Above the bar, a large chalkboard menu displays the day’s fresh-pressed
juices and small-batch ciders in clear hand-lettering, flanked by hanging
wooden boards engraved with seasonal specials. Smaller framed menus rest on
side tables, and a carved wooden sign blessing the place as Wild Bloom
Orchards hangs overhead.

It is night, about 66F(18C) degrees, and the sky is covered by dark grey stormclouds. The mist is heaviest At Maple and Woodcrest
There is a waxing crescent moon.

Patience says “Fashionably late is overrated these days.“

Sophie clears her throat and gives Chance a smirk, “Don’t hold it against me that I started the chaos.”

Avalon stares at the participants in the conversation for a good couple seconds, looking like he’s at a loss for words. And instead of adding, he shrugs his shoulders and approaches the drinks, head tilting towards Dovie to say “You can give me any tickets that aren’t taken…” Before pointing a finger towards the blood in the glasses and asking “What’s this from?”

Matthew arrives like wizards do, on-time and precisely where they are meant to be at all times. He’s wearing a wide grin, an arm around Malin’s back, the other lifted to wave at Dovie, Patience, Sophie, Chance, and Avalon. “Hey! Good to see everyone.”

Dovie waves to Matthew and hands him a ticket, reading number 6!

Matthew says “Oh good. I hope number six is called, I want more of that mead again. “

Dovie waves to Malin and hands a ticket over, number 7!

Patience offers a little wave to Matthew and Malin as they enter, but slowly she starts to drift over to a wall where wallflowering is appropriate.

Sophie shakes her head at Dovie and stays quiet.

Malin walks in alongside Matthew, smiling brightly over at Dovie. “A cider tasting sounds pretty delightful. The honeys were great, so I look forward to seeing what has been entered today.”

Chance glances between Sophie and Dovie and then makes his way over toward the cider, opting to put his focus there for a moment. “Heya Matthew, Malin, good to see you both!” He then grabs one of the samples to try out the ciders.

Malin gasps over the ticket number she’s received from Dovie, proclaiming, “Luck number seven,” before looking to Chance and those over-filled lips form a broad smile. “Hey, Chance, it’s great to see you, too.”

Matthew drifts from Malin’s side and begins to make the rounds, starting at the wallflowers as he approaches Patience. “Hey,” he says again, “you try any of the ciders yet?”

Malin asks of Dovie, “Do we have to wait for like a certain time to try the ciders? Is there a countdown and then we have to slam them down?”

“Not that…” Avalon says dismissively before, simply approaching one of the growlers and having a drink

Sophie does a happy dance, “Fuck..that Ginger one is..amazing.”

Dovie tells the crowd, “If anyone has ideas for more flavors, I’m certainly open to them! We’ll have juices added in the future as well. Landscaping is just taking awhile and we’re getting into the Fall season.”

Patience shakes her head, but lifts the glass of thick red liquid she’s holding in a gesture of salute toward Matthew. “No. I’m sure they’re amazing but I’ll probably stick with something a bit more safe,” she confesses. “Maybe a sip or two eventually for Dovie’s sake and all her hard work.” There’s a small smile, friendly but restrained as she ponders a moment and then says, “I like Malin’s idea. Watch everyone chug and black out at the end of the night.”

Malin points over at Patience, that slim forefinger held out while the remaining digits curl into her palm. “Atta girl!” she coos out in praise of Patience liking her idea.

Dovie gets a growler of cucumber mint hard apple cider and sets it down next to the others, little slices of cucumber and crushed mint floating in the hard cider.

“The blood wine, right?” Matthew glances towards the arrangement of glasses and that wine, nodding his agreement for what Malin deems as a good plan. “She has the best ones, and yeah, this is totally one of Arachne’s!” He leans into the wall, taking a look of the group from this vantage and adds, “This is a good spot, can see a bit of everything. It’s good to see you Pax, you think you’ll be able to make it to the festival on Sunday? I know it may be a bit early in the day for you.”

Dovie turns to Avalon, “I hear you have a new puppy friend now! A Pomeranian? How are they adjusting?” she asks, curiously.

“I’ll make an effort.” Patience tips her head and considers Matthew for a moment and then adds, “It’s good to see you too, actually.” It brings another smile, something a bit less edgy and a bit more genuine. “For what it’s worth, I voted for you.” Bringing her glass to her lips, she sips for a moment, and then wonders, “How’s it feel to be king?”

