Pixie Dust; Friday [10/04].

[beautiful_boc]

Knowing full well that there would be people's guests showing up today (but rather oblivious to the fact that, apparently, he was among those people with guests!), Boc was having quite the conundrum. On the one hand, he didn't like the idea of having to deal with more people than usual, but, on the other hand, he did like helping people and it was clear from his conversation with Lydia yesterday that some people might like to shop. And he would love to provide all sorts of people with beautiful clothes! That was his favorite thing! Even if it did require associating with people!

So he was torn between wanting to close the shop so he could hide all weekend, or keeping it open so people could get lovely things.

Which meant he was spending most of his time just sort of squatted in the middle of the shop with his hands wringing nervously as he tried to decide what to do.

Pixie Dust is open!

Comments

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

For an orphan, there were a surprising number of people at the part for her to see on Family Weekend. But they could all wait a few minutes while she ran across the street to Pixie Dust.

The hardest part was running with a couple of cider donuts in hand. Or, possibly making herself slow down before she just slammed into the store and gave Boc a heart attack.

So instead she was opening the door gently. "Boc?" she called, hoping she hadn't missed him already heading to the park to scrounge for food. "Boc are you here? It's Arden."

[beautiful_boc]

Boc had been considering doing his usual scrounging, it was true, but the way he got swept into Three Minute Dates a few weeks ago had him incredibly hesitant to do so. But when he heard the door opened, he didn't startle so much as just sort of apprehensively stiffen as he thought to himself well, here we go, anyway....

But he relaxed with a sigh of relief to hear that it was Arden, and went loping over across the store toward her. "Y-Yes," he said. "Yes, I am! I'm right here, miss, just...well, just thinking, I suppose. How may I be of service?"

His eyes darted somewhat apprehensively over her shoulder, seeing that she was by herself, but not entirely trusting it yet. "Did you....you didn't bring guests with you, my any chance, did you?"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Oh no," she said. "But I did bring you donuts?" Hopefully that would help take the shock out of what she had to tell him. "I hope you like apple cider donuts? There's a whole fall theme theme going on at the picnic."

[beautiful_boc]

"I can't say I'm sure if I've ever had apple cider donuts," Boc admitted, his head tilting a little bit as he peered curiously at what Arden had brought with her, "but they do sound lovely, and I've yet to encounter a donut I haven't liked. And I was thinking of going and getting some food for myself later, too, but, well, you know how it is, with me and crowds. That's very kind of you to bring some for me, miss, and save me all that trouble! I think I'd mostly like to stay in this weekend, avoid any trouble, you see."

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Now Arden was feeling a little guilty, because the odds she would have thought to do this without Kennebunkport Hater of Lilliput or whatever were very slim. Okay guilt for later. Important information first.

"Yeah, about that," Arden said, taking a seat on the closest thing that seemed likely to hold her weight. "Um. There's someone here. Looking for you. His name is Ken or something?"

Look, she'd deliberately tuned out anything he said that wasn't specifically Boc-relevant. "Does that sound familiar to you? He's the heir to, uhhh..." Not Limpdick. She was a hundred percent sure it wasn't that. But it was something close to it and that made it harder to remember. "...country? I think?"

Helpful, Arden. So very helpful.

[beautiful_boc]

And the bewilderment that this absolutely helpful information offered was so strong that Boc, brow furrowed and mouth turned down into a confused frown, actually looked at Arden for two seconds in all his trying to piece it together.

"Someone here?" he asked. "Looking for...looking for me?" His paw laid flat against his chest as if to confirm that he was something corporeal enough to looked for. "Named Ken? Who's an heir to something?"

His head lowered with one hand now rubbing his chin thoughtfully, and the other scratching at his head, before he dropped them both and lifted his eyes again, shaking his head.

"No, no," he said, "doesn't ring any bells, I'm afraid. Why would anyone be looking for me? I'm nobody! And I certainly don't know anyone who goes by the name of Ken. Perhaps...perhaps they were looking for a different Boc?"

It wasn't exactly the most common name, no, but that seemed much more likely than someone looking for him!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"He, uh, didn't actually know your name," Arden said. "He just kept calling you 'the most unusual demihuman'. And wants you to, ah. Work with the other demi-humans to make them more like you...?"

She forgot how Ketterly had put it, but it sure had sounded like some human savior nonsense.

"He wants you to go home with him, I think. So he can start his new demi-human civilization project."

[beautiful_boc]

Human savior nonsense that would go spectacularly poorly for him, too.

Boc just blinked up at Arden. Blinked up at her some more, and a little bit more again, before he recoiled, his face wincing into a rictus of shock and disgust.

"New demi-human civilization project?" he repeated, and the words seem to have a sour taste on the tip of his tongue that he couldn't quite spit out. "Is he mad? Is he Frenzied-touched? Absolutely bonkers and loony and everywhere in between? Demi-human civilization project! Can you even imagine such a thing??"

And after some of that initial shock dissipated, he started to shake his head, dismally at first, and then vehemently. "I swear, there's likely not even one sane person likely in all the Lands Between, anymore, not a single one! They're all daft with these wild notions about order and virtue and setting things right. Don't they know, the place is too far gone, and it's meddling in these things that got us all into this mess in the first place! Just leave and let be, that's my motto. Until we find ourselves a new Elden Lord, anyway, but even then, it'd have to be quite the upstanding Tarnished indeed if anything going to change back there. And you'll not see me wanting to go back anytime soon, either. Demi-human civilization? Why, they'd flay me alive if I tried nonsense like that! They've flayed me alive for much less than all that plenty of time before already!"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Color Arden completely shocked.

"He definitely seemed full of himself and high on his own righteous bullshit," Arden said. "And the stuff that he was saying sounded like things you'd never want to do in a million years, he didn't even know your name, and the whole thing seemed...really sketchy. I mean, I don't think he's being deceptive, but he seemed pretty self-deceptive. So I was, ah, regular deceptive. And told him that you spent your days up on Selkie Peak."

She was just gonna leave off the lunches with Professor Vess. That seemed like the kind of thing that Boc would take...poorly. Getting someone else involved.

[beautiful_boc]

Boc's next frown was a deeply thoughtful one, head slightly ducked and his fingers dancing slightly, nervously in the air as he seemed to sort of be plotting everything he could do to avoid this ridiculous, dangerous sounding person.

"Selkie Peak, then," he said. "Well, I won't be going there any time soon! Good thing I didn't really plan on it, anyways. And, erm, the shop?" He looked up at Arden with a worried crease between his brow, made all the more evident as he slipped off his hat to clutch to his chest as he became quite imploring. "You didn't mention it, did you? Made sure to keep him as far off that trail as possible, did you?"

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"I didn't even look in this direction when I talked to him," Arden promised. "Would you like me to quietly pass it on to other folks about him and that we should keep him running around the island, and nowhere near you?"