Marle's Home, 46 Licorice Street

[The Mint Pen]

A small one story home sits on the Licorice street, however the house itself usually is quite dark. It belongs to the local bartender, Marle James. Upon entering, you see a living room off to the right and a kitchen off to the left, equipped with the bare necessities at the moment. In the back are three doors, two opening to bedrooms and the other opening to a bathroom. The house itself still has boxes scattered around, half the bookshelf is filled, dishes are still wrapped in newspaper, but Marle welcomes guests anytime.

[Soapie]

not in the nude_.

Gosh, she was clever!
Natalie was very proud of herself on this particular day. Once again, the security of this little villages disappointed the little ginger scoundrel. Just like she did in the previous town she lived in, Natalie managed to break into the village files and discover where Marle lived. Just like she did to Adel. Stalkerish? Quite. But Nat never really classified herself as a stalker - more of an admirer, perhaps. She really did admire Marle, even if she wasn’t always happy to see the little redhead. She loved her anyways.

There had been a lot of drizzling going on in Saffron, no doubt because it was Spring. What was that saying? Spring showers bring Summer flowers? Maybe that was it. With these - and only these - thoughts in mind, Natalie made her amiable way along the streets of Licorice. Not literally, of course. The houses were quaint and nice - it made her jealous, really. She wanted to live in a nice house of her own! But she had no money because she had no job - and who knows WHEN anyone would hire her. Nobody really needed a singer around here. Still, she didn’t regret moving here at all; that’s how she met Marle and Adel!

Which reminded her! She was on her way to see Marle. The rain was coming down just a tad, making her orange locks slightly damp. This was working out well! How could Marle turn down a poor girl caught in the rain? Perfect - now she had an excuse! Oh Natalie, what a clever girl you are.
Kicking up her sneakers as she walked up to the house which supposedly belonged to Marle, Natalie hummed a perky, unrecognizable tune. Tapping a little fist against the wooden door, she smiled. ”MARLEEEE~” chimed the girl, bouncing up and down ever so slightly. ”MAMAMAMAMARLEEE~” she chirped again, ”Mama mia, Marle-a!”

[The Mint Pen]

Oh, Goddess. What time was it? Marle slowly awoke to an incessant tapping and all too familiar voice at the door. Glancing around, she made for a grab of the wall clock she had yet to put up, it was already evening? How long had she been asleep? Marle had woken up that morning determined to get some more unpacking done, obviously that hadn't worked out very well as she had fallen asleep amidst unpacking more of her books and notebooks earlier. Her neck and back felt sore from sleeping against the wall so the young woman groaned slightly as she stood up, a few books falling as her lap disappeared. "Coming!" she called out between knocks, moving a few pictures that were sitting on her desk as she walked by.

Taking a deep breath she answered the door and was immediately hit with a slight chill. It was still raining out apparently and the brunette was dressed in shorts and a tank-top with her hair in a rather messy ponytail with a pencil jammed through it. Marle couldn't help but pinch her arm behind her back a few times to make sure she was really awake. How in the Gods' name had Natalie found her house? She knew she hadn't told either Adel or the crazy red-head where she lived, but there had been the incident at the inn where she had found Adel. She shook her head slightly knowing that no matter how hard she tried, somehow Natalie would find herself inside Marle's home. It was raining out anyway, Marle would feel horrible if Natalie caught a cold from being out too much on a day like today. "Come on," she said holding the door open a little wider, "you'll get sick if you stay out there all day. What are you doing here anyway?"

[Soapie]

not in the nude_.

Yes! Her scheme was working! Was it a scheme? It made her feel all sneaky to call it that, so yes - it was a scheme. With a grin on her face, she stared up at Marle. She looked like a mess, but a pretty mess! Nat wondered how she did both at the same time; it looked like it was hard. ”Thanksyou!” beamed the girl, scooting her little feet in a shuffling motion. She inched inside, not feeling as though she was imposing at all. She had no idea what imposing was, really. ”I was going for a walk! And it was raining! So I found you.” she replied, feeling as though this story was completely sufficient. Details were boring and hard to remember. Plus, she wasn’t very good at lying; she would much rather just leave out the whole truth.

”Whoa, you’ve got lots of boxes, Marle! Are you gonna keep all of ‘em?” asked the redhead in excitement, eyeing all of the various boxes lying around the house. A normal person would’ve correctly assumed that she had just moved in, but not Natalie; ”Do you collect boxes? That’s so cool!” she chirped, shaking her arms just a bit to rid herself of the wet chill she’d gotten outside. Her gray cardigan wasn’t exactly good at keeping her warm, and she didn’t think that it would get this chilly during late Spring.
Youknow what you should try? Building a fort!” Nat suggested, turning to face her hostess once again. Her arms were spread out as if this was some sort of amazing thing; building a fort? Who wouldn’t love doing that?