Avalon is momentarily distracted from the drink by Dovie, turning to her and shaking his head “Oh, no, that got nowhere… They wanted to give me a pomeranian because I said anything worked but the rat dog…” He comments with a shake of his head before clearing “But no, didn’t get one… I think there was two events, didn’t make it to the second”

Malin moves over towards where the drinks are displayed. After peering over each one, she proceeds to ask Dovie, “Is there a maple bacon one?” because who doesn’t want to drink bacon…?

Dovie blinks at Avalon. “Oh I thought… a woman had bid on the Pom for you, did you not want the Pom? She did seem rather enamored with it…” The Fairchild turns towards Malin, “No maple bacon, sadly. But we have maple pumpkin spice?” she offers in return.

A carnivore, clearly, Malin takes into consideration what Dovie offers instead. A deep inhale is taken in through her nostrils and she must settle. Gently, she nods in a confirming manner that she will have to submit to the likes of maple pumpkin instead of pig. “Very well,” gets exhales out past those filler enhanced lips and she samples some.

Avalon tilts his head to a side in confusion, blinking a couple times before asking “Someone bid for me?” he pauses there for a second to think before asking “Who was that? I was just taking any dog… Didn’t need like, any specific or anything… Nor has anyone contacted me” And with a hum towards Dovie, he reaches for his pocket, pulling out his phone to try and think who this could be

“Oh, I’m Fae-ling,” Matthew is already punning it up, whether he’s saying feeling or failing harder to tell until he tacks on, “fantastic. It’s like Tom Petty said, it’s good to be king, if only just for a while.” He leaves it there, shoulders lifting a touch as he nods off towards the rest of the drinks, “I appreciate the vote of confidence. One of the first things I intend to do is get our bar nice and stocked with booze, cus I’mma start hanging out there and it can’t be bone dry!”

“There is… blood?” Dovie offers back to Malin. Her gaze sweeps back to Avalon, who is given a nod and a hum in return. “Mmmmm, I don’t know her name…” She asks Chance and Sophie, “Were either of you at the yoga dog adoption the other night? And know who bid for Avalon? It’s the same woman who wanted the shiba.”

After swallowing down the maple pumpkin spice infused cider, Malin pauses. Her tongue rubs against the roof of her mouth a few times as her palette is suffused with the finish of it all. “Oh, that’s not bad,” she decides, and then tells Dovie, “It’s quite good, really.” Then she asks Avalon, “Do you get bid on often? It it like one of those bachelor auctions?”

Malin gestures to Chance and then to the various types of cider. “Which one is the best?”

Sophie pauses mid sip, “No I didn’t make it but I heard about it. I didn’t hear of anyone wanting the wild dog though.”

“Bacon?” Patience calls over to Malin, looking baffled for a moment before she just shakes her head. “Maple does sound nice though.” Then, she’s adding a drier warning of, “Heavy is the head…” But she notes, “I think you’ve got what it takes. I certainly didn’t.” Fingers slide back to the chain at her neck, then drop away as she shakes her head. “Free agent now. So you know – I’m busy but maybe if there’s things you need help with… in a limited scope, I might be able to do so.” Suddenly, her eyes are flaring and she takes a hurried step away from Matthew.

Sophie points to Avalon.

Chance samples a couple of the different ciders, taking a bit of a sip of one, and then waiting a little bit before trying another before he says to Sophie, “I think thus far, the maple pumpkin is my favorite, though the classic is also very good. I haven’t quite tried all of them. I’m not a ginger lemon fan so I’ll probably pass on that one, but I am sure that it will be great for those who like that particular combination.” He chuckles at Matthew and says, “Is it even a bar if it’s dry?” Shaking his head, he tells Dovie, “No. I wasn’t at either event. I was on shift during both of them.”

Dovie nods slowly at Chance and Sophie. “Unfortunately, little Mochi seems to be somewhat of an escape artist. I hope that Seraphina has located him.”

“Bacon!” Malin manages to make that two syllable noun sing-songy as she pronounces it ever so happily. “Maple bacon soda. Maple bacon apple cider. It could totally be a thing. I’m sure of it.” In fact, she looks entirely convinced this would be a good thing to drink.

Looking back to Chance, Malin waits to find out which drink is the best before sampling another.

