I adjusted the painting on the wall, attempting to make it straight. "Alright, I think that's it, finally." A small amount of the wall curled around the edges, making a frame, as I stepped away to check. It was still crooked. "Shit! That's the tenth time I've tried to get that to hang straight!" As I started storming towards the wall, the frame adjusted itself so that the painting was parallel to the floor. I stopped in my tracks, staring back towards the trunk of the tree. "Seriously? You could do that this whole time?" I sighed and rolled my eyes as I went to get the next of my decorations off of the table they were resting on.
As I surveyed where I was going to put it I thought back to what I'd learned about my house in the first week of my being here. It turned out, Seraphina had 'woken up' the tree, so that it was partially sentient. When I asked her about it she told me that it was like Big Root in a sense. It would respond to what was needed, but couldn't communicate or anything. That was how the chairs could move around, but couldn't detach. It would also make little frames for my artwork and pictures too, which was a nice surprise. Seraphina said she'd woken it up so that she wouldn't have to come back every time something needed adjusting, which was good foresight on her part, as decorating a newly built house - or newly grown - was frustrating to the max. Especially hanging pictures. That fucking sucked.
One thing I truly loved about my home, it was warm. Especially now, in the height of summer. Being up this high, above the treetops, gave me the perfect breeze, which the windows would widen to let through. Oh, it was amazing. I had built in air-conditioning (not that I'd ever complain about it being too hot ever again. Living in Antarctica for the past seven years had given me an appreciation for warmth that I'd never quite had before. I was far enough north of the equator that I'd still get seasons, but close enough to it that I could really enjoy summer, which always had been my favorite season. Not that I'd ever let that slip to Jack.
Speaking of, I hadn't heard from him since I'd left. It had only been a week, but man, was he holding a grudge or something? I hadn't even considered apologizing. I hadn't done anything that I should apologize for. No, it was a waiting game on my end of this. I may not be the most patient person in the world, but I just might be the most stubborn.
After hanging all of my pieces more or less evenly throughout my home - both the main part and the side bits - I sat back in one of the built in chairs, looking around at my masterpiece. Sure, I'd collaborated on it, but hey. A strong gust of wind blasted through the trees and mine swayed a little. The first time that had happened, I'd freaked out a little. Now I was more or less used to it. It hadn't been as weird this time as I'd been sitting. I looked around at the gigantic empty spaces. I needed furniture. But where the hell was I gonna get any?
Hmm... I wonder where Annie got all of hers? That's it!
Legends it was! I ran up the stairs to my room, putting on an outfit that was a little flashier. I liked to dress the part when I went to Legends. It was the only club I'd ever been able to go to, legally, and I was ready for a good time each time I showed up. I threw on a pair of heels before grabbing my bag and going up to my roof porch, which was the ideal takeoff spot. I calmly walked to the break in the railing, of which there were four, each pointing to either the north, east, south or west. I had my own compass built into my house. I'd managed to get the tree to respond to me 'need' for another type of exit. There were breaks like this on the first floor porch too.
I looked down over the edge. The ground, though in sight - barely - was still hundreds of feet away. I never had been scared of heights. I looked forward and took a step, beginning to plummet as I called my wings. Just before I'd have hit the treetops below me, I caught myself and started off towards New York City.
When I dropped to the sidewalk outside of Legends, the club was open for business and roaring, almost literally. I wondered how none of the building neighbors had any clue about the place. I shook my head as I walked up to the door, smiling at Goliath who was the bouncer tonight. He stepped aside to let me in and I was met with a wall of noise, having passed the last of the wards. I blinked in surprise a few times before making my way over to the bar, which was completely full. I spotted Shady mixing a few drinks at the other end and waved her over. After she finished the drinks she made her way to me. "What can I get fer ya, Story?"
"Is it this busy for a reason?" I had to yell to be heard, and that was saying something.
"Summer Solstice! A lot of immortals like to get drunk tonight." I looked down the bar to notice quite a few who had piles of glasses in front of them.
I nodded. "Okay then. I'll have my usual, Shady."
