When Vicky returned to town, she found herself in a sort of melancholy mood. Seeing the state of the Community Center and hearing about how it had arrived there had taken a bit of the cheer out of her day, and it was still relatively early in the afternoon. She decided that a walk on the beach might go a ways toward clearing her head, or at least getting her out of this gloom she found herself in. She set off across the square toward the bridge across the river, where she could see a few palm trees through the more 'normal' trees closer to the town.
She passed over the river, the water clear and bubbling quietly, giving a wave to Sam where he stood on the bank smoking. He had some kind of game system in his other hand. At least he's outside, playing. Better than when I had one of those things. Practically had to bribe me to get out of bed.
Vicky smirked to herself as she continued on, and after just a couple of minutes the pathway gave way to soft-packed dirt and finally sand as she approached the beach itself. She broke through the tree cover to find herself on sun-drenched sands, driftwood here and there, but the entire place had a bit of a peaceful air about it. She could see a dock off to the south, a few of them actually, with a shack up on stilts along one with a few lamp-posts and a bench or two. Probably a good place to go fishing if she was ever in the mood.
There was another shack closer up to the forest along the sand, decorated in a somewhat nautical manner; there was even an old life-preserver tacked to the wall. Curious, she walked up to have a look at the building, idly wondering just who might live in such a place. It was rather small, but the wood making it up didn't look overly weathered. Interestingly, she could actually hear piano from inside. A glance through the window in the door didn't immediately reveal anyone so she shrugged, and headed off toward the shack on the docks.
When she arrived it turned out that the shack was actually a shop, and judging by the fishing pole on the wall and the 'Live Bait' and 'Quality Tackle' signs she could see around the door, it was a fishing shop. She pursed her lips a bit as she looked over the front of it, then gave a little knock on the door.
"She's open!", came the reply from inside, and Vicky pushed the door open.
Inside she found Willy, and she gave him a smile as she entered. "Hello! I'm new here, moved in just Monday."
"Ah, that ye are. M'name's Willy, good t'meetcha." He stepped out from behind the counter to offer her a shake of the hand. Apparently he doesn't remember the other day...
"A pleasure. Name's Vicky. Is this a fishing shop?" She knew the answer, but it was polite to give people a chance to introduce themselves and talk about their interests when you met them.
"That it is, Miss. Best one in town, on account of it bein' the only one in town." He gestured over himself as he walked back behind the counter, pointing at the buoys and nets hanging overhead.
Vicky couldn't help but grin at that, and she nodded. "I see. I don't really know a lot about fishing, I was just coming around to introduce myself to everyone I haven't met yet."
"Ah, it's very relaxin', Miss. Say..." He paused for a moment as he leaned over the counter. "You're new here, and it's polite to give the newcomer a gift. How abouts you come up to the shop early one mornin' when the fish are still bitin', and I'll give you an old pole of mine and show you how to toss a line. Just not on a Saturday, that's my fishin' day."
Vicky nodded and held out a hand with her thumb pointing up. "Sounds good. I'll definitely try to find the time to make it. My dad used to fish a lot but he never really took me along."
"Ah, that's too bad. You have yourself a good day now, Miss." He lifted his beat up old hat to her as she nodded and made her way back out the door.
It was starting to get a little bit later in the afternoon now, and she figured she should probably be making her way toward the Saloon so she could get there early and introduce herself to people before the place got too loud. On her way back up the beach, she happened to notice the door to the little shack she'd seen earlier opening, and out came a person she wouldn't have expected to see here in a place like this.
The man who exited looked like he'd stepped out of the pages of a play, with an old-style vest and scarf around his neck, long straight brown hair, and a pair of slacks. He started to walk off down the beach before he noticed Vicky standing on the path through the sand from the forest to the dock. "Oh! Hello, you must be-"
Vicky nodded as she stepped closer, holding out a hand to him. "Vicky. It's nice to meet you."