Sophie nods at Chance, “The maple is amazing. A delicious combination.” She gives Dovie a soft glance, “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope he’s found.” She then corrects, “Shit..” Her gaze flits to Avalon, “Not dog, sorry. No disrespect meant.”

Malin gasps suddenly, and then asks Avalon, “Have you ever used the pickup line ‘Ava lon you long time?'”

Dovie chuckles at Malin a moment. “So many puns.”

Avalon scratches the back of his head in confusion, telling Malin “I don’t know… I cannot know how people go around bidding in my name… But I’m not missing money, so…” Then he sends a pretty slow text, typing like a grandpa, pressing the screen with a stiff index finger. He pauses once more, to perk his eyebrows in turn at Sophie and Malin, asking the later “What?”

Matthew is lifting a hand about to land it on Patience’s shoulder when she’s suddenly retreating from him like he’s patient zero and she couldn’t social distance fast enough. It leaves it hanging awkward, his eyes widening a touch like what just happened–an expression that lasts only so long before he smooths it right on back into casual Montrose charm. “Great, I’ll text you to see about what kinda things you like doing, develop a working relationship<” he calls after the retreating woman and he turns to make way over to Dovie.

Malin offers up a confirming nod to Chance. “I tried that one. It was great.” She winks at Dovie after, and then gazes at Avalon. “You know… the whole ‘love you long time’ sort of line from … what was it? Full Metal Jacket or something? But you could totally fill it in with your name. Ava lon you long time.”

“Sorry!” Patience calls out, but she’s high-tailing it – not just away from Matthew – but away from the room, the group, the gathering as a whole. “Sorry!

Malin is a special person.

Sophie furrows her brow, watching the woman leave with obvious confusion. However she then shakes her head and returns to the cider.

Dovie tells Malin, “I’m still dreaming about your birthday cake… and about beating all of your magically talented individuals at bowling!”

Matthew watches after Pax’s flight with no lack of confusion and then claims, “Pax wanted me to have her raffle ticket, Kingly perk I get two raffle tickets.” He says it straight faced and nodding with no lack of insistence at Dovie. “So, what’s the best one here?”

Avalon stares for a couple more seconds before saying “I don’t know what that is” Is told to Malin, pausing to think for a moment and saying “I guess it could work?” Then what seems to click into his head is what Sophie said, pointing a finger at her and saying “Not a dog anymore… I was once… Not currently” Probably got the wrong message from the sentence

Chance says “That cake was pretty amazing.“

Dovie blinks at the exit, “She did?” She turns her gaze back to the lined up growlers, letting out a hum. “I am partial to the tea one, but people say the cucumber is a sleeper hit. Try them all! I’m curious what you think!”

Dovie nods in agreement with Chance and waves to Evalina, handing out a raffle ticket number 8!

Malin laughs helplessly at Dovie. “Oh, that cake was pretty freaking amazeballs,” as she throws in ‘balls’ probably because of the bowling, and she nods in agreement with Chance. “Absolutely fantastic,” she says, nearly swooning over the very thought of that baked good. As Avalon stares, she locks those blue eyes right back on his gaze. “Try it sometime. Then give me an update.”

Malin provides a welcoming wave to Evalina, “Hello, dear person who can speak grammatically correct in both English and in French. There is no bacon flavoured cider,” as if that was actually a thing, “but there’s maple.”

Sophie shakes her head after sipping the cucumber, a confused glance following along with another sip.

“I don’t think I’m one to use pick up lines anyways” Avalon informs Malin with a shrug of his shoulders before returning to his drink, lifting up a hand in greeting of Evalina

Evalina seems slightly exhausted as she walks in, then recovering quickly, as if entering some sort of performance mode, she begins by cheerily waving to Dovie, taking the ticket. “8! Right!” She grins. It is lovely to see you!” Beat. “And another lovely place.” She then smiles towards Malin, “Oh no, moi is so disappointed si.” She tells her with a grin. “I speak Japanese and Arabic as well.” She informs her with a wink, then moving up to the maple sider, “Would you recommend it?” Her hand waves to Avalon as well

It is rather casually that Malin gestures towards Avalon and tells Matthew, “We need to kidnap him sometime to teach him what fun is.”

Matthew nods again Dovie, “Yeah she did. She–” he’s distracted when Malin speaks up, smiling at her words, “Oh, Avalon, you not been having fun, man? We will totalyl take you out on a fun ride around town. You like decorating houses?”

