singillatim | [open] General Store

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[open] General Store

WHO: Louis de Pointe du Lac and YOU (new players welcome too)
WHAT: Opening the General Store!
WHEN: throughout February (at evening/night if you want Louis) + party on an Aurora night second half of the month
WHERE: General Store, Milton

Feel free to also use this setting as open starters or closed to characters other than Louis! Just indicate it if you do! His general store? No... Our general store...

A. Home Improvement

CONTENT WARNINGS: a little bit of vampire blood, talk of hunting animals for food

It started out of the practical need to store and barter goods. Louis's home is not a fit place to entertain anyone other than rats, and he doesn't want to disturb the people who live in the Community Hall.

Louis turns his attention to the thoroughly-looted husk of the General Store. Louis feels oddly shy about starting up anything, self deprecation rearing its ugly head. Lestat called his business back home a "human hobby."

He needs all the help he can get. There's the plumbing and leaks from the recent storm, trash to throw out, walls to paint, shelves to fix. He'd like to make arrangements for daytime hours when he can't be there. And finally, putting a new coat of paint on the GENERAL STORE sign with an addition:

Marché du Lac

How handy is he? Louis did small repairs at his club when a handyman wasn't available at night, he's fairly nimble... and he's never done construction in his life. But any fool can board up a broken window and repair shelves, he reasons.

"Fuck!" he hisses when he hits his thumb with the hammer. He automatically puts his thumb in his mouth, and the taste of that little bead of blood is shockingly good. He must be hungry. Time for a break.

He slips his hammer into the loop of some scavenged cargo pants. He might be terrible at construction, but at least he looks good doing it.

...Why is he working at night?

B. Having a Few People Over

To celebrate the reopening of Milton's only general store, Louis invites the town for food and drinks on the next Aurora night. At the risk of being accused of living in it, he wears his best 3-piece suit, the gray one from home. The place is well-lit, both due to the Aurora and every light source Louis could get his hands on. It's a myth that vampires don't like light. They just have a sun allergy.

Louis used to run a club, he knows how to plan a party. He doesn't know how to cook; he enlisted help for that. Among as much variety as Louis could get, the caterer Lalo Salamanca made a mushroom stew. Delicious--but watch out! A few special mushrooms may have found their way into the batch, possibly into a few bowls, and Louis has no idea...

He puts jazz records on and opens the doors. Empty shelves have been pushed out of the way for mingling or making music--he sorely misses live music. Louis would only request that it be good. (Louis reminds himself to explicitly instruct Lestat not to eat any musicians he deems bad.)

C. Open for Business

It's little more than a single counter and a few shelves worth of stock. Louis contemplates trying to bring in people to sell their own wares just so the rest of the shelves won't look so empty.

He arranges the odd collection of whatever he could scavenge and make presentable: dry goods, cans, candy, alcohol, cigarettes. The storeroom is depressingly half empty. The freezer, moved to an unheated room, is surprisingly full of meat.

In the window he puts up a passable copy of Tim's missing bunny poster. He sets up a little seating area where people can eat and drink if they wish. (It feels odd not to place the round little tables and woven chairs outside like at home, where the weather was mild enough.)

Louis emerges from the back room in an apron at the sound of the bell over the door. His suit and tie are so people won't mistake the owner/manager for a lowly clerk... as much as anyone can "own" anything in this scavenged town.

"Evenin', what can I get for you?"

D. Back in 15

Louis expects at least one teenager to take up loitering... Big mistake. If any hapless souls hang around too long and are trusted not to steal, Louis simply takes off his apron, dons his coat, and says without warning as he leaves,

"Mind the counter while I'm gone."

Congratulations, you now work here until he returns. He'll be back in a few minutes... right?

Do you:

Invite friends and avail yourselves of the candy, booze, and free aprons
Actually tend the store

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Sorry, Bigby, she's still pressing closer. He might have to apply a little pressure to keep her out of his lap. She's so hazily happy that she isn't really thinking about it.]

Didn't Louis invite everyone? Why would he kick you out?

That's--

[ Okay, hold on. Hold on. He's definitely shifting a little bit to make it harder for her to outright climb into his lap, because he definitely won't know how to deal with that. How is he ever going to explain that to Snow? Sure, they're not dating, and sure, she isn't even in this place, but how is he going to explain that to Snow anyway!!

It's only when he's relatively confident enough that he can keep her to cozying up to his side rather than outright climbing him like a piece of playground equipment that he finally speaks up again. ]

Maybe it might come as a surprise to you, Randvi. [ There's a bit of dryness in his tone, because Bigby doesn't think it's that surprising.. He knows how he comes across.. ] But not everyone here in town likes me. He certainly doesn't.

[It is surprising! She's had nice conversations with him before, and here he is now, listening to her and letting her hold his hand…]

That doesn't mean he would kick you out, does it? Running an establishment like this requires working with people you dislike on occasion.

[ Bigby huffs. ]

There's no rules against it here. [ There's no rules at all, in fact. ] Even if this is the only store in town, if he wants to kick me out for no reason, he could. Who's gonna stop him?

[ It sounds a little pessimistic, but to be fair, it's not like Bigby doesn't have reason to be pessimistic about this in particular.. ]

I've been kicked out of places for less, really.

[Randvi sniffs with the air of someone who isn't used to being told no.]

I would. They do that to us in England and I don't care for it.

[ There's actually a surprised little noise coming from Bigby at that. Nothing too big, really, but-- he just didn't expect her answer. At least it's easier to deal with when it seems to come from a personal place. It's not like Randvi is sticking up for him, she's just sticking up for her beliefs.

