RP:Nothing Like A Good Tree Lover
Synopsis: Penelope is taking a stand for the "save the tree" movement, but really, it doesn't go very far. Kyori ends up escorting her off the property. For this, she owes him a pack of cigarettes and a slice of pie.
Part of the Planting Seeds in a Memory Arc
Ancient Forest
Today was like any ordinary day in the ancient forest. The sun was out, thankfully, although the frozen ground was beginning to melt causing partial ice and slush on the forest floor. Birds were squawking, squirrels were squirreling, trees were rustling with their dead wavy branches. People were even swarming! Wait... people swarming? “You can’t take this away, baffoons! Killing nature with your -stupid- axes.” Cut the record–what? Was this not a normal thing? Firewood? Construction? Conservation? That distinct accent would be beyond that small crowd of workers and travelers. The accent is Ardelian. Not hard to miss if anyone knew the girl. Heads are tilted down at whoever is chanting, others are talking as if whoever is beyond the crowd is a crazy person. “Look, Halifax, I know you’re some known healer, and all, in this area. Trust me, you helped my wife a ton through her pregnancy, but we -need- to cut down this spot. We have to cut down. It's an order. You know how much water trees can suck up? It’ll provide more water to the creeks nearby. We do this a lot.” Beyond the crowd, who sits on the melty ground, is the one and only Penelope. She sits with her legs around the tree, her arms wrapped around the huge trunk as if she really has a hold on the plant life. Tree hugging in its proudest. “I hope your baby is healthy now cut the one next to it!” She throws a hand, and the elf with the ax rolls his eyes and almost facepalms himself. “I do not get paid enough for this crap…” The ax-man grumbles as he turns to one of his co-workers.
---
Kyori was standing outside the ring of the crowd. He’d been at the bar drinking coffee when a couple people ran in to shout ‘you gotta see this’ and running out again. His height gives him a better vantage point but it’s the healer’s voice that spikes his heartbeat. “Penelope?” He says to the crowd, pushing the sea apart with his long arms. The guy with the ax looks at Kyori, exasperated. “Are you another one?” The spellblade looks at the freckle faced woman wrapping herself around a tree. This is a hilarious first. “Uh, let me get back to you on that.” The blonde answers. “This ain’t a circus!” The worker shouts while Kyori walks calmly away. He tries to approach the plant witch from an angle that gives her warning. He gets as close as he can before he drops down on his haunches. “Yo.” He grins at her to keep it casual. “You’re the talk of the tavern right now.” He tells her to lighten the mood. The crowd buzzes in a semi-circle around them and the workers. Sapphire eyes turn and he looks at them, assessing the potential for someone to try to remove the woman. He keeps his voice low to avoid co-conspirators. “What are we…doing?” Kyori wants to take this seriously, he does, but this scene was as unbelievable as bees in Frostmaw. His boyish grin is giving him away. She wasn’t mad about -all- the trees, just this one. Why?
---
The Ardelian has a straight face as she stares at the bark in front of her. There are too many people talking, laughing, yelling, and the girl tunes it all out. Stubborn. The man in charge keeps yelling at Kyori. “Come on, dude, really? You’re going to make me late to dinner by this point. People need to clear out!” Penelope feels a grin on her face at the thought of getting under the ax-man’s skin. As Kyori cautiously kneels down next to her, and has that stupid grin on his face, she frowns in return. “Sure. I’ll be the laughing stock. Maybe people will also learn a little humanity.” Clearly, ‘lightening the mood’ does not help with this one as she is stubborn as ever. As the spellblades voice lowers, she blatantly stares at Kyori dumbfounded. “We are taking a stand, Kyori D. Now sit and wipe that stupid smile off your face,” she would gesture the spot next to her, and even though she was so determined and rude, she realizes the situation and a slight crooked smile shows. “It’s called living. Standing up for what you believe in! This tree has been here since I’ve moved to this forest. It’s the perfect spot to see everything if you climb it. Perfect shade for reading. I used to even have a rope to swing before Ruari snapped it one day with his fat butt. Why would they want to cut down the perfect tree?” The girl asks plainly. Really Penelope? That was it? -Really-? Values were truly in the wrong place. The woodworker stares down at the Ardelian and he looks like he is about to pull his hair out. He could hear plenty of her reasoning. “Because there are hundreds of trees you’ve yet to try out, you wacko! Now, you better move, or I’ll make you move. Because this tree is going down in five minutes, Halifax, and I’m sure the rangers of the forest are on their way since everyone in Kelay knows how you’re -insane- with -now- tall-magee over here.”
