Fandom Island and Town

It was a nice day. Well above freezing, no snow or rain in the forecast. Fenris decided to go for a walk down the beach, near the docks. Every so often, he checked to see if there were actual boats at the dock.

No reason. Certainly he didn't have plans to.. borrow.. one. Today, like every other day he'd checked, the docks were empty and the beach was..

Wait, no. This was definitely not like every other day. Thousands of scallops had washed up on the beach, steaming and opened. The air was perfumed with the scent of baked mollusk.

Fenris nearly gagged.

Still, it wasn't rotting seafood. This was definitely a 'you are supposed to eat these' scent. Not that he'd be eating any of them. He didn't like seafood of any sort. After a moment of observation, it looked like they'd washed up and the rocks of the beach had heated under them, baking them in their shells. A quick check of the pebbles showed them to now be warm but not hot.

Facepalming a little, Fenris dug a nylon shopping bag out of his pouch and shook it open. He began plucking choice scallops from the rocks and depositing them into the bag.

A certain roommate of his loved seafood and it was his class day. The class that regularly gave him a headache. Fenris could bring him a surprise lunch.

[Open! National baked scallop day GUESS WHAT I'M MAKIN' FOR DINNER! nom!]

Fenris took a very long walk to work that morning. Not because the walk had changed, but at his current size, it took far longer. He was phased out for most of it in case a rickshaw ran by or someone tried to step on him. It solved the problem of how to open the door; he did his usual and just walked through it.

The moment he was solid, he felt the reverberations of something large coming at him. His eyes widened just in time for him to see Tickles, now the size of a cougar, take a flying leap for him. "Tickles..!" he blurted. Not in time to stop the leap. Tickles landed on him and knocked him flat onto his back with a whoosh of exhaled breath. The buzzing purr was so much louder when the kittenwillow rubbed its stupid kittenwillow face all over him. "Yes, alright, I'm here. You can't climb me today," Fenris said, patting the kitten on its head. "Let me up. We have to get the door open."

Tickles obliged him and then almost knocked him over again a moment later with a head boop. Fenris eyed the plants. Grabbing the edge of the dogwood, he began tugging it in the direction of the door. It was heavy. Even when Tickles tried to help by going to the other side of the planter and pushing. It took some time to get the plant close enough to the door he could climb it. Reaching the lock, he solved the how to turn it problem by simply stomp-kicking the top of it until it turned and unlatched the door. He had no idea how to lock it again later.

Climbed down and headed toward the desk, which took longer than it should because Tickles wanted to play and kept romping around him in circles. It was easy enough to get to the counter. He climbed the chair and jumped. Tickles joined him a moment later and rolled about looking ridiculous, waving his little paws. "Oh very well," Fenris scowled at him. He waited for his chance and dove in to grab the kitten's belly before darting out again. Tickles hopped to his feet and gave chase.

So there you have it. A tiny kittenwillow and a tiny elf chasing each other and playing across the counter. Covent Garden Flowers was open.

[Open]

Fenris woke, warm and oddly content under a very large heap of blankets. He was cuddled squashed up against Fjord's larger bulk. If there wasn't something niggling in his mind for attention, he wouldn't be inclined to move at all. Not that he could, Fjord had one of his arms trapped somehow.

The niggling thought eventually coalesced. Fenris tried to sit up - only to be thwarted and yanked back toward the pillows due to the aforementioned trapped arm and the swaddle of blankets. He blurted a word, "Tickles!" The power was out. The heat to the store would be off. Tickles had been alone there all night, maybe. Fenris wasn't worried. Not about a stupid cat he didn't even like anyway. He just had to go make sure the kittenwillow was safe so Peter wouldn't worry.

Yes. That. Even though Peter lived basically across the street from the store and Fenris was halfway across town. He was just going to.. go make sure. That was all. Not worried. Not at all.

Prodding Fjord, he said, "Fjord, wake up. We have to go out. Well, I have to go out, and I want you to come with me but more to the point, I can't get up because you're laying on my arm."

