adventure is out there

"And be socially ostracised? No thanks. It's not a waste of time if it has a benefit. One you've... clearly never experienced."

"socially ostracised where?" she asked looking around "if you've not noticed, barely anyone cares about that sort of thing around here. wouldn't you rather be out experiencing life?"

"now that might just be the coolest thing ever. ah, you know how it is... we all have our things," flash laughed. it was so true, though. even on flash's gravestone, it would read 'vibing 'til the end'. grooved on into the ground. anyway! he refocused on ellie, barely fighting off a grin at her suggestion. he still had to pretend the idea wasn't totally terrifying, though. "what, you mean like a real, not just 'hanging out', tangible, serious... date?"

"can you imagine, a tiny flash action figure?" she laughed at how cute the idea was. ellie smiled and nodded her head "yes flash, like ask her out on a date for real. you should go for it, with the way you talk about her i think she would say yes"

"ah, that sounds like a wonderful way to spend your golden years. i've never settled anywhere for too long so i would hardly know anything about it." gabe felt entirely relaxed around her now, quickly content that if any of the residents were responsible, it wasn't her. and more than likely by extension, her husband. they were all clear. gabe chuckled at ellie's response to the lorelai of it all. "formidable is certainly an appropriate word. i don't think anyone could fault lorelai hart's work. i'm not sure she'll be particularly pleased to run into me, though. we might want to keep a lid on it a while longer."

"we think so, it's something we've always dreamed of doing when we retire. we had a blast when we travelled when we were younger but adult life was calling" carl was off saving human lives and she was taking care of animal lives. "she has always been highly professional and committed to her career. oh did things end badly? i'm sorry if they did." they were exes, exes could be friends, but judging by the way gabe answered, it looked like that wasn't the case. "whenever it happens, i hope your reunion with her is more amicable"

"Unfortunately, the way I was raised, it does matter what other people think of what you're wearing, whether you're happy or not."

"that sounds stressful. don't you want to just wear clothes the way you'd like to wear them? worrying about what other people think of your outfits feels like a waste of your time"

"forgive me, i'm very much on the outside looking in here. yes, all the unpleasantness aside... i've heard nothing but wonderful things about redwood hollow. it sounds like anyone could make a home here, if they wanted to." gabe nodded at her conclusion. after all, he didn't have the evidence to back up any contradictions to her analysis. he hoped he would, before anyone else could fall victim to these mysterious circumstances. "yes, me too. she's very formidable, i don't think anything could truly win against her. oh, probably..." although, she seemed very nice and lorelai wasn't exactly a fan of making friends. "lorelai hart?"

"there's nothing to be forgiven for" she smiled with a wave of her hand "carl and i did some travelling when we were younger and we intend todo it again when we're a bit older, but right now we're more than happy with building our home here." ellie intently listened to him, but hearing that his ex-wife was lorelai hart was a shock. of all the names he could've mentioned, lorelai wasn't a guess she wouldn't have made. she wasn't sure why. "oh wow, she is a formidable woman. an inspirational one for all of us around town. she's built a great career and business for herself."

flash grinned even wider when ellie pulled him into a big hug. if anything could heal the whole world, it was ellie frederickson's hugs. "aw, you're too kind. do you think they'll put up posters of me after? posing with the broom? i think i could really work that campaign. i can't say that i have... but you know me, i'm down to clown. i'll have to stop by the ice rink some time and see what the vibe's like."

ellie fredricksen had always been a happy person and her levels of pure joy would reach new heights every time she came into contact with one of her nearest and dearest. "keep it up and you might get your own action figure." ellie laughed at his down to clown terminology "it's all about the vibes with you"

"You're not an egg?"

"colour keeps things cheerful. who cares what people think as long as you're happy with what you're wearing?"

"You look like an Easter egg..."

"and is there something wrong with looking like a colourful easter egg?"

it was nothing, is what anyone would normally say in response, but ashley armbruster coming down from her high tower certainly was something these days. "situations like this call for all hands on deck, even people who don't like to chip their nails"

ellie was older than the ashleys but their reputation was formidable, especially ashley armbrusters. the past few times she had seen the blonde ashley around town, she had noticed that there had been a change in her. less cruel. less hunting for sport. "it's appreciated, especially from richer families in the area. it shows we're together as a community and not apart because of our tax brackets"

"mm, interesting... very interesting," he mumbled, taking mental note of everything she was sharing. this was a very friendly town, there was no denying it. this was a far cry from the seedy underbelly he was used to navigating through. "it sounds like this place is a real home for you, mrs fredricksen. and you enjoy living here?" he then considered her question carefully, but she was so alarmingly warm and earnest... he opted for the truth. "my ex wife forgot to take me off as her emergency contact."

"is it? it's just my small town life" she smiled, not thinking much of the information she had divulged. "it is, everyone i adore is right here in this town with me. i do enjoy it here. the town has it's ups and downs and we've all been worried about the poisonings but with the person now behind bars, i hope we can all breathe a sigh of relief and put the worst behind us" ellie fredricksen, ever the optimist. "oh really? i hope your ex wife is okay. would i know her?"

"oh, ellie-bo-bestie... you're a lifesaver as always," flash greeted with a big grin, taking this opportunity to glug down an entire bottle of water.

"flash, flash, hundred yard dash" she breamed, giving him a big hug after he finished his bottle of water.

ashley wasn't about physical labour, a woman of her stature wouldn't be caught dead doing that whether it was for a good cause or not. however, she wasn't dumb and knew how that would look. recently developing what people would call a conscience had been an inconvenience for ashley, and yet it persisted.

some of the richer families in town that normally abstained from mixing with the general public had come out to help with the donations and the town clean up. leading the charge of that had been ashley armbruster, a welcomed change to the normally cold and stand off-ish demeanour you were normally met when you encountered her.