---
Kyori’s voice is level but he’s still smiling because he don’t take no orders from no plant witches. “Why do you gotta call me that?” He sits and draws up his knees between his arms. All his clothes were garbage, a little dirt or slush never hurt him. He listens but rolls his eyes at Ruari’s name. “You know, that’s a good question.” He says as he leans to the side and the ax-man comes back to threaten her. “Then why this one? If there are hundreds of trees and there are trees within arms reach?” The worker is unreasonable and calls her insane. “Dude, back off.” Kyori says. He stands back up and gives the guy a challenging stare. “You’re really gonna yell at her for protecting one of a hundred trees? Who gave you the orders, I’ll talk to ‘em.” He was annoyed that the workers and crowds were making a big deal out of it. The spellblade misses the threat of forest rangers. Without a sword, he could fall short on the protection totem. The crowd goes silent to eavesdrop, holding their breath to see how this crazy lady will react to threats of officials. Kyori looks up at the thawing, dripping branches. It’s easy to think of Penelope up there, tying uneven bits of rope to make a swing. How could she pick this tree out from any of the other ones? “Come on, there’s gotta be a way to resolve this that gets you all home on time.” How is Kyori the spellblade being the only reasonable person here?
---
Penelope looks over him slowly. “Because you’re asking me ridiculous questions, so you get old nostalgic names.” When he sits, she feels satisfied. One person joins her strike against cutting down the tree. Eyes cast up at the woodworker with a sassy little grin. When Kyori stands back up to defend the protest, the employer sighs heavily, but he is not so easily giving in. “Look, despite the water conservation, this space is being cleared out for a new cottage being built. We did not want to advertise it as we know we want the forest to be preserved as much as possible. Two men are building it with their daughter. They need a clear base for construction. Sorry man, it has to come down, but I imagine new vegetation will grow here.” Though, while Kyori is trying to reason with the employer, something else is happening. Penelope is reaching for those dripping branches as her muscles shake to pull her up into the tree. The Ardelian is now climbing the tree. “Don’t worry about it, Kyori. With every failed plan, in the medical field, I always learned there is a plan B which involves them cutting it down with me in it. Sure, not to gloat and all, but are you really going to chop down the tree with the girl who delivered your own baby?!” By this time, Penelope is about ten feet up and she is about to climb even higher. Yeah, good luck getting this one down.
Just then, a man and a woman come in the clearing with bows and quips on their backs. “What on earth is going on here? We got a report of a girl refusing to clear the premises?” The rangers. The elven female ranger looks up the tree, her hair pulled in a high blonde ponytail. Honey-glazed eyes stare at Penelope in the tree. “Honey, come down,” the female ranger is nice, at least. The ranger then looks to Kyori and she casts him a sheepish smile, for the spellblade was easy on the eyes in her mind. Eyes then trace to the woodworker before getting down to business. “I assume this is the ruckus. We’ll get her down. Reason with her.” The ranger says before casting her gaze to the woodworker who is looking at Kyori. “Please get her down. So we can all get home. That’s the only way we can do this.” Right?
---
Kyori feels like the dad of a teen caught shoplifting. While he’s discussing the charges with the officer, the accused is making a run for it. He turns around and watches her scurry up when the rangers show up. He mirrors her sheepish grin before he steps closer to the trunk. “Uh, Pen?” He tries, slivers of bark rain down from her climbing. She ain’t coming down. “Give me, like, five seconds.” With a grunt, the spellblade hoists himself up on the lowest branch and makes his way up after her. “You owe me a pack of cigarettes after this.” He mutters to himself. His long legs and fancy muscles make gaining ground on her easy. He pulls up next to her and shoots her a dumb grin. “Hey pretty lady. Come here often?” Sapphire eyes shoot back down to the rangers. He waves his hand to signal more time. “In all seriousness,” he says, attention coming back to the healer who climbed a tree in protest. “We could move the tree.” It sounds dumb but. “You pulled tree roots out of the frozen ground to stop me from clocking your apprentice. What’s stopping you from picking this bad boy up and movin’ it?” He throws his arms over a branch in front of him. “I know the view won’t be the same.” He guessed this was about more than the tree itself. His guess? That’s for later. He gives her a consolation smile, a flat line. “Would that be so bad?”
