Greater Easthaven On second thought, let's not go to Camelot

[Juniper Gray]

Outfit

By now, Juniper was pretty sure she could call herself adventurous. This had to be her third? Fourth? Her fourth festival she'd dressed up for and thrown herself into solo. Maybe she'd find some of her friends here, maybe not, she didn't care. What mattered was that she'd thrifted up a vest that looked vaguely 'hobbity' and a satchel, so she fit in, and gone out to the faire to see the sights, smell the smells, and eat the food.

And drink the drinks! In the midst of brilliant display of costumes, shops, and other attractions, she remembered she could partake of the drinks. That was quite novel, and Juniper hauled herself right into an open air bar with the Tavern Aesthetic down pat, down to the wooden tables, sticky floors, and buxom bar maidens. She felt like she was in the midst of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, and that, at any moment, someone was going to give her a quest.

Still feeling fresh with her legal drinking status, she did not dare try the whisky drinks without Mr. Crowhurst's discerning eye to guide her. Sure, she could've winged it, but it was admittedly also more expensive. So she stuck to the cider, and found it refreshing and sweet. With her metabolism, however, that was as far as she got, which made it a inferior drink to her undeveloped palate. Soda would've been the better sweet cool drink, unless she drank a lot of cider. Or perhaps, she ought to try something more expensive...

The tiger eyed the menu for long enough that she began to feel awkward standing at the bar. At the end, she considered this this a momentarily failed experiment--especially since nobody seemed to miraculously have a quest for her. The girl made her way out of the bar, undaunted, in the mood to try something fried and on a stick or a turkey leg.

Unfortunately, Juniper was not accustomed to carrying the satchel that came with the outfit, low effort or not. She was halfway across the fair when she realized she'd left it in her booth, and quickly turned on her heel to retrace her steps.

Finding her way back into the bar, she craned her neck to get a look over the heads in the crowded bar, only to see that her old booth was occupied. Shouldering her way through the crush of people, she reached the table, a little breathless and rosy-cheeked, asking its' occupant with a slightly concerned smile, “Hey, hi- Sorry- Did you see a bag when you got in here?”

Unfortunately, the bag would seemingly not be at the table any more. Instead, it had fallen to the floor, out of sight, and accidentally kicked under the heavy booth, hiding closer to the seating area one space over.

[Serafina Duarte]

look
Her dress was flowy and the Ren Faire was no place for her. It was noisy and complicated. People bustled and ran between the crowds. The multitude pressed in upon her. It helped little that the earthen floor was an uneven tangle of tree roots, muddy divots, and hard packed dirt. Serafina had lost her footing or tripped herself too many times in the last hour it was a miracle she hadn’t wiped out yet. The treacherous terrain made her hesitant and her passage cumbersome.

On the odd occasion she felt gravel beneath her boots, but those seemed few and far between, and mainly around the areas with the most traffic. Those turned out to the be the mercantile and tavern districts. Here, she rested with a large plastic cup of mead, sitting at one of the many tables. She kept the fingers of one hand pressed against the cup and felt the condensation gather at her fingertips. The touch was cool and gave her something to focus on. The conversation, the bawdy laughter, the constant scuff of wood against floor, against fabric, and against people was a distracting haze that she struggled to pierce.

This one cup of mead was more than enough to sate her thirst, and she’d probably not finish it all. The last thing she needed was her head spinning as she made her way back to the parking lot when she was ready to leave. Blind drunk wasn’t some cliché for her.

Serafina was nursing her drink when someone approached her table, she heard the crunch of stone beneath shoes, and spoke to her. The woman’s voice was young and struck a familiar chord, though with the crowd she couldn’t immediately put a name to it, but she caught the question.

“No, I did not.” She answered plainly, gently abutting the concern and refrained from an explanation. A woman preoccupied with her missing bag would have cared little for a reason why. She turned to the voice. “You are welcome to check.” Her free hand touched along the bench where she sat, feeling for the item, and doubting all the same that it would be in easy reach.

[Juniper Gray]

When Juniper craned her neck to look past the woman, she didn't see the bag, and her eyebrows knit together in consternation. For a moment, she looked around, wondering if she'd picked the wrong booth, but knew it couldn't be. She could smell herself around here.

As it was, she was so distracted that she didn't immediately register Seras' familiar face. It had been almost a year since they last encountered each other at the haunted house, but by virtue of Seras' particular circumstances, she stood out in Juniper's memory. It was hard to forget struggling through a haunted house with a blind girl, and even more so considering how much fun they had.

