#mamonoopenrp

Helle wasn’t looking forward to the long walk to the movie theatre from the beach, but hell(e) if she wasn’t looking forward to this film. She’d heard good things from her friends on the mainland, and when the indie movie finally made its way to Mamono, a rare occurrence, she had made sure to make time to see it.

When she rounded the rocks and started down the path towards town, a flash of red caught her eye: a rusty bicycle leaning against a tree at the start of the forest. Approaching, Helle noticed it seemed to be long abandoned, with moss beginning to creep up the bottoms of the wheels.

She had a long trek ahead of her, and she’d be loathe to let such an opportunity go to waste.

Minutes later, the moss had been brushed off, the rusty gears had been tested, and everything seemed to be in at least functional order. So Helle hopped on and made her way down the path towards town, the bike squeaking all the way. It had been, what, a decade since she’d last rode? It took her a minute to find her sea legs (haha), but it turned out that people weren’t lying when they said you never forget how to ride a bike.

Proud creature as she was, Helle started to get a little too cocky for someone on such a rickety old bicycle, and she began testing her skills with only one hand, then only the other, then swerving side to side on the wide path. Close to town now, she hazarded a sharp turn around a corner, where the path ahead was obscured by the edge of the forest...

Jaune finished decorating her bed. She stepped back and surveyed her work with pride— there. It was done. Every last flourish and distinctive touch was finally complete. These first few days had been difficult. Jaune had to be very aggressive with her alarms to wake up every morning so that she would have enough time in the day to unpack, and a little later, to personalize her little space.

Anyway, because of how well-disciplined she’d been lately, Jaune had devoted the day to rewarding herself for all the work she did (especially consistently waking up before 10:30 in the morning). She had to start off with a great morning, so it only made sense that a well-made latte was the first requirement. She could practically taste it already— the rich shot of espresso, the steamed milk, the light layer of foam; the perfect balance between the creaminess of the drink and the subtle coffee flavour. 

There was only one problem, and that was that she didn’t know where she could find a latte on the island. Jaune got dressed, clasping a golden necklace around her neck and popping in her contacts, and grabbing a small hangbag before heading out of the door. 

The park had become Effie's favourite hangout, when she had nowhere else to be. Lying on her stomach, occasionally interrupted by a curious ladybug, she spent hours at a time playing with the blades of grass and letting insects run over her hands. It was... perfect. It was almost like she could talk again! Oh, how happy she was! Even today, a little worm had told her of his day, and she had told him about her day, and then she was going to go and tell Aspen all about the worm and... ah! Life was good. Stretched out on her stomach, the dryad let out a contented sigh.

When Kai threw their palm down flat across the button on their alarm clock, it occurred to them that their routine was getting relatively boring. As usual, they threw back the covers and got as far as their feet on the cold wood floor before slumping forward with their head in their hands. Early mornings like this? They deserved to take a second. Especially when that blue haze clouded their vision whenever they stood up too quickly, reminding them almost constantly that something was off about this island. Or maybe just their life. It was as if the very air around them didn’t want them to be there. As if there were other forces at work other than the three things Kai knew: studying, hiking, and a little bit of photography.

They needed to get a job.

The wallpaper was peeling in the cramped apartment. The windows were poorly fitted in their frames, allowing a constant trickle of water to find its way between the panes and pool on the windowsill. Kai watched this process meditatively as they pulled on a sweater and their favorite teal raincoat. What little money they had inherited after their grandma’s death wasn’t going to last until they finished university classes. But it’s not like there were lots of opportunities for employment around here. There was the cinema, Kai supposed. The library, where they already spent most of their time, although that place seemed to run itself.

Maybe the cafe is hiring, Kai wondered as they stuffed their feet into a pair of shockingly yellow rain boots and hefted their bag across their shoulders. Not bothering to lock the door behind them, Kai stepped out into a steady drizzle and tilted their head back to gaze up at the shifting grey clouds. All routine, all routine.

At least she’d remembered to weight her shoes this morning. With the Kahi this quiet, it was almost too much effort to stop herself from just... floating up, and chilling out in the rafters. The rain didn’t help - it was like white noise, or whatever they called it, and it made her brain turn to mush. Hah. Bad choice of island then, right? Flora snorted at herself, her only audience two obviously glamoured centaurs sharing a slice of carrot cake at the window booth, and slumped over the counter.

“A girl has gotsta listen to her body” She thought, her typical excuse when explaining why she ate so much sweet stuff. As she grew closer to town, she could feel herself pass through the enchantments put down by the town’s Fae to keep away humans. Not long after, she allowed to branches around her to drop to their normal positions. Being wet sucked, but humans seeing trees move around you sucked a little more. She stepped into town with one destination in mind: Kahi Cafe. The baked goods there were to die for, and Genesse was not one to deny herself the little things. As she walked, she smiled politely at a towns-person coming out of their home.

​This stretch of beach was usually quiet, which is why Jessa liked it. The little inlet was just outside of town, but on the edge of the restricted zones, with remarkably calm waves. Her dad used to take her here as a kid - taught her to swim, let her run around like the excited puppy she was. It probably had a real name, but her dad nicknamed it Pawprint Beach. Cute, right? It stuck. She still called it that.

Nowadays she came every day, after work, to relax before the shops she needed to visit opened. Night shifts did make errands a little hard - not much on the island opened before 10 AM. If she had stuff to do, she didn't really want to go all the way back home, and then all the way back to town to shop and hang out. Lame. It was easiest to go grab coffee and just... sit. Alone. Just like she preferred.

It was another midnight dog walk across the city park, and Esmé was enjoying the peace and quiet after a busy day spent wholly in surgery. She let the cool night air wash over her skin, embracing the rare occasion that it wasn’t raining outside. There was rarely anyone else out here at this time - maybe a few residents stumbling home from the pub, or the shopkeepers closing up finally after the day’s work. Generally though, there wasn’t really anyone out here, and Esmé could let Fluffy run wild across the park to his hearts’ content. It’s not like he’d stray far - he was her faithful companion, and he could never spend more than about five minutes without needing a reassuring stroke behind his ears.