a wave.

"Eyo! Is there a good parking space nearby for yee ol' me?"

@PerfectThought

Bonnie glanced quizzically at Mia's hand as she rejected the handshake. She obviously took no offense. You meet all kinds of people In Gloomminster, with all sorts of abilities, powers, and habits. And touching hands in some manner was a ubiquitous greeting, it also wasn't that uncommon to meet beings that couldn't touch others, for whatever reason. Bonnie carried on, listening, and then when she was done responding. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Mia! I'm Bonnie. Cunningham. This is my bookshop. And yes, I remember your letter. You're very welcome here. Though they are rather snug and straightforward, the rooms are cheap. I'll show you 'round and you lot can sort out who wants where among yourselves. I'm not really fussed about who goes where presuming everyone's reasonable. As you all appear to be!" She finished speaking with a slight chuckle, turning to look at her next conversatory victim.

Bonnie gazed up at the large tiefling. The man had an eccentric look, with a strange mechanical arm and some kind of complex geometrical pattern hovering about. She grinned up at him, glancing at his large bag, ""Indeed it is, my friend! Far more than it usually is! I take it from your bag you're one of my new tenants? If so: I'm Bonnie. Welcome to my shop, and your soon-to-be home." She stuck out a hand as she energetically greeted the new entrant. After his response, she moved on to the pair that had wandered in while she was talking with the tiefling.

Crikey it was getting cramped in here.

The bouncy, firey-haired woman advanced quickly on the pair of doll-like girls that had become browsing. In fact, one appeared to actually be a doll. She continued, noting but not being off-put by their slightly strange appearance. It was a somewhat uncommon occurrence: Bonnie, the slightly odd woman that she was, appeared to be the most 'regular' looking in the room. At least at a glance. She overheard the girl's mention of room and merrily introduced herself with a warm smile, "Hello my loves, I'm Bonnie. A pleasure to meet you. You seem to be after rooms? I think you're in the right spot. I and the rest of this lot are just going upstairs to settle in, they're also renting rooms. Would you like to come with me? She curtsied slightly to the two girls as she began. Then after listening to their response, quickly counted the occupants.

One, two, three, four, five...

She was expecting six this afternoon...

Ding!

She turned as the doorbell went off. A huge fluffy being stood at the door. He gave a friendly wave, and Bonnie responded in turn. She glanced at the wooden vehicle outside the door, some kind of three-wheeled cart or trike. Very sturdily built. A fine example of construction. Upon his question, she responded with an answer and her one question: "Why yes my friend! There's a small alley down the side! It's pretty unused. Between here and the bakery next door. You can lock it up on the metal bars at the end. If you want. If you don't mind me asking, are you a customer or a tenant?"

After he answered she smiled and nodded, telling him something along the lines of, "Very happy to have you, I'm Bonnie. This is my shop. I'm just going to lead this lot upstairs, you'll find us just upstairs, on the first floor for now. Please join us when you're done. The stairs are at the back of the shop, just through that doorway." She pointed at a dimly lit doorway behind the counter, normally not accessible to customers. It lead to a hallway lined with books, from what could be seen from the door.

She turned back round to the other five as the Beaver locked away his trike. "Well, happy to have you all! I have all the paperwork ready, the rates are quite low. Especially given the proximity to the university. It's just 5 minutes down the road. But I'm sure you all know that." She weaved through the shop floor, motioning them to follow as she monologues. "I'm sure you all know, I'm Bonnie. I'll just give you a tour around the house, and then you can decide if you really do want to stay, and then you can sign the papers, and get settled.

She lead them through the doorway, into yet another corridor lined with great bookshelves packed with text upon text, of all sorts of writings. "I presume you're all going to the university, most young people in the city are. I am as well. First-year. The house used to be bustling with all of my family, but they've all moved out. Now it's just me and I can't stand the house being as empty as it is. So I'm renting it out! She turned around, her great mane whipping behind her as she smiled warmly at the group. They were of the landing of the second floor, a long corridor stretched off in front of them, the walls were covered in bookshelves, filled with books, occasionally broken up with candle holders, or pictures. They all showed a massive family of firey-haired smiling children of varying ages and two parents. The father was tall and lean, covered in freckles with the family hair. The mother was a short slight woman with a large smile and long mousey hair. She stuck out like a sore thumb among the massive clan of gingers.

She pointed out to the four doors in, closest to furthest as they passed, opening them so the group could peer in as she passed. She continued her rambling, "You all seem nice, I'm sure we'll be good friends. This is room one." She swung open the first door, revealing a long, but rather small room. It had wooden plank flooring and was lit naturally by a large window at the front, looking out over the street. It was completely bare, and dust hung heavy in the air. It smelt faintly of lavender. They continued marching, she swung open the second door, it was much the same. Except for this time it smelt faintly of damp moss. "This is the second room. Me and my little sister used to share this one." They continued onto the third door, it was again the same affair except this time it smelt of birch bark. "Room three. We'll wait here a moment for our fluffy friend. This is the door to the stairs here." She turned to a door opposite the entry to room three and opened it to reveal a tight but open sided spiral staircase, the walls lined with bookcases, filled with books, drawers, trinkets, odds-and-ends, and other such assortments.

Unfurnished, Mia noted as she peered carefully past the others into the small room. She'd have to do some shopping then. Thankfully the university fees had been paid, but she might want to keep an eye on job openings.

She followed Bonnie to the end of the corridor, where the fourth door opened up to a spiral staircase lined with books and trinkets.

"Did your family find all this?" she asked.

As both girls followed Bonnie, they were curious. The rooms felt vacant and looked like they haven't been used in a while. They wondered what stuff they would put in the rooms, and what they could bring from their current stay. They didn't have much, but what they did have was enough for them. They had a hard time finding work for both of them, but what they did manage they could use to spruce up one of these rooms. They didn't say anything, they merely just followed.

Once they got to the last door, their curiosity grew. They didn't wander off, but they did shift themselves towards the room. They looked around and found the place to be interesting, even if old. They wondered the same question the half Fury had asked.

---

"Eeeey, nice!" The beaver gave Bonnie a thumbs-up. "I'm tenant. A pleasure to be here." He nodded with a smile before heading back out, pushing his tricycle around and into the alleyway nearby. It didn't actually look like the dedicated parking space in the town, but it worked. He shouldn't expect anything too fancy after all. As long as there was that metal bar to keep the vehicle firmly in place and no one is able to steal it fast enough.

He locked the trike into said metal bar, then grabbed the luggage from the container and carried them into the backdoor stairs on both hands, despite seemingly quite heavy. The way up was already opened for him to go through, and so he just made his way in, though not without looking through the assortments of small items along the way, being careful not letting his large body and tail knocking things over. The smell of wood and a mixture of lavender and moss quickly got to him, already liking both of these.

"Eyo again folks." Ornager gave a two-fingered salute to all the member of Bonnie's tour, including the two ladies whom he met at the cafe. With Bonnie's permissions, he took a quick look at both the room that he missed while he was locking his vehicle. "Oh beaver, that looks good." He said, heading back to the third door, noticing the birch bark. "Very sturdy reinforced wood indeed. It is a well-maintained place." He was starting to think he was getting quite a bit of a bargain from this place.

@PerfectThought