She smirked at me and left to get my drink. "Diet Dr. Pepper it is, then." I took the moment to look around the club at where immortals - those that could manage to get drunk easier - were rowdy and what you'd except from a place that served alcohol. The rest were egging them on and taking advantage of what their friends would no doubt have no recollection of the next morning.
When Shady came back with my pop I stopped her before she could run off to the next customer. "Do you know where Annie is?"
She stood up on her toes to see over the crowd. Now, she was taller than me by a few inches, but there were a lot of immortals who were obscenely tall. "I think she's over by the stage, but good luck gettin' over there." She gave me a sympathetic look before running to the other side of the bar to get a rokurokubi a drink before she decided to sneak some on her own.
I took a sip from my pop before attempting to weave my way through the crowd. Suddenly, I was beginning to think that the heels had been a bad idea. At least I wasn't gonna be one of the drunks. The biggest problem with the club tonight, was that it was so packed, that there wasn't room on the dance floor anymore. Which meant people were dancing between, and on, the tables, making it that much harder to get through. When I was stranded somewhere near the middle, the house band stopped playing, announcing that they were taking a break to enjoy the night. To which a handful of immortals stormed the jukebox to keep the music going. I the flood of people to my advantage, weaving through the spaces they'd left unoccupied.
Eventually I spotted the telltale flash of yellow and moved towards it. When I got to her, I noticed that Annie was wearing a dress, as opposed to her usual attire. "I see you dressed up for the occasion."
Annie turned around smiling, a drink in her hand. "Story! I'm glad to see you could make it! I wasn't aware that you celebrated the Summer Solstice."
"I don't, or didn't." I glanced around at the immortals who were falling over drunk, or still drinking. "Not sure I'd celebrate the same way as them though, if I did. What's the deal with tonight anyway?"
"Many cultures celebrate the day with festivals or celebrations of sorts. And many of the immortals grew up with these traditions. It's more of a habit to party tonight than anything else."
"Good to know." I sidestepped a group of centaurs who were just drunk enough to not realize where they were going. And who'd just almost squashed me. "Hey! Watch it!"
One of them, supported by another who looked slightly less drunk, grinned sloppily at me. "Sorry." He slurred it and I was sure that if a mortal had had as much alcohol as him, they'd have been in the hospital.
"Yeah, whatever." They moved away and I gave Annie a look. "What is it about drunks that makes them such... drunks?"
"I'd guess it's the alcohol." She took a sip of her own drink. It was an orangey pink and had a lemon wheel as a garnish. "So, what brings you out, if not the celebration?"
"Shady's told you how I asked Mother Nature to help me build my house, right?" She nodded. "Well, it's finished. I'm all moved in and everything. Except I have no furniture. I was wanting to ask where you got all of these?" I gestured around at the club, full to the brim with bodies.
"Well, many of these I've accumulated over the years. I would wait for a building that was about to be demolished and I would salvage them. There are a few of us who's extracurricular activities involve restoration, and they've been more than willing to fix the pieces up for me. Some I've had longer. A few are from the aftermath of the bubonic plague. You know that there were scores of homes abandoned, along with possessions."
"So you treated it like an apocalypse?" Her confused look begged me to elaborate. "In apocalypse movies, people raid empty houses for things they need."
She nodded, a look of understanding crossing her face. "Yes, very much so."
I sighed. "That's sort of the answer I was expecting. I mean, it's not like I can go to Sears to get furniture sets. Hell, I can't even go to Goodwill... wait... The drop-off boxes! I can get some from there! No, there's cameras. Fuck that shit! What's the point of being invisible if you still have to worry about cameras!" I flopped down into the nearest unoccupied chair in defeat.
"I have some extra chairs and such in a storage facility in the Bronx. I could give you some." I gaped up at her. She stood, calmly sipping her drink like she hadn't just offered me freaking furniture.
"Serious?" She nodded, eyebrows raised in amusement. "I've often gotten excess, and so I keep them in the facility in case any of the ones here were to be ruined. Which has happened on occasion, when someone gets a little out of control." She giggled a little, no doubt remembering a few of those times. "I can show you tomorrow when everything winds down. Until then, why don't you stick around and enjoy yourself? I'm sure you can find a few sober people to spend the night with."
