[IC] Root River: A Wonderful Life!

[mickilennial]

Location: Abernova General Store

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“You’re going to help clean this up.”

The remark was blunt, prefacing a heavy sigh.

Of course, most in the same situation would have asked but Luna was Luna. She was coarse and impatient, sure, but she tried not to be intentionally difficult, unless she had to be. However, the sight of Xavier sneezing and sending a smock of soot up in the air and all over the produce section did not inspire any sort of patience for the pink-haired woman.

That aside, she was grateful he had the foresight to actually still confirm a purchase in the store. Though once that was finished she expected him to help get the soot taken care of, not that she suspected he was the culprit but merely that she didn't want to waste precious minutes of her time scrubbing things down by herself. Xavier could have refused (and immediately get placed on her list), but right now she figured stating he was going to help her as he cashed in his purchase was in her best interests.

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@Yankee

[Ladypug]

Location: Home Sweet Home!

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"Oh, no; don't worry. I understand. You've just moved into town, after all. It'd be wrong of me to think that you would already know all our traditions and holidays on your first day here. Just remember to warm it in the oven before you leave, so that it isn't cold when you arrive."

Ana just sort of nodded, like.. Yeah. Yeah, that would be silly to think either way. How would she have known unless she did a bunch of research on the town? Like, sure, her dad probably could've told her, but he didn't- Aaahh, it's fine. It's fine! She's not even mad, just a little flustered. A lot flustered. Why did she thinking moving out was a good idea?

"I think it's a wonderful gift, either way. Breakfast bars like these aren't something I typically have for breakfast, but I can see why you like them, Ana."

Surely she was just being nice - it didn't even compare! One was a delicious home-cooked pie made with love and good intent, the other was made in a heartless factory for profits.. Aaahh, Ana's never baked or cooked anything beyond sticking it in a microwave for 90 seconds! She'd have to ask Zach how he makes his pancakes or something, so she could return the favor and not give her what could be equated to dog food.

"Well, I'll have to get going, in any case. My air-headed cousin is probably already up and bothering our grandmother while she tries to prepare for the picnic. I can at least show you into town if you'd like to meet the others, though."

On one hand, she knew she'd need to go into town eventually - she needed to find out where to get some groceries beyond peanut butter breakfast bars, after all - but on the other.. Oh, jeez, what if nobody except Irina likes her? What if it's grade school all over again, where she's just too weird to have friends? What if they all can somehow recognize she's practically an alien trying and failing to be a regular human? Not that she is LITERALLY an alien, but.. It certainly felt like that, sometimes.

...Then again, Irina did bring a whole ass pie. Maybe the people here were all that nice. Maybe she was just overthinking again and letting her nerves get the better of her. Maybe going and meeting everyone else in town would be fun. Maybe there's a dog!

"Yeah," Ana finally said after an uncomfortable few seconds of quiet, "Yeah, um, that might be fun! I could come with you to town- if that's ok with you I mean. Obviously."

Irina is the one that offered, why would it not be ok? Think before you speak, Ana! Gah!

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@Kuro

[Yankee]

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^{❀ Spring 1 • Year 1 ❀}
_{Location: General Store}

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"But..."

Well, Luna's declaration wasn't exactly unexpected but... it still wasn't what Xavier wanted to hear either. This was his nice freshly cleaned Spring outfit! He supposed it wasn't the worst case scenario though, after all she could have been yelling or blaming him, and he did technically have a hand in spreading the mysterious soot around even if it was an accident. Plus she said "help," not "clean this up yourself." All in all, he got off pretty easily once he thought about.

"Okay," he sighed, depositing his small basket of goods on the counter for her with a weak smile. He'd get started while she was ringing him out to make the clean up go as quickly as possible. He still had to get home and actually make something for the potluck after all. Speaking of the event, Xavier wondered if the store would be open all day or if the young shop keep would be joining the rest of the town for the festivities. Xavier was pretty sure the mayor must have called everyone in town given how excited his message made him sound. He glanced back at Luna. She didn't really seem the "festive" type but everyone needed some downtime now and then right?

"...um, if you have any advice for the New Year's picnic," he started, figuring some kind of small talk to fill the space would be nice. At the very least it would be nice for him. "- I'd appreciate it. It's been a while, I'm kind of stuck on what to bring. I was thinking, well, ah, apples if it wasn't already apparent."

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^@Inkarnate

[mickilennial]

Location: Abernova General Store

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“The picnic?”

Luna tightened the apron around her dress as her dead, cold eyes looked to Xavier as he agreed to help her clean the soot from her shelves and product.