"Marvelous. I'm Elliott." He gave her hand a kiss even though she'd just been intending a shake, drawing a little giggle and a blush from her. She couldn't say she'd ever been greeted like that before.
"Well, hello Elliott. What are you doing out on the beach like this? Doesn't it get dangerous in storms?"
He glanced back toward his shack to think about it for a moment, before he turned back to Vicky. "It does get a little windy at times, yes. But I'm far enough up the beach that I've never had any serious problems, and the environment out here, separated from the rest of the town and able to have peace and quiet most of the time... It's very conducive toward my writing."
"Oh! You're a writer? What are you working on at the moment?" Vicky put a hand on her hip as she stood to talk to him. She'd never been much of a writer herself, the longest thing she'd ever put together was a paper for school.
He pursed his lips and avoided her eyes for a moment, looking somewhat nervous, before he turned back to look at her again. "Well, it's sort of a long story. Just this and that at the moment. Trying out different ideas."
"I see. Well, I wish you luck! Will I see you at the Saloon?"
"Actually I was just about to head there myself. Would you like company?" He gestured up the path with a hand.
"That would be great. Maybe you can share any stories you have about the town while we walk?" She offered him a grin.
"Marvelous."
The two of them arrived a few steps behind someone else she hadn't met yet, who turned out to be Marnie. Vicky introduced herself, learning that the woman ran the animal and feed shop in town just outside the southern entrance to her farm. She'd excused herself quickly to go talk to Mayor Lewis, however, and Vicky didn't get to talk very long.
"Vicky! Elliott! Interesting to see you two turn up here together, eh?" Gus, the owner of the Saloon, gave Vicky a wink and a grin.
She laughed, waving a hand toward the man. He'd made a similar joke earlier after she'd walked in, though she'd been alone that time and he suggested he'd have to find the new girl some company. "It's not like that. I was walking back from Willy's shop and Elliott here", she gestured to her new friend, who nodded and greeted Gus, "Was walking out of his home. We thought it'd be a good idea to have company on the walk."
Gus just winked again. "Whatever you say, Vicky."
She smirked at the good-natured teasing and turned to Elliott. "See you in a bit? I want to go see if there's anyone else I haven't met yet."
"Absolutely. Good walking with you, Victoria." He clasped a hand on her arm and gave it a pat before he stepped away.
"Same." She waved as she headed off to see who else might be around.
Near the back of the building as she explored she found a darker room with a TV, a pool table, and a couple of arcade cabinets. She didn't immediately realize she wasn't alone, and only became aware when she heard pool balls being knocked around the table. She turned with a bit of surprise to find a young man leaning over the table, long dark hair and a black jacket, black jeans... A little flare of jealousy immediately sprung to life. That must be Sebastian.
She moved toward the table to introduce herself, but he seemed to ignore her for now, still knocking balls around the table. She leaned over to watch as he demolished the field with a few skilled shots, rather impressive by her account. She hadn't seen someone play pool like that in quite a few years.
He stood after he pocketed the last ball and placed the end of his stick on the ground, pulling a cigarette out of his mouth to place it on the ashtray sunk into the corner of the table. He just looked at her for a moment before he finally spoke, his voice quiet enough that she was having trouble hearing him over the quiet talking from the Saloon proper. "You must be the new girl. Victoria, right?" He gave her a look up and down, then took the little block of chalk off the table and started preparing the end of his cue.
"That's right. You must be Sebastian." She turned to sit on the edge of the table, watching him as he prepared the table for the next round.
"You know my name already?" He glanced over out of the corner of his eye, seemingly sizing her up anew.
"Yeah. Abigail mentioned you, what you look like. Said you were a friend of hers."
He made a noise, almost like a grunt mixed with a sigh, and blew some hair out of his face. He said something she couldn't quite hear as he leaned over the table and broke the rack with the cueball.
"What was that? I didn't catch it, sorry."
"I said she'd want more than that." He didn't look up, already lining up his next shot.
"Really? The way she phrased it made it seem like you two already were." An eyebrow went up, and Vicky leaned over slightly to watch.
