autumn's the best! [r]

[+ MILADY KITTY]

Brandishing the handle of her trusty rake the blond woman coerced the leaves of red, green, yellow and brown into a steadily growing pile. Although autumn had just started and there weren’t a ton of leaves littering the ground, there was enough for Kitty to gather up if she worked her way along the stretch of land making up the peninsula. The blond had been doing such for nearly an hour now (instead of doing work, ew) and had accomplished much in that time. Why? Because jumping in leaves was fun!

There was no real logic behind her actions, especially when she was using the activity as an excuse to skip out on work since, well; it was more work than actually doing what she was supposed to. In her mind, she expected a just reward and that reward was the sheer joy of jumping in a huge pile of leaves! Yes, Kitty was well beyond her childhood years yet she continued to act in a similar manner. Many would shun her way of living, so carelessly and spontaneous, but Kitty never cared. Other people’s opinions didn’t affect her.

To be honest, it was unusual for the blond to even have spent such a long period in any given place. Ivypoint was the second place she had spent an extended amount of time in, preceded by her childhood home town. There was so much to love about the peninsula, however, something else kept her there and she wasn’t entirely sure what. It might have been the people who she had grown attached to or her animals, maybe some unseen force? Whatever it was, it wasn’t in her nature to ponder it long.

With two more strokes of her rake against the grass, she stood over the product of her labor with a look of satisfaction spread across her face. She pulled her arms together across her chest and, with an excited squeal, threw them up as she leapt into the leafy pile. She giggled like an excited schoolgirl while tossing leaves around her. What better way to kick of autumn than celebrate in the season’s most notable characteristic? Oh, well there were festivals… Well, whatever! Autumn was the best!

[BARONESS WISTIE]

Carter wasn't sure about his feelings on autumn. Summer was the best, no question. Sailing, the sea, swimming, fun: it had everything. Naturally, you would think he hated Fall for taking that away, but if you skipped it, well...

Well, then Carter wouldn't get to see things like Kitty jumping in a pile of leaves. Simply out for a shopping trip, he had not imagined a chance run-in with Kitty Cross. He smiled to himself, putting his bags down. One of the things that always attracted him to Kitty was her child-like sense of fun. He could have sat and watched her run around for quite a while, just seeing her have fun. That is, if he didn't become acutely aware of how creepy he might be seen as. Panicked, he scurried around the walkway. She was gonna think he was a stalker! She probably wouldn't buy the "out tot he store" excuse, even if it was the truth. No, can't lie, women can smell them a mile away. Might as well try-

"H-hey Kitty! I was just shopping, okay?!"

Damnit. For some reason that sounded like a better idea in his head. He stopped flailing his arms, scrunching his face with worry. I blew it. I blew it now, she's never going to talk to me again. You're a romance genius, Harris, an absolute cassanova. Let's just agree to not talk anymore, okay? God, stupid, stupid, stupid.

Now he wasn't even sure if he should follow through and go talk to her, or just sit on the nearest bench and sulk in the cake he just got. He could give it to Kitty as an apology... no. He was going to need all the feel-good the German chocolate cake could offer. Maybe he would get lucky and she hadn't even seen him. Maybe.

[riza]

Alasdair yawned, widely, absentmindedly stretching as he deeply inhaled the crisp autumn air.

It was a glorious afternoon, even to fall's admittedly high standards. Of course, the fact that he had managed to sleep in most of the chilly morning didn't hurt in making the sky that much brighter and the air outside of his little inn room that much fresher.

It was absolutely terrible.

He groaned as he rolled his still shoulders, trying in vain to work out the kinks in his muscles from lazing about in bed.

The first few days of sleeping in had been, in a word, marvelous. After having worked so hard in Peony Bay--and what a world of good that had done him, in the end--it had been a positively delicious treat to relax and catch up on his beauty sleep... Not that Alasdair McGinnis needed something as plebeian as 'beauty sleep' with a face as naturally beautiful as his; He just liked sleeping in, that was all.

However, the novelty of sleeping in actually seemed to be wearing off; How utterly sick was that? Alasdair had not thought that it would have been possible, but somehow, it was true. Now, he was forced to face the sobering reality that he really needed to find a job and find one soon. Not just because he was getting bored but because Alasdair was fairly sure that the inn keeper was going to stop believing that he was 'good for it' like he kept informing the man when he asked about the rent. The poor man.

