Topic: A Visit in Kind

Toby

Date: 2007-05-04 14:03 EST
With a shudder and a faint muted *snap*, a figure appeared along the road outside the store. The light breeze rustled the tails of the black duster, and the bangs of dusty brown hair over his forehead beneath the fedora. Royal blue eyes shifted over the sign.. "A Stitch in Time". Yep.. that was definitely it.

He walked inside, eyes adjusting from the noonday sun to the comparatively darker interior of the shop, careful not to run into the racks of wares. Well-worn boots rang out quietly on the floorboards as he moved through to the back, to the counter along the right. The diminutive elfin female behind blinked at him, head tilted expectantly. "Can I help you?"

Toby cleared his throat and nodded. "Is Lydia in?" The elf didn't answer immediately, of which Toby approved. Rhydin was not a place where a stranger asking for you was usually a good thing. He went on, though. "My name is Toby... I'm a friend of hers. I was hoping to drop by and see her over lunch." He could only hope the staff knew the name, as he looked around at the displays. There was always the chance, too, he might actually see something he could get as a gift for someone.

Carley

Date: 2007-05-07 15:56 EST
Carley's bright blues studied Toby curiously, that is, until he clued her in on who he was. "Oh! Toby, right. Yes, she's mentioned you!" She smiled then, her quirky, too wide smile. "I pictured you being taller though..." She shook her head then, sending the feather of her beret wafting about. "Oh well!"

With that eternal bounce in her step, she moved from behind the counter and towards the stairs. Obviously expecting him to follow. "She's working up in the work room!" Cheery. She didn't know where Erin was though. Either upstairs drunk in the office, or on her lunch break. That'd be Carley's guess. She wouldn't voice it though, and hey, good thing he wasn't looking for Erin then, eh? Feet clunked on stairs as she ascended them quickly.

"The work room is at the end of the hallway. Past the bathrooms and the office." She pointed that way for reference. It was easy to find, really, but you never could tell with some people. "Hopefully she'll stop working long enough to talk to ya!" The blonde haired one had bad luck with that sometimes. Green haired could be a bit of a workoholic.

Her job done, Carley spun about and descended those stairs again. There was work to be done down there! Or, ya know, time to find Ivy, BS around. Whichever.

Toby

Date: 2007-05-07 16:10 EST
Toby gave the petite little elf a polite smile, though the "I thought you'd be taller" comment drew a chuckle from him. Whatever made her think that?

He followed her up the stairs, as she pointed out the direction to the work room where, she said, Lydia was working. She seemed, as Toby had once described Jewell, impossibly cheerful. Though Jewell definitely didn't have the blonde elf's rapid-fire speech mode. Toby resisted the urge to offer her 'decaf', as chances were good the joke would be wasted. He just gave her a smile and a polite little bow when she pointed out the door, and then spun around and disappeared down the stairs again.

He knocked quietly on the door twice, and then opened it and stepped inside. Automatically he removed the black fedora, tucking it under his arm as he looked around, eyes coming to rest on the familiar emerald-crowned figure.

"Hallo there.. a little blonde whirlwind downstairs told me I might find you up here." Crooked smile on his face. "Any chance a friend might steal you away for a few minutes?"

Lydia Loran

Date: 2007-05-08 15:11 EST
Lydia was wrestling with folds of fabric, a needle, and a bit of thread attached to a spool that was halfway across the room. It had fallen from her lap and rolled away. That always seemed to happen. Hearing the knock, she had looked up to give the door a quizzical look. Since when has Erin or Carley or Ivy ever knocked? They all worked there... though puzzlement faded when she spotted Toby.

"Hey Toby. Glad to see you finally dropped by!" She grinned, then.. well, she couldn't stand up just yet. With that mess draped all over her. Reaching over, needle was set inside a small, strawberry sized and shaped pincushion. Then she got to work on trying to real that thread spool back in.

"And I think I can spare a few minutes to be 'stolen away'. Especially since it's just about lunch time." She paused in her endeavors long enough to throw a curious look his way, look and tone a little more serious this time. "What did you have in mind?"

Toby

Date: 2007-05-08 15:21 EST
Without much thought, the spool turned on one narrow edge, and rolled itself back across the floor toward her, winding up the thread neatly as it went, before it popped up into the air and landed next to her. It had taken but a moment's concentration, and he felt a sense of satisfaction at how neatly the exercise had concluded.

"Well, it's a bit late for them, but I hear there's an omelette place in the Market that's fairly good. I usually stop by a little mobile stand that's there in the summer, they make the best sandwiches, but it's fun sometimes trying to find a place to sit. I could stand to go either way, depending on what you're in the mood for."

Toby's eyes flicked around briefly, looking the place over. "So this is where all the magic happens?"

Lydia Loran

Date: 2007-05-08 15:34 EST
When she looked to him she had missed the spool trick, but when she looked back to continue pulling thread closer, well, it was already wrapped up all nice and perfect! She knew who to blame for that though. "Hm, seems the ghost helps me out even here." Quiet words, mostly to herself. Jesting too of course, in case they were overheard. Smiling, fabric was folded as she stood up, then draped over her chair.