"Thanks so much, Annie! I want to hug you right now, so much, but I'm holding back. Just so you know." She chuckled as I maneuvered my way out of the crowd and back to the bar where Shady had saved my seat.
"Did you find 'er?"
"Yep." I took a swig of my drink feeling triumphant.
"I take it by the look on yer face that it went well." She was making drinks as she spoke to me, being adept at multitasking.
"That it did. Annie's gonna hook me up with some furniture for my place in the morning."
"So Mother Nature finished it, did she?" She stacked a few empty glasses on a tray, ready to send back to the kitchen to be washed. "Can't wait to see it."
"If you're free tomorrow, I'd love your help transporting some of the pieces."
"Can't fly, remember? I'm afraid I wouldn't be much help." She gave me a sympathetic look before picking up the tray of glasses. "I'll be right back, I've just got to take these back to Lil." She backed into the kitchen through the doorway, leaving me to fend for myself.
Almost the moment the door swung shut behind her, a tall immortal sat next to me. I wouldn't have bothered to notice except for a few things. One, he was glowing. Like, literally. Two, he was leaning towards me. Oh, here we go. He smiled down at me. Okay, 'smile' probably wasn't the best term to describe the look he gave me. It was more like he was giving a professional Flynn-Ryder-Smolder. It wasn't working on me, at all. "Hi."
I raised one eyebrow skeptically. "Hello."
His smolder smile turned into a grin. "I couldn't help but notice that you came here stag tonight."
"I did." Go away...
"So what's a pretty girl like yourself doing alone on the Summer Solstice?"
Good lord, take a hint!
"Basking in the beauty that is being single." I took a sip of my drink, hoping my vibes of 'leave now' would eventually hit him.
"Aw, come on. It's the Solstice." He leaned in closer, which only served to anger me.
"Take a hint, Sunny. She's not interested in ya." Shady had appeared out of nowhere. Well, the door was swinging behind her, but whatever, the girl had timing.
The glowing immortal turned his attention - and his smile - to her. "You're no fun, Shady."
She gave him a chastising look. "How many times have we told you? Yer not supposed to drink on nights yer performin'." She snatched the drink from his hand, bringing it up to her face to sniff. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Especially not fairy drinks, you idiot."
He shrugged, hands up in surrender. However, if his expression said anything, it was that he wasn't sorry. "When a pretty girl gets you a drink, you accept it." He winked. "It might lead to an interesting night."
Shady rolled her eyes, sighing in defeat. "Just get yer ass back up on stage." He mockingly saluted her before starting through the crowd. "Yes, sir!" After a few moments, the only indication of where he was, was the glow still coming off of him. I stared after him, silently thinking that Shady was a godsend.
"So... that happened."
"Sorry about him, Story. Sunny's a bit of a player. He's also an idiot who can't take no fer an answer."
"He's the lead for the house band, right?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I think the fame's gone to 'is head, personally." A customer waved at her, needing a refill. "I'll be back in a bit." I turned around in my seat, leaning against the bar-top.
So, watching immortals get drunk was a lot like watching mortals get drunk. With us, though, powers went wild, we were less afraid to duke it out - I mean we knew the other person was gonna be okay later - and there was more... we'll call it 'physical' variety in the crowd. Sunny had made it back to the stage and had almost fallen off of it as he attempted to get on. One thing was universal for drunks, it seemed. None were graceful. The drunken immortal stood up at the microphone, grinning out at the crowd. "This next set's dedicated to the lovely lady who got me my last drink!" Above the general noise the crowd made, a girl's squeal of delight could be heard.
