#swynnick

@wilde-fun​

The bell on the door tinkled to alert Vixey to Nick entering. She figured it was him, considering it was about time for them to be meeting. Looking over her shoulder from where she was on the step ladder trying to fix the wreath on one of the shelves, she smiled when her suspicion was confirmed.

“Hey, Nick!” she greeted as Celeste padded towards Nick, sniffing at his shoes familiarly, her tail wagging back and forth.

Vixey started coming down the ladder. “Thank you so much for volunteering to help! I know Mama kind of volun-told you to come, but I appreciate it anyway. Oh!” She raised a finger and then turned on her heel, heading back towards the front counter.

“This is for you!” She turned back around with two Hatter’s cups in her hand. “I bought them as a thank you. One is a peppermint hot cocoa, the other is warm apple cider. I’ll drink whichever one you don’t want!”

@wilde-fun

Did Elinor like working in a haunted bookshoppe run by a demon? 

No, not necessarily. It was a haunted bookshoppe. It was run by a demon. But, now that that demon was mayor (something that Elinor was refusing to unpack), it meant he wasn’t around the store quite as much. And Elinor could deal with the werewolf that lurked in the stacks. She dealt with werewolves at home. Most of the time, she forgot that they were werewolves. Which unsettled her in the moments where she did remember, but also...comforted her in a strange way.

Merida was a werewolf now, but she had not changed so much.

It wasn’t like Elinor wasn’t extremely aware of the beast that lurked underneath her own skin. She tried not to think about it, but it was like having an itch that you couldn’t quite scratch. 

The bookstore was good for that. Not thinking about other things. Elinor could dive into the books that had been on her list for years, but she hadn’t had the chance to get around to. Too busy being a mother and a wife and the lady of a grand castle. 

Today was one of those slow days. Elinor had been at the desk when the singular customer came in and started browsing shelves. She left him be until he drew close enough. Then, she gave him a cursory glance, watching as he looked at the dust jacket of a book.

“Do you need any assistance or do you prefer to browse alone?” 

@wilde-fun​

Vixey was out with her family at the Besydus market, looking for some garland--the final touch that they needed so that they could decorate for Christmas. (They weren’t technically Christian, but Vixey had been celebrating Christmas since she was very little. Besides, as her family saw it, it was more just a time to give each other gifts and decorate the farm than anything particularly religious.) Her mum was a bit obsessed with decorating for the holidays. 

It was always a fun time of year and it came at the perfect time now, in Vixey’s opinion. After the anniversary of Charlie’s death, it was the perfect pick me up. 

She was strolling through some of the stalls, making a few mental notes of things to come back for when she was by herself. Gifts for her mother, mostly, but something for Harish too, since he loved this kind of stuff. Farhan was always a bit hard to buy for. And Shanaya? Forget about it. 

Looking up, she spotted a familiar face which was always surprising way out here. Okay, well, not as much during the holiday season. More people ventured out of Swynlake during this time of year, wanting “kitschy” farm aesthetics for their décor and gifts. 

“Nick?” she called with a little smile when she spotted him. “Hey!” As soon as she got his attention, she did remember their last meeting (as spotty as it was) and blushed a bit, but she pushed it away. 

“What are you doing all the way out here?”