"I don't know if you would call it magic.. but yeah, this is where most of our things get made." Unless work was dragged home to be worked on, but that's another story. The room could probably stand to be cleaned again. Threads and fabrics were draped about, and gods, those yarn piles. Assorted colors tangled up, like skittles having... well, no need to go there.

Canting her head, Lydia glanced back to Toby. She wondered if she was thinking of the same omelet place he was talking about. If it was, then it probably was too late to catch it. She wasn't picky though. "It doesn't matter to me Toby, you're the one doing the stealing so..." Grinning, she shrugged.

Toby

Date: 2007-05-08 15:39 EST
"Well, let's try the omelette place, then. If it's closed, on to the sandwich kiosk." It seemed a good compromise.

While he waited for her to get everything in order for her lunch break, he added, "Was that the Carley you were telling me about? The short one?" He, too, kept that lower, so as not to offend her were she able to overhear. Some folk, after all, didn't take kindly to height-based comments. "She's... energetic."

He looked at the fedora in his hands, then snapped his fingers. "Also, I remembered. I actually do have a business-related reason here to boot. I was wondering if you had a bandanna. Y'know, one of those ones folk roll up either for a headband, or such. But that can wait till lunch is over."

Lydia Loran

Date: 2007-05-08 15:54 EST
She didn't have much to do to get ready. Sure, she should tidy up some, but, eh. Why do it now when she could do it later? Then again, she probably wouldn't. ...who was it that kept the store neat anyways? Someone had to clean every now and then. Oh well.

"Yeah, that's the Carley I was telling you about." Grin. "Weird, eh?" She didn't worry too much about offending or not, because she told the blonde one she was weird quite a bit. "But yeah.. I like her. The energy is refreshing." Pause. "Sometimes."

Wandering towards the door, she paused at Toby's mention of needing a bandanna. "Hm, yeah, pretty sure I got a box or two.. probably in storage. But yeah..." Grinning. "That can wait 'til after lunch." She hadn't realized just how hungry she was. She was already passing him to move down the hallway, towards the stairs that led back down.

Toby

Date: 2007-05-08 16:07 EST
Toby nodded politely to Carley on the way out, holding the door as they exited the shop. "Nice thing about this model, " he tapped his fedora, "there's clips above the brim that let you give it a custom band or bandanna. So, I figured I'd do just that, make it a little more my own."

There was the usual size of crowd, but it was not terribly dense. It was a pleasant, just slightly cool day - one of the reasons he'd chosen it. The fedora was settled back on Toby's head, once more throwing his eyes into shadow against the noonday sun. It was oddly comforting.

"Strangely enough, though, this isn't just a coincidental visit." Though he didn't imagine that needed to be said, her being one of the three who actually knew the truth. "I think I finally figured it all out. No..," Toby corrected himself, "I *have* figured it all out. I'm not just breaking my own rules here, I'm here because my little retreat is over."

"Funny what a moment of clarity can do."

Lydia Loran

Date: 2007-05-08 17:37 EST
Lydia wriggled fingers to Carley before leaving, and caught a silly fishy face in return. Pale blues rolled and out she stepped, along with Toby. At the mention of the fedora model, she glanced over to inspect said clips. "That is nice... I'd suggest a dark blue. I think it would suit you." A single nod to that before moving along.

She meandered along, keeping a somewhat lazy pace next to him. Head canted his way slightly as he spoke, and she just listened for the moment. When he was done, she nodded faintly. "That's good. Sometimes it takes a long time to figure things like that out.. sometimes I think people never figure it out."

Hands clasped behind her back as she smiled faintly. "I'm glad to see you out and about again Toby." She didn't know how he confined himself to his cabin for as long as he did. Then again confinement didn't settle well with her.. it's why she went out a lot. That, or people went and stole her away.

Toby

Date: 2007-05-08 17:49 EST
Lunch was nice, though he hardly paid much attention to the food. He explained the events of the previous night to her, in a fair amount of detail, on how he had finally come to understand himself, to understand the feelings that had warred in him during and after the events in Rien.

"... and that's really where it all stands now. All that stuff.. it's still part of me. But it's who I am, and I'm never going to deny it or pretend it's gone again. That's what got me messed up in the first place. I just have to keep an open mind on what I do with it from now on. Walk the line, like." he concluded with a wry smile.

"Also meant to ask you, are you still interested in finding a home for the pup? Because if you are, I'm still interested."

Lydia Loran

Date: 2007-05-09 02:42 EST
She was starving, but found her appetite waning when Toby told her of the previous night and explained things to her. Food forgotten, she listened, nodded occasionally, and remained quiet as he spoke. She still couldn't quite agree on some of his decisions or ideas or methods, but rarely were things so black and white like that. The world was composed of a myriad of grays, and perception was what it was all about. 'Right' to one was 'Wrong' to another. Rarely did those she know do things she agreed with, but there never was anything she could do to stop it.

"I'm glad you got it sorted out, and know where you stand at least..." She'd not bring up concerns or disagreements. Chances are he knew already. She'd jump right on in that more light hearted topic though.

