hugtopia_logs | [OPEN] PETALS & PAGES ❦ MINGLE #2

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[OPEN] PETALS & PAGES ❦ MINGLE #2

♥ Who: Vianca, You, and Your Friends
♥ Where: P&P, in the shopping district
♥ When: Lasra/January
♥ What: Its a shop mingle
♥ Rating: PG at most (p...probably)

A whole year had passed. The little book stop in the shopping district wasn't new anymore, but that just made it all the more cozy. There were more flowers peeking through the large windows out into the street, more books on the shelves, and more plush friends waiting for you to join them on all the soft couches.

Whether you were looking for a place to duck in from the snow, or simply a hand-holding partner for some quick dora, the doors were open to you! Come read a book with a cup of tea. Discuss deep lore. Take a nap. It's all good here.

It's an Open Mingle Log!!
❦ Shop Info is here, plus book requests.
❦ Feel free to use this post for your own plans how you please! The only House Rule is that you gotta sit with someone and get some sweet Dora, it doesn't have to be Vianca~ Top level as you see fit ♥
❦ Have! Fun!!

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While it might have seemed that Vianca was a bit scarce lately ~~due to slow and non-existent tags~~, it was mostly because she was very much a creature of habit. It was easy enough to find her when you knew where to look, and if you peeked in the shop... well! You found her! She had been keeping Petals and Pages open a bit more lately, what with all the cold weather and such. Winter required just a bit more time sitting by the windows to soak up as much sun as she could, and she wanted to be sure there were plenty of opportunities for chilled up offworlders to have another option to come warm up in.

So you could find her warm and cozy in the shop, ready to sit with you and hold your hand. Maybe she was reading quietly to an audience of a stuffed cat and pudding... or outside with a comically small shovel, doing her absolute best to keep the snow drifts away from the door. Begone, snow! This was not the place to create a jam!

At any rate, there she was!

[Brackets or prose are all gucci. If you need to float me a question for Vianca or the shop in general, you can hit me up at

bisasam!]

[ As Kaworu had promised during their talk over the network, once he closes the feed, he heads to Vianca's shop. In truth he... has never been in any sort of shop as he never needed them - well, except for clothes, but he didn't bother looking around, either.

In any case, this IS a new experience. Not that he shows that because Kaworu enters the shop looking like he'd always look like - a smile on his face. Also short sleeves. And summer clothing in general. ]

Hello. [ he spots the girl and heads towards her as his smile softens ] Thank you for inviting me. [ he is polite ]

[And there he was. Vianca had already moved to a loveseat with plenty of room for two in preparation of his arrival. She had guessed that he would be the sort to stop by in short order, and surprise. That had been correct. She made a little pat to the seat cushion next to her.]

You are always welcome. [Be it as a customer or otherwise, it was true. But-- ah... That was some rather chilly looking attire.]

... Are you not cold? Is that why you asked about lilins?

[ at the offer, Kaworu comes closer and sits besides Vianca ] I am able to live in any condition without feeling its adverse effects. [ to simply put: ] The cold does not bother me.

I understand most species are the opposite.

[Curious. Vianca simply tilt her head a bit.]

Correct. For many species of plant and animal, that is true.

[Now that he was here, Vianca did not hesitate to take his hand in hers. It was what he had requested, after all. It was chilly to the touch from the winter trek, and she found herself sandwiching it with her other hand out of sheer force of sisterly habit.]

But there are some that prefer it.

[ oh look, touching. That is nice. Kaworu will gladly squeeze Vianca's hand back ]

Do you prefer it? [ she felt cold and had a cozzy shop, so perhaps not ] Was there snow in your world? [ or cold in general. In kaworu's world, it was permanently summer ]

[We gotta fill your bank account young man.]

There was snow, yes. I liked it. The cold brought clarity. I guess it feels different now, like this.

[She made a little gesture with her head, swishing her pink hair slightly.]

Now I stick out more in the snow.

Did you enjoy the decorations that Tamaki and friend tossed up around Petals & Pages around Christmas, Vianca?