Chance tries the cucumber first, since it is a sleeper hit and all, looking thoughtful as he considers the combination along with the mint and apple. His face says: undecided. Then he gives the lemon-ginger a try. “Oh, that’s.. yeah, that’s not for me.” He laughs and then says to Malin, “I think second best is the classic fizzy, and then I’m going with the chamomile apple blossom for third best. Cucumber’s probably tied for third. But I’m just.. not a lemon ginger guy.”

Malin starts laughing over how Evalina replies to her. “Oui oui, mon mademoiselle — which means my manly young woman, but seems to be a popular phrase of choice in the chatroom by the Frenchies who… are not so good at the French.” There’s a small gasp of surprise. “Japanese and Arabic? Impressive.”

“If you kidnap me, I will bite… And it’s not good” Avalon warns Malin with a perked eyebrow, which only grows more perked at Matthew and the house comment, tilting his head to a side and asking, confused “Uhh… Maybe? I can do taxidermy, if that counts”

Dovie watches someone reaction and chuckles. “Which one was your first pick again? I missed it!”

Dovie watches Chance reaction and chuckles. “Which one was your first pick again? I missed it!”

Malin shakes her head at Avalon. “You have never been kidnapped by me. Everyone thanks me afterwards. It is an experience to remember for the ages.”

Avalon nods to Sophie and tells “If you want to kill something… I doubt my society wants me to kill other members”

Malin listens to the wisdom that Chance offers about the ciders. “All right, I shall try them in this order.”

Dovie waves to Gabriel and hands him a ticket with the raffle number 10 on it!

Matthew glances at his phone then tucks it away, “Oh, that would be a good addition,” he nudges Malin, “I think taxidermied stuff would be fantastic to leave behind on our trips.” A moment after and he asks Dovie, “Which one should I start with?”

Gabriel walks back in and collects a wine glass from a tray before also collecting a ticket on his way to mingle with the crowd.

“Oh, this is quite…. This is really quite warming and welcoming…” Evalina murmurs as she tastes the maple cider, “I love this.” She straightens her back then, nodding to Malin, “Speaking your first language can be very challenging, it turns out.” She tells her, then blinking at Avalon, “Huh?” Her eyes redirect to Sophie, “You’re a courtier now?” She wonders, then moving onto another cider, taking some of the pumpkin before waving to Gabriel

Evalina the cucumber, not the pumpkin*

Malin smacks her lips some, and seems delighted by the classic cider. She nods to Chance, saying, “So far, you have been correct.” She flashes a wide smile at Evalina. “It’s an epidemic, it seems.”

Gabriel lifts his glass in greeting to Evalina before getting momentarily distracted by his phone.

“Okay, so–” Matthew starts at the indicated cider, “There’s a whole order of things, I dig it. Thanks Dovie.” A grin is flashed towards Dovie and he upnods Evalina, a belated greeting to the newest arrival.

Malin grins at Matthew once she’s felt the cooling and refreshing aftertaste of the cucumber infused cider. “Taxidermied stuff would leave a lasting impact.”

Matthew says, after drinking the cucumber cider, “Oh. That’s refreshing and good. “

“She-” Avalon seems about to start explaining, before he simply shakes his head and trails off, letting it be and directing himself towards the cider, opining “I think the maple one too” And on the side, he tells Matthew “I need a bit of time to get them ready, but I do it with mist monsters, so it’s good for a scare”

Malin nods to Matthew. “It’s quite nice.”

Matthew grins at Sophie, “Good call.”

Dovie beams at Matthew. “So you like the cucumber mint too??” She seems pleased before she turns towards the other Fairchild. “I see, not to worry! I’ll always have room for you, if you want, Chance. Family first and all. How are you finding the city so far?”

Evalina offers Matthew a waggle of fingers, “It’s good to see you, King Moo.” She teases him with a grin, “The cucumber one is my favorite yet I think, even if the maple is more comforting, I just really like easy-to-drink alcohol…” She tries another. “Oh, this one is really good too.”

Sophie give Matthew a little dip of her head, “I have my uses.”

“Oh… that’s so good.” Matthew looks like he intends to go in for seconds when he’s gotten that classic cider, a big fan of that one as well. “I for sure like that one, and this one,” is his reply for Dovie. Evalina’s greeting earns her a bright smile, and a wink, “Mooooooooved, to hear that,” he says, sincerely and then the Montrose’s eyes are on the next growler before him: chamomile apple blossom.