Bigby can deal with that. Fluster avoided, really. Instead he actually laughs a little, like he's just being playful about this while she's still plastered to his side. ]

What, you're gonna stick up for big old Bigby here?

[She scoffs.] Why not? I could easily defeat Louis.

[He hadn't demonstrated much physical ability when she’d seen him fixing up the store.]

[ It's tempting to joke that she totally could - hey, he has faith in Randvi, okay! .. and it's just funny, even aside from that - but Bigby is very well aware that Louis isn't exactly what he seems like to most people. He might blend in with the mundies pretty well, but that doesn't mean he's one of them, and Bigby knows it.

The last thing he wants is for Randvi to get herself into trouble with a being likely more powerful than your average human. Especially since she seems to be in an odd enough mood that Bigby kind of feels like she would fight him, given an excuse. ]

It's just that usually I'm the one fighting for other people. [ He instead opts on saying. Feels like the safer thing here, and the joke is almost just as funny.

Almost. ]

Not really used to the opposite.

[As if to underscore her strange mood, Randvi is absently stroking the back of his hand as she says in a conciliatory tone:] I'm sure that you could defeat Louis as well if you needed to.

[ His instinctive reply is to say I know I can, but.. you know, that might not be the best idea while being at Louis' party.. And while trying to be relatively good.. So he keeps those words to himself. ]

I'm aiming to not really have to defeat anyone here.

[ It's the truth! Bigby may be fighting all the time back home, but it's just because everyone keeps on making him!!

Also, please don't mind it if he's just-- uh, just trying to gently.. wrestle her hand away from her.. without trying to seem rude.. I-It's not easy!! ]

But that also means everyone has to behave.

[ Not really aimed at you and your hand-stroking, Randvi. Bigby really is thinking more about Louis, in case he might be hiding his secret for some bad purpose after all. Bigby doesn't think that's the case at this point, but.. you never know.. ]

[It's definitely not easy to get away from Randvi in this state. She's pressed so close that when he moves she comes with him, like getting crowded out of your own bed by a snuggly kitten.]

So far they seem to be. Isn't that so nice? I don't want to have to fight, but I'm happy you're here, Bigby.

.. happy?

[ He sounds so confused about that word, Randvi. It'd already be kind of surprising outside of this current situation, but with the way she seems to utterly refuse to let go of him right now, it's extra strange.

At least he's giving up on trying to pull himself away now he realises he sure isn't happening.. This is his fate now. ]

Are you.. sure you're feeling alright, Randvi? You seem really off today. [ Not that he didn't think before that she seems nice, but this is a weird entirely different level of it? Surely he would have noticed it before if she was always this strangely affectionate. ]

Is it truly so unusual that someone might be happy to see you?

[Randvi doesn't think so. He's always been so nice to her.]

I feel fine. Do I seem different?

[ With zero hesitation: ]

Very different.

[ He's ignoring the first question, yes. Thanks. Please don't notice. This is the far more important part, anyway! ]

Not that you seemed rude before or anything. It's just that you weren't so.. [ .. how to put it. ] .. touchy.

[ Nailed it. Do you not realise you're clinging to him like a kitten, Randvi? ]

[Randvi leans against his arm again, sighing heavily.]

I'm meant to keep to myself now, but it is not always easy. Don't you ever get lonely?

[ .. oh.

That's definitely a more complicated question. Bigby doesn't always like being around people, but it's not like he can't say he never gets lonely either, especially with his sort of circumstances back home.

Maybe it's why the man opts to instead focus on her. Talking about his own feelings? Nnnnope, he's got a reputation to keep up. ]

What do you mean, you're meant to keep to yourself?

[She doesn't really want to talk about things that don't make her happy either in this state.]

Sigurd’s little caged bird. You can look but you can't touch.

Wait.

[ Hold on, Randvi, he didn't know this? Sure, he doesn't know everything about her by a long shot, but this is definitely something that's concerning to the man, judging by how Bigby's facial features definitely are shifting to a frown over here as he fully looks at her. ]

What do you mean? Is someone being shitty you?

[ Does he need to put someone on his mental shitlist?? So he can make sure to get what's coming to them if they ever show up here?? He will, Randvi! ]

[It's kind of sweet. Bigby’s so nice.]

It isn't like that. I doubt he's even thinking about me.

[ Forget all the touchiness. Bigby isn't even thinking about it anymore, even if Randvi may still be actively clinging to him. He's too busy being offended on her behalf. ]

It sure sounds like it's like that to me.

[ Big wolf man five seconds away from bristling.. Look at those bushy eyebrows knitting together into a frown. ]

Why else would anyone be restricting you?

That's what happens when you get married. I haven't left our village since it was founded.

[ That first statement only makes him frown in confusion even more. ]

What, does your husband not want to travel?

[ Randvi didn't really seem to him like the kind of person who's content to just stay in one place. There's something about her that seems too tough for that to be true. ]

Do you not want to?

He's still away, so I have to take care of things at home. [It's not as if Sigurd would expect Eivor to remember to order salt for the horses.] Even then, until I have a son my behaviour needs to be above reproach.

.. your behaviour is fine.

[ There's something in his tone that sounds almost a little offended on her behalf. Like Bigby is kind of annoyed at the idea of someone acting like Randvi's behaviour is bad, when she's seemed fine to him this entire time. ]

People can be so fucking judgy about stupid shit. [ ...

Yeah, you know, maybe Bigby is the one who doesn't have behaviour above reproach.. ]

[Randvi drops her head to Bigby’s shoulder, exhausted at the thought.]

If I'm not careful, even being here could ruin me. It's fortunate for you that you don't need to think about it.

A. Home Improvement

B. Having a Few People Over

C. Open for Business

D. Back in 15

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