Topic: Making a Move

A L Bertand

Date: 2011-11-05 19:42 EST
It was time for a change. That the decision hit her in the middle of the night didn't matter. That she decided she had to act on it before she rationalized it away again, did.

She assumed that the realtor had an answering machine, so she hunted down the card she'd received during the small business date auction a year ago, grabbed herself a glass of orange juice from the fridge, and dialed the number.

"Hello?" began the message she left for Fiora. "I don't know if you remember me, but I was one of your...auction action figures last year. Annie Harper? Anyway, I'm looking for a new place. Could you call me tomorrow when you have a few minutes?" She rattled off her cell number, twice, before concluding with an awkward, "Um, thanks."

No way she was going to sleep, now.

Fiora Shantalaine

Date: 2011-11-07 16:46 EST
The words, when they came, were such a wicked fast stream of information that it would probably take more than one session of listening to decipher the majority of the message.

Chipper, bright, brimming with excitement and practically bell-like in their pure love of EVERYTHING, the message went something like this:

"Oh hithere howareyou? Annie! It's Me FIORA! I'm just great! I know you'd ask so I answered as if ye did! I mean not that I heard ye ask or anythin' beause that would be weird if I did, this bein' a message where I leave my part of it on yer phone! I remember ye! I totally would never forget one of my Gala participants! That is so incredibly awesome that ye were a part of it all! I hope ye plan on bein' a part of it again as the Second Annual Event is fast approachin! I KNOW Crazy right?! I can't believe how this year has just flown by, I was just tellin' Paige this mornin' that it seems like forever ago since I got shot, like a whole nother world ago," Pause. "Wait. Did ye know I got shot? Most people don't cuz I didn't want that to be common knowledge at all as it makes me sound like I went and got myself in trouble.. I didn't! I've been really really well behaved! IN fact I've been so damn good that I went and got this great new property full of Chateaus out on the edge of Dragon's Gate. They're AWESOME. Ye should totally come and check them out...ye just head southeast of the Bridge into Temple District. Ye'll see the Great Lodge on the edge of the" BEEP!

A second message followed the first:

"Can ye believe that? I think yer phone just told me I was bein' a tad chattycathy, though I never understood that sayin' anywho' I mean who the hell is Cathy? I'm not a Cathy. I'm a Fiora! But I'm definitely chatty. Wow! Sorry bout that I had two (Okay FOUR!) of those CaptainChino's this mornin' and I'm fair buzzin' Okay, so as I was sayin' just head by the Great Lodge and the staff will show ye around. OR Feel free to stop by the Plaza de Troyes and I'll personally escort ye around some of the properties I've got available! Can't wait to hear from ye! FEE!"

A L Bertand

Date: 2011-11-11 14:20 EST
She played the two messages back three times on her machine before she'd caught all of it. If she had even a tenth of that woman's energy...

Harper was still smiling when she dialed the number back and, of course, got Fiora's machine.

"Fiora? Annie-Love Harper here. Listen... I had been thinking about another apartment, but after hearing your message, I really want to look at the chateaus. Could we maybe meet for lunch tomorrow, and then run out to take a walk around? Let me know what your schedule's looking like. If tomorrow doesn't work, we can try another day. Call me...Bye!"

Fiora Shantalaine

Date: 2011-11-15 14:23 EST
She was totally down for lunch. Or up for it. Whichever direction meant lunch of course. And if she was a bit of a whirlwind on the phone she was moreso in person. A veritable font of information that zipped and zinged by at such a manic speed that the only moments of silence were usually when she was drinking or eating. She at least was mannered enough not to speak when her mouth was busy doing other things.

Upon arriving at the Chateaus, she did offer to get them both a jeep to journey along the rough roads should Annie wish to delve deeper, but the horrified reactions of the hobbits revealed that they weren't too thrilled with Fiora's driving capabilities.

The tour of the Chateaus would be a fun affair as Fiora was not afraid of getting dirty and hiking through the veritable fairytale landscape of the forested areas in the southeast corner of RhyDin could prove to be an idyllic way to spend the day.

It was here in the rich verdant rolling grounds, tucked beneath the glorious canopy of trees overhead, that Fiora actually seemed to slow down. Content to listen to the birds, or the babbling of the nearby creek, she let Annie take the lead and only threw in responses when queried.

She hoped the woman liked what she saw as Fiora was incredibly impressed with her quiet steady presence.

A L Bertand

Date: 2011-11-18 15:44 EST
She'd sprung the surprise of another guest on Fiora at lunch, but neither the surprise nor the dim sum at the Angry Dragon slowed Fiora down one bit from telling them all about the chateaus, or answering a million questions about the properties, the security, the options available. She drank in as much of it as she could, scribbling notes into a little book as quickly as possible and certain she was missing a good quarter of it.

Rather than the jeep, they opted for the hike. In part, it was the horrified expression on the faces of the hobbit-folk. Mostly it was the simple fact that Harper loved to camp and hike, loved the outdoors. She spent as much time as she could given her livelihood in the hills north of the city, so deep in the woods that it became vastly impractical in the winter once the snow and ice came in earnest. She missed it, then. A place like this, though ... it was the best of both worlds.

Some three or four hours later, after touring a dozen available properties, she murmured to them with a bemused and overwhelmed smile, "That one's too big ... and that one's too small. But this one is jusssst right," like Goldilocks in her own story.

The fellow with them threw back his head and laughed. "Yeah, darlin', but now we gotta worry about tha' bears."