blessingone | [backdated to October 30]

[backdated to October 30]

[So, Fenimore has been hermiting away in House 34 for the past few days. She really isn't liking where the village was going. Okay, so there are spiders and rats (bats are okay, assuming they didn't learn about the myth of flying into people's hair). Okay, so there are ghosts everywhere (even if she'd so far been safe from pranks, since Grune was a very good source of the candy they demanded). But mostly.........it's foggy.

It sounds silly to say, but that's the part that spooks her the most. A couple of years ago, things went pretty bad when it got misty, so she's feeling extremely jumpy. Of course, holing up in House 34 really hadn't worked for her at that time, even with Shirley around to help, and she'd rather abandon ship completely, but right now, she's the only one left to look after Sophie. And Grune. Maybe the latter even more so. So she's going to have to suck it up.

But then Grune's unstoppable thirst for baking has started to empty the fridge and Grune's attempts at shopping were often...less than successful. If it was just her, she'd honestly prefer to go hungry than venture out into the foggy village, but Sophie is a little kid and shouldn't be made to go without. So, it is time to gird her loins and....

...ask the village for advice.]

[Voice]

Hey. [She sounds rather subdued compared to her normal.] Has anyone...seen anything strange around? I mean -- not the ghosts or anything. Well, maybe the ghosts. Are they really just asking for candy? [She's not really sure whether she'd have to worry about them if she goes out during the day, but she hasn't exactly investigated about them, either.]

But...what I meant was...seeing things that aren't there, or...hearing things in the mist. That sort of thing. It's just...it's not usually this quiet around this time of year. [You know. Draft aside. But she hasn't heard much about that yet.] I wasn't sure if it was really safe to go out right now.

[Okay, that should do it. Although....] ...Thanks, I guess.

[Okay, now done.]

[Action]

[Late in the afternoon of the 30th, she'll have finally ~~run out of milk~~ worked up the nerve to go out, so she can be found trying to make her way to the grocery store. It's not always a smooth journey, though. Aside from the rats and spiders on both ways, it starts to get dark before she manages to get all the way back -- such is what happens when you put things off too long -- and ghostly activity picks up. Now that she's not in the house that gives away so many treats, she is a fine target for pranks. Pranks which include (but are not limited to) invisibibly picking her up by her grocery bag until her feet start to leave the ground, kicking wildly. Ghosts, man. Bad business.]

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[His laugh is infectious and she laughs once more herself.]

I guess we did. My name's Fenimore. It's nice to meet you, Aang.

Fenimore, huh? [It sounds a little familiar, perhaps being a name mentioned by the others during dinner conversations.] Well it's nice to meet you!

[Aang's name would be more familiar if he introduced himself as "the Avatar," as ~~I don't think~~ he got mentioned by name enough for it to sink in. Then again, "one of Sokka's friends" is about as much information as she would recall even if she did.

Anyway, she nods.] And...well, it's especially nice to meet you with the way things are going around here. I don't think I would have been able to deal with those things nearly as well as that.

I'm glad I could help. But it's not so hard. You just gotta know how to prank back at them!

I don't think that's most people's first reaction to encountering ghosts, no matter how those ghosts are acting.

Then it's a good thing I'm around to help people learn! Are you wearing a costume?

[She makes a face. She realizes after a moment that he didn't mean anything bad, as she remembers from the last two ends of October that she's been through here that costumes are a big part of the celebration that the Malnosso seem so enamoured with. And it occurs to her that his clothes are probably a costume that she isn't aware of, which just goes to show it's hard to know what is a costume or not when dealing with different worlds.

But man she can't help but initially take it as an insult towards her clothes.]

This is the sort of thing I always wear. [She tries not to sound too sullen. He didn't mean it that way.]

Oh - sorry! I didn't mean to be mean. I was just wondering. It's not that it looks weird or anything, your clothes are real nice!

[She sighs. Be mature, be mature -- man, it was so much more fun to be immature about this sort of thing.]

It's fine. You couldn't know. I mean, I wouldn't have known you were in a costume if you hadn't asked. [Gee, she sure hopes that she's right and he is in a costume, or else that'll be awkward after she kind of kicked up a fuss over his question.]

I'm the one who shouldn't have [gotten upset] -- reacted like that. It's just... [She hesitates before continuing.] These clothes are pretty important to me.

[Well, it's the style rather than that particular dress, but close enough.]

I understand. I'll be careful about what I say. And yeah... I am wearing a costume. I just don't know who or what it's supposed to be. [Aside from someone who doesn't seem to care much for shirts.]

[She'll nod at that first part -- she appreciates it. But she figures it's probably best to just move on to the lighter topic of the costume.]

So you just...picked out something that looked good? [She briefly looks uncertainly at the vest, but returns her gaze to his face, not wanting to embarrass him about the whole lack of a shirt thing.]

[He's not too embarrassed - more chilly, and her gaze is quick enough that he doesn't really pick up on it.]

Oh, no no no. [He explains as if this was all perfectly rational.] The corn maze gave it to me!

...The what.

[At least she's heard that such a maze exists, even if she's misinterpreted it as a maze made out of corn piled like bricks.]

You didn't see it? There's a corn maze that appeared with all that fog! It gives people costumes if they don't have any, and you can get lost in it for hours, but you win things if you complete it. My granddaughter Ikki's been having lots of fun there!

[For one, Fenimore doesn't really get the fun of a maze, but more importantly:]

How does corn give you a costume? Or prizes, for that matter. [...Though in a place like Luceti she should learn to stop asking these kinds of questions.]

Good questions! Magic? Or shifts! Maybe both. [He clearly doesn't put much thought into these things. They just are.]

So let me get this straight. You wander into this thing made out of corn, your clothes are suddenly changed without any control over it, and you wander around lost for hours.

Unless you're already wearing a costume, and I managed to finish in less than an hour! But other than that, yep! Sounds like fun, right?

Not...really. I guess I'm just missing the point, but...that sounds more like a bother than anything else.

Parts of it are a little bother-y, I guess. I'm not sure what my costume's supposed to be and the maze seemed like it was cheating sometimes, but it was also really fun because it was like playing a game! And sometimes the rewards was candy.

[She still looks doubtful, but...well, she supposes that some of the games she played when she was young had their bother-y elements, too. She still doesn't really see where the fun part comes in, though.]

I guess.... At least candy sounds like a better reward than getting your clothes changed magically. [...Though he had liked it, it seems, so:] -- More consistantly good, anyway.

[She clearly just doesn't know how to appreciate the thrill of adventure!]

It does depend on the costume you get. But candy's always a great reward! Do you want some, Fenimore?

Ah, I wasn't trying to ask you for candy. [Which in no way answers the question.] You're the one who earned it -- you should eat it.

It doesn't matter who earned it! You're my friend now, so I wanna share it with you. Plus Ikki has a limit on her candy and I like to follow it too, so we can't get through all of it anytime soon, anyway! Are you sure you don't want any, Fenimore?

When you put it like that, it's almost like I'm the one doing you the favour. ...I wouldn't mind. I could bring some back for Sophie.

[And eat some of it.]

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[Action] DAT SMILE

[Action] Fenimore smiles are a rare beast in the manga, so I was very happy to find this one.

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