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Post by kryss on Aug 20, 2014 8:11:55 GMT
Sinsir: He had forgotten that she had been to the shop before. Attempting to check on him, apparently. It touched him that she thought of him so much, although he could tell by watching her she spared the same amount of thought for everyone.
"Of course!" he said, happy that she seemed to like his sister. She was adorable, he had to admit. "It's not too far," he said, leading her away from the main square down a gray cobbled street. Patches of ice lined the road, but he was careful to avoid them and tried to point them out to her as well. They arrived at a small wooden shop, trimmed in a dark forest green. A sign hung over the door, "BAKER'S MAN OVENS: PASTRIES, COOKIES, AND DELICACIES" on the bottom of the sign in smaller font was inscribed, "Since 1875". Sinsir led her around down the narrow alley next to the shop and opened the side door, stepping right in. "Father! I'm home!" He stamped a bit of snow from his shoes on the mat by the door. He shook a little, adjusting to the temperature change. Even he could tell the difference of the cold outside and the warmth of the ovens. It was a medium, yet cramped kitchen. A fire roared along one wall, lighting the red bricks that built it. Not an inch of wall space was wasted. Ovens, counters, cabinets, drawers, everything was in use. Every counter top had a baked good on it, or a kneading board, or flour, or bowls, or spices. Sweet aromas filled the air, combating each other for dominance. The floor was dotted with small spills of sugar, flour, and cocoa. There was one sink that was piled high with bowls and utensils, all covered in specks of dough.
"Coming!" called a voice from the shop.
"I've brought a guest!" Sinsir warned. He walked forward, poking his head out the door so he wouldn't have to yell. "Melys, you should come too!" He ducked back into the kitchen as footsteps approached. His father was first in, a shorter man with a distinct belly, wearing a blue shirt covered by a large white apron. His head was covered in dark hair, his eyes were full of sparkles, and his cheeks were round and rosy. He looked Annice up and down, nodding to himself.
"Ah, yes. Ahem! Welcome, Miss Annice! How are you today?" Just behind him came Melys. The small sugar cookie girl was in one of her blue frilly dresses. Unlike her brother, she preferred to wear real fabrics. They were much more versatile. She did have to have them washed more often though. Her hair was the same shade as her brother's, but cut in a lightly curled bob, her bangs swept to the side. Her eyes were kisses, just like his, but they where also filled in with white icing that disappeared as she closed her eyes. Her lips were two pieces of strawberry licorice, and her skin a pale golden brown of perfectly baked cookies.
"Annice!" She called, waving cheerily.
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Post by zykrinnox on Aug 20, 2014 8:18:55 GMT
Annice: It was much warmer inside, and she hardly needed her jacket at the moment, so she took it off and carefully folded it over her arm as Sinsir called for his family. She smiled, looking around. It reminded her of the annual bake sale her mother used to participate in, and it was a nice memory to be reminded of.
"Hello!" she said to Sinsir's father with a slight curtsey. "I hope I'm not intruding!" When Melys bobbed in, Annice's face noticeably brightened. "Melys! Hello, sweetie!" she said sweetly before approaching her and kneeling. "How have you two been?" she asked, looking up at the man and back at Melys as she spoke. "I haven't seen you since- well, you know!"
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Post by kryss on Aug 20, 2014 17:15:26 GMT
"Well, doing well." His father answered. He gave Sinsir a significant look, which was promptly ignored.
"I got promoted to head delivery girl!" Melys told her proudly. The truth was she was the only delivery girl , but that didn't stop her from enjoying the title.
"I'm going to my room. I'll be right back down." He assured, heading out the back of shop. Melys began speaking to Annice excitedly.
"Hey. How have YOU been doing?" She asked , standing on her tip toes not out of lack of height, although she was short, but rather out of excitement. "You ARE really pretty!" She said with a shy smile.
After only a few more moments, Sinsir came back down, looking exactly as he had before. "Would you like to go into the shop proper?"
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Post by zykrinnox on Aug 20, 2014 19:20:16 GMT
"Good!" Annice said cheerfully. "I'm glad!" She looked back at Melys and grinned widely. "Congratulations!" she said before clapping her hands a few times. "You must be the cutest delivery girl in Christmas Town! Maybe in Easter Village, too!"