---
Penelope lingers against the trunk as she balances her feet on a branch. When Kyori came climbing after her, she smirked from above. Eventually the woman makes it close to the top and she casts her gaze to the side to stare at the horizon. This was a taller tree than a lot of them. Kyori easily cuts in near her. He is on the branch across from her. She finds herself staring at that dumb grin and a hand reaches out to pinch at his face teasingly. “You wrapped yourself in this mess yourself. You… care.” She grins. “So cigarettes? Might be out of your reach.” She teases, though a part of her almost wants to give in to his request for trying to help. She enjoys his attempt at banter to take the edge off, though she can see that he is trying to see reason. “Move the tree?” Her face looks puzzled at the thought of moving a massive tree. How was she to do that? She had never attempted anything like that before, as she was finally getting the hang of her magic. “What is it just supposed to magically walk with its roots to a new location? Kyori, I don’t think I can pick up a tree,” she thinks over it. Can she? “I don’t know how strong I am yet,” she pauses and looks at the view again before she turns to face him directly before jumping over to his same branch. She lifts her arms to stretch out on the same branch he rests his arms over. Her body swings back and forth. “Chapters close and new ones open. Take a look at the old chapter.” She tries to direct his attention to the view that looks over Enchantment. She can see the sparkling stream and the castle. Thick trees. The magic. A little fairytale. “‘Enchanting’, isn’t it?” She looks over to him. “We never had castles in Ardelia. A lot of huts were built there. We were so small. Not that ‘big’ is everything to me, but… this was such a different culture than what I’ve seen prior to Lithrydel. When I moved here as a kid, well, it was like a dream of a view.” Penelope concludes. “It’s not about the tree. It’s about the memories the tree holds,” she answers what was pondering in his mind. “And I know it has to go. Besides, that just means I get to go tree hunting again.” It was true. “I hate that they get to win, but my brother always taught me that you can’t always. I just like to watch them squirm,” she looks down at the group who still hollers at them. “Let’s go. I’d like to see how old this tree is, anyway. Hopefully get part of the trunk. And, I do owe you a pack because really the only reason I was causing such a ruckus was to get my closure,” did that really come from her mouth?
---
Kyori’s reward for his heroism is a pinched cheek. He subdues his instinct to offer magic help to the tree kidnapping caper because he wants to avoid conversation about his coma thing. A piece of the trunk will do the trick. The view is impressive. Castles and trees and mountains. The top of this tree was the compass center that binds the traveling arrow. Lativu didn’t look much different. Different species of trees and different mountain ranges and different castle designs but not different enough to hush the twanging of homesickness. “ You don’t talk a lot about your home.” He says. Kyori, is that really fair? You don’t talk about your home much either. “Speaking of your brother…” The spellblade gives her a look that promises a discussion much later. His tone is playfully dismissive of the more serious future topic. The tree was a marker in her memory. It was a sentimental investment. His ache for his sword deepens and he tries not to press on that bruise. “You absolutely succeeded in making them squirm. Congratulations.” Kyori chuckles and stretches his arms out straight ahead. He’s still sore but improving. Penelope reaches a conclusion to her adventurous grief and offers to - no way did he hear her right. He gives her an incredulous grin. There’s no way but he’s not looking a gift pack of cigarettes in the mouth. Everything about the way he’s looking at her says ‘bet’. She’s never gonna do that. “Not that you owe me but you kinda do.” He rolls his eyes but keeps his smile. “Ladies first.” Sapphire eyes take one more sweeping look from the doomed treetop and follows after.
The workers are miffed she took up so much of their time. The rangers look inconvenienced by Penelope’s act of closure. He touches her back briefly, between her shoulder blades, in a sign of solidarity. “We’ve got demands.” The spellblade starts, aiming for one last squirm on Penelope’s behalf. He can’t stop himself from grinning stupidly during his threat.