Why do I feel like he does this all the time? I shook my head, resigned to having to deal with drunks all night. When they started up the next set I was forced to admit, drunk as he was, Sunny was a great singer. Enough to possibly merit some of his ego. Some being the key word. I took a better look at the other members of the band, trying to see who else was drunk. The drummer was a girl with long light brown hair. I mean, it could rival Rapunzel, it was that long. I think it just barely hovered above the floor when she stood up, but sitting as she was, it was fanned out behind her. There were brightly colored strings woven through her hair as well as flowers everywhere. If I was right from the other times I'd paid attention to the band, the flowers weren't just for the night. The lead guitarist was a guy who looked to be in his early thirties. He had dark brown hair and a five o'clock shadow that looked purposeful - complete with a goatee. From the way he acted, I was fairly sure that he was as much of a ladies man as Sunny. Then there was the bass guitarist. He - or she, I really couldn't tell - was almost six feet tall and stark white. As in, albino. Part of me wondered why I'd never noticed the band as much before, but I didn't give it much thought.
When they finished the set and took a break again almost an hour later, the mad dash for the jukebox happened all over again. It was at this time that Shady finally managed to get a moment to herself. She'd caught Artie's attention - one of the other bartenders - and told him she was taking her break. Oh yeah, 'Artie' was King Arthur... I had to physically restrain my fangirl when I found out that tidbit.
Shady plopped down next to me, a glass in hand. She leaned back against the bar. She let out a half sigh, half groan. "It feels good ta sit." I giggled a little. Not because I thought she was being unreasonable or funny or anything. No, I knew exactly how she felt. When the current jukebox song ended there was a moment of silence before the sound of violins filled the air. For a second Shady straightened up, her eyes lighting up in excitement. The next she slumped in her chair, scowling. "Damn that bloody cur!" She angrily took a swig of her drink. At my questioning look, she elaborated her outburst. "I hate this song."
"What!" Outrage! Blasphemy! "How can you hate 'Come on, Eileen'? It's a classic!"
"I hate it by association." Before she could say any more, an immortal that stood around 5'10" appeared out of the crowd. She zeroed in on him almost the moment he did. "Why, Owen? Why do you always have to play that song?"
"Because it pisses you off." He smirked at her, coming to stand on her other side. "And because 'Come on, Eileen' is a classic." He leaned against the bar, completely at ease.
"It's not that classic. It's not even forty years old." Through their banter, I could tell this was a common argument between them.
"It was classic when it came out." I couldn't keep my input from making an appearance. I'm nosy, sue me.
Owen pointed at me. "I don't know who you are, but yes!" He turned his attention to Shady again. "Anyway, I decided to be nice. Next song up is Celtic Woman."
"You're redeemed!" Shady held up her glass like a salute. While Owen turned around to get a drink from Artie, I took a closer look at him. Aside from being tall - I'm short, everyone's tall to me - he was also buff... and cute. I mean, his nose was big, but I didn't have room to talk. I've got a beak too. But yeah, Owen was cute. Not to mention the fact that he was still sober was an attractive quality all on it's own.
I noticed a glow from behind me and turned to find Sunny smoldering at me again. I mentally rolled my eyes. Here we go again. "I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot earlier. And I don't mean to bother you now. I was all set to leave you alone for the rest of the night until I realized that I don't know your name."
"Story Tale." I didn't know why I was indulging him, but I was. I'm not good at letting people down easy. I'm either a bitch, or distant.
"Well, Story Tale, I'd like to make it up to you by getting you a drink." He turned to wave Artie over.
"I'm good." I waved my diet Dr. Pepper a little to emphasize it.
"Well, I can always get you a refill." When Artie came over, Sunny ordered something I couldn't pronounce.
"Really, I'm good. And I don't drink."
"Come on. It's the Solstice, live a little!" Shady wasn't kidding when she said he couldn't take no for an answer.
Just as I was about to let my bitch flag fly, Owen materialized between Sunny and I. Now I say materialized, not because he teleported or anything, but because I hadn't noticed him come over. "Sunny, she said no." There was something in his stance and tone that said 'don't mess with me'. For once, I kept quiet. I was curious about how this was gonna pan out.
Sunny, turned to Owen, testosterone rolling off him in waves. "I didn't hear her say she needed you to intervene."
"She didn't have to. Your actions said it for her." Sunny was about to interrupt when Owen said something that I almost burst out laughing at. "Go home, Sunny, you're drunk." That comment, as hilariously perfect as it was, probably wasn't the best thing for Owen to say.
