A Gift for Anyone Who Asks - 5/11

[true_noir]

Chloe Bouchard shared a photo. 5/11 near Enchanted Blossoms, Tisse

Now that everything is back to normal, Retrospec has seen fit to send me a little gift, a pocketwatch that doesn't work. How very nice of them. Well, I have a gift for any of you who see this and want to stop by Enchanted Blossoms in the next week, anytime from about 9 to 5 during the week. Don't bother asking what it is before you come by, it's a surprise, no?

(OOC: Action tags are invited, and if you'd prefer to handwave stopping by, feel free to do so. Chloe's gift is a plastic version of a decoder ring that she ordered in bulk. She'll have enough to give anyone that stops by one of them and tell them how to use it, suggesting that people use them to code messages on paper notes to each other that they don't want Retrospec to see.)

Comments

[buncho]

[ Mafuyu had zoomed in on the word "gift"...

It's closer to 5 when she pushes through the doors of the flower shop, sparing not even a glance at the flowers on either side of her as she heads straight up towards the front counter to talk to the boss. aka Mikoto's cat. ]

Hi Noa! You know who Chloe is? I'm here for my gift!

[true_noir]

[Well, what did you know? Someone she'd never really spoken to much had shown up. That was a positive, and right at the end of her time at work. Chloe perked up as she heard her name and the word 'gift' before speaking.]

I am back with the gardenias. Come over this way please!

[As the french lilt came into the room, she perked her head around the corner and looked to see him coming. She had a few of them in her pockets waiting to go.]

[buncho]

[ Mafuyu has no idea what a gardenia is, but she follows Chloe's voice towards where the flowers are, the French helpful in that aspect. ]

You Chloe...?

[true_noir]

[Accents were useful sometimes. They definitely helped pin someone down when she was the only one who had it. Smiling over at him, she waved.]

That I am. Here for a gift, I assume since you mentioned it. [She offered a small decoder ring on the palm of her hand while she started to get up.] It's nothing too special, but it could actually be quite good to have.

[scarlet_devil]

Of course, I'll be sure to drop by.

[ Which will be precisely what she does... Not only that, she fully intends on letting Chloe know about her sudden change in strength level. It... is taking some getting used to. ]

[true_noir]

I will be looking forward to it.

[Chloe would be a little nervous if she heard that yet another friend had picked up physical prowess recently. She wasn't going to worry too much, but it was a bit concerning, to say the least.

She had an eye out, however, for Emilie. When she happened to catch sight of her friend, she beckoned her over and smiled. It was sometimes just nice to see her, regardless of the reasons.]

[scarlet_devil]

[ Émilie shows up soon enough, and as it happens, she opens the door very gingerly as if it was made of tissue... ]

So I heard something about a gift?

[true_noir]

[Chloe grinned over at her, not noticing the oddity in her behavior at first and reaching to pull a small package out. Handing it over, she nodded.]

Yes, I'm trying a bit too hard to be clever these days. I saw decoder rings for sale in bulk, and thought I would get them. You know, so that if we write a message, we can put it in a code.

[divine_braid]

Donald Maxwell Gift? Like what?

[true_noir]

Chloe Bouchard It's nothing too special, just something I got when I was thinking of everyone on the app.
Chloe Bouchard I think you'd like it, but it would ruin the surprise to tell.
Chloe Bouchard But it's small, could fit in your pocket.

[divine_braid]

Duo Maxwell Sounds intriguing. Enchanted Blossoms, right? I'll head down. I go past there pretty often delivering pizzas.

Tuesday

[onceandfuturemascot]

[It's honestly high time Alice dropped by this place anyway.]

Good afternoon, Chloe. I'd almost forgotten you worked here.

[true_noir]

It is easy to forget. Our employer is no longer on the app, so... well, I really should offer another message one of these days to remind people of our presence.

Perhaps Mother's Day, or something similar. [She sighed and then smiled over at her.] Ah, but you must have a reason to come by. An arrangement, or ... perhaps a gift?

[action]

[obscultator]

[It's probably a sign of just how much this whole shrinking affair has managed to rattle Karl's extremely orderly psyche, but he hasn't even bothered to come up with some mundane tertiary excuse for why he's visiting a random flower shop on a weekday afternoon.]

[Yet in he walks, obviously trying his best to look as composed and beneficent as he always does, but anyone who knows him at all will be able to tell it's taking some not-insignificant mental effort to keep it up. The slight dark circles under his eyes and the hint of a limp in his left leg aren't helping.]

[true_noir]

[She caught sight of him entering and for a moment, there was a bit of surprise there. The hint of a limp and the obvious distress were hard to miss. Chloe didn't even think of decoder rings just yet, and instead she came over to look at him with concern.]

Is everything alright, Father? I think we have something arranged already for Mother's Day.

[obscultator]

[The sight of her concern for him actually gave him a bit of a shot in the arm in terms of his own calm, and not only because he appreciated it on a personal level. He had to stay strong for his parishioners, those given by God himself into his care, and the mere reminder of that fact itself gave him some strength. He managed a small smile.]

It's nothing, Miss Bouchard, i just had an unfortunate run-in a few days ago with a particularly large crack in the sidewalk. It, ah... gave me quite the trip.

[admiringly]

[ Well, it's not so much as stopping by so much as Chiyo showing up for her shift at work after school. She pulls her apron over her head before she goes to greet the other girl. ]

Hey, Chloe, how was the shop today? Busy?

[ What with prom being the next day and all. ]

[true_noir]

[She waved when she saw Chiyo and shook her head.]

It's been nice to not be hunting aphids and ladybugs with my knives around the shop. So, even having people buying flowers has been almost pleasantly easy-going.

I did meet your friend Mafuyu earlier. She's very nice.

[admiringly]

[ She laughs. ]

You make a really good point! It's a lot easier to handle flowers now that we don't have to fight off all the bugs. [ By we, she means Chloe. Chiyo's helpless in that area. ]

—Eh? Mafuyu came by?

[ She tilts her head in confusion. Mafuyu's not usually a flower kind of girl. It'd be a switch if she were, but.... ]

Ah, it's because you said you were giving away something for free, wasn't it?

[prismaticdestruction]

huh...that sounds mysterious. if you dont mind waiting until i can shake my tail after school, ill be over!

[true_noir]

I will stay until about 6 this evening, so there should be some freedom there, if you wish to stop by. I'll be glad to give you one.

[prismaticdestruction]

ok. shouldnt take long tbh! just have to duck out.

[Which is true, about 4:30 Dani slips into the shop, looking around quietly. She may be a kid but she does enjoy the flowers around her.]

action

[protegge]

[Oh, okay. Presents. He can get behind presents. And it's been a while since he's stopped by Chloe's shop anyway, so: why not? Flower time.]

[Because he's a nice person, he brings her a coffee, too. It's good coffee, even: black, not espresso like he'd get for a proper Italian, but she's European so she gets the good shit. When he pushes the door open to the sound of the bell, he pokes his head around to make sure there are no other customers and then:]

Hey, Chloe! Some asshole just walked in here, you better kick him out!

[true_noir]

[She looked up and smiled at him before waving him over. It was definitely quiet enough for this meeting. His comment made her laugh before she shook her head and smiled at him.]

Now, now, I do not think this so called asshole is too bad. Please, come in.

[protegge]

[Heh. He grins at her, double-checks the door with a slight push to make sure it's completely closed, and crosses over to behind the counter. Then he slides the coffee towards her, raising his eyebrows expectantly.]

You said there were presents, so I got you one, too. The gift of alertness.