"Yeah, it's..." He grunted softly, but Vicky knew what that meant.
"Ah, girl trouble. One of the greatest problems of our age." She breathed out all dramatic-like, placing a hand on the edge of the table. She had to move it a moment later as a red solid shot by, however.
"Sorry." He glanced up after a moment, watching her before he took his next shot. "What do you know about girl trouble?"
"Probably about as much as you do, actually." She placed a hand on her chest, fingers splayed. "I have had my fair share of girl trouble over the years."
He stood up again, leaning on his cue as he sized her up for the third time. "Really?" When she nodded, he chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. "Well, what would you do in a position like that?"
Interesting. Not so much as a comment. I thought people out here might be a little more close-minded but that's two for two with no adverse reactions. But that was Abigail and this guy... Both of them seem a little... outside the norm.
"I think... I'd probably just tell her. Don't be harsh about it. Just give it to her straight. Girls appreciate that sort of thing. Might get upset, but... Nothing you can really do to prevent that."
He didn't say anything for a while, knocking the balls around again, and when he finally spoke nearly half of them had disappeared into their pockets. ".. thanks."
"No problem." She smirked a little, then slipped off the table. "I'll be back, gonna go see if there's anyone else around."
He watched her for a moment, then actually smiled. "Alright. See you in a few then."
He's not actually bad looking when he smiles.
She pointed a finger and nodded, then headed back out into the main room. A few more patrons had arrived, including a few that she'd never seen before. The woman she'd met that morning, Penny, smiled and waved as Vicky returned to the main room, and gestured her over.
"Vicky, hi! I was just telling them about you." Penny wore a yellow shirt, with bright red hair pulled back at the back of her head into a bun. Next to her was a woman with long blonde hair wearing a blue dress, another woman with red hair pulled into a braid wearing a bright green shirt and a dark green vest, and finally a darker-skinned woman with long brown hair and glasses. "This is Haley, Leah, and Maru."
Vicky held out a hand to all three of them in turn with a smile. "Hello, it's nice to meet the three of you."
Haley returned it with a smile. "So you're from the city, huh? Know anything about the fashion that's popular these days?"
"Not really, unfortunately. I know it involves matching boots and skirts though.", Vicky offered with a smile.
"Oh.", she replied, with a look at Vicky's clothes. "I see." She turned away to head toward the bar, drawing a confused look toward the other three from Vicky.
Maru spoke up next, offering an apologetic smile. "Sorry. She's a little..." She made a non-committal hand gesture.
Vicky laughed. "Yeah, I know what you mean. That's alright, can't be friends with everyone."
Leah spoke up next, adjusting the strap to a bag she wore on her shoulder. It looked like it had brushes and a drawing pad in it. "So you're taking over the big farm north of my house?"
She must live in the little shack I saw when I was heading to the Wizard's Tower.
"That's right. Why?"
"Oh, I used to go forage on the land for food. Saves money instead of spending it at JojaMart."
"Oh! Well, why don't you go to Pierre's?"
Leah glanced toward Maru, then the door, as if making sure Pierre wasn't here yet. "Well, he's a little more expensive than JojaMart is...", she'd lowered her voice a little bit, meaning Vicky had to lean in. "He's such a nice man, and I know he's doing the best he can, but I'm just an artist, I can't really afford his prices."
Vicky nodded knowingly, letting out a little sigh. "Yeah, I understand. I was in the same boat myself at one point when I was going through college."
"You went to college?", Maru spoke up. "What for?"
"I was going to be an architect in the city. I had to drop out though, ran into problems with money and stuff like that."
"Oh, that's too bad. We're going to go get a table though, do you want to come?" Leah gestured over her shoulder.
"I'm waiting for someone, actually. But I'll come say hi later." Vicky waved a hand vaguely toward the door.
The three of them nodded with a smile each, then headed off.
