[Open] All the Leaves are Brown

[sunshinesally]

Who: Sally Boyle and you!
What: Arrival, opening up shop, a few odds and ends.
When: From now until it is no longer useful!
Where: Jack's Marina and around town.
Warning(s): Illicit substances, references to the death of a child, possibly more. Will update as needed!




-I've Been for a Walk-

To Yorick's credit, he did his best to lead Sally through the motions of getting settled in Pumpkin Hollow. He was kind and patient and a silly old thing. And yes, the town is cursed, room at the inn, work options, food vouchers, blah blah, that's all well and good but the whole time Sally had only one thing on her mind.

Where is Gwen?

The very minute that Yorick and Mayor Poe turn her loose again, she forgoes the tavern entirely and makes a beeline straight for the beach. Huddled in the sand, she sits and watches the docks with her rail-thin legs hugged tightly to her chest, hoping to see the ferryman return with her infant daughter.

Part of her hopes he doesn't. Because that would mean...

But if she isn't here, then what happened to her? If Sally didn't survive the crash, where does that leave Gwen? At least if she was here, they wouldn't have to be apart. Sally could find a way back... for both of them. Or maybe make a new life for the pair of them here. But what if little Gwen didn't get that chance?

It will be a while before the ferryman returns, but he will bring Guinevere Boyle with him. However, Sally doesn't know that. So she will wait here on the beach even as night falls.


-He Knows I'm Gonna Stay-

It takes a few days, but once Gwen arrives and Sally signs up for work as a physician, the pair are finally settled in. (Sally makes it clear to Mayor Poe that her expertise is in pharmaceuticals and she is, first and foremost, a chemist, but that she's got a lot of experience with first aid as well.) It's a small place, but it's theirs. A small drugstore and simple clinic with a small apartment on the upper floor. It has a study, but Sally converts it to a nursery.

Thus, the Blackberry Apothecary is born.

Basic clinic services and injury treatment is available here, along with all manner of helpful medicines made from local herbs.

And maybe some more interesting things if you ask the right questions. She does, after all, remember the recipe for Joy.


-California Dreamin'-

With Gwen strapped to her chest and a bag slung over her back, Sally ventures out into the woodlands to collect necessary herbs and flowers for her apothecary before the chill kills them off. Sage and rosemary, ginseng and yarrow, foxglove and poppy. If anyone approaches her while she's out foraging, she'll spit out a customary Wellington Wells greeting like a reflex.

"Lovely day for it!"


-Wildcard-
Always open to ideas!

Comments

-He Knows I'm Gonna Stay-

[restingslasherface]

Sally, meet Jean. Specifically, meet Jean at high speeds. Meet Jean running into your store like a fucking Looney Tunes character. Meet Jean's inadvisable impact with your counter, palms down on it, practically fucking vibrating, eyes wide and slasher smile bordering on the edge of complete derangement.

Also, meet Jean's inability to say this sentence in more than one breath: "Canyoudomaintainanceonbioaugmentationstothecentralnervoussystemandbrainstem?"

[sunshinesally]

Oh good lord.

"Woah--- Hello--- Slow down, what? I caught--- maybe half of that."

[restingslasherface]

"Artificial organic modifications to the central nervous system and brain stem, can you maintain them?"

It took Herculean effort to say that slowly.

Birds of a Feather Forage Together

[mister_morgan]

[ From the comfort of his little cabin on his farm, Arthur had gotten used to a few sights. Fellow farmers milling about their work, creatures in the woods, occasional hikers, researchers, and the occasional thing he couldn't explain (that he would then drink to forget).

Among all these things, though, none of them included a woman with a tiny baby strapped to her chest, foraging in a spot near home he'd come to do the very same in. In the woods with a baby, despite all the warnings - either this was a strange manifestation trying to catch his guard down, or, perhaps, someone who ought to be a little more careful with where they take babies.

Best to assume the latter, and be ready for the former. A courteous tip of his hat was given at the decidedly-British greeting, and a nod of acknowledgement was shared. ]

Mornin', miss. Find anything decent out here?

cw: slut shaming (she's just making fun of herself lol)

[sunshinesally]

[ Oh my god.

A cowboy.

Just like in the movies Sally watched as a kid on Sunday afternoons. Be still, her beating heart!

She smiled, playing it cool. Don't just jump the bones of the first interesting man you see, Sally, you whore. ]

I have! There is a lot of yarrow. Thank God, too, it's good for everything. Do you use herbs much?