As such, once the tiger finally looked back at the woman and took her face in, she recognized her immediately. “Seras!” she squeaked, her pleasure at seeing a familiar face momentarily overriding her concern. She grinned, even if the other girl couldn't see it. “It's me, June, d'you remember me?”

[Serafina Duarte]

She tensed, shock lifting her brows, and anticipation made a quirk of her smile as she heard the ecstatic use of her name. Her surprise rose, settling on a higher plateau as June introduced herself. Grinning, she listed closer to the voice. “June, wow!” She said with excited wonder. How could she forget their adventure last October? What a risk it had felt venturing to that creepy farm alone, but everything turned out for the best, and June had been a large part of that.

“The haunted house, of course.” She offered as token that she hadn’t forgotten.

[Juniper Gray]

Absently, Juniper noted to herself that Seras would not have seen her bag, considering, and let that thread of thought go for the moment. Instead, she took a more utilitarian route--since she didn't need to look the woman in the eye during this very welcome reunion, she craned her neck to look past her into her side of the booth. Not seeing it, she started checking around the other side, crouching down to start looking beneath the seats.

Seras' specificity brought a big grin to her face, and she peeked up over the edge of the table at her. Her voice came out modulated by the unique position, bouncing against the bottom of the table. “It's been a bit, which sucks- How you been doin'?”

[Serafina Duarte]

It had been a bit; she couldn’t deny that. In the weeks and months that followed the Haunted House, Seras wondered about June and Cam, and what they were up to. She’d enjoyed their company, but eventually, thoughts of her circumstantial friends faded. The unexpected reunion with June further fueled her enthusiasm.

Circumstances did something odd with June’s voice, and Serafina pursed her lips, imagining a screen or barrier between them. She had felt nothing like that at the table, but maybe the acoustics were playing games with her. “I’ve been good!” She said a little loudly, smiling all the same. “But it has been a while, yes. How are you?” And she truly wanted to know.

Thinking back to the haunted house, June had been the more enthusiastic of the trio, and that allowed Seras to easily get into the spirit, even when things became frantic. But through it all, she remembered why June stopped by her table. “Oh—is your bag here? Are you sure it was this table?” There were many tables, of that she was sure, and she would have had a difficult time telling one from another.

[Juniper Gray]

This was shaping up into a really nice conversation--if only she could find her stupid bag, then she could settle down and chat. Now that she was hunched down and crawled into the seat opposite Seras, she was quite sure this had been her booth. She could smell herself around it, but she couldn't just say that, so she called out, “Yeah!” from under the table. “Just gotta... oh!”

The table shifted abruptly toward Seras as Juniper shouldered her way further under the table, having spotted the strap of her bag. The tiger stretched for it, calling, “It's behind your foot!”

[Serafina Duarte]

The rustling under the table helped Seras understood why June’s voice sounded distant. Then the table bucked towards her, and she imagined June’s back scraping against the table’s underside. With her fingertips still on the plastic cup of mead, she felt it hop. She tried to snatch the cup, but missed, spilling it instead.

Seras gasped sharply, her hand cold and sleeve soaked with mead as the cup careened from her grasp. Refreshing amber nectar splashed across the table, sluicing across the lip.

[Juniper Gray]

Juniper had preternaturally excellent hearing, smell, and reflexes but it didn't do jack when she was so distracted. She hooked a finger around the strap of her purse and dragged it from beneath Seras' seat with a triumphant exclamation.

She withdrew from beneath the table, and found herself sitting in a cool puddle of sweet smelling mead as it dribbled onto her seat. It soaked into one leg of her trousers and her jubilation choked with surprise. “Oh!” she said, bumping the table again as she stood up and then sputtered, “Sorry, sorry! Wait- napkins, one sec-” Her bag sprawled across the table between them as she shuffled out, bumping the table a few more times.

[Serafina Duarte]

Mead dribbled from the lip of the table and onto her dress. She heard it patter and squeaked as the cold soaked through, and then she was squirming to move out the way, but unsure which way to go. June exclaimed her apologies and bumped the table again as she stood. More shuffling followed, and the table shifted again.

She let out a nervous laugh, feeling like the commotion was for her benefit. “No—please, it’s okay. I’m sorry. It was my fault!” She said, meaning to wave off the concern she heard in June’s voice. “It’s only mead.” With little more she could do, Seras waited for napkins.