"Oh, I've been doing just wonderful! The University is positively enchanting and Christmas town is beautiful! I'd never been for real before, even though I checked up on you guys. I was kind of magicked to the door," she said with a laugh. She looked back up at Sinsir and stood, absent-mindedly playing with an askew curl on Melys's head. She was sure to fix it when she was done, but this cookie girl was just too cute! If there was an expression that was less terrifying than 'I could just eat you up!' to say to a cookie girl, she would have, but she couldn't think of anything.
"Yes, that sounds delightful!" Her mouth had been watering since she entered the shop, regardless of the fact that she hadn't been terribly hungry when she arrived. It all just smelled too good, and she had a sweet tooth that might be the death of her some day.
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Post by kryss on Aug 20, 2014 20:22:55 GMT
Sinsir: Melys did in fact pat the new curl back into place as soon as Annice stood, but she didn't look upset at all about it.
Sinsir led Annice through the door to the shop. All kinds of pastries imaginable lay under curved glass cases lit by white Christmas lights. Divided into clear sections - savory, plain, sweet - the smells mingled together to give the general impression of warmth and bread. Cookies of various flavors (including mundane gingerbread men) lay under one case, right next to cupcakes and cinnamon rolls and sweet tarts and turnovers. In the middle were several types of lightly seasoned bread, scones, and biscuits. And on the opposite side were small meat pies, savory tarts, muffins, and breads.
The shop was only a little bigger than the kitchen, and just as crowded. Everything was softly lit with a yellow white light coming from gas lamps along the wall that were decorated with bunches of holly. The floors were warm hardwood.
"Would you like anything?" He asked, smiling.
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Post by zykrinnox on Aug 20, 2014 20:45:09 GMT
Annice: Her eyes weren't big enough to take in everything, she decided! She needed much bigger eyes to take in all of Christmas Town! Even the shops had decorations and cutely Christmas themed objects in every nook and cranny. She knew better than to press her face up against the glass, but it was tempting.
"I wouldn't know what to choose!" she said with a laugh. "There's so much!" She couldn't help but eye the sweeter pastries, though, and the cupcakes and cinnamon rolls were close to making her stomach growl just from how nice they looked.
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Post by kryss on Aug 20, 2014 21:15:11 GMT
Sinsir: Seeing her get overwhelmed made him smile. He hadnt thought that her eyes could physically get any bigger, but here they were. The lights reflected in them, condensed into a cascade of sparkles against the background of bright gold.
Despite her claims, he saw her gravitate towards the sweets section, he walked to stand behind her, peering over her shoulder. Seeing the two objects of her focus, he asked,
"Do you like vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry best?"
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Post by zykrinnox on Aug 20, 2014 22:02:27 GMT
Annice: She turned her head and blushed when she realized he had gravitated much closer to her than she thought he had. He still wasn't terribly close, but he was certainly close enough to fluster her momentarily. She turned to look back at the sweets and thought for a moment.
"All of those sound tempting. But... vanilla, most likely!" There was something nice and airy about vanilla that she found so appealing. She adjusted her coat that was still draped over her arm before straightening her back and remembering back to the sign she had seen out front.
"Your father is the Baker's Man?" she wondered aloud. "Like the nursery rhyme?" While Pat-a-cake wasn't the most popular nursery rhyme in Easter Village, Mother Goose still taught it sometimes, and she remembered it well. Working with children for long periods of time meant you'd see them play every sort of clap game that they knew, and that was one of them.
"Well, I'll be. Someone must have known about the other holidays before the incident!"
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Post by kryss on Aug 20, 2014 22:31:30 GMT
Sinsir: He blinked once, surprised.
"Yes, he is that bakers man. Or from that line, at least. You know about that?" It was possibly the oddest thing she had ever said to him. At that moment his father walked in. Sinsir didn't say anything, but he did bend over the case, carefully avoiding touching the glass and wood, and opened the door from the back. He wiggled one of the vanilla cupcakes out, careful not to upset its frosting, and reached back inside to hook out one of the cinnamon rolls. Fortunately they were both on the top shelf. He carried them over to the front counter and set them down.
"The employee discount?" His father asked. Sinsir nodded. Very seriously he punched in several buttons and rang the register. "There you go," he said, not taking any money. Melys happily popped them into a brown paper bag.
