Who's in Love with Who Now?
August in Atown. It was hotter than a hotcake in the day and colder than a cold cappuccino at night. However, the denizens of Atown still went about their business under the broad sapphire blue sky. There were plants to grow, fruits to harvest, fossils to dig up, fish to catch, bugs to chase, and many more daily chores. Besides, all the hard work would often be rewarded with a nice brown tan.
Taking a break under a shady oak tree, Missy checked on her bug net. Some bugs would fight being captured and she had to repair the holes that appeared. It was often cheaper than just buying a new net, although nets weren't that expensive when compared to the profit that could be made off a single bug. Putting it away, she wiped her sweaty brow. "Phew. Maybe it'll be nicer by the waterfall." She headed that way.
The water was warm and it was more humid over here. However, the air was moving about more, giving a gentle breeze to find relief in. The human knelt by the waterfall's pond and dipped her fingers in the water to pat across her face and neck. It seemed quiet, but she checked over the surface anyhow for signs of any fish that may be there.
Instead, she saw a blurry round shadow moving across the pond. Looking up, she spotted a red balloon tied to a tidy present box. Who set those free? Missy wondered about that a lot, but decided to take advantage of it and pulled out her slingshot. There was a suitable stone nearby, so she grabbed that and took aim. The stone would go right between the two points of the 'Y', so she would need to guess the balloon's speed and aim just ahead of it… she found a good point and fired.
Pop! The present dropped out of the sky and bounced along the ground, landing just near her. Missy got up to retrieve it. They were always the same, clean white boxes with no tears, tied up with a pretty red ribbon. And yet, when she took the top off them…
The present box turned blurry, then grew to be larger. After a moment, it turned from white and red to pale blue. When it sharpened back up again, it was a cute blue box, a plastic storage unit with two cubby holes. She's gotten a pink box a few days ago.
Missy considered it. "I'm not sure it would suit any of my rooms. But I know someone who might appreciate it." She patted the item twice. "Power of tanuki, transform!"
After another blurry moment, the blue box turned into a broad green leaf. A ring was attached to the long stem, bearing a picture and the name of the item it really was. Putting that leaf in her pocket, Missy headed east from the waterfall.
She quickly spotted one of her neighbors, a bright yellow bird with a long beak. Smiling, Missy waved at her. "Hi-ho Twiggy! Good morning!"
Giving a surprised whistle, Twiggy clapped her wings. "Oh, hi-ho Missy! So nice to see you this morning, sparkles. And the phrase you gave me yesterday, sparkles, is such fun! But it's so hot already, isn't it?"
Missy nodded. "Yeah, that's August for you. Oh, and I happened to find something you might like. I can't really use it, but I don't want to just toss it, you know. Here." She pulled out the furniture's leaf and passed it over.
"Hmm, for me?" Twiggy took it, then whistled again. "Oh my gosh, this is so cute! It'll look great with all my other blue furniture. Thank you so much. But then I can't let you go empty handed, can I? Here, I think this would make your house look so much classier." She passed over another transformed leaf.
"Really?" Looking at the item's tag, it was a cabana lamp. It was nice and classy, Missy figured. The lamp stood on a tall metal stand and had a nice woven brown shade on top. Not what she would have liked, but she smiled anyways. "It looks pretty. Thanks. How're things going?"
"I've just about got my dream sparkles décor all set up. You must come see my home sometime when I've got this nice piece put in it." Then Twiggy put a wing on Missy's shoulder. "Oh, but have you seen Biskit and Baabara lately, sparkles?"
"Biskit and Baabara?" she thought about it. Yes, she had talked to the both of them last night, but not at the same time. "No, what about them?"
"Well I saw them talking yesterday and I thought to myself, 'You know, myself, those two make a really cute couple, sparkles'. And they do." Twiggy's eyes sparkled at the romantic thought.
Missy considered that. Baabara was a classy animal herself, a sheep that always wore an elegant scarf to match her perfectly trimmed wool. On the other hand, Biskit was a spacey kind of guy, a yellow dog that too often found his shirts on the snug side. "They could be," Missy said politely.
"I know they're not dating yet, sparkles, but someone really out to give them a little nudge in the right direction, you know." She crossed her wings over her chest, thinking. "I'd try myself, but I think I'm a bit blunt for this situation."
Smiling, the human replied, "Well I'll talk to them and see what's up. How's that?"
"Would you? Thanks Missy. I'm sure you'll make a lovely cupid. Good luck, sparkles."
