middaeg | [Open] Settling in

[Open] Settling in

Who: Marianne von Edmund and Open
When: Early in the month, before the event
Where: The residential district, also a local stable.
What: Finding housing and a job. And also new friends. Who are animals. Please make her get people friends too.
Warnings: None yet.

[Selecting a house is probably one of the more important decisions new arrivals can make. Even with all the free housing options, there are a lot of choices. Large or small, alone or in a group, closer to the center of the city or farther away. And she probably should have considered one or more of these factors.

But, instead, Marianne followed a stray cat to an empty house where she'd been caring for her kittens. There's also a garden full of wild songbirds. Other strays seem to frequent the property as well. She wastes no time moving in. Over the next few days, she and her new animal friends can be seen in and around the house.]

Cleaning

[The house is, to put it nicely, a complete mess. And Marianne is not actually the best at housework. Right now she's trying to clean the windows outside, standing on a small step ladder. And she drops the cloth. In trying to catch it, the bucket falls from the window ledge. In trying to catch that, she overbalances herself and falls backward off the stepladder with a small cry.]

Gardening

[While she's a bit of a klutz when cleaning, Marianne is actually not that bad at gardening. Right now she's just trying to clear away weeds so that maybe they could plant some flowers. Or catnip. The kitties would like her to plant some catnip. One of the kittens has taken to following her back and forth as she works, batting playfully at stray weeds.]

Working

[Everyone needs to make a living somehow, and now she has kitties and birds to look after so Marianne went out seeking a job. It was actually pretty easy to secure one when the stable master saw just how good she was with horses. Even the most stubborn ones never give her any trouble. She's currently brushing one of the horses and... conversing with him... apparently.]

Oh, I don't think so.

[The horse prods at her with his nose, but she shakes her head.]

I've given you three apples already today. It isn't fair to the others.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ In her effort to keep herself busy, Lux finds herself at the stables—not to work, but because there is comfort in the familiar. She hasn't seen Starfire in months, and while she's sure that her horse is doing just fine without her, she still misses her companion. Perhaps a visit to the stables will perk her up a bit.

It isn't any of her business, but seeing the other girl conversing with an extremely needy horse amuses her. Walking over, the blond smiles bemusedly. ]

What about a mint instead?

[ There's more than enough of those to go around, she's sure. ]

We do have some mints...

[She mulls over it for a moment, but it's just too hard to say no to that face.]

I... suppose. But just one, alright?

[The horse perks up again, clearly pleased at getting his way. She produces one from a small bag and it is gleefully accepted by the spoiled horse. Then she turns to their customer(?) with an apologetic look.]

Um, I'm sorry. Is there anything I can help you with?

[ She knows that look. This horse knows exactly what he's doing, and watching as Marianne gives in to his charm, Lux can't help but smile.

Shaking her head at the other girl's question, she slowly approaches the spoiled horse, putting her hand out toward him in a motion that could only be described as practiced. ]

Oh, that's all right. I was missing a friend, and coming to places like this always cheers me up. [ A beat, as her gaze briefly flicks towards Marianne. ] Is that all right? I can leave if you would prefer.

[Rose happens to be walking by when Marianne falls off the stepladder. She doesn’t make a habit of helping people she doesn’t know, but she also doesn’t have anything else that needs her attention rignt now.]

[Also, she feels bad for her. With complete disregard that this is someone else’s property, she walks into the garden and leans next to Marianne.]

You do know that, while it takes longer, it’s much preferable to step down from a ladder than fall off it, right?

I'm sorry. I'm not very good at things like this.

[The apology is almost reflexive as she pulls herself back to her feet. The kitten that was watching the whole display mews, and she answers as if it actually said something.]

No, I'm just fine.

[Rose frowns. She’s actually starting to feel a little bad; she hadn’t meant to be too harsh, she just didn’t want to spend her time here cleaning up after idiots.]

It’s nothing to apologize for, just be careful. If you fall from higher, you may get hurt.

[And Rose doesn’t want to be the one who has to heal her. Or anybody, for that matter. She looks down at the cat. The actual cat.]

I see you’ve made a friend.

I... I'll try. I'm terribly clumsy when it comes to cleaning...

[She still sounds apologetic, wringing her hands nervously. She's always happy to talk about her furry friends though.]

Oh, um... yes. This is Claude.

['Claude' hops up on the ladder for a better look at Rose. He's a curious little kitty.]

Then hire someone else. Or better yet, stick to things on the ground. Nobody’s ever died from dusty windows.

[Probably. Rose isn’t sure on that one, but it sounds right enough to be true.]

[Still, she can’t help herself from scratching Claude’s neck. He’s a cute kitty, she’ll give him that. Animals are so much more tolerable than people.]

He’s cute.

Maybe not, but they're giving us housing for free. The least I can do is try to take care of it.