[mister_morgan]

Surely do! I been plantin' anything back that I take parts of, so its lookin' like its startin' to overrun the place.

[ Okay, her likelihood of being some sort of monster illusion is going down. There's hope! He still keeps his distance, though, kneeling down to pick at some herbs at the other edge of the small clearing. ]

Got some ginseng and burdock root a little ways back, too, if'n that's somethin' you're after. Makin' medicine for you or the little one, or just keepin' it on hand in case?

I've Been For a Walk

[batteryacid]

Well, someone in town noticed Sally's march back to the beach (a lady who works at Hemsworth). Word got to Eddie, and he took the opportunity to put some hot tea in a Dewar flash and head to the beach himself. (Missy won't mind that he's taking a couple sugar cubes along... as long as she doesn't know about it.)

It's easy to tell who he's looking for -- the new arrival linen clothing, the distant, processing look in her eyes.

Eddie sits down in the sand as well -- close enough to pass her the flask, but far enough to give her space. He holds it out in offer. "Tea?"

[sunshinesally]

Eddie, you've just offered tea to a woman from Wellington Wells, England, in the 1960's. You might has well have offered water to a man in a desert.

"Oh, thank fuck, yes please." Sally takes it with something nearing desperation and takes a forcibly-polite swig. There's not even any drugs in it! This man is a hero. "Ah, tastes like civilization. Thank you so much, Mr.---?"

[batteryacid]

"Kaspbrak," he replies. And then he holds up a folded handkerchief, "I've got sugar cubes, too. If you'd like."

Eddie smiles, just a little. "We're a closed economy here, thanks to the curse. So everything is home-grown. There's plenty of folks here hoping for more coffee growing, but I prefer the tea."

He Knows I'm Gonna Stay

[lordoftheozarks]

Erik isn't just a whore in this town, he's a nosy whore. So, when a new establishment goes up, he simply has to have a look for himself. The moment he steps inside, however, his nose wrinkles in response to the various herb and tincture smells within. Ah, so it is an apothecary like the sign said.

"Hello," he greets her with a pleasant smile, nose forcefully unwrinkled. "I don't believe we've met."

[sunshinesally]

Sally puts on her best and brightest customer service smile as the strange man enters. "Afternoon! Lovely weather, ey? What can I do you for?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"Hello. Yes, it is a nice day for a walk. I came in to see what new things might be on offer here." Including new friendly faces.

"For the moment I'm just browsing but if you aren't terribly busy, would you like to chat? I enjoy getting to know the new faces around here. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Lord Erik Osborne."

-He Knows I'm Gonna Stay-

[somebodychildofanyone]

River waits for a day off to come in so she can wear her good clothes (well, "good clothes"; they smell less like soot) and comes in near closing under the theory that there will be less people in. She stops to take a deep breath in through her nose just inside the threshold, and smiles; yeah, this is a place of medicine. Not only just what she needs, but comforting in and of itself.

She approaches the counter, in a damn good mood now. "Would you be the alchemist, Miss...?"

[sunshinesally]

"That's me!" Alchemist. What an idea. Sounds like something out of a book about dragons and princesses. "Miss Boyle, at your service. You can just call me Sally. Lookin' for something specific?"

[somebodychildofanyone]

"River la Croix, journeyman necromancer, pleasure to meet you." The handshake is offered without a second thought, which arrives late with Starbucks to say that a store environment might not be the place where you offer handshakes. Ah well, too late. "And...yeah. I'm used to dealing with a really different paradigm of medicine so I haven't known where to start on preventative birth control around here. Or, for that matter, detecting...shit what's the word..."

River says several things in her native tongue in the air of someone looking for an appropriate translation, "...Carnal diseases? Wren preserve, that sounds so rude. Lover's diseases? That's better."

I've Been For A Walk

[300kgbackpack]

Each day, around the same time that he could recall the first time he'd stepped foot here, Sam finds himself heading back to the beach. The water is familiar, the sound of waves is nostalgic in the purest sense of the word, and he needs, so desperately, to ask the boatman a question. He needs to know if there's been any news at all on the status of his BB.

His child.

Lou.

Normally when he's been here the place is deserted, but now, he sees the figure of the woman sitting there, clutching her legs to her chest, and stops just behind her well out of arm's reach. In his mind, the echoes of London Bridge Is Falling Down drift to him, and he scowls. But as quickly as it came to him, it's gone again, and his expression falls to a dull neutral as he takes a couple of steps forward to watch the docks, just as she does.