Chance circles back to the ciders to snag another one of the pumpkin spice. It does seem that he’s chosen a winner, at least as far as he’s concerned. He grabs it and takes a sip before he nods to Dovie and says, “Just feeling everything out so far. Starting to find my feet. But I need to check in with the Court. Now that my shoulder’s healed up and I’m PTing my way back in shape.. I feel like I need to start doing more.”

Malin admits, “I kind of like the ginger one, just because… I feel like it would make me really drunk, really fast.”

Matthew’s finger lifts into the air after, mulling the flavors over, finger twitching to the left, then the right, points indicated in the air before he nods. “Also very delicious.”

Dovie beams at Matthew, nodding. “All of the above is also an acceptable answer,” she chuckles before turning to Chance with a nod. “Good, I’m glad to hear that. Injuries can be terrible things. We have a proper medic and doctor with the Court as well if ever you need.”

Towards Sophie, Dovie asks, “You opened up a coffee shop recently, right? Do you serve pumpkin spice items?”

Jakem sidles in, settling at the bar with a nod over to Matthew, giving a little salute.

Malin offers up a flash of a smile to Jakem before she’s going in to try another taste of that cider that apparently wants a one night stand.

Sophie gives Dovie a little nod, “My menu for it goes live this weekend. We’ve got seasonal fall items for both. Milkshakes and lattes.”

“So do I do the pumpkin or the ginger after the blossom?” Matthew wonders of Dovie. He glances as Sophie speaks, “Oh your menu is seasonal?” is wondered of his assistant, “what season is in there now?”

Dovie advises to Matthew. “I would suggest you do the ginger lemon and then the maple pumpkin spice last!”

Jakem pours something from flask into one of the growlers that’s near him, then grabs it and pours something for himself, nodding to Malin in return. “So which one’s the fave right now?’

Evalina gives Malin a look, “So, are you Queen Malin now? Since you’re with King Moo?” She wonders of her. “Could you two adopt me? Always wanted to be a Princess.” She jests with a little grin, “The classic is good…” She tries the chamomile, then shakes her head. “Not huge on this one. The tea aftertaste does little for me…”

Sophie glances at Matthew, “I’ve got a fall menu going up this weekend. Then I’ll change it up for a Christmas one.” A proud little smile follows, “I figured it would keep it interesting. We do have some set standard ones for those who just want a plain coffee or a simple fruit milkshake.”

“Well, they don’t have maple bacon flavoured,” Malin informs Jakem rather unhelpfully as she gestures towards the selection of ciders with a slender right hand. “But the maple one is pretty divine, and I feel like the ginger one has the most alcohol involved.”

“I’ll definitely take that up next time it happens,” Chance chuckles to Dovie. Not if. When. “But for now, recovery’s going well. And hey, apparently with all the upcoming pumpkin spice I could want. Perfect fall.”

Sophie then adds, “While also working the Fall festival and catering the Solstice ball..” Her head shakes, “Chaos weekend.”

Upon seeing Jakem entering and joining the bar, Avalon seems to have a light bulb moment and he asks the green-haired man “Were you on the second auction for the dogs thing? Do you know who was apparently bidding for me?”

Matthew reaches for the ginger cider, following Dovie’s advice. What Evalina says is earning his agreement, nodding along with her about the flavors and he says, “I think Eva shares my tastes, but first…” up that ginger-lemon goes, “I suspect this one may give cucumber a run for its money on being my favorite.”

“Arachne nominated me as Queen, actually,” Malin replies to Evalina. “But I do not have the time to be in a position of leadership, so I can be the… girlfriend of the King, whatever that is. Is that a concubine, technically?”

Malin grins at Jakem.

Matthew spies Esme and upnods her, flashing a smile. “Hey, Esme!”

Dovie waves to Esme. “Hey there!” She hands over a raffle ticket that says 11. “Just in time! Help yourself to the tasting! Maple Pumpkin Spice, Ginger Lemon, and Cucumber Mint are all vying for top!”

Evalina blinks at Malin, “Arachne didn’t want to be queen anymore?” She wonders, “Either way I retract my request, I think I’d rather not be the daughter of the King and his Concubine actually… Sounds like recipe to be murdered in a succession struggle.” She claims with a light hearted chuckle. She gives Esme a cheerful smile and wave as she enters, then noticing Jakem, gives him a friendly wave too, “Well King Moo, I think this ginger one is… interesting? Good for a cold day. But I think my preference has to be the cucumber.”