Sunny stood up, his flippant demeanor dropping to reveal that angry drunk that no one wants to deal with. Though he was a little shorter than Owen - less than an inch - he was still an intimidating presence... and a dangerous one. No one wants to fight a drunk. A storm's a-comin'.
Before they could so much as sneer at each other, Annie was there, one hand on each of their chests. She stared Sunny down, easily the most intimidating body in the vicinity. "Out. Now."
"What! I didn't do anything!" Sunny pushed against Annie's hand.
"You know my rule. If you can't control yourself, then get out." The area around us had quieted down. Though the other side of the room was still as loud as ever, most eyes were on our spectacle.
Sunny was about to say something when the drummer from the band came up and set her hand on his arm. "Come on, Sunny. Let's just leave." She tugged on his arm, pulling him away from the confrontation. Though he obviously wanted to stay and assert his manliness, he let the girl tow him away through the crowd. After a minute or two, the spectators went back to whatever it was they'd been doing before shit got real. Annie slipped away without another word about the incident and Shady, Owen and I were left to ourselves. Artie shot us a sympathetic smile before going back to doling out drinks.
When I finally got my mind wrapped around the fact that the almost fight had been about me - me the annoying fangirl - I realized what had transpired. I looked up at Owen from where I still sat on my barstool. "You didn't have to do that."
He shrugged, looking down at me. His expression was still a bit confrontational, but a far more mild version of what it had been a few minutes prior. "Don't mention it."
"No, I mean, thanks, but I can fight my own battles. If you'd have waited a minute, I'd have told him off."
He stared at me a minute, like he was trying to decide how to respond. In the end, he turned to Shady. "I'm gonna leave before Annie decides that I need to be kicked out too." Before either of us could say anything about it, he was gone.
Shady and I sat in silence for a minute or two before she abruptly stood up. "Break's over. I'll see ya, Story."
"Yeah, see you..." She went back behind the bar and through the doors to the kitchen.
The rest of the night was wholly uneventful, compared to what happened in my first few hours there. By the time morning rolled around, I'd had enough of drunken immortals to last me a few years. I wasn't coming back on any big holidays any time soon, that was for sure. After the building had cleared out Annie finally came and found me again. To be honest, I'd been wondering if she was still willing to give me the furniture after I'd almost started a fight in her club. She was still wearing the dress from earlier and she still looked immaculate, despite dealing with drunks all night. "I expected you'd be here waiting. Let me go and get changed into my normal clothes and we can go to the storage locker." She disappeared through the doors behind the bar and I assumed that through the kitchen was the way to her home... or at least where she stored her extra clothes. A few minutes later she emerged in her usual yellow top and capris. "Shall we?"
I hopped off of my barstool and followed her out the front doors and into the blinding sunshine of the day. Since Annie couldn't fly, we had to walk to the Bronx... or take the subway, as it were. Normally, I'd have tried to shy away from it, all the non-believers, you know? But, Annie said she used it all the time, and that she sat up on the luggage racks - or just paid attention to her surroundings. I took her word for it and the next thing I knew, we were under ground and in one of the cars. She didn't talk a lot on the trip over and I didn't instigate a lot of conversation on my end either. I was too busy being intrigued by all of the... colorful... people that I assumed were regulars. And I couldn't help but laugh at the 'statue of liberty' standing near the other end of the car. It seemed that some clichés were cliché for a reason.
When we finally reached the Bronx, I followed Annie up the stairs into the daylight. She lead me a few blocks away to a storage complex. I waited outside as she went into the office and got the key. While she was in there I heard one of the attendants freak out from the moving key. Another one explained to him. "That's the haunted locker."
"How come it's not rented out?"
"It is, has been since the place opened up. Payments are always on time, too. The key always stays here, but every once in a while it'll float away like it just did. That's the ghost going inside."
"But... why would the ghost need a key?"
"I don't know! Do I look like the ghost whisperer to you!" Annie walked out of the office smiling and holding the key.