Tamaki's mostly here for more visiting, because he likes to keep Vianca company. The store is nice and cozy, and it feels extra warm and homey as the temperature starts to drop. The changing weather, though, does bring some troubling elements with it, namely those snow drifts sweeping up to the front of the building. Snow drifts that might be a little tricky for someone so small to keep at bay by herself. Hmm...!!

"You want a hand with that?"

She did, actually. Very much. In fact they are probably still up and about, since in a world with no distinctly Christmas decorations, that meant they were just! Winter themed! They could stay.

Vianca swung around at Tamaki's voice, a big (....big...) shovelful of snow teetering at the end of her shovel. "Tamaki, hello." She looked at the mountains besides her.

"... Perhaps."

The green garlands and red flowers, he figured, would go over well for a girl who seems so fond of plants. They are all hers to do with whatever she pleases, including being colorful winter decorations. More than anything, he's pleased that they were a hit...!

More importantly, that is. Quite a lot of snow to grapple with. Goodness.

"You don't happen to have a second shovel stashed away somewhere, do you?"

He can't imagine why she would, but if he's gotta run off to the shopping district to fix that, he's got no problem with that.

Good thing they were conveniently already in the midst of the shopping district now!

But also, no, don't. Vianca frowned slightly at the shovel in her hands, because several things were very obvious right now. One was that she did not have a second shovel. Two was that Tamaki was absolutely the sort that would go get another one. Maybe this was not a problem for him, but it felt very out of the way to her.

So she stared at the shovel. And then she stared at the snow. And then she stared very pointedly up at Tamaki.

"Do you know how to make a snow man?"

That is some creative problem solving right there...! And really, what better solution to this particular shovel problem would there be if one were truly that determined to not buy a second one. Perhaps Tamaki will put a pin in that thought, though if that will be useful later is yet to be seen. For now, he seems to pick up what Vianca's putting down.

"Just roll up the snow," he says, dropping a fist into his open palm in an 'aha!' gesture. "And that'd clear out anywhere the snow get rolled up!"

He! Can do that!

"I'll make you a whole snow family for the front of your store."

Is there even enough snow to do that?? He is going to try regardless.

Families were subjective! Maybe it was a very small family. Maybe it was a large family made of small snow people. Only Tamaki could decide. Regardless, that was a very ambitious proclamation!

Vianca nodded, glad that the gears had been changed so seamlessly. She glanced over the snow again, carefully dumping her shoveful out of the way before looking at Tamaki once more.

"... Could you show me?"

He hadn't even considered that she might not know how! For a brief moment, the question takes him by surprise, but that just means this can be a learning experience for her.

"Of course I can! If the two of us are working together, that'll get the sidewalks clear in no time"

With a nice big (or small?) snow-family to show for it. And you won't even need that shovel!

With that thought in mind, he crouches down, ready to scoop up a handful of that snow but first beckoning her over for an up-close demonstration. "Gotta start with a nice snowball first."

[Hey. Hey, Vianca. Where's Noct been lately? Because it sure isn't outside. Should she happen to swing by to check on things (or just is conveniently in the neighbourhood), she'll hear a bark from one of the street-facing windows; Umbra has noticed her presence.]

[Where has Noct been lately?? Vianca was not normally someone that would ask anyone to spend time with her, but even with how many social opportunities Noct had, it was normal to see him here and there even in short spurts. This was a concerning amount of nothing. The last time there'd been this much nothing, there'd been some crystals involved.

Luckily, investigations to Rawna's had proved he was not having another terrible slumber party. Which either meant something else had happened, or... he'd... left... but for once she tried to push that possibility down. As real as it was, Noct was beloved to so many people here! She surely would have heard about it before now! So that meant something had happened.

This meant it was time to break into Noct's house.

This actually meant it was time to be let into Noct's house by Noct's magical dog, the goodest boy that ever was. Vianca looked up at his signal, giving him a rowdy-boy-influenced thumbs up. She was on the way! Let her just scurry into the garden and meet you at the door, Umbra. Here were good pets for good boys.]

Hello, Umbra. Thank you. Is... Noct here?

[Umbra's tail wags, always happy to accept pets, and gives her hand a little nuzzle before turning and leading the way to Noct's room. The house is quiet, perhaps not as clean as it's normally kept when the residents aren't otherwise occupied. Umbra paws lightly at the door when they arrive, which opens easily - doors rarely stop him from going where he pleases - and heads over to hop up onto the bed, where a lump is buried under layers of blankets. Umbra looks over at her expectantly; you coming?]