After waving goodbye to Twiggy, Missy headed south across the two bridges that would bring her to the other side of Atown, where most of the residents lived. Baabara's house happened to be right next to the bridge, so she knocked on the door. "Baabara? Are you in?"
"Oh dahling, is that you Missy?" Baabara opened the door, letting out a puff of cool air. "My, you look like you've been working hard today. Well come on in and join me for some iced tea, dahling. I can't stand the heat out there."
"Thanks a lot, Baabara," Missy said, coming inside. "I've got more things to do, but a break would be nice."
A few minutes later, Missy and Baabara were sitting on the large yellow sofa, drinking iced tea and nibbling at some tender lemon cookies. "This is a new recipe, dahling," the sheep said, picking up another lemon cookie. "They're so light and delicate; I think I'll make a large batch for my next party."
"It'd be a good choice. Any news?"
"You mean gossip?" The two ladies giggled. "Well I do have one thing that intrigues me, dahling," Baabara admitted. "Have you heard that Biskit has someone special?"
"Not yet," Missy lied, hoping Baabara would drop that the 'someone special' was herself.
"I think that it's Puddles he's seeing," the sheep said in a conspiring tone.
Oh, so Twiggy had it wrong. Puddles made a bit more sense than Baabara, Missy figured. Puddles wasn't nearly so, well, prissy. Although, she'd never tell Baabara that. The animals were all good friends of hers. Like anyone else, they had their good and bad points. "Do you think they're dating?"
She put her hoof-like hand to her chin. "Dating? Well I'm not sure they're doing that yet. But they have been talking quietly to each other by the river late at night. Maybe they are, maybe they're not. Someone ought to find out the truth of this matter, dahling. But I can't do any checking with them during the day. The heat gets into my wool and is just awful. You are so lucky to be a human, Missy dahling."
She gave a bashful smile. "You're lucky in the winter time. I could talk with them today. I haven't spoken to either of them yet today."
Patting her arm, Baabara smiled. "Do that then. Oh, but don't embarrass them. Love is something special and we ought to encourage them."
"Yes. Oh, and I have something you might like." Missy pulled out the transformed leaf of the cabana lamp.
The sheep looked it over critically, then grinned. "Missy dahling, you have such exquisite tastes in gifts. I love this cabana lamp. I needed a new light anyhow; my current one does not go with this theme. But that one wouldn't do for a trade; I don't think it'd look good in your house." She thought, then nodded. "But I know what would. Here, this will add a nice touch of nature to your place." She handed over another leaf item.
Missy looked at this one's tag. It was an azalea bonsai, a pretty little plant with red flowers. However, she was trying to find unflowered bonsai like the ponderosa. "That is quite pretty," she said honestly. "Thank you."
After thanking her for the tea and cookies, Missy left Baabara's house. Biskit lived nearby, so she walked along the river looking for fish. However, it seemed to be too hot for them either. Somewhere in the distant trees, an evening cicada sang its shrill song.
Missy came to Biskit's door and knocked. "Biskit? Are you in?"
Apparently not, as no one answered the door. Maybe he was napping or out trying to catch one of those cicadas. At any rate, Missy gave up on finding him for now and instead headed north towards Puddles' house.
Puddles was sitting outside her house with a parasol over her head to protect her red skin. She was a frog, so direct sunlight would dry her out terribly. Looking up from her book, she waved to the human. "Yo, Missy! Good to see you, splish."
Smiling, she returned the greeting. "Yo, Puddles. Good to see you too. What're you reading?"
"Finding Your Inner Self," she replied. "Baabara recommended it. I don't know, splish; it's kind of stuffy. I prefer reading romances to this philosophical fluff."
Missy sat down by her friend. "That book is a lot of fluff. Lots of quizzes with weird answers. Oh, but I found something you should like." She passed over the azalea bonsai, hoping. In truth, she wasn't sure if Puddles would want it. The frog was all about a red interior design lately and the plant might not cut it.
However, "Oh wow, splish, an azalea bonsai just for me? Thanks, it's so pretty! And I could use a new plant around. I haven't got much, though… oh, I know! This wallpaper is gorgeous, but when I got it up on my wall, it clashed terribly with all my stuff. I've spent so long getting all this great red stuff that I don't want to start all over again. Here, splish." She passed over a rolled up tube that was made of green and yellow stripes.
It had a tag like the leaf items, labeling it as an arched window. Missy smiled. This was a good item at last. "Wow, that is gorgeous. I think it'll match my stuff."