Well, not as poor as him, Alasdair realized with a scowl. Never mind. forget that lucky bastard.

Sighing, Alasdair ran a hand through his hair, careful not to overly disrupt the perfectly combed locks. It was actually really sickening, now that he really paused to think about it. Here he was at rock bottom, again, and he still was managing to sink further and further down. The whole reason that he had returned to Ivy Point was to prevent just that from happening by getting his job working with (under) Chihaya back. After all, when Alasdair had left for his apprenticeship in the big city, the chef had promised that he would always have a place for him in the cafe.

Alasdair supposed that he probably should have checked to make sure that Chihaya was still in the village before spending the last of his gold to move back. But, how was he supposed to know that other people in Ivy Point dreamed of leaving for the bigger and better things the world had to offer (or at least offered to people who had money).

Alasdair paused.

Actually, not that he really thought about it, Chihaya wasn't the only person that he hadn't found still in Ivy Point.

He frowned at the thought, furrowing his brow in concentration as he tried to remember if he had seen anyone familiar since his less than spectacular return. He'd run into Fallon, or rather she happened to run into a tree in front of him. But, she didn't count. They had never truly hung out, in the past and even if he planned to remedy that now that she was older and more filled out, she wasn't one of the people he should have been looking for since he first arrived.

Fingering the hem of his sleeve contemplatively, Alasdair's blue eyes scanned the street around him. The village's lay out was still familiar to him, despite his time away, but the people on the streets and working in the shops... They were not.

Pouting, Alasdair changed his direction, walking towards familiar neighborhoods with a renewed purpose. He may not be all that familiar with statistics, but he was certain there had to be at least one person in the village that he knew.

” "H-hey Kitty! I was just shopping, okay?!"

Alasdair blinked, halting mid step as his head swiveled towards the location of the stammered defense. A devilish smirk spread across his face; There was only one person in the whole world who blundered so badly in front of the girl he loved. And the garish mip of red hair just cinched his suspicions.

Unable to help it, a spring appeared in his quickening step as he walked towards the poor bumbling man; He was not surprised to see a beautiful young woman. Her blonde hair cascaded in the slight wind as she stood surrounded by the colors of the season; Every inch of her feminine form looking like a autumn fairy princess… just without the wings, dress or crown... and being shouted at by an awkward red headed idiot.

Honestly, hadn't he managed to teach Carter anything before he had left?

"Kitty, my love! I missed you so much!" Throwing his arms open wide, Alasdair couldn't help but pull Kitty into a swirling hug, interrupting what he was sure was going to be yet another painful and awkward (all on Carter's part. Again, hadn't he managed to teach him anything?) semi-conversation.

"Oh, I missed you so much, I just had to come back for you." Alasdair happily declared, smiling over her head at Carter.

[+ MILADY KITTY]

Still squealing with childish mirth, the twenty-two year old indulged in the simple pleasure of the autumn leaves and the sight of them swirling around her brought. Many adults had lost that enjoyment for such simple things, yet she refused to give them up. To her it’d mean handing over her youth and admitting the world wasn’t as wonderful as she believed it to be. That was something she would never allow herself to do. Why would she ever give that up?

The leaves she tossed into the air as she twirled and giggled spun down in a display of vibrant fall colors that mesmerized her until they gathered to the ground once more. She continued to throw them up again and again until a voice earned her attention. Colorful foliage clung amidst the flaxen locks cascading delicately over the young woman’s shoulders, shifting slightly with the motion of her neck as she craned it to view the redhead. Her eyes lit up instantly. “Carter!” She chirped, excitedly.

His words confused her, but those strange and unexplainable outbursts seemed usual for him so they went unquestioned. She was accustom to him and for him to change would make her very sad. “What were you shopping for?” Kitty’s bright green eyes fell on the item clutched in his hands. There was a noticeable hint of chocolate wafting in the air leading the blonde to wonder if it was coming from him. Before she could make any more inquiry, however, she was enfolded in the arms of another man.

There was familiarity in the voice that preceded the embrace and the feel of the body pressing itself to her. Raising her green eyes, lightly tinted with the faintest hint of blue, to gaze upon the face of a man she hadn’t seen for a very long time. Those eyes widened instantly and exploded with unbridled happiness. “ALASDAIR!” Her voice cracked as her excitement reached levels that brought her on the verge of joyful tears. Her slender arms snaked themselves around his narrow chest, pressing her cheek hard against his chest. “I’ve missed you too!”