[The Mint Pen]

The other woman's energy made her feel even more tired, Marle held her hand in front of her mouth as she tried to stifle a yawn. "Why were you going for a walk in the rain?" she questioned while closing the door to the slight Spring chill. "How did you me anyway? It's not like I have my address on business cards." Her slightly tired eyes followed Natalie as the red-head stood in awe of the amount of boxes Marle had. Had she ever heard of the concept of moving? On second thought, that was a dumb question to ask it would only open a painful conversation that the woman didn't want to go through at this moment.

Nonetheless, she narrowed her eyes at the woman slightly. Why would someone collect boxes? "Yes Natalie, I collect boxes." Humoring her a little, or maybe seeing how Natalie would react felt like the best course of action. As she walked over to the sparse kitchen, Marle called out, "Go crazy with the empty ones, they're over by the door." Honestly, she figured the red-head would just laugh and quickly, or abruptly, move on to another random subject. "Do you want something to drink?" she called getting herself a cup of hot chocolate, Natalie had to be at the very least chilled from her wet clothing.

[Soapie]

not in the nude_.

"Why were you going for a walk in the rain?” Marle asked her, seeming to be a bit tired. Nat looked at her, as if confused by her yawn. Why was she tired? Did playing with all of the boxes tire her out? ”Becauuse I need exercise. Like a dog.” she replied a bit blankly. This time she was aware she didn’t make much sense; it was just the first thing that came to mind, and that was what came out. Then Marle asked her how she found her home. ”I asked the Harvest God!” she blurted out with a grin, remembering that Marle mentioned his existence once before. He was a God, so he obviously would know everything; so there was no questioning how Nat found Marle’s house! Easy excuse. Good job, Natalie.

Nat spun around to examine the boxes again while Marle traveled into the kitchen. ”Cool! I used to do that too, but my sister got made whenever I made a fort, cause they always took up the whole living room.” babbled the little ginger, making her way towards some of the empty boxes Marle said she could play with. Lifting one up, she put it over her head. ”Thank you, Marle! And sure!” bubbled Natalie happily. Wow! Marle was so nice! She was really willing to part with all this boxes AND offer her a drink? Marle was a lot nicer than Adel, come to think of it. Adel would’ve criticized her by now. But that didn’t mean she liked Marle more; she loved them both with an equally awkward, stalkerish passion. Then again, she did pester Adel a lot more than she did Marle.
She paused for a moment in thought, wondering exactly why she followed Adel around more. Shaking it off - literally; she shook her head and the box along with it - she turned to watch Marle in the kitchen. ”Hey Marle, aren’t you cold? You’re dressed in Summer, but it’s still only Spring.” noted Natalie, always having a strange way of wording things.
Her sentence structure could probably be compared with that of an 8 or 9 year old.

[The Mint Pen]

Marle blinked a few times while getting the cups down before she said, "Alright, I can accept that answer." Natalie's next response however was more illogical than the previous. "The Harvest God?" she questioned, whirling around in disbelief. "How in the heck did the Harvest...you know, never mind." Marle drifted off, shaking her head. The questioning wasn't worth the battling right now, it would probably just end up giving her a headache. Still, the bartender had heard rumors that mayor was really the Harvest God...so Natalie was telling the truth maybe?

She couldn't help but smile at the red-head's childish antics. While she did annoying Marle a good majority of the time, there was something enduring about the girl. Marle almost felt a...protective instinct over her, like she would jump to her defense instantly giving the chance. After filling both of the mugs with hot chocolate, she brought over to Natalie and cautioned her, "Careful drinking it right away." Marle stopped with her mug halfway to her lips when Natalie asked her question. She honestly couldn't tell if the other woman was serious, but Marle was willing to bet a couple hundred gold that she was. "Because I was unpacking earlier and got hot." she explained hoping the logic would work it's way through her head."

[Soapie]

not in the nude_.

Nat could hear the shock in Marle’s voice when she told her she found out where she lived from the Harvest God - she stared at her blankly with her big blue eyes. Uh oh. Was that a bad lie? Maybe the Harvest God and Marle didn’t like each other? She thought it was a good idea to say that, but maybe it wasn’t after all. She masked her frantic inner thoughts with a face blank like a piece of paper. She felt a bit of relief when she dismissed the topic, though. ”We chill on the weekends,” said the ginger nonchalantly. This was supposed to be a joke, and she hoped Marle knew that too. She grinned vibrantly, lifting the box off of her head.