Vicky didn't have to wait long for Abigail to turn up with her father, just long enough for her to order two sodas. She offered one to her new friend, still unopened, with a straw. She waved to Pierre as he walked off, but aside from a wave he didn't respond, already set on striking up a conversation with Mayor Lewis and Marnie. "Hey Abigail, was wondering when you'd get here."
"Hey! Thanks." She glanced toward the bottle offered and grinned at Vicky. "What? Just soda?"
Vicky shrugged, taking a sip of hers. "I don't actually drink Alcohol, so yeah."
"Really!?" Abigail let out a laugh as she leaned against the counter next to Vicky as she watched the door, cracking the top off of the soda with one of her nails to stick the straw in, drinking through that instead of from the neck so she wouldn't mess up her lipstick yet. That'd probably change as she switched to beer or whatever else it was that she drank, but Vicky'd had enough girlfriends to know to order it with the straw. "That's odd, is that a city thing?"
"No, I just never really liked drinking. Even in college. I used to get left home sometimes because of it, people thought I was boring, but usually I'd just stay in and play a game anyway so it's not so bad."
"Really? What game?" Abigail turned slightly to listen better as the sound within the Saloon picked up further, the volume steadily rising.
"Some old platformer, at the time. I think it was, uh... Oh hell, what was that thing." She gestured to move, and Abigail pushed away from the counter. Vicky led her toward the other room where Sebastian was playing pool, where it'd be a little bit quieter. "I think it was like, Super Marble Man or something? I don't really remember."
"Oh that's so old. We have Journey of the Prairie King here now." Abigail pointed toward one of the machines in the corner with a finger. Sebastian looked up as the two of them entered, a darker look coming over his face, and he turned back toward the pool table. Sam must've turned up while Vicky was talking to the four girls, because he'd taken up position at the table with his own cue. He shot a wave to Vicky, then turned back to the table, but he didn't seem to be having a good time of it judging by the way that Sebastian was quickly emptying the felt.
"Journey of the Prairie King, huh? I heard that was coming out, I didn't think you guys would really have it yet."
Abigail nodded, then held out her soda toward Vicky. "Hold this for me?" When Vicky answered 'sure', she turned to the machine and pulled a few coins out of a pocket on her skirt. "I still can't get past the first level..."
A few minutes and many dead Prairie Kings later, Abigail let out a loud 'Damnit!' and smacked the machine with a hand. She took her drink back with a grumble and a sulk, shoving the straw between her lips so she wouldn't have to talk.
For her part, Vicky couldn't help but laugh. The more frustrated with the game she got the worse she'd done, until she lost her last three lives within thirty seconds of each other. "Don't worry, Abigail, I probably wouldn't have lasted half that long."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm going to go order something stronger than soda. Do you want anything?"
"No I'm good, I've still got half." She held up her drink, which she'd just been slowly sipping.
"You sure? The three of us tend to get a little drunk Friday nights." She gestured between herself, Sebastian and Sam.
"No, no, I'm sure. Someone's gotta stay sober around here to make sure everyone gets home okay, right?" She grinned at the purple-haired woman.
"Suit yourself!"
Several hours and many tankards and glasses and shots later, the Saloon was slowly winding down. Leaving Abigail, Sam, and Sebastian, all three of them sitting around on the couches nursing beers, alone in the room for a minute, she walked over to go grab some food from Gus. It'd be easier on the three of them if they left with something in their stomachs that wasn't liquid. She met Alex sitting at the counter, nursing a drink, and someone, a guy, standing off in the corner by himself.
"Sup new girl." Alex waved his drink in her direction as she approached.
"I told you it's Vicky." She smirked a little as she stepped up to the counter, waiting for Gus to finish making someone else's order. She waved to Emily, the blue-haired woman she'd met earlier, who'd mentioned she worked here.
"Vicky, new girl, whatever." She could tell he was maybe more than a little bit drunk at this point.
"You still want that drink?"
"Nah, it's fiiiine. I've got mine, probably gonna turn in here soon. Grandma gets upset if I stay out too late."
