Belle

[Belle]

Soldiering down the country roads, the aging bus shuddered at even the slightest bump in the road as it meandered along, groaning softly though it broke the silence of the night. Riding on various modes of transport to reach her destination had left the vaporeon exhausted and uncomfortable, though she'd managed to bear a smile long enough to enjoy a rather engaging conversation with the purrloin who had fallen asleep initially on her tail, but had since repositioned himself against the bus window. A tiny smile touched the corners of her mouth before she yawned lightly and sidled farther into the seat, watching the sun sink behind the horizon.

12:28 a.m.

By the time she opened her eyes again, the bus' jumblings had become more severe as they approached her destination. Sparing a glance to the purrloin, she realized that she had never thought to ask him where he was headed. Not wanting to wake him sleeping so peacefully, she frowned lightly, and hoped he would wake in time to get off the bus. Smoothing out the white satin of her Nile shirt, she adjusted the black frames perched precariously on her nose and tugged at the wool cap on her head. Gradually, the bus groaned to a stop, and the stars and silhouettes outside the window slowed to a standstill. Shimmying down the uncomfortably positioned aisle, she flashed a smile at the driver in thanks before dancing lightly down the three steps into the road, standing nervously before the gate to Charming Town.
So, here she was. Finally.

Leaving her family behind, and so far away at that, was a difficult decision to make.
Even tougher on her parents was her decision to leave completely empty-handed, with nothing but the clothing on her back. She had insisted that she'd find her own way in the world, that she would make a name for herself.
That the solitude and sheer distance from everything familiar would give her a clean slate, a fresh start, something new. And right now, more than anything, she needed something new. After all, every writer needs a fresh start once they've hit the proverbial bump in the road.

Passing into the town was a quiet affair, though it was difficult to determine the different buildings in the dark. The sky was clear though, and the stars twinkled in magnificent clusters around the bold silver moon, smiling in a wicked crescent high above the quiet little town as the buildings below settled in a golden haze. Rubbing at her arms cautiously, she dared to wander east for a few minutes before the light from Town Hall came into view. Striding hastily through the crisp evening, she slipped in through the front door of the Post Office.

 

[Belle]

Re: Welcome to town!

12:55 a.m.

Entering hesitantly through the front door, the vaporeon took a few steps into the dim light of the post office, peering back at the pelipper behind the counter with a foul expression on her face. Initially cautious, she rubbed daintily at her nose, displeased by the overwhelming scent of the pokemon's perfume, even from a distance.
As she approached the counter, the bird's expression soured as she pursed her, uh.. beak.

"Well?"

"Beg your pardon ma'am, I'm here t-"

"Now hold your horses, who are you calling ma'am, smart-mouth?"

"... Uh. I apologize?"
Frowning at the brash personality exhibited by the pelipper, the vaporeon settled into one hip and smoothed out her shirt again. The bird clucked its disapproval and ruffled noisily with some paperwork before sliding it flippantly across the counter.
"Nick's let his assistant take up the shop for the night by now, seeing as you've arrived at such an unreasonable time. See what he can do for you."

Taking an immediate dislike for the bird, the vaporeon scooped up the papers and nodded shortly before slipping back out without a sound.

 

[Belle]

1:00 a.m.

Displeased by her first encounter in the new town, Belle paused for a moment as she shuffled the papers again, seeking out the windows of the town's shop and who she hoped would settle her in a house before she fell asleep here and now on the grass painted with the cool touches of dew. It had been a long day.
A long day.
She was hoping for a more pleasant entrance into the town, though she supposed this was what she got for arriving so late.
Maybe the morning would bring better results. But, first and foremost, a stop at the shop.

 

[Belle]

Re: Don Nick's Part Time Helpers

1:10 a.m.