Xavier’s wonderment of Luna’s advice felt strange, admittedly, though Luna hadn’t ever been asked for her opinion on many things. The fact the Mayor, in his infinite wisdom, wanted her to participate in such a useless waste of time wasn’t a surprise to Luna, but the idea that she was expected to bring something was still lingering on her mind. Outside of just taking something from her stock and writing it off, there wasn’t a lot she could consider. Unless the Mayor expected her to unveil her talents before the entire village like she wanted attention, and that wasn’t something she would ever humor, there were not a lot of options for the pink-haired general store owner. Xavier had thought apples was enough, a rushed, on-the-fly gift. She doubt the Mayor would've contested much, even if he wanted more from his cherished guests.

As Luna tossed something to help Xavier clean the soot with the pink-haired girl sighed.

“He wants a present, too. I'm not sure apples will be enough. I suppose you could bake it into a cobbler or pie.”

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@Yankee

[Yankee]

---

^{❀ Spring 1 • Year 1 ❀}
_{Location: General Store}

---

Oh, a kind response! It was more than Xavier could have hoped for given the scenario. Pleased, he couldn't help the small grin that settled onto his face. He turned to more enthusiastically talk to her when a rag came flying from the young woman's direction and landed squarely on his face. When Xavier swiped the cloth away and remembered oh yeah, clean soot the smile was still in place.

"Cobbler or pie, hm? Good idea." The young physician started with the largest areas of the mess, wiping down the shelving with care. He may have been eager to get home and make something, but he wasn't about to do a half-assed job either, that would just be rude. As he worked and mulled over the benefits of a cobbler versus a pie, he figured he may as well continue getting advice from Luna while she was in the mood to give it. After all, though he had a sweet tooth and could cook a simple meal, he wasn't very well-versed in baking. He knew to stick to a recipe though.

"Do you bake, Ms. Abernova? A cobbler is simpler, right? I do like a good pie though... I'd like to try that." Xavier hummed, taking a step back to make sure he hadn't missed any spots before moving on to the next area to be wiped down. "Any recipe suggestions?"

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^@Inkarnate

[mickilennial]

Location: Abernova General Store

---

“Mm.”

Xavier was the town doctor, and as far as Luna could tell he was a jittery weakling. She figured she could easily outmuscle him, even if the thought of actually committing to her threats seemed like a waste of time. As she began moving to the produce, particularly the apples, she thought how best to get through to him. An idle, vague threat seemed like the best option rather than anything forceful or direct. The pink-haired girl considered her response. She didn't care to put into the energy of lying about things. There was too much work in creating false dichotomies and perceptions. She enjoyed that many of the villagers only really interacted with her to buy things and ask stupid, mundane questions about the weather; and she wanted to keep it that way.

She tossed a look at her acquaintance, showing that she was all business. A look that not many witnessed--a slight turn of the head and a wide smile. Somehow it was worse than a death stare.

“Sometimes. I like to do anything that doesn't involve this stupid village. Plus, people buy it. Don't go telling everyone I like cooking, though. You seem smart. I'd hate for the town doctor to go missing.”

Removing eye contact, she returned back to his previous question, as if she had not just threatened to put the town doctor on ice.

“Suppose I could show you a simple recipe. If you'd like to.”

---

@Yankee

[Majoraa]

Natalie

Spring, Day 1 - New Year's Day
The Forest
Offense Roll: 6

"Werewolves? Haven't really ran into any, unless Mahina counts." Natalie joked. While she was focused on getting what they needed for the picnic, she was also focused on keeping Ferris safe. The huntress didn't want to risk putting him in danger. But they should be fine as long as they didn't stray far into the woods. The monsters only appear in the dark, after all!

...Right?

Feeling something wasn't right, Natalie flinched when she heard the sound of someone, something approaching them. She spun around to see half a dozen dark blobs of sludge, large ones, after them. She couldn't believe it.

"I-I was wrong...!?"

Ferris hiding behind her snapped the huntress out of her thoughts. She quickly pulled out a pair of twin crossbows, and started firing at the blobs. "We need to get out of here, NOW!" Natalie was more than willing to escape back to town, she had to let Michael know the situation was getting worse, not to mention she still needed to protect the lumberjack.

[Yankee]

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^{❀ Spring 1 • Year 1 ❀}
_{Location: General Store}

---

Xavier's small joy at seeming to catch the store owner in a good mood was quickly taken over by some other feelings. Confusion, fear. Definitely fear. "Oh."

He stared at Luna, taken aback at pretty much everything she said. The half-admission, the threat, the offer to show him a recipe - a very nice offer, but also, a threat? That was a threat, right? She looked away and Xavier laughed nervously, voice a bit higher pitched than he would have liked. Everyone in town could gather that Luna wasn't particularly happy with their little down, but for some reason she wanted to keep something she liked a secret?