Gnos doesn’t seem too concerned with the logs. It’s not like he’s got nearly as much to lose as some rich girl. He does keep quiet though, security that walks right in can be a bother. Particularly if they can get a call out. He turns to look at Ayumi, trying to gauge her next move. Showering? All right. Not a threat.

Esme slinks into the bar, admiring the place. She flashes a smile toward Matthew and waves to him and the group in general. “Hey everyone!” She peruses the ciders.” This place is pretty great, Dovie.” She adds, sampling a couple things.

Evalina corrects Sophie, “Sex community group.”

Dovie beams at Esme, nodding, though as she overhears the nearby conversations, the Fairchild seems confused.

Jakem nods agreeably to Evalina “Indeed, we’re rebranding ourselves, what with our recent community service activities and new dedication to the arts.”

Jakem looks to Avalon “I wasn’t at any dog auction, sorry mate.”

Malin also waves to Esme in a cheery manner, and then she nods to Evalina. “It’s the new season, so we elect a new King or Queen. And everyone sort of puts their bid in, and Arachne, for some reason unbeknownst to me, chose me. I already got elected the previous season and stepped down promptly. I was queen for four days before I even noticed! I told them to never do that again to me.” She blinks several times in quick succession at Sophie. “What?” Her head shakes and she looks back at Evalina. “You can be our adopted daughter. That’ll earn you a palanquin or something.”

“Consort?” Chance says to Malin as to who the girlfriend of the King would be. “Queen Consort if you were married, I think.”

Avalon huhs, tilting his head to a side, and scratching the back of it “Oh well… I will find out eventually I guess…”

Chance waves to Esme and says, “Hey, Esme. How’s it going? Try the pumpkin spice.” He’s still gonna plug his favorite.

Malin mms and nods in agreement with Chance. “That is the word I am looking for. Forgive me, in my native tongue our words are not so kind. Nipples, for example, translate to ‘breast warts’ after all. This is why Swedish is not part of the Romance Languages.”

Dovie nods at Sophie, telling Avalon. “Celestine has the Pom.”

“Congrats on that by tha way, Matt.” Esme adds about the King stuff between sips. “I dunno, Chance – the lemon’s pretty good so far…” She grins toward Chance before trying the pumpkin spice.

Matthew nods alongside to Malin’s words and declares, “Yes, she’s my concubine.” He sounds very proud about it and everything, drifting over towards her to wrap an arm around her shoulder. “The Royal concubine. No queen. No others, just my royal concubine!” Then he’s looking for the next one on the list.

Sophie scoffs and shakes her head, “Breast warts. I can’t..unhear that..” A soft chuckle continues to follow, “I’ll never understand the court.”

“I don’t think I even know her…” Avalon says, even more confused now than before, shrugging his shoulders and adding “As long as they don’t come asking for money…”

“Oooh, a palanquin… Now that’d be a lovely way to get around the mists…” Evalina murmurs to Malin in approval. She then blinks at her as she speaks to someone else before asking Matthew, “Don’t you just love breast warts?”

Matthew takes the next draft, finger in the air. “This is interesting. I think my favorites of the night are ginger and then cucumber followed by the classic.”

Matthew looks at Evalina very seriously and says, “I love them.”

“People think they are funny, because I didn’t want the rat one…” Avalon tells Esme as if this made perfect sense, shaking his head before telling “I just said I’d keep any that were left at the end…”

“For us less than..can someone explain what a Penguin..palanquin..is?” Sophie asks with a groan.

Malin informs Sophie, “A litter.”

Sophie blinks.

Jakem glances at his phone “Oh, I gotta head out to pick someone up. Put my vote in for the maple one, by far and away the best in my humble opinion.”

“You’d need at least four burly servants, too,” Malin relays to Evalina. “It would be quite the ensemble. Impressive, really.”

Avalon pauses to listen at Dovie, before posing “But that’s the rat one… Cannot hunt with that one- Nor does it make for a meal”

“Swedish sounds like an interesting, if potentially traumatizing language,” Chance says to Malin with a laugh. Then he says to Esme, “It seems like the ginger is definitely a crowd favorite. That’s okay. It just means there’s more maple for me.” He does not seem at all disappointed by this.