---
Nel squints at that moment when Kyori makes the comment about her home. Her eyes shift. “I know,” she admits. “You don’t either,” she pin-pointed. She would like to go into more detail, but they were about to chop the tree down. As for her brother, her lips grow tight and a finger is held, but a nod is given. She knew she would eventually have to muster up to talk about it although it was confusing to even her. Would she have an answer to Kel’s resurrection? Suddenly, the woman looks awfully proud at the spellblade’s words. “Making them squirm is my favorite thing to do. I -thrive- that way,” a crooked grin comes from those words. Then, a side eye is given to the roll of his eyes. “So, I don’t owe you then? ‘Kinda’ sounds pretty unconfident? Point taken. Answer given! No cigarettes for you then. Saves me a coin!” The woman ‘aha’s!’ before escaping down the tree. The petite girl hops quickly from branch to branch until she swings herself to the forest floor. A swift little thing.
When the spellblade rests a solid hand on her back, she smiles up at the tall blonde before looking at the rest. The woodworker looks red in the face. The rangers look very annoyed. The girl glances from each face in the crowd before casting eyes back at Kyori. “Yes, demands…” She thinks it over. The thought of the tree falling, and the woman starts to lean back into Kyori to push him back against the tree. “I declare it still be saved, honestly. Think of the little girl and what she might think of the view!” What?! Kyori and Nel did not talk about -those- demands! All that talk of Enchantment and views and chapters ending and she changed her mind on the way down?! “I refuse to stand–” and suddenly the girl is being pulled by the arm. “That’s enough!” The rangers call and tug on the woman. Penelope would grin and look over her shoulder. “Cowards! Life ruiners! Downers!” At this point, Nel is scrambling in the arms of the rangers as they pull her away. She wriggles, but the rangers do not necessarily take the woman away completely. “Come on. It was worth another go-round, right?”
The rangers look exasperated at this point as they hold the flailing woman. “Lady, there are bandits, brawlers, and serious murderers out there and you decide you want to pull us from all that for -this-. You’re done.” The Ardelian stares up at the large tree before shrugging. “Eh, worth one more go. Fine. Chapter closed. Kyori, still tell them I want a piece of the tree. Also…. Uh, I’m not going to jail, right? That’s a petty crime since you have such crazy criminals out there.” Nel did have a point. Did they really want to throw her loud mouth in jail for something so small?
"Maybe your friend can just take you home instead," the female ranger looks to Kyori in this moment with a glare in her gaze. No more sappy looks for Kyori with this ranger. Best get the Ardelian out of the picture.
--
Kyori has no time to argue, she’s down the tree and gone. There were cigarettes in his future, one way or another. On the ground, Penelope’s demands are -not- what they discussed and he slacks his shoulders in defeated frustration. The rangers grab at Penelope and Kyori reaches for a sword that isn’t there. Two points of clarity mark this moment for the spellblade. One; a sword was overcompensating for this situation. Two; It’s still gone. A loud sigh of louder frustration as she goes on this gleeful tirade about how the ‘man’ aka these poor workers were cowards and so on. He gestures at her back, looking through the crowd with a ‘can you believe this is what I have to deal with’ pained expression. The rangers are making an excellent point about their jobs and wasting time but it’s charming in a crazy way how much hell she’s raising. “Yeah, you’re done Halifax.” He echoes, close behind, chewing on a grin during her surrender. “Actually, yeah, we do want a piece of the trunk.” He feels the worker’s eyes burn holes through him. “As collateral.” The spellblade shrugs helplessness. He’s only the messenger. The female ranger glares at him and he steps forward to collect Penelope’s arm from the authorities and gives them a tip of an imaginary hat. “Thank you so much officer, she’s really not well. Can’t take her anywhere.” Kyori wags a finger at the healer. “What did I say about picking fights with strangers?” He swivels their feet towards ‘home’ and calls over his shoulder. “I’ll be back for that trunk piece!!” And God help whatever man doesn’t give Penelope Halifax what she wants. The spellblade leans forward with a broad grin and whispers just so she can hear. “Now you owe me two packs.”