"Any sign?" he asks quietly, figuring that the only reason she'd be here, watching it that intently, is for the one they're both waiting for.

[sunshinesally]

Sally looks up at him. He'd spooked her a bit--- she'd been in her own head when he sort of appeared behind her. At first, she isn't sure what he means, but something about the way he looks out at the pier... She understands.

"Not yet," she says hoarsely. "How long have you been waiting..."

If I Didn't Tell Her... (Wildcard)

[thelatechrisfreeman]

Someone new enters Blackberry Apothecary, but they aren't a customer.

Chris smiles at Sally and gets right to the point. "Hello. You're Sally, right? Sam said that you have a little girl... Gwen?" Chris goes digging into the canvas bag hanging from their shoulder, and produces a small plush bear made from brown wool cloth. "I made Lou a toy, and when he told me about Gwen, I made something for her, too."

The bear has a bean-shaped body similar to Lou's grey wool rabbit, but the limbs are longer. The ears are rounded and large, but definitely that of a bear, and the eyes are patches of contrasting fabric. Nothing for a small baby to pull off, so it's safe.

[sunshinesally]

"Oh!"

Sally takes it, gently passing it behind her to the baby strapped to her back. Gwen, wide-eyed and utterly baffled by everything she sees 24/7, gawks at the toy and pinches it gently with chubby fingers as if she can't figure out what it's for. Then, she gently inserts an ear into her mouth.

"I can't see her, but she didn't drop it so that means she likes it. That's very kind of you, neighbor! Thank you very much! I don't believe I got your name.

-California Dreamin'-

[hereticofthewilds]

As Sally walks in the woods, she'll feel eyes upon her. At first ti can be dismissed as the eyes belonging to a rather strange looking owl, but the feeling doesn't abate when Sally takes notice of the bird.

It stops when she crouches down to collect another handful of herbs. Someone else is crouching down in front of her, clothed in a tattered cowl that hides her eyes, smiling lips framed with shimmering green-blue hair.

"Lovely day." The woman in the cowl repeats in a soft, gentle voice.

[sunshinesally]

"Oh!" Sally gasps, hand to her chest. "You startled me, miss."

She'd been looking over at the owl in the woods, and then suddenly there's a stranger in front of her! Goodness.

"Are you, ah, here to collect herbs too?"

He Knows I'm Gonna Stay

[notinflictthem]

Hawk's been getting the lay of the land for the last little bit. He's still looking a little scruffy, but he's feeling a lot better than he has for the last forever. Actual decent food, a nice soft bed, not having to share his space with ignoramuses, no unexpected wake-ups. It's the first full night's sleep he's gotten in over a year!

Or, y'know, it would be, except for the nightmares.

He does swing by the apothecary's on his way in to get groceries, though. With any luck he won't have to deal with another blemish on the face of the medical profession.

"Knock knock," he calls as he sticks his head in the door, "is the doctor in?"

[sunshinesally]

"She sure is! Lovely day!" The woman inside has stylishly close-cropped brown hair that's a bit lighter in the front, a perky and informal English accent, a ridiculously petite frame, and a baby strapped to her back. "Welcome in, what can I do for ya?"

~California Dreamin'~~

[tisnotthehouse]

November is a good time for harvesting yarrow, valerian, and marshmallow roots, not to mention mushrooms and the last straggling shoots of rosemary and thyme...And you know what else likes to nibble on these plants?

Rabbits.

Which is to say, the sticky snare that suddenly draws tight around Sally's wrist was not meant for human prey, and so it is fortunately not strong enough to drag her along the ground or endanger Gwen. She might even have been able to free herself before too much time passed -- but before she can do much more than curse and pick at it, the spinner appears.

"Oh no," Tarantulas says, rubbing his forelegs together in complete mortification. "Oh no, I'm so sorry. I didn't know anyone else would be out here."

[sunshinesally]

As the yanking, snaring web sends Sally pitching face-first towards the ground, she catches herself with her free hand and lets out a sharp cry of surprise. "Oh, fuck in a bucket. What the---?" She tugs at her hand with a look of consternation on her face. What kind of spider could make a web like this?

The question is almost immediately answered when Tarantulas materializes from god-knows-where. Sally gawks at him for a long moment.

Then she begins screaming.