Esme takes a few extra minutes mulling over the ciders, giving Avalon a wry grin. “Poor chihuahua.” She settles into one of the stools, “Mm. I think the lemon one is mine. Pumpkin spice ain’t bad but I’m ah sucker for lemon.”

Dovie nods in agreement with Esme, mentioning, “I’m very excited for Seraphina to do another adoption drive.”

“Oh, yes, there are so many words that one who speaks English might read and think… ‘dear god.'” Malin is assuring this to Chance. “Take for example s-l-u-t s-p-u-r-t,” she spells that last part off. “It sounds like the end of a dry spell, but it really just means that there is a clearance sale going on.”

Matthew drifts over towards Chance, “Hey man,” he says, “been meaning to reach out to you. You got some time tomorrow to meet up, you think?”

Esme snickers as she overhears Malin’s brief language lesson.

“I think I’d slap someone in the face if they said that word to me…” Evalina mutters to herself

Malin smiles over at Matthew, and she tells him, “Slut,” which she pronounces as ‘sloot’ and why she obviously mentioned people reading it to misunderstand, “Does mean final. And spurt is like the last sprint of a race by itself.”

“Ohhh, also… a fast car is called a Fart Monster,” Malin reveals.

Esme nods in agreement with Gabriel. “Lemon one’s great yeah.” She seems to remember something and pulls something from her pocket, passing it over. “Here, try this at some point, lemme know how ya like it. Might wanna mix it with the blood wine or somethin’ for the full effect.”

Chance laughs and says, “Today I have learned at least two things that I did not expect to learn.” Then his attention turns to Matthew as he makes his way over. “Hey. Yeah, definitely. I should be around.”

“That thing fell asleep whi-” Avalon starts telling Esme before shaking his head a couple times and saying “That’s no proper dog…” Before tuning in to the conversation for a moment and nodding along, allowing only a little “Makes sense”

Evalina sits down now that she’s done with all the ciders, relaxing on the bar top just a little much, burring her face in her arms for a good long while.

Gabriel turns the little shard over in his hand before he tells Esme, “That looks.. interesting. Yeah I’ll definitely try that later and let you know how it is.”

Matthew smirks at Malin, mirth in his eyes, quiet and content to listen while she continues with the language lesson with the class.

Malin leans into Matthew, willing to let others share whatever they like unless pressed for more horrendous Swedish words.

Matthew’s arm is around Malin the moment she’s leaning against him, looking further pleased and content. “Oh, I want to buy some of the ginger and lemon, too,” he says to nobody in particular.

Dovie clears her throat, announcing to those gathered. “It sounds like ginger lemon hard cider is a big winner tonight! I thank you all for coming! I have a bunch of prizes to raffle off, so let’s get started.”

The Fairchild starts to spin a golden cage filled with tickets and pulls out… 11! “I believe that’s Esme! Would you like the mystery gift or a gift certificate for $200 for a tailored item?”

Esme blinks in surprise as Dovie calls her name. “Oh! Uhh fuck I can’t resists ah mystery. Mystery gift!”

Matthew claps for Esme, “Nice!”

Malin cheers for her favoured boozy cider, and then applauds Esme, pairing her claps with an approving wolf whistle.

Matthew says “I’d go for the mystery gift too. Good choice. “

An employee wheels out a dolly with a potted tree on it, giving it to Esme as Dovie claps.

Esme uses a potted medium sized fruit tree bearing apples: A silvery mist curls at the base of the apple tree, vanishing when you look too closely.

Matthew’s mouth hangs open, shocked by the plant, “You sell that in your shop, Dovie?”

Sophie applauds softly.

Esme looks over the potted apple tree with interest. “Huh.” She grins, peering a little closer. “This is cool. Maybe I’ll start ah rooftop garden for tha loft.” She laughs.

Dovie claps for Esme and tells the crowd. “We have four more giveaways!” She nods at Matthew. “Sure do! If you purchase one, you’ll need to contact me so I can have an arcanist enchant it, but yes! Orange and apple trees are available!”

“For sure,” Matthew says, “I think I need one of each.”

Dovie spins the raffle ticket cage again and comes out with a… 9! “Teagan!” She looks around. “I think Teagan is still unable to join given she’s in the hospital, but I will give her her certificate later.”

Avalon huhs for a moment “Enchant it? Isn’t it just an apple tree?” He says completely dismissing the whole mist, instead prompting “Are the apples special in any way?”