"Do you want yours, Sinsir?" She asked. He nodded and held up one finger. She went over and grabbed one chocolate candy chip cookie and handed it directly to him. As Sinsir turned away his father lightly lectured her about using tongs.
"Where do you want to go next?" He asked
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Post by zykrinnox on Aug 20, 2014 22:49:55 GMT
Annice: She laughed a bit. "Well, when you're an elementary basket-weaving teacher, kids get bored! And I probably memorized every nursery rhyme there is when I was younger. I visited Mother Goose's story circle often!"
She tried to stifle her laugh unsuccessfully when she saw him, so seriously, give Sinsir the treats for free. It resulted in a light giggle that she half-covered with her hand. She smiled at Melys brightly when she handed Sinsir the cookie he apparently ate many of.
"Oh! Good question," she said. "Hmm. Well, what's closest? We could weave our way through, if that sounds good to you," she said, nearing the door and slipping her arms through her sleeves (with a bit of difficulty again. Long sleeves were hard!).
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Post by kryss on Aug 21, 2014 1:05:30 GMT
Sinsir: As the two walked out the door, they received an enthusiastic goodbye, Melys's voice calling out behind them, "I like your coat!"
Sinsir closed the door behind them, cutting off the warmth behind him. He felt himself stiffen very slightly at the vast temperature change. He thought about her question as they stood outside the shop.
"Well," he began, "Cain's factory and the proper shopping district are about equidistant away. My father purposely built his bakery on the opposite side of the square. The skating rink is on the opposite side of town, though. We could end there, if you like."
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Post by zykrinnox on Aug 21, 2014 1:26:07 GMT
Annice: She grinned up at him and clasped her hands together. "That sounds wonderful! Why don't we go to the shopping district first, then?" she asked, breath puffing white little clouds that floated up and disappears. "Then we can get all warmed up for ice skating!!" She was actually quite nervous about the prospect. She'd never been on top of ice before and she wasn't sure if she could keep her balance or not!
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Post by kryss on Aug 21, 2014 1:57:53 GMT
Sinsir: "That sounds good." he said grinning. He led her back through the square again, across to directly the opposite. There were many bustling crowds to make their way through. A small group of Carolers and Elves sang under one of the street lamps. Their voices, almost lost over the bustle of the crowd, drifted to Sinsir's ears.
"I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas day
On Christmas day
I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas day in the morning,"
He detoured their course towards them, pausing to drop a few silver bells in their collection hat. One of the elves participating smiled so wide their cheeks turned round and waved cheerily at him. He proceeded to take Annice through to the other side, as he had promised.
They entered a long street lined with shop after shop. Toy stores, ornament shops, bakeries, a tree shop, a store dedicated to wrapping paper, a store dedicated to cards, clothing shops... everything a Christmas town resident could need. He strolled along, more than willing to let her pick the first place they visited.
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Post by zykrinnox on Aug 21, 2014 3:43:20 GMT
Annice: She looked around at everything she could, deciding firmly that her eyes definitely weren't big enough to take everything in. She rubbed her hands together for warmth, breathing on them to hopefully speed up the process. She was still so cold, but she didn't mind much!
She picked up the tune from the carolers, humming it quietly as Sinsir dropped some currency into their hat. She beamed at the little elf who smiled at them and wished she had some to deposit too!! Waving at them, she followed Sinsir away and dashed around, looking at everything that so much as twinkled.
At the shops she looked in every window until she saw a teddy bear shop. "Awwww!" she cried. "These are adorable!" She pointed at some fluffy looking teddy bears in the front window before turning to Sinsir. "Can we go in?"
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Post by kryss on Aug 21, 2014 4:17:39 GMT
Sinsir: "Of course we can!" he said, opening the door for her. He noticed her hands had a red tinge to them and felt bad. Perhaps he could find some gloves later. He often forgot how sensitive flesh and blood people were to the cold. The worst he got was stiff. The shop was much warmer, however, and stuffed bears were everywhere. There was all sorts of different kinds, and even a small station where you could build a customized one. He walked through, picking one off the shelf. It was very dark brown, and had on an elf hat and shoes. It reminded him of one he had when he was a child. He looked around to see how Annice was faring.
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