[Juniper Gray]

Juniper had no idea how it was Seras' fault and didn't give much care of whether or not it was just mead. It was everywhere! But she didn't bother to argue, instead scampering off into the crowd to pilfer a bundle of napkins from the bar.

By force of her single-minded personality--and a few well-placed shoves--the tiger shouldered her way through the press of bodies. It smelled like a mixture of leather and body odor, and she wrinkled her nose against it. Finding her way to the edge of the bar, she ended up grabbing an entire paper towel roll, the sort of thin stuff they put out on the tables at bbq places for finger food.

In a few moments, she was back, tearing a long strip off the roll. “I can get you a new one,” she offered, embarrassed. “Was that like, your whole cup?”

[Serafina Duarte]

Seras heard June scamper away with the promise of napkins. When she returned, Seras had managed to extricate herself from the table and stood beside it, dark patches on her dress where the mead had soaked through. She looked as if she didn’t know what to do with herself.

June returned and Serafina smiled timidly, embarrassed at spilling but thankful for June’s effort. When she spoke, a split second passed where Seras thought she was talking about her dress. Panicked refusal rose in her throat. The linen that stuck to her skin was uncomfortable, but the dress hardly needed to be replaced. She’d send it to be laundered and that would be the end of it, not that she didn’t appreciate the gesture.

It dawned a moment later that June had meant her drink. She had the air of a person catching a punchline and her bluster deflated with a relieved sigh. “Don’t worry about the drink.” She said with a chuckle.

[Juniper Gray]

The other girl looked to be in a sorry state when Juniper returned, and she hunched up with guilt when she saw the wet patches on her dress. The tiger wasn't much better off, but she didn't really care about her clothes--came from a long life of ripping out of them at any given moment. Fortunately, she didn't catch her momentary panic, focused as she was on recouping her losses on the drink.

“Aw, come on!” Juniper cajoled with a laugh, as she moved past Seras and laid a single layer of paper towel over the mess of the table. It instantly soaked it all up, becoming a sodden mess, and she began tearing off more paper. “I totally hip-checked the whole-ass table. And I wanna try another drink.”

[Serafina Duarte]

“Well…” Seras pursed her lips, looking to mollify. She followed June’s quick actions through the ripping of paper towels, applying said towels against the worn wood, and the slopping of absorbed mead. She would have offered to help, would have preferred it, actually, but would have likely made more of a mess. So instead, she stood quietly as June mopped up.

“If you’re looking to try another one…” Serafina smiled with her acquiescence. “Then I’ll have what you’re having.”

[Juniper Gray]

As she pushed a sopping wet paper towel into a pile and pulled off a new strip, Juniper grimaced. That sounded like the normal way of things, but the tiger had to admit, “Oh I um... Well, I don't really know a lotta drinks.” She sounded embarrassed, but laughed it off. “I only turned twenty-one in April. D'you like... have a recommendation?”

Mead sluiced off the table and onto the benches on either side, but Juniper did her best to dam it all up. She was slowly but surely winning her battle against gravity. The table was about to be a sticky mess, though.

[Serafina Duarte]

Serafina smiled, reminded of the difference in drinking age between America and home. She didn’t want to be gauche and didn’t say anything, because she heard the rise of embarrassment in June’s voice. However, there was little that she could say, anyway.

“Oh,” It was her turn to laugh in shared sympathy. “I’m a lightweight, myself. More than a glass of wine and it goes right to my head. But—” She considered. “If you take me to the bar, maybe we can find something we’d both enjoy.”

[Juniper Gray]

Juniper could say with confidence that she was not a lightweight, even without testing her limits. It took a great deal of food to fill her belly, and she knew from watching both Mathus and Max that it took a great deal of drink to get them tipsy. She couldn't share this though, too aware that it would probably sound like an unsubstantiated boast and perhaps like inadvertent pressure on the other girl, but Seras moved them along neatly and Juniper was grateful.

“Oh, sure, no problem,” the tiger replied, with perhaps too much relish as she glanced over at the bar. “It see a spot we can probably squeeze into.”

There was a great crowd around the bar, all vying for the tender's attention, but she not-so-secretly liked roughhousing. There wasn't a spot but she was about to make a spot. Leaning over the sopping pile of paper towels, Juniper grabbed her bag, and slung it over one arm. Then, without much preamble, she reached out and unselfconsciously found Seras' hand. The tiger's skin was noticeably warm, and a little damp from the mead, in a way that would probably dry a little tacky.

[Serafina Duarte]

Had she been alone, Seras would have picked her way towards the bar, using what sounds she could and her cane to guide her. She’d find it eventually, no doubt due to several patrons surreptitiously clearing her a path.

