|
Post by The Jenn on Jan 3, 2010 20:51:00 GMT -5
The rattling purr of the old Ace helped Thyme ground herself in a weird way. It made her thing about her childhood, and about her Waffles, and about a million other things. She raised her head when Rosemary spoke and stared at her with red-rimmed eyes, barely even realizing that she'd left the room and come back. She'd been zoning a little bit.
At the question, she took a breath and held it for a minute before slowly letting it go. "Some of it can go to the neighbors. Little things. Kitchen supplies, some furniture, things like that. I don't think Mom or Dad would have minded. Other stuff... Parsley will probably want some of Dad's tools. Sage should have at least a few of Mom's dolls. I think I'm going to take one too. The house... I don't know. Maybe we can sell it? See if Vren knows anyone who's looking to settle themselves somewhere else. I'm never going to use it, and I don't know if you are."
A small cough drew her attention back down. She stroked the old head fondly. "And he's coming with me. I don't know how I'm going to get him there. I don't know how we're going to get any of this stuff out of the Wood. But he's our Ace, and he's not going to anybody else."
|
|
|
Post by Kari Muffin on Jan 3, 2010 21:32:02 GMT -5
Rosemary blinked. "We're not selling the house," she said flatly. "You may not come back to the Wood, but I do. This is... my home too. And I just... no. We're not selling it. I refuse to sell it."
Which meant the furniture was staying where it was, and maybe she could just hire someone to cast a security spell just in case. Most of the neighbors wouldn't try to break in, she was sure of it.
She was still a Tulgey despite the color of her fur. She refused to accept anything else. "But yeah... I'm sure Parsley could use some of the tools, Sage would take the dolls and so forth. But to get Mr. Jinggles out... we could hire some guards or something. And to move some of the stuff you want to take back with you."
Keys. She needed to find her father's keys. "And I think before you head out I'm going to get a locksmith to change the locks."
|
|
|
Post by The Jenn on Jan 3, 2010 21:41:41 GMT -5
Thyme held up a placating hand, conceding easily. "Alright, alright, fine. I wasn't sure how often you visited. I guess this place hasn't felt like home to me for a little while now, but if you're going to use it then I'm not going to argue. We'll definitely need to protect it, though, and make sure the neighbors all know that we still have a strong claim on it. The last thing we need is one of them getting too bold with a mostly empty house."
She scratched carefully behind the old cat's ears and looked down at him, brows knitting in concern. "I'm not sure how well he'll be able to travel. He's... well, I honestly don't know how old he is. Older than Mom easily. I think Grandpa and Grandmother got him as a kitten when they were newly married. And they didn't have Mom for a while after that. He's never been outside, certainly not Outside, and I don't think he could walk it. Coaches don't come through here very easily unless they come in from the Outside first. We'll need to figure out how to hire one... and I can't be away from the palace for too much longer. Maybe another week and a half at most. It'll take at least a day to get out, another half day or more to secure a coach, and then a while to get back. Ugh. This is so obnoxious..."
|
|
|
Post by Kari Muffin on Jan 3, 2010 22:02:52 GMT -5
"We rent a cart instead. I doubt a full coach could make it to town, and we don't want to give any of the neighbors ideas. We can go to the next town over and buy a horse and cart. We won't need to transfer furniture, just Mr. Kitty Cat, and a few trunks worth of stuff. We can walk even if he can't, and the smaller the load the easier it will be to navigate through the Wood." It was easier to plan things when they were spoken out loud.
She sighed as she took a seat on the floor. "I don't think the neighbors will be too bold if I just give them a nice little reminder of who our family is. I might not look like a Tulgey anymore but... well I'm closer than you right?" The joke wasn't that funny but it was still a pitiful attempt to lighten the mood.
|
|
|
Post by The Jenn on Jan 3, 2010 22:19:58 GMT -5
Yes... hearing all of this spoken out loud helped Thyme structure some of it in her mind. It was easier to plan this than to think about what had happened, right? Yes. And also, the fact that she hadn't thought of a cart made her feel like a bit of a numnut.
"You're right. Of course, a cart would be a better idea. A lot less hassle. The pair of us can guard it, I'm sure, especially with our boys to help. We can bundle Mister Jingles in a blanket and tuck him between a few things. Tell him to stay put. Keep him safe. You can head off tomorrow to get the horse and cart, maybe in the morning, while I pack? Or something like that. I... don't think I'll be very useful tonight."
No, tonight she was going to curl up in the room that used to be hers and her sisters' and sleep with the kitty. Try to sleep. Think about sleeping. Something like that. She was so exhausted she felt like she could sleep forever, but she knew it wouldn't be that easy.