I fell in step next to her and she lead me towards the oldest part of the complex. I looked over at her smug look, still able to hear the argument between the employees. "I take it you do this often?"
"Pretend to be a ghost? Yeah. I have to admit that it's fun, even if they are too stubborn to realize that ghosts don't exist." She shrugged lightly. "It's not like I am getting any believers from it or anything. Back when I first started it, I did get a few, but that was more their own superstitious nature. I attempted to be sneaky in the old days, but now I'm a bit more blatant with the whole thing." She looked over her shoulder at me. "Tradition, you know?"
We got to a row of containers that were probably older than half of the city. She stopped in front of one in particular. A very large one at that. She walked up to the door, sliding the key into the padlock. After springing it open, she slid the door up and my jaw dropped. Okay, so, the locker was about fifteen feet tall, about ten feet wide and who knows how deep... It was full to the brim with furniture. I stared at her incredulously. "'Some chairs and such'? This is way more than 'some'."
While I was busy being in awe of the sheer amount of things she had, Annie had moved to near the center of the wall of chairs. She tugged on one armchair in particular, popping it out of place. After setting it aside she beckoned to me. "Come on. The center's hollow." I walked over to where she'd disappeared, peering in. There was a short tunnel she was quickly shimmying through. I stepped in, finding that it was easily maneuvered. I tell you, blanket forts are wonderful training. When I was all the way in, she called over her shoulder at me. "Wedge that chair in place, would you?"
"'Kay." I twisted around, grabbing the chair from where it sat on the ground. I happened to glance back the way we'd come from and noticed a young looking man in a uniform I assumed was for the employees of the complex. He was staring openmouthed and I had no doubt he'd just seen the door open by itself, and the chair move of it's own accord. Well, if he's seen all that, then it wont matter if he sees this. I picked up the chair and wedged it in as best I could, though Annie could probably do a better job. That done, I turned back around and moved down the four more feet of tunnel until I was standing in the middle of what looked like a room made of furniture. She hadn't been kidding when she'd said the center was hollow.
She stood near the epicenter of the room, waiting for me. When I got over to her she swept her arm in a grand gesture. "What do you need?" I was still staring, jaw wide.
A few thoughts came through the fog that was my mind, pushing their way to the front. "Uh... Mattress, chairs, a dresser or armoire, and maybe a few outdoor pieces." I listed off my personal checklist out loud, hoping I wasn't asking for too much.
"Hmm... Well, chairs I can do, as well as outdoor furniture." She paused searching the room. "I think I've got a mattress or two in here... somewhere..." She trailed off as she walked towards the back right corner, eyes roving the wall of furniture. When her eyes finally rested, it was near the ceiling. "Aha! I knew I did!" I followed her eyes up to the top corner where the edge of said mattress was sticking out a little over everything else. She lightly hopped up the wall of chairs, standing on the legs that were sticking out as she did. When she got high enough up, she started tugging on the target. "Stand by to catch it!"
"You sure everything won't come tumbling down like humpty dumpty?" I held my arms up, in the spotter's position, more ready to catch the immortal than the mattress.
Said immortal rolled her eyes at me. "I hate that story."
"Humpty Dumpty? Seriously? It's Mother Goose!" I paused as the realization hit me. "Holy crap! Katherine!"
Annie had managed to get about two feet free at that point. "I take it - " She grunted in effort as she tugged on the mattress again, freeing another half a foot. "You've read those books."
"Mother Goose nursery rhymes or The Guardians?"
"The Guardians." Another tug, another grunt. Part of me felt bad about not helping her pull it out. I mean, it was for me after all. But she'd told me to be here, and old habits die hard. I was taught in rock climbing to always spot someone who had no harness on. It didn't matter if they were immortal or not. "Oh yeah. Every single one. So why is it you hate humpty dumpty?"
"Because - " One final tug and the mattress was free and falling towards me. As one end hit the ground I caught the other end to keep it from the same fate. As I leaned it against the other furniture, Annie hopped down and finished her sentence. "It wasn't a true recitation of how the events transpired. As the only record - until recent years that is - of the event, it should have been written accurately."