Watching Marle come over with the hot chocolate made Natalie happy. In that moment, she reminded her of her older sister, Iris. When she wasn’t constantly ragging on her, Iris did nice things like that once in awhile; she wasn’t good at cooking, but she wasn’t half bad at making little treats like hot chocolate.
"Careful drinking it right away.” Marle told her. Nat nodded and heeded this warning, gratefully accepting the hot chocolate. Her wet clothes were starting to remind her of how cold she really was; she wasn’t really dressed for the weather either. Sticking out her tongue as far as it would go, she dipped it into the hot chocolate. ”Owa!” cringed the ginger. Perhaps she didn’t heed the warning to its fullest extent.

Natalie nodded when Marle gave her reason for how she was dressed. Setting down the cardboard box, she put two hands around her mug of hot chocolate - the warmth felt good on her tiny fingers. ”Maybe you need an ACK!” suggested Natalie cheerfully. An “ACK,” however, was supposed to be A/C, meaning air conditioner. Of course, whenever natalie saw AC, she immediately read it as “ACK.” Thus causing major complications in communication. What else was new?

[The Mint Pen]

Marle closed her eyes for a moment before letting out a little spurt of laughter. Natalie was so casual when she said things like that. Still, sometimes it was hard to tell if the woman was serious, only the Goddess...or God...themselves knew how much Natalie actually understood. She raised her eyebrows slightly as she suffered the hot chocolate burn, "I warned you." she cautioned again, curious as to why Natalie simply stuck her tongue in the liquid instead of letting it cool for a small period of time. "...an ACK?" she questioned, setting her cup down on the table. Natalie's sanity was once again coming into question. "Natalie, what in the Goddess's name is an ACK?"

[Blegh, short. SORREH. : ( ]

[Soapie]

not in the nude_.

Nat stuck out her burnt tongue at Marle when as she brought up the fact that she had warned her. Though, she really just wanted an excuse to get it out into the cool air. ”I wath tethting it!” she retorted, fumbling over her tongue because she kept it out while speaking. She didn’t actually drink it, so she didn’t think it would have such a negative effect. She was wrong.

"...an ACK? ...Natalie, what in the Goddess's name is an ACK?” Marle seemed very confused, which shocked Natalie. How could she not know what an “ACK” was? For once, Natalie felt as though she had some knowledge over someone she truly admired; though it was on false pretenses. ”An ACK! Duh!” huffed Natalie, as if this was something Marle should know. She decided to tell her anyways. ”You knoww! An ACK! Air Conditioning!” said the girl in a “this is so obvious” tone. She fanned her hand out beside her for emphasis. ”You’re so old-fashioned, Marle! Just like Adel-o!” she laughed, finding great humor in this complete misunderstanding.
How on earth Marle put up with Natalie... not even the Harvest God knows.

((S’OKAY<3))

[The Mint Pen]

Perhaps it was only through her years of experience deciphering drunken slurs, but Marle had actually understood what Natalie said to her. Or at least partly understood it. "Then wait until it's a little cooler to test it, don't stick the tip of your tongue in right away." Taking a careful sip of her own hot drink, she attempted to understand the woman's next set of words strung together. Ahhh...air condition. That made much more sense now.

"Natalie, I think you mean AC." Marle replied pronouncing the letters instead of trying to make a new word. She had to applaud the girls effort though, she hadn't heard 'ACK' before. Marle had to laugh at Natalie's comment though, old-fashioned huh? Even under false information she had never heard that word used to described
her before. But Adel..."I have to agree with you there, Adel is rather old-fashioned." It was a good kind of old-fashioned though, if there was one that is. He wasn't trying and failing miserably, he was actually succeeding. "How is Adel, anyway?" Marle asked curiously about the German, she hadn't seen much of him around at the bar lately. Naturally, she assumed Natalie was making a point to see the man at least once a day.

[Soapie]

not in the nude_.

As Natalie held the mug of hot chocolate in both hands, she stared intently at the steam that rose from the sweet liquid. She held it close to her, liking the feeling of it against her cheeks. It warmed her nicely. "Natalie, I think you mean AC.” Marle said to her. Natalie’s thoughtful blue eyes shifted up towards the woman. ”Oh, s’that how you say it?” she replied, seeming rather surprised by this fact. She wasn’t very good with acronyms.

Nat found herself smiling when Marle mentioned Adel being old-fashioned. She laughed, finding humor in the mutual agreement. "How is Adel, anyway?” she asked. Nat’s eyes gravitated towards the ceiling. ”Oh, y’know...” she said, a bit unsurely, ”He’s Adel!” she finished, looking rather guilty. She didn’t want to tell Marle that she accidentally pushed him down a hill and damaged two of his limbs. It wasn’t a lie, it just wasn’t the truth! She quickly tried changing the subject. ”So how’re YOU?” she asked boisterously.