"Yes!" Was that relief? "Hershey's wonderful but he's already growing and becoming more than I can handle." Sighing, she held a leg out and gestured to a boot. "This is the second pair I've had to buy. And I have to get way too many of those GangStar columns to keep my floor clean... I'm starting to feel like I'm running a zoo with Hershey, and Mellon, and the kittens on the way..."

Toby

Date: 2007-05-09 11:27 EST
The Gangster reference eluded him; Toby didn't read any of the local papers, none of it ever really had anything to do with him anyway. But he got the gist of her comment.

"Would you mind if we got introduced? The whole thing will be moot if he can't stand me." Wry smile, though he had pretty good luck with dogs, as it turned out. Just one of those things.

Lydia Loran

Date: 2007-05-09 13:53 EST
"I wouldn't mind at all!" She did know that some folks didn't do well with animals at all, or certain animals and certain people just didn't.. click. Just like with people.

"So when did you want to do that? Meet Hershey?" She would miss him for sure, but she little about taking care of dogs. And he was too much to handle. An inn room was hardly a place for a puppy or dog.

Toby

Date: 2007-05-09 15:07 EST
"There's no time like the present. If it all works out, I can take him back today to meet the twins. I don't know what your schedule is like, but I'd love to have company. I'll even offer to make dinner again, though you're welcome to pick this time." He chuckled.

"Also, you'll never guess who I ran into yesterday. You remember Tabitha, right? Sweet girl, came from Earth, kinda got thrown here like so many do? I hadn't seen her in months, thought maybe she ran off with some magician or whatnot." Toby paused to rub his forehead, tilting the fedora down to block the streaming sun during their walk.

"Well, she dropped in for a visit." The appropriateness of those words was particularly funny, though that was another story entirely. "Apparently she had quite the trip, and quite the adventure to boot."

Lydia Loran

Date: 2007-05-10 13:28 EST
"That's probably a good idea. See if they get along too... But I'm not ready to give him up just yet." Lydia grinned faintly. She was a little attached to Hershey, and figured a slow transition would be best. "And I'll have to take a rain check on that dinner. I've been out and about so much lately.. need to stay in sometimes, yeah?"

Hearing Tabitha's name though.. wow, that was a name she hadn't heard a while. A face she hadn't seen. "Tabitha? Gods I haven't seen her in so long... last time I saw her though she seemed happy enough.." Was moving out of the inn and everything.

"So.. is she doing okay? How is she?"

Toby

Date: 2007-05-10 16:39 EST
"Well, when I say she dropped in, I mean it literally. I was sitting out back and .. I felt something odd." He didn't have to expand on that, she'd get the idea he was sure. "And then she fell screaming out of the sky, into the lake."

Toby paused, purely for effect. "She's a lot drier now, banged her knee up hitting the water though. She's been telling me about her adventures wherever it was that she went, and she's lookin' to figure out what she wants to do now."

"She's changed, Lyds, a lot. She's still herself... but more, you know? Whatever she went through, she's definitely not that skittish newcomer anymore. You'll have to see what I mean for yourself, it's really hard to explain."

Lydia Loran

Date: 2007-05-11 14:36 EST
Her eyes widened a bit at that first part. Someone just.. falling from the sky like that? Though as she thought on it, she thought it could be.. the Nexus perhaps? She's been dumped in some unusual places because of it, and she's seen it drop others from high places so...

At the very least, it sounded as if she were okay, banged up knee aside. She was safe where she was at though, that's for sure. "Gods.. it sounds like she's.. doing better.. now though?" Faint confusion in her voice, she wasn't so sure what to say.

"And I'm sure she has... it's what happens here isn't it? People change..." A faint smile then. "I would like to see her again sometime. It's been a while."

Toby

Date: 2007-05-18 14:05 EST
"She is doing better. " Toby's nod was emphatic there. "I don't want to say too much, mostly 'cause it's really her place to say. But she's been on the edge of some really crazy things, and she's pretty glad to be back on solid ground again." A beat. "Well, y'know, after the landing in the water thing."

Toby chuckled. That was something he'd never let poor Tabitha live down.

"Her knee should be healed up enough in a few days, then she's gonna be rolling back on down to her room at the Inn again. I let her know you're doing well, and she's keen to see everyone again. Probably happen to get away from the dogs, too, they keep trying to lick her to death."

Lydia Loran

Date: 2007-06-05 15:35 EST
She chuckled faintly to that last bit, brows then lifted faintly. "Then are you sure you really want a third there to attack her?" Lydia shook her head then, gaze lowering. "But.. it really is good to hear she's doing well. Sometimes you meet someone and they just.. disappear it seems, and you never see or hear from them again." Smile dimmed at that. "But I'm glad that's not the case with Tabitha. I'm really looking forward to seeing her when she's up and about again."

Catching the time, lips pursed faintly. Lunch breaks were only so long after all. Disappointment flickered in pale blues as she regarded Toby. "It's probably about time we start heading back, yeah? I don't like leaving Carley to tend to customers by herself for too long." Because out of all the Stitch girls? Carley probably had the worst skills with customer service. Too honest and blunt sometimes, that one.