[Mostly for Fjord and maybe Peter but sort of openish]

The store was full of stinky red star-shaped flowers and the town was full of sea-colored deer with lights tangled in their antlers.

Tickles came zooming out from behind the counter the moment he phased through the door, trailing his own set of tiny blinking lights attached to a battery pack. He immediately began climbing Mt. Elf, hauling the lights with him.

"That had better be for you. I don't have antlers," Fenris warned, "Though why you would want to be done up in lights is a mystery for the ages."

When Tickles made it to his shoulder, Fenris sighed and took the strand of lights. Walking back to the counter, he lifted Tickles down to the surface and then began decorating the kittenwillow, carefully winding the lights loosely so they wouldn't cut off whatever passed for circulation. He strapped the strand over the battery pack on Tickle's back to keep it out of the way.

When done, Tickles made it back to the floor by route of countertop to chair to floor, and proudly pranced his way to the door and meowed.

Fenris crossed his arms. "No."

Tickles meowed a little louder and stood up to run his front paws along the glass of the door.

"Fine," Fenris grumbled. He went over and opened the door.

Tickles darted out, making his way to the closest teal reindeer in a series of bounding little hops. The deer peered down. It was either myopic or confused. One of those. It leaned closer. Tickles stood on his hind feet and reached his little kitten face up to boop the reindeer's snoot with his nose.

Then he turned and darted back through the still-open door, leaving an even more confused reindeer in his wake.

Fenris closed the door and arched a brow at the kittenwillow. "You are very annoying." Tickles calmly climbed Mt. Elf again to perch on his shoulder, purring. So now even Fenris was wearing lights by proxy.

"How is this my life," he muttered, making his way behind the counter.

[Covent Garden Flowers is Open]

"..What do you mean, I can't get a pumpkin spiced latte?" Fenris blinked, "The thing you've been trying to push on me for over a month, and now that I'd actually like to try one, you won't make me one?"

The barista shrugged, "Day after Thanksgiving, man. Season's over."

"But I just yesterday had a chance to find out what pumpkin pie tastes like!" Fenris argued, "Where I'm from, it's not ..sweet, like this. It's made with onion and savory spices, which I don't think go well in coffee."

"Sorry, dude, like I said. Season's over. It's peppermint mocha season now," the barista said in a bored tone.

Fenris scowled. "No. Fine. Plain black coffee for me, please."

And this is how you get a grumpy elf sitting in a comfy chair and sulking his adorable elfish face off.

[Open!]

Leto had woken up from the warm, safe place they'd found to hide and had the nagging feeling he was supposed to be somewhere. He wandered through the streets until the feeling told him to stop.

It was a store. It was locked. There was nobody inside.

That wasn't going to stop him. He was supposed to be here. He was certain of it. Pulling out a small piece of metal wire that he'd scavenged the night before, he went to work on the lock. It was difficult, so it took him awhile. Tip of his tongue held between his teeth, he patiently worked at it until he got all of the pins aligned and could use the other part of the wire to turn it like a key. There! Door's open!

He went inside and looked around in complete confusion. It was.. soap? The store sold soaps and lotions?

Leto had no idea why he was here, but here he was, in the store, which was now open.

[Open!]

There were poppies everywhere. Big ones, little ones, small ones made of paper in a display on the counter. The entire store was going with a red and black theme. Fenris didn't really mind it but he had a sneaking suspicion the poppies weren't supposed to be running this rampant.

Hundreds of them had wound their stems into a wreath and hung in the window.

There were even some wound around the branches of other plants, stems out of water, blooming away with no sign of wilting.

The dogwoods were quiet. Solemn, even. He eyed them suspiciously.