---
Penelope wriggles and kind of kicks her feet out in the dramatics of it all, but eventually she gives in. “Okay, okay. Literally, what’s wrong with thinking of a child? Maybe she wants a view, eh?” When Kyori says that Penelope is done, she lets out a mild sigh. The chapter is ending, but she nods in defeat. Those crazy eyes turn softer, although a smile is still pressed on that face. She appreciated Kyori’s assistance in the demand they actually agreed with. As the rangers pass the Ardelian off to the spellblade, the girl snaps her gaze up at Kyori with a frown. “Rude,” beat. She looked at the rangers, “He’s cursed with incompetency. He knows nothing!” By this time, Kyori is directing her away from the crowd that is now dispersing. The girl grins as he hollers over his shoulder about the trunk piece before she is whisked away. She can hear the chopping and sawing in the background on the tree. The workers are finally going about their business. When the taller man leans down to whisper, she taps his face gently with a small hand. “You’re cute,” she smirked. “Wow, thinking you’ll get -two- packs. You know you’re talking to me, right? One or… I got something else. You -did- help me out.” She looks at him. “I make a -good- dessert. I used to work at a bakery. You can get a sugar high?” What a choice there.
---
Kyori leads Penelope away, secure in the knowledge that of the two troublemakers, -he- was the more trustworthy and reputable to the rangers and workers. No matter what the healer said. “Nice try.” He laughs and lets her go after the crowd is out of sight. She’s only pretending (mostly) to be crazy right? Right Kyori? A boyish grin strikes his features when she says he’s cute. “Right?” She clarifies immediately that it’s about the cigarettes and he lets out a hearty laugh. “Okay tree hugger.” She has a good point. Where -are- they going? The blonde scans the crowdless forest like a compass will appear to guide him. “It depends on which high we’re chasing first.” If it’s baked goods, she’ll have to take over on that one. Cigarettes he knows. “There’s a shop by the tavern?” He points, the picture of playing innocent about the nature of the purchase and who he’s asking. “Or is it a ‘one or the other’ scenario because it’d have to be one hell of a dessert.” She divulges this tidbit about working in a bakery and he eyes her suspiciously. “Since when? Are you putting me on to get out of that cigs thing?” Really, she couldn’t -just- be a healer right? Right Kyori? He wasn’t just one thing. He hums thoughtfully. “Tell you what, I’ll TRY this dessert and if it’s subpar I’ll demand two packs.” He stops and holds his hand out to her to shake on it. “Deal?” A beat. “Also you’re gonna have to direct me if we’re getting sweets ‘cause I still don’t know this place - that- well.” He was asleep for most of his time here honestly.
---
Penelope crinkles her nose and slightly smiles at the response of ‘tree hugger’. That was a first, but probably would not be her last. It was not the first time she tried to save a tree. The druidic tree was the first–which was successful with the rest of the crew with her. But some battles must be lost. In the distance, she hears the creaking and feels the vibration of the thud below through the forest. Her eyes cast back as she knows that the tree has fallen. She takes a beat. Like a memory was fading, but she snaps in an instant back to that calm gaze she normally carried. “With one addiction becomes another,” she grins knowingly. “Buuuut, baking was past me. Seven years ago me. Before healing me. When I worked in Cenril, so it would have to be you coming over to my house to get the results. I do, afterall, have a pie sitting on the counter.” She realizes what she just says in that moment before she shakes his hand for a deal. He would know where that was, for the last time they had gone to speak to… the gravestone. And that would mean, he would have to go inside the old home. “Or maybe you know what? Fueling your bad addiction actually would add up to you visiting me more because of your bad lungs,” she grinned to steer the conversation. She knew she owed him an explanation that she did not really have eventually about her brother, but bringing Kyori over would open up that can of worms. "You lead the way to the smoke shop. One pack only?" She then holds out her own hand for the deal.
---
Kyori holds his tongue while the tree falls. They mourn in momentary silence before she bounces back to life. It’s hard to talk of past things so he lets her talk without interruption. He'd go back for it. It doesn’t ring alarm bells when Penelope suggests a different route. She has a pie back at her place? “You never told me where you were living now with Halifax Roots gone.” Not gone but abandoned. He wasn’t thinking about her brother at the present time. “You gotta show me your new digs so I know where to go if I need to make any house calls.” You’re not the doctor, Kyori, calm down. “Doubting your baking skills and trying to get out of two packs eh? No way. We’re heading to your place.” He holds his hands up to show his innocence. “And no funny business.” He didn’t know how far her trust for him went these days. “”I just wanna taste your pie. Is that too much to ask? Can’t a man ask a woman to taste her pie once in a while? You wanted me to taste it two seconds ago.” He taps his empty pants pockets out of habit, looking for cigarettes that weren’t there. “Have all this hype about baked goods and now trying to talk me out of it. Halifax spits mad game but has no follow through I guess.” He shrugs, clearly teasing her. He can’t think of a single suspicious reason with his single man brain cell why she’s redirecting them so the banter is harmless.
