I know, another story! Another that I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with. this is going to be a lot of fun, I can tell. At any rate, this is something I think I just needed to write. Let me know if there's anything at all you disagree with, my writing and my accuracy in portrayals can always improve, I'm sure.
"So what brings you to Waffle Island?" Pascal asked as he swiped a wrist across his forehead under his captain's hat and smiled as he turned to the young man.
"Peace and quiet," he responded with a hint of a smile. The young girl who had come with him wasn't paying any attention, staring out at the sea.
"Well you can get plenty of that on the Island," Pascal said with a smile. "Remind me, what were your names again?"
"I'm Garry, and the little one is Ib," he said, gesturing towards the girl. Ib turned a bit at the sound of her name, but Garry merely ruffled her hair and she returned her attention to the sea.
"I see. Well, you'll be pleased to know we don't have many issues on the island. We used to have trouble with the harvest, but we've recently been blessed by the Goddess Tree again, and everything is very tranquil now. There are also several children around for Ib to play with."
"I'm glad to hear it," Garry said politely.
"Oh, if you don't mind me asking, what are your favorite foods? I ask all the newcomers," he said with a grin when Garry raised his eyebrow.
"Ah well, Ib and I are both fond of sweets, right Ib?"
"Macaroons," she said, finally turning around to look at Pascal. Garry chuckled at her answer.
"Yes, especially macaroons."
"Well there are plenty of sweets made by some of our favorite cooks. Chase and Yolanda make some of the best dishes you'll ever taste. Just don't eat anything Maya's cooked. Bless the girl's heart, but she burns everything she touches." Pascal chuckled, and Garry gave a small smile while Ib looked on somewhat blankly. The two were a strange pair, Pascal thought, the small serious girl with red eyes and straight brown hair in a pretty blue dress starkly contrasted by the tall man with purple hair with some darker purple streaks towards the top in the shaggy coat and run down trousers. His hair reminded Pascal of Julius, though the clothes weren't as fashionable as Julius preferred, and the man, strangely enough, spoke more femininely.
"Is that the island?" Garry asked distracting Pascal from his thoughts. Garry could see an unusual amount of rainbows around the land that had come into the coast line.
"It is indeed," Pascal said after he turned to see what Garry was talking about. "I'll just steer us in and we'll be there in a couple of minutes." Silence reigned until they gently collided with the dock, Pascal jumping out to secure the boat before gesturing his two guests off. "Welcome to Waffle Island," he said, helping Ib get off and Garry to follow.
Ib didn't say anything, only grabbed at the side of Garry's jacket and looked around. There was a man on the beach who looked sort of intimidating, and she thought further back she saw a woman with purple hair a few shades different from Garry's walk into a store. There was a white cat in front of the fishing store that wasn't too far off the dock. She started a bit when Garry called her name. He smiled when she turned to him.
"We have to register with the town hall, so I'm going to take you with okay?" she nodded even as she saw Pascal draw out their luggage behind Garry. She frowned and pointed. Garry looked back and seeming to understand her meaning, explained. "Ah, that's part of his job, to make sure nothing is lost. We'll take those to the inn when we're done."
"I'll have them taken to the inn, don't you worry your mind about it." Pascal smiled. "Go on and head to the town hall. It's the building at the top of the stairs that way," he pointed towards the other stores. "Can't miss it." Garry nodded and gave his thanks. The two headed towards the town hall, ignoring all the strange looks they gathered, despite the few that were around. They entered the large building and were immediately greeted by a young brown-haired woman behind a cash register.
"Oh, you must be the new comers! I'll go get the mayor." The woman dashed off for no more than a few seconds and returned with a pudgy man with strange, pointed hair. Briefly Garry wondered how much hair gel the man needed to keep his hair like that. He could feel Ib move a little closer to him and he placed a hand on her small shoulder.
"Hello, you must be Ib and Garry. I'm so pleased to see you both. May I ask how long you plan to stay on the island?" The man asked.
"We don't know. Indefinitely at this point," Garry shrugged his shoulders and gave a smile to the man in front of him even as he squeezed Ib's shoulder.
"Well we'll get you settled at the Sundae Inn! Selena is the only other guest there right now. We don't get a whole lot of them at once." He said with a sad smile.
"That's fine," Garry said with a shrug. That's why we came here, he thought but didn't say.
"There are all sorts of things that you can do on the island. You can fish, mine, farm, ranch... well you'd have to stay to farm and ranch permanently, but if you're interested the families around here would be happy to have some extra help." He said as they followed him back out of the Town Hall. Both Ib and Garry briefly wondered what the point of going there had been, but Garry forced himself to listen to the man and Ib found her attention wavering between him and her surroundings.
It was very peaceful in this town, compared to the city they had come from. It was quiet, and the breeze was strong but pleasant. It smelled of flowers but did not remind them of roses. The people looked on with curiosity, but there were so few that it almost didn't matter. Almost. It reminded Ib of some of the paintings which watched but didn't attack, out of reach but still a threat. Or worse- the windows. Someone was on the other side of the window. There were people behind the windows, looking at her with wide eyes-
"Ib?" Garry was suddenly kneeling next to her and she realized that she was shaking and her breath was coming in fierce little pants. "Hey Ib, it's alright, breath with me," and he was breathing with her, and she put a hand on his heart, which was beating far more calmly than hers. It took her a few moments to calm down even a little bit and she threw herself into Garry's arms. It only took a little bit longer now that she couldn't see the people behind the windows for her body to calm down completely. She didn't leave Garry's arms. Garry turned towards the man. "Mayor Hamilton, as grateful as I am for the tour, I believe that Ib and I should get settled in our room at the Inn."
"Of course, of course," the Mayor said, trying to restrain both his sympathy and curiosity. "Right this way." He led the two to the Sundae inn and held the door for Garry, who was still holding Ib to his chest. There was a man behind the counter with grey hair talking to a woman with short orange hair standing in front of the counter. A pink haired woman spoke to a boy with blondish red hair over at a sink, and a girl with blonde pigtails on either side of her head was scrubbing a table. All looked up with some surprise at the sound of the door opening.
"Do you think you can walk on your own?" Garry whispered to Ib, who nodded against his chest, though she was reluctant. He placed her gently on the ground, though he didn't attempt to let go of the hand that held his own in a death grip.
"Welcome to the Sundae Inn." The woman with short orange hair stepped forward as she spoke, smiling came forward, "I'm Colleen, and my husband Jake and I run this Inn." She gestured to the man behind the counter who smiled and gave a small wave of greeting.
"Your luggage arrived not too long ago," the man gestured to where there bags were, by the stairs. "Do you know how long you'll be staying?" Garry shook his head.
"As long as we need to," he said. "Is there a room with two beds available?"
"Indeed there is," Jake said as he worked at the register. "Since you don't know how long you'll be staying we'll have you pay by the week. I'll just require a down payment for this week." Garry and Jake sorted out price and then Ib and Garry were led upstairs by Colleen, who told them meals would be included with the price of their stay. They settled themselves into their room in silence, with only the occasional sound of movement. When they were done, Ib curled up on her bed, and Garry sat by her, stroking her hair. She curled towards him, and they sat that way for a little while, enjoying the silence and the bits of peace it brought.
"We'll find a way to make it work out, Ib." Garry said quietly. "We'll find a way to get better here." Ib said nothing, closed her eyes and moved closer to Garry.