[The Mint Pen]

"Yes, that's how most people say it." the brunette confirmed gripping the mug between her hands. Even though it had slowed down to a very slight drizzle, the rain made everything feel so much more cooler and chillier. Like it had seeped through the paneling of her home, although Marle knew that wasn't true. She couldn't help but lower her eyebrows slightly in the confusion, was Natalie avoiding subject? But why? It may sound slightly creepy, but Marle thought Adel was Natalie's favorite subject to talk about. Seriously. She stalked the man relentlessly, so why shouldn't Natalie like to talk about him?

"He's...Adel?" she repeated, her voice rising at the end of her sentence indicating questions. "What exactly does that mean, Natalie?" And then of course, with Natalie being Natalie, she quickly moved onto another subject now asking Marle about herself.

How was she? Well, oddly that was a questions she had to think a little about. She had just been randomly uprooted again and had to start over on this new island, although now it seemed as though it was doing a lot better than Castanet Island had every done. Surprisingly, she had really only seen a few faces she recognized in passing, Natalie and Adel the only two people she really knew. Still, she could only hope that there wouldn't be another uprooting soon. "I'm...good." Marle stated, really leaving it at that. "You seem as chipper as usually though."

[The Mint Pen]

After cleaning off backroom shelves and getting both wine and grape juice spilled on her, all Marle wanted was to take a long shower and curl up in bed with a book. She trudging through the fall chill, it was getting colder with the threat of winter looming over the island, and wearily opened the door. Marle shed her coat, throwing it on a nearby chair along with her scarf and gloves, she quickly looked around for her house guest. "Ian?" she called as she untied her boots and placed them under the chair as well. She didn't hear an answer right away so she tried again, "Ian, are you here?" Even after a few weeks it felt weird calling for someone else in her own home, but honestly relaxing was the only thing on her mind now.

Marle walked quickly through her home and back into the bathroom and sighed as she shut the door, completely forgetting to lock it out of habit, as she undressed and jumped into the shower. She was in there maybe twenty minutes, longer than she usually was in, and stepped out while wrapping a towel around her. She grabbed a brush on the bathroom counter and started to comb through her snarled and wet mess of hair, but it smelled like raspberries. So it was okay.

[jinxetta]

----------------------------------------
if that's the best that i could be then i'd be another memory
_{CAN I BE THE ONLY HOPE FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE THE ONLY HOPE FOR ME}

So far his patrol only had one thing to report: nothing. It was exactly as Ian had expected, and after a long day's worth of walking around and patrolling the emptying streets, the man finally decided to turn in. It was growing late, and the night's chill settled in with the warning of the coming winter. Oh, how he'd have tons of fun having to walk about in the cold. Not.

Entering the house, Ian hadn't expected Marle to be here. Normally, he was here a bit earlier than she was and enjoyed crashing on the couch after discarding his uniform in what closet space was afforded to him. Beforehand, though, he would normally wash off. The uniform was stuffy, even though he knew he'd probably enjoy it in the winter, and walking around all day did cause a man to work a bit of a sweat.

So used to being on his own, he didn't bother even asking if Marle were there as he decided to take off his uniform jacket right then and there, placing it on a hanger, with his pants joining it soon after. This left him in nothing more than boxers, which he hoped to remedy by putting on some sort of pajama pants after cleaning up. He began to look through his clothes in his little suitcase kept inside the same little closet, but when finding that he couldn't find any, he shrugged. They were probably in the wash. He'd bug Marle about it later and grab some jeans for the night if all else failed.

In the meantime, he decided to go ahead and wash up, opening the bathroom door without a care or a knock -- pretty much convinced he was the only one in the house due to how quiet it was as well as the usual timing. The warmth and steam that hit him upon opening the door surprised him, and he was curious as to why --- Oh, Goddess.

The first word that could come to his mind when entering the door and seeing what he did was not a very pleasant one, to put it simply. His face grew incessantly red, his jaw clenched, and his mouth remained zipped shut though his eyes were as wide as saucers. Quickly, he stepped out of the room and slammed the door shut.

In his mind, that unpleasant four letter word was being chanted as he backed away. What was he supposed to say or do in a moment like this? Should he run for it? Hide under something? All he could do was swallow and wait. He had a feeling, knowing Marle, his retribution would come within moments.

if we can find where we belong we’ll have to make it on our own
_{FACE ALL THE BURN AND TAKE IT OUT BECAUSE THE ONLY HOPE FOR ME IS YOU ALONE}
----------------------------------------
DATE; fall 53, YR1 || TIME; evening || TAG; marle
----------------------------------------