"She was twelve!"
"And Dollie was nine when she died. Our world isn't a happy place full of rainbows and unicorns."
"How can you be such a skeptic when you're immortal."
"I'm not a skeptic, I'm a realist." She turned to me, business again. "So where exactly is your place at?"
"Why?"
"I'm going to open a portal so you don't have to fly everything there."
"Oh... Thank you. Sequoia National park in California. I don't know the coordinates, sorry."
"That's enough for me. At least I can get them closer to you, then. Stand back." I did as she said and ended up leaning against the mattress. She held her left hand out in front of her, palm up. From what I could see - standing behind her as I was - she was staring at her palm. I noticed a greenish glow and saw a small orb the same color growing in the palm of her hand. I didn't want to say anything - well, that's not entirely true. There's lots I wanted to say, such as 'what's your real name', 'how are you making that portal' and 'what else can you do'. However, I knew she was probably concentrating, and I didn't want to throw her off. So I kept quiet. She nudged the orb of light off her hand and it lightly bounced down like a balloon. When it stopped a few inches above the ground it started growing until it was about six and a half feet around. She glanced back at me where I was wide eyed. "Slide the mattress through. It should be about in the middle of the forest, so wherever they need to go from there is up to you."
I turned the mattress on it's side, short end towards the portal. As I pushed the end in, I felt no pulling sensation at all. It just felt like I was pushing it across the floor. Until there was only a foot sticking out, that is. Then I felt gravity take a hold of it and it went tumbling through. I winced. "So... haw far is the drop?"
"It should only be around three feet. Enough room that they wont pile up in the way, but not far enough that they end up breaking."
I nodded in acceptance. "Right on." I glanced around at the remaining chairs and such, wondering what to take next. "Any suggestions for comfy chairs?"
Annie and I shoved the last of my goodies through the portal. It had taken us somewhere between two and three hours, but I was confident that I had enough to completely furnish not only the main part of my house, but the guest parts too. I turned to her, out of breath and sure that, had I still been mortal, I'd have been a few pounds lighter from all the effort we'd just gone through. And I was far from done. I smiled at her. "Thanks for helping me move."
"Hey, it's a hard knock life unless you've got friends willing to help you out."
I smiled like a fangirl at her use of the phrase 'hard knock life' because... well, because her name's Annie. Get it? No? Okay, just me then. "Good one. Alright, I guess I'll be going then." I stepped towards the glowing portal, ready to be transported back to my back yard. Essentially.
Before I could step through, Annie stopped me. "There's a good chance you won't be right side up when you come out on the other side. Fair warning."
"I'll keep that in mind." I stopped before stepping through, turning back to her again. "See you the next time I'm in New York."
"See you then." I stepped through, leaving the warehouse like room behind me and emerging into the redwood forest I'd become so fond of. Well, Annie had been right. When I came out of the portal I was at about a 60 degree angle to the ground. And of course, I landed on my newly acquired furniture. I groaned, picking myself up off of the upside down chair I'd nearly impaled myself on. When I'd flopped over onto the ground I looked around a little more. I couldn't figure out where exactly I was, so I called my wings and flew above the tree-line. After looking for a moment, I spotted my home, sticking out like a sore thumb. I took off the jacket I'd been wearing and tied it to the nearest visible branch. I'd use it as a marker to lead me back to the pile.
I then started the arduous task of transporting each and every piece of furniture back to my house. At least I had enough foresight to land it on the corresponding floor. After almost an hour of traversing the same space so many times I lost count, I sat on one of my new chairs that was currently placed outside on my porch. To quote Shady, it felt good to sit. After a while, I got off my butt and began arranging everything how I wanted.
By the next day, my home really was a home. Looking around at my things, my things, I felt... completely independent. For the first time in forever. Like I'd told Seraphina when I'd pitched the idea for my house, I'd been mooching off people my whole life. But now I had a house, a fully furnished house. I had decorated it all by myself, and it was mine... At that point, I didn't give a rat's ass that I was all alone, I was just happy to be able to call the place mine, and really mean it.