"Ah. At least she cares, right? Always good to have someone watching out for you."
He grunted, giving her an unexpectedly sour look, and Vicky frowned slightly. She didn't have time to question, however, as Gus appeared at her end of the counter. "Vicky! Finally going to get some alcohol in you?"
"Actually I just wanted to pick up something for those three in here. Chips or something? Give 'em a little substance, you know?"
"Ah, I know just what you need! Coming up in just a couple minutes." He pointed toward her as he backed away to go prepare the food.
Leaving Alex to sulk in his beer after his attitude had unexpectedly changed, she wandered off to go meet the new guy she'd noticed. Alex's behavior didn't particularly bother her, she just chalked it up to general drunkenness.
The guy in the corner wore a light blue jacket with dark blue hair, holding a nearly-empty mug of beer. Certainly not a lightweight if that wasn't the first one of those he'd had...
"Hey. Name's Victoria."
"Don't care."
Vicky blinked a little, shocked at the sudden lack of hospitality. Everyone else here had been so nice...
"Not even a name to remember you by?" She cocked an eyebrow toward him.
"Nope." He took another drink from his mug, and judging by how much of it he killed that definitely wasn't his first one.
"Alright. Nice to meet you I guess."
He just grunted, and Vicky decided to cut her losses. Gus was already heading back with a plate of fries, anyway.
Maybe an hour later, very nearly midnight, Vicky was helping Sam, Sebastian and Abigail out the door of the Saloon. Sam was definitely the worst off of the three, having to be helped by Vicky and Sebastian as he seemed to have forgotten how stairs worked. "Oh gosh, Vicky, tell the one about the guy and hish car again..."
"No, no. You've had enough." She laughed, giving him a little pat on the shoulder. She glanced over to Sebastian and Abigail, and Sebastian seemed to be giving her an odd look. "Hey, uh, I'll make sure Sam gets home okay, alright?"
Sebastian nodded, then spoke something to Abigail and gestured for her to follow him.
"So, Sam. Seems like you had fun, right?"
"Yesh! Tonsh of fun. Sorry that I can't really, uh..." He seemed to lose his train of thought for a moment, though he recovered quickly. "Walk. And all."
"Nah, it's all good. You don't live that far away."
In fact, his house was just a few minutes walk from the Saloon, and Vicky just had to ring the doorbell once to get attention from inside the house.
"Vicky!" Jodi answered the door after a moment, though she quickly took Sam, 'Heeeey mom!', off of her shoulders. "He didn't get in any trouble, did he?"
"No, everything's fine. He just couldn't make it home on his own. Wanted to make sure he was alright."
Jodi gave Vicky a smile, and kissed her fingers to pat gently on Vicky's arm as she wrangled her son inside. "Thank you so much."
"No problem." She waved as the woman took him inside, and she headed back off toward the Saloon.
When she arrived, she found that there didn't seem to be anyone around, and even a search around the sides of the building, where she'd expected to find Abigail and Sebastian smoking, didn't turn up either of them. "Huh. Guess they went to go find a quiet corner. Maybe he didn't..." Vicky shrugged, feeling her spirits sag a little. "Oh well."
She was kicking a rock across the square, very nearly back at her bike to return home, when she heard something odd. Like a... strange wheezing or something like that. Curious as to what the sound was, she headed off toward the underbrush at the western edge of the square, only to find...
"Abigail? Are you okay?"
She was leaning against the tree in the darkness of the night, and between her huddled up where she was, and being covered by her dark hair, Vicky almost couldn't see her. She sniffled quietly, then waved a hand. "I'm okay, Vicky."
Oh, shit.
"Hey. What happened?" Vicky slowly sat down on the other side of the tree, giving Abigail her space.
It took a minute for her friend to respond, and when she did it was quiet. She was glad that the two of them were alone, because it would have been hard to hear otherwise. "Sebastian, he..." She sighed, and Vicky could hear her sniffle again.