Upon entering the shop, the door struck the tiny gold bell that greeted the vaporeon with a honey-sweet jingle, as if to say "I apologize for the squawking mess at the Post Office, please do come in!"
As the pelipper had mentioned briefly, she presumed that the owner of the shop, after whom it was probably named, was not here.
Instead, a sneasel reclined in the corner of the shop, head cocked as she entered. She frowned slightly at his expense, noting the ugly green uniform that was undoubtedly mandatory garb at the store, and approached with higher hopes for this meeting.

"Hi, I'm Belle. I've only just arrived here, and was told by the pelipper in the Post Office that I was to bring these to you." As she spoke, she brandished the stack of papers and kept her feet together, wary now of the natives of the town. Her nerves were markedly settled when the sneasel offered a smile and his hand as he set the paperwork aside.
"Stocker, I work the night shift here. Nice to see some new blood here in town." Belle just about deflated entirely. Any anxiety she'd built herself up with had melted away, coaxed into a sense of ease by the shopkeeper. Evidently, the hag at Town Hall was not indicative of the population of the town itself, and for this she was grateful.
Stocker continued; "Don't you worry about these papers, I'll make sure Nick sees them in the morning. But for now, let's get you into a house for the night. You can talk over a mortgage and upkeep with him first thing tomorrow. Sound good?"

She'd never felt so relieved. That was exactly what she had been hoping to hear.
"Yes, that'd be fantastic. I just.. I'm just... hahaaah." Letting an exasperated half-sigh half-chuckle escape her, she massaged her cheeks with her paws before supporting herself on the counter and nodding slowly with a wide smile set on her face. Laughing sympathetically, the sneasel snatched up a paper and a pencil and hastily scribbled a vague map for her.

"You'll want to pick up an actual map at the Town Gate in the morning, but for now this is where you want to go. Think you can manage? I can't exactly leave the store, or I'd show you there myself."

Grinning and shaking her head as she studied the scribbles, she folded it neatly and pocketed the slip before taking the sneasel's claws and shaking them feverishly once more.
"No, but thank you, thank you so much. I'll take care of everything in the morning, and the Gate, and the stuff. But really, I appreciate this so much."
Laughing, Stocker patted her paw gingerly before rubbing his assaulted hand and nodding briefly as the vaporeon, with a sense of renewed vigor, waved a goodbye and set out into the night once more.

 

[Belle]

1:20 a.m.

So Stocker's map was essentially rubbish, but it got the job done. After some time, a bit of wandering around the hillside though careful not to cross the river whose waters she could hear flowing gently in rhythm with the night life, she was able to find what she believed was the shanty with the navy roof he'd labeled on the sheet- at least, it looked navy in the dead of the night. She'd find out in the morning if her hunch was right. Unlocking the front door with the flimsy keys, she found that she was so dead-tired by the time she actually entered the house that the squeaking cot set up in the corner was exactly what she needed. Setting her glasses and hat on the orange box beside her, she fell into the weak canvas and was soon out cold, snoring delicately and in an almost feminine fashion from the sheer weight of her exhaustion.

 

[Belle]

2:09 p.m.

Slowly, so slowly, her eyelids cracked open as the pattering of rain on the shoddy roof of the little shack finally roused her. Groaning into the flattened pillow, she clambered out of the bed and spent a few minutes working her joints and stretching out any soreness that the rather rubbish cot had left her with. Just because she'd managed to drop into sleep right away last night didn't mean that she wouldn't wake up with a terrible crick in her back.
Urgh.
Fumbling for her glasses, she adjusted them on her nose before letting them droop again, peering out the dusty window at the haze and gloomy rain. Deciding against the glasses for the day, she stretched herself out and grabbed her keys before heading out the door, locking it behind her and wondering what time it was.

Standing in the rain, she smiled and took a deep whiff of the watery air and grassy scent that lingered as each drop seemed to melt into her skin, leaving her with a watery sheen and glimmer. She continued on in this manner until the clock above the front gate caught her attention and she clapped a paw over her mouth in surprise.
oh god it was two in the afternoon already she hadn't even gone to get a town map and still needed to speak to Nick only that was supposed to happen in the morning oh god oh god.
Taking a moment to compose herself, she shrugged it off and took a more hasty route directly to the shop, foregoing the stop at the Town Gate for the time being.