Tickles was subdued as well. Fenris frowned and picked him up. "What's wrong? Are you sick? You were zooming around the place just last week." He peered at the little thing, refusing to acknowledge that he was worried. "No, not sick. Sad. Why are you sad?" Tickles, predictably, didn't answer. Fenris sighed and put the kittenwillow on his shoulder, where Tickles curled up against the side of his neck with a tiny, quiet purr. Fenris didn't understand, but that didn't prevent him from offering quiet comfort, one hand riding almost possessively on the kittenwillow's back.

He caught up a spray bottle and went to at least mist the stems of the stubborn poppies clinging to everything.

The wreath in the window - it was a symbol of something, even he could recognize that. It didn't seem festive, for all it was made of bright colors. He regarded it solemnly, reaching a tentative hand to touch it for a moment before he misted it down and took up his place behind the counter.

He'd brought a grater and a box of chunked-up soap base with him. Fenris spent some time grating the bits of soap into far smaller bits in the box. The quiet, repetitive motion seemed somehow appropriate.

[Open!]

Tickles was zooming back and forth like a mad thing when Fenris phased through the door. He unlocked the door behind him and regarded the hyper kittenwillow. "What is it?"

Tickles did a circuit of the room and then a circuit of Fenris, up one side, across the shoulders, down the other.

The kittenwillow found a discarded dry leaf off one of the plants and a game of paw-hockey ensued. There was much scrabbling and wiggling in the to-and-fro of it.

"Are you sick?" Fenris inquired. "Did someone fertilize your bed with coffee grounds?" If they did, he would kill them. This was just a baby plant. Baby plants didn't need acidic fertilizer. He didn't like Tickles but that was not how baby plants were supposed to be treated.

"I'm going to go check." He didn't get very far before he had a small kittenwillow fiercely attached to his ankle, doing small little bunny-kicks at the boot. "Enough!" Fenris said, scooping up the little thing and bringing it up to his face. He booped its nose with his. Sternly! Stern booping! "What has gotten into you today?"

Tickles responded with very loud purring. Fenris sighed and put the kittenwillow on his shoulder and went to see about taking care of the other plants. The ones that were behaving and not attempting to zoom around the store or, you know, make him like them.

[Open!]

Fenris felt bad about not making it to work the week prior. In his defense, his roommate had been a snake and Fenris didn't feel a store full of scented goods - no matter how good they smelled to human senses - was an appropriate place for a snake who would taste them.

He was a little surprised at how clean it was. Someone had clearly been in and done some work.

He'd had the upcoming holiday explained to him and, while he didn't fully understand it, he was feeling festive.

Possibly puckish.

In either case, he had taken a black charcoal-infused bar of soap and an orange bar of soap and sliced them width-wise into many little sample size slices. He tied one of each color sample together with black and orange ribbon and arranged them neatly in a basket on the counter.

His writing wasn't good enough to produce a sign but he felt he'd do an adequate job explaining the tiny bundles were alternate hand-outs for the candy beggars who couldn't actually have candy.

Somewhere in the store, one of the items smelled strongly enough of frosted cake that it was perfuming the air even up to the counter. He did a walk about trying to find it, but couldn't pinpoint any one cake-scented item.

Sitting back, he began flipping through the catalog again, working on his reading and recognition.

[Open but SP! Birthday party to attend.]

Fenris arrived at the store early. He took one look at the jack-o-lanterns and glowered. "This is not what you do with these," he grumbled.

He painstakingly began moving them into pyramid formations outside, to either side of the front door. "This," he said with satisfaction as the towers of macabre grinning gourds began to form, "is what you do with them. How are they supposed to warn off anyone if they're inside the store?"

The moment he stepped back inside, Tickles nyoomed out of their dirt tray and scampered up his leg. "How do you even have claws?" Fenris grumbled, detaching the spikelike claws and properly repositioning the kittenwillow to its customary spot on his shoulder.

He hadn't brought Fjord to work with him. Fjord had rejected all of the offered food for a week now and the kittenwillow wasn't really all that much bigger than a mouse. Just because Fenris didn't like the tiny catlike being didn't mean he wanted it eaten by his roommate. Peter might miss it.