"Aw, I'm sorry, Abigail." And she genuinely was, it was never fun to see your friends upset, even if you'd just known them for a week or so. "What'd he say?"
"Nothing mean. Nothing harsh." Another sniffle. "Just that he didn't really think we'd work out. I'm sorry I'm dumping this on you and I haven't known you that long."
"Ah, what are friends for, right? It's no big deal." Vicky leaned over, craning her neck around the tree. "Do you want to talk about it, or should I head out?"
"I think I just want to sit in the quiet for a minute." Vicky nodded and started to push herself up, but Abigail held out a hand. "No, you can stay. I just... don't want to talk for a minute."
"Oh. Right." She let out an awkward little laugh and settled back down, sighing out as she leaned back against the tree.
It was nice and quiet here, and she could understand why Abigail might come to a place like this to think. It was just out of range of the nearest lantern, meaning it wasn't pitch black but it was still dark, and if she hadn't heard the sniffling she never would have known Abigail was here.
She found her thoughts drifting to the state of the town and the way things had been on the decline for them, trying to figure out just what the Wizard could have 'forseen' with her arrival. She didn't feel like anyone special, aside from being able to see a little dragon nobody else could, and she certainly wasn't smarter than most other people. She'd played a little trivia game with Sebastian in the Saloon, and he'd blown her out of the water completely. Thankfully Abigail had volunteered to take her shots for her, since she didn't drink. He'd also blown Sam out of the water, twice, explaining how he'd gotten so completely sloshed.
It took her a minute to realize the sniffling had stopped, and she turned around to make sure Abigail was still there. She was just staring quietly, watching as the moon made it's slow way across the sky out over the ocean. Vicky slowly scooted around the tree to face it with her friend, not wanting to lean in an awkward position for too long. She didn't say anything, just watching the moon traverse across the sky.
The two of them sat in silence for a long few minutes, but Vicky didn't want to break it too early, and it's not like she really had anywhere else to be. Eventually Abigail spoke up, however. "I guess I was expecting it. We hadn't really been 'a thing' for a while. We barely spoke, didn't really hang out. He's always busy with his job. The only time we saw each other was Fridays and festivals."
"How long?" Vicky turned her head to the side slightly. She felt bad thinking it, but Abigail was definitely one of the 'beautiful sad' types, especially in this sort of lighting, from the bright moon in clear air like this.
"Just over two years. The first year was great. Then I started school and he started working, and we just... stopped hanging out."
"I've been there before. Back in high school, admittedly. But sometimes people just grow apart."
Abigail was silent for a few minutes before she let out a quiet 'yeah'.
The two of them sat in silence for a little while longer before Abigail started to push herself to her feet. "I should get going. My dad will want to know where I am."
"Alright. Hey, Abigail?" Vicky waited until her friend finished standing and looked at her. "If you ever need anyone to talk to, even if it's just through text or whatever, you've got my number. I don't mind being a shoulder."
The purple haired woman smiled.
"Yeah. I'll keep that in mind."
Vicky waited a few more minutes for her to head off before she, too, stood and brushed dirt off of the back of her jeans.
By the time she got back to her bicycle Abigail had already disappeared inside, and Vicky was surprised to find Scellia still napping away soundly within the wheelbarrow. Vicky gave it a few little taps, and the dragon woke up with a quiet snort. "Hey, I brought you a snack." She pulled a small napkin bundle out of her pocket as the dragon sat up to rapt attention, even pushing herself up with her hind legs to better sniff at the paper-wrapped package.
As soon as Vicky started to unwrap it, Scellia snagged it away with her claws. "Hey!" She couldn't stay mad for long, however, as Scellia quickly ripped the napkin apart to get at the food inside, drawing a smile from the farmer. She'd saved the dragon a little portion of the turkey sandwich she'd gotten for dinner.
As Vicky climbed onto her bike and pulled away from Pierre's store, she could hear Scellia munching away on the end of the sandwich she'd saved.
Not bad for a Friday night.