June was a whirlwind of motion, and Serafina snatched an anxious breath as she grabbed her hand. She hadn’t expected the touch, but soon warmed to the contact, squeezing back. Her hand was tacky from the mead, and stuck like glue, she followed June through the crowded tavern.

In the press at the bar, Seras became quiet, intent on her surroundings and the swaying jostle of bodies. She held a little tighter to June’s hand, not wanting to lose her. June was warm, warmer than Seras’ cold little fingers, and now damp with sweat and mead. She leaned into June and asked, “Is there anything else?”

[Juniper Gray]

Juniper was happy to clear a path, but the way was eased by the sight of Seras' cane behind her. She was now the honor guard for the blind, and she could get used to that. One burly man in a Roman-style skirt--not Renaissance, but who was keeping score?--even shoved some of his friends aside to make way for them, and Juniper favored him with a big, toothy smile.

Once there, she picked up Seras' question with ease, but still leaned close, protective in the jostle. She picked up a menu with her free hand. “Uhh... Sours? Pumpkin sour. Lots of cider, mead, ale, wine. Oh, nice, oysters and beer.” The tiger turned the page, clicking her tongue contemplatively.

[Serafina Duarte]

Seras stood close and unworried in June’s protective aura. Shuffling, conversation, and laughter sounded around her. She could smell the people, some wearing deodorant or cologne, others with a sour tang lingering beneath the smell of leather and beer.

Pumpkin. Americans were obsessed with pumpkins. She’s scoffed to hear of a pumpkin spiced latte before trying one and actually enjoying it. The sweet cream, pumpkin, the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. It reminded her somewhat of a mulled wine, but she couldn’t go so far as to say they were similar. But a pumpkin beer? Her lip twitched, unsure what to make of it.

Her mind made up, she gave June’s hand another squeeze. “Let’s do the pumpkin. And you said oysters?” She asked, making sure she’d understood. “Do you like seafood?”

[Juniper Gray]

Juniper confirmed the oysters with a simple “Yeah,” and squeezed Seras' hand back one more time before gently placing it on the counter so she could maintain her bearings. She stayed close in case someone jostled them, but it freed up the tiger's hand so she could fiddle with the menu. All the while, she zestily proclaimed, “Dude, yeah, I could eat mountains of oysters!”

The mere thought made her salivate a little--it was probably the tiger side of her. Cats liked fish, right? “Do you wanna get a basket to go with the beer?”

[Serafina Duarte]

Never would she have taken someone’s jest of eating a mountain of oysters as truth, but that just went to show how little Seras knew of her new friend. She smiled at that, her lips parting with an amused huff, more swept away with June’s enthusiasm than anything.

“Okay!” She agreed all while wondering how a pumpkin sour would pair with fresh oysters. Maybe she’d find some umami with the brine and sour? Maybe they were onto some new culinary delight, but part of her doubted that. Seras was eager to try all the same, happy to bond over shared disgust.

Knowing June had only agreed to get their drinks and she just added to the order with their oysters, Seras chirped in again. “Here. For the oysters.” She had fished out a foreign looking credit card and tapped it on June’s arm.

[Juniper Gray]

With the order decided, Juniper glanced down at the card, mouth opening to protest--after all, she'd said she would pay for Seras' fallen drink--but then she had to relent. The beer and the basket of oysters would be dear and she was not well-off. “M'kay,” she murmured, a little grudgingly. “We'll go dutch, I'll get the beers.”

Taking the card, Juniper determinedly flagged down the bartender and put in their order. The pumpkin sour, and a basket of oysters. She watched as the man took their cards and processed the payment, but turned back to the conversation. Someone bumped into Juniper's back a few times, but she didn't budge from her spot, a solid wall between Seras and that side of the crowd. “How are you?” she asked, finally continuing the conversation they'd started when Juniper found her at the table.

[Serafina Duarte]

Serene in June’s protection, Serafina waited in her shadow, smiling as she heard June give the order. The oysters had been a pleasant surprise, but now she had time to consider, was a renaissance faire really the best place for seafood? They were still on the coast, so fresh oysters weren’t off the table... but, she entertained concerns now. They would find out soon enough.

June’s question drew blank eyes toward her, and Serafina’s smile grew by degrees. “I’m good! Yes, thank you. Busy, but not too busy.” She chuckled. “I’m happy to have met you again. Everyone went their own way at the end of the night.” Serafina said lightly and without reproach, counting herself as a culprit as well.