 

[Belle]

Re: Don Nick's Part Time Helpers

5:20 p.m.

Entering the store again, it had a much different atmosphere; the vaporeon found it gloomier than the weather outside. Perhaps it was the impending discussion of her debt she'd have to endure, or the fact that she wasn't quite as at ease without Stocker manning the shop.
Instead, at her entry the zigzagoon in the back had perked and straightened, ears twitching and head cocked as she approached uneasily.
Once she'd crossed the threshold he laid out the paperwork she had brought in the previous night with a small smile.
"This you?"

"Yeah, I got in quite late last night after traveling for a couple days, I'm sorry."
"It's no trouble! Now you're well-rested and ready to get started, so let's talk business. As you may have gathered, I'm Nick. This is my store, and where you'll be working to pay off your debt!"
His comment floored her somewhat, even though she should have expected that. Of course she was going to have to work it off, she didn't actually have any money. Still, she would have guessed that he'd at least ask if this was the answer she wanted to her problems.
"O-oh, yes, okay."
"So let's get you started now!"

Oh god what, now, what.
Okay.
Fine, no big deal, best to get started right away.
Lost in thought, she'd hardly noticed that the zigzazoon had tossed an ugly green shirt into her face and began to speak again. "This is your uniform. Try it on now, make sure it's the right size, would you?" For a moment she could do little more than stare blankly before flushing madly and turning away to pull the rough cotton shirt over her head. Oh god it was so ugly.
Not seeming to notice or care about the fit of the shirt, the pokemon went on with his lecture. "If you're going to be an effective worker, you're going to need to meet the residents of the town! There are two residents in town, plus two newcomers that I know of, and the mayor. So hop to it!"
And with that, he hurried her out of the shop without another word or indication of what she was to do.

 

[Belle]

5:50

More bewildered by the abruptness of Nick's charges and her new duties than anything else, Belle stumbled out of the shop and into the rain, hugging herself for a moment before straightening out her thoughts and starting back towards her house, thinking as she paced.

So,
okay.
Need to meet people. In order to meet people, gotta know where they'll be. To find where they'll be, she would need to get a map.
So first things first, she'd need to stop at the Town Gate, as she'd intended to do that morning. Whoops.
So, ignoring the rain again, she turned on her heel and set off hurriedly towards the gate she'd come through in the wee hours of the morning.

 

[Belle]

Re: The Mapmakers

6:00 p.m.

Hefting open the heavy door to the gate area office, the vaporeon slipped in and was immediately met with the hearty chuckles and the overwhelming presence of Sheriff. Standing by the door as she walked in, the brawny arcanine greeted her with a hearty clap on the back that caused her to stagger.

"Looks like we've got another fresh face, Popo! Look at all these newcomers just lining up these days." Guiding her shaken self back to the table at which the growlithe was seated, Sheriff took her notably smaller paw and shook it with such vigor that Belle was certain that her shoulder would break. But, before she could hear any audible snapping, the officer relinquished his grip and went on to speak again.
"I'm Sheriff, and this here's Popo, my co-worker. So where're you from little lady? What's your name?"
Overwhelmed by the forwardness of the arcanine, she took a moment to compose herself before smiling broadly and hopping back to sit on one of the tables, kicking her heels back and forth underneath her.
"I'm Belle, I've just moved from, well," she hesitated here, quite certain that the little town she had come from more than two days' ride away wouldn't have been heard from way out here. "I'm from quite a ways from here."
The arcanine expressed his glee with a clap of his huge paws that resounded throughout the room. "Always good to get a mix in with the residents, this is good! Anyway, I know you probably need to do some mundane tasks for Nick, am I right? Yeah, I thought so." Saying this, he nodded sagely at the vaporeon's sheepish look. "Don't worry, most people here in town start off that way. So let's get you a map, and an umbrella." He added as an afterthought the part about the umbrella, which roused Popo enough that he pulled one from beneath the desk and laid it out on the counter while Sheriff pulled out a map.

