Did he just call Octavius perfect?
Jedediah hoped Octavius hadn't noticed. He seemed largely unfazed as they entered the tunnel, but it didn't comfort Jed much. He had just called Octavius perfect. Without meaning to, out of something akin to instinct, the same instinct that had led him to ruffle Octavius's hair last night, he had called Octavius perfect.
Not that Octavius wasn't perfect, of course. He'd never seen Octavius look so...formal. Without his armor, Jedediah could see how well-formed Octavius was. He subconsciously wondered if his armor's structure was accurate—if Octavius was just as perfectly sculpted as his chestplate.
He was distracted (thankfully, before he could develop a blush) by the ruckus as they entered the Western diorama. Not only were the denizens of the Western diorama self-sufficient, but they knew how to party.
On the other side of the diorama, the new barn was pristine, and lit so that it practically glowed. A crowd milled in and around it, chatting and laughing, and there was the faint twang of guitars and banjos tuning up. The air smelled of bonfire smoke and more delicious foods than Jed could find the name of, though he could see a few spits of chickens over the smaller cookfire. He hoped there would be hoecakes, the thought of which made his stomach give a small grumble.
"So this is a barn-raising?" Octavius asked.
"Yessir, it is. Ain't nothin' like it," Jed answered, feeling a proud warmth blooming in his chest.
A voice from behind them: "Hello, Jedediah!"
Two young women were coming up behind Jed and Octavius, the taller of whom had a hand raised in greeting. "Wait up for us!" the shorter cried.
Jed looked over his shoulder and politely doffed his hat. "Evenin' Miss Marjorie. Miss Charlotte."
The two women caught up to Jed and Octavius, and the four stopped.
"So," said the shorter woman, "Who's your friend, Jed?"
"This," Jed said, throwing an arm around Octavius's shoulder, "Is Octavius. Octavius, this is Charlotte—" gesturing to the shorter girl, "and Marjorie Jones," gesturing to the taller.
"How do you do," Octavius said, politely nodding.
"Mutual, I'm sure," said Charlotte, tucking one of her blonde curls back, her fingers lingering on the lobe of her ear.
Marjorie shot a look at her sister—one of clear annoyance at Charlotte's obvious flirtation. Then, she turned her attention to Octavius.
"My, what a getup you've got on, Octavius. Don't think I've seen you in somethin' like that before."
Octavius shifted from one foot to another. "Well, it is a special occasion, Miss Marjorie."
"It certainly is," Marjorie replied as the four of them continued toward the barn, "D'y'know how long it's been since we've got any new buildings? It's—"
"It's simply been ages!" Charlotte interrupted.
"Char-lotte, what have I told you 'bout interruptin'?"
"I know, I know, but I'm just so excited! Ain't you excited, boys?"
"Sure am, Charlotte, sure am." Jed felt his hackles rising. This was definitely not what he had planned, but Charlotte had always been nosy. It was a miracle Marjorie was there to keep her in line. Still, even her presence was...grating, in a way it usually wasn't.
But finally, they made their way into the crowd, and the girls were distracted by acquaintances and friends. Charlotte managed to ask both Jed and Octavius to save her a dance before Marjorie succeeded in pulling her away.
Both Jed and Octavius released a breath. "They mean well, I guess," Jed explained, placing his hat back on his head, "Nobody quite likes to hang out with 'em, on account of them bein' the preacher's girls."
"I...am not sure what that has to do with anything."
"Well, I'm guessin' when your dad's up there at the pulpit every Sunday tellin' everybody 'bout fire and brimstone and hell an' all that, you're not exactly gonna get a lot of people over for dinner the other nights a' the week."
"I see." (He didn't get it, really, but didn't want to seem too obtuse.)
A loud clanging broke the conversations around them, as an older woman beat a large brass bell.
"COME AN' GIT IT!"
A largely positive noise rose from the crowd, with a few scattered "yee-haw!"s. Everyone began to mob toward the barn.
"What are we getting?" Octavius asked, bemused.
Jed grinned.
"Food!"