[Claude will happily take those scratches. More please.

Marianne smiles at the kitty. Animals will see her smile far more often than most people.]

He is. But he's a lot of trouble too.

[Don’t mind Rose, she’s going to continue to pet this cat.]

Well, they do say cats exist to make mischief.

[And before you say anything, Rose is not a cat.]

Yes, but if you get hurt, you’ll make trouble for them too. You have to remember to look out for yourself.

Especially so in his case. He's at least twice as much trouble as any of his siblings.

[She's actually assuming (incorrectly) that Rose's catlike features are due to being a monster as this world understands them. And is of course too polite to mention it.]

They were all getting along just fine without me, but...

[She reaches out give him a little scritch behind one ear.]

I do think they might worry. So I'll be more careful.

[It’s probably for the best that Marianne doesn’t mention it. Rose can be...prickly, about her feline traits.]

You might be surprised. The cats may act like they would be able to handle things without you, but they’re probably more dependent on you than you might realize.

[She is most certainly not also referring to herself here, thank you very much.]

[As if on cue, another kitten comes out of the house, trotting over to Marianne and mewling loudly.]

Oh, Raphael...

[She reaches down and picks him up only to rewarded with another insistent mew.]

Hungry again? Alright, it's getting close to dinner time anyway.

[These are going to be very spoiled kitties. She looks back at Rose with a hesitant smile.]

Um... would you like to meet the others?

Edited (html...) 2019-10-28 04:00 (UTC)

[Rose smiles warmly when she sees the other cat come out. She doesn’t make a habit of liking people, but she does like animals. Marianne is very kind with animals, and that endears her to Rose.]

That would be lovely.

[She pets Raphael, despite the cat’s protests.]

You’re very kind, you know. Most people aren’t this patient with cats.

[In Katsuki's opinion, some people are just goddamn walking disasters. And this girl clocks as a one at a single glance. He does his best to ignore her and not get involved but as he sees the precarious situation...

Well, a hero would intervene.

So with lightning fast reflexes he darts forward and catches her before she hits the ground. Then he promptly sets her back on her feet.]

Oi. Watch yourself or else you're gonna get hurt.

Oh!

[There's a small gasp of surprise as the expected impact with the ground never comes and she finds herself back on her feet before she even has a moment to process what's happened.]

I'm sorry. I'm always so clumsy with things like this.

Honestly she would agree with his assessment, honestly. Walking disaster is pretty close to how Marianne sees herself.]

Then you should avoid doing them so you don't risk falling and getting busted up! Ask someone else to do it for you.

[HE SAYS. LIKE IT'S SO LOGICAL.]

Edited 2019-10-21 00:44 (UTC)

[It really is, but she just looks down at the ground timidly and shakes her head.]

Oh, no. I couldn't ask anyone to go to that kind of trouble for someone like me.

Why the hell not?

It's not like it's that big of a deal. People oughta be cleaning their damn houses anyway! Where are your housemates? Why ain't they helping?

[God!!!]

Because being around me will only cause them trouble.

[She is stating that as a simple fact. The sky is blue, grass is green, Marianne's entire existence is a curse upon anyone who knows her.]

And my housemate is... already far kinder than I deserve.

You'll be more trouble for them if you fall and break your arms.

[He observes her with a look as a strange feeling bubbles up inside of him. He feels annoyed at her lack of confidence and yet, it's so stark, he can't help feel... sorry for her. Something that he doesn't feel often.]

Here. Just gimme that and I'll do it.

[It's not like he has better things to do and also an extreme vendetta against filth.]

[The request is so unexpected that she actually clutches the cloth closer and steps back.]

Huh? But... I don't want to cause you trouble either.

[Here she is again, bothering someone she only just met. All because she can't even wash a window properly. Can't she do anything right?]

Please, just forget about me. I'm really not worth your time.

It ain't trouble. It's just getting what needs to be done, done.

[He keeps his hand extended. A few months ago, he would have agreed with her. She was weak and not worth his time. But that came to bite him in the ass. So now, it's all about working to see and even understand the people he used to think of as worthless.]

...No one's worthless. If you think that way, it'll just come around to bite you in the ass and you'll be causing your own problems.

[She stares at his outstretched hand for a moment before wordlessly handing over the cloth. No one is worthless? That's a nice sentiment and she really wishes she could believe that about herself.]

I'm sorry...

[That is not what she meant to fill that awkward silence with. She tries again.]

Um... thank you.

Yeah, yeah. Don't mention it.

Be more damn careful next time or get someone else to do it for you.

[Using his monster improved physical skills, he leaps onto the roof to wash the top of the window with ease. He also washes it in an extremely meticulous fashion until it almost sparkles.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Open] Settling in

Working!

no subject

I'm so sorry, Gmail ate this orz

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Cleaning

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject