6 Unicorn Street; Tuesday [12/13].

[special_rabbit]

Amaya supposed being dragged out to do radio turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it was thanks to the squirrels that morning that she knew what was up with today, well before she got started in the shop for the day, where it would end up catching her entirely unawares until the first poor unsuspecting (or, she rather suspected, potentially perfectly suspecting) person strolled in.

But not today, mistletoe! Ha!

Amaya was going to spent her Tuesday now tucked away safely in her apartment, with some big dusty volumes she'd been wanting to start cracking into anyway and a nice mug of tea, by herself, and that mistletoe could just go bugger off.

Downstairs, there was a sign posted on the door, though, because even when there was mistletoe, she hated the idea of potentially missing out on some business:

Blackstone Foundry and Forge
is CLOSED today
due to technical difficulties

For inquiries or weapon emergencies, please contact
555-AMYA

And, with that, she settled in for what would hopefully be a nice, mistletoe-free day, for once, dammit!

[[ of course it's open, duh. ]]

Comments

[begmetwice]

So how'd you end up stuck with squirrel duty, anyway?

Irene really was curious, but she also found it wildly amusing how she'd swung by the forge today and had found the sign. Clearly she'd have to negotiate her way in -- they could hide out from mistletoe together, darling, the arguments were forming themselves in her mind! -- but for now, an innocent question could simply be texted in greeting.

[special_rabbit]

Amaya had absolutely not been feeling a certain sense of relief when her phone pinged with a message from a certain number, how dare. Just like how she had not delayed responding for a little while for any reason other than being at a really good part of her book and wanting to get through it before she let anything else distract her, obviously.

But, eventually, she did pick up the phone again and answer Irene back.

Because those drunken little rodents know if they catch me before i've had my coffee then I can't get to the squirrel crumbler in time to do somethinga bout it

And, honestly, it had been a pretty bold move on their part, going to the one person on the island who had designed a device specifically to maim them if they tried, and she was sort of a sucker for boldness.

[begmetwice]

You did a marvelous job of it, even pre-caffeine. Compliments first, as always. They're quite brave to have sought you out, but it paid off.

Risking their tiny squirrel lives just so everyone could be treated to hearing Amaya's voice (something Irene herself, really, quite enjoyed more than she'd admit, and even she would probably not risk being crumbled in exchange.)

Who do I see about a blacksmith emergency, now?

It was a very urgent blacksmith emergency, of course. She needed to do something about it quite soon.

[special_rabbit]

And if the squirrels and the mistletoe hadn't apparently been in cahoots for some very elaborate plotting, the whole island would have been entirely bereft of that rare, husky gift, indeed.

Probably a blacksmith

Amaya liked to think some of that dry huskiness was being translated even through text just now, with that response.

[begmetwice]

Irene absolutely heard every syllable in Amaya's voice, and thus any passers-by ought to do the right thing and ignore the lady who was smiling rather stupidly at her phone, thanks much.

What if my favorite blacksmith is wisely hiding from aggressive flora? I'm not sure it's really a text-grade emergency. More of an in-person matter.

Now, that was conjecture, of course, but -- Irene remembered last year quite well.

Quite, quite well.

So it was informed conjecture.

[special_rabbit]

There was no pretext of needing to get through the next chapter in the delayed response this time, but genuine indecision between a handful of responses.

Then, finally:

Come on up 'round the back. I'll let you in.

Better the door straight up to the apartment through the greenhouse rather than having to trudge through the currently dark and cold forge downstairs, really, so Amaya set aside her book, chugged down the last of her tea as if to fortify herself, and headed on over that way.

[begmetwice]

And hark, with record speed (especially considering the twin factors of high heels and cobblestones), Irene made her way around to the back and flitted up to the greenhouse door. (Which -- much though she liked the forge for its coziness and opportunities to admire Amaya actually blacksmithing -- was a welcome novelty, in and of itself.)

Of course, now she had to fabricate a blacksmith emergency, but it quite honestly was hardly the first time.

[special_rabbit]

On the bright side, at least Irene would actually get plenty more time to work through what said emergency could be, because the moment Amaya opened that door to her, she was reaching out to pull Irene in to kiss her.

It was, of course, a very strategic and preventative maneuver. Blame the fact that she'd been reading about battles and strategy. Blame the fact that she really despised the mistletoe and figured the best solution was to give it absolutely no reason to pester her at all. Blame the fact that being in the greenhouse surrounded by other plants in which more predatory ones could more effectively hide was already fraught with danger.

But absolutely don't blame it on the notion that she might have actually have just wanted to, because that was obviously absurd.

[begmetwice]

Oh, it was clearly just all strategy! Look at how brilliant Irene's favorite blacksmith was, indeed: an ounce of preventative action against mistletoe was absolutely worth a pound of cure. (Flame-throwing cure, Irene would wager, if she wasn't too busy to wager at the moment.)

"You saved me," Irene murmured between kisses, going ahead and kicking the door shut behind her lest the mistletoe sneak in behind her. (And also for privacy, so they could keep preventing it from showing up -- or...something. Whatever justification was needed here.)

[special_rabbit]

"I really hate that mistletoe," Amaya muttered back, because it was something that could not be overstated, even if she did have a little bit of trouble just stating it in general right now, with the way her mouth was a bit occupied.

And it would remain occupied for just a bit longer before Amaya started to move back, pulling Irene along with her, toward the apartment proper, in a way that hopefully wasn't leaving too many gaps for the mistletoe to start rustlings its way in. "Come on," she said. "Somewhere where there's less plants."

Which was a tall order, really, because Amaya definitely had them spread throughout the apartment and not just the greenhouse, but there was no denying a much heavier concentration of them out there.

[begmetwice]

"You're normally so fond of them," Irene had to observe, because it was true, but she was smiling (when her mouth was available to do so) anyway, and was easily pulled along into the apartment. "Though really, even I don't like the stuff. What's the fun in kissing someone if you're strongarmed into it?"

Elective kissing with whatever handy justifications and excuses one might need, however, was a different beast altogether.

[special_rabbit]

"None," Amaya insisted, testing the waters a little now that they were safely (ha! 'Safely'!) through the door and in the living room, by drawing away from Irene a touch. Certainly not far enough that she couldm't get right back into it at the first errand flash of green. "There's no fun in being harassed into kissing people by a tiny green plant that should really learn to mind its own business! At least this time, thanks to radio, I was able to be prepared for it. Usually it just sneaks up on me when I'm trying to do my work!"

And then opened the door wide open to things like complicated feelings or convoluted affairs that she could quite frankly do much better without!

[begmetwice]

Drawing away a touch just allowed for Irene to obviously miss the contact and even elicited a soft groan of protest, which of course was just because she liked making out with pretty women, and nothing at all to do with how she was still sort of (pleasantly) dazed by being greeted with kisses in the first place. That was something she could get used to from her favorite blacksmith.

"And really, how could you ever trust a mistletoe kiss?" Irene pointed out, lifting an eyebrow. "I always wonder about its motives, around here. Doesn't much seem like it's about trying to push things along, like the regular stuff's supposed to do."

If anything, it seemed to have a sense of humor.

[special_rabbit]

"I'm pretty sure," Amaya insisted, "it's motivations are just to make people's lives more difficult and have me miss out on an entire day's worth of good solid work. Do you know how hard it is to forge a sword when you're looking over your shoulder half the time and having to stop and kiss anyone who walked in through the door? Ridiculous. At least now, after today, it'll be done and over with."

...until next year, anyway.

Ugh.