"Then we're both happy." Puddles then laughed and put the book down. "And have you seen how happy Biskit is? I think he's in love?"
"Really?" From the sounds of it, maybe Baabara was wrong too.
"I think he's in love with Eloise," she said, sounding pleased. "Or maybe it's Vesta."
Missy frowned. "Vesta? Didn't she just move here yesterday? Eloise has been here a while, so they know each other."
Puddles crossed her arms over her chest. "I know! They are so cute together, too shy to hold hands, but you know they want to. But then last night when everyone was welcoming Vesta, Biskit seemed to be positively glowing. Maybe it was love at first sight. Or maybe he finally admitted his feelings to Eloise. Ooo, I've got to know the truth, splish! Gossip is fun, but sometimes you just need to know the truth!"
At this point, Missy would have liked to know the truth too. "Right. But I heard from Twiggy that Biskit likes Baabara. I'm not sure about it, though."
"Hmm, maybe. I don't see them as really being a couple, you know splish? I think Baabara is seeing Cesar."
Missy felt a bit stunned. "Cesar? Are you sure about that? They're both such strong personalities. It'd be one of those slap slap kiss kiss relationships."
"Yes, but there is something so fascinating about those kinds, splish. I wouldn't want one myself, though."
"And I heard yesterday that you were flirting with Jitters."
Puddles' eyes went wide. "What? Where'd you hear that from? I'm not really into those jocks myself. I thought Twiggy was going out with Jitters. They are both birds, splish."
Missy scratched her head. "Right. But you and Jitters do get along. You and Biskit too."
"Well we're all friends, you know? And you're my friend too, splish. If I did have a significant other, you'd be one of the first to know. Oh, look!" She pointed towards the city hall. "There's Biskit now. Can you ask him about this for me, splish? I'd like to hear for myself, but I also have to finish this book in time to return in to Baabara this evening."
And I get sent off again, Missy thought. But it was fun in its own way. "Right, I'd better go catch up with him. See you later, Puddles."
"Later, Missy!"
Going through some trees and a patch of cosmos flowers, Missy finally met up with the floppy-eared dog Biskit. "Blammo, Biskit!"
He perked up. "Blammo, Missy! Like the superheroes of old!" He grinned, waving a cardboard box around like a shield.
Missy laughed. "Of course. How are you doing today?"
"I'm good, dawg. Oh, but," his mood was dampened a moment as he looked at the box in his hand. "I was hoping to tell you later, but now will do. I'm moving away from Atown."
"You are? Aw, I'll miss you so much." And she would. While he may have been a little spacey, it was never a dull moment when Biskit was around. Some of the things he came up with were just plain hilarious.
Biskit patted her arm. "I'll miss you too, dawg. I've got some good buds in this town and you're one of the best. But don't worry about me; I'll be fine. I'm going out to find a grand adventure, me and the one I love most." At that thought, he started looking all dreamy-eyed.
The one he loved most… so someone else was moving away too? Wanting to know who, Miss asked, "Adventure with your love? Who's that?"
Turning dramatic, Biskit flipped his left ear back. "Ah yes, me and her… last night, I caught the most amazing evening cicada you've ever seen! I named her Sweetie and I'm taking her out to see the world. It'll be great, dawg."
An evening cicada. Resisting the urge to do a facepalm at that, Missy smiled weakly. "That sounds interesting."
"Yeah! I've already got things planned out too. Hey, wanna come meet Sweetie before we take off to see the world? I'm sure you two will be great friends too. We'll all write to each other all the time and be pen pals."
Missy had moved to Atown to find a peaceful place, and to get away from her weird and frantic hometown. However, there were times when the animal denizens of Atown were weirder than anything her old town could come up with. Not wanting to upset her friend, Missy nodded. "Sure thing. I can help you pack if you need it."
My first foray into Animal Crossing fanfiction...
About this story: I'm a fan of the classic furniture series. However, I've had the bad luck of getting the inventory group that has almost none of the classic furniture as regular items. So I've been trying to con Baabara into tossing her two Classic Couches and one Classic Table (sidetable?) into the recycling bin. More bad luck there, as she tossed two of those out right before the pick up deadline.
Well nearly every animal in my town is obsessed with collecting furniture: black, white, brown, red, blue, lovely, I've had all those requested in the past two weeks. That includes Baabara, so I've been chatting with all the collectors to end up with brown pieces for her. Or more Classics for me. What happens here is based on the string of gossip and trades I got from them earlier today. Somehow every girl wound up rumored to be in love with Biskit.