"I don't want to go missing," he said. Yep, real smart. Still, his voice had gone back to normal and the tone of his statement said he took her words seriously. He wouldn't divulge her secret. At least not on purpose. He'd try his best. He didn't want to give her one more reason to hate Root River - besides, it'd make doctor's visits really awkward. Almost as awkward as this store clean-up was threatening to become. Xavier didn't think he could ignore the threat on his life quite as easily as the one who made it, but if she'd moved on already then best to follow suite... and think about some self-defense classes, maybe. "That would be good. I'm a more hands-on learner, anyway."

Xavier tried to keep his mind focused on the task at hand but after a little while his eyes wandered around the store. People buy it, the pink-haired girl had said. Were there any Abernova originals in the shop now? "...so you sell your own handmade things?"

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^@Inkarnate

[mickilennial]

Location: Abernova General Store

---

“Yep.”

As she began to make headway on removing the soot, Luna considered how much she actually made for the general store. All of the food items she made herself unless they were raw materials like fruit and vegetables; and there was a lot of non-perishable items she had made by hand. Her grandfather had taught her how to cook, how to tend, how to carve wood, and a great amount of things. Her grandfather was a sort of jack-of-all-trades, she supposed. A lot of that aptitude had been passed down to her, though she wondered how long she could make idle threats to keep it a secret that she was as capable as she was. She didn't want the whole town coming to her with compliments.

She took another breath, as she straightened the row of apples in front of her.

“I import anything I can't make myself from small shops from other villages and towns. I try not to buy anything from BigCo.”

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@Yankee

[Yankee]

---

^{❀ Spring 1 • Year 1 ❀}
_{Location: General Store}

---

The thought that the general store owner of a little town like Root River made and sold their own goods wasn't really that surprising, but it still brought a warm feeling to Xavier's chest. That kind of thing was what he really appreciated about small towns, and part of the reason why he'd moved back. In the city, you could find just about anything you wanted, but you'd be hard pressed to go to a grocery store and pick up something homemade. It was really nice, an impressive too. The young not-yet-a-doctor told her as much.

"That's amazing," he said with a smile, "you're a woman of many talents! ...I, um, won't tell anyone, of course."

Better safe than sorry after all. He supposed that her threat about divulging her cooking hobby most likely extended to the handmade items for same in the shop. As far as BigCo., that only made sense. They would be direct competitors for nearly all the shops in town. Even so, it was pretty noble especially for one that seemed to hate Root River as much as Luna did. He wanted to ask about that but... it didn't really seem appropriate. Instead, he doubled down on the cleaning duty and soon enough, most of the grime was cleaned.

"I wonder where that soot even came from," Xavier wondered aloud. Even if she didn't seem to like it, Luna obviously took some pride in her store. A child's prank, maybe? "anyway, I'll run these groceries back home real quick and come back for your baking demonstration! Unless you'd prefer to make a mess of my kitchen? ...If the offer is still there, of course."

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^@Inkarnate

[Lightning Fast]

[quote=@Lightning Fast]

Location: Deep in the woods...

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Ferris wasted no time in following Natalie’s advice, hesitating only for a moment to make sure that she was following. Ferris was too afraid to do any sort of fighting as he ran: although his hand made a grabbing motion towards the ax strapped to his back, it was shaking too much to wrap around it. He simply kept running, hoping to hell and back that the monsters wouldn’t catch up with them.

Once they had made sufficient distance between them and the beasts, Ferris turned back to his buddy. “Natalie, are you okay?! Did they hit you?!” Ferris seemed extremely panicked for someone so physically imposing, as though the slimes had been twelve feet tall and covered in spikes. “Are there any chemicals or something that can mess with the slimes’ form? Like, to make them dissolve? I didn’t pay attention in chemistry class...”

@Majoras End

[Carlyle]

ɪ ʀ ɪ ɴ ᴀ ʙ ᴇ ʀ ꜱ ᴛ ᴀ ʟ

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_{Location: Lot 2 -- Abernova General Store}

Date: Spring, Day 1

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Irina smiled once more. "It isn't a far walk, so we'll be in town before you know it."

Taking the lead, Irina walked down the path to Ana's home, and back on to the main road. As the postmaster mentioned, the walk was only a few short minutes, perhaps five at most. Nevertheless, the walk into town still had the scenic beauty of a stroll through a forest. Trees dotted the edge of the nearby river, and to the trained eye, one might see a school of fish swimming about.

"In about a week, firefly squids will be swimming through this river and the nearby lake during their annual spawning season. It's a beautiful scene, Ana, so if you happen to have time that evening, you should come see it with the rest of us."