---
The spellblade’s adamant response on going to her place makes her lips twist. New digs? He had it all wrong, but should she tell him, or just show him where she was again? The talk of tasting pie makes her quirk a brow while smiling dopely at him. His wording is ridiculous which causes her to laugh. The smile fades, however, due to the persistency of visiting the old cottage. It was just pie, right? Though, who would be home…? A finger reaches to scratch the side of her neck. “I’m not wrong. You will be blown away by the pie skills. Plus, I’m starving,” with a moment of pause, she looks over her shoulder towards the direction of the old cottage. “Come on.” She inches her chin back to gesture him to follow her. She would take the lead. The cottage, however, was not far off where they were. It was southeast of the forest in the silent parts of the woods. Kyori would remember. The direction might, in fact, become familiar to him as they walk into those parts of the woods. Once they walk beyond the tangles of bush, the old cottage comes into view, but she does not proceed further, as she wants to get a good look on the spellblade. After a beat, she finally says, “I, uh, moved back.” She took a step back. The grave underneath that tree is dug up. A swing hangs below that spot instead. The old porch is finished, but the wooden cottage remains the same. Small. Quaint. Overgrown. “Still in the mood for pie…?” The woman was cautious on the answer, but a gentle, patient expression rests on her face even if she suspects the worst. Kyori was gone for a while. Last time he was here, she did not have the time to talk to him about where she relocated.
---
Kyori’s confidence in Penelope’s pie baking skills are starting to get iffy. She does an about face and takes them back, closer to the sound of tree dismantling but not next to it. He keeps behind her and stares at her posture. She’s quiet and even though she’s confident about their position, his teasing earned hardly a reaction besides their change of course. His thick skull was processing when the area clicks. No, why? The back of her head won’t answer his silent questions. He stops beside her through the bushes and surveys the scene. It looks almost the same. Minus that missing grave The dirt isn’t freshly dug, the scent of earth is stale and dry. Wasn’t that…? Twenty neurons fire at the same time, all neurons he can’t spare. Sapphire eyes fix on the spot they conjured her dead brother. The swing moves in frame and breaks his concentration. Oh no. Penelope speaks beside him and he twitches in surprise. “Okami-” he sighs and rubs his knuckle against the bridge of his nose. Is he in the mood for pie? “Uh, yeah.” Pie. That’s why they’re here. “Pumpkin? You said?” He gotta get the conversation back to a comfortable place so she doesn’t think he’s flipping out. “Are you one of those people that puts fluff on their pies?” Whipped cream, Kyori, get it together. “That’s not a judgment, just a curiosity.” What’s safe? He flips through the card catalog of benign topics to reset his brain to baseline. “Kiyara put, like, an icing level layer on mom’s pies. It looked like she was just spooning whipped cream,” there it is, good vocab recovery, “into her mouth.” He waits a beat before starting forward to the cabin’s entrance. “She’s ridiculous.” Was, not is. “Are you like that or are you a normal person?” He pauses, foot poised against the edge of the first porch step to look back at Penelope. The panic starts to settle.
---
Penelope finds herself hesitating for a moment as she looks at his reaction. He is staring at the conjuration scene. Maybe this was too fast, but they were already this far. Best to act normal, right? As he talks of pie, she frowns. “Pumpkin? No. It’s winter, Kyori. Winterberry. Though, some berries I traveled to pick, so they are not necessarily wintery.” Suddenly her mind sort of settles on the pie topic, and she takes her first step forward even though he is in mild panic. Fluff? What the hell was fluff on pies? Like pillow flu–oh, cream. “Whip cream, you loon.” She walks up towards the edge of the porch and looks back up at him. He talks of Kiyara which brings a small, settled smile on her face at the thought of childhood memories. “I’m not a normal person, but dairy also never settled well with me. Soooo, it’s always just a painful mistake. I like whip cream, but mostly on pumpkin, which you’re in luck, no pumpkin!” Eyes trace to the door before moving up the steps past Kyori. “Here, it won’t be long. Let me just wrap it up for you.” She fumbles with the door before realizing it was locked. “Hm, no one’s home.” Relief floods through her at that point, but it was strange. “Odd, there’s normally three others besides me.” Three? Eventually she leans down near a potted plant, and in the ferns, she pulls out a brass key. She opens the door to the small cottage.
