deercountry | Sun rises, night falls, sometimes the sky calls...

"Oh, whoa...what...?"

Even in the bone-chill of winter, a place as well curated in its foliage as this sure can stand out -- especially after dealing with a rampaging monster around town! Manabu stops near the fence line before the ring of trees and garden fixtures and gawks.

Was this...always here? It's possible; he's not really one to stop and smell the roses...or garden trappings, as it stands.

His gaze moves toward the building proper, searching out for signage. If this is in Willful Machine, then it's a business, right...?

As luck would have it, Ariadne was on the roof when she picked up an unfamiliar scent and heard someone speaking below. All morning, she'd been carving crude leaves and trees into the awning over the doorway. And she was getting all the grime out from under her talons, so she wouldn't muck up the inside of the shop. Not that it was a sterile environment. There were plants and dirt in every corner.

That didn't mean she couldn't try to keep it as well as the shop in Deerington.

At any rate, when she heard the stranger, she crept to the edge of the roof and glanced down.

Not a face she recognized, but in her world, a stranger was just a friend waiting to happen. Or something like that.

"Hello?" she called down, pulling the hood off of her hair so her face could be seen.

"Eh-? Huh?"

Manabu blinks out of his thoughtful absence, looking around. At his feet, a small dog, his omen, catches glimpse of the woman first and takes a few bold steps toward the door, which prompts the man to turn his focus that way, too.

"Oh, ah, hello?" A wave of sheepishness hits, and a hand he raises in hello just as quickly moves to the back of his head. "Sorry, were you talking to me, or someone else?"

She smiled sweetly. "You. Mostly. Although I'm happy to greet your dog as well." She recognized it as a Omen, which meant she didn't want to be rude, of course. "Hello, doggy," she said, dipping her head politely.

Carefully, she squatted down on the edge of the roof, carefully balancing on the balls of her feet, which were bare in spite of the cold weather. Boots were all very well and good when you were walking about. But when you needed a balance, toes were much more useful.

Her braid draped over the entryway, like a long, brown rope.

"Can I help you find something, sir?"

While Manabu draws near, Magnet wags his curled tail happily at being acknowledged, little sponge for attention that he is. Manabu's good eye scans around...and back up at the woman with a curious, but concerned frown.

"Shouldn't I be saying that? Where's your ladder? That doesn't look safe..."

"It's only a single floor."

She'd fallen from far greater heights. And yes, once upon a time, she'd still had her wings. But wings or no, one of the first lessons you learned, living in a rain forest, was how to fall and land safely.

This was barely more than a stumble.

But she smiled, touched by his concern. "I climbed up around back. It's not too terrible a climb."

"Still..."

Still, Manabu's from a place where he'd get smacked upside the head for letting a lady just chill out barefoot on a roof in winter; he can't just shake that kind of breeding even if this whole place really, really wants him to sometimes!

He clears his throat, straightening up a bit.

"Well, if...whatever you're up to is something you want to handle yourself, can I at least be a spotter? Just in case you slip. There's ice everywhere, even where you don't see it!"

Bark, agrees Magnet.

It had been some time since Ariadne experienced the kind of chivalry she was used to, back home. It made her smile. Like an old, familiar song she hadn't heard in a very long time.

But perhaps it wasn't chivalry.

Most of what she experienced was just play-acting on the part of the gentlemen of court, aware that they were always being watched, that they had expectations to live up to.

There was no one here. Just the two of them. So his offer was genuine. And very appreciated.

"That's very kind of you, sir," she said. "But I was honestly about to climb down. You can watch that, if you like?"

No chivalry here - chivalry was over on that one blizzard planet full of crazy people who dressed in old-timey armor and hung out in castles like weirdos! This here's just a boy who grew up being told to be nice to women and children and the elderly in particular - they're the ones who get priority protection and consideration!

That aside, the suggestion makes Manabu move a bit more, halt with a sudden flash of embarrassment as he realizes it seems kind of creepy to just stand there and gawk at a woman anyway?

"I mean!" His face flushes hot, but only briefly; thank goodness for cold blood. "Just to make sure if you do fall, you're at least not hitting the hard ground? So--"

So he's going to shut up before he embarrasses himself and just...take point while trying to not look weird about it, which only makes him feel weirder.

She thought about telling him that she wasn't going to fall. But that would probably sound like bragging. Which was never a good way to start out a conversation or a friendship. So she gave him a smile and a nod instead, before crossing to the other side of the roof, overlooking the entrance to the orchard itself.

There was no ladder.

Instead, she tossed her legs over the side, holding onto the lip of the roof with her fingertips, before her toes managed to find the smallest of holds. After that, she practically oozed down the side of the building. So fast that it might have seemed like falling.

Except she never actually fell.

Climbing a building wasn't all that different from climbing a tree. If anything, you didn't have to be nearly as careful, because a building wasn't alive. You couldn't hurt it if you poked too hard with your nails.

She landed with a little bounce, turning around to face the stranger and offer him a tiny wave.

It's a definite relief to see her back on solid ground...until it isn't: Her feet are still bare! So while Manabu spares a sheepish half-smile, it washes out real quick back to concern. Magnet trots over to give her a proper sniff, pleased to be in pet-range at last.

"A-are you coldblood, by any chance?" he asks, stepping over into conversation range. "I mean, you don't have any shoes on..."

Ariadne knelt down, holding out her hand for Magnet to sniff to his heart's content. Aside from horses, she was pretty good with animals. It was just a matter of knowing the right way to approach them. Palm up was always best. It exposed the veins in the wrist, signaling vulnerability. Which usually signaled no threat.

If only humanoids worked on the same basic instincts. They would be so much easier to understand!