"That should get you set little darlin', now you go out and get yourself set up with yer duties y'hear?"
With an encouraging pat on the shoulder, the arcanine walked her to the dor and saw her off as she set back out into Town.


ooc|I know this took ages to post, shhhhhhhhhhh.

 

[Belle]

11:45 p.m.

She'd spent enough time staring out at the wooded area beyond the Town Gate, even though the stars were masked by the thick layer of grey and she couldn't see more than a couple dozen feet beyond her. Thinking back to her home and the family she'd left had engaged her thoroughly for quite some time, and the time seemed to have melted away with the rain. Her mind still wandering elsewhere, she bowed her head and watched her feet pressing indents into the soggy earth, ears twitching at the sound each step made as the smell of the damp earth rose to greet her.

It only took a minute for her to reach the part of town that gave her a view of all the twinkling lights left on by the shops and the villagers, few as they were.
In fact, from where she was standing she was able to make out the silhouette of another one of the villagers undoubtedly making the trek back to their house. As such, she would bet that this was one of the people she would inevitably need to encounter sooner or later, so she summoned up a bit of courage and turned to make an approach.

 

[Belle]

Some ungodly hour of the night

Thoroughly pleased with the endeavors of the day, it was with a markedly lighter mind that Belle finally returned home. Though the room was dusty and sparsely decorated, she managed to find comfort in the fact that the blue bed added a splash of color and life to the otherwise dreary room.
Reclining and stretching out to her heart's delight, she wrapped herself in the comforter and made an effort to recap on the events of the day before falling into the comfort of sleep.

The encounter with Nick was less than delightful, but at the very least there seemed to be a method to the mortgage madness, and she'd oblige for the sake of managing to pay off her house.
At the Town Gate, Sheriff had been so friendly, and kind enough to present her with a map of the town which would prove useful later on, and an umbrella with respect to the heavy rainfall that had still not ceased.
A couple hours of daydreaming and a chance encounter with Chad...
He had seemed quite nice. Hopefully the rest of the villagers were like him.
That'd be cool... Yes. Quite nice.
hmm

And with that, she finally submitted to the wave of sleepiness that had washed over her.

 

[Belle]

11:00 PM

She'd managed to sleep until noon again. But it was probably the best night of sleep she'd gotten in a while. The remainder of the day she'd whiled away after deciding that the best thing to do would be to get the cleans on. Taking the rare opportunity to separate her thoughts and go through the motions of the day, she swept, scrubbed, dusted, mopped, and arranged the house from top to bottom until she felt satisfied with her efforts. By the end of the day, she'd cleaned the house enough that it was presentable, though admittedly still a bit drab. there wasn't a whole lot she could do about that now, though, so she soldiered on and worked at the house until it sparkled.

Following a long day of work, she'd managed to compose her thoughts thoroughly enough that she was able to sit on the edge of the bed, pull out a few sheets of paper, and start scribbling furiously, green eyes darting back and forth over the paper as her mind raced a million miles faster than her hand, resulting in hasty, scrawling penmanship that she would later laugh at in shame.
What was important however, was getting all the ideas in her head onto the paper without running the risk of losing them all.

Certainly, it would have been a more productive use of her day to actually go out and meet the villagers, or speak to Nick about actually getting some work done, but it had really just been one of those days, and she was content to leave her running around until the wee hours of the night.
Stocker was a notably more enjoyable employer than Nick was, at any rate. And while she hadn't intended to avoid contact with the zigzagoon in favor of his nighttime counterpart, it just kinda worked out that way.
and it's not as though she was complaining about it.