[Vianca followed dutifully, falling in line behind Umbra without really noticing. She wasn't really used to the house feeling quite like this, which was probably the reason she hesitated just outside Noctis' door. It wasn't that anything felt unwelcoming, but maybe she was overstepping?

Still, it did not take much from Umbra to encourage her inside. It wasn't like this was the first time she had crawled into bed to join Noct and his blanketed cocoon. There was plenty of space for a mountain, a dog, and a teeny tiny person to all huddle up together.

She didn't know if she was looking at the front or the back of the lump, but that didn't really matter. The important part was that he was there at all, so Vianca was able to simply lay her head down and rest with him.]

[He doesn't notice her for a while; he can sleep through most things on a good day, and currently he's exhausted. At some point he shifts, noticing the extra warmth in the bed, and a hand snakes out of the blanket to reach for her, trying to pull her in with him. He's expecting Pyra, so after a second or two of lazy attempted dragging he pauses, his consciousness kicking in just enough to notice that the person he's caught is smaller than expected, so pulling them in too close would be unwise. His hold relaxes, and the lump of blankets makes a questioning noise,]

...Hnn...?

[whozit.]

[Oh! Well that was a shock! Her eyes blinked open at the initial touch, the combo of surprise and how how slight she was making it easy enough to get her part of the way. Not enough to successfully get her under any covers this time, but close enough to be in range of her tiny squeak in response to the question.]

... Hello. Sorry. Sleep some more.

[Ah? ...Oh, it's Vianca. Suddenly her presence makes total sense. Rather than falling back to sleep, he shifts a bit so the blanket drags down off his head, revealing a face that, to be described as "sleepy", would be a severe understatement. He tries to smile but it doesn't quite reach his eyes.]

Hey... been a while, huh?

[We're just going to be awake then, are we. Hm. There was a very slight touch of a frown on her face at this, but it only took a moment for that to fade. She'd wanted to see him, after all.

She reached out, gracing his mess of hair with a feather-light pat.]

A little one.

Did something happen?

...Kinda.

[He doesn't especially want to get into the almost-died part, nor does he want to imply that what happened was in any way Pyra's fault, so... hmm.]

You could say I'm sick. Magic-sick, not the kind anyone else can catch.

And here Pyra is, listening attentively to Vianca as she reads. She's made a habit to stop by the shop now and then for the flower girl just to check in on how she was doing, and she hasn't regretted one visit since it first opened.

Pyra holds onto one of the stuffed animals, speaking encouragingly. She makes for quite the picturesque audience, attentive and engaging, a listener.

That Vianca's voice has grown louder, more forthcoming in this past year hasn't escaped her. She wants to continue encouraging that. Reading stories aloud to others is a great way to practice. "Oh..? And then what happened?"

Story time had always been a bit of a favorite. Even when she was more inclined to stay at a whisper, it was always a bit easier to lift her voice when she was borrowing someone else's words. They were ones that other people already liked, after all, and were often far more interesting than anything she would have to say.

It helped when there were such attentive listeners as Pyra.

Vianca glanced up from where she was sitting next to her, nodding. She had just been reading from the Secretive Hallway, where the heroes had stumbled upon some gruesome writing in the hallways of their school, and the poor janitor's cat had been magicked stone-stiff. As usual, Barry Cobbler was in the wrong place at the wrong time. "Then Professor Diddldaddlor appeared with the other teachers, and they found Miss Borris' body in the hall. They needed to try and find out what happened, so they took Barry and his friends to try and puzzle part of it together."

Just what is causing these people (and one cat) to turn into stone? Pyra cannot even begin to guess. Some sort of monster or curse, she suspects, because these Barry Cobbler books are all about magic.

She'll continue listening until the chapter ends, at which point she politely claps for Vianca, and then makes the stuffed animal in her lap "clap" by patting the plush hands together.

"Ooh, that was a good chapter. I'm excited for the next!"