Tickles curled up against the side of Fenris' neck and began to purr. "That's annoying," Fenris soberly informed it.

Tickles simply purred harder.

"Brat."

[Open! Up early due to SP needs on Sunday.]

Fjord's phone had buzzed. After some fumbling, Fenris managed to get it to show him why. Then he frowned and with painful slowness, read the message.

"We have an appointment to look over apartments?" he asked the snake. Who, predictably, didn't answer. The appointment was for both of them. They'd both mentioned continued cohabitation but Fenris found himself oddly touched that he'd been included in actual plans.

Nothing for it but to go. He recognized the address - Peter had left his address at the store in case Fenris needed to contact him. The weather was nice but a little brisk, so he bundled up like it was the middle of winter. T-shirt, very baggy hoodie, winter jacket. Only then did he pick up Fjord and let him slither into the jacket, around his shoulders. On top of the snake, Fenris looped a scarf.

Look, he wasn't taking chances.

Then he walked rather quickly to the apartments with the swanky-sounding name. They were met by an overly cheerful apartment agent. "Hi," she chirped, "Are you Fjord??" Fenris shook his head, "Fenris. Fjord's roommate. He's been .. called away unexpectedly." "Ooo-oh," she said, smiling brightly, "So are we looking for two bedrooms or one?" "... Two," Fenris answered, "We'd definitely each like our own room." He considered a moment and asked, "What's the pet policy?" She rambled off something about it. Fjord chose that moment to stick his head out from under the scarf to peer about. "OhmygodyouhaveaSNAKE!" she squealed, leaning in closer, "It's so PRETTY!"

Fjord looked smug. "He," Fenris corrected, "Definitely a male. Be careful, he bites." Fjord turned to stare at him. Excuse you, he hadn't bitten anyone! Fenris booped him. Fjord hissed and reconsidered that whole biting thing for a moment before retreating back under the scarf in a sulk. Boops indeed.

The apartment agent lead off at a merry clip to show them the available apartments, prattling on about the amenities and using words like 'holosuite' and 'on-roof parking and garage'.

"Hear that, Fjord?" Fenris muttered sotto-voice to him, "You could put a ship on the roof. Why you'd do that, I've no idea, but you could, so that's a.. definitely a thing you could do." Fjord slithered out of the scarf long enough to turn the tables - and his snakey body - to boop Fenris on his nose. Ships don't go on roofs! The boop startled a small laugh from the elf.

[Open for your baffled elf and/or snake interactions.]
[OOC: There's no info for how ic apartment stuffs are done in the business directory so I'm handwaving like whoa since they're not taking an apt today anyway. DP has been le emailed!]

Fenris wasn't in the best of moods. He'd been woken too early by Fjord - who happened to be a large green constrictor of some sort at the moment.

Who was currently residing in the very large front pocket of the oversize hoodie Fenris was wearing. The hoodie alone would have looked out of place and odd on the elf but the 8' snake huddling inside for warmth gave it volume and weight. Fenris rather looked as though he'd swallowed a melon whole.

A trip to the Perk for coffee was a necessary part of this morning. He asked for the largest mug they had and received a cappuccino in something more along the size of a soup bowl. An ask of whether they had spill proof containers and subsequent explanation of 'I have a snake in my pocket' - and resulting 'are you sure you're not just happy to see us' joke - turned up several baristas cheerfully dissecting one of their large catering boxes to dig out the mylar pouch inside. Hot water was added and it was wrapped in several layers of paper towels. Fenris made sure to tip them really, really well.

Some quick rearranging put the heating pad on the bottom of the pocket and had a happier, warmer Fjord and a slightly more portly looking Fenris.

He took a seat where he could see the door and out the windows and sipped his cappuccino. Fjord occasionally poked his head out to look around. "I'm not giving you coffee," Fenris informed him, "You'll burn your tongue. It's my understanding you probably need that unburnt until we figure out how to turn you back."

[Fjord modded with permission. Open!]