As they entered the town outskirts, Irina turned to Ana, and began to point out certain places. "The fenced-in building is Werewolff Vineyards; and no, Mahina isn't actually a werewolf." Irina tittered as she pointed to the building beside it. "And over there is my house, as well the post office. So, if you have need to send anything, or even want to talk, I'll probably be there."

Pointing to the other side of the path, Irina pointed to the general store. "Over here is the Abernova General Store, which carries probably anything that you could think you would need here. Outside the specialized goods, of course. Like Mahina's wine." Irina explained. "I imagine Luna's probably organizing her stock for the new year right now, and since I need to stop there to pick up a few things for my grandmother, I wouldn't mind introducing you to her as well."

Luna.

What would Luna think of her showing Ana around town? What if she thought Irina and Ana were already together? No, that was stupid. Of course Luna wouldn't think that. Irina hadn't told Luna that she liked her, and besides, no one had known she preferred women. Plus, her grandmother would probably be an emotional wreck if Irina blabbed her deepest secret. As much as she loved her grandmother, Irina hadn't been interested in finding her "prince charming" when Luna could simply sweep her off her feet with just a mere look in her direction.

"...So, you in?" Irina asked unknowingly with a rosy hint of a blush on her cheeks and her head full of thoughts about Luna. Maybe with Ana there, she wouldn't be a blabbering mess around Luna.

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@Ladypug

[Ladypug]

Location: In Town; Abernova General Store

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"It isn't a far walk, so we'll be in town before you know it."

Ana simply nods in response, tailing behind the brunette as they walked up the tree-covered road. She didn't get a good look around when she was in her dad's car and was hustling to move herself in, but... It really is nice here. There were flowers blooming in the bushes, a gentle breeze rustled the leaves and the grasses around them, and there was the faintest of birdsongs in the distance.

"In about a week, firefly squids will be swimming through this river and the nearby lake during their annual spawning season. It's a beautiful scene, Ana, so if you happen to have time that evening, you should come see it with the rest of us."

Firefly squids? Like, fireflies, but they're squids? Squids, but with wings and light-up butts? It didn't exactly sound beautiful, but it did sound interesting. She'll have to remember to put it in her cellphone's little reminder app.

"The fenced-in building is Werewolff Vineyards."

Ana's eyes lit up, mouth opening to immediately ask-!

"And no, Mahina isn't actually a werewolf."

Oh.

That's.. well, it feels bad to say that's disappointing, but... Man, having a werewolf friend would've been really cool-! As long as she was the chill kind of werewolf that didn't like eating people, anyway. But then again, how would Irina know that Mahina wasn't a werewolf? Maybe Mahina was, and she just did a really good job hiding it. Maybe Werewolf Mahina only went after cats and rabbits when she heeded the full moon's alluring call. Or maybe the whole town knew! Maybe they fed newcomers they didn't like to the werebeast that was Mahina!

Or.. Maybe she's just being over-imaginative.

"And over there is my house, as well the post office. So, if you have need to send anything, or even want to talk, I'll probably be there."

Ok, was that just Irina giving a friendly suggestion, or.. Or was there more to that? Did Irina maybe feel the same way about her too-? Oh, God, no, of course not, no way. Why would she? That was dumb. Ana was being dumb, but she couldn't help it! Irina was just really pretty, and she was really nice too! Ana's just being dumb. Dumb dumb dumb. Super dumb. Mega dumb-

"Over here is the Abernova General Store, which carries probably anything that you could think you would need here. Outside the specialized goods, of course. Like Mahina's wine."

Ana nodded in understanding - yes, that is definitely a good place to be aware of. She needed to buy quite a bit of stuff so her fridge and cabinets were all nice and stocked up. Maybe pick up some little knick knack-y things too. She saw how Irina looked around her house. Ana knew her house looked barren. Her dad even kept gently asking, "Are you sure you don't want to pack an extra blanket or two? Maybe some non-perishables? Not even your posters?"

Maybe she should shoot her dad a text and tell him some of the things she needed and didn't realize she needed...

"I imagine Luna's probably organizing her stock for the new year right now, and since I need to stop there to pick up a few things for my grandmother, I wouldn't mind introducing you to her as well."

Getting to know the person behind the counter would also potentially be a good thing! Maybe use some of that Moore Charisma to sway this Luna into giving her some discounts-?

Ah, no. No, she was way too awkward to try that. Even her dad was at least slightly more charismatic. Maybe if she was more like her stepdad, or her mom, cause neither of them ever seemed to care what other people thought! Or if they did it was like water off their backs or whatever the saying was. But.. Meeting everyone in town still sounded like a good idea, and this Luna girl seemed like a good start.

"...So, you in?"

"I'm very in," Ana said with a smile.

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@Kuro