With a sigh, she stood up and slouched. "I'll make the three of us something to eat. Then we can... get a few things in order and head to bed, I guess. Tomorrow we can worry about carts and locks and packing."
|
|
|
Post by Kari Muffin on Jan 4, 2010 14:47:02 GMT -5
Rosemary's tail curled around her as she watched her sibling. Neither of them were going to be very useful tonight from what they seemed to be thinking. This entire operation was going to take a good deal of energy that they didn't have.
And they should probably wake up ridiculously early to get things done. She wanted to talk with the lock smith before going to the next town over. They didn't want to come back to a ransacked house after all.
"Right, food. Food is a good idea," Rosemary said after a moment. "Though, do you just want Forge to make something. He's actually pretty good at cooking after a few tutorials. It would save you the effort of actually moving and we'd probably get a better meal out of it, not to insult your cooking or anything he just doesn't get tired."
Forge popped up from behind Rosemary, he had been studying the fridge until there was mention of his name. "No, she's insulting your cooking politely." He flinched when Rosemary kicked him in the shin. "But I'd be more than happy to fix both of you something."
|
|
|
Post by The Jenn on Jan 4, 2010 19:15:59 GMT -5
Thyme watched the idle banter tiredly, bending over and rubbing at a spot behind the Ace's neck that made him arch into her hand before settling himself back down. "That's... probably for the best. You know I cook like shit. And I don't really have it in me today. I just know that if I don't eat something, tomorrow's going to be ten times more awful."
She half-fell back down onto the couch where she'd been sitting before, kissing and calling for the kitty enough that he dragged his old self up onto her lap where she could cuddle him properly. Something about burying her nose in the fur of her old cat just made everything a little less horrible. At least everything that happened hadn't hurt him. That was... that was something.
Whatever Forge put in front of her face would be devoured in short order. She would attempt to start packing a few things away before resigning herself to the fact that she just wouldn't be able to think until morning. Following that conclusion, she would crawl off to bed with her sister and the Ace.
|
|
|
Post by Kari Muffin on Jan 5, 2010 19:29:25 GMT -5
The meal he cooked was actually a rather nice one. Chicken and pasta, no impressive spices but at least the meal was filling. Rosemary occupied herself by washing the dishes after the meal was complete. She also cleaned the teapot a few more times before she finally decided to wander off to bed.
Sleep was miserable for her. It didn't come when she wanted it, and by the time she did fall asleep, morning had slipped in through the blinds. She didn't make any motions to move until she saw Thyme move.
When she did she rolled out of bed, summoning Forge so he could go and make them a nice breakfast. "How did you sleep?" she asked as she began her morning routine of stretches. "Forge is going to see what he can make for breakfast before we go to the next town. I'm going to stop at the lock smith before we go."
|
|
|
Post by The Jenn on Jan 10, 2010 18:19:10 GMT -5
Thyme thought that she'd get no sleep at all, but that was only half true. She spent the first half of the evening silently crying into the old cat so as not to further upset her sister, and just staring at the ceiling of the house that used to be home. Sometime in between then and morning, though, she found that her eyes had closed in exhaustion. She only knew that because she blinked them open some undetermined number of hours later and woke up with a face full of Jingles instead of Waffles.
She shifted a few times and sat up, blinking at her sister blearily when Rose also started to move. She had a headache. Probably from all the crying. And the fur on her face felt crusty from salt. Eugh.
"Like shit," she muttered, almost a croak. Her throat felt sore too. Most likely from the snot from the crying. She hated this. "But thank Forge for me. I'll, um. I'll start looking through some of Mom and Dad's stuff to figure out what we need to pack while you both take care of that."
Swinging herself up from the elevated pile of blanket and Ace she'd slept with, she cracked her back a few times and groaned. It ached more than it had used to. How annoying. Hopefully she wasn't going to get arthritis young. Neither of her parents dealt with that too badly, did they? Dad never seemed bothered by it. Eh. She stumbled towards the bathroom.
|
|
|
Post by Kari Muffin on Jan 11, 2010 14:38:32 GMT -5
It was nice to know she wasn't the only one. "Right-O," Rosemary said after a moment of popping a few joints. "I'll tell him. He'll probably call you when breakfast is ready. And I'll make sure he makes something special for our poor Mr. Jingles." With that said the wolf mix made her way down the stairs to bother her weapon.
It didn't take him very long to make a proper breakfast for the girls. Pancakes, Eggs, and Bacon, there were walnuts in there, fruit. The weapon was doing his best to take care of most of the food before it went bad, even if they were giving it away some of it looked like it was on the edge of being iffy. And he made the cat a little bit of beef stew.
Rosemary only grabbed bacon and eggs before she ran off to speak with the lock smith. Thyme would, unfortunately, be eating food in the company of Forge and Mr. Jingles. It would take Rosemary a half hour to return, more than ready to get a move on to the next town over.
|
|