In her world, Pyra hadn't ever bothered to sit down and read books of her own. Now that she has the time in this one, she should do so more (because she has been doing more reading lately over this past year, thanks in part of this very same shop).

[Petals and Pages is quite a charming name for a shop, so as Lunafreya explores this part of the city today, it immediately draws her eye— especially since there's such a beautiful array of flowers at the front of the store. She steps in, shivering as the indoor warmth hits her, and then glances around for someone who looks like the owner. When her gaze lands on Vianca, she smiles in greeting.]

Excuse me? If you're the owner, may I have a moment of your time?

[Vianca was standing near the window boxes with a little watering can in her hands, turning to look at who had swept in from the cold. Imagine her surprise (and truly, you will have to imagine it) when it was someone that she had met before that she had not seen in a while.

It was a good thing that the surprise was imaginary, because it only took that friendly inquiry for Vianca to know that this was not the person she had met. Havenwell had been similar to Final Destination in how people could come and go-- that she would meet a second Luna... Well. She'd met plenty of versions of people she had called her friend before.

So her expression stayed perfectly neutral as Luna smiled at her, answering her question with a small nod of her head.]

Yes, of course. Did you need something?

[For her part, Lunafreya is aware of the fact that she used to be in Havenwell before— but she's still on the fence as far wanting to know about past friendships. It's easiest, of course, when considerate people like Vianca say nothing.]

I was wondering if you could tell me about the flowers on display in the window. They're quite lovely, and I'd like to know where I could get a pot of my own.

[The little girl's gaze trailed back to the flowers.]

Oh. I found them growing out in the town a few months ago.

[They'd just reminded her so much of Pikmin flowers she couldn't let the chance go by to bring some home.]

I am not sure they would be growing in the snow, but... [Vianca considered a moment before she looked back at Luna.] Would you like some?

Ah— I wouldn't want to ruin your window display. If they grow in town, I would be happy to wait until spring to get my own.

[ Admittedly, Honerva perhaps has not spent as much time here as she should, even if there has always been something sweet about the book spot and her familiarity with Vianca spanning over a year.

Either way, her reason for being here today is simple; with Affurgato back to it's usual operations, the special orders for cookies can be delivered. Really, they don't have to do this themselves, but maybe she wanted to visit, for a change of pace. Now, where is the shop owner...? ]

[It was true! Vianca would have been happy enough to come fetch her own delivery. It was similarly a good excuse for Vianca to drop by the cafe, since the primary excuse of 'getting something to eat' didn't really apply. She did not mind having the tables turned though.

Today she was very easy to find, standing on a stool next to the shop counter with her tiny watering pot. It was time to water this cute bonsai! And also notice right away that she had a visitor.]

Ah, hello Honerva.

[ That is a very cute bonsai. Honerva makes her way right up to the counter, smiling at Vianca's greeting. ]

Greetings, Vianca. Cameron's looking quite well.

[ She had taken note of the plant's note the last time she was here and remembers to follow the appropriate instructions. Effort mattered! She understood that well enough. ]

We had your cookies ready, so I thought I would bring them by for you.

There's a definite draw for Shinji to check out Petals & Pages just based on the planters situated in the windows, things he's spotted plenty of times by now in his time here. Perhaps, between the books visible on the shelves, and the clear inclination toward plant-life, he'd have some kind of luck with cultivating information that might be more useful to other cultivating exploits once the weather warms up. And, you know, until the weather warms up, perhaps making a quick stop into a nice, warm store isn't... the worst way to spend a bit of time while he's out.

Taking refuge from the chill, Shinji does not seem terribly inclined to take a seat on any of those big, comfy looking chair right away, instead opting to stand nearby whichever shelf he's pulled his reading material off of. So You Want to be a Gardener is, unsurprisingly, exactly the sort of thing that he came here looking for, though there's a definite appeal in leafing through the book of flower language as well... There isn't a huge selection of books that would grab his full attention, but there is enough of interest to keep him occupied for quite a while!

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[OPEN] PETALS & PAGES ❦ MINGLE #2

Vianca Time [ota]

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pretend there was a wildcard prompt or something

you unlocked the hidden potential

/doki doki

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i had to find a copy of a book i remember n o t h i n g

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slips a tl in here [ota]