[Juniper Gray]

When Seras said she was happy they met again, Juniper grinned sunnily. She hadn't expected that, but the feeling was mutual. “Yeah, shame, the haunted house was hella fun,” Juniper replied--it had been a flash in the pan kind of chemistry, but now that they were meeting again, it seemed to be holding up. “I did see Cam, actually, a little bit. Caught him out camping up in Northrop.”

That was probably a mundane enough thing to share, even if the chance meeting had ended up being something far more eventful.

[Serafina Duarte]

“Oh! Really?” She said with an enthusiastic but faltering smile, surprised to hear June and Cam had met up afterward. It put her on the outside, even if that wasn’t how it happened. She tried not to let it get to her, but it did. And it wasn’t like they swapped numbers or anything. She hadn’t any right to be sad and chose to focus on the present instead. “I went camping once.” Seras laughed, self-conscious. “But I think you would call it glamping.

Do you… go camping often?”

[Juniper Gray]

Juniper was sensitive enough to pick up on Seras' faltering smile, but didn't know enough to draw any solid conclusions. She could guess that Seras might've felt left out, but it felt unfair to frame her thinking that way. The tiger dismissed it, grinning instead as Seras changed camping to 'glamping'.

She'd heard about that, mostly from Em, who insisted on bringing all sorts of unnecessary shit out into the woods. Like pillows.

“Yeah, like... once a month probably?” Juniper said, scrunching up her face in thought. She didn't expect Seras to make a connection between her camping frequency and something supernatural. That, so far, hadn't entered their dynamic. “Glamping is cool though! I have a friend who likes to glam it up whenever she goes too.”

[Serafina Duarte]

“Oh!” That was more than she had expected, and Serafina grinned to imagine someone enjoying camping that much. Not that she disliked being outside; far from it. One memory she carried from her luxurious camping trip was the serenity afforded by nature. But wide-open spaces and shaded glens held a quiet worry too. It would be simple to stray and get lost, especially for her. Best to remain on the veranda.

“So you’re familiar. We should go glamping sometime!” She suggested with a chuckle, but only partially in jest. Maybe June would invite her friend, and they’d both learn how small their social circle truly was.

[Juniper Gray]

“Really?” Juniper blurted, excited until she realized Seras said 'glamping', and a quick wave of disappointment washed over her. It was quick though, the idea of going with a friend washing that away. She laughed, imagining the blind girl with a big tent, fairy lights, rugs, a whole inflatable bed... Glamping. It was not her scene, but she also couldn't imagine taking Seras too far into the wilderness. “What's that like?” she asked, amused and probing to see the lengths Seras would go. “How 'glamping' is your glamping? Like, on a scale of bringing a bed pillow to Pinterest-worthy.”

Seras couldn't see it, but Juniper still laid out the two options with her hands, the edge of her palms tapping on the sticky bartop.

[Serafina Duarte]

Seras didn’t have a Pinterest and would never see the envious examples of décor and aesthetic that represented the peak of humanity, and so the reference floundered. Still, she knew of Pinterest and had been told how beautiful everything was there. Maybe she’d see for herself one day, but that was a long way off.

“They had pillows!” She said, laughing at the comparison. “It was nice though; the resort was on a lake. I enjoyed sitting on the shore and being in the water.” She stayed in the shallows. Going too far out and getting turned around would be death. “Do you swim?” Serafina asked, grinning excitedly and swept up in the conversation.

[Juniper Gray]

'They had pillows' gave away a bit more about this whole glamping affair, telling Juniper that it was something that had been arranged for Seras, rather than something by her own hand. She confirmed it when she mentioned a resort, and Juniper snickered again, enjoying this glimpse into Seras' life.

The tiger did not know that her new friend was well-to-do, but she was starting to get the impression. If she'd looked at Seras' credit card before giving it back, she might've made the conclusion faster, but in the hustle and bustle, it wasn't a priority. And she hardly cared, she just wanted to hear more about this camping trip that probably didn't count as camping at all.

“Love it- Oh!” At that moment, the bartender dropped a basket of freshly fried oysters in front of them and Juniper's mouth filled with saliva when the smell hit her nose. The beers followed, the glass bottles already starting to sweat condensation. “Not like- laps or exercise or anything. I just like being in the water. Where was your camping resort?”

Especially while shifted. Water in her fur was an unparalleled pleasure and she'd spent many long hours napping on the shore, in the warm waters of the shallows.