For example, Ariadne wondered if it was polite or rude to ask someone their blood type. She, of course, had nothing to hide. But in some places, it was polite to ask a lady her age whereas in others, it was considered the height of social faux pas.

Humanoids. So odd.

"No," she said, looking up at him with her kind, gray eyes. "I don't think so. I think I'm what they call a 'Warmblood?'"

She only gets to keep that palm up for so long before a muzzle is nosing into it with the insistence that the pets commence - Magnet's rather relentless in his need for attention. Manabu gives the dog a slightly pained look before his focus shifts back to the woman, his brow still knit with a little concern as she answers.

"A-aa...so. I mean--are you okay? It's gotta be awfully cold." That's how snow works, right? He has no sense for the temperature shifts this season; he's always cold until he's not, and even then, it's always just fleeting flashes and flushes - little lightning strikes of heat that come and go as his blood dictates.

She was only too happy to pet the Omen. It had been a good, long while since she'd last seen a dog. She'd forgotten how friendly they were. Especially the ones that lived close to humanoids.

So yes, Magnet got plenty of pets.

But Ariadne gave the stranger a kind smile. "Oh, it's freezing," she agreed. "But I trust my grip better without boots, when it comes to keeping balance. And I don't plan to stay outside long enough for frostbite." She bowed her head. "Would you like to come inside?"

Well, jeez! Just making small talk while a lady's freezing...way to go, Yuuki!

"Aa, su-sure! Yeah, let's do that!" He's all too eager to move again, hastening to open the door for her, doing a doubletake at his omen.

"Magnet, come on! At least let her not freeze her fingers off!"

What an interesting man. Ariadne really didn't know what to make of him. But she sensed a kindness that she liked.

Then again, Ariadne believed everyone was kind. At least until proven otherwise.

With a small smile and bob of her head, she walked into the shop.

The inside was a giant great room, with smooth and polished hardwood floors. There were a few full-wall windows on the far side. And counters and tables all across the room, covered in dried herbs and potted plants. The whole place smelled of spring. Even in the dead of winter.

"Welcome to the Serenity Garden...herb shop, I guess?" That didn't feel like the right name, but she didn't have anything better yet.

"Whoa..."

This place...is really nice. Like, could give the Raccoon Room a run for its money nice! Manabu can't really feel the shift in temperature, but he can smell the softer, springier atmosphere.

He pulls the door closed behind him, lingering at the entrance as he looks around.

"Did you set this all up yourself?"

"No," she said, padding over to one of the corners, where her leather boots were lined up and waiting for her. She supposed it was probably poor manners to put on shoes in front of a gentleman. But then again, she wasn't really much of a lady, so she couldn't see any point in holding back.

So she slipped her feet in, lacing them up with a leather thong.

"This was actually my apartment in Deerington. If you're familiar with it, it's the place where many of us were before here. When I woke up on the shore...it was just here. The building and the trees."

He shakes his head slowly while continuing the scan the shelves and trappings.

"I can't say I remember anything looking half as nice in that hellhole," he utters. "Folks say I came there at a bad time, but...it was a nonstop bad time from where I stand."

"It was pretty awful, toward the end," she said, giving him a look of genuine sympathy. It was hard enough being in Deerington. But to arrive when it was at its worst sounded absolutely awful.

Not an adjustment she imagines she could have made gracefully.

The fact that he hasn't been turned completely sour--or so it seems--spoke well to this man's character.

"I'm Airy, by the way," she said. "Well, Ariadne. But no one here really calls me that."

"Uoh--" Right. Names! Manabu's spurred to step in properly and extend a hand to shake by habitual politeness.

"Manabu. Manabu Yuuki." His mouth twitches. "Aa, just...Manabu's fine. But, aa, if you prefer Ariadne, I can use that! It's your name, so...so you kind of make the rules with that, right?"

The corners of her eyes crinkled with a smile. "I like 'Airy,'" she said. It suited her. The way she moved, the way she walked, the way she spoke. Everything about her screamed out that she was somehow defying gravity. And it was as though, any moment, she would spread her wings and take to the skies.

Although she hadn't flown in a very, very long time.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Manabu." She gave him a curtsy that was more of a bounce than a curtsy.

Another airy movement.

Airy it is, then.

Manabu startles a little, retracting the unshaken hand, for a moment uncertain of what to do in the face of a curtsy. He defaults to a slight, polite bow of the head and a bit of the shoulders while wearing that uncertain look of his. She's so polite! It's rare in his encounters.

"Uh, li-likewise," he manages, straightening back up and...staying that way. Almost at-rest in attention? It's an old habit. "But! But you don't have to say 'Sir'...just Manabu's good."

In her experience--particularly with Humans--it was better to assume a title and be wrong, than to be informal and end up insulting them. But she wasn't exactly enamored with formalities, so she smiled happily, giving him a nod. "Of course. Manabu. It's a very nice name. Does it mean something?"

She walked over to a small, iron stove in the middle of the room and added a few twisted branches she'd salvaged from the forest.

Ariadne really didn't like fire. But it was a necessity. And she was still a little cold from before.

Plus, she had a guest!

There was no greater hospitality than ensuring your guest was comfortable. Or so she'd been told.

While Manabu may be more reluctant to roam, his omen has no hangups whatsoever: The dog pads around, sniffing at fixtures near his level, craning his head to get a sniff of some of the herbs around.

"Eh?" The meaning? Not a question he'd expect to hear, really. It's kind of a nice surprise. "Aa, uh...we-well, it uses the same character for, like, to...to learn. My own name, I mean. My family name's like..." He sighs, rubbing at the back of his head. "It...depending on how you read it, can be like...possessing a history? Or having a future, I guess. But it's--it's just what the characters mean if they're not read as names, if...if that makes sense."

cha-chas in here

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