Wandering in, Seraphina has two puppies on a leash, A squat little corgi, trying very hard to keep up with the pace that the raven-haired woman walks, and the other a foxlike pup, with a tightly coiled tail, and a lot of aloofness. “Look who I found!” she coos to Dovie. “He was wandering about the halls of Bayview Apartments.”

Dovie spins the raffle cage once more and gets a… 8! “Miss Rothwell!”

Esme grins at the sight of the pups and then cheers for Evalina as she’s announced a winner. “Woo!”

Malin applauds for Evalina next.

Dovie gasps at the sight of someone and enthuses to Seraphina. “Oh my god, thank you!!!” She reaches down to pet someone. “You silly goose.”

“Ah” Avalon says, maybe deflating a bit, and instead poking at Evalina when her name is called, since she had burred her face a while ago

Dovie gasps at the sight of Mochi and enthuses to Seraphina. “Oh my god, thank you!!!” She reaches down to pet the shiba. “You silly goose.”

Evalina straightens up immediately, face beaming, “Yay!” She grins at Dovie

Dovie cranks the raffle cage again and comes out with… 2. “Sophie!”

Matthew’s head remains tilted in Malin’s direction for a second longer than necessary and then he straightens it, smiling for the winners.

Malin winks at Matthew playfully, and then claps for Sophie’s win.

Seraphina settles into a seat where one is available, picking up her little corgi and setting it into her lap where any lapdog is meant to be. At least until they are no longer the size of a lap dog. “I’m sorry I am late, but I was being a puppy wrangler.”

Sophie blinks and looks up, “Me!!” She giggles happily, “Yay!”

Evalina accepts the gift certificate with a happy grin. She doesn’t even seem to look at it much, instead clutching it like a prized treasure, giving Dovie a small bow of her head, “Thank you Dovie!” She says, seeming all-too-happy to win things, possibly for the very sake of winning things. Once her high simmers a little, she sways in place, clapping for others.

Dovie rolls the cage a final time and out comes number… 3. “Jakem!”

Dovie looks around. “Oh that’s right, he had to leave early.” She looks around, “Thank you everyone! And those who won gift certificates, feel free to redeem any time with me!”

“Oh hey, is this Mochi?” Chance asks as he wanders over to where the little Shiba is, crouching down to offer a hand to the puppy for smelling before he reaches out to give hte pup a little scritch. “Hey there. Did you escape? Glad you were found.”

Avalon glances around for a good couple seconds, seemingly taking note of people before asking with some curiosity “He’s the only fae that landed one, right?” Thinking some more before adding “If it had landed on Sera, it would have completely eluded us”

Dovie nods eagerly at Chance. “It is! And you have Seraphina to thank for finding this little escape artist!” The Fairchild nods at Evalina, “Thank you! I was just about to text him.”

“I am going to guess Dovie does something to make sure the luckiest fae don’t just win every time. some sort of magic, I imagine…” Evalina murmurs, giving Dovie a wondering look

Sophie waves her gift certificate, “It’ll be put to good use! For sure.”

“Our blood already unsures things like that happen” Avalon tells Evalina with a shake of his head “We have good luck, but also bad luck”

Matthew drifts back a step, shifting to stand behind Malin, one arm wrapped casually around her waist. “This was a great event,” he says to Dovie. “I’m not leaving without buying at least a couple of bottles, either.”

Dovie curtsies to Matthew.

Malin leans back against Matthew, turning her head to plant a chaste kiss to his cheek.

Seraphina blinks at Avalon, “Not all fae luck is good luck, afterall.” She winks. “Oh, did you want to purchase Pepe, the chihuahua? I will even throw in the little bag you can carry him around in.” She nods to Dovie and says, “I know. I’m just glad I caught him. He was thinking I was playing keep away and had to chase him down multiple halls!”

“Yeah, this was a lot of fun,” Chance says to Dovie. “And the cider is great.” He remains where he is for a bit though, crouched down and playing with Mochi for as long as the pup’s likely short attention span can be maintained before he straightens up again.

Dovie watches Chance and the shiba playing together. “He likes you, I think!”

“I will literally eat it, if you give it to me” Avalon warns Seraphina with a serious nod of his head, before reaching for another drink and taking a sip from it

“He’s bluffing. He’s one of those dads who, 3 days into owning it, will love it unconditionally.” Evalina claims with undue confidence