The light floods the cottage which creates a warmer feeling than what it used to be, and inside is simple and quaint enough. A rustic orange couch and a couple lounging chairs. Various quilts are layered along the back of the couch. Lots of plants flood the cottage, and straight back there is a small kitchen. The house was not much, just a cozy place to live. Maybe too cozy with the thought of four people living in the walls. A small mirror rests on one of the tables in the living room with lingering lip paint. Clearly Penelope was not the make-up sort, but someone in this house was. An abstract color. Possibly a teenage girl lived here. To the left, a sign hangs on one door that is etched in old writing ‘Penelope’ and to the right of the room rests another door ‘Pakellin’. In the back corner there is another door that leads to another place unknown. But, the most important part is, there is a pie on the counter. “They must’ve went out. Sometimes they travel to Cenril.” Pause. “Here, I’ll give you a piece, and you can be on your way. If it doesn’t live up to the standards, I’ll meet you in the morning to buy you a pack of cigs. Plus, I gotta meet you anyway to find your sword, remember?” She smiles tauntingly. The woman wanders behind the counter to unwrap the pie that sits there. There are already two pieces missing, and the girl reaches into find a utensil to cut another piece for the man. “And tomorrow I can owe you an explanation,” she shrugs.
---
Kyori looks confused. Why did he think it was pumpkin pie? He shakes his head, rattling all those thoughts around. “Same, same.” Winterberry, Pumpkin, who was keeping track? While she hunts for the house key, he keeps his questions to himself. How many people lived here all of a sudden? The healer sounds eager to be rid of him. She doesn’t want him to linger. Inside, he casts his sapphire eyes around the room, observant of the space. A lot of plants but he thinks he preferred the shop. Like a cat, Kyori was a creature of habit and without his sword this new place was unnerving. A lot of doors. Penelope reminds him they have to find his sword and he reaches back reflexively for where it should be. Right. The nervousness was about that. Duh. “Feels like a bribe but I’ll give you the tree bit if you show.” They made it sound like a hostage negotiation. He follows into the kitchen enough to find a surface to lean his forearms against. “I can’t wait to hear aaaallllll about it tomorrow.” The spellblade draws it out for comedic effect. “I’ve gotta catch you up on how my visit with Lana went anyway.” He shrugs and accepts the wrapped pie. “I’ve never had Winterberry pie so this feels like an unfair comparison but I’ll do my best to be fair to the participants.” Penelope was the only one but still. “Tomorrow?” He confirms, walking backwards towards the door. Finger guns, classic them, and then he’s gone…until tomorrow.
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Penelope lifts a hearty slice of pie on a cake cutter utensil before placing the pie in a folding cloth. Her eyes are cast down, as if she is not really interested to know what he thought of the small place. The childhood home. It was small. Bland. Not much to it. The shop was way better–more her own–which she was hesitant to go back to. To face on her own, but even though Kyori was gone for a long while, maybe it was time. Maybe. Or maybe she should move. That was a cool idea, right? There were bouncing thoughts always in her mind. “It -is- a bribe,” she admits, green eyes finally connecting to cerulean. A small smile lingers. “Buuut if you like blueberries, cranberries, and rhubarb, you are in luck. Compare it to that. If you think it’s disgusting, you can hurt my feelings. I like your criticism. Sometimes,” she smirks. As he is sarcastic, she gives him a dopey glare. “Or I could -not- tell you.. That’s fine too. Better even. Either way, I promise not to be dreary,” she grins truthfully. Could they just forget? Nel was good at pushing the toxicity back. Maybe Kyori could start over too! Nel was bad at reliving through the past. Either way, she folds the cloth and holds the covered piece out to him. “Tomorrow,” she says easily with a very relaxed gaze on her face. A patient one. Always patient. No matter where he was. Whatever he threw at her. Anything was easier than these four walls she was in. That was the last thing she said, and she would watch as he would finger gun her which caused her to give him a wink in return before watching him leave… until tomorrow.